The Richest Man’s Boyfriend Lives in a History Textbook - Chapter 1

A young man stood in a vast, empty space, his head hung low, seemingly immersed in some kind of emotion.

Suddenly, a beam of bright light fell upon the tips of his hair, its rays filtering through the gaps between his strands and scattering across his thick lashes.

The young man’s train of thought was interrupted. He raised his head in a daze, and it was only when he saw the line of text suspended in mid-air that he remembered what he had come here to do today.

[Dear Young Master Hua, greetings. Welcome to the Star-Scrying Device. This instrument is capable of capturing and analyzing light to reconstruct scenes from 10,000 to 100,000 light-years away and render them before you. You will have an immersive experience identical to that of the native inhabitants there. Note: 1 second = 100 Star Coins. Click “Yes” and the system will continue to operate.]

100 Star Coins?

A look of puzzlement surfaced in Hua Xingyuan’s deep blue eyes.

His black-and-white school uniform looked almost like a little dress suit on him. He stood with impeccable posture, his dark brown short hair trimmed with meticulous precision, and even as he stood there lost in thought, the innate air of nobility that had long since seeped into his very bones floated ceaselessly about his person.

Xingyuan lowered his eyes, his lips moving silently as he calculated. In under two seconds, he had worked out the cost for an entire lifetime.

It’s only a tiny bit of money… he realized, and without any sense of burden he raised his slender, delicate finger and lightly tapped the “Yes” checkbox.

“Understood.” An emotionless mechanical voice suddenly rang out in the silent space.

Xingyuan’s eyes widened. The listless mood that had been weighing on him lifted, and his clear eyes finally gained a glimmer of light.

“Please put on the perception simulator,” the voice rang out again, offering its instruction.

*

Xingyuan closed his eyes and pressed the “metal plate” against his temple. When he opened his eyes again, the previously pitch-black ground beneath his feet was now covered in ring after ring of light — some in a deep blue, some in a bright yellow…

Immediately after, the ground began to tremble. Before Xingyuan could even steady his nerves, the ground rose up from all around him with him as the center, lifting within a two-meter radius and sending him up into the air.

Xingyuan’s heart leapt. The sky above, which had been completely dark just a moment ago, suddenly transformed into a vast ocean of stars, each point of light moving according to its own pattern.

A pair of doe-like eyes widened. The unpleasantness from before was thrown to the back of his mind, and Xingyuan gradually found himself growing more and more expectant about what was about to happen.

The mechanical voice continued.

“The Star-Scrying Device is about to activate. This device was jointly developed by the Imperial Research Institute and the Imperial History Research Institute…”

As the system delivered its introduction, the index finger of Xingyuan’s right hand grew brighter and brighter. He raised his hand, unsure of what to do, but then heard the mechanical voice say:

“Please point in the direction of the projection.”

Xingyuan let out a soft sound of surprise, and finally understood. He didn’t make any elaborate or showy movements — he simply straightened his arm and pointed his finger directly ahead.

Once he gave a nod, a beam of light shot from his fingertip like an arrow loosed from a bow, and in an instant it vanished from his field of vision.

Xingyuan’s eyes brightened, and again the mechanical voice spoke.

“Please select the projection distance.”

“Distance?” Xingyuan blinked and asked softly.

The mechanical voice helpfully prompted: “The selectable range is between 10,000 and 100,000 light-years.”

The vast expanse of the universe stirred the curiosity of the naïve young man — the more unknown something was, the stronger his desire to explore it became.

“I choose 100,000 light-years!”

“Understood. Data is being prepared.”

The surrounding starscape suddenly vanished, replaced by a vast expanse of white.

The mechanical voice spoke: “I must remind you that the greater the distance selected, the lower the probability of a successful projection. Based on your selection, the probability of a successful projection is one in one hundred million, and even if it succeeds, the probability of the projection being outer space is nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine out of ten thousand…”

However, before the voice could finish speaking, it cut off abruptly, and what followed was a cold, flat announcement.

“Projection successful.”

The corners of the young man’s eyes curved. He pressed his lips together but didn’t laugh aloud.

The space suddenly lurched. Xingyuan nearly lost his footing and almost fell.

The white surrounding him twisted into a riot of colors, dizzying to the eye.

A buzzing sound was stuffed into his ears, muddling his hearing.

Faintly, Xingyuan heard the emotionless mechanical voice once more.

“Please be advised — this environment is only a projection. Your actions will not affect the course of history. However, for the sake of your experience, your account has automatically activated Fusion Mode…”

Xingyuan braced himself against the ground with a nod, and when the dizziness finally faded, he was greeted by a wave of clamorous noise in his ears.

“%#*>”=……”

“Gurgle #%……”

Xingyuan: ?

What were they saying?

He rubbed his eyes, which had stars spinning in them, and once his vision refocused, he found himself looking at uneven, brown earth stretching out before him.

He pinched a loose clump of soil in front of him — the texture in his hand and the smell reaching his nose were identical to real soil.

Xingyuan’s eyes lit up. He suddenly straightened up, and his field of vision immediately opened wide, with a boundless sky filling his entire view.

Half of it was blue; the other half was the ruddy gold tinted by the setting sun.

The ruddy gold claimed half the sky — on one side it blended with the blue into purple, while on the other side the color deepened the further down his gaze fell, until at last it was blocked by the tall yet crumbling earthen-brown city walls, which cast a final glow of remaining light over them.

Xingyuan looked around curiously, while reaching into his school uniform pocket to take out a water purification sphere. He pressed it between both palms, and his hands, which had been coated in sandy soil, were instantly clean and even gave off a faint fragrance.

The place was desolate and dilapidated. Only the chipped city walls were worth a second glance; the remaining structures were built from thatch, standing no taller than two and a half meters, and sparsely scattered about at that.

Xingyuan straightened the folded hem of his uniform, then tilted his chin up and stood straight out of habit.

A group of people passed through his field of vision, and Xingyuan turned his gaze toward them.

There were several dozen people in the procession. The person at the front was heavyset and walked with his chest puffed out and his head held high. His outer garment appeared to be a large, flat piece of fabric with a hole cut in the middle for the neck, cinched at the waist with a relatively refined belt.

The remaining people wore garments of a rougher material — far from as loose and wide-cut as the person in front, these clothes clung tightly to their bodies instead. They carried heavy loads on their backs and followed the procession with labored effort.

Xingyuan looked around and noticed that there were quite a few such processions. Moreover, the person at the very front of each one shared a common trait: they all took small steps.

They seemed to follow their own rules — their stride could not be too wide, their bodies could not sway freely. It was as though this served as their standard for distinguishing social rank.

Xingyuan watched with a slight tilt of his head, and was just about to investigate further when he saw a small wooden box drop from one of the attendants at the rear.

Xingyuan caught it instantly, looked up, and hurriedly called out to the procession ahead. “Excuse me, your box—”

The group of people seemed not to hear him, their backs growing further and further from Xingyuan.

Xingyuan blinked, then quickened his pace to catch up with the procession. “Excuse me, your box just fell.”

He spoke as he walked up to the portly man’s side, yet the man acted as though he couldn’t see him at all, walking straight ahead — and nearly walked right into Xingyuan.

Xingyuan hurriedly stepped back, and in doing so he noticed that the reflection in the man’s pupils showed only the city wall — there was no trace of his own figure.

Xingyuan was taken aback. He seemed to remember something and looked toward the spot where the small wooden box had originally fallen.

Somehow, on the ground there, another small wooden box — identical to the one in his hand — had appeared.

The system’s prompt suddenly echoed through his mind.

“This environment is only a projection… it will not affect the course of history.”

“…Fusion Mode has been automatically activated…”

In that instant, Xingyuan suddenly understood what it all meant, and his clear, deep blue eyes grew even brighter.

“So that means no matter what I do, no one can see me or touch me — as though I don’t exist at all?”

His doe eyes were round and wide, and his whole person was brimming with spirit.

Just as he was thinking about what he might do, an image suddenly surfaced in his mind — his friend Xu Mo from today, pointing at him in fury.

— Right, your family has laid out the entire road for you. Even if you turned out to be a complete waste, you’d still live your whole life in comfort without wanting for anything!

— With mental power this high, this is how you’re throwing it away? I honestly don’t even know what you’re doing day in and day out — what’s the point? What are you even after?

Hua Xingyuan fell silent. He closed his eyes.

Originally, the two of them had made plans together — to come experience the Star-Scrying Device today.

But his friend had grown tired of him.

Xingyuan stood where he was, turned his head to look at the evening glow at the horizon, and the reflection of the ruddy-gold sunset filled half of his pupil.

At the same time, another set of words rose in his mind.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hua, the Young Master’s physical constitution assessment rank is C, while the Imperial Military Academy requires a rank of B+ — even for clerical positions, the requirement is rank B… I’m afraid the Young Master has no chance at the Imperial Military Academy.”

“The Young Master’s mental power rank is indeed SS — that is exceptionally rare even across the entire interstellar realm — but as you know, that data cannot be disclosed to outsiders. Externally it can only be declared as A, and on the Imperial Military Academy enrollment records it cannot be mentioned at all…”

After closing his eyes, Xingyuan vigorously rubbed his face, and as his expression relaxed, he finally managed to push the unpleasantness temporarily from his mind, the corners of his eyes curving gently upward.

He had never seen a planet of this style before. He should familiarize himself with it first.

Who knows — once the interstellar channels opened in the future, perhaps he would be the first person in the Empire to know this planet well.

***

On the barren land, blades of grass were rarely to be seen. Several military boots tramped over the dry, sparse soil, leaving behind wide footprints.

After walking for an indeterminate stretch of time, a single almost-withered weed finally appeared by the roadside.

A large, rough hand covered in calluses and scars reached out and plucked it from the ground. The dry grass rose higher and higher from the earth, until at last it was bitten between a pair of lips.

The man’s eyes held a weathered, distant look. After a moment, he glanced around at the sky, then slowly lowered his head and let out a quiet, soft laugh.

He wore his hair at medium-short length, with the upper portion tied back at the nape of his neck. The quality of his hair was not particularly fine, but it was neatly combed all the same.

With the weed in the corner of his mouth, one hand pinching the tip of the stalk, he cast his gaze idly toward the crumbling city wall ahead.

Walking into the setting sun, someone behind him called out:

“We’ve finally arrived! After all the hard fighting, tonight we have to enjoy ourselves!”

Upon hearing this, Aisley plucked the dried leaves from the stalk, lowered his eyes, and smiled lazily. “Business first. Tonight you can enjoy yourself however you like.”

A burst of laughter rang out from behind. Someone said, “Look at that, Sibert — even the Commander has spoken up tonight…”

Sibert joined in with a whistle, his face lit up with glee. “Commander, why not come along? I’ll cover the bill for you.”

Aisley wiped his finger across his lips, where cracked fine lines had seeped through with blood. He waved the idea off, rubbed his temple, and laughed.

“You lot…” he said with a chuckle, “knowing full well what happened to me before.”

The others, reminded of this, nearly wanted to slap themselves.

How had they almost forgotten!

The Commander had been in a fight with the enemy previously, and had accidentally taken a slash — the thing wasn’t severed, but the man himself was no longer functional.

Fred, the second-in-command who ranked just below Aisley, was one of the few bold enough to joke with him.

“Those damn bastards — why’d they have to cut there of all places? Even the inner thigh would’ve been better!”

As he said so, he reached out and made a gesture as if to grope down toward Aisley’s lower region, his tone carrying a hint of insolence.

“But then again — good thing it’s done for. With a thing like yours, who could possibly take it? If Sibert really did treat someone, the compensation for medicine alone wouldn’t even be enough!”

Naturally, his hand hadn’t even reached down yet before Aisley caught him by the wrist.

Aisley pulled the weed from his mouth and tossed it aside, then slowly raised his head, licking the corner of his lips and raising an eyebrow as he looked at him.

“Got nothing better to do, and you’re looking for a beating?”

Fred, upon hearing this, immediately retreated several steps, yet somehow couldn’t manage to break free from Aisley’s grip.

He gave a sheepish laugh. “Alright, alright — my fault, my fault. You just said we have business to take care of, so we’d better hurry. The sun’s about to set; we won’t make it in time.”

Good grief — all these years, whether it was the enemy side or their own, never mind one person — even ten people combined, no matter how formidable their strength, none of them could ever beat Aisley.

To this world, Aisley was nothing short of a miracle.