Nightfall.

After arranging accommodations for every villager from the Fu Xi Continent.

Shang Siteng discreetly slipped a room key into Han Zhan's pocket.

No one noticed this scene, except for Tu Housheng, who constantly had his feet in contact with the ground, scratching his honest and simple head.

After everyone dispersed, Han Zhan followed the address Shang Siteng had given him and found her place.

Using the room key to open the door, he found Shang Siteng had already changed into a relaxed, homey outfit and had been waiting for some time.

Han Zhan felt a fleeting illusion, as if a wife's friend was waiting for a husband to come home.

He habitually took off his shoes and looked at the shoe rack on both sides, a bit unsure, "Should I put them on the left or the right?"

Shang Siteng smiled and pressed her lips together, "If you like, you can put them inside, no problem."

Han Zhan: "6"

Shang Siteng's "Old Priestess" level was a bit high, making even Han Zhan, known for his thick skin, somewhat at a loss.

"Where did you learn such bold words?" In Han Zhan's mind, Shang Siteng should be the kind of science-focused super honor student, the good girl, naive in life, and especially clueless about matters between men and women.

As it turned out, this perception was full of prejudice.

Shang Siteng was an academic prodigy, so no matter what she learned, she could become a prodigy in that field as well, the "Old Priestess" being no exception.

"Don't you ever read Lingzhen's bestselling books?" Shang Siteng curiously asked in response to Han Zhan's question.

Han Zhan coughed twice, shaking his head decisively. "No, I've never read them. Why would I read those things?!"

His righteous demeanor quickly crumbled with Shang Siteng's next words.

"That's right, Lingzhen told me that the inspiration in her books came from exploring things with you guys. She often asked you for advice, so why would she need to read books."

Li Lingzhen, that little girl, why would she even tell such things to outsiders?!

Is Shang Siteng not an outsider now that she's his Contracted Spirit?

Then it's fine.

Those few words lightened the somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Initially not having had much interaction with Shang Siteng, Han Zhan gradually accepted the new way of getting along with her.

This is what made Shang Siteng, the top genius of the younger generation of the Shang Family, so remarkable.

Simply initiating a slightly bold conversation and mentioning her relationship with Li Lingzhen made Han Zhan let go of his worries and doubts.

Unknowingly, she transformed from someone who wanted to decide on a lifelong relationship with Han Zhan after a few meetings into a wife's close friend who often came over to chat.

But that alone was not enough.

So Shang Siteng continued, "We have a long evening ahead, we can have some drinks and chat."

"You must be curious why I decided you were my other half at first sight."

The question posed by Shang Siteng indeed captured Han Zhan's attention.

He sat down as suggested, and Shang Siteng filled both their glasses with wine.

"Back then, outside of Deep Blue City, the situation I was in, you should have some understanding now. The entire Can Shang Company wanted to force me to succeed as the next patriarch of the Shang Family and start the Mechanical Ascension project."

"But to me, it was a very dull and disgusting project."

"It was a project for those old fossils, desperately wanting to realize their desire for immortality, not willing to be abandoned by power."

"So I refused."

Shang Siteng finished all the wine in front of her in one go.

She spoke lightly, but Han Zhan could still sense the hidden twists and turns, and the stubborn power within Shang Siteng.

That was the Can Shang Company, one of the Five Great Forces.

Leaving aside what becoming the next captain of Can Shang Company would mean to Shang Siteng, she could, through that role, become one of the few people at the top of the world, overlooking everyone from then on.

But she didn't want that.

The price Shang Siteng had to pay for rejecting Can Shang Company was another reason for Han Zhan's shock.

"So you specifically chose Deep Blue City as your escape destination because you knew the teacher was there?"

Yes, escape.

It wasn't supposed to be a vacation at all.

Shang Siteng must have learned through some channel that a batch of items was going to be transported to Deep Blue City, to Li Lingzhen's grandfather, Li Shutong.

So she seized the opportunity to follow the convoy to Deep Blue before the Can Shang Company higher-ups reacted.

Thus, the matters that puzzled Han Zhan previously all made sense.

Why did Shang Siteng, as the Can Shang Company's eldest daughter, not have even one strong bodyguard follow her and got unexpectedly attacked by an Insect Swarm?

All these had traces of the Shang Family's influence.

"You saved me; otherwise, I would have been caught and taken back to that cage, stripped of freedom long ago."

"Can Shang Company has an incredibly indifferent view of offspring; they're like cold-blooded robots. For them, the technological development and project research of Can Shang Company are always paramount."

"When I rejected their proposal, refusing to be the next captain of Can Shang Company, I became a discardable piece."

How to make a discardable piece valuable again.

For Can Shang Company, naturally, it was through their so-called 'Mechanical Ascension' plan."

"You had already arrived in Deep Blue City and met the teacher, yet you were still caught by people from Can Shang Company and taken back?"

"Yes." Shang Siteng nodded, refilling her glass and raising it towards Han Zhan.

Han Zhan had no choice but to raise his glass, clink with hers, and down his drink just like her.

The drink was somewhat different from the ones on Blue Star, more like fruit wine, with low alcohol content, tasting sweet and pleasant.

Shang Siteng's beautiful eyes were fixed on Han Zhan, clinging to him as she continued, "I expended great effort to escape Can Shang Company, finally reaching Deep Blue and finding Lingzhen's grandfather, Li Shutong, the Great Xia War God."

"But he refused my plea for help."

At that time, Li Shutong should have already known his fate soon to come. He chose to bear it alone, facing death calmly.

He was worried about dragging innocent people into it, which is why he refused Shang Siteng's request.

Listening to Shang Siteng's words, Han Zhan gained a rough understanding of the situation in Deep Blue at the time.

Thus, afterward, Shang Siteng, after awakening as a Contracted Spirit, was forced to leave Deep Blue, returning to Can Shang Company's main city, Titan City, and was imprisoned there.

"When I was resolved to die, you appeared for the second time and saved me again."

Shang Siteng said this, her gaze seemed glued to Han Zhan's face, hard to avert.

Every woman wishes for a hero to rescue her from despair, even a genius is no exception.

Han Zhan was Shang Siteng's hero, and not once, but twice.

Saying this, the atmosphere became ambiguous again.

Shang Siteng suddenly stood up, asking Han Zhan to wait a moment. Shortly after, she slowly emerged from another room.

She was wearing the wedding dress from her wedding day in Titan City.

Walking gracefully towards Han Zhan.

"Ah Zhan, let's continue with our wedding."

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