Holding On to My Man

Translator: Callis

Editor: Evan

Practically nobody trusted what Gu Bai had said, so for the following two days, they ignored him even more and started a new discussion to formulate plans for exploration.

Everyone was actually set on kicking him right back, but who let the heroic martial god Admiral Han’s character be so extreme? He was protected with one utterance of “imperial soldiers must cherish their people”.

From the moment they had departed, all of the troops in the airship had obeyed his orders; they were all his trusted personnel. They were free from the king’s deployments and followed only his commands. So, no one could drive Gu Bai away.

After everyone’s discussion, it had finally been decided like it had been in the plot. Nangong Xuan, with her “deep understanding” of ancient Earth’s history, was to lead a small archaeological group of ten. Admiral Han would accompany them as they conducted a preliminary scouting of the circumstances around the ancient tomb.

Gu Bai didn’t really care that these people didn’t take his words to heart. With everyone excited over exploring the ancient tomb, there was nothing he could say that would make everyone give it up. Additionally, he was also determined to go take a look.

So what he could do was prepare himself to the best of his ability against the dangers of the ancient tomb, and for now — cling to his male god!

As a result, aside from solemnity of the seminar, StarNet’s live broadcast was filled with images of Gu Bai teasing the male god for the next two days. No matter what kinds of corny love declarations Gu Bai said out loud, he fully performed what he called “trees would definitely die without bark, and there is definitely no match for a person without face” to the max.

As it turned out, the unfeeling Admiral of the legends was very cooperative. While there was a pleased, pampering smile on his face, a “darling” came out each time he opened his mouth. With his image crumbling and his abuse of single dogs, there came a wave of anguished howling in StarNet and incessant begging for Gu Bai, this love-struck fool, to be driven out.

It was very unfortunate that this desire couldn’t be fulfilled. Moreover, thanks to the development of science and technology, aside from the filming of a small number of scenes, everything else was done by smart tracking. Basically, everything shot had been circulated out.

The only way was to not watch live broadcasts related to Admiral Han. However, no one could resist chasing after him. While they howled and cursed Gu Bai to die, their eyes were glued to the live broadcast with great pleasure.

As for those at the scene who directly faced the sickening pair for entire days, they were in a certain state of affairs that caused goosebumps to erupt all over their bodies. Nangong Xuan also looked upon Gu Bai very unfavorably.

She swore to herself that she would definitely chase Admiral Han until she could have him. She refused to believe that if she relied on her looks which were distinct from other girls of this era and her knowledge as a gifted young lady, that she wouldn’t be as good as Gu Bai, that sickening, smitten fool!

In this atmosphere, the three-day flight came to an end, and the airship finally arrived at what was once Earth.

Even after so much time had passed, the damage that the extinction of that century had done to Earth tens of thousands of years ago had left the once beautiful planet overgrown. Earth had transformed into a paradise for all kinds of monsters, insects, and beasts.

Before they had arrived, the Empire had already sent troops to circle around 100 meters from the entrance of the ancient tomb and had them stationed there for defense. It was an endless desert.

Because the time they had arrived was relatively late, everyone was ready to rest and recuperate for a day before they entered the ancient tomb.

That evening, Nangong Xuan, who had decided not to make any big moves, volunteered to cook for everyone.

Everyone immediately cheered and the StarNetizens drooled. Everyone knew that in addition to being adept at researching ancient languages, Miss Nangong Xuan’s culinary talents were also top-notch.

“Wawawa, Miss Nangong is going to cook!!”

“Amazing! Even if His Majesty wanted to eat Miss Nangong’s dishes, she has to be in the mood and he has to make a reservation! These old men and young students of the archaeological team are really too lucky this time!”

“They say that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It seems like Miss Nangong can no longer bear it and is making moves for the admiral! Ah, ah, ah, Miss Nangong, jiayou! We’ll be supporting you. Quickly kick the smitten fool Qiao Qi away. Only you are our recognized Madam Admiral!”

StarNet was flooded in celebration, and the netizens drooled while they were cheering.

With the Interstellar’s advancement of science and technology, gourmet foods had already fallen a long way behind. It was because up until now, no one in the Interstellar had been able to find a planet like Earth.

All kinds of ingredients and recipes had disappeared. In order to boost their physiques, everyone’s daily meals consisted of various nutrient solutions, and former gourmet foods had already been lost in the annals of history.

So even if the only things she knew how to make were a few homely dishes that didn’t measure up to a chef’s craftsmanship, it was enough to satisfy the Interstellar people’s taste buds and cause them to adore her.

There were as many as 50 professors and students present, so of course cooking for so many people wouldn’t be easy. As a result, Nangong Xuan’s cooking for “everyone” was just for a few of the professors and the most important soldiers.

Because there were few ingredients and Nangong Xuan’s cooking skills were limited, she only made twice-cooked pork and pork strips stir-fried with yuxiang. There was also a scarcity of seasonings, so it was very different from the original dishes.

However, for the Interstellar people who suffered from a lack of flavors, it was already a culinary delicacy. In order to maintain their image, everyone ate very politely, but satisfaction was written across their entire faces and they couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“Miss Nangong’s culinary skill is really worthy of His Majesty’s praise. It really is a lifetime’s worth of great fortune to be able to taste such delicious food……”

Nangong Xuan was very pleased. She looked at Admiral Han, who hadn’t moved his chopsticks. She personally placed a piece of twice-cooked pork in the other’s bowl and said with a smile, “Admiral Han, try Xuan’er’s work……”

The cultural courtesies that had developed in the Interstellar were very different from those that Earth once had. On Earth, it wasn’t a big deal to handpick food for others, but in the Interstellar, it was something that could only be done between lovers.

In the Interstellar, it had already become a silent expression of love. If the other person accepted the offered food, it meant that they were interested in having a relationship with them.

The netizens of StarNet were very excited. Even those who didn’t agree with Nangong Xuan and their male god’s CP before all gave it a “like” and cheered. After all, compared to the brainless, nauseating, and love-sick Gu Bai, the Empire’s genius miss was the one who could be together with their male god!

Just in this moment, a dissenting voice suddenly rang out from the side, “Just how could this be called good food?!”

The voice wasn’t very loud, but it was very sudden and carried an astonished disbelief.

Everyone turned around, and their faces all sank at once. After a few seconds of silence, StarNet exploded at once with people shouting, “Ah, ah, ah, ah, it’s him again!”

“Student Qiao, please tell us what objections you have!”

Of course, Gu Bai was the only one who could make everyone explode like this. Nangong Xuan’s expression was blank. She wasn’t afraid of this love rival because she was confident that someone as brazen and nauseating as Gu Bai would be difficult for the admiral to bear and swallow.

“I have a lot of objections. Miss Nangong, not only are you sloppy, you’re also very arrogant. You can even bring out these kinds of pig feed! You’re simply insulting my beloved admiral!”

Gu Bai looked at her with a very angry expression. The original host’s smitten nature had also caused him to become infatuated. His love for the man had already been compounded infinitely, releasing his inner possessiveness. There wasn’t the least bit of sand in his eyes.

This culinary ability not only couldn’t even reach the ability of the average person on Earth, there was a lack of seasoning, insufficient control of heat, and the fried meat was so ugly. How could this be called gourmet food? And for her to use this to pander to his man, it was simply an insult! Insult!

His indignant expression made it seem like someone else really had done something enormously wrong. The people present and netizens couldn’t react for a moment, all shocked by his angry tone.

His smitten nature allowed him to ignore everyone’s stunned gazes. He went to Han Lijun and cupped the man’s face, giving him a kiss. Only then did his mood improve slightly and he spoke solemnly.

“Admiral, this kind of trash is too insulting to you. Please let me prepare your favorite food for you!”

“My darling, you know what I like to eat the most?” Admiral Han gazed at him, his cold, stiff heart as soft as water. His smile was gentle and pampering.

“Of course, because the admiral is my most beloved person!”

Gu Bai smiled, his gaze confident and fervent. It was as if his whole heart’s sincerity had been illuminated. His smile was like the sun at the center of the Milky Way, hot enough to burn people.

Han Lijun’s heart suddenly stopped, and it was difficult for him to breathe. How could this person be so passionate and ignite his heart? To make people so happy that they could die without regrets?

The people of the Interstellar had had enough of Gu Bai’s nauseating infatuation, but right at that moment, those kinds of warm and sincere feelings could influence everyone.

“Even though he’s very sickeningly star-struck, he actually seems to really like the admiral. I can see the love conveyed from his soul in the depths of his eyes……”

There was finally someone who had said a good word about him, and others silently and secretly nodded. A slight bit of favorable opinion for Gu Bai suddenly arose. His love for the admiral was indeed sincere and undeniable.

Gu Bai didn’t care about other people’s gazes. After Han Lijun finished speaking, he went to a relatively larger part of the dining hall and took out various ingredients from his storage ring.

In the Interstellar, where science and technology was flourishing, storage equipment wasn’t really anything special, so no one was surprised. Rather, it was very strange that he seemed to be preparing to cook. In order to ensure that her “cooking skills” weren’t stolen, Nangong Xuan kept the doors closed every time she cooked.

After completing so many tasks, Gu Bai’s soul was already like that of an old demon’s, who had lived for a very long time. Although he enjoyed every lifetime, he had learned many skills to meet the needs of the subsequent tasks.

As for his cooking ability, he wasn’t a kitchen god, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was a master. After all, his luxurious lifestyle had allowed him to eat more gourmet food than Nangong Xuan. When he was interested, he would call up the Imperial chef to have them explain. He’d also learn something to pander to his man to raise inclinations a bit.

With his ingredients and equipment in place, Gu Bai took out a basin of water and carefully washed his hands; the action was pious and divine.

God knows how he could make the action of washing his hands to cook feel divine, but it was what everyone felt. They couldn’t help but be stunned by this kind of devotion. They held their breaths, watching his movement.

Looking at his natural, fluid movements, and with the gradual spread of the rich fragrance of his cooking, people couldn’t help but narrow their eyes and take in a deep breath of the aroma. They couldn’t help but salivate.

Although they weren’t able to have a proper taste, the fragrance was enough to let people know how delicious the finished product would be.

The professors present at the scene swallowed their saliva and looked at the food in their chopsticks. They lost their appetite and everyone put down their chopsticks one after the other. They inexplicably had the illusion that they were eating pig feed……

“Though I don’t want to admit that this smitten fool can cook, it looks really good……”

The audience on StarNet also swallowed their saliva, staring at the delicious food on the screen.

Nangong Xuan also stared with wide eyes at Gu Bai’s movements and stance as he cooked. He was like one of those top chefs she had once seen on the cooking shows.

Gu Bai made crystal steamed dumplings. Not only did his man like to eat this, Gu Bai also liked it very much. After the carefully prepared dumplings were ready, he brought the plate to Han Lijun with a shy expression and adoring gaze.

“Admiral, please try the love dumplings that I made for you. If good food is really enough to capture a man’s heart, I believe that you will definitely fall in love with me. Admiral, I love you……”

As he spoke, he made a kissing motion. Like Cupid’s arrow, it shot towards his man’s heart and made the surface ripple happily.

“Darling, I already love you. You’re more delicious than any food. I also love you……”

Admiral Han’s rigid image collapsed again. He cupped Gu Bai’s face, pressing one kiss after the other to his lips, strongly hurling the single dog abuse.

“Wuwu, what I’m seeing is definitely not a live archaeological news broadcast. What I’m seeing must be a sappy, dog-abusing soap opera. Ying, ying, my male god actually said ‘I love you’ to this smitten idiot……”

On StarNet, a large number of Admiral Han’s fans could no longer bear it and finally collapsed and wailed like demons, unable to accept the fact that the male god had been held captive by a star-struck fool like this.

His Majesty’s eyelids twitched so much they already started to cramp. He couldn’t help but cry tearlessly and was helped by his Imperial bodyguards back to his palace to rest.

He didn’t want to face the strange gazes from the monarchs of other plants. The Empire had unexpectedly produced such a couple. One of them was even his army’s admiral, and it had been broadcasted to the entire Interstellar. It really was too difficult to bear, too sappy, and too embarrassing!

“someone as brazen and nauseating as Gu Bai would be difficult for the admiral to bear and swallow”

The admiral is swallowing something of Gu Bai’s alright ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I’m bacccckkkkk for the next 3 chapters!! Looks like interstellar is just one of the things that I do now huh (now 4/5 of the projects I’ve worked on are all Interstellar-related).

The secondhand embarrassment from this chapter had me translating while peeking through my fingers, do you have any idea how hard it is to translate when you

a) can barely look at the screen

b) have neither hands on the keyboard

For my final thoughts on this chapter: what in the world are “love dumplings”??????? Sounds like a euphemism