Author: moondancer (page 2 of 13)

Chapter 5: Likes to Eat Sweets

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Yu Chenyu spent some time determining if Qi Zihan was setting a trap or if he truly wanted to make a deal with him.

But he soon realised that even if a female wanted to trap their male, the male would still have to jump in obediently.

The one who sat on the sofa was completely different from a soldier. He was a female zerg with gentle looks and an elegant temperament — not his superior officer, but his Lord Wife, who controlled his lifespan and future.

Upon making this conclusion, Yu Chenyu cooperated. “Then,” he requested, “can you not strip me in public or when others are present, and not give me to other females to play with? I can give three… no, five requests, for this one.”

Qi Zihan was stunned.

Although he did intend to learn more about this world as well as Yu Chenyu through this transaction, he didn’t expect to hear such shocking content.

Making his male strip naked in public?

And giving him to other females to play with?

Giving?

Did he mean using male zergs as playthings?

This world was terrifying!

Despite his surprise, his mouth only opened slightly and his overall expression didn’t change much.

He may have been quiet for too long, perhaps it was a dozen seconds or perhaps half a minute.

Because Yu Chenyu panicked.

Maybe, at this moment, he should kneel and confess his mistake before the female got angry, and admit that his request was excessive.

But this was too important to him.

So, after pursing his lips for a while, he gathered his courage and said, “If you… if you can agree, then you can do whatever you want to me at home… although females already have the right to do so. But you can do more to me, we soldiers have very strong bodies — even if you cut off an arm, it’ll grow back after a while. You don’t need to be scared.”

Qi Zihan: “…”

I’m so scared that I’m trembling, I’m going to have nightmares tonight!

He didn’t dare to think about what the females of this world had done to the males.

Since Yu Chenyu would go to such lengths, it meant that there really were females who would do it and that it was tacitly permitted by law.

Was this a marriage or getting a free slave?

No, this slave even had to pay to be one!

Qi Zihan rubbed at his temples. After spending a lot of effort to pick up his shattered worldview and put it back together, he pretended to be calm as he said, “Okay, I won’t humiliate you in public and I won’t give you to other females. This counts as two, so I’ll make another request.”

Yu Chenyu looked at him in a daze.

He agreed?

He agreed!

And it only counted as two?

Qi Zihan didn’t notice Yu Chenyu’s reaction, he was too busy racking his brains for anything else he could ask.

Don’t leave rubbish out? Don’t make messes?

He could tell from the way Yu Chenyu put his boots away that he wasn’t the kind of person to leave things everywhere.

Have a clear division of labour for housework?

A cleaning robot drifted past his feet.

Not allowed to sleep on the same bed?

He didn’t mind sleeping in the same bed, since they had already agreed not to touch him without permission.

His stomach gurgled again. “No chillis, I can’t eat spicy food,” he said weakly.

Yu Chenyu was surprised at the unexpected request, and then, realising that Qi Zihan was hungry, he had the urge to laugh. “Okay, I’ll go cook now. Is there anything else you don’t want?”

“No bitter melons, no leeks.” He didn’t know what zergs ate, so he just told him his preferences. “I like lighter food, less salt, but it can be sweeter.”

“Okay.” Yu Chenyu memorised it.

“Anyway, I don’t like bitter or sour things. I like sweet food,” Qi Zihan said, going even further. “I want meat. Cola chicken, sweet and sour spare ribs…”

“Okay.” Yu Chenyu turned away to open the refrigerator so that Qi Zihan couldn’t see his smile.

“And sweet corn soup.”

He originally wanted to just eat whatever Yu Chenyu made, but when he found out that he could order food, he couldn’t hold back his cravings.

And Yu Chenyu agreed to all his requests, taking out the corresponding ingredients from the refrigerator and going to the kitchen.

Yesterday, when he met Qi Zihan here and before he was tied to the bed, he had already considered the issue of food, so he had used his terminal to purchase some ingredients.

As his male zerg, he had the right to view Qi Zihan’s medical examination report, so he knew that his last meal was high in sugar and protein.

His Lord Wife should be a carnivorous female who liked sweets.

Therefore, the dishes Qi Zihan had just named were all within his expectations.

The only thing he didn’t consider was that his Lord Wife would take him to the Female Association Center as soon as he woke up, making them miss breakfast.

He should buy some ready-to-eat snacks.

As he thought of it, Yu Chenyu used his spiritual power as he cooked to turn on his terminal, through which he bought chocolates, biscuits, and bread.

Then he remembered that he hadn’t told his friend Zhu Yunqi about resolving his crisis, so he quickly reported it to him to let him stop worrying.

Yu Chenyu: He kept me.

As expected, a reply came in seconds.

Zhu Yunqi: !

Zhu Yunqi: Congrats!

Zhu Yunqi: Are you okay?

Yu Chenyu: He didn’t hit me.

Zhu Yunqi: ?

Zhu Yunqi: Then how did you make him keep you?

Yu Chenyu: It’s a bit hard to explain. I don’t know what he went through or why he showed up in the high-risk area, but what is certain is that his understanding of the empire is very limited.

Zhu Yunqi: What do you mean? Don’t all females have no clue what’s going on in the empire? When have they ever cared about its life or death?

Yu Chenyu: I don’t mean that.

Yu Chenyu: He didn’t know what would happen to divorced males.

Zhu Yunqi: ?

Zhu Yunqi: Females cancel marriages whenever they want, since when did they care about what happens to males after they divorce?

Yu Chenyu: I mean it’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s that he didn’t know. After he found out, he kept me, understand?

After this message was sent, the chat interface fell silent.

Yu Chenyu didn’t care, he focused on preparing ingredients and heating the pan.

There were actually special robots for cooking.

But this was the first meal that his wife would eat, so he wanted to show off his skills.

Just as the pan reached the right temperature and he poured in a thin layer of oil, ready to put the ingredients in, his friend finally sent another message.

Zhu Yunqi: It seems like your wife is quite kind, I’m happy for you

Zhu Yunqi: Now, there’s something else I want to ask

Yu Chenyu: What?

Zhu Yunqi: Do you know your wife’s spiritual power level?

Yu Chenyu: Let me check

Last night Yu Chenyu was busy thinking about how to please his wife in order to leave a good impression on him.

When the people from the Female Association reminded him that his wife might have some violent tendencies, he even worried that the tools he prepared weren’t cruel enough.

Now it seemed like they had misunderstood something.

As he stirred the food, Yu Chenyu used his spiritual power to retrieve his wife’s profile and read it carefully from top to bottom.

Name: Qi Zihan
Sex: Female
Age: 21
Last medical exam: 11 hours ago
Medical exam results: Good physical state, good mental state, no abnormalities; all sexual characteristics have matured, ready for gestation at any time; the estimated number of eggs to be produced is 1 million.
Physical capability: A
Spiritual capability: SS
Spiritual mimicry: Unknown

Yu Chenyu couldn’t believe his eyes.

His movements paused as he used his spiritual power to magnify the ‘spiritual capability’ line until it filled up the entire screen.

Spiritual capability: SS

Then he zoomed out and went back to the top of the profile.

Name: Qi Zihan

Only then was he sure that his wife, Qi Zihan, was a female zerg with SS-grade spiritual power!

And his physique was A-grade! Didn’t that mean he could fight better than some soldiers?

Yu Chenyu felt a little dazed. Forcing himself back to his senses, he resumed cooking and replied to his friend.

Yu Chenyu: SS

Zhu Yunqi: As expected.

Yu Chenyu: ?

Zhu Yunqi: Before your wife selected you, you should’ve received a notification from the system, right? Then I’ll tell you now that you weren’t the only one to get it. I got it too, and so did the marshal. As far as I know, a lot of males with S spiritual power also got the notification at the same time, regardless of whether they submitted a marriage proposal or not.

Zhu Yunqi: You already know that the system will only notify males if their match rate is over 80%, so that they’re more likely to be included in the female’s quota.

Zhu Yunqi: My match rate with him is 93%

Zhu Yunqi: But you don’t need to worry, I’ll never get married — I’d rather die than serve a female, so I won’t be competing with you for favour

Zhu Yunqi: But I don’t know about others, including the marshal

Zhu Yunqi: Do you get what I mean?

Yu Chenyu: I understand

As Yu Chenyu watched one line after another pop up, his smile faded and his amber eyes dimmed like a cloud covering stars.

An SS-grade female zerg. Even the imperial marshal had no right to limit the number of males he had.

As long as Qi Zihan was willing, he could have a hundred, a thousand, even tens of thousands of males.

His spiritual power was sufficient to soothe them all, and perhaps even more.

What should Yu Chenyu do then?

He was lucky because he was the first male to be chosen.

He was also unlucky because he was the first, and thus the most likely to be rejected.

Not to mention that he was a soldier with both physical and spiritual power reaching SS-grade.

This was a symbol of strength and supreme honour for males.

But females looked at neither physical abilities nor spiritual power when choosing their males.

Rather, the stronger their bodies, the more likely it was for females to feel scared and lash out due to fear.

Strong spiritual power also required females to expend more time and energy for soothing.

Yu Chenyu was an undefeated warrior on the battlefield, a ruthless general worshipped by countless males.

Yet for females, he had hardly any advantages that were worth liking.

Yu Chenyu: Let’s take it one step at a time.

Zhu Yunqi: The hell is one step at a time! You’re a SS soldier, a first-class general of the empire! No matter what battlefield it is, you can’t retreat!

Yu Chenyu: I never said I’m retreating

He would fight for it, but… he had no confidence.

Know oneself and the enemy, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. He knew that as the spouse of a female, his disadvantages outweighed his advantages, so he couldn’t help but be pessimistic.

 Zhu Yunqi: Speaking of which, I still haven’t asked about your match rate. Is it higher or lower than mine?

Yu Chenyu: 99.99%

Zhu Yunqi: Fuck, I lost

Yu Chenyu: Didn’t you say you’re not fighting with me for favour? Why are you still comparing it then?

Zhu Yunqi: Sigh, competing is in us soldiers’ DNA, you’ll know it as soon as you take a look at our internal forum.

Zhu Yunqi: I bet someone from the Female Association will look for him within the next 3 days to recommend other males to him. You have to work hard!

Yu Chenyu served the cooked food onto plates. Despite the dishes being beautiful and the food looking delicious, he had no appetite at all.

He used his spiritual power to close the chat with Zhu Yunqi and switched to the military’s internal forum.

The first thread on the front page: Compatibility Fight! Who’s that female’s next spouse?

[Me first! I’m S, match rate 87.11%!]

[Only 87? I’m 92.56%!]

[Shit, that’s so high! What grade?]

[A…]

[If you’re A don’t join in the fun here, go find an A-grade female!]

[I’m S, 93.46%, is there anyone higher than me?]

[That A-grade guy just now, don’t feel down. Females never look at grades when they choose males, otherwise, how can so many drones get married? I’m also A, my match rate with him is 89.98%, aaaahhh it’s almost 90% what a pity!]

[Any B-grades around? A B-grade male humbly posts a score, 91.16%.]

[Holy shit it’s all so high! I’m S. I was so excited to see a 81.88% last night that I almost passed out, but today you guys hit me so hard that I don’t want to talk.]

[So what determines the match rate? So mysterious. I’m A, 87.72%. By the way, is there anyone who didn’t get the notification last night?]

[Yes. C-grade here, didn’t get it.]

[A C-grade combat medic who didn’t get the notification trembles while reading the thread and is too scared to speak.]

[It’s normal for the match rate between C and SS to be less than 80%. If it’s more than 80, then as soon as the female releases spiritual power… wow, that’d be an exciting scene!]

[We’ll die! We’ll definitely die! Another C-grade male who didn’t get the notification begs you not to speak!]

[Another C-grade? I didn’t even know the army had so many Cs, don’t tell me drones have sneaked in?]

[Although I, a B-grade drone, didn’t receive the notification, I hope that the above people won’t discriminate based on castes. Although I’m just a logistics clerk, I still work hard to contribute to the army.]

[Um, so there really are drones in the army? Sorry.]

Unlike females, there were at least three different types of male zergs.

There were the soldiers, who were combat-oriented and born for fighting.

There were the workers, who weren’t as physically strong as soldiers but had higher overall abilities.

And there were the drones, whose physical and spiritual capabilities were far inferior to other males, but had softer features and were naturally suited to pleasing females.

Each caste had distinct differences in physique, abilities, and lifespan.

If a soldier could get regular spiritual soothing from a female, living for a couple hundred years wouldn’t be a problem.

As for drones, despite being less likely to lose control than soldiers and being less dangerous if they did lose control, they could hardly live for a century even if they received the same regular spiritual soothing. Drones usually died of natural causes in their 40s or 50s.

Workers were somewhere between the two. Some could live to be over 100 years old, while others would succumb at 80 years old.

There were far fewer females than males, but their lifespans were quite long, even longer than soldiers.

According to the latest data published by the Ministry of Statistics, the current ratio of females, soldiers, workers, and drones stood at 1:9:16:7.

In other words, the ratio of females to males was 1:32.

Even if every female had multiple spouses, more than half of all males would never see let alone touch a female in their entire lives.

After Yu Chenyu served all the dishes and turned off the electric stove, he didn’t rush to bring them to the table outside. Instead, he used his spiritual power to post a message on this thread:

[SS, match rate 99.99%.]

He admitted that Zhu Yunqi was right, soldiers did like to compete with others — and he was no exception.


< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Chapter 4: Queen Bee

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

“What did you say?”

The Female Association Center’s reception room didn’t contain only a single person.

All the staff members were males.

Hearing what the worker who received Qi Zihan said, the males surrounding were in disbelief.

“A female with SS spiritual power? How is that possible!”

Despite how the female zergs of this world had a status second only to the imperial marshal, to the point that even the marshal had to bow to females…

The physical and spiritual strength of females was far inferior to males.

SS-grade spiritual power was rare even among soldiers who were born for battle. There had only ever been three people in the history of zergs who reached that level, all of whom were soldiers, and of them, only two were still alive today.

The first was Marshal Mo Yihai who was 36 years old this year; the other was a first-class general, as well as the youngest ever general of the empire, the 23-year-old Yu Chenyu.

When the male staff member spoke to Qi Zihan, he was first shocked by Qi Zihan’s SS-grade spiritual power and then stunned by his spouse’s identity.

He didn’t recognise the uniform that could only be worn by a general!

He even got angry at a general for letting a female ride a hoverbike!

But in this case, the general was in the wrong. How could he let a female ride such a dangerous vehicle?

Females should only use the most advanced, most stable aircraft — this was the consensus of all zergs.

“Did you see it wrong? Maybe you saw his male’s spiritual power as his… holy shit! The male just now was General Yu Chenyu?”

One male after another reacted.

“No wonder I thought his uniform looked so different from the other soldiers’!”

“I heard he’s an iron-blooded soldier who once single-handedly slaughtered all the aberrants in a high-risk area. I thought he’d be cold and stiff like the other soldiers, but although he was a little distant, he’s so handsome!”

“I think any drone who sees him would be ashamed of their looks!”

“Hey, listen to me!” the male who received Qi Zihan couldn’t help but interrupt, “Although the male that just walked out has no idea how to get along with females and makes people sweat for him really is General Yu Chenyu, but I’m talking about that female’s spiritual power! Qi Zihan is a female zerg with SS-grade spiritual power! A female!”

“Impossible!”

The males’ reactions went in a big circle.

Soldiers with S-grade spiritual power were still somewhat common, not one of them wasn’t an excellent warrior who could fight alone against thousands.

But let alone S-grade, even A-grades were astonishingly rare among females. Most of them were B- or C-grade.

An SS-grade female? Unheard of!

But the facts were placed in front of them.

“Think carefully with your buggy brains! It’s a 99.99% match rate! If their spiritual capabilities aren’t on the same level, how can their match rate reach so high?”

A single sentence awakened the zergs.

“That’s right, basically all male-female pairs with a match rate higher than 80% are at the same spiritual grade.”

“99.99%, infinitely approaching 100%. My god, can such a high match rate exist?”

“If they can produce a soldier, he’ll definitely be the next marshal!”

“Speaking of the marshal, hasn’t he not gotten married yet?”

“Ah, I wonder what’s the match rate between Sir Marshal and that female.”

“For a female with SS spiritual power, it wouldn’t be strange even if he pulled in all the S- and SS-grade males into his harem.”

Every female could have multiple spouses, but the maximum number depended on their spiritual power.

Females with C spiritual power could have up to seven partners, of whom two could be B-grade males, five could be C-grade males, and with no limit to the number of males who were below C-grade except for the total number of partners.

Females with B spiritual power could have up to thirteen partners, of whom three could be A-grade males, ten could be B-grade males, and with no limit to the number of males who were C-grade or below except for the total number of partners.

Females with A spiritual power could have up to twenty partners, of whom five could be S-grade males, fifteen could be A-grade males, and with no limit to the number of males who were B-grade or below except for the total number of partners.

Although females with S spiritual power hadn’t appeared yet, it was stipulated that they could have any number of S-grade partners with no upper limit, but at the same time, they were only allowed up to twenty males who were A-grade or below.

As for females with SS spiritual power… there weren’t any relevant regulations for it, but they didn’t need long to conclude that there was no need to set any limit for a female zerg with such high spiritual power.

He did not need to go through the system to select a marriage partner, because all males would willingly crawl at his feet.

He could become the entire empire’s queen.

Queen Bee.

Before today, they thought that this creature only existed in legends.

But perhaps he had already appeared and had just gracefully left their sight.

The Imperial Central Command contained both the residence and office of Marshal Mo Yihai.

He absentmindedly looked at the message that popped up on his personal terminal for a long time without moving.

[System]: Dear Marshal Mo Yihai, 0.1s ago, the database updated the data of a female zerg whose spiritual compatibility with you reaches 84.37%. Would you like to send a marriage proposal to the service office of the Association for the Rights of Female Zergs immediately?

A spiritual compatibility of over 80%. For he who had SS spiritual power, it was something he hardly dared to think of.

He was on the verge of losing control, had already planned to take his own life, and even planned out what kind of research his corpse should be used for. But at such a time…

Should he send a message?

As the marshal of the empire, was he finally going to step foot into the abyss he had maintained with his own hands and place his fate into the hands of a female whom he didn’t know?

In the end, after a sleepless night, he used his spiritual power to close that page and brought up the chat interface for a certain person.

Mo Yihai: A female with a match rate higher than 80% with me has appeared, should I pursue him?

After a while, the other party replied.

Zhu Yunqi: Why ask me? Do I have the right to make decisions for you?

Mo Yihai: You do.

A few minutes passed before another message came.

Zhu Yunqi: A’Hai, you know that I can’t watch you die when you have a way to live

Zhu Yunqi: But emotionally, I can’t accept it

Zhu Yunqi: So only you can decide for yourself, if you think…

Zhu Yunqi: Wait, I feel like something’s strange. That female you’re talking about, is he called Qi Zihan?

Mo Yihai: ?

Mo Yihai: How did you know?

Zhu Yunqi: Holy shit! Things are weird, let me show you a message I received last night!

Zhu Yunqi: Dear General Zhu Yunqi, 0.1s ago, the database updated the data of a female zerg whose spiritual compatibility with you reaches 93.46%. Would you like to send a marriage proposal to the service office of the Association for the Rights of Female Zergs immediately?

Mo Yihai: ?

Zhu Yunqi: I checked, his name is Qi Zihan, he showed up out of thin air last night and picked Chenyu, which means that the match rate between them must also be above 50%

Mo Yihai: ?

Mo Yihai: How strong is his spiritual power?

Zhu Yunqi: Don’t know, but since you matched with him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s SS

Mo Yihai: How is that possible?

Zhu Yunqi: The facts are there. Only when a female’s spiritual power is close to or higher than a male’s will their match rate exceed 80%

Zhu Yunqi: Males don’t have the right to view the personal information of females without permission, let’s wait until Chenyu pleases the female before asking him.

Mo Yihai: Chenyu… pleasing someone?

A strange look appeared on Mo Yihai’s face.

Having fought side by side with Yu Chenyu, he knew this person’s personality very well.

With his stubborn character, did he know how to ‘please’ a female zerg?

Zhu Yunqi: Don’t overthink, how else can soldiers make a female happy?

Mo Yihai: He…

Zhu Yunqi: Yeah.

Zhu Yunqi: Even if he does get divorced, I hope he won’t come back with missing arms and legs

Mo Yihai fell silent, as did Zhu Yunqi.

The two shared a sad moment across their terminals, not knowing that their comrade had successfully reversed his divorce, though he hadn’t yet won his wife’s favour.

After returning home, Qi Zihan walked to the sofa and sank into it tiredly.

Yu Chenyu closed the door, then slowly took off his military boots and cap.

He tucked the cap under his arm and turned to look at Qi Zihan, who was slumped on the sofa. The corners of his lips raised, and he secretly felt a little happy.

He could tell that his Lord Wife didn’t keep him because he liked him, but because he sympathised with him.

Unlike his indifferent exterior, his Lord Wife was a gentle person inside.

How strange. As he found himself losing control, he was so afraid of receiving his comrades’ pitying eyes when they met in the future.

But now, although he knew that Qi Zihan pitied him, he didn’t feel humiliated at all; instead, he felt a kind of joy, as if he was seeing hope.

This joy softened his brows and tone.

“If you’re hungry, I’ll go cook for you, Lord Wife,” he said gently, so gently that it didn’t match his appearance at all.

Qi Zihan’s stomach gurgled at his words.

Only then did he realise that he hadn’t eaten anything since he first transmigrated here.

He didn’t know what the food here was like, or if it would be delicious or not.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be insects…

“Okay,” Qi Zihan agreed, deciding to wait and see. If Yu Chenyu’s cooking wasn’t good, they would go out to eat. Though, speaking of which. “If a female goes out alone, will restaurants give food for free?”

Yu Chenyu paused on his way to the kitchen. A confused expression flashed across his face, followed by a sly, fox-like smile.

However, he had already returned to his usual calmness by the time he turned to look at Qi Zihan. “The Female Association will provide basic necessities to females without sufficient economic resources, but both the nutrition and taste of their food are very poor. Better food costs money.”

“Oh, I see.” Qi Zihan also thought that he was too optimistic.

The empire had set up the current society precisely to make females get married. If they could stay single and still live without worrying about food, clothing, and shelter, then what would be the point of getting married?

Yu Chenyu’s next sentence was as he expected. “The biggest source of income for females is the males they marry. Females can enjoy all the property owned by their males.”

“You said that’s the biggest source of income, so what’s the second biggest?”

“Work,” he answered. “Females can choose to work, but they tend to find it tiring, and there are few places that allow females to be hired. Most of those that do are relatively simple jobs, so the salary isn’t high.”

Yu Chenyu was only short of explicitly saying that he needed him.

Although Qi Zihan noticed his thoughts, he didn’t comment.

Since he already decided to keep Yu Chenyu, he couldn’t start discussing divorce again.

Though… having a marriage without love made it hard for him to be interested.

He felt that he should try his best to be self-reliant before his relationship with Yu Chenyu grew too co-dependent.

Therefore he asked, “I don’t know how to do much, is there a job you can recommend?”

Yu Chenyu was quiet. His eyes which had finally gained a spark of life dimmed again after hearing this question. It took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence from gritted teeth. 

“I’m a general of this empire, and although I’ve already half retired, I have so much money that you can’t possibly spend it all. You can rest assured in using it, even if in the future…” he hesitated, then forced himself to continue, “even if you still don’t like me after a long time and insist on divorcing me. It doesn’t matter if you spend everything before then.”

Qi Zihan was his last hope. He bet everything on him — even if he lost everything, he had no way out.

Qi Zihan noticed his uneasiness but had no time to comfort him because he had noticed an unexpected word: “Retired?”

This person looked no older than 30 years old, perhaps even younger than 25, nowhere near retirement age. Why would he be half-retired?

“Because you’re losing control?” he guessed.

Yu Chenyu nodded.

This was the main reason behind males submitting marriage proposals. He thought Qi Zihan already understood this, so he had never stated it explicitly.

Before he knew that Qi Zihan had minimal knowledge of this world, he had even thought that he deliberately ignored it to humiliate him.

Now that he thought about it, he was judging a gentleman with a villain’s heart.

Qi Zihan sat for a while, thoughtful. “Then, let’s make a deal,” he abruptly said.

“A deal?” A hint of confusion was barely perceptible on Yu Chenyu’s face, and his gaze towards Qi Zihan once again turned scrutinising.

On the battlefield, his eyes could capture all details and allow him to react in the face of danger.

He had stubbornly escaped death countless times thanks to these eyes.

Yet now, at such a close distance, he couldn’t see through the thoughts of his wife.

Ignoring his stare, Qi Zihan raised a slender index finger. “For example, I’ll soothe you and prevent you from losing control. In exchange, you’re not allowed to touch me without permission.”

Yu Chenyu wanted to say that he wouldn’t dare to casually touch a female even if there wasn’t such a deal, but instead, he nodded and agreed.

When he nodded, he glanced at Qi Zihan’s fingers and noticed their shape for the first time, causing him to be distracted for a moment.

Delicate and distinctly jointed, they looked more like expertly carved jade than fingers.

Were all females’ hands so beautiful?

“Like this, I make a request and you make one as well. As long as we both keep by each other’s terms, I won’t casually chase you away.” Folding away his finger, Qi Zihan crossed his legs, giving off feelings of both pride and laziness like a rare breed of cat.

His appearance couldn’t be less threatening to a soldier.

Most females had gentle features as if they were flowers raised in a greenhouse, or like carefully maintained jade. Qi Zihan was no exception.

But his well-proportioned body — broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs — made him look stronger than most females.

Yu Chenyu could even faintly detect tight muscles hiding underneath his clothes.

His vision, which had finally focused, became blurred again. He raised a hand to support his chin as if he were thinking about Qi Zihan’s proposal, but his mind was a complete blank.

“My second requirement is that you can’t call me ‘Lord Wife’, and you can’t use honorifics towards me either. Just call me Qi Zihan or Zihan.”

After saying this, he kept his arms crossed instead of raising another finger. He retracted his right hand’s thumb, ring finger, and little finger, leaving only his index and middle fingers tapping elegantly on his arm.

Then he lazily glanced in Yu Chenyu’s direction. “Come on, make your second request,” he said.


< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Chapter 3: He’s my spouse?

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Hearing that the match rate was a unique 99.99%, Qi Zihan admitted he was a little shaken.

He hadn’t been particularly unsatisfied with Yu Chenyu in the first place and even thought that he looked pretty good and had a great body, perfectly matching his type.

However, he had just transmigrated to an unfamiliar environment. He truly didn’t have any interest in falling in love or getting married.

Even if he was attracted, he didn’t want to get married before falling in love, wanting to skip straight to sleeping together even less.

So, facing Yu Chenyu’s confession-like answer, Qi Zihan’s response was, “I still want to go to the Female Association to understand the situation first, you put on your clothes and come with me.”

Yu Chenyu, still kneeling, was silent for a long while before he quietly agreed.

It seems I still can’t escape the divorce, he thought.

A few minutes later, Yu Chenyu exited the bedroom again, this time finally dressed.

He wore a strange military uniform that was unlike any style Qi Zihan had seen on Earth.

Its dark blue fabric was embellished with even darker patterns, while the military cap was of the same colour with a black brim.

The entire uniform reflected a metallic sheen, making Qi Zihan wonder if it could block bullets.

“You usually dress like this?” Qi Zihan couldn’t help asking.

Every zerg he had seen thus far had all worn uniforms, military or otherwise, so he wondered if zergs only had this type of clothing.

Yet Yu Chenyu refuted it. “No, I just didn’t have time to change because I wanted to meet you as soon as possible.” As he spoke, he pressed down the brim of his military cap and walked to the door first. “Let’s go,” he said.

His tone was normal, so Qi Zihan didn’t notice anything unusual as he followed.

But he soon discovered that Yu Chenyu was so tall that he towered over him by at least a head!

It was outrageous. He was 186cm tall which was already considered very tall on Earth, yet Yu Chenyu was a head taller than him, so how tall was he? More than two metres?

Qi Zihan marevelled at his height as he walked, so he didn’t notice when the object of his admiration suddenly stopped.

It was too late for him to step on the brakes. Bumping into Yu Chenyu’s back felt like running into a solid wall.

Ow, it hurts!

Rubbing his forehead, he took a step back.

Then he saw Yu Chenyu turn around with a complicated expression.

Qi Zihan looked at him in confusion. Before he could ask, he heard Yu Chenyu say, “I forgot that the wound on your finger hasn’t been treated yet. Do you… want me to help you with it?”

“Wound?” Qi Zihan raised his right hand and looked at the insignificant scratch on his thumb. “You mean this? It’s not necessary.”

“Okay.” Yu Chenyu didn’t argue, though he did glance at the small patch of red on Qi Zihan’s forehead.

This was probably why females didn’t like soldiers.

Even if they could realise that soldiers weren’t as scary as imagined by whipping them, they couldn’t avoid being hurt by soldiers through various accidents.

“I’m sorry,” Yu Chenyu stated coldly.

Although he did feel sorry, he was in no mood to show concern for his ‘ex-husband’ when he thought of his upcoming divorce.

He wanted to treat Qi Zihan’s injuries, but more than that, he didn’t want to be held accountable for them by the people in the Female Association.

No matter how fragile females were, they wouldn’t get sick or anything from something as minor as this.

But many females would use it as a pretext to convict males for ‘intentional injury’.

Yu Chenyu didn’t know if Qi Zihan would do this. Though, even if he did do so, what could he do?

Perhaps, in that moment when he found it increasingly hard to control himself and was forced to submit a marriage application, what he lost wasn’t just his dignity.

His life had also ended back then.

He used a hoverbike to bring Qi Zihan to a nearby branch of the Female Association.

The hoverbike was a single-person model, so Qi Zihan had to sit behind Yu Chenyu and hold his waist with both hands.

Qi Zihan could hardly feel Yu Chenyu’s muscles through the military uniform’s strange material, but he could tell that they were very solid.

The hoverbike flew fast, so fast that Qi Zihan suspected that what he was riding wasn’t a normal means of transportation but a roller coaster.

But for he who had come here from Earth, a motorcycle that could fly was already weird enough!

Upon arriving and parking the hoverbike, Yu Chenyu got off first before reaching back a hand to Qi Zihan.

Recognising that this was a ‘gentlemanly behaviour’ expected of males towards females in this world, Qi Zihan didn’t reject his kindness. He put his hand in his palm and borrowed his strength to jump off the hoverbike.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he dropped to the ground, he heard a cry of surprise. 

“Oh my god! You let a female ride a hoverbike?”

Qi Zihan turned and saw someone in the uniform he had seen last night — this should be the uniform of the Female Association.

Taking out the military cap he had put away, Yu Chenyu put it back on, then looked at the man who had spoken and said irritably, “Who said I let him do anything?”

“You…” The man looked as if he was looking at a madman, but he didn’t say anything more to Yu Chenyu. Instead, he rushed to Qi Zihan and bowed respectfully. “Honoured female sir, how can I help you?”

Qi Zihan opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the man made an inviting gesture. “It’s windy outside, please come in first, let’s sit down and talk slowly.”

“Oh, okay.” Qi Zihan followed him into the building, then he realised that this didn’t seem to be the same Female Association that he was in before.

After sitting on a couch in the reception room, he didn’t rush to solve the issue of Yu Chenyu. “There’s actually something wrong with my memories, I can only remember my name. Can you introduce this world to me?” he asked first.

Yu Chenyu had just stepped into the reception room when he said this. A look of realisation flashed across his face, as if he had suddenly figured something out.

He didn’t sit. Instead he stood upright behind Qi Zihan, waiting for the results of his trial.

When the Female Association people heard Qi Zihan’s words, their first reaction was to question Yu Chenyu, “What did you do to him?”

“No, it has nothing to do with him,” Qi Zihan hurriedly clarified, “we only met recently… It’s a bit hard to explain. Which Female Association was I at yesterday?”

When asking the latter question, Qi Zihan looked up in the direction of Yu Chenyu.

Yu Chenyu met his eyes and then spat out an address.

The Female Association worker asked them to wait a moment, then quickly sat down in front of a computer to check the information. After a while, he asked, “Excuse me, are you Qi Zihan?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Last night, the Imperial Army found you in a high-risk area and took you to the nearest Female Association Center for a medical examination, no abnormalities were found…” he trailed off with a look of astonishment, then continued after a moment of hesitation. “Uh, there may be abnormalities that can’t be detected by the machine. I will arrange a mental health appointment for you as soon as possible…”

“No, rather than recovering my memories, I want to know what kind of world this is.” Qi Zihan’s patience was limited. His tone turned a little cold. “Can you introduce this world to me?”

He repeated his request.

This time, they finally clarified the service he wanted. After saying ‘okay’ several times, they hurriedly pulled up a galactic map on their computer and explained the planets and systems under the empire’s control in relation to their current location, as well as the main threats the empire currently faced.

Halfway through their explanation, the worker suddenly felt like something was wrong. “Excuse me, for questions such as these, wouldn’t it be better to ask your spouse? After all, he is…” He hesitated, glanced at Yu Chenyu, and continued, “According to his profile, your spouse is one of the five incumbent generals. Generals hold the highest military rank in the empire besides the marshal, his understanding of the empire must be more comprehensive than that of a small Female Association staff member like me.”

A… general of the empire?

Qi Zihan was stunned. He hadn’t expected that the male he matched with would have such an awesome identity.

Such an important male zerg was tied up naked on his bed, this…

The extent to which females were revered seemed to be more exaggerated than he thought.

Also, it turned out that Yu Chenyu’s clothes really were military uniforms and not daily wear?

Wait, spouse?

Suddenly realising something, his eyes widened in disbelief. “Spouse? You mean to say that he’s my husband?”

How did they become spouses? When did it happen, why did he not know?

Did it happen after he fell asleep yesterday?

No, if the females of this world truly were so noble, it would be impossible for a male to marry one without permission while he was unconscious.

In other words, when he agreed to match with a male in the beginning, it was equivalent to getting married?

The staff member was stunned by his question. He glanced at Yu Chenyu with some horror, then looked back at Qi Zihan hesitantly. “Wh-What? You weren’t willing to marry him? If that’s the case…” His voice suddenly trembled and tapered off.

“What would happen?” Qi Zihan asked.

The staff member didn’t speak.

As if he couldn’t stand his dithering, Yu Chenyu answered for him. “Forcing marriage is a capital offence for male zergs.”

Fuck, Qi Zihan thought reflexively. “No, I was willing, ah, wait… first tell me, what counts as marriage?”

He still couldn’t believe that he had become a married person.

This time, the staff member finally found his voice. “Females can use the system to choose their spouse from among the males who have submitted marriage applications. Once they choose someone, they’re married.”

As he feared.

Zerg marriage was too casual, right?!

“In addition, depending on their spiritual power, females may have multiple partners. If you aren’t satisfied with your current spouse…”

“It’s not a question of if I’m satisfied or not.” Qi Zihan wanted to dissolve the marriage, not to hurt Yu Chenyu. Thus, he continued, “I married without knowing the situation. Nothing has happened between us, can we separate peacefully?”

“Of course it’s possible to divorce, all females have the right to freely enter and exit marriages,” the Female Association staff member said, though he then sighed with a complicated expression. His initial dissatisfaction with Yu Chenyu transformed into sympathy.

He had no right to comment on a female zerg’s behaviour, but considering this female’s particular circumstances, he still couldn’t help but say a few more words. “However a record of the divorce will remain on the male’s profile, which will have a significant impact on his future — in general, no female would choose such a male…”

“Can’t it be deleted?” Qi Zihan asked, frowning. “What I mean is that my situation with him is special. In a situation where I entered into the marriage without being fully aware of the connotations and didn’t do anything to him, can’t the record of this divorce be deleted?”

“No,” the staff member answered frankly, “in order to prevent any males from secretly hacking into the system to tamper with their profiles, this data is protected at the highest defense level. Even the marshal can’t change it.”

“The empire’s marshal is a male zerg?”

“Of course.” Then, thinking that Qi Zihan might not have this knowledge, he added, “Almost everything related to the military is taken care of by soldiers. Even if any females wanted to go to the battlefield the army wouldn’t agree, because if he dies there, the entire army will be severely punished.”

“I see, I understand now.”

Qi Zihan more or less understood what kind of world this was.

This world’s ruling class was the military, composed of male soldiers, and the marshal held the highest administrative authority; however, the society was one where females were superior to males.

Perhaps it was because the females’ spiritual power was a necessity for males yet, for females, males weren’t necessary and could even be called dispensable. Therefore, the authorities raised females to an exaggerated height to make females willing to marry and soothe males.

Females with high status could easily support themselves by marrying males and spending their money instead of working to earn money.

Eventually, females lost the motivation to work and gradually withdrew from various workplaces.

Males quickly filled all the empty positions and, at the same time, the marriage rate of females increased greatly.

Qi Zihan didn’t know whether a societal structure like this was good for females, he only knew that since the ruling class consisted of males, this deformed society wasn’t caused by females alone — it was also what males wanted.

In a sense, males did it all for the sake of receiving soothing from females. They personally built a gorgeous cage with their own hands, imprisoning females inside and lowering themselves into the dust.

“Do you… still wish to divorce?” The staff member frowned as he asked this, not hiding his sympathy for Yu Chenyu at all.

“Never mind,” Qi Zihan sighed.

He did want to divorce, but he didn’t want to hurt Yu Chenyu while doing so.

It had been his fault in the first place. He was the one who casually entered into a marriage while he was confused, how could he let Yu Chenyu bear responsibility for his mistake?

Hearing his answer, Yu Chenyu’s expressionless face flashed with surprise.

The eyes of the Female Association staff member also widened. “Really? Uh, I must tell you that you’ll bear no responsibility for declaring a divorce, and you can even immediately marry another male.”

“No need.” Standing, Qi Zihan nodded to him. “Thank you for answering my questions and providing me with useful information. You’ve worked hard.”

“You’re welcome!” The staff member was extremely flattered as if being thanked by a female was something incredible.

Yu Chenyu stretched out a hand to Qi Zihan when he stood up.

Seeing that he didn’t notice his hand, Yu Chenyu took the initiative to hold his hand as he said gently, “If there’s nowhere else you want to go, I’ll take you home, Lord Wife.”

Qi Zihan stared at his hand for a while before deciding to leave him some face outside. He’ll correct his title when they get back, as well as re-plan their future.

Thinking this way, he let him hold his hand and let out a “Mn.”

What they didn’t know was that just as they left the reception room and returned to the hoverbike, the male who had talked to them was looking at Qi Zihan’s profile on his computer and exclaiming, “This is the first time I’ve seen a female with SS spiritual power… How many males can he soothe at the same time? I can’t even imagine it.”


< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Chapter 2: Lord Wife, please enjoy

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

It didn’t actually hurt, but Qi Zihan still retracted his hand as if he had been electrocuted. He raised his hand and saw an obvious scratch on his right thumb.

“Lord Wife?”

Yu Chenyu couldn’t have seen Qi Zihan’s movements, but he seemed to have sensed something and struggled desperately, trying to break free from the rope forcefully.

Qi Zihan watched in disbelief as the rope he hadn’t been able to untie in half a day showed signs of loosening as Yu Chenyu thrashed.

“Stop! You… don’t move!” Qi Zihan said hurriedly, afraid that he would get hurt.

Yu Chenyu obediently stopped, yet his eyes were still fixed on Qi Zihan’s face, still with a strange emotion in them like he wanted to see through him, but there was also a hint of concern that wasn’t false.

Qi Zihan felt a little guilty under his gaze. “Stop looking at me,” he ordered.

It was embarrassing.

He tried to untie Yu Chenyu again.

This time, he succeeded.

Then he noticed something strange.

He had only used a little strength yet his finger was scratched by the rope, but despite Yu Chenyu’s violent struggle, there wasn’t a single mark on his wrists.

It seemed that at the same time as this world changing from males being superior to females being superior, their physical prowess also switched.

For a moment, he felt a little complicated, not knowing whether he should be pleased or worried.

Worried because he had been able to effortlessly fight off a group of people back on Earth but may not be able to defeat even half a male zerg now.

Pleased because the status of females in this world was high enough that it was impossible to be bullied by males just because they were stronger.

The rope had been untied but the man remained in the same position, not daring to move at all; and because Qi Zihan had just told him not to look at him, his gaze was stuck on the ceiling without deviating an inch.

Qi Zihan didn’t mind his reaction, he was still thinking of how to get rid of him.

He preferred falling in love before sleeping together, tying the knot without any feelings between them wasn’t his style.

“Stop calling me L-Lord Wife, I wasn’t entirely awake last night, it was an accident to call you over. Fortunately, we haven’t done anything yet so you can just take it as nothing happened, go find another female.”

“Even if we haven’t done anything… Never mind. Sorry, it’s nothing.” Yu Chenyu closed his eyes, then sat up and looked at Qi Zihan again.

This time there was no longer any kind of scrutiny, it was instead replaced by despair brought about by understanding.

It made Qi Zihan anxious, feeling as if he had done something wrong.

It was true, he did do something wrong.

Qi Zihan felt very sorry for this man called Yu Chenyu.

However, he wouldn’t gamble the rest of his life on an emotion like guilt or sympathy.

He could compensate him, but not in this way.

So he said, “I’ll explain everything to the Female Association. Tell me how you’d like to be compensated, I’ll do it as long as it’s in my power.”

This time Yu Chenyu didn’t say anything, he only nodded silently.

“Then… you put your clothes on first,” Qi Zihan said as he left the room.

When he closed the door, Yu Chenyu no longer looked at him but at the quilt covering his lower body. There was a long silence.

Until a vibration sound came from the clothes placed beside the pillows.

He was stunned for a moment before quickly reacting, reaching over to dig out a watch-like object.

After unlocking it with spiritual power, a transluscent display popped up above the watch.

This was a portable optical computer, also known as a personal terminal.

It vibrated because he had just received a new message.

The person who sent it was his former comrade and current good friend, Zhu Yunqi.

Zhu Yunqi: Chenyu, I heard you got married. Although I don’t know what kind of person your wife is, let me congratulate you first — after all, there hasn’t been a single female who can match higher than 50% with you for 5 whole years. If you still don’t get a female’s soothing, you’ll turn from a comrade into my enemy.

What a joke.

In no mood to put on clothes, Yu Chenyu just used his spiritual power to type a reply as he sat naked.

Yu Chenyu: It’s going to be annulled.

Zhu Yunqi: Huh? Didn’t you just get married last night? What did you do? It can’t be that you used too much force and hurt him, right?

Yu Chenyu: Didn’t do anything.

Zhu Yunqi: Then why?

Zhu Yunqi: Well, on the other hand, it’s true that a female doesn’t need any reason at all if he wants to divorce.

Zhu Yunqi: But you’re a general! You’ve gone in and out of high-risk areas to clean up aberrants, you’ve fought to the death to defend this planet, and you’ve made great achievements! What gives him the right?

Yu Chenyu: Watch your words, do you want to go to jail?

Zhu Yunqi: But I really think it’s a pity. You’ve done so much for this empire, you’re the one who deserves happiness the most. But you don’t even have the right to choose your own spouse, though no one could match you more than 50% anyway, and when you finally got married you’re going to get divorced after just one night. It’s been hard enough to find a single female who can soothe you. If this marriage really ends, you’ll have no hope of going back to the front line!

Yu Chenyu: So, I should fight for myself one more time, right?

Zhu Yunqi: Ah? What do you mean?

Yu Chenyu: He said to divorce, it hasn’t happened yet.

Zhu Yunqi: Then you have to fight! You’ll die anyways, it’s better to die by a female zerg than in my hands!

Yu Chenyu fell silent.

Male zergs were naturally endowed with stronger physical capabilities than females, while soldiers — males born for combat — could even defeat a thousand opponents at once. However, all males, whether they were the powerful soldiers or the relatively gentle drones, had a particular physiological defect. If, after reaching adulthood, they went too long without receiving a female zerg’s spiritual soothing, they would gradually lose control of their bodies and attack everything around them.

Yu Chenyu was an adult, and he could feel his self-control worsening by the day.

He didn’t want to get married and didn’t want to fall under anyone’s control, least of all a female who had never stepped foot on a battlefield.

But neither did he want to watch himself lose control and force his comrades to end his life.

Yu Chenyu felt that if he had any dignity, it would have been shattered to pieces the moment he submitted the marriage application.

If that was the case, what was the point of clinging to the little that was left?

Yu Chenyu: Maybe it’s because I didn’t call him ‘Lord Wife’ from the beginning, and didn’t use honorifics either.

Zhu Yunqi: Then the divorce is your fault! You finally found a female who matches you more than 50%, cherish him! Put away your intimidating momentum and learn from those drones who only know how to flirt!

Yu Chenyu: I can’t.

Zhu Yunqi: You…

Yu Chenyu: I don’t know how to learn what drones do, and can’t learn it either. Soldiers have their own ways.

Zhu Yunqi: Don’t tell me you want to…

Zhu Yunqi: Sigh, I guess that’s the only way, who made us soldiers so strong? A lot of females are frightened of us. Someone has to tell them that we’re not that scary.

Yu Chenyu: He really was scared of me.

He remembered the way Qi Zihan covered him with a quilt.

Yu Chenyu: I’ll try it, send me another message in a while.

Zhu Yunqi: OK, I hope you succeed.

After reading this message, Yu Chenyu turned off the screen, got off the bed without putting on any clothes, walked to the closet, and took something out of it.

Qi Zihan sat on the living room couch, waiting for Yu Chenyu to come out.

He wanted him to take him to the Female Association.

Judging by their bodies, those who worked at the Female Association were all males, so they probably wouldn’t make things difficult for someone of the same sex?

Then, after he resolved this matter, he also planned to learn about this world through the Female Association.

Just as he was pondering things, the bedroom door opened.

Qi Zihan instinctively looked towards the door, thinking that he would see a clothed Yu Chenyu, but he never expected that the man had dawdled for so long yet still didn’t have even a thread of cloth covering him!

And he seemed to be holding something.

After recognising the object as a whip, Qi Zihan was so scared that he shot up from the couch and took a defensive stance.

As if sensing his vigilance, the man stopped his approach three metres away from Qi Zihan and knelt down.

He knelt on the ground, raised the whip above his head with both hands and said a sentence in a hoarse, emotionless voice: “Lord Wife, please enjoy.”

Qi Zihan froze in front of the couch, staring at Yu Chenyu’s lowered body.

Neither man moved. Yu Chenyu looked down and waited.

It wasn’t hard to understand Yu Chenyu’s intentions from his words and actions — he wanted Qi Zihan to take the whip and hit him.

But Qi Zihan didn’t understand.

He didn’t understand why he had to do this.

“Can you not understand me?” Qi Zihan was a little angry. He walked up to Yu Chenyu and slapped the whip out of his hands. “Don’t call me Lord Wife, I’m not your wife, I don’t want to marry you, I won’t marry you no matter what you do! Stop doing useless things!”

Glancing at the whip that had been slapped to the ground, Yu Chenyu pursed his lips. “If Lord Wife refuses to accept me, then please deal with me yourself.”

“Deal with you?” Qi Zihan could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“Kill me,” Yu Chenyu said, expressing his meaning more explicitly.

“Why?” Qi Zihan didn’t understand. “Didn’t we not do anything? Why are you so insistent? You only met me yesterday and I saw you for the first time this morning, don’t tell me you fell in love at first sight.”

Yu Chenyu didn’t say anything.

Love?

What a ridiculous word for a male who had no right to choose his mate.

“Do you have a reason to want me?” Qi Zihan felt that he may have underestimated the extent of female status in this world. Could it be that just because a female had selected them once, any male who had been driven away would be executed regardless of whether they had done anything?

Yu Chenyu didn’t answer immediately, as if he was organising his words, trying to answer this question in a way that would least anger Qi Zihan without lying.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t that good at speaking, so he could only say it directly. “I’ve already waited for a mate for five years, I no longer have the patience nor time to wait for another female whose match rate with me reaches 50%.”

Match rate?

Qi Zihan vaguely remembered that what the people from the Female Association said wasn’t “I’ll find you a male zerg,” but “I will match you with a male.”

So this meant that marriage in zerg society wasn’t something that could be done just because someone wanted to, it depended on how much they matched?

What kind of thing was match rate?

“What’s match rate?” he asked.

Hearing this question, Yu Chenyu looked up and met Qi Zihan’s eyes with a hint of confusion. However, he still answered. “The degree of spiritual compatibility is usually displayed as a percentage. Only when it reaches above 50% can the spiritual power of a female effectively soothe a male, thus preventing the male from losing control.”

“What’s our match rate?”

“99.99%, infinitely approaching 100%.”

“One in a million, you mean?”

“No,” Yu Chenyu replied, “to me, you are unique.”

Female zergs were very fragile. All females underwent regular medical examinations, and during that time various values were entered into the system.

Long before Qi Zihan agreed to match with a male, as soon as his medical exam finished, Yu Chenyu received a notification from the system.

[System]: Dear General Yu Chenyu, 0.1s ago, the database updated the data of a female zerg whose spiritual compatibility with you reaches 99.99%. Would you like to send a marriage proposal to the Association for the Rights of Female Zergs service office immediately?

Yu Chenyu replied: Yes.


< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Chapter 1: You chose me.

Table of Contents | Next >

Qi Zihan looked at the scene in front of him in a trance.

There lay an excessively handsome man on the silk-covered king bed.

He looked like he had mixed Eastern and Western blood, long smooth hair, and somewhat eerie amber eyes.

But none of those were important.

The point was, at this moment, this man wore nothing!

His hands were even tied together and fixed to the headboard!

Clicking his tongue, Qi Zihan took two steps back, left the room, and closed the door.

It seemed that what happened last night wasn’t a dream.

At 11 o’clock last night, Qi Zihan was still on a planet called Earth, lying on his bed and reading on his phone.

He had just finished reading a book and, looking for something new, somehow clicked into a zerg novel.

This was his first zerg novel. Its setting was that female zergs were stronger than male zergs so he thought that the shou would be stronger than the gong, but he soon realised that this was only true when looking at their combat abilities — the shou’s status was far inferior to the gong’s.

Female zergs were superior to males in both appearance and fighting power, but they had physiological defects that males lacked. They had to regularly receive comfort and soothing from males, otherwise they would die.

So in that novel, the beautiful and powerful females were nothing more than cheap consumables, while the mediocre males were extremely noble.

Males could unilaterally beat, scold, and toy with their females, and didn’t have to bear any responsibility for it even if they accidentally caused their deaths.

In contrast, females might face severe punishment at a single word from a male even if they did nothing, to say nothing of actually harming a male.

But why did males deserve this!

Females fought desperately to defend their country, participated in various dangerous or arduous tasks to maintain the stable development of society, and even had to take on the responsibility of bearing and raising offspring.

But males? Apart from periodically soothing the females, they could do whatever they wanted. No one would say anything even if they spent the whole day doing nothing but eating and playing.

These wastes, what gave them the right to treat their females like objects?

Just the novel settings alone already made Qi Zihan very angry.

If the author wrote a wife-chasing crematorium then he could still accept it, but unfortunately, the gong as described by the author was a complete scumbag!

On the first day of marriage, the gong beat the shou severely because he wasn’t obedient enough. At first, the shou didn’t make a sound, but then the gong started using torture instruments, and later he was tortured so much that there wasn’t a single piece of intact skin on his body. However, because of the gong’s order, the shou wasn’t allowed to make any noise and still had to be grateful to the gong.

Reading up to here, Qi Zihan almost smashed his phone in anger.

Then his mind was filled with the novel’s plot for the next two hours, frantically imagining the shou’s resistance, to the point that he couldn’t fall asleep.

After finally falling asleep, he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar environment.

Qi Zihan thought he was dreaming. Several men in strange military uniforms escorted him to a certain place, where he underwent a comprehensive physical examination with the help of a bunch of machines.

While waiting for the medical exam report, another man wearing a strange uniform said to him, “Your accommodation has been arranged, but it’s too dangerous for a female zerg to live by yourself. Do you want to match with a male immediately?”

Hearing the words ‘female zerg’, Qi Zihan recalled bad memories and his face fell.

It was true that people would dream about whatever they thought of during the day.

This dream was quite timely. He could vent anger for the shou he read about yesterday!

Thinking of this, he nodded. “Okay, if he dares to bully me, I’ll show him what real bullying is!”

The two men next to him looked at each other with sympathy in their eyes, but it was unclear who they were sympathising with.

After a while, the medical exam report came out. The man operated the computer for a while, then said to Qi Zihan, “Among the male zergs who submitted applications, the one who has the highest match rate with you is called Yu Chenyu. He is…”

“Him.” He didn’t know why this dream was so long-winded, he couldn’t wait to use ‘domestic violence’ to fight back against ‘domestic violence’.

“Okay,” the man replied in a low voice, “I’ll contact him for you now.”

He worked on the computer for a while again, presumably retrieving the personal information submitted by the male in order to find his contact details.

The sound of his fingertips tapping on the keyboard made Qi Zihan a little sleepy.

Just when he wondered why he would feel sleepy in a dream, his eyelids drooped, his consciousness fell into darkness, and he slumped onto the couch.

The next time he woke up, he was next to a naked man.

Qi Zihan was completely awake.

He was shocked awake by this stimulating scene.

After confirming that he wasn’t dreaming but had really come to a world drastically different from Earth yet somewhat similar to the one described in the novel, he deeply regretted his carelessness last night.

Since it wasn’t a dream, he shouldn’t take out his anger towards the novel on an unrelated person. 

But wait — although he did request a male zerg, he didn’t remember tying him up?

Qi Zihan stalled at the door for a while, confused.

He was sure that he had no memory of stripping or tying up a person.

Then that person, no, that male zerg, who took his clothes off? And who tied him up?

Wait, male zerg?

Qi Zihan suddenly realised that he had overlooked the most important point — if this really was the world of the novel, why would a male zerg who should have been enoying himself be tied to the bed without any dignity like that?

And he who was a ‘female zerg’ seemed to have a very high status?

He hadn’t paid much attention to how he was treated last night because he thought he had been dreaming. 

Besides, he was a shou himself, wasn’t it normal to dream that he was a female zerg?

But if this wasn’t a dream, turning into a female zerg was a problem! A big problem!

With his face abruptly draining of blood, he rushed into the bathroom and examined his body.

A few minutes later, he went out with a frozen face.

He… had turned into a female zerg.

Although his face was still the same attractive face and the muscles he had gained from exercising regularly were still there, there were subtle changes in his body structure.

Qi Zihan didn’t know what to do.

A strange world, a strange species, even his own body became a little strange.

However, since he was here, what else could he do except adapt and survive?

He wasn’t so stupid as to commit suicide in an attempt to get back to Earth. What if he did die?

Now that he had chosen to live in this world, the first thing to do was to collect intelligence… no, he first had to deal with ‘that thing’ in his room.

Returning to the door leading to the room where that man was, he took a deep, silent breath, pressed down the door handle, pushed open the door, and walked in.

He looked at the man without going closer, and the man also looked at him without a sound.

The man was beautiful, the kind of beauty that was unique to someone of mixed Eastern and Western heritage.

But he obviously wasn’t just a pretty vase. His body was covered in defined muscles, which were clearly the result of long-term training.

Qi Zihan only needed a glance to know that he couldn’t beat him.

Thus, he needed to understand the situation before letting him loose.

“You are… Yu…” Qi Zihan thought that since this man was the male zerg that he had requested, he should have heard his name before.

Unfortunately, while thinking it was a dream, he hardly paid attention to such a thing, which resulted in him only having a vague idea of it.

“Yu Chenyu.” Finally, the man said his own name, with no expression on his face from beginning to end. He didn’t show any surprise or disappointment that Qi Zihan couldn’t remember his name, as if he had long expected it.

“Yu Chenyu,” Qi Zihan repeated, etching it in his mind, then he approached him carefully and grabbed the quilt nearby. “Who took off your clothes?”

As he asked, he threw the quilt over the man, covering up his lower half.

Yu Chenyu’s eyes were fixed on Qi Zihan, as if he was observing something. At the same time, he answered his question with his hoarse yet magnetic voice, “I took off the clothes myself, the ropes were tied by people from the Female Association.”

Qi Zihan let out a sigh of relief at the knowledge that it wasn’t his work, however… “Female Association?”

Yu Chenyu stared at Qi Zihan for a while, then gave an answer after confirming that the confusion on his face came from the organisation’s abbreviated name. “The Association for the Rights of Female Zergs, referred to as the Female Association.” After a pause, he continued, “You’ve just moved to a new environment and may be a little confused, but I don’t know much about you either. I only know that an Imperial Army patrol found you in a high-risk area and immediately sent you to the Female Association for intensive care. Then the Association matched you with a male according to your requirements, and you chose me.”

When he said ‘you chose me’, Yu Chenyu’s tone was particularly emphatic.

Qi Zihan felt guilty and unsure of how to explain his behaviour last night.

He had casually asked the Association to find him a male zerg only because he thought he was dreaming.

Anyone who found themselves somewhere completely different from Earth after falling asleep would think they were dreaming!

And it was impossible to say he had transmigrated to just anyone.

In the end, he chose to not explain anything. He reached out and touched the thick rope on Yu Chenyu’s wrists, wanting to help him untie it, but found…

What kind of rope was this? Who tied it? It was too strong! Was this tying up a man or a prisoner?

In the process of untying the rope, Qi Zihan inevitably brushed against Yu Chenyu’s skin.

The texture of zerg skin wasn’t much different from that of humans, but he couldn’t see any blood vessels even at such a close distance, making it seem like his arm was a single piece of marble.

After realising that Qi Zihan was untying him, Yu Chenyu wasn’t happy, rather, his expression darkened. “Are you… unsatisfied with me?”

Qi Zihan paused. Although he felt very sorry for this man whose body he had seen naked, he had no intention of getting married until he had gathered enough information and understood the world well enough.

Therefore he said, “We haven’t slept together, just pretend nothing happened.”

Hearing this, Yu Chenyu’s expression sank further and his beautiful amber eyes became dim as the light within disappeared, just like dark clouds covering the sky.

“Can you… give me another chance?”

After a while, more words came as if they had been squeezed out from between his teeth. “I will try my best to satisfy you, I’m begging you, please don’t abandon me, Lord Wife.”

Lord… Lord what?

Qi Zihan was so surprised that he exerted force with his hand, causing the rough hemp rope to scratch his fingertips, leaving a tiny blood-red mark.


Translator:
Hello! I’m planning to translate 19 chapters, after that… we’ll see. If you look around on this site you’ll know that I like to translate just the free chapters of a novel in the hopes that someone else will pick it up — hasn’t happened yet, but hope springs eternal.

Table of Contents | Next >

Chapter 21: Zhang Sushang’s abacus click-clacked away then he reported a figure

< Previous | Table of Contents

Zhang Sushang, completely unaware of the turmoil he had caused, lived his life as usual, studying, writing, skating, dancing, eating, sleeping… and if he felt unwell anywhere, he would ask Jiang Jinghu for a massage or apply a medicinal patch.

Under his enthusiastic promotion, many teachers and students acknowledged the effects of Jiang Jinghu’s traditional Chinese medicine. A while ago even Professor Yevgeny, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, asked Jiang Jinghu to do moxibustion on his shoulder and was quite satisfied with the results.

Jiang Jinghu immediately became the next person among the four international students to escape poverty. Not only did he earn money, but he also followed Zhang Sushang’s example to donate a portion to Moscow every month.

As someone from the future, Zhang Sushang was very clear about one thing, that is, competitive sports inevitably cause damage to the human body. If physiotherapy wasn’t carried out in conjunction with high-intensity training, athletes’ bodies would be ruined. Therefore, after starting to teach Misha new jumps, he reminded him to go to regular physio sessions.

If Jiang Jinghu had the time, he went to Jiang Jinghu. If he didn’t, then Zhang Sushang would do it himself. Since he was the one in control of his training intensity, he had the obligation to consider Misha’s health.

Jiang Jinghu was a good person. Whenever Zhang Sushang asked him for a physio session he refused to charge money for it, and even gave him medicinal pills occasionally, saying that they were good for nourishing the body.

But no matter how many precautions someone took, it was impossible to prevent all accidents.

The biggest risk when training on the ice came not only from errors during jumps but also… collisions.

The speed at which top skaters moved on the ice could be quite shocking, with 20km/h being the norm. Having something go wrong if people collided at such a speed was to be expected.

So few artificial ice rinks existed that every ice athlete in the country converged here to train before the arrival of winter; despite the high price, there were more than a few people here. Misha accidentally crashed into a speed skater from the national team during a jump. The speed skater was fine, but Misha was sent to the hospital.

In St. Petersburg Central Hospital, Misha laid on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling as Luka argued with someone at the door.

“Yes, your Loskov is hurt, but he only sprained an ankle! He can still walk out of the hospital by himself, but look at Misha!”

The other person shouted back, “He’s right just because he was injured? Both of them are to blame! Misha didn’t look back to see if there was anyone in the way before he jumped, this is his mistake!”

Medical compensation depended on who was at fault. Although Misha was seriously injured, he had no right to ask for compensation from the other party if he was the cause of the accident.

This thing caused a lot of controversy and in the end, everyone unanimously decided to hand the issue over to their superiors for arbitration, though before that they fought first.

Zhang Sushang, leaning against the window sill and watching the two sides facing off downstairs, shouted, “Pale Emperor’s Holy Swords! Brandish your blades and follow me!”

Whoosh——

Grabbing an apple from a fruit basket next to the bed, he ate it while watching and laughing. Behind him, Misha asked, “Can I still skate?”

Zhang Sushang turned around in confusion. “Why can’t you skate?”

“I’m unlucky, having this happen just before the qualifiers,” Misha said sadly.

Russia held test matches before the season started, and only those with better skills would be arranged to participate in subsequent international competitions.

Zhang Sushang scratched his head. “It’s common for athletes to compete while being injured, and you haven’t broken any bones, there’s only some bruises and sprains.”

Competitive sports became more intense over time. Zhang Sushang had seen for himself people competing with nails in their spines, returning to the field just two months after a fracture, going to Worlds before recovering from a concussion they got in a car accident, and someone calmly fighting for the gold medal after receiving six steroid shots.1PSA: don’t do any of this

Having seen so many ruthless people, his attitude towards injuries was extraordinarily calm. Which athlete had never been injured? There were a whole bunch who went into battle while carrying injuries.

“But can I win against Luka like this?” Misha asked, still doubtful.

“Why do you think you can’t win?” Zhang Sushang asked back, also still confused.

“Because he’s mooched off so many of your lessons!”

It turned out that it was his fault. “Then why don’t I accompany you to the cometition,” he offered in embarrassment.

He had been a little hesitant on whether he should follow Misha this season — after all, this was the chaotic era before the advent of the nuclear age, he always felt that it was unsafe to travel far.

Misha looked at him. Figure skating was different from other sports in that athletes performed alone on the ice and only competed against themselves. Jumping techniques and artistry were all things that had to be honed elsewhere, and during the actual competition, the help that their coaches could provide wasn’t as much as that of the coaches of ball sports who had a hand in tactics.

But if it was Zhang Sushang, his presence would definitely put pressure on Luka.

So when Zhang Sushang received a request from China to write a Chinese version of Divine Detective Ilya, he was so busy that he could only regretfully refuse.

At first, Misha’s concept of the coach accompanying him was that everyone would go to the competition venue together, and as soon as Zhang Sushang sat down, his biggest domestic rival would tremble all over. However, Zhang Sushang’s perception was completely different from his.

Coaches weren’t just for teaching people how to train.

The next day, Zhang Sushang cheerfully showed him a folder. “Come on, I’ll take you to see the designs of your performance costumes, Giselle and I spent a long time on them. If you think they’re okay, we can start production.”

“Costumes?” Misha asked in bewilderment. “Isn’t it enough to wear a suit?”

These days, everyone wore formal clothes to compete, at most they would alter it to be easier to move in.

“What nonsense are you saying? Don’t you feel strange when you’re jumping in a suit?”

He opened the folder and took out a piece of black fabric.

“It took me a long time to find a fabric this light. Later it’ll be made into a vest to go over a shirt, then we’ll add something shiny like rhinestones to make musical note patterns on it.”

Misha, holding the drawing in his hands, was very attracted by this performance costume which was much more beautiful than any other. However, he hesitated after hearing what Zhang Sushang said. “Although rhinestones aren’t expensive, this design is too excessive, right?”

He forgot the environment he was in… Zhang Sushang sighed. “Then use white lace and threads? They’re all cloth, simple and proletarian enough for you?”

Only then did Misha agree, and then they discussed the music for his programs. The music itself had been selected, but they still needed to find a band to perform it so it could be recorded.

These days, there was no such thing as CDs. If a skater wanted to participate in a competition, they had to record their music on a vinyl record, or buy one with a shorter pre-recorded tune, then bring it with them to the venue. As a result, shorter songs that were short and suitable for dancing, such as Broadway music, were very popular among figure skaters.

Otherwise, why would it be said that figure skating was only for the rich? Even in the early 20th century, it wasn’t a sport that ordinary families could get involved in.

“As for the choreography, when Giselle noticed that you hadn’t gone to practice for a few days, she worried that you wouldn’t have enough time to learn it if you waited until your injuries healed, so I learned what she choreographed for you. I can demonstrate it whenever you have time.”

Misha had originally thought that many things would have to be put on pause to be dealt with after his recovery, but he didn’t expect that Zhang Sushang would arrange everything for him.

“Thank you, Chyushka. I don’t know what I would do without you,” he expressed gratefully.

“Don’t thank me too quickly, my services aren’t cheap.” He pulled out an abacus he had borrowed from Wu Yeming. “Giselle said her choreography fee doesn’t have discounts, you have to pay for the fabric yourself, and I found you a skilled but cheap tailor, but you have to pay up the deposit first…”

Zhang Sushang’s abacus click-clacked away then he reported a figure.

Misha felt pain lance through his heart. He spent more than twice as much on figure skating this year compared to last year.

Seeing him grit his teeth as he reached for his wallet, Zhang Sushang couldn’t help laughing. “Alright, stop making that expression. Believe me, as long as you can become famous, you’ll be able to make all your money back.”

“Chyushka, did you know? That’s how capitalists deceive labourers,” Misha sighed softly.

The corners of Zhang Sushang’s mouth twitched. “Okay, okay, I’m not a good proletariat, okay? Give me the money first.”

He left briskly after dealing with Misha. Unexpectedly, he met an acquaintance at the door, who was precisely the owner of the abacus he held.

Wu Yeming held a pair of ice skates in his hands, and beside him was a speed skating coach whom Zhang Sushang often saw at the ice rink.

When Zhang Sushang saw them, Wu Yeming was asking the coach, “Which ward is Yegor in?”

Yegor was the speed skater who collided with Misha.

When did Wu Yeming get to know this bunch? And the relationship seemed to be pretty good.

Zhang Sushang was full of curiosity.

“Wu Yeming!” he shouted.

Wu Yeming looked back in surprise. “Qiupu, why are you here? Are you feeling sick again?”

Zhang Sushang thought to himself that he was as strong as a bear, how did he give Wu Yeming the impression that he was weak and sickly?


Translator:
The translation of A Transmigrated Figure Skater Becomes an Author is officially dropped and free for others to pick up. In its place, I’ve picked up A World Dominated by Female Zergs by 狐生九影.

< Previous | Table of Contents

  • 1
    PSA: don’t do any of this

Chapter 20: Figure skating… What is it?

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

What was life like during the 1920s?

The country was suffering, the people were in misery, everyone was bullied by foreigners, and countless people searched for a way to rise out of the muck.

Among the various ways, some people believed that they should completely abandon Chinese tradition in favour of Western methods to salvage the current situation.

This led to many people today admiring Western learning and their authors, thinking that their writing was more refined, their stories more fascinating, and the ideas contained within more advanced.

Chyushka’s Divine Detective Ilya was beloved by many readers in China. It wasn’t because of the rich, three-dimensional personalities or the alternatingly funny and thrilling plots — there were many such skilled authors, after all.

No, the reason why this book became popular from Russia to Europe, then from Europe to China, was due to the ideas it conveyed.

Zhang Sushang had been born in a prosperous China. Although he had been abandoned in a public toilet just a few days after his birth, it wasn’t long before he was taken home by his adoptive fathers. He was well fed and well clothed since he was a child and both his parents were good people with upright morals who valued diligence and open-mindedness, which made him grow up to be a typical law-abiding boy of the 21st century.

As he read Divine Detective Ilya, Yun Yan thought that Chyushka was a very interesting person — he never seemed to think that women were inferior to anyone else. In the English version that he translated, there was a line: you and I are both human beings, we merely walk different paths.

Chyushka sympathised with this era’s suffering lower class, yet also proposed that suffering was not a justification for committing crimes. He occasionally played some tricks, such as using two cross-dressing men to scare the readers, and then throwing out a couple of progressive ideas while they were laughing and scolding.

This was an author who refused to walk the beaten path but was worthy of respect. Domestic readers all respected Mr. Chyushka and thought that he was indeed worthy of being a writer of the new Russia. Through his writings, they could observe his advanced ideas.

Moreover, the plot itself was quite attractive. Many people picked it up to relieve boredom only to gain a lot, so it could be said to be both entertaining and educational.

Yun Yan believed that it would never be a loss for anyone to read Divine Detective Ilya, and it would even be a pity not to read it, especially for the female students in China who were sent to the new-style schools by their parents, a large portion of whom only did so to increase their daughters’ ‘worth’.

If they wanted these children to realise that they weren’t inferior to anyone, they needed guidance from teachers. Was there any way to guide people better than reading?

Yun Yan was a scholar who loved reading. He believed from the bottom of his heart that reading was the greatest miracle of mankind, so he wanted to let his students, his friends, his relatives, and his countrymen see this masterpiece. This was why he translated Divine Detective Ilya in just half a month and used his connections to send a letter to Chyushka who was far away in St. Petersburg.

As a result, Chyushka replied, and he used neat handwriting to explicitly state that he was a Chinese person.

Let alone the others in the office, Yun Yan himself suspected that he sent his letter to the wrong place where someone with ill intentions impersonated Mr. Chyushka.

Another teacher in the office, Liu Ming, murmured, “H-How is this possible? Mr. Chyushka writes in Russian and his English translations are also selling very well in Europe, how can he be our, our…”

At this point, everyone was filled with disbelief — part surprise, part fear. If it were true, it would be a great joy that a Chinese author could be highly praised abroad, of course they should be proud! But if it were false, wouldn’t their happiness be wasted?!

But he even clearly wrote what school he attended, which class he was in, where he lived, and how to communicate with him, which all showed that he wasn’t afraid of being investigated.

And in order to prove his identity, Zhang Sushang also included the next update of Divine Detective Ilya which would soon be published in the St. Petersburg Morning Post.

Since he was showing it to his people, he gave the Chinese version.

After Yun Yan finished reading Zhang Sushang’s reply, he picked up the manuscript and took a deep breath. “The fourth case of Divine Detective Ilya introduces a thief called Crocodile. This person’s origins are unknown, and neither do the police know his age, gender, or appearance. They only know that he is good at disguising himself, has many identities, and likes to steal rare antiques.”

Zhang Sushang’s fourth case began with a museum director asking the cowardly Detective Ilya to help track down their missing artifacts. In the course of his task, Ilya met many new characters.

For example, Katarina, a single mother who worked at the museum and attended night school during evenings in hopes of being admitted to Kiev State University,1Currently, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and her daughter Sasha.

Another example was an expert in antique appraisal.

Compared with the previous cases, this arc was less thrilling and became more light-hearted, but the content in each battle of wits was richer.

As the novel’s background was slowly revealed, readers discovered that there were two main forces. One was the righteous side composed of lawyers, policemen, and forensic pathologists to which Daria belonged, while the other was composed of Crocodile and his subordinates who stole and smuggled cultural artifacts by various means, very difficult to deal with.

Ilya was the guy unlucky enough to get involved. He did actually find the lost artifact — mostly by accident — and from then on became a thorn in the eyes of the Alligators.

After the case ended, Ilya received his reward and went to a cafe with his partner, where he swore to Vasily, “We’ll never care about these people again.”

Yet at this time, a beautiful woman came up to them and requested to share their table. When they finished their coffees, Ilya and Vasily both fainted.

As for what happened next, Zhang Sushang hadn’t written it yet, so Yun Yan couldn’t read it.

Therefore when Yun Yan finished reading it aloud and everyone’s expressions changed from doubt to eagerness, they asked, “And then?”

“No ‘and then’.”

“Ah?”

“That’s all Zhang-xiansheng sent.”

By the way, Zhang Sushang had praised Yun Yan’s translation in his letter, but in Yun Yan’s opinion, Zhang Sushang’s writing wasn’t bad either. Although he used vernacular a bit too much, it could still be described as concise and refined, and most importantly, it was humorous. The protagonists had fun and made jokes from time to time. It didn’t have Yun Yan’s elegant style, but it gave people a feeling of ‘this is what Chyushka is like’.

“As expected, a translation can never surpass the original. This isn’t the fault of the translator, but because the true writing style can never be imitated. We still have to ask Zhang-xiansheng to do it himself if we want to publish a Chinese Divine Detective Ilya,” he sighed.

Everyone had read both Yun Yan’s and Zhang Sushang’s versions. Although they all had different ideas in their minds, they had to agree that he was right.

After listening to the fourth case sent by Zhang Sushang, they all concluded that what he said was true. After all, only Chyushka himself could write such a wonderful story with Chyushka’s style.

“I never thought that our country would have a writer who can be praised by Europeans!” Liu Ming said, delighted.

Another teacher sighed and stamped his feet. “It’s just a pity that he’s writing about foreign countries. Our great country also has many things worth writing about, it would be great if Zhang-xiansheng could write stories for Chinese people someday.”

For the sake of further verification, they waited another few days until the newspapers in the concession published the newest instalment of Divine Detective Ilya. Everyone couldn’t wait to buy it and take a look, and sure enough, the story was the same as what Zhang Sushang had sent except for being in a different language.

Upon reading it, they had a conclusion in their hearts and soon, the news that Chyushka was Chinese spread from their group.

One mustn’t underestimate teachers. In this day and age, anyone who could read and write had already escaped from the lower castes of society — which of them didn’t have a few powerful classmates, friends, relatives, or elders?

When most people first heard of it, their first reaction was to think that it was a prank, but the person who said it swore that it was true.

“Chyushka really is one of us! I’m not lying!”

So the next day, the news that ‘Foreign Best-Selling Author Chyuskha is a Young Man from Our Country’ made the front page headlines.

Yun Yan immediately wrote another letter, hoping that Zhang Sushang could also send the Chinese versions of the first three cases. However, he had to wait more than a month for a reply, and the first sentence he saw was that the author was too busy to do it.

【Dear Yun-xiong, Sushang is touched by your kindness, but I am too busy to translate. To be honest, I learned figure skating after coming to Russia to keep fit, and I’m now quite good at it. I also met Misha, the silver medalist in figure skating at the previous Olympic Games, and we are currently training together. Misha was injured during jump practice the day before last, so I need to help him with rehabilitation and take him through this year’s competitions…】

The meaning could be summarised as: Yun-xiansheng’s version is good, just use yours, I need to take the injured Misha to compete and have no time to translate.

Yun Yan stared in amazement at the huge amount of information contained within the letter. “Figure skating… what is it?”


Translator:
This novel will be dropped after the next update (chapter 21). My next project is 19 chapters of A World Dominated by Female Zergs by 狐生九影.

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

  • 1
    Currently, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Chapter 19: Chyushka was Chinese from the Start

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

“If, as your coach says, figure skating is an artistic sport, then adding ballet elements will indeed be a good way to improve the viewing experience.” Giselle stepped lightly and made a playful gesture. “You don’t need to actually dance ballet on the ice, but you have to be elegant enough that people understand that you’re a danseur.”

Next to them, Zhang Sushang played The Nutcracker. This was a classic ballet created by Tchaikovsky in 1892, famous for its cute and childlike plot and its reputation as a Christmas ballet. Anyone who had ever seen ballet knew of The Nutcracker.

Its melody was very popular for choreographing dances.

After the song was over, Zhang Sushang said to Misha, “I think The Nutcracker is quite suitable for you, why don’t you use it for your short program?”

He had observed Misha’s skating before. This person was usually introverted but he became much more relaxed on the ice, which matched his lively performances well; it was as if there was a child within him who could only be released while on ice. In addition, his skating was very light, a good match with The Nutcracker.

“I’ll listen to you,” Misha said eagerly.

No one had yet to officially add ballet elements to figure skating, he would be the first!

He firmly believed that he could succeed.

Yes, his body had already been transformed and he had a stronger jumping ability. If he had the help of a good program, he could definitely stand on top of the podium.

In contrast, Zhang Sushang was much calmer. “What about the free skate? You have to have two programs. Do you want both to share a style, or do something different?”

“Uh, I don’t know.”

He habitually looked to Zhang Sushang, hoping for his coach to make the decision, only to be coldly rejected. “You have to choose yourself, Misha,” he said.

Zhang Sushang couldn’t be Misha’s coach for the rest of his life, so Misha must have the ability to choose his own music. Also, Zhang Sushang knew through experience that skaters who chose their music showed both better expressiveness and understanding of the performance.

“How about this, you make a list of the music you want to skate to, then eliminate the ones that aren’t suitable for competition or for your skating, and leave whatever is left for me to see.”

Zhang Sushang clapped his hands, signalling for him to continue practising, then looked at Maxim who was taking notes next to him. “I’ll charge you a coaching fee if you keep doing that.”

“Charge it if you want, I’m not stopping you,” Maxim said cheerfully.

Zhang Sushang reached out a hand. “A hundred rubles.”

“When did you turn into a capitalist?” Maxim glared. “A hundred rubles? That’s daylight robbery! And your lessons for Misha aren’t that expensive!”

“Misha is Misha. He’s learning the basic skills of being a professional athlete, while you want to take away my coaching skills, which is basically teaching you how to do another job. What’s wrong with charging a little more?” he replied confidently.

He seemed to make sense.

Seeing that Maxim really began to consider handing over 100 rubles, Zhang Sushang changed his tone. “But if you buy two pairs of skates for me and Misha each, it’s not impossible for me to occasionally help you take care of Luka.”

Luka was both Maxim’s student and his nephew, they were equally happy to hear this. “Really?” they asked.

“Really.” The two of them had already come to his door to freeload lessons and he couldn’t kick them out, so he might as well get some benefits.

Thinking of this, Zhang Sushang felt a little sad. If this was a hundred years in the future, someone like him — who came from a prominent figure skating family, had an Olympic champion for a father, and had won a silver medal at Junior Worlds himself — could earn at least $1000 per lesson if he became a coach, but now his services could be bought with just two pairs of skates. It was indeed true that people were worth less once they left their hometown, he wasn’t as valuable as before.

“Also, our skates need to be sharpened regularly,” he added, “not mine though, Misha always complains that I sharpen them too much.”

“I’ll help him sharpen them until he’s satisfied,” Maxim agreed. Then he rubbed his hands together again. “You help take a look at Luka’s music when he’s choosing them.”

It was settled.

Zhang Sushang grabbed a muffin that Misha had baked and bit into it. Many ingredients were in short supply, making cakes lack the rich taste of later generations, but fortunately, Misha was willing to use enough butter to make his muffins soft and glutinous.

Orlov, who was passing by and felt a little greedy, kindly reminded him, “Every bite you eat means an extra half hour of dance practice.”

Stuffing the remaining half of the muffin into his mouth, Zhang Sushang mumbled, “One bite.”

This was the highest level of self-deception for people who wanted to lose weight.

When he got home, he put another pot of mutton bones on the boil. He skimmed off the foam, added a few drops of vinegar, coriander, and radish slices, then cut two pieces of rye bread.

Before he knew it, he had adapted to this way of eating Chinese soup with Western bread.

It began to rain outside. As soon as Alexei ran in the door, he smelled a strong aroma of meat. “It smells delicious,” he said with deep feeling.

Seeing him drenched in water, Zhang Sushang threw him a towel.

Alexei thanked him, then carefully took out a large envelope from within his coat. “The landlady asked me to give this to you just now.”

“What is it?” Zhang Sushang asked in befuddlement.

His movements paused when he saw the stamp on the envelope, which was a typical Chinese painting of bamboo in ink.

He carefully picked off the stamp and pressed it in a notebook before opening the letter inside. On it were lines of beautiful Russian handwriting even better than his own.

【Greetings, Mr. Chyushka. My name is Yun Yan, a Chinese reader of Divine Detective Ilya. I live in the Shanghai International Settlement and teach English, French, and Russian. The other day I saw your masterpiece in a newspaper and was deeply impressed by the ideas within, so I had the idea of translating your work into Chiense to let more people read it…】

This was someone who wanted the copyright to the Chinese version of Divine Detective Ilya, and he even sent an excerpt of his own translation. Upon reading it, Zhang Sushang only had one thought in mind: this guy’s writing was much better than his and his words were elegant and refined, to the point that his own Chinese version of Divine Detectvie Ilya might not be as good as this.

When he saw the price quoted at the end, then thought of the current situation at home, he thought that these people were quite willing to bleed.

Divine Detective Ilya was selling very well. Zhang Sushang had calculated his copyright fee before — he only took 10% of the total yet had so much money, the publishers must have made a fortune.

However, although he was ruthless when making money off foreigners, he was kinder towards his own people.

He spread out a sheet of letter paper and wrote a reply in Chinese.

【Yun Yan-xiansheng, hello. I am Chyushka. I’m very happy to have received your letter, and I’m willing to sell the Chinese copyright of Divine Detective Ilya to the Shanghai Evening News you mentioned. The fee doesn’t need to be as high as you offered, half of it is enough. The money also doesn’t need to be sent to me, instead please give it to my friend Zhou-xiansheng from XX Street.

Perhaps you might be surprised that I’m writing to you in Chinese. This is because Chyushka is Chinese — my real name is Zhang Sushang. I’m from the Northeast. I came to Russia last year to study medicine and only wrote Divine Detective Ilya to practice Russian and earn some money. I didn’t expect that it would be so beloved by domestic readers. Your translation is elegant and faithful to the original, much better than mine…】

“Is it from your family?” Alexei asked.

Zhang Sushang shook his head. “This is a letter from someone in China who wants to buy the translation rights for Divine Detective Ilya. He’s from Shanghai, my family is from the Northeast.”

“Will they mail the money to you later?” Alexei asked, blinking. He counted on his fingers: “You’re Chinese, you write books in Russia, the books are sold in China, and finally Chinese readers write a letter to Russia, hoping to translate your book…”

It went in such a big circle.

Zhang Sushang also felt the relationship was a bit circuitous, though he corrected him, “I don’t plan to get royalties from this, I asked them to send the money to someone else.”

“Who?”

“A school, education is the foundation of a country,” he answered casually.

He first got in touch with the international students who were in Moscow through Li Yuan. Zhou-xiansheng was a student who returned to China in May of this year.

Zhang Sushang didn’t have any great abilities himself, but he was full of respect for those who were studying for the sake of the country. If he could give them some help, this trip through time wouldn’t have been in vain.

Communication systems weren’t as developed as of now, so it wasn’t until a month later that Yun Yan received Zhang Sushang’s reply.

When the old man picked the letter up from the mail room near the school gate, he trotted happily all the way to the office, where he couldn’t help but shout, “Everyone! Mr. Chyushka sent a reply!”

Everyone in the office was both readers of Divine Detective Ilya and foreign language teachers. They all stood up in excitement. “He did? Quick, open it up and see what he says.”

Yun Yan cheerfully unfolded the letter and read it aloud.

As he read, their faces all began to look strange.


Author:
I made a mistake when copying and pasting before QAQ [covers face.jpg]

Not using any historical figures, my mom said her mother’s father did some underground work in Shanghai when he was young, his last name was Zhou, and I borrowed it for this article.

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Chapter 18: He’s here to freeload a class

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Since Zhang Sushang went up, Alexei rolled his sleeves up and followed suit.

A little giant of 1.9m and a big guy of 1.8m fought together. In an era where the average height was only 1.65m, the two were like bulldozers. They finished the fight within two minutes with not a scratch on them.

As Zhang Sushang threw the last person away, Alexei approached the victim, wanting to help him up, but he was pushed away.

Only then could Zhang Sushang see this person. He looked around 30 years old, slender, with dark blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and delicate eyebrows.

He glanced at the two of them gloomily and reluctantly curled his lips.

“Thank you,” he said, then stumbled to his feet, obviously wanting to leave.

Zhang Sushang hurriedly blocked him. “You’re hurt? Do you want it looked at?”

“I don’t have money,” the man replied calmly.

Poor people couldn’t afford medical treatment, this statement was just as true in the early 20th century.

Blinking, Zhang Sushang dug into his pocket. Just as the man thought he was going to give him money and prepared himself to reject his kindness, he found that what the young man took out were several square white patches with a strong medicinal smell.

He handed them over. “I like to do sports and I sometimes sprain something. You should apply a cold compress first when you get back, then stick these on. It’s very useful.”

The paste used on the patches was made from a secret recipe passed down in Jiang Jinghu’s family, he only brought 50 to Russia yet almost all of them had been used by Zhang Sushang, causing Jiang Jinghu to search for the ingredients everywhere in order to make more — his dormitory neighbours thought he was practicing witchcraft.

Fortunately, Jiang Jinghu would usually treat them whenever they had headaches, fevers, and light injuries, so with his former patients’ support and another round of boasting about the Jiang family, he was able to avoid experiencing a top-notch sauna treatment on top of a bonfire.

The man took the patches, staring at Zhang Sushang, then turned and walked away.

When he was at least ten meters away, Zhang Sushang leaned an arm on Alexei’s shoulder with a smile. “You know him?”

“I don’t,” Alexei said, glancing at him, before he added, “but I know of him.”

The man’s name was Orlov, and he was once a member of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes — yes, the same ballet company that Nijinsky was part of.

Before Russia’s rebirth in 1917, many ballet dancers were favoured by the rich and powerful. It was normal for them to be passed around as gifts, and they also had to pander to the wealthy elite in order to be sponsored for promotion. This was the dark underbelly of ballet’s hidden rules.

Take the ill-fated Nijinsky for example. After he graduated from dance school, he became the lover of Prince Pavel Lvov until the philandering prince tired of him; a Polish nobleman took him in; and finally, he was sent to the bed of the fat, 35-year-old Sergei Diaghilev.

Another example was Anna Pavlova, who was once beloved by a Tsar.

Diaghilev was a famous Russian artistic director who organised many European tours for his dancers, and founded his own ballet company, the Ballets Russes, in 1909.

He was overjoyed to obtain Nijinsky, and soon invited Debussy and Stravinsky to compose music for him, Fokine to choreograph for him, and Karsavina to be his dance partner… Until Nijinsky could no longer endure his violence and oppressive control, married a wife, had children, and left Diaghilev.

Zhang Sushang had been learning ballet since he was four years old so of course he knew these stories. He understood everything as soon as Alexei said that Orlov had been part of the Ballets Russes.

Bygone societies made people into demons. Nijinsky, who was once praised as a god, was confined to a sanatorium due to schizophrenia, though to say his madness wasn’t related to his life experience was obviously false. Orlov wasn’t as famous a dancer as Nijinsky, but he couldn’t escape the hidden rules either.

“After 1917, some dancers tried to escape from the nobles. Orlov and his wife opened a ballet studio, but he’s so good-looking that there are always people talking about his past,” Alexei explained.

He knew of Orlov because one of his classmates in the Faculty of Physics was Giselle’s younger brother — this person often said that his sister was dragged down by his brother-in-law’s reputation and they weren’t living well now, even though she was such a good choreographer back then.

“Then what you said before isn’t right. It isn’t that Orlov likes men but that he was forced by a man, he’s a victim– wait.” Zhang Sushang’s eyes lit up. “How much does Orlov’s dance class charge? Is his wife’s choreography expensive?”

“Huh?” Alexei asked in confusion.

The big bear found that his flatmate’s attention had never been on Orlov’s sexual orientation, he had only inserted himself earlier because he couldn’t bear to see bullies ganging up on someone. Now, his entire focus was on the choreography fees Orlov’s wife charged.

How could Alexei know these details? Zhang Sushang could only stamp his feet anxiously. “Oh, Misha’s going to participate in Worlds again this year but his program hasn’t been decided yet!”

Misha wanted him to choreograph one for him, but when had he learned how to do this?

Moreover, he asked Misha to join a ballet class to improve his body’s aesthetics, but most ballet teachers only taught children. Misha was already over 20 years old yet he was being asked to learn together with a bunch of children, it wasn’t a surprise to hear that he felt extremely ashamed every day. Although there were one-on-one private lessons available, to quote Zhang Sushang: the quality of those teachers wasn’t worth the price.

High-end ballet schools had entrance exams that were impossible for Misha to pass, Zhang Sushang was more likely to get better results there.

Therefore Misha’s ballet was still being taught by Zhang Sushang, but he also had to attend classes, write his novel, and translate textbooks, he couldn’t devote that much time to Misha. Just as he was worried, an Orlov and Giselle who came from the Ballets Russes fell out of the sky.

Zhang Sushang immediately turned and chased. “Orlov! Wait! Don’t go!”

“Chyushka! Your bike and bread are still here!”

Orlov had only walked half a street away when he heard someone shouting his name. When he looked back, he saw that it was the Chinese young man who helped him just now, and following the Chinese man was a little giant who carried a bicycle on his shoulders.

Orlov was almost scared into running away.

The next day, Misha was summoned to 38 Tamanya St. by his good coach. This place was very remote, if Zhang Sushang hadn’t given him a sense of confidence, he wouldn’t have dared to walk through such a dark alley alone.

“We’re here.”

Zhang Sushang stood in front of a dilapidated door which had a sign hanging next to it: Giselle’s Dance Studio.

“This place looks terrible, Chyushka,” Misha couldn’t help saying.

The conditions in this residential block were much worse than even where Zhang Sushang and Alexei lived, but Zhang Sushang only patted his chest and reassured Misha, “Don’t worry, the inside is clean, and the barre is very sturdy, the teacher put it up themselves. Their teaching ability is also very good, I checked it myself.”

Orlov and Giselle could only afford to rent a place like this as both their workplace and residence. Cooking could only be done in the single kitchen in the entire building, and there was also only one bathroom. Neither hygiene nor environment was ideal, but if they couldn’t attract any students, they wouldn’t be able to afford next month’s rent.

So, after Zhang Sushang finished talking with Orlov yesterday, he left behind half of the 2kg loaf of rye bread.

Misha had a lot of trust in Zhang Sushang. If he dared to say that this place was good, Misha dared to believe it. He pushed the rickety door open, and indeed, the floor was very clean.

Inside was a table, two stools, and a pot filled with withered yellow plants at the end of a narrow corridor. Orlov sat in front of a door. Seeing them come in, he hurriedly stood up, looking a little embarrassed. “Good morning,” he said.

Zhang Sushang introduced them. “Misha Platov, my student, a remarkable figure skater. Misha, this is Orlov, a very good dance teacher, and his wife Giselle is a former ballet dancer who can also choreograph. You try a class with them first.”

Trying out a class was an enrollment technique used by many training institutions in later generations. Students paid little to no money to attend their first class, and whether they could be retained depended on the teacher’s ability.

Zhang Sushang paid 10 kopecks as a trial class fee and asked Misha to put on his dancing shoes and go warm up inside the studio. As he said before, the hygiene inside the studio was fine, the mirrors on the wall were wiped free of dust, and the piano next to the window was old but well maintained.

Mrs Giselle was a blue-eyed brunette beauty who spoke in a soft voice as she politely invited Zhang Sushang to sit on the piano bench, then unceremoniously pointed out Misha’s flaws. “His neck sticks forward like a turtle’s, it’s so ugly.”

“This guy’s lazy, he’s always slouching unless he’s on the ice. I think he’ll turn into a hunchback when he gets old.”

“His hunched shoulders don’t help.”

“So I need your help to turn him into a swan.”

“Don’t hold out hope for a swan, you might be able to do it but not him. He’s better off aiming for a village goose.”

“That’s fine too.” The two weren’t polite at all. Zhang Sushang pressed a few piano keys. “Then let’s start with some barre work. Orlov, will you help Misha?”

With an upright posture, he placed his hands on the keys and a soft tune flowed out. Ballet practice was always accompanied by music because it made it easier for dancers to find a sense of rhythm.

Misha looked at him in astonishment. When Zhang Sushang taught him dancing before, he always shouted instructions or clapped his hands to the beat. He hadn’t expected his coach to have such a skill.

As the piano sounded, Orlov regained some of the feeling of being on stage and his expression calmed down.

Barre exercises meant holding on to the railing installed in the dance studio as you practised basic ballet movements such as the first and fifth positions, crouching, and high and low kicks.

It was a given that these movements were exceedingly boring to practice, but every dancer who ever excelled was built up from this basic training.

Due to the limitations of the time, the difficulty level of ballet movements today was far lower than those of later generations, and not even the parents of many eccentric dancers were born yet. However, all dance movements were inherently a combination of skill, rhythm, and emotion.

Orlov was elegant yet stable. Even his most basic actions revealed good control over his own body, and his foundation was as solid as a steel plate.

During the first set of barre exercises, Misha looked like a duck. During the second set, Orlov patiently adjusted his posture. His temper was much better than Zhang Sushang’s, and his patience and meticulousness made Misha feel the warmth of spring.

He had been completely conquered by this teacher’s style; of course, it would be even better if there were no two extraneous sharp-tongued people like Chyushka and Giselle criticising him as well.

The results of the trial class were naturally satisfactory. After paying for the first lesson, Misha was ready to make arrangements for more private lessons, only to be surprised when he asked about the price.

“So cheap?!”

“We don’t have many students so we can’t raise prices. Young man, your coach found you the most cost-effective ballet teacher in the whole of Russia,” Giselle replied amicably.

“Can it be cheaper?” Zhang Sushang asked.

Giselle glared at him. “Do you want us to starve? We’re all proletariats, why are you so devious?”

“Hey, when I was a kid, I always went out shopping with my family and got used to haggling for everything,” he said sheepishly.

Solving Misha’s problem let him put down a worry in his heart. It just so happened that a new tenant had moved in below his apartment, he was afraid that he might receive a threatening letter slipped underneath their door if he kept jumping around at home. Here, he had another place to practice dancing.

He also suggested something to Orlov and Giselle. “You have to take the initiative if you want students. Make some flyers and wait in front of a primary school, then give them to any parents you see with little girls. Remember to tell them that your first class only costs ten kopecks.”

Giselle took careful notes of his suggestions, but before they could be put into action, they welcomed their second student.

Luka, who once met Zhang Sushang at the ice rink, heard about this place from somewhere and also came for ballet lessons.

Orlov understood clearly: “This person is here to freeload off Chyushka’s classes.”

As Maxim handed over the class fee, he smiled earnestly. “How can you use the word ‘freeload’ to describe learning advanced skills?”


< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Chapter 17: How lonely it is to be invincible

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

A double Axel jump, abbreviated as 2A, required skaters to take off while facing forward, turn 900° in the air, and then land. It was a jump that became popular in the 1990s.

By the way, Zhang Sushang was only six years old when he first learned it.

It was precisely because of his familiarity with this jump that he could pick it up again so quickly after losing weight and practising a few times on land.

Upon landing, he swung his head, thinking that he looked very cool. Meanwhile the onlookers, including his student Misha, only felt that he was unfathomable.

That was a 2A! How could he do it just like that?

Under normal circumstances, didn’t skaters have to skate for a while to gather momentum? Where did this Chinese guy get his strength? Did he eat a bear?

Then everyone watched as Zhang Sushang kept going after standing firm. He raised his feet and jumped again, another 2A. He did this four times in total.

Coincidentally, every time he finished a 2A, his blades drew a quarter circle on the ice. When he finished four 2As, he ended up with a perfect circle.

What terrifying control this was!

After Zhang Sushang finished this set of jumps, he said to Misha, “Learn the new jumps before Worlds starts.”

This wasn’t a negotiation but an order from his coach.

Misha stared at him for a while, then slowly replied, “Yes, I’ll work hard, coach.”

“You don’t need to put pressure on yourself, I’ll help you,” Zhang Sushang said, returning to his usual cheerful mien. Just as Misha was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he added, “But you can’t be too relaxed either. An athlete without any pressure can’t burst out with potential, so I’ll be adjusting the plan based on your situation.”

Misha’s heart rose again.

After getting along for a time, Misha had realised that Chyushka was easy-going yet meticulous during training. In the words of the Chinese student called Jiang Jinghu, Chyushka was a smiling tiger.

He was usually all smiles and cracking jokes, but that all changed if he wasn’t focused when he should be or couldn’t complete the assigned training.

Perhaps it was a natural law that students were scared of teachers just as athletes were scared of coaches — Misha was particularly afraid of Zhang Sushang’s impassive face, so he was very obedient.

Since he was so proactive, Zhang Sushang skated away and began practicing on his own. Compared to the skaters today, Zhang Sushang who had learned all his skills a hundred years in the future had never seriously studied compulsory figures, only using them as an auxillary tool to increase control over his blades’ footwork.

Although Zhang Sushang wasn’t particularly good at jumping, he had been the best at basic skating skills among his age group. Coupled with an elderly coach who had experienced competitions where figures were an official element, he was at least familiar with all the compulsory figures.

It was fortunate this was the case, otherwise he would have no way to compete in this day and age with just his jumping skills.

By now, neither Luka nor Maxim had any objection to Zhang Sushang teaching Misha.

Zhang Sushang was Chinese.

But he could do a 2A.

Misha was Russia’s top figure skater, he couldn’t be handed over to just anyone.

But he could do a 2A.

Zhang Sushang was only 18 years old.

But he could do four 2A in a row, and said he would teach Misha how to jump a 2A!

What they didn’t know was that if Zhang Sushang didn’t exist, the world would only see the first 2A in 1948’s Winter Olympics.

It was currently 1926. If Misha could learn the 2A, and if Zhang Sushang didn’t participate in competitions, then Misha could absolutely sing ‘how lonely it is to be invincible’.1Lyrics from Zhou Xingchi’s song 美人鱼 (Mermaid)

Even if they didn’t know this history, they could easily see how amazing Zhang Sushang was.

“How can this be?” Luka mumbled. “He’s Chinese, his country doesn’t have anyone who can participate in any international competitions, why is Chyushka so good? Do athletes just spring out of the ground there? Is there even anyone who can teach figure skating in China?”

Others also had this question, but they could control themselves better. A middle-aged man wearing green overalls like a factory worker approached them. “Maxim, when I first heard that Misha was bewitched by a foreigner I thought his career was going to go down in flames, but now he’s probably only going to go higher.” He took off his hat and patted it a few times. “I’m someone who believes what he sees. Later I’ll report back that that Chinese boy is excellent, he deserves to be Misha’s coach.”

This meant that he accepted him as a coach.

“I understand, Pyotr Petrovich. I’m very sorry I reported Misha without properly investigating first, I’m willing to accept full responsibility,” Maxim sighed.

“My dear Maxim,” Mr. Pyotr replied, “you were only worried for one of our own, you haven’t done anything wrong. I also only came to take a look. I’m quite happy that Misha was able to find someone he sincerely respects as a coach.”

Zhang Sushang was confused at first, not knowing who this bald uncle was, but the uncle looked very polite, so he stopped to speak with him.

After introductions, he realised that this Mr. Pyotr was an official in charge of sports — not someone with an especially high position, but someone who would help his country’s athletes liase with organisers of international competitions. In other words, he entered their names and arranged itineraries for them.

Mr. Pyotr asked if Zhang Sushang was interested in becoming Misha’s official coach. By official, he meant joining their skating federation.

The Figure Skating Federation of the USSR, in other words, the forerunner of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia, would actively cultivate people with figure skating talent and sponsor them to compete internationally. Figure skating needed money, after all. In a world where most people struggled to get food on the table, where would athletes get meat, eggs, and milk to eat? Where could they find a professional coach to teach them skills?

Maxim, for example, was a coach from the federation. The main reason why Misha lacked a coach thus far was because he was too strong and no coach was able to teach him anything.

Pyotr knew very well that with the current situation, Zhang Sushang’s current ability could only be due to talent as well as hard work. If they could attract him they would be able to give him other athletes to train, raising the entire country’s level of figure skating.

Besides, Zhang Sushang was only 18 years old. If he competed under Russia’s name, they would be able to enjoy glory in figure skating for at least the next decade.

Americans weren’t the only ones able to entice talents, Russia also had their ways. Everyone liked geniuses.

Zhang Sushang blinked. He didn’t expect that just skating casually would get him a pie falling from the sky.

After a long silence, he replied slowly, “Sir, thank you very much for your good intentions, I’m very honoured. But I came here to study in order to help my country. If I accept your offer today, that would be spitting on my original intentions.”

He had no expectations of becoming a hero throughout the ages after time travelling. He was self-aware — the ones who would achieve big things were people like Wu Yeming, Li Yuan, and Jiang Jinghu. As for him, he would be satisfied just having food to eat and clothes to wear, going ice skating once in a while, and surviving until he was 90.

But no matter how hard life was, no matter how the world changed, he had no intention of emigrating.

His motherland was suffering right now, he still wanted to go back and be a doctor after graduating. If he couldn’t save Chinese people, he could at least save the people he could see, right?

Zhang Sushang rejected Mr. Pyotr’s invitation, along with his offer of a staggeringly high salary and the opportunity to immigrate.

After the day of skating practice, Zhang Sushang advised Misha, “Remember to stretch after going home, and also practice the ballet movements I taught you, you’re still a little stiff. Figure skating is the one snow sport where aesthetics are important, so you can’t be stiff. You can only look good when it looks effortless.”

Misha listened seriously. Before he left, he also dug out a big piece of rye bread that he had made himself.

Misha’s rye bread was very thick, just as solid as himself. Hefting it, Zhang Sushang guessed that it might be as heavy as 2kg, which was more than enough to hit someone with.

Thank goodness he rode a bike here.

Bicycles were first invented in 1790 and had become a popular means of transportation. When he walked on the main streets of St. Petersburg, he could always see many people flying by on bicycles.

He also bought one after getting some money. Usually after classes, Alexei would ride the bike while he ran beside him and only sat on the passenger seat when he got tired.

At first, Alexei didn’t dare to ride fast for fear that he wouldn’t be able to keep up, but later he discovered that if he didn’t pedal faster he wouldn’t even be able to catch Zhang Sushang’s shadow.

There were cars available for sale at this time; however, the entire reason Zhang Sushang had travelled through time was due to an incident during a driving lesson. Now he didn’t dare to get behind the wheel even if you gave him a hundred guts.

He didn’t know how good the cars’ shock absorption technology was right now…

Zhang Sushang tied the extra big loaf of rye bread to the back seat and leisurely rode back. On the way, he met Alexei on a street corner, where he was hesitantly watching a brawl going on not far away.

Ringing the bike’s bell, he called out, “Lyosha, what are you looking at?”

Alexei turned with a complex look flashing in his blue eyes. “Nothing. Are you done training? Then let’s go back,” he said as he stood in front of Zhang Sushang.

Zhang Sushang peeked around him and chuckled. “Hey, isn’t it just a fight? There’s nothing to cover up.”

Everyone knew that people from warrior nations all had hot tempers, this wasn’t the first time he saw Russians moved to blows. The most exciting fights all happened during Maslenitsa.2An Eastern Slavic religious & folk festival, traditionally the last chance to participate in social activities before Lent

Surprised, Alexei moved aside. Zhang Sushang observed for a moment with his head tilted. “Huh, why is it a group of people beating up one person? What did he do? Are the others good samaritans or gangsters?”

If it was the former, Zhang Sushang would pretend he didn’t see it and take Alexei home to eat lieba; if it was the latter, he would give a hand.

“The one being beaten is gay,” Alexei replied.

Homosexuality was considered a disease. After being found out, patients would be ‘treated’ via electroshock therapy, lobotomy, and more, which could all easily kill them. In times and places that were more conservative, such things were never uncommon.

“What?” Zhang Sushang looked at his flatmate in surprise. Just as Alexei was about to explain more, his expression changed. “They can’t hit people just for that!” He rolled up his sleeves. “It doesn’t matter who that person likes, if he isn’t eating those people’s food how can they have the right to care about what he does?”

Then, like a Pikachu using Quick Attack, he charged forward with a flying kick.


< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

  • 1
    Lyrics from Zhou Xingchi’s song 美人鱼 (Mermaid)
  • 2
    An Eastern Slavic religious & folk festival, traditionally the last chance to participate in social activities before Lent