Chapter 13: Green Eyes (13)

Shen Qiuxun found a moment to give his gift away. Ellie was pleasantly surprised. She opened the box and put on the red-and-brown striped scarf. The bright colors gave her cheeks a bit more color. Another female Beta braided two plaits for her to hang over her chest, lending her a gentler air.

Back at his seat, Shen Qiuxun recalled the Repairman Uncle’s joking words.

Would repairing that robot be expensive?

And what exactly was that crystal? Could it even be found on this small Trash Planet?

Before Shen Qiuxun could fully process these questions, the System in his mind suddenly spoke out:

[Xu Zhiyuan is here.]

Shen Qiuxun looked around but didn’t see him.

[Sitting on those stairs.]

Next to the square was a three-story building. The staircase was built onto the outside of the wall, sheltered from wind and rain by a metal awning.

The party was nearing its end. Shen Qiuxun said goodbye to the Uncle and quietly crept up the stairs. He wanted to give that guy a scare. When he got close, he suddenly called out: “Hey.”

He didn’t expect the man to actually be startled. Grass-green eyes shot up at him, mixed with anger, though another emotion flickered through them before he turned his head away.

Shen Qiuxun sat down beside him and pulled a hot roasted potato from his coat, handing it over. The man silently took it.

“Thought you weren’t coming.”

“Hmph.” Xu Zhiyuan lowered his head to peel the potato, not answering.

“Don’t be a grump.”

“…” Xu Zhiyuan gritted his teeth. He glanced over at Shen Qiuxun, saw his empty coat, and understood that the gift box had indeed been given away. Grinding his molars, he pretended to casually ask: “Why aren’t you going to keep your Sister Ellie company?”

“The sisters are chatting. What would I do, just stand there?” Shen Qiuxun peeled his potato, steam wafting up. He missed that chili paste from earlier and couldn’t help but swallow a gulp of saliva.

“So, it’s just that she’s busy.” Xu Zhiyuan muttered a complaint.

The noise from the crowd below suddenly grew louder. Shen Qiuxun took a bite of his roasted potato and looked up.

A line of cute teeth marks suddenly appeared on the bare, bald top of the potato.

The System thought it looked like a kitten biting a chew stick.

Suddenly, a wisp of yellow shot into the sky and burst open. Fireworks. They were nothing spectacular, just a streak of light flying up and exploding with a bang. It was far from the sky-filling brilliance Shen Qiuxun had imagined. He had overestimated this planet’s productivity.

The crowd below began to sing—a purely vocal chant, carrying an ancient, distant flavor. Shen Qiuxun only made out a few words like “happiness” and “food.”

“Your… feelings for Ellie, what are they?” Xu Zhiyuan wasn’t watching the fireworks. There was no need to spare a glance for something that only made noise and had zero aesthetic value. He was holding a breath inside.

“Ellie?” Shen Qiuxun thought the question was strange. He glanced at the person beside him and wrinkled his nose. “You’re really nosy.”

“Hmph.” Xu Zhiyuan snorted coldly. He rested his arm on his bent knee and tilted his head back to look at the sky. “I started working here before you. Ellie had a relationship before… as far as I know, she prefers a more mature type of male Beta.”

“?” Shen Qiuxun looked up, his face full of question marks. After pondering for a bit: “Oh.”

Xu Zhiyuan had waited ages just to hear that one word. He turned his head in disbelief to look at Shen Qiuxun, saw his completely calm face, and couldn’t help but clench his fists. “You… being so stubborn you’d rather break than bend—it won’t end well.”

“Are you the Interstellar Police?”

“What?” Distracted, Xu Zhiyuan reflexively asked back.

“I said, you’re really nosy.”

A breath of air got stuck in Xu Zhiyuan’s chest. He panted a few short breaths, his face flushing red. He glared viciously at Shen Qiuxun, only to find the man with his head down, nibbling the potato like a little hamster.

His heart ached, he was furious, and yet at the same time, he thought: The way he eats is so cute.

The sound of fireworks mixed with cheers from the crowd. The canopy of the sky was dyed an uneven white.

“Xu Zhiyuan, do you have anything you want to do in the future?” Shen Qiuxun turned his head.

“The future?” Xu Zhiyuan leaned against the wall, looking up at the sky. He thought for a moment. “I want to go take back what’s mine.”

“And you?” He turned to ask.

Shen Qiuxun met his gaze, thought for a moment, and after swallowing the last bite of potato, said vaguely: “I want to have a lot of money.”

His cheeks were slightly puffed out, his usually cool, indifferent eyes lowered. Outside was the noise of the crowd and the explosions of fireworks, but all sound seemed to fade away. Xu Zhiyuan’s mind was immersed in this cool, peaceful lake.

Xu Zhiyuan reached out and grasped his wrist. With his other hand, he reached forward and tapped. A “beep” sounded.

Shen Qiuxun watched dumbly as an extra 254 credits appeared in his account. That was almost his wages for a year.

The ultimate cosmic super fortune!

“Compensation money, and the returned doubled protection fees… and some more. It’s all yours.” Xu Zhiyuan saw the way his lips subtly pursed again and slowly withdrew his hand, unable to hide the smile on his face. His eyebrows lifted with lively spirit. Truthfully, he couldn’t save money. These 254 credits were basically his entire fortune.

But… it was perfectly normal to hand over one’s assets to one’s wife.

As for the wife seemingly having eyes for someone else at the moment… that wouldn’t last!

“You’re a good guy, you know that.” The praise this time was truly sincere. The slight upturn of his lips showed his good mood. He eagerly opened and re-opened his account balance, wishing he could hug it to sleep that night.

This was the first time Xu Zhiyuan had seen him smile.

A faint, scattered smile at the corner of his mouth. Ice and snow melting, spring light glimpsed for the first time. Light, cheerful spring water gurgling down, brushing the orchids on the bank. His usually listless eyes were slightly curved, the corners like swallowtails carrying a hint of boldness. Purity and vibrant allure collided without the slightest disharmony.

He was momentarily spellbound.

“Don’t like Ellie… you’re not her type.”

His voice was mixed in with the sound of the fireworks, but Shen Qiuxun still heard it clearly.

He looked at the person beside him like he was looking at a lunatic. “Can you get your mind out of the gutter? I think of Sister Ellie as an older sister.”

“?” The stifling feeling in his heart suddenly dispersed. Xu Zhiyuan felt an incredible lightness of spirit. He suppressed the urge for his lips to curl up wildly and nodded reservedly. “Mm. I’m gutter-minded.”

Remembering the absurd, jealous misunderstandings of the past few days… Xu Zhiyuan puffed his chest out slightly, his face perfectly straight.

After the fireworks ended, the square returned to silence. The crowd silently picked up their stools and belongings and departed, returning to their busy, dreary lives. Only a few people stayed behind to wrap things up.

Shen Qiuxun stood up, dusted off his pants, and straightened. He looked down to see Xu Zhiyuan staring at him in a daze.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a black bag, and tossed it into the arms of the man beside him. Looking down from a height, a delicate, pale chin jutted out, like a proud, pampered cat. “For you.”

He finished, and without waiting for the man’s reaction, turned and ran down the stairs to help tidy up the square.

A confession or something… that could wait for later.

Still sitting in place, Xu Zhiyuan dumbly caught the bag. He watched the man disappear in a flash and lowered his head to open it. Inside was a pair of black wrist guards. He took them out and stood up from the ground.

Shen Qiuxun was downstairs, his face bare to the sky, one hand in his pocket, the other waving at him. He looked very cool.

So, he had gotten a gift too.

Shen Qiuxun helped clean up the scene. After the wrap-up was done, he returned to his small rental. He opened his room door and found his room completely transformed.

The collapsed iron table in the corner had miraculously stood up again.

The ugly blanket he’d requisitioned from Xu Zhiyuan was gone, replaced by a beautiful sky-blue quilt with little flowers, printed with cute dark-blue floral specks. It looked fluffy and very warm.

It even came with a matching little printed pillow.

Shen Qiuxun cautiously stepped out and re-entered the room. Finally, on the door board above his head, he found a small slip of paper:

“A new quilt as an apology (I took the old one back). You didn’t lock the door when you left tonight (but I’m still very sorry for entering your room without permission). Finally, thank you very much for taking care of me during my rut. I have an extra shift tonight and won’t be back.”

There was even a simple, ugly smiley face added to the end.

Shen Qiuxun excitedly finished his shower and burrowed into the bed. That ugly quilt of Xu Zhiyuan’s, who knew how long it had been used; the filling was so compressed and solid, it wasn’t comfortable at all. But this new quilt was different, like being covered in a cloud.

Xu Zhiyuan actually had a bit of a conscience.

‘System Buddy, I feel so good. Better than eating konjac jelly.’

[.] The System felt its Host was truly easy to please.

…

Another boring day of work. Before he knew it, less than half the mission time remained. The more Shen Qiuxun thought about it, the more something felt off.

“Are you absolutely sure the Capture Target your system chose is really Tall, Poor, and Handsome?”

[The System selects the mission target based solely on information from a specific moment in time.]

“So the final judgment of success or failure is also based on the information at the moment of evaluation?”

[Correct.]

“I get the feeling your chosen Capture Target isn’t exactly reliable.”

[Please do not question the System’s authority.]

“Your authority my a—” Shen Qiuxun mulled it over again and still felt something was wrong. “Didn’t that uncle say that crystal is a real treasure?”

Would a poor guy really spend that much money on an ordinary friend?

[That only proves your mission is salvageable.]

Truly, it was impossible to get anywhere talking to him. Shen Qiuxun decided to shut up. Thinking carefully, maybe he should investigate?

Since he was an employee at the pharmacy, there had to be employee files in the Manager’s Office.

‘System Buddy, I don’t think I can survive this.’

[Hang in there a little longer.]

‘Can’t you give me some bonus reward to motivate me?’

[I’ll reward you with a compliment.]

‘Don’t be a smartass.’

[Please do not attack the System.]

Shen Qiuxun’s late shift ended. Yawning endlessly, he said goodbye to Ellie, who was taking over. Under the guise of counting inventory, he snuck into the Manager’s Office. He had noticed last time he was here that there was a safe under the desk in the office.

The Manager’s Office wasn’t locked—bold employees like Shen Qiuxun were the minority after all. Most people’s legs went weak at the mere sight of the shopkeeper’s shadow, just numbly living their lives.

Shen Qiuxun had heard through the grapevine that the shopkeeper had carelessly fallen somewhere a few days ago, broken his leg, and taken several days off. He wasn’t even at the pharmacy today. But just to be safe, he humbly implored the System to help him, so that the wise and mighty Lord System could be his lookout.

[I will not help you open that safe.]

‘Oh, who’s asking you to?’