Chapter 28: Daily Life on the Starship

The next morning, Shi Can was still asleep when he vaguely felt something moving on his face.

He thought it was Feifei causing trouble again. Without even opening his eyes, he reached out to grab it, but before he could, his wrist was caught by another warm, dry hand.

Shi Can immediately opened his eyes and looked at Xi Ming, his brain momentarily going blank. After two seconds of recollection, he remembered he was no longer at home but on an unlicensed, illegal starship. What’s more, he had shared a bed with Xi Ming.

“It’s already eight o’clock,” Xi Ming said as he looked at him.

“Is it?” Shi Can blinked and then lazily stretched. His voice carried a soft, sticky tone. “There’s no light variation here, so I didn’t notice the time.”

Looking at the omega in front of him, who appeared both lazy and elegant, Xi Ming’s gaze darkened slightly. He reached out and ruffled Shi Can’s hair. “There’s nothing else to do. Do you want to keep sleeping?”

“No.” Shi Can shook his head under Xi Ming’s hand. He then got up and kissed Xi Ming on the cheek, his eyes sparkling. “I’m going to freshen up.”

“Okay.” Xi Ming let go of Shi Can’s wrist, watching him walk into the bathroom. He then raised his hand and touched the spot on his cheek that had just been kissed. His heart felt warm.

---

For people living on Capital Star, they might go their entire lives without experiencing a network outage. Even though Shi Can had only encountered the internet in this lifetime, he was already used to a life where the network was everywhere.

Now, stuck in this small room without an internet connection, Shi Can quickly became bored after helping Xi Ming with his daily spiritual energy soothing.

Feifei, on the other hand, seemed to have fully recovered after a night’s rest. It was full of energy, exploring its new environment and climbing all over Shi Can.

Xi Ming didn’t show any impatience. He leaned against the far side of the bed, absentmindedly playing with Shi Can’s hand.

“Xi Ming,” Shi Can said, pulling out an anonymous terminal from his storage space. “Let’s play a game. A single-player game—it doesn’t need internet.”

Xi Ming, who had spent his life training and fighting wars, had never played games before. Hearing this, he frowned slightly and hesitated. “…I don’t know how to play.”

“That’s fine. It’s really simple,” Shi Can said, his interest piqued upon learning that Xi Ming didn’t know how. He leaned closer, holding the terminal in front of them. Casually, he opened a built-in game. “I’ll teach you. Look, like this…”

Gradually, Shi Can leaned closer and closer to Xi Ming.

Xi Ming spread his legs and pulled Shi Can directly into his lap. Wrapping one arm around his waist, he said, “Like this. Keep going.”

With his back pressed against Xi Ming’s chest, Shi Can could clearly feel the strength of his arms. One arm secured his waist, while the other rested on the back of the hand holding the terminal.

Xi Ming rested his chin on Shi Can’s shoulder, his breath warm against Shi Can’s ear. It tickled, sending a tingling sensation straight to his heart.

“…See? When this happens, you do this…” Shi Can’s voice softened as he leaned into Xi Ming’s embrace.

After finishing a round, Shi Can tilted his head slightly and asked, “Got it?”

“Let me try.” Xi Ming took the terminal from Shi Can and started the next level.

Feifei watched the two of them snuggle up together. Tilting its head curiously, it dragged its long ears and tiny, fluffy wings (which hadn’t fully developed yet) and quickly climbed into Shi Can’s lap. After a moment, it started pawing at the terminal in their hands.

“Stop it.” Shi Can reached out and grabbed Feifei, ruffling its little head. Feifei clung to his finger with its small paws and nuzzled against it.

Time passed slowly like this. Shi Can and Xi Ming grew closer, and Shi Can became accustomed to falling asleep in Xi Ming’s arms every night, wrapped in his warm embrace.

---

Meanwhile, back on Capital Star, someone had finally noticed Xi Ming’s disappearance.

“How could someone who’s practically a radioactive waste dump just disappear? Find him immediately!” Lan Wantian clenched her manicured fingers tightly. Although her face remained perfectly composed, there was a hint of distortion in her expression, and her eyes burned with anger. “Useless, all of you! You couldn’t even figure out how long he’s been gone!”

An alpha in a royal guard uniform knelt on one knee, bowing his head. “Your Majesty, an omega disappeared along with Xi Ming.”

“An omega?” Lan Wantian’s tone became skeptical. “How could an omega be involved in Xi Ming’s disappearance?”

The guard quickly explained what Xi Songkai and Shi Wen had done.

Lan Wantian frowned but dismissed the omega as insignificant. “Forget about him. Focus on finding out where Xi Ming went. Shut down his star network account and everything else immediately.”

The guard acknowledged the order and was about to leave when Lan Wantian added, “Wait. Monitor the star network closely. Any topics related to Xi Ming or 823 must be strictly reviewed. Don’t let any rumors spread. Understood?”

After the guard left, Lan Wantian remained deep in thought. She regretted not killing Xi Ming when she had the chance. That would have ensured the truth about 823 stayed buried forever.

Just then, her son Sixth Prince’s call came through. “Mom, Xi Ming is missing. He won’t spill, will he?”

“He won’t,” Lan Wantian replied, her tone softening. “I’ve already ordered the network to be monitored. Even if he does, no one will believe him. Focus on your training. Didn’t you say you wanted to win glory at the border?”

“Alright, then I won’t worry about it. Oh, by the way, my unit’s combat strength has improved significantly. Could you approve more funding? The mech detection system still has some flaws.”

“Sure, don’t worry. I’ll have it approved in a couple of days,” Lan Wantian said, her smile full of pride. Her son’s elite unit, though still under wraps, had already broken records in multiple tests. She couldn’t wait for their grand debut.

Back on Capital Star, the search for Xi Ming continued fervently but yielded no concrete leads. Several sightings of wheelchair users turned out to be false alarms. Frustrated, Lan Wantian called off the large-scale search after a few days. She then issued a secret order: Find Xi Ming and silence him permanently.

She couldn’t risk issuing a public empire-wide search warrant. Lan Wantian feared that Xi Ming might retaliate by exposing the truth. Despite having destroyed all evidence and witnesses, there were still people in high positions who trusted Xi Ming’s integrity and suspected the truth.

Lan Wantian’s gaze hardened. Even though Xi Ming’s parents had once saved her life, the truth behind 823 could never come to light. It wasn’t just about her son’s succession; it would also jeopardize the interests of the royal family.

“I’m sorry, Xi Ming,” Lan Wantian thought coldly. “But this is the only way.”

Shi Chan and Xi Ming have not stepped out of their room for the past twelve days. Even Feifei has thoroughly explored every corner of the small room.

“Brother…” Shi Chan tugged on Xi Ming’s arm, his expression naturally relaxed. “Tomorrow, we’ll be arriving.”

Over the past several days, thanks to Xi Ming’s constant affection and intimacy with Shi Chan, Shi Chan had completely adjusted to life with an alpha by his side. His usual address of “Ming Ge” had occasionally changed to “Brother,” sounding more affectionate.

Although Shi Chan felt that in terms of age, his heart was older than Xi Ming’s, most alphas wouldn’t accept being called “brother” by an omega.

“Mm, after we arrive, we’ll need to transfer a few more times, but it won’t take long,” Xi Ming thought about the upcoming itinerary. Aside from this longer journey across half the empire, the rest of their travels would be within the same star system, where the speed would be much faster.

“Alright,” Shi Chan nodded. “Should we use the false identity that we created with the terminal?”

“No need, just a slight alteration of our appearance is enough. The identity photos inside have been deleted. When we arrive, we’ll use our own photos. As long as we don’t upload them, the mainframe won’t detect us,” Xi Ming explained.

In this lifetime, Shi Chan had always been obedient on Capitol Star, never involved in illegal matters. He nodded after hearing Xi Ming’s explanation.

Their first stop was a small planet where they could rest and heal. Shi Chan planned to help Xi Ming recover his legs so he could stand, and then continue dealing with the destructive energy within Xi Ming’s body.

Shi Chan turned and hugged Xi Ming around the waist, leaning into him, his nose twitching as he nestled closer, like a small animal looking for comfort.

Seeing Shi Chan’s actions, Xi Ming couldn’t help but ask the question that had been on his mind for a while. “Don’t you think… my pheromone smell is unpleasant?”

He himself disliked the scent of his pheromones, but Shi Chan had never said anything about it. Sometimes, he even acted like he liked it.

“It’s not unpleasant,” Shi Chan rubbed against Xi Ming. The scent of Xi Ming’s pheromones reminded him of a damp cave, empty for a long time. Shi Chan had once hidden in a similar environment for over a month when avoiding enemies. For him, this scent not only smelled good but also gave him a sense of safety. “I really like it.”

Xi Ming stared at Shi Chan, his hand pinching his face, emotions swirling within him. He felt more and more that Shi Chan was a gift meant just for him.

Looking at the gentle and obedient omega in his arms, Xi Ming lowered his head and bit the back of Shi Chan’s neck, near his gland. He whispered, “I also really like your scent…”

The bite wasn’t hard, and Shi Chan only felt a slight tickling sensation. He immediately squinted his eyes and wiggled away.

“Don’t avoid me. Let me hold you a little longer,” Xi Ming pulled Shi Chan back, holding him gently as they chatted. “You’re different from other omegas.”

Shi Chan wasn’t nervous upon hearing this. After all, he was Shi Chan himself and had grown up on Capitol Star. He was just curious. “How am I different?”

Xi Ming thought for a moment before saying, “You have a good temperament.”

Shi Chan chuckled softly as he held Xi Ming’s hand. “There are lots of omegas with good temperaments. Maybe there are fewer on Capitol Star, but there are many in other places. For example, Bai Wen, who was just found by the Bai family, has a great temperament. She speaks in a soft, gentle voice.”

Bai Wen was an omega Shi Chan had met when he went to get custom clothes. They had kept in touch online since then and were somewhat friends, though Shi Chan had only told Lan Ying about his departure.

“Bai Wen?” Xi Ming wasn’t aware of Shi Chan’s online acquaintances, so he didn’t know who Bai Wen was. However, the name seemed vaguely familiar.

“Mm? Do you know her?” Shi Chan asked.

“I don’t know her, but the name sounds familiar,” Xi Ming answered.

Shi Chan thought for a moment. “Maybe you’ve seen news about her. When she was found by the Bai family, it was all over the star network for a long time.”

“Maybe,” Xi Ming replied, continuing to ponder the name in his mind. His memories were clear during this period, and it wasn’t because of news that the name sounded familiar. It must be from his previous life.

Unfortunately, Xi Ming’s memories from his previous life weren’t complete. Many details had faded away. After a while, he gave up trying to figure it out.

On the last night aboard the starship, Shi Chan and Xi Ming didn’t waste any time. In addition to the usual mental support and radiation treatment, Xi Ming spent one or two hours intensifying their temporary bond by marking Shi Chan.

Shi Chan wrapped his arms around Xi Ming, passively enduring the intensity of Xi Ming’s actions. He silently allowed the increasingly frequent intimate gestures from Xi Ming.

Both of them knew in their hearts that, in the future, they would establish a permanent bond.