Inside a castle room, Comrade Xiao Qian sat quietly to An Yang's right, holding a cup of tea and taking small sips.
Retro lamps were lit around the room, looking somewhat like tripartite candelabras or oil basins and torches on the walls, casting flickering shadows inside. Although the light was ample, it had the feel of a medieval gloomy castle, completely different from the magnificent grandeur of the daytime, clearly another one of An Qi's mischievous quirks at play.
This included the maid-attired waitresses standing side by side around the room, the Heavenly Soldiers leaning on special laser swords by the door, and the shadow mecha standing in the corner like a black bronze statue, all exuding a thick medieval dark and extravagant style.
The culprit stood in the middle of the room. On the luxurious handmade wool carpet was embroidered a flower with countless petals and leaves, the blossom forming a circle, and she stood right in the middle of it. The torch-like lamps illuminated her near-perfect figure and sweet face, the Heavenly Soldier combat uniform hugging her straight and well-proportioned long legs tightly. That familiar face had not faded with the years; instead, this long career in power had added a unique charm to her.
"General!" she insisted on calling him.
"Hm, you rushed back in such a hurry, you must be tired, right?" An Yang did not say anything like asking her to take a seat; that would work for other Heavenly Soldiers or officials, and it would have worked if Lin Na were still alive, but An Qi would never sit in his presence, especially with Xiao Qian sitting nearby, and right here in this castle symbolizing the highest power of the empire!
"Not tired," An Qi said.
An Yang had long expected her to answer