After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar] – CH179

Chapter 179

Xie Xingchen and Ludwig’s group stayed at the ranch for a full week.

On the surface, it seemed like nothing happened that week—but only those who were actually there could sense the “scenery” of pink bubbles floating everywhere.

At first, the straight-man, steel-brained mechanical lifeforms wailed nonstop, saying they’d eaten enough dog food to last a lifetime.

But then—

As time went on, they picked up on something from the slightly “weird” way Ludwig and Xie Xingchen interacted.

After that, nobody dared to heckle casually anymore.

Because… who would’ve thought the two people the internet swore up and down were a couple—whose closeness looked so natural and intimate—would not actually be lovers?

But the most terrifying part wasn’t even that.

It was that—

While realizing they weren’t a couple, they also realized their boss liked Xie Xingchen.

And that was… awkward.

To avoid getting turned into cannon fodder, everyone decided to forget the whole thing.

They even went out of their way to avoid saying anything wrong. During the ranch “vacation,” the moment they woke up, they’d sprint outside and refuse to come back until bedtime—determined not to become the lightbulb in front of two people who were “more than friends but not quite lovers.”

And honestly, this constant, full-time provision of private space really worked.

You could see it with the naked eye: by the time they were about to head back, the atmosphere between Ludwig and Xie Xingchen had become much more harmonious and natural.

When everyone teased them again, Xie Xingchen still looked a little awkward, but his expression was more open and unbothered—almost fearless.

“Eh… who knows when we’ll be able to come back for vacation after we return.”

Xie Xingchen stared longingly at the vast ranch.

The empty, lonely scenery he’d once grown tired of now felt peaceful and gentle.

Especially when he thought about the inhuman overtime waiting for him the moment he got back—his reluctance only deepened.

Seeing Xie Xingchen so gloomy, Ludwig could only pat his head.

Beyond that, there was nothing he could do.

After all, high-level talent was scarce everywhere.

And what Xie Xingchen needed was the management-and-decision-making kind—exactly the sort of talent the Mechanical Civilization also lacked.

So even if they did have people like that, Ludwig—publicly or privately—couldn’t introduce them to Earth.

That was his principle.

Unrelated to love, and yet also related to love.

Of course, Xie Xingchen wasn’t really expecting Ludwig to introduce that kind of talent anyway. Or rather—Xie Xingchen understood Ludwig. After learning the current situation of the Mechanical Civilization, he could guarantee that the Ludwig he knew would never, ever recommend such a person to him, even if he had one.

Because Ludwig was the Ludwig of the Mechanical Civilization—responsible for all mechanical lifeforms.

When they were already short on that type of talent, he had to prioritize his own civilization first. Only with “extra” would he consider himself.

Rational, and also wise.

Xie Xingchen understood—and supported it.

He’d even stopped hoping to recruit management-and-decision-making talent from the Mechanical Civilization.

After all, that civilization barely had such people to begin with. Anyone could tell it was unlikely.

So he might as well shift his recruiting focus to other civilizations.

He’d already pulled plenty of “wool” off the Mechanical Civilization.

Right now, Earth’s lower-level management was almost entirely mechanical lifeforms.

And they really did a great job.

It’s just that most mechanical lifeforms were too rational and too devoted to data—so Xie Xingchen had to regretfully declare they weren’t suitable as top-level leaders.

“Sigh. Let’s go. If we don’t leave soon, Get-Rich and the others are going to explode.”

After one last deep look at the distant cattle and sheep grazing lazily, Xie Xingchen got into the hovercar with lingering reluctance, turning back every few steps.

Sitting together with Ludwig, the two started chatting here and there.

At first it was just habitual talk, but the longer they chatted, the more interested they got.

The scene made everyone exchange looks, then start wiggling their eyebrows as if to say—those two over there might really become a thing soon!

That same day they returned to Chang’an City, Xie Xingchen got dragged straight into overtime.

Two days of dark, endless work.

Those two days, he couldn’t even spare attention for Ludwig.

Only after clearing a whole week’s worth of piled-up tasks did he finally take a breath and crawl out of work hell.

But even then, he still couldn’t take care of Ludwig—

Because he hadn’t slept in ages.

He slept a full ten hours. Only after sleeping his fill did Xie Xingchen remember his good bro had been left hanging there for two or three days.

But… it should be fine, right?

After all, before he got busy, he’d already explained things to Ludwig.

This was just the “warning shot” he’d given being proven true.

Ludwig shouldn’t feel neglected.

In fact… if Ludwig did have an opinion, Xie Xingchen would find that strange.

With that mindset, Xie Xingchen woke up in the morning. Even though he hadn’t spoken to Ludwig for two days, he wasn’t embarrassed at all—he greeted him naturally.

After greeting him, he cheerfully said as if nothing happened, “Lude, I’m done with work! We can go play together today.”

Then he started thinking about where to go.

After thinking for a while, he finally spoke with a bit of hesitation: “How about… we go soak at the hot-spring lodge?”

If it’s just a hot spring… maybe we won’t be recognized?

Xie Xingchen wasn’t sure.

The war had ended not long ago, and his friend’s popularity was exploding.

To put it bluntly: in a moment of nationwide celebration, even he—often mocked as a “yearly hot-search subscriber”—had to “back off three steps” in front of Ludwig.

So his worry about someone recognizing Ludwig wasn’t baseless.

As for the “hot spring trip,” Ludwig was actually a little tempted.

But… when he saw that flicker of hesitation in Xie Xingchen’s eyes, he still refused.

Ludwig shook his head, firm: “No.”

Xie Xingchen didn’t think much. He blurted, “Huh? Why? You don’t like soaking in hot springs?”

After saying it, Xie Xingchen couldn’t help reflecting.

Ludwig is a mechanical lifeform. Mechanical lifeform equals a certain amount of robot?

And robots don’t like water… so does that mean mechanical lifeforms don’t like water?

Forgetting that day Ludwig got drunk and still went to the bathroom to shower before bed, Xie Xingchen suddenly felt his reasoning made an unreasonable amount of sense.

And then… he felt like he was forcing things.

So he corrected himself immediately.

“Then let’s not go soak. Chang’an City is actually really fun too. Last time you came, you didn’t finish exploring it. Today I can properly take you around.”

Thinking of what people usually did here, Xie Xingchen added, “If you want to take photos, we can wear hanfu and ride horses. The pictures will be super cool!”

That reminded Ludwig of the GIF from before: snow falling, him holding little Randy while riding a horse, pulling the reins hard for a sudden stop at the city gate.

Just like everyone else, Ludwig had been obsessed with that “god-tier shot.”

But unlike everyone else—others were obsessed with the horse and the beautiful young man on its back.

Ludwig… was only obsessed with Xie Xingchen.

Thinking of that photo, thinking of that unrestrained, radiant young man, Ludwig swallowed the refusal he was about to say.

Xie Xingchen took that as agreement.

So he smiled—really brightly.

He’d never seen Ludwig in ancient-style clothing!

At the thought, Xie Xingchen’s eyes drifted to Ludwig’s handsome face.

He hadn’t seen Ludwig in hanfu, but—

In his heart, Xie Xingchen was certain: it would look incredible.

With a hard-to-name anticipation, Xie Xingchen sped up his eating.

The moment he finished, he couldn’t wait to pull out the outfit he’d treasured for ages and hand it to Ludwig:

[White-Robed Swordsman].

When he first saw it, Xie Xingchen had inexplicably saved it. But truth be told, it didn’t fit him at all.

Now, it finally had a purpose—finally found its true owner.

Xie Xingchen changed into a pale turquoise scholar’s robe. He held a classical fan, with a white jade pendant hanging at his waist. When his brows and eyes shifted, there was a naturally flowing scholarly charm—elegant, carefree, and dashing.

Maybe he’d already gotten used to seeing himself like this, so even though he was satisfied, he wasn’t stunned by it.

But when he saw Ludwig in the [White-Robed Swordsman] outfit—so perfectly suited—Xie Xingchen’s eyes filled with pure amazement.

A single sword’s frost chills fourteen provinces.

It was just a change of clothes, yet Ludwig suddenly carried the aura of a sword god.

Those deep facial contours made him look less like someone from the Central Plains—more like a wandering swordsman from the Western Regions, traveling afar solely in pursuit of the sword.

“You… you look way too good.”

However the sword god used to charm people—Ludwig was charming Xie Xingchen the exact same way now.

Like someone once said: every “love at first sight” is basically “love at first look.”

Xie Xingchen felt that he… ahem, might also be a little “first-look tempted.”

Ancient outfits were god-tier.

Add a divine steed, and it becomes even more god-tier.

The two rode their horses through the ancient city, running wild.

That wind-splitting heroism stunned every Earth Trading Company employee who happened to be walking by.

That feeling of ancient, romantic, free-roaming heroes came rushing at you—making it seem like the two of them didn’t belong to this era at all, but rather to the glorious age of poetry and romance that once coexisted with this ancient city.

They rode side by side, guiding their horses through Chang’an’s streets and alleys.

They even raised their whips on a wide, empty road and galloped through.

When they finally dismounted, the exhilaration washed away all the heaviness in their chests—comforting to the point of pure ease.

They climbed the grand, ancient city wall.

They watched clouds roll and unfurl, felt the breeze brush their faces. As far as the eye could see: above was a boundless blue sky; in the distance, flowers bloomed like brocade—countless colors competing in beauty.

Xie Xingchen leaned against the wall and looked far away.

No matter how many times he saw this view, it still felt refreshing, expansive.

Their gazes tangled for a brief moment, then quickly shifted away.

They didn’t speak much, but the atmosphere between them was unexpectedly harmonious.

Like the intentional blank space in an ink landscape painting—long, lingering, and meaningful. One glance was enough to know they were an inseparable “whole.”

Far away, in the lavender fields—

A girl holding binoculars and scanning left and right suddenly dropped her jaw, unable to close it for a long time.

Her companion kept poking her urgently, but she didn’t snap out of it.

Finally, when she lowered the binoculars, she fumbled out the professional camera equipment she’d bought before coming to Earth Trading Company—and with an excited face, she started firing at the ancient wall in the distance.

Click click click click!

“Manman, what’s wrong with you?”

Yuzu stared at her best friend snapping like a maniac at some unknown spot, her head full of question marks.

Manman didn’t answer while checking the pictures.

Only after zooming in on one photo, seeing the figures clearly, did she grin and shove it at her friend.

“Hahahaha, Yu! Zu! I captured something insane this time! Look—this is my Boss Xie and your Lord Ludwig! The two of them are actually openly dating on the city wall!”

Manman and Yuzu—one was a Xie Xingchen fan, the other a Ludwig fan.

With the “relationship” between Xie Xingchen and Ludwig spreading publicly, in theory they should’ve disliked each other, but—

They were CP fans!

Hehehe, shipping CPs was just too fun.

Shipping “Lu-Cheng” was fun to the point of madness!

So disliking each other?

Doesn’t exist!

The correct way is to ship CPs together!

Hearing that their CP was feeding them sugar, Yuzu got pumped too.

She snatched the camera, and saw the zoomed-in photo.

Not only did it catch the two of them “dating,” it caught them dating in ancient outfits.

Yuzu: !

AAAAAAAH!

Holy—!

Who am I to deserve this?

I actually got to see the main couple wearing ancient outfits and personally feeding us sugar?!

Wuwuwu—no regrets even if I die!

They’d been on Earth for so long, and this was absolutely their biggest haul.

The two friends, “sweetened” into madness, hugged each other like lunatics—crying and squealing.

Their unhinged energy scared two nearby guys into immediately backing away.

But—who cares?

That was Boss Xie and Ludwig’s sugar!

With teary eyes and thirsty “sihasihas” drooling, the girls turned around and posted the photos into their CP group chat.

And sure enough—right after the pics dropped, every online member got blasted out of lurking.

[AAAAAAH is this something I can see for free?! (heart-eyes.jpg)]

[Wuwuwu—just got off the battlefield and he ran to Earth to date Boss Xie? I declare: Lu-Cheng is real! Lu-Cheng forever! Yyds!]

[Eeeeee I’m crying! This is definitely not industrial sugar! Look at their movements, look at their expressions—this is true love! 100% pure, no additives! Whoever tells me they aren’t dating is blind!]

[Hahahaha honestly Boss Xie and Ludwig look perfect together—who else?! Who else?! (prairie dog screaming.jpg)]

The chat exploded into a flood of messages within a minute.

People screamed.

No, no, no—I need to run downstairs for 100 laps to calm down.

I have to control myself!

With shaking hands: right-click save at lightning speed, then post the saved pics to Starblog so everyone can admire this stunning beautiful love!

They refused—refused—to let anyone not know about Lu-Cheng’s gorgeous romance!

AAAAAH, Lu-Cheng is real, they’re really real!

This time they shipped a real boat.

Wuwuwu—this must be announced to the whole world!

Excited, thrilled, fired up…

The CP fans treated those few photos like it was Lunar New Year.

The internet had always had rumors that Ludwig and Xie Xingchen were dating.

Before, they’d been accidentally photographed giving a passionate hug at a starport on Mechanical Star. Then people dug up that in Xie Xingchen’s early livestreams, the “friend” who never showed his face but had insane CP vibes was actually Ludwig. Then it got dug up that Xie Xingchen had sent supplies to the battlefield where Ludwig was. Then there was the reveal that when Ludwig went to war, Xie Xingchen took in Ludwig’s younger brother to care for him.

And now—

Ludwig had just come off the battlefield, and they got photographed in ancient outfits, leaning close together on Chang’an’s city wall, watching the scenery “intimately”!

My god—if that’s not real, what is?

Once those photos dropped, the entire StarNet went insane.

Even passersby who firmly believed they were “just friends” began doubting reality.

Are they really just friends?

If they’re just friends, why did Ludwig run straight to Earth the moment he left the battlefield?

“Friends” or even “best friends” doesn’t explain this, does it?

So—

[They’re probably real lovers, right? Friends wouldn’t be this clingy!]

[Yeah, I’m leaning couple now too. Just judging by the photos—these pics are full of pink bubbles, and friends really aren’t this mushy.]

[…]

[Bless them. If they’re really dating, that’s pretty great. They’re both lifeforms I really like—hope their love lasts forever.]

[Same blessing, same hope. And let me add one more line—wuwuwu, Lord Elsop and Boss Xie are so compatible! This is exactly the breathtaking romance I imagined—two-way??, I finally got to ship it!]

Both Xie Xingchen and Ludwig were StarNet celebrities—and not the kind who caused trouble. They were celebrities who’d made real contributions to the Star Alliance and the public.

Two excellent people getting together? In others’ eyes, that was natural.

After all… they’re both so outstanding—what’s wrong with being drawn to each other?

Isn’t that normal?

And them being together is great too—at least they won’t have to “settle” for ugly men and idiots later.

This is good. This is very reassuring.

Comments like that poured in endlessly.

From those comments alone, you could tell how many CP fans—and even non-CP fans—had been “hurt” by certain celebrities’ revealed partners before.

To the point that even solo fans felt: as long as the other person is excellent enough, they can tolerate them being with their idol.

Because they can’t guarantee their idol—who isn’t even in entertainment—will never date or marry their whole life.

So rather than waiting for some stupid partner in the future and getting angry, it’s better to bless them now that they’ve found someone equally outstanding.

That’s how the brainwashing “logic pack” was born.

At first, people thought it sounded absurd.

But the more they listened… the more it felt damned logical.

And then the classic “selling the recommendation” scene appeared.

These were just ordinary photos—no super intimate actions—yet CP fans plus “normal fans” stamped them as evidence of a romantic relationship.

In the end, even solo fans and passerby fans stamped it too:

They were a match made in heaven. They should be together. If they weren’t together, it would be a loss for all Star Alliance lifeforms.

Xie Xingchen, who happened to see these comments: “……”

Xie Xingchen: This is ridiculous!

Who started these brainwashing packs?

Something this weird and people believe it?

Honestly, if he weren’t the protagonist, he’d suspect someone paid a fortune to run CP marketing.

The more he read, the weirder his expression became.

The more he read, the more he felt this generation of netizens was truly: weird mom opens the door for weird—this is weird to the max.

By the end, he didn’t even think “getting stamped as dating by the whole internet” was a big deal anymore.

Because… he got stunned by something else.

The “little sweet cakes” CP fans fabricated to prove they were dating—once spread—got treated as if they were real, sweet, actual events.

Xie Xingchen: QAQ

So suffocating!

He skimmed a bit, and by the end he felt CP fans were seriously underutilized.

If they went to write webnovels, every single one of them could be a top-tier sweet-romance author.

Truly—if you swapped in different protagonists, Xie Xingchen might’ve been smiling like an auntie while chasing the updates.

But the protagonist was him.

And that made it so damn awkward.

“Good thing Lude went back to Mechanical Star,” Xie Xingchen muttered.

Good thing he went back—otherwise Xie Xingchen had no idea how he’d face him tomorrow.

These netizens’ brainwashing power was too strong.

After reading those sweet stories, he almost got brainwashed too.

To the point he couldn’t help wondering: did those things actually happen, and he just… forgot?

“No more. Not reading. Not reading.” Xie Xingchen shook his head and shut off his light-brain.

To make himself forget what he’d read as quickly as possible, he went to take a bath.

He dripped a few drops of lavender essential oil and soaked in the tub for over ten minutes.

Only after soaking himself into a sleepy haze did he yawn and get out.

Once he climbed into bed, his head hit the pillow and he fell asleep instantly.

But after falling asleep, he actually started dreaming—and the dream content was exactly those “little sweet romance” events he’d read earlier.

In the dream world, he and Ludwig were dating.

From love at first sight, to falling deeper the next time, to quickly tumbling into love—

That romantic sweetness made Xie Xingchen smile even in his dream.

He was trapped in that unconscious pink dream…

The next day—

Xie Xingchen washed his underwear with a blank face.

Staring at what was in his hands, his ears were red to the tips.

Thinking back to what happened in last night’s dream, his face flushed hard. His hand scrubbing his pants suddenly jerked away as if he’d touched something scorching, letting it drop and get rinsed toward the edge of the sink under the running water.

Right now, his mind was filled with questions.

And the one that made him feel the guiltiest was—

Was he… just “seeing-se-then-moving”?
Was it just lust at first sight?

Otherwise, why was Ludwig’s face so clear in his dream last night?

Thinking of that, Xie Xingchen felt so guilty.

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