Little Pink Starfish

The message was: Noyce had come to visit.

Qiguan Rui remembered Noyce’s identity—he was supposedly this body’s good brother, and some time ago, while he hadn’t yet regained his memories, he had indeed interacted with him according to the shell’s personality.
But, the shell’s brother was not his brother. What business did this Noyce have with him?

However, on second thought, Qiguan Rui curved his lips into a smile.
Noyce’s strength was ordinary, but his status in the Imperial Capital wasn’t bad. If he could be controlled… unfortunately, the snake gu could only be dominated with his original body’s coercion, so things wouldn’t be so simple.

Then, he might as well go deal with it perfunctorily.
And it would also prevent his beloved gege from noticing anything strange…

So Qiguan Rui said, “Please wait a moment.”
Then he forcefully suppressed his desire, thoroughly washed his lover’s body, not daring to look for more than a few seconds, and hurriedly grabbed a large towel to wrap his beloved up.

Right after, Qiguan Rui gently asked, “Noyce has arrived. You know him too, right?” He thought a bit, testing the waters, “Do you want to go see him as well?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he instantly regretted it.
Even if he was pretending to be this body’s personality, there was no need to let gege go meet some random man! With gege’s overwhelming charm, wherever he went, Qiguan Rui would end up surrounded by love rivals. How could he suddenly lower his guard?

Gege was his! Better not go see him after all…

But just as Qiguan Rui was about to take back his words, Gu Bai nodded: “Let’s go.”
Qiguan Rui: “……”
If only he had spoken a little faster just now.
So frustrating.

Three seconds of silence followed.
Qiguan Rui walked out of the bath stark naked, as bold and open as could be.
Maybe it didn’t matter that much—based on his memory, Noyce should be in love with that sub-beastman called Zhu Ning… Though that Zhu Ning didn’t even compare to gege’s pinky toe, Noyce was the type to get stuck on one person, so he shouldn’t be much of a threat.

Thinking that, he brought over the clothes he had prepared earlier and dressed Gu Bai piece by piece.
His smile softened suddenly, but his eyes were filled with coldness.

If Noyce knew his place and still loved that little sub-beastman, fine. But if he dared shift his gaze to Qiguan Rui’s gege… then, he could just crush him to death.
These kinds of ants—no matter how many died, it wasn’t worth mentioning.

He quickly stopped caring and began dressing himself as well.

Gu Bai: Gege’s damn dog eyes are blind, damn it! Don’t think acting all gentle and attentive can hide the fact that you’re a damn exhibitionist! Walking around all proud with your balls out—does your mama—no, your amu know?!

Still wallowing in self-pity and self-loathing, Gu Bai, after being [BEEP], [BEEP], and [BEEP], felt that he was about to go from embarrassed to furious.

So what if you know how to put on clothes!
Does gege not have hands?!
That guilty air—why is this guy so… so…

Gu Bai, who had intended to keep roasting the second male lead and complaining about his over-the-top sincerity towards the protagonist shou, was now genuinely ashamed and angry.
Especially when he found himself lifting his arms and legs automatically as that guy reached out to help him get dressed—this flood of shame surged to his head and was about to spill out.

Gege! Is not some third-rate cripple!
Gege and this second male lead aren’t even close! Why is this kind of habit happening!

The more his thoughts spiraled, the colder the air around him grew.
But this little bit of cold—without combat power to back it up, even with his spiritual power bursting, posed no pressure at all to Qiguan Rui.

Qiguan Rui calmly finished dressing himself in front of Gu Bai, then gently rested his right hand on Gu Bai’s waist: “Carlo, can you manage?”

Gu Bai: “I can.”
Ma dan, how many times was he going to bring that up!
Just stop talking already, ahhh!

---

Thankfully, things went smoothly afterward.
Qiguan Rui and Gu Bai, one in front, one behind, were led by the butler to the front hall.
On a single-seat sofa, a rather gloomy-faced big guy was already sitting.

Qiguan Rui raised an eyebrow.
What had this Noyce bumped into to look like he had eaten a loss?
Considering the shell’s personality, he first pressed Gu Bai down beside himself, then gave the big guy a friendly smile: “Noyce, is something bothering you?”

Noyce’s brows were tightly furrowed: “Zhu Ning…”
At that, he paused, and his gaze fell on Gu Bai.

He did remember this skilled sub-beast stone gambler, but as a devoted male who already had someone in his heart, to him, the beloved was always the best of the best.
But the reason he was looking wasn’t because he still remembered anything about Gu Bai—it was because he was about to talk to his good brother about his relationship issues, and he didn’t really want an outsider present.

Qiguan Rui was half-pleased, half-annoyed.
Pleased because this indicated some tendency toward emotional detachment, even suggesting that gege should leave—clearly treating gege as an outsider.
But the annoyance was—gege obviously wasn’t an outsider! He was the beloved placed on the tip of Qiguan Rui’s heart! How could someone be so disrespectful?

Qiguan Rui lowered his eyes, suppressing the trace of viciousness.
When he looked up again, his expression had changed: “It’s alright, Carlo’s not an outsider.”

Gu Bai: Hmph. At least this bastard knows how to talk, otherwise… hehe.

Noyce was stunned for a moment.
Then he sniffled… and his expression became even more serious.
He could smell it—inside and out, this sub-beast beside him was completely covered in his good brother’s scent. In other words, this one was—the brother’s mate?

Then he really wasn’t an outsider.

Noyce immediately adjusted his demeanor, and when facing Gu Bai, no longer had any intention of asking him to leave. Instead, after thinking for a moment, a lightbulb lit up above his head.
As expected of Cecil! He clearly had eyes on the sub-beast, brought the sub-beast home, the sub-beast had a cold attitude, yet he still managed to get into bed so quickly—such great progress!

Meanwhile, he, who liked Zhu Ning even earlier than Cecil liked Carlo, still had no progress at all…
Coming to Cecil for advice really was the right move.

Then, Noyce, using his extremely poor and dry vocabulary, explained the whole situation.
He had come for help.
Because of a troubled romance…

This was how it went.
Zhu Ning, a calm, restrained shou protagonist suppressing countless grudges, was quite professional. So, after coming with Noyce, he just did his work properly.
Once he arrived at the Ian household, he threw himself into the raw stone warehouse, estimating how many stones contained rare materials.
And when Ian’s house needed stones, he selected appropriate ones based on the energy density.
See? So dedicated!

If Zhu Ning were a normal stone gambler, this behavior would’ve been perfect.
But he wasn’t just a stone gambler—Noyce had brought him back as someone he had feelings for!

#Crushing on a workaholic#

What now?

Noyce was too dense. Without Cecil constantly pushing him along, he kept everything bottled up.
Aside from making sure Zhu Ning got the best treatment and frequently going to check in on him, he didn’t know how to act.
So in Zhu Ning’s mind, Noyce was just: a silent, reliable, and generous good boss.
A step further: a guy worth working for a hundred years.
Nothing else.

Noyce was anxious, but also felt it was fine to keep guarding quietly every day.
But now—why couldn’t he hold back anymore?

The problem came from Zhu Ning.
Because once, when Noyce had finally summoned up the courage to take Zhu Ning on a trip to the nearby mining area—called a “work inspection,” but actually a date—they ran into a group of people.
And Noyce discovered that Zhu Ning seemed especially interested in one male beastman among them!

From the moment they met, Zhu Ning lost all interest in the raw stones.
Even when looking at them, he was distracted—completely different from usual!
After returning, his work efficiency dropped.
Even more terrifying—Noyce found out Zhu Ning was secretly asking around about that male beastman!

That, that, that… Noyce immediately panicked!

Then he remembered Cecil had told him: when chasing someone, act fast—strike first, or you’ll lose out… that really was the ultimate wisdom!
Very desperate, Noyce had no other choice but to rush to the Cardinorn Duke’s mansion for help.

Sincerely! Cecil, save me!
↑
That was Noyce’s true cry for help.

Gu Bai, who had listened to the whole thing: “……”
Oh, the plot’s already reached this point, huh.
In these “shou abuses scum” stories, if the scum doesn’t bounce back for more abuse, it’s not a real abuse story.
Even if the protagonist is a shut-in, the moment they step outside, they’re destined to run into a scumbag.
Truly, shou and scum gongs share a bond forged in steel.

Qiguan Rui, on the other hand, asked: “Noyce, have you looked into that male beastman?”
If it were him, he’d have just snuck in and offed the guy that night. But this wishy-washy Noyce would probably just drag things out.

Noyce answered awkwardly: “I’ve looked into a bit… that male is called Trean. He’s currently the partner of a young sub-beast from the Marquis Senter family in the capital.”
Qiguan Rui raised an eyebrow: “And?”
Noyce: “I haven’t investigated that deeply yet.”
Of course, he didn’t think Zhu Ning’s character would go so far as to become a lover for some male.
But when love hits, people lose their rationality. Even a one-in-a-million risk—he didn’t want to take it!

Especially since, in matters of romance, he felt so hopelessly useless…
He was just that timid!

Qiguan Rui raised one finger and wagged it: “Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never lose a hundred battles. Noyce, if you don’t dig up everything there is to know, how will you fight?” His smile was gentle, “Every male has a past. If you can find something disgraceful in Trean’s, and then let your beloved know about it…”

Noyce looked at his brother’s usual smiling face—
But for some reason, he shivered.