Chapter 34#
The Innocent and Naive Fool#
Lin Xiaodong instantly remembered that the owner of Rose Manor was also called by this name.
“System, help me check what this Noah actually does,” he said with a frown. “I suspect he’s… System?”
System: “Hahahahahahahaha.”
Lin Xiaodong blinked slowly, wondering if he was hallucinating: “Wait, what’s wrong with you? Why the sudden fit of laughter?”
System: “I just suddenly really want to laugh, hahahaha… this bit of code is so funny, gagagaga.”
Lin Xiaodong truly couldn’t understand where a high-level silicon-based lifeform’s sense of humor lay.
He suspected the System might have a virus, otherwise why would it laugh uncontrollably like an epileptic seizure? He sighed and asked helplessly: “Did you find what I asked you to? At least tell me the situation before you continue laughing.”
The System went from laughing to crying: “Hahaha, I’m sorry, I’m useless. I was actually scared by a human, wuwuwu…”
Under its rambling narrative, Lin Xiaodong finally understood what had happened.
The System had found Gu Xi in a sealed room. Seeing the man’s state seemed wrong, it prepared to move closer for a better look, only to have its mental tentacles scared back to Central Planet from thousands of light-years away by a single glance from Gu Xi. Later, the more the System thought about it, the more ashamed it felt. To distract itself, it dug out a book of “funny code” highly recommended by other systems.
Hence, the current state of both laughing and crying.
Lin Xiaodong: “…No, how could Gu Xi discover you?”
“In some worlds with higher mental power levels, there are still people who can sense my mental tentacles,” the System said despondently. “It’s just that Gu Xi has always been with you; I didn’t expect him to be able to perceive my presence too.”
While they were chatting, Lu Xing had returned.
But for some reason, the youth’s expression looked very solemn. He stared fixedly at Lin Xiaodong for a long while, then let out a sigh: “I’m sorry, Xiaodong. Word just came from my father’s side. Major General Gu led his troops into battle with heroic fearlessness, but the Queen Bug was too cunning. The fleet under his command has currently… been completely wiped out.”
The little merman’s movement of flipping the book stopped.
He stared blankly at Lu Xing, his face slowly turning deathly pale.
Lu Xing asked with concern: “Xiaodong, are you alright?”
The little merman pressed his lips together and shook his head. As if losing his footing, the copy of The Little Prince in his hand was about to fall into the fountain. Lu Xing’s pupils contracted, and at the last moment, he lunged to the edge of the pool to rescue it.
Interesting.
Lin Xiaodong thought reflectively. It seemed Lu Xing truly treasured this book.
“You…” The youth’s pale face contorted for an instant, but turning to see the tearful, pitiful expression on the little merman’s face, Lu Xing closed his eyes and showed a look of pity once more: “My condolences, Xiaodong.”
“I, I don’t believe it,” the little merman said with a sob. “You’re lying to me!”
“I also wish it weren’t true,” Lu Xing said. “But you can search the Star Net yourself and see if I’m lying.”
As he spoke, he proactively opened the light brain. On the screen, every major website was already being flooded by this news. Since the royal family hadn’t publicly disclosed the existence of brainworms, the official banner for this campaign was suppressed star pirates. No one in the galaxy expected the famous Major General Gu to fall during a minor suppression operation. Once the news reached Central Planet, the entire Star Net exploded.
“Is it fake? I don’t believe it!”
“That’s Gu Xi—born a commoner, rose all the way to become the youngest Major General in the Empire. How could he lose to petty star pirates?”
“I also think it’s impossible +1.”
“But I remember not long ago there were issues with the flight vessel Major General Gu was piloting, and he was missing for a while. There were many rumors online then that he was dead.”
“What’s going on, again and again…”
“The military has long been failing. Two years ago, several officers were found to have embezzled military pay, but it was all suppressed.”
Someone in the comments is leading the narrative, Lin Xiaodong thought calmly.
He didn’t believe half a word of what Lu Xing said. The reason the situation took such a sharp turn for the worse in a mere half day was eighty—no, ninety percent likely to be his doing. Lin Xiaodong felt this Crown Prince must be playing a grand game of chess. From the moment he appeared before Gu Xi that evening, a part of his plan must have already begun—
Otherwise, why had the nobles been so secretive, even refusing to announce the existence of brainworms from beginning to end?
“I’m also very sorry about Major General Gu,” Lu Xing stood behind him, his voice sounding pained. “But Xiaodong, a person must look forward. Although the Major General has been sacrificed, the Queen Bug has not yet been eliminated. Don’t worry, I will surely inherit his legacy and avenge our brothers in the First Legion.”
The little merman wiped his tears and looked up at him: “Can I help with anything?”
Seeing Lin Xiaodong take the bait, Lu Xing smiled with satisfaction. He held out his hand to the little merman: “Of course. Xiaodong, you may not yet know what great potential is hidden within your body. I have a professional research team; they discovered long ago that merman songs can effectively inhibit brainworm activity in a host. Are you willing to cooperate with them for research?”
He lowered his voice, leading him on: “I know you don’t like humans, but this is only for Gu Xi, to take revenge on the enemies who killed your beloved.”
Hearing this, the little merman unhesitatingly placed his hand in his.
“I’m willing,” he said.
“Ding! Good Person Card fragment +1.”
“As expected,” having achieved his goal, Lu Xing straightened up and spoke as if to himself, “merfolk have always been like this—foolish and naive.”
“What?”
He came back to his senses, looked at Lin Xiaodong, and smiled: “Nothing. Come, let me take you to visit your future new home.”
The youth took the little merman’s hand, slowly leading him toward the castle built on the edge of the cliff. A few crow calls came from the quiet, uninhabited forest. The setting sun stretched the castle’s spires long and slanting, like a silent and cold prison.
Lin Xiaodong thought: He’s already decided whose character biography he’s going to watch this time.
There were too many mysteries about Lu Xing. His story must be very exciting.
This castle was huge.
Since it was located to the southeast of Rose Manor, Lin Xiaodong decided to call it Rose Castle. The room Lu Xing arranged for him was in the very top attic of the castle. Looking out from the narrow window, the entire manor was visible, and even the wild roses climbing the low fences all around could be seen clearly.
His daily life consisted of waking up, having blood drawn, cooperating with the research team to test various effects of merman songs on brainworms, resting for a bit after lunch, and providing experimental data in the afternoon. Occasionally in the evening, Lu Xing would come to the castle to see him, but recently the frequency of the youth’s visits had become less and less.
Although there was no explicit confinement, people followed him all day long under the name of protection, but in reality, it was surveillance.
This evening, Lu Xing came again.
He looked a bit travel-worn. After not seeing him for a few days, his originally frail frame seemed to have thinned by another layer. Lin Xiaodong, looking down through the castle window, wondered if a gust of wind could blow him away.
He watched Lu Xing go around the maze several times as if looking for something, and his curiosity couldn’t help but be piqued.
What does Lu Xing want to do?
Finally, the youth came to a rose vine, carefully picked the best-blooming rose, walked to the merman fountain, and bowed to place the rose gently in the palm of the statue.
He stood quietly before the fountain for a moment, then suddenly frowned, as if sensing something, and looked toward the castle.
But he found nothing out of the ordinary.
Lin Xiaodong had his back to the wall. A researcher stood at the end of the hallway waving to him, telling him to come over immediately. Noticing the other’s suspicious gaze, the little merman gave a simple smile and blew a soft breath, releasing a butterfly perched on his fingertip.
Seeing this, the researcher’s expression gradually relaxed.
Lu Xing entered the castle just in time to see them drawing blood from the little merman. To ensure stable blood sugar, Lin Xiaodong hadn’t eaten all day, and he was so hungry his stomach was sticking to his back while his blood was being drawn. Fortunately, the research team still knew about “sustainable development”—they didn’t draw much at once, only about a hundred milliliters.
Lu Xing walked over and touched his hair: “Why is it all tangled?”
“No energy to comb,” the little merman replied listlessly.
The youth thought for a moment, had an attendant bring a comb, and pulled a chair to sit behind him: “Let me help you.”
But his movements were a bit stumbling and unpracticed, pulling Lin Xiaodong’s scalp painfully several times. The little merman grimaced for a while and dodged his hand with a face full of unhappiness, thinking his skill wasn’t even as good as Gu Xi’s.
Seeing Lin Xiaodong’s disdainful look, Lu Xing was stunned, then put down the comb with some dejection.
“Sorry,” he said. “Out of practice, it’s a bit rusty.”
Oho.
Lin Xiaodong asked as if casually: “So you’ve combed others’ hair before?”
“…Mm.”
“Who was it?”
Lu Xing smiled and didn’t answer, turning instead to a different topic: “Hungry? It’s perfect timing; there’s a banquet in the palace tonight. I’ll take you there.”
The researcher nearby hurriedly said: “Your Highness, he cannot leave tonight, otherwise the team’s research progress won’t make it in time.”
“Shut up,” Lu Xing lifted his eyelids and looked at him coldly. “Just one night. After all these days, all the data that needs collecting has been collected. You aren’t so useless that you can’t move a step without an experimental specimen, are you?”
“But…”
“Or,” Lu Xing smiled slightly, “do you have an objection to my decision?”
Cold sweat instantly broke out on the researcher’s forehead: “N-no, I wouldn’t dare.”
Seeing no one object, Lu Xing looked down and personally unfastened the tourniquet on Lin Xiaodong’s arm. He considerately supported him when the little merman grew dizzy from low blood sugar, letting him lean on him, and ordered an attendant to bring a piece of chocolate for him to snack on first.
Lin Xiaodong accepted his service naturally and asked the System: “Do you know what this kind of behavior is called?”
System: “A weasel giving New Year’s greetings to a chicken?”
“No,” Lin Xiaodong countered, “it’s called a cat crying over a mouse—crocodile tears.”
There were two reasons he still stayed in this castle. First, Lu Xing hadn’t officially broken with him yet, and with Gu Xi being “dead” on the surface, this was actually the safest place, bar none. Second, Lin Xiaodong needed to complete the task, which required thoroughly understanding Lu Xing’s past.
After laboriously playing the “silly-sweet” innocent for so many days and giving up so much precious merman blood, today he finally got his chance.
He and Lu Xing entered the aircraft one after the other, driving down the mountain in the deepening night.
Light and shadow shifted outside the window. Lu Xing propped his chin up, staring dazeedly at the dazzling interstellar city on both sides of the street.
Gazing at the youth’s pale, thin profile, the little merman sitting beside him suddenly spoke: “You seem very lonely.”
“Hmm?” Lu Xing came back to his senses. He smiled and didn’t deny it. “You noticed.”
“But you’re the Crown Prince. Why would you be lonely?”
“‘Even in places with people, we are still lonely.’” Lu Xing cunningly used a line from The Little Prince to answer his question. But the little merman clearly wasn’t satisfied, asking persistently: “Then having grown up so much, have you never had someone you liked?”
This question made Lu Xing silent for a long time.
After an unknown amount of time, he let out a sigh and finally bared his heart to Lin Xiaodong for the first time: “I have.”
“I once… had someone I liked.”
After a pause, he added softly:
“The kind I liked very, very much.”
Lin Xiaodong’s spirit lifted.
Just as he was about to redouble his efforts to fish for more info, the aircraft suddenly lurched to a stop in mid-air.
“Ouch!”
The little merman almost slammed headfirst into the seat in front, fortunately held back by his seatbelt. Lu Xing’s body also shook violently. He quickly grabbed a handle inside the aircraft and said sharply: “What’s going on?”
The driver replied: “Your Highness, a lunatic is lying on the road to commit suicide. This road is currently under air control; it likely won’t be clear for a while.”
“Change routes then,” Lu Xing said with a frown.
“But the custom formal wear shop you booked is at the end of this road…” The driver took a quick look at him through the rearview mirror, his expression somewhat shrinking.
“Custom formal wear?” Without waiting for Lu Xing to speak, the little merman asked curiously, “Is it for me?”
Lu Xing nodded. He sighed: “Forget it, then let’s wait a bit. Notify the traffic police to come and handle it quickly. Settle the matter within half an hour.”
“Actually, it doesn’t need to be so much trouble,” the little merman looked down and tugged at his clothes. “I think this outfit of mine is quite good.”
“It can be better,” Lu Xing said unquestionably.
He lifted a strand of the little merman’s long hair, gave it a light kiss, and smiled: “Trust me.”
“Tonight, I will surely make you the most dazzling Little Prince in the room.”