Chapter 24: No Need to Call Me Uncle

Feli: [Then please thank Niannian for me.]

The casual, understated reply sent Sion’s breath hitching.

Sion: [Why do you call her Niannian?]

He was certain that Feli had never used such an intimate term for anyone before, which meant Feli’s attitude toward Nian Tu was truly extraordinary.

Sion tried to set Feli straight: [She only thinks of you as an elder.]

As for sending Feli a separate serving of steamed buns, it was merely an extension of her affection for him.

Sion: [She felt I wasn't caring enough for you, so she decided to look after you, her uncle, on my behalf.]

Sion emphasized the "on my behalf," but Feli only registered the "care."

Caressing the transparent insulated box, Feli’s gaze softened. The image of Nian Tu’s petite, spirited figure surfaced in his mind. He could even imagine the soft tone and the slightly chiding expression she must have worn when telling Sion to take the initiative to care for his uncle.

In the chat window, Sion continued to fire off messages.

Sion: [She heard all the bad things you said about her before, yet she didn’t hold a grudge.]

Sion: [Do you get it now? She is the gentlest and most adorable female in this world.]

Sion: [Any affection tainted by calculations of interest is unworthy of her.]

Sion: [Whether she has spiritual power or not, whether she is E-rank or S-rank, I only love her, but you wouldn’t.]

Sion might as well have said it outright: You are not worthy of her.

Feli chuckled and shook his head, choosing not to reply. The jealousy of a greenhorn was truly blunt and childish.

Yet, he had to admit that Sion was right. Only the purest, most sincere, and passionate love could be worthy of such a wonderful little female as Nian Tu.

Her gentle nature, her beautiful face, her goodness—it was almost unbelievable.

She dared to risk her life to save a stranger who had lost control on the street, and she would worry about the loneliness of an uncle she barely knew, with whom she had only exchanged a few words and who had even offended her with his speech, choosing to show concern regardless of past slights.

Having spent decades as a cold-blooded animal in the eyes of others, the Marshal had long thought he had no need for warmth. Yet now, a little rabbit had suddenly pounced on him, offering her own body heat.

Feli poked one of the snow-white buns in the insulated box; it was soft and warm. He curled his fingertips as if burned, yet he couldn't resist touching it again.

–

Nian Tu received Feli’s thanks.

Feli: [The buns were delicious. Thank you, Niannian.]

Nian Tu: [You are Sion’s uncle, which makes you my uncle too. You’re welcome!]

After a long while, just as she thought Feli wouldn’t reply again, she received another message.

Feli: [I am 47 years old this year. I shouldn’t be that old... Do you think I’m old?]

Thinking of the interstellar average lifespan of 500 years, and recalling Feli’s young, handsome face, which had absolutely nothing to do with being "old," Nian Tu hurriedly denied it.

Feli: [That’s good. Actually, you don’t have to call me uncle.]

If she didn't call him uncle, should she just call him by his name? Nian Tu couldn't bring herself to do that, and she fretted over how to reply. Fortunately, Feli didn't leave her in an awkward spot and quickly changed the subject.

Feli: [I’ve also bought you a gift. Customizing it takes some time, but it should reach you by tomorrow noon.]

Nian Tu: [Thank you!]

Feeling it was impolite not to include the word "uncle," she hesitated, then sent a sticker of a little rabbit making a heart shape.

After finishing the chat with Feli, Nian Tu noticed a familiar profile picture flickering in her friend request list.

Because she received so many requests, she usually ignored them, but this person’s avatar was a black snake, looking remarkably like the young male who had lost control on the street, which immediately caught her attention.

Nian Tu accepted his friend request.

Xie Jili: [Hello.]

He seemed surprised that the request had been accepted; he appeared quite nervous, unsure of what to say. Nian Tu waited for a long time before his second message arrived.

Xie Jili: [I am Xie Jili. My beast form is a black mamba.]

Nian Tu: "..."

What a brief self-introduction.

Just as she was about to ask if he was indeed the male who had lost control yesterday, the third message finally arrived.

Xie Jili: [Your clothes are still with me...]

Nian Tu was surprised; she hadn't expected it to really be him. So his name was Xie Jili.

Nian Tu: [The clothes don't matter, they aren't important. How are you feeling now?]

Xie Jili was flattered by her concern and replied within a second.

Xie Jili: [I feel very well now. My loss-of-control value has dropped to 73.]

To protect Nian Tu, the regulatory bureau had lied to Xie Jili, claiming they had administered a serum during his breakdown to temporarily lower his levels, so Xie Jili did not suspect Nian Tu.

Although he didn't know that the drop in his levels was Nian Tu’s doing, he was still grateful to her from the bottom of his heart. If she hadn't risked her life to stop him, he feared he would have gone on a killing spree and harmed many innocent people.

Xie Jili: [May I ask what you like? I want to prepare a gift for you.]

Knowing his health was improving, Nian Tu felt relieved.

As for a thank-you gift, she decided to decline. She remembered that this male was very young, looking like a student; his economic situation probably wasn't great, and he was always being exploited by his biased mother. Saving money couldn't be easy for him, so there was no need for him to spend it on her.

Nian Tu: [I don't need anything for now. Let's save the gift for later.]

After thinking about it, Nian Tu packed another box of steamed buns and quietly sent it to him.

Half an hour later, the buns were delivered.

At that moment, Xie Jili was in a "Black Pit" near the Central Star.

Black Pits were illegal venues created by interstellar pirates in collusion with the powerful, hidden in the dark corners of the Empire. They were playgrounds and money-pits for the elite, and places for the lower class to gamble their lives for money.

These illegal venues were difficult for even the authorities to locate, let alone ordinary logistics companies. Once anyone stepped into a Black Pit, their signal would be jammed, resulting in a fake address.

On the ring, two figures were fighting and biting; from two men with bare fists, they transformed into vicious beasts, flesh and blood flying.

Unlike the legal combat matches held by the Empire, matches in the Black Pit were often to the death. The destitute gambled their lives in exchange for huge bounties.

Xie Jili had already fought over a dozen underground matches here.

That he had survived until now meant he was always the winner. However, he maintained a bottom line of not killing anyone, which dissatisfied the audience and the managers of the Black Pit, so the prize money he earned was half that of others.

He only wanted to make money; he did not want to abandon his principles.

His mother could only exploit the scholarship money and the small change he earned from legal part-time jobs. She did not know about the dirty money he earned in the Black Pit, which was used to purchase the exorbitantly priced serum that delayed the loss of control in male beastmen.

Xie Jili’s father, whose loss-of-control value had already reached 90, was being held in the regulatory bureau.

Males abandoned by their wives had no one to post bail for them and could only wait for death.

Knowing the so-called serum to delay loss of control had limited effects—that once the levels dropped, they would soon rise again—Xie Jili still wanted to struggle, to keep his father alive a little longer.

If not for saving his father, he never would have stepped foot in a Black Pit. He could still be at school, continuing as an honor student at the Imperial Military Academy, waiting to join the military upon graduation this year.

Xie Jili sat beneath the ring, his devilishly handsome face numb, waiting for the match on the stage to end; the next one would be his turn.

He silently scrolled through his chat history with Nian Tu, tirelessly, over and over again, reading it repeatedly, his eyes growing increasingly dim.

Suddenly, a man wearing a Black Pit staff uniform, as burly as a bear, strode toward him and tossed the transparent insulated box into his arms—

"Black Mamba! Someone sent you something. It arrived at the fake address after the signal interference; it was almost destroyed, but luckily I intercepted it for you!"