Ever since he was kidnapped from the inheritance ceremony banquet and exposed as a fake young master, Cheng Min had been confined to his room, strictly forbidden from going out. After that, he was treated like air, with no one coming to see him. Even Shen Shaoye, who had always been around him, avoided him like the plague after that day, as if afraid of catching something dirty from Cheng Min.
Now, it was the third day of Cheng Min being locked in the room. During this time, only an unfamiliar human servant came to deliver meals, which were simple and somewhat cold. Young Master Cheng had been pampered since childhood, and under normal circumstances, he would never tolerate such treatment. He would definitely harshly reprimand the cook and the servant delivering the food, making them understand who the real master of the manor was.
But now, Cheng Min had no right to refuse. For the first time in his life, he sat on the small sofa on the balcony and took a bite of the cold bread.
“Woof woof woof.”
The little King Charles curled up in the corner woke up, saw Cheng Min eating, and trotted over, placing its front paws on his knees, begging for food. The little King Charles had stayed in the room with Cheng Min, but no one prepared any dog food, so Cheng Min had been sharing his meals with it these past few days.
“Don’t bark.” Cheng Min rubbed its head, tore the bread in half, and placed one half on the ground. “Eat it, that piece is for you.”
It understood, wagging its tail, picked up the bread, and ran back to the corner to enjoy the food alone. Cheng Min withdrew his gaze and continued eating the remaining half of the bread.
“Knock knock knock.”
Before Cheng Min could speak, someone walked in—it was the new butler of the manor.
“Young Master Min,” he said formally, “The family head invites you to the living room. There’s something important to discuss with you.”
Ever since the real heir of the Cheng family was brought back, although Cheng Min still bore the surname Cheng, he no longer had the right to be called Young Master, and his status became awkward.
“Okay.” He nodded, indicating he understood.
In the living room, the head of the Cheng family sat in the main seat, and on the sofa beside him sat two unfamiliar faces, dressed simply, with ingratiating smiles on their faces. Their energy fluctuations were weak, indicating they were low-level elves from the Lower City.
When Cheng Min arrived, the three people’s gazes all focused on him, confirming his suspicions on the way there. These two elves were probably his biological parents.
“Xiao Min,” his biological mother called out.
Cheng Min glanced at her, neither responding nor denying.
“Xiao Min,” the head of the Cheng family glanced at him and said, “These two are your biological parents. Come and meet them.”
Cheng Min moved his feet, obediently walked over, allowing the two to scrutinize him without reservation, their murky breath falling on his fair face.
“I want to hear your thoughts,” the head of the Cheng family said.
“What?” Cheng Min asked, “Hasn’t it already been decided? Why bother asking me?”
“No,” he said, looking at the “son” he had raised for so many years, his tone softening, “I’ve been waiting for you to make your own choice. Do you want to go back with your biological parents, or stay here?”
Never expecting that after experiencing such things, he could still stay, Cheng Min was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to answer.
“Mr. Cheng,” his so-called biological father interjected, “Xiao Min staying here is fine. We just came to see if he’s doing well, and also, we’ve raised Xiao An for so many years, we’re deeply attached, and can’t bear to…” He stopped, not continuing, but the meaning was clear.
“I understand,” the head of the Cheng family said, then turned his gaze back to Cheng Min, “You can go back to your room.”
Cheng Min nodded.
After this storm, Cheng Min stayed, and life seemed unchanged, as if everything that happened before was just a terrible dream. But the attitude of the human servants towards him, and the title “Young Master Min,” constantly reminded Cheng Min that he was just a fake young master whose identity had been exposed, yet still clinging to the Cheng family, trying to enjoy what wasn’t his.
Wherever he went, disdainful gazes followed him. Those noble companions who once surrounded him now avoided him, and Shen Shaoye no longer came to find him. Even Xiao Chi hadn’t visited for many days.
Cheng Min didn’t want to see those gazes on him, so he stopped going to school, cut off all contact except for necessary outings, and locked himself in his room all day, mostly in a daze.
Little King Charles was forcibly taken away by Cheng An, and Cheng Min had no right to fight back, only able to watch helplessly as it happened. Now, he was all alone.
Staring at the sunset outside the window, Cheng Min came back to his senses, realizing he had spent another day. The dim sunlight fell on him, and a strong sense of loneliness surged, making Cheng Min hug his knees, bury his head, and uncontrollably miss Xiao Chi, who had been gone for a long time.
What if he was just a human servant? He was his soulmate, the only one who wouldn’t abandon him, who would always stay by Cheng Min’s side, forever.
“Xiao Chi,” Cheng Min whispered to the empty room, staring at the slightly reddened spot on his wrist.
But only the air responded to him.
“Xiao Chi,” he called again, unwilling to give up, “Are you there?”
Once again, only the air responded.
Slowly, a chill crept over him, and Cheng Min curled up, wrapping himself in a blanket, leaving only his head exposed. But the cold seemed to seep through the gaps, and he still felt freezing.
In a daze, he heard footsteps, and then the door was pushed open. A pair of slippers appeared in front of him.
Cheng Min looked up and saw Cheng An’s indifferent face, and behind him, the long-absent Young Master Cheng. His expression was as usual, with a gentle smile on his face, but this time, it wasn’t directed at Cheng Min, but at the future head of the Cheng family.
Cheng Min withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at him.
“Cheng Min,” Cheng An glanced at him, frowned, and said discontentedly, “Aren’t you packing your things yet?”
“What?” Cheng Min was a bit confused.
“You’re leaving the day after tomorrow. Didn’t Dad tell you?” Cheng An gave a familiar fake smile, “You’re going to Deni Star for a marriage alliance. It was my suggestion to Dad.”
Marriage alliance.
Cheng Min’s mind buzzed, going blank, and Cheng An’s subsequent words became a noisy mess in his ears.
His shoulders were shaken vigorously, and Cheng Min came back to his senses, meeting Cheng An’s gaze. He continued, “The Ji family is a prestigious family. You’re lucky to become the little wife of the Ji family’s fourth young master.”
“Fourth young master,” Cheng Min repeated.
Cheng An leaned closer and said, “Yes, that low-level illegitimate elf.”
Originally, Cheng Min thought the head of the Cheng family kept him out of some sentiment, but now he realized he was naive, thinking too well of things.
That night, Cheng Min lay alone in bed, wrapped in a blanket. The proud him only showed vulnerability at this time, crying until the pillow was soaked.
The next morning, his eyes were still red, and his throat was a bit hoarse, but the human servants just ignored it, not taking him seriously at all.
Once, he was high and mighty, doing whatever he wanted with his identity. Now, he had fallen from grace, and not being bullied was already good enough. Who would pity him?
On the last day at the manor, Cheng Min pulled himself together, maintaining his ridiculous pride. After breakfast, he returned to his room as usual, curled up on the small sofa on the balcony, basking in the sun and daydreaming.
“Cheng Min,” the voice of the head of the Cheng family sounded behind him.
Cheng Min came back to his senses, turned his head, and found it wasn’t an illusion.
He didn’t speak, just quietly watched him, waiting for the head of the Cheng family to state his purpose.
“You’re leaving tomorrow,” the head of the Cheng family said, “I’ve picked a few good people to accompany you to Deni Star.”
Cheng Min didn’t care about these things, just wanted him to leave quickly and not disturb him anymore. He nodded and replied, “I understand, thank you for your concern, head of the Cheng family.”
“Dinner will be your favorite,” the head of the Cheng family said as he turned to leave, “Remember to eat some.”
“Okay,” he said.
On the day of departure, Cheng Min was woken up early by the human servants, obediently letting them dress him in a set of luxurious clothes. He had no appetite for breakfast, so he decided to eat on the spaceship when he got hungry.
Deni Star was in the third region, quite far away. Even with the tunnel reducing some time, it would take about a week to reach it.
For this journey, besides the captain, there were only three human servants to take care of Cheng Min’s daily needs, one of whom was pretending to be sick and never showed up.
The large spaceship felt empty. But he didn’t feel lonely at all. The youngest-looking human servant, with a baby face, didn’t dislike Cheng Min. He always followed him around, talking non-stop. Cheng Min felt lonely, so he went along with it.
After leaving the manor, they no longer pretended, and no one cared about Cheng Min, let alone cooked a hot meal for him. These past few days, Cheng Min had been foraging for food himself to fill his stomach.
Today was the last day of the journey, and it was no exception. Cheng Min found a piece of bread in the kitchen, discovered it wasn’t expired, and started eating after tearing open the package.
“Do you want some?” he turned and casually asked.
“No,” the baby face quickly waved his hand, “Young Master, I’m not hungry.”
“Don’t call me Young Master anymore,” Cheng Min said, looking at the half-eaten bread in his hand, “Just call me Cheng Min.”
“That’s against the rules,” he quickly refused, “Young Master, I can’t call you that.”
“You can,” Cheng Min glanced at him, “I allow it.”
The baby face wanted to say something, but meeting Cheng Min’s gaze, he wisely closed his mouth.
After eating, Cheng Min felt a bit sleepy. He sent away the “tagalong” following him and curled up in a cabin, staring at the brilliant starry sky outside, finding it beautiful and captivating for the first time in his life.
However, this peaceful time didn’t last long.
“Ding.”
The cabin door opened, and the baby face stumbled in, grabbing Cheng Min’s clothes anxiously, “The Ji family’s fourth young master is dead, just an hour ago.”
Dead!