“That night, several Zerg arrived one after another, and by morning, seven females had returned with Alhandra Zangshi.
During breakfast, the usual table was replaced with a round one, laden with various foods. When Alhandra carried Wei’an down, he was wide-eyed with surprise.
So many older brothers! And even a sister.
Wei’an’s gaze met Quan Fei’s, and his bright blue eyes instinctively curved into a smile.
Quan Fei quickly averted her gaze. She was the only sub-female¹ among them and now the captain of the First Legion’s No. 10 Special Forces Unit. With her fiery red hair and dark green eyes, her abilities and physical prowess far surpassed the average military female.
After Alhandra sat down with Wei’an in his arms, the female insects standing in the hall came down one by one.
“Why are you all standing there? Your little brother doesn’t know any of you yet, so introduce yourselves,” Alhandra said.
Quan Yan was the first to stand, his voice deep and raspy. “Quan Yan, thirty years old, First Legion Commander. I’m your eldest brother.”
Quan Yan sat down, and Quan Yan stood up next. “Quan Yan, twenty-nine, the most popular actor in the interstellar world. Three-time winner of the Interstellar Best Actor Award. I’m your second brother.”
“Quan Lu, twenty-nine, chairman of Tianxing Commercial. I’m your third brother,” Quan Lu said with a smile, his eyes narrowing.
“Quan Xiao… your fourth brother.”
“Quan Fei, twenty-seven, First Legion No. 10 Special Forces Unit Captain. I’m your seventh sister.”
“Quan Fe… your eighth brother.”
“Quan Fan, five years old. A kindergarten graduate, and will enter the elementary school of Lance School next month.” Quan Ci said with a stern expression.
Wei’an’s eyes sparkled as he tried counting on his small fingers but couldn’t keep track of them all. So many brothers… and one sister!
The others couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Wei’an counting with a blank expression.
After counting for a while and still not finishing, Wei’an shook his head, grabbed the edge of the table, and stood up from his male father’s lap. His chubby little face looked serious. “Hello, brothers and sister. I’m your little brother, Wei’an, and I just turned sixteen months old today!”
“Pftt.” Quan Lu laughed out loud but quickly looked away when Alhandra’s gaze shifted toward him.
After introducing himself, Wei’an seemed to remember something and dashed upstairs. The stairs were still too tall for his little legs, so he had to crawl up one step at a time, his little butt sticking out.
His little appearance amused Quan Fei, Quan Lu, Quan Xiao, and the others, who were seeing him for the first time.
After a while, Wei’an came down, dragging a small bundle of clothes. The butler stepped forward to help him carry it.
With his hands free, Wei’an clapped his hands and grinned, “Thank you, butler~”
When he got downstairs, Wei’an rummaged through the clothes and pulled out his favorite toy, handing it to Quan Yan.
Quan Yan looked down at the little cub, who wasn’t even as tall as his calves, and shook his head, refusing.
“It’s fun!” Wei’an tiptoed, trying to stuff the toy into Quan Yan’s hands, but he was too short to reach.
His black hair swayed with his movements, revealing his white forehead and tightly pursed lips.
A very clean and cute little male cub—this was the brother who shared the same female father as him? He is so weak that it surprised him.
In the end, seeing how hard Wei’an was trying, Quan Yan accepted the toy. His raspy voice was thick with an unintentional pressure, “Thank you.”
Wei’an rubbed his ears, as his brother’s voice made them itch.
He continued dragging his bundle and walked over to Quan Yan. Quan Yan squatted down and took the gift from his hands, pinching his face with a smile. “Isn’t this your favorite toy? Don’t you feel sad giving it to us?”
Wei’an shook his head, and since his face was being pinched, his speech came out a bit muffled. “Not sad~ It’s a gift for my brothers.”
Quan Yan’s heart softened, and he picked him up, inhaling the milky scent from his body. The little cub he’d been thinking about for half a month still had the same irresistible charm.
Wei’an giggled as Quan Yan played with him, and after being set down, he wobbled over to Quan Lu. “Brother, here you go~”
Quan Lu took the toy from his hands, placed it aside, and said a simple “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome~”
When it was Quan Fei’s turn, she received two five-centimeter diameter dark crystal balls. These were quite valuable!
While marveling at them, she curiously asked, “Why do I get two?”
Wei’an’s bright blue eyes sparkled as he grinned mischievously, “Because I like you, sister~”
Quan Fei, who was flattered, rubbed his head generously. She had changed her mecha some time ago and was so poor that she had to hunt monsters, so she readily accepted the black crystal ball as a windfall.
Wei’an was rubbed all over by her, but he was not angry, and continued to walk down happily. After walking around and coming to Quan Fan, he touched the bag but found nothing. He lowered his head and put his head into the bag to see that it was gone.
No more toys!
Wei’an looked at Quan Fan and smiled sheepishly. Then, he crawled into his arms and patted his own chest. “Wei’an will be your gift!”
Often called “treasure” or “baby” by the female attendants, Wei’an genuinely believed that he was precious.
Quan Fan, wrapping his arms around the soft, chubby little body, froze for a moment. Wei’an was his now?
Alhandra, amused and exasperated, pulled Wei’an from Quan Fan’s arms. “So capable now, huh? You can even gift yourself away!”
He puffed out his small chest, “Wei’an is awesome~”
Quan Chu glanced at the tall, silent, and undeniably fierce Quan Yan, then looked at the soft and adorable Wei’an, once again questioning if this little guy was really his cub.
After breakfast, the Zerg gradually dispersed in small groups, with the birthday party scheduled for the afternoon.
Seeing Wei’an swinging a wooden sword in the courtyard, Quan Lu leaned against a pillar and casually asked Quan Ci, “What’s he doing?”
“Swinging a sword,” Quan Ci replied indifferently.
Quan Lu was momentarily speechless before smiling, “Little Quan Ci is so boring.”
Quan Ci glanced at him and walked over to sit next to Quan Fei.
“Look, the eldest brother’s heading over. I wonder if his presence will scare the little cub to tears,” Quan Fei, who was smoking on the side, suddenly spoke.
Several Zerg looked over and felt there was a high chance that Wei’an might indeed be frightened to tears. At the breakfast table earlier, Wei’an, barely taller than their calves, had been too distracted by everyone else to notice Quan Yan’s appearance. Now, suddenly seeing him might have a 90% chance of scaring him.
Noticing this, Quan Ci immediately stood up to intervene, but before he could reach Wei’an, the little cub had already spotted Quan Yan.
As soon as Wei’an saw Quan Yan’s face, he stopped swinging the wooden sword and stood still, blinking as he looked up at him.
Noticing the situation, Quan Yan turned to look at Wei’an and realized that this little brother, who shared the same female father, was probably scared of him.
Having never soothed a cub before, he wasn’t sure what to do, so they just stared at each other.
Suddenly, Wei’an turned and ran away.
Watching the little figure he had frightened off, Quan Yan looked away and left. This wasn’t the first cub he had scared.
Nearly all the cubs of his comrades had been terrified by him. Thinking about how those female cubs had trembled and wailed, refusing to go near him, Quan Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned. After all, this was the first male cub he had scared.
He had heard that male cubs were weaker than females and couldn’t handle shocks well. Would this be a problem?
The scar on his face was the result of a battle during a star beast invasion, where a venomous star beast’s bone tail had struck him. It had nearly split his head in two. The wound had rotten and healed multiple times, he had barely survived and was left with this horrifying scar.
Wei’an seemed to be running off to seek comfort from his male father.
Quan Ci halted his steps, gazing at the silent and brooding figure by the lake. He didn’t approach. He hadn’t seen much of this elder brother, only occasionally hearing about him from Quan Yan.
In Quan Yan’s words, this eldest brother was a being whose mental and physical strength were so overwhelming they could make any Zerg’s scalp tingle.
Otherwise, how could he, at such a young age, become the commander of an army and be hailed in the military as the heir to their uncle?
Wei’an hurried back to his room, rummaging around for a while before finally finding the ointment his male father had used on him when he got hurt. He cradled the ointment in both hands and rushed out.
As he descended the stairs, he placed the ointment on the ground, crouched down, and used both hands to lower himself step by step. After each step, he picked up the ointment and set it down on the next step.
After a bit of time, he finally made it downstairs. Wiping his sweat messily and exhaling deeply, he resumed running, clutching the ointment tightly.
Though he had already turned one, his walking was steady most of the time, but when he ran, he still stumbled, making the Zerg watching him feel anxious.
When Wei’an finally returned to the spot where Quan Yan had been, he found that his brother was no longer there.
“Ah~” He plopped down on the ground to catch his breath. After resting, he dusted himself off, stood up, and set off in search of his brother.
After searching for a while, Wei’an eventually spotted Quan Yan by the lake. “Brother~”
He shouted and charged forward with the ointment in his hands.
Hearing the noise, Quan Yan turned around and saw a little cub stumbling towards him. As Wei’an wobbled more and more, it seemed like he was about to fall into the lake, forcing Quan Yan to step forward and lift him by the back of his collar.
“What are you doing?” he frowned. Due to his long stay in the military, his tone sounded harsh, almost like a scolding.
Wei’an, still kicking his little legs, realized what was happening and raised the ointment high, struggling to look up. “Brother, ointment~”
Looking down at the ointment in his hand and Wei’an’s fearless expression, Quan Yan was momentarily stunned.
He crouched down and set Wei’an down. His crimson eyes locked onto the little cub’s gaze, “You’re not scared of me?”
“Not scared~” Wei’an pushed the ointment forward. “Ointment~”
Quan Yan took the ointment, staring at his little brother, who shared the same female father. His emotions were complicated. Standing up, he looked down at Wei’an, “Want to walk with me?”
“Mm-hmm!” Wei’an nodded eagerly, reaching up to grab his brother’s hand but couldn’t reach. In the end, he tugged at the hem of Quan Yan’s pants and asked as they walked, “Brother, does it hurt?”
“No.”
“Liar, such a big scar must hurt~” Wei’an spread his hands wide, trying to show how big the scar was.
“I don’t feel pain.” By now, Quan Yan had forgotten what it had felt like at the time. All he remembered was the constant sensation of near-death and an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
As Wei’an stumbled from looking up at him, he suddenly patted Quan Yan’s leg and beckoned, “You squat down~”
Quan Yan silently complied, crouching down. The little cub puffed out his cheeks and gently blew two breaths at his face, his voice soft and milky, “Huff, huff, pain, pain go away~”
Though the scar on his face had long healed, in that moment, it suddenly seemed to throb with pain again. The pain contorted Quan Yan’s face for a split second, and for the first time in a long while, his heart gave a small, barely noticeable beat.
His crimson eyes shifted as he looked at the small cub in front of him, so weak that a single finger could easily crush him. For a moment, he felt the urge to hold him and see if he was as soft as he imagined.
He thought so, but he never moved, and never touched the little guy with his blood-stained hands.
Notes:
¹sub-female: In this novel, the sub-female in the zerg looks like the females in humans
onee-chan:
This chapter😭
There’s two characters named Quan Yan here, if you haven’t read the notes in the previous chapter the Quan Yan in the first few chapters that appeared is an actor and his raw name is 权宴 (quán yàn). While this new character’s name is 权闫(quán yán), as you can see, both of them has the word Yan(tho they have different chinese character) and its also pronounce the same way so I can only translate it this way ╮(￣▽￣””)╭
ohhh… wei an is so cute.. im about to cry…. 😞😞
Hi, could you put an accent or something to distinguish them on one of the Yans? It’s too confusing otherwise.
Thanks for the chapters 💜💜💜