“I didn’t…”
Gu Yuan tried to explain himself but before he could finish, Luo grabbed the collar fastened around his neck.
In order to communicate better with the young male zerg, he had been maintaining a half crouched posture from the very beginning. That position made the collar at his throat easily within Luo’s reach.
The collar was yanked tight, constricting around his neck. A faint sense of suffocation spread through him, cutting off his ability to speak, while at the same time forcing him to lower his head along with Luo’s pull.
The Empire’s hound, the undefeated General, lowered his head just like that, docile, compliant, completely unguarded as he exposed the stretch of his neck beneath the dark, tousled strands of his hair.
Luo was burning with anger and he gave the collar another hard tug yet the moment his eyes caught sight of the red marks forming along the side of Gu Yuan’s neck where the leather bit into his skin, his hand loosened instinctively.
Marks left by anything else… he didn’t like them.
He rose up onto his toes, wrapping both arms around Gu Yuan’s neck, his nose tingling as he sniffled softly, then whispered by his ear,
“Then hug me.”
Thud!
The tablet and the rabbit plush slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor, landing on the wooden boards of Gu Yuan’s bedroom, cushioned by the soft carpet. The dull sound they made echoed in that instant, overlapping perfectly with the pounding rhythm of Gu Yuan’s heartbeat.
Something that had been deliberately ignored seemed, at last, to be breaking free from its cocoon.
The young male zerg at his side remained on tiptoe, what had begun as a simple embrace gradually turning into soft, fleeting pecks.
Every inch of skin not covered by the collar was kissed by him. Luo’s voice was thick and clinging, as though it carried a pool of water within it:
“Earlier, Luo bit Yuanyuan in the livestream. Yuanyuan got angry.”
“Luo knows he was wrong… you’re not allowed to ignore me…”
His spine, bent for so long, had already begun to stiffen. The hand he had raised at some unknown moment, intending to push Luo away, remained suspended midair, unmoving.
Only when the ache in his arm dragged him back to his senses did Gu Yuan realize just how ridiculous his current posture was.
“Luo, this isn’t right…”
He tried once more to explain but the moment another soft sob sounded by his ear, his voice died completely.
All explanations seemed so pale and powerless in the face of the young male zerg’s pitiful yielding. Gu Yuan even began to reflect, whether his abrupt decision to distance himself from Luo had been too cruel for a hatchling.
Thinking of the outcome of his negotiations with the Male Protection Association over the past three days, the guilt that had already begun to take root in him deepened further. The hand that should have pushed Luo away ultimately turned into a light, tentative embrace.
That embrace felt like a silent acquiescence. The familiar tendrils once again coiled up from Gu Yuan’s waist and abdomen, winding upward, teasing at the neck restrained by the collar, trying to slip into the tightly sealed gap beneath it.
In truth, no matter where he was, ever since Luo had touched him, that segment of tendril had never left him.
Perhaps, from the moment he had clearly felt the restraint around his wrist yet had not stopped it, everything had already been destined to unfold as it had now.
“Mm…”
Luo didn’t know how to undo the collar, so he could only force the thinnest tip of a tendril into the already tight band, poking and prodding at Gu Yuan’s not yet fully recovered gland in uneven motions.
Gu Yuan pressed his lips together, enduring in silence.
Luo continued to hold him, his chin resting against Gu Yuan’s shoulder, making it impossible for Gu Yuan to move recklessly.
Under the restraint of the tendrils, he couldn’t turn his head to look at Luo. Because of that, he couldn’t see the expression on Luo’s face at that moment,
There was a faint smile lingering there.
The young male zerg, who should have been shedding tears, only had slightly reddened eyes. After embracing Gu Yuan, taking advantage of the fact that the other couldn’t see him, he didn’t even bother to conjure tears anymore, merely forcing out a sobbing tone to voice his grievance.
Sensing the increasingly rich scent of the female zerg’s pheromones in the air, Luo let out a quiet laugh, lowering his gaze to press another kiss against the side of Gu Yuan’s neck, drawing a shudder from the female zerg in his arms.
In truth, what the livestream comments had said wasn’t wrong at all.
Luo thought with satisfaction.
As long as he cried, Gu Yuan wouldn’t be angry anymore.
Not only would he not be angry, he would even bend down to let him kiss him, let him touch that sensitive gland.
Occasionally pretending to be an ignorant hatchling really was worth it.
Thinking this, Luo controlled the tendrils, letting them push further, inch by inch, greedily exploring downward.
He wanted… to bite the gland.
More and more slender tendrils slipped into the collar, causing the already tight leather band to bulge unnaturally. It pressed so hard that Gu Yuan could barely breathe, forcing his mouth open as he gasped helplessly for air.
The already dark shade of Luo’s eyes deepened further.
The collar was on the verge of breaking and behind him, the tendrils followed their instinct, moving toward Gu Yuan’s slightly parted lips. They tentatively brushed against them, eager, as though ready to push inside.
“Ding dong”
At that moment, the doorbell suddenly rang from outside.
“W… wait…!”
Gu Yuan struggled free from Luo’s restraints in a disheveled state. Ignoring his numb legs, he forced himself to stand steady, breathing hard.
“There’s a visitor. It should be the Male Protection Association. I’ll go open the door.”
“… ”
Luo said nothing. His gaze only darkened slightly as his tendrils climbed up Gu Yuan’s back. He watched obediently as Gu Yuan hurriedly straightened his clothes, sprayed an entire bottle of air freshener, then took him by the hand toward the door.
As expected, it was the Male Protection Association.
This time, it wasn’t Bai Langdi who had come but Tan Geng, the one who had brought Bai Langdi along to collect his blood sample when he had just hatched.
And three unfamiliar zergs whom Luo had never seen before.
Being inexplicably interrupted in the middle of feeding, Luo wasn’t in a particularly good mood but Gu Yuan treated the three individuals behind Tan Geng with great respect, giving a slight bow in greeting before stepping aside to let them enter. Luo had no choice but to follow along reluctantly.
He stayed a step behind Gu Yuan, watching the visitors with caution.
They were all female zergs like Gu Yuan but none of them smelled as pleasant as he did.
Wasn’t Gu Yuan supposed to have a poor relationship with the Male Protection Association? Why did he seem so familiar with these people now?
As the group settled peacefully into their seats, Luo, having learned quite a bit about zerg society and the Empire’s basic situation from the livestream over the past three days, was utterly perplexed. He raised his hand, about to grab Gu Yuan’s.
Gu Yuan silently shifted aside and Luo’s hand grasped at empty air once more.
Why was he ignoring him again?
Before Luo could even begin to feel aggrieved, a familiar voice sounded from ahead:
“Don’t you think one male with multiple females is strange? I don’t want to marry so many female zergs.”
“Mar… riage. What does that mean?”
“So that’s how it is. Then Luo wants to marry Yuanyuan.”
These were all things he had said in the livestream.
Tan Geng had compiled footage from the livestream incident three days ago along with Luo’s words over the past few days, editing them together and now playing them directly before everyone using his terminal.
Luo froze.
Were they insane? Why were they even editing clips of what he said during his livestream?
The video wasn’t long, mostly just snippets of Luo’s daily activities during his streams. It ended in just over two minutes.
Tan Geng cleared his throat and spoke in an official tone:
“The above constitutes part of the visual materials compiled by the Male Protection Association. In light of the livestream incident three days ago, combined with the behavior displayed by His Highness the male zerg during these past days, the Empire and the Association have held discussions and unanimously concluded that the relationship between His Highness and the General is excessively intimate and that His Highness severely lacks basic life knowledge.”
“This is not conducive to His Highness the male zerg’s growth and it may even affect His Highness’s future choice of mate. For the sake of the future of the zerg race, we have unanimously decided to send His Highness to school to receive proper zerg education.”
“General Gu Yuan, let me confirm once more, you are in agreement with this decision, correct?”
Under Luo’s incredulous gaze, Gu Yuan nodded.
“Yes.”
Luo: ?!?!?
He hadn’t even agreed to go to school yet!
How could they decide to send him away without asking for his opinion at all?!
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
✦ END OF CHAPTER ✦ BEGIN COFFEE NEGOTIATIONS ✦
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · It’s Hatching!Chapter 2 · Mealtime!Chapter 3 · Angry!Chapter 4 · F.. Found Out!Chapter 5 · SpeakingChapter 6 · RiceChapter 7 · Live BroadcastChapter 8 · XiongbaohuiChapter 9 · Bullet CommentsChapter 10 · I’m sleepyChapter 11 · WrongedChapter 12 · Going to SchoolChapter 13 · ChoiceChapter 14 · Knock KnockChapter 15 · NoisyChapter 16 · AccidentChapter 17 · WingsChapter 18 · CrowChapter 19 · General is blushingChapter 20 · RiotChapter 21 · The Insect EmperorChapter 22 · Good BoyChapter 23 · UnconsciousChapter 24 · DisappearanceChapter 25 · Tail HookChapter 26 · ReturningChapter 27 · DepartureChapter 28 · ReunionChapter 29 · Played with by tentaclesChapter 30 · Moist, Damp EyesChapter 31 Part 1 · Gu Yuan, do you like me?Chapter 31 Part 2 · Gu Yuan, do you like me?Chapter 32 · Don’t cry, sweetieChapter 33 · Reproductive tentaclesChapter 34 · Even if you kill me, I won’t grow backChapter 35 · Lord Evil GodChapter 36 · Why not refuse?Chapter 37 · He can cry; he’s not a monster.Chapter 38 · Some alternative ways of boiling waterChapter 39 · Why aren’t you kissing me?Chapter 40 · Here, my command is the highest orderChapter 41 · The Evil God’s Disguise Makes its Grand DebutChapter 42 · Be the breeding ground for my eggs.Chapter 43 · Carrying EggsChapter 44 · MasterChapter 45 · CryingChapter 46 · InterrogationChapter 47 · LikeChapter 48 · The TruthChapter 49 · ConfessionChapter 50 · Identity ExposedChapter 51 · BackgroundChapter 52 · SuspicionChapter 53 · The Feeling of HungerChapter 54 · SleepingChapter 55 · The NameChapter 56 · Memories (1)Chapter 57 · Memories (2)Chapter 58 · Memories (3)Chapter 59 · Gu YuanChapter 60 · A Falling KissChapter 61 · MonsterChapter 62 · RabitChapter 63 · Bathroom