Carlos stared at the young man’s handsome side profile. His long eyelashes cast a light shadow, making him appear quiet like a sleeping angel.
It was such a beautiful sight, yet he couldn't help but recall the youth’s final appearance in his previous life.
Last life, this young man who lost everything was exiled to that remote and isolated planet. He wasn’t allowed to set foot on Empire Star again, and was stripped of all the noble glory that originally belonged to him, forced to stay all alone in that neglected place.
Pale, melancholic, and fragile... There wasn’t a trace of that unrestrained willfulness left. He gave everything to love that person, but finally fell to meet such an end. No one cared for him, and this poor abandoned child was left alone to face despair.
Despite this, those setbacks didn’t erase the remaining clarity and beauty in his eyes.
After being betrayed mercilessly by him and hurt by his loved ones...
Ji Ling still asked him carefully with an expectant expression: “They deceived me, but you wouldn't do that, would you, Uncle Carlos?”
Perhaps it wasn’t that Ji Ling was unwilling to accept reality, but that this hope was the only support his heart had left…
And he let him down.
A hint of pain emerged in Carlos’ eyes.
It was probably from that moment that he finally began to feel remorse for what he had done and regret his cold indifferent attitude… because he couldn’t calmly face those clear bright eyes and give him a definite answer.
That shouldn't have been your end. How you are now, happy and carefree... was how you should’ve been, and how I hope you will continue to be.
Those beautiful eyes of yours will never again hold the resentment, jealousy, pain and despair of last life.
This time, I won't let anyone hurt you again.
A solemn determination could be seen in Carlos’ eyes, like the deep dark sky devouring everything silently. He gazed down at the young man's face, and for the first time, a strange longing surged in his heart… A longing for those fiery eyes to look at him more fiercely; a longing to be closer to him.
He was no longer content with just being a respected elder.
Carlos’ Adam's apple stirred. After a long time, he lowered his head, and gently planted a restrained kiss on Ji Ling’s forehead.
In this life, you will only belong to me.
————————————
The next day, Ji Ling woke up groggy. That’s good wine for you. He drank that much, but didn’t get a hangover the next day… In fact, he seldom got drunk. If it wasn’t to provoke Carlos last night, he wouldn’t have indulged so much that he couldn’t even remember what happened.
But he harassed Carlos so much during the night. There had to be some results, right?
Ji Ling expectantly asked the system: [Did Carlos get angry after that yesterday? 】
The system fell into an eerie silence.
Ji Ling didn’t understand: [What's wrong with you? Was he angry or not? Is this such a difficult question to answer? 】
System: [No, he didn’t. 】
Ji Ling was shocked: [He didn’t get angry after all that?] This was illogical. The whole script of the book described how cruel and terrifying the villain Carlos was. It never said that he had such patience. Was it necessary for Carlos to act like this to him?
The system said with a heavy tone: [No. 】
Ji Ling absentmindedly asked again: [Then how did I get back last night? 】
System: [He sent you back. 】
Ji Ling: […]
The system spoke in his mind, ‘You were drunk yesterday and even scratched his cheek. I was considerate and didn’t say anything, lest you get scared.’
Ji Ling learned that his plan yesterday failed. Not only was Carlos not angry, but he also sent him back home. Ahhhhh! He felt like he was in a daze. He never expected that… Carlos would actually have such an accommodating side!
I even underestimated him by a lot!
Opening his communicator, Ji Ling saw Rhodes message, asking him cautiously if he was okay.
With a deadpan expression, he turned off the communicator. I’m not okay. Not okay at all! Nothing is okay!
My whole being is not okay!
………………
After something like that happened, Ji Ling was in even less of a mood to go out and play.
Carlos was really acting abnormal lately. Although he thought it shouldn’t be possible for him to appear again, Ji Ling still didn’t want to take any risks. Thrills like that were not conducive to the healthy growth of his weak heart.
Originally, he was worried about how to refuse the coming invitations, but everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding this time, and no one even mentioned asking him out. It was even peaceful on Rhodes’ end.
Ji Ling wasn’t used to it at first, but soon realized that Carlos’ appearance shocked not only him, but everyone else as well, so much so that no one dared ask him to hang out anymore.
Now that he thought about it, this wasn’t completely without its benefits…
His feelings were complicated.
He stayed at home like this, and finally got his wish of living peacefully shut-in in his house. He counted the days and waited for Ning Yu’s return.
Everything was perfect, except for one minor hitch…
Although Carlos hadn’t appeared before him again in person, he didn’t miss any chance to make his presence remembered, and sent all sorts of gizmos to Ji Ling’s house every other day…
Beautiful jewelry, delicious snacks, exquisite clothing, etc...
All of them were specialties from different galaxies in the universe. Although these things were not as valuable as Blue Ocean Star, it was still a time-consuming and laborious process. He felt like an *over-extravagant princess. It was clear there was a lot of thought put in.
Not to mention… the food, at least, was very much to his liking.
Sitting at home, he could eat delicious food from all over the universe. It felt quite good. A real foodie never refused delicious food.
The system said helplessly: [“You look very relaxed.” 】
Ji Ling threw a piece of fruit into his mouth: [What’s there not to be relaxed about? His aim is to dupe me in order to win over my father! There’s no way he’d send me poisonous food. Otherwise, the losses would outweigh the gains. 】
The system was speechless.
Ji Ling ate happily. Whenever he was satisfied and content with the food, he’d get this feeling…
If I hadn’t already done the mission before and gained an omniscient perspective, I'm afraid I wouldn’t have seen through that villain’s objective and believed that he was actually sincere.
Tsk tsk, tsk. Better to eat them than not.
When I go back, I won’t be able to eat these kinds of thing anymore.
………………
The days went by, and Ning Yu’s return was approaching. Ji Ling felt like his vacation was coming to an end.
That night, he was lying in a tree looking at the stars again. Suddenly, he saw the lights in the distant banquet hall shine brightly. There was a clamor of faint voices coming from there. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly remembered something.
Another important supporting character was coming back today. That was Wen Yan, Speaker of the House, who would later become a power in the empire.
In the book, Ning Yu, an evolver from a civilian background, shined brilliantly in the army, while Wen Yan, an evolver from the spiritual system, chose the path of politics.
Every civilian who entered Empire Star with his own evolutionary strength was nothing but excellent. However, even if they were excellent amongst the civilian population, they’d become just another ordinary person upon entering Empire Star facing the many nobles. It was like a mortal walking around the heavens; even trivial things would be discriminated against.
Therefore, they usually chose to enter different factions and become subordinates or vassals of aristocrats in order to gain support... The nobles wouldn’t completely block their path to promotion either to maintain the stability of their rule. They’d bring these civilian evolvers into their own ranks and gradually assimilate them into part of the imperial aristocracy.
Although these civilian evolvers seemed to be accepted on the surface, the inferiority ingrained in their body couldn’t be erased. In the eyes of nobles, these civilians were still of a lower race.
The inferior label of their blood wouldn’t disappear because of their strength.
Wen Yan faced such a predicament. After he became an evolver, he was brought under the authority of the Ji family, and suddenly transferred to be planet lord of one of their territories. He returned a few years later, entered parliament as a civilian and became an ordinary member of parliament.
Generally speaking, this was pretty much the end of the ladder civilians could climb…
But not for Wen Yan.
Ji Ling knew that in the next general election, Wen Yan would overcome all the opponents who despised him in an unexpected way, and become the first civilian speaker in history!
He would firmly establish his position too.
Ji Ling looked at the lights in the distance. After a moment of silence, he jumped down from the tree. Although he was somewhat afraid of this person's scheming mind and didn't want to get too close, the story required him to be present.
It was described in the original plot: Wen Yan lay dormant until he was elected Speaker of the House. He easily won the trust of the Ji family’s young master, and gradually gained more influence using the Ji family to achieve his goals. In short, while taking advantage of him on one hand, he looked down on him on the other hand. He completely played young master Ji for a fool.
Having said that, this great young master Ji Ling, ‘arrogant and stupid,’ still faithfully came to the banquet hall.
The door was open, and there were well-dressed men and women coming and going inside. They were partially his father, Ji Ting’s subordinates, and partially aristocrats with many ties to the Ji family. His father occasionally held banquets like this to give everyone a platform to voice their feelings, a kind of routine political activity.
Generally speaking, Ji Ling didn’t attend this kind of banquet. All his character thought about was love. His heart couldn’t hold anything other than Jing Sui. He never took part in these complicated things. His appearance today should just be a coincidence.
Ji Ling followed his memory from last life, and walked in. As expected, he did indeed spot a tall and handsome man.
His long silver hair was meticulously tied behind his head, and hanging down his back. His face was beautiful, but his narrow long eyes made him look more feminine. His dark eyes appeared bottomless, and he never seemed to show much extra emotion. He always had a faint smile on his face, and acted relaxed with the appropriate discretion, so that people couldn’t see through his thoughts.
Going by his appearance alone, Wen Yan didn’t lose to any imperial aristocrats at all. You could even say he was better.
For example, even now, faced with the heckling and harassment by others, he still appeared emotionless. He only looked at the other party lightly.
Lord Richard stared at Wen Yan's calm dark eyes. Although this Wen Yan didn't say a word, he somehow felt scorned and it made him extremely furious!
Clearly, they were the aristocracy high above him, but were being treated like this by a lowly civilian. It was outrageous.
Lord Richard looked at Wen Yan coldly and said with a cynical expression: “Hey, I told you you weren’t welcome here. I think it’d be better if you went home.”
Wen Yan said flatly, "Please give way. I have something to request of the duke."
Lord Richard hissed, “The duke is very busy. I don’t think he has time to see you. You only entered parliament to show your efforts for those stupid lower links. With your identity, do you really think the duke would endorse you?”
These words were very mean, but Wen Yan remained calm. His dark eyes showed neither anger nor any other emotion.
Finally, Lord Richard was infuriated and said harshly: "As a filthy lower being, you should know best. Don't think that being a member of parliament makes you one of us. Now get out of here immediately, understand?"
Ji Ling came to the front, and coincidentally saw this scene. Ha...
Even without the original plot, he couldn't stand this kind of behavior!
Ji Ling picked up a glass of wine nearby, and splashed it directly onto Lord Richard's face. He stood in the middle of the two men, blocking Wen Yan off behind him. Then he raised his eyebrow contemptuously and looked at Lord Richard, saying in a slightly raised voice. “Who do you think you are? You dare make trouble for one of my people?”
“The one who should be getting out of here… is you." Ji Ling said coldly.
Translator’s notes
*一骑红尘妃子笑 (Riding on the red dust, the consort smiles) - This is a verse from a famous poem by Du Mu about Yang Guifei (concubine of Emperor Xuanzong), who loved lychee. These fruits needed to be transported with haste from thousands of miles away so the quality wouldn’t deteriorate when she got them. Therefore, many officials and horses were exhausted/died from hurrying these trivial things over the dusty mountain roads just to please her.
Carlos stared at the young man’s handsome side profile. His long eyelashes cast a light shadow, making him appear quiet like a sleeping angel.
It was such a beautiful sight, yet he couldn't help but recall the youth’s final appearance in his previous life.
Last life, this young man who lost everything was exiled to that remote and isolated planet. He wasn’t allowed to set foot on Empire Star again, and was stripped of all the noble glory that originally belonged to him, forced to stay all alone in that neglected place.
Pale, melancholic, and fragile... There wasn’t a trace of that unrestrained willfulness left. He gave everything to love that person, but finally fell to meet such an end. No one cared for him, and this poor abandoned child was left alone to face despair.
Despite this, those setbacks didn’t erase the remaining clarity and beauty in his eyes.
After being betrayed mercilessly by him and hurt by his loved ones...
Ji Ling still asked him carefully with an expectant expression: “They deceived me, but you wouldn't do that, would you, Uncle Carlos?”
Perhaps it wasn’t that Ji Ling was unwilling to accept reality, but that this hope was the only support his heart had left…
And he let him down.
A hint of pain emerged in Carlos’ eyes.
It was probably from that moment that he finally began to feel remorse for what he had done and regret his cold indifferent attitude… because he couldn’t calmly face those clear bright eyes and give him a definite answer.
That shouldn't have been your end. How you are now, happy and carefree... was how you should’ve been, and how I hope you will continue to be.
Those beautiful eyes of yours will never again hold the resentment, jealousy, pain and despair of last life.
This time, I won't let anyone hurt you again.
A solemn determination could be seen in Carlos’ eyes, like the deep dark sky devouring everything silently. He gazed down at the young man's face, and for the first time, a strange longing surged in his heart… A longing for those fiery eyes to look at him more fiercely; a longing to be closer to him.
He was no longer content with just being a respected elder.
Carlos’ Adam's apple stirred. After a long time, he lowered his head, and gently planted a restrained kiss on Ji Ling’s forehead.
In this life, you will only belong to me.
————————————
The next day, Ji Ling woke up groggy. That’s good wine for you. He drank that much, but didn’t get a hangover the next day… In fact, he seldom got drunk. If it wasn’t to provoke Carlos last night, he wouldn’t have indulged so much that he couldn’t even remember what happened.
But he harassed Carlos so much during the night. There had to be some results, right?
Ji Ling expectantly asked the system: [Did Carlos get angry after that yesterday? 】
The system fell into an eerie silence.
Ji Ling didn’t understand: [What's wrong with you? Was he angry or not? Is this such a difficult question to answer? 】
System: [No, he didn’t. 】
Ji Ling was shocked: [He didn’t get angry after all that?] This was illogical. The whole script of the book described how cruel and terrifying the villain Carlos was. It never said that he had such patience. Was it necessary for Carlos to act like this to him?
The system said with a heavy tone: [No. 】
Ji Ling absentmindedly asked again: [Then how did I get back last night? 】
System: [He sent you back. 】
Ji Ling: […]
The system spoke in his mind, ‘You were drunk yesterday and even scratched his cheek. I was considerate and didn’t say anything, lest you get scared.’
Ji Ling learned that his plan yesterday failed. Not only was Carlos not angry, but he also sent him back home. Ahhhhh! He felt like he was in a daze. He never expected that… Carlos would actually have such an accommodating side!
I even underestimated him by a lot!
Opening his communicator, Ji Ling saw Rhodes message, asking him cautiously if he was okay.
With a deadpan expression, he turned off the communicator. I’m not okay. Not okay at all! Nothing is okay!
My whole being is not okay!
………………
After something like that happened, Ji Ling was in even less of a mood to go out and play.
Carlos was really acting abnormal lately. Although he thought it shouldn’t be possible for him to appear again, Ji Ling still didn’t want to take any risks. Thrills like that were not conducive to the healthy growth of his weak heart.
Originally, he was worried about how to refuse the coming invitations, but everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding this time, and no one even mentioned asking him out. It was even peaceful on Rhodes’ end.
Ji Ling wasn’t used to it at first, but soon realized that Carlos’ appearance shocked not only him, but everyone else as well, so much so that no one dared ask him to hang out anymore.
Now that he thought about it, this wasn’t completely without its benefits…
His feelings were complicated.
He stayed at home like this, and finally got his wish of living peacefully shut-in in his house. He counted the days and waited for Ning Yu’s return.
Everything was perfect, except for one minor hitch…
Although Carlos hadn’t appeared before him again in person, he didn’t miss any chance to make his presence remembered, and sent all sorts of gizmos to Ji Ling’s house every other day…
Beautiful jewelry, delicious snacks, exquisite clothing, etc...
All of them were specialties from different galaxies in the universe. Although these things were not as valuable as Blue Ocean Star, it was still a time-consuming and laborious process. He felt like an *over-extravagant princess. It was clear there was a lot of thought put in.
Not to mention… the food, at least, was very much to his liking.
Sitting at home, he could eat delicious food from all over the universe. It felt quite good. A real foodie never refused delicious food.
The system said helplessly: [“You look very relaxed.” 】
Ji Ling threw a piece of fruit into his mouth: [What’s there not to be relaxed about? His aim is to dupe me in order to win over my father! There’s no way he’d send me poisonous food. Otherwise, the losses would outweigh the gains. 】
The system was speechless.
Ji Ling ate happily. Whenever he was satisfied and content with the food, he’d get this feeling…
If I hadn’t already done the mission before and gained an omniscient perspective, I'm afraid I wouldn’t have seen through that villain’s objective and believed that he was actually sincere.
Tsk tsk, tsk. Better to eat them than not.
When I go back, I won’t be able to eat these kinds of thing anymore.
………………
The days went by, and Ning Yu’s return was approaching. Ji Ling felt like his vacation was coming to an end.
That night, he was lying in a tree looking at the stars again. Suddenly, he saw the lights in the distant banquet hall shine brightly. There was a clamor of faint voices coming from there. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly remembered something.
Another important supporting character was coming back today. That was Wen Yan, Speaker of the House, who would later become a power in the empire.
In the book, Ning Yu, an evolver from a civilian background, shined brilliantly in the army, while Wen Yan, an evolver from the spiritual system, chose the path of politics.
Every civilian who entered Empire Star with his own evolutionary strength was nothing but excellent. However, even if they were excellent amongst the civilian population, they’d become just another ordinary person upon entering Empire Star facing the many nobles. It was like a mortal walking around the heavens; even trivial things would be discriminated against.
Therefore, they usually chose to enter different factions and become subordinates or vassals of aristocrats in order to gain support... The nobles wouldn’t completely block their path to promotion either to maintain the stability of their rule. They’d bring these civilian evolvers into their own ranks and gradually assimilate them into part of the imperial aristocracy.
Although these civilian evolvers seemed to be accepted on the surface, the inferiority ingrained in their body couldn’t be erased. In the eyes of nobles, these civilians were still of a lower race.
The inferior label of their blood wouldn’t disappear because of their strength.
Wen Yan faced such a predicament. After he became an evolver, he was brought under the authority of the Ji family, and suddenly transferred to be planet lord of one of their territories. He returned a few years later, entered parliament as a civilian and became an ordinary member of parliament.
Generally speaking, this was pretty much the end of the ladder civilians could climb…
But not for Wen Yan.
Ji Ling knew that in the next general election, Wen Yan would overcome all the opponents who despised him in an unexpected way, and become the first civilian speaker in history!
He would firmly establish his position too.
Ji Ling looked at the lights in the distance. After a moment of silence, he jumped down from the tree. Although he was somewhat afraid of this person's scheming mind and didn't want to get too close, the story required him to be present.
It was described in the original plot: Wen Yan lay dormant until he was elected Speaker of the House. He easily won the trust of the Ji family’s young master, and gradually gained more influence using the Ji family to achieve his goals. In short, while taking advantage of him on one hand, he looked down on him on the other hand. He completely played young master Ji for a fool.
Having said that, this great young master Ji Ling, ‘arrogant and stupid,’ still faithfully came to the banquet hall.
The door was open, and there were well-dressed men and women coming and going inside. They were partially his father, Ji Ting’s subordinates, and partially aristocrats with many ties to the Ji family. His father occasionally held banquets like this to give everyone a platform to voice their feelings, a kind of routine political activity.
Generally speaking, Ji Ling didn’t attend this kind of banquet. All his character thought about was love. His heart couldn’t hold anything other than Jing Sui. He never took part in these complicated things. His appearance today should just be a coincidence.
Ji Ling followed his memory from last life, and walked in. As expected, he did indeed spot a tall and handsome man.
His long silver hair was meticulously tied behind his head, and hanging down his back. His face was beautiful, but his narrow long eyes made him look more feminine. His dark eyes appeared bottomless, and he never seemed to show much extra emotion. He always had a faint smile on his face, and acted relaxed with the appropriate discretion, so that people couldn’t see through his thoughts.
Going by his appearance alone, Wen Yan didn’t lose to any imperial aristocrats at all. You could even say he was better.
For example, even now, faced with the heckling and harassment by others, he still appeared emotionless. He only looked at the other party lightly.
Lord Richard stared at Wen Yan's calm dark eyes. Although this Wen Yan didn't say a word, he somehow felt scorned and it made him extremely furious!
Clearly, they were the aristocracy high above him, but were being treated like this by a lowly civilian. It was outrageous.
Lord Richard looked at Wen Yan coldly and said with a cynical expression: “Hey, I told you you weren’t welcome here. I think it’d be better if you went home.”
Wen Yan said flatly, "Please give way. I have something to request of the duke."
Lord Richard hissed, “The duke is very busy. I don’t think he has time to see you. You only entered parliament to show your efforts for those stupid lower links. With your identity, do you really think the duke would endorse you?”
These words were very mean, but Wen Yan remained calm. His dark eyes showed neither anger nor any other emotion.
Finally, Lord Richard was infuriated and said harshly: "As a filthy lower being, you should know best. Don't think that being a member of parliament makes you one of us. Now get out of here immediately, understand?"
Ji Ling came to the front, and coincidentally saw this scene. Ha...
Even without the original plot, he couldn't stand this kind of behavior!
Ji Ling picked up a glass of wine nearby, and splashed it directly onto Lord Richard's face. He stood in the middle of the two men, blocking Wen Yan off behind him. Then he raised his eyebrow contemptuously and looked at Lord Richard, saying in a slightly raised voice. “Who do you think you are? You dare make trouble for one of my people?”
“The one who should be getting out of here… is you." Ji Ling said coldly.
Translator’s notes
*一骑红尘妃子笑 (Riding on the red dust, the consort smiles) - This is a verse from a famous poem by Du Mu about Yang Guifei (concubine of Emperor Xuanzong), who loved lychee. These fruits needed to be transported with haste from thousands of miles away so the quality wouldn’t deteriorate when she got them. Therefore, many officials and horses were exhausted/died from hurrying these trivial things over the dusty mountain roads just to please her.
