Chapter 88: Love-Brain? – August
Jiang Chenyan’s fingertips wandered through a pile of machine parts. His tweezers picked up a microchip, and he held it up to the light for a careful inspection, his brow slightly furrowed.
He didn’t even lift his head. “Kai Lan, did you use your brain before speaking?”
Kai Lan, “…”
What if you have unique hobbies? And want to go take a look?
Of course, Kai Lan didn’t dare say this. He silently busied himself with the work in his hands.
A bout of silence followed.
Jiang Chenyan’s thoughts had long since drifted thousands of miles away. What about Mo Qingyu’s side?
He casually set the tweezers and chip on the table, letting out a crisp tack sound.
Kai Lan had been pestering Jiang Chenyan for the past few days, insisting that Jiang Chenyan help him build some kind of advanced robotic dog. Jiang Chenyan pulled his light-brain from his pocket and tapped the screen lightly. “I’m going to check on something.”
“Then what about my robotic dog?” Kai Lan wore a look of grievance.
It was too late. Jiang Chenyan didn’t look back; his fingertips were already sliding rapidly across the light-brain screen.
Strings of complex code flashed across the screen as layers of encrypted files were cracked one by one.
The glow of the screen reflected on Jiang Chenyan’s face. Key information gradually became clear. The leader of the LE organization: real name unknown, formerly the Alliance’s top mecha designer belonging to the Core R&D Department. Later, due to a conflict of interest involving the Alliance’s upper echelons, he broke with the Alliance and founded the LE organization after defecting, promoting it as seeking benefits for Omegas and Betas.
Jiang Chenyan’s heart sank. There was inevitably a monitoring system; he couldn’t stay for too long.
He quickly memorized the key information and pressed his fingertip, decisively exiting the page. The light-brain screen returned to black.
Logically, the grudges and feuds between the Alliance and the LE organization had nothing to do with someone like him who had used a “death escape” to break free and was hiding in this remote corner. There was absolutely no need for him to invite trouble.
But…
Jiang Chenyan just couldn’t help but want to investigate.
And he suddenly realized he had overlooked a key issue.
From what Mo Qingyu said, the people in their organization seemed to have great expectations for him joining.
This was a bit strange. On the surface, he was a student of the Alliance Military Academy, with neither a prominent background nor any earth-shattering achievements…
Could it be because of his SS+ rank Alpha identity?
In this interstellar society dominated by Alphas, an SS+ rank Alpha was as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn. Not only was their strength outstanding, but they also carried a natural deterrence and prestige.
Perhaps the LE organization saw this point and hoped to use his identity and strength to enhance the organization’s influence and combat the Alliance’s oppression?
But… Jiang Chenyan’s thoughts shifted. This guess seemed to hold no water.
Jiang Chenyan vaguely remembered that the LE organization was founded to protect the rights of Omegas and Betas. Under the Alliance’s high-pressure rule, Omegas and Betas had long been in a weak position, discriminated against and oppressed by Alphas.
The LE organization was born in this context, attracting a large number of oppressed Omegas and Betas.
So most members within the LE organization should be Omegas or Betas.
Toward Alphas—especially a top-rank Alpha like him—they should maintain vigilance and hostility.
Then why were they offering him an olive branch? They even showed such strong desire?
“Jiang Chenyan!” Kai Lan’s voice sounded behind him, interrupting Jiang Chenyan’s thoughts. “What are you thinking? Your soul has flown away.”
Jiang Chenyan snapped back to his senses.
“Huh?”
Kai Lan spoke grumpily: “’Huh’ what? What are you thinking about?”
Jiang Chenyan was stunned for a moment but eventually spoke his doubts aloud. “Mo Qingyu told me that the LE organization really hopes I can join.”
Hearing this, Kai Lan frowned. “That is indeed a bit eerie. After all, your entire family consists of Alliance loyalists.”
They weren’t just loyalists; they could even be called “lickers.”
Jiang Chenyan didn’t deny these words. The Jiang family had been loyal to the Alliance for generations; this obsession had long since merged into their blood. There was no need to say more.
“So, I suspect Mo Qingyu let something slip.”
“Mm, that’s possible.” Kai Lan nodded lightly. “But don’t worry about that for now. Anyway, the ‘death escape’ was a success. I’ll fix you up. Let’s get you a fake identity first; I know someone in the black market.”
At first, Jiang Chenyan didn’t understand what Kai Lan meant by “fixing him up.” He just followed the other into a compartment in a daze, until he saw Kai Lan pull out a tube of hair dye. Only then did he react.
“Are you sure?”
Kai Lan, “Sure, and certain.”
Jiang Chenyan, “…”
When that dash of orange hair color was fully formed on Jiang Chenyan’s head, Kai Lan pulled Jiang Chenyan under the light. Jiang Chenyan instinctively looked up.
The warm yellow light fell on his hair. That dash of orange was like a crushed sunset, or a honey-soaked tangerine, blooming in layers amidst his hair. His originally cool, white skin appeared even more translucent, and even his brow and eyes lost a bit of their coldness.
Kai Lan walked around Jiang Chenyan twice. Satisfied, he curled his lips and gestured for Jiang Chenyan to sit. He picked up a pile of jars and bottles and began to work on Jiang Chenyan’s face.
Until Kai Lan handed over a mirror. Jiang Chenyan took a deep breath and looked. He was stunned.
It could be said he had completely turned into another person.
The contours of his features had been delicately reshaped, losing their original exquisite sharpness and becoming much softer. It was a kind of清秀 (qīngxiù – delicate and pretty) that wasn’t ostentatious, with a bit of aloof gentleness between his brows. One only felt comfortable looking at him; he wasn’t overly attention-grabbing.
“You…” Facing the mirror, Jiang Chenyan’s fingertips gently brushed over his unfamiliar cheek. “Impressive.”
Kai Lan said nothing. He just picked up a pair of dark gray pupils and signaled for Jiang Chenyan to look up.
When the cool lenses touched his eyeballs, Jiang Chenyan instinctively blinked. His vision was instantly dyed with a faint gray tone.
“Disguise potions and such.” Kai Lan explained while tidying his tools. “I’ll have to do it too in a bit. I can’t have you be the only one who changed their appearance.”
Looking at his appearance in the mirror, which even he could barely recognize, Jiang Chenyan sincerely let out a sentence: “This little brother worships you.”
Kai Lan chuckled: “Of course. I learned this from the black market. Although this planet is remote and poor, it’s a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. There are quite a lot of things to learn.”
Jiang Chenyan’s eyes lit up. He suddenly grew interested and leaned closer to Kai Lan: “Are there any hacker bosses?”
The smile on Kai Lan’s face froze. He remained silent for several seconds. “…”
They arrived near the black market.
Mecha wreckage was everywhere, piled crookedly on both sides of the road. Broken mechanical arms and mottled armor plates could be seen everywhere.
The air was filled with a heavy, pungent scent of machine oil mixed with the metallic smell of rust. it was hard to imagine that such a place full of industrial ruins was hidden on the planet.
Following Kai Lan’s guidance, they passed through several noisy and crowded streets before finally stopping at a deep and narrow alley.
The light in the alley was dim, with only a few neon signs flashing weak light. Kai Lan familiarly walked to an unremarkable storefront at the end of the alley. After whispering a few words with the person inside, he came out a moment later holding an exquisitely made card, which he handed to Jiang Chenyan: “The fake identity is done. From now on, you’ll use this identity on the planet.”
Jiang Chenyan took the ID. Looking down at the name on it, his pupils shrank slightly. “My name is August (Baye)?” This name was truly reckless, clearly made up haphazardly.
Kai Lan scratched his head and explained with a smile: “Yeah, I remembered you were born in August, so I gave you this name. It’s simple and easy to remember.”
Fearing Jiang Chenyan wouldn’t accept it, he hurriedly said: “Actually, my name is also based on my birth month.”
“Oh? Then you are called December (Shi’eryue)?”
Jiang Chenyan wanted to laugh. Must it be this ridiculous? He remembered Kai Lan’s birth month was December.
Kai Lan corrected Jiang Chenyan: “What ‘December’? My name is Shi’er. ‘Shi’ as in the city district, followed by the capitalized number ‘Er’ (Two).”
“…”
Is there any difference? Jiang Chenyan couldn’t help but start laughing.
“Ah, you aren’t allowed to laugh!” Kai Lan stretched out his arm and circled Jiang Chenyan’s neck, pulling him hard toward himself.
Jiang Chenyan was strangled until he let out a muffled laugh. He reached out and patted Kai Lan’s arm, raising an eyebrow. “Can you actually stop me from laughing?”
The two played and fought along the way.
As they walked, the wind suddenly grew stronger, howling as it swirled up the fallen leaves. It also took the opportunity to lift the hem of Jiang Chenyan’s long trench coat, revealing the edge of his light gray pants inside.
Kai Lan stopped playing. He narrowed his eyes and shrunk into a spot where the wind was weaker. He reached out to pull on Jiang Chenyan’s sleeve and pointed not far away: “Brother Ba, look over there.”
Brother Ba? Jiang Chenyan’s mouth twitched. He looked in the direction Kai Lan was pointing.
On the sidewalk by the street, a thin figure had somehow suddenly slipped and fallen heavily onto the ground.
He tried to struggle but couldn’t stand up. He just sat on the cold concrete floor, his clothes covered in dust and mud. His hair was messy, and his gaze was hollow and dilated, staring blankly at the gray road ahead.
This ruined city had always had many people who lived difficult and strange lives. Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan exchanged a glance, tacitly planning to walk directly past. One less trouble was better than one more.
But the moment they passed each other, Jiang Chenyan inadvertently glanced at the person’s face. He paused his steps abruptly, his pupils shrinking slightly. it was Bai Ning.
He was puzzled. In his memory, Bai Ning was still working as an employee for the Jiang family. Why would he suddenly appear here, and in such a wretched state?
In the next second, a man wearing a black jacket with a face full of fleshy scars suddenly walked out of a nearby alley. He came right in front of Bai Ning and roared: “What are you still standing there for?! Hurry up and get to work! If you don’t work, you don’t eat, understand?!”
Bai Ning trembled all over. His thin frame swayed once before he finally managed to stand up tremblingly.
That originally clean little face was red from the cold. He was resentful but had no way out. He whispered a mutter to the man: “I’m sorry.”
The man was enraged by Bai Ning’s cowardly appearance. He raised his hand to slap him in the face.
Jiang Chenyan stepped forward and grabbed the man’s arm. The man’s expression changed drastically, his face contorting with pain.
“Who are you? Daring to interfere in my business!” The man struggled to shake off Jiang Chenyan’s hand, only to find it wouldn’t budge.
Jiang Chenyan’s eyes were cold. “Just a passing stranger who can’t stand the sight of this.”
To the side, Kai Lan was completely stunned. He whispered: “Since when did you become so meddlesome?”
Jiang Chenyan, “Just this once.”
After finishing, he released the man’s arm and turned to reach out a hand to Bai Ning.
Bai Ning had been staring blankly at Jiang Chenyan, his gaze complex and difficult to discern. Seeing him reach out now, his body stiffened obviously. He then slowly grasped that warm hand and used it to stand up. His voice was hoarse: “Thank you.”
He kept his eyes lowered, his long eyelashes hiding the surging emotions within, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
The man’s face was deathly pale. “Are you trying to be a good person? I advise you to stay out of other people’s business! He offended that person from the Xie family, which is why he was dumped here… If you know what’s good for you, leave quickly. Be careful not to invite disaster upon yourself!”
Kai Lan seemed to have heard some earth-shattering gossip. His eyes lit up, and he grabbed the man who was about to say more. “That person from the Xie family? You come with me and tell me exactly what happened.”
The man was bewildered: “?”
Before he could react, he was forcibly pulled to the side by Kai Lan, his mouth still struggling: “Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? I’m not finished!”
Jiang Chenyan withdrew his gaze and looked at Bai Ning again.
He had changed his appearance; Bai Ning didn’t recognize him now.
Jiang Chenyan weighed his words and asked: “From what that man said, you offended the Xie family? Although I haven’t heard of this Xie family, looking at this setup, they seem to have quite a background. Was it him who threw you here?”
Jiang Chenyan felt somewhat helpless in his heart. He didn’t know when Bai Ning had gotten in touch with Xie Huaijin again, to the point of reaching this stage.
Hearing the names of “that person from the Xie family” and “Xie Huaijin,” Bai Ning’s gaze became gloomy. He defended Xie Huaijin: “it isn’t Mr. Xie’s fault. He must have a reason for doing this. it must be that I did something wrong and made him angry.”
Jiang Chenyan fell silent. Love-brain?
He pulled a stack of star coins from his pocket and handed them to Bai Ning. “Take these. Also, stop thinking about that guy named Xie. Stay away from him and find a better planet to start your life anew.”
Bai Ning didn’t immediately take the star coins. Instead, he looked up into Jiang Chenyan’s eyes. Those signature orange eyes glowed faintly under the streetlamp.
“Why are you helping me?” His voice was icy, devoid of any warmth.
Jiang Chenyan’s heart stirred slightly. He remained calm on the surface and said casually: “Nothing special. Maybe I just like helping people.”
“Just because of that?” Bai Ning pressed Jiang Chenyan, the suspicion in his eyes growing. He no longer believed there would be kindness and help in the world without reason.
Jiang Chenyan frowned, not knowing why, but it felt as if something was stinging him.
Only later did he slowly reach the conclusion: Bai Ning had changed.
Just then, Bai Ning suddenly let out a light laugh, which vanished in an instant.
The gloom and vigilance on his face faded, and he returned to that docile and well-behaved appearance from their first meeting.
“I’ve thought about it. I’ll take them.” He reached out and took the star coins Jiang Chenyan handed over, carefully tucking them into his bosom. He wore a faint smile. “Thank you. I will live well.”
“By the way, I still wanted to ask the gentleman’s name?”
Jiang Chenyan frowned. “I don’t leave my name when doing good deeds. Also, my name is quite unpleasant to hear.”
Bai Ning’s eyes were dark and unreadable, yet he still wore a docile smile: “Is that so? Then I won’t ask.”
At this time, Kai Lan’s side finally finished gossiping. Not only had he coaxed a lot of information from the man, but he also used his eloquent tongue to threaten and PUA the man for a bit. Under Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan’s “brainwashing,” the man gave in and promised to let Bai Ning go.
Was it Jiang Chenyan’s illusion? Upon learning he could escape his misery, not a hint of joy appeared on Bai Ning’s face.
As they were leaving, Bai Ning called out to Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan. He spoke with a near-obsessive tremor: “I really like Mr. Xie. I’ve never liked someone so much. No matter what happens, I firmly believe the person by his side can only be me. Do you understand that feeling? Loving someone so much you’re willing to give up everything.”
Jiang Chenyan’s steps didn’t pause; he walked directly forward. Kai Lan only turned back to give a glance before following Jiang Chenyan’s steps.
Didn’t I tell you? Stay away from Xie Huaijin.
The docility on Bai Ning’s face faded bit by bit, replaced by an undiluted gloom. He stood in place, motionless, staring fixedly in the direction the two had vanished around the corner. In his eyes was resentment, spite, and a trace of confusion even he hadn’t noticed.
The wind continued to howl in his ears, swirling up the fallen leaves on the ground. They drifted past Bai Ning’s feet in circles.
After an unknown amount of time, Bai Ning finally slowly withdrew his gaze. He looked down at his hands, which were covered in dust, his fingertips trembling slightly.
“Is it an illusion?”
“I always feel like you are someone familiar.”
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