I Am a Salted Fish in the Interstellar Era - Chapter 1
“Pay back the money…”
“Pay back the money, pay back the money…”
“Pay back the money, pay back the money, pay back the money…”
Calls for repayment came from all directions, surrounding Shi Yu. Holding her shriveled wallet, she thought of running away, but just as she turned her head, a large head bumped into her, growling fiercely, “You little rascal, aren’t you going to pay back the money?!”
Shi Yu suddenly opened her eyes, sitting up abruptly like a carp.
She sat on the hard bed, gasping for air. When she realized she was still in the same poor, broken room, she lay back down, flat.
Damn! She was scared to death; it was just a dream.
Shi Yu wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. Indeed, one should never owe money, or else the constant guilt could be deadly.
After wiping her sweat, her thoughts drifted.
Ten years ago, she traveled from the apocalypse to the interstellar age, becoming an orphan who was beaten half to death by other children over food. She was picked up by a stingy uncle who saved her life, incurring a ‘huge’ medical debt.
Over the years, she and the stingy uncle, one a minor and the other physically disabled, lived on federal relief funds.
The two didn’t pursue a quality life, living quite freely, each more of a salted fish than the other.
However, her relief funds were completely deducted by the stingy uncle every month, forcing her to survive on dry nutrient solutions.
This had been frustrating her for a long time, but there was nothing she could do since her life was saved by him. Every time she tried to resist, she was ruthlessly suppressed.
A month ago, the stingy uncle said he was going back to his hometown to visit relatives and hasn’t returned since.
Shi Yu looked at her wrist, wondering whether to send a message to the stingy uncle to probe when he would return.
On her wrist was a basic model of the intelligence brain issued to federal citizens at birth, capable of communication only within the planet.
Where did the stingy uncle go again? It seemed to be the capital planet.
Alas, she couldn’t contact him.
Shi Yu lay on the bed for a while longer until her intelligence brain beeped. A gentle female voice said, “Dear ‘Dreaming of Being a Salted Fish’, your relief fund of 1500 Federal Coins has been deposited. Please check. Additionally, please visit the relief station within three days to collect your relief goods.”
Indeed, the federation not only distributed relief funds but also relief goods every month, providing excellent welfare. This was the capital of her being a salted fish.
“Received,” Shi Yu said.
The gentle female voice spoke again, “Voiceprint recognized. The relief fund for ‘Dreaming of Being a Salted Fish’ has been received. The Relief Bureau wishes you a smooth graduation from Volker High School, admittance to a good university, a good job, and the realization of your life’s value.”
This sentence, heard every time she received relief funds since being forced into compulsory education, had remained the same over the years, only the name of the school changed.
She got up from the bed, washed up, and went to collect her relief goods.
–
Walking on the broad road, Shi Yu, hands in her pockets, leisurely watched a few kids gliding past her on hoverboards.
In the interstellar era, hoverboards were a means of short-distance transportation for people, while hovercars could be used for both long and short distances, though using them for short distances was a bit wasteful.
Having been in the interstellar age for so long, Shi Yu had never played with a hoverboard. She didn’t envy them, after all, she was a salted fish.
Suddenly, a hover sports car stopped from the air lane and landed in front of Shi Yu.
She stepped back as she looked at the exaggerated and splendid fiery red hovercar.
The car door opened.
A young boy made a show of shaking his non-mainstream red hair as he got out of the car.
“Fish, you actually went out?” the boy leaned on the car door, sizing up Shi Yu with a slightly surprised expression.
Gu Qianqian was Shi Yu’s classmate, a notorious spoiled rich kid from the planet of Sea Blue Star.
Rich, very rich.
After they enrolled, they almost fought over which desk was more comfortable to sleep on. Eventually, they compromised, became desk mates, and often dozed off in class, competing over who could sleep longer, and inexplicably became bad influences on each other.
“What should I call you?” Shi Yu’s catchphrase was to be a salted fish, and Gu Qianqian, after getting to know her, teasingly called her “Fish.”
Seeing her continue to walk forward, Gu Qianqian slapped his forehead and said, “I was wondering why you went out today. Turns out it’s the day to collect relief goods. Come on, I’ll give you a lift.”
“I can’t afford to ride in your grand car, Young Master Gu,” Shi Yu immediately stepped back.
The last time he took her for a ride in his hovercar, he drove recklessly, almost killing her on the spot with his terrible driving skills.
Gu Qianqian didn’t care, grabbed her wrist, stuffed her into the hovercar, and said, “I’ll tell you what, I’m going to a fun place later. You should come with me.”
“No.” She refused decisively.
“It won’t delay your sleep, and there’s your favorite little pudding,” Gu Qianqian hit right on the spot.
Salted fish Shi Yu, who wouldn’t let anything get to her, except for pudding, which was her Achilles’ heel.
She grudgingly lifted her eyelids and asked, “Where to?”
“I’ll take you to broaden your horizons,” Gu Qianqian said with a mysterious smile.
Shi Yu gave him a skeptical look, but didn’t pursue further for the sake of little pudding.
In just a few words, they arrived at the relief station. A short queue had already formed, and the two of them, coming down from the hovercar, were undoubtedly very conspicuous.
Gu Qianqian felt a bit embarrassed; he had never lacked money nor been to a relief station before. But seeing Shi Yu queue up without changing her expression, he felt a sudden surge of pride and queued up behind her.
Naturally, they attracted more and more attention.
When it was Shi Yu’s turn, she presented her poverty certificate. The staff, seeing Gu Qianqian with his flashy red hair beside her, hesitated before handing over the relief goods.
Shi Yu couldn’t wait to take out a nutritional liquid, put it in her mouth, and slurped it up in one go.
Though she was still the same person, Shi Yu seemed to glow with health after drinking the nutritional liquid.
Gu Qianqian glanced at the box of relief goods she was holding, thinking the nutritional liquid was something good. He unceremoniously took one, put it in his mouth, and frowned at the taste, “Why does this taste so bad?”
At that moment, everyone around turned their heads towards him with intense stares.
Gu Qianqian gave a sheepish smile and immediately pulled Shi Yu to run away.
While running, Shi Yu tightly closed the box, still harboring resentment towards Gu Qianqian for taking her nutritional liquid, “Hurry up and drink your nutrition liquid that costs tens of thousands per bottle, don’t rob mine.”
Gu Qianqian spread his hands, “If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t use money to insult you, I’d immediately send you a box.”
Shi Yu: “…”
When the two were competing for the table, Gu Qianqian carried the term “tycoon” to the extreme, declaring that if Shi Yu would give up the table to him, he would give her one hundred thousand federal dollars.
Shi Yu, very principled at the time, retorted, “Don’t insult me with money. The table is mine!”
Seeing Shi Yu’s grievance, Gu Qianqian burst into laughter, pulled her onto the hover car, and said, “Come on, let me show you something new.”
Shi Yu wasn’t interested in gaining new experiences; she was only thinking about the small pudding he had mentioned earlier.
The hover car sped along and quickly arrived at a costly-looking area.
Gu Qianqian gestured grandly, “Here we are, get off.”
Shi Yu got out of the car, holding a sweet and sour drink she found among relief supplies, and frowned upon seeing the flashy virtual screen at the entrance, “An exhibition?”
What about the promised small pudding?
Gu Qianqian put his hand on her shoulder, leading her inside, and whispered, “Let me tell you, today’s exhibition is no ordinary one. It’s said that someone has brought a new species, unbelievably beautiful ones.”
After saying this, Gu Qianqian gave Shi Yu a mysterious smile, to which Shi Yu responded indifferently, not eager at all.
She only loved small puddings.
