“Who?! Who persuaded whose ex-boyfriend?”

“My gosh! Prince Janus, is he acting as a third party for love?!”

“Probably, right? After all, the person broke up with him only after meeting him, and a few days later he directly moved up. Whether it strictly counts as being a third party, I don’t know, but morally, it probably does.”

Obviously, the live-stream viewers thought similarly to Zhang Qi. The flood of angry messages immediately decreased—replaced instead by curiosity and gossip about this statement.

Some even scolded the holographic live-stream camera, asking it to project the image in that direction. They really wanted to know who the other person talking to Prince Janus was.

Whoever could make Prince Janus steal someone’s boyfriend must also be a major figure.

The viewers firmly believed this.

The holographic live-stream camera, as if sensing the audience’s thoughts, immediately shifted the shot from the Crown Prince toward the source of the other voice.

However, because the holographic camera was in stealth mode, it could not use holographic functions. This forced the viewers to watch from this limited perspective, which annoyed some of them.

“I haven’t used this first-person perspective in so long. It feels so uncomfortable. Can’t we use the holographic setting?”

“Using the holographic setting before required disabling stealth mode. This is also the Empire’s anti-surveillance regulation, civilian devices all work like this. Otherwise, you could ask the Crown Prince to abolish this rule.”

“Forget it. I’m afraid the Crown Prince would just add some light effects to the camera or make some socially embarrassing marketing scheme. I’m already scared of him. This way is fine, a retro vibe.”

While enjoying the gossip, viewers also ridiculed their Crown Prince. Woden’s support rate online had already plummeted rapidly, and it wasn’t even the end of the workday yet.

Zhang Qi did not dare imagine what online public opinion would explode into by the end of the day.

But for now, the gossip could wait. Zhang Qi just wanted to know who was talking to Prince Janus. She even posted in the comments: “Tsk, it’s still too far away. I can’t see clearly. Can’t they move the camera closer? I can tell that small figure is Prince Janus, but the other person… Somehow, feel a bit familiar.”

The holographic camera seemed to take Zhang Qi’s suggestion, zooming in slightly, allowing all the viewers finally to see the two people confronting each other in the garden.

—The camera first focused on Prince Janus.

He wore a training outfit, his hair slightly wet, and the fitted short-sleeved top revealed his body contours. Combined with his youthful face, the viewers flooded the chat with sounds of admiration.

It wasn’t that they had no strong words, but they exercised restraint. They knew whose territory this live-stream belonged to. Commenting on the Crown Prince before had already tested dangerous limits, Prince Janus…

Deserved respect instead.

After a few expressions of admiration, the camera finally focused properly, revealing the other person facing Prince Janus.

He wore a vintage three-piece suit, touching a solid wooden cane, exuding elegance.

He had golden eyes and a handsome face. His black hair, styled in a slicked-back fashion, revealed a superb hairline.

His expression remained gentle and polite, but when looking at Prince Janus, a sharpness appeared.

—Those golden eyes resembled a dragon looking at a brave man coveting its treasure.

The moment viewers clearly saw him, the comment section exploded again.

Zhang Qi even let out a sharp scream.

“—Why is it Count Unobert?!!!”

Her scream had reason. She worked under Count Unobert’s organization.

Due to work, she had met Count Unobert at the annual meeting. At that time, he had been elegant and noble, looking exactly like a noble in an old novel.

He lacked the arrogance typical of those novel nobles and seemed approachable. Zhang Qi knew it was an act, but performing it convincingly was no simple feat.

But now…

Zhang Qi looked at Count Uno, as if he had come to confront a third-party lover, and screamed again.

She wasn’t the only one. The entire live-stream chat screamed.

“Ahhhh!!!”

“What did I just see? What did I see?!”

“Impossible!!!”

These messages flooded the entire chat instantly.

Luckily, Woden’s attention was drawn to the two, or else, if he had realized and left, his support rate might have crashed to zero, breaking all records.

After a while, someone in the chat finally posted a rational comment: “I think I’m hallucinating… Why is Count Unobert accusing Prince Janus of stealing his partner?”

“It seems it’s not just about stealing a partner. Judging by their vibe, Prince Janus treats being the third party as a lifestyle choice…”

“So, does anyone know who Prince Janus’s current boyfriend and Count Uno’s ex-boyfriend are? I really want to know which remarkable person could make Prince Janus, so proud, act as a third party for love.”

“Who would know? Their level of secrecy is like your browsing history.”

The netizens began teasing each other again, and in reality, this entire sequence of actions lasted only a minute.

Before Zhang Qi could even articulate her words through brainwaves, she saw Prince Janus looking somewhat incredulous. He pointed at himself, then glanced toward Count Uno, and then spoke with some confusion:

“Me? Did I speak ill of you back then?”

Then he seemed to realize something, and when he looked at Count Unobert, his expression turned hostile.

He wore his signature disdainful look, the one Zhang Qi saw most often on Prince Janus.

However, people in the Empire were already used to it. After all, he was royalty. His face might look sour and he liked being first, but there were no rumors of him bullying men or women.

“I spoke ill of you? I just recounted everything that happened while you were dating him, right?”

Prince Janus counted on his fingers.

“I was too busy with work to spend time with him, and he was ruthless, consuming every scrap in the business world, and twenty years older than him…”

With each item Prince Janus mentioned, Count Unobert’s face darkened further. By the end, he could not help it, the veins on his hand bulged.

Just as Count Unobert tried to say something, Prince Janus had finished counting and raised his chin toward Count Uno, speaking firmly: “All of this, he told me himself. With his character, he would never slander you. Breaking up was his thoughtful decision, so—don’t disturb his life! A good ex-boyfriend should be like someone dead!”

Prince Janus’s glacier-colored eyes stared directly at Count Unobert, his voice carrying a ruthless warning.

But from Count Unobert’s pitch-black expression, it was clear he did not accept Prince Janus’s warning.

His golden eyes returned to Prince Janus, and his expression shifted from dark to nonchalant. He looked at Prince Janus as if he were an ill-behaved child and spoke softly: “But even the dead have the right to know the truth—like how you were already posting online with him half an hour after I broke up with him.”

The live-stream chat exploded.

“Ahhh? This gossip keeps getting juicier! This is even smoother than seamless transition! Only half an hour?!”

“Did someone put a spell on Prince Janus? How could he be so shameless to post online after only half an hour?”

“Please, someone teach a class! I really want to know how he did it. Prince Janus couldn’t even wait a few days to improve his reputation!”

The viewers immediately spammed the chat, but soon a question began to appear repeatedly: —Who was the person that made Prince Janus so eager?

Just as the viewers thought Prince Janus would remain speechless, he only paused briefly, then, with his handsome and youthful face, spoke proudly: “At that time, he had just broken up. It is said the fastest way to get over a relationship is to start a new one. But I didn’t want to mislead him. After all, it was my advice that caused the breakup, so I decided to find him the best boyfriend!”

“I searched and searched but always felt someone fell short of him, until finally I realized—”

The viewers began to anticipate what he would say. They watched the energetic Prince Janus in the live stream, standing straight, head held high, proudly declaring to Count Unobert:

“I am the best!”

Prince Janus’s words seemed like a novel come to life.

A high-born, handsome young man raised his head and announced to the world that only because he was the best could he match with you.

His hair, with few constraints, shone like gold in the sunlight.

He looked like a prince out of a fairy tale.

—Or like a triumphant golden retriever.

Zhang Qi watched Prince Janus with admiration and blessing in her heart, which softened her previous judgment of him acting as a third party for love.

After all, from his behavior, he was not deliberately being a third party. He truly thought Count Unobert had treated his ex-boyfriend poorly and wanted to help him out of misery.

—His thought process was just unusually straightforward.

Not many people would insert themselves into a friend’s breakup. In most successful cases, at least one person has ulterior motives.

Zhang Qi thought this while posting her comment, which drew widespread agreement in the chat.

Prince Janus seemed to notice the comments and continued: “Of course I liked him. I wanted to protect him for life, which is why I thought of dating him. But if I hadn’t been the best, I naturally wouldn’t have held him back.”

Prince Janus spoke frankly, which made Count Unobert seem even more aggressive in his pursuit.

At this point, many people in the chat sided with Prince Janus and began criticizing Count Unobert. Even Woden, who had been quietly watching, could not help but say a few words to Count Unobert.

“They already broke up. Why are you still pursuing him? It shows no noble demeanor at all.”

His words remained lofty, and carried a distinctly paternal tone.

Most of the chat, however, continued posting “Long live true love,” and very few criticized him.

But the golden-eyed man now displayed the composure of an adult.

“Oh, really? Then why did you send his light-brain a short video after you broke up with him?”

He raised an eyebrow, and his golden eyes were full of mockery.

“If it weren’t for him taking a shower the night before last and asking me to reply to his messages, I wouldn’t have known that our dear Prince Janus actually had such a good physique—by the way, how on earth did you find a steel pole in the palace?”

Prince Janus froze.

The youthful, exuberant boy’s face held a rigidly proud expression. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as if trying to organize his words, yet unsure of what to say.

The chat that had been flooding “Long live true love” suddenly stopped.

Zhang Qi stared at the screen in shock. She could no longer make sense of this plot twist after twist, feeling like a fool.

Her mouth hung open, and after a long pause, she could only manage one sentence: “—He was at your place the night before last?!”

‘Damn it, is this really the time to talk about that? You better explain that short video!’

A sharp explosion sounded in Zhang Qi’s mind, and the chat erupted in screams.

Then they actually heard the screams come from the screen.

“Ah???!!!”

The viewers, who had been reacting with shock in the chat, immediately realized this was bad. Such a loud noise would give them away. As expected, the two who had been confronting each other immediately turned their sharp gazes toward the source of the noise.

Seeing that the two had noticed him, Woden immediately turned and ran, almost tripping on the ground. Luckily, they did not intend to chase him, otherwise, Woden would not have reached a safe distance before they could catch him and shut down the livestream.

However, hearing Woden’s heavy breathing, none of the viewers felt relieved. On the contrary, they lamented in the chat: “My gossip! I haven’t even finished it! I really want to know who Count Unobert and Prince Janus’s ex was!”

“And it sounds like the night before last, he even went on a date with Count Unobert! I really want to know the details! Crown Prince, you’re useless at livestreaming, and now you won’t even let us finish the gossip!”

“Wuwuwu, I really want to see Prince Janus’s short video, and the steel pole! Wuwuwu, Crown Prince, you useless waste!”

“Wuwuwu, mysterious ex-boyfriend, please, put Prince Janus’s short video up. This is the people’s most urgent wish! Wuwuwu, Crown Prince, you useless waste.”

The chat simultaneously cried “wuwuwu” while calling the Crown Prince a waste. Woden had no idea how badly they insulted him. After escaping, he first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked around.

He was behind a flower wall, with a clear view of the pool. Viewers immediately recognized it as a sports facility provided by the government for officials, complete with a pool and smart butler service.

Being in the interstellar era, there were dedicated cleaning robots and butler robots, and such pools had become standard for government offices and residential complexes.

Thus, the audience did not comment on the facility but cried in the chat over the unfinished gossip—then they saw two people appear by the pool.

One was in the water, the other stood on the shore, striding toward the pool aggressively.

The holographic camera seemed to have accumulated experience, focusing and capturing clear data within a second.

When Zhang Qi saw their faces clearly, she completely forgot about the previous gossip.

—There was no time to mourn over jealousy for the prince and the count, now the people arriving were Sir Semos and General Ortas!

Sir Semos did not disappoint. He stormed to the pool as if catching someone in the act, furiously shouting: “—Ortas! You [expletive] seduced my boyfriend!”

“Wow~”

Zhang Qi gasped, and the chat became extremely excited. She glanced at the current viewers—over ten million—and the thought of millions watching this scandal thrilled her.

They only worried that the person streaming this scene might eat the gossip themselves.

What? The one streaming it was the Crown Prince?

Oh, then it was fine.

Understanding this, Zhang Qi and the viewers continued enjoying the gossip, praying that the Crown Prince would behave, so they could watch from the beginning without being discovered.

Fortunately, Woden was smart. He did not make a sound that could alert the two at the pool. Instead, he quietly created a hole in the tree wall to observe them.

Although it looked a bit sneaky, it was justified—after all, he was just following the gossip.

The viewers understood Woden for the first time, then returned their attention to the pool.

Sir Semos’s signature catlike eyes were now filled with anger, looking like a feline predator.

But despite the ferocity, his handsome face gave him an imposing charm.

Meanwhile, General Ortas surfaced from the pool.

His dark green eyes and strikingly handsome features made him look almost like a mythical beautiful serpent—though probably not as muscular.

Zhang Qi stared blankly at his physique, somewhat dazed.

The viewers expressed various bold and crude comments, but when General Ortas turned and leaned on the pool edge, the chat suddenly froze.

—On his back, there were several suggestive scratch marks.

He deliberately showed them to the cat-eyed man.

“Oh? Really? When did you two get back together?”

General Ortas spoke casually, seemingly unaware of the scratches on his back, addressing the cat-eyed man.

He pushed himself up from the pool with both hands, cleanly and efficiently standing on the ground.

He called for the smart butler to hand him his water bottle but seemed to forget the towel, still facing away from the cat-eyed man.

The audience witnessed Sir Semos struggling to contain his provocation.

Before he could speak, General Ortas returned the water bottle to the robot butler, turned to Semos, and raised an eyebrow: “After all… he didn’t say anything last night.”

The chat went blank for the first time, then a trembling message appeared: “Was… too busy moaning?”

That day, the viewers never saw the continuation. Sir Semos suddenly deployed a new exoskeleton mech and started fighting General Ortas, his fiery temper resembling his marshal father.

This forced the Crown Prince to flee again without seeing the end.

“No! Don’t run! I haven’t finished the gossip yet!”

Amid the chat’s cries, Woden returned to the original livestream site.

Still shaken, Woden realized the livestream in which he appeared had not been stopped. The viewers finally understood why no one had ended the stream.

—Because their beloved Crown Prince had set the livestream permissions to the highest level. Except for him, no one could close it.

When the Crown Prince had negotiated the permissions with the platform, he had been extremely proud. Now, Woden looked utterly embarrassed trying to close the stream.

As Woden panicked, he noticed he had appeared on the empire’s trending list.

Seeing it, Woden felt it was inevitable.

But…

“Why am I only ranked 10th?”

Woden frowned at the trending list, while his friends rolled their eyes.

At first, he had been embarrassed that his scandal had spread across the empire and wanted to remove the trending list. Now, he was unhappy simply because he ranked 10th.

Though he thought this, his friends still advised: “Oh, didn’t you originally want to keep this secret? Now it’s perfect—everyone’s attention is drawn to the other events.”

They glanced at the trending list on their light-brains, astonished.

“Honestly, the top nine topics really deserve their spots.”

Woden’s scandal involved political issues and the heir to the throne. Even though the incident caused a huge stir, he could sit quietly and wait for the Emperor to handle public opinion before dealing with his own matters.

On the internet, some people always claimed to know more than the Emperor or ministers and commented on everything.

But this was different…

#PrinceJanusDidItForLove #CountUnobertIsOlder #PleaseExBoyfriendIWantTheVideo# …

These were the trending hashtags related to Prince Janus and Count Unobert.

#GeneralOrtasScratches #SirSemosRagesForLove #DidNothingLastNightTooBusyMoaning#

These were trending hashtags related to General Ortas and Sir Semos.

There was no denying that these topics were truly eye-catching, just looking at them made people want to click.

The friend looked at the trending topics on the list, thought for a moment, and then clicked in, starting to watch the viewers enjoying the gossip with great interest.

He even saw someone make an analysis video, going through two video clips from head to toe, and while the friend felt impressed yet couldn’t fully understand it, he began clapping enthusiastically.

However, the friend did not notice that while everyone was intensely discussing the love and hate between these four men—oh no, it should be five men—some people were also talking about the temporary replacement livestream host who had completed Woden’s task. Apparently, the host seemed to have some marks on their neck.

A small hashtag even emerged:

#TheTemporaryHostWasPulledFromBed#

But this hashtag only briefly appeared at the bottom of the trending list, everyone was still more interested in the five men.

While the friend was scrolling through the posts, Woden felt awkward and quiet after hearing his friend’s words.

Yes, this kind of attention was indeed not a good thing. Why did he think like that? But he realized it was probably his competitive nature influencing him.

To force himself not to pay attention to the trending list and watch his topic drop, Woden forcefully redirected his attention to what he should do next.

After all, he had already messed up the poverty-alleviation livestream project, and now he definitely could not return to the host position.

Even if they begged him to go back, he would not. The title of “poverty-alleviation host” was for anyone who wanted it. Even if it earned fame in history, so what? He had already graciously appeared as a host, some people still dared to mock him? He thought they were lucky to get that much face.

Three hours later.

“Woden! I gave you face, didn’t I?! You’re a complete waste!”

“Mom! Mother! Stop hitting my face! Not even my buttocks!”

Woden screamed, dodging blows from his own mother.

But the Empress did not intend to let him off. Seeing that Woden still dared to dodge, the Empress steps quickened, and she waved a vase in her hand with great force.

“I sent you to handle official business, you failed! I sent you to manage officials, you failed! I sent you to run tasks with others, you failed! I’ve given you dozens of tasks, and not once did you handle them properly!”

The Empress cursed while occasionally smashing the vase against Woden’s face and buttocks.

“I no longer have any requirements for you. You just need to shut up, sit there as a mascot, and stop with your useless ideas, and you could succeed in succession. Why do you insist on thinking you’re so capable? Huh!”

The final shout made Woden tremble three times.

He completely lost the pride he had shown to others, terrified to the point of nearly crying.

But the Empress still did not let him go.

Woden looked pitiful, yet did the Empress not feel any pity?

The Empress truly could not understand how Woden could ruin such a perfect situation despite being dealt a winning hand.

She had paved the path to the throne perfectly for Woden: a father-in-law as finance minister, a talented fiancé devoted to him, ministers who only needed him to sit as a mascot.

He did not even need to worry about governance, the Grand Princess oversaw that.

The military required no concern either. The Marshal controlled the entire army, but his son had no inherited talent. He went to the research institute, barely connected to the military, at most providing research for military needs.

Having brain-monitoring systems made the Empress even more reassured. She did not have to worry about backdoors, the researchers could not manipulate mechas.

He only needed to wait for research results.

The Marshal had no legitimate heirs, Ortas was royal. The remaining military members had no qualified successors.

Even his biggest threat to succession, his younger uncle Janus, was positioned as Ortas’s successor, not required to master statecraft like him. Janus naturally disliked governance. Letting him handle reports was less enjoyable than fighting in the arena.

Yet with such a perfect hand, Woden still ruined everything!

The Empress had previously overlooked Woden’s mistakes because, if the livestream succeeded in gaining public favor, earlier misdeeds would be forgiven.

With Ye Bai managing the big picture, Woden only needed to be a mascot—perfect.

In the Empress eyes, she had handed Woden a full meal on a silver platter, but he still managed to spit it out.

This time, the Empress was completely furious. Normally she did not approve of corporal punishment, believing that if hitting worked, the smartest being would be a donkey.

She still held that principle—but now she did not aim to educate Woden.

She was purely angry and wanted to hit him. She grabbed Woden and beat him relentlessly.

When vases broke, she used her hands, when hands tired, she used a whip.

After finally venting, she had the butler carry the battered, bloodied Woden to the medical chamber for treatment.

Even the observing Grand Princess felt pity, Woden looked genuinely miserable.

However, she did not intervene—Woden’s actions had truly been infuriating.

If the empire fell into his hands, they might hear of its collapse before completing even a few years of interstellar travel.

Yet the Grand Princess had a question.

After finishing with her son, the Emperor sat back down, breathing steadily, her stamina far exceeding Woden’s frail frame.

She looked at her sister and gestured for her to speak.

The Grand Princess did not hesitate. “Your Majesty, how do you plan to handle Woden? It seems he is far from a qualified Emperor.”

The Empress fell into thought.

She tapped the desk slowly while the Grand Princess silently watched, realizing her sister had reached a decision.

“…Your Majesty, notify the breeding institute. Before the royal ball, I do not want any news about this matter from the outside world.”

The Grand Princess looked surprised but bowed and said seriously: “As you wish.”

Though no news appeared publicly, some people learned of it through special channels—like 19 and Ye Wangxing.

The reconciled pair sat on the system space sofa again. Ye Wangxing gradually slid under the sofa.

He had been exhausted, managing poverty-alleviation tasks and the platform, especially after Woden’s strike. Ye Bai also suffered a mental blow and had to step in.

Unfortunately, the kiss marks he had intentionally made for attention were ignored due to Woden’s chaos.

Ye Wangxing did not expect the Woden matter to end so quickly.

“Your Majesty acted decisively, quickly finding the breeding institute. Luckily, he remained rational and produced only two embryos.”

Ye Wangxing was surprised. He had expected the Emperor to spoil Woden, but it seemed the prior chaos had not crossed the Emperor’s line.

The Emperor had produced two embryos, marking a major divergence in the fate line. How the fate line would unfold remained uncertain.

Ye Wangxing felt uneasy, fate lines were unpredictable, especially in the higher-difficulty world.

Fortunately, he devised a plan.

“…Let’s create opportunities as before, letting the fate line deliver the plot to us, then suppress him?”

Ye Wangxing opened the task panel to study the next mission.

19 leaned close to him. He had abandoned copying a split screen from the host, instead moving in personally.

His two-meter height, like a polar bear, pressed tightly.

Ye Wangxing initially felt awkward, but 19 clear, questioning eyes made him set that aside.

He actually liked 19 being so close.

Having left his familiar place, uncertain of when he could return, Ye Wangxing had developed anxiety, expressed physically as a desire for contact.

Physical contact with 19 perfectly alleviated that feeling.

But…

Ye Wangxing’s gaze fell on 19 delicate, expressionless face beside his cheek, and his heart—

Beat faster and faster.

Luckily, Ye Wangxing soon regained composure, and they quickly discussed the general flow of the royal ball.

Yet Ye Wangxing did not notice 19 thoughtful gaze toward him.

The royal ball.

The most anticipated event among the empire’s young men and women.

Here they found the most suitable partners under the Emperor’s watch.

Signals sent at social gatherings would also be answered here.

Before the ball officially began, most young men and women had minor conflicts.

But this year was different: most had no desire to fight—because the four golden bachelors trending online were all present at the ball.

 

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