Applaud for Happiness - Chapter 52

 

Chapter 52

"Happiness points +5."

"Happiness points -10."

Shen Qi experienced what it felt like to go back to square one. He had just managed to gain five happiness points, but after adding and subtracting, it was all lost again.

So, early in the morning, Shen Qi, wearing dark circles under his eyes, squatted at the door, biting on sugar cane with a worried expression. Crunch, crunch.

He felt anxious.

"Time to eat." Qin Huan came out, bent down, and scooped Shen Qi up with his long arm passing under his chest. Qin Huan's fingers affectionately touched Shen Qi's cheek, his expression gentle. "Eat first, we don't have to rush to leave. I'll accompany you for a walk around later."

Shen Qi was puzzled - had Qin Huan figured everything out or not?

Although the happiness points had decreased, Qin Huan seemed closer to him, doing intimate little gestures he wouldn't do before.

Shen Qi displayed an uneasy expression, dodging back a little. "Ah Huan, what's wrong with you? You've been acting strange since this morning."

It wasn't just strange. He woke up early in the morning to find a living person sitting by his bed, which almost scared him to death. That's not all - the person, with a gentle face, pulled him out of the blanket, gave him a good morning kiss, and helped him get dressed as if he were a ragdoll.

Qin Huan smiled warmly, "Because you said you liked Ah Huan, that makes me very happy."

What kind of answer was that? Shouldn't the logical response be, 'because I like you, so I want to get close to you and take care of you'?

Ah, he almost forgot, the person in front of him is not normal.

Shen Qi scratched his messy hair, evading eye contact. "When did I say I liked you…”

Qin Huan wore a look of indulgence that dared not burst Shen Qi's bubble, "It's alright if you don't remember, as long as I do. Thank you for your affection, I also like Xiao Qi."

He smiled at Shen Qi, his affectionate but devoid of lust, like a brother gazing at his sibling.

Shen Qi sighed in his heart. As expected, Qin Huan was utterly unconcerned with notions of romance and love. Perhaps due to his amnesia, or even his naturally oblivious nature, his closeness was premised on the simple trust and fondness of a loved one, rather than any romantic desires. Compared to his subordinates, he seemed even more affectionate towards Shen Qi.

Looking at it this way, he should hope for Qin Huan to regain his memory sooner.

For his last breakfast on this planet, Shen Qi ate in melancholy. Qin Huan comforted him from time to time, and after the meal, he led Shen Qi around the cabin for a walk.

"Ah Huan, take a commemorative photo for me, will you?"

Shen Qi stood on a small slope, with the backdrop of an abandoned city behind him. The morning light here seemed dim, and the breeze blew, stirring up rolling dust.

He adjusted his angle and opened his palm, making it seem as if the cabin was resting in his hand.

Qin Huan squinted his eyes. Amid the desolation, only the youth before him seemed to be in color, as if emitting a light that invited others to come closer, to grasp, and to...

Tie up.

And make it his own.

The dark thought emerged suddenly and yet seemed quite natural. Qin Huan's heart skipped a beat, and he calmly suppressed the urge, opened his optical brain, and captured the young man's smiling face.

The activation of the signal tower went smoothly as it succeeded in just one attempt. The moment it was turned on, both of their optical brains connected to the SkyNet.

Shen Qi immediately tried to contact his parents through the communication records. As expected, there was no response. In his current identity, his parents died in a meteor storm while trying to rescue him when he was kidnapped by pirates.

Moreover, after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he gradually dismantled the Empress Dowager's maternal family. Members of the Shen family perished in the line of duty or met with accidents. Eventually, they were accused of negligence, and the family was exiled to a remote star system. Now, the Shen family consisted of only a few members from its side branches.

Upon the Crown Prince's ascension, he summoned these people back and released information saying that if there were any members of the Shen family still out there, they could return at any time.

It was exactly because of his attitude that Shen Qi initially thought of revealing his identity during their short-lived interaction and staying by his side smoothly. However, he didn't expect him to lose his memory, bypassing this step altogether.

Unable to contact his parents, Shen Qi tried to get in touch with other people. His optical brain was a children's version, which only contained about a dozen people, all of whom were family members. It didn't have specific names, only referring to them as dad, mom, grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunt, cousin, and so on. He called each one, and in the end, they were all cancelled or couldn't be found, without exception.

Despite Shen Qi not really being the original host, it was inevitable to feel a sense of loss. A big family just vanished like that. Since ancient times, victory has always been for the king, and defeat for the defeated, even in the interstellar era, this couldn't be avoided.

While Shen Qi couldn't find anyone, Qin Huan did. Shen Qi listened distractedly, he didn't mention his amnesia at all. It seemed like he was simply listening to the person on the other end, only humming occasionally. In the end, he said, "Okay."

After hanging up the video call, he faced Shen Qi's gaze and hid his cold expression: "Let's wait here a bit, someone will come soon."

Shen Qi looked at their spaceship, puzzled, "Aren't we going back ourselves?"

Qin Huan shook his head, "No need." He didn't explain much, but then he asked about Shen Qi's attempts to contact his family.

Shen Qi's gaze dimmed, "No one. All of them are cancelled. They might have already..."

Generally, optical brains are for a lifetime, if it's marked as cancelled, it often means the person is no longer there. Furthermore, cancellation doesn't mean an inability to establish a connection. It means that someone has taken care of the aftermath. For instance, Shen Qi's optical brain number hasn't been cancelled. Perhaps the Shen family held on to a sliver of hope. However, after a series of changes, they likely forgot to conduct a funeral, and without a funeral, there would naturally be no cancellation application.

Qin Huan comforted, "Don't be upset. We still know their names. When we return to the main star, I'll have people look into it. We'll definitely find something."

However, a sense of joy sprouted within him. It was better if Shen Qi couldn't contact them, because then the young man would have no choice but to stay with him.

He closed his eyes briefly, hiding the emotions in them, and his expression softened further. Qin Huan put his arm around Shen Qi's shoulder and pulled him into a hug. His voice was gentle, "You still have me. I promised I would protect you. Don't worry."

Shen Qi's expression was gloomy as he responded in a low voice.

Qin Huan then turned on the optical brain, "You wanted to know about the outside world, right? Now that we've connected to the Sky Network, I'll show you how to use it. This is something I remember."

Shen Qi's attention was immediately diverted. He started to learn how to use the Sky Network with Qin Huan. Since he had lost his childhood memories, he didn't have to pretend to be too sad.

He knew how to use the Sky Network already, and was even more skilled than Qin Huan, at least to the extent that he could quietly invade the Sky Network and randomly access information. Of course, everyone has their own special skills, and Shen Qi wasn't capable of operating a mecha like Qin Huan.

Shen Qi's psychic energy was only Grade C, barely meeting the pass mark. Here, Grade B was considered excellent, and Grade A was already of special status.

The lower Grades D and E represented ordinary people, and the lowest was Grade F. Fortunately, not everyone in the interstellar era needed to operate mechas for a living. There were plenty of job types. As long as one had talent and was willing to work hard, they could succeed in other areas, just without spiritual power.

Shen Qi wasn't too worried about his secrets being exposed. His actions would seem normal in anyone's eyes. It's always wise to be cautious; he'd find an opportunity to explain everything in the future.

His considerations were basic, but he forgot that Qin Huan was no ordinary person. Eventually, it ended up backfiring on Shen Qi himself.

About half an hour later, Shen Qi had learned the basic operations and understood all the functions of the SkyNet. He was enthusiastically thinking about searching for information about the crown prince when a spaceship descended.

This one was much larger than the one Qin Huan had taken initially. It was more than ten times bigger, which made it more of a warship than a spaceship. The ship didn't fully land, stopping about twenty meters above the ground. A ladder extended, and three figures swiftly descended. The one in front, in fact, even faster than the extension of the ladder. After a few cushioned landings, they stood before Qin Huan.

"Boss!"

A mature-looking youth with black hair and blue eyes led the group. His features were more Eastern, handsome and clear, but the corners of his eyes seemed to have been burnt, trailing menacing cracks as if to warn others not to mess with him.

The youth stopped about two meters away from Qin Huan, visibly relaxed upon seeing him, then saluted respectfully and resumed his address, "Crown Prince, I hope you are well."

Then the other two arrived — a man and a woman, both younger than the black-haired youth. The man had an average face, but his golden hair was striking, adding a dash of charm. The woman had short hair trimmed to her ears, both her hair and her were red. Although beautiful, she had a slightly melancholy and eerie charm.

The man barely had time to stand firm when he started shouting, "Boss, you nearly scared us to death. We're glad that you're okay!"

The woman, cool and emotionless, saluted without a word, yet concern shone in her eyes.

Qin Huan accepted their greetings calmly and nodded, "I'm fine."

Shen Qi peered out from behind Qin Huan, tilting his head in curious observation.

The trio's gaze fell on Shen Qi, who instantly withdrew, gripping Qin Huan's arm.

Qin Huan looked back at him, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Don't be afraid." He casually clutched the teenager's arm, pulling him forward, and introduced, "This is Shen Qi, he lives on this planet and saved me."

His gaze swept over the trio.

"Hello Mr. Shen, my name is Vick." The black-haired youth at the front took the lead in introducing himself, wearing a polite smile, following the standard norm of etiquette and making it feel very formal.

"Hi, my name is He Yun." The blonde young man hid no curiosity in his eyes, though it wasn't malicious. He even waved at Shen Qi with a playful smile.

"Dong Yan." The woman crisply dropped two words.

Shen Qi returned a shy smile to each of them. After all, a smile is always the right response.

"Let's go." Qin Huan had no intention of prolonging the conversation. He naturally took Shen Qi's hand and walked directly towards the spaceship without minding the shock of the trio behind him.

Shen Qi leaned closer to Qin Huan, giving him a knowing look: Have you regained your memory?

This behaviour was nowhere near indicative of amnesia.

"No." Qin Huan's step was relaxed.

Shen Qi's eyes widened, he lowered his voice, "I got it, you're worried there might be a problem with one of them, aren't you?" His voice became even softer, "Ah Huan is really smart, don't worry, I will cooperate with you!"

Qin Huan couldn't help but chuckle internally. As soon as he connected the video and saw the figures of Vick and the other two, he remembered the information about them. They belonged to the category that would absolutely not betray him, so he only notified these three. But confronted with the adoration and excitement in the boy's eyes, he didn't reveal this. Instead, he played along: "You guessed right, I indeed need your help."

Shen Qi immediately gave him a look meaning 'No problem, you give the command'.

Qin Huan's lips curved up, "There's no need to do anything special right now. Little Qi, just hold my hand and pretend to be very close to me."

Tsk.

Shen Qi silently tsks in his mind, this tactic...

He likes it!

And he unhesitatingly leans towards him with complete conviction.

Vick/He Yun/Dong Yan, who have strong psychic power and heard everything clearly: ...

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter