That suggestion from fellow readers is excellent. Indeed, the part about the law was a bit ill-considered; I'll adjust it here—the law doesn't apply to the media. Also, regarding Zhong Yuntong Guang's identity as a survivor, I'll add a detail: upon receiving the news, Liu Yunqi, in her grief, ordered the media to suppress the story precisely so that Zhong Yun's parents would not find out.

This plot thread is now concluded; pressing it further risks padding the word count. We now move into a new sequence. If any readers spot any bugs, please point them out. I will address or revise them accordingly.

Some readers have mentioned that recent chapters are too melodramatic. I was merely trying to avoid cliché, but it seems some readers cannot accept it. Regardless, I thank all subscribers for your continued support; it motivates me to work even harder.

"Y-yes... yes..." Staring into those mocking amber eyes, Zhong Yun stammered, the word "you" lodging in his throat, impossible to utter.

He was utterly shocked. Even hearing that an asteroid was set to strike Volst Star wouldn't have stunned him this much.

The woman with the amber eyes before him—wasn't she Yu Daoqing, the one stranded on that primitive planet after the Tong Guang went down?

How could she be here? Zhong Yun felt completely disoriented.

"It is I," Yu Daoqing replied in flawless Davo, sitting before the Qilan Qin, her body angled toward Zhong Yun. Her amber eyes glittered with curiosity, seemingly amused by his astonishment.

"Surprised to see me, Martian?" she said, standing up. She wore a thin, silken robe that perfectly accentuated her long, slender figure.

Gracefully, Yu Daoqing approached Zhong Yun and tapped his forehead lightly with fingers as delicate and white as spring onions. "Little devil, didn't expect to see me again, did you?"

The light touch brought Zhong Yun back to a semblance of normalcy. He sighed. "The universe... is truly small."

Yu Daoqing chuckled softly and moved to a chair. "Sit down and talk. Don't just stand there looking foolish."

Zhong Yun sat stiffly on the sofa, a multitude of questions churning inside him. "How did you end up on that planet?"

"And you? How did you end up there?" Yu Daoqing countered.

Zhong Yun's expression froze. He recalled the words he'd spoken to Ou Feng yesterday and could only manage a wry smile. All the elaborate excuses he'd fabricated were now utterly exposed.

Yu Daoqing observed his distress and softened her voice. "Don't worry. I didn't tell Little Ou the truth about you."

"Little Ou?" Zhong Yun was slightly surprised. He took a careful look at her now; shock had previously prevented him from truly noticing her features. He realized now that her beauty was in no way inferior to Liu Yunqi's—it was of the devastating, otherworldly kind.

The moment he first saw her face, Zhong Yun sensed an almost translucent quality about her. He had never seen such an exquisitely crafted face, like a perfect masterpiece painstakingly sculpted by the Creator.

Her beauty stirred a deep flutter in his chest; her refinement made her seem like unique porcelain, so delicate it might shatter at a touch, commanding the utmost caution.

"You can't look older than twenty-five," Zhong Yun commented, shaking his head, seemingly unconcerned by her casual address to the manager. "And you call Manager Ou 'Little Ou'?"

Yu Daoqing smiled enigmatically, a playful glint returning to her amber eyes. "Do you know how old I am?"

"Surely not seventy or eighty," Zhong Yun dismissed, more interested in the pressing mysteries. "Say, you're a Davo citizen. Why not speak your native tongue instead of some foreign language I don't understand?"

This brought Yu Daoqing a measure of consternation as well. "You could speak, yet you never opened your mouth? It made me think you were mute."

Zhong Yun reflected; it was true, he hadn't spoken a word in her presence, primarily because his mood had been too heavy to engage in conversation.

"I was in a bad mood. You spoke so much, why didn't a single word of your mother tongue slip out?"

"Who told you that the escape pod you were in didn't bear Davo markings?" Yu Daoqing retorted righteously. "Davo barely sends out a ship once every few years. Who would have guessed you two were from Davo?"

It was absurd. Zhong Yun felt a profound sense of irony bubbling up. Two Davo natives stranded on the same primitive planet, yet unaware of each other's identity. Their initial communication relied on an automatic translator. It was a tale no one would ever believe.

"This is truly..." Zhong Yun struggled for words.

"And then you lied to me, saying you were Martian," Yu Daoqing added, clearly miffed about that detail.

"I didn't lie to you," Zhong Yun spread his hands. "My ship was named the Mars."

Yu Daoqing was momentarily speechless.

After a brief silence, Zhong Yun asked, "How did you find me?"

"Zhang Xiao, the sole survivor of the Tong Guang. She's on the news every day; it would be hard for me not to recognize you. Plus, you fixed my Qin..." She paused here, her expression suddenly turning serious.

"What is it?" Zhong Yun was thrown off balance by the sudden shift from her cheerful demeanor.

"I have a question for you. Can you answer me honestly?" Yu Daoqing stared intently at Zhong Yun.

"Go ahead," Zhong Yun replied noncommittally, thinking that the answer depended entirely on the question. If she asked about the Mars, he would have to decline.

Yu Daoqing’s sudden appearance had completely upended his plans, leaving him unprepared. With her, the person who shared the ordeal on that primitive planet, any story he spun would be unbelievable.

"Are you a descendant of the Qilan?"

Yu Daoqing’s question caught Zhong Yun entirely off guard. He narrowed his eyes, contemplating her motive. Suddenly, he saw a flicker of expectation in her eyes.

"Why do you ask that?" Zhong Yun didn't deny it immediately.

Yu Daoqing's eyes lit up. "I've consulted countless Qin masters, and not one could repair this instrument. I also know many Qilan descendants, and they were equally helpless. But you fixed it. I couldn't help but be suspicious."

Zhong Yun weighed the pros and cons internally, finally shrugging. "Actually, I don't know if I am."

"There is a way to verify," Yu Daoqing said. She was prepared, picking up a translucent, light-purple, crystal-like orb nearby. "Extend your hand."

Zhong Yun complied, extending his left hand. "What is this thing?" Suddenly, he felt his middle finger prick as if by a needle and instinctively pulled his hand back. "What are you doing?"

Yu Daoqing took a drop of his blood and placed it on the purple crystal ball. A dazzling violet light erupted from within.

"It's true," Yu Daoqing cried out in joy, setting down the orb and grasping Zhong Yun's hand, her voice trembling with excitement. "You really are a descendant of the Qilan!"

Zhong Yun looked at the crystal ball still radiating that brilliant purple glow, then at Yu Daoqing, who was so moved she looked like she’d found a long-lost relative. He was momentarily speechless.

In my previous life, I was the purest of Chinese people. In this life, I am a native-born Davo citizen. How could I suddenly be a Qilan descendant?

Although he had once told Liu Yunqi he was a Qilan descendant, it was merely an attempt to inject a little mystery. That story about the Zihuan Flower was something he’d made up on the spot. His hometown was on Lan Zhan Star, light-years away from Volst Star.

Could some ancestor in the Zhong family really have had Qilan lineage? This absurd thought flashed through Zhong Yun's mind and was immediately dismissed. No, if he truly carried Qilan blood, Xiao Ling wouldn't have been ignorant of it.

Either Xiao Ling was mistaken, or Yu Daoqing was mistaken. Based on past experience, Xiao Ling had never been wrong.

However, Zhong Yun wasn't foolish enough to correct her. He decided to let the mistake stand. It was her mistake, not his intentional deception.

Her hand was truly soft. As his anxiety eased, Zhong Yun subtly noticed an unusual sensation. He had held many women's hands, but only a few had ever given him such a distinct feeling.

He gently clasped her hand back, looking at her with a complex expression. "Could it be... you also..."

Yu Daoqing nodded vigorously, sniffing back tears. "I thought I was the only one. I never expected..." She pulled her hand away, wiped the tears from her eyes, and managed a smile, taking a deep breath. "I'm just... so happy..."

Zhong Yun felt his deepest, softest emotional core being struck. His breathing became uncontrollably ragged. The loneliness and helplessness Yu Daoqing revealed in that moment, that inexpressible solitude of being utterly alone in the world, resonated strongly with him.

So, she's like me. In this entire nation, she has no one of her own kind.

A deep sense of compassion welled up in Zhong Yun. Fellow sufferers from the ends of the earth, their similar circumstances created an immediate kinship. "I know."

His voice seemed to possess a calming magic, and Yu Daoqing settled down slightly.

"We truly have fate on our side," Zhong Yun suddenly said with a smile.

Yes, looking back, being stranded together on the same primitive planet due to spaceship malfunctions in the vastness of space was already incredible. Who would have thought that not only did they hail from the same nation, but they were both descendants of a high civilization that had vanished five millennia ago?

This string of coincidences felt like a dream.

"This is fate ordained by the heavens," Zhong Yun murmured softly.

Yu Daoqing looked at him, startled for a moment, then she smiled. Indeed, this was fate ordained.

Neither spoke again, quietly savoring the rare moment of warmth—a moment so precious to both of them.

In the General Manager's office on the nine-hundredth floor of Mingzhu Tower, Ou Feng had just seen off an important guest. He glanced at his computer. "Hmm? Why hasn't Zhong Yun left yet?"

Ou Feng found it strange. The Young Miss usually disliked spending time alone with men. Why was she being so accommodating to Zhong Yun this time? It seemed the Young Miss and Zhong Yun got along very well.

A flicker of inexplicable worry arose in his heart, which he quickly dismissed with a self-deprecating smile. If two men as outstanding as [implied others] couldn't capture the Young Miss's heart, Zhong Yun was just a boy.

Ten years hadn't changed the Young Miss at all, Ou Feng mused. Ting Jian should be arriving soon too; hearing that the Young Miss was back, he would likely have no desire to focus on work.

What a shame...

Thinking of his own unrequited devotion of over twenty years, to which the Young Miss remained indifferent, Ou Feng let out a deep sigh.

P: Begging desperately for monthly votes! The next chapter might be very late; brothers who have to work, no need to wait up.