Chapter 60: Social Death
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Elvis said softly, “Zhizhi, it’s been a long time. I’ve missed you.” Yun Yingzhi’s lashes trembled faintly.
“I want to see you,” Elvis said bluntly. Yun Yingzhi lowered his gaze, avoiding Elvis’s eyes. He said nothing. Ordinarily, someone would reply politely in such a moment—but Yun Yingzhi chose silence instead. If it had been anyone else, the barrage of comments in the livestream would’ve torn them apart for being cold or rude. Yet strangely, not a single person criticized Yun Yingzhi.
Elvis continued, “Shaluo Star’s network has been down for some time. It only came back online today.”
After a few seconds of silence, Yun Yingzhi finally said, “Your Highness, you don’t need to explain this to me.” His tone was flat—utterly devoid of emotion. He intended to get straight to the point—about the source weapons. But before he could speak, Elvis said, “Zhizhi, I really liked the gift you sent me. I liked it very much.”
Yun Yingzhi’s eyes widened slightly. The moment he met Elvis’s gaze, his composure shattered. Elvis—and everyone watching the stream—noticed it immediately. At the mention of a gift, Yun Yingzhi’s face flushed scarlet to the tips of his ears, so red it looked as if it could bleed. He looked shy—bashful even.
Viewers were stunned. When Elvis had said “I missed you,” Yun Yingzhi hadn’t even flinched. But now, just at the mention of a gift, he was blushing like fire.
“Wait, what kind of gift did Yun Yingzhi send His Highness?”
“Does Shaluo Star even allow deliveries?”
“Well… didn’t His Highness just receive that full set of source weapons from the Big Burly Guy today?”
That one comment silenced the entire chat for a beat. Then the screen exploded—rows upon rows of exclamation points and question marks filled the stream.
“!”
“?”
“Impossible! That entire era-defining set of source weapons was built by the Big Burly Guy. What does that have to do with General Yun’s second son?”
“No way!”
“Anyone could be the Big Burly Guy—anyone except Yun Yingzhi! Do you even know how weak his mental power is?”
“Exactly! Forget his spiritual strength—did you see his combat exam at Fansa Academy? He only passed because others protected him! How could someone like that possibly be the Big Burly Guy?”
“I bet it’s just a coincidence. Maybe he and the Big Burly Guy both sent His Highness gifts?”
Amid the flood of messages, Yun Yingzhi looked seriously at Elvis and said, “Your Highness, I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
Elvis blinked. “Misunderstand what?”
Yun Yingzhi pressed his lips together. “The batch of source weapons I sent you wasn’t a gift. I only lent them to you temporarily—they’re not for you to keep.” He stressed that final word—not a gift.
Elvis: “…”
The audience: “…”
Both inside and outside the livestream, time seemed to freeze. A few seconds later, someone finally broke the silence.
“Before this moment, I never saw any similarity between the Big Burly Guy and Yun Yingzhi—but now I finally get it. Normal people would give His Highness anything to win him over, but both of these two are stingy as hell. Only someone like the Big Burly Guy would use the word ‘borrow.’ Genius!”
“So… are they actually the same person?”
“Even if it’s coincidence after coincidence, I still can’t picture it! You guys realize the second son of the Yun family’s second form is literally a little white rabbit, right?”
“Aww, the little fluffy bunny!”
In the stream, Elvis and Yun Yingzhi locked eyes. Elvis said, “Zhizhi, I can feel the care behind your gift…”
Yun Yingzhi cut him off. “Your Highness, please don’t overthink it.”
He didn’t want to be entangled with Elvis any further. His past with Huai Boshe had been youthful foolishness—and the two Little Buns were pure accident. The Starshine Competition was still ongoing. He needed to make money, finish school, and get back at that scumbag. He didn’t have time for romance, and he certainly didn’t want to give the Crown Prince false hope. He said evenly, “Your Highness, I believe in your strength more than anyone. You possess the most powerful spatial ability in the Empire.”
“Okay, but if that’s the case,” someone in chat typed, “why did Yun Yingzhi send him those source weapons in the first place?”
“I think I know.”
“Tell us.”
“If Yun Yingzhi is the Big Burly Guy, then it makes sense—he probably sent them so His Highness could recognize their value! After all, that entire set was modeled after His Highness’s own esper ability. Who better than him to evaluate it accurately?”
“So basically, His Highness wants romance—but Yun Yingzhi only wants a business deal.”
“Is it just me, or does His Highness suddenly seem kind of pitiful?”
Elvis said softly, “Zhizhi, I’m glad you recognize my strength.”
Yun Yingzhi’s lips curved faintly, and he smiled. He tried again to steer the topic back to business. “Your Highness, about that full set of source weapons—”
Elvis interrupted him. “Zhizhi, I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
“Ah?” Yun Yingzhi blinked. But that was exactly what he wanted to talk about.
Elvis said quietly, “Not long ago, I heard what General Yun said.”
Yun Yingzhi’s lashes quivered. Under the light, his eyes shimmered faintly, his whole being seeming fragile—like a sheet of thin ice ready to crack at the slightest touch. No one realized that at this very moment, Yun Yingzhi’s calm exterior began to fracture. This was the start of his breakdown.
Elvis said, “Zhizhi, let me protect you.”
Yun Yingzhi froze. “…”
Elvis continued, “And about the children the StarNet’s been talking about…” His voice turned sharp, dangerous. “Those who spread those lies—I won’t spare a single one.”
Yun Yingzhi’s fingers clenched. So His Highness really does know about the children. Anger rippled through him, his body trembling ever so slightly. When Yun Yingzhi heard Elvis mention “General Yun” and “the children,” his state of mind shifted rapidly from on the verge of collapse to completely collapsed.
Everyone immediately noticed it through the video projection. The Yun Yingzhi who had looked gentle just moments ago suddenly had a sharp, cutting gaze as he looked at His Highness Elvis. It was from that very moment that the carefully maintained image of Yun Yingzhi in the hearts of the Fansa Academy students began to crumble completely.
“Shut up!” Yun Yingzhi snapped.
Elvis: “…?”
The crowd watching the video projection: “…?”
“How daring! Yun Yingzhi actually relied on his looks to act out and spoke to His Highness with such disrespect?”
“But… he was so good-looking. What could anyone do about that? Everyone thought, even His Highness would surely forgive Yun Yingzhi, right?”
The crowd straightened up, eyes shining, staring intently at Yun Yingzhi on the other side of the projection. Although his delicate features still gave off the impression of fragility, at that moment, they couldn’t help but see him overlapping with the fierce red peony powerhouse from the Starshine Competition.
The corners of Yun Yingzhi’s eyes turned redder and redder, his jet-black pupils burning with the fury of a storming sea. He thought to himself—this was all because of His Highness Elvis! Elvis was the source of everything terrible. It was all because of him that Yun Yingzhi had somehow ended up pregnant. It was because of him that he was suffering through all this now. It was because of him that he had become the target of attacks across the StarNet.
And then there was Elvis’s horrible personality.
All Elvis ever thought about was fighting—or was already in the middle of a fight. He was born fierce and violent, and yet somehow, all the blame always got dumped on Yun Yingzhi. It was beyond infuriating. Then… In that mental breakdown, Yun Yingzhi shifted from a calm, “let’s talk about money rationally” mode into a completely collapsed, “I just want to attack him” mode.
It was under that mode that Yun Yingzhi went viral. He completely blew up across the StarNet.
From that point on, whenever people mentioned him, they always said the same thing—
He possessed the Empire’s greatest source weapon–crafting talent.
He had the most beautiful face in the Empire.
And…
He was the true scumbag among men.
Yun Yingzhi lifted his chin slightly, the sunlight outlining his perfect jawline. “Your Highness,” he said, “I hope you understand—and can accept—that I’m very angry right now!”
Elvis: “…”
“Yes,” Yun Yingzhi said. “I did sleep with you!”
“Wow!”
“So wait, if Yun Yingzhi’s the big, strong one here, then the other father of the two Little Buns is His Highness?!”
“What kind of massive gossip bomb is this?!”
“Hold up, does General Yun or Madam Yun know about this? This morning they already cut ties with Yun Yingzhi over the news that he had kids—and now we’re finding out the two Little Buns are His Highness’s children?!”
“But I don’t intend to take responsibility for you,” Yun Yingzhi said coldly.
“…”
“What a true scumbag!”
“We’re all adults here, Your Highness,” Yun Yingzhi continued. “You don’t actually think that just because I slept with you once, I have to take responsibility for you, do you? That’s not happening! I won’t take responsibility for you!”
“So heartless!?”
“And please, stop confessing to me,” he added sharply. “Especially not in public like before. I really hate that!”
“Whoa?”
“He’s so scummy!”
“Also,” Yun Yingzhi went on, “I think your personality is a serious problem!”
Thinking again of the two little bear cubs, he trembled with anger as he said, “Do you have any idea how much Your Majesty and the Imperial Consort have worried about you since you were a child?”
“Honestly, I think Yun Yingzhi’s implying something here.”
“Like… I think he’s venting his anger on His Highness Elvis. Don’t you guys think so?”
“I mean, those two cubs are so wild. One’s still nursing, the other hasn’t even hatched, and they’re already live-streaming their fights. They must fight all the time. Yun Yingzhi’s definitely dumping all that blame on His Highness.”
Just then, a rainbow-colored comment streaked across the official Starshine Competition livestream. Normally, only high-V users could send rainbow comments.
“On this matter, I think I’m qualified to speak. I watched Elvis grow up, and I can guarantee that His Highness has always been well-behaved. He’s never once troubled His Majesty or the Imperial Consort.”
Another rainbow comment flashed.
“I can testify to that too. The Imperial Consort even used to worry that His Highness Elvis might be autistic.”
“I was His Highness’s classmate. From what I remember, he was super cold. Forget fighting—he barely ever said a word.”
The comment section exploded.
“Good grief!”
“So who do the bear cubs take after, then?”
“If we assume both Yun Yingzhi and His Highness are the cubs’ fathers, and their wild personalities don’t come from His Highness, then they must take after Yun Yingzhi!”
“So what I’m seeing now is a beautiful man live-streaming his attempt to dump all the blame?”
“Incredible. I didn’t know that was even possible!”
“What gets me even more is that he’s doing it so confidently! As if all of it really is His Highness’s fault!”
“Zhizhi, I’m sorry, I…” Elvis began.
“Wait—His Highness actually apologized?!”
“Your Highness!” Yun Yingzhi shouted.
Elvis: “…”
Yun Yingzhi asked, “Do you still want a future with me?”
Elvis: “…?”
“Do you know how much I’m suffering because of you?” Yun Yingzhi pressed.
“Zhizhi, no matter what happens, I’ll face it with you. You…” Elvis began.
“Can you even handle these little brats?” Yun Yingzhi snapped, holding up two fingers. “Since you brought up the kids, you should already know—Jiaojiao and Taotao are just like you were when you were little. They…”
Elvis’s voice faltered in confusion. “Jiaojiao and Taotao? What… what are those?”
Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids twitched violently. “…What?”
A sinking feeling hit him. Judging by the way Elvis looked, he didn’t… know about Jiaojiao and Taotao? If he didn’t know, then why did he just bring up the kids? Yun Yingzhi blinked, his pupils trembling.
Elvis added, “Just like when I was little?”
Yun Yingzhi felt a flicker of uncertainty, but his anger-fueled rant didn’t falter. “Not like you—what, is it supposed to be like me then?”
What Yun Yingzhi didn’t know was that, almost immediately, lines of text flashed at the bottom of the Starshine Competition official verification platform.
“Yes! Of course they’re like you!”
“Definitely not like His Highness, it’s like you! Like you!”
“But, Yun Yingzhi, my beautiful, can you at least have a little self-awareness? Think about all the source weapons you built from the preliminaries to the semifinals. Think about the workbench you smashed when your two little brats were fighting. Can you honestly tell your conscience that they’re not like you?”
In the livestream, Elvis paused and said, “Zhizhi, you’re right. Everything wrong is my fault. Don’t be too angry yet.”
“Your Highness, I misjudged you!”
“Of course it’s your fault. How could I not be angry? Right now…” Yun Yingzhi’s voice trailed off.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Yun Yingzhi’s eyes shifted, those beautiful dark orbs glancing toward the door. “Who is it?”
A woman’s voice called from outside. “Young Master Zhizhi.”
Yun Yingzhi recognized the voice—it was a Yun family servant. He slowed his speech. “What is it?”
After a pause, the voice continued, “Um… Young Master Zhizhi, it’s Young Master Yinghui. He asked us to contact you.”
“Ah? Brother?” Yun Yingzhi suddenly realized that because he had been communicating with Elvis, he hadn’t noticed the messages from Yun Yinghui or the pile of unread private messages. Yun Yingzhi’s brow furrowed faintly. Was Yun Yinghui contacting him because the two little bear cubs had done something again? Besides Yun Yinghui, many others had also tried to reach him.
Just as he was about to open the chat with Yun Yinghui, the voice outside spoke again. “Young Master Zhizhi, Young Master Yinghui asked me to inform you that you and His Highness Elvis are currently…”
Yun Yingzhi’s mind slowly typed out a question mark.
The voice continued, “…live on broadcast.”
Yun Yingzhi muttered. “Live on broadcast?”
What did that mean? It meant… Everything he had just ranted at His Highness Elvis was being seen by everyone watching the livestream. What had he just said? What had he revealed?
Yun Yingzhi’s knees weakened. His body wobbled uncontrollably, and under Elvis’s worried voice, he collapsed to the ground like a limp noodle. At that moment, the fiery, confrontational Yun Yingzhi looked nothing like before. He resembled a delicate flower battered by a storm, beautiful yet fragile. He felt hazy, bewildered.
Across the livestream, comments exploded:
“Yun Yingzhi fell! Is he hurt?”
“No idea why, but I can’t stop laughing right now. Haha! Sorry, my jaw literally dropped.”
“I just want to ask… how did this Yun Yingzhi manage to smash a workbench like that?”
“I’ve already filed a complaint with the Starshine Competition. How could they let contestants get hurt using such poor-quality workbenches?!”
Yun Yingzhi’s eyelashes trembled. Already fragile-looking, he now seemed even more vulnerable.
The door opened, and the maid rushed in, supporting him urgently. “Young Master Zhizhi! Are you okay?”
Yun Yingzhi slowly came back to himself, tears brimming in his dark eyes, voice choked. “I… I want to go farm on an alien planet…” He had completely lost his composure. His thoughts were a chaotic mess of “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over…” He was finished.
At that moment, not just the livestream viewers, but even the maid at the scene couldn’t help laughing.
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahahaha!”
One after another, cheerful comments streaked across the screen. Then, the mood shifted as the crowd realized the focus of their attention. Yun Yingzhi, slow to react, finally closed the communication with Elvis.
Immediately, the livestream erupted into chaos. Most of the viewers did the same thing—they wanted to know more about the true scumbag who openly admitted to sleeping with His Highness but refused to take responsibility. They wanted to know more about Yun Yingzhi.
Meanwhile, they heard Elvis ask one final question as the livestream ended: “What are Jiaojiao and Taotao?”
The Starshine Competition livestream chat exploded in reply:
“They’re your two cubs!”
“The two super bratty cubs whose every bad habit Yun Yingzhi dumped on you!”
“By the way, just a friendly reminder: an unknown person is currently taking these two cubs to the Yaoming Battle Arena 3v3 field. They’re barely bigger than beans, and they’re already on the competitive stage. I just have to ask—what kind of genes did Yun Yingzhi pass down to these two little brats?”
Yun Yingzhi went into full isolation. He locked himself in his room, drew the curtains, and didn’t want to go anywhere. But… It wasn’t like Yun Yingzhi could just hide away and expect everything to go smoothly.
Before long, Yun Yinghui returned home with the two Little Buns. The moment they got back, the Little Buns leapt from Yun Yinghui’s arms, thumping down the hall, dashing straight toward Yun Yingzhi’s room. Even Yun Yinghui’s long legs couldn’t keep up with their barely-trackable speed—enough to show just how desperately they wanted to see Yun Yingzhi.
What left Yun Yinghui speechless was the little egg. Most of the time, little egg used his spatial esper ability for short-distance jumps. This time, in his excitement, he had forgotten. Yun Yinghui watched as the two Little Buns scrambled up the stairs and quickly rushed to Yun Yingzhi’s door. Little kit tapped the door with his tiny paws, urging Yun Yingzhi to open it. “Da?”
Little egg rapped on the door with his eggshell. Inside, it was silent. Yun Yingzhi just wanted to hide away—he had zero desire to come out. Yet, hearing little kit’s voice made his eyelids twitch. Trembling as he experienced yet another social-death moment, he shakily opened his personal terminal. Even social death couldn’t stop time from moving forward. He saw 999 unread messages.
During his self-imposed isolation, many people had sent him chat requests and messages. Ironically, among them were General Yun and Madam Yun. Yun Yingzhi sniffled, immediately blacklisting General Yun and Madam Yun, and of course, the mastermind behind all this chaos, His Highness Elvis. Then he sent Yun Yinghui a message: Brother, I just want to be alone.
Unable to resist, he sent another—an exaggerated crying emoji, utterly lost in despair. Outside the door, the little kit’s tapping grew louder. “Da da da!” Little egg also followed with “thump thump thump” against the door. Yun Yingzhi thought, I hope my brother takes these two Little Buns away soon.
To his relief, he heard Yun Yinghui’s voice, “Jiaojiao, Taotao, stop it. Your dad needs some quiet. Today, go take a nap with your uncle first.”
The knocking continued. Little kit’s voice rang out: “Da!”
Then… Yun Yingzhi felt a spatial wave. His eyelids twitched. The next moment, the little egg appeared in the room via spatial jump. Little egg immediately joyfully pounced onto Yun Yingzhi. Yun Yingzhi caught the little egg.
Outside, little kit clearly realized that his beloved dad was alone with the little egg. One moment he had been “Da,” the next, he let out a sharp “Ao!” and banged even harder on the door. The door BANGED—destroyed by the little paws. Little kit rushed into the room, leaping into Yun Yingzhi’s arms.
Yun Yingzhi caught the little kit. His eyelids twitched violently. He looked at the little egg, then the little kit, and finally turned his gaze to Yun Yinghui standing by the door. Yun Yinghui moved with practiced ease, using his ice esper ability to conjure repair tools, fixing the door little kit had destroyed in just minutes.
Yun Yingzhi didn’t even have the energy to scold the two little brats. He looked at Yun Yinghui, completely drained. “Brother… I’m finished.”
Yun Yinghui thought about Yun Yingzhi’s conversation with Elvis. Indeed… a little finished. He approached Yun Yingzhi, gently rubbing his head. “Zhizhi, it’s okay. It’s a small problem. Everyone will forget.”
Yun Yingzhi looked at him expectantly. “Really?”
Yun Yinghui, lying through his teeth, said, “Yes.”
“Brother… maybe I should pack up, take Jiaojiao and Taotao, and go farm on a remote life planet,” Yun Yingzhi muttered. Yun Yinghui paused, then said, “Zhizhi, I’ll go with you.”
Yun Yingzhi’s body trembled again. So… Even his brother thought he had embarrassed himself so badly that he needed to escape to a remote life planet to farm? Yun Yingzhi flung himself into Yun Yinghui’s arms, tears splashing down in streams, utterly miserable. “Brother… what are the people on StarNet saying about me? Boo hoo hoo…” he sobbed.
He tried to comfort himself—life is short. Endure it. One day it will pass.
Yun Yinghui looked at Yun Yingzhi and silently tagged him in his mind:
#Ultimate scumbag, #master of blame-shifting, #Empire’s most delicate flower, #fleece-the-system expert, #fragile little white rabbit, #ruthless powerhouse…
Too many tags to count.
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