They say an evil dragon abducted a princess and locked the beautiful, delicate girl in a tower, waiting for a brave warrior to slay the dragon and rescue her.
This story plays out once every hundred years.
This year, it was the turn of Lin Nuo Mi, an outstanding graduate and star of the Hero Academy.
A fair-skinned young man climbed the tower and knocked the dragon down with a spell.
People cultivate immortality these days. Who still uses a sword?
Yu Ci returned to the tower for his shift and found the dragon gone, with a handsome young man standing inside.
"Princess?" the young man called to him.
Yu Ci slammed Lin Nuo Mi against the wall. "Call me that again and see what happens. Where's my dragon?"
The dragon, knocked back into its egg form, rolled over to Lin Nuo Mi's feet.
The egg hatched. The little dragon let out a growl and rubbed its head against Lin Nuo Mi's leg.
Yu Ci took him back to the imperial capital and ordered him to raise the dragon.
Lin Nuo Mi obediently nodded and hugged Yu Ci. "So does that make you my wife?"
Yu Ci pushed his head away. What an idiot.
At the start of the new term, Lin Nuo Mi enrolled too. He hugged Yu Ci and kissed his cheek. "Can I be your husband once I get my degree?"
Yu Ci pinched his lips shut. "Quiet."
The Imperial Star was highly advanced, while Lin Nuo Mi's home planet was still entirely agrarian. He didn't fit in here at all.
He dressed like a bumpkin, knew nothing about machinery or electronics, couldn't even order a meal, and yet he actually thought he could pursue Yu Ci. The whole school laughed at him.
Little by little, Lin Nuo Mi began to understand the gulf between them.
On the day Yu Ci graduated, Lin Nuo Mi caught sight of him holding another young man in his arms. Rumor had it that he was Yu Ci's betrothed.
Lin Nuo Mi knew how the story ended: the princess would marry the Frog Prince.
He left in silence,
faithfully following the story's script,
setting off to find another tower, rescue a new princess, and find himself a new wife.
Four years later, Lin Nuo Mi had distinguished himself in battle and was about to receive a medal.
He had prepared his interview script and was waiting to stand before the cameras after the ceremony and announce that he was looking for a spouse.
But something went wrong at the front of the stage. A senior Federation official suddenly... Lin Nuo Mi grew anxious and lifted the curtain to take a look.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his wrist from behind.
Lin Nuo Mi was pulled back and pinned hard against a pillar backstage.
The man had broad shoulders and a back that filled out his crisp black suit. He loomed over Lin Nuo Mi, who recognized the badge on his chest.
"Sir?"
Yu Ci fixed him with a dark gaze. "Call me that again and see what happens. Where's my dragon?"
Lin Nuo Mi tried to explain, but Yu Ci cut him off with a fierce kiss.
When Lin Nuo Mi's legs were too weak to run, Yu Ci gripped his waist and held him tight, his eyes red and his voice hoarse. "You're not marrying anyone else. You can only be mine."
Theme: You can break through your limits if you work hard.
