Otherworldly Space: A Tale of Love and Growth - Chapter 4

When alone at night, Song Ci entered the space and immediately checked his supplies, medicinal garden, fruit trees, grain, solar generator, and other important items.

Only after confirming that everything was still there did he let out a sigh of relief.

It was truly fortunate that none of his possessions had been lost. If crossing through time and space required energy, it would undoubtedly be enormous, and there would be no need for his meager resources.

The main part of the space hadn’t been taken, so naturally, the smaller items wouldn’t be either.

With his mind at ease, Song Ci began to diligently manage the space.

He harvested some rice here, picked some apples there, and added some soil to his ginseng plants.

Likely due to the binding with his soul, everything in the space could be manipulated by his thoughts, which was incredibly convenient. With such a “cheat device,” becoming a winner in life was not just a dream.

Of course, the precondition was that no assassins would launch surprise attacks from behind, and he himself would live a long and healthy life.

While Song Ci was happily working, he suddenly noticed that on the three-meter-tall boulder he had smuggled into the space, there now appeared four large characters: “A World Apart.”

The calligraphy was vigorous, with iron-like strokes and silver hooks, seemingly natural and not something that could be carved by human hands. Song Ci was taken aback.

When he first obtained the space, he had whimsically thought that a post-apocalyptic scenario might ensue.

Although he wasn’t sure whether it would be a zombie apocalypse or a natural disaster, stockpiling food and exercising were crucial for survival.

In addition to strengthening himself, Song Ci had also tried to develop other functions of the space. He had longed for abilities like instantaneous teleportation, spatial blades, and domain warping as seen in web novels, but he couldn’t figure out whether it was a matter of principle or if his jade pendant space simply lacked these capabilities.

No matter how he tried, he couldn’t achieve them. Later, inspired by other novels, he used the space’s ability to freely store and retrieve items to prepare a large boulder and some chemicals.

If he encountered someone with ill intentions, he could either smash them with the rock or disfigure them with sulfuric acid.

Yes, Song Ci had lived a rather cowardly life in his previous life, always thinking about how to survive.

Although he eventually lost his life, he was certain that the stone he had specifically traveled to a remote area to steal, and which he had brought into the space unnoticed, originally had no such words on it.

Now that they were there, what did it mean?

Moreover, the stone stood upright here, and it really had the meaning of a boundary marker. Would he be able to use it to hit people in the future?

Unable to figure it out, Song Ci stopped thinking about it. As long as the space was still his, that was all that mattered.

With so many events happening on this day, Song Ci felt somewhat tired. However, when he lay down, he simply could not fall asleep. His mind and heart were filled with thoughts of Lin Xiaohé.

The tearful Lin Xiaohé, the fierce Lin Xiaohé, the stubborn Lin Xiaohé—all of them completely met his preferences. He wondered what his beautiful face would look like when smiling. It must surely meet his aesthetic standards.

At the same time, some romantic thoughts kept emerging.

Lin Xiaohé was a bit thin, slightly tanned from the sun, but his skin under his clothes was white and tender. His waist was slender and soft. If he could really bring him home, their relationship would surely be harmonious.

A good-looking and capable Ge’er, which man could not like?

The original owner liked him, and so did he.

The original owner only wanted to bully people, but he wanted to take good care of him.

Song Ci didn’t think there was anything wrong with using Song Ergou to highlight his own good man image, nor did he realize that his liking and persistence for Lin Xiaohé were largely influenced by the original owner.

In this world, men can give birth. Lin Xiaohé would give him a cute, chubby baby, and they would raise the child together. Thinking of this, Song Ci felt very happy inside.

In his previous life, Song Ci had discovered his sexual orientation early on. His father, who was a straight man and couldn’t stand men being affectionate with each other, had beaten Song San, who was keeping a male star, half to death, confined him at home for two months, and deducted a year’s allowance.

Song Ci was an illegitimate child, and his status was already awkward, so he dared not challenge his father’s authoritarian rule.

Even now, he had never held hands or kissed with a man. He had given his first time, or rather half of it, to Lin Xiaohé, and it wasn’t even finished yet.

It is often said that women remember the man to whom they gave their first time, but in fact, men feel the same way. The person of one’s first time always holds a special place in their heart.

If they stay together for a long time, it may become something ordinary, naturally special.

If they are not together, it is even more so, an eternal white moonlight.

Of course, Lin Xiaohé currently did not know which one he was. Song Ci had both desire and a kind of chivalry that he himself had not yet discovered, a desire to protect the weak.

As for love, perhaps it would come after they had been together.

Lin Xiaohé, whom Song Ci could not forget, was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep at this moment.

When he lay down, Lin Xiaohé cried again. How could he not be sad after almost losing his innocence today? He could force himself to make his parents happy, but he couldn’t pretend that nothing had happened on such a lonely night.

The feeling of Song Ergou’s hands all over his body, that sticky sensation, made Lin Xiaohé feel nauseous and dirty just thinking about it.

After crying enough and wiping his tears fiercely, Lin Xiaohé kept telling himself in his heart not to be weak, not to be weak.

Then he began to think about ways to solve the dilemma he was in.

Although Song Ergou had said he wouldn’t tell anyone, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t use this matter to threaten him. As long as Song Ergou didn’t give up on him, Lin Xiaohé would be under his control, allowing him to take all sorts of advantages, and with a moment’s carelessness, there was even the danger of losing his innocence.

Lin Xiaohé didn’t want to live such a frustrating life; he had to find a way to deal with Song Ergou. As for what Song Ergou had mentioned about living together, Lin Xiaohé had never even considered that option.

He was the only child in his family, responsible for supporting his parents and continuing the family line. If he were to marry, wouldn’t his family be left without an heir? That would be a grave sin against his clan and a betrayal of his ancestors. His parents would never be happy.

Moreover, Song Ergou was a reckless person, acting only for his own pleasure without considering others. Lin Xiaohé had no confidence in his ability to control such a person. Compared to men, ge’er were physically weaker, and it would be even more difficult to discipline someone like Song Ergou.

Lin Xiaohé didn’t dare to take the risk. However, aside from trying to avoid Song Ergou as much as possible, he couldn’t think of any other good solutions. He didn’t trust Song Ci, and he was also wary of the future son-in-law who would come to his home. He couldn’t fully trust that person either.

After all, which capable man would willingly become a son-in-law in another family? Such a person, if they encountered someone with a bad character and no skills, might not blame their own parents for being heartless or themselves for lacking ability, but instead blame the ge’er’s family or the woman’s family. If given a chance, they could bite you so hard that it would be a painful injury.

If they encountered someone who was shy and reserved, they would be more likely to avoid trouble rather than stand up for you. Although it’s true that people can develop feelings over time, it’s better to consider the worst-case scenario in advance to make plans.

Moreover, relying on others made Lin Xiaohé feel insecure. If he ended up depending on someone else’s kindness or character to survive, he would rather take rat poison.

After thinking a lot but not coming up with a foolproof solution, Lin Xiaohé slowly fell asleep.

The next day, when the sun was high in the sky and all the farmers had gone to the fields, the proud rooster that Lin’s mother raised was patrolling its territory, checking on its hens.

It’s good that it’s finding its own food and doesn’t need to be fed.

It’s good that it’s working hard to lay eggs; the chicks from the next brood will definitely be healthy.

It’s not good that it’s trying to climb the wall; my rooster can’t go chasing after wild chickens.

The rooster immediately chased the hen that was trying to fly onto the wall and pecked its backside vigorously, determined to teach the little hen a lesson.

The yard was in an uproar with chickens flying and jumping, and occasionally the rooster’s crowing and the hens’ clucking after laying eggs could be heard. Song Ci, however, had just closed his eyes and was exhausted.

So many things happened yesterday, and he didn’t sleep at all last night. He only started to feel sleepy just before dawn, and now there was no way he could get up.

Old Lady Song had left a meal for Song Ci in the kitchen. She hadn’t really meant it when she said he should go to the fields yesterday. Seeing that her son hadn’t gotten up at this hour, she shook her head and decided to leave him be and went straight to the fields.

She knew her son couldn’t bear hardship.

Don’t think he suddenly wanted to be ambitious; it was mostly just talk. It wouldn’t be easy for him to really change his ways and take action.

And when a man who does nothing suddenly says he wants to be ambitious and filial to his mother, it’s definitely because he has something up his sleeve.

Judging by Old Lady Song’s understanding of Song Ergou, her son probably wanted a wife and was afraid that people would look down on him, so he was pretending to be good to trick someone into marrying him.

For this, Old Lady Song could only snort in disdain.

A son who forgets his mother once he has a wife.

Children are a debt; no matter how jealous Old Lady Song felt, she still had to take care of her son’s affairs.

If it weren’t for her good-for-nothing husband, who died just at the crucial moment when their son was supposed to get engaged three years ago, she would probably have had her grandson by now.

Thinking of this, Old Lady Song still felt a pang of sadness. How could a perfectly healthy person just suddenly pass away?

She didn’t know that there was a disease called tetanus in this world.

Her husband, who was a carpenter, had a substantial family fortune. The Song family wasn’t the richest in Daping Village, but they were certainly among the top few.

Delayed for three years like this, Song Ergou had done many reckless things, and good families wouldn’t agree to marry their daughters or Ge’er to him. The ones who were eager to marry him off, Old Lady Song didn’t approve of either.

Such in-laws would be a big burden, and once involved, it might be hard to get rid of them.

Her son was already eighteen this year; it was time for him to start a family and establish a career. She had mourned her husband for three years, which was enough.

She was now waiting for the moment when Song Ergou couldn’t hold back any longer and came to her to propose for a girl he had his eye on.

Although Old Lady Song doted on her child and wasn’t good at expressing her feelings, she still had some principles when it came to important matters. Over the years, Song Ergou had indeed coaxed quite a bit of money from her, but she had saved the money for his marriage and children, and hadn’t touched it at all.

Song Ci should be grateful that he had arrived at just the right time, before the mother and son had started to ruin the family.