Inside the villa, the cold war between the "delicate soul" and the "petty guy" showed no signs of thawing.
At that moment, the one Feng Zhixi had labeled a "petty guy," Ji Yeran, was opening the front door to welcome the school doctor, who had arrived punctually for a follow-up consultation.
The doctor—whose primary role was Vice Dean of the Medical School and who only moonlighted as a school physician—stepped inside and immediately sensed something was wrong. His sharp instincts screamed of a brewing storm.
An invisible low-pressure zone permeated the air, carrying a thick, palpable killing intent. It was enough to make the doctor freeze at the threshold, one foot in and the other firmly planted outside, unwilling to venture further.
The cautious doctor scanned the room, his trailing foot refusing to budge. Behind him, his round, pudgy medical assistant robot flickered with a red light in its eyes. Like its master, it seemed to sense the murderous aura in the atmosphere.
Ji Yeran looked at the doctor, who was inexplicably frozen at the door, with a look of confusion.
Facing the young Alpha’s bewilderment, the part-time doctor could only manage a polite, albeit awkward, smile. He scrambled for an excuse. "Are you two... busy right now? If I’m intruding, I can come back later."
*The vibe is all wrong! Abort! Abort!* the doctor screamed internally.
The round robot, perfectly in sync with its master, hovered in place and performed a swift 180-degree turn, ready to flee.
However, the master of the villa was "very considerate."
"No," Ji Yeran replied, his expression cold yet gentlemanly as he shook his head, inviting the doctor in.
He couldn't let the man make two trips in one day. At his core, the former Warden was a considerate person.
The doctor: "..."
*Actually, I really don't mind making two trips.*
Faced with the wide-open door and the expectant gaze of one of the top candidates for the Academy’s Chief position, the doctor’s innate spirit of healing eventually won out. He led his round robot into the villa’s eerie atmosphere.
Then, the doctor laid eyes on the most death-defying patient of his entire career—Feng Zhixi.
When the doctor entered, Feng Zhixi had just finished reading the message from the Lanli Patent Database’s main computer. He looked up and offered the "quack" who had shown up again a slight curl of his lips—a gesture of welcome.
"..." For the first time, he wasn't being treated with disdain by this little patient. The doctor felt a profound sense that today was simply not his day to be out of bed.
The doctor observed the boy. Compared to the pale, fragile state of their first meeting, the patient’s complexion was significantly more flushed.
Satisfied with his condition, the doctor pushed aside his wilder theories and began his work in earnest. To be honest, there were very few people in the entire Federation who could get him to perform a house call for free. This little patient truly didn't know how lucky he was!
As he thought this, the doctor glanced at the robot beside him.
The round robot tilted its head, looking adorable, while the holographic display floating above its head showed the results of the examination.
Well, excellent. Just like before, he was still a total wreck, with no signs of improvement whatsoever.
The doctor wasn't surprised by this result. A block of ice three feet thick doesn't form in a single day, especially when the patient himself was a master of self-destruction.
However, the one thing that comforted the doctor was that the patient’s condition hadn't worsened. In that regard, the "little overseer" deserved all the credit.
Thinking this, the doctor turned a gaze of pure approval toward the overseer, Ji Yeran.
Ji Yeran: "?"
Noticing the "collusive" eye contact between the two, Feng Zhixi silently lowered his head, adding another mark against a certain someone in his mental ledger.
Sensing the killing intent in the air grow even thicker, the shrewd doctor stroked his chin, finally piecing together what was wrong.
It seemed the problem lay between these two?
The doctor looked at Feng Zhixi, then at Ji Yeran, feeling perplexed. These two had just won the championship of the Joint Competition; what could possibly make the atmosphere between a patient and his overseer so hostile?
Such an environment was hardly conducive to a patient’s physical and mental well-being.
As a man who considered himself one of the Federation’s top physicians, the doctor stroked his chin and decided to take matters into his own hands.
*Who should I start with?*
After a moment’s thought, his gaze landed on Ji Yeran.
Thus, Ji Yeran found himself pulled aside once more by the eccentric doctor to receive a series of earnest "instructions."
"Keep it up!" the doctor said with a beaming smile, implying that a little friction was healthy. "A little nibble is good for the soul. I’ve got high hopes for you, young Chief-to-be~"
Ji Yeran: "..." He suddenly felt that Feng Zhixi was right; this man was a total quack.
At this moment, the doctor, determined to stir the pot, had no idea he had been labeled a quack by both the patient and the overseer simultaneously.
Soon, the meddling doctor departed with his precious "Roundy," moving so fast it was as if a prehistoric beast were snapping at his heels.
With the doctor’s departure, the villa doors slid shut, and the spacious hall returned to its initial, solemn silence.
Ji Yeran glanced at the frost-faced Feng Zhixi and sighed. He walked over and sat down beside the low-pressure Omega.
Ji Yeran felt they needed to have a proper talk.
As someone who believed that all the reason in the world resided on his side, Feng Zhixi shot Ji Yeran a sidelong glance. The coldness in his eyes was matched only by his dazzling arrogance.
*Talk reason with a space pirate leader?*
The first rule of survival he had learned after leaving the Lanli Research Institute in his previous life was to be unreasonable and dictatorial!
Feng Zhixi stared directly at him. He saw the refusal to back down in Ji Yeran’s eyes, but he also saw his own reflection—equally uncompromising.
Two powerhouses, both steadfast in their principles and fundamentally unwilling to yield, faced off. Thirty years of hardship had long since forged their characters; neither was the type to compromise.
So, would they continue this cold war until they reached a total impasse and went their separate ways?
After a long silence, both Feng Zhixi and Ji Yeran read the same thing in each other's eyes: they didn't want it to end that way.
"The timing isn't right," Ji Yeran spoke first. Currently, he didn't have the strength to protect Feng Zhixi if he were thrust into the eye of the storm.
Hearing this, Feng Zhixi blinked. He suddenly couldn't help but laugh. The Omega, who had been hiding his true self for so long, once again displayed his sharp, untamed brilliance. He asked, "Do I look like I need protection?"
*Right, you don't. You're a little patient with a mouth full of steel teeth.*
Ji Yeran grumbled silently in his head, suddenly losing the desire to keep up the confrontation. He reached an epiphany in an instant.
What was there to argue about? If they really brought the heavens down, they’d just face it together. It wasn't like they hadn't died before.
Seeing the Alpha’s gaze soften, Feng Zhixi felt the tension drain away as well. He realized this argument was a waste of energy. He’d be better off spending that time figuring out how to fleece someone.
For instance, finding an excuse to rob a certain wealthy "landlord."
The "landlord" in question, the old Principal, suddenly felt a chill. *What is this sudden sense of impending doom?!*
Soon, the Principal’s premonition came true. The newly minted Chief candidates showed up at his door in tandem. Besides demanding the trial star map, the two, having spotted certain clues during the league matches, presented additional requests.
For example, as the only two prospective graduates of the Interstellar Combat Command major at Benn Military Academy in years, shouldn't the major’s database, material stores, and armory be opened to them?
The shocked Principal: "?!" *Where did these two little bandits come from? Are they trying to strip the walls bare?!*
However, facing the blatant malice of the world, the Principal saw his "perfect" graduates offering identical, beautiful smiles—equally young, arrogant, and radiant.
The Principal: "..." *Bandit cubs, the lot of them!*
Ultimately, the defeated Principal compromised. In truth, these resources were meant for graduates anyway. It was only because Feng Zhixi and Ji Yeran had failed to complete their final trial and dropped out mid-way in the previous timeline that the academy’s vast resources had gone to waste.
The resigned Principal waved them off. "Fine, take whatever you want."
In the end, the two weren't too excessive. After picking out a few items they found useful, they turned their attention back to the trial star map they had obtained from the Principal.
Years later, when they saw this trial star map again, they realized just how unreliable the old Principal had been.
This map, which had somehow been mixed into the Interstellar Combat Command graduation trials, was actually a fragmented map written in a special cipher. No wonder they had nearly lost their lives following it back then.
That was also the reason they had both terminated their trials and dropped out.
Imagine the former Chief of the Lanli Research Institute and the former Chairman of the Federal House of Representatives receiving an emergency notice from Benn Military Academy, rushing to Planet Kanta, only to find the children they had sent off full of life now lying in the ICU on the brink of death. Who could endure that?
Ji Yeran’s mother and Feng Zhixi’s mentor had nearly torn the Principal apart. Eventually, they took their respective children away and erased all traces of their existence at the school.
Knowing he was in the wrong, the Principal had regretfully sealed all records. That had been the closest anyone had come to success in years, yet it had ended in failure once more.
*Is the time still not right?* the old Principal had wondered back then, sighing quietly.
That was why, when the Principal first received the report from Kanta’s reception department saying two dropouts were using their admission letters to apply for landing, he hadn't remembered them immediately.
After all, he had assumed those two genius youths might never wake up again.
***
The timeline shifted from the regretful Principal of the past back to the present.
Now, holding the trial star map that had once cost them everything, Feng Zhixi and Ji Yeran finally understood. It was a map drawn in cipher, and the code was identical to the one on the map they had bid for at the "Heart of the Rose."
After deciphering the trial map, Feng Zhixi imported the new data into the original Heart of the Rose map. The fog covering a portion of the regional map finally cleared.
The newly unlocked section pointed directly to a specific location: a planet famous as a romantic sanctuary for lovers—M88.
It also had a romantic colloquial name: Heaven’s Kiss, otherwise known as the Honeymoon Planet.
Feng Zhixi: "..."
Ji Yeran: "..."
They were now truly curious: how on earth did that "luckiest unlucky guy" manage to find the final destination using such a chaotic map?
Was that man truly the "Chosen One"?
In a distant corner of the galaxy, the "Chosen One" let out a massive sneeze. Then: "Aaaaah! Wrong again!"
At that moment, the Chosen One’s teammate finally lost his patience. He kicked him aside and ordered him never to pilot the starship again.
With such a garbage sense of direction, he could follow a map and still end up in a ditch. It was a truly gifted level of stupidity!
The rejected Chosen One rubbed his nose. He looked at the position on the holographic star map and let out a surprised "Huh?"
"How did we end up at the Honeymoon Planet?" *How strange~*
His teammate rolled his eyes. *God only knows.*
However, seeing the Honeymoon Planet piqued the Chosen One’s interest. He suggested enthusiastically, "Since we're already here, why don't we land and enjoy some sun, sand, and sea before we leave?"
Maybe there would even be a beautiful romantic encounter~
Facing the Chosen One’s suggestion, the crew of bachelors looked at each other. Having sailed through the void for half a year, these space explorers were all feeling a bit tempted.
Since they were already here, why not...?
Then, the helmsman made a sharp turn. Destination: the Honeymoon Planet!
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
娇气包 | Delicate soul | Lit. "Squeamish bag." Used by Ji Yeran to describe Feng Zhixi's pampered/fragile nature.
小气鬼 | Petty guy | Lit. "Stingy ghost." Used by Feng Zhixi to describe Ji Yeran's grudge-holding.
庸医 | Quack | A derogatory term for an incompetent doctor.
圆滚滚 | Roundy | The nickname/description for the medical assistant robot.
薅羊毛 | Fleecing | Lit. "Plucking wool." Slang for taking advantage of someone's resources or getting a bargain at someone's expense.
M88 / 天堂之吻 | M88 / Heaven’s Kiss | The "Honeymoon Planet" mentioned in the star map.
天选之子 | The Chosen One | A term for someone with incredible, almost divine luck.
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