Chapter 88: I Brought This on Myself

Chapter 88: I Brought This Upon Myself

Pei Du was in a foul mood.

Ever since two days ago, when Chu Lanting came back from the market and saw Pei Du in the yard packing up the keepsakes of his and A Du's shared memories, he'd gotten so worked up he'd passed out. And then, half an hour later, he'd slowly come to.

During that time, aside from what absolutely had to be said, the two hadn't spoken a single extra word to each other.

Even though Pei Du's face didn't show much, maybe because he'd spent so much time with A Du, Chu Lanting could still feel the heavy, sulky energy rolling off him.

He wanted to ask him why he was angry.

What he really wanted to ask was where he'd thrown away all those memories belonging to him and A Du.

Yet every time he tried to open his mouth to ask, the moment he saw that tall, overwhelmingly imposing figure.

The words died in his throat, and he swallowed them back down.

Over those two days, he'd snuck off to the dump twice, in the dim of the evening.

The folks in this small town didn't have much to their name, and the things that got thrown away were all items that had completely lost any usable value.

So, he never found that familiar cloth bag out there.

At night, when the two slept together, he finally mustered up the courage to speak, only to be greeted by the back of Pei Du's head.

The tension in the house was suffocating.

By the time Chu Lanting discovered that the marriage certificate he'd carefully kept with A Du had also vanished from the wardrobe.

The gloom he'd been stewing in for two days finally boiled over.

Pei Du had stepped out.

The little house, which had once held two people, now felt completely hollow.

Chu Lanting, who hadn't rested well for two days, stood there, dazed, in front of the wardrobe, still holding the box that contained the marriage certificate in his hands.

After who knows how long, the front door, which had been shut tight, was pushed open from outside.

The dim room flooded with light from outside, chasing the shadows out of most of the corners.

Pei Du stood at the doorway, glancing over his shoulder at the tall, straight-backed man behind him: "Take the stuff up first. I'll be right in."

Shen Yu heard that. As curious as he was about the place the Major General had been holed up in all this time.

But as a subordinate, disobeying the Major General was the same as disobeying a direct order.

He stopped himself from following the Major General inside. He didn't turn to leave right away. Instead, once the Major General was inside, he snuck a peek through the door.

Huh. The place was small and old, but it was spotless.

There were little notes stuck all over the walls. From the handwriting, they weren't the Major General's—they had to be the homeowner's.

To know that many characters in a place like this... whoever saved the Major General must be pretty well-read.

If it was a young woman, even better. The Major General was so cold and distant all day—having someone to thaw him out a little wouldn't hurt.

Shen Yu caught himself and let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.

I mean, Planet 207 was the most godforsaken, resource-starved rock he'd ever set foot on.

For folks here to eat their fill, sleep decent, and make it to sixty in one piece was already a long life.

Hell, the Major General surviving here at all was a miracle. And here Shen Yu was, thinking someone could come along and "tame" him.

And looking at the place, it didn't look like a woman lived here. More like... an old schoolteacher?

Shen Yu rubbed his chin and let out a soft "tsk." "Pfft! What am I even thinking? The Major General's alive, isn't that enough?"

God, when the Major General's airship went down, the whole Aland galaxy was in mourning.

A once-in-a-century genius like him, with his high-level spiritual power, his leadership, his sheer competence—if he'd actually died.

The bug threat would've gotten worse, and every human in the Aland galaxy would've been in deep trouble.

With that, Shen Yu looked away and turned his attention to the two dusty gray cloth bags the Major General had produced from who knows where.

From the lumpy shapes pressing against the fabric, they were full of junk.

"This can't be a 207 thing, right?"

Muttering under his breath, Shen Yu headed over to the bags.

Whatever was in them, the Major General had given the order. Even if it was just a couple of bug larvae, he'd haul them back in one piece.

Once the door was open, most of the gloom in the house lifted.

But the light from outside didn't reach every corner.

Pei Du stepped inside, his eyes sweeping over the kitchen and the dining table. When he didn't spot the familiar figure out front, he made for the bedroom.

Pei Du had always been like a little adult, even as a kid.

With his emotional disorder, he'd been unnervingly calm his whole life. No matter what happened, he could always size up the situation and find the best angle for himself in an instant.

But right now, he couldn't keep that cool.

People who knew him well said he was armored head to toe—a fully sealed suit with no cracks, no weaknesses.

But now, there was a crack in his chest, and the only person who could fill it was the one standing with his back to him by the wardrobe.

He stopped at the bedroom door.

Even though he'd told Chu Lanting three days ago that someone from the main star would come today to take them off 207.

Now that it was actually happening, his heart was pounding for no damn reason. Major General Pei, who'd never been afraid of a damn thing in his life, felt a knot of nerves tighten in his gut.

What if he said no?

The excuse he'd used to get him to come back to the main star was so flimsy, anyone with half a brain could see right through it.

And Chu Lanting was sharp. There was no way he hadn't figured it out.

His fingers curled into a fist inside his pocket. Pei Du sucked in a breath and said, his voice rough, "Come back to the main star with me."

Chu Lanting turned around at that, the box still clutched in his hands.

The tears that had been welling up in his eyes spilled over the instant he laid eyes on the person in front of him.

"Why?"

Pei Du, who'd been faking calm and collected just a second ago, nearly tripped over his own feet walking in upon seeing the other man's tears.

"What?"

Scowling in confusion, Pei Du noticed him lower his gaze toward the box in his arms and followed his gaze.

Recognizing the familiar box in his arms, Pei Du's brow furrowed even deeper.

"I agreed to go to the main star with you, and I agreed to cooperate with the investigation."

"I've told you everything I can, and I told you my real identity, too."

"Why... why do you have to be so cruel to me?"

He'd never had a home growing up, and even the grandmother who was his only family had died way too soon.

Throughout his journey, he had treated the world with sincerity and kindness.

Just when he thought the world had finally seen him, taken pity on him, and handed him a piece of candy, given him a home—

It told him that it was all just a beautiful dream, and popped that dream bubble just like that.

Chu Lanting tightened his grip on the box, lowered his head, and gave a self-deprecating tug at the corner of his lips.

"I brought this on myself."