Sorry…a part of the previous chapter was not uploaded…
[Fish: Let me see… There’s even an ocean-themed one?]
When Yu Mian opened the theme planning document, he was instantly drawn to the ocean-themed section.
Come to think of it, if he were to write a mermaid story someday, wouldn’t it be particularly interesting for the many aquatic-descended races in the interstellar world?
However, when it came to attending the official event, Yu Mian felt it was best to ask Huo Ting as he would definitely know more about these things.
“If you’re willing, you can attend. It’s a small-scale official invitation event with good privacy, and there will be a banquet ceremony at the end.”
Huo Ting looked at the invitation Yu Mian had sent and found it understandable.
After all, his works were gaining more and more readers outside their own star system.
“Why not go? The scenery there is beautiful, and they’ll definitely give you a lot of good things. If you’re really worried, let this kid accompany you, he knows that place well.”
Grandfather Huo Yuejiang was even more encouraging and oddly proud.
What did this mean? It meant that Yu Mian’s books were really well-written!
“Does that mean I should buy a formal outfit in advance?”
Thinking about it, Yu Mian felt a little excited. This would be his first time attending an official event in the interstellar world!
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Chapter 104.1
For Yu Mian, after “Reborn” was completed, the pressure of updating “God of Cooking” had eased significantly, making it a good time to attend some activities.
If this event had been scheduled any earlier, he might have found it too troublesome and wouldn’t have wanted to go.
“But this outfit really suits you.”
Before leaving, Qiao Ni couldn’t help but praise Yu Mian after seeing him walk out in formal attire for the rare occasion.
His already stunning features, paired with the suit, exuded an indescribable elegance. His skin was exceptionally fair, his brows and eyes strikingly beautiful, and there was still a lingering hint of youthful charm.
“Ahhh! Brother Yu Mian looks so good in a suit! Ahhh!”
Huo Yan’s eyes lit up instantly, and he subconsciously lunged forward, only to be caught in Yu Mian’s arms.
“Is it that exaggerated? I haven’t worn something this formal in a long time.”
Being stared at by the whole family made Yu Mian a little self-conscious.
He had always been on the lean side, but the suit fit him perfectly.
“Don’t hold him like this all the time, or he’ll get used to it.”
Just as Yu Mian struggled to hold up Huo Yan, who was no longer as light as before, a familiar voice came over. In the next moment, Huo Yan was plucked from Yu Mian’s arms.
“Ahhh! Cousin! Who said you could carry me? Let go! Let go! I want Brother Yu Mian to hold me!”
Yu Mian looked up and saw that Huo Ting had also come out.
The well tailored black suit accentuated his already sharp features, making him look even colder and imposing.
At this moment, he effortlessly lifted Huo Yan, who had been clinging to Yu Mian.
No matter how much Huo Yan struggled, the well-defined hand holding him remained unmoved. In the end, Huo Yan got so frustrated that he turned to Yu Mian for help.
However, Huo Ting raised an eyebrow and said indifferently:.
“Do you have no awareness of your own weight?”
Huo Yan’s face instantly turned red.
“I’m just growing taller, not gaining weight! Besides, Cousin, you weigh way more than me!”
Why was his cousin so mean?!
Huo Ting simply sneered, while Qiao Ni and the others laughed along.
Their height difference was already significant, and with Young Master Huo Ting’s years of rigorous training, his muscle mass far exceeded that of an average person.
“Stop teasing him.”
Yu Mian, who had been staring at Huo Ting’s hands in a daze, was finally pulled back to reality by their bickering.
At Huo Yan’s current height, he stood no chance against his cousin.
Upon hearing this, Huo Ting glanced at Yu Mian. A second later, he released his grip, allowing Huo Yan to drop to the ground. As soon as Huo Yan’s feet landed on the ground, he immediately ran behind Yu Mian and complained about his grievances.
“We’re heading out now. I’ll bring you something fun when we get back, alright?”
In this regard, Yu Mian could only pat Huo Yan on the head and go out.
However, as they stepped outside, he couldn’t help but steal several glances at Huo Ting.
“What?”
“This is my first time seeing you in formal attire. It looks… good.”
Yu Mian was telling the truth.
In fact, it was not just good, if he hadn’t known it was Huo Ting, he might have hesitated to approach. The aura was just too intimidating.
“Does it feel too imposing?”
Noting the underlying meaning in Yu Mian’s words, Huo Ting glanced at him with a slight smile in his dark eyes, his previously unapproachable aura softening somewhat.
He had received similar comments before when dressed like this.
“Ahem! Not that your aura is aggressive… It’s just different from usual.”
Yu Mian coughed to cover up his embarrassment, quickly getting into the car as Huo Ting gestured for him to.
That was when Yu Mian noticed that the cufflinks on Huo Ting’s suit were the ones he had gifted him.
“Am I not allowed to wear them?”
Catching Yu Mian’s lingering gaze on his cuffs, Huo Ting finally asked.
“Of course you can. They look good.”
Yu Mian held Huo Ting’s wrist, carefully examining the cufflinks. Seeing this, Huo Ting simply extended his arm further, allowing Yu Mian to take his time. He was so obedient that Yu Mian felt a little embarrassed.
There was something special about seeing a gift he had given being treasured and used.
Then again, Huo Ting had also kept all those little notes he had written, not missing a single one.
Or maybe he just had obsessive compulsive disorder?
“How has your mental sea been lately? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?”
“A lot better.”
Ever since Yu Mian moved in, Huo Ting’s mental sea had been subtly healing. Not to mention, Yu Mian would occasionally hold his hand and give him special guidance.
As Yu Mian became more skilled, he even felt like it was similar to picking impurities from a bird’s nest, removing all the debris to leave a clean and pure mental sea.
Noticing that Yu Mian was holding his hand and closing his eyes, Huo Ting realized that Yu Mian intended to check his mental sea one more time on their way to the event.
The feeling of being held was quite peculiar…a completely different sensation.
“Don’t move.”
The next second, Yu Mian felt Huo Ting moving his fingers around, so he opened his eyes and reminded him, pressing down on the restless fingers.
Every time he helped soothe Huo Ting’s mental sea, Yu Mian managed to gather a lot of mental power, gradually turning him into a mental power tycoon.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible to update two novels simultaneously with such ease.
After numerous sessions, Yu Mian’s process of probing into Huo Ting’s mental sea had become second nature. What was once a dangerous and mysterious dark red abyss had gradually become calm and peaceful.
The red lights representing pollution had significantly decreased, and instead, there were faint glimmers of gold.
And whenever Yu Mian withdrew his mental power, he could even sense a trace of reluctance from the mental sea, as if it wanted this little fish to keep scratching that itch.
“Why are you smiling?”
Huo Ting saw Yu Mian smiling and asked.
“Am I? Did you know that there are specks of gold in your mental sea? Will that have any effect? It seems like fragments of my mental power.”
Yu Mian opened his eyes and responded with a smile.
“But there’s no harm.”
Perhaps it was simply due to the increasing number of sessions. Huo Ting even felt that his mental sea showed no signs of rejection.
Even though this method of healing should have been extremely dangerous.
Whether it was the one entering the other’s mental sea or the one having their mental sea explored, it was supposed to be filled with risk, yet everything proceeded smoothly.
“If something goes wrong, don’t come looking for me.”
After all, no one had ever taught him how mermaids repaired mental seas; he was just fumbling around like an amateur doctor.
Yu Mian muttered softly, only to have Huo Ting reach out and grab his hand in the next second.
It was only then that Yu Mian realized they had already arrived and it was time to get out of the car.
The Federation officials invited one influential figure from each industry that had significant prestige outside the Federation Star to attend the exchange banquet this time.
Due to Prince Kechard’s special request, the event was held in a rather low-key and relaxed environment.
Since the guests shared similar circles, many of them knew each other, and the atmosphere before the event began was very harmonious.
However, after entering the venue, many people couldn’t help but focus on one still-empty seat card.
Because it clearly read “A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles”?
Teacher Fish Soup Noodles had actually been invited to attend?!
“Finally, I’ll get to see him, right?”
Although Kechard wasn’t initially interested in this event that the Federation was organizing, the moment he heard that they were inviting guests from various industries, and that Fish Soup Noodles would be one of them, he immediately agreed. Before returning to the Imperial Star, he had to meet him, no matter what!
Not to mention that the famous star, Ernis, who had a considerable fanbase in and outside the Federation Star, was also invited.
Even though Ernis was maintaining his composure and socializing normally with his companions, his gaze kept darting to the seat card every few seconds.
Before this, Ernis hadn’t realized that Teacher Fish Soup Noodles would be attending this event so discreetly.
“Excuse me, could you please make way a bit…huh, it’s you!”
“Yes, it’s..it’s you?! My dear neighbor!”
When Ernis heard the voice behind him, he turned around and was undoubtedly stunned.
Seeing this old acquaintance, Yu Mian was equally surprised.
Although after a moment of thought, it didn’t seem so strange. After all, Ernis’s music was quite popular outside the star system too.
“I knew it! You really are amazing, neighbor! I looked for you for so long! But I couldn’t find any trace of you.”
Ernis subconsciously expressed his happiness. He felt an inexplicable sense of closeness just by looking at Yu Mian.
He had searched high and low, and finally, the beautiful neighbor he had been looking for all this time appeared again at this official event!
“Sorry, something unexpected happened back then. I had originally planned to buy the house, but it was put on hold temporarily.”
Facing Ernis’s warmth, Yu Mian didn’t quite know if this was due to the system’s 100% favorability from aquatic races taking effect.
Although what Ernis said reminded Yu Mian about finding a house.
After the “God of Cooking” ended, he really needed to buy a place of his own. Staying at the old residence indefinitely was quite inconvenient.
But ever since finding out that the house belonged to Grandpa Huo, Yu Mian felt it would be better to get a new place. Otherwise, Huo Ting’s actions would be too outrageous. No wonder it was so cheap.
“Recently, there are two properties for sale by Starry Sky Lake. Which one are you interested in? Neighbor, when you move in, come to my place for a party, alright?”
To find Yu Mian, Ernis had pestered his manager to check the property around Starry Sky Lake for quite some time.
In some sense, he now knew more about the area than any top real estate agent.
The information he shared instantly made Yu Mian’s eyes light up.
After waiting so long, were there finally other owners selling their houses?
Seeing Yu Mian’s eyes light up, Ernis couldn’t help but start explaining enthusiastically. So much so that many guests who had intended to approach Yu Mian for a chat were entirely blocked by Ernis.
They subconsciously wondered whether this person could be from the entertainment industry too? Or perhaps Ernis’s close friend?
Otherwise, they had never seen Ernis being this enthusiastic before.
