Chapter 50
After their meal, Shen Qi and Qin Huan moved their spaceship next to the signal tower. To be exact, Shen Qi did the lifting while Qin Huan guided him since the spaceship obstructed his vision.
Watching the teen hoisting the spaceship as if it were a balloon amazed Qin Huan, causing him to update once again his mental notes about Shen Qi.
It was autumn now, and as the planet typically darkens after six o'clock, the sunset's last glow was vanishing when they finished their task. The small planet was submerging in darkness.
Qin Huan decided to stay inside the spaceship, and despite his curiosity, Shen Qi left him alone, understanding Qin needed some quiet time for reflection given the circumstances.
Shen Qi lounged at the entrance of his hut, sitting on an old rotating chair that now doubled as a massage chair, servicing him from head to toe. With his eyes half-closed, Shen Qi luxuriated in the comfort, the pores of his skin open wide as he fondly thought about the interstellar society.
Eventually, Qin Huan emerged from the spaceship into the tranquil surroundings. Absence of any noise and the darkness that had consumed the entire planet did not appear to disturb him. It felt as if he inherently belonged in this darkness.
He didn't even need to activate the light on his optical brain as he slowly walked towards the hut.
The surrounding area was pitch-dark and unlike other planets, there was no moonlight that typically illuminated their nights. Some planets even had two or three moons. As he reflected on this, a surge of realization hit him; while his memories were lost, he still retained basic knowledge about the universe he existed in.
Losing his memories left Qin Huan in a state of unease.
Waking up to discover that he couldn't remember anything about himself, not his name nor his past, was undoubtedly troubling. He knew that he wasn't a newborn baby, so this memory loss naturally left him anxious.
However, perhaps he had been a calm person before losing his memories, as he didn't show his panic. Instead, the more he learned, the more composed he became.
Being on an abandoned planet with only one other person, he was unable to obtain any information about his past. But this situation was better than being deceived by others. In this case, sticking to the present circumstances was more advantageous – especially since he couldn't remember why he had fallen from the sky.
His identity as the crown prince, the tampered spaceship—it all gave him reason to be suspicious.
Above all, he sensed that he was not the sort of crown prince who had ascended to his position without obstacles. At the very least, a crown prince of an empire wouldn't be such an expert in cooking.
Then there was his disfigured face.
All these hints suggested that his life as the crown prince hadn't been easy or that perhaps there was even more complexity and twists in his story.
Regrettably, he couldn't remember any of it.
He furrowed his brows, feeling as if he were walking in darkness, unable to see the past or know where he came from. He could only rely on himself to figure everything out.
A hint of confusion appeared in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He thought to himself, "When have I become such an overly sentimental person?"
Just as this thought passed through his mind, his train of thought stuttered to a halt. He had lost his memory, so how could he know what kind of person he was?
Lost in his thoughts, he stopped in his tracks, vaguely glancing around.
There were no sounds around him, no light. Only silence.
He wondered if he would have to spend the rest of his life on this barren planet. The signal tower may not be completed, and even if it were, it might not work.
The old man Shen Qi spoke of was in a similar predicament—his spaceship broke down and he was stranded here, unable to leave until his death.
He wanted an answer, but his memory refused to respond. There was only emptiness. He had his logical thinking, but it was full of negativity.
So was the former him like this?
Always thinking about the worst-case scenarios, not the positive outcomes.
"A-Huan—"
"A-Huan—"
"Qin Huan—"
Suddenly, a loud shout rang in the air, from far to near, like a sharp sword, piercing through the darkness.
It was Shen Qi.
He recognized the voice.
No, even without listening, he knew it was only his voice.
The shout went from calm to anxious, getting closer and closer. Soon, a light emerged before him, from the optical brain illuminating the surroundings. It seemed to spot him, swaying a bit, and then getting closer and closer.
A teenager with messy silver hair and glowing all over rushed in front of him, panting slightly. His eyes examined Qin Huan with worry, "I've been waiting for ages and didn't see you return. Are you alright? There is no light here. All the usable light energy parts have been taken by me and grandpa for the cottage. I forgot to tell you, though there is not much danger, you shouldn't go too far at night..."
"I didn't see any light, so I guessed you might have forgotten that the optical brain can also be used for illumination." He waved his wrist with the optical brain. The light swayed along, illuminating his triumphant expression, "Come, let me teach you. Open the optical brain, touch here and that's it. However, my optical brain is a bit different from yours, mine is a child's version, many functions are not available. Grandpa's I can't use, and yours is surely the adult version…"
He mumbled complaints, his triumph changed into envy.
Qin Huan watched the changing expressions on his face in the blink of an eye, and a strange emotion welled up in his heart.
Shen Qi glanced at his expression and scratched his tousled hair, "Alright, my bad, I should not have left you alone. Next time if you want to go out at night, I will wait for you. Actually, it's not too dark, once you get used to it, you'll know..."
He pulled Qin Huan's arm, "Let's go, I'll take you back."
Qin Huan's gaze fell on the fingers that were pulling his sleeve. The fingers were slender and fair. Perhaps the owner had a habit of biting his nails, so they were uneven. Under the light, the rounded fingertip was visible.
"What's wrong?" Shen Qi saw him unmoving, turned around to look at him with confusion, and then widened his eyes, "Are you afraid of the dark?"
He appeared surprised, seemingly oblivious to the idea that such a grown man could be afraid of darkness. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, but quickly realizing it was inappropriate to laugh at others, he suppressed his smirk and instead chose to hold Qin Huan's hand. "Don't be afraid, I'll hold your hand, we'll be back quickly."
Caught off guard, Qin Huan's hand got held. His reflex was to shake it off, yet when he met the teasing gaze of the teenager, he halted, not denying, "Let's go."
Shen Qi turned around, hearing a notification sound close to his ear, "Happiness Value +5", he sighed in relief.
The cottage was a one-bedroom, one-living room, and one-bath setup. When Grandpa Bai passed away, Shen Qi was still small, the two had always shared a room, partly for Shen Qi to take care of Grandpa Bai when his health began to fail. After Grandpa Bai's departure, it was only Shen Qi, and now there was Qin Huan. According to Shen Qi's ideas, they naturally slept together.
"I'll sleep in the spaceship."
It momentarily slipped Qin Huan's mind about this issue, it would've been better to just stay in the spaceship initially.
"Why?" Shen Qi’s face showed puzzlement, "Don't you like sleeping with me? I sleep well, I won’t disturb you, really!”
He pursed his lips, a bit aggrieved, "I have so many things I want to tell you!"
"It's not your problem, I'm just not used to sleeping with others."
Qin Huan still refused, simply thinking about sleeping with someone else caused a strong feeling of discomfort to well up instinctively within him. The vague images in his mind added a gloom to his mood which has just recently brightened.
Shen Qi was startled by Qin Huan's sudden shift in mood. Even across the mask, he could feel the coldness mixed with a murderous intent. Moreover, Qin Huan hadn't suppressed his psychic power, and the 3S-level psychic energy leaked a trace of it. As the first to be affected, Shen Qi's face turned pale in an instant.
"I'm sorry." Qin Huan immediately retracted his influence, not even realizing himself how strong his psychic power was. Looking at Shen Qi's pale face, his mood, which had just gotten better, sunk completely.
Shen Qi rubbed his head, now understanding why this world focused more on psychic power. Having mecha and laser weapons, physical strength was less useful. When psychic powers are unleashed, even the strong must yield. Fortunately, with his physique, he could withstand S-level psychic attacks, including those of his own. S-level talents were already considered geniuses in this world, double S were rare and only encountered once in a century. As for Qin Huan, with his 3S level, he was probably one in ten thousand years or even more.
Regaining his composure and intending to complain, Shen Qi looked into Qin Huan's gloomy eyes, changed his words on the spot, raised his head to look at him with curiosity, "Ah Huan's psychic power is so strong, much more powerful than Grandpa. It must be S-level, amazing! Grandpa said those with S-level psychic powers are geniuses, Ah Huan is a genius!"
Ah Huan is a genius!
Qin Huan's vision flickered, an echo resounding in his ears, as if a long time ago, someone had also told him that.
Who was it?
He frowned tightly, unable to recall anything.
"Ah Huan?" Shen Qi waved his hand in front of Qin Huan's eyes and, seeing his regained focus, sighed in relief, "It's okay, it's okay. You scared me for a moment. Did you just remember something?"
Qin Huan shook his head: "No." He glanced towards the living room, pointing his chin at the sofa, "I will sleep here tonight."
The sofa was a sectional, L-shaped, more than adequate for a person to sleep on. Shen Qi didn't insist anymore: "Alright then, I'll fetch a pillow and blanket for you!"
They had extra pillows and blankets, and the house was installed with photoelectric plates on all sides. They could adjust the temperature freely, so there was no need for blankets at night.
Shen Qi hurriedly fetched a pillow and blanket. After some deliberation, he also found a new towel from the cupboard, gave it to Qin Huan and said: "The toiletries are all in the bathroom, there's only one toothbrush. If you don't mind, you can use mine. Oh wait, you should have some in your spaceship. You have your bath first, and I'll fetch it for you!"
And with that, he was off.
Qin Huan, still for a moment, watched Shen Qi's retreating figure, that bizarre emotion from earlier surfacing once again.
When he came out after his shower, he saw a pile of items on the bathroom countertop, and a sentence written on the mirror: "Good night, Ah Huan. Muah!"
It took Qin Huan some moments to snap out of it.
________________________
For the following week, Shen Qi and Qin Huan cohabited. With Qin Huan around, the three meals a day were prepared by him. Shen Qi's responsibilities included eating and repairing the signal tower... oh, and praising Huan's cooking.
The construction of the signal tower was a significant task. Even a minor change in the components was unacceptable. Shen Qi had to work patiently and meticulously, at least another half a month to finish the remaining task.
Of course, if Qin Huan hadn't lost his memory, perhaps it could be done in ten days.
This was the time Shen Qi had planned to spend with Qin Huan originally, intending to raise his likability within these ten days. But he hadn't anticipated Qin Huan's amnesia.
Perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise!
Shen Qi pondered deeply. Through their interactions over these days, he had gained a broad understanding of Qin Huan's personality. Although he had lost his memory, certain aspects of him remained unchanged. He appeared calm, even gentle on the outside but was highly guarded on the inside. His subconscious approach to problems was defensive, even a bit pessimistic.
For instance, during meals, Shen Qi would play a movie. The movie was a classic Xianxia film, filmed very realistically. It was rumored that an entire planet had been used to build the set, which was now a popular tourist destination. Each time he watched it, Shen Qi dreamt of visiting the place once they left.
The content of the movie was pretty standard in Shen Qi's eyes- the typical template of Xianxia plot. The protagonist was a common man oppressed by others, scorned by his fiancée for their arranged marriage, who in turn found solace in the arms of a senior brother. But then the protagonist stumbles upon a stroke of luck that turned his life around, and his journey to the top began. In the end, he forgave his fiancée and his oppressors and they all lived happily ever after.
Although it was a bit sanctimonious, the acting was excellent from both the protagonist and the supporting characters, and the plot naturally transitioned. Every character had their own plight and it didn't feel too abrupt.
However, to Qin Huan, it was simple, in his eyes, he coldly commented: "Stupid."
Attempting to probe him further, Shen Qi asked: "So what do you think would be 'not stupid'?"
Qin Huan answered with a mild expression, yet the chilling tone of his answer sent shivers down Shen Qi's spine: "Of course, murder. Betrayal is betrayal. Why would you need to keep them around? It's too dirty, they have to be killed. Hmm... You could probably keep the fiancée. After all, the protagonist is still smitten by her, perhaps lock her up?" He wrinkled his brows, seemingly unable to endure the thought, "Well, better just kill her as well." He faltered a bit, "Or turn her into a puppet? There are such magical methods in the movie, no?"
Shen Qi looked at Qin Huan's expression, his heart shuddering.
Amnesia is good, amnesia is wonderful, amnesia for the win!
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