Top edge chapter 67
It can only be you
Later in the evening, the number of people coming to pay their respects gradually decreased. The servant carrying an oxygen tank began tidying up various materials, and the guards patrolling the surroundings gradually dispersed and returned to their original positions.
Shen Siwei and Klet had returned to their room early, keeping a close eye on the public opinion trends. The news of Miller’s suicide note and the Deep Sea Energy Station spread quickly. Although the Marg people had not yet made a statement, it was already certain that a nationwide referendum would be held—it was only a matter of when.
If nothing unexpected happened, the preparations for the referendum would officially begin within a week.
“What do you think of this place?” Klet handed the projection screen of the microcomputer to Shen Siwei.
Shen Siwei’s external communication still couldn’t connect, so he was currently using Klet’s hotspot. The news in his palm suddenly turned into a landscape picture, and Shen Siwei asked inexplicably, “Where’s this?”
“We can have our wedding here,” Klet said.
Shen Siwei: “…”
He thought Klet, like him, was paying attention to the current situation, but it turned out that all he could think about was getting married.
“We’ll talk about it later.” He closed the image.
“When is later?” Klet leaned over Shen Siwei, a hint of fire flickering in his eyes. “We can hold the ceremony later, but now…”
His big hand restlessly climbed up Shen Siwei’s waist and skillfully moved to his ass.
“Now, I’m a bit hungry,” Klet huskily voiced, the implications couldn’t be any clearer.
Shen Siwei couldn’t help but feel a little strange, wondering if he had suddenly changed his mind? He used to be so innocent.
“I’m a bit hungry too.” Shen Siwei nodded in agreement, dodging Klet’s leaning body and standing up from the sofa. “Let’s go to the restaurant for dinner.”
“Dinner?” Klet tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.
“Weren’t you saying you’re hungry?”
“I…”
“Let’s go.”
Shen Siwei walked to the bedroom door, lifting the heavy metal door. He looked back at Klet, gesturing with his eyes for him to follow, and then walked straight into the corridor.
Klet frowned, opened the communicator, and sent a message.
[Klet: Hints don’t work.] [Malken: How come? The negotiator can’t understand?] [Klet: He understood. He just doesn’t want to.] [Malken: It might not be that he doesn’t want to, maybe he’s just shy. Be assertive, boss.] [Klet: It won’t work.] [Klet: I’m afraid he’ll kick me.]Unlike ordinary wealthy households, there were no chefs in the Miller family’s kitchen. Instead, there were AI robots that could produce any dish according to standardized recipes.
However, Shen Siwei still couldn’t trust it completely, so he personally went to the kitchen to oversee the cooking, and then carried two plates of stewed beef to the dining room.
“Who are you chatting with?” He placed the plates in front of Klet.
“Malken.” Klet smoothly handed the cleaned cutlery to Shen Siwei and said quite seriously, “We were talking about the referendum.”
“What are their thoughts?” Shen Siwei pulled out a chair and sat down next to Klet.
“They…” Klet seemed to hesitate for a moment. “They decided to play it by ear.”
Shen Siwei: “?”
Playing it by ear was the obvious course of action, so Klet’s words seemed like an unnecessary statement.
But Shen Siwei couldn’t be bothered to delve into it further. After all, the overall situation had already been determined, and there shouldn’t be any trouble on the Nightingale’s side. Compared to that, he was more concerned about that restaurant that remained the same while everything else had changed.
When Shen Siwei woke up for the second time, Miller had invited him to dine there. Miller sat at the head of the long table, with Moran and Shen Siwei sitting on either side, discussing the search for Amor. So many things had happened in less than a month, and Shen Siwei couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard in the spacious dining room. Both of them instinctively turned their heads towards the sound, and they saw Adolf approaching.
He loosened his tie, showing a hint of fatigue on his face, but he still walked with a straight posture, as if reminding himself not to lower his guard no matter what.
“How’s the taste?” He sat down across from the two, casually ordering from the table’s display screen while asking nonchalantly.
Klet, as always, couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to him, so Shen Siwei took the initiative and asked, “Is there something you need?”
“This is my house. Do I need something from you to come to the restaurant?” Adolf pressed the confirm button with a displeased expression, looking at Shen Siwei unfriendly.
As long as there’s nothing wrong.
Shen Siwei chose not to respond and focused on eating the stewed beef on his plate.
To be fair, the stewed beef made by the AI robots was already very delicious, but it seemed to fall short compared to the taste Shen Siwei had experienced at Klet’s house.
“Are you celebrating your victory already?” Adolf suddenly spoke.
He seemed to not care about the two, but when Shen Siwei didn’t respond to him, he began to initiate the conversation again.
“Not really.” Shen Siwei said casually.
He suddenly felt that one serving of beef was a bit too much for him, so he put down his cutlery and pushed the plate closer to Klet.
Klet paused and looked at Shen Siwei.
“I can’t finish it,” Shen Siwei said.
“I’ll take it,” Klet voluntarily moved Shen Siwei’s plate closer to himself.
The atmosphere between the two clearly did not welcome a third person. Adolf tapped the table impatiently with his index finger and interrupted them displeased, “I must remind you that in order to hold a national referendum, you need the consent of the Marg people. As long as I don’t approve, no matter how you vote, the Marg people will never agree to it.”
“So you want to delay it?” Shen Siwei wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“I have no reason to cooperate with you,” Adolf regained his confidence and raised his chin slightly. “Furthermore, the longer we delay, the unknown the final outcome will be.”
“Speak up, what are your conditions?” Shen Siwei put down the napkin.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Adolf responded with ease.
Shen Siwei had expected that Adolf wouldn’t easily give up, so he didn’t have many thoughts on the matter. He reminded, “The longer you delay, the more dissatisfied the civilians will become.”
“Hah, I don’t care,” Adolf sneered. “I won’t let you win so easily, anyway.”
Shen Siwei subtly furrowed his brows, finding it annoying.
At that moment, Klet, who was sitting beside them, finished the beef on his plate, nonchalantly dropped his cutlery, and asked Shen Siwei, “Shall we go?”
The metallic cutlery made a crisp and abrupt collision sound. Adolf visibly tensed, fearing that Klet might suddenly turn violent towards him. However, his worry was unnecessary as Shen Siwei and Klet were currently in a superior position, and there was no need to dirty their hands.
“Let’s go,” Shen Siwei stood up. “There’s nothing more to say.”
Back in the bedroom, Shen Siwei contacted Laizhe and informed him of Adolf’s intentions.
Laizhe’s three-dimensional projection appeared at the end of the bed, with delicate light and shadow resembling an actual person sitting there. He stroked his chin and thoughtfully said, “For the Marg people, the best strategy at the moment is to drag it out. Who knows what will happen when the enthusiasm of the civilians is completely exhausted.”
“Do you have any good ideas?” Shen Siwei asked.
While the two were seriously discussing the referendum, another three-dimensional projection in the room leaned on the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the outside scenery, and said, “Wow, this is the night view from the top floor.”
Laizhe immediately walked over and pulled Malken to sit on the edge of the bed. “Let’s talk about serious matters first.”
“I do have an idea,” Malken sat upright next to Laizhe and said to Shen Siwei and Klet on the sofa, “Tomorrow, Laizhe and I are going to the third floor to discuss the referendum with those politicians. They said they invited Marg representatives, but judging from Adolf’s attitude, he probably won’t attend.”
“And then?” Shen Siwei asked.
“If Adolf doesn’t attend, there are still others, right?” Malken said, ” he’s not the only son right?.”
“You mean Amor?” Shen Siwei began to seriously consider the proposal. “He may stand with the civilians, but he may not necessarily involve himself in political matters.”
Amor was just a university professor, and while he had a deep understanding of social systems, his theories might not be useful in political negotiations.
Moreover, judging from Amor’s state during their parting, he probably didn’t want to get involved in those conflicts.
“No,” Malken raised his index finger and waved it. “I’m talking about Miller’s younger son.”
The three of them simultaneously looked at Klet.
Klet, who was choosing a wedding venue, raised his gaze and completely missed the conversation of the three. “What?”
“Reveal your identity. As a representative of the Marg, negotiate with us,” Laizhe summarized concisely.
“Reveal my identity?” Klet looked at Shen Siwei in confusion.
“Adolf won’t agree to the referendum, and Amor probably doesn’t want to get involved either. As for you, you’re not only Miller’s son, but also the first newborn of the Tree of Life, and the one who repaired the deep-sea energy station. You even have more say than Adolf,” Shen Siwei explained.
“The negotiator is right,” Malken added. “To replace Adolf and Amor, it can only be you, Ahklet!”
“Don’t give me a fucking nickname,” Klet frowned and threw the cushion on the sofa towards Malken, but the three-dimensional projection only flickered twice and caused no actual harm.
“What do you think?” Shen Siwei asked Klet.
It had to be admitted that this strategy was indeed utilizing Klet’s identity.
When Shen Siwei was brought to the top floor by Miller, it was also to exploit his identity as the son of an energy station designer, so he knew how unpleasant it felt. If Klet didn’t agree, he wouldn’t force it, but he didn’t expect Klet to be completely indifferent and generously say, “Okay.”
“Are you sure?” Shen Siwei asked.
“Hmm,” Klet nodded.
Malken snapped his fingers. “That’s good, I’ll prepare immediately.”
The small meeting among the four could have ended there, but as soon as Malken finished speaking, the bedroom lights suddenly flickered, and even the network signal was briefly interrupted.
The three-dimensional projection at the end of the bed instantly became glitchy, and Laizhe’s voice carried a buzzing electric sound. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” Shen Siwei looked up and glanced at the restored lights. “Perhaps an unstable power supply.”
“You’re next to the core energy station, and you still have an unstable power supply?” Malken sarcastically commented.
Shen Siwei shrugged, unsure of what was happening.
After ending the call, only Shen Siwei and klet remained in the room. The servants on the lawn had already finished their work, and the outside regained its usual calm.
klet continued to select beautiful landscape pictures while Shen Siwei leaned against the armrest of the sofa and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you really willing to step forward?”
“Yes,” klet closed the mini-computer projection, lifted his gaze, and looked at Shen Siwei. “Malken reminded me that people now hope to see a union between civilians and the Marg people, so your engagement cannot be easily dissolved unless you can find a convincing reason.”
Shen Siwei began to instinctively think about that reason.
Malken was right. The emotions of the civilians had already been stirred up, and they hoped for a satisfactory outcome. If their enthusiasm was reduced by the marriage matter, it would also have some impact on the referendum.
“But now Adolph has no faults, so it’s not easy to find a reason. Therefore,” klet paused for a moment, then continued, “we don’t need to end the engagement. As long as I step forward, you can openly marry me.”
Upon hearing those words, Shen Siwei, who had been frowning and contemplating, was instantly moved. He looked at klet with disbelief.
So, is klet, who disliked trouble so much, willing to step forward and reveal his identity just to marry him?
Shen Siwei was truly touched. Could there be anyone more willful than klet?
He took a deep breath, lifted his arm, and said to klet, “Come here, I’ll help you in choosing a place for our wedding.”
klet lifted the corners of his mouth lightly, reopened the computer projection, and leaned closer.
However, at this moment, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the quiet night, shattering that rare moment of warmth.
Shen Siwei and klet exchanged a glance and immediately rushed out to the corridor outside the room. A guard ran past them in a panic, and Shen Siwei quickly grabbed his arm and asked, “What happened?”
The guard gasped for breath and said, “Young Master Adolph has been shot!”
“What?!”
Adolph…
Is dead?”