Chapter 25: Back to a Normal Life
Yu An’s scream drew Wen Xun and Lin Huaichen from downstairs. Both looked tense. Lin Huaichen kicked open the door, scooped Yu An up, and checked his body, asking repeatedly, “What’s wrong? Where are you hurt?”
Yu An pursed his small lips, his eyes brimming with tears. He pointed anxiously at the “thief,” tugging on Lin Huaichen’s sleeve. “He’s stealing my things, my sparklies. That’s mine…”
Yu An had always been a mild-tempered “milk ball”; he never got angry no matter how the adults teased him. This was the first time they had seen him so angry and anxious.
Lin Huaichen coaxed him, “Okay, okay, okay. Papa will get it back for you. Don’t be anxious, baby.”
At this time, Butler Ide also arrived with security. The guards quickly locked onto the “thief” in the corner and stepped forward with weapons, prepared to take this audacious intruder away.
A pale hand blocked them. The guards stopped and looked at Wen Xun in confusion.
Wen Xun stared at the “thief” in the corner and called out tentatively, “Zhou Xia?”
Zhou Xia? Yu An remembered that the person he encountered at the Base today was named Zhou Xia. But hadn’t he already been taken away by the guards? How could he appear in his collection room?
Yu An nestled in Lin Huaichen’s arms, looking with a face full of curiosity at the “thief” who had his head lowered.
The “thief” slowly raised his head. Sure enough, it was that familiar face. Zhou Xia’s red eyes looked at Wen Xun, tears hanging on his lashes. “Y-you know me?”
“I do.” Wen Xun glanced at the brooch in his hand. “That brooch belongs to my child. Can you give it back to him?”
Zhou Xia froze. He handed the brooch to Wen Xun and watched as he gave it to a child who looked carved from pink jade—a child he also recognized. “It’s you! I’ve seen you. Don’t you remember me?”
“I remember.” Yu An nodded, touching his beloved brooch again and again. His heart was mostly at ease as he looked at Zhou Xia. “Then why are you at my house? And taking my sparklies.”
“This is… your house?”
Zhou Xia looked dazed. He belatedly looked around the room and saw a door. He suddenly rushed toward it. The security guards tensed up, instinctively drawing their weapons.
Lin Huaichen raised a hand. “Don’t move yet.”
“Yes, sir.”
The group followed behind Zhou Xia. They saw him run recklessly to the first floor and then charge out the front gates. He only slowed to a halt when he was standing beneath the afterglow of the sunset.
Zhou Xia stared blankly at the sky and suddenly began to laugh, muttering to himself, “I-I ran out? No monsters, no mad scientists in white coats…”
“Wait, then where am I?”
His bizarre behavior left Yu An confused. He turned to ask his papas, “This brother is so strange.”
Lin Huaichen hadn’t been to the Base recently, but he had a general guess. He looked at Wen Xun. “Ran out from the Base?”
The tone was very similar to “ran out from the psychiatric hospital.”
“Mhm. He was just sent over yesterday.” Wen Xun watched quietly as Zhou Xia ran around in a state of ecstatic joy. “Initial testing showed a Spatial-type ability. He can dig a hole in space that acts like a wormhole. A very special ability.”
“It’s just that this kid is too cowardly. Once he left his room, he was scared into mental derangement by other Xenogenics. But his ability is unique; they can’t catch him.”
Spatial-type abilities were rare. The Base had no perfect strategy for him and could only catch him over and over. This time he had run quite far, leaving the Base directly to come to the Lin residence—something Wen Xun hadn’t expected.
Yu An watched this eccentric brother run around until he collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Then he began to wail loudly. “Where on earth is this place, wahhhh! I want to go home, I want to go home, wahhhh…”
He naturally couldn’t run out of Blue Moon Bay. Although Blue Moon Bay was in Kyoto, it wasn’t in the same spatial dimension. Blue Moon Bay was located within a spatial rift; only specific methods could be used to enter or exit.
Even if Zhou Xia ran until his legs broke, he wouldn’t get out.
Seeing Zhou Xia crying so piteously, Yu An didn’t mind that he had almost taken his emerald brooch. He fished a milk candy out of his pocket and walked slowly to his side. “Here is a candy for you. Don’t be sad anymore.”
Crying meant one’s mood was bitter, so one needed to eat a sweet candy to alleviate it.
As Zhou Xia cried, two large rabbit ears appeared on his head. They were covered in grayish-white fluff and drooped listlessly. He looked at Yu An’s exquisite and cute face, sniffed, and took the candy. “Thank you.”
Yu An looked at his rabbit ears and swallowed his saliva, forcing himself to look away. “You’re welcome…”
If only I could take a bite of the rabbit ears.
Although Yu An had never eaten a rabbit, he inexplicably felt this rabbit looked exceptionally delicious.
Of course, Yu An knew that if the crybaby brother heard that, he would definitely cry even harder. The considerate little fellow chose to swallow those words; after all, they weren’t familiar yet.
Zhou Xia was moved to tears. Ever since he had inexplicably come to that strange place, he felt plagued by misfortune. It was as if he were in another world.
There were terrifying monsters, mad scientists who specialized in studying monsters, and tall soldiers who patrolled everywhere with guns.
It was too terrifying. Zhou Xia, who had always lived in a peaceful society, couldn’t accept it. He feared that place and wanted to go home.
“A-Are they your family?” Zhou Xia looked at Lin Huaichen and Wen Xun nearby and asked Yu An with a sob, “Who are you people exactly? And where is this place?”
“We aren’t anyone special,” Yu An replied innocently. “This is Blue Moon Bay, and that is my home.”
“What about Kyoto?”
“Kyoto… Kyoto is outside. You have to take a plane to get there.”
Zhou Xia immediately lowered his head in disappointment. Right, this place was surrounded by sea; only ships and planes could leave. But where would he find those?
While they were talking, staff from the Base arrived. Supporting the researcher in charge of Zhou Xia, who was wiping sweat from his brow, they apologized repeatedly, “Professor Wen, Patriarch Lin, we are very sorry for the trouble. It was our poor supervision.”
Zhou Xia was scared to death as soon as he saw them. He could tell Lin Huaichen and Wen Xun had extraordinary status, so Yu An certainly wasn’t an ordinary person either.
He grabbed Yu An’s hand like it was his last lifeline. “Little brother, can you help me? Please don’t let them take me away. There are monsters everywhere there; I’m afraid…”
Zhou Xia wouldn’t let go of Yu An. The Base staff knew Yu An’s status and didn’t dare to pull the two apart recklessly, for fear of hurting the precious young master.
Yu An pursed his lips in a difficult position. He was just a child; how could he make a decision? The little fellow looked to his papas for help.
Wen Xun also had a headache regarding Zhou Xia. This kid’s self-perception hadn’t been updated; he still thought he was an ordinary person and was terrified of the Xenogenics at the Base. But since he had already mutated, it meant his future would involve continuous interaction with Xenogenics.
Lin Huaichen raised an eyebrow. “How about we knock him out and send him away?”
“He’ll just keep running back.”
Lin Huaichen gave a “tsk.” His patience was only for his lover and child; he was extremely impatient with others. “Spatial-types are such a pain. Let’s just call Ling Xingcheng back; he’s also a Spatial-type.”
Wen Xun frowned. “We can’t have Xingcheng guard him forever.”
The situation reached a stalemate. Just then, Grandpa Gu happened to pass by with two of the family’s children. He walked over to Wen Xun and asked in surprise, “What’s going on? Who is that child next to Little An-an?”
Wen Xun briefly explained the situation to Elder Gu. The old man pondered for a moment and patted Wen Xun’s shoulder. “In that case, let the child go back.”
Wen Xun frowned. “He’s a Mutant.”
Mutants were extremely unstable elements among the general population. If they attacked ordinary people, it would cause massive casualties. The Base had always intended to keep Mutants and ordinary people separate.
Elder Gu stared at the afterglow of the sunset and let out a sigh. “Since he is obsessed with thinking he is still an ordinary person, then let him return to that group. When the time comes, he will naturally realize that ordinary people cannot accommodate him, and he will return.”
“As for the danger he brings… just send a few Arbiters to watch him. I heard that kid from the Fu family is already A-rank and hasn’t officially gone on a mission yet. Let’s give this mission to him.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Yixing and Gu Ersheng became interested. “Grandpa, we want to go too!”
Elder Gu waved them away. “Go on, go on.”
Following Elder Gu’s instructions, Zhou Xia wasn’t taken back to the Base. However, he was unwilling to leave with anyone else, clutching Yu An’s small hand and refusing to let go, as if firmly believing this child who was several years younger than him could protect him.
The researcher was exhausted. “We’ll send you back to Kyoto tomorrow. Just come back with us for now.”
Zhou Xia hugged Yu An tight. “No.”
Yu An was enveloped by the fragrance of food and felt exceptionally happy, so he didn’t push him away.
Klold couldn’t help but remind him: [Endure it. Don’t eat the rabbit in front of so many people.]
[I won’t. Brother is a person, not a rabbit.] Yu An wiped his saliva, maintaining his sobriety. He then noticed something. [Brother Soland, is your cold still not better?]
He had noticed a long time ago that “Soland’s” voice had changed. When he asked, “Soland” said He was sick and His voice was hoarse.
Yu An was a little fool and believed it. But it had been so many years; was Brother’s cold still not better? Was it cancer?
Klold was vague. [Soon.]
The real Soland should be waking up soon.
Meanwhile, the researcher watched the two children hugging each other with a desire to cry, looking to Lin Huaichen and Wen Xun for help. Please, take your family’s young master away.
Lin Huaichen didn’t want to drag it out anymore. “Send Fu Yunshu to my house. I’ll send them all back to Kyoto tomorrow.”
He went to Kyoto for work every morning anyway; it was no big deal to bring two children along.
Yu An was visibly happy tonight. Not only was the fragrant “food” clinging to him, but Fu Yunshu—whom he hadn’t seen in a long time—had also come to his house.
Fu Yunshu’s appearance and height had undergone significant changes. In those five years, most of the childishness on him had vanished, his baby fat had disappeared, and his features had grown deeper and sharper.
The excellent upbringing of a noble family combined with a refined aura was displayed perfectly in him.
As soon as he arrived, Yu An called out happily, “Brother Yunshu!”
Fu Yunshu’s eyes were gentle. “An-an, long time no see.”
Monday also recognized him, wagging its tail and circling him, greeting him enthusiastically. [Hello, hello! How are you, how are you!]
Fu Yunshu patted its head.
Fu Yunshu happened to be in time for dinner. After greeting Lin Huaichen and Wen Xun, he wanted to sit next to Yu An, but Yu An had Wen Xun on his left and Zhou Xia on his right.
Zhou Xia had been crying all day and was already starving. He was buried in his bowl, eating voraciously, when he suddenly felt a cold gaze fixed on him. He looked up in a daze.
Fu Yunshu was looking at him with a half-smile, his gaze anything but friendly. “Can I swap seats with you?”
Zhou Xia’s courage was smaller than a needle’s eye. He nodded repeatedly and sat to the side, his voice thin as a mosquito’s. “You sit, you sit.”
Fu Yunshu got his wish and sat next to Yu An. Yu An focused on eating, occasionally glancing at Zhou Xia as if he were a side dish. But when he turned his head and saw Zhou Xia had become Fu Yunshu, Yu An was clearly stunned for a few seconds. “Brother Yunshu…”
Fu Yunshu gave a soft “Mhm” and looked at him with a smile. “What’s wrong, An-an?”
Yu An hesitated but eventually shook his head, changing the subject. “Is Brother going to Kyoto tomorrow?”
Fu Yunshu: “Mhm. The Base’s idea is for me to attend school with Zhou Xia to make it easier to monitor him.”
Zhou Xia, nearby: “…”
You don’t have to say it right in front of me.
Zhou Xia didn’t dare to speak out, so he turned his grief and indignation into appetite, eating large mouthfuls of rice.
Yu An was very curious about school. “Is it fun at school?”
Fu Yunshu had attended normal school before coming to the Base and could answer Yu An’s question. “School is a place for learning, so it’s not exactly ‘fun,’ but there will be many people your age studying together. It’s quite interesting.”
Yu An had never been to school. He couldn’t help but look on with some longing. “It sounds very interesting indeed.”
Lin Huaichen and Wen Xun exchanged a look. Lin Huaichen asked with a smile, “Then does An-an want to go to school to play? Along with your Brother Yunshu.”
Yu An’s eyes widened. “Can I?”
Lin Huaichen: “Of course, as long as you are willing.”
Yu An was hesitant. A strange school was both novel and frightening to him. But thinking that he would have familiar people with him, he grew a bit bolder. “It seems Brother Yixing and Brother Ersheng are going too?”
“According to Elder Gu, that seems to be the case.”
With two more acquaintances, Yu An’s courage grew another bit. After a thought, he nodded. “Then I want to go, together with Brother and the others.”
A smile flashed in Fu Yunshu’s eyes as he rubbed Yu An’s small head. “Come with us; no need to be afraid. And since the school is in Kyoto, we can take you around the city.”
Yu An had only returned to Kyoto once a few years ago; his impression of it was now almost non-existent. He was full of anticipation. “Okay~”
Once it was decided that Yu An was going to school, Wen Xun immediately called the Base to have them arrange Yu An’s student status and everything else.
The voice on the other end: “Understood, Professor Wen. Do we need to change the Young Master’s identity or name?”
Lin Huaichen spoke for Wen Xun. “No. Use his real identity.”
“Understood.”
Lin Huaichen chuckled, leaning against Wen Xun. “Maybe our An-an will even manage to get a diploma out of going to school.”
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