Chapter 1:Â The Nationâs Male God (1)Translator: deathbutlowkey from dummytranslationsEditor: Dragon_Reader --- Shen Zhifan was very good-looking.
This kind of âgood-lookingâ was a broad sort of âgood-lookingâ. From the time he was young, up until he turned sixteen years old, anyone who saw him couldnât help but sigh; this child was truly neat and beautiful.
If you counted the number of young girls who would sneakily turn their red faces away, the girls that had secretly loved Shen Zhifan had to be in the dozens. For this reason, Shen Zhifan, that goddamn bastard, was annoying. The first earnings in sister Jingâs life were made by selling his photos.
The reason why he was described as beautiful, was that the 16-year-old Shen Zhifan had not yet matured. He was this kind of rose-lipped, white-toothed[1] young man, with refreshingly short hair.
He would wear a casual white shirt, and when the wind blew, under the thin bangs were actually the youthâs clean and pure eyes.
His temperament was good, and he also liked to smile. When the corners of his lips hooked up, it...was like a painting.
Just how handsome was he? It was about to the extent, where his rude-mouthed younger sister Shen Zhirou would often say: Although Shen Zhifan didnât really have any brains, fortunately, he didnât need to learn any skills either. Even if he was gluttonous and lazy, he could absolutely live off his face.
Actually, Shen Zhifan didnât really like this so-called beautiful appearance. As a boy, he always eventually wanted to walk the road of a mature and handsome man.
So, the Shen Zhifan of yesterday who still felt like he didnât know when he would grow up, awoke to find that his dreams had come true. Looking at the mirror was a little...he didnât know whether to laugh or cry.
The man in the mirror was still him, that definitely wasnât wrong. No matter if it was from those familiar brows and eyes to the little red mole on his neck, it all should be his body.
Even the scars remaining from the healed wounds on his hands from the past few years were still there, so this body was definitely still his own.
Then the real problem arose, when did he grow to be so...mature.
And there was also this really...cough, he furtively took his hand out of his underwear, guilty and blushing. Although his future development was so good that he couldnât help but feel a little proud - Ah, but wait, that obviously wasnât the point.
Whether it was speaking of just that part or the whole body, all of it wasnât the body that Shen Zhifan should have had at the age of sixteen years.
The him in the mirror was no longer the boy that could have used âbeautifulâ to describe himself at sixteen years of age. Now it seemed like âhandsomeâ would be more appropriate. However, it wasnât a kind of crude and rough handsome, but a mature kind of handsome, with no lack of delicacy.
Looking down once again, it was no longer the thin body of a youth. The muscles were proportioned and symmetrical, with unbloated lines that fulfilled both aesthetic and power. Wide shoulders and narrow waist, a six-pack, with an organ that was big and lively - Ah, although he should have written that off, whether it was lively or not was still awaiting verification.
The electronic calendar hanging to the side quickly answered the question thatâd had him at a loss, it was year 733 of the interstellar calendar...then this should be seven years into the future.
So, now he was twenty-three?
Shen Zhifan squinted slightly at the mirror, and the man in the mirror did the same. He stretched out a finger, pointing to the man in the mirror. It seemed like he was dreaming...he couldnât tell if he really was dreaming or not. It wasnât just the maturity of his countenance, the feeling of his gestures seemed different...but even if one looked carefully, one still wouldnât know how to describe it.
Anyhow, after sizing himself up for about half a day, he came to a conclusion.
After growing up, he had really become handsome.
God was fair, after giving Shen Zhifan an extremely good-looking exterior heâd also incidentally dug out a piece of perception from his heart[2] when Shen Zhifan was born. There was usually no cure for this kind of inborn lack of social awareness. Giving the mirror a wink, he turned his attention away, now more interested in his current environment.
When heâd just woken up, he had felt it was a little off, but at that time, he hadnât been fully awake. Now, after eyeing the place again, he thought this was really...indescribably expensive. This house was very big, it was truly a magnificent sight[3]. Even so, it wasnât a vulgar magnificence, it was more of a...lowkey luxurious type of splendour. Shen Zhifan contemplated deeply for a while and after being unable to come up with more high-end adjectives, decided to give up.
Anyway, it just looked like the place was made of money.
Shen Zhifan came from a family that was relatively poor, and the three generations before him had always been earnest miners on Saturn. For many years, no matter where they looked, the people of their family only wore a few thick, anti-radiation suits. Also, their genes werenât good in the first place, so everyone grew to look very arbitrary. Against all expectations, when it came to Shen Zhifan - He was a phoenix flying out of a chickenâs nest. The more he grew, the prettier he got. He was pretty to the point that his father looked at him every day and sighed incessantly.
If it werenât for the birth certificate as well as his father thinking; frankly, his wife was only so pretty, she wouldnât be able to seduce any man who was better-looking than him - he wouldnât even have dared to recognise Shen Zhifan as his offspring.
âLook how unattractive your younger sister is, how come only you look like this?â Father Shenâs grieving and lamenting finger pointed to the side, where Shen Zhirou was currently picking at her foot.
At these times, the unattractive Shen Zhirou would usually roll her eyes unceasingly. Shen Zhifan: â...â
Blame me, blame me for being born so good-looking.
In short, even though this family didnât have money, they got by rather happily.
Therefore, when Shen Zhifan first laid eyes on the room he was now in, he really...shivered a little.
If this was truly seven years later, then he really was rather successful.
A little curious, he walked out of the bathroom and directly into the living room, if it could even be called the living room. It was wide, with complex chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. The sides of the double staircase leading downstairs were filled with famous paintings, and although he couldnât recognise any of them, they looked incredibly expensive.
He couldnât be blamed, the current Shen Zhifan was still the sixteen-year-old Shen Zhifan inside. Ever since he was a child, heâd always lived on Saturn, which was sparsely populated, with the economy being very sluggish and backward. Most of his forefathers were miners and had only seen these things often on their small, blurry-screened television.
Shen Zhifanâs line of sight kept moving, and when it finally landed on a photo in the centre of the living room...he was stunned.
It was an extremely large portrait of the deceased, about two metres wide, hung right at the centre of the living room. The girl in the photo was distinctly different from his memory - she had grown up a lot - but sure enough, she was still unattractive.
He jumped back in shock. When he realised that it was a portrait of the deceased, his body had reacted quicker than his mind. His eyes reddened. Even though Shen Zhirou was really annoying, occasionally she wasnât, and this sudden display of a deceased personâs photo had still caught him unawares.
Although Shen Zhirou was both annoying and uncute, unattractive, even her voice was unpleasant on the ears...well, if he thought about it like that, sure enough, she had no merits. Still, once in a while he would think that she had a little bit of cuteness, but even then he had to force himself to think up her good points.
Shen Zhifan wiped at his face forcefully - originally, his curiosity towards this world had been suppressed. He silently stared at the huge, unfathomable portrait, and let out a deep sigh, telling himself that the dead couldnât come back to life. Lastly, he touched the portrait - although she was ugly, she could reluctantly be counted as a smiling, flowery young girl...
âBrother, what are you doing.â
Shen Zhifan, who hadnât yet reacted, heard this voice and subconsciously turned around. His eyes happened to meet with those of Shen Zhirou who had just gotten out of bed, with hair like a birdâs nest.
Since he was now the Shen Zhifan that had grown up, the one in front of him was also the adult version of Shen Zhirou. Shen Zhifan had lived up to expectations without any long-term defects, while Shen Zhirou had lived up to expectations by not growing well. If she cleaned herself up a bit she could almost be counted as having clear and fair white skin. However, as of now, her barely-awake, barefaced appearance with traces of unknown liquid at the corner of her mouth really just made for a tragic sight[5].
Shen Zhifan blanked, looking at the perfectly alive girl in front of him, then turned his head around take another look at the huge dead personâs portrait, then looked at the girl, and back to the portrait. Shen Zhirou: â???â
Shen Zhifan unconsciously asked: âIsnât this a picture of the deceased?â
Her face reddened visibly. Aggrieved and indignant, she threw herself at the picture, her body in the shape of a ĺ character, blocking Shen Zhifanâs line of sight and stopping him from continuing to look at her photo.
âThis is the photo I took to enter in a competition, okay? Itâs the latest style in replicating black-and-white photography. If you donât know anything then donât talk nonsense, will you! What damn picture of the dead, do your familyâs portraits look like this!â
Shen Zhifan retracted his wasted sentiment and expressionlessly said: âOh, of course, our familyâs portraits of the dead all look like this.â
Shen Zhirou: â...â They really fucking did.
However seeing the resurrected (not necessarily) Shen Zhirou, his mood lightened immensely. This kind of false alarm made him feel as if it happened a lifetime ago, but the sound of his sisterâs nearly earth-shattering voice made him realise that he truly wasnât dreaming.
Even if he wasnât dreaming, this really was too fake, wasnât it? Yesterday he was obviously still the sixteen-year-old Shen Zhifan, and at this time he shouldâve been in studying in the classroom, dazedly listening to the teacherâs lectures and occasionally closing his eyes to the sound of his deskmate whining. After class, he would receive a bucketload of love letters, then go to the closest bookstore to waste away the rest of his afternoon.
Shen Zhifanâs throat bobbed up and down, and he couldnât resist stretching out a finger to poke at Shen Zhirou.
Shen Zhirou was like a puppy whose fur had been fried. She used to be like this as well. After being poked only once, she was itching to bite Shen Zhifan back ten times and shouted: âYou-you-you-youâre good-looking so you think youâre hot shit now?!â
âWell, not really,â Shen Zhifan was suddenly a little embarrassed. He felt that the Shen Zhirou of yesterday who was not incomparable to a child had grown into not a slim and graceful, but an upright young woman. It was rather miraculous. âJust, uh...right now should I be...twenty-three years old?â
âHah?â Facing her brother who had changed the subject way too quickly, Shen Zhirou obviously hadnât reacted yet. Her eyebrows drew together.
âIâm saying,â Shen Zhifan had a bit of a hard time finding his words. With his sister, this kind of close relative, he didnât need to hide anything, âI think that just yesterday I was sixteen!â
Shen Zhirou gave a cold, disapproving laugh: âOh, so looking delicate makes you so amazing, I also feel like year after year Iâm still sixteen.â
Just when he wanted to explain himself further, the doorbell suddenly began to ring, making him jump.
âAhhh! Thereâs a guest, you should have told me earlier!â Shen Zhirou blanked, after all, she was still a young woman. She hurriedly stamped her feet and like a wisp of smoke, she escaped back into her own room, âI canât meet anyone looking like this!â
She didnât give Shen Zhifan the chance to say, âI donât know anyone right now.â
Shen Zhifan, at a loss, stared blankly. He could only brace himself; with some trepidation, he went to open the door.
When the door opened, Shen Zhifan became unable to speak.
The other person was very tall. He had to look up slightly to see him, so the other person was probably taller than him by about half a head. At first glance, he saw a body clad in navy blue military uniform, which was so stiff that it looked brand new, without a trace of any wrinkles. This type of imposing manner, with not a strand of hair out of place, was extremely forceful. A golden, high-level epaulette was sewn onto his shoulder, and when Shen Zhifanâs gaze moved up, he saw that personâs face.
His face was somewhat slim, although it was a type of face that showed his mental vitality. He had more Western-inclined features which gave him a clear, statuesque outline, with eyes that were deep-set but unshadowed. The bridge of his nose was very high, and the azure irises underneath his long, thick eyelashes were sharp like the edge of a blade. When he casually looked around, it was like being carved and polished by an engraved knife.
He was not only extremely handsome, but he was also an upright, honest type of handsome. He was like a low-hanging eagle suspended above, in the wild, scorching sun.
This point was one that Shen Zhifan had been aware of since very long ago, and now had rediscovered; that General Yan Shuo in real life seemed more handsome than when he was on television.
The Shen Zhifan that had suddenly seen his lifelong idol stood there staring stupidly for a moment. His state of mind had been shaken to the extent that he wasnât very clear-headed or accepting, so his arm, without permission, automatically closed the door.
General Yan, who had been about to open his mouth but had the door closed on his face instead, was a little embarrassed: â...â
Shen Zhirou, who had blanked at the sound of the door closing, poked her head out of her room: âWho was it?â
Shen Zhifan, still rooted in his stunned dream cycle, mechanically said: âLittle sister, Iâm seeing hallucinations.â
âAh?â Shen Zhirou âahâed in discontentment.
âI saw Yan Shuo.â Shen Zhifanâs face showed his soulâs return to God.
â...â Shen Zhirou remained unmoved, âOh, so what, this is very normal.â
âHow is this normal?!â Shen Zhifan who had finally returned from his mental journey asked. âDoesnât our family work in the mines in an outlying interplanetary corner? Since when have we been able to casually see an imperial general?â
Shen Zhirou fell silent for a moment, looking at Shen Zhifan with a kind of hard-to-describe expression commonly known as being constipated: âThose are matters of years ago, brother youâve gotten sick today, havenât you?... At least now your status isnât low, you can be counted as the nationâs male god.â
T/N: Hey guys itâs me, deathbutlowkey! Iâm pretty new to translating, and my this is my first solo project. This is my favourite type of novel (but I had to pick the one that has more complex writing even though Iâm a new tler qaq) drama and fighting and shit are good every once in a while but we all need some fluff and healing and wholesomeness too!! The first three chapters will be posted together, and then from there, itâll hopefully be a new chapter every Sunday. Hope you all enjoy Generalâs Cat!
Footnotes: [1] ĺçş˘é˝żç˝ - lit. rose-lipped, white-toothed - a handsome youth [2] ĺżçź - lit. heart eye. Can refer to heart/intelligence (in the sense that a person knows how to treat others and can recognise how they themselves are treated by others), intentions, social grace. Sometimes refers to a person having too many unfounded misgivings about others. [3] é碧čžç
- gold and jade in glorious splendour. Our author repeated this three times in this paragraph...please...chillâŚ