Chapter 23: Green Eyes (23)

Shen Qiuxun stared blankly at the wall with lifeless eyes, treating his words as mere farts. But soon he remembered another good thing. He quickly got up, put on his shoes, and prepared to head out.

“Where are you going?” Xu Zhiyuan stood up alongside him, his grass-green eyes fixed unblinkingly on him. His hand held Shen Qiuxun’s with a gentle but firm strength.

“My Month-end Benefits… where should I go to claim them?”

“Month-end Benefits?” Xu Zhiyuan was slightly stunned, then laughed again. He took two steps and wrapped his arms around that slender waist. “Just rest here. I’ll have them brought over.”

Shen Qiuxun sat back down according to his strength, thinking it made sense. He shook Xu Zhiyuan off and sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out the window.

Failing to hug him, Xu Zhiyuan looked at him resentfully.

‘Why is my mouth sweet?’

“While you were unconscious (x) sleeping, he fed you a High-Grade Nutrient Fluid.”

‘Ah.’ Shen Qiuxun touched his stomach. ‘It’s indeed quite full. You get what you pay for.’

“Um, our Mission…”

‘Don’t mention it.’ Shen Qiuxun sighed heavily. He turned his head to look at Xu Zhiyuan. The other man was startled, knelt properly, and even looked a little obedient.

Playing cute was too late now. Shen Qiuxun crooked a finger and raised his chin toward the empty space in front of him.

The green-eyed, silver-haired man paused briefly, then silently crouched in front of Shen Qiuxun. The small bed was a bit low, so when he crouched, his head was level with Shen Qiuxun’s waist.

“Lift your face.”

Xu Zhiyuan obeyed without understanding, choosing a particularly graceful angle to ensure the fall of his hair was very pleasing.

“Smack—”

Shen Qiuxun swiftly slapped him, a crisp sound ringing out. He’d vented his anger with the previous beating; this was purely an insult.

He had used Xu Zhiyuan as a reference earlier to estimate the strength difference between himself and that Blonde Delinquent. Even with mental preparation, he was still shocked by the Alpha’s strength when he actually fought. Thus, it was easy to infer just how abnormal the strength of an S-Rank Alpha must be.

Furthermore, he didn’t seem to be affected by the Mental Power level suppression of this world. Ordinary Betas weren’t affected by A/O pheromones, but they were still suppressed by Mental Power. He was different. The System attributed it to the Spacetime Travel.

It could be considered a type of cheat itself.

Thinking this, Shen Qiuxun lowered his eyes and sighed again.

“This side too,” Xu Zhiyuan offered the other side of his face. His expression was somewhat eager as his hand secretly crept onto Shen Qiuxun’s knee. Those grass-green eyes held a hint of shyness as he looked up at him from below.

“…”

‘.’

‘Is he sick or something?’

“Maybe he’s actually fallen in love with you?”

‘What’s the point?’

“Makes sense.”

Shen Qiuxun let out a half-dead grunt with dead-fish eyes.

Qin Zhe entered the room after getting permission. This time, his eyes didn’t dare to wander at all. Since he was originally looking down, he happened to see his superior kneeling beside the bed with a bruised face. “…”

Would he be killed to silence him?

But was Mr. Shen really this fierce?!

He placed the black bag in his hand on the table, then saluted and left as silently as if he wished he were a puff of air. The pheromones in this room were almost to the point of exploding!

Love is restraint!

Even so, a vigilant and unfriendly gaze still fell on him.

Qin Zhe closed the door with a blank face. Only when he reached the corner of the corridor did he suddenly let out a breath. No, wait. Can Betas even sense pheromones? His boss was so cunning.

In the room, Shen Qiuxun happily received his Month-end Benefits. He opened the bag with eager anticipation:

Inside the bag were three bottles of Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer, a big box of High-Grade Nutrient Fluid, a bag of fruits—including oranges, kiwis, and peaches—and there was even a soft Cashmere Scarf!

This was way too generous!

“Apart from the three bottles of Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer, Xu Zhiyuan added the rest.”

‘?’

Shen Qiuxun’s vision went dark. He couldn’t see his future. ‘So you’re saying this lousy pharmacy baited me into happily working for so long with just three free bottles of Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer?’

“Yes.”

‘Lord System, I request an immediate death sentence.’

“…”

Xu Zhiyuan shuffled forward on his knees and carefully placed his hands on Shen Qiuxun’s knees. “Are you happy?”

Shen Qiuxun expressionlessly took out a peach and took a bite. Chew, chew, chew. It didn’t taste much like a peach, but the slight sweetness and moisture were enough. He sighed.

The man put the other bags aside, tilted his head, and looked at him anxiously. “Not tasty?”

He pinched Shen Qiuxun’s fingertip, his eyes full of laughter. “When we go back, I’ll plant an orchard for you, so you can eat whatever you want.”

He would gather all the beautiful things in the world and present them before Shen Qiuxun, and Shen Qiuxun only had to be with him.

Shen Qiuxun lifted his eyelids to glance at him. He finished the last bit of fruit flesh and tossed the pit into the man’s open palm. Sighing, he flopped backward onto the small bed, lazy. “Sleeping.”

“Alright.” Xu Zhiyuan stared at the fruit pit in his hand, swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth. He tucked the blanket around him. “Can I… leave for a bit? There are still some things to deal with. Once I’m done, I’ll kneel every day until you’re satisfied.”

A weak “Mm” came from under the blanket.

His fingers brushed against the man’s soft hair ends. The strands slipped through his fingers like a flowing cascade of moonlight. He restrained himself, clenched his fist, and took a step back.

No further sound came from the lump in the bed. The man had left him only a dark back of the head. The fingers clutching the edge of the blanket were pale and slender. Xu Zhiyuan thought to himself that when they returned, he definitely had to fatten him up so he’d be plump and healthy.

He silently left the room and turned on the Lightbrain on his wrist. Seeing the messages popping up one after another, his expression hardened again. There was still a tough battle to fight before that.

Inside the room.

Shen Qiuxun drifted off into an uneasy sleep again. In his dream, he was notified of a mission failure and thrown into the universe by his unscrupulous System. He drifted around in the universe, almost crashing into a black hole before he jolted awake.

He’d only slept half an hour.

Shen Qiuxun stared at the ceiling and blinked. ‘System Buddy, you’re so mean.’

“?”

He grunted twice, got up and put on his shoes, took an orange from the bag, and peeled it while walking out the door. The route was heavily guarded by soldiers. When these soldiers saw him, they would nod in acknowledgment. No one stopped him. It wasn’t until he stepped outside that he realized this was a Starship.

Its main body was black, with hard lines. It stood at the edge of the city, endless yellow sand stretching behind it. It was towering and magnificent, like an Abyssal Divine Statue overlooking all living beings.

‘Whoa, so cool.’ But the next thought was that this thing belonged to Xu Zhiyuan. He wrinkled his nose. “Well, nothing special.”

He put an orange segment into his mouth. The sweet juice filled his mouth. It was a very orange-flavored orange.

In a slightly better mood, Shen Qiuxun pulled his scarf up a bit, crossed two alleys, and walked toward the BBQ Shop from memory. Fortunately, the BBQ Shop was still open. He’d come early today. The Shopkeeper was still stoking the furnace and paused slightly upon seeing him.

The wind was a bit strong, blowing the charcoal in the furnace red and bright. Seasoned skewers of Roasted Sand Rat were laid out to the side.

Shen Qiuxun waved with the orange in his hand. The other person nodded at him shyly.

A lukewarm coexistence. Shen Qiuxun sat down on the nearby steps and meticulously finished the orange.

“You…” The Shopkeeper expertly placed the sand rats in the furnace, sneaking a glance at him before stammering, “Are your injuries healed?”

“Hmm?” Shen Qiuxun looked up, chewing on an orange segment, his voice somewhat muffled. “Ah, mm, mostly healed.”

The Shopkeeper lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze. His voice was low and quiet. “I… went to visit you earlier, and your roommate told me you were injured.”

“?” Shen Qiuxun was confused, but he didn’t ask further. “Much better, thanks.”

The Shopkeeper nodded and said nothing more.

Ten minutes later, Shen Qiuxun’s first Roasted Sand Rat was freshly cooked. Oily and sizzling, it couldn’t be more delicious.

Since there was no one else around the stall, he didn’t run off to the alley to eat today. He just sat there, but as he chewed on the tough, stringy back meat of the Roasted Sand Rat, he found himself missing that alley and the other few juicy sand rat legs.

Perhaps because the war had only just ended, no one dared to go out much. The shop remained without other customers.

The Shopkeeper stood inside the doorway, gazing at Shen Qiuxun’s back in a daze. He finally gathered his courage, took off the apron he was wearing, and walked out of the shop. His hand went to his scarf. As if he had been struggling for a long time, he took off his scarf and then sat down next to the person.

“The ground is cold… sit on my scarf.”

This was the first time Shen Qiuxun saw his face. He was surprisingly handsome. Unlike Xu Zhiyuan’s high-impact, bold features, this man had regular, upright features—high brow bones and a prominent nose bridge. It was a kind of bone-structured handsomeness, very pleasing to look at.

‘Why doesn’t he meet your standards?’

“………………….”

‘What?’

“…”

‘Get help.’

“…”

“No need. It’s not cold.”

The Shopkeeper nodded, not daring to look up at him at all. But because it was the first time being so close, a wave of heat rushed to his ears. He gripped his scarf tightly, afraid of revealing too much of his awkwardness.

“My name is Qi Yue.” That was all he managed to squeeze out after a long time.

He had originally come to this planet to help his father find a special energy source, planning to disguise himself as a BBQ shop owner and leave once things were done. But then… on a day with a gentle breeze, he met Shen Qiuxun.

So beautiful. He fell in love at first sight and decided to stay.

Shen Qiuxun was single-mindedly gnawing on his Roasted Sand Rat. He answered without looking up, “Mm, mm, my name is Shen Qiuxun.”

Qi Yue secretly glanced over. “I know.” He had always known.

“I… I’ll give you another Roasted Sand Rat. Can you still eat it?”

At the mention of this, Shen Qiuxun perked up. He looked up, wiped the corner of his mouth, and stared into the other’s eyes. “Really?”

Qi Yue felt a little dizzy. He crumpled the scarf in his hands into a ball. He nodded. “Mm, yes. I’ll go get it for you.” He couldn’t sit still any longer and hurriedly stood up and walked into the shop.

Before putting on his gloves, he placed the two coins Shen Qiuxun had given him into the special little box under the counter. The coins clinked together with a soft sound.

Qi Yue curved his lips into a smile. These were the coins Shen Qiuxun used to buy things from him. The box was nearly halfway full now.

He wrapped up the Roasted Sand Rat and walked out, just in time to see the man standing several meters away. The man stood at the entrance of the alley. His green pupils stared towards him, murderous intent surging, as cold as if he was looking at a corpse.