Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 257 AiAA
Inside the space tower.

Cheng Xin was a little nervous. She hadn't expected that her ordinary annual press conference for the Old Star Anchor Association (the Yuanren Guild) would attract so many people. Not only did it attract the attention of the United Government, but it also drew representatives from the three major fleets.

Most importantly, even the Wallfacer Hines is coming here. Apart from Luo Qing, almost every named person from the Common Era will be gathered in the space tower since the expedition ended, which is something she hadn't expected.

Fortunately, Cheng Xin was a workaholic, and by squeezing out as much rest time as possible, she managed to handle all the preparations in an orderly manner. Even so, with her Innate Realm cultivation level, Cheng Xin was starting to feel the strain. While waiting for all the representatives and observers to arrive, she found a small corner to catch up on some sleep.

But Cheng Xin hadn't fallen asleep yet when her assistant called urgently, "President, get ready, Mr. Wallfacer Hines and his wife, Ms. Yamasugi Keiko, are coming. You may need to personally greet them."

"Okay, AA, let me sleep a little longer, just a little while..." Cheng Xin said drowsily.

"Wake up! The heroic captain of the expeditionary vanguard fleet, Dongfang Yanxu, has arrived, and she's brought a vice-captain from the Common Era, I think his name is Zhang Beihai. Are you sure you can still sleep?" Ai AA's voice urged urgently from the other end of the phone.

But there was no sound on the other end of the phone.

As if knowing that Cheng Xin was in a state of catching her second nap, the assistant in high heels soon came over. Ai AA found Cheng Xin's dressing room, rushed in, hugged Cheng Xin's shoulders, and shook her hard, finally waking her up.

"Dear President, wake up! The head of the United Government's Hibernator Thawing Center has arrived. They are officials, and representatives from the three major fleets of Fleet International have also come. Get up quickly."

In an attempt to force the other person to turn on, Ai AA scratched Cheng Xin's waist, and the other person immediately pushed Ai AA away.

"Don't scratch me... I'm coming right away," Cheng Xin said dejectedly after being forced to turn on her phone.

"Let me touch up your makeup first. All the guys from Fleet International are handsome. There are more than ten captains of star-class warships alone. There are so many handsome guys, so many! You need to be fully prepared!" The energetic Ai AA magically produced loose powder and lipstick and started rubbing Cheng Xin's face.

Soon, a radiant Cheng Xin was pushed out by Ai AA.

...

Although the space tower is an ancient building from two hundred years ago, its interior retains a modern, advanced structure, unlike its drab exterior. Cheng Xin had barely reached the entrance of the conference hall when she saw the scrolling subtitles.

The interior walls of the venue were made up of a single screen, mimicking the view from a curved porthole. The list of attendees was projected onto a fabricated starry sky. The dazzling list and the crowd combined to create a bustling hall. In the chaos, Cheng Xin's arrival went largely unnoticed.

But some people did notice her.

"President Cheng Xin." A gentle voice sounded from her side. Hines was standing there, looking even thinner than when he had just thawed. Keiko Yamasugi smiled slightly at Cheng Xin beside him.

Hines extended his hand to Cheng Xin, speaking fluent Chinese: "As the first organization to broadly unite the people of the Common Era, the Old Star Anchor Society has brought together the people of the Common Era in the new era in just one year, protected their legitimate interests, and sparked a wave of 'retro-ism' and 'reminiscence of the golden age,' putting a sudden brake on the somewhat decadent social atmosphere. This is a great contribution to society. President Cheng Xin is still young, and this achievement is remarkable."

The man facing the wall spoke gently, but said nothing of substance; it was all just repetitive talk. Cheng Xin knew that his words were mainly just polite formalities.

Cheng Xin shook hands firmly with the person facing the wall.

“Mr. Hines! My work is insignificant. You are the one who contributed the most to that difficult era. You used technology to stabilize people’s minds. Today, Fleet International still retains the Belief Center, providing the Space Force with a continuous source of confidence in victory.”

Keiko Yamasugi gave the young president a kind smile.

Hines said modestly, "President Cheng, I only did some... insignificant work. The current era no longer needs me as a Wallfacer. Perhaps in another year or two, I will complete my mission."

Keiko Yamasugi, standing nearby, chided Hines, "Darling, don't say that. Even if you disregard your status as a Wallfacer, you are still the most outstanding neuroscientist of this era."

Cheng Xin looked at the two of them with envy. "Dr. Hines, human history is long, and the world is vast, with much to be done!" "Yes, history is long, and the future is full of possibilities." Hines smiled and said to Cheng Xin, "The breakthrough in gene editing technology has allowed me to revive the 'Brain Domain' project from two hundred years ago. If I am of any use, I will pin my hopes on breakthroughs in brain science."

(Note: Project Brain, one of Hines's apparent strategies, aimed to improve human intelligence and develop the brain's potential. Research was suspended due to Sophon's blockade, and after subsequent breakthroughs in computing, a technological byproduct was 'accidentally' created during research on Project Brain: the thought imprint.)

Cheng Xin nodded: "With Miss Yamasugi Keiko by your side, you will definitely succeed. The power of love is beyond imagination."

Hines and Keiko Yamasugi exchanged a glance. The cloying atmosphere made Ai AA, who was standing nearby, feel physically uncomfortable. Unable to bear it, she grabbed Cheng Xin's hand. "Mr. Hines, the Wallfacer, Ms. Keiko, the president may have other people to receive. I'll take her to attend to her first."

"Please do as you please, Chairman," Hines said with a smile.

Cheng Xin was dragged away by Ai AA, which aroused Cheng Xin's dissatisfaction: "Hey AA, what's the rush? Those high-ranking officials haven't arrived yet. I wanted to chat with Dr. Hines and Ms. Yamasugi Keiko for a while longer. What a beautiful relationship, a true love that spans two hundred years... There is nothing more romantic than this."

"Come on, their eyes are practically drooling, it's sickeningly sweet. Let me tell you, the look in someone's eyes when they're truly in love isn't that saccharine kind of thing. My ex-boyfriend and I—"

"Which one?" Cheng Xin asked cautiously.

“The fifth, the seventh, and the thirteenth.” Ai AA said nonchalantly, “When my ex-boyfriends and I were deeply in love, we had desire in our eyes in addition to emotions… But they weren’t like that. They only had emotions, not desire. That’s not right.”

“AA,” Cheng Xin said earnestly, “is it possible that in our time, the connection between hearts was more important than physical intimacy?”

"No, no, no... President, you're a virgin, you don't understand." Ai AA walked back and forth in her high heels, and said seriously, "The state of these two is just like the state of my boyfriends after we've been cuddling together, but we're still estranged. Although I might still sleep with him at night, I'm already planning how to break up with him—and I believe he is too."

Cheng Xin remained unconvinced: "AA, you don't understand the emotions of our generation at all. Pure feelings were real, which is something I've always emphasized in the organization. Lust is just a small branch of emotions. Someone even gave me a star once; was he also lusting after my body?"

Ai AA chuckled coldly: "President, why don't you strip naked and stand in front of him and see what happens?"

Yun Tianming, who witnessed this scene through Zhizi, immediately leaned back, overjoyed.

Cheng Xin was embarrassed and angry: "Hey! A! A! What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not a prostitute, how could I repay a star with my body? Besides, that star was very valuable, but at the time... it was only three million."

AiAA shook her head: "But for him, that's everything. Forget it, I won't tease you anymore, you can't take it. Anyway, let me tell you, that Wallfacer and his wife are definitely in a state of estrangement, and they've reached a point of near explosion—do you believe that one second they're making love, and the next second they're trying to strangle each other?"

"Ah—shut up!" Cheng Xin rushed over to pinch Ai AA's mouth shut, but the latter used her nimble tongue to gently lick the back of Cheng Xin's hand, and then revealed a satisfied expression.

Cheng Xin stood frozen in place.

"President, let's go, stop fooling around here." Ai AA casually straightened her collar, took Cheng Xin's hand, and left.

Cheng Xin was still in a state of confusion and embarrassment. However, as soon as she appeared in everyone's sight, it was as if she was being stared at by some kind of cold but familiar venomous snake. This made her open her eyes wide and look in the direction of the gaze.

She saw a head of messy curly hair and a fleeting glimpse of a back view.

"...Chief?"

Is it just my imagination? Didn't the bureau chief go to Mars?
Cheng Xin wasn't entirely sure, but she managed to regain her composure amidst the chill and immediately got into the zone to greet the government officials and fleet representatives.

(End of this chapter)