The comments continued, completely oblivious to Yu Weiwei's thoughts.
[I've only ever seen how nutrient solutions were made, and I regretted ever being there that day.]
[Same here. I wish I could erase that memory. It was so disgusting.]
[Why is watching him water plants so relaxing?]
Yu Weiwei smiled.
"Plants need patience."
"Although you can speed up their growth..."
"You have to do it gently."
"You simply provide the right environment and take good care of them."
The viewers stared at those simple words.
For some reason...
They felt as though he wasn't only talking about plants.
—
At the border.
Evander sat inside the command room.
The battle reports beside him remained untouched.
His attention was completely focused on the livestream.
The adjutant standing nearby secretly glanced over.
The Empire's strongest General...
Was watching someone explain how to grow vegetables.
The adjutant silently looked away.
He had seen enough strange things today.
A notification appeared.
PurpleStar has entered the livestream.
Evander stared at the screen.
He had created this account without giving it much thought.
At first, he only wanted to make sure Yu Weiwei was safe.
But now...
He found himself looking forward to these streams every day.
His finger moved.
A comment appeared.
[PurpleStar: What plant do you like the most?]
Yu Weiwei noticed the familiar username.
He smiled.
"Probably flowers."
"Flowers don't provide food, but they make people happy."
Evander stared at the answer.
For someone who had spent his entire life surrounded by war...
That answer felt strangely precious.
——
Yu Weiwei glanced at Elara, who had been freeloading in his hospital room for the past few days, and sighed.
He had many questions, but he didn't know where to begin.
Yu Weiwei had long been aware that someone had been protecting him since he was very young.
The only exception had been during his time at the First Military University.
The university prohibited anyone from interfering with its internal network.
That restriction applied to everyone.
The military.
The nobility.
Even the Imperial Family.
No one could manipulate the university's system.
As a result, protecting him there had been far more difficult.
Outside the university, however, it was a different story.
On the StarNet, someone had always been silently watching over him, deleting malicious comments before they could spread.
Yet somehow...
The hatred only seemed to grow.
Yu Weiwei looked at Elara.
"...Why?"
He had never asked before.
Elara fell silent for a long moment before letting out a helpless sigh.
"It's because there are rules."
"The StarNet isn't under the Imperial Family's control."
Yu Weiwei blinked.
"The StarNet is managed by three central intelligences."
"Louise."
"Ryan."
"And Xiao Baobao."
"They're artificial intelligences, but calling them mere AIs isn't entirely accurate anymore."
"They've existed for centuries."
"They can think, learn, and make judgments just like humans."
"They simply don't have physical bodies."
"They're the true guardians of the StarNet."
"They answer to no one."
"Not even the Emperor."
Yu Weiwei's eyes widened slightly.
"They each possess an unbreakable moral code."
"They'll protect the Empire and uphold the law..."
"But they refuse to become political tools."
"They won't assist the Imperial Family in matters unrelated to their official duties."
"I asked them more than once to erase the rumours about you completely."
"They refused."
"They said doing so would interfere with the rights of ordinary citizens."
"The most they were willing to do was remove comments that violated StarNet regulations."
"Nothing more."
Elara lowered her gaze.
"I know it doesn't seem like enough..."
"But even I couldn't force them."
She smiled bitterly.
"Despite being Empress."
Yu Weiwei quietly listened.
He finally understood.
The protection he had received all these years...
Had never been limitless.
Elara looked at him, guilt flickering in her pink eyes.
"There were other reasons as well."
"Your father warned me not to interfere too much in your life."
"Lin Zhe?"
Elara nodded.
"He never explained everything."
"He only told me that there would come a day when you would have to walk your own path."
"He asked me to protect your life..."
"But never your choices."
Yu Weiwei lowered his gaze.
"What about Uncle Caspian?"
"He never helped either."
Elara was silent for a moment.
"...Part of it was because you were Yu Chen's son."
"Before Caspian became Emperor, he and Yu Chen were political rivals."
"They disagreed on almost everything."
"They tolerated each other only because Yu Chen's wife and I were very close friends."
"If it weren't for us..."
"They probably wouldn't have spoken to each other at all."
She smiled helplessly.
"Their relationship improved after Caspian ascended the throne..."
"But some things couldn't simply be forgotten."
Yu Weiwei quietly listened.
"There was another reason."
Elara looked at him with a complicated expression.
"You were..."
"...too foolish."
Yu Weiwei blinked.
"Everyone believed every rumour about you."
"They watched you chase after Si Tian."
"They watched you throw away your dignity."
"They watched you hurt yourself again and again for someone who never cared."
"Caspian thought..."
"...that no matter how many times he pulled you out..."
"You would only jump back into the same pit."
"He believed only you could save yourself."
"So..."
"He chose not to interfere."
Silence filled the room.
After a while, Yu Weiwei spoke again.
"...Do you know where my fathers are?"
Elara's expression froze.
After a long silence, she nodded.
"I know."
"Lin Zhe... was never from this world."
Yu Weiwei looked up a little stunned.
"He arrived in the Interstellar Empire through a black hole."
"No one knows where he truly came from."
"For years..."
"He searched for a way back."
"Even after he met Yu Chen."
"Even after the two of them fell in love."
"Even after the two of them had you."
"His greatest wish never changed."
"He wanted to return home."
Yu Weiwei remained quiet.
"One day..."
"They disappeared together."
"No one knows whether they found a way back..."
"Or whether they were swallowed by another black hole."
Elara looked at him gently.
"If I ever find them..."
"Would you like to meet them?"
Yu Weiwei answered without hesitation.
"No."
Elara blinked.
"I don't remember them."
"I have no memories of either of them."
"So I don't have any emotional attachment."
He paused before continuing.
"And if they were really going to leave..."
"Why didn't they take me with them?"
"If I mattered to them..."
"They wouldn't have left me behind."
"So..."
"I don't think meeting them means anything."
Elara looked at the calm expression on his face.
She couldn't tell whether those words came from indifference...
Or from years of buried hurt.
She wanted to tell him how Lin Zhe had eagerly awaited his arrival, even though his birth had been completely unexpected.
How Yu Chen had stood guard outside the birth chamber, refusing to let anyone approach for fear that someone would try to kidnap his son.
And how much pain the two of them had endured at the thought of leaving him behind.
In the end...
She simply let out a quiet sigh and changed the subject.
"Do you want to know more about your parents?"
Elara asked softly, looking at Yu Weiwei.
Yu Weiwei paused.
For a long moment, he remained silent before finally giving a small nod.
Truthfully...
He was curious about his extraordinary fathers.
Even though, a part of him still resented them for abandoning him.
Seeing his response, Elara smiled gently.
She didn't wait for him to say anything else before she began her story.
"The first time I met Lin Zhe..."
"He was sixteen."
Elara's gaze became distant, as though she were looking back through time.
"He appeared out of nowhere."
"No one knew where he came from."
"He was wearing tattered clothes unlike anything we'd ever seen before."
"Later, I learned they were called Hanfu."
"He had fallen out of a black hole."
"Lin Zhe wasn't born in the Interstellar Empire."
"He came from another world."
"When he first arrived, he could barely understand our language."
"He was injured, penniless, and completely alone."
"He once told me that, in his world, he had been a cultivator."
"But after crossing through the black hole..."
"He lost the ability to cultivate due to his damaged meridian."
"He could no longer use the spiritual energy he had relied on all his life."
"So..."
"He started over."
"He abandoned his old path and learned to cultivate mental power instead."
A faint smile appeared on Elara's lips.
"Coincidentally..."
"I wasn't doing much better."
"My stepmother treated me like a servant, her children bullied me."
"My father turned a blind eye."
"I had enlisted in the military as soon as I was old enough just to escape that house."
"Lin Zhe having nowhere to go also enlisted."
"The two of us looked after each other."
"Life was difficult."
"We were poor, but at least we had food to eat"
"We were constantly looked down upon."
"Expenses were too huge considering both of us had no proper education."
"But somehow..."
"We managed."
Elara sighed reminiscing about the past.