Back in his study, Ji Yuzhou rubbed his slightly tense nose bridge and began handling official matters. His visit to the Xinghe Welfare Institute was not just for a routine inspection—there was a more significant purpose. According to intelligence reports, Director Sun had been in close contact with a secretive organization, and Ji Yuzhou suspected it to be remnants of a previously dismantled interstellar pirate group.

During the interstellar era, space travel became possible, giving rise to interstellar pirate groups that thrived in the shadows between planets. These groups, scattered and elusive, were a constant target for military forces. Ji Yuzhou’s father had solidified his position as corps commander by successfully dismantling one of their major bases.

For years, the interstellar pirate groups had seemingly disappeared without a trace, but their recent reappearance in multiple locations suggested they were planning something significant.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock came from the door. Ji Yuzhou didn’t look up and simply said, “Come in.”

It was one of his  personal guards. Upon entering, the guard bowed respectfully. “Commander, you called for me?”

Ji Yuzhou nodded, set aside the documents in his hands, and gestured for the guard to come closer.

Although he had thoroughly investigated Jiang Xunyu’s background before deciding to take him in, the boy’s sudden strange behavior still aroused his suspicions. Ji Yuzhou couldn’t fully trust him yet.

He suspected the Xinghe Welfare Institute might secretly be a meeting point for the pirate group.

Moreover, letting the frail child return alone to such a dangerous place was undoubtedly unsafe. Ji Yuzhou instructed the guard, “Tomorrow, follow Jiang Xunyu to ensure his safety. If anything unusual happens, report to me immediately.”

“Understood.”

The guard saluted Ji Yuzhou respectfully.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Ji Yuzhou added in a gentler tone after giving his orders. “The current situation is demanding, but I’ve noticed all of your efforts. Once this matter is resolved, I’ll arrange for paid leave.”

Ji Yuzhou was known for balancing authority with kindness. He even remembered the family backgrounds of each of his subordinates.

“That’s all for now,” Ji Yuzhou dismissed him. “You may leave.”

The guard nodded and left. Soon, the study was quiet again, leaving Ji Yuzhou alone.

……

As for Jiang Xunyu, after Ji Yuzhou left, he tentatively and carefully stepped into the room. It seemed Ji Yuzhou had instructed for the bedroom to be laid with thick carpeting. Walking on it felt soft and comforting, bringing an unexpected sense of peace and security.

The room’s decor matched the rest of the house. At its center was a modest single bed, neatly made with pristine white bedding. The pure, spotless appearance seemed almost glaring to Jiang Xunyu.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally reached out and touched the soft cotton fabric.

It was so soft—completely different from the worn-out straw mat he’d been assigned at the welfare home. This was a sensation entirely foreign to him. Unable to resist, Jiang Xunyu touched it again but quickly withdrew his hand, feeling a little embarrassed. He then sat down on the chair beside the desk.

A crisp laugh echoed through the room, metallic in tone, unlike anything a human would produce. It echoed in the small space, instantly putting Jiang Xunyu on edge. His fingers clenched into fists, and his entire body tensed up. “Who’s there?!”

“Hahaha, you’re really adorable.”

A round, chubby little object emerged from a hidden corner. Its entire body was white, with rapidly fluttering wings, and its glowing mechanical eyes fixed on Jiang Xunyu. “Don’t be nervous, kid. I’m the housekeeper robot here. You can call me Xiao C.”

Jiang Xunyu stared at the robot warily. “Housekeeper robot?”

“That’s right.” Xiao C flapped its wings, flying from the high corner to hover in front of Jiang Xunyu. It thoughtfully spun around to let him take a closer look at its full form. “I’m the only C-class (civilian-grade) housekeeper robot in this house. Those A and B-class military models are so aloof, they never even talk to me… Are you the new kid staying here? How old are you? How long will you be staying? This is the first time someone’s lived here in all my years…”

The robot’s incessant chatter made it clear it hadn’t spoken to anyone in ages.  

The barrage of questions left Jiang Xunyu momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond. Before he could come up with an answer, Xiao C spoke again, as though it had just remembered something. “Oh, I almost forgot. The system just logged your information… Wow, you’re only seventeen, not even an adult yet. This is the first time the master has ever brought home someone so young…”

Before Xiao C could finish, Jiang Xunyu interrupted with a frown. “Master?”

“Yeah!” Xiao C sounded surprised. “Don’t you know the master? He’s the one who brought you here!”

Jiang Xunyu hesitated, then asked awkwardly, “Does he… ask you to call him ‘master’?”

In Jiang Xunyu’s mind, “master” was an outdated term from a bygone era, long out of use. Could it be that Mr. Ji secretly liked being addressed this way? Jiang Xunyu found it hard to imagine.

Xiao C’s eyes dimmed, its wings slowing as it let out a sigh. “Sigh… Of course not. It’s just the data in my system. The records say household heads like being called that… Honestly, I know even less about the master than you do. He left me here ages ago and never even talks to me…”

Hearing the robot’s dejected tone, Jiang Xunyu hesitated before saying, “…If you try calling him something else, maybe he’d talk to you more.”

“Really?!” Xiao C’s eyes brightened, and the sudden change in light nearly blinded Jiang Xunyu. “What do you call him? Are you close to him? What kind of person is he? Tell me! I don’t know anything about him!”

“I usually call him Mr. Ji. You could try that, too,” Jiang Xunyu quickly answered the first question, but he faltered at the second.

What kind of person was Mr. Ji? He found himself at a loss for words. All he knew was that after his parents passed away, his world had turned monochrome. People and objects became indistinguishable, devoid of meaning. It was Mr. Ji who had recently torn away the gray veil over his eyes, teaching him to rediscover the colors of the world.

After a long pause, Jiang Xunyu finally answered Xiao C’s second question. “Mr. Ji is a good person.”

Xiao C, intrigued, kept pressing Jiang Xunyu for stories about Ji Yuzhou. But Jiang Xunyu didn’t know much himself and managed to brush off the robot’s curiosity with a few vague responses before escaping to the bathroom under the pretense of needing a shower.

The bathroom had a central control system. As soon as Jiang Xunyu entered, the system prepared the bathwater at the perfect temperature for his body and selected a grapefruit-scented fragrance.

This was far more advanced than anything at the welfare institute, where bathing was strictly rationed. As someone who wasn’t well-liked there, Jiang Xunyu rarely had the opportunity to take a proper bath.

He undressed, walked over to the filled bathtub, and cautiously dipped his slender ankle into the water. The temperature was just right, gradually easing his long-held tension.

He sank into the bathtub, his entire body submerged, as soft white mist rose around him. Everything was so comfortable that he felt his eyelids growing heavy, his thoughts slipping into a haze…

Through the fog, he thought he heard Xiao C’s metallic voice, followed by a sharp, piercing hum. Then he felt a pair of large, strong hands…

Looking at the sleeping boy in front of him, Ji Yuzhou let out a helpless sigh and holstered the gun he had drawn.

The house’s alarm system had suddenly gone off, darkening Ji Yuzhou’s expression as he prepared for a Level 1 defense. His bodyguards emerged silently from the shadows, but to everyone’s surprise, the alarm had been triggered because the boy had fallen asleep in the bathroom. The system, fearing he might suffocate, had sounded the alarm. Ji Yuzhou, preoccupied with work, had almost forgotten there was a child in the house.

Ji Yuzhou’s gaze softened as his bodyguards discreetly retreated. Approaching the boy, he prepared to wake him.

Jiang Xunyu lay naked in the bathtub, with only his round head visible above the water. His blue eyes, usually filled with wariness, were now peacefully closed. Long, damp lashes clung to his cheeks, softening his usually guarded demeanor.

Ji Yuzhou reached out to tap his pale shoulder but hesitated. The boy’s face was shadowed with exhaustion, as if he hadn’t slept peacefully in a long time. A rare feeling of sympathy flickered in Ji Yuzhou’s heart. The child, who usually faced the world with relentless vigilance, likely had little experience with true relaxation.

Ji Yuzhou sighed, a wave of weariness washing over him. With the resurgence of pirate activity and the recent death of his father—a man he had once relied on—Ji Yuzhou, too, was forcing himself to endure each day. After a brief moment of hesitation, he adjusted his grip and carefully lifted the boy from the water.

When the obstruction of the water surface was removed, Jiang Xunyu’s body was fully exposed. His fair skin was covered with countless scars, and his knees and elbows were flushed red from the hot water. Above his long legs, a small part of him had already developed adult characteristics… For the first time, Ji Yuzhou clearly realized that Jiang Xunyu was almost an adult now.

Aside from being slightly thin and still having some scars that hadn’t completely healed, this was an almost perfectly grown body. Ji Yuzhou quickly averted his gaze, reached for a clean towel from the nearby rack, and gentlemanly wrapped it around Jiang Xunyu’s body before sending him back to bed.

Back in the room, Ji Yuzhou hesitated for a moment and asked the housekeeper robot to help order some scar treatment medicine on the holographic screen.