IBO – Chapter 15 Wanting to Fall Asleep Pillowing the Sky Full of Stars

This novel contains sensitive and taboo content like R*pe, Mu**er etc. Read only if you are comfortable.

In the end, with his eyes closed, Song Xiuhu randomly picked a summer day—July 8th.

After that, it was time to sleep. To help the two little ones drift off, Song Yiran began telling them a bedtime story.

Sitting by the bed, Song Yiran gently patted the two little backs in a steady rhythm while lowering his voice to tell a long story. “A very, very long time ago, there was a young person. She…”

Halfway through the story, Song Buli and Song Xiuhu could no longer hold out. Song Xiuhu’s eyelids had already fallen shut.

Song Buli felt he could hang on a bit longer. With stubborn willpower, he fought against the heavy drowsiness, refusing to let his eyelids close. He asked, “Brother, why aren’t you getting ready to sleep yet?”

Song Yiran raised an eyebrow after hearing this and tapped Song Buli on the forehead with a finger. “Because big brother has adult things to do now. Only kids need to go to bed early.”

Song Buli was a little unconvinced and struggled, wanting to jump off the bed. But Song Yiran had already anticipated this and stretched out his big hand, mercilessly suppressing Song Buli on the spot.

In the end, during his struggle against Song Yiran, Song Buli couldn’t withstand the sleepiness and was completely defeated.

Song Yiran looked at Song Buli sleeping soundly and crooked the corner of his mouth into a disdainful smile.

Heh. Who did he, Song Yiran, think he was? Little tricks like this couldn’t possibly beat him!

“Kids should act like kids!” After saying this, Song Yiran felt that his current self must be universally, cosmically handsome. Without the slightest hesitation, he left the room.

And just like that, our protagonist Song Yiran took steps that recognized neither kin nor reason, exuding an aura of “the weather is cool, the king is domineering,” and arrived at his kitchen—which on the surface was plain and unadorned, and in reality… also plain and unadorned.

Just before stepping through the kitchen door, Song Yiran suddenly stopped. He lifted his gaze to the night sky.

At this moment, the shadow cast by his bangs over his brows completely hid his expression in darkness.

The night wind lifted his hair and the hem of his clothes, but none of it could summon his thoughts back. He remained standing there in silence.

Xiao Zhong’er, who was following behind Song Yiran, felt a bit scared. He realized that Song Yiran’s quiet, absent-minded state was filled with a sense of dissonance, as if he were standing in a different time and space altogether.

Just as Xiao Zhong’er was about to call Song Yiran’s soul back, Song Yiran had already returned to normal.

With his one-meter-eighty long legs (self-proclaimed), Song Yiran walked over to his beloved white refrigerator, took out a bottle of beer, and casually asked, “Xiao Zhong’er, are you an adult yet?”

“I’ve been an adult for a long time,” Xiao Zhong’er replied, with a trace of inexplicable pride. “I’m a mature, charming, intelligent, and super-useful system.”

After hearing this, Song Yiran took out another bottle of beer from the fridge.

He first placed the beers on the table to let them “calm down” for a bit. Supposedly, beer tastes better that way.

Then Song Yiran tied on his exclusive green apron and began preparing some drinking snacks for one person and one system.

He started with a simple yet delicious tomato-and-egg stir-fry. Each piece of egg was evenly stained with the red juice of the tomatoes—no need to taste it to know how perfectly the flavors of egg and tomato blended together.

Next came the main event. It was the undisputed king among drinking snacks, its status unshakable by anyone—peanuts.

Song Yiran’s father had once taught him a secret to stir-frying peanuts: use plenty of oil.

If you want to fry peanuts well, you can’t be stingy with the oil—you have to pour in lots of it.

Song Yiran followed his dad’s advice and added enough oil. Once the oil was hot, he tossed in the peanuts and stir-fried them thoroughly. Then he added a generous amount of salt and continued to stir until everything was evenly mixed, making sure every single peanut was coated with salt.

Song Yiran carried the dishes and the beer to the steps by the kitchen door and also brought two pairs of chopsticks.

But after he sat down on the steps, he suddenly realized he’d forgotten something important.

He stared at Xiao Zhong’er for a long moment, then asked, “Xiao Zhong’er, can you use chopsticks?”

At this point, Xiao Zhong’er still hadn’t realized how serious the problem was and answered very innocently, “Of course I can.”

Song Yiran narrowed his eyes and scrutinized him. “I’m skeptical about that.

“Xiao Zhong’er, using chopsticks requires some basic conditions. First of all, you need hands. But you…”

Only then did Xiao Zhong’er finally understand—this was questioning whether he even had hands and could use chopsticks at all.

“You’re the one without hands! I do have hands!” Xiao Zhong’er was practically about to explode with anger. This was downright insulting. “You’re slandering me! You’re slandering me! This is defamation!”

“I’ll show you my strong, powerful arms right now!” After saying that, Xiao Zhong’er proudly stretched out his so-called “strong and powerful” arms—round, chubby arms only ten centimeters long, with no fingers on the palms at all.

Xiao Zhong’er closed his eyes, waiting for Song Yiran to gasp in admiration at his mighty arms and praise them. But in the end, all he got was Song Yiran’s merciless laughter.

“Hahahahahaha—so cute! Hahahahaha…” Song Yiran hadn’t wanted to laugh; he was afraid Xiao Zhong’er would feel hurt. But the contrast between Xiao Zhong’er’s serious expression and his tiny stubby arms was just too funny.

By the time Song Yiran finally finished laughing, Xiao Zhong’er was so angry he looked like an inflated balloon.

Xiao Zhong’er glared at Song Yiran furiously, trying to use his gaze to condemn Song Yiran’s conscience.

Then a piece of tomato was fed straight into his mouth.

It was sweet and sour, and actually quite tasty. Xiao Zhong’er looked at Song Yiran, who was smiling at him warmly, and the anger in his heart suddenly melted away.

Forget it—this person was still the same as ever.

Song Yiran had already realized his mistake and apologized sincerely. “Xiao Zhong’er, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed at you. I’ll make you braised pork tomorrow as compensation, okay? Please forgive me. Don’t be angry anymore—getting too angry is bad for your health.”

Hearing this heartfelt apology, Xiao Zhong’er felt balanced again inside. But compensation was something that absolutely could not be reduced. He said shyly, “T-two portions. I want two portions of braised pork before I forgive you.”

“Deal.”

After making up, Song Yiran and Xiao Zhong’er sat on the steps and engaged in an activity that belonged to adults.

One person and one system sat there eating dishes, admiring the twinkling stars in the night sky, and taking occasional sips of alcohol.

After taking a sip of beer, Song Yiran closed his eyes and quietly felt the faint coolness brought by the night breeze.

Beer really wasn’t something he could get used to drinking.

Still, he was very curious. Song Yiran opened his eyes and looked at Xiao Zhong’er. “So why exactly can you hold chopsticks? You don’t even have fingers! Are you some kind of Dora-something-Dream?”

Xiao Zhong’er didn’t feel like answering someone’s question and even threw in two eye rolls for good measure.

Facts spoke louder than words. Even though he didn’t have fingers and his hands were as round as Dora-something-Dream’s, he really could hold chopsticks just fine.

“Xiao Zhong’er, have you ever drunk alcohol before?” Song Yiran suddenly thought of another question.

“No. But this alcohol doesn’t taste good. It’s not sweet, not salty, and not spicy. It’s bad,” Xiao Zhong’er commented on the taste of beer. “Is all alcohol like this?”

Hearing Xiao Zhong’er’s strange evaluation of alcohol, Song Yiran chuckled and explained. “Alcohol is basically like that.

“What you mentioned are standards humans use to judge food. Alcohol isn’t food, so you can’t judge it by the same criteria.”

“Then why do humans like drinking alcohol?

“I’ve heard that most humans like to drink. Even if some people don’t drink much, almost everyone drinks. But alcohol is clearly bitter! Don’t humans dislike bitter tastes?” Xiao Zhong’er asked again.

Song Yiran thought for a moment before answering. “Some alcohol isn’t bitter, actually, though its taste really isn’t that great.”

“As for why humans like to drink… maybe it’s because they have things on their minds. When you have worries, your heart feels uncomfortable, and you can’t sleep well.”

“If you drink a little and get drunk, you won’t feel so uncomfortable anymore, and you can sleep straight through until morning. Of course, you can’t drink too much, or you’ll wake up with a headache the next day.”

“Do that many people feel uncomfortable inside?” Xiao Zhong’er asked.

“Not necessarily. Some people simply like drinking, and others drink a little when they’re eating with friends,” Song Yiran explained.

“Then will people with worries keep drinking all the time?” Xiao Zhong’er was very curious about this. “If they don’t drink, they feel uncomfortable, but after drinking they feel better.”

Song Yiran took another sip of alcohol and said, “Some people might keep drinking, but most people won’t drink endlessly.

“Life doesn’t stay frozen in place. People always have to move forward. Relying solely on alcohol to numb yourself is never a long-term solution.”

After saying that, Song Yiran picked up another piece of tomato. Mm, it tasted good—sweet and sour. His cooking skills were still as great as ever.

As expected of him—the most handsome man in the universe!

The night sky was especially bright that evening, each star diligently shining in its own place.

Individually, a single star’s light wasn’t dazzling at all; it was very gentle. But when every star did its utmost to shine, their lights wove together into a river of stars, spreading across the pitch-black sky.

Song Yiran thought: if one fell asleep with the whole sky full of stars as a pillow, would there also be a night sky filled with stars in one’s dreams?

He remembered his childhood again. In summer, his parents would lay out bamboo mats on the large second-floor balcony, and they would sleep there at night.

The night sky back then was just like it was now. The family of three would fall asleep beneath a sky full of stars, with cicadas and frogs calling in his ears, while his parents gently fanned him with palm fans.

Song Yiran looked at Xiao Zhong’er, who was already drunk, and quietly sighed. He was really too simple-minded.

At this moment, Song Yiran’s brows and eyes were once again hidden in the shadows as he asked, “Do you still remember who I am? Who am I? What’s my relationship with you?”

Xiao Zhong’er was already completely tipsy and replied incoherently, “Of course… of course I remember… hic—how could I ever forget you? We…”

…

After getting his answer, Song Yiran personally watched as Xiao Zhong’er, having fallen asleep, was automatically teleported back to the system space.

He stood on the steps for a while. After confirming that Xiao Zhong’er was truly gone, he slowly let out a breath. “As expected…”

After standing in the breeze for a bit longer, Song Yiran went back to his room. He took out the five gifts he had prepared in advance and gently placed them by Song Buli’s head. Then he left the room and returned once more to the steps.

Looking at the still-bright river of stars, Song Yiran thought that when summer came, he’d spread out a large bamboo mat in the courtyard and sleep there together with the little ones.