us continued devouring the food, not ev pausing to praise his mother''s cooking. In all his life, this was the first time he had tasted something this good. He and his mother were used to basic meals like in rice with pepper stew and maybe a few small fish, if they were lucky. Sometimes, there was no fish at all.


    But now, sitting in front of him, was a feast. There were differt kinds of fish, sult meats, fresh fruits, and juice that tasted like heav. us felt like he was on cloud nine. For once, he felt like he had achieved everything there was to achieve as a human.


    He savored every bite, relishing the rich vors and the way the food filled him with warmth and satisfaction. It was a stark contrast to the meager meals he was used to. As he ate, a sse of conttmt washed over him. For the first time in a long while, he felt at peace.


    His mother watched him with a soft smile, her heart swelling with happiness at seeing her son joy the meal. She had worked hard to prepare this feast, and seeing us so pleased made all her efforts worthwhile.


    But as us continued eating, a small pang of guilt tugged at him. He hadn''t ev thanked his mother or acknowledged her hard work. He knew how much this meal must have meant to her, and yet he had be so consumed by his own hunger that he had forgott to show his appreciation.


    Finally, as he slowed down, us looked up at his mother. "This is incredible, Mom," he said, his voice filled with guine gratitude. "Thank you for this."


    His mother''s smile wided, and she reached out to gtly squeeze his hand. "I''m just d you''re joying it," she replied softly.


    After eating almost everything, us let out a satisfied sigh and gulped down thest of his pineapple juice. "This was amazing," he blurted, his face lighting up with guine delight. His breakfast had be morevish than some people''s suppers. His mother watched him with a warm smile, pleased to see her son joying himself so much.


    For the first time in a long while, her baby boy was behaving like a carefree child.


    As us leaned back in his chair, savoring thest drops of juice, his mother''s voice cut through the momt. "Alright, us, I know you usually tell me everything, but why didn''t you mtion you''ve already found a girlfrid?"


    us, still swallowing the juice, nearly spat it out. "Say what now?" he eximed, nearly choking on his drink.


    His mother raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "I may not be a gius, but I know wh I smell a woman''s perfume," she said, pausing for effect. Th, with a knowing smile, she reached into us''s backpack and pulled out a card. "And if you don''t have a girlfrid, th why would she give you a credit card with 0 million on it?"


    us''s eyes wided in shock, and this time, he choked on his drink. He coughed, trying to catch his breath, as his mother handed him the card. He took it, still trying to process what she had just said.


    "A credit card… with 0 million?" he repeated, staring at the card in disbelief.


    His mother nodded, clearly joying the momt. "Yes, us. It was in your things. Care to exin?"


    us felt his mind racing as he tried to piece together where the card could havee from. His thoughts raced back through rect evts, sifting through his memories. Suddly, a face appeared in his mind.


    "Ohema..." us muttered, though his voice was loud ough for his mother to hear.


    She raised an eyebrow, her smile widing with curiosity. "Who is Ohema?"


    us smiled slightly, remembering his brief interaction with the dark-haired beauty. "She was someone I saved in the forest. I guess she might have slipped this into my bag wh we were on the shuttle."


    His mother''s smile grew broader. "You were on a shuttle together? That means you must have be quite close for her to slip something into your bag."


    us felt his face flush slightly. "It wasn''t like that. We were just on the same shuttle after the incidt."


    "Oh,e on, us," his mother teased. "You little yer! Who would have thought that the innoct us would start ying the big boys'' game?"


    usughed, shaking his head. "It''s not like that, Mom. She was just really grateful, and I guess this was her way of showing it."


    His mother''s smile softed, her eyes filled with affection. "Well, whoever she is, she clearly thinks a lot of you. I guess I am now old, I guess I will soon wee some grandkids."


    us''s face flushed red at his mother''s teasing. He sighed and replied, "She really isn''t bad, Mom. Maybe I might get lucky." He tried to sound nonchnt, hoping to deflect his mother''s teasing.


    His mother chuckled, shaking her head. "Hehehe, you little brat. Instead of focusing on your cultivation, you''re out there chasing wom."


    us grinned, trying to y it cool despite the embarrassmt. "It''s not like that, Mom. Just… keeping my options op."


    His motherughed warmly. "Alright, alright. Just don''t forget your priorities. Cultivation first, romanceter. But if she is the one th don''t forget to introduce her fast"


    usughed, "Don''t worry, Mom. First impressions count, so before I introduce you, we should move into the city first," he said with a smile.


    His mother nodded, understanding his point. us''s gaze lingered on the card in his hand, a mix of feelings evidt on his face.


    "It''s nothing to worry about, us," his mother said gtly. "She likely slipped it into your bag knowing you might reject it. But now that you have it, the least you can do is appreciate her kindness."


    us looked at the card thoughtfully. "So, you think I should keep it?"


    "Absolutely," his mother replied. "Withdrawing it will sd her a message that you''ve epted her gift. It''s a way of acknowledging her gesture. You can always repay her kindness a thousandfold in the future."


    us nodded, taking his mother''s advice to heart. Still, he waspletely stunned by the fact that he hadn''t noticed wh Ohema had slipped the card into his bag. Wh he left for the forest, his mother gave him a backpack with some snacks. us had ced it into his space ring before heading out.


    Wh he was returning, he had tak the bag out and hung it on his back. That was wh Ohema must have slipped the card in.


    ''I guess I can create a bank ount with this much,'' us thought, a smile spreading across his face. He realized that, without ev realizing it, he had be a millionaire.


    "Mom,ter today I''ll go create a bank ount," us said with newfound excitemt. "Once I get the rmdation card, we can head to the Idtification Guild and register to obtain our own Idtity cards."


    His mother''s eyes brighted with pride and happiness. "That sounds like a great n, us. I''m so proud of you."


    us nodded and wt to fresh up, leaving his mother alone in the room. She smiled, shaking her head fondly as she nced in a certain direction before sding the dishes away. us left the house but didn''t head straight to the bank. Instead, he made his way to a tattoo shop.


    Along the way, many people gave him curious nces. His  hair and gold eyes were so striking that some ev took secret photos of him. us didn''t mind; he had other things on his mind. Right now, his priority was finding out how he could join a team so he can ter the forbidd Zones. Unbeknownst to him, his image had already started trding online, apanied by various hashtags.


    -


    -


    -


    In a sere gard where all life seemed to resonate with the universe, twodies were sitting together, drinking and eating snacks. One was Anna, and the other was her sister, Lucy. As they rxed, Lucy took out her phone and started scrolling through her social media.


    Suddly, an image of a young man with  hair and gold eyes, wearing ck shorts and an oversized ck shirt, appeared on the scre.


    "What a handsome guy," Lucy said, showing the scre to Anna. "Look at this. Don''t you think he''s handsome?"


    Anna''s eyes wided as she saw the image. She almost blurted out us''s name but managed to stifle it, though her surprised expression gave her away.


    "You know him?" Lucy asked, her curiosity piqued as she focused her full atttion on Anna.


    Anna hesitated, her mind racing. "No, why do you ask?" she replied, trying to sound casual despite her obvious interest.


    "Nothing," Lucy chuckled, returning her atttion to the image. Anna, who had nearly blurted out us''s name, looked at her sister with curiosity.


    "What are you thinking, Sister?" Anna asked.


    "Nothing," Lucy replied, but her smile betrayed her. After a momt, she added, "I have to find him. Maybe I can get a date for the Felin Youth Balling up in three weeks."


    Anna, in the middle of drinking her juice, choked and coughed. "You can''t do that!" she eximed, immediately regretting her outburst.


    "I knew it!" Lucy beamed. "It was him, wasn''t it? The one who saved you in the forest?"


    Anna hesitated, th sighed. "Sister, you can''t tell anyone. us doesn''t want to be in the spotlight. The fact that his image is circting is already bad ough. The family can''t know. Please, I''m begging you."


    Lucy''s smile remained, but she nodded understandingly. "Alright, alright. Your little secret is safe with me. But you have to tell me everything you know about him. And if I can introduce him to my frid, Nadia, the fashion designer. With his looks, she''ll hire him as a model without a second thought."


    Anna sighed in relief, but she couldn''t hide a hint of concern. "Fine. I''ll tell you what I can. But remember, keep it quiet."


    Lucy''s eyes sparkled with excitemt. "Deal! Now, tell me everything about this mysterious us."