Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Kaisisen's bloodshot eyes were glazed with a faint mist as his gaze locked onto Nevi, unable to tear himself away.

Nai Nai was just as beautiful as he remembered. Though his expression looked weary, and his eyes were red too.

It must be from the shock and worry over the cubs' disappearance.

Kaisisen's heart ached. The overwhelming guilt and self-reproach nearly crushed the proud, composed posture of this female insect, leaving him unable to raise his head.

Kaisisen desperately wanted to pull Nevi into his arms. But the anxiety in his heart and his soaked, disheveled state left him rooted to the spot, not daring to move.

Yet the next moment, the ever-beautiful young male before him, as if in disbelief, his eyes welled up and he threw himself into Kaisisen's arms.

Kaisisen froze for a moment, then reached out and carefully wrapped his arms around Nevi.

The male's soft body was incredibly warm, causing a shiver to run through the female insect's numb, rain-soaked body. A faint warmth gradually spread through him, reviving his stiff heart that seemed to have stopped beating, sending it pounding once more.

"Aesop, you're back. I knew you would come back..." Nevi sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face. His voice was filled with overwhelming joy and hurt.

Nevi didn't care about Kaisisen's soaked state. He clung tightly to him, only by feeling Kaisisen's solid body against him could he believe this wasn't an illusion or a dream.

Aesop was really back.

"Nai Nai, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Back then, I was severely injured during a navigation mission and was rescued by bugs working for my family. They wiped my memories, making me forget those three years on Numbered Star... I'm sorry, Nai Nai. I only remembered today. I did you wrong, and I did the cubs wrong..." Kaisisen's words tumbled out in a frantic, jumbled rush.

He laid it all out, explaining exactly why he'd vanished. His mistake, no matter how much he regretted it, was already done. He'd take all of Nai Nai's anger and disappointment—he owed him and the cubs way too much.

But he didn't want their rift to come from unresolved misunderstandings.

"Aesop, you've been through so much." Nevi said hoarsely, his face full of pain and anger. He truly couldn't have imagined that Aesop's own family could be so cruel.

Aesop's head had already been through trauma. How could a memory-wiping surgery have no side effects? And then the sudden return of his memories... Nevi couldn't even bear to think about what Kaisisen must have gone through to get here.

He lifted his head, cupping Kaisisen's cold cheeks in both hands, looking him over closely.

The tall female insect had sharp, striking features and a chiseled face. Without that dazed look, he was sharp and handsome.

But he had grown thinner. Even with his best efforts to hide it, he couldn't hide the exhaustion in his face. His once bright emerald eyes were now dull and bloodshot.

Nevi's eyes started to well up again. He felt like his heart was being crushed, making it hard to breathe. He whispered, "Does it hurt?"

Back on Numbered Star, when Kaisisen's head ached unbearably on rainy nights, his eyes had been just as bloodshot and scary as they were now.

Kaisisen blinked, his head pounding, not quite understanding what Nevi meant.

Nevi reached up and pressed his hands to Kaisisen's temples, massaging gently with just the right pressure and technique.

Kaisisen didn't want to close his eyes, so he watched the male's earnest, worried face up close.

Gradually, the male's massage seemed to take effect. Kaisisen felt the stabbing pain in his head fade a lot.

Kaisisen said dazedly, "Nai Nai, it hurt a bit a second ago, but it doesn't hurt now!"

Nevi smiled, delighted, and said softly, "Back on Numbered Star, when your head hurt on rainy nights, massaging you like this always made you feel a little better. I'll do it again for you before bed tonight."

With the male's words, fragments of corresponding memories surfaced in Kaisisen's mind. He froze, then mumbled a flustered response.

The next moment, a gentle kiss landed on his lips.

The beautiful male before him had light shining in his eyes, and his voice was calm but as serious as a promise. "Aesop, I will always believe in you. I love you, and I know your love for me and the cubs. I knew you would come back."

With that, Nevi took Kaisisen's slightly cool hand and led the clumsy, soaked female insect inside the warm house.

Nevi smiled warmly and said softly, "Aesop, welcome home."

Looking at his beautiful, gentle mate and the cozy little home before him, Kaisisen's throat tightened and his eyes got misty.

This scene—where fantasy and reality merged, familiar yet foreign—was like a dream he'd had countless times in the back of his mind, now coming true.

In that moment, his anxious, fogged-up heart finally broke through the barriers and found its home.

*

After his shower, Kaisisen came out of the bathroom in soft, fitted pajamas, towel-drying his hair.

Nevi turned to look at him and gave a small smile. "Fits you well."

Back on Numbered Star, they didn't have many clothes, and they'd brought them all to the capital.

Numbered Star was limited, so most of their clothes were dull and plain.

Since moving to the capital, Nevi had bought clothes for himself and the cubs, but he'd also secretly picked up a bunch for Aesop.

These clothes—things that would never have made it into Kaisisen's closet back at the old estate—now meant something special because his mate had picked them out, and it filled Kaisisen with joy.

"Thank you, Nai Nai. I really like them." Kaisisen's heart was stirred once again. He cherished the fabric between his fingers, his nose tingling with emotion.

Kaisisen quickly walked over to the living room and sat down close to Nevi.

At that moment, Nevi pursed his lips and hesitated before speaking. "Aesop, you mentioned earlier that the cubs were taken by your blood relatives." Nevi paused, then continued, "I think there might be some misunderstanding in all this. I already have a suspect for the real mastermind behind the cubs' abduction."

The way Kaisisen's blood relatives had treated him made it impossible for Nevi to feel close to them as he once had.

But if his guess was correct, the cubs had indeed been rescued by Kaisisen's blood relatives and were being well cared for.

Kaisisen clearly had some misunderstandings about his relatives.

It hadn't been the right time to explain earlier, but while Kaisisen was bathing, Nevi had sorted through his thoughts and decided to lay everything out clearly for him.

He recounted in full what Wenoy and the Juvenile Protection Association had done. As Nevi spoke, Kaisisen's expression gradually darkened. His fists clenched tightly, and fury churned relentlessly in his chest.

The name Wenoy felt somewhat familiar, but after searching his mind, he truly couldn't recall any impression of him.

Kaisisen had never been fond of socializing. He paid little attention to insects he had no interest in. Unlike his warm, refined eldest brother and his cheerful, unrestrained second brother, Kaisisen had very little contact with the female insects in their social circle apart from a few close friends.

But at this moment, the name Wenoy left a deep, indelible mark in Kaisisen's heart.

Kaisisen committed that name to memory. Unfortunately, the Wenoy who had been remembered was clearly in for a bad time.

Not only that—Nevi made no attempt to hide anything. He directly took out the photographs Wenoy had given him and displayed them before Kaisisen.

As Kaisisen stared in shock, Nevi said calmly, "Wenoy told me that you, Aesop, were about to be engaged. The engagement partner is the male insect in these photos."

Nevi's casual tone sent a massive wave crashing through Kaisisen's heart.

Kaisisen's pupils contracted. He nearly jumped up in a panic, explaining, "Nai Nai, this is absolutely absurd! I only have you! Even if I temporarily forgot you, I would never have contact with any other male! The male in the photo is my cousin. When I was young and my father was still alive, he lived with us for a while. We had a good relationship. That day, he had a quarrel with his mate, so he came to ask me to accompany him shopping to clear his head. My mate, I can have him come explain to you tomorrow! If you don't like him, I'll see him less in the future..."

Kaisisen spoke hastily and without hesitation. In his heart, the most important thing—the thing that came first above all—was Nai Nai and the cubs.

Wenoy pulled Kaisisen close, leaning in to give him a soothing kiss. "No need, Aesop. I trust you."

Before Aesop had appeared, doubt and fear had indeed lingered in his heart, but now, looking at Aesop just as he had always been, the last traces of unease within Wenoy completely dissolved.

Wenoy trusted Aesop. He was still the same Aesop he knew and loved deeply—unchanged.

Feeling Wenoy's closeness, Kaisisen wrapped his arms tightly around him, burying his entire face into the crook of Wenoy's neck as if seeking comfort.

The warmth of his breath made the pale skin of Wenoy's neck tremble slightly, yet Wenoy simply stroked Kaisisen's back with practiced ease.

Kaisisen held his cherished male master in his arms and said in a low, muffled voice, "Nai Nai, don't worry. I promise Wenoy won't come around anymore."

Wenoy responded with a gentle hum.

What Wenoy didn't see at that moment was the cold, piercing glint in the eyes of the female gently embracing him—like a beast whose most sensitive spot had been touched, burning with fierce battle intent and fury.

Back on Numbered Star, behind Wenoy's back, any female who dared to covet Wenoy or harbor ill intentions had been taken care of by the fiercely possessive Kaisisen.

They dared to sow discord between him and his male master, covet his male master, and harm his children.

Wenoy, just you wait.

*

The two simply held each other in the living room, yet the charged atmosphere continued to build in the silent surroundings, growing ever thicker.

The male with a faintly flushed neck looked almost ethereally beautiful under the dim moonlight. He gazed at Kaisisen and whispered, "Aesop... where will you sleep tonight?"

Wenoy already knew that Kaisisen's memories hadn't fully recovered, and the way Kaisisen was acting close to him now vaguely resembled the early days of their relationship.

Though reluctant, and worried that Kaisisen might feel uncomfortable, he left the choice to him.

Aside from his own room, Wenoy's home only had the kids' room. If Aesop didn't want to share a bed with him, he'd have to make do with the living room sofa.

Seeing the male's expectant gaze and the seeming invitation in his words—

Kaisisen felt a sudden rush, as if a surge of heat and agitation flooded his mind.

The male's words seemed to stir up certain deep and hidden memories, and Kaisisen's mind was flooded with explicit images.

Looking at the protagonist from his memories standing before him, Kaisisen's fair cheeks, neck, and ears instantly turned bright red.

He turned around almost stiffly and awkwardly.

His actions made the male mistakenly believe he had made his choice.

In an instant, the light in the beautiful male's eyes dimmed, and disappointment was plain on his face.

But the next moment, seeing the female turn back without hesitation, clutching the sofa pillow, Wenoy froze.

The female, flushed all over, with an unnatural expression, spoke in a stumbling yet resolute voice.

"Nai Nai, I... I'll sleep with you."

*

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Author's note: It's been raining every day lately and I think I caught a cold with a fever—unbelievable in Guangdong. Take care of yourselves, my dears! Stay healthy.

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