Chapter 32
There wasn’t much left to do for fun.
Not long after lunch, Xu Qingluo left.
After all, they would see each other again the next day.
Jian Da Meow still seemed very withdrawn.
Shi Xiaowang had agreed, and as a lion, Jian Da Meow didn’t have much of a say, nor could he follow along.
He just sent a message to Uncle Ye, asking him to go with Shi Xiaowang the next day.
Although he couldn’t object, Jian Da Meow still protested in his own way.
No matter how Shi Xiaowang tried to cuddle or coax him, Jian Da Meow just lay on the carpet, ignoring him.
Only his tail occasionally brushed against Shi Xiaowang’s wrist or ankle.
After a while, Shi Xiaowang sighed.
Jian Da Meow lifted his eyelids to glance at him secretly.
Shi Xiaowang didn’t seem angry, probably just tired from playing, resting his head on Jian Da Meow’s belly, zoning out.
Jian Da Meow closed his eyes again, his tail swaying at Shi Xiaowang’s legs.
Attracted by the movement, Shi Xiaowang soon reached out to grab his tail.
But after trying for a while, the tail always slipped through his fingers.
Shi Xiaowang flipped over onto the lion, biting his ear fiercely, his tone frustrated.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you, Jian Da Meow!”
Jian Da Meow twitched the bitten ear, a hint of a smile appearing.
By the next morning, Jian Da Meow couldn’t smile anymore.
“We’ll be off first, okay?”
Shi Xiaowang, dressed and with gifts in hand, patted the lion’s head and reminded him.
“Don’t run around the house by yourself, don’t knock over the trellis or hurt yourself. We’ll be back soon, and we’ll have lunch together.”
The large greenhouse became unusually quiet without Shi Xiaowang’s voice.
He had wanted to take a nap.
It was only a morning, a nap would pass the time easily.
After closing his eyes for a while and opening them, only a few minutes had passed.
The lion sighed, suddenly feeling a bit lost.
How did he used to spend time alone in the house?
After feeling lost, he started mapping things out in his mind.
Where were Shi Xiaowang and the others now…?
Compared to the lion’s boredom, Shi Xiaowang was very excited.
It was his first outing without a mission; everything was new and fascinating.
“Uncle Ye, what’s that place? So many people.”
“That’s a shopping mall.”
“And that over there? That building is beautiful!”
“That’s a school.”
“Wow, I’ve never been to one before.”
Whether here or in the former apocalypse, these places were all very unfamiliar to him.
Uncle Ye glanced at Shi Xiaowang, full of curiosity and wonder, and smiled.
“If you want to go, come back a bit earlier and we can visit the mall.”
“Great!”
Shi Xiaowang nodded, looking even happier.
Xu Qingluo lived in a mid-to-high-end residential area in the city, with each household having a yard. People on the small paths gathered in twos or threes, chatting, creating a refined but lively environment.
When Shi Xiaowang stepped out of the hovering car, Xu Qingluo ran out smiling.
“Brother Xiaowang!”
“Your home is really easy to find; just looking at the yard, I knew which house was yours.”
Shi Xiaowang smiled.
“I brought some fruit I picked this morning; you can let your grandfather taste it later.”
“Grandpa has been waiting ever since he knew you were coming.”
Xu Qingluo led them inside.
The courtyard’s plants were arranged as beautifully as in Xu Qingluo’s video—colorful and orderly.
Just as Shi Xiaowang wanted to look closer, an elderly man with a kind smile appeared.
“Grandpa,” Xu Qingluo greeted, introducing him.
“Brother Xiaowang has arrived. This is Uncle Ye from the Marshal’s mansion.”
The elderly man bowed slightly.
“Little Duke.”
Shi Xiaowang quickly stepped forward to support him.
“Grandpa, just call me Xiaowang. Qingluo does.”
“All right, all right.”
The elder smiled warmly, nodding repeatedly.
Shi Xiaowang lowered his eyes to notice the old man’s hands trembling slightly.
“Let’s go inside first.”
Xu Qingluo smiled.
“There’s not much to offer, so I’ll just wash the fruits. Brother Xiaowang can look around the house for now.”
Shi Xiaowang nodded in agreement.
“Sure.”
“I’ll come with you to see where to put the vegetables.”
“All right, follow me.”
Inside, Uncle Ye carried the potatoes and tomatoes along with Xu Qingluo into the kitchen.
Unlike the obvious tidiness of the Marshal’s mansion, Xu Qingluo’s home was full of signs of life.
Stacked flowerpots, a painted calendar, some small trinkets of unclear purpose, and greenery everywhere.
“The flowers are blooming.”
The elder carried a pot of roses with orange-yellow blossoms from the bedroom, smiling.
Shi Xiaowang went over to help him hold it.
“They’re blooming beautifully!”
“Yes!”
The old man nodded, full of pride and happiness.
“Qingluo grew them.”
Shi Xiaowang smiled.
“Qingluo is excellent; I even asked him to help plan the greenhouse yesterday.”
Hearing the praise, the elder smiled even more joyfully.
Shi Xiaowang gently touched the petals of the roses.
He remembered back at the base, the old man had been extremely proud, boasting about his awakening of the purification ability to everyone.
Though the praise style wasn’t subtle—he would talk at length, as if Shi Xiaowang were a child of destiny—making Shi Xiaowang feel awkward.
Lost in thought, Shi Xiaowang was splashed with water when the old man, holding a full watering can, tried to pour him some water, but his hands trembled, spilling water onto Shi Xiaowang’s sleeves.
“Ouch!”
The elder hurriedly put down the can, flustered, trying to dry it off.
“It’s fine, grandpa!”
Shi Xiaowang activated his protection; the water quickly dried, smiling as he let the old man touch his sleeves.
“It’s nothing.”
The elder saw Shi Xiaowang’s slightly flushed skin, feeling guilty.
“My fault!”
“No, it’s really not your fault.”
Shi Xiaowang rolled up his sleeves, smiling.
“I usually get way redder in hot showers. You can only blame me for being too pale. Just a little heat makes me blush—perfect for fooling around.”
The elder nodded.
“Pale is good, looks nice.”
“Grandpa, use another word.”
Shi Xiaowang struck a pose.
“This is called ‘handsome’!”
The elder laughed, giving him a thumbs-up.
“Handsome!”
Xu Qingluo, holding cut fruit nearby, pressed his lips together at the warm scene.
He had been startled when the elder spilled water on Shi Xiaowang, expecting him to be angry—but he wasn’t.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Qingluo relaxed his shoulders and smiled as he walked over.
“The fruits are washed; Grandpa, taste these strawberries—they’re really good.”
Uncle Ye silently moved to the spot Xu Qingluo had stood, eyes observing.
Xu Qingluo wasn’t someone who could hide things; from the start, he had been cautious.
When interacting with Shi Xiaowang, he often unconsciously showed signs of guarding himself—not nervousness before a duke, but weighing pros and cons.
It was especially obvious today.
So obvious that Shi Xiaowang decided not to drag it out any longer.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
Xu Grandpa’s energy was limited. After eating fruit and chatting briefly, he soon became tired.
After Xu Qingluo had settled his grandfather, Shi Xiaowang straightforwardly asked.
Xu Qingluo paused for a moment, then quickly recovered, smiling awkwardly.
“You noticed, huh?”
“You didn’t try to hide it either.”
Shi Xiaowang glanced at him lightly, taking a strawberry.
“You kept glancing at me, practically writing ‘there’s a problem’ on my face.”
Xu Qingluo smiled, sitting beside him, silent for a long moment, then sighed deeply.
“I want to ask for your help finding my parents. I haven’t been able to contact them for half a year.”
“Huh?”
This caught Shi Xiaowang completely off guard.
“What happened?”
“My parents are members of the Commerce Chamber. Since I was a child, they often traveled for work for months at a time. Sometimes when they came home, I didn’t even recognize them.”
Xu Qingluo leaned on the sofa, his tone low.
“They go to places no one wants to go, but the pay is high. To make life better for me and Grandpa, they’ve kept at it until now. I complained many times, but got used to it. Our light-brains are linked; I could see their real-time status on mine. But six months ago… I lost all information about them.”
He pulled up his light-brain screen, showing a hand-drawn family portrait. Each person had a heart on their chest, with the child’s and elder’s hearts pulsing. The grass below indicated distance and current health and mood. But the young couple’s hearts were gray, and the grass beneath them blank.
Shi Xiaowang frowned.
“Didn’t you check with the guild?”
“I asked, but they said this was normal.”
Xu Qingluo unconsciously clenched his hands, worry and anxiety deepening, his speech quickening.
“This time, they went to a very remote planet near the edge of the system. The guild said it might just affect light-brain signals, or my parents may have cut off sync themselves. But I can’t stop worrying—near the border, you’re more likely to encounter the insectoid race. They disappeared six months ago, when the insects weren’t defeated yet. I’m really worried.”
This must have been the real reason Xu Qingluo came to him, Shi Xiaowang thought.
He could understand, even feel…
“Why tell me now… because of our grudge with the guild?”
“That’s one part. The other, you’re a duke, I’m just ordinary. My parents have worked for the guild so long, no one really cared about their safety. We’ve only known each other for less than a month, and I wasn’t sure you would…”
Xu Qingluo paused, speaking honestly.
Understood. Before, it was an evaluation period.
Shi Xiaowang said nothing, looking at Uncle Ye.
The question wasn’t if they would help, but how.
He, a “duke” with no real authority, had no experience in this.
“As far as I know, employees traveling long-term are equipped with military signal terminals. They cooperate with the base, so if someone goes missing, the base can send a search team immediately. Didn’t the guild check your parents’ coordinates?”
Uncle Ye asked.
Xu Qingluo shook his head.
“My first visit to the guild was a week after losing contact. They told me to wait at home. I waited half a month and went again—they said the frontline was in danger, and sent me back. Later the war ended, but they said the military had heavy losses, couldn’t spare personnel. Then the guild was restructured; the person responsible for my parents’ assignment was arrested. Even now, I don’t know where they are.”
Xu Qingluo’s eyes reddened as he spoke, voice trembling.
“Even if… even if they’re gone… I want to bring them home.”
“I’ll check with Director Meng. The guild’s contact with the base depends on the research institute. Maybe he can find your parents’ terminal info and request base dispatch.”
Words of comfort aren’t as useful as trying to solve the problem.
Shi Xiaowang immediately pulled up his light-brain and messaged Meng Zhan.
“Can I go directly to the institute? I don’t want to wait passively anymore. I haven’t told Grandpa my parents are missing—I’m tired of pretending everything’s fine while waiting alone.”
Xu Qingluo looked at him intensely.
Shi Xiaowang didn’t speak, adding Xu Qingluo’s request into the chat.
Meng Zhan replied quickly, agreeing to help.
Knowing military cooperation might be needed, Uncle Ye arranged everything.
On the way back, Shi Xiaowang lowered his head, absentmindedly rubbing the red cord on his wrist.
He thought of Jian Mo and the old marshal.
Not taking the old marshal back to the federation must have been painful for Jian Mo.
As he pondered, the light-brain suddenly received a message.
It was a photo from Jian Mo.
In the greenhouse lab, five fluffy chicks were in the incubator, confused but cute.
[All successfully hatched, all healthy.]
Shi Xiaowang stared for a moment, then quickly replied.
[You’re home? Are you in the greenhouse now?]
[Yes, I’m in the greenhouse.]
Jian Mo replied.
Then another photo followed.
He leaned casually on the table, hand over the incubator, chicks snuggled up to his hand for warmth.
He looked at the camera, a faint smile on his lips.
Shi Xiaowang stared at the photo for several seconds before saving it.
Excitedly, he said to Uncle Ye,
“Uncle Ye! Can we go faster? Jian Mo is back!”
