The farce between the cubs finally concluded with Yun being “mortgaged” to stay by Li Xi’s side.
Sparse starlight was scattered across the thick night sky. The surroundings were silent, save for the sound of footsteps. The path leading to the Ancient Tree was remote and desolate, lacking even a single streetlamp; they had to rely on the faint moonlight to discern the trail beneath their feet.
Two small figures, one in front of the other, walked in silence along the flagstone path.
“There’s a step.”
Female Zerg had excellent night vision, but the cub before him seemed to have very poor vision in the dark, something Yun hadn’t noticed at first. Throughout the walk, Yun had been immersed in the words spoken by the high-ranking male Zerg, unable to wrap his head around them. However, after Li Xi tripped twice over pebbles and nearly tumbled into the nearby grass, Yun was forced to devote half of his attention to the other boy.
Li Xi’s toe bumped against a raised step. He paused for a moment before letting out a low “Oh,” then lifted his foot and continued forward. Once he had scaled the steps, Yun waited a moment before following at a leisurely pace.
Li Xi kept his eyes cast down, watching the ground to prevent being tripped by the uneven surface. Whenever the path became rough, the voice reminding him would timely appear from behind. Thus, the journey went relatively smoothly.
After leaving the main residence, Yun had fallen into a state of total silence. Li Xi didn’t know what he was thinking. This stagnant atmosphere persisted until they arrived in front of the villa, where things finally began to soften.
“Did a thief break into your house?” Yun blurted out suddenly.
Li Xi: “…?”
Yun pointed to the half-open door, his eyes darting inside warily as he whispered, “The door is open.”
Li Xi thought the child had actually seen a thief and was startled, but it turned out he was just talking about the door. He hadn’t closed the door when he left; it would have been stranger if he had locked it. Li Xi walked in calmly, showing no signs of fear, as if this was exactly how things should be.
“…” Yun understood.
As if sensing their presence, the lights gradually flickered on. The design was very logical: first, a warm dim light glowed, followed by a bright white light that illuminated the entire first floor. The crystal tassels by the floor-to-ceiling windows tinkled in the night breeze. The interior style leaned toward warm tones, with cub toys scattered about, creating a cozy atmosphere.
Yun momentarily forgot his previous unhappiness and gasped, “You live here?”
“Mm.” Li Xi stood by the door, signaling for the child to come in. The nights on the Home Star were not as warm as the days; a chill began to seep in.
Because of the fight, Yun’s clothes were filthy, so he didn’t dare sit directly on the sofa. Instead, he sat primly on the carpet, clutching a bottle of high-grade nutrient solution. His purple eyes, however, were darting around, extremely curious about everything in the room, with a trace of subtle longing hidden deep within them.
The rooms of female Zerg cubs were mostly simple and didn’t place much emphasis on refinement or comfort. What exactly was this cub’s status? He lived in such a remote place, yet he was clearly highly valued. Before they left, that S-rank Excellency had even called him over to say something, though Yun hadn’t heard it from that distance.
Li Xi pushed the remaining snacks on the table toward him. Seeing this, Yun shook his head and pushed them back. “I’m not eating. You eat.”
Li Xi had eaten cupcakes today; his stomach felt heavy from the sweetness, so he didn’t really want to eat these things either.
The only sound in the air was the tinkling of the crystals. Since Li Xi was sitting on the sofa, Yun had to look up at him. He broke the silence first, asking tentatively, “What is your relationship with that S-rank Excellency?”
Li Xi lowered his gaze, staring at the nutrient solution in his hand. After a long silence, he said slowly, “Relative.”
Yun: “Oh.” He added, “He treats you very well.”
Li Xi didn’t respond. Seeing that Li Xi seemed disinterested, Yun was smart enough not to ask further.
The clock on the wall chimed, signaling one o’clock in the morning. Yun stared blankly for a moment, then remembered something and clutched his head in despair. “I have to get up early for class tomorrow! Ugh…”
On the way back, Li Xi’s spirit had already become exhausted, but since the child seemed energetic, he hadn’t said anything.
Yun scratched his hair and asked, “Are you going to sleep?”
“Mm.”
“Then go to sleep quickly.” Yun prepared to find a random place to spend the night. Looking around, he found that only the sofa would suffice. He pointed tentatively at the long sofa Li Xi was sitting on. “Um… can I sleep on the sofa?”
Of course, a bed would be better, but since it was his first time here and he had come as a “guilty Zerg” to look after the other, he felt it wasn’t right to make extra demands.
Li Xi looked down, considering the feasibility of the child’s idea. Yun waited for about a minute without seeing a nod or a shake of the head. It was as if the boy had reverted to the dazed, silly little cub from their first meeting.
He: “…”
“I might be dirty, so sleeping on the floor is fine too,” he proposed again. Some female Zerg had a strong sense of territory; he didn’t know if this cub was one of them. But surely, he wouldn’t be made to sleep outside? Although he occasionally slept at the open-air training grounds, that was an unpleasant experience he didn’t want to repeat. Whatever—he just needed a place for the night.
Li Xi finished the rest of his nutrient solution and stood up, stopping the child from lying down.
Yun: “Ah?” He’s really making me sleep outside?
Li Xi pointed upstairs.
No other Zerg lived in this house, so the guest rooms were dusty and didn’t even have beds. The news of the child staying over had been too sudden; there hadn’t been time to clean the guest rooms that were never used, and many daily necessities were missing. Li Xi could only take Yun to his own room. Fortunately, the bed was large enough for the two of them. Sleeping downstairs felt too much like he was mistreating a child. His remaining conscience pricked him: No mistreating children!
Li Xi found a pillow and a thin quilt from the top of the wardrobe. Then, from the very bottom, he pulled out a set of simple, less-childish pajamas for the child to change out of his dusty evening wear.
“Remember. The clothes.”
Yun had gone through too many ups and downs today. His energy was spent, and his brain was slow. It took him a while to realize that Li Xi was reminding him of his promise by the river to compensate him for the ruined clothes.
He pointed at the closet full of clothes. “Don’t you have plenty of clothes? Do you really need those one or two pieces from me?”
Hearing this, Li Xi snatched back the “normal” pajamas from the child’s arms and held them protectively like treasures. He tossed over a bright yellow set with a tail instead. “You wear this.”
Yun was stunned for a moment, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two sets of clothes. He tugged at the large furry tail, gave an awkward laugh, and quickly snatched the original pajamas back. He changed his tune decisively: “I do! I’ll buy them for you!”
He changed obediently, finished a quick wash-up, and sat on the bed. When Li Xi emerged from the bathroom, he saw the child propping up his chin, half-asleep but forcing his heavy eyelids to stay open. He was facing the bathroom as if waiting for him. Li Xi kindly steadied the wobbling little head and pointed to the bed.
Yun let out a yawn and said weakly, “I was waiting for you. How can I sleep if you don’t come out?” Good upbringing told him that one shouldn’t be too reckless when staying overnight at someone else’s house—though he couldn’t be completely unrestrained at his own home either.
“…”
Li Xi was perplexed by this—could he not sleep if he didn’t come out? He patted the empty space beside him, signaling for the child to go to sleep.
When Li Xi opened his eyes, the child was still fast asleep beside him, not looking at all like a cub who needed to get up early for school. By the time Li Xi finished washing up, the child was still dreaming, curled into a ball like a silkworm cocoon under the quilt, with only a tuft of blonde hair showing.
Li Xi went downstairs, drank a bottle of nutrient solution, and played a few rounds of children’s puzzle games, yet the child still hadn’t come down. The clock chimed the hour. Li Xi glanced at it—eight o’clock. He didn’t know the exact time for school, but eight o’clock, with the sun high in the sky, surely counted as being late.
Li Xi waited another ten minutes before deciding to go upstairs and wake him. First, he gave a nudge, but there was no reaction. Then he pulled a tuft of hair. The child muttered hoarsely, “Don’t bother me.” After saying that, he pulled the quilt over his head.
Li Xi: “…”
He grabbed a corner of the quilt but hesitated to pull it away; it felt a bit impolite to flip the quilt off a member of the opposite sex. Although Li Xi didn’t truly feel they were “opposite sexes,” the Zerg race classified them as males and females. Li Xi had completely forgotten that he had seen someone else’s Zerg marks in the hospital not too long ago. So what was the problem with sleeping in the same bed last night? They were both just children.
Li Xi looked at the sun hanging high in the sky, stared at the sleeping boy for a moment, and then made a trip to the Ancient Tree. When he reappeared by the bedside, he held the green snake that had been missing since yesterday. Without hesitation, he tossed the green snake onto the bed. Under his intense gaze, the snake slowly found a gap and slithered into the covers, fulfilling its only current purpose: waking the kid up.
Yun woke up to a jolt of cold stimulation. His eyes were half-slitted as he subconsciously grabbed at his neck. He held the object before his eyes, staring blearily at the blurry mass. It was wriggling… cold, green, and through the hazy morning light—a red snake head…
Yun rubbed his eyes, his brain slowly booting up.
“AH—”
He bolted upright, flailing his hands wildly. A snake!
“Li He—there’s a snake on your bed!” Yun screamed while flailing.
Li Xi, leaning against the glass, gave a soft response.
Thud—
The green snake was flung away. Stars danced before its eyes as it crawled around stumbling. Unable to see what was ahead, its head hit the wall with a dull thud. Unable to take any more, it slumped down limply.
Li Xi: “…”
Yun: “…”
Waking up to such a scare, Yun was now completely alert. He flopped back down helplessly and asked with a long, lazy drawl, “What time is it?”
Li Xi: “Eight…”
Before ten seconds had passed, Yun “zoomed” upright again, staring blankly at the cub standing against the light. He repeated the word in a daze: “Eight?”
Li Xi nodded calmly.
“Eight o’clock?” Yun asked cautiously and tentatively, a hint of panic in his tone.
“Thirty,” Li Xi added.
Yun swallowed hard. “Eight-thirty?”
Li Xi nodded.
Upon receiving the confirmation, Yun’s eyes widened, his morning grogginess replaced by sheer terror.
“I’m doomed!!!”
Ten minutes of “chaos” ensued. Yun dashed out the door like a whirlwind.
Half an hour later, he returned dejectedly.
Li Xi: “…”
Li Xi watched the child lying face-down on the sofa, feeling somewhat puzzled. Yun pulled a cushion over his head, leaving only a bit of golden hair visible, looking quite depressed. After a while, a muffled explanation came out: “I took a leave of absence. My backpack is at home. Ugh… by the time I get from here to my house and then to school, they’ll almost be finished for the day!”
He rolled off the sofa onto the carpet, staring blankly at the ceiling. He clutched a Kachi-beast cushion and played dead, his face a picture of despair. How had his biological clock failed him?! This semester, he had been absent for most of the time because of a certain male Zerg. If this continued, he would fail all his final exams. At the thought of that male Zerg, a flash of ferocity and irritability crossed Yun’s eyes.
Fortunately, the carpet had just been changed and was quite clean. Even rolling around on it wouldn’t make him too dirty. That incongruous flash of ferocity naturally didn’t escape Li Xi’s perception, but he said nothing.
Li Xi placed the small cookies he had taken from the banquet in front of the child and tapped the plate with his finger. The movement was a bit like feeding a small pet. The crisp sound caught the attention of the brooding Yun. He looked up to see the cookies neatly arranged on the plate. He only took one, pushing the rest back exactly as they were. He wouldn’t steal a little cub’s snacks.
Yun quickly recovered from his sadness and started chatting casually. “How old are you?”
Li Xi held up five fingers.
“We’re the same age?” Yun frowned, sizing up the cub with baby fat on his cheeks, and said in surprise, “You haven’t gone through your childhood awakening yet, have you?”
Whether male or female, around the age of four, Zerg would face the first threshold of their lives—childhood awakening. Only after that would they officially get on the right track: going to school, socializing…
Li Xi’s puffed-out cheeks didn’t stop moving as he focused on eating the cookies. The subtle sound of chewing reached Yun’s ears. Seeing that the cub hadn’t answered, he switched to another question: “What is your name, actually?”
Li Xi remembered they had already exchanged names at the hospital. He gave the curious child an unfathomable look and swallowed his food. “Li He.”
Yun simply thought the cub couldn’t distinguish between a given name and a family name. He repeated patiently, “Your name, not your family.”
Li Xi still said, “Li He.” Before the child could correct him again, Li Xi added, “Name: Li He.”
As he pronounced the name “Li He,” Yun seemed to remember something. His puzzled gaze became serious and dangerous. He asked thoughtfully, “Your name is Li He… Jonah?”
Please let it not be, he prayed in his heart.
“Mm.”
Yun was stunned. Female Zerg only had single names; only males had…
“You’re not a… male Zerg, are you?”
Li Xi nodded hesitantly. It should be Jonah; he had heard his Female Father say it before.
Yun bolted upright, suddenly grabbing Li Xi, and said in utter shock, “Did you just nod?!”
Li Xi: “…”