CH 12

TL: Moonlit

The sleepy Shu Shuishui woke up in a daze and stretched lazily, while also waving to his humanoid pet as a friendly gesture. The face-blind dormouse didn’t recognize the hand reaching out to grab him until it was right in front of his face, realizing it wasn’t his own pet.

The nimble little dormouse swiftly dodged the reaching hand and quickly identified his actual pet, standing beside the car. Shu Shuishui climbed onto the car window and then leaped onto Gu Langu’s body in one jump. Of course, Gu Langu instantly responded and caught Shu Shuishui, allowing him to land on his palm. Shu Shuishui then climbed up Gu Langu’s shoulder, eventually settling down with his chubby bottom.

Yu Jin looked at the dormouse on Gu Langu’s shoulder with surprise. It seemed to be some kind of mouse, quite adorable. However, paired with Gu Langu’s face, it felt a bit mismatched. Moreover, it was quite astonishing to see a mouse thriving in such harsh natural conditions and looking plump.

Sensing Yu Jin’s gaze, Shu Shuishui felt a bit uncomfortable. After all, the dormouse race was not known for its social skills. Even within their own families, they mostly slept separately. Unless they were sleep-talking, there wasn’t much interaction throughout the year.

It was easier for Shu Shuishui to interact with his own kind or other animals, but when it came to humans, he couldn’t help but feel shy. So, the shy little dormouse discreetly shifted his bottom, moving towards Gu Langu’s neck.

Unbeknownst to him, every movement he made was under the watchful eyes of the two people. Shu Shuishui looked up and noticed both of them staring at him. So, with his little head raised, he sweetly smiled and once again adjusted his position.

Gu Langu’s shoulder was getting closer and closer to Shu Shuishui, to the point where the dormouse was about to touch his face. The touch must be softer than the finest blanket.

The shy Shu Shuishui had no idea about the comparison with Gu Langu, so he still trusted him and subtly shifted his bottom, eventually ending up behind Gu Langu’s neck. He stood up, patted Gu Langu’s shoulder, and then climbed onto the back of his neck, sitting down with his fluffy little bottom.

Feeling the slightly cool little feet directly on his neck due to the absence of clothing, Gu Langu’s body stiffened for a few seconds.

Yu Jin felt like he might be going crazy. How else could he explain seeing a mouse climbing onto Gu Langu’s neck, hiding behind it, grabbing his hair, and sticking out its furry little head, once again showing him an innocent smile?

Shu Shuishui felt that they had clearly expressed his goodwill, but the stranger’s face still remained devoid of any expression, as if frozen. Feeling a bit shy and timid, Shu Shuishui decided to stay hidden behind Gu Langu’s neck and had no intention of coming out.

Gu Langu’s posture became somewhat awkward. In order to move freely, he had to reach out and try to grab Shu Shuishui to bring him down. However, Shu Shuishui instinctively grabbed Gu Langu’s hair and climbed onto the top of his head in one breath, enjoying the elevated position and showing off a sense of superiority.

Gu Langu “…”

Yu Jin couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. He truly hadn’t expected to witness this scene—a warm brown mouse standing on top of Gu Langu’s head, displaying a sense of grandeur due to its height advantage.

Gu Langu could only spread out in his palm and lift it to his head, and said, “Ashui, come down.”

Between the head and the hand, Shu Shuishui firmly chose the latter. After all, the little dormouse was a genuine hand lover. So the obedient little dormouse took two steps and effortlessly jumped onto Gu Langu’s palm.

With his slightly cool little claws on Gu Langu’s slender hand, the little brown mouse crouched down and touched Gu Langu’s palm with its two small front paws, feeling no guilt in taking advantage. After all, hind paws were paws, and front paws were also paws. Gu Langu had invited him to come up.

Yu Jin’s laughter caused his stomach to cramp. Inadvertently, he looked up and was momentarily choked when he saw Shu Shuishui’s actions. He suspected he had overthought things. Not to mention a mouse, even the most powerful warrior in the entire galaxy wouldn’t dare take advantage of Gu Langu.

After the laughter subsided, Yu Jin and Gu Langu headed toward the base. Yu Jin quickly accepted the fact that his boss had adopted a mouse as a pet, although Gu Langu having a pet himself was quite fantastical. It gave Yu Jin a feeling that his boss might be craving meat since, on Cang Zhan Star, a pet equaled a living creature that could be eaten and provide high-protein food. However, at that moment, Yu Jin had no idea how this high-protein food, which he believed could be eaten, would bring about a tremendous change in their lives.

“Brother Nan came back yesterday, but he went out again this morning. Two-thirds of the people in the base have left, and most of them want to relocate as soon as possible. It’s not just because of the electromagnetic storm. Some people predict that the first cold wave of this year will arrive within two months. If the cold wave and the electromagnetic storm converge, it will be a doomsday-like situation,” Yu Jin explained while supporting his waist, relieving the cramps from laughing and walking at the same time.

Shu Shuishui blinked his eyes as he listened to Yu Jin’s explanation, feeling like he had heard a tremendous secret. What did the cold wave mean? If they were on Earth, Shu Shuishui could understand it as a rapid drop in temperature, indicating that winter was approaching.

However, in this extreme environment, the so-called cold wave was definitely not as simple as a temperature drop and snowfall. Moreover, when Shu Shuishui arrived at Imperial City, he studied the world map, and national map, and even looked at many city maps. Cang Zhan Star was a small asteroid that closely resembled Earth, rotating and revolving just like it, experiencing day and night and seasonal changes. Shu Shuishui could tell from the map that he was currently in the southern hemisphere but had no idea what season it was. After all, the extreme temperature difference between day and night in the desert was completely illogical.

If what this human, who had just laughed for no reason, said was true, then he needed to relocate with his pet as soon as possible. However, he had no experience in unfamiliar environments and didn’t know where to go. It might be better to see what his pet had in mind. It could be a very democratic master.

The base where Gu Langu was located was not very large. It seemed to have been a small town in the past, exuding an ancient charm. Perhaps because it was near the prosperous capital city, Imperial City, it had been well-preserved and turned into a tourist attraction, without being infiltrated by a modern atmosphere. Shu Shuishui had seen pictures of this place in the library, as the buildings had distinctive features.

This quaint1attractively unusual or old-fashioned little town made Shu Shuishui inexplicably reminiscent of two cities on Earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Shu Shuishui had traveled to these two places with Shu Bao when it had transformed into a human form. They were known as ‘Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below.’ However, even in those places, the charm had been assimilated by the passage of time, and only a few areas still retained a hint of their former glory.

But here, Shu Shuishui could fully experience the taste of bluestone streets and ancient alleys. The whole town lacked modern buildings, and even the occasional taller structures resembled pavilions and towers, exuding a rich atmosphere.

Upon their return, Gu Langu and Yu Jin naturally went to their accommodation, which seemed to have been an inn. It had three floors, with a lobby on the first floor and accommodation on the second and third floors.

They sat down at a wooden table in the lobby. Gu Langu poured a cup of water from the teapot and pushed it in front of Shu Shuishui.

The teapot appeared to be a good one, but brewing tea was highly unlikely. On this planet where even eating was a problem, tea was a luxury item. Therefore, what was poured out from the teapot was lukewarm water.

Shu Shuishui, who was secretly touching Gu Langu’s hands, raised his small head and glanced at the teacup. Then, it happily stepped forward and jumped onto the table, heading towards the teacup.

Gu Langu was satisfied and felt that its first attempt to offer water was successful. “Can you find out where the news about the cold wave was released? Can it be confirmed if it’s true…?”

Gu Langu’s words paused, and Yu Jin couldn’t help but hold back his laughter. Looking at Gu Langu’s bewildered expression, he felt his stomach cramp again but managed to restrain himself from laughing.

Shu Shuishui is a hygiene-conscious dormouse. The past few days of running around have given him a feeling of being weary and dusty, so he gladly agreed to Gu Langu’s suggestion of taking a bath.

First, he walked to the side of the teacup and stood on tiptoes to test the water temperature with one front paw. The water was slightly hot, but it felt more comfortable for bathing. Shu Shuishui first washed his own paws, then cupped the water to wash his face, and finally squeezed himself into the cup. Although he appeared plump and chubby, he was actually just virtually fat. Once in the water, his fur deflated, leaving only a floating ring around his neck.

Shu Shuishui soaked comfortably in the hot bath, occasionally wiping his face and with his little ears occasionally trembling due to the water temperature. Yu Jin couldn’t help but want to take a hot bath immediately after seeing this. However, he quickly dismissed his unrealistic luxury idea as water was a precious resource.

Gu Langu: “…”. It seemed like the first attempt to offer water had failed. Should he try the feeding plan instead? According to Gu Langu’s limited experience in this area, water and food were important means to cultivate a pet’s dependency. So, he asked Shu Shuishui, who was soaking in the bath, “Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?”

Yu Jin: “…”. Was his boss going crazy about raising pets? Asking a mouse if it was hungry so seriously? And seeking its opinion. But the small brown mouse in the teacup, which looked like a soaked mouse, shook its head. “I’m not hungry, thank you.”

What a polite mouse! What a polite and talkative mouse!? Yu Jin was stunned, then looked at Gu Langu. “Boss, did you make this robot yourself?”

Shu Shuishui turned his head and grinned with a cute smile, but it didn’t look as cute being all wet. “I’m not a robot, thank you. You can call me Shu Shuishui, ‘Shu’ as in comfortable, ‘Shui’ as in water droplets, like the water in fruits.”

Yu Jin felt his brain was in a knot. A self-introducing mouse. But aren’t ‘water droplets’ and ‘water in fruits’ the same word? No, that’s not the point. Why can a mouse talk?

In Yu Jin’s bewildered expression, Shu Shuishui poured two drops of shower gel, creating bubbles in the cup. Then he crawled out of the cup and asked Gu Langu for help in rinsing off the foam from his body.

Gu Langu tested the temperature of the teapot’s water and found it just right. So, the little mouse obediently stood on the tray of the tea set, allowing Gu Langu to pour water from the teapot to rinse himself. After the bath, he even neatly wrapped a towel around himself. Only then did the small mouse remember and showed a cute, wet, fluffy smile. “What’s your name?”

“Yu Jin,” instinctively answered Yu Jin.

The small mouse lowered its head to glance at the towel wrapped around itself, then nodded seriously. “I remember!”

It was so adorable that it softened one’s heart, but why did it specifically lower its head to look at the towel? Yu Jin had been mistakenly called a towel countless times.

Author’s note:

Shu Shuishui: “Today is also a day to make friends diligently!”

I looked at my notes when I was translating this and found out that it was actually Gu Langu and not Gu Langgu HAHAHAHHAHAAHA. I’ll edit the previous chapters tomorrow…