Chapter 30: How to Win Her Favor?

Dearest everyone, Mom has taken care of Dad her whole life, and now it is finally time for her to take care of herself. I am going to the hospital to accompany her for some recuperation and a full medical check-up. It will take about three days. I will hold off on posting thank-yous for tips during these three days and will publish them all together when I return. All updates have been scheduled in advance; if the scheduling system acts up, you can join the group 100035449 and poke me. Also, there will be three updates today! Thank you all for your support during this time!

***

"Let me know if you need anything!" Xing Haotian said as he saw Ming Zeyu out.

Afterward, he made a phone call to contact the best lawyer in the Imperial Capital, arranging a meeting for that afternoon.

Once that was settled, Xing Haotian felt a strange sense of restlessness at being idle. Under normal circumstances, given his healthy constitution, he would have returned to the military to check on things, but this time, a particularly rebellious thought suddenly crossed his mind.

To hell with missions, to hell with crises—they could all wait. His priority was to win over his wife!

However, Wei Zi was notoriously difficult to handle. Xing Haotian felt this was an unprecedented, SSS-level danger mission, and he was completely at a loss for how to proceed.

"I need to get her to drop her prejudices against me and see my good side," Xing Haotian mused, considering what Wei Zi might lack. "I still haven't bought that quilt I mentioned yesterday!"

He opened his communication device and connected directly to the Dean of the Research Institute.

The call was answered after only two rings. The Dean, Kong Bo, appeared on screen, his face crinkling into a smile that looked like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Little Xing! What kind of treasures did you bring back this time?" Xing Haotian was the most popular figure at the Institute; even the highly respected Dean Kong Bo greeted him with a beaming smile. Others who sought an audience with Dean Kong would shower him with endless praise, hoping to get their hands on the latest armor or weapons developed by the Institute.

"Old Kong, did the Undying Golden Cicada I brought back from the Great Extinction Mountain Range start spinning silk yet?" Xing Haotian asked, getting straight to the point.

"Indeed, it truly is an Undying Golden Cicada! The results are incredible. Those silk threads can even withstand attacks from fourth-level mystic arts—it's astonishing. Not to mention, they are virtually impenetrable to blades, bullets, fire, and water!" Dean Kong exclaimed excitedly. This was a creature recorded as extinct. The Institute had invested massive resources to recreate its living conditions, hoping it would breed and perhaps even allow for the mass production of its silk.

"That's perfect. Make me a quilt out of it!" Xing Haotian said.

The Dean’s excited expression froze, and his mouth twitched. "Little Xing, you aren't joking with me, are you? Forget a quilt—that amount of golden silk would barely be enough to make a piece of underwear, and you want to make a quilt?"

Xing Haotian hadn't realized the cicada was so unproductive. However, hearing that it could at least make underwear, his eyes lit up. "Underwear is fine, too. Size 32C!"

Dean Kong’s face turned bright red. Having lived long enough to eat more salt than Xing Haotian had eaten rice, how could he not know that 32C was a woman’s lingerie size? Had Xing Haotian lost his mind?

"Little Xing, are you messing with an old man? Could you even fit into that?" the Dean asked with a bitter smile.

"It’s not for me to wear," Xing Haotian replied.

"For a woman?" The Dean looked at Xing Haotian on the screen with suspicion.

Xing Haotian remained calm. After having bought lingerie once before, he could handle this with composure—a general's psychological resilience was truly something else!

"Yes," Xing Haotian said.

The Dean’s heart began to thump. Was Xing Haotian finally planning to settle down with a woman? Was he intending to launch a charm offensive using "lingerie shells"? But this was too extravagant! Using Undying Golden Cicada silk to make underwear? The Dean felt like throttling him.

Unfortunately, since the cicada was being fostered by the Institute on Xing Haotian’s behalf, everything it produced belonged to him. The Dean had no right to refuse.

"Fine, send me her measurements, and I'll design it," the Dean said.

Xing Haotian quickly recited Wei Zi’s size and added, "I still need that quilt, so please make that too, using the best materials available!"

Dean Kong was so furious he could have breathed fire. This man hadn't forgotten the quilt! But before he could vent his rage, Xing Haotian had already disconnected.

With nowhere to direct his anger, the Dean slammed his fist onto his desk screen, connected to his subordinates, and roared: "Form a research team immediately! Use the golden silk to make a piece of women’s lingerie!"

"Lingerie???" The scholars on the other end were dumbfounded. Had the Dean not woken up yet, or had he forgotten to take his medicine?

***

Having resolved the bedding issue, Xing Haotian continued to pace downstairs, thinking of ways to please Wei Zi.

Bedding was merely a matter of comfort; it wouldn't capture her attention—she might not even care at all. What, then, would Wei Zi actually value?

As he pondered, his eyes lit up, and he headed to his basement. As a soldier, Xing Haotian had been on countless missions and explored many perilous regions. While most of his findings were turned over to the government for the military, he had kept a few private collections—items that were truly heaven-defying.

His vault might not contain many things, but every single item was awe-inspiring.

"This, Wei Zi should be able to use!" Xing Haotian picked up a crystal-clear animal bone. It was only the size of a palm, likely taken from a skull, and polished until it was incredibly smooth and snow-white. As soon as he pulled it out, a cold mist began to emanate from it, causing frost to condense in the air within half a meter, and soon, snow began to drift.

It was just a piece of bone, yet without any external control, it created such a miraculous sight!

This was a cultivation technique he had risked his life to retrieve from a restricted zone. He hadn't turned it over to the government because he had a premonition that whoever possessed this bone and learned the technique would become his formidable rival. It was a rare ice-element cultivation method that could take one from Grade G all the way to SSS-level.

But Wei Zi would never be his enemy. If he were to give this technique to anyone, she was the only choice.

"I wonder if Wei Zi will be happy when she gets this," Xing Haotian said with anticipation, holding the bone as he walked toward Wei Zi’s room.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Having been disciplined by Wei Zi once before, he remembered to knock politely every time.

Inside the room, Wei Zi quickly closed her communicator. She had been jotting down dates and notes in a code only she could understand—details about her memories: where rare treasures were hidden, when major opportunities would arise, and the trends of the future. It was so much information that she feared forgetting it and missing out on the best treasures.

"Come in!" Wei Zi called out.

Xing Haotian pushed the door open. The bone in his hand immediately caught Wei Zi's attention. She stared at it in shock, a flash of realization crossing her mind. "This... this is!!!"