Marry Me

Starry Cafe, private room.

"Y-You... what did you say?" Tang Ping's voice was hoarse from choking, and he could barely hide his shock.

He even wondered if he was hearing things. Had the cool, aloof class monitor and campus beauty from the Luo Family just proposed to him?

Just minutes ago, he had been lamenting the "invisible gulf" between them and wondering if Luo Xiaoyu had sought him out because competition at Galaxy Warrior University was fierce, and she wanted an ally—or, more accurately, a subordinate—to do her bidding.

But now, she had skipped all the preliminaries and dropped the bombshell of "marriage," completely derailing all his expectations.

Seeing how flustered he was, Luo Xiaoyu didn't laugh at him. Instead, she stood, picked up a tissue from the table, and held it out to Tang Ping. Her gesture was gentle, touched with natural concern. "Wipe yourself off first. Be careful not to burn yourself."

Tang Ping took the tissue and hastily wiped his mouth and sleeve, but his mind was a tangled mess.

"Class monitor, you... you're not joking, are you?" Tang Ping collected himself, trying to keep his voice calm. "We're only eighteen, and we hardly ever talk. Why would you suddenly bring up getting married?"

He simply couldn't understand.

As a prodigy of the Luo Family, Luo Xiaoyu had a limitless future ahead of her. Her admirers could probably line up from the school all the way to the interstellar port of the Black Dragon Empire's capital. How could she possibly be interested in an ordinary warrior like him, who "lived off the Luo Family's stipend"?

Even if he had awakened Spiritual Telekinesis, in the eyes of the Luo Family, he was only "somewhat promising." That was nowhere near enough to make a direct descendant of the Luo Family propose to him.

Was there some kind of scheme? His guard shot back up. His past life had taught him to be especially wary of things that seemed too good to be true.

He even began to wonder if the Luo Family needed a "live-in son-in-law" to secure its position. Or maybe Luo Xiaoyu had some private difficulty and needed someone to temporarily placate her family?

Most importantly, with his talent now and the bright future he had ahead of him, how could he become a useless son-in-law whom everyone looked down on?

And if he became a live-in son-in-law, how could he build the harem of his dreams? There was no way he could tie himself to just one tree.

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

Luo Xiaoyu lightly traced the rim of her coffee cup, her tone more certain than before. "I'm not joking. And you wouldn't be marrying into the Luo Family. I'd marry you and become your wife."

A fresh wave of confusion crashed through Tang Ping's mind.

He instinctively looked the girl over. Her ponytail fell behind her shoulder, the ends swaying softly with each breath. Her long legs, encased in tight jeans, were crossed, and the toe of her white sneaker was slightly raised, betraying a trace of nervousness. Only her gaze remained clear, without a hint of jest.

He rubbed his chin. The bristles against his fingertips helped him calm down a little.

This was absurd. A direct descendant of the Luo Family, a campus beauty and class monitor, could choose from any number of talented young men in the Galaxy, yet she wanted to marry an orphan like him who "lived off a stipend"? If there wasn't something fishy going on, he'd question whether he'd really awakened Spiritual Telekinesis.

After half a minute of thought, Tang Ping could no longer contain his unease. He asked tentatively, "Sister Xiao Yu, can you tell me the truth? I'm a little worried. Is the Luo Family setting a trap for me?"

At that, Luo Xiaoyu suddenly smiled.

It was the first time Tang Ping had seen her smile. The cool, distant air around her melted away like snow in the sunlight. A glimmer of laughter surfaced in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curved into a lovely smile.

"Don't worry. No one's forcing me, and there's no powerful faction demanding that I enter a political marriage. Actually, I'm just like you: I have no parents, and in the Luo Family, I'm only a 'direct descendant' in name."

She paused, her fingers falling still, and her tone grew more somber. "My parents were aboard the transport ship that met with an accident with your parents. The two of us have suffered the same fate."

Tang Ping froze. Half of his wariness melted away in an instant. He had never imagined that he and his seemingly "untouchable" class monitor shared such a history.

"As for marrying you, it's simply a way for us to get further along the path of cultivation." Luo Xiaoyu lifted her coffee and took a sip. The warm liquid seemed to help her relax.

"Tang Ping, where do you think we'd get in life if we relied on ourselves alone, without any outside support?"

"World Lord, maybe?" Tang Ping blurted out.

After awakening Spiritual Telekinesis, he had gained confidence in his talent. With the Luo Family's annual stipend—and given that the Luo Family would eventually become a towering power across the greater universe—breaking through to World Lord Rank didn't seem like an unreachable dream.

But Luo Xiaoyu gently shook her head, her eyes holding a clarity beyond her years. "Do you know how many planets in the Milky Way Galaxy have intelligent life? More than 210,000, with a population in the hundreds of quadrillions.

"According to the Luo Family's internal data, with a population that large, anyone who manages to become a Universe Level powerhouse is already one of the 'chosen.'

"And World Lords?"

She gave a self-deprecating smile and lightly tapped her fingers on the table. "Under normal circumstances, one World Lord Rank powerhouse emerges for every thousand galaxies.

"Those World Lords who stand at the peak of a galaxy are either born cosmic beasts or have Immortal Level powerhouses paving the way for them. You and I may be talented by Earth's standards, but across the Milky Way, we're not even promising prospects.

"Becoming Universe Level would already be a blessing."

Luo Xiaoyu continued, "You think Universe Level is powerful? In the Luo Family, Universe Level warriors are no more than 'high-grade slaves.'

"But in the Silver Blue Empire, a Universe Level warrior can become a Planet Lord, controlling the resources of dozens of inhabited planets. That's the difference a 'background' makes."

"Then you mean..." Tang Ping furrowed his brow.

Luo Xiaoyu seemed to see through his thoughts and got straight to the point. "In our country's ancient cultivation world, there are four essentials: wealth, companions, methods, and a place to practice. We don't have enough talent, so we naturally have to make up for it with outside support.

"Wealth comes first. Without resources, even the best talent will go to waste."

She leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice. "In the Luo Family, direct descendants have only three ways to obtain additional resources: make great contributions, increase their strength, or marry. Marrying a promising husband who's good with money is much easier than fighting for 'contribution resources' yourself."

"So you're treating me like a tool?" Tang Ping's brow furrowed deeper, and there was a note of suspicion in his voice. "You want me to have children for you and help you get the Luo Family's resources?"

In his previous life, he'd read plenty of stories online about "kept men" and "studs." He'd even envied those who could "make money lying down," but if he had the chance, he still wanted to be the one doing the taking.

Luo Xiaoyu shook her head. "Of course not. Under the Luo Family's rules, a husband's strength also counts as a 'contribution to the family.' If you raise your cultivation level, I'll receive extra resources for training.

"It's mutually beneficial, not exploitation."

She paused, her tone growing more candid. "I've been keeping an eye on you. You've managed your parents' inheritance well and haven't squandered it like other orphans. Zhang Min fooled you before, but you turned around and swiftly demanded repayment of the money she owed. You didn't hesitate or drag things out.

"You're better at managing money than I am, and you're more patient, too."

"So after we marry, my plan is to spend seven days a month with you during my ovulation period, trying to conceive, and devote the rest of my time to secluded cultivation. I'll put you in charge of all our household assets. We'll split the annual returns fifty-fifty, and I'll use my share to buy cultivation resources.

"You won't be bound by any restrictions. Your share will be your personal wealth, and I promise I won't interfere. We can put that in a prenuptial agreement."

Tang Ping's heart suddenly began racing.

He'd get a beautiful, fair-skinned campus beauty for a wife, and a share of the Luo Family's resources. He'd manage their money after marriage and wouldn't have to worry about his wife's displeasure. He could even use his status as the "Luo Family's son-in-law" to gain access to higher-level cultivation resources. It was practically a guaranteed win!

As for feelings? That was a minor concern. As the old saying went, love could grow with time!