This winter on Desert Planet θ seemed colder than usual, with frequent news of frail elderly people failing to make it through the freeze.
Having taken only a few steps after getting off the car, the tip of Chu Yanyi’s nose was turned red by the chill. Raising his hand, he pressed his stiff shoulder, his exhaled breath forming thick clouds of white vapor that mingled with the wind and snow. Chen Ke stepped forward to hold an umbrella for him, but Chu Yanyi shook his head.
“Wait for me here,” Chu Yanyi said, leaning on his cane. Even through his gloves, his hands could barely feel the intricate patterns carved into the handle. “Unless I call for you, do not come over, no matter what happens.”
Occasionally, Chu Yanyi would recall the first time he came to the port of Desert Planet θ to procure goods.
Independent and strictly neutral, Desert Planet θ was far more bustling than war-torn Desert Planet γ. At just a single port, starships of all kinds flew flags belonging to the Federation, the Empire, the Beastmen Alliance, and even obscure minor nations, with diverse languages and underground slang interweaving seamlessly. Merchants selling soft drinks, merchants selling weapons, merchants selling illicit drugs, merchants selling intelligence, merchants selling slaves…
Back then, Chu Yanyi still needed to climb atop cargo crates to haggle with those treacherous traders, parroting his best bargaining techniques like a trained bird. He held a checklist listing all the goods ordered by his clients.
And the Director would often observe his every move from the shadows—a benign Beta with long white whiskers who always wore the same worn-out, frayed coat. All the orphans he took in called him Mr. Nicholas; he was the first “adult” Chu Yanyi had ever encountered.
“It’s alright, Xiao Yi. You did very well,” when Chu Yanyi nervously and fearfully realized he had missed an item, the Director had raised a hand to ruffle his hair. “Leave the rest to the adults.”
He smiled just like that massive portrait hanging in his office—relaxed, natural, and fearless.
Later, that adult’s gruesome death made the news. The killer’s methods were extraordinarily brutal and devoid of humanity, haunting the nightmares of many children on Desert Planet γ for a long time to come.
Faint glimmers of light seeped from windows stenciled with silhouettes, accompanied by the sounds of crying children, couples arguing, or lovers making love… The deeper one walked into the alley, the more gruesome the graffiti on the walls became. A closer look revealed that those splash patterns of dark purple and deep brown were not painted with dye.
Occasionally, one would stumble upon drunks lying by the roadside, almost blending into the snow. Chu Yanyi passed them by unhurriedly, walking all the way to the end of the alley to meet the person he came for.
The man was curled up against a foul-smelling dumpster, hugging his knees, head bowed, gasping heavily and emitting low, beast-like growls continuously.
Several vagrants lay sprawled in all directions nearby, with various daily necessities scattered across the ground—including the medications the doctor had prepared for Zhou Yi.
Chu Yanyi’s cane came to a stop in front of a winding trail of blood. Bending down, he took a breath, brows furrowing before pausing: “Zhou Yi, are you alright? What happened? How did you end up like this?”
Zhou Yi snapped his head up, his eyes wide. Beyond shock and doubt, Chu Yanyi spotted another emotion within them, though he didn’t care what it was.
“Did they… try to steal your things? So you fought back? Is that it?” Chu Yanyi looked down at Zhou Yi, noticing that the bag he had been carrying now had only a single frayed strap left, and his deformed right hand was frozen bright red.
Zhou Yi shook his head, then nodded, coughing up blood from his mouth. Capable of only uttering raspy “uh, uh” noises, he awkwardly tucked his right hand behind his back upon realizing Chu Yanyi was looking at it.
Chu Yanyi naturally knew what had happened. Those merchants—certain merchants used the excuse that Zhou Yi was their escaped slave, bribing the guards before sending their henchmen to pursue Zhou Yi all the way. Had Chu Yanyi not strategically arranged people nearby, Zhou Yi wouldn’t have escaped so easily.
And Zhou Yi had inadvertently stumbled straight into the territory of these vagrants.
They were hardly a group to be crossed. The principle of survival of the fittest held true everywhere. Even if the merchants’ men refrained from entering out of fear, once Zhou Yi tried to leave, things would be hard to say.
Provided he could walk out alive in the first place.
“This is the third time… Is it a bit cold?” Removing his gloves, Chu Yanyi crouched down slowly and with some effort, taking hold of Zhou Yi’s flinching right hand. He gently tucked his fingers as far into the cashmere gloves as possible.
Zhou Yi bit his lip. The lingering warmth inside the gloves felt as though it would melt him completely. Staring at Chu Yanyi’s attentive profile, his vision gradually blurred. For some reason, his heart suddenly settled into a state of calm.
“I actually came to find you because I suddenly remembered something.” Chu Yanyi stood up, patted his knees, and pulled a small USB flash drive from his pocket.
Pointing at the anklet still attached to Zhou Yi’s ankle, he placed the drive into Zhou Yi’s palm, squeezing it firmly closed: “I was too busy these past few days and forgot to take this off for you. This is the key—unlock it yourself. Lucky there was a tracking device inside; otherwise, across a place as vast as Desert Planet θ, I really wouldn’t have known how to find you.”
“Well then, goodbye.” Chu Yanyi released his grip casually. “Also, stay safe in the future.”
Leaning on his cane, he had yet to lift his foot when he felt a faint tug at the hem of his trench coat.
“Is there something else?” Chu Yanyi turned around, looking at Zhou Yi quietly.
Perhaps because he had been standing in the snow for too long, an indescribable pain began spreading upward from his ankles.
With trembling hands, Zhou Yi pulled out a piece of hard fruit candy from the inner pocket of his blood-stained coat, placing it alongside the USB drive Chu Yanyi had handed him into his right palm.
Chu Yanyi raised an eyebrow, as if failing to catch Zhou Yi’s drift: “You like eating these? They should be pretty easy to buy—available everywhere and not expensive. Want me to take you to check them out?”
Zhou Yi’s entire back broke out in a cold sweat amidst the biting wind. Shaking his head in panic, he straightened his body as much as possible, presenting both items before Chu Yanyi.
He lowered his eyes, staring fixedly at his own shadow. He knew how wretched he looked right now; when turning into the alley, he had caught a glimpse of himself in that car’s rearview mirror.
Despondent, hunched over, grey hair disheveled, scruffy beard, face weather-beaten.
“Do you really think you can possess true freedom?” that version of himself wore a strange smile, and he could hear it speaking.
In this so-called land of freedom, he had not seen the paradise described by those slaves.
The only time he had briefly wondered if he was in paradise was when he was in that place.
The snow fell even heavier, large flakes almost blinding his vision.
Chu Yanyi offered a cooperative smile, picking up both items to toy with them: “Are you hoping… I’ll send you to where you want to go? If it’s within Desert Planet θ, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. If it’s another planet, it might have to wait until tomorrow or the day after.”
Silence.
The last trace of color vanished from Zhou Yi’s face. Taking a deep breath, he leaned against the dumpster to push himself up, then bent his knees, kneeling heavily onto the snow.
He had been trained countless times in slave etiquette regarding how to treat masters and guests. Pain was the best teacher, yet this time he surprisingly didn’t feel too nauseated.
A split second before his knees made contact with the ground, Zhou Yi’s movement was halted by Chu Yanyi’s cane.
“You are already free; there’s no need for this. You can do anything you want, go anywhere you wish,” Chu Yanyi frowned, letting out a soft sigh in a matter-of-fact tone.
He paused: “Could it be… you want to come back with me? But why should I do that? You might not remember, but I’ve actually always found it strange: why did Ying Yu like you so much back then?”
Zhou Yi froze. He nodded sluggishly, his right hand unconsciously beginning to tremble once more—whether from being rejected or from hearing “Ying Yu’s” name again was unclear, yet he kept his eyes stubbornly fixed on Chu Yanyi.
His lips mouthed the words: “Master, please…”
Chu Yanyi raised an eyebrow, meeting his gaze with great interest. The Alpha’s eyes were rimmed red, without a single shred of evasion, yet he couldn’t “say” the words that followed no matter what.
After all, the person Ying Yu liked… could he really have broken all of his bones?
So he placed both items back into Zhou Yi’s palm. The candy had melted slightly against his palm’s heat into the wrapper, looking extraordinarily luminous against the black glove.
“I have zero interest in being your master, nor do I take back things I’ve given away.” Chu Yanyi tightened his grip on his cane, chuckling as if a thought had occurred to him: “How about this: as Xiao Qi’s brother, to express my apologies, why don’t you come work for me? Do whatever tasks are within your capability, though I can’t guarantee whether you’ll find joy in the work.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Yi nodded immediately.
Faint light filtered through the stained glass of red, yellow, and blue, falling upon Chu Yanyi’s face, his eyes shimmering with brilliant radiance.
That light was far too beautiful, making Zhou Yi recall in a daze the very first spark of flame leaping inside a fireplace during winter, momentarily forgetting what he was supposed to do next.
The wind swept past laden with snow, white flakes and the black trench coat fluttering together. Chu Yanyi curled his lips: “Alright then, Xiao Yi, follow me—if you’re certain this is what you want.”
“Contact Housekeeper Mo and have him prepare a domestic servant contract,” Chu Yanyi walked unhurriedly back to the mouth of the alley, pointing at Zhou Yi toward several assistants. “Also, Doctor Wu should be at home today, right? Tell her not to rush off work just yet. Mm… let’s keep all this from Xiao Qi for now.”
Chen Ke was the first to react, opening the car door for Chu Yanyi with a smile: “Mr. Chu, this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this. You’re truly invested this time.”
“It’s not like I can’t afford one extra mouth to feed.” Chu Yanyi stepped into the vehicle, raising his chin at Zhou Yi, who had been absent-minded since earlier: “Get in.”
As if snapping back to reality, Zhou Yi shivered, walking hesitantly toward the car door.
Chen Ke let out a cold snort: “Mr. Chu, I think he’s having second thoughts again.”
Zhou Yi shook his head frantically, pointing back toward the direction they came from, gesturing again.
Chu Yanyi narrowed his eyes and reached out his hand. Subconsciously, Zhou Yi bent down and lowered his head—a perfect angle for Chu Yanyi to slap his face or twist his ear.
Instead, he merely felt his hair being ruffled—as if handling a mess a child had accidentally caused. Chu Yanyi spoke casually: “Chen Ke, Xu Ceyue, you two stay behind. Take some men to clean up the alley and those other matters. We can’t go ruining the town’s appearance for the morning. If anyone asks, you know what to say, right?”
“No problem, Mr. Chu,” the two named assistants replied in unison.
“It’s fine. Leave the rest of those matters to me,” Chu Yanyi chuckled softly, tossing the man’s grey hair into an even messier state. “Let’s go. Time to head back.”