Chapter 86
The planet he was on was very far from here. From the time he had memories, he and his grandmother had lived there. He didn’t have parents; it was said they had abandoned him, and his grandmother, a scavenger, picked him up.
His grandmother treated him very well. Although life was poverty-stricken, he could be considered happy because there was someone willing to shelter him from the wind and rain. If not for his grandmother, he would have died silently long ago.
Unfortunately, good times didn’t last long. When he was ten years old, war swept through his planet. He and his grandmother hid in the garbage, ears filled with roaring sounds day and night.
They didn’t know when this predatory war would stop, nor if they would die. They just lived meagerly day by day. Until one day, Grandmother ran out of hidden food. She made an agreement with Shen Xili that she would be back soon, but in the end, she didn’t return.
It was also on this day that the Amor army came to their aid.
Amor Planet was known to practically the entire galaxy. They were powerful and fearless, yet possessed a soft heart for helping the weak. With Amor’s help, the war stopped very quickly.
When he emerged from the garbage heap, he saw the flag of the Amor army from afar. The man standing under the flag was tall and fierce, but wore a smile. He discovered Shen Xili and specifically came over to give him a nutrient solution and enough food to eat.
The name Shen Xili was also given by him. Shen was also that Grand General’s surname.
Following his grandmother, she had always called him Guai Guai (Good Boy/Darling).
“And then? Why did he name you Shen Xili?” Shen Shuyu asked.
Shen Xili said, “He said this name was originally intended for his son, but his wife chose another one, so he gave this name to me.”
Shen Shuyu said “Oh.” “What happened after?”
“After? After that, the Grand General left. My planet became even more barren due to the war, without food or clean water. Every day when I closed my eyes, I wondered if I would see the sun tomorrow.”
Shen Xili spoke lightly, but he was only ten years old at the time. After the war ended, he kept searching for his grandmother. Finally, directed by others, he went to a mass grave filled with people who had died because of the war.
He dug through the mass grave for three days and two nights before finally finding his grandmother in a corner. She had been dead for who knows how long; the body was already decomposing.
Shen Xili carried his grandmother back home. While organizing her clothes, he discovered a small, flattened steam bun hidden in her innermost garment, seemingly protected tightly for fear of being robbed.
The steam bun was very dirty, hardened by time and wrapped in the stench of decay, but Shen Xili swallowed it down. It was also at this moment that he firmly decided he wanted to become a Grand General. He hoped there would be no more war in the entire galaxy.
At first, he secretly trained with the soldiers on the planet, but later, the place was no longer suitable for him. He tossed and turned, left home, and went to other planets. Although the journey was bitter and tiring, and he was often bullied for being thin and weak, he possessed an extremely strong and resilient heart. Thinking of his dream, it seemed all suffering was worth it.
Shen Shuyu pursed his lips and fell silent.
In the book, Shen Xili had already arrived at Amor. Although the text offered glimpses into his past, it was far less impactful than hearing the person involved speak of it.
Language is light, but the past is heavy.
Shen Shuyu couldn’t imagine what kind of torture Shen Xili had endured in those years to get here.
Or perhaps, precisely because Shen Xili had strong willpower and a soft heart toward everything, he became the center of this world.
But actually, he didn’t need to suffer these hardships.
The text mentioned one line: after Shen Xili was recognized by the Shen family, they spent a lot of resources and manpower to find the nurse who took care of him back then. The nurse was old and had only a few days left to live; she had no secrets she couldn’t tell.
He said Shen Xili was swapped on purpose. As for the person who asked him to do it, he had long lost any impression, and the matter was left unsettled.
But Shen Shuyu felt it might be connected to the original owner’s background.
Shen Xili gently rubbed with his fingertips, melting the ointment on Shen Shuyu’s face.
Just as he was about to apply more, Shen Shuyu said, “No need.”
Shen Xili looked up at him, a trace of inexplicable hesitation flashing across his face.
Shen Shuyu said, “It’s all covered. When does this medicine take effect? I still have to go home tonight.”
Shen Xili slowly capped the ointment. He said, “Little Young Master, although its effect is good, it doesn’t mean it’s a miracle drug that removes injuries instantly.”
Shen Shuyu pouted. “Seeing you blow it up so much, I thought it was some magical ointment.”
Shen Xili couldn’t help laughing. He stood up, preparing to leave, but someone tugged at his sleeve.
He paused, first looking down at the hand pulling his sleeve—slender and fair, very good-looking—then following that pretty hand to look at its owner, Shen Shuyu.
Shen Shuyu asked, “Have you never thought about looking for your own parents?”
Shen Xili was silent for a long while, then simply said, “I’m doing pretty well now.”
He was doing pretty well now. The days of suffering were far behind him, his dream was getting closer, and the days ahead were filled with sunlight and flowers.
Shen Shuyu slowly withdrew his hand. “Oh.”
Shen Xili smiled and went back to his room with the ointment.
Shen Shuyu grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it, feeling somewhat complicated. He couldn’t help calling out the System again.
Xiao Yi greeted him happily as usual before asking: [What’s wrong, Master~]
Shen Shuyu said: [My mood is inexplicably irritable.]
Xiao Yi blinked its lights carefully. It said: [Did something happen?]
The System was dormant just now and didn’t know what happened. To extract the host’s memories, it needed the host’s consent.
But Shen Shuyu didn’t want to let it rummage through right now, so it could only wait quietly for Shen Shuyu to tell it.
Shen Shuyu roughly told the System about Shen Xili’s past just now. He sighed: [To become a protagonist, must one go through these things?]
He believed that if Shen Xili hadn’t been swapped at the start, with the Shen family’s cultivation, his conditions would certainly be even better than now.
The System didn’t know how to answer, so it transformed into a small dog, shaking its head in Shen Shuyu’s mind.
Shen Shuyu took a deep breath. The System said: [Master, although I cannot empathize with your emotions, how about trying to just treat them as paper people? Our primary task is still to follow the plot.]
“Easier said than done,” Shen Shuyu muttered softly.
But doing this was very hard. They stood in front of him as living people, with thoughts, warmth, and emotions.
At first, Shen Shuyu was also full of confidence that he wouldn’t get entangled with anyone in the novel world, but humans are complex creatures. From the moment he met the first person in this world…
Shen Shuyu knew clearly that he couldn’t truly treat this matter as just a task. Only by being deep in it did he discover many things he couldn’t ignore.
He sighed heavily, zoning out in the sofa.
Suddenly, his shoulder was patted very lightly. He looked back; Lin Xuyi was standing behind him. He said, “Little Young Master, what are you doing here alone?”
Shen Shuyu said, “Nothing. What’s up?”
After lunch, Chi Yanxun went back to his assigned room to rest. Wen Jiafei went out, likely to the hospital to see Wen Yue.
He Mingyue and Lin Xuyi had been in their room doing who knows what, and Shen Xili hadn’t come out since returning to his room.
So Shen Shuyu was staying alone. The TV volume was very low, negligible.
Lin Xuyi said, “Want to game?”
Shen Shuyu said “Ah.” “What game?”
Lin Xuyi said, “Wait a sec.”
With that, he went back to the room to call He Mingyue. Finally, the three of them sat on the sofa in a row, holding Lin Xuyi’s game controllers, all looking very seriously at the little figures on the screen.
The game was indeed very fun!
Inside Shen Xili’s room.
His door wasn’t closed tightly. The sounds of the game and conversation from the living room drifted into the bedroom through the small crack.
Shen Xili’s face was pale, covered in sweat. He collapsed on the bed, clenching his teeth to prevent himself from making a sound.
After an unknown amount of time, the pain in his body gradually subsided. Shen Xili let out a long breath, curling up on the bed. He loosened his grip on the quilt, which he had clutched into a wrinkled mess.
His gaze unconsciously looked toward the source of the sound. In a trance, he saw through the crack Shen Shuyu sitting on the sofa laughing loudly. Although the youth’s face bore injuries, his smile remained bright.
His numb heart became active again by a fraction.
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