MORIC - Chapter 138

Chapter 138: Two Wives

Ling Xun suddenly found Xi Shuang incredibly oily, shaking off her cousin's hand and silently moving to the side.

Wen Xinghuo shook her head at the driver, and the dilapidated bus struggled away into the rainy night.

"There's a pavilion up ahead, right? Let's go sit for a while and wait for the rain to stop."

Seeing that no one was paying her any mind, Xi Shuang felt a bit awkward and let out a hearty laugh.

Wen Xinghuo grunted in agreement and asked Xi Shuang, "Your mecha was modified by Yueshan before. How did it feel during the practical operation?"

At the mention of this, Ling Xun's eyes lit up, and she immediately squeezed over. Sheng Yangkui stood to one side. Wen Xinghuo was about to pull her over, but Chi Yueshan beat her to it.

Chi Yueshan smiled at Wen Xinghuo, then said to Sheng Yangkui, "Xi Zhoumeng definitely won't be picking seeds with us anymore. I've looked at the map. Let's divide the work in a bit…"

It felt like only Chi Yueshan was still immersed in the practical training.

Sheng Yangkui watched her meticulously arranging things on the crumpled map, feeling both speechless and moved.

She thought to herself that this person was simply too career-minded, and she grew curious about what Chi Yueshan and Xi Zhoumeng would do in the future.

Xi Zhoumeng was too mysterious. With her ability to resist the Queen's consciousness invasion, who knew what kind of demon or deity she was, and from what godforsaken place she came.

Chi Yueshan, on the other hand, was down-to-earth, wholeheartedly devoted to mechas.

If this time ended perfectly, Sheng Yangkui felt it wasn't impossible for this decadent system to be overthrown.

At the very least, if Omegas' modifications to mechas could reach the pinnacle of perfection, it would inspire the aspirations of a great many people.

She also greatly envied Chi Yueshan's passion.

Chi Yueshan: "Did I assign you too much?"

She glanced at the small Omega standing beside her. The rain pavilion wasn't very large, and the two of them sat together. Xi Zhoumeng was off by herself, lost in thought.

Wen Xinghuo, Xi Shuang, and Ling Xun, the three Alphas, went from chatting about the newly modified mechas to the fact that this place was once a battlefield ruin. Their blood suddenly ran too hot, and they summoned their mechas in the downpour and began to warm up.

Sheng Yangkui: "It's not a lot."

She looked at Chi Yueshan's earnest profile and asked her, "Aren't you worried?"

Chi Yueshan: "About what?"

Her gaze still hadn't left the map. Having lost the note-taking function of her light-brain, Chi Yueshan could still pull out a great deal of equipment from the many pockets of her waterproof pants.

She even had backups of the seeds she was looking for.

Sheng Yangkui thought: She's so meticulous. You really can't tell she's this kind of person.

But then she considered that anyone who tested up from the Lower Worlds had put in immense effort. Chi Yueshan's friend, Xuan Ping, had recently been accepted into a very famous laboratory, and her exclusive interview was even pinned to the top of the academy's forum.

Sheng Yangkui felt even more useless.

A few seconds later, Chi Yueshan realized what she meant. "I am worried."

The howling wind, pouring rain, and booming thunder were enough to shatter anyone's peace. If she were at the Xi residence, Chi Yueshan could have continued to soak in the study or study her master's notes.

Or she could be rambling on about the past with that clingy person, Xi Zhoumeng, in the hazy mist of an aromatherapy diffuser.

Xi Zhoumeng was truly cunning. She always said "next time" but never told Chi Yueshan when "next time" would be.

When will you tell me everything?

Next time.

It meant their future could extend infinitely, with countless "next times," countless tomorrows.

Such a lover was too rare. Chi Yueshan's life was even more vivid than the romance dramas she binged on StarNet.

Because Xi Zhoumeng wasn't a cookie-cutter template; every one of her faces could make Chi Yueshan's head spin.

It was precisely because she liked her so much that Chi Yueshan was afraid of losing her.

At the same time, she was troubled by this change in herself. The grown-up version of herself she had imagined wouldn't be so insecure, wouldn't fear that she might not receive the same kindness tomorrow.

Back then, she believed that if someone made their partner feel that way, that person couldn't be any good, as they clearly couldn't provide a sense of security.

But while love has a thousand different faces, it does have common elements.

Xi Zhoumeng's sense of security was unparalleled. Chi Yueshan didn't even have to worry about that person taking a fancy to someone else.

After all, no one could stand her daily habit of admiring herself in the mirror.

But it was precisely because Xi Zhoumeng was too good, so good that Chi Yueshan felt she wasn't secure enough—secure enough for Xi Zhoumeng to be that carefree person.

Is fate unchangeable?

Will Xi Zhoumeng still leave me, then?

Chi Yueshan: "I'm very worried."

Standing with Sheng Yangkui, she felt the least pressure about her height, since even Xuan Ping was a bit taller than Sheng Yangkui.

Besides, after being in a relationship with Mu Lai for so long, Xuan Ping had developed a strangely mature aura.

It made Chi Yueshan feel too embarrassed to put her arm around her. Now, discovering that Sheng Yangkui could perfectly inspire the indomitable feeling she lost in front of Xi Zhoumeng, she instantly slung an arm around Sheng Yangkui's shoulder and sighed, "Worrying alone is useless. If she doesn't tell me to do anything, I'll just do my own thing well."

She glanced at Xi Zhoumeng, who was leaning against a pillar with her eyes closed, resting. From a moment ago, Xi Zhoumeng's body temperature had plummeted.

Although she didn't seem to be reacting, as her 100% compatible partner, Chi Yueshan could already feel Xi Zhoumeng's discomfort.

But Xi Zhoumeng only made a "shushing" gesture.

Then she sat down by herself.

Chi Yueshan understood immediately, knowing she shouldn't disturb her.

"I've never been in a relationship before, so I don't know what makes a good partner."

Chi Yueshan flipped through the map, taking out the illustrations of the seeds she had drawn.

Her lines were very steady, a skill likely honed from years of copying and innovating over and over again in the machine shop since childhood.

Sheng Yangkui had also heard Wen Xinghuo's praise for Chi Yueshan, in both her past life and this one.

In truth, Chi Yueshan was undoubtedly a genius. It was just that compared to fighting the Zerg, her role as a behind-the-scenes mecha technician was less conspicuous.

Sheng Yangkui watched her flip through the cards, which were probably prepared in advance, still showing the marks of being cut.

However, it definitely wasn't high-grade paper that had been solemnly sought out; who knew what it had been torn from. As she unconsciously flipped through them, Sheng Yangkui saw that the back was covered in densely packed words—all of them Xi Zhoumeng's name.

Chi Yueshan panicked a little, glancing at Xi Zhoumeng with a guilty conscience before flipping the card back over.

"Can't let her know, or her ego will go through the roof again."

Sheng Yangkui suddenly recalled the last thing Xi Zhoumeng had said to her during their conversation.

She's afraid that if Chi Yueshan sees the real her, she won't want her anymore.

Even though the weather was still terrible and their light-brains were still offline, outside the pavilion, three Alphas were playing in the rain with their mechas like big idiots.

All of them were mechas modified by Chi Yueshan.

Wen Xinghuo's War God Mecha was already an object of envy for Alphas, and now Xi Shuang was chasing after it, eager for a closer look.

They were foolish, but the sense of security was real.

Amidst the howling wind and rain, Sheng Yangkui asked Chi Yueshan, "Yueshan, do you know where Senior Xi comes from?"

Wen Xinghuo only knew that Xi Zhoumeng was from another planet, possibly even a different dimension.

She had said that Wen Xinghuo was just a paper person.

If this was a book, then what was the world outside the book like?

Chi Yueshan: "Probably a princess, too."

She shuffled the seed cards she had drawn over and over. Raindrops were blown in, wetting the back where she had sometimes written a name while daydreaming.

The Xi family's study was so large that for Chi Yueshan, who previously had no study or even a proper bedroom, it was practically heaven.

When her thoughts stagnated, she had a habit of letting her mind go blank.

With a pen in her hand, she would unconsciously doodle and draw. This habit hadn't changed over the years.

She never expected that her doodles would turn into Xi Zhoumeng's name.

She smiled, glancing at the closed-eyed Xi Zhoumeng. "A rich but unloved child."

After saying that, Chi Yueshan looked at Sheng Yangkui. "Actually, she told me one day."

"Her experience is quite similar to yours."

Sheng Yangkui was taken aback. "Mine?"

Her status was noble, but as for love, she had indeed never received much of it.

Even though triplets were supposed to be inseparable in others' eyes, there was no such thing as "supposed to be" in the world.

Chi Yueshan: "Yeah."

After saying that, Chi Yueshan shrugged and smiled again. "I find it hard to imagine she used to have a personality like yours."

Sheng Yangkui couldn't imagine it either. What on earth could happen to change a person so drastically?

Chi Yueshan: "But aren't you and she both doing fine now?"

"You have Senior Wen, and she has me."

Chi Yueshan sighed. "Xi Zhoumeng is always unwilling to tell me."

She turned her head. "Xiao Kui, you were reborn. In that life of yours, did I die very early on?"

Chi Yueshan's voice was crisp and clear. When she was being boisterous, it could be a bit annoying, like the chirping of little birds at dawn.

But when she quieted down, she always gave off a sense of twilight-yellow silence.

Such a conversation was actually very sad, yet the look Chi Yueshan gave Sheng Yangkui held not a trace of sorrow, only pure curiosity.

Sheng Yangkui nodded. "You died."

She added, "Except for Xinghuo, we all died."

That future might have been a bright one for the citizens of the Empire.

But for Wen Xinghuo, it was a fatal blow.

Chi Yueshan wasn't surprised. She just asked, "Did I die during the practical training?"

Sheng Yangkui hummed in affirmation.

Chi Yueshan: "No wonder she wouldn't tell me."

Sheng Yangkui: "Don't you…"

Chi Yueshan: "Actually, I heard it that day."

She smiled, stroking the water stains on the back of the card. The three characters of Xi Zhoumeng's name were blurred by the water droplets, the black ink spreading out, smudging to look as if a tear had fallen.

Sheng Yangkui: "Why aren't you sad?"

Chi Yueshan: "That was in a past life. Besides…"

She opened the folded paper notebook she carried with her and began to sketch the now-sleeping Xi Zhoumeng.

"The Xi Zhoumeng from your last life is not my Xi Zhoumeng."

This one of mine comes from an unknown planet, an unknown world.

For a soul like a dandelion, one that could dissipate or even self-destruct, to stay for me.

What reason do I have to lament a meaningless past life?

Chi Yueshan's strokes were steady, likely from much practice in the past. With just a few lines, she captured Xi Zhoumeng's essence.

Although Sheng Yangkui knew this Xi Zhoumeng was different from the one in her past life, she felt this one was truly imposing.

Hearing Chi Yueshan say that the other girl was similar to her meant she was a person in power, and likely not a puppet like herself.

The more she thought about it, the more she admired Chi Yueshan, sighing, "Yueshan, you're a really special person."

Chi Yueshan let out a surprised "eh." "Am I?"

"My background isn't good, I'm not particularly beautiful, my grades aren't great, and I'm from a Lower World."

Sheng Yangkui felt that Chi Yueshan was saying this on purpose, because there wasn't a hint of inferiority on her face.

Perhaps this kind of interaction was too rare. Even with the storm raging, the gloom hanging over them, and the future still unknown.

Sheng Yangkui suddenly felt like crying. She sniffled, turned her head away, and said, "You just want me to praise you, don't you?"

Chi Yueshan nodded as if it were a matter of course. "For someone as rare as me, it's Xi Zhoumeng's good fortune to have met me."

"You too, you know. Because Senior Wen was looking at you, she got beaten up by Xi Shuang again."

Sheng Yangkui's head snapped up. Chi Yueshan burst out laughing. "You're pretty fun, too."

Neither of them was really the type to have friends. The trajectory of fate was just that unpredictable. With spacetime grafted together, everyone's destiny had become inextricably intertwined.

Xi Zhoumeng groggily awoke from her memories, locking away the dense net that was attempting to continue its invasion of her consciousness.

The pressure was almost enough to make her heart explode, a tidal wave of vicious hostility.

Accompanied by an unfamiliar language and the other party's overwhelming anger, it stirred the primordial cruelty in her bloodline.

Xi Zhoumeng had two bracelets on her wrist. One was the Magnetic Star Meteorite that Xi Li had told her to keep safe.

Her big brother knew nothing, yet it seemed he knew everything. He never pressed for details, more or less letting Xi Zhoumeng do as she pleased. The other was the obsidian bracelet Sheng Yangkui had given her. At this moment, one of the beads inexplicably shattered. The connecting string broke with it, and the beads clattered to the ground, one even rolling to Chi Yueshan's feet.

Chi Yueshan wanted to check on Xi Zhoumeng, but she remembered Xi Zhoumeng's warning not to touch her.

But Chi Yueshan couldn't help but worry about her.

She just stood to the side, clutching the stone and observing nervously.

The next second, Xi Zhoumeng's eyes snapped open. Before Chi Yueshan could even pull back her gaze, she felt a furry touch brush past her, and then the world spun.

She was pulled into the curtain of rain by Xi Zhoumeng, and then they vanished into the mountain forest.

Sheng Yangkui stood frozen on the spot, staring in disbelief at the point where the two had disappeared.

She thought in shock: But even if I don't say anything, it seems Senior Xi can't hide it from Yueshan anyway.

Did I see that wrong? Why was there a tail?!!

Isn't this an interstellar world?

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