Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They stared at each other, both momentarily stunned.

However, the surprised expression on the person lying in bed quickly vanished, replaced by a curved smile that sketched an even more enchanting grin, one that seemed inexplicably amused.

Fu Han, on the other hand, was inundated with a barrage of question marks, his mind consumed by a single question.

Who the hell is this?

Earlier, he had chatted a bit with the robot butler, who said that Lanxiu would never allow outsiders to stay overnight in his home. So, was this person in front of him a member of Lanxiu’s family? But why hadn’t he appeared when Fu Han first came in...

And judging by his appearance, he looked to be only about a dozen years old. Fu Han had heard that Baiyaoans, due to individual differences, developed either early or late. Watching him with that silly, naive smile, could he actually be an elementary school student just eight or nine years old?

Thinking this, Fu Han’s aversion to the other’s indescribable expression eased somewhat.

“Kid?”

The person in bed blinked his amber-like emerald eyes, accentuated by his silver-white hair, making him resemble a giant ragdoll cat. His silly demeanor suddenly added an inexplicable touch of cuteness.

Fu Han took this as a tacit admission and continued, “Why are you here? Is Lanxiu... your grandfather?”

Before Fu Han could get a response, he first heard a crisp cracking sound. The person in bed slowly sat up, stretching out a hand that had been resting on the edge of the bed and placing it on the small round table.

Looking at the two crushed iron walnuts on the table, Fu Han gasped sharply. This kid sure had a strong grip.

Kid? Grandfather?

Lanxiu leaned against the headboard, tilting his neck as if he had just heard an utterly ridiculous joke. After laughing, he suddenly turned his head and beckoned Fu Han with a curl of his finger. “Come here.”

Fu Han didn’t move. “You have no right to command me.”

“I didn’t command you.”

“Then I’m not coming.”

“...”

Lanxiu looked at him for a moment, a glint of something new appearing in his eyes—curiosity, amusement. He nodded and lowered his hand.

Just as Fu Han thought he had given up, an invisible force suddenly shoved him from behind. It was so fast that Fu Han had no time to react. In the blink of an eye, he was pushed to the edge of the bed. Lanxiu reached out, grabbed Fu Han’s shoulder, and flipped him face-down onto the fluffy bedding.

Fu Han landed face-first, his vision instantly plunged into darkness, his nostrils filled with the rich fragrance of roses. He felt like he might suffocate from the floral scent.

Fu Han struggled, clutching the blanket, trying to turn over, but an inexplicable force pressed down on his back, making it impossible to move even an inch despite all his strength.

After several attempts, he felt like he was on the verge of fainting from lack of oxygen. In a daze, he thought that dying like this might not be so bad—at least better than bearing children for that old man.

Just as he was about to give up struggling, the pressure on him suddenly vanished. He instinctively scrambled up, lying on his back, gasping heavily, his chest heaving rapidly. He saw a pale shadow looming over him, the person exuding a faint scent of red wine.

Lanxiu pressed down on Fu Han’s shoulders. Though he wasn’t using much force, Fu Han, still recovering from near-suffocation, couldn’t break free.

Seeing Fu Han’s wide, pitch-black eyes looking up at him helplessly, Lanxiu inexplicably reached out and touched Fu Han’s lashes, which quivered with each breath.

Soft.

Slowly, both of them realized the atmosphere had grown a bit awkward. Fu Han frowned impatiently and tried to push Lanxiu away, but Lanxiu held his shoulders firmly.

Fu Han grimaced. “Get off.”

Lanxiu smiled slightly. Seeing Fu Han’s ears turning red, instead of letting go, he pressed down even more. When Fu Han felt something poking him, his entire body stiffened.

Lanxiu deliberately leaned down, close to Fu Han’s ear. “Calling me a kid? Who’s the real kid here? Don’t you know?”

Due to his youthful looks, Fu Han had often been teased about this since childhood—questions like whether he had a penis or had grown hair. But with Zhou Yunxuan around, those people only dared to talk smack; no one had ever dared to get handsy.

Caught off guard, Fu Han’s mind reeled with shame and anger.

Remembering the controller he had placed under the pillow earlier, Fu Han slipped his hand beneath it, grabbed the controller, and aimed it at the person on top of him, activating attack mode.

A flash of blue light shot forward. Lanxiu pushed Fu Han aside and dodged, just as a loud crash echoed overhead. Looking up, he saw nine evenly spaced black holes in the ceiling.

Due to his identity, Lanxiu’s home had floors, walls, and ceilings made of top-grade defensive materials, designed to prevent sudden attacks. Though they looked ordinary, these materials were as hard as diamond. He hadn’t expected such a small electronic gun to turn them into Swiss cheese—utterly fragile.

Fu Han gripped the controller tightly, aiming it at Lanxiu.

Just as they were at a standoff, a sharp knock came from outside the door—the robot butler.

“Lord Lanxiu! I heard the alarm upstairs. Are you alright?”

Lanxiu watched Fu Han, who was curled up on the bed, holding the controller at him, sweating nervously, his brows furrowed tightly like a flustered little hamster. The sight made Lanxiu suddenly burst out laughing.

His laughter only made Fu Han more anxious, his hand holding the controller trembling slightly. Yet he still put up a fierce front, standing up and pressing the controller against Lanxiu’s head.

“What’s so funny? Get rid of her, now!”

Lanxiu gave an “oh” and said unhurriedly toward the door, “I’m fine, Eliza. It’s just that the lady got too excited and accidentally hit his head on the ceiling.”

Eliza outside was shocked. “Goodness, Lord Lanxiu! Is the lady alright?”

“Of course he’s fine. The ceiling, on the other hand, is not. Call a repairman tomorrow noon to fix it.”

Hearing Eliza’s footsteps fade away, Fu Han wore an expression of “You’ve got to be kidding me.” The more Lanxiu looked at this kid, the more amusing he found him.

Fu Han heaved a sigh of relief, staring at Lanxiu in disbelief. “You’re Lanxiu?”

Lanxiu crossed his arms. “Don’t I look like him?”

Fu Han: “You’re over a hundred years old?”

Lanxiu: “Is that not allowed?”

Fu Han: “Why aren’t you aging?”

Lanxiu: “I took the elixir of immortality.”

Fu Han gritted his teeth, itching to activate attack mode again. “I’m asking you seriously. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Lanxiu: “Haha, how did you know?”

Before arriving on the hovercraft, Fu Han had imagined hundreds of personalities for Lanxiu, but he never expected the real person to be like this.

His appearance was indeed much better than the rumored greasy old man, but his psychopathic personality was even more troublesome than anticipated. Because it was impossible to guess what he would do next.

Lanxiu looked at the controller in Fu Han’s hand, reached out, and his tone suddenly turned cold. “Give it to me.”

Fu Han gripped the controller tightly and sneered. “I don’t want to.”

Lanxiu: “Sorry, this time it’s an order.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Fu Han felt that strange force again, pushing him, causing him to stumble toward Lanxiu. Lanxiu grabbed his right arm, twisted it behind his back, and Fu Han, wincing in pain, couldn't muster strength in the hand gripping the controller. Another twist from Lanxiu, and the device was snatched away in an instant.

Holding the controller, Lanxiu shoved Fu Han back, spun it in his hand, and aimed the muzzle at him: "Talk. Who gave this to you?"

Fu Han fell backward onto the bed, his soft black hair tousled. He propped himself up on his arms and sat up. "I made it myself."

Lanxiu let out a snort, examining the controller in his hand. "I don't think Noah City has a quantum code interpreter for this kind of highly restricted weapon." The implication was clear: you'd better tell the truth.

Fu Han caught the mockery in Lanxiu's tone. After all, in the eyes of these Baiyaoans, Bluestars were nothing but brainless pigs, content to behave as long as they were thrown leftovers.

At that thought, he couldn't help but scoff, returning the disdain in kind.

"A decoder isn't even necessary. Convert binary to hexadecimal, cross-reference with a quantum spectrum, and a human brain can figure it out."

Lanxiu paused, then randomly asked Fu Han a few quantum codes. Fu Han answered them all correctly. Lanxiu's gaze at Fu Han suddenly turned meaningful. Before this, he had always believed the residents of Noah City were just a bunch of parasites waiting to die of idleness, never imagining such a treasure lay hidden among them.

He had truly stumbled upon a gem by sheer luck.

Lanxiu weighed the controller in his hand. "Let me borrow this. I'll return it to you tomorrow, untouched."

Without waiting for a response, he tucked the compact controller into his robe pocket. As he reached the door, he turned back, hooked a finger under Fu Han's chin, and teased him like a pet. Fu Han, thoroughly annoyed, slapped Lanxiu's pale hand hard, turning it red.

Lanxiu just laughed, as if scratched by a stray kitten, and said cheerfully, "I'm busy tonight, so I won't sleep with you. There's a cabinet full of drinks by the bed—help yourself. Oh, you're underage. Forget it. I'll have Eliza bring you a glass of sweet milk." Right before closing the door, he added, "Grandpa is leaving now. Sleep tight, kiddo~"

"Get lost!"

"Haha."

Fu Han sat up, and with a disdainful expression, swept the rose petals off the bed and onto the floor. But no matter how he lay down, the smell of Lanxiu's red wine lingered everywhere he sniffed. Furious, he yanked the blanket up and kicked it off the bed, finally feeling the air clear slightly.

He snapped off the bedside lamp. Phew. Time to sleep.

It was the first time Fu Han had ever slept on such a soft bed. The overly comfortable environment made him wake up unusually early. He changed into the clothes Eliza had prepared the day before and quietly went downstairs. He thought the first floor would be empty, but when he arrived, both Eliza and Lanxiu were there, master and maid, perfectly in sync, asking and answering questions. One had golden hair and blue eyes, the other silver hair and green eyes, bathed in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows—a scene as exquisite as a richly colored oil painting.

"Morning, kiddo."

Fu Han stopped on the stairs and looked up. Lanxiu was smiling at him warmly.

Author's Note:

Thank you all so much for your support! I will keep working hard!