Chapter 268: Little Fist Hammering Your Chest

Translator: YHHH Editor: Book_Hoarder

On board a plane flying from Tokyo to Shanghai, Ren Baqian looked at the empress who had been throwing tantrums for a few days, which was extremely unusual. He sighed lightly. “I will just participate in that lantern-grabbing contest. Even though I am seriously afraid of heights, but a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”

The empress slanted her head and glared at him before turning her head back to look at the scenery outside.

The empress had been throwing tantrums for a few days already. She didn’t speak a word and rolled her eyes whenever she looked at him.

It wasn’t like that reserved empress at all.

This was the first time such a situation occurred with the empress. At first, he thought that it was pretty fun seeing the empress like that. But after some time, it wasn’t that fun anymore.

Actually, Ren Baqian had somewhat guessed that the empress was having her period these few days.

Because the empress occasionally exposed the extremely feminine side of her, which was very abnormal when compared to the past.

It was acceptable that most other women throw tantrums all the time. There were always a few days in every month that they behaved abnormally with a terrible temperament.

And the empress was reserved most of the time. She would occasionally behave abnormally every month and was very feminine.

The more Ren Baqian thought about it, it was actually very possible that she was having her period now. As the saying goes, there has got to be a devil behind anything abnormal, and there has got to be blood shed for a woman being abnormal.

Ren Baqian held the empress’s hand. It was very soft and warm. The “Pow!” and the pain that he had expected didn’t come, and that made him feel more relieved.

Over the past few days, he had asked people about the lantern-grabbing contest and had some understanding of it.

Just like what the empress said, the lantern-grabbing contest would be performed in groups of ten.

Of which, nine of them would be protecting the captain.

And, participating teams could also attack other teams. Even though they were not allowed to be too brutal, there would be people injured every year. It was fortunate that the aboriginals were burly, and there usually weren’t any cases of death.

Another rule was that all participants were not allowed to use weapons, but they could wear armor. They would usually wear things like leather armor, which wasn’t exactly very useful but provided some protection.

This sparked off an idea in Ren Baqian’s mind.

Since armor is allowed, there will not be any limitation as to whether it is leather or metal armor right?

He could put on self-made full body armor fitted with steel spikes, making himself similar to a hedgehog and see who dared to touch him.

When the time comes, all he had to do was to bump around in the crowd.

It’s decided then.

When the plane landed, Ren Baqian led the empress by her hand, and they were freezing like dogs the moment they stepped out of the plane cabin.

They had just returned from Hawaii and made a flight transfer in Japan. They had specially bought two thick coats, but it was still unbearably cold when they came out.

“So cold!” Ren Baqian tightened his clothes with one hand and held the empress’s hand with the other as they followed the flow of the crowd and moved forward.

However, they had finally made it back.

It had been almost half a year. When they fled overseas, it was during the end of August and the beginning of July. At present, it was already the last day of December and the next day would already be the start of a new year

“Mr. Ren!” They were held back the moment they left the airport.

The other party was a man in his mid-thirties, and he was accompanied by a man and woman.

“I’m surprised that someone is here to welcome us, such treatment is a little out of the norm.” Ren Baqian laughed. “You look pretty familiar, we seemed to have met before.”

“Yes, I was shot with a gun by Mr. Ren before.” His face was full of hidden bitterness.

“Just kidding! Don’t take offense. I actually highly respect people like you who work for the nation.” Ren Baqian immediately knew who that was. He laughed and promptly brushed the matter off.

The three of them gave him the side eye.

Respect?

I’m sorry, I don’t see that at all.

“This way, please.” The three of them stopped talking any further.

There were two cars waiting for them outside. Ren Baqian and the empress boarded the car at the back, and the middle-aged man sat in the front passenger seat.

Ren Baqian held the empress’s hand throughout the journey. He wasn’t prepared to let go until he had gotten the “Pow!”. He had intended to hold her hand until the next year.

After two hours, the car entered an underground carpark of a tall building before they all got down.

When they entered the lift, the empress looked down and saw Ren Baqian still holding on to her hand. “Pow!”

“It is slightly rougher than the previous time, and a little rounder. I may have grown fatter lately.” Ren Baqian replied with a conscientious look as saw his hand swell like a pig trotter.

The three of them looked at him with their side eyes and indescribably felt that they had been showered with public display of affection.

There were already people waiting when they got out of the lift. Around six men and women, all wearing suits, waited by the lift entrance. A rather enthusiastic person said, “Mr. Ren, Miss Qi, the both of you have finally returned.”

Those who didn’t know the previous events would have thought that the two of them had gone abroad for an investigation.

The other party was a newly established department and backed by a tremendous research team. They were prepared to research the things that Ren Baqian had brought with him.

The following half of the day was spent discussing the details of some collaboration matters.

The previous time was just preliminary opinions by both parties, and this was the formal one.

First of all, Ren Baqian couldn’t be as willful as he was previously. He had to abide by the nation’s laws at least. The nation was governed by laws, and these couldn’t be broken just because he was someone of a special status.

Ren Baqian didn’t have any objections on this. If he hadn’t originally been provoked, he wouldn’t have gone and caused trouble.

But, Ren Baqian actually requested for two different identities in the secret department. One of which was the department that Chen Shi was in. It would be easier for him to settle some things in the future and could at least negate some trouble if he were to meet with problems.

The other party initially wanted to give Ren Baqian and Qi Zixiao a titular post in the military, but Ren Baqian rejected it. If that was the case, the both of them would have been bound by the nation.

Following that, they supplemented some details regarding the collaboration.

For instance, how they were going to allocate the findings when the things that Ren Baqian brought were able to produce results from research.

In short, the nation still accounted for the bulk of this research. But, Ren Baqian had the right to know. It wasn’t justifiable that he would be kept in the dark if the research produced results for the things that he brought. Furthermore, he could use some of the findings and turn them into business applications.

Both parties did some supplementation to some details.

For this matter, it wasn’t possible for Ren Baqian to engage a lawyer for advice and such. It was all on the basis of what he deemed fit. For some matters, he didn’t even know if he was losing out or if it was favorable towards him.

After half a day, both parties were aware of each other’s opinions and considerably resolved part of their objections.At the end of the discussion, Ren Baqian felt that even his brains were hurting. It was so much trouble talking to these people as it was all minor details.

But, this was what had to be done.

If they hadn’t made things clear, there was no telling what some people would do in the future.

Especially ten, twenty, thirty years later, there was no telling what the people in charge then would think.

Most people would say that there was no need for so much consideration. But for Ren Baqian, thirty years on Earth was only fifteen years to him.

Eventually, both parties agreed on a few memorandums. It was impossible for them to have a contract.

And the empress just sat there in a daze throughout. She had no interest in such things at all.

Thereafter, Ren Baqian took out some things that he conveniently brought over. A bottle of soil, a bottle containing a very prominent flower that was picked from the garden, and a piece of rock.

Those things looked pretty ordinary, but they were the foundation of a world. They could perhaps, discover something different between Earth and that world from those things.

The other party promptly arranged for somebody to store those things.

“Mr. Ren, we will require something more special.” The person speaking was Yang Sen, head of this new department called M87.

M87 was a galaxy located within the Virgo constellation. This name also implied another world. It could be inferred from this that some people regard paradise as a totally different world.

Besides, in the theory of Taoism, paradise was located within the space of the great world. As a result, there were different kinds of connections between their world and ours. And because their existence was relatively isolated, the paradise world had its very own unique time structure.

Therefore, it could be said that paradise is another world of its own.

But, Ren Baqian felt that the person who gave it that name must have watched too much of Ultraman.

“Research must always start from the foundation. I also want to find out whether there are any differences in these fundamental things. I will bring some things over again after some time, and there will be something that you are looking for,” Ren Baqian explained to them.

“May we have a pleasant cooperation!” The other party nodded. Ren Baqian wanted to find out more, and so did the other party.

Since Ren Baqian mentioned that he would be bringing in more things after some time, the other party accepted it as well.

“You can contact me if there is anything.” Yang Sen handed a business card to Ren Baqian with no name written on it. “As long as it’s within my capabilities, I will do my best to help you resolve your problems. But that doesn’t include things that violate the law.””

…

That night, Ren Baqian held the empress’s hand as they watched the 4D light display in the skies of Waitan. The dazzling colors illuminated the bodies of every person. Around them were all youngsters and the bulk of the cold breeze had been blocked by the surrounding people.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the surrounding grew more enthusiastic.

“60 seconds, 59, 58..” As the countdown began, the year was coming to an end.

Appropriate to the occasion, Ren Baqian held both of the empress’s hands, and the pair stood facing each other.

“10, 9, 8…” When it came to the last ten seconds, many couples around them were shouting loudly as they held hands or embraced each other.

When it was the last few seconds, many people wanted to give a kiss as they stepped into the new year.

Ren Baqian looked into the empress’s eyes. They looked at each other’s gaze and they were both a little shy.

As the countdown “3, 2, 1” resonated throughout the crowd, Ren Baqian moved in with his lips. It was such a good opportunity. What if the empress was also influenced by the atmosphere! Ren Baqian plotted in his mind.

The empress withdrew her body a little and subconsciously raised her hands, hammering Ren Baqian on the chest lightly.

This action was very often seen on the television, and the empress had seen it many times.

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