ICAWZ Chapter 12

Long before, Lu Yuan often cooked for himself at home, but the true reason behind his diligence wasn’t a passion for cooking; rather, it was due to the poverty that prevented him from affording takeout.

Lu Yuan blanched the vine vegetables in the can to remove the bitterness, then stir-fried them with diced meat. The last remaining loaf of bread in the fridge was sliced and lightly pan-fried after being coated with butter.

When Yusto came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, he immediately caught a whiff of the delicious aroma filling the air. Pausing in his steps, he looked curiously toward the kitchen, only to find Lu Yuan already heading to the dining table with two plates in hand.

Yusto, leaning against the bathroom door, observed Lu Yuan with interest. His damp silver hair dripped water, and perhaps due to the moisture, his once-dangerous red eyes now strangely resembled those of a harmless rabbit. “You can actually cook?” he remarked.

Lu Yuan didn’t look at him but focused on arranging the tableware. “Put on your clothes before talking to me.”

Yusto wore a pair of black casual trousers on his lower half, but his upper body was bare. Tiny droplets of water slid down his shoulders, creating a shimmering halo under the pendant light. He was never one to follow strict rules, and he responded nonchalantly, “You really have a lot of rules, huh?”

Lu Yuan didn’t consider himself as a male zerg, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that all his physical data approached that of the males in this world. Therefore, in front of Yusto, he felt it necessary to maintain a certain distance, avoiding encroaching on the other’s privacy.

Still not looking at him, Lu Yuan said, “You’d better put something on.”

Yusto, quite rebellious, asked, “Are you ordering me?”

Lu Yuan remained unfazed, pulling out a chair and sitting down. He tore the pan-fried bread into small pieces and began eating. “No, I’m just thinking about your safety.”

Yusto had an ominous premonition and asked, “What?”

Lu Yuan didn’t immediately respond to his words. Instead, he calmly swallowed what was in his mouth, took a moment to think, and then casually said, “Oh, it’s nothing, really. I’m gay. Every time I see an attractive female, I have a bit of trouble controlling myself. So, to prevent my instincts from taking over, it’s better if you don’t dress too provocatively around me.”

Boom!

Yusto’s brain seemed to blank out for a moment, entering a state of temporary malfunction. While the male-to-female ratio in the Salaranfa population was severely imbalanced, leading to some instances of homosexuality in such a large environment, he never expected Lu Yuan to have such a preference!

“Damn it, what kind of joke are you playing!”

Though Yusto protested, his hands instinctively grabbed a shirt from the sofa and hastily put it on. In his hurried movements, he even buttoned it incorrectly.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow at the sight. “If you don’t believe me, you can give it a try.”

Yusto, rarely one to back down, finally understood why Lu Yuan had beaten up that male, Wengel. After all the commotion, it turned out Lu Yuan was homosexual and didn’t like males at all. Annoyed and embarrassed, Yusto warned, “I advise you not to have any improper thoughts about me. Otherwise, my sidearm isn’t just for show!”

It must be said that Yusto’s nervous demeanor somewhat alleviated Lu Yuan’s melancholy about not being able to return home. He lazily reclined into the chair, and a fleeting hint of amusement flashed in his pitch-black eyes, though not easily perceptible. “Is that so? But it sounds a bit challenging. After all, you have a good physique; it’s hard not to arouse some improper thoughts in me.”

The crystal chandelier above the dining area cast a mosaic of fragmented light and shadow. This made Lu Yuan’s profound features appear somewhat obscure. Intentionally lifting his hand, he used his fingertips to sketch an outline of Yusto’s figure in the air, then smiled and asked meaningfully, “What do you think, Yusto?”

Yusto choked on his words.

Lu Yuan was deliberately teasing Yusto, and the more Yusto resisted, the happier Lu Yuan seemed to be. After all, this tricky rabbit spirit always had a way of being both enigmatic and provocative.

Ignoring Yusto’s reaction, Lu Yuan continued to enjoy his meal. The only sound in the living room was the clinking of plates. After a few minutes, the chair opposite him was finally pulled back, and a slow-moving figure took a seat.

“Hmph,” a cold snort.

“My physique is, of course, excellent,” said Yusto, his tone proud and arrogant.

Lu Yuan looked up to see Yusto sitting casually in the chair, a military-style shirt draped loosely over him. It didn’t cover his collarbone, nor did it hide the somewhat revealed chest.

“Not bad, at least it covers the essentials. Better than wearing nothing at all a moment ago,” Lu Yuan commented.

Having almost finished his meal, Lu Yuan remembered to ask Yusto, “Are you hungry?”

Nobles always had to be dramatic, and Yusto glanced at the well-prepared and appetizing dishes on the table. He felt a slight temptation. “Not hungry.”

But if Lu Yuan insisted, he could force himself to eat a little.

However, Lu Yuan completely deviated from the expected script. “If you’re not hungry, forget it. I’ll eat on my own.”

Yusto stared at Lu Yuan without any worries, his narrow eyes squinting slightly. His tone was cool as he said, “Your personality is truly unbearable. I pity your future partner.”

Lu Yuan thought it was amusing how everyone liked to interfere between future marriages. It seemed not only humans but zergs were the same. He replied casually, “I’m also concerned for your future partner. After all, it looks like male zergs are much more challenging to deal with than females.”

Bang!

A fatal blow!

Upon hearing Lu Yuan’s words, Yusto choked on his own breath. He struggled, face turning blue and then white, unable to retort for a long while.

While Yusto disliked the male zergs around him due to their despicable and low-level behavior, it didn’t mean he was a homosexual like Lu Yuan. According to Salaranfa customs, Yusto was bound to be matched with a male zerg as his partner. Lu Yuan’s words hit him right where it hurt the most.

Yusto forced a smile, neither happy nor amused. “I have to admit, I’m starting to regret bringing you home.”

Lu Yuan finished his meal just in time. He pushed the dinner plate towards the center of the table, stood up, and said, “Is that so? Too bad there’s no regret medicine for zergs. You can kick me out tomorrow morning if you want. I’ll go take a shower. Which room is mine?”

Yusto, expressionless, pointed to the guest room farthest from the master bedroom and warned, “You better behave yourself at night.”

Lu Yuan smiled faintly, “I’ll do my best.”

He was in a good mood now, reveling in the fact that his happiness was built on the discomfort of others.

Lu Yuan had a change of clothes in his backpack. He took out a clean set and headed straight to the bathroom. Yusto heard the sound of the bathroom door closing. He remained seated in the chair, unmoving. After a while, he let out a cold laugh and muttered to himself in the air:

“Absolutely ridiculous…”

Gay? Lu Yuan really dared to say that.

The food on the table wasn’t entirely finished, as if deliberately left behind. It created a clear boundary in the plate, with one half being the crispy golden slices of bread and the other half being the stir-fried vegetables and meat.

Yusto stared at it for a while, unable to resist the temptation of the food. While Lu Yuan was away, he sneakily took a bite and raised an eyebrow in surprise, unexpectedly finding the taste quite good.

On the other side, Lu Yuan was in the bathroom taking a shower. He started with cold water, then switched to hot water, taking a few minutes to figure out the shower technology of the Zerg race and adjusting the temperature to his liking.

“Achoo—!”

Lu Yuan sneezed, seriously suspecting that he might have caught a cold. Standing under the shower, he let the hot water cascade over his entire body. Only at this moment did his somewhat muddled mind begin to clear up.

The bathroom had a window, and through the swirling mist, he could see that the black night had long been saturated with silence. The towering buildings stood like giants, each speck of dust on them marked by the erosion of passing years, witnessing the Zerg race’s journey through countless eons.

They stood there in silence for a long time, like stones undisturbed at the bottom of a river. As the river of time rushed past them, it, too, became like that distant blue star—forever beyond reach, an untouchable history.

Lu Yuan once again deeply realized that he was no longer on Earth.

Lu Yuan remained silent as he dried his hair with a towel. After putting on his clothes, he checked the spot on his leg where he had been bitten by a snake. To his surprise, the wound had already scabbed over, leaving only two dark marks.

Frowning, Lu Yuan walked out of the bathroom, intending to go straight to his room and sleep. However, with an inadvertent glance, he noticed a figure sitting by the table.

“?”

Stopping in his tracks, Lu Yuan casually draped the towel he used to dry his hair over his shoulder. He quietly approached Yusto from behind and suddenly spoke, “I thought you said you weren’t hungry?”

Yusto was in the middle of eating and was startled by Lu Yuan’s words, almost choking on his food. He subconsciously turned around, only to find Lu Yuan had silently appeared behind him. Covered in water vapor, Lu Yuan’s thin casual shirt couldn’t hide his muscular physique. The overwhelming scent of hormones was dizzying.

Yusto inexplicably remembered the scent of blood he had smelled on the starship that day. His heart raced, and the usually composed zerg appeared unusually uneasy. He furrowed his brow, adjusting his sitting posture. “I’m hungry now. Is that not allowed?”

Yusto was about to experience his first estrus period after reaching maturity. This meant his body had started to mature, becoming sensitive and uncontrollable, especially to the scent of the opposite sex.

Lu Yuan lowered his gaze, a droplet of water falling from the tips of his ink-black hair. Unintentionally, it landed on Yusto’s forehead, sending a chill through the night. Without revealing any emotion, Lu Yuan asked, “Is it delicious?”

Lu Yuan noticed the crumbs at the corner of Yusto’s mouth and the ancient golden zerg markings on the back of his neck.

Yusto caught his gaze and subconsciously licked the corner of his mouth. His crimson tongue was the same color as a cat’s. “Not bad.”

Lu Yuan seemed to smile, though it wasn’t very obvious. “Take your time if it’s delicious.”

It was originally meant for him.

There was a bay window relaxation area in the living room where Yusto usually sat to play games. On it, there was a white terminal brain. Lu Yuan walked over and asked, “Is this a computer?”

Yusto snapped back, “What?”

Lu Yuan used a different term, “Terminal brain?”

Thinking Lu Yuan might be bored and wanting to play games, Yusto stood up, walked to the bay window, and entered the password to start up the light brain. “What do you want to play?”

Lu Yuan just wanted to use Baidu: “…”

Lu Yuan wasn’t entirely sure if the Zerg race had something like Baidu. “I want to look up some information.”

Yusto glanced at Lu Yuan and suddenly became curious about what information he wanted to find. “You don’t seem like someone who loves studying… What do you want to look up? I can help you.”

However, Lu Yuan’s next sentence easily crushed his damn curiosity. “I want to watch adult videos. Do you want to watch with me?”

Yusto: “…”

 

 

 

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