Chapter 43
They didn't say much, and Cecil came back soon.
The female insect didn't say anything when she saw the scene in the ward. She just opened the curtain again and placed the incubator on the bedside cabinet.
But Elaine felt an inexplicable chill on the back of her neck. She said goodbye to Yael in a hurry and ran away, almost bumping into a female soldier who was changing shifts at the door.
"Are you hungry?"
Xi Ze set up a small table on the bed and took out several layers of thermal boxes and arranged them one by one.
The combination of fish and vegetables is basically the favorite food of male insects, and it is still steaming hot.
Yael took the chopsticks handed to him by the female insect and felt that the scene seemed familiar, so he asked casually.
"The last time I had leg surgery, the Lord was like this too."
Caesar opened another insulated box of soup, poured out a small bowl and placed it next to the male insect, then chuckled when he heard this.
"Ah, that's still unlucky, one after another goes to the hospital."
"…I think it's OK."
Xi Ze paused and raised his eyes silently.
Her eyes were fixed on Yael's profile, his chewing movements, the subtle expressions when he frowned or raised his lips, and she would close her eyes in time before the male insect looked over.
"What's wrong? This is delicious, try it."
A pair of chopsticks reached out and put a piece of crispy meat into his bowl.
Xi Ze looked at the shiny end of the chopsticks and his Adam's apple moved.
After a long while, he whispered, "...Thank you, Lord."
The night is dark.
Yael opened his eyes silently, caught a glimpse of the outline of the female insect on the small bed not far away, and pulled up the quilt to cover his head a little.
The fine thread of mental power quietly gathered and moved around in the air. After making sure that there was no danger around, it returned and drilled through the seams of the fluffy quilt.
During the checkup this afternoon, Yael noticed something was wrong.
The scene that appeared out of thin air in his mind was strange yet familiar, and contained his own spiritual power, which he had explored many times when conducting spiritual counseling for the female insect.
mental picture.
Yael was suspended in a hazy gloom and could only vaguely see the outline of the whole picture: this was a completely undeveloped wasteland.
He floated in the dark river for a long time and was about to fall asleep, but suddenly a warm yellow light appeared in his vision.
What is that?
Yael became a little more sober and moved closer to that place.
But I found that it seemed to be a tiny ball of light. When I reached out to grab it, it seemed to dissipate between my fingers like blue tears in the sea, like a dream.
But the moment it disappeared, a blurry picture emerged in his mind, and he suddenly understood its purpose.
Yael stood up and looked at the faint light rising in the distance. He had an inexplicable strong premonition.
Soon, this place will become a vast and wonderful new world.
*
Thanks to the timely arrival of the army, the terrorist attack was quickly put down.
The marginal galaxies, which had suffered from war for many years, recovered their vitality very quickly. Soon the central city was brightly lit again, complementing the orderly deployment in the dark.
Since he was not seriously injured, Yael was soon discharged from the hospital and stayed at home to recuperate with Cecil. Soon it was the end of the year and New Year's Eve was approaching.
But the males suddenly started leaving home early and returning late, sometimes not returning at all.
"Hero Lord."
Xi Ze leaned against the kitchen door, watching the male insect who had hurried back but was about to leave again after only picking up a few things. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you coming back tonight?"
"uncertain."
Yael took the key out and put it in his pocket, saying casually, "Don't make my dinner, I'll eat outside."
"New Year's Eve is coming soon..."
Xi Ze pursed his lips and whispered, "Will the Lord go out too by then?"
Bang--
But the male insect seemed not to hear him, and closed the door and went out.
Xi Ze was stunned for a moment, and his heart sank gradually.
"What's wrong? Aren't you coming back for dinner today?"
015 came out from the balcony and slid over to the female insect with some confusion, "Then just make your own dinner."
But before it could continue, its eyes blurred and the screen went out.
Xi Ze withdrew his hand, patted the little robot butler's round head, and skillfully moved it to the side of the sofa and connected the charging cable.
Then he turned on the computer and started to contact Bai Lang.
The ingredients in the kitchen were just taken out and put back intact.
The light in the living room gradually dimmed as the sky darkened, and soon the aroma of food wafted from the surrounding houses.
"...Yes, we have confirmed that the pirate attack is related to that gang, and we are secretly contacting the procuratorate to collect evidence."
After reporting the latest progress, Bai Langhui suppressed his anger and said, "This is treason! To satisfy his selfish desires and collude with foreign enemies to attack the people, this crime is enough to make that rubbish lose hundreds of heads!"
The light from the computer reflected in Xize's eyes, appearing particularly cold and sharp.
To be honest, he had not expected this attack.
He didn't expect that Anto had already lost her last line of defense. As a military heroine, she betrayed the empire, which was an unforgivable crime.
The workload of deploying troops was very heavy, and there were countless trivial matters to pay attention to. Even though Xi Ze was already accustomed to this kind of high-intensity work, it took him until late at night to finish it.
He checked the time and was about to end the handover. He hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Help me check the recent whereabouts of the male insect."
"ah?"
Bai Lang was a little surprised, but he put aside his doubts and said, "Yes! I will organize it into a file and send it to you later."
Communications lost.
Xize pinched his brows to relieve his fatigue, and then he realized that he was a little hungry, but he really had no appetite.
Click.
There seemed to be some sound coming from outside the door, so he immediately turned around to look, but soon realized that there were no bugs outside the door, and it should be just an auditory hallucination or an unexpected sound.
Xi Ze pursed his lips and lowered his eyes to hide the disappointment in his eyes.
I turned on the computer again and realized that it was almost two o'clock. The male insect probably wouldn't come back today.
“Beep beep.”
The computer sent a message prompt, and he clicked on the file sent by Bai Lang, which clearly listed Yael's whereabouts in the past week -
"8 a.m.: Went to the field hospital, met with a doctor named Elaine, and spent the morning in her office."
"12 noon: Have lunch at the field hospital and take a nap in the lounge until 2 o'clock."
"2:30 p.m.: Went to the sled with Elaine to the First Central City Hospital, met with a doctor named Hughes, and then spent the whole afternoon in the conference room."
The male insect's itinerary is clear at a glance. It shuttles between field hospitals and central hospitals, occasionally returning home, but only to pick up some things.
Xi Ze flipped down and paused.
“…”
"Two o'clock in the morning: Return to the field hospital by suspension vehicle and stay in the director's office."
"7am: Left the field hospital and returned to my residence. Ten minutes later, I went out again. I took the field hospital's car and went to the C2 edge trading area. I stayed there for four hours."
marginal trading area.
Every planet has a gray area where you can get a lot of contraband or other things that are not available on the market.
Why would the male go there? What does he want to gain?
Xi Ze looked through the information again and confirmed one thing——
The name "Elaine" appears in almost all of the itineraries, and during this period, Yael and the female doctor are almost inseparable.
The itinerary also included a document that thoroughly investigated Elaine, the female insect:
He is not from a noble family, but his family background is not simple. His father owns a hospital on the main planet, and after graduating from the Imperial University, he was transferred here to train.
This female is young and good-looking.
Xi Ze stared at the photo for a while, then closed the laptop with an expressionless face.
It does look good, but pales in comparison to the male insect.
And Yael had praised him personally for his good looks, but he never showed any abnormality after seeing this female insect so many times...
Although this female insect has some wealth, it is not enough on the main planet. When she gets her identity back, she will own dozens of planets in her name, which is obviously incomparable.
But what if...Yell really falls in love with this female insect and wants him to be his maid?
Xi Ze frowned suddenly.
This thought is like a needle, piercing my heart closely. Although it is not painful, it is extremely uncomfortable.
But - what qualifications does he have to manage male insects?
Sleeping with whoever you like and making that person your female servant is a normal activity for every male insect in this society. It is the natural right and obligation of male insects, and no insect can interfere.
[…The one I decided to like must be a very good bug, and there should be only one of them, not many others.]
While I was upset and confused, the words the male insect had said suddenly rang in my ears.
He was still blind at the time, but he could still imagine the little male's quiet, white profile and the trembling of its long eyelashes.
The gentle and brisk voice, with an inexplicable sense of loss, weaves a dream that is shocking, yet incredibly beautiful.
If the male insect likes...
Xi Ze suddenly realized what he was thinking, paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
It's crazy.
But the sudden inhalation pulled the collar, and the feeling of suffocation was like a shadow, making the female insect's eyelashes tremble.
It was like being poured over my head with a basin of cold water, and all my emotions, whether irritability or other emotions, were frozen into ice.
After a moment's silence, he placed his laptop on the coffee table, stood up, and quickly drew open the balcony curtain, allowing the hazy moonlight to pour in.
The tiny ice and snow hit the glass with the wind, emitting a slight chill.
The usual sound of breathing from the sleeping room was not there tonight, making the world even quieter.
"When are you planning on leaving here?"
Bai Lang once asked him tentatively, his expression showing hidden resentment, "And this necklace! When has the First Army ever suffered such humiliation? We must find a chance to cut it off as soon as possible!"
What was your answer at that time?
西澤将額頭抵在冰冷的玻璃上。
反光處映照着一線金色的眸光，淩厲眉眼染上冷意和郁氣，有一瞬間神情近乎悲涼。
他的回答是——“秘密聯系暗線，盡快安排。”
他曾在無邊硝煙中茕茕獨行多年，早已生出鋼鐵的羽翼，勉強維持着搖搖欲墜的初心。
毒打和淩虐不曾讓他屈服于枷鎖，溫柔和愛意也不能讓他自縛于囚籠。
對于自由的向往，應是每一個擁有思考和情感的智慧生物，最本源最真摯的渴望。
雄蟲是天賦卓絕的造夢師，但大抵是無法接受自己的所有物想要洗去專屬标記、掙脫束縛的願望的。
這場美夢，也許該醒了。
西澤平靜地想，但心底莫名一片荒涼，潮汐般柔和的悲傷逐漸淹沒頭頂，胸腔深處傳來陌生又熟悉的疼痛。
精神圖景中的風雪呼嘯得更為凄厲，恍惚覺得它本不該是這般模樣，但萬裏冰封又确實是常态。
而沉默了很久很久之後，一直到遠方黎明亮起，他才遲鈍地想起，那裏也曾有過春天的眷顧和垂憐。
……
接下來的幾天情況沒有絲毫改變，雄蟲愈發行蹤詭秘，甚至連寥寥幾次回家的次數都沒有了。
砰。
耶爾反手關上門，神情有些疲憊地脫下外套，和手套一起随手仍在了沙發上。
他擡眼看了下廚房，卻沒見到雌蟲的身影，而且看廚房裏的調料擺放，今天似乎還沒有開過火。
現在……不是已經中午了嗎？
耶爾捏了下眉心，有些遲鈍地看向發出聲響的浴室，有些放空地陷入沙發中。
這段時間的奔波讓他有些疲憊，甚至顯得風塵仆仆，連額前淩亂的碎發也來不及打理，頑強地翹起來一縷，讓雄蟲看起來有些呆。
“咔噠。”
西澤擦着頭發從浴室裏出來，原本正低着頭，臉上沒什麽表情。
下一秒察覺到熟悉的氣息，又猛地擡起眼來。
耶爾看見那雙金眸一瞬間亮起，好似看見他回家的湯圓似的，蹭的站起來，軟乎乎的尾巴瘋狂搖成了風車。
“雄主……”
西澤愣在原地，有些無措地張了張嘴。
耶爾笑了笑，接過他的話音，“是啊，回來了，怎麽沒做午飯吃？我不在家的時候你都不吃飯的嗎？”
雌蟲似乎僵住，然後默不作聲地靠過來，将頭上的毛巾扯下來，俯下身——
用濕漉漉的頭發蹭了蹭耶爾的側臉，聲音低啞中隐含着克制，“歡迎回家，雄主。”
“撒什麽嬌呢，別想蒙混過關。”
耶爾眉梢微揚，一下子破功笑出了聲，卻沒打算放過他，“說呀，怎麽不做飯吃？”
他的聲音懶洋洋的，透着一絲疲憊，卻仍然溫和而耐心。
在進一步理解且接受了雌蟲自我意識淡薄後，他已經學會了心平氣和地交流。
頸側的雌蟲氣息有些不穩，鼻尖在他的耳後輕輕磨蹭。
他沉默半晌，聲音低啞道，“……那雄主怎麽不回家？”
原來是在這等着他呢。
那些提前想好的理由在嘴裏打轉了一圈，還是沒有說出來糊弄雌蟲。
耶爾摸了摸鼻子，嘆了口氣，“就，有點事。”
“應該很快就能解決了，到時候你就知道是什麽事了，這幾天你就乖乖在家裏等我，好嗎？”
西澤無聲睜開眼，餘光中是雄蟲幹淨利落的下颌。
耳邊的話語一如既往的耐心和緩，卻讓心尖難以抑制地酸澀起來。
他倏地直起身，伸手按住雄蟲的肩膀，低頭看進那雙漆黑的眸底。
“雄主……和我做一次愛，好不好？”
“啊？”
原本還有些困倦的耶爾瞬間清醒過來，神情愕然。
他下意識松開搭在雌蟲腰間的手，幾乎有些無措，“怎麽突然說這個？”
果然。
西澤垂下眸子，“沒什麽，如果為難的話就算了。”
他們不是什麽能做愛的關系，雄蟲真的……沒那麽喜歡他。
卻也沒有把他看成專屬的雌奴或雌侍來看待，所以他們現在到底算什麽？
“怎麽了？”
西澤閉了閉眼，掩去眸底的茫然。
但在耶爾試探着伸手安撫時，仍然一如既往地溫順低下頭，感受着那指尖在發間穿插來去。
*
那件事已經準備得差不多了，不用那麽着急趕回去，耶爾便回房小憩了一下，等醒來已經是傍晚。
窗外的天空飄着細小的雪花，天地間一片潔白的安靜肅穆。
晝夜颠倒讓身體有些不舒服，耶爾用手背量了下額溫，确認沒發熱才松了口氣。
打開房門，原本隐約的食物香氣變得更加濃郁，熱乎乎地充滿了整個房子，驅散了新雪帶來的細微寒意。
耶爾接了一杯溫水，悄無聲息地靠近了廚房裏的雌蟲。
平底鍋裏飛濺金黃色的油花，一塊不知道什麽星獸的腿肉被煎得滋滋作響，炸酥了的外皮卷起一圈的焦糖色。
他靠過來時，西澤想起旁邊的湯，便順手将鍋蓋掀開了，在乳白色的蒸汽中看到一雙笑眼，也跟着彎了彎唇。
“雄主。”
“做什麽呢？”
耶爾又仔細看了兩眼那腿肉，不是慣常在小超市買的那種，愣了一下，“這是你出去買的嗎？”
“我沒有出去過……”西澤也愣了。
他順着雄蟲的視線移向鍋裏才恍然明白，失笑道，“這是之前去采買的物資裏的，遇到星盜後物流被迫滞留了幾天，今天白天才送到。”
耶爾喝了一口水，不說話了，視線有些漂移。
他最近是不是有點太不上心了？
這些事他原先根本不會弄錯，不過也有生活裏只有這些單調的事物的原因，雌蟲的到來顯然讓事情變多了，但這樣也……不錯。
還算是有趣，不然他也不會費心費力去忙活手上這件事。
耶爾一口将水喝完，将水杯擱在旁邊。
随後他微微彎腰抵住冰冷的臺面，像是找到舒服地方的貓，懶散地揣着手趴下，觀察起正在忙活的飼養員。
“雄主先出去坐着吧，很快就可以吃了。”
“沒事，我站着看一會。”
安靜了一會，耶爾又想起什麽，漫不經心地道，“最近……”
“嗯？”西澤微微側過頭。
“最近總感覺有蟲在監視我，不管是走在外面的時候還是回家的路上，總有些隐藏在暗處的視線……還甩不掉，有點麻煩。”
他能分辨出其中細微的差別。
和那些含着喜愛的追求者的目光不同，那些隐匿的目光像是驅不散的影子，雖然不含惡意，但還是很讓他煩擾。
畢竟現在要籌劃的事情需要保密。
“那些目光有惡意嗎？說不定是巡邏的小隊，之前星盜襲擊後這裏就駐紮了不少軍隊。”
“也有道理，确實除了被監視的不舒服外，沒有感覺到其他意思。”
西澤的動作頓了一下，無聲地嘆了口氣。
他現在已經能确定了，那是他派出去貼身保護雄蟲的一支小隊。
但那是軍隊裏潛伏和暗狙最優秀的那一批，為什麽會輕易被察覺到？
下一秒，西澤明白過來，不是小隊裏的軍雌能力下降，而是眼前的雄蟲根本就具有非一般的敏銳感知力。
他早該知道，耶爾絕不像表面這樣簡單，或者說，他真的只是一個D級雄蟲嗎？
“雄主……覺得很不舒服嗎？”
身側雌蟲的聲音似乎有些緊繃，耶爾沒放在心上，分神思索着怎麽才能甩掉那些跟蹤者，“是啊。”
“我不喜歡被監控被窺伺的感覺，或者說，沒有誰喜歡那種感覺吧。”
看來以後不能讓他們跟那麽緊了，只要确保雄蟲是安全的就好。
西澤垂眸，将鍋裏煎好的肉鏟出來，熟練地擺上嫩綠的配菜，最後才擡眼看向雄蟲，“可以吃了，雄主出去坐着吧。”
美食當前，已經餓過頭的胃起死回生地咕了一聲。
耶爾瞬間上頭，無比絲滑地将剛才的話題抛之腦後，“好耶。”
在嚼嚼嚼的間隙，耶爾想起來什麽，突然擡起頭。
“我今晚要出去一趟，不知道能不能趕得回來，你早點睡不要等我。”
最近小機器管家總被強制下線，耶爾對雌蟲的“出格”行為沒什麽特別的感覺，但那滿屏的《雌蟲觀察日記》就沒有了。
所以他會從忙碌中專門抽出一點時間，看看雌蟲到底在幹什麽。
監控錄像沒什麽異常的，但是雌蟲一直等他到兩三點不睡覺，總讓耶爾有種把小狗孤零零扔在家裏不管不顧的罪惡感。
“今晚也……不回家嗎？”
今晚就是除夕夜了，等過了今晚，就是新的一年。
西澤愣了一下，但很快掩飾好情緒，只是唇角還微微抿起，“好，我知道了。”
他接着低聲囑咐道，“在外面要注意安全，盡量不要熬夜，記得準時吃飯……”
耶爾原本還在想那件事的進度，突然聽到熟悉又陌生的話，怔愣了一會。
爾後他認真點頭。
“好，我會的，今晚應該會熬夜，之後再補回來吧，嗯嗯，會記得的……”
Finally, he couldn't help but chuckle, telling the female insect not to worry too much, "I'll just be out for a while, it should be resolved soon."
Xi Ze stared at him deeply.
"Okay, I'll wait for the Lord to come back."
…
Yael left after his part-time dinner, not wearing his usual white down jacket, but a light black coat.
This made his temperament change from gentle to somewhat cold and hard, like a sharp blade about to be unsheathed, exuding a cold glow.
But when he leaves, he still squints his eyes and says to Caesar and the little robot housekeeper at home, "I'm leaving."
"Is the boss not home tonight?"
015 just finished charging and woke up from hibernation. He shook his head and looked towards Xize.
Caesar sat on the sofa, his elbows propped up on his knees, with the laptop that he had just turned off at his side.
He seemed to be thinking about something. After being interrupted, he lowered his eyes and chuckled, "Yes, we are the only ones left."
"Didn't you buy flour and say you wanted to try making glutinous rice balls? Why did something suddenly happen? I just learned it with great difficulty..."
015 Gulugulu slid into the kitchen, muttering to himself as he sorted out the things that were delivered in the afternoon, took out a bag of glutinous rice flour, and stuffed it deep into the cupboard.
"Dumplings? What are those?" Caesar answered incoherently, then picked up his computer and started typing.
"It's a food described by the main insect. It's said to be eaten on New Year's Eve. It means reunion, happiness and contentment. It's meant to be eaten with house insects."
There was no sound outside, but 015 didn't care and continued to organize the New Year's goods.
Reunion, happiness...perfection?
Xize stared at the screen in front of him in a daze. His hands stopped moving for a while before he lowered his eyes and continued working. The expression on his face faded a lot.
Click, click.
The clock hanging on the wall chimed regularly.
The hands were approaching twelve o'clock. The clock was out of tune with the high-tech design of the house, but it did not look abrupt or old-fashioned.
The same is true of the interior of this house; it doesn't seem like a product of this society or race.
But because it is filled with the unique atmosphere of "Yere", it is warmer and more beautiful than the former General's Mansion.
Xi Ze sat on the sofa and took care of official business, while 015 leisurely did housework.
“Ding Dong Ding Dong——”
The doorbell rang suddenly, breaking the stagnant silence.
"Who is it?"
015 The wheel slid towards the door, said something hurriedly outside the door and left, then it put a bag of things on the dining table.
“It’s takeout!”
It carefully looked at the note on the list and said, "This is what the master ordered for you."
It was a small bowl of something that exuded a sweet aroma, and the blurry, round contents could be seen through the translucent plastic bowl.
Xi Ze paused, his heart beating faster for some reason, and he reached out to lift the lid of the bowl——
In the light yellow sweet water are a dozen white flour dumplings, with round heads and crowded together, looking particularly cute.
One of them had a hole due to the bumps, and the delicious stuffing inside flowed out.
"What is it?"
Xi Ze had a vague guess, but was still a little hesitant to verify it. His Adam's apple moved a little, and he asked in a somewhat awkward tone.
015 stretched its neck and took a few looks, then pulled out the simple sketch that Yael had drawn for it after scanning it, and confirmed the true identity of the bowl of something.
"I know! This must be glutinous rice balls! The master insect also said that eating this during the New Year will bring good luck. Why don't you try it and see what it tastes like?"
Xize took a deep breath and stirred the bowl with the spoon.
He took a careful bite; the soft and sticky dough wrapped with rich fillings was finely crushed between his lips and teeth.
"What does it feel like? Is it sweet?"
He slowly finished the bowl of glutinous rice balls, picked up the bowl and drank the sweet water inside, then said hoarsely, "...It's sweet."
It smells like a male insect.
The robot brain was satisfied with the answer and continued to do housework. However, the female insect sat at the dining table for a long time, and her body seemed to be frozen.
After a while, he suddenly chuckled, as if he had a sudden realization.
How can you get the moon easily without trying hard to pick it?
He really couldn't bear to let Yael go, and couldn't bear to leave him here alone...
Ultimately, only with absolute power can you own and protect valuable things.
We need to speed up.
As for whether the male insect will be angry and struggle, unwilling to stay with him, or whether he doesn't like him at all, that is something to consider later.
He will coax her into submission, using his body, power, wealth, status... anything, he will coax Yael into submission.
The author has something to say:
For glutinous rice balls, peanuts and sesame seeds are combined, and coconut milk is the finishing touch (yup)
The psychological monologue that follows is actually that the general is a bit desperate, but there will be no such plot as imprisonment and darkening in the sequel, hahaha, insist on sticky and pure love without wavering! !