Chapter 62
[Xize: I'm back from my business trip early. Can I pick you up? ]
Yael kept clicking in and out, and poked at the happy cat emoticon below.
He sat on a bench not far from the side door, with the ginkgo forest behind him.
At this time, the sky was already a little dim, and the glow in the distant sky was soft and colorful, fading little by little over time.
There is still half an hour before Cizek arrives.
The female insect originally told him to play for a while longer and she would send him a message when she arrived. Yael responded on the surface, but in fact, he had been waiting at the agreed side door long ago.
The situation just now was really a bit scary... Fortunately, a school teacher suddenly appeared and quickly dispersed the students on the pretext of deducting their comprehensive scores, saving him from the water and fire.
Adelaide wanted to take him directly to the principal and enroll him in the school immediately, but when he learned that the principal was busy, he had to give up with regret.
Nostin was even more difficult to deal with. He kept asking for a StarNet account, and only let go after Xu Nuo refused to delete him. The teacher took him away, and he kept looking back at him as he left.
After all this commotion, it was almost four or five in the afternoon, and Yael could already imagine the disastrous consequences of this farce fermenting in the forums.
The student who was forced to disperse tried hard to suppress his facial expression, but in fact he had already called out the computer and started typing frantically. In just these few short seconds, he had already been "ruined" at the speed of light.
Not daring to go out in public with that face anymore, Yael waited at the school gate early.
"?"
A little bit of coolness fell on his face, and Yael raised his eyes in some confusion, and saw countless tiny snowflakes swaying and swirling down.
The light, velvety white falls on the tip of the nose, eyelashes and cheeks, and is melted into moist vapor by the warm skin, like kisses from the sky.
"It's snowing..."
He opened his mouth and exhaled a puff of mist, then he felt a slight chill.
“Beep beep—”
The sound of a horn from a suspended vehicle came from outside the door, and Yael suddenly came back to his senses.
The bright headlights broke through the ground at the school gate and stopped steadily beside the school gate.
He stood up immediately and trotted towards the school gate.
“?!”
Just as I closed the car door, a figure suddenly rushed into my arms, as if covered in snow, soft and cold, with a familiar breath and weight.
Xize took a step back with the force of the collision, his back against the car door.
He stretched out his hands to hug the waist and back of the male insect in his arms, lowered his eyes and smiled, "Hero, have you been waiting for a long time?"
Yael buried himself in the female insect's arms, took a deep breath, and tried hard to replenish his blood. He nodded without hesitation when he heard the words.
"Yes, I waited for a whole day and night."
It has been too long since I came home last night.
Xize was stunned for a moment, his eyes softened a little, and it seemed as if a piece of his chest had collapsed, feeling sore and soft.
He lowered his head and buried it in the down of the hood of Yell's down jacket. He restrained himself and rubbed the tip of his nose against the cold tip of the male insect's ear, and whispered.
"It's my fault for making the Lord wait so long."
The hot breath sprayed in his ears, and Yael felt a little itchy. He hugged the female insect's waist and leaned back, keeping some distance.
The moment he made eye contact with the female insect, his expression softened and he couldn't help but laugh, "I'm hungry."
He had only eaten one meal today. He had originally wanted to go to the cafeteria for lunch, but he missed the time because he was watching a game. Now his stomach was growling in protest.
"Okay, let's go eat now."
The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and a thin layer of snow had already fallen on Yael's head. Cesar opened the car door and took the male insect in, then entered the destination and started the automatic driving.
The heater was on in the car, and the seats were covered with a soft blanket, completely blocking out the biting cold wind outside.
Just after getting in the car for a while, Yael became paralyzed as if he had melted.
Noticing that the destination was not home but an unfamiliar place, Yael asked in confusion, "Aren't you going home for dinner today?"
"There is a private restaurant in East District 12. The food is delicious and private. There will be a fireworks show tonight. I'll take you there to have some fun."
Xi Ze turned to look at the male insect, and suddenly realized something, and whispered in annoyance.
"Sorry, I forgot to ask if you have any other plans tonight. Will you be free later?"
The bottom line is that he has been in a high position for too long. Except for extremely urgent and unchangeable events, any notifications are issued directly, asking partners to put aside all matters and cooperate fully.
Such a tough style of doing things can be called efficient at work, but he is very cautious when dealing with male insects. Although the male insect in front of him has a surprisingly easy-going temperament, he does not want to make Yael feel troubled.
The female insect looked a little bewildered. Yael was stunned for a moment, then reacted instantly, "Go ahead. It just so happens that I have nothing to do tonight."
"Next time, if you have any plans, please tell me in advance so we can discuss it."
He reached to the side and squeezed the female insect's hand, as if giving it an intimate comfort after noticing some uneasiness.
"By the way...did you make reservations at the restaurant in advance?"
Yael's eyes wandered away for a moment, and he coughed a little embarrassedly, "I suddenly feel like eating ice cream."
When it snowed just now, he had a strange idea. He thought it must be special to eat ice cream in the middle of winter with snow on his head... He didn't know which one was more sour and refreshing, eating ice cream or eating oranges while taking a bath.
"It's pre-ordered. We have all kinds of ice cream. You can order whatever you want from the menu."
The crisis was resolved, Xi Ze's brows relaxed, and he leaned over and kissed the male insect on the lips.
East District 12 is not far from the school. While they were talking, the floating car had already stopped in front of a private restaurant.
For safety reasons, Yael did not take off his disguise, but put on the knitted hat and scarf that the female insect brought him, and got out of the car fully armed.
“It’s so cold…”
As soon as he got off the car, he was attacked from all sides by the biting cold wind. Yael frowned slightly and buried the lower half of his face in his scarf. His desire for strawberry ice cream dropped sharply.
The private restaurant in front of me is brightly lit and looks very low-key from the outside, but once you go in, you will find that it has a grand layout and a different world.
The staggered retro buildings are exquisitely structured yet not cramped. Turning a corridor, you can see the spacious and beautiful snow scene. It's like a luxurious holiday villa built in a busy city.
The female insect held one of Yael's hands and put it into his coat pocket. He walked forward and observed the scenery.
The private room here is located on the outskirts of the villa, and from the corridor you can see a stretch of rolling light green mountains in the distance.
There is a small pine forest planted on the snow, and the leaves are hung with faintly twinkling star lights, which appear quiet and gentle in the night.
Rustle——
Yael caught a faint sound and turned to look, just in time to see a squirrel sneaking into the pine forest, leaving a trail of tiny paw prints in the snow.
He tugged at the female insect's hand and was about to point it out to him when he heard the sound of a door being pushed open.
The attendant bowed respectfully and went aside to wait.
"What's wrong?"
Xize did not rush in, but squeezed the male insect's hand in his pocket and asked in a low voice about the unusual movement just now.
"It's a squirrel."
Yael pointed at the claw marks and then shifted his attention to the private room following the aroma. His stomach growled in response.
Xi Ze's eyes curved slightly as he led the male insect into the private room, not forgetting to ask, "Do you like squirrels? I can ask the servants to catch one for you."
"No, just take a look at it. You don't have to hold it if you like it."
Yael said casually, not noticing the startled expression of the female insect behind him, and walked straight towards the steaming dinner not far away.
The floor of the private room feels clean and smooth, and exudes a soothing warmth, so you can walk on it without having to change into slippers.
Dinner was placed on the square low table in the center, and a pot of mellow wine was warming on the small stove next to it, giving off a slightly tipsy aroma.
The door of the box behind him was closed and the servant left quietly.
"Um……"
Yael sank into the thick cushion, scooped a mouthful of juicy rice and put it into his mouth, and his whole body relaxed.
"I thought everything was high-tech, but I didn't expect there was such a quiet and retro place. It's even somewhat similar to..."
He looked a little nostalgic, sighed vaguely, lowered his head and ate a few mouthfuls of rice.
However, he did not notice that the female insect opposite him was stunned for a moment, as if she wanted to ask something, but remained silent.
After filling his stomach quietly and quickly, Yael raised his head again with his eyes slightly shining when he remembered what the female insect had said before.
“When does the fireworks show start?”
Xize checked the time, pressed the call bell and asked the servant to take the things away.
"There's still half an hour left. This box is the best viewing spot. You can just go outside and see it."
The female insect stood up and opened the small door of the side compartment. Then Yael discovered that there was a wooden platform built outside the door. It was not very big, but it was big enough for the two insects to sit on and watch the fireworks.
He bent down and went out, thinking it would be very cold, but it seemed that because of the special location, there was no biting cold wind to blow on his face, only a comfortable coolness.
The small stove was also moved out and placed in the middle of the platform. The mellow aroma of wine quickly spread out, and the whole body suddenly felt warm.
Yael took his ice cream from the female insect, took a bite of the strawberry on it, and his face immediately wrinkled from the cold.
"It's so cold... Why can't I taste it...?"
After finally getting over it, he tried to savor the feeling, but his tongue was so cold that he had no sense of taste, not even the sweet and sour taste of the strawberry.
"Hero Lord."
The female insect's voice came from behind him. Yael turned his head in confusion, and his chin was pinched by fingers.
The next second, a touch of warmth was felt on the frozen lower lip.
He slightly widened his eyes, and in the bright starry night, he looked into the female insect's slightly lowered eyes.
The light shimmered in the revolving kiss, like a lake filled with falling stars.
火爐發出的細微聲響、周身吹拂的寒風，還有簌簌落雪的松林，一切聲音都消失不見，耳廓裏只剩下彼此急促的呼吸，和唇舌交融間的水聲隐秘。
被凍僵的味蕾逐漸回溫，終于嘗到了冰淇淋的奶香和草莓的酸甜，那甜味又在黏黏糊糊的吮吸中逐漸消失。
西澤垂眸，指腹抹去耶爾唇邊沾上的冰淇淋，又低頭親了親雄蟲通紅的耳尖，啞聲笑道。
“這樣就能嘗出味道來了……”
“嗯……”
耶爾緩慢眨了眨眼睛，聞言看向手裏的冰淇淋，才發現居然已經有些化了，也不知道他們親了多久。
他有些暈地轉過頭，抓了一把雪，用冰冷的手指給臉頰降溫。
“再來兩次冰淇淋都化成水了……草莓冰淇淋不是我們play的一環！”
但是微微化開的冰淇淋像是沙冰奶昔，比一開始好吃多了，耶爾迅速原諒了雌蟲的襲擊，開始品嘗雪天吃冰淇淋的滋味。
旁邊的小火爐被挪開，西澤緊挨着耶爾坐了下來，那軍大衣被脫下來好像鬥篷一樣披在他們的肩膀上，形成了一個溫暖的角落。
源源不斷的暖意從緊貼的地方傳來，耶爾不自覺地往雌蟲的方向靠了靠。
他有些出神地咬着冰淇淋的小勺子，望着天空中浩瀚遼闊的星河出神。
“雄主。”
頭頂傳來雌蟲的聲音，他懶洋洋地嗯了一聲，沒有立刻聽到後續也不着急。
“我……”
西澤沒有看着頭頂的星空，視線凝聚在平臺下的雪地裏，那一片潔白中混雜着髒污的泥土和樹葉，讓他微微皺眉。
“我以前……”
他幾次開口又遲疑，最終還是頂着雄蟲疑惑的視線沉默下去。
耶爾放下冰淇淋起身，起身看向雌蟲，“你以前怎麽了？”
之前的精神鏈接還沒有完全消失，能隐約感覺到另一端傳來的低落情緒，模模糊糊的，像是長久孤身站在雪中，渾身沾了冰涼的蕭瑟。
西澤按住他的手，指尖交錯嵌入那指縫間，無聲嘆了口氣。
那些事也許和雄蟲自己的秘密一樣，現在還不是說出口的時候，還是順其自然好了。
“以前看別的幼崽玩煙花覺得漂亮，但是功課太忙了沒時間玩，後來進入軍部上了戰場，就更沒時間了。”
雌蟲突然起身回了包廂，再出來時手裏拿了一個鼓鼓囊囊的袋子。
耶爾扯開袋子，果然見到了各種各樣的煙花，沒有那種獨特的火藥味，花裏胡哨中卻帶了一絲親切。
咔嚓一聲脆響，燃燒的火苗破開輕盈夜色，噼裏啪啦的暖色星火有力地噴湧而出，綻開了繁盛又漂亮的枝葉，像是一顆瞬間生長又隕落的光樹。
“小時候？之前你說在類似艾塔爾的邊緣星上待了很久，就是那個時候嗎？”
耶爾抱着雌蟲的軍大衣，往後坐了坐，專注地看着眼前的煙花。
“不，我是在主星長大的，在沒和家族決裂前是現任公爵唯一的雌子。”
想了想，西澤順着往下道。
“目前帝國的勢力分布中，皇室、軍部和貴族三足鼎立，其中貴族又以蘭斯公爵為首。”
“除了我以外，蘭斯公爵還有一個超A等級的雄子，名為迦諾，是主星貴族雄蟲的領頭蟲。”
西澤給耶爾簡單講解了一下，這段時間他一直忙着穩定局勢，一片混亂中，只顧得上将雄蟲保護在一層厚厚的罩子裏。
但耶爾是S級的雄蟲，身份甚至比當今的陛下還要尊貴得多，消息根本瞞不了多久，他始終有一天會站在大衆面前。
“我粗略知道一點，還有更詳細的嗎……這些事能深入說的嗎？”
第一次聽雌蟲說起這些，耶爾有些新奇，像是真正開始踏入一個曾經向他敞開，後來又關閉上的光怪陸離的世界。
西澤擡起眼，隔着明滅的焰火凝視着雄蟲的輪廓，神色晦暗不明。
“沒什麽不能說的，雖然我并不想讓您知道。”
耶爾怔了一下。
現在的帝國髒得像一個污水橫流的垃圾箱，盤踞許久的貴族像是放了幾十年的頑固污垢，其中的惡臭簡直無法用言語來形容。
他不想讓入懷的月亮蒙塵，不想讓眼前幹幹淨淨的小雄蟲沾上一點點的髒東西，那些事就算只是聽都嫌污了耳朵。
只是保護一朵玫瑰的方式不是将它護在罩子裏，給于昂貴的肥料或清水，而是讓它接受外面的雨露與清風，才能努力煥發生機勃勃。
西澤閉了閉眼，掩去眸底的一絲疲憊，再睜開眼時神色悄然堅決下來。
“雄主想知道些什麽？”
但——
至少在他活着的時候，能掌握每一縷穿過的風都是玫瑰可以承受的，能按照自己的生長節奏一點點舒展瓣葉。
被徹底摧折後再掙紮着新生太痛了，他舍不得耶爾承受這些。
噼啪噼啪……滋滋……
那漂亮的焰火轉瞬即逝，被劃破的夜色再次沉沉地壓了下來，較之之前更加安靜而寒冷。
“太危險了，是不是？”
耶爾突然道，擡起眼看向身前的雌蟲。
“就算我是S級雄蟲，也很有可能陷進泥潭裏沒辦法脫身，要面對無數中傷、惡意和明槍暗箭。”
他看到了雌蟲眼底的痛苦，那是像軟刀子一樣切割心髒的憂慮和疼惜，日夜都在折磨着每一根神經，讓雌蟲始終無法高枕安眠。
西澤抿了抿唇沒說話。
“可是我不想這樣茫然無知下去，不想一派天真地醉生夢死。”
更不想藏在雌蟲的羽翼下，埋着頭躲避那些淩冽的狂風暴雪，卻任憑雌蟲被擊打得渾身是血、疲憊不堪。
這不是他想要的未來，這也不是他愛人的方式。
耶爾看着那燃燒殆盡後留下的灰燼，伸手抓起來一小把遞到西澤面前，認真地道。
“沒關系的，就算有朝一日粉身碎骨化為飛灰，至少灼熱又明亮地燃燒過了，沒什麽好遺憾的。”
“我不是為長長久久地存在而活着，我是為無數精彩的瞬間而活着的，就像你一樣——”
他張開手，那輕盈的灰便被寒風卷到了半空，漸漸消失不見了，只剩下一片狼藉的殘酷。
卻不能說這煙花的一生是毫無意義的。
“西澤，我不怕痛，只怕好不容易有了一次新的生命，卻因為畏手畏腳瞻前顧後，最終白白地浪費掉了。”
雌蟲眼尾微紅，幫他拍了拍手上的髒灰，張了張嘴卻沒能說出什麽，最終只能沉默地握緊了耶爾的手。
“我是這樣的，所以我知道你也是這樣的。”
耶爾抽出了手，從袋子裏拿出新的煙花點燃。
“所以啊，別老是憂心忡忡的了，熬了五年好不容易回來了，就放開手腳大幹一場，別老是想着怎麽保護我了。”
“我好歹也是個S級呢，單憑精神力就能報廢一艘星艦的S級，怎麽想都不該成為一個大拖油瓶的。”
他跳進雪地裏，拿着那根煙花棒後退了幾步，示意了一下半跪着的雌蟲，眉梢微挑。
“算了，那些不着急說，現在氛圍這麽好，先玩一會再說。”
西澤從凝視雄蟲的失神中驚醒，用力捂住了臉掩飾狼狽的失态。
他一連深呼吸了幾下才調整好表情，啞聲道，“……來了。”
那雪地上是新落的雪，又厚又松軟的一層，一踩一個腳印，往後倒就能印出一個大字型的坑。
“救……唔！”
耶爾一個不小心就被雪掩埋住了，只剩一根煙花棒還倔強地露在外面。
他正要掙紮着爬起來，就被猛地拉住了手——
随即腰部一緊，一股大力傳來，他頓時破雪而出。
視線從黑暗變得清晰，耶爾搖落頭上的雪，才發現自己被穩穩托住身體抱在了半空，手上的煙花棒甚至都被換了一根新的。
好像小孩一樣被抱着，恥度還是有些大的。
他放開下意識夾住雌蟲腰的腿，憑空蹬了幾下，低咳了一聲，“放我下來吧。”
咻——砰！！！
話音未落，一道尖銳的破空聲傳來，然後是足以震動雪地的巨大聲響。
頭頂的天空猝然明亮，猛地綻開了無比盛大的千樹星火。
這裏的位置确實是最好的，那煙花幾乎是在正上方的天空綻開，全然無遮擋。
耶爾微微睜大了眼睛，入神地看着眼前的美景。
咻——砰！噼裏啪啦！
砰砰砰砰……！！！
接連不斷的煙火射向高空，在最高點時猝然散開，像是五顏六色的絢爛隕星，在爆裂的瞬間發出璀璨的光芒。
耶爾屏住了呼吸，沉浸在這場全方位的煙花盛宴中，一時忘記了自己和雌蟲的姿勢，時不時拍拍雌蟲的肩膀讓他擡頭。
“好看。”
西澤專注地看着雄蟲的側臉，透過那眸光的倒映觀賞着這場盛典，在明明滅滅的光中描摹着那幹淨的輪廓，許久才低聲道。
“真的，很漂亮。”
……
等他們雙雙倒在平臺上時，外衣已經有些濕了，融化的冰碴滲透進來，讓襯衣緊貼着身體上，有些黏糊糊的不舒服。
Yael let go of the female insect's shoulders and rolled over to lie flat on his back, belatedly noticing the long-forgotten sake.
"I almost forgot about this. It's been hot for a long time. Does it matter?"
He took a sip and almost choked himself, "Ahem... it's sweet."
But the aftereffects of the alcohol soon took effect, and a warm feeling surged up from the stomach, swirling around the chest, quickly dispelling the chill that permeated the body.
Xi Ze pulled over a blanket and wrapped the wet male insect in it, "Go in first, don't catch a cold."
He placed the male insect on the soft cushion, turned around to close the door of the box, and rubbed his hair with the spare towel. In just a short while, Yael drank half a bottle of wine.
When Caesar turned around to pick up Yael, he found that the male insect, which was wrapped like a spring roll with only its head exposed, had a red face and its entire head was almost cooked.
"This place is quite thoughtful. Remember to prepare some wine to ward off the cold... Xi Ze, you should drink a little too, but don't drink too much, or you'll feel dizzy..."
The male insect was grumbling softly as he was writhing on the bed, and it was obvious that he was very drunk.
Xize looked at the wine bottle beside him suspiciously, picked it up and took two sips... It tasted like plain water, with no taste of alcohol at all.
The male insect's alcohol tolerance is surprisingly low.
He was a little amused and reached out to hug Yael who was squirming on the bed, but was glared at suddenly.
"What's wrong, Lord?"
After getting over the initial dizziness, Yael felt extremely sober and did not need to be carried around at all, which was really unworthy of a super S-level pet elf!
"What elf...?"
Hearing the female insect's confused voice, Yael got up from the quilt and mumbled the general setting of the only cartoon he watched as a child by climbing onto the door of his neighbor's house.
He caught a glimpse of the female insect's empty hands, and suddenly became angry. "You want to catch me without a Pokémon Ball? You wish! I want the kind that bulingbuling..."
After playing for a while, Yael shifted his attention and began to complain about being hot and thirsty, claiming that he wanted to eat a five-ball ice cream tower.
"This time I want to eat it myself! I won't eat what's in your mouth!"
The male insect had some inexplicable resentment about this, but soon began to mutter about other things, and his talkativeness increased several times more than before he got drunk.
“Okay, okay…”
Caesar tried to find a gap to help him wipe his hair, laughing and sighing at the same time, wondering how there could be such a cute bug in the world.
After a lot of hard work, Yael was finally exhausted and fell into a deep sleep wrapped in the quilt.
Xi Ze took the opportunity to change him into clean clothes, and after cleaning everything up, he peeled the male insect out of the quilt.
After contacting Bai Lang to come and pick him up, he wrapped the male insect tightly in his military coat, leaving only a small gap for breathing, then opened the door of the box and strode out.
The sky outside was already turning white.
The author has something to say:
Yeah Yeah (woke up the next day): ...Don't laugh, this is what happens after one glass of wine (dead fish eyes)