Li ZouXing suppressed his emotions, maintaining a facade of normalcy, careful not to let anything seem amiss to Ye An.
Ye An breathed a sigh of relief, oblivious to his inner turmoil.
“Master, this person is the biggest player in the empire’s human trafficking world. The majority of people treated as commodities are transported through him. He roams across different star systems, ensuring his safety by never using his own spaceship. Instead, he leads his subordinates to plunder inconspicuous small and medium-sized ships. Most planets have no suspicions about these ships, which is why they can continue to smuggle people.”
As a former victim of this trade, Ye An detested it deeply. “He disguises himself as a harmless merchant, but anyone he sets his eyes on is almost forcibly coerced or deceived. Most people only realize they’re not part of a legitimate caravan when it’s too late.”
For both the slaughtered caravans and those deceived onto the Tiran ship, this was a calamity.
Li ZouXing clenched his fist, veins bulging.
The earlier ease in his heart vanished.
He and Xi Nan had once boarded the Tiran ship.
Undoubtedly, it was their strength that made the other party wary and allowed them to safely reach Ma Wei Star. It shouldn’t have crossed his mind, but at this moment, Li ZouXing torturously wondered if the cargo Tiran mentioned needing to deliver at a specific time was the people they had abducted from various planets, ready for trafficking.
And they had been on that very ship, missing those people by a hair’s breadth.
Having the ability but doing nothing.
A heavy sense of guilt and self-blame washed over him.
The merged mental power dimmed under the influence of the master’s state of mind.
Gu WenCheng’s mental power fluttered close to Li ZouXing’s face, gently brushing against it, anxiously offering him comfort.
“I once boarded his ship with my teammates,” Li ZouXing lowered his voice, “I sensed something was amiss, but I did nothing.”
Instead, he pretended not to understand anything and acted oblivious to everything. Ji Yu was gravely injured, and Xi Nan knew nothing. When he clearly saw the blood on the ship, Li ZouXing chose to protect his teammates and himself.
In the end, he was an incredibly selfish person.
It was just that, upon suddenly realizing that there were likely a shipload of trafficked individuals on that ship, the burden of guilt pressed heavily upon Li ZouXing.
“…” Ye An opened and closed his mouth, then after a long silence, he said, “I believe you had your reasons…”
Li ZouXing remained silent.
“So,” Ye An didn’t know what to say, “do you need to send this information to your teammates?”
Li ZouXing paused, then nodded slowly.
He didn’t want his teammates to know about this, especially Ji Yu and Xi Nan, who had once felt a fondness for Tiran.
But, only by understanding these matters could they be more vigilant and uphold the justice they desired.
Ye An understood and didn’t wait for him to say more. The door was knocked on once again.
This time, it was Gu WenCheng. “Open the door.”
“The master is not in a good condition right now,” Ye An politely stated, “You can come back later, or if it’s urgent, you can tell me, and I’ll convey the message.”
“Open the door,” Gu WenCheng’s voice dropped by eight degrees, and Ye An couldn’t even control his own actions, feeling compelled to obey his command. However, Li ZouXing beat him to it, opening the door ahead of him.
The moment the door opened, Gu WenCheng embraced Li ZouXing.
Li ZouXing held onto him, whispering words he hadn’t shared with Ye An before. “I feel like I’m not human.”
Gu WenCheng kissed his cheek. “Then I’ll be non-human with you.”
“Don’t be like this,” Li ZouXing smiled, feeling a bit more relaxed. “Don’t be so reckless.”
“I won’t be reckless,” Gu WenCheng offered a tender kiss. “Kiss me, and if you’re unhappy, bite me. Even if it draws blood, it doesn’t matter.”
How could they be so unconventional?
Knowing full well that Ye An was right behind them, aware that they were standing beside the corridor, Li ZouXing still didn’t refuse his kiss. Instead, he deepened it.
The warm lips possessed a healing charm, and as they kissed, their actions grew more intense. Li ZouXing enjoyed taking the initiative and relished in passion. He liked making the person in his arms feel his fervor1intense passion, enthusiasm, or zeal for something and enjoyed hearing their powerless moans.
Gu WenCheng felt his passion and responded with even greater intensity, not holding back with their lips and tongues. The soft moans between them made Li ZouXing’s heart soar again.
Ye An stood there in shock.
He was so startled that he took several steps back, almost stumbling over his own feet.
What had he just witnessed? What was this?!
The master and Gu WenCheng were kissing, not a casual peck or a playful kiss between friends, but a full-fledged, adult kiss.
Their lips and tongues entwined passionately.
How could this be!
“What are you doing?!” Ye An’s voice trembled. “Are you… kissing?”
Li ZouXing and Gu WenCheng finally separated.
Li ZouXing lifted Gu WenCheng’s chin and examined it left and right, satisfied. “No bleeding.”
Not even any swelling.
They had only kissed for less than a minute.
“Some people always want to interrupt our intimacy,” Gu WenCheng glanced at Ye An, then tugged at Li ZouXing’s collar, leaving a bite mark on his neck. “Darling, do you mind if I join the conversation from here on?”
Every move they made left Ye An feeling like his worldviews were being reshaped. He broke into a sweat, his face turning pale.
If you ignored their genders, the atmosphere between them easily screamed “couple.” But damn it, two guys being a couple?!
Between men and men! How was that even possible?!
He’d rather believe in the rumors about Walter and Li ZouXing!
The door was closed once more, and this time, Gu WenCheng was the perfect gentleman. He smiled politely at Ye An. “My little sunshine can’t do without me. When he falls into self-blame, I think I must stay to give him a sobering kiss.”
Li ZouXing chuckled. “A kiss of reason, right?”
“Perhaps for you,” Gu WenCheng shrugged nonchalantly. “For me, it’s a thoroughly indulgent kiss. I wouldn’t mind dying in your arms.”
Ye An’s expression was a mix of complex emotions. “What’s your relationship?”
Gu WenCheng didn’t say anything either, but he gazed at Li ZouXing with both nervousness and anticipation.
Li ZouXing responded straightforwardly, “Lovers.”
Just as Gu WenCheng had said, they were two people having an affair.
Ye An’s brain went completely blank. He couldn’t accept it. He stood up in a daze. “Please give me some time. I need… to properly process this news.”
The master and his teammate had become lovers, my goodness.
A pairing of men with men as lovers had actually happened.
How could they be attracted to men?
After Ye An left, Gu WenCheng chuckled, “Do we need him to accept our relationship?”
Li ZouXing remained composed. “Even though we’re lovers, there should be a prefix, ‘lovers, seven days from now’?”
Those who knew him understood that he was intentionally teasing. Gu WenCheng laughed and indulged him, genuinely pampering his lover.
As Li ZouXing had previously mentioned, even if they lost a day early, a real man accepted defeat. After they had their conversation, as expected, their teammates also came to find them.
They had received the message sent by Ye An, and they were all silent. But Li ZouXing’s silence was accompanied by Gu WenCheng’s kiss, and their silence could only be overcome by facing hardships together.
Among them, the most distressed was Xi Nan.
This innocent giant had been given a harsh lesson by reality, sitting there with red eyes, not saying a word.
“Sorry, ZouXing,” he finally spoke with difficulty, “You said something was wrong back then, but I didn’t believe you.”
Li ZouXing ruffled his hair and, as usual, flicked his head gently. “It’s not your fault. Even if I said something was wrong, I only wanted to escape with you and Ji Yu.”
Ji Yu stood up and hugged them briefly, offering comfort. “No one knew what secrets that ship held.”
It was still tough, but they had to move forward.
However, they feared that both the Walter matter and the Tiran issue were beyond the school’s control.
So, they shared the information related to Tiran with Yu Meng.
Ye An’s spaceship was headed to Touban Star. Yu Meng, upon learning that they were safe, offered a sincere apology and then disclosed some information. “After the bottle of Nan was stolen, we managed to extract two bottles again. We expect it to be ready in three days.”
Gu WenCheng raised an eyebrow at this news.
He admired the Empire’s spirit of growing stronger in the face of adversity.
They were all tough guys, and Xi Nan regained his spirits after Li ZouXing and Yu Meng ended the communication. His eyes were determined. “The next time I see him, I’m going to smash his head in!”
His teammates didn’t want to discourage him and encouraged him instead. “That’s the spirit.”
“Good attitude, keep it up.”
After the praise, they changed the topic, deliberately choosing a lighter one to ease the mood.
“I heard there’s a hot voting event at school recently,” Ji Yu thought for a moment. “It seems to be about voting for the best couple in everyone’s hearts.”
Ling Nian chuckled. “Yet none of us has a girlfriend.”
Li ZouXing had a bad feeling when he heard the name. He glanced sideways and sure enough, Gu WenCheng was already avidly searching the internet for it.
“I heard that the top-ranked couple will receive an award,” Si Wo Lin was also interested in this. Even though he didn’t have a girlfriend himself, he was someone who enjoyed indulging in romantic things. “It’s a plant ring made from Eternal Flower Buds.”
What in the world were Eternal Flower Buds?
A group of clueless guys were left bewildered.
Ling Nian read the answer aloud, “Eternal Flower Buds, with a special floral scent, can make both wearers develop strong hormonal affection for each other, allowing the wearers to fall into passionate love anytime and anywhere.”
“In other words,” Ling Nian deadpanned, “it’s an aphrodisiac that only affects the wearers.”
Si Wo Lin blushed silently. “Is it really that kind of effect…”
Even the pure-hearted young men were blushing, and Li ZouXing held his breath, trying to prevent his ears from turning red.
In reality, this effect didn’t have much impact on him and Gu WenCheng. Just think about the bathroom… well, the bathroom was…
Ahem.
Whenever they were together, the hormones didn’t exactly stop flowing.
Li ZouXing could already imagine what he would face when they arrived at Chengyang Military Academy.
The first thing they had to do was definitely to get in bed.
Gu WenCheng was about to burst with anticipation, and likewise, Li ZouXing was feeling the same.
They needed flowers, a soft bed, and dim lighting.
Red flower petals would stick to Gu WenCheng’s body, and it will be hard to tell whether it was the scent of the flowers or Gu WenCheng himself that was more alluring.
But they needed a few essentials.
Li ZouXing silently hoped that this world had those essentials.
Otherwise, his daring plans wouldn’t be so beautiful if someone got hurt.
“I like the effect of these rings,” Gu WenCheng teased, swinging his long legs.
Thinking about how Li ZouXing would react when he saw him, eyes burning with desire, pleading to be possessed, was so adorable.
— But he had to make the other person his first.
Once that happened, even if he acted a little spoiled, the other person wouldn’t be able to reject him.
Translator’s corner:
FINALLYYYYYYYYY!!!!! THE LABEL’S CLEAR WOHOOOOOO!!!!!
