Ch 17
Little Jealous Zerg
Zhao turned his head to stare intently at the sub-female on the screen, speaking with a sour tone, “Yeah, not only is his acting good, but he looks pretty nice too.”
“That wine-red hair is bright and cute, those purple eyes have a mysterious touch of romance, and his fair, clean face just makes people feel protective of him…”
“His slender waist, delicate appearance, just looking at him makes you forget the mundane world…” The more Zhao talked, the more frustrated he felt.
Inwardly, he furiously slandered: Looks like a seductive fox, absolutely hideous!
The more He Yi listened, the less appealing the popcorn in his mouth became. He turned to ask, “Ah Zhao, do you really like this sub-female?”
Zhao’s blue eyes remained fixed on the screen, a chill in them as he replied in a haunting tone, “Of course I like him, why wouldn’t I?” Like him enough to want to tear him into eight hundred pieces.
He Yi smacked his lips—why does the popcorn taste a bit bitter now?
Could it be that Ah Zhao… is considering a relationship between two females?
He wondered if it was still possible to switch his gender right now?
Yi Yi, don’t panic, this is just a small issue!
After calming his thoughts, He Yi turned to cover the Zerg’s eyes with his hand. Mischievously, he blew a warm breath into Zhao’s ear, lowering his voice on purpose, “Ah Zhao, you know a relationship between two females is illegal, right?”
General Zhao, who had been imagining beating up the vixen in his mind, was thrown off by this flirtatious move from his lord. His breath hitched, and it felt like a deep-water bomb had been dropped in his heart.
Bubbles of sweetness kept rising within him.
“My lord, my ear… it tickles… Please… please don’t blow on it.” The warm breath lingered around his ear; though he didn’t want to move away, the tingling sensation spread through his body like an electric current, making his bones feel weak.
He Yi lightly touched Zhao’s blood-red earlobe with the tip of his tongue, letting out a soft hum:
“Do you like that sub-female, or do you like me?”
Zhao shuddered at the stimulation, his claws resting on his knees twitched, and the sharp tips typical of females peeked out for a moment.
“I like… I like you.” Zhao hurriedly hid his claws behind him, his blue eyes darting around, “And you, my lord?”
“What about me?” He Yi tilted his head.
“Do you like him, or… like me?” Zhao lowered his head, not daring to look at his lord’s expression. He was afraid the lord would say he liked both, or even worse, that he liked that sub-female more.
He Yi grasped the Zerg’s paw and began to play with it between his fingers, like a new, intriguing toy, “Of course I like you. Who told you I liked that sub-female? Don’t let your imagination run wild. I only said his acting was good. But you, on the other hand, said a whole bunch of nice things about him, almost making me think you…”
He Yi didn’t continue speaking, but Zhao understood the unfinished words. Feeling uncomfortable, he tried to gently pull his hand back but couldn’t, so he just lowered his eyes and let the male Zerg play with it.
“Hiss—”
He Yi withdrew his hand in pain, noticing a few drops of blood welling up on his fingertip. He was momentarily stunned: Are the claws of female Zergs really this sharp?
When Zhao lifted his eyes and saw the blood on He Yi’s hand, his face turned pale with fright. He quickly cupped the male Zerg’s finger and put it in his mouth, knowing that the claws of female Zergs were slightly poisonous, and their saliva could neutralize the toxin.
“It’s nothing, it doesn’t hurt at all.” He Yi hadn’t even had time to use his wood-based energy to heal himself when Zhao’s overly frightened expression startled him.
Seeing Zhao’s pale face, He Yi used his uninjured right hand to gently tap the tip of Zhao’s nose. “Do your claws grow longer? Do you trim them regularly? Could you accidentally hurt yourself?” He asked a series of questions, trying to divert Zhao’s attention.
This misunderstanding arose because He Yi had only read about the punishment of clipping wings in the Zerg Marriage Law, but hadn’t seen anything about trimming nails, leading him to mistakenly believe that Zerg claws were similar to human nails, just a bit sharper after transformation.
However, what He Yi didn’t know was that claws, wing bones, and wing membranes were the three major weapons of female Zergs in battle. Female Zergs would never cut off their claws unless… as a punishment from their male owner. In reality, due to the extreme hardness of the claws, removing them would require pulling them out by the roots. Female Zergs whose claws were pulled out would have their lifespan halved. The Zerg Criminal Law even lists “claw removal” as a severe and cruel punishment.
After hearing He Yi’s questions, Zhao seriously considered the current political situation. The Federation had just been forced to surrender, and the Empire was stable, so it seemed like there would be no need for war anytime soon. He reasoned that losing his claws probably wouldn’t affect much. He tried to force a smile, “My lord, I can schedule a one-time claw removal surgery, so they won’t grow back again.” And that way, he would never accidentally harm his lord again.
After thinking for a moment, he added, “If you prefer, we could skip the surgery, and you could remove them yourself.” Although having his lord, who had no medical experience, do it might cause even someone as strong as him to faint from the pain.
He Yi noticed the unusual and deeply unpleasant smile on Zhao’s face, and growing suspicious, he withdrew his already healed finger and searched “female Zerg nail trimming” on his light brain. Then, a cold sweat broke out over his body.
He almost… almost harmed Ah Zhao.
His throat felt tight. “Ah Zhao, keep your claws. We’re not removing them.”
“Then… do you want to clip my wing bones or wing membranes?” Zhao’s expression was very calm, as if they were discussing some inanimate object rather than his own body.
He Yi felt a tightness in his chest, and gently cupped Zhao’s fluffy head in his hands. His dark eyes looked into the shimmering depths of Zhao’s blue eyes. “I don’t want to punish you, and I’ve never intended to hurt you. I’m new to the Zerg planet and don’t know much about these things. I didn’t realize how important claws are to female Zergs, and that’s why I asked those stupid questions.”
“Are you stupid? Why didn’t you remind me earlier?”
“But I hurt my lord, so I deserve to be punished,” Zhao blinked, disagreeing.
He Yi was caught off guard and choked on his words. After a moment, he took a deep breath and reluctantly followed the female Zerg’s logic, saying, “If I punish you, it’ll make me sad, which would only hurt me more.”
Zhao thought: That does seem to make sense, but something feels off… He carefully reconsidered and concluded, Hmm, the logic checks out.
Seeing that the female Zerg seemed to accept his reasoning, the frustration in He Yi’s chest gradually dissipated. He picked up the nearby cola and gulped it down, feeling instantly refreshed. “Let’s continue watching the movie.”
The film continued. By chance, the beautiful sub-female protagonist discovered that he was just a stand-in, and that the male Zerg had an unforgettable ‘white moonlight’ in his heart. The tragic part began.
The love scenes grew increasingly brutal.
He Yi started to feel a bit uneasy and was about to eat more popcorn to calm himself down.
Zhao’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly grabbed He Yi’s right hand. His eyelashes trembled slightly, “My lord, there’s so much blood, I’m so scared…”
The trembling and fearful tone of the female Zerg made He Yi look away from the screen. He held Zhao’s hand and gently squeezed it twice, comforting him in a soft voice, “Don’t be afraid, it’s just a movie, it’s all fake.” He Yi was a little puzzled; how did someone with such a timid nature become a general?
He imagined the female Zerg fighting fiercely while crying and then recalled the image from his memory sphere of Zhao with a stern, unflinching expression during a crisis. Maybe… the more afraid he was, the better he fought?
He Yi stood up and found the red button on the seat, activating the private compartment mode. “If you’re scared, don’t watch. You can sleep for a bit, and I’ll wake you when the movie’s over.”
Zhao looked at the seat that had instantly transformed into a large bed, speechless: Isn’t he supposed to hold me and comfort me? Why is my lord not following the script?
Feeling dejected, Zhao took off his shoes and slowly crawled onto the bed: Where did I go wrong? Was my expression not sincere enough? Or was my tone not seductive enough?
He had apparently forgotten that all those being comforted in his memories were sub-females.
After settling Zhao in, He Yi started munching on popcorn again.
However, General Zhao, who was known for his cunning strategies on the battlefield, wouldn’t be defeated by such a small setback. Having failed once, he came up with another plan. He intentionally didn’t take out the pillow from the secret compartment and instead quietly rested his head on He Yi’s firm thigh.
The male Zerg only stiffened for a moment before nonchalantly continuing to chew his popcorn.
Seeing that He Yi wasn’t angry, Zhao boldly rubbed his head against He Yi’s leg.
The male Zerg’s thigh tensed up.
Pushing his luck, General Zhao turned on his side, placed one hand on He Yi’s thigh, and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep soundly while “hugging his pillow.”
He Yi’s breathing grew a bit quicker.
The corners of Zhao’s lips curled up: Now, my lord shouldn’t have the heart to watch that sub-female actor anymore, right?
As he expected, the restless He Yi sighed softly, tossed aside his popcorn, and closed his eyes, silently reciting a Buddhist scripture: Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form…
He Yi had barely managed to calm himself down, and his hand hadn’t even touched the popcorn when General Zhao repeated his little trick.
After several rounds of this, He Yi had pretty much figured out the female Zerg’s intentions, but he couldn’t bring himself to expose it.
He Yi thought: How can one have both? How do I not let down my female companion and my popcorn?
With immense willpower, He Yi managed to finish watching their little movie on the first date, despite the intentional or unintentional teasing of the mischievous female Zerg.
After returning to the villa, he went online and ordered a calendar, which he hung at the head of the bed. He started counting down the days to his adulthood, feeling a little happier each time he tore off a page.
He narrowed his eyes and thought: When the time comes, I’ll definitely teach Zhao a lesson—
Flirting with a male Zerg recklessly will have consequences!
The following days passed as usual, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of the banquet.
The banquet was held at St. Smilan Castle, a fortress in the northern part of Pasor Star. It was a social event organized by the military and the Male Zerg Protection Association. The attendees were either high-ranking military females, members of the protection association, or close family members and aristocrats with strong ties.
The banquet tables and tea tables were laden with pastries and fine wines, and dozens of elegantly dressed sub-female attendants weaved through the crowd with trays.
The guests, holding their glasses with restraint, were engaged in casual conversation. The more active ones were all A-grade or higher male Zergs and military females ranked major general or above.
Most male Zergs brought along at least two female companions. In contrast, He Yi, who only brought General Zhao, stood out significantly. He didn’t mingle with the other male Zergs but instead led General Zhao to a quiet corner to enjoy the pastries in peace.
As for General Zhao, he stood expressionless beside the sofa where He Yi was seated.
He Yi took a fierce bite of his pastry, feeling extremely dissatisfied with Zhao’s refusal to sit down. Although most of the military females at the banquet chose not to sit, they did so to show their docility and submission to the male Zergs or to give their lords face.
But he didn’t need to save face! Even feeding Zhao a pastry required him to stand up.
He Yi: Exhausted.jpg
President Howard also attended the banquet, and upon spotting He Yi, he slowly made his way over. Accompanying him were five female Zergs, one of whom was a very innocent-looking young sub-female holding onto him.
With a wine glass raised in his right hand, President Howard stopped in front of He Yi and smiled as he spoke:
“Lord He Yi, why are you drinking alone here? Is General Zhao not attending to you properly?”