Chapter 211: Ulysses and An in His Cutest Stage [5]: He Wanted to Be with the Director, Not as a Hatchling and His Caregiver, but as a Female Zerg and a Male Zerg

Selerus had been out of prison for many years now, and the matter of his divorce from his Male Lord had long since been settled. He was finally able to bring Ulysses home from the welfare home so father and son could be reunited.

He had brought him back, yes, but Ulysses's room at the welfare home had been kept for him, and the moment vacation came around, Ulysses was always running back there.

Usually, he was at school, so father and son hardly had any chance to see each other. Once vacation started, he would come home first to see Selerus and stay for two days, then immediately run off to the welfare home and spend more than half of his vacation there.

He said he was going there to help out.

As if that bustling welfare home was short one volunteer.

He was obviously going there to see the Male Zerg.

Selerus sometimes had the bizarre feeling that he and an unrelated Male Zerg had separated and were now co-parenting a hatchling.

It was exactly like a divorced family.

They really were divorced, but there was something a little wrong with this "Male Zerg," wasn't there?

At first, Selerus had worried that the Male Zerg might have some special intentions toward Ulysses. But as time passed, he discovered that the Male Zerg genuinely treated Ulysses like a hatchling—one he cared about very, very much.

Instead, it was Ulysses's behavior that worried him more.

His life had always lacked the role of a "male parent."

This was also the norm for many Zerg hatchlings. In many families, although a Male Zerg was physically present, he did not actually fulfill the role he was supposed to play.

The hatchlings would instinctively seek someone else in their lives to fill the role of "male parent."

When Ulysses was young, that Male Zerg had practically taken on the roles of his male parent, female parent, and teacher all at once.

It would be impossible to say that his influence on Ulysses had not been profound.

When Ulysses was little, he regarded him as a male parent. But what about later?

As time passed and he grew older, he would eventually understand that this Male Zerg was neither his male parent nor his female parent. What choice would he make then?

The answer already seemed obvious.

Selerus could stop a Male Zerg from laying hands on his hatchling, but he could not stop Ulysses from walking toward that Male Zerg of his own accord.

He could not even intervene to stop him. His hatchling would never understand.

Selerus sighed heavily in his heart.

Fortunately, that Male Zerg was good. A genuinely good Zerg, something extremely rare, and his character was beyond reproach.

Once Ulysses came of age, even the worst possible outcome probably wouldn't be all that bad... right?

......

The Director seemed dissatisfied with the way he looked.

Ulysses stood in the room he had lived in as a child, leaning against the door with his arms folded as he looked at his appearance on the light screen, a trace of irritation flashing between his brows.

He still remembered the expression the Director had worn while looking at him, as though he were about to cry.

It didn't quite seem like dislike.

It was more as though seeing him had reminded the Director of something.

Something that made him sad, guilty, and nostalgic all at once.

Was it connected to the Director's past?

For as long as Ulysses could remember, the Director had simply been the Director.

It wasn't that he had never been curious about the Director's past, but the Director disliked talking about it. At most, he had told Ulysses that he used to write, that he had worked as a doctor somewhere else, and that he had written in his spare time.

The Director was an outstanding adult Male Zerg. No matter where he went, he would have had plenty of pursuers.

Perhaps he had once been married, had once had a Female Zerg, and might even have had a hatchling.

Ulysses felt increasingly restless.

Male Zergs rarely showered affection on Female Zerg hatchlings who weren't related to them by blood.

There was something very unusual about the source of the Director's affection for him. He had even personally incubated him. Saying it had been for a "friend" was far too much, especially when his female parent didn't seem particularly close to the Director.

It was very possible that the Director had transferred the affection he felt for a lost biological hatchling onto him.

Something seemed to lodge in Ulysses's chest, pressing down so heavily that he could barely breathe.

His heart ached for the Director, who might have once lost a hatchling, but at the same time... he felt unbearably stifled and frustrated.

Ulysses heard footsteps and immediately shut off the light screen, composing himself.

Before long, there was a knock at the door.

"Ulysses? Are you resting?" An Ruo asked softly.

The door opened, revealing a neatly dressed young Female Zerg.

"Director." Ulysses greeted him, looking at him as he asked, "Is something the matter?"

"I noticed you barely ate anything at dinner. You're still growing, so you can't go hungry. I had the kitchen make some late-night food. They're all things you like. Want some?" An Ruo asked.

Ulysses didn't feel hungry. Female Zergs could go quite a long time without eating and be perfectly fine. Only the Director cared about how much they ate at every meal.

Meeting the Director's clear eyes, he eventually agreed.

An Ruo's eyes curved into a smile. "Let's eat in the courtyard. The moonlight is beautiful tonight."

He remembered that Ulysses rather liked the moon.

Adult Ulysses liked it, and little Ulysses had also liked accompanying him in the courtyard on clear nights to look at the moon and stars. An Ruo would sit in a reclining chair while little Ulysses nestled in his arms, letting the night breeze wash over him until he gradually fell asleep. Then An Ruo would carry him back to his room and put him in bed.

Ulysses went outside with him.

Those moonlit nights of his childhood were memories they shared.

At first, Ulysses hadn't felt anything special about the moon. He had merely thought that its pure, pale color resembled the Director's hair. And the Director liked looking at the stars on summer nights, while he liked clinging to the Director... After enough time passed, he gradually came to love that moonlight too, the moonlight that allowed Zergs to draw close and nestle against one another.

The courtyard was very quiet. Beneath the moonlight, only the two of them sat facing each other.

At the welfare home, the older hatchlings had already grown up and left. One group after another had departed, while new hatchlings arrived every year.

At this hour, the little hatchlings had already gone to sleep.

There was no one here but them.

Everything An Ruo had prepared was something Ulysses used to love. Resting his chin on his hand, he watched Ulysses eat and asked, "Do you like it?"

Looking at the entire table full of hatchling meals and snacks, Ulysses could only say that he did.

Female Zerg hatchlings grew quickly, and their tastes changed quickly too. Adolescent Ulysses thought these foods made into cute shapes were terribly childish, but the Director had prepared them, so no matter what, he would like them.

As Ulysses ate the childish food, it almost felt as though he had returned to the days of his childhood, when he had always been by the Director's side.

They chatted together. An Ruo talked about the new hatchlings who had arrived at the welfare home and reminisced about the past, while Ulysses shared amusing stories from school. He skipped over the tedious training and talked about his excellent grades and performance, his classmates, his instructors...

The night breeze was slightly cool. Beneath the moonlight, the Male Zerg was as beautiful as a dream, and even the sweet, icy fruit juice seemed capable of making a Zerg drunk.

Ulysses thought he might not be entirely clear-headed.

Otherwise, he would never have been unable to stop himself from asking such a question.

"Did you ever... have a hatchling before?"

An Ruo froze slightly. He glanced at the buildings around them and answered, "All the children at the welfare home are my hatchlings."

"That's not what I mean. I mean..." Ulysses pursed his lips slightly. He could hardly bear to ask, but his desperate desire for an answer still made him continue. "A biological hatchling."

"???"

An Ruo was stunned.

He had never expected to be asked something like that.

Although a very long time had already passed inside this dream, he still felt that he was pretty young.

His perception of time was still stuck around the period shortly after he had transmigrated.

"Of course not. I'm not..." Not a Male Zerg.

An Ruo swallowed the words that had nearly escaped his mouth and said, "Anyway, I don't have any hatchlings, and I probably won't have any in the future either."

As An Ruo said this, he glanced at Ulysses before quietly looking away, feeling inexplicably guilty.

Although his relationship with the Marshal had never been explicitly defined, it had more or less reached that point already. They kissed and had plenty of intimate physical contact. If Ulysses asked for it, perhaps they might even go further.

But he was still serving his prison sentence. There was no way he could have a hatchling.

When he put it like that, he sounded kind of scummy.

But this was his bottom line.

An Ruo would absolutely never have a hatchling while he was in prison.

Considering the length of his sentence, there was probably no hope of it happening in this lifetime.

"You won't have a hatchling?" Ulysses froze.

He had considered the possibility that the Director might or might not have had a hatchling before, but he had never imagined that he didn't intend to have one in the future either.

He was the Director of a hatchling welfare home and had always taken excellent care of hatchlings. Ulysses had assumed he loved hatchlings.

Yet he actually had no intention of having a hatchling of his own?

Faced with his surprise, An Ruo didn't know how to explain.

The Zergs here all loved hatchlings. Even those Male Zergs who felt nothing toward hatchlings and didn't know how to care for their own still had no problem making hatchlings with Female Zergs.

A "Male Zerg" who didn't want descendants was practically a heretic.

And he couldn't exactly tell Ulysses about the fact that, in reality, he was in prison.

In the end, he could only say vaguely, "Having a hatchling requires a very good environment and atmosphere. The external environment and the family environment are both indispensable. I don't think I can provide those things for the time being, so it isn't appropriate for me to consider that sort of thing."

Given Ulysses's family and the environment he had grown up in, he understood this extremely well.

For one moment, he almost regarded the Director as a kindred spirit, feeling a deep emotional resonance with him.

Without a stable family environment, it truly wasn't suitable to have a hatchling.

The relationship between a Female Zerg and a Male Zerg was extremely important.

It shouldn't be difficult for the Director to obtain those things. After all, he had so many pursuers.

Unless he didn't like any of them...

Or perhaps there were other requirements they failed to meet.

On the marriage market, a Female Zerg's power and assets were also extremely important.

Ulysses couldn't help thinking of himself and immediately felt embarrassed.

He was still too young. Aside from his identity as the son of a General, he had absolutely nothing to offer. He couldn't exactly use his grades at school to court a Male Zerg.

With his pride, he couldn't bring himself to use his female parent's status to make himself look better either. His qualifications had to be his own.

It was very difficult for a young Female Zerg to get married.

He still had a long way to go.

Ulysses hadn't thought as far ahead as marriage yet and had only a vague idea of what he wanted his future life to look like, but the path of earning military merit and rising through the ranks was already very clear.

He knew he had to climb higher.

Male Zergs always had extremely high requirements for their Female Lords, and their requirements for a Female Lord with whom they were willing to have hatchlings would only be higher.

Ulysses thought that if he wanted to be with an outstanding Male Zerg like the Director, he would have to work his way up to General at the very least, right?

Perhaps Marshal would be safer and make them an even better match, but he probably couldn't wait that long.

An Ruo had absolutely no idea just how far astray Ulysses's thoughts had wandered. Seeing that he had finished eating, he told him to go back and rest and get a good night's sleep.

"All right. Good night, Director."

Their rooms were close together, so they walked back together. Just before parting, Ulysses stopped. After hesitating for a moment, he said to the Director,

"I may need to go back tomorrow. I'll be quite busy from now on, so I won't be able to come visit you very often."

He needed to go home and have his female parent train him. He couldn't keep wasting his vacation.

Correspondingly, the amount of time he could spend with the Director would inevitably decrease.

Ulysses was unbearably reluctant, but he had to do this if he wanted to grow as quickly as possible.

Only then could he someday stand beside the Director.

Only then could he... have a future with him.

An Ruo expressed his understanding.

The child had another home, his real home, where his biological female parent lived. Of course he couldn't stay here with An Ruo forever.

But once Ulysses truly left, An Ruo still felt strangely empty and lost.

Time always passed especially quickly in dreams.

One year, two years, three years...

Before he knew it, Ulysses had already come of age.

It seemed as though An Ruo had only blinked, and Ulysses had already grown taller than him.

For one instant, An Ruo could almost see the future Marshal Ulysses.

And yet he remained untouched by any darkness, like a Zerg who had grown up in the finest possible environment: powerful and confident, noble and proud, full of youthful spirit.

Ulysses had come to say goodbye to him. Tomorrow, he would be leaving to join the military.

"So soon?" An Ruo still couldn't help feeling that he was a little hatchling.

"It's an internship through the military academy. I'll be going to the troops for practical training. I won't be sent anywhere too dangerous," Ulysses explained.

What he said wasn't wrong.

That was true for the others.

It simply didn't include him and the special forces unit he had joined.

He still wanted to become stronger faster, faster still, until he could openly stand beside him, protect him, and possess the qualifications to pursue him.

As he grew older, Ulysses had already come to understand exactly what he wanted.

He wanted to be with the Director, not as a hatchling and his caregiver, but as a Female Zerg and a Male Zerg.

He wanted to marry him.

An Ruo was still very worried.

Female Zergs all wanted to establish military merit as early as possible, but there were very few who pushed themselves as hard as Ulysses did.

He could tell that Ulysses was working extremely hard toward this goal. If it had initially been for General Selerus, then what was it for now?

Actually, he could guess a little.

Power and status, a Male Zerg, marriage...

Most Female Zergs yearned for Male Zergs. On top of that, Psychic Riot hung over every Female Zerg's head like a blade, forcing them to keep moving forward.

Their instinctive longing and the threat to their survival combined into a twisted craving for Male Zergs.

An Ruo was practically worried to death.

Ulysses looked like he was striving for his future, filled with hope and anticipation...

But An Ruo was afraid that Ulysses would end up meeting some scumbag Male Zerg.