Sleepless

"……elder brother?"

When Wei Shao heard Philo calling him hesitantly and cautiously, he suddenly came back to his senses and realized his gaffe.

If this scene appeared on the big screen, Wei Shao’s first thought might be “pretty cool”.

But when he actually saw it and it appeared on Philo, the impact was far more than that.

For the first time, he felt so intuitively that Philo, as a bug, was different from him. The feeling that emerged at that moment was very complicated. If I had to describe it, it was probably shock mixed with instinctive vigilance.

But as soon as Philo called out "brother", all these chaotic emotions disappeared.

—It was Philo again.

...It's no problem if he grows claws.

Wei Shao breathed a sigh of relief, his Adam's apple rolling slightly: "Yes, I'm here."

"What's wrong?" Fei Luo felt that Wei Shao's reaction was really strange. He lowered his head in confusion and looked at his completely insect-like hand. "Is there anything wrong?"

"It's okay," Wei Shao shook his head, reached out and lifted up Fei Luo's wrist, and asked, "Will this... be uncomfortable?"

Philo was even more puzzled. Why would it be uncomfortable to be transformed into a bug?

But he always answered Wei Shao's questions: "No."

The system quietly reminded Wei Shao in his head: [Be careful, this is not a question a bug can ask. 】

Wei Shao: [Got it. 】

He looked at Fei Luo and picked up the previous topic again: "Lolo, you are still young now. Brother doesn't want you to go to a dangerous and complicated place like the base. Brother promises that even if you don't go to the base, you will definitely be able to leave here and leave this planet."

Because you are the protagonist of this book, the future guardian of the entire empire, and a natural born military woman with unparalleled strength.

Wei Shao added silently in his heart.

Philo opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Leave this planet?"

Wei Shao nodded: "Well, don't you want to?"

Philo asked hesitantly, "Shall we go together?"

Wei Shao was speechless.

Seeing this, Philo realized something and immediately denied it: "I don't want to leave here, it's good here too."

system:【! ! ! 】

Even if the system didn't say it, Wei Shao knew it was about to collapse, and Wei Shao was not much better off.

He said with difficulty: "Lolo, it's not like that..."

Philo suddenly felt uneasy and asked hurriedly, "What is that?"

Wei Shao was silent for a long time before he said softly, "I won't come next year."

Fei Luo was stunned. He stared at Wei Shao blankly for a long time before asking, "What does it mean that you are not coming..."

Wei Shao didn't know how to answer and fell into silence for a moment.

This silence deepened Philo's fear. He said anxiously, "Brother, which planet do you want to go to? I can go there. I will try my best and will not hold you back. I—"

He was just a child after all, and couldn't completely control his emotions. By the end of his speech, his eyes were red and his voice was intermittent and choked.

Wei Shao quickly held his face and said helplessly: "Don't cry."

Philo tried hard to hold back his tears, but his shoulders twitched, making him look even more pitiful.

Wei Shao felt bad too, but he couldn't stay here forever, and the system would not allow such a thing to happen.

He could only whisper: "Lolo, I have to go home."

Philo's tears fell on the back of his hand: "Where?"

Wei Shao became even more speechless.

Philo asked stubbornly: "Where is your home? I will come to find you later."

He had already realized the inevitability of Wei Shao's departure after a year, and he also knew that he was poor and powerless at the moment, so he was talking about the future.

If the system had a respiratory system, it would be suffocating now.

Wei Shao: [Can I tell him? 】

System: […You tell me. 】

If he doesn't make it clear, Philo's life trajectory may be distorted.

Wei Shao wiped the tears from his cheeks: "My home is very far away. If I go back, I won't be able to come back."

As if he had guessed what Philo was going to say, he continued, "You can't go there either."

It wasn't like Philo had never felt uneasy and suspicious before. It was obvious at a glance that a person like Wei Shao had grown up in a privileged environment, and his mother tongue wasn't from here.

But Wei Shao came so regularly and never broke his promise. Although the Abandoned Star was extremely closed, he came and went freely. Philo didn't know where he came from, but he firmly believed that as long as he wanted, he could come here.

Philo found it hard to accept such a result. He wiped away his tears, but he belatedly dropped another one: "Brother, do I want too many things... I, I don't really want those things, and cigarettes... I didn't mean to make you unhappy, I just don't want you to get sick, I'm afraid of you, afraid of you getting sick..."

Wei Shao's hands were soaked with tears one after another, and he could never wipe them away.

Philo grabbed his sleeve tightly: "It's okay to come once a year, or once every two years, but don't..."

Don't leave me...

The second half of the sentence turned into sobs in Wei Shao's silent and powerless gaze.

Philo collapsed and lowered his head, covering his face.

He was too young, and his control over the insect transformation was not proficient enough. He was unable to retract his ferocious insect claws, which directly scratched his forehead. Blood and tears flowed out through his fingers.

Wei Shao's heart tightened, and he didn't care whether he was transformed into a bug or not. He just grabbed his wrist and called him in a hoarse voice: "Lolo..."

For the first time, Philo did not respond to him, and his thin shoulders trembled slightly.

Wei Shao felt a dull pain in his heart and had long since wavered: [System, can’t I really stay a little longer? 】

The system is unusually persistent in this regard: [No. 】

Wei Shao asked anxiously: [Why? If you let me come, I will come. Can't I stay longer? 】

The system said: [Wei Shao, my energies are limited. If I spend too much of them on unnecessary things, it will not benefit the world, let alone Philo. Moreover, there will be negative effects if you stay in this world for a long time. The longer you stay, the easier it is to be assimilated. The boundaries I have drawn for you are the safest. Within this time period, the changes that occur at most enhance your mental strength and life span. Once you cross this line, your changes will be uncontrollable. 】

Wei Shao clenched his fingers: [What do you mean? 】

The system said: [Have you seen what Philo looks like after he turned into an insect? There are no people in this world, only insects. If you force yourself to stay, you will be assimilated by the rules of the world and become an insect, either a female or a male. Although I am part of the world's consciousness, I have no way to reverse this change. 】

Wei Shao felt a slight chill on his back and finally fell silent.

And Philo understood the result in his silence, and stopped sobbing and speaking.

Wei Shao said dryly: "I'm sorry."

Philo still didn't respond.

Dim light shone down from the top of the cave, illuminating the silent and depressing space. Wei Shao called him in frustration: "Lolo."

In fact, Wei Shao didn’t know what he could say or what he should say, he just wanted to shout.

He really didn't want to see Philo's tears.

Fei Luo stared at the scratches on the wall for a long time before turning his head and asking softly, "Brother, why did you come here?"

He was not a fool. By now, he had realized that Wei Shao did not come here for no reason.

Wei Shao felt even more guilty, but he still hardened his heart and told the truth: "Someone found me and asked me to take care of you until you are eleven years old."

Philo was stunned and motionless, his tears dried up, and after a long while, he nodded: "So, you didn't come to me and accompany me voluntarily, right?"

He would never have said such sharp words to Wei Shao before. The moment he said it, he even reflexively worried that Wei Shao would be angry.

The next moment he realized that it didn't matter, because whether Wei Shaosheng was angry or not, he had to leave.

There is less than a year left.

A year later...it will never come again.

Wei Shao's jaw was tight and he said nothing.

Fei Luo waited for a long time, stared at him for a long time, and finally said in a crying voice: "Wei Shao."

"I hate you."

Wei Shao turned his head and closed his eyes: "I'm sorry."

Philo's tears fell again, and he repeated stubbornly: "I hate you."

Wei Shao whispered, "I can come here five more times. I will try to exchange as much cash as possible for you. Even if I am gone, you must take care of yourself. I——"

He paused as Philo buried his face in his knees and covered his ears with his hands.

Wei Shao knew that he could still hear, so he finally answered the question in a slightly hoarse voice: "I didn't come here voluntarily the first time, nor the second time... But every time after that, I was happy."

Fei Luo was shaking all over, and Wei Shao knew that he was crying again.

"I've always thought, it would be great if you were really my brother, if you grew up with me--"

Wei Shao paused for a moment, raised his head and blinked rapidly to push back the sour feeling.

"...I will definitely take good care of you."

Philo hugged his knees and finally burst into tears.

Wei Shao took him into his arms and patted his back gently.

"Brother knows you are sad... so is I."

"But Luo Luo, it doesn't mean that without your brother, you will lose everything. Life is very long, and you still have two hundred years to spend slowly. You will meet many friends, meet the love of your life, and have a career that you love."

"Even if I'm not here, you have to live your life well, do what you want to do, and take care of yourself."

He talked on and on for a long time, and Philo listened for a long time.

Philo suddenly buried his face in his chest and interrupted him with sobs: "But you are gone."

His world is too small to allow him to imagine or care about the brilliance of the outside world and the beauty of the future. He is even less able to understand Wei Shao's "free and easy" attitude. To him, Wei Shao is the only bright spot in his bleak life.

Philo hated and even resented Wei Shao's rational and restrained tone, as if he didn't care at all. But now he was the one who was afraid of separation, and he was also the one who couldn't leave Wei Shao. He didn't even have the courage to say "I hate you" to Wei Shao again.

He was afraid that if he told it, he wouldn't even have a year left.

Upon hearing this, Wei Shao took a deep breath.

He hadn't felt such chest tightness and discomfort due to emotions for many years. In a trance, he seemed to have returned to his childhood. Everyone wanted to keep him, but no one could.

Children are always more afraid of separation than adults. As he grows up, he is finally no longer afraid.

But now he was the inflictor of terror, and the helpless child became Philo.

No one fell asleep in the second half of the night, but no one spoke either.

Wei Shao asked the system in silence: "Can you tell me more about his future?"

The system was silent for a while, but this time it did not reject him: "It's pretty good... He is brave and good at fighting, and has made many military achievements. Just like you said, he has loyal friends, and his lover is a match. Although I didn't have any feelings for him at first, I later regarded him as more important than my life and loved him deeply."

Wei Shao was silent for a few seconds before saying: [It’s very good. 】

It’s a very good future.

…but he couldn’t see it anymore.