In order to pry from Little Sprout the reason for its sudden hostility toward Ziye, An Junlie, unwilling to descend into a battle of words, conceded to its demands. "You're right, I'm a bit dense.

You're the smart one, Great Sir, so just tell me." Little Sprout tapped his head. "Oh, you dummy!

Where were you when she needed you?" The arrow struck An Junlie straight in the knee, and he dared not utter a word in response. He was wrong.

Was it too late to regret it now? An Junlie covered his head and sat down, letting out a heavy sigh.

The reason he disliked Tang Wen was the persistent feeling that Tang Wen was always near Ziye, threatening to steal her affection. Looked at from another angle: if he hadn't been perpetually absent, would Tang Wen have even had a chance?

Would he have had a chance? When Ziye faced criticism, Tang Wen was by her side; when she was in danger, Tang Wen sent troops to her aid; when she went missing, Tang Wen mobilized all efforts to find her.

Tang Wen was a far more competent brother figure than he was as a boyfriend. Seeing An Junlie's expression darken, Little Sprout offered a touch of consideration.

"It's useless for you to dwell on this, anyway Ziye never expected anything substantial from you." Another arrow found its mark, shattering An Junlie's heart. Little Sprout flapped its wings gleefully, triumphant.

"As expected, the one truly suited to stand beside Ziye is me, the Great Sir!" An Junlie rubbed its little face. "If she doesn't expect anything from me, then why did she drive me away?" He had regretted it too many times to believe atonement was possible now.

All he hoped for was to have a place in Ziye's future, yet he had been forcibly expelled. The infuriating Little Sprout had teased him long enough without revealing the true reason.

Little Sprout shook its head. "If you don't court death, you won't die.

Why don't you understand? When Ziye needed you, you weren't there.

Now that Ziye doesn't need you, and you stand beside her preventing her from getting close to others, of course she'd kick you out." An Junlie gasped in shock. "Are you talking about Yun Lan?" Little Sprout rolled its eyes—a useless gesture, as its pupils were entirely black, leaving no visible change.

"Can you honestly swear you wouldn't act the same way if another man approached? I ran a program simulation, and there's a 99% probability you would do exactly that." An Junlie stared blankly.

It fluttered its wings in a display of calculated cuteness. "Do you want to know where that one percent came from?" An Junlie was nearly rigid, murmuring, "Tell me." Little Sprout spun happily in mid-air.

"The system calculated that if the humans were fully displeased, Ziye would say, in testing human emotions, remove one unit, leaving a sliver of hope. In reality, 99% is functionally equal to 100%, understand, dear?" An Junlie looked at it, and finally, the pieces clicked into place.

He presumed the right to be Ziye's boyfriend, preventing her from interacting with other men. In Ziye's eyes, this was an overreach.

Yes, on what grounds did he stand now to claim the title of Ziye's boyfriend? On what grounds?

An Junlie retreated sheepishly. "I understand.

Since she wants me gone, I'll leave." Little Sprout nodded decisively. "That's more like it.

Ziye doesn't belong to any of you; she belongs only to me, hahaha!" An Junlie, utterly dejected, slapped its head. It giggled.

"Stupid alien bighead. Actually, Ziye is very gentle.

If you were a bit smarter, you two could be completely and utterly in love, muah!" An Junlie gave it a sidelong glance. It stuck out its tongue, turned around, and presented its backside.

An Junlie realized nothing further would be gained by talking to Little Sprout. The two robots had packed his belongings—just one small rolling suitcase.

An Junlie glanced at the case and sighed again. Lately, he felt rather like a jilted wife.

Only by losing something entirely did one truly cherish it. After a moment's thought, he walked into the kitchen, retrieved ingredients from the refrigerator, and began preparing breakfast with practiced efficiency.

If Ziye truly wanted him gone, he would obey her words and leave for a while. However, he would not surrender.

If it was possible, he would enroll in a relationship course, determined to properly learn how to coexist with the one he loved. What he wanted wasn't merely to make her breakfast; it was to integrate into each other's lives, to share every joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness with her.

Wouldn't that make him incredibly happy? When the breakfast was ready, Ziye returned from her run, wiping sweat with a towel as she headed upstairs.

An Junlie stood at the dining room entrance, his smile as warm and gentle as the midday winter sun. "Hi, you're back?

Breakfast is ready. Eat quickly, and you'll be perfectly on time for class." Ziye paused her movements, tossed the towel aside, and sat down to eat.

This semester, seven or eight people shared the dwelling, and the duty of cooking fell entirely to the robots. An Junlie rarely cooked, yet his skills remained entirely sharp.

The simple breakfast cups he prepared were not only aesthetically pleasing, easily digestible, and packed with nutrition. Ziye ate, glancing up at him.

"You're not eating?" An Junlie sat across from her, watching her eat mouthfuls with immense satisfaction. "I'll have mine later." Sigh, if only Ziye hadn't demanded he leave, how wonderful things would be.

Ziye didn't press him to eat with her. She finished quickly, placed the spoon down with a clink.

"It's quite good, thank you." An Junlie tried to curry favor. "If you like it, I can make it for you every day from now on." Ziye pondered this for a long moment.

"You need to run in the morning too. Just let the robots handle breakfast." An Junlie let out a regretful sigh as Ziye headed upstairs.

He watched her receding back, trying to sear her image deep into his memory, but Ziye never looked back. He returned to his room, summoned his robots.

"Let's go, we're heading back." Tang Wan woke up later. As she came downstairs, she saw the robots carrying the luggage onto the airship and couldn't help but ask, "Hey, alien, are you off on a business trip?" An Junlie recognized that it wasn't Ziye's voice and felt a flash of disappointment, but he didn't want Tang Wan to see it.

When he turned to face her, a smile was already firmly in place. "Yes, there's some urgent matter with the Legion.

I need to go back and handle things for a while." Tang Wan sounded sympathetic. "Even you are leaving.

The little dwelling will be much emptier now. By the way, did you tell Ziye?" An Junlie smiled thinly.

"I already did." Tang Wan nodded, then inquired, "And she didn't ask you to stay?" An Junlie's smile faltered slightly. "She understands." He wanted no further conversation with Tang Wan, fearing another volley of painful barbs.

He waved a hand, boarded the airship, lowered the protective shield, initiated the sequence, and departed. Tang Wan watched the airship vanish from sight, muttering, "Yun Lan happens to be heading to the Xilian Galaxy today; it's in the same direction, I was hoping to ask them to travel together.

This guy left too fast." As she spoke, Yun Lan poked his head out. "What's up?" Tang Wan complained, "An Junlie left." Yun Lan's eyes lit up.

"Excellent! From now on, all the sweet girls here are under my protection!" -RS