CAT Chapter 30: Anchored Without Meaning (6)

The past was vivid and dazzling, but words he had use to narrate still seemed somewhat plain, so at first glance, it seemed like Lin Si was simply describing an ordinary encounter to Ling Yi.

However, the turning point brought about by this encounter was enormous—Ling Yi could imagine that if Lin Si hadn’t met Ye Selin in the old library that day, he might have become the excellent doctor he had always dreamed of, and when the virus arrived—he would save the people and then die on Earth.

“Was it from that time that you decided to become her student?” Ling Yi asked.

“Not yet,” Lin Si answered. “I only had a deep impression of her. We’ve met a few more times after… but I only became her student after two years.”

“Although I haven’t seen how you interacted with her, she must have been a good mother.” Lin Si brought the topic back and said to Ling Yi.

“Lucia said that, based on her calculations on my personality, I would be very much like Ye Selin when I grow up.”

“Her abilities are already that powerful?” Lin Si first commented on Lucia, then looked at Ling Yi.

The environment on the spaceship was actually very detrimental to a child’s growth. Limited space, monotonous living patterns, lack of social interaction, and no peers, could easily make someone become reclusive.

However, Ling Yi showed no such signs. In fact, even during the most peaceful times on Earth, children raised with good education rarely turned out like him.

He was a very lively boy, yet at the same time, he had a very gentle and serious character—obedient but also independent, with no apparent flaws. He was the son every lady dreamed of, the younger brother every older sibling wished for, the young lover every girl fantasized about.

He had never encountered any malice, nor shown a trace of malice to others. Indeed, as the ladies on the spaceship described him, he was an angel.

If he grew a little older… he would indeed have some traits very similar to Ye Selin.

“It’s a bit similar,” he said to Ling Yi. “But you get angry too easily. Ye Selin never got angry.”

“I only get angry with you!” Ling Yi’s voice, which had been already rather upset, rose a little, and his eyes reddened. “You’re the only one who’s mean to me!”

Lin Si looked at him with slight surprise, gazing into his eyes.

“If you were like them with me… I wouldn’t be angry with you!” Ling Yi said, looking slightly teary-eyed. “But you love teasing me, forcing me to learn things… and you suddenly become this weird, worrying person. Just now, you were in a bad mood and left me!”

The little one’s eyes were slightly red, looking like he was about to cry any moment.

“I didn’t do anything wrong… although I know it’s because you were upset, because you were sad about Ye Selin, and sometimes teasing me is because you like me, and I do need to learn these things, but…”

Lin Si watched as the little guy, on the verge of tears, initially tried to accuse him but then quickly excused him in just a few words. He felt a pang in his heart, a soft, sour sensation rising up.

He was still a child, not ready to face many unpleasant things, and such a child always had the right to ask for affection.

“It was my loss of control,” Lin Si explained to Ling Yi.

“Was it because she reminded you of Ye Selin?” Ling Yi asked.

But Lin Si’s response surprised him.

“Somewhat, but to a greater extent, it’s because of you,” said Lin Si.

“After learning about that matter, you had more reason than anyone to dislike me, and I couldn’t keep hiding it from you,” Lin Si looked into his eyes. “I know our relationship is close, but it’s built on your ignorance. Of course, I want this relationship to continue because it’s not just you who has feelings, I do too.”

“But I won’t ignore you because of this,” Ling Yi’s eyes welled up with tears, shaking his head desperately. “Ye Selin wouldn’t blame you. It was an accident. You’re afraid I’ll dislike you because…”

He paused, then said softly, “It’s because you hate yourself!”

Lin Si stared at him, silent for half a minute.

“What if I’m not innocent?” he said. “You still don’t know the whole truth. When you regain your memories from Earth and remember your feelings for Ye Selin…”

“But I don’t remember anything!” Ling Yi interrupted him. “I don’t remember Earth, I don’t remember Ye Selin, I don’t have any feelings for her. You raised me for three years. I only remember you!”

Ling Yi looked at him, tears streaming down his face.

“So I won’t do anything that will make you sad. If I really remember those things that would make me hate you, I would only wish I had never come…” His voice dropped, soft and laced with a pleading tone. “I won’t get angry with you anymore. I’ll study hard, but you have to be nicer to me. I…”

Lin Si stared at him in a daze.

Big tears kept falling from his eyes, his eyes red and swollen as he sobbed, not bothering to wipe them away, just looking at Lin Si with sadness and determination.

Any normal person, seeing this scene, would be unable to resist feeling compassion for him, as if their own heart were breaking along with the falling tears.

Lin Si reached out to wipe away Ling Yi’s tears, and with this slight touch, as soon as his fingers brushed his face, Ling Yi cried even harder.

Lin Si reached out to hug him.

Ling Yi tightly returned the hug, burying his face in Lin Si’s shoulder, crying so hard that he couldn’t catch his breath.

Lin Si felt a lump in his throat, gently patting his back. “I’m sorry, stop crying, be good…”

Ling Yi cried so intensely, sobbing for a long while, before finally calming down.

His beautiful eyes were red and swollen, and the tip of his nose was slightly reddened.

Lin Si took his hand, which was usually very warm, but now it was cold.

He held Ling Yi’s hand in his palm.

“I will control my emotions from now on,” he said.

“I don’t… I don’t want you to do that,” Ling Yi lowered his eyes and said. “I want you to be happier, not always thinking about that matter. The virus leak wasn’t your fault at all, why can’t you let it go?”

“Actually, it’s not that simple,” Lin Si cupped his face and looked into his eyes. “I’m not without fault, and the consequences are more serious than you think.”

“What… what is it like?” Ling Yi, who had almost calmed down, asked.

“On Earth, the virus was rampant. At that time, the lab was at a critical point, just a bit more and we could have overcome the virus. That’s why I didn’t even have time to say goodbye to Ye Selin. It was she who came to find me… After that, half a day after she boarded the ship, I suddenly received news from Madam Chen, saying the lab’s help was needed—” Lin Si paused, seeming to organize his words, but at that moment, his communication wristband rang.

The caller was Zheng Shu.

Lin Si answered, pulling Ling Yi’s hand as they walked toward Zone 5.

“The chip project can proceed normally. I just discussed with Madam Chen, and as long as we communicate well with Zone 1, we can get the materials back.”

“I’m not sure about the mining plan, but Madam Chen seems to have other ideas. I think she’s a bit worried about our future. Unless the Voyager keeps flying to other planets to mine minerals, we’ll run out of materials soon.”

“It will arrive soon, and Ling Yi is here too.”

Lin Si ended the communication and Ling Yi asked, “Are we going to test the exoskeleton?”

Lin Si replied with a soft “Mm,” “We’ll need to insert a lot of probes, don’t be scared.”

Ling Yi stuck out his tongue, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Because of what had just happened, they were a bit late. When they arrived at the testing area, they saw a very cool-looking black robot walking toward them.

“Xiao LingLing!” The colonel’s hearty voice rang out, “You’re here too! Come try the mecha!”

Ling Yi,: “……”

The exoskeleton looked very cool, but the colonel’s operation was rather unskilled, causing some comical movements.

Then—when he walked toward Ling Yi, his balance faltered, and he fell.

The light metal collided with the smooth floor, making a heavy sound.

The few engineers exchanged glances, all with despair in their eyes—this was a piece of art! And here it was, falling over and over. Of course, the creators were heartbroken.

The colonel struggled to adjust his posture, trying to get up, but he couldn’t manage, looking like a turtle flipped onto its back, unable to turn over.

Svenya carefully controlled her steps and walked to the colonel’s side, intending to bend down to help, but stopped—she was afraid that not only would she not be able to help him up, but she might also end up falling herself.

Finally, the engineer couldn’t bear it anymore. He activated the external controls of the exoskeleton and remotely helped the colonel stand up.

Zheng Shu chuckled, “Take your time to get used to it. We’ll keep improving the reflex system.”

He looked at the last skeleton and said to Ling Yi, “LingLing, try this one.”

Ling Yi walked up to the exoskeleton, curiously inspecting it.

Zheng Shu approached and noticed that Ling Yi’s expression seemed off, as if he had been crying.

He looked at Lin Si with a questioning look.

Lin Si rubbed Ling Yi’s hair. “He had a little temper tantrum.”

Zheng Shu smiled understandingly. “Looks like he’s been comforted.”

Ling Yi pouted.

Lin Si asked Ling Yi, “Are you familiar with the component diagram?”

Ling Yi nodded.

When he first arrived on the spaceship, he had received the exoskeleton component diagrams from Zheng Shu, which were sent to each person participating in the test. To use the exoskeleton smoothly, one had to understand its structure first.

The assistant who was responsible for inserting the probes stepped forward, holding a very thin probe with a transmission line attached. The probes varied in length but were all over 5 cm long.

“Get ready,” the assistant said.

Ling Yi warily eyed the needle in his hand.

Lin Si smiled and said, “I’ll do it.”

The little one was afraid of pain, especially needles, and was very particular about who did it.

If Lin Si were the one to do it, it was fine, but when someone else did it, the fear, grievance, and helplessness in his eyes were truly tormenting.

The back of the neck, the spine, the shoulder joints… These nerve centers needed to have probes implanted to ensure the exoskeleton could fully receive movement signals.

Ling Yi looked at the disinfected probes, which were long and silver, being picked up by Lin Si’s hand.

Lin Si’s—hands were very beautiful, with long fingers, and their touch was often slightly cool.

Ling Yi realized that he couldn’t help but always notice Lin Si’s hands, and his heart seemed to flutter, his heartbeat quickening.

—Maybe it was because he had been pricked by these hands so many times.