As it turned out, escaping from space pirates was easy.

  Surviving afterward? Not so much.

  Lan sat in the corner of the tiny escape pod, awkwardly holding the tiny girl while Xiao Yu fought with Ji Yuxi for control of the ship.

  “I SAID TURN LEFT!” Ji Yuxi yelled, pointing dramatically at the navigation screen.

  Xiao Yu snapped back. “EXCUSE ME, BUT WHO’S THE PILOT HERE?!”

  “WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DRIVE?! A ROCK?!”

  Lan, the blue-eyed amnesiac Esper, stared bnkly at them, looking between Ji Yuxi (the loud one), Xiao Yu (the stubborn one), and the little girl (the tiny one).

  The toddler sneezed. Lan was now covered in snot.

  He simply wiped his shirt and continued staring.

  As if the universe had personally taken offense at their squabbling, the escape pod suddenly shuddered.

  WARNING. ENGINE FAILURE DETECTED. DAMAGE TO LEFT WING. PREPARE FOR IMPACT.

  Ji Yuxi’s face turned pale.

  “Oh no.”

  Xiao Yu screamed. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

  “ME?! YOU WERE DRIVING!”

  “YOU WERE DISTRACTING ME!”

  Lan, still holding the little girl, tilted his head. “Are we… dying?”

  Xiao Yu froze. “Oh my god, we’re dying.”

  Ji Yuxi clutched his head. “Xiao Yu, GO WILD! JUST—JUST GO STRAIGHT AND PRAY WE LAND SOMEWHERE THAT ISN’T A BLACK HOLE.”

  The escape pod spiraled wildly through space, Xiao Yu screaming, Ji Yuxi panicking, Lan calmly holding the baby, and the little girl?

  She giggled.

  Clearly, she was the only one having fun.

  By some miracle, their escape pod didn’t explode into tiny space debris. Instead, it crashed into a tiny, lifeless pnet—the kind of pce where it looked like even boredom itself had moved out.

  The moment they stumbled out of the wrecked pod, Ji Yuxi took a deep breath.

  The air was breathable. The gravity was normal. And the people?

  Well.

  The locals had the most lifeless expressions he had ever seen. It was like they had seen one too many spaceship crashes and had given up on caring.

  As the group stumbled forward, a grumpy-looking old man limped over, squinting at them like they were just another Tuesday’s problem.

  “Who are you lot?” he grumbled, arms crossed. “Where did you come from?”

  Ji Yuxi's survival instincts activated instantly.

  Lying? Easy.

  “Sir!” Ji Yuxi put on the most tragic face he could muster. “We… We’ve lost everything!”

  The old man raised a brow.

  “My family was captured by Star Thieves,” Ji Yuxi continued dramatically. “My parents? Dead.”

  Lan blinked. They were?

  “This is my brother, Lan,” Ji Yuxi said quickly, grabbing Lan’s shoulder before he could say anything.

  Lan nodded bnkly. He had no memories, so sure, that sounded correct.

  Ji Yuxi gestured to Xiao Yu, who was still unconscious.

  “And this? This is my brother-in-w!”

  Lan looked at the unconscious Xiao Yu in his arms.

  He blinked.

  Brother-in-w…?

  “…So this is my wife?” he asked, expressionless.

  Ji Yuxi froze.

  The old man froze.

  Even the little girl blinked in confusion.

  “…Sure,” Ji Yuxi finally said, rolling with it.

  The old man nodded, seemingly convinced. “Tragic story,” he grunted. “And the kid?”

  Ji Yuxi cleared his throat. “My… youngest sibling.”

  The little girl giggled again, still clueless about the nonsense happening around her.

  The old man scratched his chin. “Alright. I’ve got a small house with two rooms and a bathroom. You can stay there. 200 star coins a month. First month free, since your story’s sad enough.”

  It was not that he was not suspicious but that these group of lots really looked like they had went through alot of hardships, wounded, weak, poor, pitiful and the one who was talking even looked like he was...a beggar of sort.

  Ji Yuxi beamed. SUCCESS!

  Once inside their tiny new house, Ji Yuxi let out a deep sigh.

  Finally. A bed. A roof. A pce where he wasn’t being chased by criminals or starving to death.

  Lan, still carrying Xiao Yu, gently pced him on the bed.

  Just as Ji Yuxi was about to sit down and rest, Xiao Yu suddenly woke up.

  The first thing he saw?

  Lan’s face.

  Looking directly at him.

  “…Wife?” Lan said, blinking.

  Xiao Yu’s brain short-circuited.

  He stared.

  And stared.

  And then—

  “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

  Xiao Yu screamed so loudly the little girl started crying.

  Ji Yuxi covered his ears. “OH FOR THE LOVE OF—”

  Xiao Yu jumped up, pointing a shaky finger at Ji Yuxi. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

  Ji Yuxi yawned. “You fainted, I lied, and now you’re married. Congratutions.”

  Xiao Yu fainted again.

  Ji Yuxi sighed. Life was difficult.

  Homeless? ? (Temporarily fixed)Kidnapped? ? (Survived, somehow)Lost in space? ? (Still lost, but on nd now)Accidentally married someone? ? (Wait, what?)

  Ji Yuxi stared at the unconscious Xiao Yu, the confused Lan, and the little girl now sleeping peacefully on his p.

  He sighed again.

  Yeah. Life was difficult.