186 Chapter Treaty

Dragging his exhausted body, Gao Yuan knocked on Xinghe's door.

It felt like a long time since he had seen Xinghe, and her happiness was undisguised as she smiled and said, "You're back. Where have you been all this time?"

"Went to give gifts."

"Gifts? As in giving presents, right? So, do I have a gift?"

"Of course."

Gao Yuan opened the almost empty bag and took out a bottle of Coke, placing it in front of Xinghe, with a serious face, "For you, Coke! The best tasting beverage on Earth."

Xinghe became serious; she took the Coke and observed it for a moment before pulling at the tab.

"Strange taste; it's kind of... fizzy, umm, the feeling of the bubbles bursting in my mouth is odd, very sweet, but not unpleasant sweet. So this is the taste of Coke. I got it."

After taking a few sips of the Coke, Xinghe expressed her confusion, "According to many materials I've read, consuming a lot of Coke over a long period is harmful to your health, yet if it's harmful, why do you still drink such a beverage?"

"Smoking's bad for your health, drinking's bad for your health, but can't help it, just like it."

Gao Yuan placed the bag on the ground and said, "There's more in the bag, take some if you like, leave it for me if you don't. I need to rest now; I'm going to take a bath and sleep."

"Why do you have to go back? I haven't seen you for so long. You can take a bath here, then sleep in my bed. I won't disturb you, but I can see you, and that would make me happy."

Gao Yuan fell silent; after pondering for a long time, he finally decided to break the awkward silence.

"That's not right. You have the concept of privacy too, right? So how can I sleep in your bedroom and bathe in your bathroom? Only people who are very intimate can do that."

"Aren't we very intimate?"

"I mean the kind of intimacy between lovers; only lovers do that. Xinghe, I have to tell you, if you keep doing this, it means you like me. You don't actually like me, do you?"

"I do like you."

Gao Yuan immediately said, "No no, not the ordinary kind of liking, but the kind lovers feel for each other, not liking, but love, romantic love for the opposite sex, just... damn, the kind of liking that means dating. You don't like me that way, right?"

Xinghe looked bewildered; she thought deeply, then took a sip of her Coke and assumed a thoughtful posture.

Gao Yuan felt anxious, then after a while, Xinghe nodded her head.

Gao Yuan was dumbfounded; he didn't know what to do, but Xinghe said, "Hmm, I don't like you because of admiration. I just simply enjoy being with you, that's all. This shouldn't be romantic love, because I don't have any particular feelings right now. That's how I feel, I think it's like that."

Gao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, though Xinghe frowned and said, "After our tribe decided to rebuild the concept of gender and restore sexual reproduction, could it be I have started constructing my own female identity? But… I don't have a particular preference for gender, so why do I like you? If it's because of gender, there are many men here."

"Can you not use such scientific terms to describe this..."

Xinghe shook her head, looking regretful, "Alright, it seems I've somewhat invaded your personal space. I apologize for that and will be more mindful."

"Uh, it's alright, it's just better to clarify, since I have a girlfriend. If I keep doing things with you that go beyond what friendship should be, my girlfriend would get jealous."

"Jealous? I understand, it means if you spend time with me, your girlfriend would feel sad, angry, jealous, anxious; all these emotions are collectively called jealousy."

Xinghe's eyes widened; she pondered for a long time, then suddenly said, "That's not good; the feeling of jealousy doesn't sound very pleasant."

Gao Yuan exhaled gently and said, "See, you don't have a real sense of gender or any need or impulse for romance, so... why am I even saying this! I'm going to rest for a bit; let's meet after I wake up."

Xinghe nodded, and Gao Yuan left the room. He returned to his own room, took a bath, then crawled into bed.

He had barely closed his eyes and fallen asleep when, not even five minutes later, there was a knock on his door.

Gao Yuan, wearing a robe, opened the door to find Xinghe holding a Coke, leaning against his doorway.

Taking a sip of the Coke, Xinghe, who was half a head taller than Gao Yuan, tilted her chin up, whistled, and playfully said, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Gao Yuan sighed and said, "Come on, which movie did you learn that from?"

Silence.

"You've got it all wrong; that's the expression and gesture men use when flirting with women. And you should be holding alcohol, beer preferably, and then, this is a kind of... how should I put it, an action typical of jerks. Also, this kind of behavior usually ends with having the door shut in your face."

"That's not right, I saw that the woman happily let the person in..."

"What kind of movie were you watching! Anyway, is there something you need? If not, I'd like to get some sleep."

Xinghe lifted her head again, took another sip of her Coke, then exhaled and said, "Of course there's something; on such a wonderful night, we should talk about life and dreams."

Gao Yuan wasn't angry; he just really wanted to laugh, a helpless kind of laugh.

Looking at Gao Yuan's expression, Xinghe thought for a moment, then she stood tall, making her look down upon Gao Yuan, who just a moment ago had been at eye level with her.

"I have a very important matter I need to discuss with you, I can't decide on my own."

"About what?"

"Mecha, aren't you going to invite me in to take a look at your place?"

"It's all the same anyway, come in."

As Xinghe entered Gao Yuan's room, she feigned a thorough examination and said, "Nice. Very clean, very tidy, clearly..."

"Can we talk about serious matters?"

Xinghe sat down, patting the couch next to her, "Please, have a seat. My mecha's energy reserves are completely depleted, unusable now. Your scientists want to disassemble my mecha and they've sought my opinion, but I... haven't decided."

"Disassemble? Can it be put back together afterward?"

"Please, have a seat."

Gao Yuan had no choice but to sit, and Xinghe pondered for a moment before saying, "No, because we lack the specialized tools, some parts can only be forcefully disassembled. That's the problem."

Gao Yuan also found it troubling and asked, "So is there any chance the mecha could be used again? I mean, without disassembling it."

"Hmm, not likely, unless we find the lost original model. Without the energy source, Earth's technology won't be able to meet the mecha's needs for quite some time."

"Do you have any special attachment to the mecha?"

"No, it's just one of many mechas. But that was my last one. Without it, I feel like I've completely become a wanderer."

"Would disassembling the mecha be of great help to our technology?"

Xinghe pondered a long while before nodding, "You also plan to develop mecha technology, and your scientists have discussed this with me several times. Disassembling my mecha would indeed be a great help because you can't get a direct view of the structure, the treatment of key areas, and moving parts unless you take it apart."

"Can't you use X-rays or something to scan it?"

Xinghe smiled, "It's been scanned hundreds of times, but some critical parts must be radiation-proof, so rays can't penetrate, like the power battery section and the interior structure and composition of the energy signal receiver. Ah, I'm just an adventurer, not a scientist. Otherwise, there'd be no need to disassemble the mecha; I would've told them everything they wanted to know. It's a pity I do not know, so you Earthlings have a saying that is very true—knowledge is power. Sadly, knowledge is infinite, and my knowledge is limited."

Gao Yuan also felt troubled. However, keeping this unusable mecha only satisfied Xinghe's personal sentimental issues, while disassembling it would greatly advance Earth's technology.

So there's no need to choose, is there?

Gao Yuan carefully suggested, "In that case, we should just disassemble it, right?"

Xinghe immediately nodded, then quickly said, "Okay, I agree with you."

"Agree with me?"

"Yes, if you say disassemble, then disassemble. If you hadn't said it, I definitely wouldn't have allowed it. But if you are going to disassemble it, you have to agree to some conditions."

Gao Yuan thought for a moment. He felt something was not quite right but still said, "Some conditions? What kind of conditions? Tell me."

Xinghe immediately smiled, took out a piece of paper from her pocket, placed it in front of Gao Yuan, and said, "I've written some down. Take a look. If you agree, we'll get someone to notarize it, and once the signatures take effect, you can disassemble my mecha."

Gao Yuan took the paper, glanced over it briefly, took a deep breath, and said, "I need to agree to one hundred and twenty-six conditions?"

Xinghe nodded, "These are all I could think of for now. If you agree, we'll go find Li Wen to witness it, all three of us sign, and once the agreement is effective, the mecha can be disassembled."

Gao Yuan began to read the agreement Xinghe had written.

"First, Gao Yuan must unconditionally agree to any of Xinghe's requests.

Second, whatever Xinghe does is right.

Third, if Xinghe does something wrong, refer to the second point.

Fourth, if Xinghe wants to eat something and invites Gao Yuan, Gao Yuan must accompany her.

Fifth, if Xinghe proposes to search for a medical pod, Gao Yuan must agree.

Sixth, if Xinghe encounters Earthlings' obstruction while searching for the medical pod, Gao Yuan must resolve it and make Earthlings agree to let Xinghe search for the medical pod.

Seventh, Gao Yuan must accompany her to search for the medical pod.

Eighth, when searching for a medical pod, Gao Yuan must ensure that Xinghe has access to gourmet food.

Ninth, if Xinghe requires Gao Yuan's company, Gao Yuan cannot refuse..."

Gao Yuan exhaled and said, "We need to talk about this agreement; it's not equal. It's harsher than a deed of sale. Right off the bat, the first point is impossible."

Xinghe laughed, "The first point is crucial; it can't be deleted."

"But I can't agree to it."

"Then we'll delete the first one, but you must agree to the remaining one hundred and twenty-five conditions."

Gao Yuan felt a headache coming on and realized he had no choice but to start negotiating, point by point, over this unequal treaty with Xinghe.