Chapter Sixty-Four: Knowing Only How to Advance, Not How to Retreat

Phoenix Pavilion.

The banquet had long since been cleared, and the servants brought up two cups of refreshing red tea. Phoenix and Sheng Xinhua sat facing each other—one fresh and radiant, the other charming and alluring—both beauties more exquisite than any flower.

Phoenix tilted her head, casting a playful sideways glance at her dearest friend and said, “We’ve eaten, the guests have left, and you’re still not going home?”

“Oh? You want to kick me out right after dinner?” Sheng Xinhua folded her arms, feigning a wounded expression. “Don’t you want to go over tonight’s dinner, to talk about how you felt after meeting Brother Tang Fei?”

“What do you think?” Phoenix looked at Sheng Xinhua.

She did want to talk with Sheng Xinhua; it was a universal trait among girls after a date...

I like him, so I want you all to like him too.

What? You don’t like him? Then I won’t like you anymore.

“He’s a truly clever young man,” Sheng Xinhua praised.

“Clever?” Phoenix narrowed her eyes with a smile—she liked hearing Sheng Xinhua praise Tang Fei’s intelligence.

Yet she deliberately contradicted her, saying, “What makes you think he’s clever? His behavior tonight wasn’t clever in the least.”

Go on, refute me, refute me fiercely...

Don’t hold back just because I’m a princess.

Such a complicated woman!

Sheng Xinhua, of course, understood Phoenix’s girlish ploy and shot her a sharp look. “You just want me to praise him more, don’t you? Fine, I’ll do as you wish. What’s that saying? You can’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

“I have no such intention,” Phoenix denied.

“I heard Chen Fenglei wasn’t pleased to see him? Didn’t like Tang Fei at all?” Sheng Xinhua asked.

“Oh, Teacher Sheng, your information network is impressive. Even such hidden matters reach your ears?”

Sheng Xinhua rolled her eyes. “Are there any secrets in the palace? The smallest matter spreads until everyone knows... Even the taxi drivers can recount everything that happens in Phoenix Palace in vivid detail.”

“...”

“I heard Chen Fenglei almost smashed his cup several times while entertaining them. He insisted Tang Fei call you ‘Your Highness’ instead of ‘Phoenix’, fearing you’d be upset... His attitude mirrors your father’s, doesn’t it? If he says a few bad words about Tang Fei, how could your father possibly like him?”

“So why do you call him clever?”

“That is exactly his cleverness.” Sheng Xinhua’s eyes grew bright, her voice animated, like a strategist plotting for her liege. “Think about it: if he appeared especially clever, especially outstanding, charming to all—what do you think would become of him?”

Phoenix’s heart tightened. “His life would be at risk. At the very least, he couldn’t remain in Phoenix City—he’d be sent off to some remote, desolate place.”

“Exactly. There’s so much land on the New Star, the Phoenix Empire’s territory is vast... Where can’t two boys be sent? Your father only promised to bring them to the New Star. Where they go is entirely up to him.”

“If he insists on sending Tang Fei to another city, where all their needs are provided for, isn’t that already a great favor? Can you force them to stay by your side?”

“Ignorance from lack of education, arrogance after saving the princess, a greed for swift rewards, and a bit of shallow cunning easily seen through—doesn’t that fit everyone’s image of Old Earth refugees? It’s an image everyone can accept, isn’t it?”

“If you can see through it, do you think my father and the others can’t?” Phoenix asked, worried.

“Hmph, why do you think I can see through him? If you hadn’t spent the whole evening telling me your stories, I’d have been fooled, too. These days, everyone wears masks within masks... In the world of power and gain, who can truly see through anyone?”

“And even if they do, so what? Your father wields the power of a nation, one of the most powerful men on this planet... In the vastness of the galaxy, how many can he truly regard as rivals?”

“Never mind our king—even Chen Fenglei probably never gave Tang Fei a proper look. The power he holds, others may not know, but you, as the imperial princess, surely do.”

“Tang Fei and Fatty are two rootless refugees from Old Earth. Even if you let them develop for ten or twenty years, what difference would it make? Wouldn’t it still be as easy as snapping one’s fingers to crush them?”

“If they don’t care, then I’m relieved,” Phoenix said with a smile.

Sheng Xinhua looked at her. “You’ve never been wrong in your judgment of people... It’s just, it’s so difficult.”

“What’s so difficult about it?” Phoenix stretched lazily. She hadn’t slept well these past few days, preparing for Tang Fei and Fatty’s arrival, and now she was truly a little tired.

Who can foresee the future? Everything I’ve done, I truly wanted to do for them... As for the worries you have, they’re just too far away. Even if we can only be friends... so what?

“Such a contradiction.” Sheng Xinhua poked Phoenix, then sighed. “But maybe that’s for the best. You brought them to the New Star, gave them a house, arranged for their education, and even found someone silly enough to buy them a car... Whatever happens, they’ll never have to worry about food or shelter again. It’s far better than hunting to survive under the open sky back on Old Earth.”

She sighed softly. “Who says you have to marry a princess? Find a pretty classmate at school, or a little office worker, live a peaceful and happy life together—wouldn’t that be nice?”

Sheng Xinhua grinned at Phoenix teasingly. “What’s wrong? Are you angry?”

“What’s there to be angry about?” Phoenix shook her head. “You make a lot of sense.”

“To wear the crown is to bear its weight. To marry a princess... he can only do so if he climbs high enough. If he ever makes it to the top of the Starry Sky Blue or Black List... would he have a chance?”

On the New Star, there was the Starry Sky List.

The most talented youths were ranked by overall excellence, divided into Red, Blue, and Black Lists: the Red List for female charm, the Blue List for male charm, and the Black List for combat prowess.

Phoenix, for instance, was ranked first on the Red List.

If Tang Fei ever managed to reach the top of the Blue or Black List, wouldn’t he be high enough? Then Tang Fei would be second only to the ruler himself, the brightest new star in the galaxy...

Would he then have the chance to win the princess’s hand?

“How would I know?” Phoenix shook her head.

She was well aware that her marriage was not her own to decide.

If she forced the issue, she herself might fare better, but the one she loved would surely meet a terrible end. Even if the royal family didn’t act, those families who failed to win the princess’s hand, yet still wished to curry favor with her father, would certainly not spare Tang Fei...

Moreover, for Tang Fei to reach the top of the Blue List was essentially impossible.

Every name on the list was a prodigy, an aristocrat’s son.

For ordinary people, it was harder than reaching the heavens.

Oh, but reaching the heavens isn’t so hard these days...

To those from Old Earth, aren’t they already up in the sky?

“Let’s leave the future for the future. At least... this is a pretty good start, isn’t it?” Sheng Xinhua comforted her, seeing Phoenix lost in thought.

Since returning from Old Earth, the little princess who once did everything with elegance and composure now often drifted into absent-mindedness. Worries had finally begun to trouble her heart.

“What do you think my eldest and second brothers came so suddenly for?” Phoenix asked.

“For sentiment, to see if their dear little sister is well. You’ve been back, but haven’t seen your brothers yet—it’s rather improper. They’re ambitious men, not ones to be criticized over such trifles.”

“For reason, naturally, to check on Tang Fei... General Bai Qi may have reported privately to His Majesty, but there’s no way to hide it from those two. For them, Tang Fei is an unknown... They had to come see for themselves, to judge.”

“Ah, entering the palace is like stepping into the depths of the sea. Has Tang Fei already set half a foot in the palace gates?”

Phoenix shook her head gently. “I still hope he can live more freely. He’s had too hard a life before.”

“Then you need to control yourself,” Sheng Xinhua said seriously. “He knows when to advance or retreat. I just worry you only know how to advance, not to retreat.”

“...”

“But that’s what I like about you.” Sheng Xinhua grinned, her lips bold and red, full of wildness. “This is my body. I’ll sleep with whom I please—what business is it of those stinking men?”

Phoenix nodded. “Then you can tell my father that...”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Sheng Xinhua immediately admitted defeat.

“Then tell your own father.”

“That old stick-in-the-mud would disown me on the spot, believe it or not?”

“You ask me to do what you can’t?”

“Of course—after all, you’re the princess.”

...

---

Tang Fei had a good night’s sleep and a sweet dream.

In his dream, there was no acid rain, no mutant beasts, no predators skilled in murder and theft, and no Flame Shrine cloaked in righteousness yet dealing in evil...

There was sunlight, and a beach, and girls in bikinis—and the face of one of those girls looked a bit like Phoenix...

When Tang Fei opened his eyes, he found Fatty squatting nearby, watching him.

Tang Fei jumped in fright and cursed, “Why are you up so early, hanging around my room?”

“Bro, I’m hungry,” Fatty said.

“Nothing in the kitchen?” Tang Fei asked.

“Nothing.”

“The freezer?”

“Empty.”

Clearly, Fatty had already searched everywhere and, finding nothing, came to Tang Fei for help.

Tang Fei climbed out of bed. “Let’s go out—”

Then he remembered: this was the New Star.

Even if they went out, there was nothing to hunt.

Buy food? They didn’t have a single cent.

Just then, the phone on Tang Fei’s bedside table rang.

He grabbed it and glanced at the screen. The name “Phoenix” appeared.

Last night before leaving, Phoenix had shown them how to use the phone and entered her number for them...

She’d entered it as “Phoenix.”

Calling so early—was something wrong?

Tang Fei answered, and Phoenix’s delicate face appeared on the screen.

“Are you two hungry?” Her clear, melodious voice came through, instantly pleasing to the ear.

“Yes.” Tang Fei pointed to Fatty. “If I’d woken up any later, he might have eaten me.”

Phoenix giggled, clearly in a very good mood. “That’s my oversight. I only arranged for your house and forgot to prepare any food... Wait at home a bit. I’ll drive over to take you out for breakfast and buy you some clothes.”

“Alright.” Tang Fei agreed readily. “When will you be here?”

“Ten minutes,” Phoenix replied. “I’m already on my way.”

...

They say that when people like each other, they start missing each other the moment they part.

Was that how Phoenix felt about him?

Tang Fei couldn’t help but look at his reflection in the mirror—fair and handsome, it had never let him down.