The Obligations of the Elderly - Chapter 15

“I’ve handed in the volunteer forms. The teacher asked me to compile these forms into a spreadsheet on the computer. Vice class president, could you help me with this?” Smiling, Xi Liu walked over to Gong Si with a stack of forms in hand.

This period was the elective activity time during PE class. As the name suggests, elective activity time meant students could freely choose their own activities. Normally, Gong Si would most likely be lifting weights in the equipment room, but today…

He was indeed in the equipment room, but not in the equipment area. Instead, he was tucked away behind a pile of mats, in a very hidden spot, reading a book.

Gong Si held a book in his hand, with several more stacked beside him.

Quite a few people peeked over from behind, but no one dared approach. Only Xi Liu made his way past them and came over.

“Vice class president, do you know you’ve stolen the dating spot from some couples? There are a lot of people waiting for you to leave~” Xi Liu whispered.

“Let them wait,” Gong Si replied without even looking up, then answered Xi Liu’s question in passing: “The teacher said it’s for ‘you’ to compile the forms into a spreadsheet, so I can’t.”

Xi Liu: ^-^

Gong Si was as sharp as ever today~

Being refused didn’t matter. Smiling, Xi Liu waved to the anxious couples waiting behind, then sat down next to Gong Si with his laptop, ready to enter the data himself.

After all, he just wanted to save himself some trouble-it wasn’t like he couldn’t do it himself.

But sitting down, he happened to see the title of the book Gong Si was reading: “My Super Dominator.”

Xi Liu: ^-^

“When did you start liking these kinds of novels?” Although these novels were quite popular among high school students, Gong Si had never been interested. When confiscating such novels, he would always hand them over to the teacher with strict impartiality, never sneaking a peek himself.

Gong Si truly had no interest in Vessel and User.

But clearly, things were different now-

“Qiu Xia is already a User. I don’t know where to learn about User and Vessel, so I figured I’d start with some novels.” Gong Si said, head down, turning a page as he spoke.

“Isn’t there a saying that art comes from life?”

Xi Liu: ^-^

The laptop he had just opened was soon left idle to the side. Xi Liu picked up a book from the floor and started reading as well.

“That one, ‘Peerless Vessel,’ should be about Vessel. If you want something more relevant, read the one underneath-‘Charming Great Ruler.’ It’s an adventure and leveling-up story. I think a lot of things in there could be useful for Qiu Xia.” Perhaps catching his movement out of the corner of his eye, Gong Si even offered a suggestion.

Xi Liu: …

“But you can’t ignore the Vessel’s perspective~” Xi Liu didn’t put down the book in his hand, opening to the first page.

“…Is that so?” Gong Si glanced at his own book. “I thought since Qiu Xia is a User, I should focus on books where the protagonist is a User…”

“But he’ll have to find his own Vessel sooner or later. If you want to help him, shouldn’t you understand Vessel too?” Xi Liu said.

Nodding, Gong Si replied, “You make a good point. But that one seems to be a romance story-I really can’t get into it. How about this: you read it for me and just tell me the main points.”

Xi Liu ^-^: “Then the data entry for the volunteer forms…”

“I’ll do it,” Gong Si said decisively.

Consensus reached, the class president and vice president spent PE class time huddled together in the legendary dating spot, reading novels.

“There is a mysterious kind of Energy in this world. User are born with this Energy, which is like another body for them, gathering inside and outside them from birth, or even before birth. Vessel, on the other hand, are containers, naturally able to hold this Energy. The amount of Energy a Vessel can hold varies, corresponding to the capacity of the User’s Energy.”

Not only did they read, but Gong Si even pulled Xi Liu into a book discussion session.

Meeting location: on the way home.

^-^

“If there isn’t much Energy, their lives aren’t greatly affected. Since most User and Vessel have low Energy and low capacity, it’s easy for them to find partners.” Having read so many books, Gong Si was now quite adept at using the specific terminology between User and Vessel, such as “finding a partner.”

When a User finds a Vessel, or a Vessel finds a User, the specialized term is “finding a partner.”

“It’s not hard to find a partner in these cases, and you can switch at any time. But having an unstable partner isn’t recommended, because you can’t utilize your abilities to the fullest-at most, only half. If you can reach Forming a Contract, you can reach up to eighty percent.”

“The most reliable connection between a User and a Vessel is Forming a Contract. Once Forming a Contract is done, it’s even more reliable than marriage.”

“Just like you said, Forming a Contract is more reliable than a marriage certificate.” Gong Si even remembered the analogy Xi Liu had made before. “There’s no way to cheat-unless you get rid of the other person. But if you do, you’ll suffer a huge loss yourself, so normally no one would do such a thing.”
“However, finding a contract partner is one thing, but finding your destined one is another. To find a Vessel whose Energy matches yours perfectly is a rare stroke of luck, and if their attributes are compatible, it’s even more precious. But once you find such a match, the results can be extraordinary. That’s why every User dreams of having their destined one as their contract partner,” Gong Si summarized.

Xi Liu^-^: “I noticed that everything you’ve said so far is basically from the User’s perspective~”

Gong Si didn’t refute him. “Of course, Qiu Xia is a User~ I read these books for him, and I’ll give him this notebook later.”

Xi Liu: …

One wonders what Qiu Xia will feel when he receives this notebook, compiled by his elder brother from various popular novels.

Just imagining it is amusing~

“Don’t forget to include notes on Vessels!” But Gong Si was quite serious, so Xi Liu restrained his smile and earnestly reminded him, “After all, Qiu Xia definitely needs to find a Vessel. At his age, entering a Specialized School isn’t considered early, and finding a partner is an urgent matter. You should help him prepare in advance.”

“Huh? Really?” Gong Si clearly hadn’t thought about this yet. For someone who originally knew nothing about Vessels and Users, just cramming User-related knowledge these past two days had already exhausted his brain cells.

“Didn’t you read ‘Peerless Vessel’ this afternoon? It’s a novel told from the Vessel’s perspective, right? So, did you learn anything from it?” Realizing his shortcomings, Gong Si immediately asked Xi Liu for advice.

Xi Liu replied with a mysterious smile, “That was an erotic novel.”

Gong Si: “Huh?”

He was stunned for three seconds before he realized what Xi Liu meant, his face turning red. Gong Si retorted, “And you spent the whole afternoon reading it?”

“I don’t have the habit of quitting halfway. If I start a book, I have to finish it-that’s my principle,” Xi Liu declared righteously.

Gong Si: %￥%…#￥……

“But I probably still know more about Vessels than you do.” Seeing Gong Si about to lose his temper, Xi Liu raised a finger and smiled, “The most common form of Vessel in this world is still ‘container.’ For example, that doctor’s Vessel is a syringe, some people’s Vessel is a computer, and some people’s Vessel is a kitchen knife.”

“Different forms of existence, when combined with the User’s Vessel, produce completely different abilities. Basically, there are no identical abilities in this world~”

“For instance, even if two Vessels are both syringes, depending on the User’s ability, one syringe might be used for healing, while another could inject deadly poison.” Xi Liu gave an example, and Gong Si hurriedly took notes.

“Animal-type Vessels are very popular among Users because they can grow-their capacity increases over time, making them sustainable.”

“Although their uses may be limited, the ‘growth’ trait makes animal-type Vessels highly favored, especially by Users who are still accumulating Energy.”

“Then there’s the Natural Type-natural disasters and such. They’re very powerful and also popular, but the requirements for Users are especially high. Basically, unless your Energy reaches a certain level, it’s unlikely you’ll become a User of a Natural Type Vessel.”

“In terms of User ability levels, you’d need to be at least a Dominator.”

“Users and Vessels below this Energy level are generally not recognized as Natural Type.”

Gong Si nodded repeatedly as he listened.

“Then there’s the Special Type. Special Types often involve very rare abilities-even if the Energy is low, they’re still unique.”

“But this category also produces the most useless abilities among Users and Vessels.”

Xi Liu withdrew his finger and said, “That’s basically the situation with Vessels.”

Meanwhile, Gong Si finished his notes, put away his notebook, and curiously asked, “How do you know so much?”

Xi Liu replied with a smile, “It’s common sense, isn’t it?”

“Actually, it’s more unusual for someone not to know.”

Gong Si… Gong Si fell silent.

Alright, he really was lacking in common sense here-severely!

But lacking common sense can be remedied; it’s not like he’s lacking intelligence, right?

“So the most powerful Vessel should be an animal-type Vessel with useful special natural abilities, and ideally, its body will grow very large in the future-the bigger, the better, right?” Gong Si finally summarized.

“Bingo~” Xi Liu smiled in agreement.

“Great, then Qiu Xia should look for one like that in the future.” Having clarified Qiu Xia’s future partner, Gong Si looked quite relieved.

Then-

“No, that’s just a dream lover.” Xi Liu smiled.

“Huh?”

“Meaning it doesn’t exist. Be realistic and have Qiu Xia look for a more reliable Vessel.” Still grinning, Xi Liu poured a bucket of cold water over Gong Si’s head.