Chapter 2: The Uncomfortable Place

Chapter 2: What Hurts

Chu Lanting wasn't the type to turn people down.

But he was cursed with cold, elegant features—even if he said nothing, just looking at someone straight-on was enough to make them back down.

There was no mirror in the entire room, so he couldn't see his own face, and had no idea how he looked right now—face set, brows knit.

But when he saw the man before him, who should've had an imposing look about him but was now looking all wronged and pitiful, Chu Lanting pressed his lips together, suddenly not knowing what to do with his hands.

"Hey... don't cry, okay?"

When he saw tears start to pool in the other man's eyes, Chu Lanting panicked even more.

He put down what he was holding and had barely sat on the edge of the bed when a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist.

"Why doesn't my wife want me anymore? Did I do something wrong?"

"But I can't remember. Wife, can you forgive me?"

Pei Du was still banged up—just lifting his arms to reach for a hug made him hiss in pain.

But he wasn't about to give up on getting forgiven.

Bandaged arms wrapped tight around his wife's waist, he looked up with watery eyes full of hurt and innocence.

Even with the most clingy, attention-seeking student in his class, Chu Lanting had never felt this helpless.

"I didn't... can you let go first? Eat something first, then let me check your injuries."

Even with the original owner's memories in his head, Chu Lanting wasn't confident in that guy's ability to take care of anyone.

Back when the airship had come crashing down on this planet, luckily it had come down in an empty field, so nobody got hurt.

By the time the original owner heard about the crashed airship, the other residents had already picked it clean—even Pei Du and his dead subordinates had been stripped naked.

The original owner had just wanted to scavenge for scraps, but ended up dragging home a half-dead man.

Chu Lanting dug through the original owner's memories, looked around the room, and sighed inwardly.

One more mouth to feed in an already broke household. Great.

Pei Du wasn't thinking about any of that.

When he heard the voice above him, his puppy-dog eyes lit right up.

"So my wife forgives me?"

Chu Lanting froze for a second, didn't answer, and just handed him a nutrient pack. "There's nothing else to eat at home. Have this for now—I'll go out later and see what I can find."

The nutrient pack tasted awful.

Not only was it tasteless, it scraped your throat going down.

Still, it was the most common food on Planet 207—only people with money could afford anything else.

Don't eat, and you starve. Simple as that.

Planet 207 was a discarded world, once used to lock up criminals back in the day.

Then the Imperial Star found a better planet for prisoners and ditched 207 for good.

The land here was barren—only tough, hardy plants could survive, and every year, countless people starved to death.

These days, barely anyone was left on Planet 207.

The injured man needed the nutrition, so Chu Lanting gave both packs to Pei Du.

He remembered the original owner had some savings, and with a daily job at the planet's only factory, scraping by for two people shouldn't be a problem.

Watching Pei Du finish one pack, Chu Lanting snapped back to the present and reached for the second.

"I'm heading out this afternoon. You'll have to—huh? What's wrong?"

He'd just handed over the freshly opened pack when a hand pushed it back.

He looked down and met Pei Du's ridiculously handsome face.

His heart skipped a beat. Chu Lanting jerked his head away. His pale face flushed, ears burning beneath his slightly-too-long black hair.

"Wife hungry. Wife eat."

And just like that, the arm that had been around his waist earlier was back.

The weather wasn't hot, and Chu Lanting ran cold, but Pei Du's body was burning up.

It was the leftover heat from a fever that had just broken.

Chu Lanting went stiff. After a long pause, he muttered, "I'm not..."

Before he could even get the word "hungry" out, his stomach growled loud enough to fill the room.

His fingers froze against the man's arm. His ears, already warm, went beet red.

Thank god his hair was long enough to cover his ears—otherwise he'd never live this down.

He took a deep breath, stopped arguing, and choked down half the pack despite the awful taste.

The hunger faded, replaced by a fog creeping into his head.

He hadn't slept a wink all night—just sat by the window staring at nothing until dawn.

Now that Pei Du was awake and his stomach was full, exhaustion hit him like a wave.

But he couldn't sleep. Not yet.

"Are you hurting anywhere? I don't have any meds—best I can do is wipe you down with clean water."

Anyone who'd survived on Planet 207 had, one way or another, stared death right in the face.

There was no decent healthcare here—a regular family's yearly income probably wouldn't cover one meal for someone on the Imperial Star.

Some people had tried to fight their way out, but they couldn't even get into the so-called "rich district" on 207, let alone leave the planet.

Learning from the ones who came before, later generations gave up on the idea of "escaping 207."

Same job every day. Same life. Just waiting to die.

The original owner's parents had died from a plain old fever because they couldn't bring themselves to spend money at the town's little clinic.

At that time, the original owner of the body was already over ten and capable of taking care of himself. His parents' deaths only caused him a brief pang of sorrow, and afterward, like them, he went on living numbly on this planet.

Like everyone else, he waited for death to arrive.

Until a few days ago, a new presence appeared in his life.

And he even got the idea that once this guy recovered, he'd have him take him off this planet.

But unfortunately...

"Wife? What's wrong with you?"

A sleepless night left Chu Lanting's mind in a fog, his thoughts wandering at every turn.

A tug on his arm snapped him back, and he gathered himself: "Sorry, what did you just say?"

Pei Du, wearing nothing but bandages, pointed at the spot that was bothering him.

"Wife, it hurts here. It's been hurting for a long time."

Chu Lanting had been a teacher in his former life, managing a bunch of kids going through puberty.

And he was a man himself.

He looked where Pei Du was pointing.

There was a buzzing in his head.

Chu Lanting's fair skin instantly flushed a shade of pink.