Chapter 47: The Not-Short-on-Cash Tyrant Majesty
Today was a very important day.
Shěn Lín was going to school!
His Second Sister held his left hand, while “Little Chicken Brother” held his right.
As for his Third Brother…
Third Brother had skipped his own classes.
Even under the threatening glares of Second Sister, Shěn Zéjué acted as if he were blind. He grinned like a total idiot, frequently leaning in to chatter away at the cub.
The Shěn family guards and servants, combined with the Royal Guard that followed Lì Héng, formed a massive, bustling crowd that occupied a good third of the space in front of the nursery gates.
Parents who had come to drop off their own children watched the scene, utterly dumbfounded.
Wherever Shěn Lín’s group went, they were the center of attention.
The cub wasn’t used to being stared at by so many people. He instinctively gripped the hands of the two beside him, wishing he could just press himself against Little Chicken Brother and Second Sister as they walked.
Seeing this, the two of them silently shifted their positions to shield the cub.
They didn’t exchange a word, yet their movements were perfectly synchronized.
Enveloped by the familiar scents on both sides, the cub’s stiff body relaxed slightly. He reached out to touch the Ghost Vine wrapped around his wrist, exhaled a soft breath, and began to cautiously observe his surroundings.
Looking at the crowded, noisy scene of the nursery, a hint of regret rose in Shěn Lín’s heart.
The cub had never attended school. He had always followed the monsters, staying far away from crowds and wandering the fringes of cities.
The emotions of a crowd were complex and chaotic, often forcing him to absorb a great deal of malice. He truly disliked being near people.
Once, while hiding from humans who were hunting him, he had accidentally wandered into a human base. He had seen human cubs leaving school, always met by their fathers and mothers.
At that time, he had hidden in a corner, watching.
Seeing cubs around his own age playing together, he had wanted to join in. But the moment he approached…
Their parents would let out high-pitched shrieks like startled antelopes, and the children would look at him as if they were looking at a monster.
Brother “01” had rescued him from that human base, stuffing him into a cramped, narrow hole and whispering careful instructions: “Baby, stay quiet. Don’t make a sound. I’ll lead them away. Remember, no matter what, do not come out.”
Shěn Lín had been very obedient to Brother “01,” hiding there faithfully.
The light outside flickered between dim and bright. Brother “01” never returned. It wasn’t until the entrance of the hole was pushed aside that the silhouette of Monster Papa appeared.
Later, from Monster Papa’s fragmented words, he learned that Brother “01” might never come back, just like Sister “02” and Brother “03.”
The cub never approached a school or any place like it again.
He hated schools!
But Second Sister and Third Brother seemed to really hope he would go.
Besides, in this world, everyone was a monster. As a little monster himself, he shouldn’t be chased out again, right?
Moreover, he wasn’t alone.
His Papa and his Sister “02” were both in this world, and they still loved him dearly.
Now they were even willing to accompany him to school, smiles on their faces. Maybe school wasn’t so hateful after all…
Once his thoughts cleared, his trepidation vanished, replaced by an expectant curiosity for school life.
As he lifted his foot to walk forward, that familiar sensation of being hoisted into the air returned.
It seemed everyone loved to pick him up by the scruff.
How annoying!
So what if you’re tall!
Shěn Lín turned his head indignantly, determined to see which “hateful adult” it was this time.
The man was in a military uniform, broad-shouldered and long-legged. His well-defined fingers pushed up the brim of his cap, revealing a pair of steady, handsome eyes.
“Don’t recognize me anymore?”
The black-haired, black-eyed youth had a smile in his eyes. He weighed the cub in his arms and nodded with satisfaction.
Not bad. He had gained quite a bit of weight.
He pinched the cub’s “baby fat” cheeks; the texture was unexpectedly good.
He raised an eyebrow and pinched again.
Two faint finger marks were left on the cub’s pale, translucent cheek.
The more Shěn Lín looked at the youth, the more familiar he felt. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
“Big Brother~”
Shěn Zéyù laughed in response, though his tone was mock-offended. “I’ve only been away for a few months and you already forgot me? Bǐngbǐng, you little heartbreaker.”
Shěn Lín giggled, lunging into Shěn Zéyù’s arms and smearing drool all over his face.
“Did not~”
“Cub… not a heartbreaker~”
Shěn Zéyù pressed his face against the cub’s, rubbing against him vigorously. “You’re even getting lazy with your speech. Great, now you’re going to turn into a little stutterer.”
“No~”
“Not a stutterer~”
“Still saying you aren’t? Do you even believe yourself?”
Shěn Zéyù couldn’t resist the urge to pinch the cub’s face again, but seeing the finger marks from before, he switched to pinching his nose instead.
Slap!
A figure appeared, heavily swatting Shěn Zéyù’s hand away.
The sound was so loud that Shěn Lín’s ears rang.
Shěn Lín wanted to see who dared to strike his Big Brother. If he didn’t give them a lesson, they’d think he, Shěn Lín, was made of clay.
An invisible band of light within his body shrank to the size of a needle and slid down, climbing along the path toward the stranger to bore into their body.
The moment it entered, Shěn Lín felt a familiar aura. His body jolted, and he instinctively looked up.
What met his eyes was a strange, mediocre face.
The man was wearing a Shěn family guard uniform. His black hair had turned golden, and his golden eyes had turned black. Even his temperament had changed, making him the kind of person who would go unnoticed in a crowd.
Appearance, height, and even vibe could be changed, but the familiar energy fluctuations in the consciousness sea could not.
It was Papa!
While still in Shěn Zéyù’s arms, Shěn Lín’s arms were already reaching out toward Papa Shěn.
Papa Shěn had been glaring at his eldest son for being too rough, but seeing his youngest reaching out for a hug, his face immediately broke into a beaming smile. He unceremoniously snatched the cub away.
“Sweetheart, how did you recognize Papa?”
Papa Shěn leaned close to Shěn Lín’s ear and whispered the question.
Shěn Lín lifted his little chin. “Not telling~”
Papa Shěn chuckled. “Fine, fine, if you won’t say, you won’t say. Today is my sweetheart’s first day of school; no matter how busy I am, I have to see you off.”
Shěn Lín snuggled against Papa’s broad, sturdy chest. His heart felt warm and full, and his nose began to sting.
“Oh dear, why are the ‘little pearls’ coming out!”
Papa Shěn panicked, reaching out to wipe away the tears that were threatening to fall, but stopped when he saw the rough, thick calluses on his own hands.
Just as he was frantically searching his pockets for a handkerchief, a crimson one appeared before his eyes.
Papa Shěn’s eyes lit up. He snatched the handkerchief and carefully wiped the tears from the corners of the cub’s eyes, cooing in a low voice.
“Sweetheart, don’t cry. Papa will come to pick you up and drop you off every day from now on, okay?”
Shěn Lín shook his head, hugging Papa’s neck, his voice muffled.
“Don’t want to~”
Papa Shěn patted the cub’s back to soothe him and asked, “Why? Does sweetheart not want Papa to pick him up every day?”
“Papa’s work… is hard~”
Papa Shěn understood the underlying meaning; his little son was worried about him.
The old father’s heart instantly melted into mush. He placed his large hand over the cub’s head and rubbed vigorously, as if he wanted to rub the cub right into his own body to give this heart-wrenching little thing all the love in the world.
“It’s fine. No matter how busy Papa is, I’ll make time to send my sweetheart to school. Don’t drop any more pearls, or your eyes will hurt.”
“Mhm~”
Shěn Lín felt the overflowing affection in Papa’s emotions. He wiped his face haphazardly and flashed a sweet smile.
As the sunlight poured down, the cub’s fluffy hair seemed to be gilded with a halo, and the tears in his eyes seemed to shimmer.
That pure, innocent smile didn’t just captivate Papa Shěn and the others; even the surrounding crowd found their gazes drawn to the cub.
Standing among the crowd, Āsīkǎ instinctively pressed the shutter button.
Click.
It was a tiny sound, unremarkable amidst the noisy crowd.
But in the next second, five sets of gazes locked onto him simultaneously.
Āsīkǎ’s face went pale.
In that moment, he felt as if five Fierce Beasts had him dead in their sights.
He suddenly couldn’t breathe. Gray feathers sprouted on his cheeks, his legs turned into bird legs, and his instinct told him to run.
He had just managed to turn around when a hand landed on his shoulder.
“Brother, come with us for a moment.”
Āsīkǎ was led away, weak and helpless, sandwiched between a group of tall, burly guards toward the end of the starship fleet.
Dàiwéi pushed up his glasses. Tiny blue lines flickered across the lenses as data scrolled rapidly through his eyes.
“Master Āsīkǎ, what are you doing here?”
Confirming the identity of the person before him, Dàiwéi was slightly surprised for a fleeting moment before quickly masking it with a smile.
The youth before him was the younger brother of Commander Āsīkè.
He was essentially a “rice worm” who lived off his brother’s support, waiting for death.
His only hobby was flying to different planets to photograph various sceneries.
Āsīkǎ recognized Councilor Shěn’s personal secretary. He gave Dàiwéi a fawning smile and stammered, “Just… just passing by.”
“Passing by?” Dàiwéi’s gaze landed on the small holographic camera in his hand.
Āsīkǎ noticed the look and instinctively tried to hide the device, but remembering who he was dealing with, he chose to hand it over voluntarily.
“It’s like this, Secretary Dài… you know there are many people online insulting the Young Master. I was angry, so I wanted to take more photos of him to let them see how he actually lives, just to spite them…”
As Āsīkǎ babbled his explanation, Dàiwéi’s finger slid across the screen, viewing the photos.
They were all solo shots of the Young Master. Occasionally, Second Sister and the others appeared in the frame. In a few scattered shots, Lì Héng was actually present.
The more Dàiwéi flipped through, the more nervous Āsīkǎ became. A layer of sweat broke out on his palms, and his eyes stayed glued to the device in Dàiwéi’s hands.
Dàiwéi opened the photo Āsīkǎ had just taken, checked it several times, and after finding no major issues, handed the device back.
Āsīkǎ hurriedly took the device as if it were a treasure, but meeting Dàiwéi’s knowing smile, he let out a sheepish laugh.
“Secretary Dài, I… can I go now?”
Dàiwéi nodded, then added pointedly, “There’s no problem with you photographing the Young Master. But as for that Majesty of Ikaruosi… take fewer of him. If you provoke him, no one can save you.”
Āsīkǎ nodded obediently.
“Since you’re going to take photos, take them well. Tomorrow, bring your credentials to my office to handle your employment. From now on, your account will be affiliated with the official Shěn Manor account. If you encounter trouble, the PR department will handle it for you.”
“Okay, okay!”
Āsīkǎ hadn’t expected that he, a “rice worm” waiting for death, would one day land a stable “iron rice bowl” job.
From now on, he was the Young Master’s exclusive “Fansite Master.”
So happy!
Āsīkǎ walked away with high spirits.
He hadn’t gone far when someone blocked his path.
It was a guard in an Ikaruosi Royal uniform, with a slim waist, long legs, and a masked face.
He opened an exquisite box in his hand, revealing two high-grade energy stones pulsing with massive energy.
“We want to buy the device in your hand.”
Two!
Two whole high-grade energy stones!
A single high-grade energy stone could buy a house in the Prime Star City—they could be exchanged for a million Star Coins!
The sudden wealth made Āsīkǎ’s brain stall. He almost handed the device over.
A million!
He could buy as many devices as he wanted with that.
But it was only a momentary temptation. The machine in his hand recorded every little detail of the Young Master. He couldn’t bear to just give it away.
After a moment of internal struggle, Āsīkǎ refused.
“Sorry, I don’t want to sell it.”
The guard, whose eyes were the only thing visible behind the mask, paused, then took a serious look at Āsīkǎ.
He was short, carrying a bulging backpack, with ash-brown hair and freckles across the bridge of his nose. His anxious eyes frequently darted around.
The guard thought for a moment and offered another condition: “Transfer all the photos to me. The price remains the same. Surely you can agree to this request?”
“I can do that.”
Āsīkǎ nodded immediately.
Hesitating for a single second would be a sign of disrespect toward money.
After transferring the photos, the guard brought up his star-computer and asked, “What is your StarNet ID? If you take more photos of the Young Master in the future, please send me a copy. The compensation will be generous.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Āsīkǎ added the other party’s ID. Watching the guard’s departing back, he couldn’t help but marvel in his heart: the Majesty of Ikaruosi really is loaded.
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