NOVEL NEXT 38
Chapter 38: Untitled
The sun was high in the sky, its rays scorching everything they touched.
This was the characteristic of spring sunlight: it was very hot where the sun shone, but the air remained cool, and the shady areas where the sunlight didn’t reach were cold enough to make one shiver.
Xi Tian wore thin clothes underneath, covered by a beige coat. At this moment, Ellis was walking ahead of him with a backpack. They had been hiking along this small path for nearly forty minutes. Xi Tian was using a thick stick as a walking aid, which Ellis had picked up for him. The stick looked like it came from some tree; its branch was brittle, having evidently lost all its moisture over the winter.
Xi Tian, panting heavily, called out for Ellis ahead of him to stop and rest again.
“Are you sure we’re not lost? How could it be this far?”
“No mistake, the map shows it just like this.” Ellis opened the map navigation system. “Walking is much slower than using a flyer.”
“I thought I was in decent shape from my daily morning runs, but here I am, gasping for air.” Xi Tian fanned himself with his hand as Ellis handed him water and a wet towel from the backpack. “Never thought it would be this bad.”
“The lord just looks… well, weak. Walking this long without panting, you’re just sweating a lot.”
“Isn’t that bad enough? I never feel this uncomfortable during my morning runs, it’s too hot.” Xi Tian twisted open the water bottle and took a sip.
“Lord, maybe we should call it quits and head back,” Ellis suggested.
“We’ve come this far, no point in giving up halfway.”
“But you’re already uncomfortable, better to turn back.”
“…”
Xi Tian gripped the water bottle in his hand, lowering his head silently for three seconds.
“Ellis, have you really never made friends with a male or a sub-female before?”
Ellis’s radar immediately went up. What did the lord mean by asking this? Suspecting him of… no, stop!
Past conversations with males had taught him that self-imposed daydreams detached from the current context were never reliable.
Ellis thought for three seconds, found no clue, and answered, “No, I haven’t. Why do you ask, Lord?”
“Just now, I was merely complaining about feeling bad, not looking for you to come up with a solution.”
Xi Tian stood up, lightly knocked Ellis’s head with the water bottle in his hand, then handed it back for him to store in the backpack.
Ellis pondered for a while but couldn’t figure out the connection between “just complaining” and “solution,” or how it related to making friends with males or sub-females.
Ellis straightforwardly asked the question.
“Because males and sub-females are more concerned with feelings. Females are more linear thinkers, believing there must be a cause for every effect, sticking to one line of thought. Their first reaction is to come up with a solution, so sometimes males complain that ‘females are like robots, completely not understanding my thoughts.’”
Am I part of the linear-thinking ‘robots’ too?
Ellis touched his face, feeling the warm, soft skin, not the fake texture of silicone.
Is it wrong to solve problems when they arise?
Ellis looked at Xi Tian, full of questions.
“Let’s talk as we walk.”
Xi Tian took his hand, and they walked forward together.
“Since ancient times, males and females have established their roles based on their genders. Females were responsible for hunting and protecting the territory, while males gathered fruits and took care of the young. This division of labor required females to be brave and strong—after all, the timid and cowardly ones starved to death long ago. We are descendants of those brave females.
Bravery is a positive trait, but recklessness is the negative side of it. This means that females must be action-oriented. They make decisions based on the immediate situation and execute them quickly. Regardless of the outcome, at least they can find a relatively good solution. Even now, females are encouraged to be brave and solve problems.
Males, however, are different. From hatching and raising the young until they survive their early years, which takes at least five years, males cannot leave their young. If they leave, the young will die. During this period, males invest all their energy in the young and depend on females for support. This means they must place their future in the hands of another female.
Hey, why are you holding my hand so tightly?”
Xi Tian stopped and looked at Ellis.
Ellis blushed and shook his head.
The male beside him was also entrusting his future to him.
“Let me continue:
Males who couldn’t learn to discern whether a female was trustworthy through careful observation risked starving along with their young. Some males learned to observe whether females cared about them, which was expressed through their ‘attitude.’
These males became our ancestors. Even though technology has advanced rapidly, our brains,” Xi Tian pointed to his head, “haven’t evolved much beyond those of our ancestors from thirteen thousand years ago.
The brain’s evolution lags behind technological development. As a result, males and sub-females don’t understand why they care so much about others’ ‘attitudes.’ Females also don’t understand why they can’t just discuss solutions with males.
When females and males interpret each other’s words through their respective lenses, misunderstandings are inevitable.”
To Ellis, this was fascinating. He stopped, causing Xi Tian to stop as well.
“Lord…”
“Hmm?”
“So our conversation just now was a typical interaction between a female and a male?”
“Although you could say that, it sounds a bit exaggerated, like you’re saying I’m making a big deal out of nothing.”
“Lord, I would never think that!” Ellis quickly shook his head.
“Got it~”
Xi Tian’s tone was light and cheerful.
Saying “you’re making a big deal out of nothing” seemed like a complaint, but it was actually a way to gauge the other’s attitude. Ellis’s denial gave Xi Tian the answer he wanted, making him happy.
Unknowingly, this was another typical interaction between a female and a male.
In front of them, a vast plain stretched out. After walking for a long time through the blue sky and green grass, a series of rusty fences finally appeared in the distance.
As they approached, the navigation map chimed to indicate they had reached their destination.
“Is this the school you attended?”
“…In my memory, the school had a large campus. It looks similar, but not quite.”
Xi Tian opened the 3D map again and carefully compared it. “The map does show this as the location, but why does it look so rundown?”
Through the fence, they could see six or seven old, weathered buildings. The upright fence posts were tilted at odd angles, and the section in front of them had been crudely cut, leaving a two-meter-wide gap.
A slight breeze blew, and Xi Tian inexplicably felt a sense of solemnity.
Standing amidst the ruins and withered grass under the autumn wind, the scene was perfectly suited for cosplaying a “tragic warrior.”