Chapter 22: 022 Ming Ji

Feeling a little guilty, Ming Ruan took an empty bowl. He blanched a chopstick-full of meat in the plain broth pot and pushed it in front of the gray wolf, coaxing, “In a bit, I’ll add some large marrow bones to stew. Once the meat broth forms, it’ll be really tasty!”

The gray wolf had no particular opinion on the food itself. But as he watched Ming Ruan lean towards him, his slender, fair hand holding the chopsticks, bringing the food right to his muzzle… Xie Gewen’s eyes flickered downward uncomfortably, a slight awkwardness rising within him.

He didn’t hesitate long, though. Under Ming Ruan’s lighthearted, innocent urgings, he opened his mouth slightly, careful not to reveal his fangs, and plucked the bite of meat from Ming Ruan’s chopsticks.

It was fragrant. In truth, Xie Gewen had lost interest in cooked meat after beastifying, but he found this bite exceptionally delicious.

Xie Gewen chewed the small piece of meat carefully. Looking up, he saw Ming Ruan smiling at him, radiant and brilliantly happy.

Did interacting intimately with him like this really make him that happy?

Xie Gewen looked away, feeling awkward.

The next second, however, he heard Ming Ruan exclaim in delighted surprise: “Whose beautiful little fox is this?!”

Xie Gewen: “…?”

The gray wolf turned its head back. In the distance, a fiery red little fox was racing towards them, carrying something in its mouth.

Under the gray wolf’s death-glare, the usually impulsive Shi Huai didn’t spare him a single glance this time. As he drew near, he slowed his pace, swishing his tail and walking as if on a fashion show runway, making a poised and dignified approach to Ming Ruan. He lifted his chin, making soft, coaxing sounds.

Only then did Ming Ruan see it clearly: the little fox was holding a single, tiny flower in its mouth.

Where the little fox had unearthed this in the bleak winter landscape, he had no idea.

Ming Ruan set down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his hands carefully, and then accepted the flower with solemn, two-handed reverence. “Is it for me?!”

“Yip—” the fox cried, sitting primly and observing Ming Ruan’s expression.

Only when it saw he was truly happy did it look away, satisfied.

【Does this mean Shi Huai has decided to reconcile with Ming Ruan?】

【Hard to read.】

【Wuwuwu, how can our baby be so soft-hearted!! Don’t go rushing in just to get bullied again!】

Ming Ruan carefully set the flower aside. After quickly finishing his own meal, he focused on blanching food for the two fluffballs.

Then, patiently, he fed the gray wolf and little fox, one bite at a time.

Shi Huai had initially felt a bit shy, wondering if being fed was too intimate. However, when he saw Ming Ruan enthusiastically wielding his chopsticks left and right, feeding them both with gusto, his stirred heart numbed and calmed down.

Xie Gewen, an old hand at this, glanced down at Shi Huai and found a strange, dark comfort in the situation.

Ming Ruan was overjoyed. Surrounded by stunning winter scenery, sitting around the stove with fluffballs, eating hot pot, on a paid vacation, and receiving a gift from the little fox—his mood was utterly buoyant.

Whenever Ming Ruan’s mood was buoyant, he couldn’t help but hum. He hummed nonsense melodies, growing louder and louder since nobody else was around.

As he sang on, he suddenly noticed the happily gobbling little fox had stopped chewing mid-bite, food still in its mouth, staring at him in a complete daze, utterly motionless.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Ming Ruan stopped, puzzled. Surely it couldn’t be because my singing is that terribly off-key.

Shi Huai jolted awake as if from a dream.

The little fox pounced into Ming Ruan’s lap, pawing at him urgently. Sing it again, just one more time, please?

After all, Shi Huai had spent a considerable amount of time with Ming Ruan on the same show. He could tell that the way Ming Ruan sang now was entirely different from the Ming Ruan of the past.

This wasn’t just a difference in technique. It was something deeper, an intuitive feeling the voice conveyed.

Shi Huai studied the Ming Ruan before him, his eyes full of confusion.

Meanwhile, in the live stream room, the Shi Huai fans who had been collectively roasting Ming Ruan also suddenly paused.

【Just a passerby, but I really like this song he’s humming! Was Ming Ruan always this good at singing?】

【Wait, that’s not right. Wasn’t Ming Ruan’s persona ‘tone-deaf genius dancer’ back then?】

【Don’t think that was just a persona. I was a Show Fan at the time, and you could tell Ming Ruan really was tone-deaf. It was pretty bad.】

【If he’d had this level of skill back then, he wouldn’t have been perpetually on the verge of elimination, even with the Ming family backing him.】

…

Noon, inside a classroom at Central Academy on Alpha Prime Planet.

Only one person sat there.

The Light Brain screen was reflected in his eyes.

Ming Ji, with hands crossed under his chin, watched the young man humming on the broadcast.

On his Light Brain, messages continued to pop up, one after another.

Zhuo Yunqi: “Bro, answer me! Did you watch the stream! Don’t worry, I’ve been keeping an eye on your little brother for you.”

Zhuo Yunqi: “But seriously, what’s your brother really like? I’m going stir-crazy in the Sanatorium Zone all by myself. Just give me a straight answer—can I befriend him or not!”

Zhuo Yunqi: “Before, you just said things weren’t very close. How ‘not close,’ exactly? I think your little brother seems pretty cute.”

What was Ming Ruan truly like?

Ming Ji had grown up in a government orphanage in the Fringe Galaxy. When he learned he was actually a child of a prominent family from the Main Star, a mix-up that had left him stranded outside, his initial reaction was pure shock. He didn’t resent the younger brother who had ‘switched lives’ with him. He even went out of his way to do extensive research, hoping to build a good relationship with his brother.

But the very first moment he met Ming Ruan, he knew it was probably impossible.

Regarding Ming Ruan, he had always practiced forbearance. Yet, Ming Ruan’s reckless harm towards those around him ultimately forced Ming Ji to make a decision on behalf of his parents, to have Ming Ruan completely expelled from the Ming family.

But it seemed the current Ming Ruan had changed.

Ming Ji sank into deep thought.

Should he tell his father and mother about this?

…

In some ways, the Sanatorium Zone was like a paradise removed from the world. Ming Ruan remained blissfully ignorant of all the interstellar commotion—the affection, the disgust, the curiosity, the manipulation, the evaluations… the disturbances from the outside world.

He and the fox had played to their hearts’ content by the frozen lake and ran back, chilled to the bone.

“So cold, so cold.” Ming Ruan shivered, hopping from foot to foot. Seeing the gray wolf resting on the Flying Sedan, he felt a strong urge to stuff his icy hands under the wolf’s belly.

However, under the gray wolf’s watchful gaze, Ming Ruan timidly withdrew his hands. He packed up their things, boarded the Flying Sedan, and, trying to act nonchalant, pulled the little fox into his arms. Slipping his cold hands into the fox’s soft fur, he announced, “Alright, let’s head home! We’ll come back to play next time!”

Shi Huai, unaware he was being used as a hand warmer, stretched contentedly, basking in the closeness with Ming Ruan.

The Flying Sedan gained altitude. The nearby forest, the beautiful lake, and the clearing lay spread out below them.

Ming Ruan looked at the scenery below and suddenly turned his head to the gray wolf. “I brought you here to play last time, and the very next day, you disappeared on me. You’re not going to—”

Xie Gewen awkwardly swiveled his ears backward.

“—Could it be that I petted you too much that day?” Ming Ruan suddenly began to reflect. Had he forced his affections on the gray wolf that day, making him uncomfortable?

Shi Huai was shocked. His mind had already spun an entire dramatic narrative.

What the hell! Could this be some place where Ming Ruan and Xie Gewen shared a significant memory?!

Damn it!

Shi Huai’s sense of superiority, freshly established in Ming Ruan’s arms, instantly vanished.

But that wasn’t the end.

High in the air, the Flying Sedan headed towards the Executor’s Residence. Just as it was about to descend, the gray wolf, who had been lying down peacefully, suddenly stood up. It let out an alert “woof,” gently biting the fabric on Ming Ruan’s shoulder and pulling him towards the vehicle’s window.

“What’s wrong?” Ming Ruan obediently leaned over to look.

From this height, he could see what appeared to be a large shape with black and white stripes crouching right in front of his little house’s main entrance.

It was a giant wild beast.

Ming Ruan’s heart lurched. Before he could react, the Flying Sedan was already drawing closer to the ground.