CAT Chapter 13: Sonnet (5)

Ling Yi was caught off guard when his nose was gently scratched. He wasn’t sure whether it was because he was angry or shy, but he pressed further into Lin Si’s embrace, burying his entire face in his chest, his arms tightly wrapped around his waist.

Lin Si reciprocated the hug, idly stroking his soft black hair.

The little thing’s warmth function could rival that of any furry animal. After hugging for a while, Lin Si was completely warmed by him.

Because they were so close, practically pressed together, Lin Si could clearly feel Ling Yi’s heart racing.

It was a youthful, lively, and vigorous life, like the first flower blooming in spring, wildly spreading and growing like fresh grass and branches—small, yet powerful.

—And you protect him, while also being protected by him.

Ling Yi had buried his face for quite some time, probably feeling a bit stuffy, before finally lifting his face.

He asked, “Lin Si, what did you do today?”

Lin Si looked into his eyes, smiling faintly, “Studied your blood.”

Ling Yi immediately became alert—Lin Si was still fixated on his blood!

He quickly turned over, trying to distance himself from Lin Si.

Lin Si chuckled softly, his breath brushing against Ling Yi’s ear, making him shiver with sensitivity.

Ling Yi continued wriggling away, determined to protect his blood—Lin Si had already drawn several tubes, and if he took any more, there’d be none left!

Lin Si caught his shoulder from behind.

“It’s enough, I won’t take any more,” Lin Si said.

Only then did Ling Yi turn around, his almond-shaped eyes glaring at him.

At that moment, Lin Si’s timer beeped, signaling the end of the nap time.

Ling Yi rubbed his eyes, “What are you doing this afternoon?”

“I’m going to Zone 5 to work on a biological material project with Zheng-ge.”

“What’s it for?”

“The planet we’re going to has very little oxygen. Planets without plants don’t have much oxygen, and living beings can’t survive there.” Lin Si buttoned up Ling Yi’s coat and continued, “But we can make a half-spherical protective shield to cover the base. The material is part of the shield and can concentrate oxygen inside, expel unnecessary gases, and when there’s sunlight, it can even produce many things we need.”

Ling Yi nodded slowly, “When will we get to the planet?”

“We’ve entered subspace, we’ll arrive in ten days. So the project is tight, and I’ll be very busy these next few days.”

Lin Si said this as he fastened the top button of his white shirt, rolled up his sleeves a little, and besides the silver bracelet on his right wrist, there were no other adornments. When his face was expressionless, he seemed extremely indifferent.

Ling Yi tilted his head and studied him.

Lin Si asked, “Finished with your training?”

Ling Yi nodded slightly, “Can I go with you to Zone 5?”

“Sure,” Lin Si said indifferently, “Your lessons are ready, so you can study there.”

Ling Yi didn’t know what the lessons were, but he didn’t think to ask. He called out to Lucia, bouncing excitedly as he followed Lin Si to Zone 5.

The center of the project’s experimental area was a spacious, open production room. On one side was a large, complex reaction vessel with a transparent tube in the center, filled with light green liquid boiling away. The vessel was connected to high-temperature molding and pilot-scale devices, and on the other side were various testing instruments, dazzling in their variety.

Large and small light screens displayed numerous experimental data, all being closely monitored.

Lin Si led Ling Yi up the spiral staircase above the production area and into a silver-white corridor. Using his iris scan, he opened a room marked with the “Dome” sign.

Inside was an entirely different world, with small hallways and rooms filled with many devices Ling Yi didn’t recognize.

They finally entered a room where Zheng Shu was waiting.

Lin Si’s laboratory and room were methodically organized, almost neurotic in its order, while Zheng Shu’s leaned more toward the casual, with a hint of domestic atmosphere.

On the desk, a beaker held a familiar cat grass that Ling Yi had seen before.

When Zheng Shu noticed Ling Yi examining the cat grass, he smiled, “Doesn’t Lin Si have any in his room?”

Ling Yi, “…”

After it had been uprooted and replanted by him, the cat grass had died quickly. Now, the beaker only held barren soil.

Lin Si ruffled Ling Yi’s hair and explained to Zheng Shu, “It wasn’t taken care of properly, it died.”

“Something so easy to take care of died?” Zheng Shu chuckled, “Did you water it wrong?”

Ling Yi felt extremely embarrassed.

Fortunately, they didn’t continue on the topic and instead began to focus on their own tasks.

Ling Yi sat at the desk next to Lin Si, put on his headphones, and began studying the course that Lin Si had prepared for him, under Lucia’s guidance.

At first, he was quite focused, and the arithmetic was very simple. After getting most of it, he began to lose concentration, glancing over at Lin Si.

Lin Si seemed to sense it and raised his eyes, giving him a half-smiling, half-quirky look.

This kind of expression was dangerous—it usually meant that Lin Si was about to tease him.

Ling Yi pouted and obediently continued studying.

“The attention span of children is limited,” said Zheng Shu. “Lingling, if you’re bored, you can look at the books in the cabinet.”

Ling Yi looked up at the nearby bookshelf and noticed some paper books—quite rare on a spaceship where even paper had almost disappeared.

However, with Lin Si nearby, he still behaved well and continued focusing on the course on the screen.

About an hour later, Zheng Shu’s wristband beeped, and a short message summoned him and Lin Si away.

With no one watching over him, Ling Yi studied for a bit longer but soon grew bored. He decided to flip through Zheng Shu’s collection of books.

Most of the books in the cabinet were very old poetry and novels, their thick spines worn out by the passage of time.

Ling Yi had no memories of these books, his gaze scanning the shelves up and down, until he noticed a deep red hardcover book on the far right of the cabinet. It wasn’t placed properly, its spine slightly tilted outward.

He stood on tiptoe and pulled the book down.

It was Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

This was a form of lyrical poetry with beautiful structure. Indeed, it was a masterpiece of art, but for Ling Yi, it seemed a bit boring due to the lack of a story.

After reading the first page, he began flipping through randomly, intending to put the book back and pick something more interesting.

Just as his meager patience was about to run out, he noticed something that wasn’t printed text on the page.

The elegant, upright handwriting immediately caught Ling Yi’s attention.

On the right side of the poem, on a blank piece of paper, someone had written: “We’ve finally set sail. I can’t imagine what I’ve done, what we’ve done.”

Curiosity prompted Ling Yi to continue flipping, and sure enough, after a few pages, the writing appeared again: “Innocent souls appeared in my dreams. If their blood were still flowing, it would surely stain the deck of the voyager.”

He continued flipping, and this time, there was a longer gap: “I’ve been infected with a virus. Thank God, I no longer have to struggle with my conscience. I am a guilty man. I should have died.”

Ling Yi froze for a moment, feeling scared. Just as he was about to close the book, the next page revealed the name of someone he knew well.

“I saw Lin Si. Lin Si is on the ship. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be here!”

From the first appearance of the writing, it had gradually become more frantic. On this page, the fear and madness reached their peak, with the pen even piercing the paper.

Ling Yi’s heart was seized by these words, and he desperately wanted to flip to the next page where the writing continued.

But just then, footsteps approached the door, and Ling Yi instinctively felt he couldn’t let Lin Si know he had read this.

He remembered the look in Lin Si’s eyes when he woke him up at noon.

So dark, so empty.

It must be connected to what was written in the notes, although he still didn’t understand what it all meant.

He closed the book and placed it back in its original spot.

The deep red book silently disappeared into the back of the bookshelf. Ling Yi turned on the screen and resumed his math lesson, thinking to himself that he would definitely read the notes in that book to the end.

Unfortunately, the rest of the afternoon didn’t give Ling Yi a chance when both Lin Si and Zheng Shu went out of the room, so he decided to wait for another opportunity.