With Lu Li relentlessly badgering him, Aseya found it completely impossible to focus on piloting the starship.
When Lu Li’s hands began to stray restlessly once more, Aseya finally reached the limit of his endurance. “Master, please sit properly and behave.”
But a thoroughly intoxicated Lu Li feared absolutely nothing in heaven or on earth.
Seeing that Aseya was still trying to ignore him, Lu Li’s face collapsed into an expression of pure, heartbreaking grievance. “Waaah… I knew it. My Ci jun doesn’t love me anymore.”
“There were so many bugs at the banquet tonight. Did my Ci jun take a liking to someone else?”
Watching Lu Li play the shameless rogue, Aseya was practically driven to a exasperated laugh. Yet, there was nothing he could do; one simply could not reason with a literal drunkard.
Thus, Aseya decided to steel his resolve, facing straight ahead to focus entirely on piloting the starship safely back home.
Seeing that Aseya still refused to engage, Lu Li became utterly convinced that his paranoid suspicions were correct. He began to throw an even grander tantrum.
“Waaaah! My Ci jun definitely fancies a new male Zerg! Waaah… are they even half as good as me? I can cook, I’m incredibly handsome, and I have a wonderful temperament! Plenty of other military females like me too, you know!”
“But I rejected every single one of them for you. Aseya, how could you treat me like this?”
“Waaaah… huff…”
As the alcohol fueled his runaway imagination, the genuine fear that Aseya had actually been lured away by another male caused Lu Li to quietly break down into real tears in the backseat.
Aseya was strictly concentrating on the flight path until the distinct sound of muffled, rhythmic sobbing reached his ears. No way… the Male Lord isn’t actually crying, is he?
Desperate to assess the situation, Aseya swiftly engaged the starship’s autopilot system and spun around in his seat to check on his partner.
The sight that met his eyes left him utterly stunned.
Lu Li was curled tightly into the seat, his broad frame trembling subtly. Silent, heavy tears were streaming down his face, pooling along his jawline before dripping down.
His lips were pressed into a tight, desperate line in an attempt to stifle his weeping, but he could only manage intermittent, hitching sobs. With his shoulders slumped hopelessly, he looked exactly like an abandoned puppy mourning in isolation.
Those eyes, usually brimming with radiant brilliance, were now entirely drowned in a watery mist. Each rolling teardrop seemed to voice the profound depth of his drunken grievance.
Staring at Lu Li’s thoroughly pitiful state, Aseya felt a violent, agonizing tug in his chest. It felt as though Lu Li’s tears were physically breaking his heart into pieces.
Aseya scrambled out of his seat, instantly pulling Lu Li tightly into his arms and murmuring a frantic string of comforts.
“I am so sorry, Master. My attitude just now was unacceptable. I should never have made you feel insecure. I am so sorry, Master.”
As he spoke, Aseya gently leaned his face close to Lu Li’s, pressing his warm, soft lips against a stray teardrop that was just about to fall from the male’s cheek.
Aseya’s kiss was as light as a feather, yet it was saturated with boundless heartache and profound tenderness.
Under the soothing touch of Aseya’s lips, the flow of tears finally ground to a halt. Lu Li’s trembling frame gradually began to settle into a calm stillness against his chest.
Slightly placated by Aseya’s frantic explanations and affectionate actions, Lu Li’s emotional state showed signs of improvement. Still, his eyes remained bright red as he looked up, demanding answers to get to the bottom of the matter.
“Then… did you take a liking to another male Zerg?”
“Of course not,” Aseya answered without a shred of hesitation. “I only love my Male Lord.”
“Really?” Lu Li pressed, seeking absolute certainty.
“Really.”
Having finally extracted a satisfactory response, Lu Li’s tightly knit brows slowly unraveled. With unshed tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes, his face instantly split into a brilliant, radiant smile.
“Swear it. You must swear that you will only ever love me.”
An intoxicated male Zerg was vastly more childish than his sober self, yet he was infinitely more endearing. Aseya readily indulged his whim.
“With the Great Insect God as my witness, I solemnly swear that I will only ever love one bug in my entire existence Lu Li. Should I ever violate this oath, may my spiritual energy violently implode, resulting in a agonizing demise.”
Before Aseya could even finish the traditional declaration, Lu Li’s hand abruptly shot up, firmly clamping over his mouth. “Forget it! Don’t swear anymore! That oath is entirely too brutal. I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you.”
Once again, Aseya was deeply moved by the sheer, overwhelming tide of Lu Li’s affection.
He leaned forward, pressing a tender kiss against the palm of the hand currently blocking his lips. “It won’t happen, Master. Aseya will never violate his oath. Aseya will only ever belong to you.”
Chime. You have arrived at your destination.
The cold, mechanical voice of the starship’s AI broke the silence.
“Master, let us head inside our home first,” Aseya whispered softly into Lu Li’s ear.
“Okay,” Lu Li mumbled, instantly extending his arms and practically scrambling to drape himself all over Aseya’s body.
Seeing the incredibly clingy, endearing way Lu Li was demanding to be carried, Aseya simply scooped him up into his embrace in one smooth motion.
Finding his objective successfully achieved, Lu Li relaxed with immense satisfaction. However, his amorous intentions were far from spent; he began clumsily angling his face, trying to press his lips against Aseya’s.
“Aseya, kiss me.”
Aseya was thoroughly amused by Lu Li’s brazen, unvarnished roguishness. He had fully expected a drunk male to throw a violent tantrum, not act like a horny scoundrel.
It was a profound stroke of luck that it was he standing beside the male tonight. If it had been any other female with ulterior motives…
With that disciplinary thought in mind, Aseya captured Lu Li’s lips in a punishing, deliberate kiss. Yet, seeing how thoroughly satisfied and blissful the male looked under his touch, a wave of playful dissatisfaction rose in Aseya’s chest.
Thus, the smooth kiss morphed into a series of light, deliberate nips and bites.
“Mmh… ah…”
The sudden change in sensation left Lu Li slightly breathless, and he issued two soft, throaty hums of protest.
“Protest denied,” Aseya murmured against his lips, his voice dropping into a low register. “Remember this feeling well, Master. In the future, if you are intoxicated, you are strictly forbidden from letting anyone kiss you like this. Consider this your lesson.”
Though he called it a bite, Aseya’s teeth never applied real pressure; it was far more akin to a highly sensual, teasing flirtation. He could never bring himself to actually hurt Lu Li.
Besides, as long as he was alive, he would always be right by Lu Li’s side when the male drank. He would never afford any other female the slightest opportunity to intervene.
After a monumental effort, Aseya finally managed to guide the incredibly clingy Lu Li back into their private bedroom. The moment he lowered him onto the mattress, however, Lu Li bolted right back up.
“I want to take a shower,” Lu Li announced stubbornly.
“Let us sleep first, Master. You can bathe tomorrow morning when you wake up, alright?” It wasn’t that Aseya wanted to deny him cleanliness, but given Lu Li’s current level of cognitive impairment, entering the bathroom alone was an absolute safety hazard.
The surfaces would be slick with water, and he was deeply terrified of Lu Li slipping and injuring himself.
“No! I want to wash now! I… I feel uncomfortable… my skin feels sticky…” Hearing Aseya attempt to refuse him, Lu Li’s voice immediately took on that dangerous, tearful tremor again.
Terrified that the male was on the verge of shedding tears for a second time, Aseya instantly capitulated to his demands.
“We’ll wash, we’ll wash! Please don’t be upset, Master.”
Coaxing the throwing-a-tantrum male with endless patience, Aseya supported Lu Li’s weight as they transitioned into the adjoining bathroom. He initiated the water flow first, filling the massive tub.
Fearing that a deeply drunk Lu Li might accidentally submerge himself, Aseya purposely kept the water level exceptionally shallow, intending to use it as a temporary distraction.
“Master, are you capable of removing your garments and stepping into the tub by yourself?”
“Please soak for a short while, and call for me the moment you are finished.”
Having laid out the instructions, Aseya cast a lingering, worried look at the male before stepping out toward the threshold.
He had barely cleared the doorway when a sharp, echoing Thud! shattered the silence.
Aseya spun around, sprinting frantically back into the room.
As it turned out, Lu Li had merely accidentally knocked over a bottle of body wash.
Thank goodness. Aseya let out a ragged breath, his heart hammering against his ribs. He was terrified the male had fallen.
Meanwhile, Lu Li was currently locked in a fierce, losing battle with the buttons of his formal shirt.
“Aseya… it won’t open. Help me undo it.”
Forget it, Aseya reasoned internally, choosing not to hold a drunkard accountable for his actions. Swallowing down a massive wave of burning shyness, he stepped forward and reached out to unbutton Lu Li’s shirt.
One button, two buttons, three buttons…
As the fabric parted beneath his fingers, Lu Li’s bare torso was gradually unveiled before Aseya’s eyes.
Lu Li possessed broad, imposing shoulders tapering down to a remarkably lean waist—a classic, flawless inverted triangle silhouette. His musculature wasn’t overly bulky or exaggerated; rather, it manifested in beautifully defined, lean, and athletic contours.
Even though this was definitively not the first time Aseya had laid eyes on his partner’s physique, the sheer visual impact still sent a fierce, uncontrollable blush burning across his face.