Wanderer of the Zerg

Chapter 41: The Town Gathering

After lunch, Xi Tian started feeling drowsy and, sighing about his “laziness,” yawned his way back to bed for a nap.

Ellis, who didn’t have the habit of napping, used this time to unpack their luggage. He had a mild case of OCD when it came to organizing, making sure everything was neatly placed in its designated spot. This often resulted in Xi Tian, who liked to play the carefree boss, frequently being unable to find what he was looking for.

Ellis opened his suitcase and took out two jewelry boxes from a corner: one containing their engagement rings, and the other with the wedding rings they hadn’t had the chance to exchange at their wedding.

Xi Tian, having packed his own luggage, would have never thought to bring these little items, but Ellis made sure to include them.

The quiet, uninterrupted afternoon was peaceful. Ellis held a book in his hands, flipping through pages densely filled with Xi Tian’s handwriting. Xi Tian favored certain books, often buying multiple copies of the same title, reading and annotating them repeatedly. Ellis had a brand-new version of this book in his own luggage.

The book’s text was written in pinyin, which wasn’t the norm since society now used hieroglyphs as the official script. However, after thousands of years under female rule, Ellis’s pinyin literacy was higher than average.

The book narrated the story of an ordinary reporter who, after a year of memory training, participated in a memory championship. The author intertwined the principles, history, and limitations of mnemonics in chronological order. While it seemed like a simple pastime story, Xi Tian had expanded and added a lot of extra knowledge in the margins, mixing hieroglyphs and pinyin. Some of the terms were unfamiliar even to Ellis.

It was clear that Xi Tian’s proficiency in pinyin far exceeded Ellis’s.

Pinyin was the dominant script during the era of female dominance. Later, as record keepers found the workload of documenting history too complex, they created a set of ideographic hieroglyphs. These spread among the populace with each dynasty change but were always rejected by the upper class as crude and unattractive. Back then, with females dominant and males subordinate, hieroglyphs circulated among the male population. Due to their high information content, they were popular with males who had limited literacy. Males often distinguished themselves from females by using “surname + name” while females used “name + surname.”

Two hundred years ago, the trend of gender equality rose, and the government promoted both scripts simultaneously. As male dominance increased, hieroglyphs became more popular, and traditional pinyin fell into decline.

The author’s writing style is humorous, and the use of pinyin is simple. However, Ellis found his attention constantly drawn to the handwritten comments, making it hard to concentrate. He eventually gave up on the main text and focused solely on the notes, which covered history, psychology, and behavior. At times, he found them enlightening, while at other times, they left him puzzled.

In this richly annotated book, Xi Tian suddenly appeared to Ellis as an almost divine figure—perfect yet unattainable.

Xi Tian walked out and sat next to Ellis, leaning lazily against him with sleepy eyes. “I couldn’t fall asleep. Even my dreams were unsettling.” Normally, Ellis would have asked about his dream, but now, he felt as if Xi Tian were a stranger.

So close, yet so far.

Xi Tian was knowledgeable, while Ellis knew nothing.

Xi Tian was gentle and meticulous, while Ellis was clumsy and reckless.

He had never truly understood Xi Tian, nor had he ever been close to his inner world.

How could such a flawed individual be worthy of such a wonderful partner?

Ellis questioned himself.

“What time is it now? Is it four yet?” Xi Tian asked.

“It’s only two,” Ellis replied, trying to keep his tone steady.

“I feel like I’ve wasted an hour of my life,” Xi Tian said, rubbing his forehead.

He glanced at the book in Ellis’s hand. “Oh, you brought this one too. It’s good for killing time when you’re bored. This copy is full of my scribbles. You can read my other copy; it has fewer notes and is easier to read.”

Xi Tian got up and slowly moved toward the study.

In a short while, he returned with two books—one was a new version, and the other was the book they had picked up at the supermarket.

Xi Tian sat down and explained, “If you’re looking to kill time, this one is more suitable. *All Under Heaven, Only I Am Supreme* is a web novel I followed in high school. I had the e-book at home and didn’t expect to find a paperback version here on Kenna Star.”

Xi Tian yawned, stretched, and then flopped against Ellis’s back. “I feel exhausted just from moving around a bit. What’s wrong with me?”

“Do you need the family doctor to check on you?”

“No, it’s just fatigue. Don’t move, let me lean on you for a bit longer,” Xi Tian murmured.

Ellis remained silent. Xi Tian, not used to such quiet, tried to start a conversation but quickly gave up.

After a while, Xi Tian noticed something was off with Ellis and sat up straight. “Are you unhappy?”

“Huh?” Ellis snapped back to reality and then smiled brightly. “No, of course not~”

Although Ellis seemed the same as usual, Xi Tian could tell the difference. Ellis’s genuine smile was much more infectious, while his fake smile felt awkward.

When someone hides their true feelings with a smile, it means they don’t want anyone to discover their secrets.

Xi Tian was always tolerant of others, never probing into what they wanted to keep hidden.

In today’s internet slang: “As long as you’re happy.”

Ellis was different from others, but not excessively so.

Ellis was his partner, and if Ellis wanted to hide something, Xi Tian would respect that.

“If there’s anything you need to talk about, remember to tell me.”

Xi Tian hugged Ellis, who silently nodded.

The town gathering was held as usual. Xi Tian and Ellis brought a gift for the hosts as they entered the Mode household.

Xi Tian had attended many gatherings—birthday parties, family reunions, social gatherings—but this was his first time attending a neighborhood gathering where everyone knew each other.

The first thing they did upon entering was receive a hard paper card. The host’s subfemale wrote their names on the cards with a marker and pinned them to their right sleeves. Just then, Korawa walked over to the sub-female, and his sleeve also bore a name tag.

“Dear, these are the new residents of our town.”

“I’ve been so busy I didn’t even notice you; I apologize.” The sub-female capped the marker, smiled apologetically, and shook hands with them.

“Thank you very much. Your home is very cozy,” Xi Tian said with a smile. Ellis nodded and smiled at Korawa, then handed over the pre-prepared bottle of wine.

Korawa unwrapped it, revealing the bottle. “Thank you for the gift; you’re very kind. Actually, everyone just brings homemade food to share at the gathering. I forgot to remind you yesterday, I’m sorry.”

“No worries, we can all enjoy it together later,” Xi Tian replied with a smile.

“Indeed,” Korawa agreed.

Suddenly, the living room erupted in loud laughter. Xi Tian curiously looked towards the source but couldn’t see who it was amid the crowd.

Korawa forced a smile and said, “Excuse me, that’s my brother. His laughter is always quite unrestrained.”

Korawa kissed the sub-female nestled in his arms. “Dear, I’ll handle this. Go check on the kids or chat with your friends. Take a break.”

Korawa handed them their name tags and pinned them on their sleeves.

He led them around, introducing them to the townspeople while explaining:

“Half a year ago, the community center had an issue, so we moved the gatherings to individual homes. Of course, personal homes aren’t that spacious, so the attendees are limited to the more enthusiastic and sociable ones.

Everyone wears name tags on their sleeves—it’s our way of welcoming new guests so everyone can quickly get to know each other.

There’s a barbecue setup on the front lawn; we can grill together later tonight. The backyard has a pool, mainly for the kids and teenagers. They don’t like mingling with the adults.”

As Xi Tian made his way through the crowd, his responses became automatic and mechanical: a glance at the name card on the person’s sleeve, followed by a polite “Hello, pleased to meet you,” though he remembered few names.

Ellis maintained a cool, military demeanor throughout. However, every time he saw young people glancing at the male beside him, it felt like a sting to his heart.

Xi Tian hadn’t held his hand this time, nor was he wearing a ring. They hadn’t even formalized their marriage. What was their relationship, really? This question lingered in his mind, casting a shadow.

Back in the living room, Xi Tian quickly blended into the crowd, sipping his champagne.

He quietly observed the couch, where the security female who had greeted him before was seated. His name was Roddy Scott. Interestingly, next to him sat Xi Tian’s landlord, legs crossed, wearing a bright red coat, with long, curly, and dry hair.

The landlord was sitting closely next to Roddy, loudly sharing neighborhood gossip, covering his fiery mouth with his hand and glancing around shyly when excited.

Laughter continuously erupted from their group.

Xi Tian found it intriguing and turned to talk to Ellis, only to find Ellis being pulled away by another group. From snippets of conversation, he could tell it was a circle of partnered females.

Were there no males here? Xi Tian felt a pang of disappointment.

A young boy suddenly bumped into Xi Tian, making him stumble.

“Hey, why are you blocking me?!” The boy started to complain before he looked up and saw Xi Tian. His fierce expression turned into a beaming smile. “You’re a male too! What are you doing here alone? Come play with us!”

With that, the boy dragged Xi Tian outside.

Xi Tian barely had time to set down his glass before he was pulled to the backyard by the pool, where several tables were set up. Various boys, of different heights, were playing cards around the tables.

“Everyone, look! I found another male!” The boy’s clear voice drew the attention of the others.

Another boy in a plaid shirt put down his cards and jumped off his seat. “Great, we have another playmate.”

The plaid-shirted boy looked up at Xi Tian and extended his hand after glancing at the name tag on Xi Tian’s sleeve. “Mr. Xi Tian, welcome to our adventure squad.”

His name was Shan Lai. Xi Tian was still trying to grasp the situation. “I never said I was joining you. He dragged me here, and I don’t know what’s going on.”

Shan Lai gave the boy who had brought Xi Tian a reproachful look, his eyes pleading. “Every male who comes here joins our adventure squad every year. We have lots of fun activities that won’t disappoint you.”

“But we don’t even know each other. Why should I join you?”

“Ah?” Shan Lai was stunned, clearly at a loss for what to do.

Xi Tian just wanted to tease them a bit, so he gave them a hint, “You haven’t even told me your names. How can we say we know each other?”

Shan Lai suddenly realized and quickly called all the boys over to introduce themselves to Xi Tian one by one.

There were seven boys, and surprisingly, they were all males.

This surprised Xi Tian a bit, as on Zerg Star, males typically only formed groups of two or three, never a medium-sized group of five or more.

Xi Tian nodded in acknowledgment, which the boys took as agreement. They cheered and pulled Xi Tian to a seat, inviting him to play cards with them.

When they found out Xi Tian didn’t know how to play, they enthusiastically explained the rules to him.

Of course, much later, Xi Tian would learn that the young boys were strictly supervised by their parents. They were restless and could only go out to play far from home if an adult accompanied them.

So, the boys’ enthusiasm now was all about making him their chaperone in the future.

On the other hand, Korawa had prepared many interactive games to help the couple integrate into the town’s environment more quickly, but none of them were needed.

Author’s Note:

Actually, growth is already happening. In the previous two chapters, Xi Tian insisted on sharing housework equally, and here Ellis feels down.

Growth is a process of constantly changing perceptions. You may hold one belief for a while and then correct or refine it over time. Gradually, you become a different person from who you were before. This is what I consider emotional growth.