Book 4, Chapter 9 - VIPs
“What’s wrong? Ming You?!” We looked at her anxiously.
“She is, she is-! Sis Cannon is pregnant!” Ming You shouted in excitement. Everyone at the square turned towards us in unison. The very next moment, the crowd burst out cheering.
Everyone was thrilled with excitement. Sis Cannon stood dumbfounded on the spot, while Khai fainted from shock.
Sis Cannon was pregnant. I felt like I was dreaming.
To the seventeen-year-old me, getting married and giving birth seemed so far away from me. Now that it suddenly happened to a close friend of mine.. I didn’t know how to describe how I was feeling. It was a strange feeling that I wasn’t used to.
Is Sis Cannon really pregnant?
On top of that, getting pregnant seemed to be as contagious as starting romantic relationships. After Sis Cannon had announced her pregnancy, there was continuously great news from Love Hut. The girls in Noah City seemed to have caught a pregnancy wave this year!
After having gained sufficient resources, we first encouraged people to start romantic relationships, followed by supporting them to having babies. Elder Alufa was thrilled with excitement. The passionate rock music he used to broadcast in the beginning, now turned into gentle melodious prenatal nurturing music. Just listening to it was enough to make everyone relax and lean leisurely.
Did everyone really manage to get pregnant?
It felt as unrealistic as all my high school girl classmates in high school suddenly getting pregnant and the guy classmates suddenly becoming dads. Everyone still looked so young and innocent, barely more than kids themselves.
Maybe in the ancient times, this would have been very normal. Back then, girls married at thirteen and many gave birth at sixteen. So, those who had hit sixteen or eighteen would be considered as old maidens!
Besides the good news, this month had a very important and exciting occasion coming up: Arsenal’s coming-of-age ceremony!
Arsenal’s coming-of-age ceremony fell on the twelfth of September. All the guys in Noah City who admired Arsenal were working hard, hoping to be chosen as one of her husbands.
Right, I’d heard that Arsenal wasn’t going to choose only Brother Qian Li alone!
Brother Qian Li was only going to be one of her husbands!
Of course, Brother Qian Li had yet to know Arsenal’s decision to choose him at all, but the rest of us knew.
Everyone gathered at the entrance of Noah City early in the morning to clear weeds. It was said that Arsenal had invited VIPs to her ceremony, so we had to clear out a welcoming path for them.
The others were busy decorating in Noah City. My statue was going to get a skirt made of dried flowers too. Thanks to Arsenal, I would finally be dressed up instead of ‘naked’.
Sis Cannon was resting by the side while we worked. All the pregnant ladies in Noah City had become Noah City’s most important and protected treasures, and were naturally no longer required to take part in any manual labor. Their mission was to rest well and give birth to healthy babies.
Now that he’d become a father, Khai worked even harder because Noah City’s resources were distributed according to the labor one put in.
Little Har and the other two birds were also helping to remove the weeds using their beaks.
“Do you know who are the VIPs that Arsenal invited?” Harry looked at me mysteriously.
I glanced at him as I plucked out the weeds. “I have no idea.”
Harry lifted his head, his eyes landing on the silver moon above Noah City.
Shocked, I stood up at once. “Are you serious?!”
“Harry, is that true?!” Xiao Ying ran over excitedly. Joey looked upset and pulled out the weed harshly.
Everyone surrounded Harry, waiting for his answer.
Harry nodded. “Princess Arsenal has already sent an invitation to Silver Moon City, inviting His Highness Xing Chuan to her coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Sigh!” I could only sigh. I knew that the invitation carried a deeper political meaning for Noah City. Although I hated Xing Chuan, I had to consider the overall situation.
“However, will His Highness Xing Chuan come?” Xiao Ying was worried. She held her face in anticipation. “I am almost fifteen now, I’m all grown up. I would love to see His Highness Xing Chuan again. He’ll definitely be more good looking than before! Wow!” Xiao Ying was already fantasizing about Xing Chuan.
Almost a year had passed since I’d last seen Xing Chuan, but I had no interest at all in seeing how he’d turned out.
I was taller than before and my hair had grown longer too. I tied my hair in a ponytail high on my head, the end swishing behind my back. My bangs hung on both sides of my face. It helped me to look more like a guy when I used my male disguise.
Of course, my boobs had also grown much bigger too.
“In the past, we’d sent other invitations too but no representative had come from Silver Moon City,” Ming You sighed. She was a little angry too. “Later on, even if they’d accepted the invitation, it would be the people around Xing Chuan who attended on his behalf, like Sharjah and the rest. Other than that, they only came to give us maps. Oh, and back when they came to search for you.” Ming You looked at me. “In short, the people in Silver Moon City have always looked down on us.”
“They definitely won’t anymore!” Harry sounded smugly confident.
Harry was right. After Silver Moon City’s visit this time round, they would never look down on us again.
“Brother Bing, don’t worry. Xing Chuan wouldn’t come in person.” Khai and the others seemed to be comforting me.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “But Arsenal hopes for his attendance. It’s her coming-of-age ceremony after all.” Arsenal’s coming-of-age ceremony where she would turn seventeen was very important.
“Luo Bing,” Arsenal suddenly called from behind the gate. I looked at her and she smiled at me.
Arsenal and I walked across the ground that was almost cleared. Harry and the others continued to pull out the weeds, although they kept peeping at us.
Arsenal lifted her hand to tuck her hair behind her ears. She glanced at me, then lowered her face. “His Highness Xing Chuan sent an official reply. He will come to join my coming-of-age ceremony tomorrow.”
I was stunned. Xing Chuan is coming to join Arsenal’s coming-of-age ceremony!
Arsenal’s face blushed like a flower blooming in early spring. She lifted her hand and smoothen the hair behind her ears. Her bashfulness colored her face a rosy pink.
However, she slowly turned awkward. She blinked and her golden eyelashes quivered in the summer wind. “You..”
“Great. You can see him and dance with him then. Like how I taught you.” I was happy for Arsenal although I hated Xing Chuan.
Arsenal smiled. She lifted her face and her expression turned serious. “You’d better dress as a man tomorrow.”
I looked away in annoyance. “I’d dress in a male outfit even if you didn’t ask. Can I not join the ceremony?” I glanced at Arsenal and she immediately looked disappointed. She lowered her face and held my hand. “This is my coming-of-age ceremony. You are my best friend.”
“I know.” I held her hand.
She smiled and winked at me. “Don’t worry. It’s a masquerade party tomorrow. You can hide.” She winked again.
I smiled too. Her ceremony would be a masquerade ball. We’d prepared for it for very long. The dance hall had been decorated extremely well. The girls had been looking forward to the dance party so that they could put on beautiful dresses.
“It’s a pity that I couldn’t see you in a formal dress.” Arsenal looked at me in disappointment. I chuckled. “You’re not a guy who’s after me, what are you feeling sorry for?”
“Pfft.” She smiled. We looked at each other under the sunlight and smiled. However, I faintly felt a heavy burden weighing down my heart. I am going to meet Xing Chuan again, tomorrow.