Admiral Erwen arrived at Nuo Wei’s office just as the young couple was cuddled up together in a tight embrace.
Nuo Wei’s physique was tall and lean, but not scrawny; his arms and chest possessed firm muscle, feeling soft and yielding to the touch when relaxed. Chu Ci adored this build, muscular yet still appearing slim in clothes, which had been his favorite body type in his previous life.
He fidgeted, touching and squeezing, making Nuo Wei itchy and uncomfortable, a sensation he couldn’t quite describe—like a mild electric shock. He burned with desire but hesitated to push the male Zerg away, his neck and ears turning red as he gasped quietly.
While the Zerg were generally open, Nuo Wei and Chu Ci were both more conservative, with no interest in overt displays of affection in public. Their office door was tightly shut, keeping even a fly from entering.
Admiral Erwen sensed trouble as he saw the closed door. In human culture, there’s an old saying, “Teach children openly, discipline wives behind closed doors.” The Zerg shared a similar tradition, where many male Zerg preferred not to expose their female partners in public, often closing the door to offer a form of correction. Erwen hesitated, then pressed his ear to the door.
Nuo Wei: “…Mmm.”
He was being cuddled by the male Zerg, a dizzying sensation that made him press his body closer into Chu Ci’s embrace, his lips letting out a muffled sound of frustration.
Admiral Erwen cursed inwardly. Nuo Wei was known for his stoicism, able to endure even the harshest punishments without a peep. What kind of terrible torment could have elicited such a response?
The Admiral didn’t want to think too deeply, raising his hand to knock on the tightly closed door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Nuo Wei, dazed and lost in his current state, could barely think straight, but it was Chu Ci who reacted first to the sound of the knocking. He stepped back, breaking the embrace with Nuo Wei, his eyes narrowed towards the door.
Whoever was knocking wouldn’t be welcome in this moment, and Chu Ci felt a growing irritation. His voice was low and dangerous: “Who is it?”
Admiral Erwen’s hand stiffened, suddenly worrying whether he had come at the wrong time. What if it only made things worse, bringing more punishment onto Nuo Wei?
But the door had already been knocked, and Admiral Erwen had no choice but to speak in a measured tone, delivering a pre-prepared speech: “Chu Ci, is it? I am Admiral Erwen. I heard you came to the military department today. Your presence here is an honor for me, and I have prepared a small token for you. Please accept it.”
…Ah, it’s his mother-in-law.
The arrogance in Chu Ci’s demeanor faded.
Human Chu Ci was just an unknown rookie. Now, with the Imperial Admiral and his mother-in-law knocking on his door, using such polite words, he couldn’t act the same way. He reluctantly adjusted his impatient expression, about to open the door, but then he saw the dazed Nuo Wei beside him.
Nuo Wei, the foolish female Zerg, looked as though he had been stunned by a kiss. Now he appeared even more foolish, his expression like he had been thoroughly bullied. If his mother-in-law saw him looking this way, it would only make it look like Chu Ci’s new role as a son-in-law involved doing something terribly wrong.
Chu Ci lowered his voice. “Hurry up and clean yourself up.”
He thought his voice was low, but high-ranking male Zergs had sharp hearing, and with only a thin office door separating them, there was no hiding it from Admiral Erwen. Flustered, Admiral Erwen knocked again: “Chu Ci, would it be convenient for me to come in?”
“Oh, oh, yes, yes.” Chu Ci pushed past Nuo Wei, opening the door just a crack, blocking the way: “Admiral, what is it?”
Admiral Erwen’s suspicion grew. Male Zergs always acted confidently; if they weren’t doing something blatantly wrong, why would they act so sheepishly? Erwen’s premonition of something very wrong intensified—had the male Zerg tampered with the female Zerg’s wings?
Anxious inside but maintaining a calm exterior, Admiral Erwen reached out and pushed on Chu Ci’s shoulder with a wry smile: “Speaking of which, there’s a new tea offering in Nuo Wei’s office, but he’s not skilled at brewing tea. You probably haven’t had a chance to try it, right? When I was by my Male Lord, I specialized in tea making. He is quite fond of my skills. Sir, let me go in and make you a pot of tea.”
Chu Ci was practically terrified. Who goes to their mother-in-law’s house and has her brew tea for them? He nodded like a chicken pecking at grains, then shook his head: “No, no, no, it’s fine. I don’t like tea.”
Admiral Erwen smiled even more falsely. “It’s fine, my skills are excellent. Even my most discerning Male Lord praised me endlessly. You’ll definitely enjoy it, Sir.”
With that, he exerted some force, effortlessly lifting Chu Ci aside. Chu Ci, weak and incapable in combat—he’d struggle through a 1200-meter run—couldn’t compete with the experienced Admiral. Before he even realized what was happening, he was being dragged aside by Erwen.
Nuo Wei, predictably, was still dazed. He at least remembered the male Zerg’s instructions and hesitantly lifted his hand to somewhat tidy his hair. However, he only made it worse, leaving it more disheveled.
Hearing the noise, Nuo Wei looked up, meeting Erwen’s gaze with his disheveled hair and tear-filled eyes, looking terribly pitiful.
Chu Ci made a visibly pained expression.
He interjected between Nuo Wei and Erwen: “Uh, Admiral, don’t you know how to make tea? I’d really love some, could you please make it for me?”
It was as if he had suddenly developed a strong interest in tea-making.
Erwen’s gaze subtly swept over Nuo Wei. The Admiral felt a rare sense of confusion. Nuo Wei didn’t have any visible injuries; his clothes weren’t stained with blood, and there were no evident torture implements in the office.
Admiral Erwen was known for his stern demeanor, and Nuo Wei, trained by him, had always maintained a rigid, stoic expression. It was rare for anyone to see any other emotion on their faces. However, now Nuo Wei’s eyes were lowered, displaying a look Erwen had never seen on a female Zerg before—a mix of confusion, unease, and… delight?
How could there be any sense of pleasure when dealing with male Zergs, only bringing pain and embarrassment?
Erwen smiled faintly, thinking he must have been mistaken, but the fact that Nuo Wei didn’t collapse to the ground was already a cause for some relief for the Admiral.
He turned his attention back to Chu Ci, nodding. “Sir, please have a seat. I’ll prepare some tea for you right away.”
Erwen’s movements with the teapot were smooth and fluid. Rolling up his sleeves, he poured the tea from the perfectly round Xishi teapot into the delicate porcelain tea cups with precision, making the entire process almost a visual delight.
But Chu Ci’s posture was stiff and uneasy. Having the mother-in-law roll up her sleeves to make tea, and sitting there like a fool—who could stand that?
Nuo Wei initially maintained a dazed expression, only realizing belatedly that the Admiral had arrived.
Erwen was his little uncle, and Nuo Wei had always been calm and composed, never letting his guard down in front of Erwen. Suddenly being seen like this by an elder made his whole face flush, ears burning, as if he wanted to bury his nose in the hot water of the tea cup.
Chu Ci reached out and took the teacup in front of Nuo Wei, whispering to the female monarch, “Don’t bury it, isn’t the steam hot? Your nose is already turning red.”
It was clear that the male Zerg was completely unaware of the female Zerg’s keen hearing. Even through the door, Erwen had heard Chu Ci speaking just fine, and now with the door open, it was even clearer. He glanced at Chu Ci with a bit of surprise in his eyes.
For a male Zerg, Chu Ci was surprisingly delicate.
After finishing the tea, the Admiral put down the tea cup with a bit more genuine warmth in his smile, “How is it?”
Chu Ci hesitated, “Uh…”
His palate for tea was probably only good enough to differentiate between a peach oolong and a cheese shake. After a long pause, he finally managed to mumble, “Very good. This is the best tea I’ve ever had.”
Nuo Wei continued to lower his head, still warming his nose, unwilling to speak.
A genuine smile flashed in Erwen’s eyes, “Thank you for the compliment, sir.”
With that, he took out a gift box he had prepared earlier. Back when he was anxious at the door, he had inadvertently squeezed the outer packaging, but he pretended not to know, smiling as he offered the gift box to the male Zerg, “This is for you. I hope you like it.”
Zerg customs were somewhat similar to those of Western humans—when receiving a gift, it was customary to open it in front of the giver. Chu Ci complied, opening the box to reveal a dark amber-colored gem, reminiscent of human amber but more transparent.
Chu Ci knew nothing about gems and had little interest in them. All he could do was awkwardly say, “Very pretty.”
Admiral Erwen replied, “This is a piece of pine resin crystal from D-3598 star system, perfectly pure, flawless, and richly colored. What’s more, it’s a full 60 carats, the largest flawless pine resin crystal in existence, which happens to be one of the favorite collections of my Male Lord. Now, I’m giving it to you, hoping you’ll like it.”
Chu Ci didn’t understand gems, but he understood the string of adjectives in front of him—largest, flawless, pure. He awkwardly touched his nose, “That sounds really expensive.”
Erwen had given a valuable gift, so of course, he needed the male Zerg to know its worth. He nodded, “This gem could buy a whole star system.”
Chu Ci couldn’t handle the Zerg’s units of measurement—one moment, they were talking about an entire star system. He felt the box in his hands was burning hot and couldn’t help but reject it, “No merit, no reception of gifts. This is too precious; please take it back.”
Meanwhile, Nuo Wei, who had been keeping his head low, unexpectedly raised it and stared at the pine resin crystal in the box.
It was clear, dark gold, amber-colored gem.
It looked just like the eyes of the male Zerg.
No… even the most beautiful gem is ultimately a lifeless object, but a male Zerg’s eyes are alive. When he smiles warmly at the female Zerg, the pretty eyes reflect her image as if nothing else matters in the universe but him. No one can escape such allure.
Erwen subtly glanced at his nephew, “Accept it, Nuo Wei likes it too?”
Suddenly being called by name, Nuo Wei trembled, “Huh? What?”
Chu Ci turned to Nuo Wei, who usually had a rather indifferent expression and never showed much interest in anything. Now, there was no different emotion to indicate if he liked it or not.
Chu Ci asked with suspicion, “Do you like it?”
Nuo Wei didn’t say anything.
Similar to how many humans find it difficult to say ‘love,’ for Nuo Wei, liking something is also a very taboo word, not easily spoken out loud. It feels like saying it would strip away his armor, exposing the soft underbelly, revealing the vulnerability that the female Zerg keeps hidden.
Admiral Erwen furrowed his brows, “Nuo Wei, your male master is asking you a question. Speak.”
Chu Ci picked up the conversation, “It’s okay.”
He quietly watched Nuo Wei, as if he didn’t mind his hesitation at all. His amber eyes were soft and tender, the sleepy charm wrapping around those narrow eyes, making them look like harmless arcs. With a gentle smile, he softly asked, “Nuo Wei, do you like it?”
Nuo Wei stared at the table, as if he was trying to bore a hole through it. The accommodating tone of the male Zerg gave him a lot of courage. He spoke in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible, “…I like it.”
I like it.
Not just the gem, but other things as well.
All of it is liked.
