Chapter 132: Chapter 1: Returning to the Country (Not Really)

Chapter 132: Chapter 1: Returning to the Country (Not Really)

Shen Zhixue paused, his eyes moist and reddened as he pinched Jiang Huizhou's fingertip, whispering softly, "Fool."

Jiang Huizhou didn’t catch it clearly, tilting his head like a puppy.

Shen Zhixue glanced out the window. This was a deserted small courtyard within the palace. Little Orange likely didn’t expect anyone to come here, so after locking the door from the outside, he didn’t post any guards.

Of course, it might also be because he didn’t have time, given that imprisoning Shen Zhixue, the beloved little prince, required a lot of arrangements, and a single mistake could be fatal.

This gave Shen Zhixue a decent chance to escape. He traced in Jiang Huizhou’s palm, "I’m locked in the room, and the door is locked from the outside. Can you find a way to let me out?"

Jiang Huizhou paused, then slowly asked, "Why did they lock you up?"

Shen Zhixue struggled to explain, so he quickly traced, "Because I’m too good-looking, they think I might become a calamity if I go out."

Jiang Huizhou took a moment to process, as if trying to convince himself to believe this seemingly absurd statement.

Nevertheless, he slowly felt his way to the door and fiddled with the lock in his hands.

Shen Zhixue’s eyes sparkled, "Got any ideas?"

Unexpectedly, Jiang Huizhou showed a puzzled expression and asked, "What is this?"

Shen Zhixue replied, "...A lock."

"A lock?" Jiang Huizhou thought for a moment, "What is it used for?"

Shen Zhixue’s heart dropped. Jiang Huizhou’s memory loss was so severe that he even forgot such basic knowledge. His current mental state was likely no different from a five or six-year-old’s.

Even a five or six-year-old knows what a lock is for!

He leaned against the door frame and said hopelessly, "It’s used to lock up beauties like me who could bring calamity to the country."

Jiang Huizhou nodded, "How can I open it?"

"You need a key," Shen Zhixue traced in his palm, "But if you can remember even a little, you might not need a key. I remember you were quite skilled at picking locks before."

Jiang Huizhou tilted his head, "Skilled?"

Before Shen Zhixue could explain, a familiar voice came from behind, "...Jiang, Jiang Yuan?"

It was Little Green.

She had come to deliver food to Shen Zhixue.

Shen Zhixue thought to himself that this was bad. If Little Orange found out that Jiang Huizhou had come here, it would be even harder to get him out. Just as he was frantically planning how to bribe Little Green to keep her from telling Little Orange.

Little Green suddenly threw the food box on the ground!

Along with the food box, she also threw away the key to the door.

Little Green glanced at Jiang Huizhou, then quickly covered her eyes, "I didn’t see anything, hurry up."

Shen Zhixue was stunned for a moment, then ecstatically said, "Jiang Huizhou, pick up the key!"

Jiang Huizhou didn’t hear him. Shen Zhixue tutted, grabbed Jiang Huizhou’s hand, and traced it again. Only then did Jiang Huizhou slowly and clumsily feel around to pick up the key from the ground.

Little Green said helplessly, "It’s right in front of you, hurry up! If my brother comes, I can’t stop him!"

Jiang Huizhou couldn’t hear a thing and kept fumbling slowly to the left.

Shen Zhixue, frustrated, slapped the door: "This is pissing me off, Little Green, you handle it!"

Little Green hesitated for a moment, then quickly picked up the key and opened the door for Shen Zhixue: "Your Highness, the starship is still parked, ready to launch at any moment. My brother’s probably handling His Majesty right now. If you’re planning to leave, you’d better hurry!"

Shen Zhixue nodded: "Tell my father and mother I’m sorry for me. I never wanted to see Jiang Huizhou end up like this. I must save him. Once Jiang Huizhou’s better, I’ll figure out a way to come back."

Little Green nodded: "Your Highness, I hope you can follow your heart."

Shen Zhixue took a deep breath and hugged Little Green: "Wait till I get back, and I’ll beat your brother senseless for being such a creep!"

Little Green couldn’t help but laugh. Shen Zhixue didn’t have time for more words and bolted, dragging Jiang Huizhou by the hand.

Jiang Huizhou was still processing. The warm hand clamped onto his wrist, yanking him along as they ran. Everything was a blur, but he could hear the wind rushing past his ears.

He’d always been hyper-vigilant, and even with his memory gone, he couldn’t drop his guard. Distrust and caution were hardwired into him.

But the person dragging him along—only when they were close—made him feel completely at ease.

Even though he’d forgotten Shen Zhixue’s name and face, his body remembered Shen Zhixue, and the instinct to stay close hadn’t faded at all.

Shen Zhixue dragged him all the way to the starship hangar in the basement. The guards they passed might as well have been blind. Even with Jiang Huizhou stumbling blindly, not a single guard batted an eye.

Shen Zhixue quickly figured this was his parents’ handiwork, so he grew bolder, yanking Jiang Huizhou into the starship without a second thought. He darted to the control panel, his fingers flying over the controls.

"What’s the starship’s launch code?" Shen Zhixue asked.

It was loud enough for Jiang Huizhou to hear. Half a minute later... Jiang Huizhou: "Password?"

Shen Zhixue: "...Never mind, I’ll guess it myself."

Knowing Jiang Huizhou, his birthday would never be the password. To him, using a birthday as a password was as dumb as streaking down the street.

Shen Zhixue had once been that idiot, so, logically, Jiang Huizhou would never use his birthday as a password. What could it be then?

It must be the date of some special event, known to very few people, something very important to him, something he couldn’t forget.

So it probably wasn’t the day his mother died. Shen Zhixue tried a few, but none were correct.

Only three attempts remained.

Shen Zhixue shot a frustrated glance at the dazed Jiang Huizhou, wishing he could press his face into the control panel and demand the password.

Was it the day he arrived in the empire? No.

Was it the day they parted? Also no.

Only one attempt remained. Shen Zhixue had no choice but to try a last-ditch effort, entering a string of numbers—the night Jiang Huizhou had fully marked him.

He didn’t want to be so narcissistic, but he couldn’t think of any other numbers.

The password was entered, and the system prompted:

Password incorrect. Due to excessive incorrect attempts, the numeric keypad is locked and will unlock in three days.

Shen Zhixue muttered a curse.

Jiang Huizhou walked over and suddenly spoke softly: "Shen Zhixue."

"Jiang! Huizhou! How dare you call out to me? What kind of lousy password did you set? I really want to—"

Before he could finish, a cold mechanical female voice suddenly rang out.

"Voiceprint match confirmed."

"Voiceprint password for Shen Zhixue and Jiang Huizhou, match confirmed."

"Starship access granted."

Shen Zhixue’s words caught in his throat as he glared at Jiang Huizhou for what felt like an eternity.

The starship ascended along its predetermined trajectory, quickly accelerating to break free from the planet’s gravity, while the onboard gravity system maintained the interior as steady as solid ground.

"You... saw this coming, didn’t you?" Shen Zhixue's anger flared up again for no reason. "Is there anything you can’t foresee?"

So, before boarding this starship, Jiang Huizhou had already anticipated that he might be severely injured and unable to control the numerical password, hence he’d set a voiceprint password.

As long as Shen Zhixue got him on board, the starship would launch.

He had calculated it all.

His genius was downright maddening.

Shen Zhixue sat in silence, brooding.

Jiang Huizhou called out again, "Shen Zhixue?"

Shen Zhixue snapped, "What now?"

Jiang Huizhou didn't speak, just called out again, "Shen Zhixue?"

His tone was cheerful, clearly in a good mood.

Shen Zhixue rolled his eyes, walked over to Jiang Huizhou, his expression icy, knelt down, took his hand, and carefully wrote.

"I am Shen Zhixue."

"I’ve got your back."

Jiang Huizhou narrowed his eyes, smiling as he said, "Shen Zhixue."

Shen Zhixue gave his fingertips a gentle squeeze, "Stop calling, are you a broken record?"

Jiang Huizhou quickly closed his mouth, but didn't let go of Shen Zhixue's hand.

The starship had enough power to get Shen Zhixue and Jiang Huizhou safely back to the empire. Once they landed, Shen Zhixue wasted no time taking Jiang Huizhou to the Jiang family villa.

Fortunately, the villa’s access code was still the same. When Shen Zhixue walked in, the house was spotless, nothing like a place that had been empty for ages.

Shen Zhixue led Jiang Huizhou inside, first seating him in the garden, then linked his light brain to the empire’s network, ordering a hearing aid for Jiang Huizhou.

Writing things out every day wasn’t sustainable. Since it was a neural conduction issue, the hearing aid should be useful.

While waiting for the hearing aid to arrive, Shen Zhixue leaned down and asked Jiang Huizhou if he was hungry and what he wanted to eat.

Jiang Huizhou said, "Shen Zhixue."

Shen Zhixue replied, "Shen Zhixue isn’t on the menu."

Jiang Huizhou stubbornly said, "Shen Zhixue."

"Shen Zhixue really isn't an option for food. How about something else, like spaghetti with beef?"

"Shen Zhixue."

"Alright, alright, Shen Zhixue."

Shen Zhixue walked into the kitchen. There were fresh ingredients in the fridge. He grabbed them and whipped up a plate of spaghetti with beef, placing it in front of Jiang Huizhou and putting a fork in his hand: "Here you go, Shen Zhixue."

Jiang Huizhou seemed unsure how to use the fork, holding it and staring at it in confusion.

Shen Zhixue sighed and guided his hand: "Here, use it like this, and then you can eat. Like this, understand?"

Jiang Huizhou nodded, and soon he got the hang of it.

He was happily digging in when the doorbell suddenly rang.