After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

Chapter 177 : Crispy Spicy Chicken

The energy base was located in a desert area outside the city.

The Empress's team traveled in a royal hovercraft, spacious inside and exuding high-end luxury.

Although Shen Han was in the same main cabin as Gu Junwan, and the distance between them wasn't far, she still couldn't find an opportunity to speak with her privately.

This was because not only were there Federation officials accompanying them, but also several scientists from both countries engaged in discussion.

In the sealed main cabin, smart screens were embedded in the front and on both side walls.

At present, the front screen was off, while the left and right displayed looping projections of starry skies.

The vast, boundless starfield gave those in the cabin a dreamlike feeling of traversing through space.

Looking at the myriad stars on the side screen, Shen Han suddenly recalled the day Gu Junwan gifted her the flying car.

It was from that day on that she gained a true sense of belonging on this unfamiliar planet.

Remembering how she had half-embraced Gu Junwan in the flying car, Shen Han felt a subtle heat rising within her.

She shook her head, as if trying to shake off the suddenly emerging romantic thoughts.

Unable to go forward and talk to her wife, she could only pace to an unoccupied area near the edge and take out her encrypted phone to send a message.

Gu Junwan was sitting in the central area, looking down at documents when she suddenly felt her private phone vibrate.

She didn't immediately take out her phone to check, but slightly raised her eyes to glance at where the guard team was positioned.

When she saw a certain Alpha's sneaky behavior, she knew where the message on her private phone had come from.

Gu Junwan pondered for two or three seconds, then pretended she hadn't noticed the incoming message and continued to peruse the documents in her hand.

She didn't need to check her phone to guess what Shen Han had sent her.

It must be some message about cuddling, acting cute, or seeking attention.

As for the reason, it was certainly related to having Xu Zhao return the military cap this morning.

Gu Junwan didn't intend to let Shen Han know about setting a trap for the little princess last night.

Lying in bed back in her room, she was already considering that after completing the state visit to Ksenrode, she should quickly find an opportunity to make her relationship with Shen Han public.

It had been almost half a year since their first marking.

At that time, they chose to conceal their relationship because the situation was unstable.

Now, the political tremors caused by the Yin Country spies were subsiding.

As for the financial oligarchs, no one would dare to cause trouble for the next two or three years, and after that, their monopolistic power would only be further weakened.

If they could achieve strategic cooperation with Ksenrode this time, there wouldn't be much public opinion obstacle to her relationship with Shen Han.

On this matter, Gu Junwan had always felt that she had somewhat wronged her Alpha.

The other never complained to her, seeming as if just being with her was all that mattered.

But Gu Junwan cared very much.

If she had made public earlier that Shen Han was her partner, yesterday's lake-jumping incident wouldn't have happened.

Gu Junwan didn't say much, but she felt very distressed inside.

However, while feeling distressed was one thing, it was still necessary to scare that Alpha who always attracted trouble a little.

So, Gu Junwan didn't plan to reply to the text immediately.

Let that lovable dog worry for a while first, then comfort her at noon.

Seeing that her wife hadn't taken out her phone to check, Shen Han was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

If there weren't so many people around watching, she would have started pacing in circles.

After scanning around for a while, her eyes lit up when she saw Xu Zhao sitting near Gu Junwan.

She took out her work phone and quickly sent a plea for help.

Xu Zhao was buried in comparing each procedure for entering the base later when her phone in her pocket urgently vibrated.

While marking the place she had just checked, she quickly opened her phone screen.

She was immediately stunned by what she saw.

The messages were from Shen Han, and there were several of them.

It felt as if sending fewer wouldn't be enough for her to hear the phone vibrate.

[Special Assistant Xu, save this child!]

[That cap of mine, where did you get it back from?]

[Oh right! In Junwan's schedule, there's half an hour of free time after lunch. Can you arrange for me to be alone with her for a while?]

Looking at these messages from Shen Han, Xu Zhao felt a bit conflicted.

From her personal perspective, she actually wanted to help.

But she couldn't directly answer the information the other wanted to know.

Because she was Gu Junwan's confidant.

In this matter, she couldn't bypass her Empress to solve problems for the other's Alpha.

However, she could still probe the Empress's attitude a little for Shen the dog.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhao gently placed her phone under Gu Junwan's eyes.

Gu Junwan's reading speed was already very fast; she scanned and read all three short messages in one glance.

The Empress, holding back a smile, returned the phone to Xu Zhao with an impassive expression, softly uttering three words: "No need to reply."

Xu Zhao nodded and put the phone directly back in her pocket.

Their movements were very subtle, almost unnoticeable.

But Shen Han, who had been watching her wife's movements, saw Xu Zhao pass the phone.

She had thought Gu Junwan would give some instructions.

Unexpectedly, after reading the messages, they both continued to look at documents.

With an anxious heart, Shen Han endured from the hovercraft all the way to the energy base in the desert area.

Time flew, and it was soon noon.

While Gu Junwan was still dining, she quickly called Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu to a temporary rest room assigned to the guard team.

"What should I do? I feel like I'm not far from returning to poverty!"

Seeing their captain lying on the table, looking completely deflated, Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu were both startled.

"How could this be? Did you get fined again?"

"That's not right. I remember the trigger condition for fines wasn't that... what was it? We're in a foreign country, old vinegar couldn't fly this far, right?"

Shen Han lifted her eyelids, looking at the two friends who had just sat down, and mumbled, "It hasn't been deducted yet, but I feel like I'll receive a deduction message on my phone any second."

She slightly propped up her chin, saying worriedly, "It's all because of Princess Quintina."

"I don't know what she's thinking, always wanting me to play with her. Yesterday I jumped into the lake, right? I lost my cap, and guess what?"

"This morning, it was Special Assistant Xu who returned that military cap to me. My wife has been busy all morning and hasn't even spared me a glance. Who have I offended?"

After hearing the whole story, Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu couldn't offer any advice either.

For a moment, they could only sigh along with their captain.

At the same time.

Gu Junwan, who had finished her meal early, was walking towards the guard team's temporary rest room with Xu Zhao.

Knowing that her Alpha wanted to spend time alone with her during the lunch break, Gu Junwan had originally planned to choose that location.

Now hearing that Shen Han was in the rest room, it perfectly suited her intentions.

The rest area assigned to the guard team was actually quite a large space.

The area had several independent small conference rooms, convenient for work discussions or short naps.

Most crucially, this area used to be an old office warehouse.

To preserve the old-style atmosphere, no cameras had been installed even now.

The rest area was full of guard team members.

When Gu Junwan arrived, she excused everyone from saluting and walked directly to the small conference room where Shen Han and the others were.

Just before she could push open the door, Ma Haoyu's voice came through first.

The volume wasn't loud, but it was just enough for Gu Junwan and Xu Zhao standing outside the door to hear clearly.

"I think this is just a young girl being playful. Boss, you really don't need to take it to heart."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Han's dry voice immediately sounded, "Can playfulness lead to raising two fierce beasts? I heard many royal family members love leopards, tigers, and such. These animals can be legally kept in Ksenrode."

"Besides, she's not young anymore. She's already had her coming-of-age ceremony!"

Hearing that the three in the conference room were discussing Quintina, Gu Junwan's raised hand couldn't quite land on the door.

Ning Xi's words followed closely, "But come to think of it, given Princess Quintina's looks and status, if I were your girlfriend, I'd be nervous too."

"How did you phrase that description you mentioned before? Something about a smile putting six palaces to shame... It's perfect for a beauty like her."

"If you were my girlfriend, you'd probably get beaten by me three times a day," Shen Han propped up one elbow, cupping her cheek as she continued, "A smile that brings forth a hundred charms, putting the six palaces' beauties to shame. It's such a smooth phrase, how do you always manage to jumble it up?"

Standing outside the door, Xu Zhao carefully savored the two lines Shen Han had just said.

For some reason, she inexplicably felt that 'the dog was in trouble'!

Xu Zhao was just about to steal a glance at her Empress's expression when Gu Junwan had already pushed open the door and walked in slowly.

"What were you just talking about? I think I heard the character 'Ji'."

The sudden cool female voice made the iron triangle in the small conference room's hearts skip a beat simultaneously.

Seeing the Empress who had already walked up close, Ma Haoyu and Ning Xi immediately stood up from their chairs.

The two didn't dare to respond to her question, they could only stand in place with their hands down, pretending they didn't understand anything.

Shen Han also stood up. Seeing her wife appear before her, she should have been delighted.

However, at this moment, looking at the meaningful smile at the corners of her lips, she was more shocked than happy.

Seeing that Gu Junwan was still waiting for her to answer the question, Shen Han thought for a moment and said, "Oh, we were talking about crispy spicy chicken."

Hearing this, Xu Zhao, who had just closed the conference room door, almost laughed out loud.

Gu Junwan was also slightly stunned.

She blinked her phoenix eyes and asked again, "Then what was that poem you used to describe a beauty just now? Let's hear what comes after 'a glance back and a smile'."

Shen Han's eyes rolled quickly, and she tilted her head to ask in return, "A glance back and a smile, paraquat?"