Little Sprout bounced up and down on An Junlie’s shoulder, her gaze fixed on the massive virtual screen above the space station.

It was playing the newest promotional video for Lings University.

Little Sprout gazed wistfully at Ziye, who appeared to be a middle schooler in the video, and a plan sparked in her mind. She said to An Junlie, "Alien, are you extremely curious about where Ziye is?"

An Junlie’s eyes lit up. "You're finally willing to tell me?"

Little Sprout let out a whoosh and pointed toward the virtual screen.

An Junlie looked up, and his head felt like it exploded!

In the promotional video, Ziye was wearing the unisex school uniform, and only her profile was visible. Yet, An Junlie recognized her as "Stinky Boy" in the first instant, and he could see she was a girl.

She looked a bit plumper than she had on Silver Talisman Star, no longer like someone straight out of a refugee camp. Her cheeks were rosy, full of the vibrant energy of youth.

Even the childish, simple lines of the drawing style were intimately familiar to him; they were identical to the pattern on the plaque outside her home.

Not to mention the gestures she made while building mech models with Tang Wen.

Under the vast sky, at that age, who else could keep pace with Tang Wen’s speed besides Ziye?

An Junlie couldn't help but recall the scene when he first encountered her on Kila Star—her wearing a beret, a short skirt, and carrying a small flowery umbrella, looking so delicate and charming standing beside him.

He had asked, "Stinky Boy, how did you turn into a girl?"

She had answered, "I was always a girl."

Thinking back now, it was truly an honest answer that led to utter despair.

An Junlie slammed a fist into the metal wall beside him with a bang, a sound comparable to a glass tumbler shattering violently on the floor.

The nearby security robots immediately adopted defensive stances and approached An Junlie.

It was important to remember that these robots couldn't distinguish faces.

Even if the Supreme Commander of the Interstellar Federation were to smash something, they would be arrested just the same.

Of course, they would not arrest An Junlie.

An Junlie was the Angel CEO; he was programmed into every single one of those robots.

Consequently, as the robots drew near, they retreated with perfectly uniform composure.

Little Sprout squawked, "Who told you you were slow to notice? On Silver Talisman Star, at first, only that idiot Xiaoxiao saw it, and then everyone knew, but they were just used to calling you Stinky Boy and couldn't be bothered to change."

An Junlie covered his head, closed his eyes, and remained completely unresponsive.

Little Sprout flapped her wings again and continued, "I truly don't mean to upset you. But you lived with her every day! You ran with her every day, grabbed her hand to pull her out of her room, and even lifted her blanket while she slept to force her awake…"

An Junlie’s mind was too chaotic; he couldn't absorb anything Little Sprout was saying.

His head felt like it was expanding, on the verge of explosion, as memories from Silver Talisman Star surged out like a tide.

Upon closer examination, the truth had been right there in front of him all along.

He simply hadn't dared to uncover it.

Now that her identity was confirmed, all her previous effeminate behaviors found their root cause. It was like a curtain being drawn back; seeing the truth behind it, all he wanted to do was smash his head against a wall.

An Junlie was filled with profound regret.

His teacher had once warned him that the saying "A prodigal son returns before he is lost is worth more than gold" was just a way to fool people. For mistakes already made, even if one tries to mend the fence after the sheep are gone, the sheep are dead—what use is a perfectly repaired fence? Some errors, once committed, leave no room for turning back. Therefore, one must act boldly yet meticulously, minimizing mistakes to the absolute least!

A true man owns up to his actions.

It was his fault for mistaking her for a boy back then. Even if he couldn't undo it, he still wanted to look her in the eye and say, "I'm sorry."

An Junlie felt he hadn't lived up to his teacher’s admonition and silently prayed for his teacher's forgiveness; as for Ziye's forgiveness, he dared not hope for it.

Little Sprout waited for a response but received none. She flew in front of him and poked his forehead with her tiny sprout, "Hey, Alien, are you okay?"

An Junlie possessed extremely strong mental fortitude.

He organized his thoughts in the shortest time possible, suppressing everything in his mind—her delicate wrist, her teasing about his broken mech, her accompanying him while window shopping for a meteor shower... etc.—and stopped himself from agonizing further, then slowly raised his head.

The lights in the dock were somewhat harsh.

The robot security guards marched back and forth with expressionless faces.

An Junlie felt his condition was suboptimal.

He walked into the washroom, splashed water on his face, and finally managed to calm down. He looked up at Little Sprout and said, "I want to go to Lings."

Little Sprout’s eyes lit up. "When are we leaving?"

An Junlie stated, "We leave immediately."

The small sprout on Little Sprout’s head instantly stood up in a "V" shape. She had finally succeeded in getting An Junlie to go to Lings. If he went now, he definitely wouldn't run into Ziye!

An Junlie ate something in the space station and departed immediately.

He usually traveled for a month or more at a time and didn't feel particularly tired. This time, however, a brief inspection trip to the border of the Furred Beasts territory had left him completely wrecked by the news about Ziye upon his return.

Understanding his state, he called over a captain to pilot the shuttle for him, planning to rest briefly during the journey. Seeing him close his eyes, Little Sprout decisively slipped out of the shuttle.

Lings, let him go alone!

She intended to wait right here for Ziye to pick her up.

Little Sprout watched the shuttle disappear into space, and for some reason, suddenly felt a pang of guilt toward An Junlie.

An Junlie was a good person.

Moreover, her Master, Student Ziye, was quite fond of him.

But between him and Ziye, she had no reason not to choose Ziye.

Little Sprout shook her head like a sage, sighed softly, and hitched a ride on a military courier freighter departing ES-2 Space Station.

Half an hour after An Junlie left, Ziye arrived at ES-2.

With a mix of nervousness and anxiety, she pushed her shuttle to maximum speed, flying headlong toward her destination. Her shuttle was the Interstellar Federation’s best in performance, the flashiest in appearance, and the most luxurious inside. It was also emblazoned with the symbol of the Interstellar Federation Research Institute, allowing her to use the special dedicated lanes for entry and exit, making the process incredibly smooth.

Unfamiliar with the Angel Domain and hesitant to intrude, coupled with the vast and winding nature of the Angel Domain’s orbital paths, she decided it would be best to hail An Junlie via his hyper-comms and ask him to come out and meet her.

Before she could open her hyper-comms, Little Sprout rushed over, burrowing into her arms and snuggling close. "Ziye, Ziye, did you miss me?"

Ziye caught her and examined her from every angle, looking surprised. "You changed your clothes?"

Her fur had always been gray; now it was pure snow white.

If she hadn't known it so well, she almost wouldn't have recognized her.

It had to be said, the snow-white fur looked much better than the dull, grayish color.

Little Sprout flew up proudly, circling once in mid-air. "The Alien hit the Fluff Beast and used its pelt to make this for me. Isn't it pretty?"

She would sooner die than tell Ziye that she had to change it because her old fur had been ragged and tattered by the Ditar family.

Ziye nodded in appreciation. "Not bad, quite nice." She looked around. "Where is An Junlie?"

Little Sprout said ingratiatingly, "I sent him away!"