Su Ling was brimming with energy every single day. He'd take the General out to sunbathe, scroll through the Star Net and catch up on the news with him, study interstellar knowledge, and even make the General watch him dig into all kinds of delicious food.
The balcony sprouted a bunch of tiny green plants, too—mature, full-grown ones cost an arm and a leg, so Su Ling planned to nurture these slowly. Someday, when the whole balcony blazed with green as far as the eye could see? It'd be a sight for sore eyes.
The General's place wasn't the cold, empty tomb it used to be either. One day Su Ling bought a couch cushion, the next a rug, the day after new curtains… earthy tones for the main palette, warm yellow, pale cream, soft orange stitched in, and a few green plants dotted around to wrap the whole house in a cozy little bubble of warmth.
He threw himself into adding soft, warm homey touches—even had the guts to swap out the General's mattress and sheets.
For a whole month, the General didn't frown, didn't smile, didn't say a single word. Just let Su Ling run wild, like he couldn't care less what the kid did.
Talk about patience!
Su Ling got used to his silence, and only grew bolder because of it.
He held up a set of ridiculous cute pink pajamas, mischief glinting in his eyes. "General, look nice? Bought 'em just for you.Zhuangzhuang, help the General change into his new PJs!"
It was a spur of the moment thing—he had to see the General's reaction, maybe even get him to talk for once?
Turns out the General didn't resist one bit.
A tough-as-nails war hero in pink cartoon print… weirdly enough, the longer you looked, the cuter it got! Especially with a little tuft of hair sticking up on his head and those long eyelashes fluttering twice. Su Ling suddenly felt like he was taking care of a grumpy, stubborn kid.
It hit his funny bone out of nowhere. Su Ling clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his snickers, still gushing, "So nice. Really really nice."
Sometime along the way, Su Ling stopped being scared of the General. He'd learned to amuse himself just fine.
He waited patiently for the General to soften up, to talk to him—had no clue some people, once they opened their mouths, could drive you up the wall.
Right now, though? Su Ling was just a carefree little thing, happy as a clam.
Fitting into this new world wasn't half as hard as he'd thought.
He hit the streets every day to buy fresh food, and today was no different.
He walked into the seafood shop with a bright grin, his voice clear and cheery. "Mr. Nick, good morning!"
"Su Ling! Just in time—got fresh prawns today, want some?" Just like always, Nick saved the good stuff for Su Ling when it came in.
He'd run this shop for nearly ten years. Robots did the selling, robots the customers. Anyone who could afford fresh fish and shrimp had money to burn—none of 'em bothered to pick out their own food in person.
This kid was a breath of fresh air, though. Showed up with a robot to buy groceries, and haggled with the shop's sales droid, for crying out loud.
And the boy smiled before he even spoke, bright and polite, easy on the eyes with those sparkly little eyes. Who wouldn't take a shine to him?
"Perfect! A pound, please." Su Ling held out a small box to Mr. Nick. "Homemade snacks, try 'em."
Mr. Nick was a good guy. Taught Su Ling how to cook all kinds of fish and shrimp, cut him a deal every time, even threw in a little extra for free.
"Thanks, kid." Nick took the box with a smile, pried it open to reveal little creamy yellow round cakes. A sweet, tempting aroma hit him square in the nose. He took a bite, his eyes lighting up. "Whoa—you made these? Never had pastries this flaky and fragrant, not even at the fancy patisseries! Wasting your talent not opening a shop, kid."
"Really?" Su Ling's almond eyes went wide as saucers, round and bright. "I'm glad you like 'em! I'll bring more next time."
"Sounds good." Nick agreed at once. "Gotta stop here, though—save the rest for my wife. She'll love 'em."
Su Ling waved goodbye to Mr. Nick, stepping out of the shop when Fangfang piped up to say the prawns were over two pounds. Su Ling made a mental note to bake a few different flavors next time to thank him properly.
On his way home, Su Ling dropped off a little box of snacks for Granny Mary at the veg shop, Uncle Qian at the beast meat market, Miss Lin at the fruit stand, Grandpa Theo at the noodle shop… all of 'em.
They'd all been so kind to him. Granny Mary saved the freshest veggies for him every day, even invited him over for dinner the other day.
That warm, loving vibe was just like the neighbor grandma back home. Su Ling thought to himself—interstellar humans weren't all that different from the ones he knew. Most people were just kind, friendly folks at heart.
Then he turned a corner and ran into a group of people, and it was like a bucket of ice water was dumped over his head. He wanted to vanish on the spot—poof, gone!
The villain squad was here!
If he got tangled up with these clowns, he'd end up as cannon fodder, dead before he knew it—he just knew it