Stabilizing Madness [Interstellar]

Chapter 20: Sparks

Chapter 20: Sparks
    The hand Xu Qingran extended was quickly grasped by a forceful grip.
    From behind the desk, Shen Tingyu's forced amiable smile finally broke, his eyes cold as if dragging someone into an ice cellar. Despite this, his voice remained gentle, "My dear nephew, you should be well aware of the privacy of a soul mark."
    "Don't say I didn't warn you, no one has ever dared to bring their soul mark so close to me while still alive."
    Xu Qingran met Shen Tingyu's gaze but didn't falter.
    His eyes curved slightly, the attractive peach blossom eyes emanating an aura uniquely his, "Honestly, I wasn't quite sure."
    "All I know is that you people always make a big deal out of it, and it's annoying."
    Shen Tingyu fell silent for a few seconds, then offered a more impactful explanation, "Your current action is akin to a lewd man exposing his genitals to someone."
    "To an ordinary person, this is an invitation to violate you."
    Pausing, Shen Tingyu added in a heavier tone, "To someone of the same type, it's a provocation, wanting them to destroy you."
    Xu Qingran lowered his gaze to their entwined hands, silently digesting the shocking response before quipping, "Understood. Now, Uncle, could you let go of my bird? It's starting to hurt from your grip."
    Shen Tingyu: "..."
    He silently released his hand, then looked at his palm for a few seconds as if it had been tainted by Xu Qingran's remark.
    The system: "..."
    True to its host, there really is nothing in this world he cares about.
    As Xu Qingran withdrew his hand, a red mark was visible on his wrist. He shook it a few times, then placed the Source Crystal he was still holding back on the desk.
    Suddenly, he asked Shen Tingyu, "So, General Shen, are you the former or the latter?"
    The man behind the desk gradually regained his composure, the earlier emotion gone, and replied with a slight smile, "I think you've known since our encounter in the Evil Tower. I've always regarded you as one of my own kind."
    Hearing this, Xu Qingran also smiled.
    "What a coincidence, so do I."
    The system, observing the near-explosive sparks between the two, suddenly experienced a headache through the visual feed.
    Wasn't its host supposed to be seducing someone? How did it turn into this!
    Upon entering, Xu Qingran had sensed from the room's arrangement and overall atmosphere that Shen Tingyu was someone with firm principles, perhaps even a bit obsessive about cleanliness and highly territorial.
    Knowing that Shen Tingyu disliked it, the more Xu Qingran wanted to do it.
    So, instead of leaving after the somewhat unpleasant conversation, he audaciously lay on the bed, rolling around mischievously to ensure every corner was touched by his presence, much to Shen Tingyu's annoyance, before burying himself contentedly in the covers.
    Before sleeping, he remembered the soul mark issue and asked the system, "Is the manifestation of a soul mark random, or does it indeed reflect one's personality?"
    The system replied, "Of course it's random. Does having the mark on your hand mean you're flirtatious?"
    After thinking, Xu Qingran said, "I am quite flirtatious."
    "Would I have the audacity to accompany you on these ridiculous tasks if I weren't?"
    The system: "..."
    Admitting it so freely, the system accepted this trait of its host.
    Shen Tingyu's bed was very comfortable, and Xu Qingran fell asleep quickly, though not deeply, sometimes waking up to noises from the study. But as the system said, any contact with Shen Tingyu's personal belongings was progress, so he endured.
    Shen Tingyu, seemingly focused on his work, was actually less attentive than usual.
    He even regretted letting Xu Qingran into his room.
    Initially hoping to discourage Xu Qingran, he hadn't expected to underestimate him.
    Despite the distance between the study and the bedroom, the restlessness in Shen Tingyu's mind had lingered since Xu Qingran's arrival and his unexpected close encounter with his soul mark. He couldn't identify the source of his irritation, which felt similar to his experiences in Tower 2 with other E-types.
    So, did he subconsciously want to overpower and break Xu Qingran?
    Shen Tingyu smiled faintly.
    Unfortunately, he's still too young; he has to fully mature and develop before destroying him feels like an achievement.
    ·
    Xu Qingran had a regular routine, getting up before six to exercise after washing up. The study light was still on when he got up, but he left without a glance.
    Returning home after 7 a.m., Auntie Song had already prepared breakfast, and Shen Tingyu had left. Xu Qingran, wiping off with a towel around his neck, was about to shower when he saw Auntie Song carrying bedding and a cleaning robot upstairs through the special passageway.
    "Good morning, Mr. Xu," greeted Auntie Song upon seeing him.
    "Good morning," Xu Qingran replied, feeling quite fond of the person who diligently prepared their meals. He engaged in a little more conversation, "Is there a new guest coming, so you're tidying up the room?"
    Auntie Song chuckled, "No, the general asked me to thoroughly clean his bedroom and study before he left, and to change the sheets to fresh ones."
    "They were just changed last week. Maybe they got dirty by accident."
    After watching Auntie Song go upstairs, Xu Qingran let out a cold chuckle.
    "Damn men."
    The system: "..."
    Its KPI seemed increasingly out of reach.
    During the wait for school to start, Xu Qingran, aside from physical training, had little else to do. Xiao Zhang had returned and occasionally took him to visit other towns in Fei Star, sampling the local cuisine.
    Meanwhile, Shen Tingyu was away for half a month again.
    It was young nephew Shen Tianyi who started his vacation soon, leading to more inevitable encounters between the two.
    But Shen Tianyi was just an oblivious child, and Xu Qingran didn't treat the five-year-old as a real contender; their interaction was more like brothers with a significant age gap, gradually losing the initial awkwardness.
    The young nephew now even came to him with homework problems: "Why is this answer wrong?"
    At the living room tea table, the adult and child stared at each other, eyes wide.
    Xu Qingran paused from reaching for the tablet, pointing at the corrected problem, "How does 11+11 equal 1111?"
    Pouting, Shen Tianyi protested, "Why not?"
    "Two 1s plus two 1s, isn't that equal to four 1s?!"
    Xu Qingran: "..."
    That's surprisingly logical, hard to argue with.
    Shen Tianyi had discovered that as long as he didn't deliberately provoke Xu Qingran or make him angry, he was quite easy to get along with, becoming bolder with time. He stubbornly insisted on his answer, and Xu Qingran didn't scold him, only asking, "Do you think your uncle and cousin are training you to be the successor to the family business?"
    "Yes, that's what everyone in the Shen family tells me," Shen Tianyi replied, continuing to work on his homework as he lay on the table.
    Xu Qingran watched as Shen Tianyi wrote '88' for the 8+8 problem and, after a moment of contemplation, suggested, "I think you should consider enrolling in more art classes to discover other potential talents."
    The naive nephew missed the implication and nodded, "I also think I should join classes. The boys in class who sing well, dance, and play the violin are really popular!"
    Xu Qingran, resting his head on his hand, picked up the tablet brought from the Xu family and idly browsed the internet.
    The Star Edge forum was still bustling.
    He first glanced at a newly appeared post titled [Rumors say General Shen of the Golden Wing Regiment isn't capable], then clicked on another rapidly growing thread related to him.
    Main post:
    What's the deal with the eldest young master of the Xu family from the Silver Dragon Regiment and General Shen of the Golden Wing Regiment? After my last post, I received a lot of private messages, saying they were indeed seen leaving together in the same car recently.
    But when did they get together? There wasn't a whisper about this before!
    [1L: First! But wasn't this topic just heatedly debated and then deleted last week? Why is it back?]
    [20L: Are we going to have a camp war again? I've got my instant noodles ready; anyone dares to slander Golden Wing and I'll battle them day and night!]
    [275L: ...Hold on, I thought it was just a baseless rumor last time, but then my best friend mentioned she might have seen it too. She owns a clothing store near the Grandis Middle School Fairy Series Branch, saying she indeed saw a private flying car of the Golden Wing, with someone looking like General Shen inside!]
    [Adding, because that car is a limited edition model with only 50 in the entire empire, it caught her extra attention.]
    Although Xu Qingran didn't know what the previous thread's arguments were about, today's thread seemed to explode with various confirmations from bystanders who saw him with Shen Tingyu. The times and places mentioned mostly matched those near the Grandis Middle School branch and at major galactic checkpoints during brief stops.
    It did match up.
    Discussions involving people from both camps inevitably led to arguments. But as the forum users argued, the thread suddenly turned its focus on him.
    [6755L: Could this be related to that previous high soul compatibility post? Gives me the creeps...]
    [8211L: Ah?! If that's the case, I'd rather have the Xu family's young master paired with Boss Chen! Our Golden Wing Regiment cannot accept this person as the wife of our General!!]
    [11212L: ...As a member of the Silver Dragon Regiment, I also think Xu Qingran is better suited with Boss Chen.]
    Likely due to the previous drama affecting his image, most voices in the thread felt that Xu Qingran with Shen Tingyu was a waste of resources. Although there were a few defending him, they were in the minority and easily overlooked.
    And those insisting on a false rumor:
    [23889L: Impossible! It was said to be Xu Qingran and Boss Chen!]
    [37665L: Authentic news, it's Xu Qingran and Chen Shengfei. If I'm wrong, I'll eat rice cakes while standing on my head!]
    Xu Qingran wasn't upset; in fact, he found these netizens amusing, his eyes curving with interest.
    At the table, Shen Tianyi finished his last problem and put down his pen, picking up his metal sphere named 'Asteroid' to start watching a livestream and play games.
    Seeing this, Xu Qingran suddenly asked, "You mentioned this 'Asteroid' can be used for livestreaming?"
    Shen Tianyi nodded, "Yeah."
    Xu Qingran: "Then lend it to me. I'm bored lately and want to livestream for some fun."
    And argue with netizens.
    But Shen Tianyi clutched the device tighter, whining, "I just finished my homework as a reward to myself, don't take it from me."
    Seeing Shen Tianyi's refusal to let go, Xu Qingran rubbed his forehead and asked, "With the Shen family being so large, don't you have more than one of these?"
    Shen Tianyi was about to nod but then hesitated, eventually saying, "Wait here, I'll go get another one for you."
    As he left the living room, he even took his own device with him, as if fearing it would be stolen the moment he looked away. Xu Qingran only saw him trotting upstairs, unsure of his exact destination.
    Shen Tianyi went straight to Shen Tingyu's study upon going upstairs. Tip-toeing, he used his own palm print to unlock the slightly ajar door and peeked inside, spotting another metallic sphere, similar to the one in his hand, resting in a cabinet near the desk.
    Shen Tianyi thought, they say a wife should be pampered.
    If Xu Qingran was to be his wife, then as a relative of his uncle, borrowing it should be fine, right?