Cohen handed the keys to Alvano, signaling him to unlock the restraints for the young lord. Reports indicated that the young lord had no intention of ending his own life; on the contrary, he possessed a remarkably strong will to survive, making the restraints unnecessary.
"My lord, I would like to ask you a question, if I may?" Cohen looked confused.
"Ask away." Fusheng, a candy in his mouth, spoke with a muffled voice and immediately reached out a hand toward Cohen.
"This is your reward, my lord." Understanding the young lord’s intention, Cohen smiled and placed a piece of candy in Fusheng’s palm.
Fusheng looked at Cohen, signaling for him to proceed.
"My lord, why did you jump from the building to end your life yesterday?"
The jumping part was true, but Fusheng didn't agree with the "ending his life" part. He retorted, "I didn't. I just wanted to bask in the sun."
"Bask in the sun?" This was even more abnormal. Everyone knew that Luka Star had two suns; the young lord’s skin was delicate and would certainly get sunburned.
Cohen looked at the young lord’s hands, which were wrapped like crab claws due to the burns, and continued, "Then why didn't you just open the door and go out?"
Fusheng reached out his hand toward Cohen again.
Cohen smiled and produced another candy for him.
"Why would I open the door? Going out the window is much faster." How could a ghost possibly use a door? They always floated in through windows—it was bizarre. Fusheng looked at Cohen with a strange expression.
Fusheng’s gaze gave Cohen the illusion that exiting through a window was a perfectly normal thing to do.
In truth, there was nothing logically wrong with Fusheng’s words, yet they were entirely abnormal.
Having confirmed that the young lord had no suicidal intent, Cohen, who still had work to do, led his assistant away.
Although Fusheng hadn't finished the candy in his hand, he kept his eyes fixed on Cohen’s candy bag until the man disappeared from the doorway.
Alvano unlocked the chains. Fusheng was still busy eating his candy.
Watching the chains fall, Fusheng climbed up, candy still in his mouth, and began jumping happily on the hospital bed, emitting giggling sounds.
Alvano, who had originally intended to kneel, stood up by the bedside instead, spreading his arms to guard Fusheng, terrified that the young lord might accidentally fall.
After a few jumps, the candy in Fusheng’s mouth ran out. He frowned and flopped straight back onto the bed, which gave Alvano quite a scare.
Alvano leaned over hurriedly to check on him, only to find that Fusheng had pulled another piece of candy from nowhere, popping it into his mouth and giggling incessantly again.
Watching the giggling Fusheng, Alvano swallowed hard, his hand gripping the edge of the bed twitching slightly.
Knowing that Fusheng was physically fine, he prepared to return to his corner to kneel.
Fusheng looked at the Zerg silently heading to the corner to kneel and felt a headache coming on. He hadn't asked him to kneel; why couldn't he just be lazy for once? Such a stubborn fool.
"Alvano, stand in the corner. You are not allowed to kneel."
Alvano paused for a moment before standing up immediately. This was the first time Fusheng had called him by his name; he had assumed Fusheng didn't even know it, having spent the whole time calling him "you damn bug" or "filthy bug."
The fact that Alvano obeyed the order to stand without a hint of struggle—so submissive and weak—meant he was well-suited to be his lackey. Oh, no, his subordinate.
He decided right then to reserve a spot for him as his lackey; it seemed like a perfect fit. It was a fated match.
This was a stroke of luck that those other brats couldn't have begged for—he was getting a bargain.
He wouldn't tell Alvano the good news just yet; he needed to test him first.
Swallowing the last bit of candy, he knew the opportunity had arrived.
"Alvano, come here."
Alvano walked over without a second of hesitation and stood still by the bedside. "Does my lord husband have any instructions?"
"Come closer." Fusheng looked around and, with a mysterious smile, beckoned to Alvano.
Alvano leaned in, and Fusheng cupped his hand over his mouth to whisper into Alvano’s ear: "Go and snatch Cohen’s candy. I’ll share one with you later."
After speaking, he cast a glance at the doorway, urging silently, "Go, quickly."
Alvano remained silent for half a minute. In reality, Fusheng’s voice had been quite loud; they were essentially plotting out loud.
Zergs had sharp ears and keen eyes; the military female at the door must have heard everything.
He didn't know why Fusheng wanted to steal; the Kris family certainly had enough money to buy candy for the young lord.
Could it be that after being kidnapped by the Space Pirates for a few days, Fusheng had picked up their bad habits?
Nevertheless, Alvano nodded submissively and withdrew.
Watching Alvano’s retreating back, Fusheng imagined the sight of him returning to offer the candy as tribute.
After Alvano left, Fusheng lay on the bed playing dead, staring at the ceiling and savoring the lingering sweetness in his mouth.
He didn't have to wait long. The sound of the door opening echoed through the room, and Fusheng sprang up from the bed, peering toward the entrance.
Sure enough, it was Alvano, returning with the bag of candy.
Fusheng couldn't wait; he climbed off the bed, didn't even put on his shoes, and ran to Alvano, snatching the bag of candy from his hands.
Looking at Fusheng’s bare feet, Alvano scooped him up by the waist. He couldn't help but think that the young lord really looked like a living, breathing Space Pirate.
Fusheng, clutching the bag of candy, lay against Alvano, grinning so wide he couldn't close his mouth, oblivious to Alvano holding him.
Alvano carried Fusheng back to the bed and wiped his feet.
Once finished, Fusheng flipped over, sat on the bed, kicked the quilt aside, and eagerly dumped the candy out onto the sheets.
"Alvano, the count is wrong!" Fusheng let out an excited, strange cry.
Alvano’s heart skipped a beat at these words, and he looked at Fusheng with a forced smile.
"Alvano, how many bugs did you rob? There are five more candies here than there were in Cohen’s bag!" Fusheng said with a wide grin.
How was that possible? It would be impossible for Alvano to successfully steal from so many individuals.
Fusheng eyed Alvano suspiciously, spotting the wisp of resentment he had left on Alvano earlier. If it had been a violent theft, Alvano would have been beaten, and that resentment would have protected him—but the resentment was still there, and the candy had been stolen.
"Cohen’s assistant had some too, so I snatched those as well," Alvano said, following the lead Fusheng had provided.
Fusheng immediately retorted, "Don't lie to me."
Seeming to think of something, Fusheng jumped a half-meter high off the bed, his resentment surging. He grabbed Alvano by the collar and shouted, "You damn red bug! I only got a few candies for answering questions, so why does Alvano have so many?"
Fusheng stared at Alvano, his eyes wide with disbelief, as if he had been brutally deceived by Cohen.
He tugged at Alvano’s collar, shaking him frantically, muttering over and over, "Why? Why?"
Alvano seemed to sense the core of the problem and immediately changed his story.
"My lord, I also had to answer questions to get this candy."
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Fusheng released his collar. Alvano breathed a sigh of relief, but Fusheng immediately grabbed it again, obsessively demanding, "How many questions did you answer?"
Alvano’s brain raced. Fusheng had answered 10 questions and Cohen had given him 3 candies plus one as a deposit. He definitely couldn't have more than Fusheng.
He looked at the 12 candies on the sheets and replied, "41 questions, and there was no deposit."
Fusheng nodded in realization, released Alvano’s collar once more, and smoothed out the wrinkles on his shirt, muttering, "They didn't even give you a deposit? Otherwise, there would have been 13 candies."
Alvano’s mouth twitched at the remark.
Satisfied, Fusheng sat back down to fiddle with his candy.
"Hey, wait a minute." Fusheng pinched a red candy in his hand.