Chapter 57
Even though he couldn’t understand wolf language, in that instant both Yomi and Karl somehow understood exactly what Gousheng meant. Yomi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He quickly picked the little wolf up, but the tiny thing kept kicking its legs wildly, staring at Karl as if convinced he meant them harm, barking fiercely all the while.
Karl: “…”
Yomi shot Karl an awkward look and said to the little wolf cub, “Gousheng, there’s no money in there… No, even if there were money, you still couldn’t steal it.” He pointed toward the prison area. “Otherwise, you’ll end up in jail.”
Gousheng froze. He seemed half-understanding, half-not, but Yomi’s soft voice soon made him relax, and he lowered his head to nuzzle against Yomi’s arms.
Karl laughed and shook his head. He picked up the wallet and clothes from the ground and carried them back inside. When he came out again, he saw that Gousheng had gone right back to herding the chickens, looking as though he had done nothing at all. Seeing Karl, he even barked at him righteously.
Karl: “…”
It was only a small incident, and when Anxius returned, Karl didn’t tell him about it after all.
Karl: Better not say anything. It could easily cause domestic discord!
Anxius came back driving an RV. The moment it entered the farm, everyone’s attention was drawn to the enormous shadow of the vehicle.
Some of the local Junk Star people were even seeing such a vehicle for the first time.
Yomi ran over excitedly. The RV was already huge to begin with, and since it had been built according to alien body proportions, it was even taller than the big truck from before.
Anxius gazed at Yomi’s smiling face and opened the door to invite him inside. Yomi nodded energetically, then the next second looked at the high step in front of him and was just about to work hard at lifting his leg when suddenly his body went light—
Anxius had picked him up and carefully set him inside.
“Thank you.” Yomi began looking around inside the vehicle. Even though he had ridden on starships before, this RV still felt incredibly novel. Inside, it was no different from a finely decorated little Western-style house. The first floor had a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and even a little café. The second floor was like an attic, suitable for sleeping or entertainment, and the roof could even open into a convertible style, perfect for sunbathing and enjoying the scenery when the weather was nice…
Transportation on Junk Star was inconvenient, and inns or hotels only existed in town. Staying overnight when traveling far had always been a problem. But this RV could accommodate quite a few people, making it perfect for long trips. Yomi absolutely loved it.
That evening after dinner, Yomi even dragged Anxius over to play inside the RV, saying he wanted to get a taste of RV life in advance.
The lights inside shone brightly. With the door shut, the two of them sat side by side on the sofa.
Yomi arranged the snacks he had brought over on the coffee table, while Anxius went to prepare drinks. Since coffee wasn’t suitable at night, he squeezed two glasses of fruit juice and sat down beside Yomi in human form.
Yomi used his communicator to play a comedy movie. He munched on snacks while watching the film. Anxius watched him from the corner of his eye.
Outside, the wind was strong, and the windows rattled noisily from it. Yet Yomi was not afraid at all. The enclosed space gave him an indescribable sense of security—especially with Anxius beside him.
He was watching happily enough, but halfway through, the movie suddenly cut without warning to a bed scene.
Yomi lowered his head shyly and stuffed himself with snacks, praying the scene would end quickly. To ease the awkwardness, he fiddled with the dried fruit on the plate and made conversation just for the sake of making it. “Anxius, try this. This one’s good.”
Anxius picked one up and ate it. After that, he caught hold of Yomi’s fidgeting hand.
Yomi often held hands with him, but perhaps because of the movie, he gradually began to feel that both their hands were growing hot. He pressed lightly against Anxius’s hand with his fingers, but couldn’t move it.
Near his ear, Anxius asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Hot,” Yomi muttered.
Anxius picked up a sheet of newspaper, folded it, and used it like a fan to cool him.
The breeze made Yomi feel all dizzy and light-headed. There was still half an hour left in the film, and he wanted to lie down while watching, so he tried to kick off his shoes with his feet. He couldn’t get them off. The person beside him leaned down and removed them for him.
The moment his feet stepped onto those long, elegant hands and were held there, Yomi snapped back to full awareness. He sat upright, but the shoes had already been taken off, and both his feet were now resting on the sofa, supported by Anxius’s hands.
The air itself seemed to heat up.
His face flushed all the way down to his neck. He mumbled awkwardly, “Anxius, I’m not the empire’s little darling anymore.”
What he meant was that they had already left Snar Star, and the two of them were no longer in an employment relationship. Naturally, that meant he no longer held the post of “the empire’s little darling,” and Anxius no longer needed to look after him the way he had back at the manor.
A single movie had finally made Yomi start reflecting on the relationship between himself and Anxius.
“You are.” Anxius looked up at him, baffled, and seemed downright angry at what he’d just said. “Who said you’re not?”
“No one, but…”
Anxius stared at him with such a dense, oppressive gaze that it was almost frightening. “You don’t like that title?”
Was this even about the title? Yomi was getting dizzy! No, from the very beginning, this so-called position had been redundant! It was only because he hadn’t had a job back then that he treasured any work opportunity… But now they were living together on Junk Star. They were just friends now… Yomi was afraid that all of Anxius’s care was still only because he was honoring the old contract. He felt he needed to seriously discuss this issue with him.
“Anxius, do you still go berserk now?” Yomi asked.
Anxius stiffened and frowned. “No!” Was Yomi scared? He immediately began to panic.
“Before, Karl said that my job was to keep your emotions stable, reduce your berserk episodes, and even heal you… But now you’ve already successfully undergone the human-form surgery, and I also feel that you won’t go berserk anymore.” Yomi sounded perfectly reasonable. “So now we’re friends, not employer and employee.”
“Employer and employee?” Anxius’s entire body went tense. “We never were from the beginning.”
“?”
Yomi was about to continue, but he never in his wildest dreams expected Anxius to suddenly cup his face and kiss him.
Yomi’s eyes went wide.
Soft lips landed on his burning cheek, like a seal being stamped down, with unmistakable force.
The instant his lips touched Yomi’s cheek, Anxius began trembling all over. One hand still stayed against the dazed Yomi’s back, patting him gently. “Don’t be scared.”
“I’m not scared…” Even after being kissed, he still stiffened his neck and tried to act tough, forcing out a strained smile. “Anxius, there’s no cheek-kissing custom on Junk Star.”
Anxius: “…It wasn’t a cheek-kiss greeting.”
Yomi’s smile had frozen solid. “Really? There wasn’t a mosquito on my face.”
Anxius lowered his head and looked at him. “I don’t use my mouth to slap mosquitoes.”
“…”
A few seconds later—
Unable to hold himself back, Anxius said, “You’re so cute.”
“No. I’m just not tall enough. I’ll get taller later. Once I reach one meter eighty, I’ll be handsome.”
“…”
Finally, Yomi’s mouth drooped. “Anxius, have you gone crazy?”
“I’m not crazy.” Anxius pressed against his cheek. “I’m already being very restrained.”
“…” Yomi’s whole body had turned soft. His face was burning red, and he had no idea what to do.
Seeing that Yomi wasn’t repulsed, Anxius’s heart began pounding violently. He leaned in and kissed his cheek again.
“…Don’t bite my face.” Yomi’s palms were sweaty.
“I like you. I couldn’t bear to bite you.” Anxius stared at him without blinking. The longer he stared, the more wildly delighted he became, until a perfectly fine man suddenly turned into an absolute scoundrel. “Every day I want to kiss you—and not just your face… Mimi, I want to be with you.”
“…”
All Yomi could hear was a buzzing sound in his head.
And still Anxius wasn’t finished. Lowering his head, he fondly kissed all over Yomi’s cheeks, not wanting to let go of even a single inch.
Yomi stared at him in complete disarray.
If not for fear of frightening Yomi, Anxius truly wanted to keep kissing him forever.
“Mimi,” he said, looking straight into Yomi’s eyes and refusing to let him muddle his way through this, “Gousheng has a mother, but no father. I can be Gousheng’s father.”
Yomi: ?!
Why did that sound like some widowed single parent finding love again?
“…So you did hear that night!” Yomi grabbed hold of the bizarrely wrong detail and fiercely accused him. “You were eavesdropping!”
“I’m sorry. But you were so absorbed in playing.”
“…” Alright, he really had been too immersed at the time. But that had just been make-believe. “I’m not Gousheng’s mother. Gousheng has a mother. She might still be in the forest!”
“Fine. Then I’ll just be your partner.”
“Mm…” The moment the sound left his mouth, Yomi froze. He suddenly felt like he’d fallen into a trap. He hurriedly shook his head. “No, wait. I’m a man.”
“You like women?” Anxius frowned, and as he imagined Yomi building a family with someone else, his limbs suddenly turned cold.
“…”
“Since you don’t, then like me,” Anxius said decisively, with a forcefulness that allowed no refusal. “Let’s be a couple first. Alright?”
Yomi didn’t notice the trembling of Anxius’s lashes. In his eyes, Anxius seemed far too steady, while he himself was the only one panicking and at a loss.
Putting on a thoughtful expression, Yomi knitted his brows. “I…”
Before he could finish, he was abruptly interrupted.
“Baby, no!”
After a few seconds of silence—
“…What?” Yomi dazedly looked left and right, as if searching for whoever had just said baby. He couldn’t believe Anxius had called him that.
But aside from Anxius, there was no one else here.
A moment earlier, the sight of Yomi frowning had made Anxius think he was about to reject him, frightening him badly enough that he blurted out the pet name in his heart without even thinking. Now he didn’t blush at all. On the contrary, he said it even more smoothly the second time. “Baby, answer me when you’re happy.”
Back when he’d watched Yomi reject the werewolf Mond in the restaurant, he had felt unbearably delighted. Now he felt equally unbearably nervous. “You can even wait until we return to Snar Star before answering!”
“…” Yomi was speechless. Even if he did need time to think, it wouldn’t take that long, would it?
Still, Yomi’s thoughts were a total mess right now, so all he could say was, “Let me think about it. Once I’ve figured it out, I’ll tell you…”
Anxius: “Mm.”
In those few short seconds, he had already come up with another plan: if Yomi rejected him later, then he would simply confess again. If Yomi needed more time to think, then he could think again.
That night, the sudden confession really did create a subtle change between the two of them. But Yomi was an expert at covering his ears while stealing a bell. After leaving the RV, his expression was completely calm as he walked ahead with his hands behind his back, as though absolutely nothing had happened. Only when he got into bed did he instinctively turn his back toward Anxius.
Anxius patiently waited until he fell asleep, then drew him into his arms.
Yomi’s cheeks were still flushed. Clearly he had remained shy and embarrassed all the way until sleep overtook him. His body was curled up, and his mouth was pursed in a conflicted little pout.
Anxius rubbed against the corner of his lips, kissed his little horns, and finally touched his own horns lightly against Yomi’s. His heart felt as though it were melting. Holding Yomi like this left him completely unable to sleep. In order to win him over, he even stooped to using “underhanded” methods. Leaning close to Yomi’s ear, he began a form of physical hypnosis:
“Agree, agree, agree, agree…”
In Yomi’s dream, because he was so small, he was bullied and thrown into an abyss. At the bottom of the abyss appeared a demon, who asked him, “I can make you incredibly powerful so no one can bully you anymore, but in exchange, you have to sell your love to me and remain alone for life. Do you agree?”
Just as Yomi hesitated, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from above:
“Agree, agree, agree…”
The weather today really was strangely ominous. Timidly, Yomi said to the demon, “I think… I’ll consider it first…”
…
When he woke up the next day, Yomi became especially industrious. Whenever he had a spare moment, he ran off to check the drying meat, feed the dancing ants, or tamp down the soil in the vegetable patch… all to let his brain rest, because his thoughts were just too tangled right now.
Sigh. Anxius liked him, and he’d somehow never noticed…
As for Anxius, there was no sign at all that he had stayed up half the night. He calmly went and did every one of Yomi’s chores for him, then went off to work the sewing machine, preparing to make matching couple-style textiles. He wanted them to use and wear them together once they were officially together.
At noon, when Anxius went to the prisoners’ side to look through the fabric stock, he unexpectedly learned from their babbling chatter about Gousheng’s attempted “power-grab and kidnapping” incident from the previous day.
But contrary to Karl’s expectations, Anxius didn’t get angry. After returning to the villa, he simply stared at Gousheng for quite a while, his gaze full of scrutiny.
Gousheng, who was in the middle of eating meat, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He slowly turned his head and immediately puffed up all his fur.
Anxius flicked him a single glance and left.
What Gousheng had done yesterday was, in fact, a sign of recognizing his master.
A little wolf cub was actually serving both as a pet and as a bodyguard for Yomi. No… and now and then he also functioned as the two of them’s son. Seen this way, Anxius was actually quite satisfied.
And if—if Yomi didn’t agree… then perhaps this wolf could become the bond between them in the future, Anxius thought darkly.
