Chapter 59

Chapter 59

O'Casey had no sooner left than the footsteps outside the door abruptly stopped.

The next moment, the doorknob on Kaisisen's room began to turn.

Someone outside was trying to open the door!

But Kaisisen stood perfectly still. He calmly watched the door, as if utterly unafraid.

Sure enough, the next second, the door met with slight resistance.

The door was locked from the inside, so whoever was outside couldn't get in.

After confirming the door wouldn't budge, the figure left with steady footsteps, and silence once again fell outside Kaisisen's room.

Kaisisen stared fixedly at the door, feeling as though something were stuck in his throat—an unbearable tightness.

Kaisisen placed great importance on his personal privacy. He disliked servants or the butler freely entering his room and hated being disturbed.

As a child, whenever he felt worn down by his female parent's oppression, Kaisisen would retreat to his room alone—it made him feel relaxed and free.

To Kaisisen, his room wasn't just a place to sleep; it was his own private space, his sanctuary.

That was why Kaisisen always locked his door when he came back to his room.

His brothers knew his habits and would never just barge into his room.

And when his female parent wanted to see him, he always summoned Kaisisen to the study.

Over the years, the household servants and butler had naturally become well aware of Kaisisen's habits.

Without Kaisisen's permission, the servants and butler would never dare cross that line.

Yet just now, whoever was outside—butler or servant—had unhesitatingly tried the door, then left decisively once they confirmed it wouldn't open.

This didn't seem like a deliberate violation; it was more like whoever was outside was checking something.

Were they checking whether his second brother had come to his room?

From the moment his second brother was caught fleeing to the hurried footsteps at his door—it was almost back-to-back.

If his second brother had escaped, why didn't they search elsewhere first? Why come straight to his room to check?

Kaisisen furrowed his brow, thoughts churning through his mind, stirring a storm in his heart that refused to settle.

Despite all the ugly conflicts Kaisisen had with his female parent, he trusted his biological parent one hundred percent.

He never believed his female parent would hurt him.

Same went for his second brother and eldest brother.

Yet his second brother's earnest, almost inexplicable and absurd words, along with that final warning-like admonition, had planted a seed of doubt in Kaisisen's heart that had taken deep root.

*

Morning came. Having not slept all night, Kaisisen pulled himself together, washed up, dressed neatly, and headed to the main hall.

His female parent, dressed in an understated yet refined suit, was already seated at the head of the dining table, handling official matters.

"Female parent, good morning."

Kaisisen greeted his female parent as he always did.

After getting a response, Kaisisen took his seat as usual.

Breakfast had become a rather formal meal for their family in recent years, and it was usually when the family was most gathered together.

So even though Kaisisen was currently resting at home, he still came downstairs promptly for breakfast.

His female parent and eldest brother were both in politics, with endless meetings and engagements. For politicians like them, lunch was also prime time for networking.

Right now, his eldest brother was on a business trip to another planet and seemingly couldn't return anytime soon. Since Kaisisen had woken up that day, his eldest brother had managed to call him once to check in.

Despite his eldest brother's best efforts to hide it, the exhaustion showed on his face.

His eldest brother was truly busy, and so was his female parent—lately, they often came home only in the dead of night when the frost was heavy.

Ever since Kaisisen had completely walked away from politics, his female parent and eldest brother never brought up work-related matters with him.

Naturally, Kaisisen never asked either.

Still, he couldn't help worrying.

He wondered if something big was going on in the upper political circles.

His second brother had originally been confined to his room, with his female parent forbidding him from coming downstairs for breakfast. And now, his second brother... definitely wouldn't be showing up here.

Kaisisen quietly ate breakfast with his female parent.

The table was silent, broken only by the faint clink of knives and forks.

For a moment, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

It wasn't until both had finished their meal that Kaisisen spoke up, making his request to his female parent. "Female parent, I feel like I'm mostly recovered now. Last time at the hospital, the Chief Physician said my condition was very stable. Female parent, I'd like to go back to work. Uncle's company is currently organizing a joint live-streaming event, and they're slammed. I've been involved in almost every part of the planning and prep. Can I go back now?"

Kaisisen explained in detail, his tone earnest and sincere.

Koit, seated at the head of the table, didn't respond. He leisurely wiped the corner of his mouth with a warm napkin, and only after setting it down did he look at Kaisisen and say slowly, "Xiao Sen, I recall that at first you were pretty resistant to and even hated this job, weren't you? How come you're so invested now?"

Koit's tone was calm, yet carried a hint of almost contemptuous indifference.

Kaisisen clenched his fists, staying silent. That irritating, suffocating feeling crept back up.

Sure enough, seeing Kaisisen stay silent, Koit continued, "What do you want to do with your future? Got any plans? I originally sent you to your uncle's place just hoping you'd settle down and think about what you want to do with your life." With that, Koit let out a laugh, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "But no—you actually took it seriously. How important can that little job be? Can't it run without you? Your body hasn't even fully recovered, and you're already itching to rush back. Do you plan to spend your whole life running errands for your uncle?"

With each of Koit's accusations, Kaisisen's expression grew darker.

He simply couldn't hold back the frustration rising in his chest.

Here it was again—the same old pattern. He could never have a normal conversation with his female parent.

At some point, the gentle, mild-mannered female parent from his childhood memories had faded, replaced by this sharp-tongued, harsh, and increasingly unfamiliar figure.

No matter what he did, his female parent was never satisfied.

In the past, he would argue fiercely and angrily with his female parent, trying to change his way of thinking.

But reality had taught him it was completely useless—his intense resistance only added fuel to the fire and made things worse.

Over time, Kaisisen had been forced to learn silence, to learn endurance. As long as it didn't cross the line he couldn't tolerate, he would submit to his female parent.

Seeing Kaisisen's silent defiance, Koit rubbed the bridge of his nose, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes revealing a hint of fatigue. In the short time it took to eat, his muted communicator kept vibrating incessantly.

"Do as you wish. Just remember to visit the hospital on time." Koit said slowly.

Hearing his mother's reminder, Kaisisen responded with a composed expression, but his heart suddenly lurched.

Just as Kaisisen was about to head upstairs after bidding his mother farewell.

His mother's voice suddenly called out to stop him, "Oh, Xiao Sen, your second brother ran away from home late last night."

Kaisisen's body stiffened. He turned around, feigning a surprised expression, "Is that so?"

Koit's emerald eyes, just like Kaisisen's, stared at him intently, and after a moment, he said enigmatically, "You didn't know?"

Kaisisen's heart clenched as he struggled to keep his expression and demeanor from betraying anything.

"Mother, I only just found out. What did Second Brother do to make you so angry?" Kaisisen asked in return.

His mother snorted coldly, not answering, but said coldly and firmly, "You don't need to know."

With that, Koit added, "If you hear any news about your second brother, let me know."

"...Alright, Mother."

*

"Bye, Nevi, let's meet up again next time! I had so much fun with you today! Oh, Barlow too, goodbye!"

"Wahhh, Nevi, I really don't want to part with you! Can I go back with you..."

"Gorgeous Nai Nai, let's snuggle a bit more... hehe, I'm so content! Today was truly such a blissful and happy day!"

"Nai Nai is really a thousand times more beautiful than in the livestream! I'm also super gentle and cute, I really adore you, Nai Nai! I'm so glad I got to meet you!"

"Barlow! Seriously, I'm going to get mad! You clearly know such a beautiful and gentle male insect, so why didn't you introduce him to me? And I had to find out on my own! I've decided I'm not talking to you for a month, hmph!"

"Bai Bai and Mei Mei are so adorably plump, hehe, Uncle really loves you guys. Next time Uncle comes to see you and your dad, okay? Can you say bye to Uncle?"

......

Finally, Nevi and Barlow wheeled Bai Bai and Mei Mei, carrying a mountain of exquisite parting gifts from the male insects, and after exchanging hugs with each of them, they climbed into their private hovercar under the reluctant, lingering gazes of the male insects.

On the way, they also managed to talk two newly adult male insects out of following Nevi home, who were so emotional they were in tears.

As soon as they got into the hovercar, Barlow dumped the gifts in his arms and his face immediately dropped.

Of course, he was just exhausted.

Nevi wasn't much better off either. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the seat to rest for a bit.

In their baby seats, Bai Bai and Mei Mei were already too tired to keep their eyes open, and as soon as they got in, they began to snore softly.

How terrifying, truly terrifying!

Ever since Nevi had added the male insects' contact information through the livestream's private messages that day, and under their frequent enthusiastic invitations, Nevi had brought the two cubs and Barlow along to meet them.

The male insects were truly passionate and energetic, and it was obvious they really liked Nevi and the cubs. Throughout the day, they chattered incessantly around Nevi, asking about interesting stories involving Nevi and the cubs.

During this time, at the male insects' insistence, they also visited many clothing stores. At first, it was fine—the male insects just gathered together, gesturing at nice clothes.

But then Nevi changed into an outfit, which seemed to trigger some strange obsession in the male insects. Their eyes sparkled as they almost treated Nevi like a beautiful, delicate doll to dress up.

They bustled around the clothing store like busy little bees, picking out many nice outfits and tugging at Nevi's arm, coquettishly begging him to try them on.

Nevi couldn't resist the male insects' onslaught, and in a daze, he nodded and let them dress him up.

Amidst their increasingly excited gazes and occasional gasps of admiration, compared to his extremely simple casual wear, he inexplicably ended up with countless beautiful and fashionable outfits.

Not just him—the adorable, chubby but refined Bai Bai and Mei Mei didn't escape the ordeal either. They were also changed into several soft and cute onesies or exquisite, ornate little clothes.

It wasn't until Bai Bai and Mei Mei stretched out their chubby little arms and loudly protested that the male insects reluctantly stopped, even giving the soft, jelly-like arms of the plump cubs a squeeze.

As for Barlow, his resentment was practically tangible.

He was nothing but an emotionless lackey—oh, and a bag-carrying tool.

After resting in the hovercar for a while to recover, Nevi couldn't help but laugh.

His beautiful face was full of helplessness, yet it was hard to hide his joy and ease.

Before the meeting, he had been really nervous, but after actually meeting them, he realized they were truly warm and friendly male insects.

Today was tiring, but also genuinely happy.

"Ahhh, Nevi, how can you still laugh? I'm exhausted..."

Amidst Nevi's soft laughter and Barlow's complaints, the atmosphere in the hovercar was incredibly relaxed and pleasant.

But little did they know, a group of uninvited guests dressed in identical uniforms had quietly arrived at the Male Insect Association, waiting for their return.

*

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Author's note: Sorry, sorry, I'll try to make up for the nutrient solution tomorrow, ahhh.

Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!