Honestly, Ji Shileng knew perfectly well whether the selection had been rigged.
This was a live broadcast across the entire interstellar world, with tens of millions of people watching.
Who could possibly have identified his account in those few seconds, then discreetly passed the information to Shang Jianli?
No one.
It simply wasn’t realistic.
The moment that familiar voice sounded, Shang Jianli’s thoughts had already begun to unravel.
He had intended to keep his longing under control throughout the Interstellar Military Competition, to stop himself from thinking about Ji Shileng too much.
But he couldn’t.
At the sound of Ji Shileng’s voice, the longing he had suppressed for so long spilled over like water overflowing a glass tank, impossible to contain.
“I…”
His throat went dry as he answered Ji Shileng’s question.
“You once told me the ‘Leng’ in your name meant cold, as in winter being cold when it snows”
And among the accounts requesting a connection, Ji Shileng happened to be using that very phrase as his username.
Ji Shileng stood with one hand in his pocket, holding his communicator to his ear with the other.
At Shang Jianli’s answer, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, another long silence followed.
He sighed.
It was barely audible, yet Shang Jianli heard it.
“Right. So this was just a mix-up”
Half reflective, half self-mocking, Ji Shileng joked:
“That introduction was ages ago. I never thought you’d still remember”
He had introduced himself to Shang Jianli only once, on the day they first met.
He had never repeated it afterward.
After graduating from university, Shang Jianli had been very busy. At first, Ji Shileng would still ask him for small favors. If he was traveling to a neighboring city for work, for instance, could he bring back a doll from a collaboration sold exclusively there?
But every time, Shang Jianli said he had been too busy and forgotten.
Looking back now, his memory was clearly excellent, wasn’t it?
Shang Jianli could hear the self-mockery in his words. A trace of self-loathing rose in his eyes.
“I’m sorry…”
Since reuniting with Ji Shileng, apologizing had become a habit. He also understood that Ji Shileng did not need his apologies.
An apology had an expiration date.
And by now, that date had long since passed.
“Don’t apologize to me”
Ji Shileng took a deep breath.
“He’s dead”
He couldn’t understand it. They had agreed not to see each other again, yet fate kept playing tricks on him.
Before, he had gone to such lengths to arrange coincidences and chance encounters with Shang Jianli, usually to no avail.
Now, without any effort at all, they kept happening.
“Don’t say things like that”
Shang Jianli lowered his eyes, then asked softly:
“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
By unspoken agreement, they moved past the first question.
Ji Shileng frowned.
“Isn’t each person only allowed one question?”
He wanted to end the call and go back to his room to play games.
Rather than wasting time on someone he didn’t want to see, he would much rather spend it gaming, idling away the hours without purpose.
Shang Jianli admitted openly:
“Under normal circumstances, each person gets one question”
Under exceptional circumstances, however, he could choose to give Ji Shileng special treatment.
His answer drew a small laugh from Ji Shileng, easing some of the frustration in his chest.
Perhaps this was fine. They could be the most familiar of strangers.
An occasional calm conversation without meeting in person didn’t feel so bad.
He would not cross the line, and he would not allow Shang Jianli to cross it either.
“So you’re going to bend the rules for me?”
For some inexplicable reason, moisture gathered in Ji Shileng’s eyes.
He decided to take back his previous thought.
This wasn’t fine at all. They should be complete strangers.
Shang Jianli sensed the shift in his attitude. He knew he had said the wrong thing, that it might even make Ji Shileng dislike him more, but he had to seize the opportunity.
Somewhere beyond their knowing, the number of times two people met in a lifetime seemed to be finite.
A coincidence had allowed him to accept Ji Shileng’s call today. There probably wouldn’t be another chance like this.
“Always for you. Not just this once”
Open, undisguised favoritism.
But what was the point of receiving it only after he had “died”?
“Don’t. Just remember what I told you last time”
Without seeing him in person, Ji Shileng found it much easier to keep his emotions steady. He had no desire to say more.
“That’s all, then. I’m hanging up. Other viewers are still waiting”
Before Shang Jianli could answer, he ended the call.
It was all in the past. There was no point in holding on.
Only after Ji Shiyun called him several times did Ji Shileng come back to himself.
“What are you staring into space for? Seeing your first love left you in a daze?”
“What daze?”
“You call that being present? How many times did I have to call you?”
Ji Shiyun handed him several more skewers of burnt pork belly.
He accepted them helplessly.
“My dearest sister, could you stop making me dispose of your burnt vegetables and meat? I’m not a trash can”
“Then could you stop making me clean up after you whenever you cause trouble? I’m not an all-powerful god”
Ji Shiyun mimicked his tone, adding a generous helping of sarcasm.
Ji Shileng blinked and immediately changed his expression.
“You know you’re my most beloved sister…”
“Ha-ha”
His eldest sister cut him off without mercy.
“Stop. Spare me the flattery. You’re trending across the interstellar world again”
“Happy now, our family’s superstar?”
Ji Shileng looked up, his beautiful eyes full of confusion.
Seriously? He had been exceptionally well-behaved today. He had practically driven his Bugatti like a toy car.
Listening to the siblings bicker, Wen Qin smiled gently.
“It really is better having you home. The house feels lively again”
“And if anything happens, we can help”
Unlike when he had been in the Empire, with one outrageous news story appearing after another. All they could do then was watch helplessly.
Ji Shileng seized the opportunity to transfer the burnt pork belly into his father Ji Jie’s bowl, then settled beside his mother.
“Mom, I won’t go running off again”
Only after growing up did he understand how good it was to be home.
Wen Qin wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and stroked his hair.
“Yes. Whatever happens, home is still better than being out there”
Turning the lamb skewers as fat sizzled over the heat, Ji Shiyun remarked:
“Just keep spoiling him, Mom”
Wen Qin didn’t deny it. Instead, she asked with a cheerful smile:
“And who bought Xiaoshi a supercar worth a hundred and twenty million star coins? Not to mention that Rolls-Royce just recently?”
She exposed her daughter without the slightest hesitation.
Ji Shiyun’s hand stopped over the grill. She cleared her throat.
“Mom!”
“All right, all right. So why is our superstar trending again?”
Leaving her daughter a little dignity, Wen Qin let the subject drop.
Ji Shiyun wiped the splashes of oil from her hands, picked up her communicator, and forwarded the news to the family group chat.
Full at last, Ji Shileng leaned against his mother and scrolled through the news.
Before long, he came across himself.
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