The very instant Lu Li laid eyes on Aseya, the suffocating knot of worry in his chest finally unraveled, and his heart settled back into its rightful place.
“What happened, Aseya? Were you held up by something? Why are you back so late today?”
Now that Aseya was safely home, Lu Li’s frantic urgency dissolved. He stepped closer, pairing his questions with a look of soft concern.
Witnessing how deeply his master cared for his well-being, Aseya chose to withhold the truth. He desperately wished to spare the young male from unnecessary anxiety.
More than that, a deep-seated terror clawed at his heart—he was terrified of catching even a flicker of revulsion or fear in Lu Li’s eyes.
The suppressant he had injected earlier should keep his psychic wavelengths stable for a while longer.
Later, Aseya promised himself. Sometime in the future, when the time is right, I will tell him everything.
“It is nothing severe, Master. I was simply delayed by a few administrative loose ends at headquarters.”
Hearing Aseya’s reassurance, Lu Li let out a long, sweeping sigh of relief. “Good. I was genuinely worried that a brainless fool like Stefe had marched over to your division to cause a scene. As long as you’re alright.”
As he spoke, Lu Li reached out and pulled Aseya into a tight embrace.
Only when he held the solid weight of the general in his arms could he anchor his mind into a state of absolute peace.
Craving the intoxicating warmth Lu Li provided, Aseya raised his arms, wrapping them tightly around the male’s waist to return the gesture.
“Master… no matter what I might become in the future, you will never abandon me, correct?”
Aseya desperately sought an absolute vow from his male. Only when Lu Li articulated those boundaries could he truly allow himself to believe that he was cherished, and that his presence was genuinely desired.
“Of course, Aseya. Your Master will love you for eternity.”
“Alright, Aseya, let’s head over to the dining room first. I slow-simmered a special pot of savory broth for you today.” Lu Li attempted to gently ease back from the embrace, but Aseya’s grip remained unyielding, tightening as if he wished to press Lu Li directly into his very soul.
“Just a moment longer,” Aseya’s low, muffled voice vibrated against Lu Li’s ear.
“Alright, alright.” It was an absolute rarity for Aseya to articulate a personal desire, and Lu Li found himself wanting to grant him the entire universe, no matter how demanding.
To satisfy a request this simple was a privilege.
By the time the two finally made their way back to the dining table, the beautifully prepared dishes had grown cold.
Lu Li stood up, gathering the plates. “I’ll go reheat these quickly. It won’t take a minute.”
Aseya reflexively moved to help, but was instantly anchored back into his seat by a soft, soothing command from Lu Li: “Be good, Aseya. Just sit.”
Hearing those words, Aseya froze, rendering himself completely stationary. He sat perfectly upright in his chair, his eyes tracking Lu Li with docile obedience.
Once dinner concluded, Lu Li suddenly leaned in with a bright suggestion. “Would you like to watch a movie with me, Aseya?”
When it came to Lu Li’s invitations, Aseya’s default response was absolute, unconditional compliance.
“I would love to.”
Conveniently, the expansive estate came fully equipped with a state-of-the-art media theater. Lu Li mixed a pair of custom beverages, and hand-in-hand, the two glided down the corridor toward the theater room.
Lu Li deliberately cued up a romance film.
When lounging through a movie night with your wife, sweet, sentimental romance is the mandatory standard, he reasoned.
The film commenced with a nostalgic sequence detailing the two main characters’ youthful school days.
Lu Li looked over, his mind wandering. What did Aseya look like during his teenage years?
He was undoubtedly more delicate and youthful, but did he maintain that exact same frosty, unreadable expression back then?
Imagining a pint-sized version of his military general, walking around with a rigid, icy demeanor that defied his tender age, struck Lu Li as incredibly endearing.
With his brilliant intellect, young Aseya must have been a legendary figure across campus—the golden model student who mastered every discipline with effortless grace.
Wait… did he have an endless line of noble males hounding him with courtship advances back then?
The mere trajectory of that thought caused a massive surge of jealousy to ignite in Lu Li’s chest.
“Aseya, did a lot of males try to pursue you when you were a student?”
Faced with the sudden inquiry, Aseya found himself caught in a dilemma. He harbored no desire to trigger his master’s temper with the raw truth, yet fabricating a blatant lie was out of the question, Lu Li was highly cognizant of his aesthetic appeal.
Left with no alternative, Aseya answered honestly, “There were… a great many.”
In reality, given the predatory social hierarchy of the Zerg empire, the behavior of those noble males couldn’t be classified as “courtship.” For a physically flawless, elite military female like Aseya, the term “relentless harassment” was far more accurate.
A great many? Just how many is ‘a great many’? Lu Li thought sourly, aggressively stabbing the ice cubes in his glass with his straw.
But he quickly forced the irritation down. It doesn’t matter how many historical suitors crawled out of the woodwork at the end of the day, Aseya belongs entirely to me as my legal First Husband!
“What should I do? I’m completely swimming in jealousy now, Aseya,” Lu Li whined, leaning over to press his weight into the general’s shoulder as he cooed shamelessly. “You need to coax me out of it. I’m officially miserable!”
Uh… how exactly does one placate a jealous Male Lord? Aseya thought frantically. The military academies had offered zero tactical directives on domestic emotional management.
Then, a sudden realization sparked in Aseya’s eyes.
He awkwardly tilted his frame, leaning in close toward Lu Li.
Originally, Aseya merely intended to plant a soft, reassuring kiss against Lu Li’s cheek. However, it was as if the young male had perfectly anticipated the trajectory; with a fluid twist of his neck, Lu Li shifted his alignment, causing Aseya’s lips to land squarely against his own.
Aseya’s eyes widened in sheer shock. He hadn’t expected Lu Li to execute such a shameless counter-maneuver.
Yet, before he could orchestrate a retreat, the sensation of those thin, soft lips shattered the last of Lu Li’s restraint. The simmering hunger in his chest erupted.
Yanking Aseya forcefully into his embrace, Lu Li locked a firm hand against the back of the general’s head, cutting off any avenue of escape.
Then, he pressed his lips downward with an intense, burning ferocity. Aseya let out a soft tremor beneath the sudden, dominant onslaught, but within milliseconds, he dissolved entirely into Lu Li’s fiercely possessive rhythm.
Amidst the intoxicating heat of the kiss, Aseya caught the faint, sugary notes of the custom beverage Lu Li had been sipping.
Lu Li had evidently crafted a low-proof cocktail; the crisp sweetness was laced with a sharp, subtle kick, rounded out by the deep, rich aroma of fine alcohol.
Together, they shared the intoxicating aftertaste of the vintage.
When the kiss finally concluded, both were breathing in shallow, ragged gasps. They rested their foreheads together, their noses brushing in the dark. Lu Li’s fingers trailed along Aseya’s cheek with feather-light tenderness, his lips curving into a profoundly satisfied grin.
Their eyes were glazed with shared affection, and their lips bore a flush of deep crimson, glistening enticingly under the dim theater lights. They simply remained locked in each other’s arms, silently basking in the warm, syrupy afterglow of their intimacy.
“Master…” Aseya managed to murmur, his voice thick. “Weren’t we supposed to be evaluating a film?”
“We are. Look, isn’t the movie playing right now?” Lu Li responded lazily, his entire posture exuding an aura of absolute contentment.
Aseya couldn’t comprehend how a simple movie night had escalated into this.
And yet, he loved every single fraction of this outcome.
As for the actual progression of the plot, neither paid the screen any genuine attention. By the time they refocused on the display, the narrative had reached its resolution the protagonist male and his chosen female were executing their official marriage registration, elevating the female to the rank of Ci jun.
However, in keeping with the rigid realities of Zerg culture, the epilogue subtly revealed a cluster of sub-spouses and female slaves trailing closely behind the household’s master.
The saving grace of the narrative was that the male character explicitly favored his primary spouse above all others.
Reviewing the conclusion, Lu Li clicked his tongue in profound dissatisfaction. Who on earth drafted this script? The two main characters achieved domestic union; there was absolutely no narrative necessity to clutter the household with a horde of attendants at the final second.
Then again, given the systemic oppression of this world, the local military females likely considered a male who offered them a modicum of favoritism to be an absolute saint.
“Aseya, I will never permit another attendant or slave to cross the threshold of our home.”
Aseya recognized that Lu Li was articulating this specifically to guarantee his happiness. However, his cognitive faculties had completely stalled under the weight of the evening’s intimacy, leaving his mind floating in a warm, hazy fog. No matter what concepts Lu Li vocalized, his mouth could only form a compliant murmur:
“Mm.”
“Aseya, do you find your Master handsome?”
“Mm.”
“Aseya, I want to sleep in your bedchamber tonight.”
“Mm.”
Wait… what? Aseya’s internal gears suddenly ground to a halt. The Male Lord intends to share his mattress again tonight?
Securing the verbal confirmation, Lu Li’s grin widened with triumph.
“Let’s go then, Aseya. Escort your Master back to your quarters,” Lu Li urged with immense enthusiasm.
Still wrapped in a dazed, compliant fog, Aseya allowed himself to be guided down the hall and directly into his personal bedroom.
It wasn’t until they stood side-by-side in the master bath, the cool, refreshing stream of water cascading over his face, that Aseya’s rational consciousness fully locked back into place.
A short while later, the two lay side-by-side beneath the heavy sheets.
In truth, Lu Li harbored an immense desire to envelop Aseya securely within his arms. However, the stark, unyielding physical proportions of their respective Zerg sub-types forced him to abandon the ambition.
Sigh… my wife is literally built wider and taller than me. Truly tragic.
But no matter. If the mountain wouldn’t bow to him, he would simply scale the mountain.
If his wife wouldn’t fit into his embrace, he would simply fit himself into his wife’s.
Shifting his weight with determined effort, Lu Li systematically wiggled his way directly into Aseya’s chest. Finding a perfectly contoured, satisfying position against the general’s frame, he closed his eyes and drifted happily toward sleep.
Watching Lu Li systematically burrow into his torso like a determined puppy, Aseya felt his heart completely melt into a puddle of sheer tenderness.
The Male Lord is truly too adorable.
Gazing down at the soft crown of Lu Li’s hair, Aseya closed his eyes, allowing himself to sink into a deep, peaceful slumber.
Inside the quiet room, the gentle, synchronized rhythm of their breathing filled the dark.