Mecha Chapter 8: Size

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo is respectfully looking forward to the…’size’ owo

 

Comfortable and disoriented, Luo XiaoLou was startled. Then, he saw the taller Yuan Xi appear in the doorway with only a towel around his waist. Luo XiaoLou tried to stand up in a panic, but remembered that he was naked and immediately ducked deeper into the water. The vibrating massager also increased its intensity, so Luo XiaoLou let out a few moans before getting angry.

Yuan Xi’s eyes lit up, as if he had decided that Luo XiaoLou was engaged in some kind of debauchery. He tsked a couple of times, and even looked into the bath.

Luo XiaoLou’s face flushed red. He was too embarrassed to let out his original anger, and he could only speak in a panic, “What are you doing here? There’s a bath in the master bedroom! Don’t tell me you’re going to give up the bigger, more comfortable one over there and come here and shower —”

“Well, it’s sweet of you to see that.” Yuan Xi grinned widely and walked forward, until he was standing in front of the bathtub. He frowned and finally said gracefully, “Well, even if you’re in there… I’ll improvise, let’s wash together.”

Luo XiaoLou was really frightened this time but he couldn’t move because Yuan Xi’s long legs had stepped in. He didn’t want to share a bath with Yuan Xi even if he had a good looking face! How could he do something like that — motherfucker, he wasn’t doing anything in the first place!

Luo XiaoLou quickly pulled a large towel over to cover his little one, and then glared at Yuan Xi who had sat in to enjoy his bath. He gritted his teeth and said, “You can’t always do that! Everyone needs privacy! Now, can you tell me what the hell you’re doing in the middle of the night?”

Yuan Xi looked up at Luo XiaoLou and replied matter-of-factly, “The bathroom over there hasn’t been cleaned for days and I just can’t stand it anymore. Who told you to never remember to clean it for me?”

Luo XiaoLou speechlessly looked at Yuan Xi. He was so angry that he had forgotten about not making Yuan Xi angry, and shouted, “Doesn’t it take five minutes to clean the bathroom? Why don’t you clean it after every wash? If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, the bathroom actually has an auto-clean function, so all you have to do is stand around, wait for it to do its job and then turn it off!”

“Well, yeah, I’ve never done that before, and a man can’t waste his time doing housework.” Yuan Xi frowned with all seriousness, and then reached with familiarity to adjust the massage button on the bath.

Man — man?!!! Luo XiaoLou wanted to throw that silver metal box by the bathtub at Yuan Xi’s head, but given that pervert’s physical strength and his current lack of clothes, Luo XiaoLou could only choose to curse him in his heart.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want me to just go in and out of your bedroom?” Luo XiaoLou heavily emphasized these words.

“Oh, of course you can when you’re cleaning. That was already your job,” Yuan Xi said.

Luo XiaoLou took a deep breath, looked at the man who had shamelessly occupied his bath, and moved his feet to get out.

“What are you leaving for? You can wash with me, I don’t mind.” Yuan Xi was surprised since he felt really generous enough to share.

“No, I can wait a little while before I wash.”

“Really, I don’t mind.” The owner, who had gotten the better of him, was still being nice.

“I mind.” The gnarled slave replied.

As Luo XiaoLou walked to the door of the bathroom, Yuan Xi suddenly said from behind him, “Are you shy, or do you feel inferior because your size is smaller?” 

Luo XiaoLou’s body stiffened, and after waking up to what Yuan Xi was saying, he turned around sharply and raised his voice several degrees, “What nonsense are you talking about?! Isn’t it common sense not to share a bath with other people, unless the two are unusually intimate — I must be crazy to reason with you, why do I have to share a bath with you?!”

“Because we are already unusually intimate? Don’t you think the master-slave relationship is close enough? We’re already living and dying together, albeit unilaterally.” Yuan Xi, who had taken over the bath, was in an extremely good mood so he didn’t bother with Luo XiaoLou’s outburst and just tried to get Luo XiaoLou to change that old mindset.

“…No matter what, I’ll wash later.” Luo XiaoLou weakly replied.

“Whatever. But I did just see that yours is really quite small, much smaller than mine, believe it or not.” Yuan Xi finally said shamelessly.

Luo XiaoLou gritted his teeth at the bathroom door. What on earth was there to be proud of about that place being big?! Wouldn’t it grow? This body is only seventeen years old, okay?

After calming down outside the door, Luo XiaoLou felt uncomfortably damp even though the temperature inside was pleasant. He thought about simply heading to the master bedroom, taking a shower there and then cleaning it so that Yuan Xi wouldn’t have an excuse to share the bathroom with him tomorrow.

After briefly cleaning the bathroom, Luo XiaoLou hesitated. Taking a bath wasn’t good, but a shower seemed more dangerous. That bastard was probably capable of doing anything.

As if telepathically, after Luo XiaoLou had soaked for ten minutes or so, Yuan Xi opened the door to this bathroom again with much familiarity — there was no way he could stop him. Yuan Xi had taken Luo XiaoLou’s door key and set it on his system the first day he came in, and now that he was also the owner of this apartment, no door in this apartment would deny him access.

“What do you want again?” Luo XiaoLou quickly grabbed the towel at hand, while numbly asking the question.

“I’ve finished washing. I just remembered that I left something important in this bathroom, and I was afraid that since you’re so stupid, you moved something you shouldn’t have.”

Yuan Xi said, approaching him and, under Luo XiaoLou’s wary gaze, picked up a white-gold necklace from the side of the bath. The pendant was a prototype made of white metal with ornate and weird cloud lines around it. Luo XiaoLou wondered what was inside.

Bringing the chain up and putting it around his neck, Yuan Xi said to Luo XiaoLou, “You can touch anything of mine, except for this. But even though it’s precious, you probably don’t know anything about it.” Yuan Xi said, glancing at Luo XiaoLou proudly and regretfully at the same time. He very much wanted to show it off, but the other would not know. No one could possibly understand his sense of inadequacy.

Luo XiaoLou opened his mouth, eventually deciding not to say anything. This person was unbelievable to a certain extent. What’s so strange about a necklace, he, Luo XiaoLou, also has one, and by the looks of it, it was an ancient jade!

Luo XiaoLou thought to himself while looking down at the green jade necklace around his neck. He didn’t really know much about the jade or anything like that, but the key thing was momentum, momentum!

Yuan Xi also followed Luo XiaoLou’s gaze to his chest. He took two steps closer, picked up the necklace from Luo XiaoLou’s chest, and lowered his head for a closer look.

Was it a tradition for everyone in the future to wear a necklace? And even if it was, was it necessary to observe so closely?

Yuan Xi was tall, though not athletic, and his tall, lean body seemed to contain boundless energy. Luo XiaoLou instinctively felt danger as Yuan Xi approached.

Yuan Xi stared at the object in his hand strangely, feeling something was wrong, but couldn’t see anything. However, it looked like an ordinary piece of jade with the warmth of Luo XiaoLou’s skin.

Luo XiaoLou tugged back his chain in embarrassment, and despite being dripping wet, stood up from the bath, casually pressed the wash button, and then quickly left the bathroom.

Yuan Xi’s eyes involuntarily went to Luo XiaoLou’s towel-clad waist, and a smug smile graced his face again. Luo XiaoLou must have felt inferior again. Because of this inexplicably good mood, Yuan Xi even thoughtfully raised his voice and said, “I’ll watch over the bathroom cleaning this time, you can come back tomorrow.”

Luo XiaoLou went back to the guest room and slammed the door hard, changed into his pajamas, and then threw himself on the big bed.

He admired himself having energy after being so busy working during the day and having to deal with Yuan Xi at night. It was so hard to believe that he was still mentally healthy and positive just like that.

Of course, this might be due to the owner’s good health, but Luo XiaoLou preferred to attribute the greatest credit to his own resilience and good attitude.

Pulling the blanket over, Luo XiaoLou pulled the micro-computer from under his pillow and put it on. He still had classes to attend, and more importantly, he had to ask Teacher Song about the performance, characteristics, and what Part 17 was used for in mecha. It had been a long day, but maybe it wouldn’t have to be so hard if the gains could be improved upon, and it would be even better if the gains went further.

With a flash of white light, Luo XiaoLou found himself standing in the virtual networking street again.

As soon as he entered, he noticed that people on the street were flocking to the Training Arena, and Luo XiaoLou pulled a man over to inquire about it. It turned out that there was another major challenge today.

Kevin, who was ranked tenth in the online mecha competitive platform, was going to challenge the third place Clouds in the Sky.

Since two years ago, the winner and runner-up of the competitive platform had remained unchanged, and people speculated that those two people were top military experts. The third place, Clouds in the Sky, however, was the one who had recently leaped up like a dark horse, appearing before the crowd with unstoppable courage.

His outstanding performance and his strong and gorgeous mecha were famous on the virtual network, where people flocked to. Even girls who were not into mecha would not be able to resist running to visit, just to get a glimpse of Clouds in the Sky’s heroic posture.

There were more people eager to watch competitive platforms on the virtual network, and the more, the better. Luo Xiaolou actually spent two virtual coins last time. Every new person who entered the virtual network would get ten virtual coins, so Luo Xiaolou was not blocked out.

Luo XiaoLou hadn’t come here ever since. He had too much to do. He had to learn elementary schooling and also had to go to Teacher Song’s mecha knowledge seminar. Luo XiaoLou would still sneak off to the messaging platform to look through the job listings if he had any free time.

He had no intention of quitting his current job, and when he started school, he decided to continue working in the factory during his weekends off. But even so, that would drastically reduce his financial resources.

Including the living expenses and tuition fees, Luo XiaoLou believed that he would need more money after the school year started. Ever since Yuan Xi’s appearance, Luo XiaoLou had become used to thinking deeper — see, the chances of natural and man-made disasters were also very high.

Luo XiaoLou first went to the classroom where Teacher Song was teaching. The beginner’s course was free of charge and so Luo XiaoLou, a good student, came to attend it almost every night. Even though Luo XiaoLou had a poor foundation, he really listened to the class, and his comprehension was amazing. His progress was also obvious. What kind of teacher would not like such a student?

After the hour-long lesson, Luo XiaoLou closed his handwritten memory notes, and his accompanying notes, which could be saved onto his computer or even printed out.

As Teacher Song sorted out the information, he paid attention to Luo XiaoLou out of the corner of his eye: Why isn’t this teenager coming over to ask questions today? He was used to being delayed by him every day, so it was a bit hard to adapt to leaving in time.

Luo XiaoLou finally drew the rough model of Part 17 on the electronic book and when he looked up, he realized that he had lost track of time! He probably wouldn’t be able to block Teacher Song in time today.

But — seeing Teacher Song who was smiling at him from the podium, Luo XiaoLou scratched his head, partly embarrassed and quickly walked up. “Ah, Teacher Song, I have to bother you again. I have a new model here.”

Teacher Song gratefully received Luo XiaoLou’s electronic book, and was actually stunned at the sight of the drawing. He quickly looked up and asked, “Little Chu ah, I didn’t expect to see you for a few days. Not only have you progressed quite a bit, you’ve actually started to study the Grade 2 parts. Have you already studied all the Grade 1 ones?” Luo XiaoLou’s online alias was Chushi, and Teacher Song had later come to call him Little Chu.

Luo XiaoLou shook his head, “No, I just happened to come across it, so I wrote this model down and wanted to come over and ask Teacher.”

Teacher Song looked at Luo XiaoLou and began to explain to him the structure and function of the part as usual. He found that, just like last time, Luo XiaoLou simply probed into every bit of it, and Teacher Song couldn’t help but be surprised and comforted at the same time. He didn’t know that Luo XiaoLou was more familiar with it than the others because he worked in the mecha parts factory to afford his tuition fees.

Luo XiaoLou slowly digested what Teacher Song said and suddenly thought of something else. He asked, “Teacher Song, you said this is a Grade 2 part, so what is the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2. Is it based on the steps used to make it?”

“Of course not, the grade of mecha parts can be divided into Grade 1 to Grade 10. The highest grade that has come out now is Grade 5, and the parts above Grade 5 are probably in the hands of the military or some big family. As for whether there are any above Grade 10, even I’m not sure. And the grade distinction of parts includes the manufacturing process, materials, manufacturing techniques, combination success rate and so on. In short, the higher-grade the part, the more precious the material, the more complicated the manufacturing process, and, the lower the success rate.”

Luo XiaoLou widened his eyes, so many grades? Gosh, it’s not easy to assemble and build a mecha.

Teacher Song patted Luo XiaoLou and said with a sigh, “Little Chu, you’ve started school recently, haven’t you? Have you figured out what major to choose?”

Luo XiaoLou’s heart was moved, and he remembered the last time he saw Clouds in the Sky drive the white mecha in a heroic manner. He hung his head, touched the electronic book, and said, “Teacher, I haven’t thought about it yet, but if I can, I hope it will be related to what you teach.”

Teacher Song was even more pleased, and said, “That’s right, I see that you are very talented in mecha research and manufacturing, why don’t you go into the Mecha Manufacturing Department and become a maker?”

“Huh?” Luo XiaoLou was dumbfounded. He had thought that there was only one Mecha Department. How did a Mecha Manufacturing Department appear?

“Haven’t you seen those mecha warriors in all their glory? Well, but mecha makers are very important to mecha warriors.” Because Luo XiaoLou wasn’t keen on following the competition, Teacher Song thought that Luo XiaoLou wasn’t interested in the mecha profession, and was more interested in the study of mecha manufacturing just like him.

At this point, Teacher Song suddenly thought of something, turned around and took out a small square box from his file bag. He handed it to Luo XiaoLou, “Little Chu, this is all the information on Grade 1 parts that Teacher has compiled, take a good look at it. Don’t be in a hurry to study Grade 2 parts. No matter what, the foundation is the most important thing.”

Luo XiaoLou didn’t expect to get such a reward today, which was hard to find even if he looked it up online. He received it with both hands, and sincerely said, “Thank you so much, I will definitely go back and study it carefully.” Seeing Teacher Song leave with satisfaction, Luo XiaoLou also hurriedly left the classroom. In addition to studying the machining steps and performance of Part 17, he also had to look up Saint Miro Academy’s majors.

Early in the morning, he hurriedly prepared the food and was on his way to the living room when he noticed that Yuan Xi had also gotten up early. Luo XiaoLou was surprised and moved more carefully, he had to rush out the door and didn’t want to offend this guy.

“Bring the breakfast over.” Yuan Xi said from the table.

Luo XiaoLou brought a fried egg and a dish over, and poured Yuan Xi a cup of hot water along the way.

“I’m going out later, you come with me.”

Sure enough, Luo XiaoLou took a bite of his food and whispered, “I have something to go out for today. Does someone really need to follow you?”

Yuan Xi’s face darkened as he inserted the fried egg into his mouth and unhappily spoke as he ate, “Why are you always so nosy?! It’s almost the start of school, of course I need to go out and prepare things.”

This time Luo XiaoLou did want to go out for a bit on his own. He also wanted to know what he needed to prepare, but now there were only four days left in the month. And he had already agreed with Yang Yi that he would help out in the next few days… Forget it, he’d better find a way to refuse.

Yuan Xi looked at Luo XiaoLou a few times and finally muttered, “Forget it! I’ll go by myself.” ¹

The cake Luo XiaoLou brought over yesterday had satisfied Yuan Xi so he paid special attention to Luo XiaoLou today. However, he noticed that Luo XiaoLou didn’t even touch the food on his plate.

Luo XiaoLou was eating with his head down when suddenly half a plate of food was poured into his lunchbox. He looked up in surprise as Yuan Xi took out his master status and lectured him, “You’re so small, all the more reason not to pick at your food.”

“…..” What kind of trouble is this bastard going to make by talking about me being small all day long?