Lu Jing’s voice was not loud, but it rang out clearly in the quiet living room. Zhang Zhou immediately widened his eyes, looking at his friend in disbelief, almost blurting out: Are you kidding me?
Pranks were pranks and messing around was messing around, but Lin Qiansheng living here without incident didn’t mean they wouldn’t run into trouble here. Zhang Zhou couldn’t fathom how Lu Jing could say something so preposterous.
However, the next moment, seeing Lu Jing’s serious expression—not joking at all and arguably looking like he had planned this long in advance—he held back and kept quiet.
After all, even if he spoke up, Lu Jing wouldn’t listen.
Lu Jing crossed his arms and leaned back casually, a hint of certainty in his tone, as if fully convinced the youth wouldn’t refuse.
“Hmph, I’m not taking advantage of you guys either. I can pay thirty thousand star coins a month for rent. How about that?”
The inner city of the Imperial Capital didn’t rent out to outsiders, and even the best apartment units in the outer city barely reached this price.
His monthly salary was only a little over ten thousand. Coupled with his health issues, the costs of medication, and hospitalizations, his account balance was frequently in the negative, making it impossible to even buy a few desserts when he wanted them.
Is this what being a prince is like?!!
If someone had offered to send money to his doorstep in the past, Lin Qiansheng absolutely wouldn’t have refused. After all, extra money meant he could buy more candies, desserts, and the like.
But! Putting aside the fact that the house wasn’t even his, just considering Lu Jing’s identity alone, he could never let him stay here—absolutely not.
Lin Qiansheng felt a sense of regret in his heart, but outwardly his expression remained gentle and calm as water, looking completely unmoved by money.
Standing to the side, Zhang Zhou looked at the serene youth and felt an even greater wave of admiration; in his mind, Lin Qiansheng now held the image of a reclusive master. After all, as a moderately well-known streamer, even he couldn’t remain this calm when faced with so much money. If it were him, he definitely would have agreed.
Lu Jing glared at Lin Qiansheng, his confidence crumbling bit by bit, and suddenly began to feel a little uncertain. Gritting his teeth, he raised the offer again, “Thirty thousand isn’t enough? Fifty thousand is fine too! Either way, I’m staying here!”
Lin Qiansheng’s eyelids twitched. Fifty thousand a month—this was no longer something that could be described simply as being wealthy.
Lin Qiansheng gave a low cough and gently tried to persuade him with a reasonable excuse: “The house isn’t mine. Besides, it’s a bit far from the school, so it’s still better to live in the Imperial Capital.”
Lu Jing didn’t believe a word of Lin Qiansheng’s excuses. It was true that this place was far from the school, but didn’t Lin Qiansheng walk this long distance to school every single day? Why couldn’t he do it? And if it wasn’t Lin Qiansheng’s house, wouldn’t that be even better? They could just go straight to the landlord.
He let out a cold snort: “Then who is the owner of this house?”
With a creak, the wooden door on the left side of the living room, bearing a laboratory label, was pushed open. After inviting Lu Jing and Zhang Zhou inside and burying himself in the laboratory ever since, Dr. Bai finally emerged carrying a stack of files and medicine bottles.
For a moment, everyone’s gaze fell upon Dr. Bai, who was wearing a long robe. The incandescent light on the ceiling flickered twice, and the living room fell silent.
Dr. Bai felt a little nervous and asked quietly, “What’s going on?”
The white light shining down on Lin Qiansheng made his flawless face look even more immaculate. Knowing Dr. Bai’s personality—that he generally wouldn’t let strangers stay over easily—the youth spoke up softly: “He’s the owner of the house.”
Dr. Bai, suddenly thrust into the spotlight, panicked a little, shrinking back as he uneasily looked between the other two.
Lu Jing raised an eyebrow. The lighting in the courtyard earlier had been quite dim, so he hadn’t seen Dr. Bai’s features clearly. Now, under the bright lights, Dr. Bai looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Still, familiarity aside, he didn’t believe for a second that someone who looked this young could possess any remarkable medical skill. However, his top priority right now was to move in first and worry about everything else later.
Lu Jing lifted his chin and repeated what he had just said.
“Fifty thousand star coins… to live here?” Dr. Bai blinked slowly, also somewhat surprised. He hesitated for a long time, organizing his phrasing, but before the words urging Lu Jing to reconsider could leave his mouth, his nose twitched slightly as he caught an imperceptible trace of sweet scent.
In an instant, the normally gentle and harmless doctor narrowed his eyes, and a palpable sense of pressure emanated from him. He turned to face the youth, saying coldly, “How much dessert did you eat this week?”
Lin Qiansheng: Would he believe him if he said he hadn’t eaten any?
That was what Lin Qiansheng thought, but he didn’t dare say it out loud.
Seeing this reaction, the doctor understood without needing any further explanation, and his face instantly turned frosty. He took a few deep breaths, turned to Lu Jing, and while trying his best to suppress his anger, said calmly: “The monthly rent doesn’t need to be that much—two thousand a month is fine, as long as you agree to two conditions.”
Shifting his gaze back and forth between Lin Qiansheng and the doctor a few times, Lu Jing asked, “What conditions?”
“First, I need three stalks of fluorescent orchid. Although this herb is very difficult to acquire, I imagine it shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”
“Second, you’re Lin Qiansheng’s student, right? When I’m not around, I hope you can help keep an eye on him. He is only allowed three candies and one piece of cake per week. If he exceeds that limit, you must notify me.”
Dr. Bai deliberately emphasized two words: “Must!”
The reason fluorescent orchids were so difficult to acquire was that they only survived on a very small number of planets and were extremely scarce in number. Furthermore, because of their exquisite appearance—though toxic—they remained deeply favored by the nobility and were circulated exclusively among high society circles.
However, given Lu Jing’s identity, getting his hands on three stalks really wouldn’t be a difficult task. As for the second condition, he could certainly fulfill it perfectly, but…
Lu Jing raised an eyebrow: “I can agree to both conditions, but give me a reason.”
Clearly the one being asked for a favor, he spoke with an arrogance surpassing even the person setting the terms.
Dr. Bai had three absolute taboos: the first was mentioning his name, the second was questioning his medical skills, and the third was disobeying medical advice!
As long as these three lightning rods weren’t triggered, he was generally quite easy to talk to.
Lin Qiansheng coughed a few times, attempting to dissuade Dr. Bai: “Let’s reconsider this matter?”
Dr. Bai shot Lin Qiansheng a cold glare, ignored him entirely, and said to Lu Jing, “Lin Qiansheng’s illness is very severe; his diet must be strictly controlled, especially desserts.”
By the end, his tone practically dripped with exasperation, gnashing his teeth in frustration: “But he doesn’t listen, and I can’t keep an eye on him when he’s at school, so I can only leave it to you.”
Although Lu Jing still didn’t trust this doctor’s medical expertise, the concern was genuine. He let out a huff and reluctantly agreed: “Fine, I get it.”
Lin Qiansheng felt he needed to do something to fight for his rights.
Before he could even speak, however, Zhang Zhou turned solemn and said earnestly, “Teacher, you really should listen to the doctor. Otherwise, how is your health ever going to get better?”
Like a proud little cat holding his head slightly high, Lu Jing flashed a smug look in his green eyes and promised, “Doctor, don’t worry. With me keeping watch, I guarantee he won’t sneak a single bite of dessert.”
Lin Qiansheng—who had not wanted Lu Jing to agree in the first place—felt his expression crack slightly at this solemn promise.
The youth opened his mouth to speak, but at that exact moment, a murderous glare drifted over from the doctor. The words intended to fight for his rights died on his lips, turning instead into a well-behaved admission of guilt: “Sorry, I shouldn’t have been greedy.”
Not should have this time, will still dare next time.
With Lu Jing’s guarantee and Lin Qiansheng’s seemingly cooperative attitude, Dr. Bai’s anger dissipated quite a bit. The murderous aura from moments before vanished completely, and his voice softened as well.
Still, not entirely trusting Lin Qiansheng, he said softly to Lu Jing, “Sorry to trouble you from now on. There are vacant rooms on the second floor, though they’re a bit messy. If you really want to move in, please come over in a few days.”
Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Zhou just wanted to hurry back to the dormitory, as he still had important matters to handle. Without further ado, he grabbed the slightly reluctant Lu Jing and forced the other boy to leave with him.
Before leaving, the two unanimously rejected Lin Qiansheng’s offer to see them out.
Finally, Lu Jing glanced back over his shoulder. His green eyes reflected the youth standing in the center of the living room, looking slightly helpless yet smiling at them.
Lu Jing clicked his tongue, feeling a strange sense of irritation. Clearly, all he needed to do was follow the doctor’s instructions—plus, controlling his diet was actually good for the youth—yet thinking of how Lin Qiansheng, who usually showed almost no emotional fluctuation, had looked shaken for a split second upon learning he’d be supervised, made him feel inexplicably uneasy inside.
Though his mind argued why should I care, what’s so terrible about not eating desserts, his mouth couldn’t help blurting out: “Hey, is there anything you want? Aside from desserts, I can consider getting it for you.”
Lin Qiansheng originally intended to refuse, but under the pressure of Lu Jing’s if-you-don’t-say-it-I’m-not-leaving gaze, he paused for a moment and smiled. “Then next time you come, bring a piece of royal cake.”
Just cake? Lu Jing knew Lin Qiansheng was aware of his identity, so he was somewhat surprised by this request. After confirming it repeatedly, he finally left alongside Zhang Zhou.
And with their departure, the house grew quiet once more.
Dr. Bai’s lingering anger hadn’t completely faded. With a stern and rigid tone, he declared, “Staying up late is bad for your health, go to sleep!” before grabbing his files and returning to his medical research.
Lin Qiansheng lowered his gaze and let out a sigh.
In the past, he hadn’t had such a severe dessert addiction. But ever since that incident… At some memory, the youth lightly touched his chest where his heart lay, his pupils turning fathomlessly deep.
The late-night breeze of mid-June carried the stifling heat of summer.
Teacher evaluations naturally fell close to the end-of-term finals. Roughly ten days after the classroom evaluation results were published, the final exams of the semester would take place.
The closer the final exams approached, the more it signaled that the Star Sea Mecha Academy’s anniversary celebration was drawing near.
The timing of the Star Sea Mecha Academy’s anniversary celebration was quite unique: it fell right after the conclusion of the school’s final exams, allowing everyone to enjoy a long summer vacation immediately afterward.
Lu Jing moved into the garbage district three days before the exams. His room was located right next to Lin Qiansheng’s; it wasn’t very large, but it had great sunlight.
During the period leading up to Lu Jing’s move, two rather preposterous events occurred at the school.
The first was that classmate Zhang Zhou—who had “made a name for himself” on the school forum by constantly blasting Lin Qiansheng—suddenly deleted all the posts where he had badmouthed Lin Qiansheng.
Quite a few people followed Zhang Zhou’s forum account; some joined in blackening Lin Qiansheng’s name, while others argued back and forth to defend him.
Not long after the deletion, someone noticed it, instantly sparking heated discussions across the forum.
Many people tagged Zhang Zhou wanting the inside scoop. However, for days, the person involved gave zero response—
Until someone else stepped in to post and stir the narrative, claiming Lin Qiansheng had only passed the evaluation through cheating and demanding the school impose severe punishment. Right in the middle of everyone’s wild speculations and eagerness to know what had happened, Zhang Zhou appeared under the post to leave the two words “idiots,” and before anyone could catch more clues, he vanished from the public eye once again.
As for the second event, it was that Wang Xin—their school’s arrogant and overbearing student whom students frequently cursed out behind his back—suddenly jumped off a building!
Although he managed to cling to life due to good luck, he still broke his leg and wouldn’t be able to return to school for at least half a year.
No one knew why Wang Xin had jumped. However, one day an anonymous comment was left on the forum saying that Wang Xin had been acting extremely bizarrely lately, talking to himself constantly and wandering around the rooftop every day dressed all in red, looking for all the world like he had been possessed by something unholy.
Once the comment dropped, it added an even stronger supernatural flavor to the incident.
These two events caught a lot of people’s attention, and coupled with the upcoming final exams and anniversary celebration, the number of people paying attention to Lin Qiansheng passing his evaluation dropped by a massive margin.
During this time, Lin Qiansheng could be said to have enjoyed a period of utter peace.
That peace lasted only until the night Lu Jing moved in.
As the night grew deeper, Lin Qiansheng, helping the boy unpack his luggage, looked at two familiar gold and silver helmets placed on the desk.
He asked out of curiosity: “What are these?”
Lu Jing let out an impatient click of his tongue, giving him a look as if he were looking at a primitive caveman living in a cave.
“Virtual Life, you don’t even know that?”
Virtual Life was a mega-popular massive multiplayer holographic game that had exploded across the interstellar community in recent years, and it was precisely through this game that Lu Jing and Zhang Zhou had met.
Upon entering the virtual interstellar realm, even ordinary people could pilot mechas and roam the starry skies. The game used the real interstellar universe as its template, featuring realistic scenes and countless planets for free exploration and adventure. Those who loved fighting could also experience the thrill of PvP in the Central Star.
In short, it featured numerous game modes with extremely high playability. Not only within their empire, but even among the hostile interstellar pirates, there were plenty of players; during the current period of tentative peace, both sides frequently brawled inside the game.
As for just how realistic the game was… well, the technology used for mecha simulated combat across the three major mecha academies had direct ties to the game developer’s holographic engine!
It was realistic enough to practically pass for reality.
Lu Jing, rummaging through his backpack, frowned, looked Lin Qiansheng up and down for a moment, and suddenly asked: “Do you want to play?”
Given Lin Qiansheng’s physical condition, he would never be able to board a real mecha in this lifetime, but Virtual Life offered ordinary people the chance to pilot mechas.
The silver-white helmet had a lightweight texture with a smooth, cool surface. Lin Qiansheng stroked it twice, a strange look flashing through his eyes.
“Oh right.” Remembering how happily Lin Qiansheng and Zhang Zhou had discussed their empire’s Admiral earlier, Lu Jing added, “Don’t you like Lu Xincheng a lot? He plays this game too.” He shrugged and appended, “Though not often.”
The youth pressed his lower lip and gave a couple of low coughs: “Sounds pretty interesting, I’ll give it a try.”
Seeing Lin Qiansheng put on the silver-white holographic helmet, Lu Jing felt his hands itch to jump in too, but realizing he still had luggage to unpack, he abandoned the idea and let Lin Qiansheng go play with his secondary account.
Once the helmet was on, his vision plunged into sudden darkness, followed immediately by a faint fluorescent blue sheen appearing right at the center of his view along with large characters: Game Loading.
After about a few seconds, the black fog-like screen rapidly dissipated, and the boundless, vast starry sky abruptly unfolded right before his eyes!!
Lin Qiansheng paused for a moment.
It had been a very long time since he last saw a starry sky this realistic.
There was no sound around him, nor any living creatures—just himself.
He was piloting a silver mecha, standing amidst the dazzling sea of stars, raising his hand as if he could actually touch the stars.
Just as he was lost in thought, a dark, bulky, enormous unidentified object quietly materialized directly behind the silver mecha. The unknown object split open a fissure, revealing a blood-red oral cavity and rows of pearly-white, sharp teeth!
Clearly, if bitten by this unknown object, one would definitely sustain severe injuries!
Yet just as the unknown object was about to bite down on the mecha, a faint glow suddenly surfaced across the mecha’s exterior, transforming with lightning speed into a streak of light that flashed a short distance away.
Before the unknown object could even react, a crisp slash sounded. Several white cutting marks abruptly appeared across its body, and the next instant, it exploded with a deafening roar right beneath the starry sky, kicking off wave after wave of shockwaves!!
Sitting inside the cockpit, the youth lifted his gaze. His pupils had shifted at some unknown moment into an eerie, cold, and merciless violet.
The tiny mecha stood tall in the vast starry sky, wielding a cross-shaped beam saber. Beneath the starry sky, countless black unknown entities emerged, surrounding him and surging toward him bit by bit…!
A short while later, this patch of the starry sky blazed with roaring flames.
At the same time, someone discovered that on the Virtual Life Pollution Star Points solo leaderboard, a secondary account previously ranked way down past the two-hundred-thousand mark was shooting up in rank like a rocket, breaking straight into the top hundred in no time!
And even with its rank already inside the top hundred, its upward trajectory showed no signs of slowing down.
In the end, it actually squeezed past the original third place, planting itself firmly at the number three spot.