NOVEL NEXT 63
Chapter 63: I can’t control myself.
Why did the mentor want him to see these things?
This question lingered in Xi Tian’s mind for a long time.
His personality leaned towards comfort; when faced with a difficult matter, he would set it aside to deal with later. Often, by delaying it, either someone else would take over, or he would have to brace himself and rush to complete it before the deadline.
It was around the time he graduated from high school that he realized this problem and started making plans for himself, handling matters according to these plans. For things outside the plan, he remained indifferent.
His current lifestyle continued the leisurely, aimless, and carefree state from his time in Boulder.
Given this, why did the mentor still insist on warning him about possible surveillance and instructing him to look at events that happened 35 years ago?
Having grown up without any selfless care from others until he was 17, Xi Tian was not foolish enough to believe the world revolved around him. He understood that receiving unique care from the mentor was largely due to his appearance, which resembled someone the mentor held dear.
If one were to say that a wealthy, charming, and still attractive despite his age, female was close to a young male purely without any sexual intentions, Xi Tian would not believe it at all.
However, Cody was indeed such a person.
Xi Tian never stopped testing him, but Cody never changed. He never said anything inappropriate, never touched sensitive parts, always left the door ajar during their private conversations, and never went on trips alone with him.
Xi Tian once thought Cody was a hunting expert, only to find out that the hunter never considered hunting.
Xi Tian couldn’t fully trust anyone, a natural instinct left from frequently switching foster homes as a child. Naturally, he projected this thinking onto others.
Cody revealing part of the matter to him could be a tactic to scare him away, or it could be because he trusted Xi Tian. But another part might be that this matter was related to Xi Tian himself.
Compared to trust, Xi Tian was more inclined to believe the latter.
If Cody wanted to send him away, he could just say so. If he trusted him and wanted his help to investigate, he could just give him a note, so why hand over clippings instead?
This matter might be related to him.
This would explain why Cody held his hand tightly, preventing him from mentioning he hadn’t been to that mountain.
That mountain must hold some secret.
Outside, the sound of a car horn rang out; Owen had brought Ellis back.
Ellis opened the car door, but instead of coming back immediately, he went to hug Owen, who had gotten out of the car.
Xi Tian came out just in time to see their reluctant farewell.
“That must be your male master; he’s watching you!” Owen nudged Ellis. From finding a male master to prepare for marriage and then traveling far away, Owen had never seen Xi Tian, only recognizing him from a few photos and a once-popular kissing video online.
Ellis quickly let go of Owen, nervously straightening his wrinkled clothes and slightly disheveled hair, and turned around, only to find Xi Tian standing in front of him, startling him.
Xi Tian couldn’t help but laugh, coughed, and flicked his forehead, “You!”
“Hello, I’m Owen, Ellis’s friend and colleague, also working in the Fourth Army.” Owen extended his hand to Xi Tian.
“I’ve heard about you from Ellis; you’re Owen. How is Angie?” Xi Tian shook his hand; Owen’s palm was broader and warmer than Ellis’s.
Ellis interjected, “Angie is currently recuperating at Owen’s place, and everything is fine.”
“Would you like to come in for a bit?” Xi Tian habitually extended the invitation, then remembered this was the mentor’s house.
At that moment, Ellis quickly spoke up, “It’s getting late. How about we schedule a time to meet up later? For now, Owen, don’t you need to go back and take care of Angie?”
Owen glanced at the high sun in the sky, then at Ellis’s eyes constantly darting toward his master, and changed his mind, “I have something to attend to now, so let’s set up a time to meet later.”
Then he got in the car and left.
Xi Tian suspiciously asked Ellis, “Do all your friends act so quickly?”
Ellis didn’t dare to look directly at the male, “Maybe.”
Xi Tian chuckled, messing up Ellis’s freshly tidied hair, which was long enough to reach his neck but too short to tie up properly, leaving it to fly around.
“You looked really strange just now.”
“Did I?” Ellis denied.
“It was like you were worried I’d be taken away.”
“…Hmm,” Ellis slowly walked behind him, then grabbed Xi Tian’s coat hem, making him stop. Ellis opened his arms and tightly hugged his male, “When you and Owen shook hands, I felt weird.”
“Your two friends are together, aren’t they? I promised you, and I won’t do anything inappropriate.”
“I couldn’t control myself at the time, I’m sorry, Master.”
Xi Tian used his fingers to comb through Ellis’s soft flaxen hair.
Being naturally sensitive, he understood that emotions are not governed by reason and flow naturally. Even though Ellis knew the male wouldn’t fancy anyone else, feeling threatened filled his heart with pressure, causing him to act defensively before realizing it.
This was because his heart was tied to Xi Tian, soaring to heaven with his smile, sinking to hell with his frown, breathing with his grace, wagging his tail with his touch, until finally becoming his slave, willingly bound by heavy shackles, obedient to his master’s every command.
Somehow, he had become his saint, his king.
And Ellis, his worshipper, his loyal knight.
Looking at Ellis, Xi Tian’s heart felt like freshly made cotton candy, hot and soft, big and sweet.
In a daze, he recalled his past question, why did he fall in love with Ellis at first sight?
It seemed, there was no reason.
They met, his heart was moved, and he wanted him, for life.
To the world, you are ordinary, unremarkable in a crowd.
To me, you are unique, the only one in my heart.
I will accept your sadness, your hesitation, your thoughts, and your desires.
I love you, regardless of your status, your gender, or everything behind you.
Just because you happen to possess these things, I accept you, and I accept all of it.
Xi Tian understood that now was not the right time to say all this. Perhaps when they were old and gray, when their children had grown up and left, leaving just the two of them sitting on rocking chairs, basking in the sun, recounting the marks time had etched on their once youthful faces, they would casually reveal these deep feelings and loves that once stirred overwhelming waves in their hearts during their youthful days.
Author’s Note:
This is the last scene, taking the main storyline and showing, from the protagonist’s perspective, why the zerg star, once dominated by females and submissive males, has become a place where males are now dominant and females submissive.
My strength in plot development is weak, and I’m not proficient in integrating plot with daily life.