SZAR Chapter 123

On the night of their wedding, Qu Xia finally got his hands on those abs he had been dreaming about.

He found his “favorite toy” and nuzzled and rubbed against Erwen endlessly, messing up the admiral’s pajamas. Erwen waited patiently, but when Qu Xia still didn’t get to the point, he had no choice but to lift him out of his arms with a sigh: “Are you planning to bury yourself here all night?”

Qu Xia twisted shyly. “W-well… that’s not impossible.”

Erwen had never thought his own body had any special appeal. Many of the military females had abs too. In fact, some were worried that such a body wouldn’t be considered attractive.

But Qu Xia clearly loved it. He buried his face against Erwen’s shoulder blades like a cat sniffing catnip.

Erwen felt a tickle from Qu Xia’s rubbing, but didn’t move away. The closeness, the overload of pheromones, all the factors combined left him feeling a little powerless. After a moment, he drew a deep breath and got out of bed: “I’m going to take a shower.”

He had already showered half an hour earlier, but if he stayed any longer, he couldn’t guarantee what kind of expression he might unconsciously show in front of the male zerg.

Halfway through lifting the blanket, Erwen froze.

Qu Xia planted a peck on his collarbone.

The male zerg had obviously never had any experience in romance. His kiss was naive and awkward, teeth lightly tapping the neck, then he seemed embarrassed, licking in a shy, appeasing way.

The warmth exploded across Erwen’s skin. He shivered, drew a deep breath, and, a little annoyed, said, “Qu Xia…”

“What do we do next?” Qu Xia huddled under the blanket, peeking out at Erwen with a puzzled, innocent expression. He looked around shyly. “I… I kind of know what to do next, but… um, I…”

What could Erwen do with a male insect like this?

He felt equal parts exasperated and helpless. Finally, he took Qu Xia’s hand and said, “Come on.”

Even someone as calm and collected as the admiral found teaching a male insect how to explore so delicate a matter extremely stressful. His limbs stiffened slightly, skin taut. Qu Xia leaned in comfortingly, planting a kiss and murmuring, “Don’t worry. I looked up how to take care of you. I’ll take really good care of you.”

Erwen couldn’t help but feel both amused and helpless again.

He replied in a broken, breathless voice, “You don’t need to… I’m not that fragile.”

Qu Xia said, “Yes, I want to.”

He had a tendency to ramble: “I’ve been studying carefully. There are generally three main points, if we do them right, the fatigue period will feel really comfortable…”

Erwen’s forehead twitched, sweat rolling down his cheek. He cut the male zerg off, a trace of teeth-gritting irritation in his voice: “Do you really have to talk about this now?”

“Oh!” Qu Xia said apologetically, returning to what he was doing.

Erwen felt utterly exhausted.

Honestly, Qu Xia wasn’t particularly formidable. His style, like himself, carried a kind of naive, let’s-talk-it-through quality. But the second marking triggered a fatigue period far more intense than the first. The two markings clashed, and the excess hormones left every muscle sore and limp. Yet, under this extreme physical fatigue, his mind felt as if it were floating in a warm bath, drowsy and blissfully content.

Qu Xia’s marking, like himself, evoked the feeling of a summer evening over a lotus pond: lying in a small boat, drifting beneath the leaves, and caring about nothing at all except sleep.

Qu Xia tugged the blanket over them, covering them both snugly, and peeked up. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Erwen said.

It was strange. Just a simple blanket, yet he felt a rare, long-lost sense of safety.

The females of the Aettris family had been busy since birth. For the sake of their family’s honor, they sacrificed countless things. Erwen was strong, strong enough not to need protection. Yet here, beside the fragile little researcher, he felt safe.

No one would drag him out of bed anymore, drag him into the punishment room. He could sleep peacefully until morning. He didn’t have to force a smile, flatter, or please anyone while utterly exhausted. All he needed to do was close his eyes and calmly wait for the fatigue period to pass.

Qu Xia pressed a soft kiss to his side profile. “Go to sleep. Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of everything.”

………………

Early the next morning, Qu Xia woke up.

Rarely did he get up this quickly. He went over the day’s plan at top speed.

Hmm, a female in fatigue period can’t work, so Erwen would lie in bed all day. Qu Xia had to order delivery. Fatigue period meant no spicy or stimulating food, so he had to pick gentle soups and porridges. During fatigue period, females rely heavily on the male’s pheromones, so he had to stay by Erwen’s side constantly…

He went over all the details carefully, then reached over, only to find nothing.

Qu Xia: “?”

He opened his eyes and saw the other side of the bed clean, empty. Erwen was gone.

Qu Xia: “!”

He shot out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and dashed into the hall, colliding with the household robot.

The robot tilted its head.  ⟦ Master, you’re awake? ⟧

It reached out and lightly held the edge of Qu Xia’s shirt.  ⟦ Master Erwen has already prepared breakfast for you: warm milk, oatmeal millet porridge, and bacon buttered bread. Would you like to eat now? ⟧

Qu Xia looked at the clock. Just past eight.

He nearly choked, exclaiming: “Erwen already made breakfast? What time did he get up?”

The little robot tilted its head, confused.  ⟦ Master Erwen got up at six, as usual. ⟧

Qu Xia went frantic. “I know he gets up at six every day, but today, today is different!”

Today was the legendary worst day for a female during fatigue period, as painful as a severe illness in humans. How could a seriously sick patient get up at six and make breakfast?

He pressed on the little robot. “Then where did Erwen go?”

The little robot looked even more confused. 【 Master goes to the military department every day. 】

Qu Xia’s world spun.

A seriously sick patient not only got up at six, made breakfast, and went to work on time, but went to the military department, of all places, in the sun and wind!

He nearly wanted to drag Erwen back immediately. Fuming, he grabbed his light-brain and dialed Erwen’s communication line.

Erwen was in his office, reviewing documents.

His two trusted aides, Lin En and Nuo Wei, stood on either side, each holding a stack of papers, reporting in a perfectly formal manner.

Suddenly, Erwen raised a hand, signaling pause.

He left his aides behind and strode quickly out of the office, wasting not a second. In the corridor, he opened the communication line and lowered his voice: “What is it? I’m working.” The Admiral still hadn’t fully switched out of work mode; his tone was slightly cold.

Qu Xia froze.

Without warning, he choked out, “I can’t find you.”

Pheromone shifts don’t just affect females; males can feel them too. Their symptoms are far milder, and males are naturally irritable, so no one had realized they could experience a fatigue period.

But for Qu Xia, who was already prone to tears, it was a different story.

Yesterday, he had cuddled with his beloved in bed. Today, he opened his eyes to a cold, empty bed. On the first morning after their wedding, there was no good morning kiss, Erwen had gone off to the military department. Thinking about it made Qu Xia feel deeply upset.

And once he felt upset, he couldn’t stop himself from crying.

Erwen was completely stunned.

On his usually cold, stern face, a flicker of panic appeared. “Xia Xia? What’s wrong? Was breakfast not good? Should I have the household robot redo it?”

Who could make this calm male cry at home? Erwen thought it over and realized the only possible explanation had to be breakfast.

“It’s not that…” Qu Xia wiped his face, glaring at him. “Who cares about breakfast!”

The more he thought about it, the sadder he got. “It’s the first day of our marriage, and you left me to go to work at the military department. The good morning kiss— on the first day after our wedding — you didn’t give me a good morning kiss…”

Qu Xia’s parents were a model couple, deeply in love for over twenty years. Every morning, before leaving for work, they exchanged a good morning kiss at the door. For Qu Xia, this had always been a couple’s “wake-up ritual”: kiss, then off to work, starting the day full of energy. He had never imagined that on the very first day of his marriage, he wouldn’t get a good morning kiss from his partner.

The little male sat slumped on the sofa, looking utterly dejected, a mixture of grievance and sadness written all over him.

He hung his head and asked Erwen, “Is there something very important at the military department? It’s okay if you’re busy… you don’t need to worry about me.”

The military department always had important matters. Qu Xia understood this, he was clear-headed enough to know.

Erwen fell into an odd silence.

There were no urgent matters at the military department, nothing out of the ordinary. But among the zerg race, there was no tradition of good morning kisses; males saw no value in such intimacy that gave no pleasure. If a female didn’t get dragged out of bed after mating, he went straight to work after the wedding. Erwen’s previous marriage had been exactly like that, he never thought to stay home for a single day.

After a moment, Erwen said, “…Yes. There is an urgent matter at the military department, extremely urgent.”

He wasn’t good at lying in this regard, but he had a gut feeling: if he said there wasn’t, the little male would start crying again.

“But it’s already handled,” Erwen said, expressionless. “I’m going home right now.”

Qu Xia hugged his pillow and lit up with a huge smile.

The little male was really easy to appease in some ways. Feeling a slight pang of guilt, Erwen strode back to the office, picked up his coat and keys, and signaled to Lin En and Nuo Wei, “You two head back first. Please file my leave for today.”

“Understood, Sir,” Lin En replied. “What reason should we write for the leave?”

Erwen had worked diligently for so long, never missing a day. He had just taken a call and was leaving immediately, surely something concerning the very survival of the empire.

Erwen fell silent again.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it was because his own male had cried and needed consoling. His lips moved slightly as he forced out a single phrase from his throat: “…Just say I’m in a fatigue period.”

With that, he buttoned up his coat and strode out in long, purposeful steps.

Behind him came the heavy sound of something hitting the floor.

Lin En’s documents had fallen, his mouth forming a perfect “O.”

“Fa-fa-fati… fatigue period?!”

Sure, the military had something called a fatigue period leave, but that was for ordinary female soldiers. Was the Admiral an ordinary female soldier? He had once charged straight into the battlefield on the second day of his period and smashed through the enemy lines!

And yet, looking at the Admiral now, striding like that, did he even look the slightest bit like he was in a fatigue period?

Nuo Wei quietly picked up the fallen documents and handed them back to Lin En. “You wouldn’t understand. Just keep approving.”

Lin En: “……”

— You wouldn’t understand, you wouldn’t understand, you just wouldn’t understand.

Lin En, the only one of the three without a partner, felt like he’d just taken a ten-thousand-point critical hit.

He angrily wiped his face, channeling his frustration into focus, and began furiously going through the paperwork.

………………

At home, Erwen opened the door and immediately saw the little male on the sofa.

Qu Xia sat obediently hugging a pillow, as if he hadn’t moved an inch. Erwen’s heart melted. He came over and sat beside him, ruffling the little male’s hair, his voice gentle: “What’s wrong?”

Qu Xia tilted his body, leaning against his shoulder. “I want a kiss.”

Erwen turned his head and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Qu Xia accepted the belated good morning kiss with some reluctance and complained, “What was so urgent at the military that you had to run off so early?”

Erwen: “……”

The Admiral’s gaze flickered slightly, a hint of guilt showing, and he said evasively, “Hmm… just some things that are hard to explain.”

Qu Xia mumbled, “What kind of things can’t a prince like me know? Now, the empire’s important matters have to go through me, you know.”

Erwen: “……”

He stood up. “Breakfast got cold. I’ll reheat it.”

Qu Xia: “Oh.”

The little male’s mood came fast and went just as quickly. He soon stopped pressing about the military, but he asked from behind, “Can you cook? Standing too long won’t tire you? Should we order takeout?”

Erwen shook his head with a faint smile. “I’m not made of glass.”

Qu Xia tugged him back. “But today you should be.”

He gestured wildly. “I read a lot of papers. Fatigue period phase is basically like being glass. You have to be careful… Anyway, it’s better not to be too tired. Let’s order takeout.”

Erwen sighed again.

Qu Xia was always like this, just a few words and he could melt a heart that had been frozen for decades. Seeing Qu Xia still listing one, two, three, four reasons why he shouldn’t cook, Erwen suddenly reached out and pulled him in front of him.

Qu Xia: “Hm? Hm!”

Erwen leaned down and kissed him first.

Unlike Qu Xia’s innocent, inexperienced kisses, the Admiral’s knowledge and skill were vast. In no time, he left the little male dizzy and lost, and Qu Xia staggered out of his arms, his beautiful deer-like eyes wide: “What was that? So sudden!”

They weren’t kissing for the first time, but before it had always been just lips brushing, touching and then parting. Qu Xia could never master a proper deep kiss, and Erwen had always been calm and restrained, taking only as much as he needed. But now, the Admiral acted on rare impulse. He held Qu Xia in his arms with great force, a possessive posture like a dragon guarding its treasure.

“Good morning kiss,” Erwen said. “To make up for you.”

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『dapotaturs note: Main story finished. Extras up next 』

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