ISMW Chapter 38

Despite Yun Xunlan’s usual appearance of being without desires or demands, in fact, he was quite interested in raising fish—especially live fish.

 

When he first learned to use the internet in this world, he had come across a saying: fish only have a seven-second memory, and after seven seconds, they forget what happened before.

 

Although this saying was false, Yun Xunlan still developed a deep impression of “fish” as a creature because of this rumor.

 

So when he heard Fu Yanxi say they had arrived at the pet market, he immediately took out his sunglasses and mask to put them on, concealing his eye color and features. He also skillfully tied his hair into a small braid as a disguise—no need to worry about hair color, silver hair was too popular in the Galactic Empire. For example, half of their group of six had silver hair, and if you casually glanced at the street, at least three out of ten people would have silver hair, nearly a third of the population.

 

Moreover, after Yun Xunlan got out of the car, he quickly entered a pet fish store by the roadside after just a few steps, so they didn’t attract the attention of passersby.

 

However, this pet fish store was very small, with unremarkable decor. Even Ni Chun couldn’t guess how this pet fish store had attracted Yun Xunlan’s attention, making him choose to enter this store.

 

“Hello.”

 

The pet fish store owner was also an alpha. Seeing customers arrive, he hurriedly welcomed them warmly. However, upon realizing that this group was almost all alphas, and all high-level alphas at that, the pressure from their status made it difficult for the owner to breathe. When Yu Chen’s indifferent blue eyes swept over him, he instinctively took two steps back, his voice becoming hesitant: “May I ask if you… are here to buy pet fish?”

 

Ni Chun was a beta, relatively harmless, so he responded to the owner: “Yes.”

 

Relieved that they weren’t here to cause trouble, the owner relaxed: “Then may I ask if this is your first time raising fish? Do you have any previous experience with fish keeping?”

 

The system was a bit worried that Yun Xunlan might say something like “I have experience raising fish, but not live ones.”

 

Fortunately, Yun Xunlan’s answer was normal. He said gently: “It’s my first time raising fish.”

 

The others remained silent, with only Yun Xunlan speaking. So when he spoke, the owner knew who the leader of this group was. He turned his gaze to this alpha who had spoken, who was also the silver-haired youth who gave off the most intense pressure among all the alphas.

 

He swallowed and carefully replied: “Do you have any preferred fish species, sir? If not, we can recommend some beginner-friendly species suitable for first-time fish keepers.”

 

The youth was standing quite far from him, behind a row of fish tanks, like a sacred statue treasured in a display case. His silver hair was noble, his figure slender and elegant, yet he seemed more unapproachable than the cold moon high in the sky. No matter how gentle his tone was, that sense of detachment and coldness that came from his top-tier background, towering above others, couldn’t be dispelled.

 

The owner thought that someone like this youth might prefer expensive ornamental fish that matched his status, such as red and white arowana, Betta splendens, or mint angelfish. However, after hearing his words, the youth raised his hand, pointing at a deep blue figure in the fish tank in front of him, and said: “I like this kind of fish. What is it?”

 

“It’s a betta fish, also one of the four beginner-friendly species suitable for new fish keepers,” the owner told Yun Xunlan. “It’s hardy and not easy to die, and it’s also very attractive.”

 

Yun Xunlan bent down to look closely at it, exclaiming: “Then I’ll raise this kind of fish. It’s blue, indeed very beautiful.”

 

Yu Chen, who had just been complimented as “beautiful” by the youth not long ago, listened from the side and felt that Yun Xunlan’s words seemed to have a hidden meaning. He lowered his eyes to look at Yun Xunlan, then looked at the blue betta fish in the tank.

 

The fish was framed in a palm-sized compartment of the fish tank, with flowing, silky fins that shimmered with iridescent light when it moved, dazzling to the eye. In its narrow aquarium, it swam curiously towards the youth who was closest to it.

 

The youth curled his finger and gently tapped the glass twice, scaring away the blue little fish that was swimming towards him.

 

But after a few seconds, as if forgetting its previous frightening experience, it swam towards the youth again, its mouth lightly kissing the youth’s fingertip through the glass.

 

Yun Xunlan smiled: “Wasn’t it said that fish memory lasts more than seven seconds? How come it doesn’t hold a grudge at all?”

 

“Perhaps because it especially likes you,” pleasing customers was a required course for every shop owner. The owner pointed at the other small fish in the compartments around the blue betta, saying, “It comes in other colors too. This red one is also a betta, and these green and gold ones are actually bettas as well. There are many color varieties.”

 

Yun Xunlan followed the owner’s guidance and glanced at the other small fish, then pointed at the red betta and raised his eyes to Fu Yanxi, saying: “Fu Yanxi, this fish’s color looks like your previous hair color.”

 

Suddenly being called out by the Third Highness to recall the past, Fu Yanxi was so happy he could barely contain himself, stuttering: “Your High… young master, you, you remember my previous hair color?”

 

“Yes,” Yun Xunlan said, “Red suited you quite well.”

 

Fu Yanxi excitedly said: “Then I’ll dye my hair back to that color tonight!”

 

Hearing this, Yun Xunlan omitted saying “the current silver suits you too.”

 

Looking at Fu Yanxi’s cheeks and ears that were as red as the betta’s scales, Yun Xunlan said to the system: “Ah, I understand now. Blushing isn’t just Yu Chen’s peculiar trait, it’s a common problem among the guards. Look, Fu Yanxi also blushes when I compliment him.”

 

“They’re still too young, not used to being praised,” the system clicked its tongue. “If they were like you, being continuously praised for two thousand years, they wouldn’t blush anymore.”

 

Yun Xunlan agreed with the system’s statement: “Indeed.”

 

The shop owner continued to inquire about the customer’s preferences: “Sir, how many bettas do you want to keep? Bettas are very aggressive towards their own kind, especially male bettas. They’re not very suitable for group keeping. If you want to keep multiple in the same tank, it’s best to separate them with transparent dividers.”

 

As if to prove the shop owner’s words true, the blue betta in the tank noticed that the youth’s fingertip was no longer pointing at itself, but at another betta. That red betta was shamelessly imitating it by kissing Yun Xunlan’s fingertip. The blue betta suddenly charged towards the red one, angrily puffing up its gills and frantically flicking its tail.

 

Yun Xunlan raised an eyebrow at the blue betta: “So fierce.”

 

“Yes,” the pet fish store owner nodded. “However, the presence of enemies can make bettas more aggressive, which will make their colors more vibrant and beautiful, and also help them grow larger and more robust. It’s not all bad.”

 

Yun Xunlan said: “Since they’re not suitable for group keeping, I’ll just keep this blue betta.”

 

The owner scooped out the blue betta and put it in a temporary sealed water bag filled with oxygenated water, handing it to Yun Xunlan, “If you’re only keeping one betta, you can let it look in the mirror often to maintain its fighting spirit.”

 

Yun Xunlan carefully noted the owner’s instructions: “I will.”

 

Seeing that Yun Xunlan had no intention of keeping multiple bettas, Fu Yanxi plucked up the courage to ask: “Young master, if you’re not planning to buy this red betta, may I buy it to keep myself?”

 

“Of course,” Yun Xunlan was always friendly and kind to his subordinates, and a betta fish didn’t cost many star coins, so after agreeing, he added, “I’ll give it to you as a gift.”

 

 

With these words, Fu Yanxi was completely flustered, his face even redder than Yu Chen’s: “…How could I let you spend money on me, young master? Please let me buy it myself!”

 

“It’s fine,” Yun Xunlan chuckled softly, then turned to ask Gui Yan, Lu You, Ni Chun and Yu Chen, “Do you want to keep one too?”

 

Ni Chun smiled and politely declined: “Thank you, young master, but I’ll pass.”

 

Lu You, always a man of few words, was stunned and didn’t immediately respond.

 

Yu Chen had a gloomy face and refused to speak.

 

Only Gui Yan raised his right hand and eagerly answered: “I want one too, but please let us buy it ourselves, young master. I want to buy this golden one.”

 

—Golden! That’s the same color as the Third Highness’s eyes, he absolutely couldn’t let anyone else take it!

 

Not only would he raise it, but he’d also dye his hair golden to match this noble betta fish when he got back!

 

After speaking, Gui Yan elbowed Yu Chen, urging him: “Yu Chen, why don’t you buy this green one? We can have betta fights when we get back. This way, Brother Xi’s fish can grow redder, mine can be more yellow, and yours can be greener!”

 

Yu Chen: “…”

 

Yu Chen: “I don’t want to raise one.”

 

“I already have a… pet to take care of,” Yu Chen shifted his gaze, his blue eyes focusing on Yun Xunlan, looking at Yun Xunlan’s face as if he were looking at the lychee rose in his room. “It can’t do without my care.”

 

Lu You then stepped forward and said: “Then I’ll take that green one.”

 

In the end, Yun Xunlan still didn’t let them spend money. He bought all four betta fish himself and gave away the other three, keeping the blue one.

 

Fu Yanxi, Gui Yan, and Lu You each had a betta fish and got into the second car, feeling very satisfied.

 

Yun Xunlan, holding his new pet blue betta, sat in the first car and was also very happy. Only Yu Chen stared straight ahead at the back of the front seat, his mood so bad he could almost swallow a live fish whole, until he heard Yun Xunlan call his name.

 

“Yu Chen.”

 

Yu Chen turned his head towards the sound, his gaze meeting a water bag containing the blue betta fish—the blue betta had its backside facing him, its face always turned towards Yun Xunlan.

 

The next second, Yun Xunlan tilted his head slightly, revealing his fair face from behind the water bag, smiling gently at him as he explained the reason he had entered that ordinary little pet fish store: “When I first saw this little fish, I thought its scale color looked like your eyes, and I really wanted to buy it. But now comparing them, it’s still not as beautiful as your eyes.”

 

Yu Chen looked into those golden eyes that were filled with his own reflection. In the youth’s starry gaze, he suddenly felt like a fish with only seven seconds of memory. Even though his ears were red again, his mouth was sparing with words, his voice feigning calmness: “…Is that so.”

 

Yun Xunlan affirmed to Yu Chen: “Mm, your eyes are like an ocean.”

 

He held the water bag higher, letting the black-haired alpha’s eyes be magnified by the refraction of the water in the bag: “Looking at it this way, it’s like it’s swimming in the sea. But betta fish are freshwater fish, right? It probably can’t survive in the sea.”

 

Little did he know that his own eyes were also magnified by the water bag’s distortion of light.

 

Yu Chen watched as the blue betta was captured by the golden fixed star, and said: “Even if it were a sea fish, it wouldn’t matter. Because this sea is mine, and I won’t let it stay.”

 

“Then who can stay?” Yun Xunlan lowered the water bag. “Your pet?”

 

Yu Chen said: “Yes.”

 

Yun Xunlan became curious, wanting to exchange some pet-keeping experiences with Yu Chen: “What kind of pet do you have? Is it alive?”

 

“It’s alive.”

 

The alpha’s deep blue eyes locked onto him, unblinking. Then he leaned in close, not telling Yun Xunlan his pet’s species, but instead whispering hoarsely: “He’s very much like you.”

 

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