Xue Ling has lost his memory.
When he woke, he was holding two eggs, one black and one white. From the other bugs, he learned that they had been left behind by his late female spouse, a bug of immense power with countless enemies who had died unexpectedly in battle.
He couldn't remember that bug.
He only instinctively avoided the sticky, greedy gazes cast from the shadows and silently hugged the two eggs tighter. His fingers curled around them, smooth and pale as cold jade, against the snowy skin revealed at his wrists.
To protect his grubs from his dead spouse's enemies, Xue Ling awkwardly learned to navigate among female bugs, beginning life as a young, beautiful widower raising his grubs alone.
At first, the male bug could barely hold a conversation. He didn't know whether to accept or refuse the wine offered to him. When greedy eyes fell on him, he could only lower his gaze awkwardly and pull his collar closed.
Gradually, he learned to smile falsely. He would accept the wine and touch it only to his lips, then lift his eyes and gaze over through misty eyes, their corners flushed red.
Alluring charm rested upon a face of breathtaking beauty, like flowers glimpsed through a veil of mist: indistinct and unreal, yet all the more enticing.
It made these powerful female bugs' hearts flutter and their desires stir. They were more than happy to pave the way for him. Each feared that if one of them dared make the first move, another would steal the prize, and so they somehow kept each other in check.
Relying on that fragile balance, Xue Ling had managed with great difficulty to keep his grubs alive and raise the two little beans until they were a bit bigger. Then he had a dream.
In the dream, he would die of a serious illness before long. One of his grubs would be taken away by the Male Bug Protection Association and taught to hate female bugs. The other would be taken by the military and dumped on the frontier, starting to fight enemy bugs at the age when he was just learning to talk.
When the brothers met again, one wore the holy white robes of the Left Party and stood atop the Male Bug Protection Association's platform on the Imperial Star, convinced that female bugs were all a scourge who willingly sank into depravity in pursuit of desire.
The other wore bloodstained armor. A highly decorated general who guarded the border of a remote star, he believed male bugs were nothing but a pack of fools who sucked others dry and fed on their blood.
The brothers did not recognize each other. In the end, they turned against their own flesh and blood and both died.
Xue Ling woke and looked at the two adorable little beans. His beautiful blue eyes were ready to cry themselves blind.
In the end, he decided to follow his elders' advice and find the little beans a new female spouse who could protect them.
The prince who clung to him relentlessly and wielded immense power was no good. Someone of such high status would bully the grubs.
The military female who happened to cross his path seventeen times a week was no good. She was too proper and stern, and the grubs didn't like her.
The top aristocratic female bug who offered herself to him was no good. She wasn't gentle and attentive enough.
After much picking and choosing, he barely settled on one the grubs would accept.
On the day of the wedding, his female spouse, who had died in battle, came back from the dead.
Xue Ling was the youngest, most beautiful, gentle, and refined male duke on the Imperial Star. His only flaw was marrying young. His spouse, the infamous, brutal Imperial General, always kept him hidden away, treasuring him like a precious jewel and holding him in his arms with tender affection, soothing him softly.
Xue Ling's beauty was breathtaking, and he was innocent of the ways of the world. After their marriage, he always obediently wore the red outfit his spouse had chosen and carefully covered him in. His skin was as white as snow and jade, making the red look all the more vivid.
The powerful nobles of the Imperial Star were infatuated, but feared the notorious, prison-bound general's retaliation. They could only watch from the shadows.
At last, that damned female bug died in battle, thanks to their combined efforts.
The powerful female bugs donned masks of refined gentility, letting false tenderness and calculated greed spill forth as they staged a hunt they had planned for a long time.
The feast was not yet over.
The evil general, drenched in blood, had crawled back from hell.
1. Contains lots of child-rearing.
2. One-on-one romance, both leads are each other's one and only, happy ending. It probably won't be too angsty.
3. A gentle, slow-witted top x a ruthless, sinister bottom.
4. A personal-preference buffet of a story. The author has no triggers, so there may be landmines everywhere. If anything bothers you, feel free to drop it.
[This is a fictional setting with no connection to reality. Please do not draw parallels to real life.]
Theme: Power ultimately backfires, and true affection grows from equality.
