The doll he accidentally pulled out turned out to be a cute chibi-style wooden fish, complete with panda ears, cat paw pads, and a dinosaur tail.
The doll is about 50 or 60 centimeters long, like a small baby, and it's very comfortable to hold in your arms.
Ruan Mingchu lost interest in watching Zhen Muyu's live stream and carefully picked up Mu Xiaoyu, gently touching its sponge clown nose.
The little red ball is delicate and cute; it bounces non-stop when gently touched.
The feel of its hands, feet, and tail is also irresistible.
Ruan Mingchu also inadvertently saw the needles, thread and fabric in the cabinet. He touched the wooden fish and wondered if Mu Xiaoyu had made it herself.
If so, how can I trick him into giving me a cute wooden fish with a fish tail?
As soon as Mu Yu stepped out of the virtual reality pod, he saw Ruan Mingchu holding his doll, seemingly lost in thought, with a strange smile on his face.
He didn't even react when I walked up to him.
"Ahem." Mu Yu had to speak up to remind him.
If he could, he would prefer to take his doll from Ruan Mingchu's hands.
I felt a little embarrassed.
But Mu Yu then thought, what's there to be embarrassed about? Even if he doesn't admit it now, people will find out later. After all, they're going to live together for the rest of their lives. Can't he have a slightly special hobby that's a bit unusual for an Alpha? Besides, it seems like he and Ruan Mingchu might even have some common topics to talk about.
However, after imagining the scene of sewing dolls with Ruan Mingchu, Mu Yu felt it was very strange and decided to forget about it.
Ruan Mingchu did notice Mu Yu, but he was still immersed in Mu Xiaoyu's wonderful world and unwilling to come out.
Hearing Mu Yu cough, Ruan Mingchu immediately snapped out of her reverie: "Want some water?"
As he spoke, the kettle on the table began pouring water into the cup, and before Mu Yu could react, the cup was already flying to his lips.
Mu Yu had no choice but to take a sip of water, and accidentally gulped it all down.
To be honest, he was still a little nervous, afraid that Ruan Mingchu would dislike his little hobby.
Ruan Mingchu held up the doll in her hand and asked Mu Yu, "Did you make this?"
Mu Yu nodded hesitantly.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Ruan Mingchu's eyes were filled with admiration. If it weren't for his mental cheating ability, he could have pricked all ten of his fingers with a single needle during the handicraft class.
Mu Yu's ears turned slightly red, and he said modestly, "It's nothing, you get used to it as you do it more."
Ruan Mingchu felt something was off about that statement, "Why does it mean we need to do so much?"
Mu Yu licked his upper lip, a hint of sadness flashing in his eyes.
"It's a local custom."
"I would sew a doll for my comrades who died on the battlefield and whose bodies could not be found, and send it to their graves to replace them. I was young at the time, and I didn't have much to do except for training. I was also good at handicrafts, so I did most of these things."
Mu Yu licked his lips again and looked down at the wooden fish in Ruan Mingchu's hand.
“I thought their skills were too poor, so I sewed them myself whenever I had free time.”
"I didn't want the cold tomb to be too quiet, so I added some strange things."
"Actually... I think it's quite cute."
*
Author's Note:
Years later, Ruan Mingchu still remembers this moment, the moment that made him realize that Mu Yu was not a child in an ivory tower.
————————————
I've been a bit busy lately, so my update time might be a little later. It's just a possibility, but I'll try my best to update around midnight.
40. Many mermaids, including two, met an old friend in a foreign land, and held hands, gazing at each other with tears in their eyes.
The league results were a complete upset, with a team from the lowest galaxy taking the championship. However, many viewers watching the live streams of Ruan Mingchu, Mu Yu, and others said it wasn't surprising at all.
Their strength deserves the championship.
With the announcement of the results and various interviews and reports, the eleven members of the team, along with the Comprehensive Military Academy and the Shuangjiu Star System, instantly came into the public eye. In particular, the name Ruan Mingchu was so prominent that many forces would not have allowed him to leave the Central Star System if it weren't confirmed that he was an Omega and bore no resemblance to the Crown Prince.
Ruan Mingchu, who thought he had made a semi-return to his former self, was filled with question marks upon seeing these messages. Didn't any of these old fogies remember what he looked like as a child?!
Rong Zhiming burst into laughter at this.
"Hahahaha, apart from those who grew up with you, I really don't think anyone will remember. Not to mention you come back a few times a year, even if you meet them, they won't stare at your face for a long time, right?" Rong Zhiming felt like he was about to laugh himself to death.
Ruan Mingchu rolled her eyes. Marshal Mu and Su Ru were the only ones who remembered him. "Don't you remember me too?"
(Mu Bing: ...Sorry, I really don't remember.)
Rong Zhiming immediately shut his mouth and changed the subject, "I'm here today to run an errand. His Majesty asked me to give this to you."
He took out a wooden box and handed it to Ruan Mingchu.
Ruan Mingchu took it and examined it carefully. Judging from its appearance alone, it was just an ordinary wooden box without any patterns or burrs on the surface.
He tried to open it, but the box, which was clearly unlocked, wouldn't open, and he couldn't hear any sound coming from inside even after shaking it.
Most strangely, it actually blocked mental energy, so Ruan Mingchu was unable to use his mental energy to see what was inside.
“His Majesty said the box will open when the time comes,” Rong Zhiming said as he backed towards the door. “Well, I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.”
Ruan Mingchu ignored him, but Rong Zhiming couldn't open the door no matter what he tried.
Rong Zhiming slumped his shoulders. "Can you be gentler?"
Ruan Mingchu straightened her lips, a half-smile playing on her lips, and said, "What do you think?"
In the end, Rong Zhiming covered his face and ran away, sobbing.
Usually, after the league ends, various gatherings are held to allow top students from different schools to exchange ideas and share their knowledge, which usually lasts for about ten days.
With so many people, we need to chat here and there, so it can't be too short.
Li Bingcang was beaming with health and had specially ordered a set of clothes to attend the party. He wanted to get one for Ruan Mingchu and the others as well.
However, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu said they would not attend the party, while Gong Zhushen, Ding Junji, and others believed more in their own aesthetic sense.
Li Bingcang had no choice but to give up.
Don't forget Ruan Mingchu's purpose in participating in the league; he only wanted to get the Wanxing Badge to open that strange door.
So as soon as he got the badge, he and Mu Yu boarded the spaceship to the Shuangjiu Star System.
In Ruan Mingchu's plan, he would use the badge to open the door, get what Meng Shuo wanted, solve his physical problems, and with the travel time, he would be back in half a month.
No one expected that the trip would last so long.
Upon arriving at the Shuangjiu Star System, the first thing the two did was to pick up Meng Shuo and then head together to the secret vault of the Comprehensive Military University.
After not seeing each other for a while, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu could hardly recognize Meng Shuo when they saw him again.
"How did you get so fat?" Ruan Mingchu asked, sounding like a typical straight man.
Meng Shuo was originally a slender and graceful mermaid, but now his waist has thickened considerably, and he has developed fatty breasts. One can imagine what his tail looks like now.
Meng Shuo let out a big burp, picked up a potato chip and stuffed it into his mouth, making a crunching sound as he chewed.
Upon hearing this, he rolled his eyes dramatically, took his legs off the coffee table, and could barely fit into his slippers.
"You should ask those old folks what they're up to. They send me all sorts of good stuff every day. How can I not eat it and give them all that delicious food?"
Ruan Mingchu & Mu Yu: ...
Meng Shuo tried several times to get her chubby feet into the slippers but couldn't. Frustrated, she kicked the slippers away and simply stopped wearing them.
"Did you get the item?"
Ruan Mingchu nodded.
The next second, Meng Shuo darted upstairs. "Wait for me to pack my things, and we'll leave immediately."
Ruan Mingchu frowned and looked at Mu Yu: "His speed is too fast. Have you tested his strength?"
Mu Yu shook his head, indicating that he did not know.
Despite how much humans admire mermaids, they actually know very little about them. He'd never heard of the things he saw inside the fusion monster on the military training planet before.
Although he knew that his mother was likely a mermaid and that only half of his blood was human, Ruan Mingchu, having been human for so many years, still preferred to think from a human perspective.
Meng Shuo didn't keep them waiting long and soon came downstairs.
Ruan Mingchu was surprised: "You mermaids can transform at will?"
Meng Shuo has returned to her former figure and become a great beauty.
He tossed his brilliant blond hair behind his head, his expression one of immense pride: "Of course, mermaids are just that amazing."
Ruan Mingchu immediately connected it to his body; it must be related to the mermaid bloodline.
However, this thought only briefly crossed his mind. What Ruan Mingchu was more concerned about was, "How much of your memory have you recovered?"
Meng Shuo was speechless.
That damn kid really knows how to get to the point. He was just angry that he had changed his body because he was fat, and it turned out that he had regained some of his memories.
“Just a little bit.” Meng Shuo gestured with her thumb and forefinger to indicate the distance of a slit.
"Oh," Ruan Mingchu said, but she didn't really believe it.
Meng Shuo is undoubtedly more flamboyant and unrestrained than before, and he certainly has more resources to support his current behavior.
The two humans and the fish, each with their own agendas, boarded the spaceship bound for the Comprehensive Military Academy. With Li Bingcang's permission, they soon saw the legendary door that connected to the treasure vault.
To describe this thing as a door is too simplistic. Not only is it adorned with many glittering gold decorations, but it was also the first time Ruan Mingchu and his companions saw it that it was doing gymnastics to the tune of a tape recorder.
Mu Yu: I think I accidentally saw a classmate say that the warehouse was haunted...
Menhao never expected to be caught red-handed. This place hadn't seen anyone for ages, so he became increasingly reckless.
We were really careless.
Menhao straightened up and pretended that nothing had happened.
Ruan Mingchu pretended that he was seeing things. He walked to the door and put the Wanxing badge into the card slot.
With a click, the badge was swallowed by the door.