The next morning, Blairand prepared to return to the military headquarters to report on his duties. Before leaving, he carefully locked the front door and hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the iron gate outside the garden, ensuring no one would visit uninvited. Only then did he pilot his aircraft toward the headquarters.
Although this operation had taken a considerable amount of time, it had successfully eradicated the major threats posed by the Klayt Alliance and the Black Hawk Alliance in one fell swoop. Upon their return yesterday, the news had already caused quite a stir at the military headquarters.
When Blairand arrived at the military headquarters, the corridors were bustling with activity. The military females passing by were all in a hurry, their faces tense with urgency. The usually solemn atmosphere of the office was instead filled with the clamor of voices:
“Damn it, how many times do I have to say this? The interrogation rooms in Division Two are already full—stop sending more prisoners here!”
“There are still over 200 interstellar pirates being held in the detention rooms waiting for interrogation. Can you speed up your work?”
“The wanted posters are out! Distribute them to all districts immediately!”
A clerk hurriedly dashed out of the office, clutching a stack of sketches, on his way to the printing room to finalize the layout. Suddenly, a hand stopped him in his tracks. Startled, he looked up and realized it was Blairand. Straightening up immediately, he saluted, “Major General!”
Blairand responded with a faint “Hmm” before asking, “What are you carrying?”
The clerk explained, “These are sketches of fugitives based on the confessions of those star pirates. General Saphir has ordered us to compile the information and upload it to the star network, with a hefty bounty attached to the wanted notices.”
Hearing this, Blairand took the stack of sketches and flipped through them. Among the drawings, he saw the portrait of a one-eyed minor leader and a handful of lackeys. However, on the last two pages, glaringly evident, were wanted posters for Ah Sui and Xu Cenfeng. Though the drawings weren’t particularly accurate, the distinctive features of black hair and black eyes were unmistakable and sufficient for identification.
Blairand handed the sketches back to the clerk without revealing any emotion. “Carry on,” he said calmly.
After the clerk left, Blairand headed straight for General Saphir’s office. Upon reaching the outer door, he pressed the doorbell. Moments later, with a soft “click,” the office door automatically unlocked.
“Come in,” came the voice from inside.
At that moment, General Saphir was seated behind his desk, organizing interrogation files. When he saw Blairand walk in, he instinctively paused what he was doing and asked in surprise, “Blairand, what brings you here?”
He distinctly remembered that Blairand had taken sick leave yesterday due to health reasons.
Blairand raised his hand in a crisp salute. “Apologies, General Saphir. I came today to report on the Klayt Alliance leader’s prison escape.”
Hearing this, General Saphir immediately understood. Leaning back into his chair, he said slowly, “General Aks has already reported this to me. Letting those two interstellar pirates escape was indeed a failure on your part. However, your contributions in the cleanup operation were significant. During yesterday’s meeting, the other officers and I agreed that your merits outweigh your mistakes. Therefore, no disciplinary action will be taken against you this time.”
Having worked in the Intelligence Division for several years, Blairand was well-acquainted with its inner workings and knew this matter wouldn’t simply be brushed aside. “Is that all?” he asked calmly.
General Saphir sighed, a hint of regret in his expression. “You performed outstandingly in this cleanup operation. By all rights, you had a strong chance of being promoted to Lieutenant General during this year’s evaluations. However, because of your oversight in allowing the prisoners to escape, that promotion will likely be postponed indefinitely. In the meantime, prepare a self-reflection report and submit it to the Military Education Office within the next couple of days. It’ll keep them from clinging to this issue further.”
Blairand didn’t seem disappointed. A promotion to Lieutenant General could come at any time, but if Ah Sui were caught and thrown into prison, it would be far more difficult to rescue him. His thoughts drifted to the wanted posters from earlier. With a slight nod, he turned to General Saphir and gave a respectful shoulder salute. “Please give me a chance to redeem myself. I’ll handle the remaining star pirates and capture them.”
However, General Saphir shook his head. “There’s no need for that. I’ll grant you a half-month leave. Take this time to rest at home. As for the pursuit of the fugitives, I’ll assign another officer to handle it.”
Blairand was momentarily stunned by the remark. “Why?”
General Saphir gave him a long, meaningful look before replying, “Blairand, it seems your estrus period is approaching. Yesterday, Chief Harrington contacted me over the phone and mentioned wanting to help you choose a mate. Taking this opportunity for some rest wouldn’t be a bad idea. After all, mental instability during this time is a serious issue, and it needs to be addressed.”
Chief Harrington was Blairand’s female father.
At these words, Blairand’s expression flickered for a moment, and his thoughts seemed to drift somewhere else. After a brief pause, he bowed respectfully to General Saphir and, without saying another word, took his leave.
Although it was nearing winter in Salaranfa, the garden’s artificial plants remained lush and green. Only by opening the window could one feel a hint of the desolation that belonged to the winter season.
Ah Sui had spent the entire day in the house, but it wasn’t too boring. The cleaning robot downstairs had been enough to keep him entertained for quite a while. Not to mention, Blairand’s games on his brain chip—though unfortunately, Ah Sui couldn’t read well, so he could only play the simplest one, “Star Wars.”
At three in the afternoon, Ah Sui opened the balcony door on the second floor and sat on the railing to bask in the sun for a while. However, when he looked across the street, he suddenly saw a young couple walking out of a nearby villa. In a panic, he quickly flipped over and hid inside the house, fearing that he might be spotted.
“Huh, there are actually zergs living across from Blairand’s house?”
Ah Sui had good eyesight. Hiding behind the curtains, he peeked outside. He saw one of the zergs had blue hair and gray eyes, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He looked refined and scholarly. The other zerg had silver hair and red eyes, dressed in a military uniform similar to Blairand’s. His right leg appeared to be injured, and he walked with a slight limp.
The street was empty, with no other pedestrians in sight. The blue-haired zerg, noticing this, subtly pulled the female zerg next to him into his arms, supporting him discreetly to help him walk more easily.
Ah Sui furrowed his brows instinctively, a strange sense of familiarity rising within him. He stared at the silver-haired female zerg’s limp for a moment before slowly looking away—his Grandpa San had also limped on one leg.
As Ah Sui thought about this, he glanced outside again, but the young zergs had already disappeared from sight. He walked back out onto the balcony, leaning on the railing and curiously looking downstairs. He thought to himself that these two zergs had high noses and deep-set eyes, with hair colors that were strange and unusual, completely unlike his Grandpa San.
Later in the evening, Blairand finally returned from the military headquarters in his aircraft, carrying a rectangular black box in his hand. He opened the door and walked upstairs. Seeing that Ah Sui was obediently staying in his room, the tension in his chest finally eased.
“Ah Sui.”
Blairand entered the room, wearing slippers, and called out to Ah Sui in a low voice. His tone was like a piece of jade smoothed by the passage of time, warm and gentle, making one’s heart flutter with a soft, pleasant sensation.
Ah Sui had been lying on the bed, using his brain chip to browse the star network. Hearing Blairand’s footsteps, he instinctively turned his head. When he saw Blairand holding something in his hand, he quickly threw off the covers and got up to take it from him. “Huh, you’re off work already? What’s this black box?”
Blairand remained silent. He raised his hand to loosen his tie and took off his military jacket, hanging it on a nearby coat rack. Only then did he reply, “Why don’t you open it yourself and see?”
Ah Sui hefted the box, noticing it was quite heavy, but he couldn’t guess what it might be. He placed the box flat on the floor and unlocked it. Inside, he found a beautifully crafted, ancient-looking long sword—his own sword, the one he had lost in the wild. His eyes widened in surprise as he exclaimed, “It’s my sword! When did you find it?”
Blairand watched as Ah Sui held the sword with obvious affection, almost as if he were cradling a gold brick. He walked over to him, flicking the sword’s scabbard with his fingers. “It’s just a sword. Is it really worth this much excitement?”
Ah Sui nodded seriously. “This is a family heirloom. It can’t be lost.”
Blairand couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. “I took this sword from the evidence room, but in the future, try not to take it out when you go into town. It might draw too much attention.”
The researchers at the institute had accidentally discovered the unique material of the sword and wanted to keep it for study. Blairand had to file reports and make requests, going through quite a bit of trouble to get it out of the evidence room. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so late getting off work today.
“I understand. The sword is too dangerous. I won’t take it with me when I go out in the future.”
Ah Sui finished speaking, placed his sword to the side, and leaned in to kiss Blairand. His dark, gleaming eyes were filled with a subtle smile. Blairand felt a slight itch and instinctively turned his head to avoid it. However, as he retreated, he accidentally stumbled and sat down on the bed, only to have the male zerg close in on him.
Once again, it was a passionate and lingering kiss.
Blairand closed his eyes and held the male zerg in his arms, his fingertips slowly weaving through the soft strands of hair. As he felt the gentle, heated kiss on his lips, he couldn’t help but become a bit disoriented, his emotions in turmoil. In a hoarse voice, he murmured, “Ah Sui, don’t…”
Ah Sui, however, did not stop. It seemed as though he was carefully studying something. His hand, accustomed to gripping a longsword, deftly undid Blairand’s clothing fastenings, focusing intently on the female zerg’s body. Finally, he turned the other over and kissed the zerg markings on the back of his neck.
Blairand, whose mind had been clouded, trembled violently like a jolt of electricity when Ah Sui kissed the back of his neck, a soft, whimpering cry escaping his throat. Struggling to break free from the male zerg’s grasp, he accidentally brushed against the terminal brain placed by the bedside. The screen, still on, continued playing a restricted video released by the Empire to promote fertility.
Blairand froze upon seeing this, forgetting even to struggle. “…”
Ah Sui, who had been focused on kissing the female zerg’s fair neck, suddenly sensed something was off. He raised his head and froze, his actions coming to a halt as well. “…”
Blairand frowned, taking a deep breath, his face still flushed. He struggled to turn his head and look at Ah Sui. “Who showed you this?”
Ah Sui blinked innocently. “It was pushed by the website.”
The Empire spared no effort in promoting the fertility rate, and restricted instructional videos were everywhere on the star network pages. Ah Sui, unable to read, accidentally clicked on one. Half surprised, half embarrassed, he ended up watching several of them. When he returned, he wanted to try it on Blairand.
“…”
Blairand didn’t say anything. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Ah Sui was too innocent and shouldn’t be exposed to all that nonsense online. When the female zergs received their education at school, those were mandatory courses, some of which even involved gruesome methods to please the male zergs—whips, shackles, and other extreme measures that left nothing untouched.
Regardless of the reason, Blairand didn’t want Ah Sui to be exposed to these things. He took a deep breath, barely managing to suppress the rising desire, and sat up from the bed, closing the videos on the light brain. “Don’t watch these again in the future, understand?”
Ah Sui’s ears twitched, realizing that he’d been caught in the act. He felt a little embarrassed and murmured, “I understand.”
Blairand still felt uneasy, so he added another layer of password protection to the terminal brain before finally feeling at ease. When he turned his head, he saw Ah Sui staring at him eagerly. After a brief hesitation, he asked, as he usually did, “Want to go to the bathroom? I can help you?”
The two of them had done everything except the final step.
Ah Sui, however, shook his head in refusal, offering no explanation. The once innocent gaze in his eyes seemed to hold a trace of deeper desire, yearning for more.
Blairand didn’t notice. He remembered that he still had official business to attend to, so he tidied up his clothes and pulled Ah Sui over to the desk. “How about I teach you to write? You still can’t read, so it’s better to learn now while it’s early.”
Ah Sui didn’t refuse.
Blairand rummaged through a stack of practice books, took a fountain pen, and wrote four or five characters on the paper to teach him their pronunciation. Then he let Ah Sui practice on his own. As for Blairand, he sat down on another chair by the desk and began writing a self-reflection letter.
Ah Sui noticed that the characters in the Salaranfa script looked a bit strange, as if they were scrambled Earth characters. He could make out a few of them.
For example, the first three large characters Blairand was writing looked very similar to “self-reflection letter.”
Suddenly, Ah Sui spoke up, “Are you writing a self-reflection?”
Blairand hadn’t expected Ah Sui to ask that, and he didn’t hide it. “Mm, just need to write a few thousand words.”
Blairand had always lived his life by the rules and never made mistakes, so this was the first time he had to write a self-reflection letter. It was unsurprisingly a bit awkward, as he carefully considered each word and phrase.
Ah Sui peeked over at him, trying to pick out the characters he recognized from the jumble of strange ones. Surprisingly, he managed to spot a few familiar phrases:
“Negligence,” “Escape,” “Request for suspension.”
Ah Sui wondered if Blairand was being punished for letting him and Xu Cengfeng escape. He wanted to ask but didn’t know how to bring it up, so he could only stare at him, on the verge of speaking but holding back.
Blairand was very focused as he wrote the report, his expression serious. Occasionally, his brows would furrow slightly, and the side of his face, bathed in the warm glow of the desk lamp, gleamed with a jade-like radiance, epitomizing the word “beautiful” to the fullest. His long fingers held the pen, turning it absentmindedly a few times. The cuffs of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and though his aura was still refined, it no longer held the same warmth as before. Instead, it now carried an air of restraint, a sense of chastity.
Ah Sui’s gaze was too intense, and Blairand seemed to sense something. He turned his head to look at him. “What is it?”
Ah Sui shook his head to signal that it was nothing, then handed over the characters he had practiced. “I’m done.”
Blairand thought to himself, How could it be finished so quickly? He took the notebook and flipped through a few pages, expecting Ah Sui had rushed through it with sloppy writing. However, to his surprise, the characters were elegant and graceful, each stroke showing strength and precision—more beautiful than his own handwriting. He couldn’t help but pause for a moment. “Did you write these?”
Ah Sui nodded.
Blairand was a bit surprised. “But you can’t read, can you?”
Ah Sui picked up a book from the desk and casually flipped through a few pages. “My great-grandfather taught me to practice calligraphy when I was young. I can read, it’s just that I don’t recognize the characters you use here.”
Ah Sui had learned many things when he was a child—archery, horseback riding, playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting—he hadn’t missed any of them. However, right after he transmigrated, he ended up in an interstellar pirate’s hideout, and all his talents had no place to be put to use.
Ah Sui finished speaking and then looked at Blairand. “I can also play the piano, ride horses, shoot arrows, and paint.”
Blairand waited silently for him to continue.
Ah Sui hesitated, then stammered, “I’m not completely useless.”
Blairand smiled. “I know.”
Ah Sui met Blairand’s gentle smile and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Despite being poor and having nothing to his name, he still hesitated and asked, “Then… can I give you something?”
Blairand was momentarily stunned by the question.
Ah Sui could also do origami.
He had just used the paper on the desk to fold a beautiful heart-shaped ring. After speaking, he handed it to Blairand with a serious and earnest tone. “This paper ring is for you.”
Then, he added as an afterthought, “When I earn money in the future, I’ll buy you a gold one.”
In Ah Sui’s mind, gold was the most precious and the best.
Blairand hadn’t expected to receive a gift from Ah Sui. He lowered his gaze and carefully examined the paper ring in his hand, then slid it onto his ring finger. To his surprise, it fit perfectly. His heart softened for a moment. “Why give me a ring?”
Ah Sui couldn’t fold anything else. Hearing Blairand’s question, he shook his head. “There’s no reason. I just wanted to give it to you.”
He wanted to give Blairand his sword even more—the sword was worth far more—but unfortunately, Blairand didn’t want it.
Blairand wanted to say that in the Salaranfa culture, it was typically the female zergs who gave gifts to the male zergs, and it was rare for a male zerg to give gifts to a female. However, the words died on his lips.
He liked Ah Sui’s gift, and he hoped he would receive more in the future.
Blairand set down his pen and absentmindedly stroked the ring on his finger. “This one’s made of paper. It’ll wear out if I wear it too long. Will you give me other gifts in the future?”
Ah Sui knelt beside him, resting his chin on his hand as he seriously promised, “I’ll give you a gift every year, for a hundred years.”
Blairand was puzzled. “Why a hundred years?”
The female zergs’ lifespan was a full two hundred years.
Ah Sui counted on his fingers and answered, “Because I can only live for a hundred years. I’m already in my twenties this year, and since I practiced martial arts, I’ll live a little longer, but I’ll probably have about a hundred years left.”
His great-grandfather was already 139 years old this year.
Ah Sui wasn’t as remarkable as his great-grandfather, so he had set his own lifespan at 120 years.
Blairand couldn’t help but wonder where Ah Sui had come from, as he kept saying strange things every day. He shook his head, not giving it much thought. Instead, he found an expensive, intricately carved wooden box to carefully store the ring, so it wouldn’t get damaged by accident.
As Blairand took a shower that evening, he couldn’t help but think about Ah Sui’s promise from earlier. Standing under the showerhead, his back pressed against the cool porcelain tiles, he thought to himself that the female zergs of Salaranfa were indeed similar; a few kind words from a male zerg could easily leave them swooning.
Although Blairand didn’t consider himself to be that kind of zerg.
Although, for a moment, he truly felt his heart flutter at Ah Sui’s words.
Blairand wet his hair and reached for the shelf, only to realize that the shampoo was empty. He called out through the door, “Ah Sui?”
The bathroom door opened a crack, and Ah Sui poked his head in, asking, “What’s wrong?”
Blairand’s vision was blurry from the steam. “Can you open the storage cabinet and see if there’s any shampoo in there?”
Ah Sui heard the request and went back to search for a moment. He brought a bottle of shampoo into the bathroom, tore off the packaging, and placed it on the washstand. Noticing that Blairand’s hair had grown long, reaching his waist, he asked, “How about I help you wash it?”
Blairand paused at the sound of the offer, unsure whether he should refuse or not.
Seeing that Blairand didn’t refuse, Ah Sui took it as his silent consent. He rolled up his sleeves, squeezed a bit of shampoo, and then carefully worked up a lather as he began to wash Blairand’s silky, beautiful golden hair.
The videos on the star network had said that the female zergs from the southern regions were all beautiful, obsessed with their appearance, and loved cleanliness. Though Ah Sui didn’t know whether Blairand cared about being beautiful, it was clear that he definitely valued cleanliness.
Blairand didn’t refuse either. In the soft sound of flowing water, he turned around and embraced Ah Sui, reaching out to grasp the wet edge of his clothes. Seeing the male zerg seriously washing his hair, for some reason, it reminded him of the kiss that had abruptly ended earlier today.
Blairand wanted to make up for it. He reached out to undo Ah Sui’s belt, biting the male zerg’s earlobe. His voice was somewhat muffled by the sound of the flowing water, like a beautiful dream: “Ah Sui, should I help you?”
Upon hearing this, Ah Sui paused his movements. He neither rejected nor accepted, as if he were contemplating something. His hands slowly slid down to the slender waist of the female zerg, and when he lowered his gaze, his brows and eyes appeared especially deep, like a clean ink painting—pure and beautiful. “I…”
Ah Sui’s voice was hoarse, filled with hesitation. He gently kissed Blairand, pressing him against the wall, and after a long while, his face flushed as he slowly spoke:
“Can you teach me… how to mark you?”
Marking represented possession.
The videos on the star network said that if you wanted to be with a female zerg, you had to mark him.
Ah Sui had just reached the crucial part when Blairand discovered him. He had secretly opened his neural interface, but without the password, he couldn’t log in and had no choice but to seek the female zerg’s help.
Blairand’s heart skipped a beat.
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![He Lived Like You [End of the World]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/HLLY.jpg "He Lived Like You [End of the World]")
A Sui being blocked by ‘child protection settings’ is hilarious and does this mean Blairand will need to teach him personally? Ohoho