On the Ark.

However, once the words were spoken, they could not be taken back, so Ying Li could only endure it and comfort herself by thinking that the other party did not know her identity.

Lin Ye didn't think that much about it, and simply said, "I could tell from your tone. People who are happy should say things like 'I'm getting married' with great joy, but I can't hear any joy in your tone."

Ying Li said, "That's just because I'm not good at expressing myself."

"Maybe."

"What, you don't believe me?"

"What's the use of me believing it or not?" Lin Ye said with a smile. "The question is whether you believe it yourself? The only person you can't lie to is yourself."

Ying Li was speechless for a moment, but then she realized that she had indeed been too obvious.

"Looks like I guessed right," Lin Ye said.

Ying Li's voice was cold: "You seem quite smug?"

“What’s there to be proud of?” Lin Ye said. “Today I laugh at you, tomorrow you laugh at me. It’s pointless to keep laughing at each other.”

"Life is inherently meaningless."

"Don't say that. I think life is still pretty good. Of course, I don't mean to correct you," Lin Ye said. "Since you've said something like that, it seems you're very dissatisfied with your future husband and your future marriage. In that case, why not just turn it down?"

"Do you think everything in this world can go as you wish?" Ying Li countered.

Lin Ye was silent for a moment, then said, "That's true."

This response surprised Ying Li. If the other party had bluntly said something like, "If you don't want to get married, then don't get married. Your marriage is your own freedom," she would have thought Lin Ye was a very ignorant and naive young man. Ying Li herself looked down on people who rashly interfered in the lives of strangers.

Lin Ye's words, "That's true," gave Ying Li a different feeling.

Hmm... it feels even worse now.

Thinking this, Ying Li couldn't help but take out a pack of women's cigarettes from her pocket.

Hearing the "ding" of the lighter, Lin Ye turned his head and saw a string of flames rising in the darkness, illuminating a cigarette, a pair of beautiful hands, and slightly pale lips.

"Snapped".

The flames went out, but the brief flash of light convinced Lin Ye that the other person was a very beautiful girl.

"Do you still smoke?" Lin Ye asked.

"What? You're not allowed?" Ying Li's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

Actually, she wasn't a heavy smoker; she only bought this pack because she heard it could relieve stress. She'd been smoking for two years and still hadn't finished it, for a simple reason: if the news of "Her Highness the Fourth Princess smoking" got out to the media, the consequences would be severe. Therefore, taking out the cigarettes in front of Lin Ye was a risky move. What if Lin Ye found out her identity…? She should have considered this, yet she still took out the cigarettes. Firstly, she was truly uncomfortable keeping it bottled up inside, and secondly, she didn't seem to consider Lin Ye her enemy.

But she still harbored resistance in her heart, so when Lin Ye asked her if she still smoked, her response was tinged with resentment.

She could already guess Lin Ye's next response, since there were only two possible responses. Either he would reprimand her sternly, like her father or the second prince, saying that as a princess, she had no manners whatsoever—a statement that would also apply to any woman. However, Lin Ye wasn't her elder or brother, so there was no reason for him to say that. Therefore, the second response was the only possibility.

That's the kind of talk that sounds like, "No, I think it's fine for girls to smoke," "Girls who smoke are very attractive," or "I understand, it's one way to relieve stress." These are common polite phrases used by guys towards girls they don't know well, or pretty girls. Having met so many people and read so many books, Ying Li knew this all too well; it was utterly unoriginal.

So when she said those words to Lin Ye, she couldn't help but wonder what her silly older brother would say to her if he were still alive.

The answer doesn't seem hard to guess. If it were him, he would definitely say...

"No. I don't smoke much, so I can't really comment. But your throat must hurt after smoking, right? I have some throat lozenges here, do you want some?"

Lin Ye said casually, and took out a throat lozenge from his pocket.

Ying Li was stunned. The voice in her mind and the voice in reality sounded at the same time, so she couldn't even hold the cigarette in her hand. Her hand trembled, and the cigarette she had just lit fell from the top floor. The faint flame was quickly extinguished in the wind.

……

……

Author's BB: -117.

Actually, today's three chapters combined already total 7,500 words, so another 500 words would count as two more chapters. But I know some people who don't check word counts will accuse me of padding, so I'll just consider it one chapter. Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this part of the story; it was quite interesting. By the way, regarding whether Ying Li is a cat, that's definitely not the case. And I definitely won't write anything about incest or anything like that. There's more than just love in this world, don't you think?

Chapter 548 is to come, goodnight.

In his past life, a girl once told Lin Ye that a boy who always carried candy and tissues must be a very gentle boy. However, Lin Ye didn't take it to heart; he never carried tissues or candy in his pocket. Today, however, was an exception. The Starlight Hotel's restaurant was offering free throat lozenges to all guests. In his past life, this would have been perfectly normal. But in Terra, a world where candy was considered a strategic resource, the generosity of a hotel was enough to demonstrate just how powerful the Yan Kingdom truly was.

So Lin Ye took two candies, intending to eat them after his meal had been digested, but he forgot about them after leaving the restaurant. He only remembered when the girl took out a cigarette, so he casually asked her if she wanted some when he took out the candies. Then he saw the cigarette fall from the girl's hand.

Falling objects from high-rise buildings is illegal.

Lin Ye wanted to remind the other person, but then thought better of it.

If the light on the balcony had been brighter, and Lin Ye had looked more closely, he would have noticed that Ying Li's entire body was trembling, as if she had heard something terrible.

A full half minute passed before Ying Li came to her senses, turned to look at the figure in the darkness, bit her lower lip tightly, and then softly said, "Yes."

"Huh?" Lin Ye didn't understand Ying Li's meaning.

“You just asked me if I wanted candy,” Ying Li said. “I said yes.”

"Oh, here you go." Lin Ye tossed the candy over, and Ying Li barely caught it.

Ying Li held the candy in her palm for a while before peeling off the wrapper and putting it in her mouth. At that moment, the sweetness spread across her tongue, carrying a refreshing and stimulating minty aroma, causing Ying Li to involuntarily squint her eyes.

"You might think I'm being a bit nosy," Lin Ye said, "but smoking is really bad. It's best not to smoke if you can avoid it. If you really can't quit, just put a few candies in your pocket and pop one in your mouth when you feel like smoking."

Lin Ye's words made Ying Li want to laugh. She thought to herself, "Who do you think you are, daring to point fingers at me like that?" But she couldn't bring herself to laugh. She felt she had no way to refute him, nor did she want to. So she nodded and softly said, "I understand."

It’s weird.

Ying Li thought to herself.

Why do I look so much like that person?

At this moment, Lin Ye had no idea how much emotional turmoil the Fourth Princess of Yan Kingdom next door was experiencing. He only felt tired and sleepy. When he learned that she wouldn't jump off the building because of her sadness, he already wanted to go back to sleep. But then he felt that going back to sleep at this time was really not a good idea. She clearly needed someone to talk to to relieve her stress, so he decided to hold on a little longer.

Sure enough, not long after, he heard the other person speak again: "I originally had an older brother, who looks a bit like you."

Lin Ye thought to himself, "It's so dark that no one can see anyone else, so how come we look alike?"

“But he’s no longer alive,” Ying Li said. “So I’ve been thinking about what he would say to me if he were still alive at this time.”

Lin Ye thought for a moment, then said tentatively, "Happy wedding?"

"Yes." Ying Li smiled. "I thought so too."

"So the reason you're so melancholy tonight is twofold: firstly, you're not entirely satisfied with your future marriage, and secondly, your very important brother couldn't be there to offer his blessings during one of the most important moments of your life?" Lin Ye concluded.

Ying Li nodded: "That's not wrong."

"I see." Lin Ye pondered for a moment, then asked, "So, in what way does your older brother resemble me? His voice?

Why do you ask that?

"Since he can't bless you, I can bless you on his behalf," Lin Ye said with a smile.

Should I wish him well?

Ying Li was initially stunned by Lin Ye's suggestion. She thought, "How dare you replace my brother? My brother is the third prince of Yan Kingdom!" However, upon further reflection, she realized her brother had never enjoyed the privileges of a prince. Even the people of Yan Kingdom didn't know that this prince lived to almost adulthood before passing away; they all believed he died shortly after birth. Therefore, he could be said to have the title of prince, but not the reality.

Thinking this, Ying Li felt even more upset.

Ying Li didn't respond for a long time, which made Lin Ye think that his words had offended her. He quickly said, "I'm sorry, if you don't want to, that's fine. Just take it as a joke. I didn't mean any harm, I just said it casually..."

"It's troublesome."

"Hmm...what?"

"I mean, thank you for your help," Ying Li said softly. "If you could, could you please wish me a happy marriage again? I haven't heard his voice in so long. Now that you mention it, I really want to hear it again."

"Is that so?" Lin Ye didn't expect Ying Li to actually agree, so he scratched his head and said, "Let me think about it for a bit, after all, I don't have a younger sister."

"Ah."

What does an older brother say to his younger sister before she gets married?

This seems like a very complicated question. Lin Ye, who doesn't have a younger sister, has no idea what the standard answer is. He really wanted to take out his phone and search for it, but then he felt that would be too insincere. So he tried his best to put himself in the role of the older brother, but after hesitating for a long time, he could only say a very dry "Happy Wedding."

Ying Li seemed to have anticipated this, but still smiled and said thank you.

However, this "thank you" made Lin Ye feel inexplicably sad.

"I've never been an older brother, so there's no real feeling in what I'm saying." Lin Ye coughed twice. "How about you give me some time to think about it? I'm not feeling well today, so let's come back tomorrow night."

Are you coming again tomorrow night?

Ying Li was taken aback, not expecting Lin Ye to be so persistent. She had originally wanted to say something like, "It's not necessary to go to so much trouble," or "What you just said was already quite good," to brush Lin Ye off. However, the words wouldn't come out, perhaps because she wanted to hear that familiar voice again. So she softly hummed in agreement.

Then the phone suddenly rang.

Ying Li picked up her phone and saw that it was the Second Prince, Ying Jie, calling. She immediately had the urge to hang up, but dared not. She could only put her phone on silent and then said to Lin Ye on the other end, "That's enough for today. I need to go back now. You should get some rest too."

After saying that, she turned and left, thinking to herself.

The person who called was the real "brother," but the person she chatted with was a fake "brother." Ironically, she preferred to talk to the fake "brother" longer.

Just as Ying Li was about to return to her room, she heard Lin Ye's voice again.

"It will be alright."

Ying Li turned around and looked at the figure waving at her from the balcony.

"Also, goodnight," Lin Ye said.

Chapter 549 Deer-shaped Sword

The next day, after breakfast, the group headed straight to the Los Angeles Library.

"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've ever been to a library in all these years I've lived in Los Angeles," said the Iron-Eating Beast. "Tourists rarely go to places like libraries, right? So, what kind of information are you looking for?"

Seeing that the Iron-Eating Beast had asked, Warfarin didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Do you know about the original humans?"

"Original humans?" The Iron-Eating Beast tilted its head and said, "I think I've heard of them. Why?"

Warfarin then asked, "Have you ever seen any original humans?"

"I don't think I've seen them much before, though it's possible I have, but I don't know," the Iron-Eating Beast said, shrugging. "Generally speaking, few people would ask about race, right?"

Lin Ye asked with some curiosity, "Weren't the characteristics of the original humans quite obvious?"

"Where is it obvious? Please, having obvious features and having no features are not the same thing." The Iron-Eating Beast rolled its eyes and said, "Like, I don't see any obvious racial features in you, so are you a primitive human?"

Lin Ye nodded and said, "Yes, that's me."

"Uh." The Iron-Eating Beast was taken aback. "You really are? Or is it just that your racial characteristics aren't obvious?"