Chapter 20
And just like that, Shi Xiaoxing became Happy Farm’s very first employee.
Happy Farm was the name Lin An’an had given his farm. Although the farm was still under construction, that did not stop him from recruiting staff in advance.
The conditions Lin An’an offered were excellent. Besides the basic salary, meals, lodging, and treatment were all included. Of course, the final part—“treatment included”—would only be disclosed and fulfilled after the employee passed the probation period.
Employees who passed probation had to first sign a mental power agreement with Feng Wu, to ensure they would not reveal the little cub’s special nature.
Recruitment for Happy Farm was handled by Feng Wu’s people. Since they did not use the little cub’s name during hiring, very few people had come to apply since recruitment began, and every single one of them came only because food and lodging were included.
Not only did those people know absolutely nothing about farming, but between the lines, they all seemed to think that anyone trying to run a farm on Sin Star was an idiot.
As a result, Happy Farm currently had only one employee: Shi Xiaoxing.
Because Lin An’an had interacted with her before and already had a good impression of her, Shi Xiaoxing passed her probation very quickly.
Since Happy Farm had not opened yet, Shi Xiaoxing temporarily helped out in the little courtyard. Once Happy Farm’s renovations were finished, she would be able to move out of her rented place and into the farm.
Though Shi Xiaoxing was thin, she was surprisingly strong. And since she was already very familiar with farming, she alone could do the work of both Xiong Yingjun and Feng Wu combined.
Watching how full of drive she was, Lin An’an almost felt tired on her behalf.
Shi Xiaoxing herself, however, did not think much of it.
“Not tired at all!” She wiped away a bead of sweat, the smile on her face brighter than the sun in the sky. “These past few days have been the happiest, happiest, happiest days since I came to Sin Star!”
After hearing her say that, the little cub and the silver giant wolf exchanged a glance, both seeing the same agreement and affirmation in each other’s eyes.
On the night Shi Xiaoxing passed probation, Lin An’an kept her behind.
[Congratulations on passing your probation!]
Before Shi Xiaoxing even had time to be happy, another line appeared on the screen.
[Before becoming a full employee, there is one final task you need to do.]
Shi Xiaoxing held back her excitement. “What task?”
Feng Wu said, “Sign a mental power contract with me.”
At that moment, he had already changed into human form, though he was still wearing his usual disguise mask.
Shi Xiaoxing frowned slightly. “A mental power contract?”
[That’s right.]
Lin An’an typed quickly. He had already trained up his typing speed, and his little tentacles swished before the screen, leaving soft afterimages.
[I need you to promise that no matter what you learn about us, you won’t tell anyone.]
Shi Xiaoxing’s first reaction was, “Never allowed to say anything?”
Lin An’an was caught off guard. Th-this reaction wasn’t what they had expected. Weren’t people usually supposed to ask why they had to sign a contract first?
[Not forever.] Lin An’an answered.
Shi Xiaoxing smiled. “Then let’s sign.”
So straightforward!
As expected of the woman he had good taste in choosing!
The little cub secretly puffed out his chest, feeling proud and smug, his bean-like eyes blinking without pause as he watched the contract-signing process.
After the contract was completed, Xiong Yingjun suddenly let out a howl and tore off the disguise mask on his face. “It’s suffocating me to death—this thing is way too uncomfortable!”
Shi Xiaoxing was startled by him, but what shocked her even more came right after, when she saw the question on the little cub’s screen.
[Shi Xiaoxing, may I ask whether you are willing to accept treatment services?]
The girl did not react at first. “What treatment services? I’m not sick—”
Her words cut off abruptly, as if she had suddenly realized something. Her eyes widened, and she began stammering uncontrollably. “T-treatment? You mean… mean Alpha…?”
Lin An’an nodded.
[The treatment course may take quite a long time. If you don’t want it, then we’ll simply remain employer and employee. If you do want it, we can start tonight.]
The amount of information was a little overwhelming. Shi Xiaoxing stood there stunned for a long while before finally processing it all. Then she nodded forcefully. “I’m willing. Of course I’m willing!”
The moment she finished speaking, Xiong Yingjun stuffed a bulging bag of fruits and vegetables into her arms.
“Eat hard,” Xiong Yingjun said extravagantly. “Once you finish those, there’s more. The more you eat, the better!”
The little cub’s tentacle smacked against Xiong Yingjun.
[But don’t eat until you’re too stuffed.]
Shi Xiaoxing was a little dumbfounded. So the treatment plan was… eating fruits and vegetables?
But seeing the little cub’s certain expression, Shi Xiaoxing hugged the big bag tightly and said firmly, “Alright, I’ll do my best to finish them!”
Whether it was real or not, she would try first and talk later!
It took Shi Xiaoxing a full three days to finish one whole bag of fruits and vegetables.
Lin An’an asked her, “How does it feel?”
Shi Xiaoxing honestly shook her head. Afraid the little cub might feel disappointed, she quickly added, “They really were delicious. The best vegetables I’ve ever eaten.”
Lin An’an nodded and was neither surprised nor disappointed.
Shi Xiaoxing’s Alpha symptoms were different from Feng Wu’s and Si Youlin’s. Their symptoms were very obvious and relatively severe. As long as they ate the fruits and vegetables, the pain inside their bodies would ease slightly.
But Shi Xiaoxing was different. Her symptom was the disappearance of her ability. For that ability to recover, it would definitely take time—just like Xiong Yingjun’s hair loss. It would be difficult to see results in the short term.
Lin An’an was patient, and seeing that the little cub’s emotions remained stable, Shi Xiaoxing also quietly let out a breath of relief in her heart and accepted the second bag of produce Xiong Yingjun handed over.
After bringing the new fruits and vegetables home, Shi Xiaoxing watered the little daisies blooming brightly by the window and greeted them.
“Today was a very happy day too.”
The girl stretched out one finger and gently touched a tender daisy petal, then sat cross-legged beside the flowerpot and began softly chattering about everything that had happened that day.
“An Cub really is a very good boss, though compared to a boss, I think he feels more like a friend…”
“Ever since I met An Cub and the others, I feel like Sin Star doesn’t seem nearly so unbearable anymore…”
“I’ve gained fruit-and-vegetable freedom on Sin Star. If I told anyone, they probably wouldn’t believe me…”
Shi Xiaoxing’s voice was soft and gentle. The white petals trembled lightly, as if responding to her confidences.
Night fell, and Shi Xiaoxing finally stood up to return to her bedroom. As she passed the withered tomato vine by the doorway, one dead branch on the vine swayed precariously in the wind.
Instinctively, she bent down and laid her hand on the branch, wanting to try saving it with her ability.
Then Shi Xiaoxing froze, remembering that her ability had already disappeared.
She shook her head with a smile and was just about to pull her hand back when she suddenly felt an extremely familiar trace of power flash through her body.
Shi Xiaoxing’s eyes widened abruptly.
—That was… was that her ability?
That trace of power was so faint it was like a flash in the pan. It appeared for only a moment, and when Shi Xiaoxing tried to sense it again, she could no longer find it at all.
A moment later, she gave a bitter smile and shook her head. It must have been her imagination.
But when her eyes fell on the tomato vine, her breathing suddenly stopped.
That dead branch, which had been about to snap off and fall to the ground, not only had not broken away completely, but where it connected to the main vine—where it had once been entirely shriveled and black—there was now a tiny patch of green, a sign of life.
Shi Xiaoxing almost thought she was hallucinating. She rubbed her eyes hard twice and looked again, only to find that the little patch of green had not disappeared.
The vine, which had been black and withered a moment ago, now had a trace of green.
Shi Xiaoxing instinctively pinched herself. The pain made her realize this was not a dream, and her heart began to pound violently.
Could it be that her ability… her ability had really started to recover?
That night, Shi Xiaoxing’s emotions swung back and forth between joy and anxiety.
On one hand, she felt that her mental state was perfectly normal and there was no way she could be hallucinating. On the other hand, she felt that Alpha could not possibly be treated this easily, so she was caught between hope and fear.
By morning, Shi Xiaoxing rushed out the door with two enormous dark circles under her eyes.
She had to go ask An Cub and get a clear answer.
At that moment, Lin An’an was extracting seeds from a new batch of Mind-Calming Grass. The moment he saw Shi Xiaoxing’s tense and hopeful expression, he understood immediately.
[Has your ability started recovering?]
“I-it seems like it,” Shi Xiaoxing said uncertainly, then gave a full and honest account of what had accidentally happened the night before.
Lin An’an raised a tentacle in a thumbs-up.
[Not bad. Keep working hard at eating the healing fruits and vegetables.]
The little cub’s calm attitude gradually soothed Shi Xiaoxing, but she still stammered a little. “You really… those fruits and vegetables… they really can… really…”
The little cub nodded.
[It’s true. Right now the only treatment method is eating healing fruits and vegetables. Once my abilities recover a little more, we can begin the second phase of treatment. At that time, your ability will recover even faster.]
At the side, Xiong Yingjun patted Shi Xiaoxing on the shoulder. “Surprised, right? You should be! That’s how all of us were at first. You’ll get used to it. An Cub’s power is beyond your imagination. Just focus on doing your work properly and leave the rest to An Cub!”
The wording sounded a little strange. Lin An’an instinctively poked Xiong Yingjun with a little tentacle. Why did that sound so much like… running a pyramid scheme?
Shi Xiaoxing’s eyes were already red. She silently wiped the corner of one eye. “Thank you, An Cub. I should—”
The little cub immediately bounced onto her and shoved a big tomato into her mouth.
[This is an employee benefit.] Lin An’an typed. [Right now the farm only has one full-time employee. Once the farm opens, you might be busy spinning like a little top all day long.]
Shi Xiaoxing was amused into laughter, laughing even as tears kept slipping down.
She thought to herself, How can my luck be so good? To let me meet a little boss like An Cub—so adorable, and so, so amazing.
As for the fact that the boss’s “assistant” was actually Marshal Feng Wu of the Empire—a fact that had shocked Shi Xiaoxing for days—when she thought of it again now, she felt almost perfectly calm.
Compared with a little cub who could treat Alpha Syndrome, Feng Wu’s identity did not seem nearly as shocking anymore.
During the morning livestream, Shi Xiaoxing and Lin An’an bustled about in the courtyard.
[Daily check-in: here to see An Cub, Brother Wolf, and Xingxing, and also to peek at silly Bear Big Treasure. [doge jpg]]
[Hahahaha it should obviously be Big Silly Bear. [dying of laughter jpg]]
[Xingxing has been in An Cub’s livestream for so many days already, but it still feels unreal to me, wuwuwuwu. I thought I’d never get to see Xingxing again.]
[Shi Xiaoxing really loves farming. Thank you, cubby, for letting her continue her dream. [throwing flowers wildly jpg]]
[Does anyone else feel like Shi Xiaoxing is in especially good condition today? So full of drive. [starry eyes jpg]]
[Xingxing has always been super motivated. Our cubby really has great judgment! (Big Silly Bear excluded)]
[An Cub still didn’t grow apples today, so I’ll come back again tomorrow. [sighing in regret jpg]]
[Even though the hope is slim, I still hope Xingxing’s ability can recover, and that everyone on Sin Star can return to a normal life. [crying wildly jpg]]
Seeing those comments, Shi Xiaoxing pressed her lips together, but the smile at the corners of her mouth simply could not be hidden.
Her ability really could recover, and… she had the strong feeling that everyone on Sin Star would one day have the chance to see the sky beyond Sin Star again.
Shi Xiaoxing stole a glance at Lin An’an in the distance. The little cub was hugging a corn cob taller than himself, wobbling and struggling to keep his balance as he carefully placed it into a small basket.
She thought to herself, That day will definitely come.
![After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar]](https://i1.wp.com/panda-translations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/20220822190944_300_420.jpg?resize=151,215 "After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar]")
