Chapter 36

The miniature airship floated high in the sky, moving swiftly and steadily onward.

Inside the vehicle, the driver switched on the radio. The female host spoke in a gentle voice, treating her interviewees with great courtesy.

Xu Qingran rested his chin in his hand, leaning lazily against the door as he looked out the window.

They seemed to have reached another of Red Maple's cities.

Skyscrapers filled his view, their dazzling, multicolored lights competing for attention. Their designs were novel and bold. Far in the distance stood a building that towered into the clouds, its exterior reminding him of the Oriental Pearl he had seen in his previous life.

There were also ground-level driving lanes below, but they were no longer the asphalt roads he remembered. Instead, they were made of metal plates joined together, with two long glowing strips on top. Every vehicle followed the strips closely, moving along in an orderly, peaceful fashion.

He suddenly thought of this world's "Xu Qingran" and asked the system, "After the original owner died, would his soul stay in this world? Or did it just disappear?"

"Souls that die prematurely because something went wrong with their fate are all sent to other worlds to be reincarnated and start new lives."

"Like you, host, they probably won't give him such a miserable fate again."

Xu Qingran sneered. "Really?"

"Why do I feel like, ever since I transmigrated, I've been going through tribulations rather than enjoying a new life?"

The system chose to play dead.

By the time Xu Qingran returned to Shen Tingyu's home, the busy admiral was already gone.

At Shen Tingyu's request, Sister-in-law Song had arranged his room downstairs, relatively close to Shen Tianyi's. The room was still spacious, and there was no troublesome shared bathroom, so he had no objections.

As for the young nephew, Shen Tianyi went out with his little schoolbag every weekday morning and didn't return until four or five in the afternoon. They hardly saw each other except at the dinner table. And perhaps the fierce way Xu Qingran had beaten Lu Cheng that day had truly frightened him, because whenever Shen Tingyu wasn't around, he made a point of avoiding Xu Qingran.

Xu Qingran was happy to have the peace and quiet.

He set an alarm and got up at six every morning, jogging along the wooded garden paths around the house and exercising in the open space in his room. He also tied a homemade punching bag to a tree branch in the backyard to train his fists and legs.

After a week, he had broken several.

Xu Qingran was enjoying his training, but the system wasn't very happy.

That day, Xu Qingran had finished showering and was lying on the bed resting when the system urged him anxiously, "I heard what Sister-in-law Song just said. Shen Tingyu is coming home tonight. Find a way to make something happen!"

Xu Qingran: "?"

Honestly, they were both grown men, and they had seen at a glance that neither was interested in the other. How was he supposed to make anything happen?

"Sigh, I originally thought the plan was going smoothly, and I even gathered a whole bunch of material for you on 'the domineering admiral and his delicate little wife.' But now it's no use."

Good thing it wasn't used, Xu Qingran thought.

But the next second, the system exclaimed passionately, "But that's all right! For your sake, host, I've worked tirelessly these past few days, and I've finally gathered another treasure trove of material!"

"Behold, 'the flirtatious uncle and his pretty nephew-in-law'!"

Xu Qingran: "..."

Chapter 17: Provocation

Xu Qingran had just temporarily muted his system when a mail icon suddenly appeared on the light panel beside him.

[You have new mail!]

A few seconds later, the light flickered again.

[You have new mail!]

The two emails had arrived at almost the same time.

One was from Grandis Secondary School Division, and the other was from the university's military academy.

The original owner had earned excellent grades from a young age and had gotten into Grandis Secondary School by passing the entrance exam himself. Now that he had graduated from high school, the school had told him to collect some materials he had left there, including his entries in arts competitions and certificates for awards both big and small.

The university, meanwhile, wanted him to submit some documents he had been unable to provide while he was at the Evil Tower, and to complete his enrollment registration again in person in case of a system error.

The secondary school branch the original owner had attended was in the Andromeda Galaxy, while handling the paperwork at the university's main campus meant going to Sea Blue Star in the Celestial God System.

It looked like he was going to be busy again.

As the evening sun sank in the west, Xu Qingran walked out of his room right on time for dinner.

This world did have smart kitchens that could help prepare food; he remembered that the stepmother in the Xu Family used one. But Shen Tingyu's kitchen had nothing of the sort installed. Sister-in-law Song cooked everything herself, giving the meals a particularly homely feel.

He had casually asked Sister-in-law Song about it a few days ago, and she had told him it was because Shen Tingyu didn't like food made by cold, lifeless machines.

The young nephew Shen Tianyi had already returned from school, and the next day happened to be the weekend. For once, he was sprawled on the sofa, holding a metal sphere and happily staring at the empty air in front of him.

"What are you watching?"

Xu Qingran's voice suddenly sounded behind him, startling Shen Tianyi so badly that he nearly threw away the object in his hands, which was worth hundreds of thousands of star coins.

Shen Tianyi gripped the little ball tightly and turned to stare at Xu Qingran in fright.

On the evening Xu Qingran had arrived, his uncle Shen Tingyu had called him into the study again and warned him sternly, "Your fiancé isn't a good person. Be careful and keep your distance from him."

So for the past few days, he had done his best not to have anything to do with Xu Qingran.

But when he met Xu Qingran's sincerely questioning gaze, he tapped the visual-sharing option and replied, "I'm watching Duo Lili's online concert."

As Shen Tianyi's childish voice fell silent, the spacious living room vanished in an instant.

A three-dimensional scene of a starlit stage unfolded before Xu Qingran's eyes. They were positioned quite high up from an audience perspective, looking down from a distance at a young woman singing and dancing onstage. She was beautiful and tall, with a head of shiny dyed purple hair. Wearing a colorful knee-length dress, she danced like an elf, while many spectators around the stage waved glow sticks.