Chapter 21: The Twenty-First Day of Being a Salted Fish

On the other side of the camera, the thoughts surfacing in Siming’s mind were much the same as Lu Yuan’s.

This drum piece was something Zhu Rong’s mother had told him about.

Zhu Rong’s mother was surnamed Chen, and her name was Chen Xingfan.

If Siming had any knowledge of the Empire’s great families, he would have been very sensitive to this surname.

The Chen Family was the most famous artistic lineage in the Empire. In almost every generation, they produced several of the Empire’s top artists.

Chen Xingfan was born into this family.

Her father was a composer, and her mother was an exceptionally skilled pianist. She had grown up surrounded by the sound of music.

Unfortunately, she had a rebellious streak. Despite hearing and seeing so much, and possessing great talent, she didn’t actually love music. Instead, her mind was filled only with thoughts of escape. After meeting Zhu Rong’s father, she followed him into the military.

In her youth, Chen Xingfan thought this was very cool. But later, she realized that she had, in some way, failed to live up to the upbringing her parents and family had provided – combat did not require a keen artistic intuition.

Yet, the influence of her childhood perhaps had its own meaning.

On the journey from the battlefield to the Desolate Planet, even while unconscious and on the brink of death, she had accurately memorized the entire sequence of drumbeats she heard and was able to perform them with ease.

Thus, Siming came to know this rhythm. And Lu Yuan had the chance to hear it once more.

At this moment, Siming was quietly reflecting on the words Lu Yuan had mouthed to him.

As expected, Lu Yuan had also heard these drumbeats.

As a member of the Mecha Maneuver Team, Chen Xingfan was naturally well-versed in the basic common sense of interstellar travel.

So, although Lu Yuan had never told Siming, Chen Xingfan had once explained to him just how difficult it was to drift all the way from a distant battlefield to a Desolate Planet.

It was almost an impossible feat.

But Chen Xingfan had made it.

She had almost no memory of the process of arriving here; the only thing she remembered was hearing those drumbeats along the way.

Because of this, Siming had always made a point of remembering the rhythm. He had a faint suspicion in his heart – these drumbeats were likely related to the reason Chen Xingfan was able to reach the Desolate Planet.

And now, Lu Yuan’s words further confirmed Siming’s suspicion.

Looking at it this way…

Behind these drumbeats, there might be a massive secret.

“What are you thinking about?” Goudan finally noticed Siming’s unusual behavior and patted his shoulder. “You’re so lost in thought.”

“A secret,” Siming murmured.

“Eww!” Goudan said with disdain. “You’re not much of a friend, keeping secrets from me?”

“…” Siming paused for a moment.

“No,” he said. “I mean I’m wondering what a big secret is and how to uncover it. I’m not keeping a secret from you.”

“However…”

He suddenly stood up and said urgently, “I’m going back to find Lu Yuan.”

As he spoke, he had already run out of the control room, disappearing in a flash.

Goudan: ?

Exchanging a look with the captain next to him, Goudan shrugged. “Feels like there’s going to be some excitement. Want to follow and see?”

“Yes!” the captain replied loudly.

Goudan grinned, showing his teeth. “Like hell you do.”

He reached out and struck the captain hard on the back of the neck. The captain collapsed instantly, and before long, a large bruise appeared where he’d been hit.

Goudan didn’t care. He reached out and tied the captain and his four subordinates together. With a grunt of effort, he lifted the five of them in a stack and strode out of the Starship.

–

Inside the shack.

Lu Yuan withdrew his Mental Power and looked at the teenagers, thinking for a moment.

“I’m preparing to head back,” he said. His voice was flat, but the content was exactly what the boys had been longing to hear. “Bring the instruments that need repairing to my place yourselves. I’ll fix them for you as payment for listening to this song.

“In the future, if you have any instruments that need making or repairing, you can come find me. The price is what I said before: write a few songs for me to hear.”

“Okay!” The boys nodded vigorously, their voices full of gratitude. “Thank you, thank you, sir!”

Lu Yuan shook his head dismissively. “I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”

With a wave of his hand, he pushed open the door and left the shack.

Behind him, the boys didn’t follow. Lu Yuan heard the sounds of cheering, loud talking, and high-fives coming from inside the room.

Lu Yuan smiled faintly. Without disturbing their celebration, he walked toward the small shop.

When there was nothing pressing, he was too lazy to walk very fast. He moved slowly along the path, looking around as he went.

Autumn on the Desolate Planet was very short.

The most comfortable season was often the most fleeting.

In just over a month, the weather had cooled down completely. Even during the day, there was a noticeable chill.

The wind carried a sharp edge, swirling the few remaining leaves on the trees as it whistled past.

At this time of year, there wasn’t much scenery to admire.

However, today’s sunset was unexpectedly vibrant.

Lu Yuan stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky.

It had been afternoon when the Garbage Ship arrived, and now it was dusk. The sun was sinking in the west, and the sunset glow was like a surging fire, painting half the clouds in the sky red.

“Chen Xingfan also loved watching the sunset.”

Siming’s voice came from beside him. Lu Yuan didn’t bother to turn his head, standing there quietly, waiting for him to continue.

“She was Zhu Rong’s mother,” Siming explained. “That drum rhythm was something she taught me, and I taught it to Er Ya. I wanted to use them to test whether you had heard those drumbeats before. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Lu Yuan finally looked puzzled.

“Actually, I could have just asked directly,” Siming said. “I could have told you everything. You’re such a straightforward person; whether you’d heard it or not, you wouldn’t have hidden it from me. And you’re such a… lazy person. If you hadn’t heard it, you probably wouldn’t have bothered to wonder why I was playing it for you.

“I didn’t need to go in such a big circle to test you. It was… not very friendly of me.”

Lu Yuan frowned, as if he didn’t quite understand the sentiment. He turned to look at him. “It didn’t cause me any trouble. You have your habits. If you don’t find it troublesome, why should I mind?”

“…” Siming gave a helpless smile. “Then, I suppose my wanting to apologize to you also doesn’t cause you any trouble?”

“It doesn’t,” Lu Yuan shook his head.

“That’s good then,” Siming nodded.

In truth, he knew Lu Yuan wouldn’t care about this, nor would he need an apology.

But Goudan’s words just now had suddenly reminded him.

Lu Yuan had helped him so much without asking for anything in return, yet he had still resorted to such indirect testing. It was a bit much.

But then, would anyone truly not mind being deliberately tested by someone they knew well?

Siming sighed inwardly. For some reason, although the captain also knew very little about Lu Yuan’s past, Siming could still sense from those few words that Lu Yuan’s life over the years had been incredibly difficult.

Siming didn’t dwell on it, instead asking, “Are you interested in Chen Xingfan’s story and the secret behind those drumbeats?”

“The former doesn’t matter; if you want to tell it, I’ll listen to it as a story. The latter, I need to know,” Lu Yuan said, contrary to expectations. “But I don’t want to investigate it myself for now. If you find anything out, please let me know.

“However, I don’t know much. I only heard it while I was unconscious. I have no more information to give you. If there’s any new news, I’ll tell you as soon as possible.”

At this point, he paused and, for some reason, suddenly sighed. “I just hope I wasn’t saved by someone.”