If There Is a God

At last, he had found a face he liked in this boring place. Asta gave his first genuine smile of the day, one that could even be called unrestrained.

His eyes brimmed with undisguised interest. "Hello. I'm Asta."

He paused for another two seconds, raised both eyebrows with a touch of exaggeration, and half lifted his hands. "Whoa, whoa, wait. You're a guy."

Plenty of women wore their hair short, too. Asta thought either look was fine.

Shi Zhou nodded, doing his best to maintain a polite smile. "Yes. Obviously."

-Hahahaha, I'm dying! Did you guys see his expression just now?

-I looked up Asta's family. It must run in the family. They're really into ancient Earth culture, especially pure-blooded Ancient Huaxia People with black hair and black eyes. That's always been exactly their type.

-No wonder. The way he was looking at Shi Zhou just now, his eyes practically glazed over and his soul left his body.

"What a shame." Who knew what Asta was feeling so regretful about?

What a lech. Shi Zhou was speechless.

He wasn't making that up; it was how the original novel described him. Asta might have been young, but he loved extreme sports, fine wine, beautiful women, and cigars.

Fortunately, though, the original author had established that he liked women.

Asta gave Shi Zhou two reluctant looks and asked, "Zhou, do you have any sisters? Female cousins would work, too."

Shi Zhou was so annoyed he laughed. "No!"

He did actually have a younger sister, but she was only twelve this year. There was absolutely no way he would expose his precious little sister to this guy!

Xie Jiali frowned slightly and tugged Shi Zhou back a little.

Bai Shen wasn't particularly taken with this unreliable new guest, either. Still, he had encountered all kinds of people in business, plenty of them much harder to deal with than Asta.

Although Asta didn't fit the Cassius Family's reportedly disciplined, proper image, Bai Shen was the least surprised of all the guests. His expression didn't even change.

He said mildly, "Asta, we're heading to the supermarket. Why don't you get some rest first? We'll see you in a bit."

He spoke in an ancient Western language.

Asta grew a little more serious and put on a pitiful expression with that handsome face of his, telling Shi Zhou:

"Sorry, Zhou. I was joking earlier. My family is actually very strict. I just wanted to get to know more Eastern beauties like you."

"It's been a long time since I spoke with ancient Earth people. I forgot that different races have different levels of reserve when socializing," he explained somewhat awkwardly.

Then he pressed his palms together, lowered his voice, and enunciated clearly. "Forgive me. Please, please."

Asta was officially the youngest, having only just turned eighteen and come of age.

He was two years younger than Shi Zhou.

Shi Zhou laughed. What else could he say to such a character?

"It's fine. Just be more careful next time."

Asta let out a slightly exaggerated sigh of relief, and his smile became a little more restrained.

"You're all going to the supermarket? It's a bit of a trek to the garage through the main entrance. Please follow me."

He led them confidently toward a path on the left. It was behind the greenhouse, so the guests hadn't noticed it.

By now, the situation was quite clear. Lin Yuxi studied him with mild curiosity. "Is this your home?"

Asta lowered his head slightly, making sure to look her in the eyes as he spoke. "Yes, ma'am."

"But this is only one of my vacation estates. If you'd like, we could visit the others, too."

His eyes seemed to hold a smile at all times, his gaze deep and attentive. Lin Yuxi couldn't help blushing and backing down.

But Asta knew just where to draw the line. He immediately changed the subject, returning the mood to that of a lively gathering of friends. A few casual words from him were enough to make both women laugh.

-Oh my god, did a walking pheromone dispenser just show up?

-Guys, promise me you won't try this on just anyone. You need more than emotional intelligence and a silver tongue. You also need a top-tier face and bank balance, or you'll just come off as sleazy.

-Uh, would anyone dare pick Asta? He feels completely impossible to pin down. Wouldn't his partner spend every day on edge?

Shi Zhou thought so, too. Someone like this was fine as a friend and could make you very happy, but he definitely wasn't suitable as a romantic partner.

Was he really supposed to find someone to pair with a guy like this? He'd feel bad for whoever ended up with him.

Watching Asta charm everyone around him, Shi Zhou pursed his lips.

The system spoke up to remind him: [Don't worry, Zhouzhou. We only need the male leads to experience love-in other words, date. They don't have to get married and stay together for life.]

Marriage rates among interstellar people were very low, and their lifespans were long. Dating eight or ten times in a lifetime was normal. It really wasn't a big deal.

Shi Zhou stopped worrying about it.

The path was a short route down. They took an elevator to the garage on the first basement level, and Asta snapped his fingers. The lights came on.

"Wow-"

So many cars!

All kinds of ultra-luxury cars stood in the garage, sealed beneath transparent light-energy shields to protect their bodies from even the slightest damage.

What man didn't love cars?

Shi Zhou couldn't resist walking over and counting them off. "Ossell, Luocheng, Weilu, Sir Martin..."

They were all luxury cars, and several were limited editions that even money couldn't buy.

At some point, Asta had walked up beside him. Following his gaze, he adjusted the tie at his neck with his long, gloved fingers.

"Want to take one for a spin?" Asta asked with a smile.

At some point, Xie Jiali had pulled his own car out of the garage. He gave a soft honk, lowered the window, and rested his elbow on it, his upturned eyes gentle. "Let's go, Zhouzhou."

Shi Zhou liked this car, too. He turned and smiled at Asta. "Thanks, but no. I don't have a license yet."

At Xie Jiali's gesture, Shi Zhou got into the front passenger seat. Asta shrugged and watched him get in, then went back with his car keys in hand. Opening his car door, he told the two women, "Couldn't get him to come."

"It's fine. We'll see him at the supermarket."

Although Lin Yuxi was a little disappointed, she still gave him a sweet smile.

As a dedicated shipper in her own mind, she could ship anyone. Shi Zhou riding in the other car, surrounded by men, was pretty nice, too.

-He's so good at making himself at home. Shi Zhou got along best with the two girls, but Asta hasn't even been here half an hour and he's already overtaken everyone else?

-Girls, don't even ask. Who could resist someone that ridiculously handsome? With that face in front of you, he wouldn't have to do a thing for you to fall. And he's smooth, too.

For reasons nobody knew, Bai Shen also got into Xie Jiali's car. Zheng Yu had to swallow his invitation before he could even voice it.

The smile froze on his face.

He stood there with his arms folded for two seconds, bit his lip, and looked at the two cars. In the end, he followed Bai Shen into Xie Jiali's.

Xie Jiali's expression was as gentle as ever.

Yet something seemed to have changed since Asta arrived.

Once he got into the car, he didn't rush to speak. Instead, he put on a song from two years ago that had been very popular at the time.

The car had been fairly quiet. As they drove out of the underground garage, they passed through a dimly lit stretch. With the silence inside, the atmosphere was slightly awkward.

When the singing began, Shi Zhou finally had something to say. He turned his face toward Xie Jiali in pleasant surprise. "You like Dobby Little Monster's songs, too?"

Shi Zhou's memories were still stuck two years in the past. When he opened his eyes again, fate had turned his whole life upside down, as if playing a joke on him.

Everything was a complete mess, as bad as it could possibly be, like a nightmare he couldn't wake from. How could he not feel dejected at all?

Then he heard the lyrics:

"You must see how a fallen tree becomes a bridge,

How the tide will surge again after it recedes..."

"The deepest silent night

Is not a place without sound.

If there is a god,

They will hear your prayers."

This had been one of Shi Zhou's favorite songs back then. Hearing it here with Xie Jiali naturally brought him a measure of comfort and surprise.

It felt as though someone still remembered who he had truly been before.

Turning the steering wheel with one hand, Xie Jiali glanced gently at Shi Zhou. His voice mingled with the soft evening breeze and the low, slow singing as he answered with complete sincerity:

"Yeah. I do."

In truth, he was run off his feet and exhausted every day. Even when he listened to music, it could only be songs he needed to study. He had first heard this one on the day he got into the First Academy, when someone happened to hum it.

The young man had leaned against a modified motorcycle, spirited and confident, chatting with easy composure. He had long since grown used to the various furtive looks from those around him.

That person was Shi Zhou.

Xie Jiali looked away and met his own upturned eyes in the rearview mirror. They were so solemn, so earnest.

He had come for Shi Zhou. If he couldn't win him over, couldn't make him fall for him,

Then he could only spend the rest of his life listening to this song in misery.

So, please,

If there was a god, please hear his prayer.