Tracy rose from the bed while the Zerg was still fast asleep.
Adonis was curled into a ball, his lips having regained their natural flesh-pink color, his brows still slightly furrowed.
Tracy reached out to smooth them, but the Zerg opened his eyes, and the first words that spilled from his throat were: “Don’t…”
Tracy rubbed his nose, feeling a bit sheepish.
It seemed he had indeed been a bit excessive last night.
But how could he be blamed? He was a young man who had just tasted the fruit of intimacy, having been bottled up in this world for over a decade, and finally possessing a fragrant, soft, and compliant spouse. A moment of lost control was perhaps to be expected.
He coaxed his spouse, gently massaging Adonis’s waist: “Is it still sore?”
Adonis pursed his lips.
The unspeakable scenes from yesterday played back in his mind.
He never knew there were so many ways to use ropes.
He also never knew that one day he would cry so intensely, weeping from both ends at once, yet feeling no pain, only pleasure.
The male’s tail barb was twitching, and Adonis keenly noticed that the silver-white tip of the barb was slowly being covered in a layer of black-gray, as if it were developing a hard outer shell.
This was all because of him.
Seeing Tracy leaning closer, Adonis shuddered.
He pushed his Lord away and fled in a panic: “I will go prepare breakfast for you.”
The bedroom door slammed shut. Tracy stroked his chin, standing up with an embarrassed expression.
Was he really that terrifying? He was being avoided as if he were a flood or a ferocious beast.
However, for the first time, he gained a concrete sense of the terrifying recovery abilities of the Zerg.
The Zerg, who had been as limp as a puddle of water yesterday, was now walking as if flying. There was absolutely no trace that his lips had been swollen, his legs had been trembling, or that he had been hoarsely begging for mercy just a short while ago.
So, could he have been even harder on him?
Adonis had no idea what Tracy was thinking.
He arrived in the living room and froze for a moment, unable to help himself.
Oh, this was indeed his home, the renovated version courtesy of the male.
Adonis’s cooking skills were quite good. Tracy sat at the dining table, wearing a one-hundred-percent filter of adoration for his spouse, and happily ate a simple fried egg with sea salt and black pepper.
Adonis, however, had a plain, dry fried egg on his plate, with no seasoning at all.
“Eat well to recover,” Tracy winked at him, then took away his seasoning jars.
It was not that dramatic. The Zerg wanted to argue, but in the end, he obediently finished the flavorless egg.
“Are you resting at home today?” Tracy suggested.
The Zerg instinctively wanted to agree, but hesitated before shaking his head.
He apologized: “I can only stay with you for the morning. I have training at the squad this afternoon.”
“Alright then,” Tracy said, wiping his mouth with a silk cloth.
How should he spend the morning?
He suggested going out for a stroll.
“This is our second day of marriage, after all.”
Everything had been prepared in such a rush that they had not even chosen rings.
Tracy dressed with great enthusiasm, eager to take his spouse to the Central City for a shopping spree.
After yesterday, he still had some money left. Piecing it all together, he had about three thousand contribution points.
Surely that was enough for a simple pair of wedding rings?
However, Tracy had underestimated the cost of living on the First High-Level Planet. After walking around for a while, he realized he could not even afford a ring with a diamond.
As Adonis followed Tracy around the shopping mall building again and again, even a dull person would have understood the other’s intentions.
“Do you want a ring?”
He looked at Tracy’s empty knuckles and felt he had been incredibly dense.
How had he never thought of this?
Perhaps it was because Tracy was unlike those males draped in finery and jewels; he was always clean and radiant, looking stunning even without any adornments.
Perhaps it was because Adonis had always focused his gaze on Tracy’s face, thus overlooking the fact that his neck and hands were bare.
Adonis took the male’s hand and led the hesitant Tracy directly into a jewelry store.
Unlike the display stands on the first floor of the mall that Tracy had seen, this store was located in a standalone villa; the decor and fragrances were exceptionally luxurious.
Beyond jewelry, they sold matching clothing and accessories, but the prices were shockingly high.
“Hey, hey, Adonis!”
As soon as they stepped into the gallery, Tracy saw the first exhibit. Under the spotlight, its brilliance was so dazzling he could barely open his eyes.
Tracy felt his hair bristle. Seeing the deferential Sub-Zerg clerk approaching, he lowered his voice, shocked: “Did you not see that long string of zeros after the number?”
Adonis glanced at the price tag.
“I can afford it.” He could draw advance contribution points based on his credit rating.
Most of the exhibits here could be substituted with rare beast materials of equivalent value.
At worst, he would just have to put in some effort and make a few more trips to the asteroid belts.
Tracy: “…” But he could not afford it.
Although it went against his initial plan, Adonis was determined to pick out a ring for him. Since his spouse would not budge, Tracy had no choice.
He tried on a few, but did not find anything he particularly loved.
Although they only had the morning, the Zerg was very patient.
There were many males in this jewelry store. Some were gathered together, laughing and talking. When they saw the new arrivals, one of the males’ eyes lit up.
“Adonis?”
The male, Bonnie, walked toward Tracy, his tone familiar: “I have not seen you in a while. How are you doing now?”
He was wearing a full set of high-end jewelry, and under his white hood, his face looked pure and beautiful.
Adonis stiffened. He looked at the green-eyed male and nodded, but did not speak.
Tracy acutely sensed a feeling of crisis.
Sure enough, the male ignored him entirely, completely unfazed by Adonis’s coldness: “Uncle Lite wanted to ask me to help you with mental power soothing, and he even sent me many gifts.”
He puffed out his chest, the high-end emerald set shining brightly.
“I had already agreed, but I did not expect you to stand me up and choose this low-level male instead.”
“Why?” He tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled.
“I heard you spent a million just to marry him. And now you are here… he must be very good at spending money, right?”
He clicked his tongue as he appraised Tracy, giving Adonis a meaningful look.
“Do not get swindled too badly, Adonis. Even though you earn contribution points quickly, relying on you alone will not be enough to satisfy a male’s expenses.”
Seeing Adonis not reply, treating him like air, Bonnie felt snubbed.
He did not get angry; instead, he signaled the clerk to bring out all the rings Adonis had looked at and tried them on one by one.
In just three to five minutes, he waved his hand and bought them all. The Zerg behind him paid the bill.
“Who is he?” Tracy’s mood was not very pleasant.
He was in no rush to leave anymore and leaned against the counter.
The Sub-Zerg clerk sensed the subtle atmosphere and hurriedly left; they did have other, larger clients to serve, after all.
Like this Lord Bonnie, a famous A-class male and a huge celebrity across the Zerg race.
His quota for spouses and concubines had long been filled; following behind him now was a sex-slave Zerg.
The other party was also a military Zerg, currently kneeling at Bonnie’s feet, putting on his latest pair of shoes.
When Bonnie frowned, he kicked his foot onto the slave’s shoulder, signaling him to change into a new pair.
A group of Zergs was busy around him; he was clearly the biggest spender in this jewelry store.
But he was clearly different toward Adonis.
He had come over specifically to greet him and casually offered an olive branch.
Tracy narrowed his eyes: “He seems quite familiar with you.”
“I am not familiar with that male.”
Adonis looked up and explained: “I know him because of my father.”
He smiled: “He is a male my father took in. For a period of time, he lived in our family estate.”
“So you were childhood sweethearts?”
Tracy sensed a threat. He squeezed Adonis’s hand, feeling dissatisfied: “Why did you not ask him for mental power soothing?”
“Because he is an annoying male.”
Adonis lowered his eyes: “I do not like him.”
If it were before, seeing Bonnie there, he would have frowned in disgust and turned away. But today, out of consideration for Tracy, he had not wanted to cause trouble; he had not expected the other to approach them.
The other was boisterous, as if intentionally trying to attract their attention.
Tracy accepted Adonis’s explanation quite graciously, but clearly, his mood was not as high as it had been when they first arrived.
“This place is no good; I do not like any of them. Let us call it a morning.”
Tracy lost the mood to try on rings, and the morning was almost over anyway. He checked his terminal and walked out of the store first.
Adonis watched the male walking faster and faster and helplessly tugged on the hem of his garment.
“Anything else?” Tracy stopped, and the Zerg could not brake in time, almost bumping into his back.
Tracy crossed his arms with a mocking smile: “Want to go back and see your little childhood sweetheart?”
“You have misunderstood,” Adonis said, lowering his eyes. The mottled sunlight fell on his face, making him look cold and distant.
He raised his eyes, and in the light and shadow, Tracy saw his own reflection.
He was frowning, as if he were… angry?
Tracy touched his face.
No way.
Was he really getting angry just because a male said a few ambiguous words to Adonis?
He remembered he had not been this petty before.
But the Zerg accommodated his emotions well.
He stayed silent for a moment, then took Tracy’s hand and led him under the shade of a tree.
“At first, we did live under the same roof, but that did not last long. My father, Lite, took Bonnie away and moved out of the estate, while I continued to live with my father, Morris.”
The terminal vibrated; the troops were urging him.
He calmly swiped it away, ignoring the summons, and continued to explain.
“Perhaps he does have some feelings for me,” Adonis said, pursing his lips. He could feel that the atmosphere between the two males was off.
There was nothing to hide, then.
“However, I rejected him. I did not want that male to be my Lord, even if we grew up together.”
Getting a definitive answer, Tracy felt much more at ease.
The Zerg’s terminal beeped incessantly.
“The reason I rejected him, I will confess to you tonight when I return. May I?”
The Zerg knelt on one knee, as if he would not stand until he had obtained his permission.
Tracy agreed.
Adonis went to the troops after being summoned but made sure to send Tracy home first.
However, Tracy still could not help but check Bonnie’s profile.
Little guy, he was actually quite good-looking.
A-class?
A hundred million followers?
Tracy was surprised to discover he was also part of the All-Star Streamer Development Program.
He had debuted much earlier than Tracy and was now practically a top-tier male celebrity in the Zerg world; no wonder he was so arrogant.
He had spent much more money than Tracy ever could, yet he had the gall to call him a swindler.
Tracy felt baffled by the accusation he had been forced to shoulder, but he could not deny it.
He did take a large sum of money from the other side.
He could not just sweep away the reality of the profit just because the other party was willing.
Therefore, starting a stream to earn money was absolutely urgent!