Madam Tang walked toward Ziye step by step, neither fast nor slow, her demeanor elegant, bearing a surprising resemblance to the way Tang Wen walked. It turned out that all of Tang Wen’s actions stemmed from his mother.

Perhaps their personalities were quite alike, too! Ziye stood rooted to the spot, watching her approach, and her heart lurched sharply.

It suddenly struck her that the person before her was not a stepmother, but the rightful wife; her own mother, whom she had never met, was the interloper who had inserted herself into someone else's life. She suddenly felt an intense urge to leave the Tang Clan's territory.

This was not a place she belonged. Her presence in the Tang Clan would constantly remind Madam Tang of the fact that her husband had betrayed her.

If she remained, she would perpetually remind everyone in the Tang Clan that their Clan Leader had an illegitimate daughter. Only then did Ziye truly grasp what a catastrophic mistake it had been to agree to return to the Tang Clan with Tang Wen.

If she hadn't agreed, she could be happily staying at the Wolf's Den or visiting An Junlie, or setting up the air force assembly workshop for the Wolf's Den on Planet Kakala, completely stress-free. She had no desire whatsoever to be the destroyer of someone else's family!

Tang Wen might be reckless, but she could not allow him to run wild. Madam Tang had only a few meters left to traverse, and Ziye had already decided on her course of action.

Thus, before Madam Tang could speak again, Ziye forced a bright smile onto her face: "Madam Tang, I came here with no malice, simply because I adore Xiao Wan'er and decided to visit her home." Madam Tang also smiled, though it lacked true warmth, it carried no real hostility. "Nor am I here to drive you away.

I merely wished to see what you look like." Ziye twitched the corner of her mouth: "I fear I'm showing you something embarrassing." Madam Tang sighed. "Indeed, you are not beautiful.

We in the Tang Clan do not have ugly children; I am quite disappointed on that front." Ziye: “……” Did she feel that what she intended to convey was on an entirely different plane from what Madam Tang was saying? Madam Tang asked, "Are you interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry?" Ziye was genuinely stunned this time.

Hadn't Madam Tang come to confront her? Or was this a calculated maneuver—a strategy of retreating to advance?

Ziye was not adept at reading minds and could not decipher what was truly going through her head. Ziye paused, then shook her head plainly.

"I don't enjoy dealing with people; I probably wouldn't be cut out for that line of work." Madam Tang suddenly chuckled. "You prefer warships?" Ziye nodded without hesitation.

Madam Tang sighed with resignation. "Ah, the people surnamed Tang all have this stubborn streak.

What a pity." Ziye had no idea what scheme Madam Tang was hatching, but she had already prepared herself mentally and felt no more apprehension. She walked alongside her, engaging in conversation.

They were from different worlds, and their conversation often felt disconnected, their points failing to meet. Deep down, Madam Tang did not approve of Ziye much either.

But the price—Tang Wen's willingness to take over the Tang Clan—eased her dissatisfaction. After all, she was now reclaiming control of the Longyi Group, no longer serving as the Clan's most decorative figurehead; many things were easier when unseen.

This time, she had merely returned specifically to meet Ziye. Ultimately, Ziye had reached this juncture entirely because Madam Tang, upon discovering Ziye's background, had chosen not to destroy the information quietly—not telling Tang Wen or the Tang Clan Leader—but instead letting the secret surface.

It was her choice to share the secret with Tang Wen, so the resulting consequences were not for others to blame. In that regard, Madam Tang was quite pragmatic.

She stopped walking and said to Ziye, "Thank you for spending so much of your time chatting with me today. I must be going now.

Perhaps we will meet again." Ziye asked, "Are you leaving Planet Kakala?" Madam Tang nodded. Ziye's eyes brightened.

"Could you give me a ride? I need to head out as well." Madam Tang regarded her with a scrutinizing gaze.

Ziye quickly clarified, "My primary reason for being here was to survey the market in the Kakala system. Now that the market is open, I plan to explore around." Only then did Madam Tang agree.

The two boarded a shuttle craft, flew to the docking bay for the transport ship, boarded it, initiated the sequence, and departed for the Kakala Space Station. Upon reaching the Kakala Space Station, Madam Tang dropped Ziye off.

Ziye immediately transferred to an interstellar bus, returning to Ke Lai’s Bean Sprout Villa, retrieving Dou Zai, and taking out her shuttle craft toward the Ouguang System. She absolutely did not want to establish an air force assembly workshop in the Kakala system anymore!

After this experience, she felt that being further away from the Tang Clan was better for everyone involved. The air force assembly workshop fell under the strategic weapons production department, making its location within another legion inappropriate.

The Wolf's Den was quite distant from Ke Lai. If she wanted to build it within her own forces, she would have to wait until negotiations between the Wolf's Den and the Hope Legion concluded.

Should the Hope Legion agree to merge with the Wolf's Den, she could then select a space station nearest to Ke Lai, build the assembly workshop there, and plan for future development. Since nothing was currently actionable, she might as well go leech some roses from that perverse man.

The shuttle craft jumped through space, and Ziye felt a familiar conflict: should she inform Tang Wen? For some reason, she felt inexplicably guilty.

She poked Dou Zai. The creature lazily wagged its tail and continued to snore soundly.

Ziye was dissatisfied and poked it vigorously with both hands. It ignored her?

She poked until it reacted. However, before Dou Zai could wake, the interspatial communicator chimed.

It was Tang Wan. Ziye felt even more uneasy.

She had told Tang Wan she was going for a run, but had ended up running all the way to the Ouguang System... The moment she accepted the call, Ziye nearly tumbled out of the captain's seat.

Tang Wan’s wailing was truly enough to shake the heavens and move the ghosts! Ziye hastily asked, "Xiao Wan'er, what's wrong?" Tang Wan cried and shouted, "You said you were going for a run, and you ended up in outer space!

Waaah, you abandoned me!" Ziye broke into a cold sweat. "I am so sorry to you." Tang Wan continued to weep loudly.

"You don't like me anymore, do you?" Ziye felt like kneeling before this temperamental girl. "I like you very much; please believe me." Appeasing someone was never easy!

Tang Wan persisted, "I will never trust you again!" Ziye was helpless, sighing, "I cannot ask for your forgiveness; this is entirely my fault. I was truly forced into this situation because I don't want to disrupt the lives of Tang Wen and his family." Tang Wan had only been teasing her, preparing to erupt in laughter and tease her mercilessly, but upon hearing Ziye’s serious tone, she stopped laughing immediately and rushed to comfort her.

"Don't be like that. Actually, the Tang Clan welcomes you, and Brother Tang Wen likes you very much." What Ziye had said was half-truth, half-strategy to calm Tang Wan down.

Having achieved her goal, she continued, "Even though I'm not in the Kakala system, if you want to hang out, I can come pick you up right now." Tang Wan's eyes sparkled brightly. Before she could even nod, the optical screen was snatched by Tang Wen.

A chilling aura radiated from Tang Wen's entire being. "Ziye, is this how you keep your promises?" Ziye remained silent for three seconds.

"I regret that." Tang Wen's face was taut, flushed red. "Regret what the hell!" Tang Wen was angry, and profoundly so.

That was the first thought that flashed through Ziye's mind. After talking with Madam Tang, she became even more perplexed by Tang Wen’s actions.

He was actively hurting his own mother. Ziye considered for a moment and decided on candor.

"I don't quite understand your thinking. My entering the Tang Clan is not beneficial for your mother or for you.

Why insist on this course of action?" Tang Wen asserted firmly, "It is a good thing; otherwise, my mother or I would not have mentioned it back then." Ziye countered, "How is it good?" Tang Wen frowned. "My mother has always wanted a daughter, and you can fulfill that need for her." Ziye: “…… I need to reconsider this.” With that, she disconnected the interspatial call.

She activated the shuttle craft's autopilot. By this time, they were hovering before the Rose Garden, but because she gave no landing command, the craft remained motionless in space.

Ziye rubbed her temples, feeling a wave of irritation. She felt Tang Wen was deliberately withholding something he refused to articulate, leaving her to navigate by her own judgment.

She might as well go eat the pervert’s roses; at least that required no mental exertion. After the call ended, Tang Wen’s expression darkened considerably.

Tang Wan had been about to ask him to take her to Ziye's location, but seeing his persistently grim expression, she tentatively ventured, "Brother Tang Wen, your face looks very dark!" Tang Wen shot Tang Wan a sidelong glance. “……” Tang Wan was instantly subdued by that look.

She ducked behind Bran, minimizing her presence as much as possible. Bran shook his head.

"The biggest problem between you two is that you never have a proper conversation. Your thought processes are not on the same level." Tang Wen retorted self-righteously, "I was perfectly willing to talk to her; it was she who refused to engage.

I don't understand, is our Tang Clan so terrifying?" Tang Wan couldn't resist poking her head out from behind Bran. "Brother Tang Wen, I think Xiao Yezi is right.

You are too harsh with her!" The gaze Tang Wen cast toward Tang Wan was brewing with ever-increasing anger. "How was I harsh?" —Bran felt a distinct sense of helplessness.

Tang Wen would normally never say such things. The fact that he was saying them now indicated that his emotions had overpowered his reason.

This was a rare event for Tang Wen! Bran slyly thought about recording this as evidence.

Just then, Xiao Wan’er couldn't help but speak again. "Brother Tang Wen, look at my First Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother, and then look at how you treat Xiao Yezi." Tang Wan’s elder brothers, Tang Rui, Tang Long, and Tang Jing, were all doting brothers, granting her every request and treating her as if she were made of delicate porcelain, which had turned Tang Wan into something of a local tyrant at Tang Clan University.

It was only after meeting Tang Wen, who soundly disciplined her, that she had calmed down considerably. However, this ordeal only made Tang Wan cling to Tang Wen, treating him as a fourth elder brother.

Tang Wen looked mournfully at Bran, who immediately nodded in agreement. "Xiao Wan'er is right; you are not acting like a brother at all." Tang Wan, having secured Bran's support, was delighted.

"See? Even Bran agrees with me." Tang Wen glanced at Tang Wan, then opened his interspatial communicator and dialed Tang Jing’s number.

Seeing this, Tang Wan immediately jumped up. "No!

I don't want you to bring Third Brother over here." Tang Wen instantly felt a surge of vengeful satisfaction. "Is Tang Jing not treating you well?

You seemed so afraid of him." Xiao Wan'er pouted, looking wronged. "That's not it!

Third Brother treats me very well. But he’s been so busy lately, he hasn't had time for me, and I'm terribly bored in his office." Tang Wen showed a rare hint of a smile.

"I will take you to your brother. If you don't want to go, I'll send someone to take you to Ziye."