Chapter 108: Extra Story #1
“Ah, these cucumbers look so fresh and juicy!” Chu Jiu squatted on the ground, his eyes shining as he stared at the short, plump, and prickly cucumbers in the woven basket.
“Of course, they’re juicy! These are grown with ‘soil cultivation,’ not a drop of nutrient solution added. I’ve been laboriously fertilizing them with organic compost every day to grow them!” The vegetable-selling auntie was extremely proud when Chu Jiu praised her vegetables.
Chu Jiu happily bought the cucumbers and put them in his backpack.
“Young man, you have a good eye! In a few days, my tomatoes will be ripe. I’ll save a big one for you!” the auntie said cheerfully.
Chu Jiu: “Great! I’ll wait for it!”
Having just left this “vegetable market,” Chu Jiu received a message from Lu Qingyan: [Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.]
Originally planning to take a “single-person agile pod” himself, Chu Jiu sent his location to Lu Qingyan.
Lu Qingyan: [Five minutes.]
Chu Jiu stood on the side of the street, looking up at the blue sky where medium-sized aircraft and single-person agile pods crisscrossed. He raised his arms and stretched languidly.
The area he was in was the “Old Town of the Royal Capital” of Arsa Star.
It was said that this district had a history of thousands of years, and its overall layout had not changed much during that time.
Not only that, after Arsa Star entered the interstellar civilization era, the imperial government specially referred to some early civilizations and built a “retro district” here.
Coincidentally, Earth Star, where Chu Jiu had lived for more than ten years, was one of the reference points back then.
Because of this, Chu Jiu felt particularly comfortable walking on the streets of the “1st District,” especially in the “retro district.”
Even the small house he had carefully chosen for himself was located in the “Day District.”
To be honest, the houses here were much more expensive than in other areas.
Fortunately, when Chu Jiu returned to Arsa Star from WT0906, the system—no, the little hamster—kept its word and indeed converted all of Chu Jiu’s development points into star coins at a 1:1000 ratio.
These more than thirty million star coins were enough for Chu Jiu to buy a comfortable antique-style small house and decorate it according to his preferences.
Chu Jiu comfortably finished his stretch, opened his optical computer, glanced at it to see that there were no new work emails, and began to think about what to cook for dinner.
Hmm… there’s fresh fish, so braised fish chunks it is.
Cucumbers are also good, and the devil eggs—that is, preserved eggs—he had pickled before were just about ready to eat, so let’s have a cucumber and preserved egg soup.
And maybe some stir-fried shredded potatoes? Should he add chili?
Little Can can’t eat any spice at all, but Lu Qingyan can handle a little…
Just as he was thinking, Lu Qingyan’s aircraft slowly landed in front of him. The cabin door automatically opened, and Lu Qingyan jumped out.
The young man, still wearing his black military uniform, held a blue-eyed kitten in his arms.
As soon as the kitten saw Chu Jiu, it immediately meowed and jumped over, familiarly staying on Chu Jiu’s shoulder and rubbing its little face against Chu Jiu’s cheek.
Chu Jiu stroked its head: “I’ll let the little hamster come out and play with you later.”
Little Can: “Meow!”
Chu Jiu: “Having braised fish for dinner, okay?”
Little Can: “Meow meow!”
Chu Jiu: “Don’t worry, no chili.”
Little Can: “Meow!”
*
Fifteen minutes later. Chu Jiu’s home.
Little Can was lying on the sofa, playing with a ball of yarn with the little hamster.
Chu Jiu, wearing an apron, rinsed the fish chunks clean, then mixed cooking wine, ginger juice, and salt to make a marinade, pouring it over the fish chunks and stirring constantly.
Lu Qingyan stood beside Chu Jiu, having taken off his black military uniform jacket. The cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows as he steadily shredded potatoes.
After marinating the fish, Chu Jiu took out the cucumbers, rinsed them, and handed them to Lu Qingyan: “Cut these too.”
Lu Qingyan: “Okay.”
Chu Jiu then took out the preserved eggs, peeling them as he talked to Lu Qingyan about the spiritual entity he had encountered a few days ago.
Chu Jiu’s current job was “spiritual entity therapist,” the empire’s unique therapist who could enter the spiritual landscapes of others and “diagnose” spiritual entities up close.
While they were talking, Lu Qingyan had already finished shredding the potatoes and placed the cucumbers on the cutting board.
Soon, the cucumbers were also shredded.
They were as fresh and juicy as Chu Jiu had imagined, the purest shade of green, so refreshing just to look at.
While Chu Jiu praised the cucumbers, he couldn’t help but pick up a slice: “Your knife skills are amazing! Every slice is exactly the same thickness!”
The corners of Lu Qingyan’s lips slightly curved upward: “Basic knife skills are also part of the military academy curriculum.”
Chu Jiu: “Oh…”
Chu Jiu blinked, not putting the thin slice of cucumber back on the cutting board, but putting it in his mouth instead.
He chewed it, his eyes sparkling: “It’s as delicious as I thought!”
With that, he picked up another slice and naturally offered it to Lu Qingyan’s lips: “Want a piece too?”
Something flickered in Lu Qingyan’s eyes.
He lowered his head slightly and bit the cucumber slice from Chu Jiu’s fingers with his teeth.
His warm lips brushed against Chu Jiu’s fingertips, seemingly unintentionally.
Chu Jiu’s scalp tingled, and he quickly withdrew his hand, his face unknowingly turning completely red.
When he had just handed the cucumber slice to Lu Qingyan, he hadn’t thought much about it.
But after this moment, it dawned on him: this action… seemed a little ambiguous?
However, was the relationship between himself and Lu Qingyan still considered “ambiguous”?
Chu Jiu’s mind was a little dizzy.
Honestly… he was a bit confused.
Since returning from WT0906, Lu Qingyan had rarely had any free time.
Even so, this “Marshal” in other people’s eyes would seize every opportunity to be by his side.
He would chat with him, tell him about the history of Arsa Star, teach him “spiritual entity exercises,” and take him to familiarize himself with various areas of Arsa Star…
Oh, he would also hug him, and when he saw him sad, he would kiss his forehead or the top of his head.
But apart from that…
Lu Qingyan hadn’t made any further moves.
Even something like his lips touching his fingers just now had never happened before.
Just thinking about that fleeting touch, Chu Jiu felt like his fingertips were burning.
This little bit of heat began to make Chu Jiu consider a question he had unconsciously put aside for a long time:
This… um… what exactly is the relationship between myself and Lu Qingyan now…?
Just then, Lu Qingyan spoke.
His voice was as steady as ever, but his tone was gentler than usual: “Chu Jiu.”
Chu Jiu: “Mmm?”
Lu Qingyan: “I didn’t tell you just now, I…”
[Ding-dong! You have a video call request from Doctor Qin!]
It was Chu Jiu’s optical computer.
Doctor Qin?
Without an emergency, she wouldn’t contact him during her rest time.
The blush on Chu Jiu’s face quickly faded. He pointed to the optical computer beside him: “I need to take this…”
Lu Qingyan nodded, meaning “don’t mind me.”
Chu Jiu immediately answered the video call.
Doctor Qin was a straightforward person, without any unnecessary words, directly telling Chu Jiu:
There was a very urgent and very special spiritual entity repair request.
The “spiritual entity” that needed repair was not an animal or spiritual form, but a “planet.”
*
By the time Chu Jiu finished the call, Lu Qingyan had already brought the food to the table.
He had also made the braised fish in two flavors, “spicy” and “non-spicy,” according to Chu Jiu’s preferences.
Although Little Can was a bit picky about “fish not cooked by Chu Jiu himself,” the little hamster ate very happily.
Chu Jiu also ate very happily.
While eating, he excitedly told Lu Qingyan:
It turned out there was a race called the “Star Clan.”
A very small number of people in the “Star Clan” possessed a very rare spiritual entity pattern.
They did not have a conventional subject that preceded the spiritual entity. Or rather, from the moment they were born, their “subject” was enveloped within the spiritual entity.
And the most special thing was that their spiritual entities would condense into “stars,” genuine “stars.”
Whenever such a star was born, the rest of the Star Clan would explore these stars. After negotiating with the star’s owner, they would either keep these stars as they were or transform them into new habitable homelands.
Not long ago, another such star appeared.
But strangely, this planet refused the Star Clan’s landing and even prohibited them from fully surveying it with interstellar probes.
If this planet was left unattended, without even knowing what was on it, it would be like allowing a “potential source of danger” to float near other planets.
Helplessly, the Star Clan could only turn to the “Empire’s number one spiritual entity therapist” for help.
“So,” Chu Jiu put down his chopsticks, an unconcealable smile in his eyes, “I’m going pioneering again, going to repair a star!”
Lu Qingyan served him a bowl of soup: “When do you leave?”
Chu Jiu: “Tomorrow.”
Lu Qingyan glanced at Little Can, who was burying his head in eating fish: “Take it with you.”
Chu Jiu first let out a surprised “ah,” and then said, “Letting your spiritual entity be so far away from you? What if something urgent happens…”
Lu Qingyan’s voice was very gentle: “It just so happens that I’ll be relatively free for the next few days, so don’t worry.”
Chu Jiu: “Huh? You actually have free time?”
Lu Qingyan smiled and didn’t answer. He casually touched the little hamster’s head and then said, “Do you still have a lot of information to look at?”
Chu Jiu: “Yes! So much!”
One of the little hamster’s working mechanisms was that “the more information it obtains, the more powerful the auxiliary system it can form.”
If it didn’t read enough information, even the little hamster would be helpless.
Lu Qingyan: “I’ll have Little Can stay here with you.”
“I’ll go back later and pick you up at the teleportation station tomorrow.”
Chu Jiu: “…Oh.”
He looked at Lu Qingyan, who had gotten up to clear the dishes, and suddenly something flashed in his mind. He quickly said:
“Didn’t you have something to say just now?”
“Before I answered the video call?”
Lu Qingyan: “It’s nothing important—I just wanted to say that I received the doctor’s latest report this morning, and I’ve fully recovered.”
“Really?!” Chu Jiu’s eyebrows arched with joy, wanting to rush over and hug Lu Qingyan, but feeling a little embarrassed, he could only nod repeatedly: “That’s great, that’s great.”
“Also, how is that not a big deal? Of course, it’s a big deal!”
“Ah, if only I had known, I would have made two more dishes to celebrate…”
Lu Qingyan: “Tonight’s dishes are already very good.”
Chu Jiu was stunned for a moment, then a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes: “Ha, Mr. Lu, you cooked all the dishes tonight—are you praising yourself?”
Lu Qingyan: “It’s because you chose good ingredients and made a good sauce.”
Chu Jiu nodded emphatically, with a “full of confidence” expression: “That’s true.”
A hint of a smile appeared in Lu Qingyan’s eyes. He raised his hand and brushed Chu Jiu’s bangs: “Go and look at the information, ‘Pioneer Chu Jiu’.”
*
The next day.
Because the “spiritual entity” to be repaired this time, the planet named “Tara,” rejected all objects of high civilization, Chu Jiu could only pack basic tools, dry food, and clean water in his backpack.
After everything was packed, Little Can very proactively jumped onto his shoulder: “Meow! Meow!”—”Let’s go! Time to explore!”
Chu Jiu patted Little Can’s head: “Yeah, let’s go explore!”
He rode Lu Qingyan’s aircraft to the interstellar teleportation station.
To his surprise, before he even got off the aircraft, he saw Kang Ruoding, Tu Mingyuan, and Shu Yiheng beside the dedicated landing pad.
These three young officers were now standing ramrod straight, with their… juvenile spiritual entities beside them.
This scene surprised not only Chu Jiu but even Lu Qingyan.
As soon as Chu Jiu jumped out of the aircraft, the little rabbit with its shaking ears rushed over like a small white spinning top: “Roar roar roar!”
Kakaba followed closely with small, quick steps: “Dang-dang-dang!”
Gulp-Glup, turning the little leaf on its head, tried hard to fly over: “Gulu-gulu!”
Chu Jiu hugged this one and patted that one, while looking at the three officers in confusion: “You… why are you here?”
The owner of Rawr Rawr Rabbit, Tu Mingyuan, was not tall, had fair skin, and beautiful deep red eyes.
He looked meaningfully at Little Can on Chu Jiu’s shoulder and clicked his tongue: “I was sleeping soundly, but Rawr Rawr Rabbit suddenly jumped out of the spiritual landscape, saying it received Little Can’s ‘summons’ and wanted to go pioneering with Chu Jiu.”
“It said it hadn’t seen Chu Jiu for a long time, and how could it miss such an important thing as pioneering?”
Tu Mingyuan deliberately shrugged with a “helpless” expression: “There’s no way, Rawr Rawr Rabbit is a juvenile spiritual entity with ‘independent consciousness’.”
“I couldn’t stop it, so I had to bring it here and wait.”
Before Chu Jiu could answer, Kang Ruoding had already spoken: “‘Couldn’t stop it’? Wasn’t it you who called me in the middle of the night, saying, ‘Rawr Rawr Rabbit can finally go pioneering again! Did your little Kakaba receive the summons?'”
“How come I feel like you weren’t ‘unable to stop it’ but rather ‘eagerly anticipating it’?”
The large Rawr Rawr Rabbit—oh no, the owner of Rawr Rawr Rabbit, Tu Mingyuan, his pale face instantly flushed red.
He snorted twice, pursed his lips, and muttered softly, “That’s pioneering, and it’s pioneering with Chu Jiu. Anyone would be eager to do that…”
“Besides, their little agreement…”
Lu Qingyan coughed lightly, stopping Tu Mingyuan from finishing his sentence.
Chu Jiu didn’t hear Tu Mingyuan’s last soft hum clearly, only asking in confusion, “Are you all sending your spiritual entities to ‘Tara’? But what if you need to go on a mission when your juvenile spiritual entities aren’t by your side?”
At this time, Shu Yiheng, who was usually the least talkative and had a gentle and refined appearance, said, “Don’t worry, we happen to be on ‘rotation leave,’ and under normal circumstances, we won’t have missions.”
“I consulted Doctor Sun. Sending our spiritual entities to your side during this period is also a way to nurture them.”
Hearing this, Chu Jiu asked back, “‘Rotation leave’—are you saying that you won’t have any… official duties for this entire period?”
Tu Mingyuan: “Yeah, yeah, it’s a major leave every three years—huh? Isn’t Marshal Lu also on leave? Didn’t he tell—”
Tu Mingyuan’s foot was stepped on by Kang Ruoding.
Even if Tu Mingyuan was quick-mouthed and didn’t think before speaking, he knew that Kang Ruoding was reminding him to “stop talking.”
Tu Mingyuan shut up.
But Chu Jiu had already looked at Lu Qingyan in surprise: “You’re on leave too?”
Lu Qingyan’s expression was calm: “I officially have a vacation. But there are too many things to deal with, so I can’t really take it.”
Chu Jiu: “…Oh…”
Although Lu Qingyan said so, Chu Jiu still vaguely felt that something was off.
At this moment, the staff who were there to assist Chu Jiu with the teleportation came over: “Teacher Chu Jiu! Please come this way to prepare.”
Chu Jiu placed the little guys one by one on his backpack and looked back at Lu Qingyan: “Then, I’m going?”
Lu Qingyan: “Mmm.”
After Lu Qingyan finished speaking, he strode up to Chu Jiu, reached out and hugged him tightly, and finally kissed the top of his head.
He said, “Go.”
*
Chu Jiu left the landing pad with the little guys.
Kang Ruoding hesitated for a moment, then walked up to Lu Qingyan: “Old Lu, you didn’t reveal your plan to Chu Jiu?”
In the past few months, Lu Qingyan had dealt with all the official business that could be handled in advance, compressing his sleep time to almost zero.
He had also squeezed out time to discuss with Kang Ruoding “where he should take Chu Jiu for the once-in-three-years major leave.”
They had finally decided on a ninety-day trip for two.
He wanted to take Chu Jiu to see the most dazzling aurora, to touch the farthest ice sheet, and to see the tearful blobfish in the deep sea.
Of course, at the end of the trip, he had carefully arranged flowers, candlelight, and a ring hidden in the cake, referencing “Earth Star’s ancient civilization.”
But all of this was canceled last night when he saw Chu Jiu excitedly say, “I’m going pioneering again!”
He hadn’t even mentioned the major leave.
So, facing Kang Ruoding’s question, he just calmly said two words: “No.”
Kang Ruoding gasped, even having the urge to hook his arm around Lu Qingyan’s shoulder and ask him, like he used to in military school, “Old Lu, are you okay?”
But Major General Kang held back.
He just frowned, not hiding his surprise and doubt: “It’s been over half a year since you came back, and you still haven’t made any progress?”
“Marshal Lu, please allow me to be frank—”
“Where has your usual decisive and unwavering style gone?”
Lu Qingyan: “…This matter cannot be rushed.”
Leaving these few short words, Lu Qingyan turned and left.
The remaining three, Kang Ruoding and the others, shook their heads and sighed in exasperation, wishing they could have their spirit beast babies tie up Little Can and threaten him:
Why don’t you try to persuade your owner? Why isn’t he worried at all?
Isn’t he afraid that someone might snatch the excellent Chu Jiu away?
Lu Qingyan got into the aircraft and set “Military Headquarters” as the destination.
Since he wasn’t taking a vacation, he might as well go back to work.
Short-haul aircraft didn’t require manual piloting and weren’t equipped with guards.
Lu Qingyan sat alone in the back, watching the clouds below.
The first time Chu Jiu sat in an aircraft and saw the clouds, he said, “Wow, I’ve never even been on a plane before, and now I can ride a spaceship.”
His eyes seemed to be filled with pure, simple joy.
But Lu Qingyan knew that beneath the strong and optimistic exterior, his beloved hid a rarely seen sensitivity.
Living on Earth for over a decade, then struggling in another world for nearly three years, and finally arriving in a completely unfamiliar environment—
At that time, what Chu Jiu felt in his heart was less “the joy of returning home” and more the sigh of “so this is where I was born,” as well as the unease of “can I adapt?” and “can I live well here on my own?”
Lu Qingyan remembered clearly that afternoon, after he quickly taught Chu Jiu a required course from the Empire’s advanced academy, Chu Jiu put down his optical computer, his expression a little dazed.
Lu Qingyan touched his forehead, asking if he felt unwell or if he had spoken too quickly.
Chu Jiu shook his head.
He tugged at the corner of his lips, trying hard to smile:
“Speaking of which… I haven’t gotten my graduation certificate from Earth yet.”
“According to Earth time, I should be graduating right now.”
Lu Qingyan was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what Chu Jiu was thinking.
He gently pressed Chu Jiu’s hand: “She will know.”
“…Since she has gone beyond the nine heavens, then no matter which space-time you are in, she will know the achievements you make.”
Chu Jiu looked at Lu Qingyan in some surprise: “You… you…”
You actually know what I was just thinking?
He didn’t want to appear so sentimental, didn’t want to shed tears again for the same thing.
But his little thoughts were still seen through by the person in front of him.
Chu Jiu lowered his head and slowly said:
“Mmm.”
“…Thank you.”
After that day, Lu Qingyan would more deliberately control himself, control himself from expressing his feelings to Chu Jiu without reservation.
The current Chu Jiu needed to “adapt,” to rebuild a sense of security in an unfamiliar environment, to let go and do what he was good at.
At this stage, Chu Jiu’s “processor” didn’t have enough computing power to handle “love.”
All he could do was accompany him, support him, and walk this path with him.
After that, then… court him openly and honorably.
Lu Qingyan believed that this stage wouldn’t last too long.
Because his beloved, in addition to being sensitive, indeed possessed an extraordinary resilience.
*
Chu Jiu slowly opened his eyes.
He had been sent to “Tara” according to the designated coordinates.
He stood in place and looked around, stunned.
Little Can on his shoulder, and the three little ones on his backpack, also started staring wide-eyed.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Rawr Rawr Rabbit even shouted directly, “Roar roar roar, why is this the map? It doesn’t look like we can farm here, roar roar roar.”
Chu Jiu replied, “Yes, I guess we can’t farm.”
The information didn’t say that the initial scene was such a desolate deserted island!
How on earth was he supposed to start pioneering in this desolation?
