Future's First Marriage, Later Love - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

planet.

In fact, during his time in the Global Village, Mai Hai had thought about returning directly to Planet Pandora from there. However, he didn’t have a visa for Pandora, and given his current identity, it was completely impossible for him to return on his own. Even if he managed to smuggle himself back, if Neypath and Toffler discovered he had been forced to marry a general from Planet Juhua (Giant Planet), the consequences would be unthinkable.

They would certainly stake the honor of the entire tribe to go to war with Juhua. Therefore, he could only return to Juhua for now and make further plans. Of course, if Polack’s next attribute-matched wife appeared and Polack divorced him, he would have more time to slowly calculate and plan how to return to Pandora.

After settling all the hotel expenses and paying for an extra day, Mai Hai booked a spaceship ticket back to Juhua for the following day. He then went to wander the markets of Old Cairo, planning to buy some local specialties as gifts for Polack. This market was ancient; it was originally the cemetery of the descendants of the three Fatimid dynasties. It is said that in the 14th century, the then-ruler of Egypt, Khan el-Khalili, ordered the destruction of the cemetery on the grounds that the Fatimids were apostates with no right to build a burial ground, and funded the construction of a market in its place.

The market consisted of thousands of individual small shops distributed across dozens of narrow alleys. Many of these shops had thousands of years of history. It was evident that the market roads had been widened significantly. On both sides of the streets were various unique little shops, mainly selling gold and silver jewelry, copper plates, stone carvings, leather goods, and other traditional Egyptian handicrafts…

After circling the market a few times, Mai Hai bought a large pile of things: half-person-high pyramid models ground from stones found in the Sahara Desert, perfumes, crystal bottles for holding perfume, cured beef and mutton, papyrus paintings, embossed decorative copper plates, coarse linen bags, jewelry boxes, scarab ornaments, Egyptian playing cards, commemorative stamps, coins…

Looking at the robot specifically helping him carry things, Mai Hai felt lucky that he had listened to the hotel lobby manager and brought it along. Otherwise, how could he have carried these things himself? Finally finished with his shopping, Mai Hai returned to the hotel with the little robot. He then registered his address at the counter and asked the hotel to help pack and mail all these items back to Planet Juhua.

Mai Hai dragged his exhausted body back to his room, took a quick shower, and lay down on the bed to dream.

An Unexpected Kiss

The spaceship was booked for the afternoon, and it would arrive back at Juhua around 1:00 PM. So, in the morning, Mai Hai slept in comfortably. By the time he woke up, the sun was already hanging brightly in the sky. The service at this hotel was excellent; they even had a small robot ready to take him from the hotel to the port. Mai Hai only carried one bag, leaving the rest for the hotel staff to pack and mail back together.

On the spaceship, Mai Hai asked the stewardess to wake him up in ten-plus hours. He wanted to see the beautiful scenery he had glimpsed on the way there once more.

By the time the spaceship landed on Planet Juhua, it was already afternoon. When Mai Hai stepped out of the ship and returned home, he actually found Polack there.

However, Polack looked extremely exhausted. He was wearing his military uniform, with the collar casually left open.

Mai Hai put down his things, went upstairs to the bedroom to grab a duvet, and intended to cover him with it. Polack suddenly snapped his eyes open, but seeing it was Mai Hai, he closed them again and said softly, “You’re back.”

Mai Hai gave a hum of affirmation and then said, “If you’re tired, sleep for a bit. I’ll freshen up and cook; I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Polack nodded, adjusted his position, clutched the duvet, and drifted back into dreamland.

In reality, Mai Hai didn’t have much to tidy up. The courier said the items would arrive a bit later in the evening. So, he took a shower first, took the organic vegetables and meat out of the freezer, put on an apron, and got busy in the kitchen.

Polack was woken up by the aroma of food. In his sleep, he smelled the fragrance of a meal and struggled to open his eyes. The blanket slid off his body, and he remembered what had just happened—Mai Hai was back. Polack picked the blanket up from the floor, rubbed his still-blurry eyes, and walked toward the kitchen.

He stood quietly at the kitchen door, watching Mai Hai busy himself from behind. For a split second, his heart suddenly felt warm. This is what a “home” is…

Polack’s parents had originally united only because their attributes matched. However, his mother died of a difficult birth when he was born. Despite the advanced technology of the time, even the most developed tech could not save someone who had completely lost the will to live.

After his mother died, he was handed over to a robot nanny by his father. When he reached school age, his father married another attribute-matched person. Because he didn’t get along with his father’s new wife, his father sent him to a fully enclosed police academy. He had received militarized management from a young age. Aside from the numbers that appeared regularly on his card every month, his father had never given him any extra warmth—he hadn’t even visited him at school.

He felt that perhaps even the robots who had followed his father for a long time received more care than he did. Thus, from that time on, Polack learned never to show his tears or loneliness to others.

Originally, Polack thought that he and Mai Hai had only married because their attributes matched, and it was merely a matter of routine…

Before, when he returned home, he faced only a cold house. When he was tired and fell asleep on the sofa, no one would cover him with a blanket. When he didn’t eat, no one would cook for him. Mai Hai’s appearance was beginning to melt Polack’s originally icy heart.

Mai Hai finished cooking, tidied up a bit, and untied his apron. He was about to carry the food out and wake Polack to eat, but when he turned around, he saw Polack looking at him with an intense, burning gaze. His heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. After hanging up the apron, he picked up a dish that was still steaming and said with a smile, “Go wash your hands and eat. Don’t just stand there like a statue.”

Polack nodded, obediently went to wash his hands, and even went to the kitchen to help bring out the bowls and chopsticks.

Watching his unusual behavior, Mai Hai thought the guy’s brain wasn’t clear yet from just waking up. Polack seemed to see through Mai Hai’s thoughts, but he didn’t point it out; he just silently buried his head in his meal.

Having lived in a strictly disciplined school since childhood and later entering the military, Polack didn’t know how to express his inner feelings. He could only use the method of eating desperately to express his awkward affection.

Looking at Polack, Mai Hai said with a laugh, “Eat slower. I made a lot; no one is going to snatch it from you.”

Hearing Mai Hai’s words, which sounded like he was teasing a small child, Polack—his mouth stuffed with food—suddenly choked and began to cough… It seemed Mai Hai had completely misunderstood his meaning. He was eating a lot just to tell Mai Hai that the food he made was really delicious. However, making him say that directly from his mouth would be more painful than killing him. So he could only eat vigorously, but Mai Hai had misinterpreted it.

Seeing Polack choking, Mai Hai hurriedly stood up to pour a glass of water for him.

The water they drank could be taken directly from the tap. Every household was equipped with an automatic water filter that could transform all greywater, sewage, and other wastewater into drinkable water. This solved the problem of drinking difficulties and water scarcity to a great extent. This was also one of the benefits of advanced technology that Mai Hai appreciated.

Polack drank a large glass of water and finally felt better. But because he had suddenly choked, his eyes were still a bit red. He looked like a mistreated little rabbit. Looking at him, Mai Hai suppressed a laugh and said seriously as he stood up, “I’m going to the restroom.”

As soon as he closed the door, Mai Hai couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Usually, Polack had a poker face; it wasn’t hard to imagine what he was like in the army—certainly very imposing. But with those red eyes just now, Mai Hai suddenly had the illusion of being looked at by a teary-eyed little rabbit. That feeling was indescribably funny. Just imagining two white ears growing out of the top of Polack’s head as he acted spoiled made Mai Hai unable to stop laughing…

Polack touched his face curiously and stared blankly at the closed restroom door and the faint sounds of laughter coming from inside. He didn’t know what he had done to make Mai Hai laugh like that. Could it be that there were grains of rice on his face that he hadn’t cleaned off?

From this meal onward, the feeling between the two of them seemed to become subtle.

Mai Hai brought the bowls into the kitchen. Polack stood at the kitchen door and, seeing him about to wash the dishes by hand, gave a dry cough and said, “The dishwashing robot is over there. The button is here…”

Mai Hai turned to look at Polack in confusion. Polack reached out and pressed the button for him. Two robotic arms made of special materials suddenly extended from the sink and began to wash the dishes methodically. Mai Hai’s sleeves were still rolled up as the arms started washing on their own. He watched with great interest. Polack was a bit unhappy that all of Mai Hai’s attention had been stolen by the robot, so he gave another dry cough and said, “I want to eat fruit.”

Hearing this, Mai Hai wiped the water off his hands and naturally took a basket of fruit that Polack had brought out. He went into the living room, intending to peel them for Polack.

Mai Hai had just picked up the knife and a…