SZAR Chapter 85

The visitor was none other than Chu Ci, the other recently renowned S-rank male.

Chu Ci looked just as bewildered as Chu Xiu. With no royal members in sight, they sat down side by side. Chu Xiu spoke first: “You really have a gift for games.”

He glanced at Chu Ci meaningfully. “Except for yours, the pixels in other games are too low.”

Chu Ci paused, then looked up at him.

Here, in the royal domain, no one knew why the royal family had gathered the two S-rank males, or whether there were eavesdropping devices hidden in the gentle, breezy garden. Yet the moment Chu Xiu spoke, Chu Ci understood his background.

Even among the Zerg, there is talk of “pixels,” but it’s never applied to games, because they have no concept of pixel-based gaming.

The graphics of Zerg games are all a complete mess. Since everything looks the same, the locals don’t notice any difference.

Although the phrasing is odd, it can still pass. Even if someone noticed the unusual wording, they’d probably just think an uneducated male used the wrong term, not that it carried any deeper meaning.

Chu Ci hummed softly and smiled. “Yes. I’ve always wanted to bring change to the gaming industry, and that’s what I’ve been working toward. I think next, perhaps we could move from single-player casual games toward multiplayer exploration or competitive modes.”

Chu Xiu nodded. “I think the same.”

From single-player to multiplayer, from repetitive casual games to map exploration and competition, that was the path human games had taken.

They drifted onto small talk about the weather, flowers, and other trivial topics. Eventually, the royal family arrived, fashionably late.

The current emperor was already very old. Presently, governance was handled by the heir apparent, the crown prince, as regent.

Chu Xiu had heard gossip about this prince on StarNet: said to be dull and foolish, lacking character, though his elder brother was a high-ranking male who had cultivated many influential officials, hence, the prince became the first in line for succession.

The first to arrive at the banquet was that elder brother: His Highness Prince Leonard, an A-rank male.

The prince wore an ivory robe, with gold embroidery along the edges. The threads ran down the length of the robe, converging at the hem into a rose entwined with thorns. He bowed slightly to Chu Xiu and Chu Ci, then pulled forward a young male with his head lowered. “This is my younger brother,” he introduced.

Chu Xiu and Chu Ci stood and bowed. “Your Highness, Crown Prince.”

The first-in-line heir had a decent appearance but kept his head lowered, silent and expressionless, he didn’t look very sharp. In contrast, Leonard talked and laughed with ease.

He first congratulated Chu Xiu and Chu Ci on advancing to S, then added a few flattery lines like “young talents” and “the empire’s dawn,” before casually remarking: “With such exceptional talent, if you weren’t already married, I’d really want to match a few royal heirs with you.”

Chu Xiu and Chu Ci froze mid-bite, glancing up at him.

Leonard seemed completely unaware he had just said something that could ruin the mood. He continued: “Your female monarchs are both outstanding, just with a few minor imperfections.”

He smiled faintly and clinked glasses with Chu Ci. “Give my regards to Major General Nuo Wei. I heard he recently dropped a rank, how is his mental sea?”

Chu Ci forced a smile. “Quite well.”

Leonard nodded lightly, then raised his glass to Chu Xiu. “And give my regards to Yi Xi, how’s his pheromone disorder?”

Chu Xiu smiled in kind. “It’s been cured.”

Leonard feigned surprise. “Cured? The best time to treat pheromone disorders is in childhood, then youth. Now it’s cured, truly, heaven has smiled upon him.”

On the surface, his words seemed casual, but each sentence was deliberate. First he mentioned the demotion, then the mental sea, then the pheromone disorder, then age, all sensitive points of Nuo Wei and Yi Xi’s insecurities. Were this not royal territory, where assaulting a prince is a capital offense, Chu Xiu would have already flipped the table.

Prince Leonard, however, appeared unconcerned with Chu Xiu and Chu Ci’s reactions. Wiping his hands with a towel, he suddenly reached to the right, grabbed the crown prince’s chin, and forced him to lift his lowered face, displaying his handsome features like one would showcase a product.

“Isn’t he beautiful?” Leonard asked.

The crown prince indeed had a striking face. His deep blue eyes resembled the ocean, and his golden hair looked like a gift from the gods. Ignoring his wooden expression, he was a beauty worthy of comparison to a movie star.

Chu Xiu and Chu Ci exchanged a glance but said nothing.

Whether to praise or deny it, judging a stranger’s appearance so boldly was impolite.

Leonard smiled. “As you can see, my brother isn’t very smart, but he’s obedient, good-looking, has strong healing ability, and can endure a lot. I hope you two might consider whether there’s room for him in your household.”

A crown prince can only marry as a female monarch.

Chu Xiu’s brow twitched, about to speak, but Leonard raised a hand to interrupt. “Please, don’t rush to refuse. My brother may be foolish, but he is, in fact, the empire’s first-in-line heir. All royal property will go to him, and his male lord will be crowned prince, becoming one of the highest nobles on the main planet. Besides, there are advantages to his foolishness.”

He winked. “A dull emperor cannot govern; someone must act as regent. When he ascends, I am willing to…”

Divide the empire in two.

The words lingered on his lips, unspoken but unmistakable in his mouth movements. Chu Xiu was the first to rise and gave a slight bow. “Thank you very much for the invitation, but I lack the talent for governance and dare not entertain thoughts of ruling. If you don’t mind, I’ll take my leave first.”

This visitor was dangerous; there was no need to linger.

Chu Ci, unwilling to be outdone, also stood and smiled faintly. “Thank you for the invitation, Your Highness, but I have no grand ambitions, and I’m lethargic to the extreme. I just want to lie at home playing games. I truly lack the talent to govern. If you don’t insist, I’ll take my leave as well.”

Leonard showed no anger. He raised his glass toward the backs of the two males. “You needn’t refuse so quickly. If you change your minds, you can contact me anytime via email.”

Chu Xiu had already disappeared down the end of the corridor.

He and Chu Ci walked almost side by side to the palace gates. Chu Xiu looked at his companion and silently mouthed: “Prisoner’s Dilemma.”

Leonard had summoned the two of them together and offered extremely generous terms. Ordinary males would naturally suspect each other, even compete to send emails to Leonard, and he would have room to bargain. But Chu Xiu and Chu Ci were no ordinary Zerg. A single glance told them the other would not agree.

Having crossed over from the human world, their material needs were already satisfied, there was no need for greed. Moreover, dividing the empire in two may sound simple, but Leonard had spent years building his power; it was impossible to disrupt him lightly. Rushing in recklessly would be extremely unwise.

Besides, both of them already had females they loved deeply.

Chu Xiu and Chu Ci waved farewell. Concerned about possible eavesdropping, they spoke no further and turned to board their respective aircrafts.

………………

When Chu Xiu returned home, the master bedroom lights were already off.

He checked the time. Since he had left early, it was only a little past eight, far from Yi Xi’s usual bedtime. He crept upstairs quietly, reached out, and pulled back the covers, only to see the bed untouched, with no sign that anyone had lain there.

It was then that Chu Xiu noticed Yi Xi sitting by the window.

He seemed to have had a bit of wine; a faint scent of orange blossom lingered in the air. Moonlight poured in from the window ledge, outlining his silhouette with delicate softness, reflecting a cool silver glow on his glasses.

Even now, Chu Xiu still didn’t know why Yi Xi had been acting strangely these past few days. All this time, he had wasted his years in the bar.

A few days ago, after leveling up to S, Chu Xiu had sensed something was off, but humans are always monogamous, and he hadn’t even considered other possibilities. Besides, Yi Xi had always been skilled at hiding his emotions; whenever the topic came up, he would change the subject or avoid it entirely. Chu Xiu didn’t dare confront him directly, so he played dumb, thinking that, in time, the truth would reveal itself.

Later, when the royal invitation arrived, Chu Xiu, having never seen the zerg royalty, didn’t understand the ins and outs. In his mind, royalty should be high and mighty, above reproach, unable to tolerate even a speck of sand. He could never have imagined they would pull off a scheme where a married man could replace his wife with another, as if it were natural. Even the most despotic emperors of the past couldn’t do such a thing, Emperor Li Shimin would have had to worry about whether Minister Fang Xuanling’s wife would get jealous, but in the Zerg world, it was treated as perfectly ordinary.

Yi Xi leaned quietly by the window, his expression as lonely as the moonlight. Chu Xiu walked over, hugged him from behind, and took the bottle from his hand.

He asked softly, “Why are you drinking alone?”

Yi Xi paused, covering Chu Xiu’s hand with his own: “You’re back.”

He tilted his face up toward the male, a trace of a smile on his lips: “Why did you come back so soon? Wasn’t that prince handsome enough?”

Chu Xiu buried his face in his lover’s shoulder: “Whether he’s handsome has nothing to do with me.”

He held Yi Xi’s hand and whispered solemnly, “I don’t want anyone else. I have no interest in him. Yi Xi, I only want you.”

These words were as true as Chu Xiu could ever speak from his heart, yet Yi Xi paused, gently pulled his hand down from his shoulder, and shook his head with a light smile: “Cointreau, you’re still too young.”

Chu Xiu froze. Aside from times in bed where they’d been intimate, this was the first time Yi Xi had actively pushed him away. He stopped, then asked, “What do you mean?”

He was destined to marry only one. What does being “young” have to do with it?

Yi Xi stood up. Without his suit jacket, the silver-gray coat slid off the chair, revealing a long, lean body wrapped in his shirt. He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up and sighed lightly: “Cointreau, we need to talk.”

“We really need to talk.”

Then he turned on the light and pushed a calculation whiteboard from the corner. Yi Xi had a habit of thinking and writing at the same time; every office he spent time in had a whiteboard, and later Chu Xiu even placed one in the bedroom.

Yi Xi dragged the board to the center and uncapped a marker: “Cointreau, do you know what marrying an imperial crown prince means?”

He started writing on the board. One row of numbers appeared after another. Calmly, he explained while pointing at them: “Although Stellar Group is the largest financial conglomerate in the empire, it still cannot compare to a dynasty that operates over generations. Most of my funds are tied up in the stock market, but the royal family is different. They monopolize salt, iron, and other industries. Their annual tribute is astronomical.”

“And as the Male Lord of a Crown Prince, you’d at least be entitled to this.”

He circled one number, followed by countless zeros.

Chu Xiu wasn’t sensitive to numbers. He furrowed his brow, unable to fully grasp why Yi Xi was explaining this: “But… what does this have to do with anything?”

Yi Xi shook his head and continued, “The royal treasury holds the richest collection of jewels in the entire galaxy. As the Male Lord of the Crown Prince, you would be allowed to wear any of these treasures, even handle the scepter and crown used in the former emperor’s coronation. Though I am wealthy, there are some antique jewels with historical value that I cannot obtain. You like collecting things, surely you’ll appreciate their treasure vault.”

Chu Xiu’s brow furrowed deeper. Something felt off, though he couldn’t put it into words. A restless irritation rose in him without reason. He said coldly, “I don’t like it.”

Yi Xi smiled again, still that patient, indulgent smile, the expression one gives to a willful child. He picked up the marker once more, writing Leonard’s and the Crown Prince’s names, along with several others, arranging them on two sides.

“The emperor is critically ill. These are the two factions at play today. Prince Leonard is an A-rank male; his brother is the most likely to ascend the throne.”

As he spoke, Yi Xi drew a circle around one name: “When you occupy this position, you’ll have enormous power at your disposal.”

Chu Xiu stared at him intently, his gaze piercing.

Yi Xi almost felt burned by the intensity, awkwardly averting his eyes. Then he smiled again. “Cointreau, the foundation you started has helped many people. If you occupy this position, you can reshape the world according to your vision. I know you are a good child, you will fulfill your hopes and expectations well.”

Chu Xiu repeated the words silently.

“A good child? Fulfill my hopes well?”

He slowly chewed over the sentence. It hit him like a sudden enlightenment: the sense that something was wrong. Yi Xi wasn’t questioning his loyalty, nor wondering if Chu Xiu wanted to marry another. He was like a patriarch helping a child pick their future. On the whiteboard, he was laying out “Major A, easy job, million annual salary” and “Major B, exhausting work, three thousand per month,” planning the best path for Chu Xiu.

He had detached himself from the perspective of a lover and was observing coldly as a senior businessman, mapping out Chu Xiu’s optimal future.

Chu Xiu could not help but clench his fists.

In his past life, Chu Xiu had seen extreme loss of control and violence. He had admired Yi Xi’s calm and gentle nature deeply. But now, he hated it with equal intensity.

…How could Yi Xi speak like this, acting as if it were natural to plan his future?

As if his marriage were merely another piece on a chessboard.

Chu Xiu heard his own calm voice sound out, strange in tone and rough with hoarseness: “So… you want me to marry that prince, as my female monarch?”

Yi Xi’s hand froze mid-stroke on the whiteboard.

His right hand continued to write smoothly, steady as a mountain, but the left hand hidden in his sleeve trembled uncontrollably. He closed his eyes tightly and whispered, “Cointreau… I just don’t want you to regret it later.”

Chu Xiu stared at him coldly. Suddenly, he ripped off his light-brain and threw it hard onto the bed. Then he sank backward onto the soft mattress, which quivered three times under him. Hunched over, he sat on the bed, lifting a hand to cover his eyes, burying his entire face in his palm.

It was as if he had heard something unbelievable. His voice overflowed with incredulity, almost biting, almost demanding: “Regret? Why would I ever regret anything?”

Yi Xi stopped writing and said softly, “Cointreau… you’re still young.”

You’re still young. You just advanced to S. You don’t understand how wide the gap is between S and F. You haven’t experienced the privileges of being S-ranked. You haven’t seen this vast, dazzling world. You haven’t encountered a female that makes your heart skip a beat. You haven’t witnessed all the glittering, decadent splendor. Years from now, when you look back, you’ll realize, truly realize, how glorious a path you once missed.

Flowers in full bloom, stars shining brilliantly.

As an elder, as a female monarch, as someone who loves him, Yi Xi cannot sit idly by and let such a thing happen.

Even though his fingers trembled and his chest ached, even though he felt like bursting out the door in sorrow, he had to tell Chu Xiu everything, just as it was, to help him make a wise choice.

Chu Xiu stared at him, expression utterly strange.

After a moment, he suddenly laughed out loud, then fell backward onto the bed, suddenly silent, hands still covering his face, unmoving.

Chu Xiu realized: He had told a monumental lie.

He craved Yi Xi’s care, savored Yi Xi’s patience, delighted in that elder-like indulgence. The treasures he collected were not for their own sake, but because of Yi Xi’s affection, the kind of helpless yet faintly amused love he could never give up.

He didn’t want to bring up the shameful past of his previous life, didn’t want to explain why he first met in a bar behind the cocktail counter. So he presented himself as a simple child, without guile, without distracting thoughts, with a mind so clear it could be seen to the bottom. His acting was so flawless that Yi Xi never suspected a thing.

‘I’m really excessive’, Chu Xiu thought.

He had done something so excessive: He loved Yi Xi’s character, yet carefully concealed his own. He never opened his heart, yet expected Yi Xi to be sincere with him.

Something cold slid down his cheek, rolling into the pillow and disappearing entirely.

‘I’m not… I’m not’, Chu Xiu thought.

Yi Xi believed he was a pure, innocent child, believed he had never seen the world’s splendor, never considered the future, thought his mind was still immature, certain that he would one day regret it.

But Chu Xiu was not that.

The first half of his life had been so wretched, so humiliating. He had dropped out of school early, survived in shady places, seen the glitter of the ultra-wealthy and powerful, and the mire beneath that brilliance. He could fake a smile, flatter, sit behind a bar and say things he found disgusting for the sake of business. He was hypocritical, accommodating, corrupt, but he was far from naive.

Yi Xi thought Chu Xiu had too little experience, like a newly hatched chick, and that’s why he had fallen for him at first sight. That youthful affection, Yi Xi believed, would vanish once he grew older.

But only Chu Xiu knew the truth: He was no hatchling at all.

He was a weary bird, battered and bruised all over, who had traveled thousands of miles before finding a nest to rest in.