IHNMSL Chapter 20
by VolareChapter 20: Hidden Marriage
The sky above the Central Star’s sky district was filled with bright sunshine in the early morning. Buried in the soft velvet of a large bed, the small Male Bug rubbed his eyes and woke up to the call of the smart robot.
Several chubby bumblebees vibrated their wings, deftly emerging from the maze-like wardrobe, carrying meticulously designed clothing.
Still drowsy, the little Male Bug slowly raised his arms, allowing these domesticated creatures to dress him.
Yao habitually opened his optical brain to check his email. The information from Uncle Aikman stated that his request to end parental guardianship early after adulthood had been approved.
He had successfully obtained the right to marry independently, and soon he could quietly register his marriage with Chen Xing. Although things were going smoothly, Yao had a premonition of impending doom, feeling panicked.
The little Male Bug attributed this unease to the guilt of concealing his actions from his male and female parents. It was his first time secretly doing something like this, and he was inevitably a little nervous.
*Di di di…*
“Yao Yao, my darling!”
“Quickly get online and play the game, brother will carry you!”
Aibei’s howling voice exploded in the optical brain. His left hand grabbed a can of cola and some potato chips, while his right hand gripped the game controller, incredibly busy.
“Baby, what’s wrong with you?”
Seeing his friend was clearly troubled, the usually carefree Aibei immediately dropped the game and moved closer to the optical brain.
Aibei had always known about Yao’s reluctance to get married. Although the Duke hadn’t explicitly agreed with Yao, his actions had already shown his concession. What was going on this time?
This family was truly chaotic. After the male parent forced the marriage, the female parent continued to pressure him…
Aibei found it inconvenient to say much about Yao’s complicated family situation and could only silently comfort him.
Chris was a general respected by everyone in the Bug Clan, holding a pivotal position in the Empire. Besides, they were all loved and respected relatives of Yao.
“Today is the weekend, young master can wake up a little later.” The old butler, dressed in a neat grey suit, bent down to pull out a chair for Yao at the dining table.
“I have plans to go out with a friend later.” Yao grunted in acknowledgment, enjoying freshly brewed honeydew flown in from the distant Bulle Star System.
“Hevia said that if you recklessly ditch your bodyguards again, he will install a forced locator on your wrist.”
“I know!” I’ll do it again next time…
Yao mumbled under his breath, nonchalantly teasing the honey-stealing pet bumblebees with a small spoon.
His step-female parent always made empty threats. Yao wasn’t afraid of him; every time Yao pretended to cry and tugged at his sleeves, he would agree to everything.
“Young master, there’s a package from Beta Star at the door. Would you like to check it? It should be from Young Master Aibei.”
The Aikman family used to be in the business of mechanical research, and Aibei often sent Yao small intelligent robots developed by their researchers.
That must be it. Yao suddenly remembered that Aibei had mentioned a few days ago that he was afraid Yao would be lonely here and wanted to send him a newly tested bionic robot bug toy to relieve his boredom.
The tattered cardboard box made Yao wonder if it had encountered a meteorite impact during interstellar transport.
As soon as he picked up the contents of the box, something fell to the ground with a thud.
A dusty, ugly ball rolled to Yao’s feet.
This was Aibei’s so-called most advanced and greatest invention of the century? Yao seriously doubted the truth of that statement.
TO my dearest Yao Yao baby: [The cosmically invincible cool robot bug Little Gray, can help with cooking, cleaning, homework, chatting, and also has bodyguard and hitman one-button nuclear capabilities, comes with thoughtful hugs, bedtime stories, and mosquito-swatting services, your best choice for home life.]
It was said to be a complete bionic robot bug, but Yao couldn’t see any hint of machinery. The smooth, round outer wall had no gaps, and he couldn’t even find the activation button.
Was he supposed to hatch it like a real bug egg? But he didn’t know how to hatch it.
He searched the box for a long time but couldn’t find the manual, which must have been lost during transport.
The surrounding bumblebees kept flying around the little gray ball excitedly, so he grabbed a square scarf to cover the egg.
Yao took the opportunity to wipe the egg clean, put it in the pet nest, and tapped the little antennae on their heads: “I’m going out. Take good care of our new friend!”
The bumblebees that had their antennae touched were so happy that they became dizzy, flying up to rub their heads and then drunkenly flapping their wings, circling Yao’s finger.
Complete identification data, pheromone maturity SS-grade certification, meets economic independence criteria, safety awareness test A-grade, no longer under sub-adult guardianship and free to marry independently, no guardian signature required.
Before leaving, Yao checked all the documents needed for the procedure. The marriage registration process was not complicated.
“Good morning, Chen Xing!” Opening the car door, the little Male Bug excitedly wrapped his arms around the Guard Female Bug’s neck, going in for a hug.
“Let’s register today!” Yao dropped a bombshell.
Yao rarely talked about his family life, and opinions about Duke Will Klink and General Chris on the Star Network were mixed.
Besides knowing that the little Male Bug had run away because of a conflict with his family when they first met, Chen Xing couldn’t get much useful information.
“Won’t this be too hasty?”
His love for Yao was beyond question, but the little Male Bug had too little awareness of the wickedness of human society, and marriage was not a trivial matter.
“Aren’t you afraid I’m a con artist?”
“Hmm? Not afraid.” Yao looked at the Guard Female Bug with puppy-dog eyes, “So, is Chen Xing a con artist?”
How could a real villain admit to being one? Chen Xing thought the little Male Bug was truly too trusting.
Emm… although the naive Yao had given him a “good person card” when they first met, he was hardly a good person…
From the beginning, he had coveted Yao, frivolously seducing him, using the excuse of wanting to be his bed partner. Faced with Yao’s clumsy but careful responses, Chen Xing often sighed, feeling guilty for corrupting a pure young master.
Chen Xing didn’t know if this hasty decision to marry was correct, only worried that the little Male Bug would be caught between his family and him, torn between the two.
How to please Yao’s male and female parents was a difficult problem, after all, he was a world apart from their ideal Female Consort candidate for Yao.
He wondered what kind of Female Bug Yao Yao’s female and male parents liked… He would work hard to win their approval.
Chen Xing thought he was analyzing the situation from Yao’s perspective, but in the little Male Bug’s view, it was just a pretext.
“Are you regretting it?”
“You are regretting it!”
The self-answering little Male Bug went from doubt to certainty in just one second, not knowing what terrible things he had imagined.
Raising his head and grabbing the Guard Female Bug’s collar, he furrowed his brows and puffed up his cheeks, saying angrily, “You’re not allowed to regret it. You took my ring and promised me.”
“I’m not unwilling,” Chen Xing said, amused and exasperated.
Yao’s face was written all over with: Don’t reason with me, I won’t listen, I’m angry!
He patted the little Male Bug’s head to comfort him, “Yao Yao, I just think it’s not too late to get married after your female and male parents approve of me.”
Yao was different from him; he had a family that had been with him for more than a decade. A marriage without even the blessings of relatives and friends was too unfair to the little Male Bug.
The Duke had built a sterile protective bubble for Yao for eighteen years, carefully maintaining Yao’s innocence and purity.
Chen Xing felt that since he was with Yao, he would naturally have to take on the responsibility of protecting Yao.
“I don’t need you to please them!”
Although in Yao’s heart his female parent, male parent, and step-female parent were all good Bugs, to Chen Xing, they were just strangers.
He didn’t want Chen Xing to lower himself and please people who didn’t like him for his sake.
The little Male Bug tilted his head and leaned on the Guard Female Bug’s shoulder, cooing, “It’s enough for me to like my Female Consort. Chen Xing, let’s register today!”
The car smoothly arrived at its destination.
The magnificent chandelier and the gleaming glass stone floor reflected each other.
A guide led the two into the VIP reception room, looking at Yao’s young and energetic face, he friendly reminded: “Sir, how old are you? Marriage registration cannot be done without a guardian present.”
Mental maturity and physical maturity are two different things.
Most young Male Bugs nowadays lacked independence and danger awareness, so the first Female Consort of a young Male Bug was usually carefully selected by a direct family member.
“But I have a certificate of qualification. I can get married on my own.”
Yao confidently pulled up the test results from his optical brain to show the staff.
Unless they were secretly marrying a Female Bug without their family’s knowledge, few Male Bugs would have the patience to study the thick security code book.
The willpower alone was something that ordinary Bugs couldn’t do.
Because of Yao’s special situation, the Director of the Marriage Management Department, Torido, and two senior reviewers were urgently called in to handle the incident.
The reviewers’ gazes met Yao’s innocent face, and they couldn’t help but sigh that young people these days were so daring.
High-ranking Male Bugs like Yao were rare on Central Star. Torido wondered inwardly which adult’s troublesome child this was, why did he look so unfamiliar?
Klink ah… Torido’s expression remained as usual. His first reaction was that the surname sounded familiar… His second reaction was, holy crap! Crap! Wasn’t that? Damn it!!
A famous noble in the entire Bug Clan upper class, a pure-blood family that existed since the primitive Bug Clan era.
“Cough cough!!!”
Torido’s pupils shook. Wait, this couldn’t be the little male son of the General and the Duke… A million alpacas galloped through the Female Bug’s heart.
Unbelievable… Hevia!!! Something big happened! Did you know the Duke’s precious child was snatched away?
“Is there a problem?” Seeing the reviewer’s tense expression, Yao fidgeted, nervously pinching the edge of the chair.
“No… of course there’s no problem, Your Highness.” Torido stammered like an aging robot, on the verge of a mental breakdown.
“It’s just for your safety, we need to check some details with Mr. Chen Xing.”
The Marriage Bureau’s scope of investigation was extensive, including but not limited to the Female Bug’s family relationships, education history, health records, assets and liabilities, social contribution points, and a certificate of no criminal record issued by the police station, etc…
Torido broke out in a cold sweat, wearing a mournful face, and cautiously checked the Female Bug’s data. What he didn’t know until he saw it, Torido almost rolled his eyes and fainted.
Good lord… this Female Bug who had been standing quietly and coldly behind the little Highness turned out to be a ruthless bug from the underground district.
How did the gentle and gentle little Highness get mixed up with this kind of social bug who was a million miles away?
The genetic permissions of all high-ranking Male Bugs in the Empire were strictly controlled by the Central Brain. The file on Yao’s pre-matching information had recorded a whole few hundred pages.
With the help of auxiliary technology for reproduction, under normal circumstances, the Central Brain would not interfere with the public’s freedom of marriage.
Torido clicked his tongue. The Female Bugs that the Duke found for the little Highness were mostly gentle and refined, elite nobles of good background. It was a pity that none of these carefully selected Female Bugs were to the little Highness’s liking.
Just as Torido was reluctantly continuing to scroll down, he suddenly froze.
The style of the last few dozen pages of pre-matched Female Bugs had drastically changed, completely unlike something the Duke would have chosen. From his experience, it was… a bit like…
Sure enough, seeing the familiar research institute stamp on the authorization document, Torido jumped up directly, “Damn it!! Why are you bunch of lunatics everywhere!”
What kind of mess were these matched Bugs? They didn’t care at all whether there could be feelings between the Female and Male Bugs, did they…
He knew it was the work of those inhuman madmen at the Subspecies Reversion Research Institute.
Torido was furious. Relying on the support of the Mother Nest behind them, they randomly matched Male Bugs with high mental affinity to Female Bugs with residual primitive subspecies bloodlines for genetic purification guidance experiments.
Once pre-matching was successful, they would only have a maximum of two months to cultivate feelings. After that, regardless of whether the Male Bug agreed or not, the main brain would directly modify the permissions and correct their optical brains to a spouse relationship.
Torido was struggling with how to explain, “Are the little Highness and Mr. Chen Xing in a good relationship?”
“Of course.” Yao nodded blankly, wondering what this strange Female Bug wanted to do.
Only a good relationship could explain why Yao would have done so much homework in advance to try to meet the conditions for marrying the Female Bug. Torido was intimidated by the little Male Bug’s expectant gaze, his scalp tingling.
“Are you sure?” “Yes!”
“May I sign to confirm now?” Yao knew that as long as he got that little red book, it would mean that he and Chen Xing were a legitimate couple.
“You…” Torido found it difficult to speak, how should he reject the lovely little Highness…
“The marriage license can’t be issued, I’m afraid. There’s still one procedure missing…”
Yao took the display screen from the other party in confusion, his eyes widening slightly. “Brother Daina? Why do I need his consent to get married?”