Feng Zhi returned to her fifty-square-meter home.
The rooms were almost bare, with little furniture beyond the tables, cabinets, and other things that came with the place.
In the spacious living room stood a sofa bed. A blanket lay on it, slightly tented, and the vague outline beneath suggested someone was lying there.
At the sound of the door opening, the person under the blanket threw it off and looked up.
He was a very young-looking man, handsome, with a high nose bridge. His light chestnut hair stuck up in a messy tangle, and his brown eyes were half-lidded with sleep.
When he saw Feng Zhi come back, his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked visibly delighted, like a dog seeing its Master come home.
“Feng Zhi, you’re back! How did your awakening go today? Did you awaken as a Guide?”
His clear, youthful voice rang out. Feng Chi kicked off the blanket, put on his slippers, and hurried over. With practiced ease, he took the Backpack from Feng Zhi.
“Mm.” Feng Zhi came inside. “F-rank Guide.”
She shut the door and turned around, quietly sizing up Feng Chi.
It was the end of December, and the temperature outside was minus eight degrees. But this interstellar world was highly advanced; both clothes and homes maintained a constant temperature, which could even be adjusted.
This home, for instance, was kept at twenty-six degrees.
So Feng Chi was dressed very lightly: just a white sleeveless undershirt on top and light brown shorts below, leaving his healthy wheat-colored skin exposed.
He was tall, around 180 centimeters. He looked a little slender, but his muscles were smoothly defined.
The white undershirt fit snugly, showing off the muscles of his back. He had a waspish waist and a broad, tapering back, with a deep groove running down the center. Feng Zhi caught sight of his slim waist. This must be what people meant by a waist so narrow a spear could cover half of it.
His shorts were just as tight, revealing a round, pert backside, and below that, firm, powerful leg muscles.
Feng Zhi couldn’t help thinking that when it came to slender waists and legs, men really were something else.
Noticing her gaze on his back, Feng Chi’s face grew warm. He deliberately adjusted his stride, slowing down and making sure his back looked even more perfect.
He had chosen this outfit especially for today, to show off his figure. Feng Zhi ought to be pleased.
Unfortunately, the living room was only so big. No matter how slowly he walked, he soon reached the end of it.
When he set the Backpack down on the table, Feng Zhi’s gaze followed.
She walked over and sat on the sofa. Feng Chi fetched a bottle of nutrient solution from nearby. “You’ve been busy all morning. You must be hungry. Have some of this.”
“No, no.” Feng Zhi tossed the nutrient solution aside. “I unexpectedly got twenty-five thousand starcoins today. We’re having a proper meal tonight. Let’s have hot pot!”
At the thought of hot pot, Feng Zhi nearly drooled.
Back on Blue Star, food had been plentiful, and she’d never had to worry about going hungry. She hadn’t expected that, after crossing over into this Sentinel-Guide world, food would be scarce despite the highly advanced technology.
Pollutants had contaminated the land, leaving much of it unfit for growing crops. As a result, food was in short supply, and Ordinary People usually had to live on nutrient solution.
In this world, she was an orphan. Until she turned eighteen, she had lived in an orphanage. The Human Federation provided for children until they came of age at eighteen: food, housing, education, and a monthly allowance of one hundred starcoins.
The orphanage and school provided her housing. She got nutrient solution to eat, and her education and medical care were free. As for the hundred-starcoin allowance, she hardly dared spend it. She needed to buy clothes, sanitary pads, and cover all kinds of transportation expenses.
But once people turned eighteen, the government stopped providing those benefits, and they had to move out of the orphanage.
Fortunately, she had memories of her previous life and had always done well in school. With her standing as the top student in her grade, she found work writing assignments for others and tutoring, and managed to save some money.
But she couldn’t touch those savings. They were for renting a place after she turned eighteen. As a result, in all those eighteen years, she had eaten nothing but nutrient solution.
After so long, she had nearly forgotten the taste of natural food.
As for Feng Chi, she had found him outside when she was five and brought him back to the orphanage.
Feng Chi had been five then, too. He had no memories and didn’t even remember his own name. Perhaps because she was the one who had found him, he clung to her, so he took her surname, Feng.
She had given him the name Feng Chi because she had found him beside a pool.
After they turned eighteen, they left the orphanage together and rented a fifty-square-meter apartment.
She slept in the bedroom, while Feng Chi bought a sofa bed and slept in the living room. The fifty-square-meter place was just big enough for the two of them.
Feng Zhi opened the Star Network and began placing orders in the shop.
Even though she already knew how much natural food cost, when she saw the total—fifteen thousand starcoins—her eyelid still twitched violently.
A pound of greens cost five hundred starcoins. Back on Blue Star, that price would have gotten someone beaten to death.
Feng Chi was startled by the price. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but seeing how excited Feng Zhi was, he ultimately kept quiet.
Tomorrow it would be his turn to awaken. He had a strong feeling that he would definitely awaken as a Sentinel.
Once he became a Sentinel, he’d never have to worry about money again.
He would work hard to earn money, so that Feng Zhi could eat natural food whenever she wanted, whatever she wanted.
He would also buy Feng Zhi a big house and all kinds of beautiful clothes. Then the two of them would live together in that big house and never be apart again.
In less than five minutes, the robot had delivered everything Feng Zhi had ordered on the Star Network.
Looking at the fresh, dewy food, Feng Zhi swallowed. She nearly stuffed some straight into her mouth, but managed to restrain herself.
Feng Chi took the bags from her and said softly, “You’ve been busy all morning, so you must be tired. Sit on the sofa. I’ll wash everything.”
He took the bags and quickly headed for the kitchen. Then he adjusted his posture, making sure Feng Zhi could get a clear view of his back from the sofa.
As he washed the vegetables, he deliberately stuck his butt out, ensuring it looked pert enough.
Feng Zhi smiled as she watched Feng Chi’s back. All the effort she’d put into raising him had paid off; Feng Chi was now a perfectly competent little sidekick.
But…
She glanced at Feng Chi’s back several times.
How strange. How had she never noticed before how pert Feng Chi’s butt was?