A mischievous little brother clinging onto him, Ji Mian’s expression remained calm as he raised his hand.
It seemed like he wanted to do something, but Chu Shiye gently took his hand, placing it against his own face and rubbing against the warmth of Ji Mian’s palm.
Ji Mian: Oh no.
Like a big dog begging for affection.
There was a faint softness in Ji Mian’s gaze, though he still said what needed to be said: “Do you plan to keep me locked up like this forever?”
Chu Shiye murmured, “I don’t want to lock you up, Brother.”
“I just want Brother to stay by my side, that’s all.”
Ji Mian: Doing something so unreasonable and still calling me ‘Brother’… clearly trying to make me go soft.
Bad little brother.
“But if you keep me locked up, I’ll be unhappy,” Ji Mian said calmly. “And then, I won’t like you anymore.”
Chu Shiye: “!!!”
The second half of the sentence struck Chu Shiye like a fatal blow. The Alpha froze, his expression filled with hurt, grievance, and disbelief.
Ah Mian said he wouldn’t like him.
…Ah Mian didn’t like him.
Chu Shiye wilted, lowering his head to press it against Ji Mian’s shoulder, completely still.
Ji Mian spread his fingers. “Hold my hand.”
Chu Shiye dejectedly hooked his fingers around Ji Mian’s, his eyes dim and lifeless.
Like a rain-soaked, homeless beast.
So pitiful.
“Why are you so sad?” Ji Mian chuckled softly. “If you don’t keep me locked up, I won’t be mad at you.”
Chu Shiye lifted his eyes slightly, his gaze still despondent as he looked at Ji Mian.
Ji Mian leaned forward, gently pressing his forehead against Chu Shiye’s. “Back then, the Ji family kept me locked up for a long time.”
“Are you going to become like them?”
As these words fell, Chu Shiye stiffened and slowly released his grip, retreating slightly.
Ah Mian hated the Ji family.
…He would rather Ah Mian not like him than have Ah Mian hate him.
…Did Ah Mian already dislike him a little?
Chu Shiye looked at Ji Mian with helpless eyes, wanting to reach out to him but hesitating. It was as if even the smallest touch would deepen Ji Mian’s dislike for him.
In the end, all he could do was bow his head in sorrow and whisper, “I’m sorry.”
Ji Mian had intended only to reason with Chu Shiye, never expecting the Alpha’s reaction to be so extreme—like he was about to be abandoned.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Ji Mian held Chu Shiye’s hand and said, “Don’t worry. You’re not like them. I won’t dislike you.”
Chu Shiye lifted his head slightly. “Really?”
Ji Mian: “Really.”
He patted the Alpha on the head.
The shadow in Chu Shiye’s eyes lightened somewhat. After a few seconds of looking at Ji Mian, he leaned in closer.
“I… won’t keep Brother locked up anymore,” Chu Shiye said. “Brother can go wherever he wants.”
“Alright,” he said, then seriously added, “but I need to stay by your side.”
Ji Mian smiled. “Okay, then later, take me to explore this ship.”
Chu Shiye captured the smile in his heart, nodded, and raised a hand.
After hesitating for a moment and seeing Ji Mian remain unbothered, he once again embraced him just like before.
Ji Mian still showed no reaction, and Chu Shiye, thoroughly satisfied, hugged him tighter.
A little bit happy.
Ji Mian looked at this Alpha, whose emotions fluctuated so easily with just a few of his words.
In truth, Ji Mian understood why Chu Shiye had become like this.
After all, when he disappeared from the Alpha’s life, they had shared the same feelings.
But that doesn’t mean you can become bad.
You can’t become a possessive, bad little brother.
Ji Mian poked Chu Shiye, who thought Ji Mian was about to leave, and quickly got up.
“Wait a minute. No rush,” Ji Mian said. “Let me see your spirit beast first.”
He still remembered that before Chu Shiye took him away, the person blocking their path was Hosea from the Soya family—a Class S combat-type ability user.
Above Class A, individuals are divided into further tiers: Basic, Intermediate, and Peak. Even within the same class, a single tier can mean an insurmountable gap.
Hosea was a Basic-level Class S. Back when Ji Mian was Class S himself, Hosea’s mental strength couldn’t compare to his.
Even so, Hosea was still a Class S.
Yet, he failed to stop Chu Shiye.
Chu Shiye obediently followed Ji Mian’s request.
Before their separation, his spirit beast had been a little white snake. Now, it had grown into a massive white serpent.
The white snake spanned several meters, its sheer size occupying half the room. Its dark golden pupils shimmered faintly, and its snow-white scales, like steel armor, seemed impenetrable.
Upon seeing Ji Mian, the massive snake became visibly excited, slithering toward him and trying to coil itself onto him.
However, it seemed to have forgotten its enormous size—just one attempt to coil nearly knocked Ji Mian off balance.
Chu Shiye: “?”
“Back off,” Chu Shiye commanded immediately.
The white snake shot him a pitiful glance but obediently moved aside, resting its large head near Ji Mian and gazing at him with longing eyes.
Ji Mian reached out to pat the snake’s head. Its cool, smooth scales were pleasant to touch. “Oh, it listens to you now.”
Chu Shiye didn’t respond but tightened his arms around Ji Mian.
Mine.
Nothing else is allowed to touch him.
Ji Mian blinked: Is he… jealous of his own spirit beast?
He changed the subject. “I remember it used to have claws.”
Chu Shiye nodded. “It can still transform like that.”
As soon as he said this, the white snake sprouted four limbs, each equipped with razor-sharp claws that looked capable of slicing through steel and stone.
Having just been petted by Ji Mian, the snake was delighted and tried again to crawl into his lap.
Unfortunately, its master had already claimed Ji Mian entirely, leaving no space for the snake.
The white snake had no choice but to curl up close to Ji Mian, pressing against him.
Ji Mian glanced at Chu Shiye, then at the snake, and finally released his own spirit beast.
The Light Goddess Butterfly appeared amidst sparkling starlight. Although it seemed slightly listless due to Ji Mian’s still-recovering mental strength, it visibly perked up upon seeing Chu Shiye.
The butterfly fluttered around him happily for a few laps before folding its delicate wings and settling on his head.
Chu Shiye tilted his head slightly. “Can I touch its wings?”
Ji Mian smiled. “No.”
Chu Shiye obediently replied, “Oh.”
Meanwhile, the white snake fixed its gaze on the dainty butterfly.
The butterfly, perched atop Chu Shiye’s head, met the snake’s gaze from its higher vantage point. After a few seconds of silent staring, it flapped its wings and flew away.
The white snake immediately began chasing the butterfly around the room.
Ji Mian watched the two spirit beasts dart around and chuckled as he turned to Chu Shiye. “Have you done a mental strength test recently?”
Chu Shiye shook his head. “Not yet.”
Ji Mian pondered aloud, “You might just be an S-class combatant.”
Chu Shiye merely hummed in response.
He didn’t care about his own mental strength; all he cared about was Ji Mian.
Back on E-13, he had been a mere E-class waste, unable even to summon a spirit beast.
It was Ji Mian who had come into his life, guiding him through mental adjustments and teaching him how to summon his spirit beast, bringing light to his darkness.
Everything he had now was thanks to Ji Mian.
Chu Shiye’s unwavering gaze rested on Ji Mian.
Ji Mian smiled. “Alright, take me out for a walk.”
Chu Shiye: “Okay.”
This spaceship wasn’t very large, and the group of interstellar mercenaries saved by Chu Shiye who decided to follow him consisted of four people.
Aside from the healer Li Zhiyu, pilot Linda, and mechanic Parker whom Ji Mian had already met, there was also the cook Gao Lan, who was busy in the kitchen.
“If it weren’t for the boss, we’d be long dead.”
In the cockpit, under Ji Mian’s questioning, Parker vividly recounted how they met Chu Shiye.
“At the time, we were having the worst luck—ran into the pirate fleet of the ‘Skinner.’ We couldn’t fight back and couldn’t escape. We were even considering blowing ourselves up when suddenly someone charged out from the side. That was the boss!”
Some infamous space pirates bore particularly sinister nicknames, and “Skinner” was one of them. No one cared about his real name anymore, but interstellar mercenaries all knew that he was a powerful Class A combatant, ruthless and bloodthirsty, who enjoyed skinning his victims alive. His methods were unspeakably cruel—an encounter with him meant certain death if you couldn’t escape.
Parker continued enthusiastically describing how Chu Shiye tore through the enemies. Ji Mian listened carefully and smiled slightly. “From your accent, you don’t sound like someone from the Federation.”
It was a casual remark, a little bait really, since Ji Mian didn’t actually notice any particular accent.
But Parker’s body visibly stiffened, and he turned to Chu Shiye with a toothy grimace.
Chu Shiye: “…”
“Mr. Ji! Mr. Ji! Can I take a picture with you?” Li Zhiyu rushed over. “I’ve been your fan since I was a kid!”
Linda chimed in, “I want a photo too! I’ve heard about Mr. Ji’s name for so long, but this is my first time seeing him in person!”
Parker immediately interjected, “Wait, don’t leave me out!”
Their comments weren’t solely a way to change the subject—there was genuine admiration as well. From the start, the crew had been quite welcoming to Ji Mian, not just because of his relationship with Chu Shiye but also because of his own reputation. Ji Mian wasn’t only a former Class S ability user, the sole S-class support type, but also the only Omega to reach that level.
When Chu Shiye was on the remote E-13 planet, he had no concept of the name “Ji Mian” due to the isolation there. But now, seeing everyone gathered around Ji Mian, he was once again acutely aware of how much attention his Ah Mian attracted.
… But Ah Mian wasn’t the same when he was with him.
Ah Mian’s smile for him, his gentleness—those were different from how he treated everyone else.
He wanted Ah Mian to smile only for him.
… He wanted Ah Mian to look only at him.
Chu Shiye stood silently, unmoving.
Parker, satisfied with saving the photos, glanced at Chu Shiye out of the corner of his eye.
In everyone’s view, their boss was still his usual stoic self. His dark golden eyes were like a deep, icy pond, revealing no emotions whatsoever.
Yet, this version of Chu Shiye made them hesitant to approach.
After spending some time with Chu Shiye, they understood he was a good person, but they couldn’t help being intimidated by his cold aura and the unfathomable depths of his dark golden gaze.
He was unreadable, commanding without effort—powerful and dangerous.
That was everyone’s impression of him.
Ji Mian glanced back at Chu Shiye and, noticing his expression, asked, “Oh, why are you sulking again?”
The others: Sulking? Who’s sulking?
Ji Mian added with a playful tone, “Don’t be upset. Here, let’s hold hands.”
He extended a hand to Chu Shiye. Chu Shiye stared at Ji Mian’s fingertips for a moment before slightly lowering his head. “Okay.”
He took Ji Mian’s hand.
Obediently, he let Ji Mian lead him away.
The others: “…?”
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