“But if you like this kind of big aquarium, I’ll save up my pocket money and try to buy one by the end of the year!”
Seeing Yu Mian staring back at the giant aquarium, Huo Yan couldn’t help but add another sentence, afraid he would reject his suggestion.
At worst, he’d just stop buying those limited-edition mecha models and save all his monthly pocket money.
“You have pocket money?”
Yu Mian was honestly quite tempted, but looking at the little “water bottle” in front of him putting on such an air of self-sacrifice, he couldn’t resist teasing him a bit.
And to be fair, this little guy was really good-looking. Judging by his current features, he’d be even more eye-catching once he grew up and his facial features fully developed.
“Of course I do, but my pocket money is very little. My parents don’t allow me to have much, so among my friends, I have the least.”
When talking about pocket money, Huo Yan deflated a bit and his tone grew weak.
This surprised Yu Mian.
This little “hot water bottle” came from a family that even had a fountain garden, meticulously maintained and undoubtedly staffed with a full set of housekeepers, maids, and gardeners.
And yet, this kind of family withheld pocket money from the little one?
“I only get 100,000 star coins a month…”
After much hesitation, Huo Yan finally revealed the truth, his voice shy and quiet.
In an instant, Yu Mian almost choked on his food.
‘100,000 star coins?!’
‘Okay, okay, this little water bottle was still in school, with no need to pay rent or food expenses, and yet pocket money of 100,000 yuan is automatically deposited into his account every month.’
‘Can you rich second-generations please just live in your own world?!’
“Oh, but even though mine is small, my cousin had it much worse when he was a kid!”
Seeing Yu Mian’s clearly stunned expression, Huo Yan immediately misunderstood, thinking Yu Mian believed he couldn’t support him.
In a flustered attempt to argue his case, he hurriedly added, “Really, my cousin’s situation was much more miserable than mine!”
“Hmm? Your cousin was more miserable?”
Hearing Huo Yan mention his cousin—the owner of this study—Yu Mian looked over curiously.
For some reason, after spending some time in this study, Yu Mian found himself more and more intrigued by its soon-to-return owner.
He subconsciously felt that he would be an excellent reference for learning and creating interstellar literature!
“Of course. Back then, Grandpa didn’t give him any pocket money at all. He even made my cousin change his name and sent him off to boarding school.”
“Other than the principal, not a single teacher or classmate knew his real identity…”
Huo Yan recalled the legendary stories about his cousin that his nanny, Qiao Ni, occasionally shared with him. He tried his best to organize his thoughts and retell them to Yu Mian.
‘Ah, so that’s how it was. ‘
‘Not deliberately flaunting wealth, yet still exuding a sense of understated class and the demeanor of an aristocratic family?’
Meanwhile, Yu Mian held his chin in his hand and listened intently. His mental notebook furiously jotting down material.
“What about your cousin’s father? Why do you only mention your grandfather?”
Yu Mian listened with great interest as if he were attending a story session, but he soon noticed a problem about Huo Ting.
That is, there seems to be no trace of Huo Ting’s father in this house.
“Ah, Uncle Huo Ying passed away.”
Faced with Yu Mian’s question, Huo Yan was momentarily startled. Then, with an unusually serious and solemn expression, he explained:
“It happened decades ago during the Interstellar War.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something so painful.”
Realizing he had touched on a sensitive topic, Yu Mian immediately offered a sincere apology.
“It’s okay. You really didn’t know about Uncle Huo Ying at all.”
Unexpectedly, this little guy Huo Yan actually looked at Yu Mian seriously for the first time:
“So you’re really a mermaid and not a human in disguise! Did you all used to live in the ocean?”
“Huh?”
Yu Mian was caught off guard as he noticed Huo Yan’s attitude suddenly becoming more enthusiastic and clingy.
“After all, it’s normal that you don’t know my cousin’s name—it’s not publicly reported yet. But not knowing Uncle Huo Ying is strange, he’s an idol to many in the Federation.”
However, for a mermaid who had just been accidentally caught and brought ashore by humans, not knowing about Uncle Huo Ying was entirely reasonable!
Only then did Yu Mian realize that he might have accidentally exposed something.
Though Huo Yan was young, his family background was clearly extraordinary. Many of the elders in his family were likely well-known figures in the interstellar community.
[Of course, in this book’s background setting, Huo Ying is a universally recognized Federal hero. However, the system detected that your ignorance aligns with your character, so it didn’t interfere.]
The system made a rare appearance, and helpfully clarified Yu Mian’s confusion.
“…?”
Yu Mian blinked in disbelief.
‘Damn it! Could this be the so-called “real-life version of ‘I didn’t realize my father’s ideas were actually called “policies” until I grew up’”?
‘If this were written into a novel, wouldn’t the effect be absolutely amazing?’
After all, aside from a business tycoon like Caesar, he could also consider riding the interstellar popularity wave and write about a military big boss.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest you’re a bad person disguised as a mermaid! Although, if there really were bad people in my cousin’s study, the consequences would be quite serious. But I swear, from the start, I never thought you looked like a bad person!”
Seeing Yu Mian’s slightly widened eyes, Huo Yan thought his words had caused the other person to misunderstand him and quickly tried to explain.
Of course Yu Mian could understand Huo Yan’s reaction.
After all, anyone would find it odd if a mermaid suddenly appeared in their home.
But he definitely couldn’t reveal the existence of the system to this little guy.
So, Yu Mian simply reached out and patted Huo Yan’s head. The little guy’s prickly hair tickled his palm.
“I promise, as long as you don’t want anyone to find out, I’ll do my absolute best to help!”
Huo Yan subconsciously rubbed his head against Yu Mian’s palm and spoke earnestly.
“Also, I wasn’t lying, my family’s garden fountain is really beautiful.”
“So, please don’t hate me, okay?”
Yu Mian looked down at the little guy holding his other hand like an apologetic, fluffy puppy and couldn’t help but smile.
“I don’t hate you at all.”
But Huo Yan’s reaction did remind Yu Mian of something important.
While getting a close look at the daily lives of interstellar bosses like this was great for gathering material and fixing plot holes related to interstellar common sense in his novels…
If dealing with this little guy was already so complicated, wouldn’t it be even more dangerous when his cousin officially returned this week?
If only he could just write novels to gain popularity points without worrying about anything else.
Yu Mian, who naturally hated all the troubles other than writing, couldn’t help but seriously consider Huo Yan’s earlier suggestion—to move out of the study.
“So, if I move out, how should we go about it?”
After much deliberation, Yu Mian finally made up his mind.
Huo Yan’s eyes widened instantly, and he almost jumped up in excitement.
“Ah, then of course we need to plan it out!”
After quickly discussing the moving plan with Huo Yan, the little guy dashed off, leaving Yu Mian to log back into StarNet.
After all, Bai Lande was still waiting for him.
[Fish: Have you been waiting long? Sorry, sorry!]
[Bai Lande: No, no, I just finished my live broadcast. Have you eaten? If you’re full, let’s talk about our collaboration!]
Faced with Yu Mian, Bai Lande subconsciously set aside his usual snarky attitude, inexplicably feeling like he was looking after a cub.
‘Could this be the legendary “career mom fan”? Wait, no—a “career dad fan”!’
After carefully reading through the lengthy text and collaboration details Bai Lande sent, Yu Mian quickly grasped his intentions.
Essentially, after he published each book, he could officially authorize Bai Lande to live broadcast it. In return, Bai Lande would handle the promotion.
But he was still a newcomer, while Bai Lande was already a top-tier anchor.
Normally, in such cases, it would be the author paying for promotion. This collaboration agreement was so generous it felt almost unreal!
[Fish: You..are you sure? I haven’t even officially signed with Huanyu Reading Platform yet. qwq]
Yu Mian couldn’t help but double-check.
Although he did desperately need more popularity, and Bai Lande showing up now was like someone delivering a pillow when he was dozing off!
After reading this message, Bai Lande felt a mix of exasperation at the lack of confidence in himself and a strange sense of satisfaction that this little author was honest and he had indeed not misjudged him.
[Bai Lande: Of course! I trust my instincts, and I’m certain you’re going to be popular!]
[And don’t tell me you haven’t noticed, since the day my live broadcast numbers exploded, “Contract Marriage” has practically become the ultimate traffic code for the entertainment live broadcast section!!]
As he spoke, Bai Lande sent several links, trying to show Yu Mian just how much of a trend “Contract Marriage” had sparked in the live broadcasting world.
Yu Mian clicked on the links and was shocked to find that StarNet was indeed flooded with anchors following the novel’s updates.
Some of the live broadcasts had even ridden this wave of popularity to achieve meteoric success!
In particular, several explosive plot points in “Contract Marriage” were almost repeatedly edited and broadcast live. And often as soon as they were broadcast, countless interstellar viewers flocked to watch, rewatch, and watch yet again, as though they couldn’t get enough.
Many in the barrages even expressed that now, even when they go to the toilet, they can’t help but open their light brains and study this weird and addictive book again.
The unheard-of marriage contract between Gu Bai and Caesar had left countless interstellar readers tossing and turning, captivated by their first taste of a “chasing wife to the crematorium” novel.
Even though it was obviously an implausible, idealized romantic fantasy…
After all, someone as handsome and wealthy as Caesar, a domineering CEO, would definitely have several interstellar admirers throwing themselves at him. Why would he need to spend a million to hire someone to pose as his partner?
And yet… Why was it so irresistible?
It made readers dream, however irrationally, that maybe they could meet their own Caesar someday.
Even a well-known legal education live broadcast room couldn’t help but take advantage of the popularity of “Contract Marriage”.
In the live broadcast room, a well suited lawyer dissected the details of Caesar and Gu Bai’s prenuptial contract from the novel, analyzing whether it would hold up under Interstellar Federation law.
And finally, he tried to earnestly advise the netizens in the live broadcast room that if such a contract was really proposed, everyone from all galaxies must sign it with caution!
Meanwhile, the barrage was filled with “HAHAHAHA” and “okay, I’ve learned another useless fact”.
Some comments couldn’t resist joining in on the fun:
[Lawyer, we’d be happy to sign a contract like that, but first, you’ll need to convince a wealthy boss like Caesar to agree to it…]
[This is so funny, so where exactly do we find someone like Caesar? If I meet one, I’d happily become a lawless rogue!]
[Ah, but first, you’ll have to be as resilient and remarkable as Gu Bai! Also, how does Caesar have so many fans? As a die-hard fan of the original book, I’ll never understand.]
The inherent tension and dramatic conflict in “Contract Marriage” allowed both book fans and live broadcast fans to clash effortlessly in the barrage.
As a result, all kinds of live broadcast data skyrocketed since the trend started, and there was no worry about lack of engagement or popularity.
It was as though “Contract Marriage” was born knowing exactly how to hit interstellar readers’ emotional pressure points, becoming a well deserved traffic code.
Omg, Yu Mian is planning to escape with Huo Yan from his cousin, i feel like its going to go terribly 😭😭