The only SSSS-level fertility constitution in the entire interstellar space

Fu Ciyan placed the bowl of soup on the table: "I came back this afternoon with the moving company."

"Aren't you busy lately?" Lu Yao went into the kitchen, helped get the tableware, and then pulled out a chair to sit down.

"Yes, there will be a period of rest after the mission is over." Fu Ciyan said, not showing any impatience despite Lu Yao's questioning. However, just as he finished speaking, his terminal rang.

He stood up: "You eat first."

After speaking, he turned around, went into the room next door, closed the door, and the holographic projection unfolded, showing a face that resembled his but was more majestic and weathered.

He is Fu Ciyan's father, Fu Hongyi.

"I'm declining the invitation." Fu Hongyi's voice was low and serious. "I heard you and your match are getting along quite well?"

Fu Ciyan remained calm: "Please speak plainly about what you have to say."

Fu Hongyi paused, then said, "Since you're already accepting the practice of walking marriage, why not consider Qin Shu? That child has waited for you for so many years, and the Qin family and our family are old friends..."

"Father," Fu Ciyan interrupted him, "I thought my stance was very clear."

Fu Hongyi frowned, disapprovingly saying, "Attitude? Ci Yan, your current attitude is just acting impulsively! What makes Qin Shu unworthy of you? Genetic grade A, impeccable family background, you two practically grew up together, and he's always been good to you since childhood..."

"Enough." Fu Ciyan's voice cut off his father's words coldly, and a suppressed undercurrent surged in his dark eyes, which were very similar to his father's. "Father, is it not enough that you serve your mother? Do you want me to continue serving her? Please forgive me for not being able to comply."

This sentence is like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirring up silent yet surging waves in the quiet room.

In the holographic projection, Fu Hongyi's face instantly turned pale, his pupils shrank, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he had been struck by a heavy blow straight to his heart and was unable to speak.

The veins on the back of his hand, which was resting on the table, were faintly visible.

The air seemed to freeze, and only heavy breathing could be heard between the two.

Fu Ciyan straightened his back, his gaze meeting the shock and embarrassment churning in his father's eyes without flinching.

He recalled many years ago when he was young, he hid behind the heavy curtains and watched his father bow slightly as he served tea to a man who had come for a "walking marriage." His posture was respectful. At that time, he did not understand why his father was so humble when that woman was clearly his match. Was it just to stay by the woman's side?

Later he understood.

That's not humility, that's survival.

It is a compromise and concession that men have to make when facing rare women and their families under the walking marriage system.

In order to obtain the opportunity to reproduce and to maintain the possibility of the continuation of genes, the father, and countless men like him, placed all their dignity, individuality, and freedom on the altar.

He remembered his mother's cold and critical gaze because he was a boy, her bossy attitude towards his father, and how his father always silently endured it, then wearily rubbed his temples in a secluded corner.

He also remembered Qin Shu's mother, the haughty Madam Qin, and the way she looked at his father as if he were a commodity. Even when his father was her match, she flirted with other men right in front of him.

"Yuan, so this is what you've always thought." After what seemed like an eternity, Fu Hongyi finally seemed to regain his voice. "But Qin Shu, that child, has no blood relation to you, and she's truly devoted to you. For the past two years, she's refused to be matched with someone through a walking marriage. You couldn't accept it before, but you can now. Why can't you consider her? Perhaps you two can settle down completely without ending up like I did. Ci Yan, I've always hoped you'd be alright."

As Fu Hongyi finished speaking, the study fell into a suffocating silence once again.

Fu Ciyan looked at his father's face in the holographic projection, a face that was a mixture of weariness, earnestness, and a certain stubborn expectation.

He smirked, a smile devoid of warmth, only laced with mockery: "She did refuse the arranged marriage, at least on the surface, the federal system's forced matching. But in these past few years, has she lacked a man in her life?"

Fu Hongyi's breath hitched.

"Do I need to remind you? Three years ago, she spent an entire afternoon in the lounge of a private gallery with an up-and-coming painter, and came out disheveled; two years ago, on a luxury cruise ship on interstellar travel, she was photographed naked while 'discussing art' with a waiter who already had a partner, and it took the Qin family a lot of money to suppress the photos; last year, the CEO of the biotechnology company she invested in became her lover, and was dumped in less than three months, almost causing the company to go bankrupt."

He recounted each and every matter in a calm tone, as if he were simply stating the weather, yet every word struck Fu Hongyi's heart.

"Is this the person you described who 'wholeheartedly' waited for me, refusing to be matched with someone through a walking marriage 'for my sake'?" Fu Ciyan's eyes were practically overflowing with sarcasm.

"Father, Qin Shu isn't sincere towards me. It's just that I've kept rejecting her, which makes her resentful. If I agree, the outcome will be the same." Fu Ciyan paused here. "After all these years, do you still harbor illusions about Madam Qin?"

"Enough!" Fu Hongyi's face was ashen as he shouted again, but his tone was far less forceful than before. "Those, those are all baseless rumors! The Qin family has already clarified them! How could you believe those rumors?"

Fu Ciyan chuckled. "Do you need me to pull up the relevant surveillance footage archived by the Military Intelligence Department right now? Although it involves citizens' privacy and requires a high level of authority, with my rank, I can still access the relevant social media surveillance records of 'suspected individuals endangering federal security'."

Fu Hongyi froze completely, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

He seemed to have finally realized Fu Ciyan's true identity.

There was no way to defend himself.

"Father," Fu Ciyan's voice softened slightly, "I'm glad you're considering my feelings, but if it's a woman from the Qin family, forget it, they're not within my consideration. Even if I can accept the walking marriage arrangement now, it doesn't mean I have to accept them. Otherwise, all these years would have been for nothing. I hope the next time you contact me, it won't be about the Qin family mother and daughter, then perhaps we can have a good chat."

At this point, he glanced at the time and said, "It's getting late, I need to go have dinner with Yaoyao. You should get some rest too."

After Fu Ciyan finished speaking, he stopped looking at the complex and unreadable expression on his father's face and cut off the communication.

The room fell silent again.

He stood there, not leaving immediately.

The sharp edge he had gained during his confrontation with his father gradually dissipated, leaving only a sense of powerlessness. He raised his hand to rub his temples, not wanting to go out and see Lu Yao like this.

However, seeing that he hadn't come out for a long time, Lu Yao tentatively pushed open the door: "Um, are you still eating? It's going to get cold."

Fu Ciyan turned his head when he heard the sound, and the next second he strode towards Lu Yao and then pulled her into his arms.