Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Huo Sicheng still walked Zhong Xi back home.

He only walked him to a spot a few dozen meters away from the courtyard gate. The sound of Huo Xiaobao calling Ban Ban made them both stop simultaneously. Huo Sicheng momentarily thought Huo Xiaobao was calling "Dad," and he was about to respond, but then he clearly heard Huo Xiaobao calling the dog.

Ban Ban barked twice in the yard.

Huo Sicheng lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Zhong Xi felt a bubbling mix of emotions, like a spilled soda fizzing up, making him feel uneasy and his breathing heavier.

He wanted to say: You are still Huo Xiaobao's father, the bond of blood can't be broken, if you really miss him—

But he stopped himself as soon as he started to speak.

If Huo Xiaobao really missed his father, he would cry and make a fuss. There was no need for him to offer peace, which would only give Huo Sicheng an opening. It was unnecessary.

After Zhong Xi returned home, Huo Sicheng lingered outside the courtyard, watching Huo Xiaobao for a while. When Zhong Xi came out to call Huo Xiaobao for dinner, Huo Sicheng was already gone.

When Huo Sicheng returned to his residence, Aide Wen handed him the documents to sign. After signing, Huo Sicheng asked, "What do you know about Dongsheng Island?"

"There are three administrative villages on Dongsheng Island, with a total population of over 1,800 people. One-third of them are fishermen, earning a living by fishing and gathering shellfish. Their main link to the outside world is a production fishing boat."

Huo Sicheng sensed something was wrong, "A production fishing boat?"

"Yes, indeed a production fishing boat, and a fishing vessel at that. But there's no other way, the islanders are used to taking the production fishing boat to leave the island because the fare is half the price of a regular ship."

Huo Sicheng paused mid-signature.

He immediately headed to the dock with his team.

.

Zhong Xi had quietly replaced the glass after all, and the 5mm tempered glass was sufficient.

After installing the beams, waterproof cloth, and window glass, Zhong Xi's little wooden house was finally done.

Inside, he set up a tatami mat, a bookcase, two lamb's wool pumpkin chairs, and a small tea table. To match the yellow exterior, all the furniture inside was white or light blue. For lighting, besides a main lamp, Zhong Xi added warm-toned light strips around the edges.

After his parents went to bed, and the night grew deeper, the sky was dotted with stars. Zhong Xi and Huo Xiaobao sat together at the door of the little wooden house, with Huo Xiaobao leaning against Zhong Xi, happily swinging his legs.

"Xiao Bao, how many stars do you see?"

Huo Xiaobao stretched out his short fingers and counted, "One, two, three, four... seven!"

"So smart, there are seven stars."

Huo Xiaobao loved the little wooden house, running around inside, exploring everything. When he got tired, he came back. Zhong Xi hugged him and kissed his forehead.

Huo Xiaobao said, "Mom, I really, really love the little wooden house."

Zhong Xi smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it."

"I'll watch the stars with you in the future."

Zhong Xi was surprised, then leaned down to touch foreheads with him and whispered, "In the future, we'll do more than just watch stars."

The next day, Zhong Xi found Li Feiming and asked about Ji Yue's condition. Li Feiming said, "I don't know what happened, but this child has suddenly gotten better. He doesn't startle and show fear anymore, and he's slowly starting to respond when spoken to."

Zhong Xi suggested he wanted to observe Ji Yue from outside the classroom, and Li Feiming said, "Sure, come with me."

Zhong Xi walked up to the classroom door and spotted Ji Yue right away, sitting by the window in the third row. While the other kids were sitting two to a desk, the spot next to him was empty.

Li Feiming sighed, "The other children don't want to sit with him."

Zhong Xi felt a twinge of unease, but soon he saw the girl behind Ji Yue reach out and pat his shoulder.

For some reason, Zhong Xi felt on edge.

The girl appeared to be asking for something, most likely to borrow a pen. Ji Yue, who'd been looking down, hesitated for a moment before slowly turning around. He took a pen from his pencil case and handed it to the girl behind him.

The whole time, he didn't seem resistant or scared.

"He's interacting like this now?" Li Feiming asked, surprised.

Zhong Xi and Li Feiming headed out of the classroom and made their way to the playground. Li Feiming was puzzled by Zhong Xi's sudden interest in this kid and asked curiously, "Are you thinking of sponsoring him?"

"Ever heard of 'children of the stars'?"

Li Feiming shook his head.

"They are children with autism. There are more than half a million kids under twelve with autism across the alliance," Zhong Xi continued walking, speaking slowly, "Truth is, I used to show some autistic traits myself—trouble socializing, limited interests, and behavior that set me apart from other kids. Of course, I didn't have autism, but seeing Ji Yue reminded me of my younger self. I was so into stargazing back then that my folks got worried and took me to a children's psych ward."

Zhong Xi smiled, "Even when I started military school, I was still kind of odd—pretty immature, didn't have many friends, and had no clue what I wanted to do after graduation."

"Eventually, someone dragged me into the real world."

Zhong Xi took a deep breath and exhaled softly, "It had its ups and downs, but that's beside the point."

He looked at Li Feiming, "The point is, Teacher Li, I have an idea. How about we start a radio station?"

Li Feiming was stunned.

"With your psychology background and my astronomy know-how, let's create a nighttime astronomy radio station, giving all the lonely 'children of the stars' across the alliance a place to share their thoughts."

"Across the alliance?"

"Yeah, Teacher Li. I get it's tough to balance everything. You can't leave your sick mother, but with the internet so advanced, you can still do something meaningful right here on Dong Sheng Island."

Zhong Xi looked at Li Feiming with determination, "Teacher Li, your life's potential shouldn't be limited to Dong Sheng Middle School."

Li Feiming was stunned into silence.

"If you're willing, we can start preparing as soon as possible."

Li Feiming hesitated, saying, "Let me think it over."

"No problem."

Zhong Xi left Dong Sheng Middle School and returned home.

On his way home, he swung by the Dong Sheng Island Library, only to find that the place, nominally a "library," had actually become a lounge for vendors playing cards. The handful of remaining bookshelves were caked in dust.

Zhong Xi walked over and touched one of the bookshelves, feeling a surge of frustration.

He found the cultural director, who was unaware of Zhong Xi's identity and was playing cards while saying, "Hardly anyone borrows books. Students who need books can buy them from the bookstore near the school that specializes in textbooks. Isn't that enough?"

"It's not enough. Students shouldn't just read textbooks."

The director threw the ledger in front of Zhong Xi and said, "No budget!"

Zhong Xi had no choice but to foot the bill himself.

He reached out to his former classmates and managed to order a batch of books, which arrived three days later.

Zhong Xi approached the supervisor again, "I can buy the books myself, but can you get those vendors loitering in the library to leave?"

The supervisor looked Zhong Xi up and down, "Are you here just for a visit?"

"What does that have to do with a visit?"

"You don’t seem like someone who’ll stick around here for long," the supervisor said irritably. "You’re trying to revive the library out of the goodness of your heart, but then what? How many kids on the island like reading? Sure, I can clear out the vendors for you, but what then? Once you’re gone, I’ll have pissed off the neighbors, and I’ll be left dealing with the fallout."

The supervisor said impatiently, "Enough already, stop stirring the pot. The kids on this island are stuck here for life. Fishermen’s kids will always end up as fishermen. Take Teacher Li, for example—he went off to study but ended up right back here. We’re doing just fine here, no need for you to meddle."

Zhong Xi was at a loss for words.

He wandered alone to the library entrance, staring at the rusty iron sign that read "Dongsheng Island Library," feeling completely adrift.

He tried to talk to them, but the vendors just brushed him off.

Zhong Xi had no choice but to trudge back, feeling defeated.

Without thinking, he found himself at the pier, where chaos was erupting. A crowd had gathered, and there was shouting and the sound of a baby wailing from the boat.

The baby’s cries were loud and desperate, with no one stepping in to soothe them.

Zhong Xi instinctively followed the cries.

The moment he set foot on the pier, he was swallowed up by the crowd. His back still hadn’t fully healed, so he was wary of being jostled. He threw out his arms, but someone in the crowd grabbed him and yanked him forward, shouting, "Huihui, get on the boat, quick!"

"Hey, I’m not—"

Zhong Xi didn’t have time to react before he was shoved onto the boat.

He staggered, clutching the iron railing to keep his balance. He was about to turn back when he heard the baby’s cries again.

It sounded like it was coming from the boat.

As he pondered, he heard Aide Wen’s voice: "The ferry has docked on the right. All passengers, please line up with your tickets to board. The fare is thirty, and those with original tickets can board without additional payment!"

Zhong Xi was confused, not understanding why Aide Wen was here.

He bent slightly and entered the boat, walking straight inside.

Sure enough, he found a one-year-old child on a dirty seat.

The child was bundled in an adult’s puffer jacket, its limbs pinned, with no one in sight. The child was crying desperately. Zhong Xi immediately went over, picked up the child, and gently soothed it.

Huo Sicheng was inspecting the equipment on the production boat, with the head of Dongsheng Island following him.

The boat was a disaster among disasters. Huo Sicheng frowned as he looked at the old cabin: "There are only ten seats, but nearly fifty people are on board. No life jackets, no lifeboats, and the power equipment and production license are over a decade old—"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Zhong Xi in the cabin.

Zhong Xi was holding the child, his movements gentle.

"What are you doing here?"

Zhong Xi didn’t answer, only saying, "Someone left the child here. Tell Aide Wen to make an announcement."

Huo Sicheng immediately said, "Okay."

Not long after, the child's mother ran in, gasping for breath and clutching her chest, "Thank you, thank you so much. I thought the child's father was holding him, and he thought I was holding him. We both ended up losing the child. It scared me to death."

Zhong Xi smiled faintly and handed the child over.

"Please be more careful next time," he advised.

After the child's mother left, Huo Sicheng walked over.

He paused a couple of steps away from Zhong Xi.

He said, "When Huo Xiaobao was just born, he cried a lot at night. We took turns holding him like this."

Huo Sicheng was trying to tug at his heartstrings again, but Zhong Xi ignored him.

"This is a fishing boat, not meant for passengers. Plus, it's not safe enough, so I moved everyone to the ferry," Huo Sicheng explained his work to Zhong Xi in detail. He added, "There wasn’t any trouble, and I stayed out of the fray. The commotion outside is just people struggling with their luggage. Don't worry."

Zhong Xi gave a faint "Hmm."

He didn't respond directly but asked, "How are you handling the captain and crew?"

"Since it's an unlicensed vessel, they’ll still face fines, but I’ve set them up to apply for a boat subsidy."

"Is this... what you wanted?" Huo Sicheng asked cautiously.

The Dong Sheng Island rep stood there, stunned, mouth hanging open.

Was this really the decisive Viceroy Huo?

Most of the passengers had been transferred to the new ferry, and it finally quieted down outside.

Just then, the fishing boat suddenly started, and the whole cabin lurched violently. Before Zhong Xi could react, Huo Sicheng had already grabbed his wrist, instinctively shielding him behind his back.