“Ha, you really are something else for a Male.”
The Female sighed, supporting his forehead with one hand while the other eye flickered with a cold, bloodthirsty glint. “You truly are not afraid of death, are you?”
“I gave you a warning.”
The corners of the Female’s mouth curled upward significantly. An indescribable excitement and a craving for tearing flesh made the muscles around his eyelids twitch mechanically.
Arachne could not help but grin widely.
He, more than anyone, hoped that Males would remain incorrigible; the more arrogant the Male, the more he liked them.
When he tore open that skull, would the Male still be able to say those words with such a fearless expression?
He truly wanted to see it, the sweltering heat of blood falling like rain.
One second, Arachne’s hand was normal.
The next, it twisted into a pair of gleaming, pitch-black scissors.
The Female’s muscles trembled unnaturally, and he lunged forward with the speed of a thunderclap, piercing through the wind.
“Wait, is this not Xiao Qi?”
Arachne’s scissors froze in place; a single chopstick had braced against the tip.
An old Insect with graying hair and a hunched back walked out from the house, speaking with pleasant surprise.
Clearly, this chopstick, which had stopped him from slicing through flesh, was not the work of the old Insect.
Arachne narrowed his eyes and followed the chopstick to a pair of hands that looked like white jade.
That Male used a chopstick to block his pincers?
Arachne’s first thought was that there must be some hidden mechanism in the chopstick.
But seeing the venom stain one end of the wood, gradually turning it as black as ink as it crawled toward the fingers holding it, Arachne became unsure.
This scene felt strangely familiar.
The sturdy Female, who had been acting as background scenery for a while, looked back and forth between the two.
One after another, people were stopping the killing of this Male. What was this?
A Matryoshka doll strategy?
“Xiao Qi, you are Xiao Qi, right?” The old Insect greeted him happily.
Both Lu Qing and Arachne took the opportunity to retract their respective weapons.
The chopstick could not be recovered due to the venom, so Lu Qing tossed it into the bucket he had brought.
The old Insect did not notice.
“Yes, Grandpa Lu.”
Sturdy Female: ?
Arachne: ?
They really know each other?
Shu whispered: “Lu lu zi, be honest with me. How many grandfathers do you have? I need to be mentally prepared.”
Lu Qing replied in a low voice: “No more.”
“Oh, you child! You came and did not even say a word.”
The old Insect happily took the young Male’s hand, his joy visible to the naked eye.
“Eh! Pipi, did you forget? This is Xiao Qi, the little uncle Lu who used to come over all the time when you were kids!”
“Xiao Qi? Xiao Qing??”
The sturdy Female’s eyes widened. Xiao Qi, Xiao Qing—of course! Grandpa always mispronounced names; he would call Xiao Qing “Xiao Qi.”
Over time, they had all started calling him that too.
“Boss, this is the little brother who used to visit our village. He is not a bad Insect.”
Pipi rubbed his nose, his expression looking quite awkward. Not only had he failed to recognize the guy, but he had also treated him like a villain.
Awkward, truly awkward.
“But, I remember Xiao Qi used to wear a visual aid. His body was so thin and weak. His nose, mouth, eyebrows, and hands were all tiny. When did he…”
When did he get so big?
The brothers had once predicted that Lu Qing’s future height would not exceed one hundred and seventy centimeters.
“How have you been at your Father’s house?”
The old Insect asked with concern.
Males were usually pampered. As relatives from Lu Qing’s Mother’s side, they could not provide Lu Qing with a high-quality life; staying with the Locke family was much more comfortable than this dilapidated place.
But for the past ten years, the old Insect had not seen Lu Qing.
That malnourished, timid little Male cub seemed to have vanished from the world, no longer existing.
Lu Qing smiled: “I have been quite well, Grandpa.”
The old Insect breathed a sigh of relief, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out into a smile. “Good, good.”
“Oh, right.” The old Insect looked behind Lu Qing. “Did you come alone today? Where is Xiao Ai? That quiet child was always by your side. Why did he not come with you today?”
The older generation always paid close attention to the younger ones, especially that older Female who used to follow Xiao Qi around like a shadow.
Never leaving his side, it was hard not to have a deep impression of him.
Shu glanced at Lu Qing secretly; there seemed to be no major emotional waves.
Makes sense. It has been so long, he should have forgotten his ex-boyfriend.
Lu Qing: “We parted ways.”
The old Insect nodded: “I suppose so. A military Female of that age should be out making a name for himself.”
Shu: I do not think he meant it the way you understood it, old man.
Arachne’s gaze lingered on Lu Qing’s back for a long time.
His vision followed the smooth curve upward to that pale, slender nape. He pressed his tongue against his back molars and let out a cold snort.
The four Insects entered the house and sat down.
The old Insect, smiling, stood up to prepare dinner for them.
“Grandpa, let me help.”
“I will do it.” Lu Qing stood up, pushing his sleeves up past his wrists.
Arachne looked at Lu Qing with a new emotion in his eyes: surprise.
One old and one young Insect worked together at the stove to cook.
Pipi felt a heavy gaze on his back, so he turned his head to look at Arachne: “What is it, Boss?”
“Nothing.” Arachne half-closed his eyes, his finger resting on the rim of his cup as he lazily watched the Male’s lean back.
If word got out that two Females were watching an old man and a Male cook, the brothers would surely mock them for being sex-obsessed and delusional.
Arachne also felt like he was dreaming.
But more than that, he felt a spark of interest.
“This little brother of yours, how old is he? Does he have a married Female?” Arachne admitted he was hooked.
From behind, the Male’s silhouette was very well-proportioned: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and an especially upright back. He was different from the Males Arachne had been with before.
Those Males were pretty, but they only knew how to cry during sex, which bored him. He would usually finish quickly and be done with it.
“Boss, Xiao Qi is a good kid. He takes relationships very seriously. You cannot just bully him.”
Pipi whispered nervously.
“Besides, he had a Female he grew up with. They were very close. He likely already has a partner.”
Arachne let out a cold sneer. With that ability to catch his transformed limb with a chopstick, could he even “bully” him if he wanted to?
To this moment, he still did not understand how a Male could use a chopstick to jam his giant pincer.
Arachne’s interests were fleeting; they came and went just as quickly.
Once the delicious food was served, his attention shifted entirely to eating.
“Do you know how much loss you have caused the family by doing this?”
Elliot remained silent, standing with his hands behind his back, letting the head of the Locke family berate him.
“You had a chance for a promotion, and now look! Not only is the promotion gone, but you almost got demoted!”
The head of the Locke family scolded: “Why did you not say your pheromones were disordered? Hmm?”
“You are like a block of wood all day, a block of wood with no romance! Is it that hard to take off your clothes and sleep? What is going through your head?”
Elliot pursed his lips. Every word from the Locke family head sparked a deep, unprovoked resentment within him.
The wound on his chest had not fully healed. With his bandages hastily changed, he had been brought back to the family by the Locke Insects to face criticism.
“Get married already. I have already released the news of your engagement. Stop dragging your feet and wasting time.”
Seeing Elliot’s silent and stoic appearance, the wrinkles on the elder’s brow deepened. He took a gulp of tea, slammed the cup down, and barked:
“I want to see results this year. Go back and reflect on your actions.”
Conversations like this repeated several times.
Elliot placed his forearm across his chest and bowed deeply, but for the first time, he felt a sense of weariness toward the orders of the Insect who had saved his life.
Marriage. It was always about marriage.
He turned and went upstairs, his mind in a state of turmoil, as if he were finally grasping onto something.
Thinking about it, Lu Qing had left on the very day he rejected the marriage.
Was it because I rejected the marriage?
Elliot instinctively bit his lower lip until he tasted blood. Why?
His hand gripped the jade pendant tightly, his fingertips turning white.
It was just not marrying him. Even if he married another Male, I could still interact with him like before.
We could still be like we were.
Elliot walked upstairs and looked toward the shadow at the corner of the second floor.
At the far left end of the hallway was Lu Qing’s room.
He walked toward it slowly.
His soles tapped against the wooden floor, making a creaking sound.
The room Lu Qing stayed in had poor lighting; it was rarely reached by the sun’s warmth.
Even during the day, the room was dim.
People usually said that dark, damp corners smelled of mold and were prone to pests, yet Lu Qing’s room always smelled fresh and clean.
Elliot opened the door and stared blankly at the unchanged room.
The position of the bookshelf had not moved. The pen holder and notebook on the desk were in the same place.
The quilt was folded into a neat, square block and stacked with the pillow, covered by a thin layer of dust.
As usual, he walked to the side of Lu Qing’s bed and sat down gently.
He carefully stroked the bedsheets.
He will come back.
Elliot felt the soft, cold temperature of the sheets and pressed his cheek against the fabric, rubbing it gently.
When he has had enough fun, he will come back to my side, just like before, right?
The Female murmured to himself, and the communicator on his wrist emitted a soft blue light.
A giant banner projected into the air:
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