Chapter 6: An Almost Isolated System (New Book—Welcoming Readers to Explore a New World Together)

"Smack."

A tiny hand slapped against a head in irritation. Clearly, the system’s notification sound had disturbed the little darling’s sleep.

Soon, her small hand was enveloped by a rough, calloused palm, and the rhythmic sound of a palm-leaf fan began to hum nearby.

"Must not have chased all the mosquitoes away," Liu Guoxiang muttered softly.

"It's fine, go back to sleep. I’ll keep fanning; it won't wake the little one," Yi Zhongxiang whispered, his voice thick with the haze of sleep. His hand never stopped, moving with a steady, soothing rhythm.

In the middle of the night, the sound of drizzling rain drifted in from outside, and the autumn chill deepened.

Liu Guoxiang nudged her husband. "Stop fanning, you'll give the baby a cold."

Yi Zhongxiang ceased his movements, sounding a bit anxious. "I hope the rain doesn't get too heavy; otherwise, we won't be able to go to work tomorrow."

"Judging by the sound, it won't be much," Liu Guoxiang comforted him, patting her little daughter’s soft body to ensure she remained undisturbed by the outside world. She then carefully turned over and drifted back into a deep sleep.

Yi Zhongxiang said nothing more. The rest of the night passed in silence.

When Yi Rongkun woke the next morning, she could still hear the pitter-patter of rain outside, but the house was very quiet. It was evident that, rain or not, her father and her older brothers, sisters, and sister-in-law had already left for work. Only her mother and two nieces remained at home.

"Little Aunt, Little Aunt, are you awake?" came the cautious voice of her niece, Yi Shichun, from the doorway. "Grandma asked me to see if you’re up yet."

Yi Rongkun stretched and yawned, calling out in a soft, milky voice, "Chunchun, come in."

"Okay!" Yi Shichun chirped happily. But instead of entering immediately, she turned and shouted toward the yard, "Grandma, Little Aunt is awake!"

"I know!" Liu Guoxiang, who was sewing shoe soles under the eaves, replied. She tossed aside her needle and thread, exchanged a quick word with the other women working nearby, and hurried to the room. She was calling out before she even reached the door: "My little one, Mommy is here."

A sliver of faint light shone through the glass tile in the roof, just enough to see by.

"Mommy." Seeing her mother, Yi Rongkun didn't dawdle in bed; she rolled over and started to get up.

"Oh, my little darling, wait for Mommy to dress you first." Liu Guoxiang rushed forward and wrapped her in the quilt. "Don't catch a cold, or you'll have to get a shot to get better."

"No shots," Yi Rongkun shook her head. "I won't catch a cold."

"Good girl." Liu Guoxiang skillfully retrieved a jacket and a padded vest, dressing the child with a doting smile. "Mommy’s little one is so beautiful."

"Beautiful."

The System: *Ding! System binding successful. Please learn to dress yourself and become an independent, well-behaved little darling.*

"Huh?" Startled by the strange voice, Yi Rongkun blinked in confusion.

"What's wrong, Little One?" Liu Guoxiang, who was searching for her daughter’s shoes, asked with concern upon hearing her surprised tone.

"Mommy, there’s a... a 'Tong-tong' saying, telling me to learn... learn..."

"A bucket isn't a toy for you to play with." Liu Guoxiang, a born-and-bred country woman, had no idea what a "system" was and assumed the child wanted to play with a water bucket. Fearing the child might be disappointed, she added, "When Daddy has some free time, he’ll make you two little buckets, alright?"

"Yay! I want little buckets to play with!" Yi Rongkun, who hadn't understood what the system was in the first place, was easily distracted by her mother.

The System: *...How did I end up binding with such a little host by mistake?* It had no choice but to keep prompting her with tireless patience: *Ding! Please study diligently and learn to become a qualified interstellar streamer as soon as possible.*

"Ding? Who are you?" Yi Rongkun asked curiously. "I can't see you."

"Mommy doesn't know who this 'Ding' is either," Liu Guoxiang said, gently picking up the child and kissing her small cheek. "But as long as my little one is obedient, 'Ding' won't bother you anymore."

"Really?" Yi Rongkun asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Of course, when has Mommy ever lied to you?" Liu Guoxiang teased, giving her daughter’s nose a playful flick.

"Never," Yi Rongkun thought seriously and shook her head.

"That's right." Liu Guoxiang put the shoes on her daughter and led her by the hand toward the kitchen. "Come, Mommy will take you to have breakfast."

"Okay."

As Yi Rongkun followed her mother out of the room, she remembered something else. "But Ding said... said to let the 'Xi-zhu' learn. Mommy, what is a 'Xi-zhu'?"

The System: *...* It wanted to cover its face, but it had no physical form. It had never interacted with such a young host and was completely unaccustomed to how children spoke. *This won't do. I need to find someone to learn the ropes, or I'll never be able to finish my tasks and upgrade.*

Liu Guoxiang, leading her little girl out of the room, didn't understand what her daughter was saying. "Mommy has never seen this 'Ding', and I don't know what a 'Xi-zhu' is either."

The woman, having no idea where her daughter was picking up these strange words, bent down to pick her up. She looked into the child's eyes and asked gently, "Little One, where did you hear these things?"

"Just..." Yi Rongkun tilted her head. "Yeah, where did I hear it? Ding is right by my ear, always talking and talking, but I don't understand."

In the interstellar livestream channel, the audience was listening to the mother and daughter's conversation:

[Hahaha... is our little ancestor host bound to some kind of system?]

[The system is giving her missions, but the little ancestor is so young, she doesn't understand anything, she can't even speak clearly, hahahaha...]

[Everyone, let's pray for the system's mental state. Is it having a breakdown right now?]

People in the Interstellar Era were long familiar with high-tech products like systems. Although their own technology hadn't reached the point of developing a system that could travel across three thousand years to bind a host, similar, relatively low-end devices were quite common in the galaxy.

Therefore, even though the mother and daughter's conversation was vague, the viewers understood. This little ancestor was the lucky one bound by a high-civilization system. And they, the interstellar viewers watching this stream, were likely just as lucky.

"Little Aunt, time to eat-eat."

As soon as they stepped out, they saw the nieces and nephews, who had also just woken up, sitting quietly at the table, waiting for her.

"Oh, the little one is awake." The aunts, sisters-in-law, and sisters sewing under the eaves greeted her with smiles. "You cried so sadly yesterday; you really scared everyone."

"Hello, Eldest Aunt, Second Aunt, Fourth Aunt, Sisters-in-law, and Sisters." (The Yi family's Third Aunt had passed away when Yi Rongxin was two, so the family now consisted of these aunts and Liu Guoxiang, the youngest aunt.)

"Our little one is so well-behaved. Hurry and eat, don't let our little one go hungry." Her cousin, Yi Rongqun, who had met her on the road the previous evening and offered to carry her, smiled. "If you get hungry, our hearts will all ache."