Chapter 16 Gift

Chapter 16 Gift

Samuel was quite surprised. The female had clearly been resistant toward him when entering the house, yet after the meal, Idris gave him a gift.

It was a brooch.

The main body was a jade flower with a blue-white gradient, resembling a lily, with an emerald green stem beneath it. At the center of the flower was embedded a yellow-white jade stamen, appearing extremely delicate and petite.

To prepare this gift, Idris had spent half a day shopping in the mall, going through quite some effort.

Idris didn't know much about accessories. Females were skilled at fighting but not in the finer things. The little knowledge he had about ornaments came from his childhood, when he still depended on his sire, absorbing it through observation.

His sire's accessories filled cabinets and chests, each one exquisitely crafted. They came from different females—they were his sire's trophies, the source of his dam's jealousy.

Most of his sire's accessories were luxurious and ornate, much like the sire himself. Samuel, however, possessed a purity and gentleness that other male insects lacked, akin to a lotus. Yet the lotus, beautiful as it is, has a scent that attracts insects—rather like a male.

Samuel closed the box and looked up: "Brother, why are you giving me a gift?"

"Your Excellency can consider it a return gift," Idris said without further explanation.

Holding the gift, Samuel frowned in thought. He couldn't recall ever giving Idris a gift, so why would he say that? He wanted to ask more, but Idris had already turned away, calling 99 to the living room to clear away the fruit plate.

Before going to bed, Samuel took out the brooch and examined it carefully in the lamplight. The pale blue petals were crystal clear under the light, like blue glass, breathtakingly beautiful.

Brother...

After a pause, Samuel parted his lips and uttered the words he had been deliberately avoiding.

Idris...

The female's name was like a piece of candy placed in Samuel's mouth, turned over and over. Syrup seeped from the cracks, sweet yet tinged with the bitterness of self-deception.

The next morning, Samuel woke early and paced around his bedroom, inspecting every corner, and still felt the top of the bedside table was the safest spot. The brooch thus found its home there. When placing it, Samuel handled it gently and with great care.

After breakfast and seeing Idris off, Samuel registered a live-streaming account. Mimicking the popular language style on the StarNet, he decided on a stream title. For safety, he chose not to show his face.

[When a Male Insect Decides to Die]

[The plot of this work is mostly fictional; please do not equate it with reality. All rights to the article's interpretation belong to the author.]

Seeing that top-ranked stories often began with a similar disclaimer, Samuel also wrote one and placed it at the start. After checking that it was all correct, he began typing:

[I have seen an untamed soul; because of that glimmer of light, I can endure the darkness. — Epigraph]

[On the day I was born, the Insect People's Rebellion Army breached the palace gates. The old dynasty came crashing down, and a new empire was born from the ruins.

My sire thought I was born in a good era and named me Anatole. He hoped my future would be as bright and splendid as the newborn nation.

But the anticipated peace did not arrive as swiftly as my sire had hoped. Remnants of the old dynasty hid in the shadows, occasionally stirring up conflicts.

My sire said that during that time, there were bombings and fighting sounds almost every night; chaos was everywhere.

For the safety of me and my sire, my dam gave it much thought and sent us to the ancestral home, posting military females around the perimeter. He built a safe fortress, protecting me and my sire within.

Until I was 15, I stayed in the ancestral home, rarely going out. My understanding of the outside world was limited to the StarNet. But later, even that time was taken away—I was busy learning various instruments, etiquette, and social skills.

I didn't like these things.

But my sire said that only by mastering them could I find a high-status primary spouse and secure more benefits for the family.

I asked my sire why my younger brother didn't have to learn these things. My sire said my younger brother is a female; females are born for the battlefield, while I am a male insect.

A noble male insect.

So I couldn't touch the mecha I liked. I had to be elegant, knowledgeable, gentle, and obedient. I had to learn things I disliked from childhood and marry someone I didn't like in the future.

Gazing at the square patch of sky enclosed by the ancestral home, a wave of resentment surged within me. Why was I confined to the house, with even outings restricted, while my younger brother could choose what he liked?

I didn't want to live my whole life like this.

I didn't want to be transferred from one cage to another.

I wanted freedom, even if just a little.]

After finishing the opening, Samuel rubbed his sore fingers and took a moment to glance at the comments section—almost no one. Well, he typed slowly. Visitors probably scanned it and left, unwilling to wait bit by bit.

Samuel wasn't discouraged. He turned off the bullet comments and continued writing. Outside the stream, net insects were leisurely browsing live streams when suddenly a stream with a shocking name refreshed on the page.

What? A male insect?

Quick-fingered insects, their brains not yet processing, had already clicked into the stream with their claws. Slower insects, after reading the stream title, quickly entered the stream and, for safety, tagged the Super Administrator.

"What does this mean? Which male insect Your Excellency is going to die?"

"No way! With this title, shouldn't family insects report it?"

"Has the streamer lived enough? Daring to provoke the MPA?"

"Wait? Not a real event? Fiction?"

"Probably fake. Your Excellencies are pampered with good food, drink, and entertainment every day; what could they possibly be unhappy about? I think it's us females who want to die!"

When the Super Administrator entered the stream following the tags, the comments section was already exploding. Glancing at the stream title, the Super Administrator's first instinct was to shut down the stream immediately to avoid attracting the MPA. But upon seeing the disclaimer, he felt caught in a dilemma.

Empire law had no statute prohibiting the creation of stories with male insects as protagonists. Otherwise, all sorts of movies, TV shows, web series, comics, and novels would have to be banned.

However, this title was indeed shocking. The content being spread was also quite negative; letting it continue seemed inappropriate.

After much deliberation, the Super Administrator noted down the stream ID and reported it to his superiors. Then he stayed in the stream, intending to see if the content violated any regulations while observing the net insects' reactions.

[The year I turned 18, my sire arranged a marriage for me. The other party was the son of a federal chief justice—Lucas.

I had seen Lucas from afar at a soirée once. He was an extremely handsome and outstanding insect. It was said that Lucas, as an SS-level female, had already achieved numerous military exploits and was about to be promoted to lieutenant general.

And he was only 21.

To be fair, in terms of personal capability alone, I was not worthy of him. But who made me an A-level male insect? Lucas needed me.

More precisely, he needed my pheromones and mental soothing. So, despite never having met me, Lucas was still to be engaged to me after I came of age.

I felt sorry for Lucas, and sorry for myself.

Thus, upon learning the news that day, I mustered the courage to tell my sire I wanted to attend military academy. Hearing this, my sire was so angry he smashed his favorite teacup, harshly reprimanded me, and confined me to my room under house arrest.

I didn't make a fuss; I simply refused to eat.

On the fifth day of my hunger strike, my sire couldn't bear it and came to see me. With one look, he relented.

I raised my arms and hugged my sire, seeing my own pale, weak reflection in his eyes. In this "war," I had won, using my sire's love as leverage and myself as the weapon.]

But I felt deeply guilty.

My sire had always doted on me. When I was young and times were turbulent, he kept me by his side, and at the first sign of danger, he would hide me away.

During that time, Father was so on edge that he'd grow agitated if he didn't see me for a moment. It wasn't until my dam brought us back to the ancestral home that Father gradually recovered.

My father and mother raised me through thick and thin. They took meticulous care of everything in my life—food, clothes, shelter, and travel. Even a minor injury or ache would keep them awake all night.

They loved me more than they loved themselves, yet their most beloved child had hurt them deeply.

I was sorry for what I did to Father and Mother.

But even if I couldn't escape my predetermined fate, I still wanted to get out. Even if I could only have a brief taste of freedom, it would be enough to comfort me for the rest of my life.

And I never expected that a single act of willfulness would lead me to meet the love of my life.

...

Life at the military academy wasn't as simple as I had imagined. I'd never had any formal mecha training. Although I had taught myself a lot about mecha manufacturing, there were still many aspects of the specialized courses that I couldn't grasp.

During that time, I was out early and back late. The library almost became my dormitory, yet I still couldn't get my assignments up to par. I didn't know where I was going wrong.

The repeated failures stretched my nerves to the breaking point. I started having trouble sleeping, and my temper grew increasingly irritable.

After yet another assignment was returned as unsatisfactory, my sense of defeat reached its peak. In a fit of frustration, I tore the assignment to pieces, threw it into the trash bin, buried my head in my arms on the desk, and broke down sobbing.

I must've been a complete mess then, and this pitiful scene was seen by Phoenix.

He stood at the doorway, quietly watching me. His eyes were sharp and calm, and under his gaze, I got scared. My sobs caught in my throat, and for a moment, I couldn't make a sound.

I thought he would mock me. After all, I was notoriously known in the Mecha Maintenance Department as the student who struggled with assignments. A bunch of sub-females were probably just waiting to see me fail.

But the expected ridicule never came. Instead, Phoenix closed the door, with a stern look on his face, and asked if I needed help.

I was stunned.

My expression must have looked incredibly foolish at that moment.

You see, on the very first day of registration, when I first met Phoenix, his intense stare had spooked me so bad I didn't even say hello.

After writing about Anatole and Phoenix growing closer, Samuel paused.

Seeing that it was already noon, he decided not to continue for the moment. He planned to keep the stream running in the background, have lunch, and see if anyone was reading his story. With that thought, Samuel opened up the comments and live chat. Instantly, messages from netizens flooded in like a tidal wave.

"???"

"Liars will forever be despised by male insects!!"

"LMAO, family insects, what kind of proper gentleman would be into mechas and guns, and even want to join the military academy? Hahahaha!!"

"Streamer, are you out of your mind?! (Eye roll)"

"Suspected fantasy masterpiece by some repressed military female insect! Hahaha!"

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Gentlemen hate military female insects the most! How could they possibly fall for one!"

"But family insects, Lord Anatole is really heartwarming! Not only does he acknowledge Lucas's excellence, but he's also not at all domineering!"

"Family insect, I get you! Seeing Lord Anatole breaking down over his assignments suddenly made me feel so sorry for him! PS: Mecha Maintenance assignments are indeed tough! Don't ask me how I know!!"

"I'd pay good money for a roommate like Phoenix! Thanks!"

"Wait, something's off here! Is there really a historical tradition in insect society of arranged marriages upon coming of age? (Scratches head)"

"Male insects have it pretty easy, right? They can do whatever they want. Even if they break the law, they get lighter sentences than female insects and sub-females. Why does Lord Anatole say he wants freedom?"

The comments were all over the place, mostly negative and mocking. Samuel wasn't angry. Why should he care about the opinions of strangers he didn't know?

Besides, according to what's said on the StarNet, the more comments, the hotter it gets, which is better for him anyway.

Samuel patiently scrolled through all the comments and finally confirmed that his plan could work. Moreover, the various insults in the comments weren't entirely useless; he indirectly picked up some info you can't just find online.

For example, female insects seem to understand male insects in general, but not specific male individuals.

Also, they seem to think male insects should just stay at home. And that giving the males food, fun, and games every day should make them feel happy and content. Yet they haven't considered whether this is what male insects actually want.

Samuel jotted down his observations, planning to incorporate some of these elements into his established story and test the net insects' receptiveness along the way.

After locking in the next part of the story, Samuel put the stream on in the background, sent a greeting message to his mate in the military, and headed straight to the kitchen.

99 had been pestering him for a while now. He wondered what his brother had made him for lunch this morning!

Can't wait!

Author's Note:

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[Let me see] Let's play a game: Guess which parts of the story-within-the-story are based on Xixi's real experiences.