Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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After some time, Ye Qingyun finally received his “grand prize.”

“What did you say?” Ye Qingyun asked in disbelief. “Take me to the ruling palace to meet the highest authority, to discuss knowledge with him?”

“Yes, sir,” the well-dressed man replied, bowing to Ye Qingyun. “The person above loves all kinds of research, and I believe he’ll be very pleased to meet you.”

Ye Qingyun raised his voice a little: “This is my grand prize?”

The man nodded affirmatively.

Ye Qingyun: ‘……’

He was tricked! What kind of grand prize was this? What about his money? What about his many, many rewards?

“Sir,” perhaps noticing Ye Qingyun’s reluctance, the man added, “If you’re willing to go, fifty million in rewards will be transferred to your account immediately.”

Ye Qingyun: “…… I don’t want to deal with the upper echelons. Even if there’s money involved—”

The man: “As long as you go there, even if you do nothing, your reward will be multiplied tenfold.”

Ye Qingyun: ‘!!!’

Is this about money? Since the interstellar authorities were so eager to find talent, of course, he would go and meet with them. He’d discuss knowledge and experience, and together they’d immerse in the sea of knowledge!

———

Inside the ruling palace.

The old butler put down the communicator and sighed.

After all this time, they had found someone who could solve the quiz.

They had designed this quiz because Gu Shenyuan liked it, and due to personal admiration, others began to follow suit, creating many knowledge quizzes.

But later, they realized that Gu Shenyuan’s mental state was unstable and only found relief when facing certain books. So, the quiz became their way of finding someone who could talk to Gu Shenyuan.

Having someone with the same interests, who could occasionally discuss and analyze things with him, might reignite Gu Shenyuan’s desire for life.

The old butler adjusted his clothes and stepped toward the door.

Although this action was done privately and Gu Shenyuan didn’t know about it, the butler believed Gu Shenyuan would be pleased, not upset.

Having someone who could study those strange books with him, someone to discuss doubts with—just thinking about it made him feel at ease. There should be no reason for rejection.

———

When Gu Shenyuan heard the news, he was first stunned, and then a killing intent surged in his heart.

“…You… aren’t happy about this?” The old butler noticed Gu Shenyuan’s unease and tried to persuade him, “The questions were made from the notes you discarded in your drafts. If he can answer them, it proves that he can keep up with your pace. You…”

Gu Shenyuan didn’t speak but stared at the books on his desk for a moment before closing his eyes.

Someone… had solved those questions.

Someone… at his level, understood the content Ye Qingyun had written.

That person even dared to come and discuss the answers, to challenge him in understanding the books more deeply?

Gu Shenyuan’s killing intent surged even more, roaring that this person must be killed. In this world, only he could understand Ye Qingyun.

Gu Shenyuan knew his current mindset wasn’t normal, but even if it wasn’t, no one would stop him or tell him what to do.

He had always been a creature of the darkness; mercy had never belonged to him. Killing and cruelty were his true nature.

Before, to please Ye Qingyun, he had chosen to hide part of his nature. But now… there was no need for that anymore.

The old butler continued to persuade him: “Having someone who understands what you wrote, surely Ye Qingyun would be happy.”

Ye Qingyun would be happy?

Ye Qingyun had always been troubled by no one understanding his writings. Now, someone finally understood, but if he killed them, Ye Qingyun would probably be angry with him.

This thought snapped Gu Shenyuan out of his rage. He forced himself to suppress the killing intent and decided to give the person a chance to live: “Tell him to leave. This isn’t a place for him.”

“Th-then…” The old butler, cold sweat running down his face, hesitated. “The leader… they took the x687 spacecraft to get here quickly. It’s temporarily impossible to contact them. Once they arrive, I’ll have them leave. Is that acceptable?”

Gu Shenyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, stood up, and coldly said: “No need.”

The enemy sent to the door should not be allowed to continue living.

———

Ye Qingyun sat on the high-tech spacecraft, more advanced than he had imagined. He tried not to appear too inexperienced while curiously observing everything around him.

“Sir, we’ll be arriving soon,” the man escorting Ye Qingyun to the ruling palace said. “When you meet the leader, please don’t be too excited and keep your distance, or it could be life-threatening.”

“Ah?” Ye Qingyun was startled. “So dangerous? Just being close to him could be life-threatening. I regret it now. Is it too late to get off the ship?”

The man corrected Ye Qingyun: “It’s not that dangerous. As long as you don’t get too close to the leader or have improper thoughts about him, it will be safe.”

Ye Qingyun had never seen a picture of the leader and had no idea what he looked like, so he quickly asked, worried that he might accidentally cause trouble.

The man was surprised that Ye Qingyun hadn’t seen a photo of Gu Shenyuan but then thought, perhaps it was this “ignorance” that allowed him to answer all the questions correctly.

The man opened a saved video from his terminal and projected it into the air for Ye Qingyun to watch.

The video showed a devastated battlefield, with what should have been a luxurious building reduced to rubble. Corpses and bloodstains were scattered everywhere.

A man slowly walked out from the half-collapsed palace. The setting sun illuminated part of his face, and a few drops of dark red blood still stained his pale cheek, making him look dangerous and cold, like the sharpest of knives.

Ye Qingyun froze, staring at the man.

“Sir, this is our leader,” the man reminded him.

Ye Qingyun snapped out of it and awkwardly nodded.

He had always considered himself not to be one who was overly fond of appearances, but upon seeing that man, he was instantly captivated.

The man was incredibly handsome! He had never thought about what his first love’s face would look like, but now, seeing that face, he was struck.

That leader made him feel an urge to fall in love! Could this be the legendary “first love face”?

The man beside Ye Qingyun noticed him zoning out and quickly reminded him, “Sir, I must remind you not to have any improper thoughts about our leader. Anyone who has had such thoughts has either been driven away or killed by the leader.”

Ye Qingyun immediately shook off his daydreaming and shivered.

This thorny rose was never going to be picked by someone like him—just a research-obsessed geek. He should quietly admire from the sidelines.

———

The spaceship was fast, and since the planet Ye Qingyun had been on wasn’t far from the main star, it didn’t take long before he saw the ruling palace through the window.

Thinking about meeting the leader, who seemed to be perfect in every way, Ye Qingyun felt nervous despite telling himself to just admire from afar. It was as though he were going on a blind date.

No need to be nervous. Even if he were, it wouldn’t matter. The powerful leader would never look at him.

Besides… the leader had a deeply loving partner. Even if his partner had passed away, he likely wouldn’t accept anyone else.

His poor first love, which never had a chance to blossom, was already strangled in its cradle!

The spaceship stopped, and Ye Qingyun adjusted his appearance before following the man who led the way.

———

Gu Shenyuan sat in the conversation room, waiting. His eyelashes lowered, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

The old butler, who had been with Gu Shenyuan for some time, had not realized it before, but now he finally understood: there was a faint but undeniable killing intent surrounding Gu Shenyuan.

Cold sweat trickled down the old butler’s forehead. He never expected that Gu Shenyuan’s possessiveness over his deceased lover was this strong.

It couldn’t even be called mere possessiveness; it had reached a pathological level.

The old butler suspected that with Gu Shenyuan’s mental state, a total breakdown was not far off.

Footsteps were heard approaching, and Gu Shenyuan still kept his eyes lowered, focusing on his fingertips.

He was thinking about how to kill this person, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder how Ye Qingyun would react if he did. The conflicting thoughts made his head ache.

Even if Ye Qingyun was gone, he still didn’t want to upset him.

But the person who understood Ye Qingyun’s research the most could only be him. This was… one of the few pieces of evidence that Ye Qingyun had been with him and had once taught him.

Gu Shenyuan’s headache worsened, and a thin layer of black mist gathered around his fingertips. The mist appeared unstable, swirling in and out.

The person had arrived at the door. Gu Shenyuan caught a glimpse of a tall figure walking in front. The way the person moved, the silhouette of their body, felt incredibly familiar.

…Had he started hallucinating again?

Gu Shenyuan couldn’t help but laugh bitterly inside. He didn’t raise his head to look at the figure immediately.

He knew that if he looked up, the silhouette would disappear, replaced by the unfamiliar figure of another person.

Ye Qingyun would never appear again.

Gu Shenyuan slowly exhaled and finally lifted his gaze.

The person stood not far away, looking at him, with amber eyes that were as sweet as honey, making one want to kiss them.

Gu Shenyuan stared at that person, his mind blanking with a loud buzz.

The old butler, seeing that Gu Shenyuan didn’t immediately kill the person, felt that there might be a shift in the situation. He hurriedly stepped forward to introduce, “Leader, this is…”

The old butler wasn’t sure what to call the exceptionally handsome young man, so he nudged him, signaling him to introduce himself.

“Ye Qingyun,” Ye Qingyun, not sure why, felt a sense of joy upon seeing this person. He smiled, “I’m Ye Qingyun.”