CH 43.2

Chu Yan was baffled, and suddenly he was enlightened with the notion of “too much bullshit”. While he was in the state of shock, he hurriedly coughed in an effort to suppress it from showing. Then, he started to ramble, “Qiao prefers to be quiet. He also tried to raise a litter of wild rabbits in the house, but was later found by the staff and forced to let them go… oh yes, there are also birds…”

The door of the cottage opened, and Chu Rong resolutely cut off the communication. He looked back at Qiao Zhiya who was happily running over after packing up his things. The youth’s eyes were full of the joy of latching close to Chu Rong.

As he ran close, Chu Rong reached out to pat the wavy blond hair. He asked, “The scenery here is nice, come with me for a walk?”

Qiao Zhiya was taken aback for a moment, then pursed his lips before showing a big smile. He nodded vigorously with an agreement, “Okay! Let’s go for a walk.”

The sun danced along the gaps in the branches and leaves, enveloping the pair’s bodies in comfortable warmth.

After entering the forest, based on the principle that good scenery must be shared with his family, Qiao Zhiya excitedly led Chu Rong to the good places he discovered these days.

Chu Rong was by his side, and followed him to see the family of rabbits that he wanted to raise but couldn’t. He also heard the youth’s chirpy bird calls, somehow summoning a small flock of beautiful songbirds close. They flew near the blond, as if guarding him as he climbed upwards several branches to pluck wild fruits. Finally, they stopped by a small, clear stream, where Qiao Zhiya splashed around and pointed out beautiful pebbles he found within.

Qiao Zhiya, who entered the forest, seemed to be a different person. He was no longer overly cautious and shy. Instead, he was full of vitality and always had something to say about the nature around him. Lively, cheerful, vibrant, radiant. He had a never-ending smile, and it was like clear emeralds reflecting the brilliance of a shimmering stream.

“Look! I caught a fish!” Qiao Zhiya suddenly ran over from the stream to the shore. He showed Chu Rong  a beautiful little fish cupped in his hand, then hurried back to release it after Chu Rong saw it. He watched it swim away with a smile and a hum.

Turning back to face Chu Rong, he continued to talk about various interesting things he learned about catching fish. He said it was something he learned from his mother in his hometown.

Chu Rong leaned against the tree and listened quietly. He had a calm expression, deep eyes, and was a little lost in thought.

He had never seen Qiao Zhiya like this before. He was like a bird flying over the clouds or a fish swimming into the ocean. He exuded a free and happy atmosphere all over his body, attracting the attention of people around him, unbeknownst to himself.

Qiao Zhiya was one of those hermits1aka Exoplanet Natives, right? A group of people who abandon technology and rely on nature.

Was it really right to bring such a pure man into a complex Federation?

“I’ll grill fish for you when we get back!” Qiao Zhiya excitedly claimed. However, because he didn’t hear Chu Rong’s response, he turned his head to look at him with confusion in his eyes.

Seeing Chu Rong leaning against a tree, seemingly because he was bored, Qiao Zhiya blushed in shame. He cleaned his hands and feet on the clear stream, then put back his shoes. Running back to Chu Rong, he tugged at his sleeves, and said, “It’s almost noon, let’s go home.”

‘Home?’

Chu Rong came back to his senses. He looked down at the undisguised attachment in Qiao Zhiya’s eyes, making him smile subconsciously. He rubbed the youth’s hair, then suddenly bent down and picked him up. He let Qiao Zhiya sit on his shoulder, stabilizing the youth by gripping his knees. “Alright, let’s go home.”

This was the person Chu Rong chose. This was the person that called Chu Rong’s residence as “home”. So for him, no matter what happened in the past, Qiao Zhiya should live together with him. They should form a family together.

If he likes the forest, then Chu Rong will simply plant a dense patch of trees around his home so Qiao Zhiya will be happy.

Feeling the sudden weightlessness, Qiao Zhiya hurriedly bent down to hug Chu Rong’s head in an effort to balance his body. He found that the height was just enough to reach the first branch of a tall tree. He plucked a fresh fruit, wiped it clean, then bit a little to taste. Offering it as a treasure to Chu Rong, he said, “Try it, this tastes good! It’s not poisonous, I’ve tried it before.”

hu Rong ate the wild fruit, squinted his eyes, and nodded. “Yes, not Bad.”

It made Qiao Zhiya even happier. After hesitating for a while, he turned his head around to search for another wild fruit. Suddenly, he felt a wave of healing power floated near him, surprising him.

He looked back and around, wanting to feel it again. Unfortunately, he found nothing.

“Qiao Zhiya, you need to grow up quickly,” Chu Rong suddenly said.

“What?” He came back to his senses, and immediately forgot the illusion-like healing power he felt just now.

Chu Rong patted his leg, shook his head, and said in a low voice, “It’s nothing.”

—Qiao Zhiya is too young.

The person he likes is still too young.

So, he is willing to wait2if this feels too icky for you, remember: QZY is actually an adult (his body can no longer grow.), CR and everyone around him only thought he was underaged because he looks like one. Also: this is fiction, so what if QZY is barely an adult anyways..

Under the trees, several meters underground, a group of doctors in white coats opened the emergency isolation cover in panic. They found the white-haired old man guarding a patient’s bed in the central ward of the underground laboratory. Full of anxiety, one of them asked, “What’s going on? How could the spiritual power of the hermit suddenly collapse?”

The white-haired old man looked at his old and thin friend on the bed. He used his palm to close his eyes. Lips trembling, he forced a reply in a hoarse voice, “Notify the young master… the hermit died. Let him stay for one more day.”

The doctors were taken aback when they heard the old man’s words. They were all focused on the dead hermit, eyes steadily turning red. When they came back to their senses, they lowered their heads, and finally wept.

“I hope the hermit’s prophecy will come true.” Someone whispered, full of tears.

With that sentence, everyone remembered the prophecy “salvation appears, life disappears” left by the hermit after his serious illness. From the murky despair, a glimmer of hope rose again.

At the exit of Real Adventure Island, Ning Kongran’s communicator suddenly received a message from an encrypted channel. He opened it and glanced at it — then, his fingers froze mid-air, before slowly putting it down listlessly.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down even when his hand was clenching painfully tight. After a long moment of silence, he looked at Qiu Guangji with a forced, pale smile. “I remembered I still have a ledger I haven’t inspected yet. So I’ll stay here for another day. You should go back first.”

Qiu Guangji, who was using a communicator to talk with his family, was surprised with Ning Kongran’s sudden request. He quickly said a few words to hang up the communication, then looked at his bestfriend with a confused frown. “No, I will accompany you again until tomorrow. You have to pay attention to your health, Kongran. I never see you rest. Look at your face.”

Ning Kongran listened to his friend’s concern. He looked back at the island paradise planned and established by himself, and remained silent.

From today onwards, except for the blood-sucking parasites of the Ning family… he no longer has any blood-related relatives he could call “family”.

After visiting the forest, the two who had no interest in other exciting attractions. So, they set off to return after finishing their lunch.

The two of them first went to the Chu family’s branch house, met Gu Yan’an, and calmed her down. Chu Rong also called Chu Huai and mentioned that Chu Yan would continue to stay on the island to play for a few days. He asked his older brother to send someone to pay attention to Chu Yan’s safety, and finally took Qiao Zhiya home.

The house was still the same as it was before they left.

Except for one thing: the newly bought bed in the second bedroom was gone.

“A1 is aesthetically challenged. The bed it bought was too ugly, so I returned it,” Chu Rong casually put the blame on the innocent household robot. He moved the dolls customized for Qiao Zhiya to his room, and put them on his gray-quilted bed with a little disgust.

Qiao Zhiya watched him do all this with a smirk. Then, he rushed into the kitchen, excitedly preparing to grill fish.

A1, who had been blamed, silently walked to the youth’s feet. It circled around him a few times, pleading for comfort, and then diligently helped him. It placed orders for fish, vegetables, and milk.

After dinner, Qiao Zhiya walked around the room to aid digestion, then quickly rushed to take a shower. He ran to the study to say hello to Chu Rong, and finally plopped down happily on Chu Rong’s comfortable bed, Starnet helmet tucked in his arms.

After rolling around excitedly on the calming-scented bed, he put on his helmet and logged into the Internet.

The bearded teacher showed up in the classroom on time, and quizzed him with yesterday’s homework as usual. After getting a satisfactory answer, he did not start today’s lecture immediately, but ruthlessly said, “There are three more days, so there’s no need to learn this part of spiritual power processing. You have also known the correct rations and techniques. With your learning efficiency, you should have basically mastered it. You can read more about the rest of the content by yourself. Just review the materials I gave you, and you don’t need to continue to attend this class.”

Qiao Zhiya didn’t expect such a turn of events. The good mood he had all day immediately poofed into thin air. His expression collapsed like a wilting beansprout.

“I’m sorry for ruining your good mood,” The bearded man noticed his emotional change. He inwardly sighed, but still continued his blunt explanation, “If your spiritual power still hasn’t been upgraded after three days, then it’s too late. Unfortunately, our class will have to end immediately. I no longer have any materials I can teach you.”

“Sorry….” Qiao Zhiya looked at him apologetically, and said in a low voice, “I will try my best.”

‘—But how hard should I try? A problem that can’t be solved in a month, what can be done in three days?’

Seeing him like this, the bearded teacher couldn’t bear it. He didn’t want to teach a hopeless case like this, but his heart was too soft to say anything more. Instead, he shook his head, opened the textbook, and said, “Let’s start today’s lesson. This is a special kind of mineral only found on E91 Planet. It’s called…”

Qiao Zhiya cheered up and began to attend the class, but his downtrodden mood stayed the same during the whole lesson.

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1aka Exoplanet Natives2if this feels too icky for you, remember: QZY is actually an adult (his body can no longer grow.), CR and everyone around him only thought he was underaged because he looks like one. Also: this is fiction, so what if QZY is barely an adult anyways.