The male supporting character was actually myself.

Chapter Twenty-One: A Love Sent to Life

"Young Master, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Lan Jingshu lifted the beaded curtain and gracefully moved to her seat, taking a sip of the slightly cooled tea.

Seeing that the other party did not speak, Jiang Chen knew that this matter was of great importance; otherwise, she would not have exclaimed in shock.

It probably involves the core secrets of the Yunmeng family.

"According to the itinerary, we will arrive at Cangyu Port on the Starry Sky Continent at noon tomorrow. I will then tell the captain to make a short stop on the airship. You should disembark then, young master."

She put down her teacup, took a deep breath, and said, "The Yunmeng family's most precious secret is on the Yun Shen Meng Cheng ship. I must stay and fight to the death to protect this secret, otherwise... the whole world may go completely mad."

This matter is of great importance, and I dare not tell you casually, young master. Please understand that I have a difficult reason to discuss this.

If we are truly destined to meet, we will surely meet again someday.

If I die young and do not have this blessing…

At this point, Lan Jingshu's eyes reddened slightly, and she quickly picked up her teacup, pretending to drink tea to cover her tearful eyes.

“Miss, you don’t need to worry. I won’t get off the ship if you don’t leave.” Jiang Chen took out the jade pendant he had prepared beforehand. “Miss Lan, we met and got to know each other last night. I only regret that we met too late.”

Since we're going to face life-or-death ordeals together, I don't want to leave any regrets in my life.

If you feel I am worthy of your lifelong commitment, please accept this jade pendant.

"Having narrowly escaped this calamity, I will one day personally travel to Yunmeng City with betrothal gifts to propose marriage to you."

"You..." Unexpectedly, he had such a big idea and spoke so clearly. Lan Jingshu was stunned for a while, her heart pounding. Then, blushing, she asked softly, "In that case, I need to find out what's going on between you and the Ye family's daughter."

Yesterday you swore you'd be devoted to her, to grow old together, and today you've turned to me. Isn't that a bit...

Seeing that she refused to accept the token of love and kept pressing for details, Jiang Chen sighed and had no choice but to patiently explain, "I don't want to hide anything from you, Miss. You can keep this to yourself, but you must never let anyone else know."

Actually, my marriage to the Ye family's daughter was arranged by my parents and a matchmaker.

Miss Lan knew that I had lost both my parents at a young age and had no close relatives, so I had inevitably received a lot of help from benefactors in my life, studies, and making a living. An elder who had been kind to me was a close friend of the Ye family, and his influence on me was so great that he could be considered my second parents.

The Ye family asked an elder to arrange the marriage. I was already of marriageable age and urgently needed a virtuous wife to help me, so I agreed to meet her.

The elders praised the Ye family's daughter for her graceful and dignified demeanor, noting that despite her family's decline, she remained composed and showed no desire to compete or flaunt her wealth.

The first time I met her was at a banquet surrounded by people. She was indeed elegant and poised, and her good looks met my basic requirements for a partner.

Young lady, you may not know this, but in our Lan Jinxi continent, the practice of getting married first and then falling in love is still preserved.

If both parties feel that their social standing and appearance are not too bad, and they have no objections after two meetings, they can get engaged and married. After that, they can slowly work things out and cultivate their relationship. This has been the way of many generations. In fact, many couples who have a lot of children still don't have much affection for each other; the husband is the breadwinner and the wife stays home to manage the household.

I believe that as long as both parties are attracted to each other, and with their understanding and consideration, they will definitely be able to have a harmonious marriage.

“I understand that.” Lan Jingshu lowered her head slightly and said shyly, “It’s the same in Yunmeng City. My elder brother was even more conservative when he got married. He didn’t even see what his new wife looked like until the wedding night.”

My parents often said that as long as two people come from similar backgrounds, have a common economic foundation and living environment, they can make a good living by adjusting to each other.

only……"

Her face flushed red, and she didn't finish her last sentence.

She was simply eager to find a suitable husband, and influenced by the latest trend of free love, she wanted to talk to him and get to know him beforehand.

Otherwise, if you only find out about certain unacceptable words, behaviors, or quirks after marriage, wouldn't that ruin your life?

"I was also worried that I didn't understand her well enough and that we wouldn't be able to agree on our ideas, so I said those words when I asked her to accept the jade pendant at the engagement ceremony."

As long as she is well-educated, reasonable, loves and respects me, I will definitely only give the same reciprocation to one person.

She accepted the gift without objection at the time, but she never expected...

The young lady probably knew that after the ceremony, the Ye family's daughter would feign illness and never leave her room, right?

When I went with Mr. Ouyang to discuss the wedding night arrangements, I overheard the Ye family mother and daughter arguing outside the door. I learned that the Ye family's daughter was obsessed with the stories in the novels and was convinced that I, a businessman, valued profit over parting. She was determined to find a romantic and charming scholar from the novels to spend her life with under the moon and flowers.

They even believed that when I helped the Ye family with my marriage proposal, it was the Ye family matriarch who sold me out.

My parents were a couple who broke through the shackles of worldly conventions and were truly in love. Although they passed away when I was young, they had a great influence on my views on marriage and love.

If I were to marry, I would definitely choose a wife with whom I share mutual affection, common interests, and a lifelong commitment to each other, a wife with whom I will be one and only for life.

My love cannot tolerate even the slightest imperfection.

What's more, the Ye family's daughter is such a person who makes wild guesses and corrupts people's hearts, and whose heart and eyes are full of childish and ridiculous expectations of having a secret rendezvous with a scholar in the middle of the night to spend a good night together. She is not virtuous and does not respect herself.

However, out of respect for the officiant, Mr. Ouyang, the only reason for announcing the engagement on the spot was that the Ye family's daughter was unwell.

I'm busy with my business on weekdays and don't have the time or opportunity to meet young women my age, so I'm still single and don't have a clear goal for a partner.

It wasn't until I met the girl last night that I realized what it truly felt like to be soulmates.

If you share my thoughts, please accept this jade pendant. No matter what disasters we encounter next, I will do everything in my power to protect you and the reputation of the Yunmeng family!

Even if we don't know the exact cause of the crash, we can simply use the Horcrux to lift up the entire airship and protect it as much as possible.

At most, using the Horcrux will cause excessive consumption of mental energy, and I will probably be unconscious for a while, just like when I was exhausted from killing the Soul Eater in the real world. I will tell the little white cat in advance that I have healing items so I shouldn't die.

It's just a gamble, it's not like we haven't tried before.

"I..." Hearing his promise, Lan Jingshu was so moved that she didn't know what to do.

But with no elders present, is it really possible to secretly pledge one's life to another?

The education I received from childhood clashed with my inner yearning, and conservative ideas quickly prevailed.

"Since we're going to face life and death together, I might as well go all out!" Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of her chest. She gritted her teeth and said firmly, "Now that it's just the two of us, isn't it like we're making a lifelong vow?"

If you truly love and respect me, please find a respected elder to act as matchmaker.

I will first accept this token of our love and pledge our lives to each other. If we can escape this calamity, then we will proceed with the engagement ceremony according to proper etiquette, exchanging betrothal gifts.

To be able to say these words truly shows that Lan Jingshu has made every effort to break through her own limitations.

Jiang Chen's eyes immediately lit up, and he stood up, cupping his hands in greeting, saying, "There's no time to lose. I'll go find Mr. Ouyang to act as matchmaker. We should at least have a basic ceremony first."

"Once we've escaped this ordeal, let's celebrate! I'll throw you the grandest engagement party ever!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: The True Core Motivation!

That night, the reception room was decorated with delicious food and red candles. Mr. Ouyang acted as matchmaker, and Jiang Chen and Lan Jingshu, a perfect couple, exchanged tokens of their love and held a simple ceremony.

The flickering red candles illuminated the hall brightly.

Duan Lang sat in the main seat, staring intently at Ye Qingqing, who was seated not far away, his bright eyes almost glued to her.

He was a young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and had seen countless beauties since childhood. But none of them could penetrate his heart as deeply as this girl, leaving an indelible mark on his soul at first glance.

If I could marry her, I would have achieved everything I desire – passing the imperial examination, celebrating my wedding night, and all the most beautiful things in life!

While Duan Lang was admiring Ye Qingqing's beauty, she was also stealing glances at him.

With a straight nose and thin lips, he had a handsome appearance. Although not as dazzling as Luo Jiangchen's sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, he still had the refined and elegant look of a scholar. In addition, the title of the newly appointed top scholar added to his charm in Ye Qingqing's eyes.

Although the romantic encounter, the moonlit night of getting to know each other, and the process of encouraging each other were missing, the other person has already achieved top honors in the imperial examinations. But as my mother said, at least it's safe, so that the potential star doesn't fail the exams for many years or ruin his health by studying too hard.

The feeling of directly reaping the rewards seems quite nice.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. Ye Qingqing glanced at Duan Lang, but what came to mind was her lover's every smile and deep affection in his eyes.

How wonderful it would be if he were the newly appointed top scholar who came to propose marriage!

To spend every day and night with the one you love for the rest of your life—that is truly a life without regrets.

Outside the window, a raging storm raged, but inside the steadily flying airship, two romances blossomed simultaneously.

Jiang Chen and Lan Jingshu pledged their lives to each other;

Duan Lang and Ye Qingqing vowed to grow old together.

After the dinner, the two saw off Mr. Ouyang with heartfelt gratitude. Yan'er then made an excuse to go to the kitchen to urge for hot water and left first.

Lan Jingshu gazed silently at her beloved under the red candlelight, pondered for a moment, and then lowered her voice to say, "Since we have already made a marriage agreement, according to your dream, the airship will encounter a tornado tomorrow night, and thousands of lives will be lost."

After much hesitation, I decided to tell you this secret, in case disaster strikes and we can still find a way to stop it.

But this is of utmost importance, and I require you to swear to God that you will absolutely not leak the secret, and you will not be tempted by greed because of it!

"If we knew how the airships operated, we might be able to find a way to deal with the disaster, but I'm not sure if it would work."

I swear I will never reveal the secrets of the Yunmeng family. As for whether you want to tell me, please think it over carefully.” Jiang Chen was afraid that she would feel guilty.

After she swears, let her think about it again and decide whether to tell the truth.

Anyway, I've already prepared for the worst, so this last little bit won't make a difference.

Lan Jingshu was restless and nervously twisted her handkerchief. After making up her mind, she blushed and took the initiative to grab Jiang Chen's hand and lead him into her boudoir.

After making sure that no third person would hear, she lowered her voice and whispered in her fiancé's ear, "Young master, do you know that our Yunmeng City is located in the highest and most secluded deep clouds?"

They naturally knew about the four continents in the clouds and the countless flying islands.

For thousands of years, people have lived their lives this way, traveling between continents by airship. No one has ever thought about why such enormous things as land and mountains can float steadily in the sky.

The Yunmeng family researches airship technology and has a deep understanding of flight.

A secret has been circulating within the family that all flying islands contain a mysterious substance called the Flying Stone.

The Flying Stone is the core of the entire floating continent!

This is just an old rumor, and there is no evidence to support it.

As far as I know, many adventure teams throughout history have spared no effort in searching for traces of levitation stones, only to find nothing in the end.

According to the secrets circulating within the Yunmeng family, the Flying Stone is a stone that emits a blue light.

They can float and fly unaffected by anything, possessing powerful and mysterious energy.

When you told me the airship had no fuel, that was the first thing that came to mind, which is why I went inside the power system to check.

Now I can tell you with absolute certainty that the core power source of the Cloud Dream City is the Flying Stone!

I don’t know if my second brother had any extraordinary encounters while researching and searching for Flowing Light Island, but the fact is that we have at least one flying stone, which is currently providing the entire airship with flight power.

The entire operating system is designed around the flying stone.

I took a look and could vaguely guess that it probably uses gravity to counteract the property of the flying stone constantly floating upwards.

This is used to control the airship's takeoff, landing, and maneuvering.

The numerous large and heavy masts are one such component. After balancing most of the force of the flying stone, the remaining operation relies entirely on wind power, so the masts are very important to the Cloud Dream City.