Recaps

Pei Ji and Shen Que grew closer as Pei Ji cared for Shen Que through his illness and prepared with him for a public banquet. The arc ended with Shen Que inheriting control of White Sand Star’s ore business, Pei Ji reacting angrily, and paparazzi targeting them.

• Pei Ji found Shen Que suffering through the start of his heat and soothed him after learning that marking him could cause pain.
• Shen Que challenged Pei Ji to a mech match, won, and collapsed when pain and traumatic memories overwhelmed him.
• Pei Ji cared for Shen Que, and Shen Que began to question whether Pei Ji’s concern for him was genuine.
• Pei Ji defended Shen Que during a call with Empress Carolina and later helped him prepare for a banquet at the Moon Palace.
• Ai Fan told Shen Que he would take charge of White Sand Star’s sand gold production line, while Pei Ji learned that an insect nest had appeared nearby.
• Pei Ji and Shen Que danced at the banquet, and Pei Ji publicly introduced Shen Que as his wife when Austin insulted him.
• Pei Li announced that Shen Que would inherit a share of the family assets, including White Sand Star’s ore business, and Pei Ji left the hall visibly angry.
• Paparazzi tried to photograph Pei Ji and Shen Que, while Luo Yuan protected Shen Que and introduced himself as a major general of the Fourth Fleet.

Shen Que began repairing his marriage with Pei Ji while taking charge of White Sand Star’s ore trade, where he uncovered undergrade shipments and corruption. After the Trade Department seized Pei Ji’s Symbiotic Stone, Shen Que pursued the case, while Pei Ji headed home with a growing suspicion that someone was exposing the fleet’s patrol routes.

• Shen Que went into heat after confronting Austin, and Pei Ji comforted him with his pheromones before asking him to save White Sand Star’s ore trade.
• Pei Ji took Shen Que to the Desert Tavern, celebrated their wedding with him, and apologized for leaving him alone.
• Shen Que told Carolina he had found possible loopholes in the mining operations, then began inspecting the General Affairs Office and its ore shipments.
• Shen Que delayed a shipment after Xingyao identified undergrade ore by sight, and Pei Ji sent Shen Que a Pheromone Memory Stone so they could communicate while apart.
• Shen Que met Ling Yu and Dion to have the Memory Stone mounted, and he considered using symbiotic-stone offcuts to make Pei Ji a gift.
• Shen Que learned that the Trade Department had seized Pei Ji’s Symbiotic Stone as alleged smuggled goods and went to investigate with Xingyao and the appraisal reports.
• Shen Que suspended Gabi, appointed Jin Yi acting minister, and filed criminal charges against Lucas over the missing stone.
• Pei Ji destroyed an Insect Nest, suspected someone was revealing fleet patrol routes, and headed for White Sand Star after a foreboding feeling struck him.