Chapter 245: Female Disguised as Male x Despairing Straight Female (5): This Female Zerg’s Affection Was Like the Warm Light of the Rising Sun

No Zerg Bathed in It Could Possibly Fail to Notice, Leaving No Room for Self-Deception

(P.S. This is a continuation of the title.)

[Felix submerged as much of his body as possible in the water, leaving only the upper half of his face exposed, and soaked with his eyes closed for a long time.

Only when his entire body had grown warm, his skin had taken on a pinkish hue, and even his mind had become hazy did he let out a long breath. Slowly, he stood up and stepped out of the hot spring.

Water droplets slid down the smooth lines of his muscles and over his jade-white skin. He picked up the bath towel to cover himself, lowered his head to dry his hair and wipe the water from his body, then put on his bathrobe and carefully tied the sash before heading toward the wooden cabin nearby.

Inside the cabin, Lucas had already changed and was drinking tea.

Seeing him enter, Lucas calmly raised his eyes. His gaze paused briefly on the faintly pink skin around Felix’s collarbones. He couldn’t understand how a female Zerg’s skin could possibly be this delicate and tender. Hot spring water that wasn’t even 100°C could practically cook him through.

“Did you enjoy the soak?” Lucas asked.

“Mhm.” Felix gave a muffled response, his voice carrying a slightly indistinct nasal quality.

For some inexplicable reason, Lucas felt the tips of his ears grow hot and itchy. He raised a hand, intending to touch them, then decided that doing so in front of a subordinate would undermine his dignity. He could only restrain himself and awkwardly look away.

Yet as his gaze shifted, it happened to land on Felix’s pearly-white toes against the floor.

How could a female Zerg even have such beautiful feet?

Living in the military, although Lucas had his own private hot spring pool at the summit and didn’t need to squeeze into a bath with other Zergs, he would still occasionally see other females completely naked along the way or in the changing rooms. Yet he had never cared or spared them a second glance.

This military female was the exception.

Felix always drew his attention despite himself.

And every single time, Lucas arrived at the same conclusion: no wonder he was exactly the type Male Zergs liked.

Even another female Zerg found his gaze drawn to him. Male Zergs stood even less of a chance.

Lucas looked away and told Felix to go change, adding, “Put your shoes on properly.”

Felix thought he was already dressed perfectly well, covered from head to toe. But seeing that Lucas had already changed and was fully dressed, he obeyed his commanding officer without asking questions. He went into the changing room, tidied himself up, dried his hair, and hurriedly styled it into an attractive shape before finally coming back out.

Lucas quickly discovered that telling Felix to change had accomplished absolutely nothing.

No matter how thoroughly Felix covered himself, even if he were wrapped inside a combat uniform that didn’t show his face, he would still somehow radiate charm.

Lucas didn’t know whether he should be grateful that there were no Male Zergs at Silver Fortress.

Otherwise... things would be far too lively. The whole place would descend into chaos.

Lucas pushed the energy biscuits and fruit on the table toward Felix and said,

“The troops’ dinner service is already over. Eat something to fill your stomach. If you’re comfortable with the hot spring, you can come here often. I’ll transfer the access key to you. You can come whenever you want.”

As he spoke, Lucas transferred the access key.

With Felix’s looks, skin that turned pink after a single soak, and that shy personality of his, Lucas figured that unless Felix had a private place of his own, he would either never set foot in the hot spring area at all or would easily get bullied and teased.

Felix received the key Lucas transferred. Although Lucas had mentioned it on Felix’s very first day, actually receiving it still surprised him.

This was basically the Major General giving him the key to his own bathroom.

He could come whenever he wanted.

He might even happen to encounter the Major General while he was bathing.

This was no ordinary level of trust.

“Has the Major General given the access key to any other Zergs?”

Because Lucas had handed it over so naturally, Felix couldn’t help becoming curious. He asked,

“Am I the first Zerg to receive this honor?”

Lucas didn’t particularly want to answer that sort of question, but the red-haired military female in front of him had sparkling eyes, as though he deeply anticipated and cared about Lucas’s answer.

Lucas couldn’t bear the thought of disappointment appearing in those bright eyes. So he gave a low acknowledgment and answered, “Mm. No one else. You’re the first.”

Those rose-red eyes immediately burst into brilliance again.

It was merely permission to enter a hot spring pool. Was it really worth getting this happy over?

Lucas didn’t understand.

Even if Lucas hadn’t given him access, Silver Fortress had plenty of naturally formed hot spring areas. As a Colonel, Felix could simply come during off-hours and wouldn’t encounter anyone anyway.

Yet Lucas couldn’t deny that being looked at with those eyes, seeing Felix’s gaze filled entirely with him, made him feel pleased as well.

But immediately afterward, he realized there was something deeply strange about that gaze and those emotions.

It was strange for something like this to happen between female Zergs.

Lucas looked at Felix again.

Felix was still smiling as he sat across from him, taking small bites of his biscuit and paying careful attention to his appearance.

Ever since their very first meeting, this military female had displayed an unusually friendly attitude toward him—one that could practically be described as enthusiastic.

Female Zergs were only enthusiastic toward Male Zergs.

Ordinarily, even direct commanding officers and their subordinates interacted rather indifferently, observing boundaries and maintaining an appropriate distance.

Unless they were old friends of many years or comrades who had entrusted their lives to each other, knew each other inside and out, and shared interests that made them want to spend time together, they rarely socialized outside training and missions.

Lucas making Felix’s bed could be explained as a commanding officer taking care of a newly arrived field-grade officer.

But Felix constantly sticking close to him and staring at him with burning eyes was wrong.

Putting food onto Lucas’s plate during meals was even more wrong.

Then there had been that strange atmosphere when Lucas invited Felix to the hot spring earlier... Felix’s flushed face, his gaze lingering over Lucas’s body...

Lucas abruptly went rigid.

He nearly crushed the teacup in his hand by accident.

If his suspicions were correct, then Felix...

Lucas stiffly turned his head and once again met Felix’s smiling eyes.

He was always looking at him.

As though he could never get enough.

That kind of gaze usually only appeared when a female Zerg was looking at a Male Zerg he fancied.

Lucas was obviously not a Male Zerg.

He was unquestionably a female Zerg. From his physique to his appearance, everything about him looked female. There was absolutely no possibility of anyone mistaking him for a Male Zerg.

Felix should know perfectly well that Lucas wasn’t a Male Zerg.

And yet he still looked at Lucas that way, like a young female falling in love for the first time...

Lucas drew in a deep breath. His head spun, and he nearly passed out from the shock.

He knew female Zergs could develop problems after spending too long in the military, that their minds could become abnormal.

But Felix had only just arrived!

...]

[You finally realized it!!! (breaking down) (wailing) (screaming) (ripping clothes apart) (transforming into a Tianjia) (jumping into lava)]

[Another one’s gone insane.]

[Heaven knows how terrified I was watching Major General Lucas invite Felix to soak in the hot spring with him! I was so afraid the Major General would lose his chastity!]

[It wouldn’t go that far. The Major General’s strength speaks for itself. Felix isn’t his match in close-quarters combat.]

[It was terrifying even without getting as far as close-quarters combat. The atmosphere back then had me terrified something would happen. I could practically feel the hot spring steam on my own face.]

[Same here. I was holding my breath the entire time waiting for it, but unfortunately nothing happened.]

[? There’s something wrong with you.]

[Fortunately, the Major General has finally realized Felix has designs on him. As long as the Major General knows and stays on guard, nothing should happen.]

[Not necessarily. I think the Major General already likes Felix quite a lot too. Felix’s looks are lethally attractive—even female Zergs get drawn to him—and the Major General enjoys spending time with him. Whether the Major General will actually be able to harden his heart and cut him off in the end is still hard to say.]

[Why are you doing this to Felix? (wailing) Felix hasn’t even done anything! He just likes a Zerg! He was so afraid of offending the Major General that he wouldn’t even soak in the hot spring with him. He wrapped himself tightly in a bathrobe and waited until the Major General left before getting into the water. What did he do wrong to deserve being treated like this? (crying)]

[Uh... the commenter upstairs is a Male Zerg Lord, right? Well, how do I put this? They’re both female Zergs, after all... Female Zergs really can’t get interested in the same sex. Maybe a small number of exceptionally gifted ones can, but most Zergs genuinely can’t do it. Just imagining hugging another female or being held by another female feels way too strange.]

[If it were Felix, I actually could (shy).]

[Exactly. Such a gorgeous Zerg—if he married into the same family and our Male Lord punished him, I’d want to watch from the sidelines. I’d even be willing to do it myself.]

[Dream on! What Male Zerg could possibly bear to punish Felix? And marrying into the same family... yeah, dreaming would definitely be faster.]

[The thought processes of you Zerg females are bizarre too. You actually want to watch a beautiful female get punished, and even personally punish him yourselves??? (question-mark face) Among us Tianjia, if we meet a female we admire, we’ll only invite him very amicably to join the same family. If there’s no family, two females can live together too. If necessary, they can even lend each other a hand and comfort one another. They’re brothers—helping each other out is perfectly normal.]

[??? You Tianjia aren’t normal either!]

[I am in awe of Tianjia “brotherhood.”]

[There’s no need to be that amazed. In my experience, Felix and Lucas aren’t far away from this kind of brotherhood themselves. Maybe they’ll even take it one step further.]

[Impossible. Major General Lucas has a clear head. He’s already realized how Felix feels about him, so he’ll definitely find a way to prevent things from developing in an irreversible direction!]

[Then let’s wait and see.]

...

[Felix noticed that something was wrong with Lucas’s expression and asked worriedly, “Major General, is something wrong?”

Lucas stared at Felix with an ugly expression for a long time. When he met those eyes filled with nervousness and concern, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to turn his words into blades and expose all those hidden feelings.

That might frighten Felix badly.

It might also hurt this young female Zerg whose heart was filled with such passionate affection.

Lucas felt a headache coming on.

For the first time in his life, he had encountered something this difficult to deal with.

Before this, he had thought Felix was an exceptionally rare treasure.

He certainly was a treasure, but how could he...

As Felix’s commanding officer, Lucas had a responsibility to guide him in the right direction.

At the very least, he couldn’t allow Felix to stray down the wrong path.

Felix was currently standing at the edge of a dangerous cliff. A single wrong step could destroy this young Zerg’s entire life.

Lucas had never encountered such a difficult problem before.

He had no strategy for solving it, so he didn’t dare rashly bring up anything related to the subject. Nor could he let Felix discover that Lucas had already noticed his feelings. He could only do his best to act as though everything were normal and tell Felix to go back and rest for now.

Felix walked away, looking back every few steps. He was obviously still extremely worried about Lucas.

It was the first time Lucas had ever had a Zerg care about him this much, yet all he felt was enormous pressure weighing down on him.

He would rather none of this existed.

After Felix left, Lucas supported his aching forehead with one hand and tried to think of a solution.

At the same time, he prayed that he had misunderstood.

Perhaps Felix... perhaps Felix simply admired him. Maybe all Felix felt toward him was the perfectly normal closeness one might feel toward a commanding officer and a powerful individual, with no other intentions whatsoever.

Right.

He shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

Perhaps Felix was simply more emotionally expressive than most. Maybe this was how he normally interacted with female Zergs, and Lucas wasn’t special to him at all.

He would observe him for a while longer.

€€

Early the next morning, Lucas had just put on his military uniform and stepped outside when he saw Felix already waiting downstairs beneath his villa.

The instant Felix saw him, his eyes lit up, and he gave Lucas a brilliant smile.

“Sir, let’s go do morning training together!”

Lucas: “...”

This female Zerg’s affection was like the warm light of the rising sun. No Zerg bathed in its radiance could possibly fail to notice it, leaving no room to deceive oneself—or anyone else.