Ziye glanced, surprised, toward the lower right corner of the screen.

She had many people in her friends list, but few followers; if the sound hadn't gone off, she would have completely forgotten about that specific list.

The screen displayed a small notification: Su Tang is online.

Ziye stared blankly at the screen for a long moment, finally reacting with an exclamation, "Su Tang is online?"

Little Sprout scoffed, "What's so surprising about Su Tang being online?"

Ziye exclaimed excitedly, "The perpetually dormant Su Tang! Aren't you surprised?"

Little Sprout let out a dismissive "Tsk," clearly unimpressed. "I tell you you're obtuse, and you still won't admit it. This is the third time this month I’ve seen Su Tang online. I remember last week, or sometime around then, he even greeted me..."

Ziye's face instantly darkened. "How did you reply to him?"

Little Sprout slyly flapped its wings at her, beckoning her closer.

Not suspecting anything, she leaned in, and Little Sprout slapped her lightly with a wing, grinning mischievously, "Not telling you."

Ziye was furious enough to steam, grabbing it to squeeze and knead, then flattening it before hurling it toward the wall.

Little Sprout's body was agile; at the instant before impact, it violently shifted its trajectory of Movement, shot into the bathroom, hooked its tiny sprout onto the doorframe, and began swinging like a pendulum.

Ziye was internally thrilled. Utilizing the administrator's advantage of seeing which forum section every member was in, she immediately entered the chat group he was occupying.

A team of six or seven people was currently questioning Su Tang about issues encountered during the Mecha Competition.

That group was likely called 'Matrix,' as every member's ID was prefixed with 'Matrix-'.

When Ziye entered, her bright red administrator ID stood out starkly.

However, as long as she didn't speak, the people inside felt uncomfortable saying anything. That was the advantage of being an admin.

Ziye didn't disturb them, quietly lurking inside to listen.

Su Tang answered virtually every question posed to him.

His voice was as kind and approachable as ever.

Ziye listened silently. Inside, she was filled with regret. Her team was so foolish, not knowing how to utilize the resources of the forum. To think she and Li Chunyu were both forum administrators—it was a complete waste of talent.

No, she had to call everyone on the Chushou team to the forum.

Just as she was thinking this, Su Tang suddenly sent a completely unrelated message to the topic they were discussing, asking, "Mengya Ya, is that really you?"

Ziye startled, quickly replying, "It is me."

Su Tang said nothing more, returning to discussing the problems with the people in the chat group.

Ziye felt a bit perplexed. Did he know the person online before wasn't her? If so, he was incredibly perceptive! Besides, that opening line came out of nowhere—truly... speechless.

Ziye couldn't be bothered with an urgent chat; on the light screen, she broadcast an email to her team: Spend more time on the Mobile Forum when you have a chance; there are experts there. She attached the link to the Mobile Forum.

As soon as she sent it, Aikes threw over a voice request.

Ziye accepted and greeted him with a smile.

Aikes lamented, "Xiao Yezi, your robot got lost and ended up here with me."

Ziye chuckled, "I lent that to you guys, it can do metal analysis."

Aikes blinked, surprised. "No need to borrow. I'll buy it. Send me the account number, and I'll transfer the funds to you."

Ziye: ... She didn't want to take money from a friend! Especially one of the Aikes Bent twins.

Seeing her look conflicted, Aikes pressed on, "Quickly! Chen Yin really loves that robot; she insisted I gift it to her. Her birthday is coming up, so I want to buy it as a present."

Ziye shook her head. "Aren't your territories rich in mineral resources? How about paying with metals instead?" Saying this, she pulled up Dou Zai's nutrient manifest on her terminal and sent it over.

Aikes glanced at the required metals; the quantity wasn't large, but each item was incredibly valuable. His face fell as he forwarded the list to Chen Yin, "Big sister, do me a favor."

The twins weren't familiar with metals, but Chen Yin was the Goddess of Minerals in the Angel Domain. After their gathering concluded, they immediately flew back to the Angel Domain to seek her assistance.

Not only did Chen Yin agree, but she also inquired about the purpose of using these metals, recommending several cost-effective yet high-quality alloys. Afraid he’d forget, Aikes specially recorded the conversation to relay to Ziye later.

Just then, Ziye's robot, CC0003, arrived before him.

Upon seeing it, Chen Yin couldn't look away.

The twins promptly gifted the robot to Chen Yin.

After obtaining Ziye's list of required metals, they discovered with regret that, after all the back and forth, it was still Chen Yin who ended up paying for the robot with metals.

How disheartening...

Ziye couldn't worry about that now; she urged him to register on the Mobile Forum immediately.

Aikes rubbed his nose. "Actually, we're already members of the Mobile Forum."

Ziye shot him a look. "Less nonsense. Get online now. I'll be waiting for you in the Competition Discussion Area Group Two. Su Tang is there too."

The Aikes Bent duo moved quickly, logging on instantly and diving into Group Two.

Ziye checked their IDs and twitched the corner of her eye in speechlessness: Aikes: Zuo Zuo; Spent: You You.

After entering, they settled in quietly to observe. When Matrix had finished asking a question and hadn't formulated the next one yet, they seized the opportunity to slip in their own inquiries.

Matrix found themselves unable to proceed immediately, and having asked most of what they needed, they collectively exited. Group Two was successfully occupied by the Chushou battle team.

Ziye used her urgent chat to summon the remaining three members online, finally forming a six-person team that monopolized Su Tang.

Other teams entered, but with the exception of Bai Wendun, the five members of Chushou operated with such seamless coordination—especially the twins, where one finished the other’s sentence—that outsiders found no space to interject and eventually retreated, frustrated.

However, this peace didn't last long.

Less than ten minutes into their questioning, an ID named Lanhuā on the Cliff entered the chat group, immediately stating, "Sir, your scheduled offline time has arrived."

Su Tang acknowledged it, offering the Chushou team a gentle smile. "We'll talk again next time." With that, he logged off.

Ziye felt unsatisfied. "We need to keep track of when he comes online from now on, hmph."

Bai Wendun laughed heartily. "Too bad he isn't a handsome young man, or you could use the honey trap."

Ziye looked toward the sky, feeling utterly drained. "So cold."

Bai Wendun sounded curious. "Is it cold where you are? I'm still at the school, 15 degrees Celsius!"

Ziye pretended not to hear and muted her microphone. Based on the points Su Tang had mentioned, she began revising the specific details of the proposal document. She could feel the knot in the plan, but her skill level simply wasn't at Su Tang’s height, making it impossible to resolve on her own. After his explanations, however, the solutions became immediately clear.

Once the issues in the proposal were resolved, she casually called out, "Dou Dou."

No response.

Ziye paused for a second in surprise, then stood up, only to see it hiding in the corner of the sofa, ceaselessly drawing circles with its tiny sprout. "Ziye is a little dummy, a little dummy, for not seeing something so obvious..."

Ziye walked over and asked, "What can't I see?"

Little Sprout rolled its eyes at her. "I'm not telling you."

Ziye didn't bother arguing. She poked its little rear end. "Find me some sheet music, Sis needs to learn the Guqin."

Little Sprout scoffed with little sincerity, "Yes, Mama Ziye."

Ziye instantly felt the urge to beat it. Still, it was reasonably diligent, finding her a few pieces of simple sheet music. Poor Ziye stared at the notations every which way but couldn't understand how to read them. Being a musical illiterate was taxing. Would going to Tang Wen like this earn her his scorn?

After agonizing over it for a long time, Ziye emailed Bran to schedule a lesson, informing him that she intended to learn the Guqin.

Bran was quite surprised. "Why the sudden idea to learn the Guqin?"

Ziye felt aggrieved. She didn't understand any musical instrument, and she didn't have one nearby. Conveniently, Li Chunyu had gifted her a Guqin, and she needed an excuse to see Tang Wen. She thought for a moment and fabricated another reason: "You can find people who play piano or violin anywhere on the street. But the Guqin? Maybe one in a hundred people understand it. If I learn it, how impressive would that be?"

Bran assumed it was just a childish whim, feeling rather sentimental that she was showing a moment of youthful caprice, and readily agreed. After hanging up the urgent chat, he went onto the light net himself to search for Guqin playing techniques.

—He didn't know how to play either. How was he supposed to teach her?!

As soon as dawn broke, Ziye quickly packed her things, brought her super-incredibly-warm greatcoat, placed the Guqin case in the airship, and borrowed Blackbeard's shuttle to head toward Planet Kacher.

After Tang Wen left the Interstellar Federation, the Federation Research Institute’s shuttle became unavailable to her. She hadn't yet had time to purchase a proper vessel of her own. Given Tang Wen's current circumstances, Ziye felt too awkward imposing on him for his personal transport, so she had to borrow Blackbeard's.

After several months, Ziye expected the weather down below to still be snowy and rainy, but she was depressingly dismayed to find that winter had already passed. Planet Kacher was bathed in a bright, clear spring, the sunlight radiant and the birds singing—a scene of vibrant life.

Not only would she not need her warm greatcoat, she actually needed to strip layers off.

Ziye couldn't help but complain, "This damn planet."

Tang Wen, covering his face with a paper book, was basking lazily on a lounge chair outside. Hearing the airship, he lowered the book, sat up, and when he saw it was her, a beautiful smile briefly touched his lips before vanishing. He offered a coolly detached remark, "Dressed for winter? Did a squirrel visit?"

Ziye clenched her fists in anger. How could she have ever thought this jerk was pitiful? How could she have thought he resembled an abandoned child? Facts proved her completely wrong!

Bran, sitting on the other side, was absorbed in playing his violin. Hearing Tang Wen speak, he stood up and smiled, "Ziye, you're here?"

Ziye puffed out her cheeks and hauled the Guqin case off the airship. "Teacher Bran, I'm here to learn the Guqin from you."

Bran had a robot bring out a Qin stand for Ziye to place the instrument on. The moment Ziye set it down, Tang Wen reached out, his fingers hooking a single string.

Ding— Ziye slapped the back of his hand with annoyance. "Tang you absolute scoundrel, take your pervert hands off!"

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