Chapter 32 Video

Chapter 32 Video Call

Ray still relayed the male's request.

There was no helping it; the male's will came first.

Upon hearing Samuel's request, Idris glanced at the bloodstains on his clothes and instinctively wanted to refuse. But when he opened his Stellar Ring and saw the endless list of unread messages, including the latest one, he hesitated.

The male wasn't feeling well. Without seeing him in person, Idris couldn't put his mind at ease. However, the status of Luoken and Aosen was still up in the air, and he truly couldn't leave immediately.

After much hesitation, Idris scrolled down the menu, selected a Stellar Ring ID that had been buried in a corner for ages, sent a message, and then gestured to Ray.

Ray caught on and replied, "Your Excellency, Samuel, the Major is currently handling some matters and said he will call you back on video later."

Later?

_Could Idris really be injured?_

"Why later?" Samuel was undeterred, his voice deliberately trembling as he asked, making him sound aggrieved, cautious, and pitiable. "Is it because my call came at a bad time? Is Brother unhappy and doesn't want to see me now?"

Ray: !

Was the male this sensitive?

Ray had no experience dealing with males and was thrown by the question. Given the current situation, neither "yes" nor "no" seemed like the correct answer. He could only quickly walk toward Idris for help.

"Major! His Excellency thinks you don't want to see him. He's crying!"

Ray held the Stellar Ring away, frantically gesturing to Idris.

Idris, who was busy cleaning the bloodstains from his body to look presentable when meeting Samuel: ?

Don't start rumors; I never said I didn't want to see His Excellency!

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

Ray shrugged.

Idris sighed, turned and wiped the blood from his temple against the glass, handed the nearly red-stained handkerchief to Ray, and entered the adjacent doctor's office.

"Brother, you're injured, aren't you?"

Samuel's eyes reddened as he stared at the remaining bloodstain near Idris's neck, his mind buzzing. He had always thought the warning in his dream would be about 'Brother,' but it turned out to be about Idris.

"Where are you hurt? Near the heart?"

Idris glanced at the wound close to his heart and subtly shifted the camera upward. "No, it's just some scratches on my arm. The doctor has already applied medicine, and it will heal in a few hours. Please don't worry, Your Excellency."

"Really?" Samuel didn't believe him. "Then, Brother, take off your Stellar Ring and place it aside. Give me a full-body projection so I can see."

Full-body projection?

Wouldn't that expose the chest wound?

"Your Excellency, I'm really fine." Idris refused once more.

Idris was clearly hiding something, sending Samuel's unease to a breaking point. Fear surged in his heart, and he couldn't control his emotions, shouting through the connection, "If you're fine, why won't you let me see!"

"Your Excellency?" Idris was stunned by the outburst. Samuel had always been docile in front of him; this was the first time the male had snapped at him.

"Brother, you were lying to me just now, weren't you?" Tears welled up in Samuel's eyes, his chest so tight he could barely breathe. "Why? Why is no one willing to tell me the truth! Why does everyone lie to me!"

"Is it because I'm too young?"

"Or do you think it doesn't matter whether you tell me or not!!"

Samuel buried his head in his arms, his body trembling uncontrollably. He couldn't understand why, no matter what happened, he was always the one kept in the dark.

When his parents died in the shipwreck years ago, Brother was like this.

Now, with Idris injured, it was still the same.

What was he in their eyes? A burden?

"Your Excellency, I didn't mean it that way..." The male's sobs felt like drumbeats, pounding against Idris's heart one after another. His usually eloquent mouth now failed him completely.

For the first time in his life, he felt completely helpless.

"Your Excellency, do you remember what I said? Soldiers heal quickly." Idris offered a dry explanation, his mouth opening and closing for a long time before he managed to squeeze out half a sentence. "A minor injury like this will heal in half a day. There was really no need to mention it and worry you."

"No need?" Samuel looked up at the projection. His tear-soaked eyelashes fluttered slowly twice. After a long pause, he murmured, "No need..."

"That's right... It really is unnecessary. I'm just an outsider."

"What is there to say to an outsider?"

"What right does an outsider have to ask about the Major's affairs?"

"I overstepped and pushed my luck."

Holding back tears, Samuel took a deep look at the projection, his voice choked with emotion. "Idris, I've delayed your work again, haven't I? I'm sorry. I'll hang up now. I..."

"Your Excellency! I never meant you were an outsider!" Hearing the male misunderstand him and even address him as "Major"—a title he had never used before—Idris immediately threw out his earlier concerns.

He had been wrong, believing that hiding the truth would be better, but the male clearly didn't see it that way.

Crying like this, his eyes would surely be swollen tomorrow.

"I'll give you the full-body projection right now. Please... don't cry anymore." Idris surrendered and reached to remove his Stellar Ring.

"No need. If you don't want to project, don't force yourself." Samuel wiped the tears from his face with a tissue, his voice hoarse but still understanding. "As long as I know you're okay, I'm relieved."

"I'm not forcing myself! I can do it!" Idris retorted, quickly adjusting the projection settings. The projection flickered twice, and a familiar form materialized on Samuel's Stellar Ring.

The insect in the projection was still wearing the white suit from when he left yesterday, but the suit was now stained with large patches of red. Especially near the heart, the red was deepest, like a repeatedly dyed hibiscus flower in full bloom.

The large, spreading red was exactly like in the dream. Seeing this, Samuel's pupils contracted sharply.

"See, it's really not serious..." Idris softened his voice, clumsily trying to explain, only to see Samuel cry even harder. "Your Excellency, what's wrong! Are you feeling unwell again?"

Samuel shook his head, sobbing, and reached out to touch the stark bloodstain in the projection, but his hand passed through the image. "Brother, you lied to me... You're so badly injured, yet you told me you were almost healed."

He really was almost healed.

By tonight, it would probably scab over.

Idris wanted to argue, but facing the red-rimmed eyes on the Stellar Ring screen, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down for a long time, and not a single word of explanation came out. "Yes, I lied to Your Excellency. I'm a bad insect."

"Then when I return tonight, Your Excellency, you can punish me, alright?"

"Any kind of punishment?" Samuel asked.

"Anything." After a moment, Idris couldn't help but add softly, "Be good, don't cry anymore."

Seeing him cry so pitifully made Idris's heart melt.

Idris suddenly softening his voice to comfort him left Samuel frozen in place, in disbelief. He thought dazedly, Idris seems to have changed.

Where exactly?

Samuel couldn't quite put it into words, but he just felt that Idris seemed more indulgent towards him than before, and also closer.

Did that mean he could stay by Idris's side a little longer?

Knock, knock, knock.

A rhythmic knocking at the door pulled Samuel back from his thoughts. He got up from the rocking chair, opened the door, and 99 was waiting there.

"Your Excellency~ There's a visitor~"

"Hmm?" Samuel was curious. "Who is it?"

"Don't know~ Not in 99's database." 99 scratched its head apologetically.

Returning to the bathroom to clean the tear stains from his face, Samuel went downstairs. Once in the living room, he instructed 99 to prepare tea and went to open the door himself.

"Hi~, Samuel, we meet again~" Yisang waved cheerfully at the insect inside the door, looking in a very good mood.

"Mr. Yisang?" Samuel was quite surprised. "What brings you here?"

As he spoke, Samuel stepped aside, smiling as he welcomed the insect in. When he saw the insect following behind carrying a case, he hesitated and asked, "And this is..."

"Oh, my private doctor." Yisang didn't hide it, explaining as he walked in. "Idris said you weren't feeling well and begged me to bring a doctor over to check on you."

Brother?

Samuel concealed the surprise in his eyes, invited the two insects to sit down, warmed the cups 99 had prepared, poured tea, and handed each of them a cup, asking, "You know my brother?"

"We know each other, but don't meet often." Yisang took a polite sip of tea, placed the cup back on the table, and then gestured for the doctor to go over and examine Samuel.

Samuel's headache had mostly subsided by now. He wanted to decline but hesitated and swallowed his words. It might be good to get checked, to put Idris's mind at ease.

Seeing Samuel didn't object, the private doctor took out instruments, listening and pressing, working on it for quite a while before finishing.

"Suoen, how is Samuel?" Yisang asked.

"His Excellency Samuel's body doesn't have any major issues." Suoen put the instruments back into his toolbox. "However, Your Excellency should pay attention to controlling your emotions in the near future. Getting too agitated can easily stimulate the Mind Sea."

"Alright, thank you, Mr. Suoen." Samuel nodded politely.

Hearing the thanks, Suoen glanced up at Samuel in surprise, then lowered his head to tidy up the medical kit and quietly sat back on the sofa.

Yisang, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes as he observed Samuel. He was gentle and polite, knew how to handle situations appropriately, and had a calm temperament—quite different from males of the same age on the Imperial Star.

Indeed likable, no wonder his own young one was so concerned.

Insect God knew how surprised he was when he received Idris's message.

His young one hadn't troubled him since becoming independent. Now, willing to seek him out for this young male, it seemed he was finally coming around.

"Mr. Yisang, is there something on my face?" Samuel touched his own face, wondering why Yisang kept staring at him.

"No." Yisang shifted his sitting posture, leaning lazily to the side. He raised a hand and lightly tapped the corner of Samuel's reddened eye, teasing, "What's with the eye circles? Been crying just now?"

The cool touch at the corner of his eye was fleeting. Samuel was startled and moved back a couple of inches. He cleared his throat lightly, asking somewhat embarrassed, "Is it very obvious?"

Samuel's guileless reaction made Yisang purse his lips in amusement. He nodded and asked, "Did Idris make you angry?"

There was a hint of blame in Yisang's tone. Samuel instinctively refuted, "No! It has nothing to do with my brother!"

"Oh? Idris messaged me saying you weren't feeling well, and the moment I arrive, you have red-rimmed eyes. If it's not him, then who?" Yisang put on a stern face, looking serious. "It's a good thing Idris begged me to come today. If it were Li'an, he'd probably be shouting about hauling him off to the disciplinary center again."

"...It's not that serious, is it?" Samuel was somewhat skeptical.

"It is." Yisang still pretended to be dead serious, but his next sentence gave it away. "Quick, tell me, what exactly did Idris do? Let me assess the severity first."

Samuel: ...

He could tell Yisang was deliberately trying to scare him.

"Don't worry, if you tell me, I absolutely won't tell any other insect." Yisang promised.

Samuel silently turned his head. On the adjacent sofa, Suoen was scrolling through his Stellar Ring, seemingly replying to messages.

Yisang: ...

"Oh, you can also choose not to consider him an insect."

Suoen: ...

He shouldn't have risked having his shell dismantled by Ivar to help this bridge-burning insect, Yisang!

Samuel was almost stifling laughter at Suoen's resentful expression. Turning back, he saw Yisang's purple eyes, so similar to Idris's, and couldn't help but say, "Brother was injured but said it was nothing. I got agitated and couldn't control my emotions."

Remembering that shocking wound, Samuel still felt a lingering unease.

That's it?

"Military males have strong healing ability. Even serious injuries can form a scab within half a day." Yisang was puzzled. "Why were you so worried?"

"But having strong healing doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." Samuel looked at Yisang, his dark eyes filled with sadness and guilt. "I don't want brother to get hurt. Even more, I don't want brother's first thought after getting hurt to be hiding it from me."

"That makes me feel like I'm really inadequate."

Yisang: ...

Stop talking. If you say more, I'll be too ashamed to show my face.

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Author's Note: Stellar Calendar 4056, August X, Cloudy, Weekday X

He cried so pitifully. He was worried about me. It feels strange.