[Zero: Too bad, I didn't bring her to work today. Can't show her to you.]
[Jingliu: (=^･ｪ･^=)]
Zero had learned his lesson from before.
Jingliu had thin skin, she embarrassed easily. If he teased her too much, she'd run away.
After all, they were still in the ambiguous stage. He had to hold back a little.
Zero didn't really care about how things developed; what mattered to him was the result.
Once he sorted out his thoughts, confirmed his backup plans with Hua, and ruled out potential risks, he sometimes wondered, maybe he should just skip ahead and get together with her directly.
At the moment, if he converted his feelings toward Jingliu into numbers like in a dating sim…
There was no way he could clear the game.
His affection level wasn't high enough to unlock a Happy Ending.
Right now, he could only say he somewhat liked Jingliu.
As for how much, he really didn't know how to describe it.
Anyway, it wasn't like those novel protagonists who were so in love they'd die for each other.
But the direction they were heading in could only end with the two of them being together, right? Should he just skip the process and go straight to that point?
Zero thought about it, then decided to give up on that idea.
As a five-thousand-year-old single dog, he still wanted to experience a proper, fulfilling romance.
The ambiguous stage was, after all, an essential part of falling in love.
Besides, Zero was curious.
Curious about what else Jingliu might do for him, and curious about how far she was willing to go.
Of course, the most important thing was, Zero wasn't ready yet.
When confessing, one had to prepare a gift, right?
He had originally wanted to ask Hua whether he had ever purchased any gemstones in the past.
If so, he planned to custom-make thirty-one rings as a confession gift, one for each day of the month, so she could wear a different one every day.
But after talking with Hua for quite a while, the topic never went anywhere. Apparently, Hua didn't approve of his idea.
So Zero had no choice but to go back to browsing forums. After reading others' "love experience summaries," he reluctantly gave up on that "brilliant" plan.
According to the netizens, the ambiguous stage shouldn't last longer than three months.
But three short months? That was nowhere near enough time.
After all, gemstones had to be the best quality, right?
Outside of work, Zero was a perfectionist, either do nothing, or do it perfectly.
Besides, he'd been a god for five thousand years. If he didn't choose auction-grade gemstones, wouldn't that be embarrassing?
Even if there were a jewelry exhibition or auction the next day, and even if he were lucky enough to spend his way into acquiring thirty-one gems, he'd still need to find jewelry designers to custom-make the rings.
The ring designs couldn't be too plain, of course.
He'd have to communicate his ideas with each designer, wait for sketches, then have revisions made.
Thirty-one rings meant thirty-one gemstones, thirty-one designers…
And he'd have to talk to each one of them.
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
When would he ever finish them all?
After mulling it over, Zero went back to that forum again.
[20 gifts for my 20-year-old boyfriend]
The gist was that the poster had met their lover too late, so they decided to make up for all the birthdays they'd missed by giving twenty gifts at once.
From that, Zero got a new idea.
As for gifts… it was too much trouble.
Why not just give one hundred thousand credits per year of age? Let her buy whatever she wants herself.
'Wait, how old is Jingliu again?'
That kind of sensitive question obviously couldn't be asked directly.
As for Jing Yuan? He definitely didn't know his master's age.
Tengxiao might have the authority to check Jingliu's records, but that nervous Luofu general was too timid… what if he got scared again?
So Zero had no choice but to ask Hua.
[Zero: How old is Jingliu?]
[Hua: …]
[Hua: I remember you used to be skilled in divination. Why? Planning to use her birth date to pull some trick?]
Zero's brain went blank for a moment. When he recovered, he furiously typed back.
[Zero: ?????]
[Zero: Don't be ridiculous. I just want a normal relationship, okay?]
[Hua: Then why are you asking her age?]
[Zero: Oh, confession gift. One hundred thousand credits per year of age. So how old is she, exactly?]
[Hua: …You call that a normal relationship? You're not seriously planning to trap her on your ship with money, are you? So she'd feel too guilty to break up with you?]
Hua refused to tell him, repeating what he'd said before, that Zero needed to think things through, establish a proper view of love, stay within moral boundaries, and, most importantly, not break the law.
He also said that before entering a relationship, Zero should be completely honest about himself.
Zero was speechless.
He had to give up the idea of showering Jingliu with money and return to thinking about rings.
Maybe fewer rings? Seven? One for each day of the week, that was still acceptable. Or just however many the designers could finish in time.
He decided to reach out to someone from the Interstellar Peace Corporation.
Zero chose to ask the sea-king Baiheng for help, believing that a fox's network of connections would surely yield something interesting.
He recalled those bizarre romantic tropes from novels, the heroine's best friend stealing the hero, or the heroine misunderstanding the hero and quietly suffering alone, and decided to prevent such nonsense from happening in real life.
To be safe, he would have Jingliu contact Baiheng instead.
Though he trusted Baiheng's character and knew she wasn't the type to steal someone's lover… still, caution never hurt.
Cut the problem off at the source.
[Zero: Jingliu, can you ask Baiheng if she knows anyone from the Interstellar Peace Corporation?]
Jingliu didn't ask why. After a while, she replied.
[Jingliu: Baiheng says she knows quite a few high-level executives at the Interstellar Peace Corporation. One of them just happens to be in Luofu.]
[Jingliu: She asked if we wanted to have lunch together, said it'd be easier to talk in person.]
Zero held back, but couldn't resist.
He sent another message.
[Zero: Will it just be me, Baiheng, and that executive?]
After a pause, Jingliu finally replied.
[Jingliu: I'll be there too.]
Zero almost laughed out loud.
'Is she embarrassed? Or pretending to be calm while secretly annoyed?'
Usually, when chatting, Jingliu would send cute emoji stickers, but this time, not a single one.
Soon after, she continued talking under the pretext of arranging the meeting with Baiheng, quickly finalizing the time and place.
Perhaps the Peace Corporation executive was busy, since the meeting was set for noon today.
As for the venue, it was a well-reviewed, long-established restaurant, several hundred years old.
Zero didn't need to ask why Baiheng chose it.
It was definitely another one of her fox friends' restaurants.
He put Hua's stack of "useless" books back in the delivery box, checked the time, then looked around the library at his colleagues, all ready to pack up early, and couldn't help feeling delighted.
Choosing this job really was the best decision.
Following the others' lead, Zero clocked out early and walked about six minutes to the appointed restaurant.
The decor was distinctly Xianzhou, from the stone lions at the entrance to the antique screens dividing the rooms inside, everything was centuries, even millennia old.
A short-lived species would probably back away just from seeing it.
Having left work early, he arrived while the restaurant was still quiet. After asking the waiter, he learned there were still private rooms available and immediately booked one.
Following the waiter's lead, he entered, took a seat, and pulled out his jade communicator to message Jingliu.
A short while later, he heard Baiheng chatting with someone outside. Then, the door to the private room opened.
Zero looked up, first meeting Jingliu's eyes. He smiled, greeted both her and Baiheng, then turned his attention to the executive from the Interstellar Peace Corporation.
The man had a full beard and was dressed in a black business suit, a textbook corporate stereotype.
For some reason, though, the man's facial muscles twitched slightly, and his expression showed traces of panic.
His leg trembled as he stumbled back a step, and after a long moment, he managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"Baiheng, this… this is your friend?"
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