Quan Ci, who reacted the fastest among the three, stepped forward, he took Wei’an’s hand, scooped him into his arms, and slid away into the distance. Other matters could wait, but holding his little brother required swift action. After all, there was only one Wei’an, but the competition for him was numerous.
Quan Yan(2nd brother) and Quan Fan, who had been slightly slower, exchanged glances. Instinctively, their eyes then shifted to Alhandra. Without a younger brother to dote on, they had to find other ways to pass the time.
Alhandra, unintentionally meeting their scrutinizing gazes, took two steps back. With a brief moment of thought, he immediately understood their intentions.
After all, his behavior during this period was indeed very different from before.
However, understanding was one thing, but whether he cared about it was another. Alhandra remained confident. Unless he chose to explain, his previous actions ensured that they would never let go of their grudges enough to question him directly.
Between them lay a chasm he had personally carved—a scar on their bodies and destruction etched into their hearts over years.
He personally deprived them of the affection between them, and the hurt and shortcomings caused cannot be filled or forgiven.
The damage has been done, how can it be treated as if it didn’t happen?
Indeed, despite lingering doubts and questions, Quan Yan preferred to investigate everything himself, racking his brain for answers. Asking directly had never even crossed his mind.
Regarding Alhandra’s stark change in character, Quan Yan had a vague idea of the reason, but he preferred to believe that his true nature had always been that vile one.
What Quan Yan truly wanted to uncover was whether the halving of the male Zerg’s lifespan was related to them.
Even entertaining this thought tore his heart apart, leaving it bloodied and mangled. The pain was excruciating, yet he still wanted to know—whether his decades of life had been built on a web of lies, whether he had harbored hatred for the existence that he shouldn’t hate.
Quan Yan stepped in front of Alhandra, much to Quan Fan’s astonishment. For the first time, he directly met the male father’s gaze. Only then did he realize how much Alhandra’s eyes resembled Wei’an’s. Those long, narrow eyes, when filled with surprise, were strikingly similar to Wei’an’s wide-eyed astonishment.
“Male Father,” he began softly, looking at Alhandra. “There’s something I can’t find an answer to, but you know it. Can I ask you…”
“No,” Alhandra interrupted before he could finish, giving an answer at the same time.
Looking at the calm, gentle face in front of him, Alhandra was suddenly reminded of a moment from long ago. Twelve-year-old Quan Yan had braved a heavy downpour to stand before him just like today.
At that time, he had a pair of dark green eyes open, with a trace of natural dependence and expectation in them. He told him that Quan Fei had a severe fever due to the insect source agitation and injuries on her body, and asked if she could be sent to the hospital.
At that time, Alhandra had easily discerned Quan Yan’s intentions. He was gambling—gambling that his male father still harbored a shred of closeness or compassion for them.
“No!”
Alhandra had responded with the same two words back then.
As those words fell, he had seen the last traces of trust and affection in those dark green eyes disappear completely.
This time, after hearing the same response, Quan Yan did not turn away as he had years ago. Instead, he quietly looked at Alhandra and said, “I will find out!”
“Before I get the answers, I’ll think of every possible way, exhaust all my energy, and use every means available to investigate. No matter how perfectly a lie is crafted, once suspicion arises, it cannot withstand scrutiny!”
This confrontation was not something Alhandra hadn’t foreseen. Ever since Wei’an appeared, and since learning of his uniqueness, the tightly wound string in Alhandra’s mind had loosened significantly.
Wei’an had a natural closeness to his female father and brothers. He would live a long life, unlike Alhandra, who had tied their lives to his at the cost of half his lifespan.
With Wei’an around, even if Alhandra died and they learned the truth, their sorrow wouldn’t drive them to despair.
The harm had been done, but they would cherish Wei’an and live on well.
In the Zerg race, every female broke out of their shell under the guidance of a male. This naturally ingrained a sense of closeness and protectiveness toward males in their genes.
Over time, and through the Creator’s mistakes, the female Zergs had far too much of their existence intertwined with males, binding their lives to them.
Females and males were like two parts of a whole—connected yet separate—bearing each other’s lives as they lived in this world.
When a male Zerg died, their female lord and female cubs would feel an overwhelming urge to die as well. Fortunately, males had long lifespans and were inherently strong, rarely succumbing to early death.
But the emergence of EY substance broke the balance between them, forcing male Zerg to face premature death.
The males must guide the cubs to break out of their shells, calm the restlessness of the zerg source agitation for the warriors who fight on the battlefield for the race, and pacify the zerg source of their mates and children.
During these processes, they reduced their life span bit by bit, regretfully and willingly embarking on the road to death.
Life.
The life of those unhatched cubs, the bloodied warriors on the battlefield, the life of their family—it weighed so heavily it almost broke the proud backs of the males, driving countless once carefree and wanton young males to madness.
Alhandra reached out, covering the eyes of the female before him, who now stood as tall as he did. The turbulent emotions in his azure eyes calmed as he spoke to Quan Yan in an unexpectedly gentle tone for the first time.
He said, “Besides Wei’an, I have been the most helpless against you.”
Quan Yan was too clever, too calm, and far too ruthless with himself. Facing him often required Alhandra to be on guard, lest he inadvertently exposed any flaws.
Meanwhile, Wei’an, carried far off by Quan Ci, finally managed to learn how to skate under his brother’s patient guidance. Beaming with joy, he let go of Quan Ci’s hand and carefully slid on his own.
After successfully gliding a short distance, he excitedly turned to Quan Ci. “Brother look, Wei’an can do it now!”
Ready to catch him at any moment, Quan Ci saw his little brother slide a short distance and praised him sincerely, “That’s amazing.”
Wei’an, who was praised by his brother, smiled so much that he revealed his tiny rice-like teeth. Determined to impress his brother further, he cautiously waved his arms and started moving on the ice again.
Compared to the other female cubs performing high-difficulty moves nearby, Wei’an’s careful movements looked quite clumsy. But Quan Ci couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Bundled up like a little dumpling, Wei’an wobbled awkwardly across the ice, his white cheeks glowing with a pure smile. His tiny hands tightened with every turn he made.
His blue eyes were as clean as the purest blue in the frozen sea. That was a color that even the most skillful colorist in the world could not mix.
As he skated, Wei’an suddenly turned to another direction and called out in surprise, “Brother!” This distracted him, causing his feet to slip as he tumbled forward.
Quan Yi took a large stride forward and caught him. Dangling in his brother’s arms, Wei’an patted his chest in relief and looked up at Quan Yi with a cheerful grin. “Hello, Brother!”
“Fifth Brother.” Quan Ci, arriving a bit later, was surprised to see Quan Yi, whom they hadn’t met in years.
After Quan Yi nodded to him, he looked at Wei’an who was smiling silly in his hand. He put Wei’an down, knelt down and handed him a full cloth bag.
“For me?” Wei’an asked, clutching the heavy bag curiously.
“Yes.”
“Can I open it?”
“Okay.”
Hearing the response, Wei’an squatted down and placed the bag on the ground. Opening it, he saw that it was filled to the brim with bone jade.
“Wow!” His small mouth gaped in astonishment, his face full of surprise, which quickly turned into joy. “Male father said that this bone jade can only be found in the Star Beast Domain. It is very difficult to get. Why does my brother have so many?”
“I went to the Star Beast Domain.”
“Is all of this for Wei’an?”
“Yes.”
Watching his delighted expression, Quan Yi’s dark green eyes flickered. Just as he was about to leave, a soft body suddenly threw itself into his arms. Frowning and about to push him away, Wei’an wrapped his arms around Quan Yi’s neck and nuzzled against his face. In a soft, coquettish voice, he said, “Don’t leave, brother. Tomorrow is your birthday, and I’ve prepared a gift for you too.”
Quan Yi paused as he was about to push the little one’s hand away. His cold voice carried a trace of surprise. “Birthday?”
It’s his birthday tomorrow?
“Hmm.” Afraid that Quan Yi might disappear like before, Wei’an held onto his hand tightly while pulling out a small notebook from his spatial pocket with the other. Flipping to a particular page, he handed it to Quan Yi and read aloud in his childish voice, word by word, “Look, May 2nd, my Brother Quan Yi’s birthday. Remember to prepare a gift!”
Quan Yi looked at the crooked words on the notebook, and then vaguely remembered that tomorrow seemed to be really his birthday.
“It’s just a birthday. No need to celebrate,” he said coldly. As he removed Wei’an’s hand from his arm and prepared to leave, a hand pressed down on his shoulder.
Papar Xing smiled with narrowed eyes. “You are so courageous, you almost made our Wei’an cry.”
A slightly aggrieved Wei’an, who had been hugging Quan Ci’s leg with his face buried against it, looked up and seriously nodded in agreement after hearing that.
Quan Yi glanced at Papar Xing and said indifferently, “I have something to do.”
Papar Xing looked him up and down and then suddenly patted his back. “You’re badly injured, aren’t you?”
He looked at the female zerg in front of him who had disappeared and gone to the Star Beast Domain after knowing that Wei’an wanted bone jades and said, “Come back with me for treatment?”
“No need.” Quan Yi didn’t know how Papar Xing had figured out that he was injured. He stood up, ready to leave.
Papar Xing scooped Wei’an out of Quan Ci’s arms and stuffed him into Quan Yi’s. Seeing Wei’an’s confused expression, he explained, “Your brother is seriously injured. If he doesn’t see a doctor, he might die.”
Wei’an froze, and when he understood the meaning, he burst into tears with a loud “Wah!” While crying, he begged Quan Yi not to die, clinging tightly to his neck with his chubby little hands. No matter how hard Quan Yi tried, he couldn’t pry him off.
Quan Yi, who didn’t dare to use too much force, looked at Papar Xing with his calm eyes filled with disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe he would stoop to tricking a young cub like this.
Papar Xing returned his gaze with a sly grin. He wasn’t lying. Quan Yi was indeed injured—though he wasn’t sure how severe it was, the slower responses were a clear indicator that it wasn’t minor.
After all, the Star Beast Domain wasn’t a place where you could come and go freely. Even the strongest Zerg could meet their end there if they weren’t careful.
Quan Yi usually seemed cold and emotionless, but who would’ve thought he’d venture alone into the Star Beast Domain just to get Wei’an the bone jade he wanted?
How should I put it? Perhaps Quan Yi, who is responsible for protecting the safety of the male zergs on Kato Star, is the one who has actually stayed with Wei’an the longest among all his brothers.
Thinking carefully, having watched Wei’an grow up little by little from the shadows, how could he not have any feelings for him? It was just that, like Quan Yan(1st brother), he didn’t dare get too close.
Hearing Wei’an’s cries, Shang You, Krillochuan, Chu Yi, and Quan Yu all rushed over. It was inconvenient for them to walk on the ice, and they fell repeatedly as they ran. Each time, they got up and continued forward, feeling fortunate that their thick clothes cushioned the falls, making them painless.
Cen Wei, after changing his skates, found a place to squat earlier, when he heard Wei’an’s cries, he removed his skates, and ran barefoot toward them.
When they arrived, they surrounded Quan Yi and chattered, trying to console the sobbing Wei’an in his arms.
Quan Yu, who had never seen Wei’an cry this hard before, became so anxious while comforting him that his own eyes reddened.
Even Chu Yi, also seeing Wei’an cry for the first time, felt a dull ache in his chest. Such a small cub, but his crying was so lethal that even he felt depressed and uncomfortable in his heart.
Quan Yi, who had never comforted a cub before, opened his mouth and stuttered a few words to coax Wei’an while he was crying. Not only did it not help, but it made him cry even harder.
Quan Ci, who had been observing the whole scene, promptly covered Quan Yi’s mouth with one hand. As he wiped Wei’an’s tears with the other, he softly comforted, “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Quan Yi will see the doctor right away. He’ll come with us.”
Wei’an looked at Quan Yi with tear-filled eyes, and only when Quan Yi nodded did he hiccup and stop crying. “Brother… you must see the doctor properly. Does it hurt?”
Looking at Wei’an’s tear-reddened eyes, Quan Yi couldn’t help but explain, “I’ve already treated the wound myself. There’s really no need to see a doctor.”
Wei’an, who had stopped crying, immediately felt that Quan Yi still didn’t want to see the doctor and would still die. His lips quivered, and despite holding back as much as he could, he started crying again.
“………”
Quan Ci, holding the barefoot Cen Wei, suddenly wanted to sew Quan Yi’s mouth shut.
Alhandra, who rushed over after hearing the cry and had just arrived, was about to step forward to take Wei’an into his arms, but Wei’an was snatched away by Quan Chu who suddenly appeared before he could.
Seeing his rare female father, Wei’an immediately let go of his brother’s neck and threw himself into Quan Chu’s arms. His little voice was hoarse as he complained, “Female father, brother won’t listen. He’s hurt and won’t see a doctor. He’s going to die… wuwu… Wei’an doesn’t want brother to die… wuuu…”
Quan Chu gently patted Wei’an’s back. His dark red eyes turned to Quan Yi, and in a calm tone, he said, “Come back with me.”
“Yes.”
Only after Quan Yi agreed to return with them did Wei’an stop crying under his female father’s soothing words.
Still feeling out of breath from crying so hard, Wei’an looked around at the worried faces of his friends, brothers, male father, Uncle Shang Ying, and his younger brother. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, he covered his face and buried his head in his female father’s chest, refusing to come out.
It’s all brother’s fault for making him cry in front of so many people and his younger brother. So embarrassing!
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