Chapter 311: Chapter 311: Return to the Federation

However, no matter how extravagant the offers from the people of Mengxia City were, Yuan Ling rejected every single one.

This angered one of the middle-aged males. “Mr. Yuan, you are a very capable man. Here on Chaotic Star, you could thrive. Why insist on going back to being just another grain of sand in a vast sea of people?

In Mengxia City, you can have whatever you want. Isn’t that a wonderful life?”

Yuan Ling’s expression was calm. “None of those are what I’m pursuing.”

“If you enjoy research and inventing things, we in Mengxia City are willing to build a laboratory just for you.

We can even hire Star Thieves to acquire rare materials for you.”

Mengxia City was in the entertainment business. With its vast wealth and influence, it was certainly not lacking in Star Coins.

If they could use Star Coins to convince an outstanding Mechanic to stay, it would be a massive boon for Mengxia City.

Yet no matter what promises the man made, no matter how he tried to guess Yuan Ling’s desires, Yuan Ling still refused.

Finally, filled with frustration, the man asked through gritted teeth, “So what is it that you actually want?”

’What *do* I want?’

Yuan Ling couldn’t figure it out.

His gaze drifted involuntarily to Jiang Qin, who was waiting quietly to the side.

She was still in her disguise as a young male. Even though they were about to leave, she didn’t dare reveal she was female.

’To be honest, I still think she looks best in a dress, as if her entire being is luminous.’

’Of course, this disguise isn’t ugly… I just feel it’s a shame she has to wear it.’

’I don’t know what I want. To expose the truth? To get revenge on those who wronged me?’

’Maybe I want all of those things. But right now, all I truly want is for her to be safe.’

After he refused again, the men were clearly itching for a fight, but in the end, they chose not to make a move.

…

Everyone finally relaxed once they were safely aboard the spaceship.

Qing Luo was even more direct. “I really thought they were going to force Mr. Yuan to stay in Mengxia City.”

Yuan Ling replied, “They wouldn’t dare. After all, an unwilling Mechanic would have far too many opportunities to sabotage them.”

For example, by leaving out a part or two, or by programming a backdoor into a system.

That’s why they didn’t dare to force him—not unless they had a weakness of his they could exploit.

And as it happened, he was impervious to both threats and rewards.

…

It was Bai Ruo and Bai Xiaojie’s first time on a spaceship, and they were so excited they kept running to the window to look outside.

It was actually Qing Luo’s first time on a spaceship too, but he wasn’t interested and had already returned to his room to rest.

Worried Yuan Ling might get bored in the cockpit, Jiang Qin sat next to him to keep him company.

Looking utterly bored, Long Hao leaned against her shoulder.

He asked once again, “Are we going to register our marriage as soon as we get home?”

Jiang Qin: “…” “Mhm.”

“I’ll sort out my assets, then.”

“You don’t need to give them to me. Keep them for yourself. I’m quite wealthy.”

Long Hao grew upset. “Why won’t you let me fulfill my duties as your partner? Is it because you haven’t truly accepted me in your heart?

I know, you just feel sorry for me. You didn’t agree to this because you love me.

You were just moved by… mmph!”

As his words grew more and more absurd, Jiang Qin decided to simply clamp a hand over his mouth.

“Okay, that’s enough. Would you please just obediently hand over all your assets?

From now on, I’ll give you an allowance of just 500 Star Coins a month so you can experience how cruel the world is.”

Long Hao pulled her hand away, kissing it a few times in the process. He grinned. “Five hundred Star Coins is enough! My Qinqin is the best. What other female master gives her partner an allowance!”

’Usually, after confiscating all assets, the male is still required to turn over a certain amount of Star Coins each month.’

’Supporting a female costs money, after all.’

Not like his Qinqin, who was beautiful, kind-hearted, loved him, didn’t require him to work after marriage, and even gave him an allowance.

To be honest, whenever Long Hao was with her, he acted so foolishly that she felt a sense of dissonance.

But she was used to it by now.

Meanwhile, Yuan Ling, who was piloting the ship nearby, overheard their conversation, and his knuckles whitened on the controls.

***

Currently, no one throughout the Interstellar knew of Jiang Qin’s return.

Ever since her disappearance, filming for *My Date with a Vampire* had been halted, but production on *Strange Tales* continued.

Lately, the trending topics on the Star Network had all been exceptionally somber.

So, even when netizens learned that *Strange Tales* was nearly done filming, they couldn’t bring themselves to be happy.

This was especially true in the Jiang Fan group chat, where everyone seemed dejected lately, and even the number of messages had dwindled.

What the general members didn’t know, however, was that the group’s admins and the owner had been in constant private communication.

Group Owner: [We’ve received an update. Qin Bao’s location has been confirmed, but it seems Mr. Yun learned about it in advance and has already arrived on the planet.]

Wen Xueli: [That’s wonderful!! Qin Bao is finally safe. I was so worried lately it was affecting my pregnancy. I’m in the hospital recovering now.]

Upon reading that, the group owner quickly replied, [You’re pregnant, so try not to have such big emotional swings.

We’re taking care of things on Qin Bao’s end. You just focus on a healthy pregnancy. If something were to happen to you, she would feel awful when she gets back.]

The other admins in the group chimed in to comfort her.

After all, to Interstellar People, children were truly rare and precious treasures.

Wen Xueli: [Don’t worry, everyone, my condition is stable now.]

Moving on from that topic, the group owner continued to share the latest news she had just received.

She then offered her speculation: [Since Mr. Yun has already reached that Chaotic Star, Qin Bao will probably be found very soon.

The intel I have says that she’s very safe. She escaped her captors’ control right at the beginning and has been in hiding ever since.]

[That’s fantastic! That’s our Qin Bao, escaping even in a situation like that.]

[As long as she’s safe, that’s all that matters. Honestly, I don’t even care if Qin Bao ever works in the public eye again. I just want her to live a long, peaceful, and safe life.]

[That poor girl. Why has her life been so difficult?]

[Let’s not celebrate too early, everyone. We can only truly rest easy when Qin Bao is actually back.]

Group Owner: [True. But we can call off the search operations on the other Chaotic Stars. All remaining funds will be donated in Qin Bao’s name.

Make a donation on every planet. I refuse to believe that won’t earn us some goodwill.

If something like this happens again, we’ll likely have plenty of people willing to help us gather information voluntarily.

Jiaqi, I’ll leave this to you. Please keep a close watch on it and make sure no one skims off the top.]

Wen Jiaqi: [Don’t worry, Group Owner.]

…

Little did they know, the Jiang Qin they were so worried about was already journeying through space.

Although she was anxious for news about her partners, she didn’t have a Light Computer, so she could only endure the wait until they reached the Federation Main Star.

Finally, a few days later, they returned to the Federation under the cover of night.

At the spaceport, Jiang Qin didn’t see anyone she had been hoping to meet, and the expectant look in her eyes instantly dimmed.

Yuan Ling seemed to read her mind and said softly, “They were all dispatched to different Chaotic Stars to search for you. Some are out of signal range, so they probably haven’t gotten the news yet.

I only contacted Mr. Yun Xie; I didn’t reach out to anyone else.”

Hearing that, Jiang Qin couldn’t help but start worrying again. “They won’t run into trouble on the Chaotic Stars, will they?

How can I get in touch with them?”

“You should go home and rest first. I’ll help you contact them in a little while.”

Hearing this, Jiang Qin’s expression relaxed considerably. After thanking him, she suddenly remembered something. “You don’t have a place in the Federation, do you?

Why don’t you stay at my place for now? Or you could stay at Long Hao’s.”

Yuan Ling immediately chose Jiang Qin’s place.

For once, he reacted quickly, making his choice before Long Hao could even open his mouth.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep