Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 12/15/2024
Edited Date: 06/24/2025
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⟦ Do you want Kaier Ennuo to be your female attendant?⟧
When this message appeared on Chu Ci’s light brain, he was making coffee.
He took the mug from San San, poured the freshly ground coffee beans into it, and filled it with hot water. As the steam rose, he caught sight of the message flashing on his light-brain and nearly spilled the entire kettle.
San San followed him closely: 【 Master, please be careful. This is freshly boiled hot water and can easily burn your skin.】
“Alright.” Chu Ci placed the coffee cup on San San’s head and sat cross-legged on the sofa, opening the notification that had flashed across the screen.
His female monarch had just sent him… what?
⟦Do you want Kaier Ennuo to be your female attendant?⟧
That single glaring sentence appeared on his light-brain. Chu Ci made sure he wasn’t hallucinating. He read the ten characters forward, then backward, his face a picture of confusion.
“Kaier Ennuo… who’s that?”
Although Chu Ci had only recently parted ways with Dr. Kaier, male zergs generally had forgetful memories. Doctors rarely introduced themselves to males unless they had something important to discuss. The last time Dr. Kaier handed Chu Ci his business card took a lot of courage, but Chu Ci hadn’t even looked at it, just shoved it into his pocket and forgotten about it.
He clicked into the chat box, typing: “Who is Kaier?” Then he felt it wasn’t quite right, deleting those words and opening the Star Network’s unmarried female zerg matching interface instead.
Meanwhile, Nuo Wei placed his light brain to the side, his fingers lightly trembling against the table. He didn’t know if he had made a foolish decision, or if he might anger the male zerg and cause him to retract the kindness he had shown over the past few days.
The cursor blinked briefly, showing that the male was typing.
Nuo Wei held his breath.
After a moment, the cursor disappeared, and the male stopped typing.
The message box remained empty, with no new messages entered.
Nuo Wei stared blankly at the light brain, then silently clenched his hands together.
Chu Ci’s fingers flew quickly as he swiftly entered the matching website.
There was a designated matchmaking interface for zerg females. They couldn’t view any information about males, but males could browse through profiles freely—it was essentially a massive “zerg bachelor show.” Of course, there were restrictions. Males could only view up to one level above their own rank. For instance, a C-rank male could view up to B-rank files, but not A-rank.
Chu Ci was a rare A-rank. He could view all pending marriage profiles in the Empire. He opened the search bar, typed in Kaier Ennuo, and soon saw a passport-style photo of the doctor—blue background, white border.
Chu Ci might not remember the doctor’s name, but he still recalled the doctor’s face and the business card he had been handed. If Chu Ci still didn’t understand what nonsense his female zerg was worrying about, then he had been a human for nothing all those years.
He looked at Nuo Wei’s vague, respectful question and saw the blood marks on his palm, almost imagining how the female zerg had forcefully pinched the marks, then painstakingly crafted that message, word by word, filled with self-effacing care.
Chu Ci almost laughed out of sheer frustration.
If the female Zerg wanted to overthink, then so be it; but to overthink and then torment himself in the process was something else. Judging by how vivid the marks were, there was no way they were accidental. Chu Ci was sure the female Zerg had pinched hard, then pinched again to make those marks looked serious enough.
He opened the communicator. found the call interface, and hit video invite.
Nuo Wei was startled.
He’d already been sinking in despair, fingers twisted together so tightly that the knuckles had gone white. After seeing Chu C stopped typing, Nuo Wei figured the best-case scenario would be being ignored… and facing the consequences of overstepping once Chu Ci got home.
But he hadn’t expected Chu Ci to send a video call directly.
Panicking, he slipped on the light brain and tapped accept. The male’s face projected in the air.
Chu Ci looked slightly annoyed. He had a handsome, delicate face, and even when angry, he didn’t look fierce—his eyelids were lowered slightly, casting long shadows, his lips pressed into a straight line, and he looked very cold.
Nuo Wei was already feeling anxious, and when he saw Chu Ci’s expression, it jumped from three out of ten to seven out of ten. He helplessly stood up and, with his knees slightly bent, sank to the ground, biting his lip, saying, “My lord, I know I was wrong.”
Chu Ci hadn’t expected him to apologize outright. He paused briefly, then asked, “Wrong about what?”
Apologizing was the female zerg’s specialty, and Nuo Wei replied methodically, “According to the Female Monarch Manual, it is forbidden to disturb the male lord without reason. I disturbed you when you were resting, and that was my mistake.”
Chu Ci grew even more irritated.
His female was a beautifully carved wooden block—dense and stubborn. Chu Ci’s expression darkened. “Stand up.”
“…Yes.”
Nuo Wei wanted to say that it was customary to kneel when seeking forgiveness, but the male’s expression was far too grim. After a slight hesitation, he stood up.
Chu Ci said, “Show me your hand.”
Nuo Wei obediently held out his palm to the camera.
Chu Ci said, “Closer. Why are you keeping it so far? You’re afraid now?”
Nuo Wei had no choice but to offer his wrist more directly.
Nuo Wei’s ears tinged with a faint red.
Although the palm wasn’t an intimate part of the body, his usual activities, whether it was working or going into battle, always had the back of his hand facing outward. The last time he had spread his palm out for inspection was when Admiral Erwen had used a ruler to strike his hand.
Moreover, the male’s expression was so serious, his gaze examining the female zerg’s palm as though he were a discerning antique dealer appraising a prized artifact—every detail, shape, color, temperature was scrutinized meticulously.
For a moment, Nuo Wei felt as though his palm was some kind of commodity waiting to be appraised.
Finally, after completing his inspection, Chu Ci raised his eyes and spoke in a neutral tone, “Were you careless when you did this?”
Nuo Wei hesitated, “…Yes.”
“Tell the truth.”
Nuo Wei quickly looked up, then just as hurriedly looked down again, “…Yes.”
Lying to a male is a serious offense.
Chu Ci remained silent.
After a long pause, Nuo Wei couldn’t bear it anymore. He lowered his head, despondent, “No.”
Chu Ci asked, “Then how did these marks come to be?”
Nuo Wei hesitated, “…I did it myself.”
Chu Ci felt a headache coming on. He really wanted to crack open this female’s skull and see what nonsense was inside. Taking a deep breath, he was about to scold him when—clunk—Nuo Wei dropped back to his knees again.
He kneeled with military precision, posture flawless. Lips pursed, eyes downturned—he looked both pitiful and endearing. But Chu Ci could read the subtext written all over that downcast expression:
“I deceived you. Please punish me.”
The position made Nuo Wei’s entire weight rest on his knees and toes, muscles tense and aching. Chu Ci didn’t need to issue any additional punishment—just making him kneel all day would leave the female zerg aching.
He sighed softly, “I didn’t tell you to kneel. Get up. You don’t have to kneel from now on.”
Nuo Wei shook his head, “I deceived you, I don’t dare.”
This beautifully carved block of wood was as stubborn as a mule. Chu Ci was getting frustrated, his voice rising, “I said get up!”
Nuo Wei raised his eyes to look at Chu Ci, obediently standing up.
For some reason, Chu Ci felt a pang of sympathy for him.
Chu Ci sighed lightly, gesturing towards a chair beside him, “Sit down and talk.”
After Nuo Wei took his seat, Chu Ci’s expression softened, becoming gentler again. “Why would you hurt yourself like that?”
But Nuo Wei didn’t look at Chu Ci, not meeting his gaze, just staring at the floor. “Because you said if there’s a problem, I could come to you if I hurt myself.”
Chu Ci replied, “It’s not if there’s a problem, and you hurt yourself. It’s—if you ever face a problem serious enough to make you draw blood, then you should come to me. There’s an order to things. Do you understand?”
Nuo Wei, “Mm, I understand.”
But Chu Ci didn’t think he understood.
He had no better way to explain, so he lightly scrolled back through their chat history. His gaze paused for a long time on the photo the female had sent him. In a low, coaxing voice, he said, “Next time, if something happens, don’t hurt yourself that badly. Just a little pale is enough for you to come find me.”
Nuo Wei, “Mm, I understand.”
Though he replied obediently, Chu Ci inexplicably felt that Nuo Wei wouldn’t come to him again.
For a moment, Chu Ci didn’t speak, and Nuo Wei remained silent as well. In the suffocating silence, Chu Ci absentmindedly scrolled the wheel, and the chat interface refreshed abruptly. He paused, noticing that besides this current chat record with the female zerg, there was another chat record as well.
This conversation was from when they first matched, before Chu Ci was fully awake, still a reckless, scumbag zerg, speaking irritably and selfishly, completely disregarding the feelings of others.
Star Calendar July 21st:
Chu Ci: ⟦ Although the main brain matched you to me, I don’t like you. I’m only accepting you because you’re a Major General. ⟧
Nuo Wei: ⟦ Mm, I understand.⟧
Chu Ci: ⟦ I won’t restrict your freedom at work, but you need to hand over your assets. I also won’t touch you.⟧
Nuo Wei: ⟦ Mm, I understand. ⟧
Chu Ci: ⟦ I don’t like attending parties, they’re too noisy. We won’t hold a wedding; just sign the documents and send them to me. That’s enough. ⟧
Nuo Wei: ⟦ Mm, I understand.⟧
He was like a puppet programmed not to argue or debate, not to pursue or fight, just quietly accepting all arrangements and monotonously repeating, “Mm, I understand.”
But a puppet… wasn’t truly a puppet.
Inside Nuo Wei’s body… beat a real heart.
Chu Ci paused, realizing he had completely misjudged the situation—wrong in a big way, wrong to the point of absurdity. He had intended for the female Zerg to learn a lesson, so she wouldn’t resort to self-injury to ask questions next time. But he shouldn’t have spoken harshly to Nuo Wei, nor should he have been aloof. Nuo Wei had only just begun to tentatively emerge from his safe shell, and any little breeze could scare him back inside, let alone a storm from the male master.
“A block of ice three feet thick does not freeze in a day[mfn]冰冻三尺非一日之寒 – “Three feet of ice doesn’t form in a single day” This idiom means that a situation or problem has deep roots and didn’t arise overnight. [/mfn].”
From birth, female zergs like Nuo Wei were constantly suppressed and heavily conditioned by the world, by the rules they were expected to follow, and by Admiral Erwen’s education. Nuo Wei had experienced too many punishments for stepping out of line, and he was only willing to operate within those boundaries. As a result, he strictly adhered to the female monarch guidelines, treating Chu Ci’s promises as absolute truths. He even had to physically pinch himself before asking questions.
If he had grown up wrapped in gentle love, who would choose self-harm just to be noticed?
It wasn’t Nuo Wei’s fault.
Chu Ci felt a pang of empathy for him.
His heart was beating heavily in his chest, a mixture of sadness or perhaps regret flooding through him. Chu Ci moved the light brain closer, using the softest tone to coax the head lowered female zerg: “Nuo Wei, can you look up at me?”
Nuo Wei hesitantly raised his eyes, meeting the amber gaze of the male master. The coldness in those eyes had dissipated, leaving behind an emotion he couldn’t quite understand. The male master’s eyes were fixed on him, holding only his reflection. Nuo Wei felt as if he were drowning in that amber-colored sea. He murmured, dazed, “Okay.”
Chu Ci said gently, “Just stay obediently in the office and don’t move, alright? I’m coming to you.”
“…Okay?”
Why was he coming to find him?
Chu Ci felt that a few words weren’t enough to explain. Nuo Wei’s current state wouldn’t listen to anything; he had hurt the rabbit that had just peeked its head out. He needed to be close to him, coax him with gentle words, to lure Nuo Wei back out.
Chu Ci quickly pulled on his clothes and rushed into the aircraft.
Yesterday, Chu Ci handed over the 《Galaxy》 to Nuo Wei. Now, only those incredibly ugly spacecraft were left in the hangar, but the male zerg didn’t care about those at the moment.
His heart pounded. There were things too urgent to ignore—so urgent he couldn’t even think about what the aircraft looked like.
He desperately wanted to hold Nuo Wei’s hand.
To apologize.
To explain everything about Kaier.
To tell him the cold face wasn’t intentional…
He also wanted… to kiss that wound.
……………………………
Author’s Note:
Nuo Wei in the first two chapters: “The male master is willing to fly his disliked spacecraft for Kaier. He must really like Kaier.”
Chu Ci (serious face): “No, I won’t fly a disliked spacecraft for Kaier. I’ll only do it for you.”
