Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 60

Most of the time spent on interstellar voyages is lonely and solitary. Gliding through the pitch-black expanse of space, the scenery remains monotonous and dull. Occasionally, when passing by space stations, one can catch glimpses of civilization and encounter new people and things, but for the most part, the journey is long and tedious.

Yu Ke enjoyed reading. While piloting the spacecraft in the cockpit, she liked to keep a few books nearby. Whenever she had a spare moment, she would immerse herself in their contents. She studied interstellar languages, learned about the cultural differences between various star systems, and also enjoyed reading philosophical works on human civilization and politics.

If she were to spend a significant amount of time traveling through space in the future, the knowledge she had acquired so far would be far from sufficient. There was still so much more for her to learn.

While reading, she would also jot down her inspirations. She needed to organize these novel and intriguing ideas to aid in crafting her next screenplay.

She and Lan Xing had gained some popularity for a while through their live-streamed movies on Datianxi Stream, but the influx of attention and traffic didn’t lead her astray. Instead, it made her aware of her professional shortcomings and personal inadequacies.

Compared to directors who spent years refining their scripts and went to great lengths to secure funding for their films, Yu Ke’s success was largely accidental. She happened to encounter a cloned child at the right moment, filmed a touching story, and with her and Lan Xing’s royal status, her work garnered attention. This was nothing to be proud of. So far, her achievements were modest, and she needed to reflect deeply and contemplate her present and future path.

Thus, she stopped mentioning filmmaking. She read, took notes, and took over Li Jian’an’s duty of writing the voyage logs. Aside from Lan Xing, no one on the Princess knew what she was thinking or what she planned to do next. Even Lan Xing seldom probed into her thoughts.

“Our captain is always too serious,” Remus complained to Zhang Jun. “This kind of atmosphere isn’t good, especially during long journeys.”

“Hmm,” Zhang Jun was tidying up the lounge. He enjoyed doing these tasks himself and had a very good temper, never scolding others for misplacing things. After a moment’s thought, he said to Remus, “Sister Ke is under a lot of pressure. She gave up her royal status and her country. She has many decisions to make, so she appears serious. But in reality, she’s quite easy to get along with. You’ll understand once you’ve known her longer.”

“I’ve been on this ship for 46 days,” Remus said, lounging on the sofa with his hands crossed behind his head. “I dare say, even if I stay on this ship for another 100 days, the captain I know will still be the same.”

Zhang Jun smiled politely. “It’s not gentlemanly to talk about others behind their backs.”

“Is this talking behind someone’s back? I’m not saying anything bad about her,” R Remus said with a sulky expression. “If I were commenting on her and the princess’s private affairs or criticizing her unyielding demeanor, that would be gossip.”

“Alright,” Zhang Jun said gently. “Let’s both take a step back. I shouldn’t have said that to you, but please don’t continue this topic. Could you stand up for a moment? I’m looking for the Rubik’s Cube stand. I think it might be behind you.”

“Why are you collecting these? Aren’t Rubik’s cubes meant to be played with?” Remus stood up, grumbling, “Has anyone ever thanked you for doing these things?”

“Well, I tidy up simply because I enjoy it. I don’t need gratitude.”

Zhang Jun bent down and spotted the part he needed under the sofa. As he reached for it, Remus moved the sofa aside for him, chattering incessantly: “I don’t get it, but your organizing here affects my mood. It makes me feel guilty, this is the lounge, where I’m supposed to relax, not feel pressured about causing trouble… Damn, I don’t know how to describe this feeling. Just carry on with your work; I’ll go find something to do too.”

After Zhang Jun finished tidying the lounge, he passed by the gym and saw Remus again.

“Do you have any idea what the captain thinks about all day?” Remus complained to the maid, Sang Jiu. “Come on, don’t be so cold. I’ll go crazy if this keeps up.”

Sang Jiu looked baffled. “Why should I know what the captain thinks about every day?”

“Aren’t you curious? You’re the princess’s maid; you handle their daily needs,” Remus said. “Do you know how long it’ll take us to get to the Condor system? And what happens after we arrive? Don’t you ever wonder about these things?”

Sang Jiu shook her head, eyeing Remus suspiciously. “I never think about those questions. I trust the princess’s decisions completely.”

Remus clutched his head and rubbed it, looking somewhat neurotic with flushed cheeks, frustrated at not knowing how to express his unease. Just then, Zhang Jun interrupted them. His tone was gentle and polite as he said, “Remus, you look like you really need some rest.”

Remus shrugged. “I rest every day, all the time. I can’t find anything to do anymore.”

Zhang Jun sighed. “We’ve been sailing for 46 days straight without setting foot on land. I understand why you’re feeling overwhelmed.”

“No, you don’t,” Remus gestured excitedly. “Zhang Jun, even I don’t understand why I have so many complaints. But I really can’t take it. I want to know the captain’s plans, I want to know what we’ll encounter next on this voyage. I can’t get used to this uncertainty and the unknown. What’s frustrating is that all of you, including you, seem unwilling to talk to me about anything. It makes me feel terrible…”

“I’m sorry, I’m not much of a talker,” Zhang Jun smiled gently. He set down what he was holding, cleared his throat, and said, “The journey will bring unknowns. Even the captain can’t be 100% sure about the future. But didn’t we board this ship precisely for travel and adventure?”

Zhang Jun ruffled his hair, looking somewhat dejected. “I don’t know how to describe it…”

“Go talk to the captain,” Zhang Jun suggested. “I’d like to have a good chat with Sister A’Ke too. I’ve looked at the map, there’s a planet-like object near our route. Maybe we can land and take a proper break there.”

Sang Jiu shook her head. “If it’s not a planet under the Interstellar Federation, we’d better not land.”

Zhang Jun said firmly, “I’ll find a way to convince Sister A’Ke.”

…

“Planetoid? Is it necessary for us to land?” Yu Ke asked Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun hesitated, “Well… if we’re talking strictly about necessity, there really isn’t much need to land. But we’ll be passing by that planetoid, and it has a suitable ecological environment. We could replenish our water and food supplies there. For the Princess, it would be a good opportunity to rest and resupply.”

Without a second thought, Yu Ke retorted, “Our resources are quite sufficient. We have enough water and food to last us another month, and our fuel is more than adequate. At least until we reach the Condor System, there’s no need to replenish resources.”

Zhang Jun paused, “What about… other things?”

“Other what?” Yu Ke frowned slightly, looking at him, “I don’t understand. Could you be more specific?”

“Other… perhaps exploring there would be a good experience,” Zhang Jun stammered, “I think… it’s not just me who feels this way. Others have similar desires too…”

Yu Ke flipped through the map data, her brow furrowing deeper as she read. “Zhang Jun, according to the current public data, going to that planetoid now isn’t a wise choice. It’s the dry season there, with extremely harsh living conditions. The surface temperature reaches 60 degrees Celsius. It’s completely unsuitable for tourism.”

“Ah, is that so?” Zhang Jun apologized, “I didn’t carefully review the planet’s data. Sorry about that…”

“It’s fine.”

Saying this, Yu Ke left Zhang Jun behind and went to attend to other matters.

Later, when Zhang Jun encountered Remus again, he said dejectedly, “Sorry, I couldn’t persuade Sister A’Ke…”

“I understand,” Remus shook his head with a sigh, “I knew it would be like this…”

…

By the time Lan Xing noticed something was wrong, it was already the 48th day of their voyage.

She asked Yu Ke, “I haven’t seen much of Zhang Jun and Remus these past couple of days, sister. Have you spoken with them?”

Yu Ke sat down to think, “A few days ago, Zhang Jun did come to me about something.”

“What was it?”

“He wanted to visit a planetoid, but I rejected the idea,” Yu Ke said calmly.

Lan Xing was surprised, “Why?”

“That planet isn’t suitable for survival. The climate is terrible,” Yu Ke explained. “We have better options, Xing’er. There’s no need to go to such a planet. I don’t want a repeat of what happened on Planet 356.”

“I was asking why Zhang Jun wanted to go to that planet,” Lan Xing placed her soft hand on Yu Ke’s shoulder, “Did you have a proper conversation with him?”

Yu Ke raised her eyebrows, a look of realization dawning on her face. “Now that you mention it… he said he wanted to resupply, but that might have just been an excuse. He didn’t tell me his real reason for wanting to go…”

Lan Xing tilted her head, looking at Yu Ke, “Sister, how long has it been since you’ve truly communicated with them? Why isn’t even Zhang Jun willing to share his true thoughts with you anymore?”

Yu Ke reflected, “It’s my fault. I’ve been… somewhat neglecting them lately…”

Lan Xing pinched Yu Ke’s cheek playfully, smiling, “You’ve been too focused lately, sister. You even ignore me quite often.”

“Sorry,” Yu Ke lifted her face to gaze at her bright countenance, pursed her lips and said, “Xing’er, there are many areas where I fall short. You must remind me to correct them promptly. With others it might not matter, but if the way I treat you ever makes you uncomfortable, you have to tell me. I can be… somewhat self-absorbed at times…”

“It’s alright with me,” Lan Xing replied with a tilted smile. “I’ll go check on the crew for you first. If necessary, we might have to ask our esteemed Captain to condescend and apologize to them.”

Yu Ke said tenderly, “Thank you for your hard work, my precious Xing’er.”

Lan Xing happily walked off to knock on Zhang Jun’s cabin door.

Lately, she had been spending a lot of time by Yu Ke’s side. To understand Yu Ke better, she would read alongside her, discussing future plans and the creative process together. But Lan Xing’s patience had its limits, the dry rhetoric in the books often made her drowsy, and she’d soon turn away to brew coffee instead.

She had since mastered over twenty different latte art patterns and learned to make tiramisu and blueberry mousse, yet the total number of books she had finished reading was fewer than ten. Compared to Yu Ke, she was still far behind.

There was no shame in that. Lan Xing didn’t need to read those complex, profound books to broaden her horizons or pass academic evaluations. Her efforts stemmed purely from a fear that her knowledge was too shallow, she worried she wouldn’t be able to keep up with Yu Ke’s thoughts, to the point where they might not even hold a basic conversation.

It was entirely unnecessary anxiety.

When she knocked on the door and saw Zhang Jun, she realized she wasn’t the only one on the spacecraft burdened by such deep worries.

“I feel so useless,” Zhang Jun said dejectedly, leaning listlessly on the bed. “Maybe coming aboard the Princess was a mistake. I’ve let everyone down. It seems like I can’t do anything right, I’m just a worthless person.”

Lan Xing went to visit Remus, who sported dark circles under his eyes and pessimistically remarked, “Dear Princess, am I an eyesore to you?”

“…”

Despite Lan Xing’s best efforts to comfort them, the crew remained mired in pessimism. She had no choice but to seek advice from Li Jian’an, who simply replied, “Landsick.”