He and It Chapter 128: Utopia (24)

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Chapter 128: Utopia (24)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Gradually, many things develop beyond Gu Xingqiao’s control.

From one day to the next, Tian Yuan stopped being as deliberately close to Gu Xingqiao’s body as he had been before, letting his possessiveness be exposed in his daily life.

Instead, his behavior returned to its previous level of restraint and courtesy, and he developed a habit of giving away portraits.

Gu Xingqiao picked up the first one in the thin, brittle paper of a copperplate print, a fine inky black, the softly coated carbon particles turned into cold, sharp lines by the artist’s hand. The mechanical being did not care about technique or style, he just used precise brushstrokes to reproduce the side of Gu Xingqiao’s face as if he were taking a picture of it.

The light of the warship was cold, and the young man in the painting was looking ahead into the unknown, his expression relaxed, his lips slightly parted, calm with the customary austerity, and his hair casting wobbly shadows on his skin.

A portrait may be a very special gift, and if the giver was a stranger – such as a painter in the street who suddenly felt like painting in your image, or an artist in a gallery who you don’t know – then the recipient would feel honored instead of embarrassed; but if the giver was an acquaintance, and an acquaintance who was trying to develop an ambiguous relationship with you.

Such a gift is tantamount to an unspoken confession.

Gu Xingqiao was a bit confused.

“Creation is the projection of subjective consciousness on the objective world, and the visualization of the sensual emotions of intelligent beings,” says Tian Yuan, “and my attempt to get closer to my human side. Although this sometimes seems like a waste of time to me, when I think of you, the pen in my hand seems to move of its own accord.” 

–However, Tian Yuan, with his straightforward tone of voice and his open attitude, turned the ambiguity of the gift of the painting into something like a matter of course.

Gu Xingqiao thought for a while, he could not see the harm of this matter, also could not find any reason to oppose, then let Tian Yuan go.

With his tacit approval, a torrent of paintings, like a river with no source and no end, circled around him.

Sometimes it was painted on precious marbled paper, finely crafted, with patterns of gold leaf, richly and lovingly embellishing the eyes of the person in the painting; sometimes it was on a piece of ancient film paper, which simulated the figure as if it were a real photograph; sometimes Gu Xingqiao smiled in the painting, sometimes he contemplated, ate, drank, and slept in the painting, and sometimes he wielded a weapon, and dusted off the dog’s hairs on his sleeves…

As the paintings were delivered one by one, Gu Xingqiao looked at them one by one, and he sensed something that made him feel like a man in the back of his head.

… Too much.

Not only too much, but also too much detail.

Tian Yuan’s paintings were completely random, unlike gifts, which arrive at a fixed time. They would appear in the morning two days later, or at dusk three days later, and no later than a week later, always at his fingertips.

Damn, Gu Xingqiao thought.

The public often teases that people with self-discipline are the scariest, but what about an artificial intelligence that has left plans and programs behind and gradually “followed its heart”? 

Everything in their daily life remained the same, on the surface, they were still partners, Gu Xingqiao’s intuition, but in the bottom of his heart, he could not help but cry out that it was not good.

The flat land was boundless, bright and quiet, but this did not prevent it from raising a raging dark river underground. The color of the water was faint, the water roared, as if there was no light or colorless thunder.

Without knowing whether he sensed the youth’s wariness, from this time onwards, the paintings sent by Tian Yuan incorporated a lot of…unrealistic parts.

Sometimes it was a blend of past masterpieces. For example, he was sitting in the middle of a pile of melted clocks. For example, he was wearing a black hat with a colorful apple covering his face. For example, rendered in ink, his body was reduced to a small dot holding an umbrella, weaving in and out of the spontaneous smoke and rain; ¹

Sometimes it’s a scribble, sometimes a more concise sketch. Tian Yuan draws him on the back of a heavily scribbled letterhead, as if writing a love letter while lost in thought, and accidentally and surreptitiously traces his lover’s face;

Sometimes it was a picture based on pure imagination. In the silence of the night, Gu Xingqiao on the paper is holding a lit cigarette, the tip of which is scarlet and bright, and in the hazy milky mist, the outline of his lower jaw is dimly reflected.

If anyone had ever experienced this level of attention – its shadowy, silent flame – it would have been enough to drown a man alive.

Seeing this last picture, Gu Xingqiao remains silent for half a day.

“Strictly speaking, this is more your human definition of ‘creation’, right?” Tian Yuan was like a studious student, seeking knowledge from Gu Xingqiao.

“It… It’s nice to have something of your own,” Gu Xingqiao says. Maybe, now you can draw something else, like Soybean, space, or something else… You don’t have to draw me anymore, do you?” 

At the end of the sentence, it is inevitably a bit awkward to see the end of the picture, Tian Yuan looked at Gu Xingqiao, his expression could not be seen as sad or happy, just nodded seriously, “I will think about it.” 

Consider, but not change.

After living with him for so long, Gu Xingqiao could naturally hear what he meant.

On the evening of the seventh day after the conversation, the new painting was delivered to Gu Xingqiao.

Gu Xingqiao was lying on his bed, holding a restless dog’s head in his arms. He sighed, hesitated for a long time between “looking at the painting” and “letting the teething Soybean wet himself with saliva”, and finally let go of the playful dog by the light of the night-lamp and held the painting in front of him.

He was silent for a moment.

It was purely linear… It is an essay composed of pure lines, almost abstract in style. Up close, Tian Yuan’s face is outlined in a jumble of disorderly lines, but a little further away, one can see the mystery.

Gu Xingqiao discovered that in the corners of the eyes of the five senses, there were two bodies embracing each other. Soft and quiet, one opens his eyes and the other presses his lips to his forehead.

It’s like those wet moss trails with coincidental shapes that blot the ceiling on rainy days, in reality they are intertwined with the tide, and in imagination they love each other just as much.

At night, Gu Xingqiao hugged his dog and stared at the zenith, speechless for half the night.

The next day, he woke up early and led Soybean to walk in the small garden, where Tian Yuan stood at the end of the corridor, even earlier than he had gotten up, or rather, he didn’t need to sleep at all.

As soon as Gu Xingqiao’s footsteps stopped, Soybean was already humming with excitement, running wildly underneath another keeper, wagging his tail and spinning in circles.

Tian Yuan lowered his head, but also willing to bend down, humbled himself and patted the dog twice on the head.

Then, he raised his head and looked at Gu Xingqiao, with a gaze that was as quiet and rational as the unchanging star trails of the years.

Tian Yuan said in a low voice, “Good morning.” 

Gu Xingqiao unconsciously leaned back a little.

Tian Yuan’s words and actions never changed, he used the order of silence to form the shell of constant indifference, but those layers of endless paintings, overflowing thick and hot feelings, entangled Gu Xingqiao as if falling into the net, so that he felt suffocated for a while.

At this moment, how thrilling the dream, the violent and whistling undercurrent – just one glance, he has already glimpsed the fatal magma surging under the solid ice.

Gu Xingqiao therefore stepped aside. He had to.

.

Luckily, after that day, Tian Yuan finally took his advice and stopped sending him paintings.

Before Gu Xingqiao could breathe a sigh of relief, a brand new letter arrived, not a painting, but a poem.

Gu Xingqiao, “…” 

You are ice and fire,

The touch of you burns my hands like snow.

You are cold and flame.

You are the crimson of amaryllis,

The silver of moon-touched magnolias.

When I am with you,

My heart is a frozen pond

Gleaming with agitated torches. ²

If the previous one was still a bit of a cover-up, at this moment, it became an explicit love poem.

When he was young, Gu Xingqiao suffered a lot, not only physically, but also spiritually. Being despised, being maimed, being trampled on… They were all commonplace encounters. One of the few consolations, probably due to his superior qualifications, was that Gu Xingqiao was able to stand out from his peers and was escorted to a school on the Empire’s Central Planet.

He still remembered vividly his first culture class at the military academy, the teacher quoted from the classics, from famous authors to real life, he talked about respect, he talked about human nature, he talked about how he hoped his students would care for themselves in the future, and also give back to those who love them…Gu Xingqiao sat in the corner of the last row, just staring silently at his textbook. After returning to his dormitory, he lay on his bed, his teeth clenched tightly, and that night he developed a high fever that would not go away. For three consecutive days, he did not say a word.

A person who was born with broken limbs, even if he only saw a healthy person showing his strong and healthy body, he must be crazy.

Therefore, there was one thing that Gu Xingqiao had never told Tian Yuan, and probably would never tell him again.

When he heard Tian Yuan’s confession, his first feeling was not surprise, not embarrassment, not awkwardness, not shyness… There was nothing but fear.

All the love he’d given in the first half of his life had gone largely unrewarded. He had loved Sissel like a friend and a fellow soldier, the Wine God Planet and its people like a son and a countryman, and what had happened to him in the end? 

Gu Xingqiao finally realized that once a person gives his love sincerely, there would be no more reciprocal personality. Love was the crown of the coolness, to whom you give it, is to crown, make the other person become your lord and king, from then on he wants you to live, you are willing to throw yourself to death for him; and he wanted you to go to death, you live every day of the pain of life.

He stared at the letterhead, which, strangely enough, was written by Amy Lowell, a woman poet he loved very much. Compared to the countless writers and poets on the planet of origin, she was not the most famous, nor was she the most special, only that the manuscript of her poem was fortunately preserved until thousands of years later, and then included into electronic data, which was luckily unearthed by Gu Xingqiao on the terminal.

In a sea of poems, he happened to find the work of his favorite poet, an unknown one… Could this be a coincidence? 

Gu Xingqiao stared at the letter for a long time, then crumpled the paper into a ball, threw it into the garbage can, got up, went out, and closed the door.

This is a horrible power that I don’t want to rule over anyone, and I won’t let anyone rule over me.

About a quarter of an hour later, Gu Xingqiao pushed the door in again.

He picked up the ball of paper from the garbage can, unfolded it into a crumpled piece of ragged paper, didn’t even look at it, threw it into a drawer, and then went out again and closed the door.

–

A glimpse through an interstice caught,

Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room around the stove late of a winter night, and I 

unremarked seated in a corner,

Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself near, 

that he may hold me by the hand,

A long while amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oath and smutty jest,

There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word.³

Sleeping until nine o’clock in the morning, awakened by the regularity of the biological clock, Gu Xingqiao opened his eyes and realized that Soybean was nowhere to be found, probably having slipped out of the room.

He got up, washed up, and then saw a light purple card in the mailbox by the door.

Gu Xingqiao sighed, but went over and took out the card.

He couldn’t help but smile a little at the contents, and then he hurriedly restrained his smile.

It was indeed a lovely poem, read once in the morning, and the happy mood could be infected into the dusk of this evening. But Gu Xingqiao knew that it was better for him not to show favoritism or affection for things, or else Tian Yuan might well do something too drastic.

Meanwhile, he heard the door open, and a panting hyperactive dog came bounding in from outside, and began to sit blissfully on his master’s slippers and grind his teeth, whipping his tail into a propeller, and with his little doggy mouth open, slobbering gleefully all over the place.

“Soybean,” Gu Xingqiao put the card away and locked eyes with the dog, “what did I tell you? Sit…” 

The dog was floppy, not much bigger than a human slipper, but because of its good diet, it was chubby and very solid. The dog couldn’t understand what people were saying, but it was happy enough to hear its master look at it and open his mouth.

So the dog began to twist and turn on Gu Xingqiao’s slippers, trying to ask for some petting care service.

Gu Xingqiao sighed, in the past he used to be cautious with his soldiers and treated his subordinates strictly, but in the end, when he got a dog, he had to admit that he was such a doting parent.

He opened his hands and held Soybean to his chest. He pinched the dog’s legs and meat pads that were wet, it appeared to have been scrubbed by someone after running wild in the mud.

When Gu Xingqiao turned his head, he saw Tian Yuan standing in the doorway, calmly observing his interaction with the dog.

In fact, this was something that was hard to imagine: Tian Yuan, a warship incarnation, who was the supreme being, would actually walk his dog every day and wash his dog’s dirty feet in reference to a normal human being…

A few months ago, if someone had said that to Gu Xingqiao, he would have just taken it as a joke.

“Out for a walk?” Tian Yuan looked at him with a solicitous question.

Gu Xingqiao thought for a moment, and walked out of the room, holding the bouncing and wriggling dog in his arms.

“So… You must write, right?” 

“It’s still a poet from the Planet of Origin.” Tian Yuan looked down and observed his expression, suddenly smiled, “You like it, don’t you?” 

Gu Xingqiao immediately instructed Soybean to verbally attack him, “Answer a question with a question, you’re just avoiding the question you started with!” 

“I love you, so I’m just learning how to say it.” Tian Yuan candidly dissects, and frankly indulges the chubby little dog in chewing on one of his exoskeleton arms. “Even you can’t deny that it’s an important thing. If I can’t even learn the lesson of ‘how to show love’, how do you expect me to understand human nature, to learn to recognize that ‘war is a necessary evil’?” 

Honesty possesses magical power, it was a beautiful jade carried in the mouth of a human being when he was born, and anyone who had done anything wrong could, by virtue of the virtue of carrying the jade, obtain a generous pardon.

Gu Xingqiao suddenly realized that he had no way to refute Tian Yuan’s point of view.

–

Doris pulled off a single strand of her golden hair. 

and bound my hands as a captive, 

I laughed at first, thinking it would be 

easy to get out of the bonds of my beloved; but when I found

I had no strength to break them, 

I wept bitterly, like a prisoner bound in chains of gold.

Now I, the most unfortunate of men, am led by the hair, and

Wherever the mistress leads me, there I am.⁴

With another sultry poem and another burning gesture of love, this must be a very old poem, or else Tian Yuan would not have transcribed it on the yellowish parchment.

Gu Xingqiao had been thinking about Tian Yuan’s feelings for him.

Love was a light and heavy word, and in the heat of the moment, anyone could kiss each other on the lips and speak a thousand and eight hundred words of love; but take away the impulse, the heat of the moment, the wear and tear of everyday life, the clash of dissenting positions and opinions…The thickness and weight of love itself would gradually become thin and fragile, as it turned into dust and debris.

Tian Yuan was a non-human intelligent being, and Gu Xingqiao was not sure where the love he showed him came from, but from the bottom of his heart, he more or less understood that as a created machine of destruction, Tian Yuan was able to speak of love with such certainty after only a few months of being with him… 

-In addition to his superhuman learning ability, there should be a reason for his arrogance.

Gu Xingqiao knew only too well how Tian Yuan’s staggering arrogance had profoundly influenced his behavior. After all, such crazy words as “I am the truth” could not be said casually.

“I would like to ask you one thing,” Tian Yuan said as they were sitting in the library, “Is this the end of your revenge?” 

Gu Xingqiao didn’t expect him to suddenly bring up the topic.

“… My vengeance against Sissel is over,” he said, “but not against the Empire.” 

“The scene where you confronted him that day, with the entire video as proof, I thought, you’d publish it, and make him completely discredited.” Tian Yuan said.

Gu Xingqiao smiled a little helplessly.

“Because my vengeance is not about procedural justice, it’s just to vent my personal anger. I used bloody torture to force Sissel to confess, and he succumbed to my wrath – was the torture testimony admissible? Will the truth he confessed to in the midst of his wounds counteract the image he has created since his ascension to the throne?” 

“Besides, even if I had obtained his confession to me without torturing him with the ritual of the Blood Eagle…” Hugging Soybean, Gu Xingqiao shrugged, “So what? Even if I spread the image to every planet, letting everyone see Sissel’s true colors, see that he is such an incomprehensible, psychopathic, lunatic, control freak…I think the impact it will have on his reign will be minimal.” 

Tian Yuan’s eyes twinkled, finding that answer in an instant, “That means, a contest between you and the human imperial propaganda machine.” 

“Exactly.” Gu Xingqiao said, “In order to resist the negative image I put out, the empire’s propaganda department can release a large number of irrelevant shocking messages overnight, such as war mobilization, Galaxy celebrities’ explosive gossips, or even major policies concerning people’s livelihoods, the secret stories of the ancestors’ royal family… And then hounding the Emperor for news unfavorable to him, even sending assassins to wipe out dissidents.” 

“I’ve been far away from the political center for a long time, my connections and resources have long since been divided up by others,” the youth felt the artificial thoracic vertebrae in his body and said absentmindedly, “The Wine God Planet is only one of the more special planets under the empire’s rule. It was discriminated against in the past, and had to pay off its debt to the Empire with a blood tax. Can a video of the Emperor himself being retaliated against and revealing the truth in his own words reverse the deep-rooted viewpoints in the hearts of the Imperials, and cause them to voluntarily bow down and admit their mistakes, and clear up the wrongs of the Wine God Planet and me?” 

“Logical.” Tian Yuan nodded. “You chose the path of least loss.” 

After a pause, Tian Yuan spoke again, “So, that means you are unwilling to continue to entangle yourself with him.” 

For some reason, Gu Xingqiao could actually hear a pleasant relief in his tone.

“Uh…?” Gu Xingqiao hesitated for a moment, “Sort of. I cut off both of his arms, let him know that I’m still alive, and that he can’t influence me anymore, and that’s enough. All that’s left is what to do about the Wine God Planet.” 

Tian Yuan made a grunting little noise and said bluntly, “I’m glad to hear you say that.” 

What are you happy about again?

Gu Xingqiao shook his head, the texture of the parchment was so soft that it would not crumple up, and it would take a lot of effort to tear it up. He hesitated, but rolled it up and put it aside.

–

as soon as I glance at you a moment, I 

can’t say a thing,

and my tongue stiffens into silence, thin
flames underneath my skin prickle and spark,
a rush of blood booms in my ears, and then
my eyes go dark,

and sweat pours coldly over me, and all
my body shakes, suddenly sallower
than summer grass, and death, I fear and feel,
is very near.⁵

The tone of the love poem had become stronger and more intense, like a drowning man coughing up the residual water that would cause his lungs to burn and ache, through which one could almost visualize the omnipresent infatuated eyes and chaotic hot breath in the strokes between the lines.

This was the first time Gu Xingqiao had encountered such a difficult war, except for passive resistance, he could not think of a second way to deal with it.

Soybean, with a teething stick in his mouth, came barreling up from the bottom of the slope, happily throwing the wet teething stick onto his parent’s slippers, wanting the human to play the game of “you throw, I’ll pick it up” with him.

Gu Xingqiao’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he looked down and rubbed the dog, which also grunted and tried to bite his hand then twist it in a circle. Last night, there was a bit of restlessness on the warship. Gu Xingqiao was awakened in the middle of the night by a sudden loud noise, like thunder and earthquake, but Soybean slept soundly, not even flicking his ears.

Tian Yuan was right behind him, looking at him intently and deeply.

“You’re here?” Gu Xingqiao asked evenly. Nowadays he made a habit of never mentioning the love poems, as if he didn’t receive them and didn’t see them. “What happened last night?” 

Tian Yuan, who has always answered all his questions, actually did not say anything immediately, and then said as if inviting questions, “Come with me, I want to show you something.” 

Gu Xingqiao did not know what to do, so leading the dog, they went to the ecosystem woods where Soybean was usually let loose. As soon as the dog saw the familiar territory, it immediately wriggled vigorously in the human’s arms, and Gu Xingqiao had to put it down and let it run around happily.

In fact, within the several major ecosystems, there was no lack of some very dangerous plants and animals, but Soy-Gu Xingqiao exclusive-fat dog-bean, as Tian Yuan personally carried out from the gene room that living creature, which ate, lived and slept together with Gu Xingqiao. In fact, on the warship, it had the same honored status as a royal eldest son, and so enjoyed the ecosystems, and the hegemony of the subsidies.Tian Yuan washed his feet, Tian Yuan made dog food, Tian Yuan wiped the corners of his eyes and his saliva, and Tian Yuan helps him take him for a walk, among other noble privileges. Therefore, there is nothing around that could threaten the existence of the little golden.

Gu Xingqiao rode the scooter, and Tian Yuan used the exoskeleton to speed forward as if he were walking on the ground.

“You just asked me what happened last night.” Tian Yuan spoke.

Gu Xingqiao said, “It was pretty loud, I was going to go check it out, then I heard you say there was nothing wrong.” 

Tian Yuan deliberated for a while, before saying softly, “It’s like this, according to what you said, I have tried my best to fit human physiology. You breathe, so I breathe; your heart beats, so I beat; your blood flows throughout your body, so the red opaque liquid circulates in my bionic veins. Sickness, injury, distress, bad luck… The deficiencies and inadequacies of negative conditions, I too have experienced as much as I can in the simulation chamber.” 

The warship avatar’s tone was flat.

“But alas, as you have long suggested – men’s thoughts follow their motives, men’s words follow their learning and experience, and men’s behavior follows their usual habits. My motives, learning, experiences, and habits, no matter how physically close they are, none of them can match those of humans.” 

Gu Xingqiao frowned slightly, thinking, “My original intention was…” 

“Your original intention was to make me empathize,” Tian Yuan said, “but unfortunately, in those setbacks and trials throughout my life, I’m no different from an outsider, and the more I’ve experienced, the more I’ve felt the short-sightedness and flaws of the human race.” 

Gu Xingqiao pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that a change in perspective couldn’t be rushed, and asked, “So… What does what you said have to do with the ringing last night?” 

“–I destroyed the simulation room.” Tian Yuan replied, “Last time, I raised the tolerance threshold of the data cores, and based on the results of the system’s calculations, had them simulate a possible timeline for me.” 

“What is it?” Gu Xingqiao asked with concern.

Tian Yuan’s pale thin lips moved, and he said in a low voice, “They simulated for me…You.” 

“Me?” 

“If you hadn’t met me, but had instead been captured by the human empire’s pursuers, taken back to the prison, and then, what the worst could have been.” Tian Yuan said.

“The goal was accomplished, and my emotions finally fluctuated violently, but it wasn’t in empathic compassion. I only had maximum rage, and the malice that was born with it.” 

“Sorry,” the intelligent being said, “for disturbing you last night.” 

Gu Xingqiao gave a vague “hmmm” and, without making a fool of himself, asked him what he had seen.

“Never mind, there’s no need to rush this,” he sighed, “where are you taking me?” 

Tian Yuan smiled slightly, not answering immediately. The mobility scooter smoothed forward, speeding through the forest, Gu Xingqiao could gradually hear the sound of sparkling waves, smelled from the wind, mixed with the scent of grass and leaves of the humid vapor.

He saw a lake.

Sunlight is grand, the lakeside ogi flowers, like snow, green leaves and white spikes reflecting brilliantly as a mirror of green water, like into a painting. On the shore of the lake, there was also a single house with blue tiles and white walls.

“For you to live.” Tian Yuan said, “The lake is an abandoned ecosystem project, but in terms of human aesthetics, it has a great view, and it’s still a good choice to build a lake view house.” 

Gu Xingqiao, “… You mean, you want to give it to me?” 

Tian Yuan nodded calmly, “If you’re willing to accept it, I’ll give it to you; if you’re not willing to accept it, then I won’t give it away, just allow you to live in it.” 

Gu Xingqiao, “…” 

“Go and take a look,” Tian Yuan gently took his wrist, “You’ll like it.” 

Gu Xingqiao’s arm trembled slightly. During this period of time, Tian Yuan acted very politely, rarely touching his body directly. Now being held by him, Gu Xingqiao clearly noticed that Tian Yuan’s skin was not cold, nor was it very hot, his body temperature and his own body temperature were completely adapted to each other, almost giving birth to a strange sense of fusion.

Gu Xingqiao originally wanted to bar him, ask how do you know I would like it, but the words came to the edge of the mouth, were swallowed.

So many days of experience, so that he completely understood a truth, that was not to question the ability of artificial intelligence in the actuarial aspect of the human heart, after all, Tian Yuan gave him all the gifts he could not in good conscience, say that he did not like.

… Unsurprisingly, this little house fulfilled all his dreams.

The décor was decorated in a rich Morandi color scheme, and the furniture was minimalist, but the edges of the sofas, beds, and carpets were plush, showing the softness of the long-time residents. The holographic equipment doesn’t need much, just a phantom blue light flashing on the temperature, light and humidity gauges, lush potted plants on the windowsill, and Soybean’s kennel right next to the bed – Gu Xingqiao doesn’t mind the smell of the golden, anyway, and he likes to clean the dog’s ears and give him kisses on the cheeks. 

Most importantly, the bedroom featured full-length floor-to-ceiling windows facing the endless lake. The shores of the lake appeared like piles of snow, and it was unclear whether it was the three seasons of blooming oleander or the reflection of the lake’s water in the sunlight.

“The light of the artificial stars rises from this direction,” Tian Yuan described the benefits of the house like a calm salesman, without skipping a beat, “In other words, if you want to, you can see the sunrise.” 

Gu Xingqiao’s lips opened, he turned his head, said torn, “I can’t go against my heart and say it’s not good, or that it’s not to my liking, but why? Why did you suddenly give me this?” 

Tian Yuan’s silvery hair flicked slightly, he tilted his head humanely, “Well…” 

Behind him on the wall, there was an oil painting of the rising sun, the brilliant light of the sea, Gu Xingqiao’s eyes naturally shifted back, pausing for a moment on it.

If the sun rises early in the morning, this painting can echo the light of the artificial stars, it’s quite interesting…

Gu Xingqiao’s expression suddenly froze, revealing a look of bewilderment.

Memories were like a train that had traveled for too long, rushing into his mind in an instant, exploding in front of his eyes in huge and detailed fireworks.

–It was really the night many years ago, on the battlefield of the Empire’s front line, they had just completed a raid against the planet Spokes, which contained a large amount of high-quality energy materials, but the clay swamps that covered almost 80% of the area made it extremely difficult to advance the battle line, and the combat troops also suffered heavy losses.

Gu Xingqiao, as the leader, and Sissel, who was his second-in-command at the time, destroyed one of the Spokes’ supply points, and met up with Ming Sheng’s maneuvering team, giving them half a night to recuperate.

The faces of all the men were almost unrecognizable, covered in blood and mud, even the gaps in their combat uniforms were filled with rotten mud. The climate was hot, the air was poisonous, and in addition to the flies and midges that stared at people, there were also a large number of deadly insects stinging underfoot. In retrospect, even with Gu Xingqiao’s many years of experience in battle, the environment of this planet was one of the toughest.

Ming Sheng annoyingly wiped the dirty sweat and blood mud, her facial scars were old wounds from childhood, there was no method to completely remove them. When exposed to such a harsh environment, with poisonous air as well as blood and mud in direct contact, it stimulated half of her face to freeze, while the other half of her face involuntarily twitched.

“When the war is over, I’m really going to have to leave my armor and return to the field.” She muttered, “After so many years, I’ve had enough…” 

Gu Xingqiao laughed, he knew in his heart, Ming Sheng’s words were just to give herself something to look forward to. Where is the end of war? He knew in his heart that Ming Sheng’s words were just a hope for herself, the war would never end, whether she could survive on this planet or not was unknown.

But he did not poke holes in it, and asked, “Where do you want to return to?” 

As soon as he opened his mouth, he can taste the sickening bitterness and saltiness of the muddy water, seeping down the lines of his lips to the tip of his tongue. Everyone did, and there was no use rubbing it in.

“… Who knows,” Ming Sheng said, “when I’ve saved up enough military service, I’ll just pick a vacation spot and become the governor. I’ll eat, whore and gamble my way through life, and then I’ll fight again even if I’m itchy!” 

Everyone laughed lightly, because of Ming Sheng’s bravery, except for Gu Xingqiao, no one dared to make fun of her.

Sissel nodded his head, even in such a bad time, his blue eyes still sparkled, shining like a creation from another world.

Later, Gu Xingqiao realized that they were indeed creations from another world – in order to create a superior image, Sissel’s irises and pupils were replaced with special materials.

“With your strength, it certainly wouldn’t be hard to become a planetary governor.” Sissel said, and turned to Gu Xingqiao, “What about you, Xingqiao? What do you want to do after the war?” 

Gu Xingqiao thought hard.

“Go back to the Wine God Planet,” he replied, “Of course, I can’t leave my homeworld behind when the time comes, but after all the chores are over, I’d like to build a house by the sea.” 

“Seaside,” Ming Sheng repeated with disgust, “how tacky, you’re so tacky, Gu Xingqiao.” 

“Well, forget it, not the beach.” Gu Xingqiao ignored her, “The sea water is salty, it’s better to choose the lakeside. Build a house facing a place where you can see the sunrise, then every morning when you wake up, you should feel good.” 

Sissel imperceptibly frowned, Ming Sheng again managed to nitpick, “This is a no ambition wish, you’re good from head to toe, so why does it sound like banishment?” 

Gu Xingqiao continued to ignore her, “Then on the wall opposite the sunrise, hang a painting of the same sunrise, feel bright inside and out, it’s very good.” 

Later on, because no one could sleep, with three leaders to start with, all of them talked about their own wishes and fantasies, and of all the wild, or even reckless visions, Gu Xingqiao’s statement was actually the most simple and unadorned, and also the most boring.

Four months later, the war against Spokes ended, and many of the men sank into the swamps there forever, never able to move forward to their goals. Gu Xingqiao returned to the central planet of the empire with additional scars and achievements, and that night’s thoughts and talks were just a tiny, glittering fragment of the countless years of bloodshed.

Build a house by the lake that faces the sunrise, hang a painting that faces the sunrise –

“… Maybe it’s a whim,” Tian Yuan continued, “a project suddenly added to the process and prioritized at the top of the list is, in your human terms, a whim.” 

–How did he know? 

Coincidence? 

No, there have been so many coincidences in the last few months, his favorite tastes, his favorite colors, his favorite styles of dress, his favorite gifts, his Soybean, his obscure poems… It’s too much to list.

Legend had it that Fairyland could fulfill all one’s wishes and fantasies, but when it came to Tian Yuan, even Fairyland had to be ashamed of itself, because even what Gu Xingqiao had not thought of, Tian Yuan had thought of and done for him!

How did he know all this? How could he know all this? 

Did he read my memories…? No, the first time we met, Tian Yuan saw only a limited amount of things, and he confessed to me later that apart from that one time, he hadn’t seen any more. Even though he has 10,000,000 flaws, if he said he didn’t do it, he really didn’t do it.

Then he… No, it must be impossible to calculate this kind of thing. If he didn’t look at mine, then whose did he look at? 

Gu Xingqiao recalled the time when he was sitting on the street, on the verge of a physical collapse, when the spider suddenly turned into Tian Yuan’s size and hugged him solidly.

Does this mean that the spider’s appearance is just a disguise, and that it can do more than hear and see? 

Plus, when he was at the party, Tian Yuan said he wanted to go for a walk…The warship’s incarnation’s life spanned half of the Glorious Era. Was he really interested in the existing, according to him, barren world of mankind? Or was he merely using it as an excuse to do something he really wanted to do? 

Sissel.

“I assure you, Sissel will stand before you in perfect physical and mental condition.” 

Now that he thought about it, Tian Yuan was just following his own words, he didn’t make it clear that he wouldn’t take action against Sissel! With the power under his control, even if he did kill someone, and then revived them and wiped their memories, how hard could it be? 

He probably took advantage of the banquet to find Sissel, so that Tian Yuan could learn everything he needed from the human emperor, and as long as Sissel didn’t die or become disabled, and lost his memories of Tian Yuan, Tian Yuan would not be in breach of contract, nor would he be reneging on his promise.

Gu Xingqiao turned his body almost blankly.

In his line of sight, the lakeshore dirigible flying, seems to be a little more fluffy than snow, and wherever there are water plants, always thriving. At this moment, a light and delicate damselfly, in which the up and down flight, snow-white dirigible flowers set off it more colorful, the color is like a jewel.

Perhaps it was because the sunlight was too good and too clear, Gu Xingqiao looked down from a height and was able to clearly see that around the damselfly’s crystalline membrane wings, there was a thin stream of colorful threads that flashed constantly. In the spider’s nest, but it does not realize, just a few times almost grazed the transparent wandering light silk, and then narrowly avoided.

He turned his head, and Tian Yuan’s gaze remained clear and indifferent. This house was a hard evidence that he could not defend himself, but Gu Xingqiao could not tell whether he did it intentionally or unintentionally.

He suddenly realized that for a creature like Tian Yuan, delivering one’s love was not a gesture of dying with one’s neck on the line.

For if you want to win his heart, you must walk into his treacherous, coiled and sharp sternum, a path that can only go forward, not backward. When you enter his heart, you will see that the flesh and blood under his feet is also like a spider web, and the white bones on all sides are also like a spider web – it is also a place where you can only stay forever, and cannot escape.

Gu Xingqiao stared into his eyes, and after a long time, he suddenly smiled.

He walked to the window and sat down, at the same time patting his side, indicating Tian Yuan to come and sit down as well.

“You know,” he said when Tian Yuan sat down side by side with him, “when I was still in the military department, everyone said that a commander’s style of fighting can reflect a part of his character, do you think that’s true?” 

Daylight is harsh, not good for human eyes, Tian Yuan’s finger turned slightly, so the light immediately changed into a hazy and beautiful dusk, the lake also gently swaying in the twilight.

“I think it makes sense.” Tian Yuan did not understand why he brought up this topic, but since Gu Xingqiao asked, he answered honestly.

Gu Xingqiao’s smile carried a sense of nostalgia, “In the past, they commented that my command style was wide open, although I used my troops in a restrained manner, there was always the hidden danger of being overly rigid and easily broken. Now I think about it, they are really right, born on Wine God Star, and have the talent of being hated, the world has long been too much for me, people like me, retreat is to lose, further retreat is to die, so I can only move forward, can’t be afraid, and can’t regret.” 

Tian Yuan did not say anything, Gu Xingqiao lowered his head, and turned out two candy bars from his belt.

“Here, this is the day I went to the central star, in the banquet in the smooth,” his smile became a little narrow, immediately called Tian Yuan heart, “in the past not seen when, lovely eat this thing, you also taste?” 

Tian Yuan blinked, he looked at the grass green and bright red candy bars, hesitated, and cautiously took the red one.

“I haven’t eaten this before,” Tian Yuan said, “but I can try it.” 

Gu Xingqiao tore open the wrapper, they watched the sunset for a while, Gu Xingqiao held the apple-flavored one, and asked, “What’s the flavor of yours?” 

Tian Yuan took the candy out of his mouth and whispered, “Raspberry flavor.” 

“Raspberry?” Gu Xingqiao was surprised, “This flavor is very rare, I haven’t eaten raspberry flavor for a long time, you’re lucky.” 

Gu Xingqiao asked again, “Can I taste it?” 

But I’ve already bitten into it, Tian Yuan was about to say, letting you eat the leftovers, that’s something I won’t allow, if you’re willing to wait, I can make you a large batch from the ingredients…

“The one you have now.” Gu Xingqiao quickly added.

Tian Yuan could not refuse his request, thus, he bit off the portion that was already contaminated with artificial saliva and handed the rest to his human.

However, Gu Xingqiao’s eyebrows were already raised, and he naturally leaned over and touched Tian Yuan’s thin, dry lips with his, then slid the tip of his sweet tongue into two rows of alloy teeth, trying to hook the candy bar there.

For a long time, Tian Yuan didn’t know what to do, the pupils of his eyes were blank, and his thoughts were equally blank. The candy bar was sweet, hard and fragile, Gu Xingqiao’s lips and tongue were sweet, soft and fragile. He didn’t move, he sat there for an unknown period of time, and Gu Xingqiao sucked on his trembling lips, finally succeeding in sucking out the slippery raspberry candy, which seemed too restless on his tongue.

“Not bad,” Gu Xingqiao nodded, “better than apple.”