SZAR Chapter 86

Chu Xiu fell backward onto the bed, grinning, seemingly smiling, yet something crystalline rolled down through the gaps of his fingers covering his eyes, landing on the pale sheets and leaving a dark stain.

He was crying.

Yi Xi panicked. He had imagined many possibilities, perhaps Chu Xiu would hesitate, would think, would agree, but he had never once imagined that Chu Xiu would cry.

He had made Cointreau cry.

The calm, composed leader was at a loss. He carefully, almost timidly, sat beside him, reaching out to move his arms, but Chu Xiu pushed his hand away.

“Don’t look at me,” Chu Xiu buried his face in the blanket. “It’s not pretty.”

“It is, Cointreau is always beautiful,” Yi Xi said, taking hold of his arm and gently moving it, revealing a pair of reddened eyes.

Chu Xiu’s lovely peach-blossom eyes overflowed with tears. His long lashes were soaked, and his dark brown pupils looked like mist-shrouded mountain ridges. Yi Xi pulled a tissue from the headboard, hesitated for a moment, then gently pressed it to the corner of Chu Xiu’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

Marrying into the royal family was a good thing, why was he crying?

Yi Xi tried to reason with him: “You marrying that prince is a good thing. We won’t divorce; I’ll just become a female attendant. But you’ll gain the title of a Prince, access to the royal treasury…”

From any angle, it was a fair trade. Chu Xiu would lose nothing and gain much. Yi Xi suppressed the ache in his heart, speaking more and more fluidly…

Then, suddenly, his eyes went wide.

Chu Xiu kissed him.

He pressed Yi Xi against the headboard, the force of the kiss nearly rough, his beautiful eyes staring unblinking, fierce yet filled with reproach. After a moment, Chu Xiu pulled back slightly, half-sitting, resting his forehead against the side of Yi Xi’s neck.

“Stop talking…” the male murmured. “Please, just stop.”

Yi Xi hesitated for a moment, then reached out, resting his hand along Chu Xiu’s back.

The male’s back shivered slightly under his touch.

Chu Xiu’s emotions surged beyond control. He stayed hunched over, his tears falling almost as if they could drown Yi Xi. Yi Xi held him, applying a gentle pressure to keep him close, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

He was always like this, utterly accepting, as if no matter what Chu Xiu did, he would quietly soothe him like this.

Chu Xiu pressed himself almost desperately against Yi Xi. He realized he had to speak, to confess, to tell Yi Xi that Cointreau had never been the innocent, pure child he appeared to be, but Chu Xiu couldn’t bring himself to say it.

If Yi Xi loved that youthful, naive Cointreau, would he still love him after the truth was revealed?

Would Yi Xi feel deceived? Would he feel disgusted? Just imagining that possibility made Chu Xiu feel like dying.

He could not bear even a hint of indifference from Yi Xi. He was like a fish long starving for water, suddenly given an entire ocean. If he had never seen such a vast expanse, perhaps he could have endured, but now that he had, he could never let go.

The hand along his back continued to stroke him gently. Chu Xiu calmed slightly. He pulled away from Yi Xi’s embrace, lowering his eyes so he wouldn’t look at him, then suddenly said, “I’m not.”

The words were abrupt, disconnected, and Yi Xi paused, asking, “Not what?”

Chu Xiu kept his gaze down, his lashes casting dark shadows over his face, looking a little lost. He asked softly, “Do you remember the first time we met?”

Yi Xi nodded. “At the bar.” A faint trace of nostalgia crossed his expression. “You said you couldn’t afford school.”

“Mm,” Chu Xiu said. “Maybe you don’t go to entertainment places often, but Whistle is a very high-end bar. They don’t hire ordinary staff, only the most experienced bartenders.”

Yi Xi pushed up his glasses slightly, as if pondering Chu Xiu’s words.

Chu Xiu said, “I’m experienced enough. Before I met you, I had already been bartending for ten years.”

Ignoring the surprised look in Yi Xi’s eyes, he continued on his own. He feared that if he didn’t speak now, he’d never find the courage to bring it up again.

Chu Xiu’s story tumbled out in a disordered, almost chaotic way. He jumped from his childhood experiences, to his gambling father, to taking college exams, then dropping out, then bartending, navigating between customers…

Finally, he spoke of the meteor hurtling down the mountain road.

Yi Xi’s hand, resting on his back, had stopped at some point. The male’s story was like a fantastical tale, full of wild imagery, implausible, riddled with gaps and inconsistencies, but Yi Xi believed it.

He thought: Finally, some questions have answers.

For example, why the young master of the Chu family was short on money, why he had humbled himself to work at a bar, or why Chu Xiu’s personality differed so sharply from the reports. He was clearly gentle, kind, and charming, yet the records described him as volatile and moody.

Yi Xi held Chu Xiu closer, thinking for a moment. “So, you… um, by your account, you ‘traveled through’?”

Chu Xiu nodded vigorously.

Then there was a long silence.

Yi Xi was processing the male’s words. Such a “reincarnation into another body” experience was staggering beyond belief, and he needed time to digest it.

Chu Xiu’s heart, meanwhile, tightened little by little in that silence.

Cointreau, used to wearing a mask, had laid bare his true self so clearly. He felt helpless and bewildered. Chu Xiu rested his head against Yi Xi’s shoulder, whispering with a barely audible sob, “Yi Xi… please don’t abandon me…”

“Don’t abandon me…”

He seemed like a child who had been playing a role for too long, his soul fragile. The master bartender had survived storms, massive debts, and ruthless pressure without breaking, but now, even a single casual rejection from Yi Xi could feel fatal.

Yi Xi’s hand froze around the male’s.

Chu Xiu’s reaction had been so intense, far beyond what Yi Xi had expected.

Yi Xi knew the male loved him. The young male’s affection had always been so loud and intense, yet he had thought it was nothing more than a fleeting illusion, unable to last long. But now, seeing Chu Xiu so afraid of his leaving, Yi Xi suddenly realized just how important he was to him.

He wasn’t some inconsequential passerby, he mattered.

Yi Xi exhaled sharply, holding the male tighter. “How could you think that?”

He sighed. “How could I ever not want you?”

Until now, only the female had feared the male’s absence, feared the ailments of the mental sea and pheromones. But now, Chu Xiu himself feared losing Yi Xi.

“But…” Chu Xiu pressed his lips together. “The Cointreau you like… isn’t me.”

Yi Xi laughed, his glasses tilting slightly. He ruffled Chu Xiu’s hair. “How isn’t it you?”

Chu Xiu lowered his head. “Cointreau just came of age. I’m not.”

“Cointreau hasn’t endured storms. I’m not.”

“Cointreau is innocent and pure. I’m not either.”

The male’s lost, desolate expression tugged sharply at Yi Xi’s heart. He couldn’t help but smooth Chu Xiu again and asked, “But the one who descended from the sky to save Clement… was that you?”

Chu Xiu blinked, stunned.

“The one who set up a foundation and distributed tens of millions in a few months… was that you?”

“The one who grabbed me from behind during the live broadcast in front of so many people, insisting on teaching me to knead dough… was that you?”

Yi Xi pressed on: “The one in the hospital who wouldn’t let me take my medicine… was that you?”

Chu Xiu suddenly lifted his head. Yi Xi held him, sighing softly. “Cointreau, I’m the President of Stellar Group, not a kindergarten principal. I’m not someone who will cradle every random child who comes whining. But you… I’ve always held you.”

He looked Chu Xiu directly in the face. “The one I love… is you, Cointreau. From beginning to end, it’s only you.”

Fireworks seemed to explode in Chu Xiu’s mind. Slightly tipsy and dizzy, he could hardly believe that all his long-held worries had just drifted away. Hesitant yet seeking confirmation, he blurted out to Yi Xi: “You… don’t mind?”

“Mind what?”

Chu Xiu choked on his words. “I’m a bartender. I have lots of regulars. I flatter them, say nice things to them… I—of course!” He suddenly realized what he just said could be misinterpreted and hurriedly added, “We didn’t do anything!”

“Cointreau.” Yi Xi sounded a little exasperated. “Every male Zerg has many partners.”

They simply don’t have the concept of chastity.

Chu Xiu whispered, “That’s different.”

He watched Yi Xi’s face carefully, trying to catch some hint of disapproval, but Yi Xi remained gentle and calm, no frown, no impatience, and certainly no disgust.

Yi Xi said lightly, “The guests like you. That means you’re charming. You bring them joy. That’s a good thing.”

Those shameful past moments were brushed aside so lightly, as if Yi Xi had smoothed over the scars themselves.

Chu Xiu’s drifting heart settled back in place.

Like a weary bird returning to its nest, a wandering fish swimming back to the sea. Finally, he had found home.

He pressed close to Yi Xi again and asked, “And the Crown Prince?”

“No marriage.” Yi Xi sighed. Chu Xiu’s choked expression frightened him enough; he wouldn’t repeat this mistake.

Stellar Group is huge. Even if it’s no royal family, Yi Xi didn’t see any problem in providing for a single male Zerg.

………………

In the palace, Leonard waited confidently.

Though rumors claimed that Chu Xiu and Chu Ci were deeply attached to their partners and had done all sorts of outrageous things for love, Leonard didn’t believe it.

Male Zergs are all the same. Privilege erodes their minds, wealth breaks their willpower, and with the beauty of an Imperial Crown Prince, Leonard couldn’t believe that not a single one of these males would be tempted.

But he waited —  one day, two days, three days… yet not a single reply came.

Neither Chu Xiu nor Chu Ci stirred in the communication list; they remained silent, as if this royal marriage held no interest for them at all.

《Yi Xi’s Home Meals Today》 aired on schedule and had already become a staple comfort-watch program for viewers across StarNet, while on the other side, Chu Ci’s game also launched as planned.

He had organized a grand wedding within the game. Male Zergs are naturally poor at romance, and no one had ever seen such an unusual format, so it immediately went viral. At the same time, a certain network station submitted an interview invitation to Chu Ci and also invited Chu Xiu.

The two males read the script and happily agreed to attend together. They discussed their professional ideals, and finally, under royal guidance, the host asked the question StarNet viewers were most curious about.

“You are both exceptionally accomplished heirs and the only S-rank males in the empire. As far as I know, each of you currently has only one female monarch, and many on StarNet feel your partners are not suitable for you. So, may I ask, do either of you plan to marry additional females?”

Chu Ci spoke first: “No.”

Chu Xiu exchanged a glance with his hometown buddy and smiled in agreement: “I don’t either.”

He made a solemn promise on camera.

“For the rest of my life, I will only love and be with Yi Xi, no matter where our paths lead.”

He had trudged through a world full of mud, and Yi Xi had suffered illness and hardship for years. All of that pain, it seemed, had been for this — this grand reunion.