"Big Sis Kafka..."
"You should be a little more careful."
Zāwù murmured in a very soft whisper. The boy's cheeks had a faint blush, like plum blossoms falling onto snow. He tore his gaze away from the purple-red stockings on the sofa. He understood the principle of not looking at improper things. Although, since Zāwù had taken on the task of cleaning Big Sis Kafka's room, he would eventually have to tidy up, and even touch...
But the shy and bashful boy decided to leave this task for last.
Who knows if it was the same feeling as when savoring a delicacy, saving your favorite bite for the very end. Or perhaps Zāwù wasn't the kind of child who would think such strange things.
With a faint sense of disappointment at not being able to see Big Sis Kafka, the boy began his daily tidying. The repetitive, mechanical labor was too simple, barely using any of his intelligent mind's CPU, so he inevitably began to let his thoughts wander.
What kind of woman is Big Sis Kafka, really?
First, she was naturally a woman who could become his mother.
Second... she was surrounded by an air of mystery and a faint sense of distance.
She always looked at him with such gentle eyes, a gaze like soft cherry blossoms falling, so why did he feel a hint of loneliness that could never be dispelled in those light pink pupils?
He wanted to hug her. Not to seek comfort, but to give it.
But Zāwù knew he was clumsy with words, especially when facing someone important. No one would believe him based on words alone. Perhaps even he himself couldn't be one hundred percent sure he was completely selfless.
"Click."
The wardrobe door was slowly pulled open, revealing a neat row of coats inside, from various planets and in different styles. Zāwù reined in his thoughts and focused, carefully performing their daily maintenance. Kafka rarely showed her preferences. No matter what kind of meal Zāwù presented, she would praise it endlessly; no matter what topic he brought up, she would not be resistant. In this way, she was perfect and considerate to the point of being fake, which was one of the sources of the faint distance Zāwù always felt between her and everyone else.
Fortunately, through careful observation of Kafka, Zāwù did manage to find the one hobby she let show.
"Collecting velvet coats."
They were fragile and beautiful, difficult to maintain. The slightest mistake could damage their luster. Zāwù wanted to please Kafka, to earn her praise, so he put extra effort into learning how to care for them. Though he had yet to be rewarded for it, since he never made his efforts obvious, just doing it silently. But even just imagining the scene where Kafka might smile because her coats were as clean as new was reason enough for all the boy's efforts, bringing comfort to his heart.
And he wasn't just attentive to Kafka.
Blade had an incredible self-healing ability and a cold, mad personality. He was usually either self-harming or on his way to self-harm. That was why he didn't teach Zāwù "Hellscape," the style most suited to his immortal body, but instead taught him another style, one covered in frost. Previously, he would handle his own wounds by either ignoring them or randomly wrapping them in bandages. Zāwù couldn't stand to watch, so he developed an ointment that, when applied to a wound, would maximally reduce pain, provide a cooling sensation, and reduce scar tissue formation. He even endured Blade's "do you want to die, kid?" glare and, fighting back fear and the urge to run, taught him how to properly wrap bandages so as not to cause unnecessary pain by compressing the wound.
In the end, Blade said Zāwù was a weirdo on par with himself. Zāwù didn't quite understand what that meant.
And then there was Silver Wolf.
Pleasing her was relatively simple. He just had to be her gaming partner. If co-op partners had levels, Zāwù was definitely at the pinnacle of excellence.
Silver Wolf's daily state recently had been:
"Ah, I'm gonna die without Zāwù to play... dammit, I mean, without Zāwù to play with."
"Zāwù, Zāwù, I'm already online! You hurry up too!"
"You're stopping already? Just one more billion rounds!"
"Zāwù! How can I live without you!"
"Zāwù, your hands are so small. How are they so much fairer than mine..."
"Zāwù, you smell so good..."
"Why don't you stay and pull an all-nighter with me tonight?"
There was absolutely no exaggeration.
One time, Silver Wolf even accidentally sent one of her unhinged mini-essays to the "Stellaron Hunters Happy Family" group chat. Even Sam, who was far away, became curious about Zāwù.
Sam: I can't wait to meet little brother Zāwù (〃'▽'〃)
Sam: Elio really gave me such a long script this time (╥╯^╰╥)...
Although it didn't quite match Sam's external appearance, she was indeed the type to use such cute kaomoji.
And Zāwù was just that kind of child, gentle to the core, and utterly endearing.
One wonders if the person who abandoned him...
will eventually regret it.
...
Herta Space Station, Containment Section.
In front of the secret elevator leading to the Propagation Emanator's cultivation lab, Ruan Mei, still dressed in her green gown, stood waiting quietly, elegant and graceful as ever.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps, calm yet powerful, approached.
Dr. Ratio, always holding a book, walked out of the shadows, revealing his handsome face to Ruan Mei, not the plaster mask he sometimes wore.
"What a coincidence," he greeted, then stood beside Ruan Mei, waiting quietly for the elevator to ascend.
Ruan Mei did not respond, and Dr. Ratio, known as "Veritas Ratio," did not mind in the least.
Soon, the elevator opened before them. Whether out of a "ladies first" principle or because Ratio respected a true genius, he waited for Ruan Mei to enter the elevator before following. The elevator doors closed and began their descent. The transparent viewport reflected the dazzling sea of stars outside the space station. Their light may have come from hundreds of millions of years ago. If one could stare at them eternally, perhaps one could see the past replay itself.
Ruan Mei, contrary to her usual disregard for the romantic starry sky, turned her head slightly and gazed at it in silence, her thoughts unknown.
Dr. Ratio, however, slightly closed his deep-set eyes. To this day, he still couldn't forget that respectable creation.
That respectable fool.
The ten seconds of silence passed quickly.
The elevator doors opened. Ruan Mei and Ratio were about to go their separate ways. Both had their own busy work; geniuses are always efficiency-first. But Ratio was perhaps an exception. Today, he considered himself a "Fool." Therefore, just before Ruan Mei was about to leave, he suddenly spoke up.
"I hear you went to see your creations recently?"
-------
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