Raising You This Small Stuff

Chapter 72.1 Prince Yuan Suo!

Andrew’s father died ten years ago and ownership of Abel and Anie passed into his hands.

Andrew remembered that the secret compartment in his father’s study was what he was most curious about as a young boy. At that time, he and the rest of his siblings were strictly forbidden to enter the secret room.

As a young boy, he was so naughty that he once made a bet with his sister and contrived to sneak into the secret room. To his surprise, there was nothing special about it. The layout and decoration was just that of an ordinary study.

When he entered, the TV on the table was on and that was the first time he saw Abel and Anie on the screen.

The first time he saw Abel and Anie, they hadn’t yet degenerated into their Q-skins. They were an elegant middle-aged couple walking and talking in a courtyard on a warm and breezy morning.

At that time, Andrew thought it was just an ordinary TV programme and didn’t pay much attention to it, but the two people on the screen were startled by the sudden appearance of the little guy and when they looked at each other, Andrew was also startled. This ‘creepy’ feeling scared the little Andrew and as he rushed, scrambling out of the secret room on his hands and knees, his father caught him.

He was confined to his room for a week, after which he promised not to reveal any details about the secret room.

The secret room with the old television set, the people in the screen who could look straight into your eyes, all of this fed like a mysterious fairy tale in the young boy’s mind.

Andrew never told anyone about it until he was an adult and then he guessed, that this was probably one of the reasons why his father had given him the elves.

Half an hour later, Yuan Suo came out from the room with a serious expression on his face, which made both Mo Yi Cheng and Andrew nervous.

“Grandpa Abel’s current state isn’t good. It he undergoes cellular reorganisation, the chances of success are only about fifty percent.” Yuan Suo stated his judgement. Abel was getting older, but the fact that his condition was in an advanced stage wasn’t the most serious problem. The most serious problem, after the detailed examination was that Abel had a number of old wounds and there were even a lot of shell fragments in his body, which would be a major obstacle if he underwent cellular reorganisation.

Andrew had a momentary mix of both sadness and joy; it was unexpectedly a 50/50 chance of either success or failure.

“Then, before your elf carries out the treatment, can I see him?”

Yuan Suo answered, “Yes, I can bring the phone out.”

“Thank you.” For more than ten years, although Abel had existed as a ‘secondary’ character in the game, he had still given Andrew a lot of elderly advice in his life, encouraging him in his difficult moments of disappointment. For Andrew, he had long become a father to him.

In the game, Yuan Suo had sent Abel to the public medical area provided by the system and had put him in a separate ward. Abel lay quietly on the bed, a short, Q version figure, but the deep wrinkles on his face, the bulging veins in his hands and the dry skin all pointed to the signs of a dying old man.

“Abel, Anie’s waiting for you to come back from the exhibition….. so am I.” Andrew’s voice caught in his throat as he raised his hand to touch the screen, but didn’t let it fall. He closed his eyes.

This scene made Yuan Suo’s eyes tingle, the tip of his nose turning red.

The relationship between players and elves was always very special. Whether it was friendship, kinship or love, there was always an extra layer of destiny in it.

Mo Yi Cheng stepped forward and put his hand on Yuan Suo’s back, soothing him gently.

“Don’t be nervous, you… and Du Du will be fine. No matter what the outcome is, we would have already done the best we can.”

Yuan Suo’s originally trembling body calmed down gradually under the soothingly warm and firm palm of Mo Yi Cheng’s hand.

“Mr. Andrew, we will do our best because Abel is a very important person in Du Du’s life.”

Andrew looked at Yuan Suo for a moment, then handed him the phone solemnly.

The ‘cellular reorganisation’ skill that Yuan Suo had obtained in the Second Dimension was a unique method of cellular repair that could replace or renew the cells of the entire body in a short period of time, similar to that of a system restored to its original state.

Yuan Suo had helped restore the bodily functions of many soldiers in the Second Dimension before, including the regenerating of limbs, repairing organs and restoring sight and hearing and he had long since become very skilled at it.

But an operation of Abel’s magnitude still required a great deal of effort.

The three hours or so were unbearably long.

From time to time, Mo Yi Cheng would walk to the room where Yuan Suo was and stop to listen to the sounds inside, but there wasn’t even the slightest sound…..

Andrew was even more anxious. His two hands were interlocked and raised at his brow, his thin lips opening and closing quickly, as if in a silent prayer.

“Mr. Mo, can I have a cigarette?” Andrew asked.

Mo Yi Cheng nodded. He didn’t like cigarettes, but at this moment he could understand Andrew’s feelings.

Andrew took a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to Mo Yi Cheng who took it and cupped it in his hand, without the intention of lighting it. Andrew lit the one in his hand silently and took two hard puffs.

The smell of smoke filled the room immediately.

“Mr. Mo, are you afraid of partings?” Andrew asked, a sour taste in his mouth.

Mo Yi Cheng froze, then turned his gaze in the direction of the door and said, “I am.”

Chapter 72.2 Prince Yuan Suo!

Inside the room, two cell phones emitted a blinding light at the same time. Yuan Suo was transported straight out of the hospital, still wearing his surgical gown.

His smooth, full forehead was covered in beads of sweat, the pale skin of his face was even more bloodless, and the intense concentration caused a wave of dizziness.

Placing his hand on the table in order to stand firm, Yuan Suo’s face was strained as he reconfirmed the various physical indicators of Abel’s body inside the phone before he heaved a sigh of relief a few minutes later, his legs weakening as he sat on top of the leather chair to the side.

“Cough…” A sudden cough came from the phone.

Yuan Suo hurried over, “Abel!”

Abel heard someone calling him, but his eyelids sank and he struggled for a moment before lifting them, “Du… Du Du?”

“Grandpa Abel, it’s me!”

“Cough….. why are you here? Where am I now?” Abel’s voice was weak as he was ‘recovering from a serious illness’, after all.

“You’re in the hospital, I’ve just finished reorganising your cells, you just need to recuperate a little more and you’ll be cured.” Yuan Suo couldn’t wait to tell Abel the good news, but then he choked up a little, “Grandma Anie is waiting for you to come home.”

“Anie…..” Abel whispered. She was the one he had promised to be with for a whole lifetime. He thought he wouldn’t be able to accompany her anymore, but he didn’t expect this turn of events.

“Grandpa Abel, I’ll take you out now, Mr. Andrew is waiting outside. But… I hope you can keep it a secret that I am the Elf Du Du. Just call me Yuan Suo in front of Mr. Andrew.”

“… Okay, just…” Abel stopped Yuan Suo, “Let’s wait a bit before we go out.”

Yuan Suo was confused, “What’s the matter?”

Abel hesitated for a moment, his gaze complicated, the intense struggle going on inside him was so fierce that even that deep and rigid face couldn’t conceal it.

“Du… Yuan Suo?”

“En, I’m here, what would you like to say?”

“Prince…. Yuan Suo?”

Yuan Suo was shocked!

It had been a long time since he had heard anyone had called him that. This strange yet familiar name awakened all the memories deep inside him instantly!

“You… you… how do you know?” He was so astonished that he even forgot to use the formal ‘you’.

Abel struggled to sit up, his expression becoming serious and solemn, “You saved me using the cellular reorganisation technique, didn’t you?”

Yuan Suo nodded.

“It was made in the second trial dimension.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been to the second trial dimension before. I’ve known about this technology for a long time, and even tried to operate it, but… although I come from interstellar space and have part of the royal branch bloodline in me, I’m not from the direct legitimate line after all, so I wasn’t able to do it.”

Yuan Suo was even more amazed, asking incredulously, “Abel, are….. you also from interstellar space?”

Abel tugged at the collar of his sick outfit, sitting as straight as he could, then said, word by word, “Chief commander of the warship in the Post-Ninth Region of the interstellar world, General Cang Lang Wei Yue.”

“You…” Yuan Suo was too surprised to speak. He would have never expected that Abel was also from the ninth region of the interstellar world, but, he just said… “What do you mean by Post-Ninth Region of the interstellar world?”

Loss and pain flashed in Abel’s eyes as he said in a deep voice, “In the year of the interstellar world 2307, the Ninth Region fell, and the subjects of the Ninth Region retreated to the barren Planet X, a corner to recuperate, which became known as the Post-Ninth Region of the interstellar world by the other interstellar regions.”

Although Yuan Suo had expected it, when he heard the news, he felt a sudden chill down his spine and could barely stand up, “The Ninth Region… has fallen?” It fell in the seventh year after his death; an interstellar empire of that magnitude…..

“Yes, the remnants of the Ninth Region of the interstellar world established a regime on Planet X, but it was already at the end of its tether when I was only six years old. The harsh living conditions of the barren planet didn’t wear us down, but our momentum was gone and for the next twenty years or so there were constant invasions from other countries, and this official was killed in the last war in interstellar world 2327.” By calling himself this official, Abel was acknowledging the young prince.

“Abel…”

“Prince Yuan Suo, I… have thought of returning to the interstellar world again, but in a situation like that, I alone, have no way of turning things around. Moreover I also have Anie…. this official has failed the Empire.” Abel said mournfully.

“No… it’s not your fault.” There was nothing wrong with Abel’s choice. The ninth region of the interstellar world had fallen. Even if he went back, he would be powerless to reverse the situation.

“But!” Abel suddenly raised his voice, a strong hopeful light bursting from his eyes, “But Prince, if you can go back, back to the time before the fall of the ninth region, as long as you stop the civil unrest in the Empire, ascend to the throne as Emperor, and lead the ninth region to defend itself against foreign enemies, I believe you can definitely change history!”

“Me?”

“Yes! After the news of your violent death, the Ninth Region fell into turmoil and the royal family was torn apart by the struggle for power.” Thinking of his homeland, Abel was unable to hold back his grief and anger, “And then General Han rebelled, slaughtered the royal family and ruled with brutality, but he never won the hearts of the people, and in the great war….. the Ninth Region naturally lost. But if you can go back, perhaps you can change all this!”

When Yuan Suo heard Abel’s words, he fell into a long measured silence. He knew that Abel’s words were reasonable.