He had not thought of Ling Ji in a long time.
Nor had he thought of his days as crown prince in his first life for a long time.
So when Pei Ying said he had called Pei Guangji's name in his sleep while he was ill, Xin Hexue hesitated for a moment.
His homeworld was a planet designated B3081 in the Alpha System. It was quite small, barely larger than the neighboring planet's moon.
The small planet had long been poor and weak, beset by troubles at home and threats from abroad, struggling to survive between the larger planets.
A small planet only needed to suffer being crushed underfoot and tolerate the larger planets plundering its star core energy, while the larger planets had much more to consider.
As Planet B3081's crown prince, Xin Hexue did not tend roses. Much of the time, he was too busy even to notice whether the servants had neglected to change the water for the flowers in the palace vases.
His father was elderly, his mother gravely ill. Although his elder brother had the heart of a child, that was all he had, and he was unequal to the heavy responsibility. Xin Hexue, meanwhile, was the first heir in the royal family to possess triple-S-grade spiritual power.
He had been born to shoulder greater responsibilities.
Even if his physical aptitude might not even qualify for F-grade.
Before that, there was study and training, day after day.
Planet B3081's rising hope, the royal family's future successor, undoubtedly had to be perfect.
His schedule had to begin at sunrise, so he had to get up at five. In summer, he had to get up even earlier.
His schedule was divided into hourly segments. Aside from major lessons such as science, religion, and language and diplomacy, smaller matters, such as grooming and giving a speech to reassure the people, had to be timed down to the second.
Half his time also had to be spent on mecha combat.
After climbing out of the cockpit drenched in cold sweat, he had to receive his instructor's daily assessment. Once the instructor marked an A on the assessment sheet, he had to swallow the taste of blood surging up his throat, make sure the curve of his smile concealed his exhaustion and made him look sufficiently energetic, then humbly ask the instructor to review his performance with him.
Dinner was the most important time of day. It was the only meal he shared with his family.
Before eating, he was expected to recount what he had gained that day, including reflections on every small mistake that might one day lead to a major error.
The long table kept him far apart from his family, and dinner contained none of his favorite foods.
But that was all right, because the future successor was perfect and would never be a picky eater.
His father sternly pointed out that his performance that day had been unsatisfactory, his mother tried to intercede in a voice soft with illness, and his elder brother sat in cowardly silence, occasionally shooting him glances full of jealousy and resentment.
Xin Hexue looked at them. Their human forms were a dull gray, their eyes blood-red hollows. Black water poured from their constantly opening and closing mouths, soaking the long table's exquisite gold-threaded tablecloth and gushing toward him from across it.
He meekly accepted every correction, lowered his lashes, and cut his food. When he put it in his mouth, he could not tell whether he was swallowing bloody beef or the fragments of his own roiling, tumbling organs.
A powerful urge to vomit came over him.
Fortunately, it would all end once he went to sleep promptly at midnight.
The schedule repeated itself 365 days a year. In a leap year, it repeated one more time.
But on the birthday of his coming-of-age ceremony, his time after dinner was left free. He could move about the palace as he pleased, choose to read or go to bed early, or else find himself on the receiving end of an assassination attempt—
The sounds of fighting were fierce.
Armored cavalry and firearms were not allowed into the inner palace, so what he heard was the clash of cold weapons and the pounding of long boots against the marble floor.
Without warning, someone climbed in through a window that had been left slightly ajar, bringing with him a strong smell of blood.
Xin Hexue sat on the bed, his back against a down pillow, without moving an inch.
Only when the smell of blood reached his nose did he raise his eyes. "Are you hurt?"
Ling Ji was clearly only a year older than him, yet he was much taller and broader.
With his neat, short blond hair and thoroughly unruly bearing, almost no one would doubt that he was a space pirate.
Xin Hexue could not tell where the wound was from the other man's clean clothes, and Ling Ji did not answer his question.
He caught the aroma of food with his keen nose. "What did you bring?"
Ling Ji grinned and pulled out a takeout container as though presenting some treasure. "See for yourself."
Xin Hexue could not stand eating in bed. He got out and sat down at the low table beside it.
The takeout container was still warm, and the food inside was—
Grilled sweet potato skin?
Xin Hexue frowned deeply, his expression turning cold. "Take it away."
He would never touch "junk food" soaked in a heavy, unidentified sauce.
Ling Ji said, "Huh? But didn't you really want to eat it?"
Xin Hexue said, "I never said I wanted to eat it."
Ling Ji leaned close like a golden retriever. "But I saw it in a video online. His Highness the Crown Prince was visiting ordinary people, and he was obviously really interested in the barbecue at a street stall. His eyes looked like they were saying, 'Just let me have some,' didn't they?"
Xin Hexue denied it flatly and turned his head away. "Impossible!"
He could never have been so ill-mannered.
Like a noble lion cat from the cat planet, he would not show an appetite for a fish that a savage had caught and flung onto the ground.
Ling Ji held the grilled sweet potato skin closer. "You really don't want to try it? I'll have to leave soon, before your palace guards track me here."
The deep frown between Xin Hexue's brows never eased, and his bearing remained dignified, but for once, he lived for himself for a second.
A jumble of flavors exploded in his mouth.
It was actually pretty good.
Xin Hexue wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief. "Remember to take the trash with you."
Otherwise, he would have a hard time explaining why there was something like that in the palace.
Ling Ji assented, then bent down to do something.
Xin Hexue felt something cool and smooth against his ankle. "What is it?"
"A birthday present," Ling Ji said. "The fleet passed a planet that had run out of energy last time, and I picked it out of the ruins of a museum there. I think it's called a peace buckle. Don't know what kind of jade it's made of, but it looks pretty nice."
Xin Hexue did not expect to get the right answer out of him. In his eyes, Ling Ji was not much different from an illiterate.
A round jade ring with a hole in the middle hung from the red cord. It did not get in his way, so Xin Hexue left it alone.
But...
"What's this?"
A miniature key was also strung on the red cord.
Ling Ji said, "A key."
No kidding.
"A key to what?" Xin Hexue saw the collar around Ling Ji's neck, with a little lock on it. He examined it, and when he guessed the answer, he hooked a finger around the collar and forcibly pulled Ling Ji over. "You lunatic," he cursed.
Ling Ji grinned, showing his canines. "Little prince, what are we to each other?"
Xin Hexue pushed him away. "...Enemies."
From the standpoint of their respective positions, it was the obvious answer. Enemies from an
interstellar
perspective could be confidants in private, but never lovers.
The clock struck midnight, and Xin Hexue was bitten by a dog. It did not count as a first kiss.
As Ling Ji was leaving, he said, "I hope you won't go on the campaign against Planet 3042. I'll be molting in a while, so I won't be able to secretly follow you and protect you."
Xin Hexue asked in return, "Do you think the guards I trained are just there to eat for free?"
Ling Ji shrugged. "Then how did I get in?"
Xin Hexue said, "..."
Although he had agreed at the time, he had actually been required to go to the front lines for the campaign.
A space pirate exiled to wander the sea of stars could never understand what a victory meant to a small planet that had suffered humiliation for so long.
His homeworld had needed a victory like that too badly.
As the commander, Xin Hexue remembered that the campaign had been fought beautifully, ending in a resounding victory.
During the war, his physical condition had been better than ever before.
Looking back now, it must have been a final burst of energy before death.
So afterward, like a comet that had burned through all its energy, he rapidly perished.
Rain pattered down.
It struck the ground, and the air filled with the mingled scents of grass stems and rain.
Xin Hexue had not brought an umbrella, and he was still crouched on the ground, stroking the little yellow dog's head.
But the rain did not fall on him.
A student stood behind him, holding an umbrella.
Xin Hexue said gently, "Thank you."
The streetlights, set on a timer, came on all at once throughout the campus.
Xin Hexue suddenly froze.
He looked at the shadow on the ground. The boy stood behind him holding the umbrella, and his shadow was thick and more than two meters long. Its arms had jagged outlines like scorpion pincers, and a long bony spike trailed along the ground, swaying rhythmically from side to side and tapping soundlessly.
Xin Hexue's eyelid twitched.
But when he looked again, there was nothing unusual about the shadow on the ground.
He must have seen it wrong.
Xin Hexue suspected his blood sugar was low. When it was, black fireworks would burst before his eyes, and light and shadow would blur together.
Pei Ying had borrowed an umbrella and hurried over. Because a strange male stood beside Xin Hexue, he glared as though reacting to a threat, shooting the bewildered boy beside him a furious look.
But Pei Ying quickly composed himself. Ignoring the boy, he said awkwardly to Xin Hexue, "Come back with me. It's raining, and the wind will pick up soon. You won't be able to take it."
As they walked, he said to Xin Hexue, "Just now... I was impulsive. I was talking nonsense. Don't take it to heart. If you really can't let it go, just slap me again."
South City No. 1 High School had a fairly large campus. Its affiliated elementary school was located within the high school grounds, separated from it only by a sports field and occupying a corner of the campus.
Xi Xiaode had just transferred from the Sixth District to South City No. 1 High School's affiliated elementary school. He did not have many friends, so he often came over to talk to the puppy.
While the third-year high school students were holding a parents' meeting, the elementary school was also holding a meeting to prepare students for moving up to the next level.
But when he came over today, someone was already beside the little yellow dog.
Xi Xiaode tugged at the sleeve of the adult beside him. "Uncle, that's the big brother I saw at Sixth District Hospital."