Little Pink Starfish

Cecil, in his semi-beast form, defeated the pitiful Ya An within one minute.
Ya An was flung backward by that long tail, and with unabated momentum, he smashed hard into the wall behind him.

He stuck there like a pasted-on poster, then slowly slid down.

Ya An: Ying ying ying it’s all my fault, I couldn’t defeat the bad guy and let young master be bullied by him ying ying ying…
He lay on the ground, pounding the floor in anguish.

Cecil quickly returned to Gu Bai’s side, his snake tail winding tightly around his waist.
That posture, that aura—completely savage.

Gu Bai: “…”
Ge didn’t plan to run away with the servant, okay? Ge’s still counting on getting paid. Can the second male lead not act like ge’s about to switch jobs? Let go, ge still plans to crush you with strange stones!

If you don’t let go now, ge’s gonna think there’s something wrong with himself!

Why does it… actually feel kinda nice… to be wrapped in a snake tail?
What the hell!
Ge’s tastes are totally normal, okay?!

Ya An cried for a full minute. Cecil clung with his tail for a full minute.
The onlookers watched for a full minute.

Gu Bai deadpanned: “Let go.”
Whoosh! The tail immediately retracted.

Cecil returned to normal in a second, his peach blossom eyes shimmering, gazing deeply at Gu Bai, trying to convey an apology and “you weren’t scared just now, were you, my little Carlo”… or something.

Gu Bai was silent.
Ge knows you second male leads always gaze deeply at people, but for fuck’s sake, the one you’re supposed to gaze at is the protagonist shou! Stop seducing ge! Ge’s this close to pouncing, you know?!

Ge’s just that kind of man, okay!

The two locked eyes.

Cecil felt a bit guilty.
He hadn’t meant to beat up that servant just now, he just couldn’t help it—for a beastman male, how could he tolerate someone else hugging his beloved? Even hugging the thigh wasn’t okay!
He also hadn’t meant to wrap his tail around little Carlo. That kind of intimate action was only for mates. But in his heart, little Carlo was already his mate… He truly hadn’t meant to flirt…

Also, his beast form wasn’t exactly pretty… Cold-blooded snake and all… He’d heard females and sub-beastmen preferred the fluffy kind…
He hoped he hadn’t made little Carlo hate him more… TAT

Gu Bai: “Let’s go back.”
Cecil =v=: “Okay~”
Little Carlo doesn’t seem mad! That’s great!

Gu Bai looked at the still-floor-thumping servant: “Ya An.”
Ya An’s eyes lit up instantly, head snapping up: “Young master! Ying ying ying, you don’t blame me? Young master! Ying ying ying, please don’t abandon useless Ya An…”

Gu Bai: “…”
Ya An: Is young master… abandoning me? Ying ying ying…

Gu Bai: “Come with me.”
Ya An wiped his tears and teleported to Gu Bai’s side.

And so, Cecil on the left, Ya An on the right, flanked Gu Bai as they entered the duke’s manor.

Onlookers A: Were we just ignored?
Onlookers B: Weren’t they supposed to tear each other apart for him?
Onlookers C: Cecil’s new flame seems pretty capable…
Onlookers D: Cecil just let his new flame’s old flame move in with them?!
Onlookers E: Heh heh, you guys don’t get it… left and right embrace… conquest kink…

Onlookers · All: Right! The flaws of beastmen, huh? The new flame is his! The new flame’s old flame is also his! That’s the true heir to the playboy legacy of Duke Cardinorn—Cecil!

Meanwhile, Cecil occasionally glanced with the corner of his eye at the clingy sub-beastman Ya An, and a dark thought took root.

That sub-beast… had been with little Carlo longer than he had… In all those years, he served him daily. Had he seen everything?
I want to gouge out his eyes, cut off his hands, chop off his legs… so he can never cling to little Carlo again…

Ya An, being a bit dense, sensed none of this malice.

And Gu Bai?
He seemed to pick up on something and glanced around.
Then he met Cecil’s tender gaze and his ears flushed red, quickly looking away.

Didn’t they say don’t look people in the eyes, second male lead?!
Those peach blossom eyes are dangerous!
That deep look is dangerous!
You keep looking at ge like that, ge really will sneak into your room at night and push you down! Got it?!

Be more alert, damn it!

---

Back at the manor, Ya An had already tidied up his mood.
Though his face was still soft and delicate, and his body still looked frail, he now stood behind Gu Bai like a short doorpost—a proper guard’s posture.

Cecil still didn’t like the sight of him, but that wasn’t the point now. What mattered was: he had to atone for earlier.
He quickly offered all the raw stones he’d painstakingly dragged back to Gu Bai.

Perfect. Not a single one missing.

Looking at Gu Bai’s aloof demeanor, Cecil didn’t know why, but he felt even more into him. He immediately offered: “Carlo, should I get someone to help cut them open?” He buttered up again: “These stones look top-grade. The strange stones inside must be brimming with energy.”

Gu Bai secretly felt pleased.
Damn right. Ge is just that awesome.
But fine, you do have pretty eyes. Makes ge feel more awesome.
Ge forgives you for making his eyes fall out.

Feeling smug, Gu—

Cecil immediately waved at the silently-waiting butler. “Bring someone in.”
The butler left and returned in seconds, bringing several skilled stone-cutters.

Gu Bai pointed to four strange stones. Since he was in a good mood, he decided to add one more.
Didn’t the second male lead seem like he leveled up earlier? Might as well make it five, celebrate a bit.
So he pointed to another.

“Cut.”

The cutters got to work efficiently.
They were experienced, and soon the outer stone shells fell away piece by piece to the rhythm of “scrape scrape scrape,” releasing surges of potent energy.

The butler’s pupils shrank: That’s an 8th-level strange stone! No mistake! Just like the ones we spent forever tracking down! Didn’t expect the new flame our young master brought back to actually be a capable stone-gambler…

Yes. He saw him as the “new flame.”

His young master being this eager—what else could it mean?

Still, the butler thought—Young master has changed a lot.
That’s right—plans never keep up with change.

Originally, their young master Cecil was about to come of age, a 7th-level beastman, just a bit weaker than the Imman family’s Nois.
If he could find an opportunity to break through to 8th-level, he’d surpass him. So to prepare, they’d spent massive effort finding 8th-level strange stones—which were extremely rare and difficult to obtain.

Now, Cecil came back not only seemingly already an 8th-level beastman, but also brought back a real stone-gambler?
No matter how you looked at it, this was a great thing.

If only their young master could be dependable, then the unreliable duke could stay locked up with his lovers in the backyard. Long live the Cardinorn family!

Although the butler knew these stones were bought by the gambler himself, as Cecil’s private stone-gambler, their household should still have purchase priority, right?

He was quietly pondering how to best negotiate—haggle a little? Or pay high to show wealth?

While he was deep in thought, one of the cutters finished.
An 8th-level strange stone sat neatly on the side.

This cutter was the most skilled. He quickly moved on to the second.

At the same time, three other cutters had also opened several stones, and the energy inside spilled out into the room.

The butler’s pupils shrank again: What the hell! These three stones—also 8th-level!

Even more shocking—
The first cutter finished the second stone easily, just a thin outer layer peeled away, revealing a much larger core than the previous ones.
And it too—was an 8th-level strange stone!

In just half an hour, five glowing 8th-level strange stones lit up the room, their powerful energies resonating.

Ah, how beautiful! Ah, how praiseworthy!

The butler nearly burst into song.
Finding one 8th-level stone could be luck, but five in a row?! That’s skill! God-tier skill!
He’d never seen anyone pull this off!

Buy them! Must buy them all!

But then—Gu Bai opened his mouth.

He looked at Cecil: “They’re for you.”

Butler =_= : Gift… gift?!?

Cecil’s heart skipped. He looked at Gu Bai.

Gu Bai remained expressionless: “Work.”

Cecil felt a little disappointed.
So… it was just for work?

Gu Bai continued, still expressionless: “Apology.”

Cecil’s mood soured.
For that servant? Why was he so important?!

Still, Gu Bai showed no reaction.

After a pause: “…Celebration.”

Cecil’s eyes lit up.
His expression softened into utter gentleness.

So it was because… he became an 8th-level beastman?

Gu Bai’s ears turned red.
Yeah! Ge’s gonna knock you out with strange stones!

Wanna date or not!
Don’t think ge can’t say it now means ge’ll never say it!
One day, ge will definitely trap you for good!

Cecil, satisfied, signaled the butler to put the stones away.
Yes, they were valuable—but far less so than one good look from his beloved little Carlo.

Since little Carlo had given him a congratulatory gift…
That must mean he doesn’t hate me as much as I thought, right? Maybe he’ll even start liking me soon…

Cecil felt that the emptiness in his heart, the rage he’d been suppressing, had been soothed—just a little.

Maybe… little Carlo is just shy. So adorable.

His eyes curved into crescents.
And he—
Without realizing it—
Licked his lips.