"I quite like this child, so could I arrange a childhood engagement for Jiang Senlin?" Tian Rao said.
Jiang Ye quickly drank some water, lest he choke to death.
Cen Yemeng's mouth fell open, and she fell into a daze.
Tian Rao was stunned. She didn't think she had said anything shocking, so why were these two reacting so strongly?
"Are you crazy!" Jiang Ye's expression was incredulous. "Don't let Jiang Senlin's sweet talk fool you into losing your mind!"
"What's the big deal? The childhood engagement can be settled first, and then we can respect their personal wishes when they grow up," Tian Rao said.
"Do you mean you marry Jiang Senlin, or your child marries Jiang Senlin?" Cen Yemeng wanted to confirm.
"Of course, my child marries Jiang Senlin! Aren't childhood engagements for two children?" Tian Rao suddenly understood something and her eyes widened. "What were you thinking! Where did your minds go! I wouldn't harm your child! What a mess of generations! My goodness!"
"It was your ambiguous wording," Jiang Ye said, relieved, still a bit shaken.
"You scared me," Cen Yemeng continued eating. "The age difference is a bit too much. Three years per generation gap, this is almost ten generation gaps."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Jiang Ye became gossipy.
"Hmph, I'm so beautiful and rich. If I say I'm looking for a boyfriend today, the men who sign up tomorrow could hold hands and circle Jiang Ye Star!" Tian Rao proudly tilted her head.
"So you don't have one yet," Jiang Ye said mercilessly.
Tian Rao glared at him and stretched her leg out from under the table, intending to kick him hard. She suddenly remembered that his wife and child were present, so she sulkily withdrew her leg.
"I don't have a boyfriend yet, so there's no rush for a childhood engagement," Cen Yemeng said. "What if you have a boy?"
"I like daughters. When I get married, I'll have a few daughters first," Tian Rao said. "Why don't we arrange the childhood engagement first? My eldest daughter for Jiang Senlin! How about it?"
Tian Rao reached out to pat Jiang Senlin's head. Jiang Senlin looked dazed and blinked at the strange older sister.
Jiang Ye couldn't help but laugh. He didn't understand what was going on in Tian Rao's little head beneath her beautiful exterior. Her words and actions were all so strange, with a kind of cute and foolish charm. She didn't have a boyfriend yet, but she had already planned to have a bunch of daughters and even arrange a childhood engagement with her friend's son. What was all this about?
"Is that not okay?" Tian Rao asked expectantly.
"Let's talk about it after you get married," Cen Yemeng said with an awkward yet polite smile. "We can discuss it in detail then."
"So you're politely refusing me?" Tian Rao pouted. "I should have written some negative feedback in the review report if I had known."
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng smiled and both lowered their heads to pick up food.
Then, two pairs of chopsticks simultaneously stopped in mid-air.
Both of them realized something, their smiles disappeared, and they looked up at Tian Rao.
"You just mentioned a review report?" Jiang Ye asked. "What review report?"
"There's no point in hiding it now," Tian Rao said with a smile, picking up her cup to drink fruit wine. "My designation is m7801884. I am a planetary observer directly assigned by the Galactic Empire, responsible for the early observation and research of Jiang Ye Star. A few days ago, I submitted the complete observation log and the overall planetary review report to the relevant departments of the Galactic Empire."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Tian Rao was still smiling.
But Jiang Ye felt like he didn't recognize her.
Cen Yemeng was completely stunned. She had always had a good relationship with Tian Rao, and she never expected her good friend's true identity to be... a planetary observer.
"A bit surprised?" Tian Rao giggled and waved her hand in front of Jiang Ye's eyes.
"Not a bit," Jiang Ye put down his chopsticks, picked up his cup to drink water, and then fixed his gaze back on Tian Rao.
He never expected it, truly never expected it.
Jiang Ye had guessed everyone around him these past few days. He had even suspected Isabel was an observer, but he never suspected Tian Rao.
"You're not joking, right?" Jiang Ye asked.
Tian Rao smiled, took out her phone, and showed him a personal file.
The file was clearly in the format of a planetary observer, with the classification "Top Secret - Pre-Declassification." The small photo in the upper left corner was indeed Tian Rao. In the photo, she had a serious expression, almost a coldness like a secret agent, a look Jiang Ye had never seen on Tian Rao's face. Jiang Ye had to look at other entries to confirm it was the same person.
"My work is finished, so this file has been declassified and you can look at it freely," Tian Rao said, resting her chin on her hand. "Did you ever sense that my identity was unusual?"
"Yes, but I didn't think in that direction," Jiang Ye said.
"You didn't think in that direction?" Tian Rao was surprised. "Then what direction did you think in? When did you start suspecting?"
"That person who looked exactly like you, and the inability to perform genetic comparisons on you," Jiang Ye said. "From then on, I guessed you were an artificial human, a product of the Galactic Empire's secret population supplement plan, sent here. That person who looked like you was also an artificial human, from the same production batch, hence the strict secrecy. Now it seems I was wrong. I thought it was because you had an official position that you couldn't have your DNA tested."
"You weren't wrong, you guessed correctly," Tian Rao said.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng were stunned again.
"I am an artificial human," Tian Rao nodded. "She is too. But we are not from the same production batch. We are from the same production base, using the same genetic template with minor adjustments."
"You don't discriminate against artificial humans, do you!" Tian Rao suddenly sat up straight.
"No discrimination. If I discriminated, I wouldn't have let you monopolize the clothing market. You're an artificial human, and we're still good friends... Is our friendship a matter of work necessity, or is it real?" Jiang Ye kept drinking water, feeling inexplicably thirsty. Perhaps it was the sheer volume of information, and he needed to water-cool his brain's CPU.
"Of course, it's real!" Tian Rao laughed heartily. "Although I approached you first, you are genuinely a good person. So, do you want to arrange a childhood engagement?"
"You're finished with your observation work, will you still stay here?" Cen Yemeng asked.
"Of course. That job doesn't pay much. I'm doing very well in the clothing business here, my connections are all here, my property and house are all here, why would I leave?" Tian Rao looked at Cen Yemeng with a bewildered expression. "From today onwards, I am an ordinary person with no hidden identity. Everything will be like before."
"So, in your review report... was there more positive or negative feedback?" Jiang Ye was very nervous.
"Of course, it was all positive! I still need you to look out for me in the future. How could I possibly write negative feedback for a friend! Ju Lanlan always says that disloyalty deserves a severe punishment!" Tian Rao said righteously. "I need to show my loyalty. I didn't reveal my identity before because it was necessary for my work, it was professional ethics. But I am not someone who puts on a different face for different people! Following Brother Jiang, I do it from the bottom of my heart!"
Jiang Ye was completely bewildered.
This spy... why did she seem different from traditional spies?
She was supposed to gather intelligence on the target, but ended up being swayed by the target and becoming a loyal subordinate?