Kāng nà felt a lump in his throat, and his nose inexplicably tinged with a bit of sourness. He looked at the female bug in front of him with some confusion.

He didn’t understand why, even after cheating, Gā lè tè still rushed back to celebrate their wedding anniversary with him.

With less than two months until the day he would be poisoned to death, why the grand celebration for their anniversary? What was the point?

Kāng nà’s mind went blank for a moment, until he felt the warm, rough palm of the military female grasp his hand, and he suddenly realized that, deep down in the most secret corner of his heart, he still hoped for some evidence that the military female had once liked him.

Even if it was just a fleeting affection, at least it would mean that his first love had been beautiful, rather than just a calculated scheme from start to finish.

Complex emotions flickered in his dark eyes as he looked at the tall female bug beside him.

So, did Gā lè tè ever like him? When Gā lè tè poisoned him, did he hesitate or feel reluctant at all?

Even if it was just a little bit.

Kāng nà let the military female lead him out of the apartment, but the next moment, he saw the collapsed door and the rose petals scattered in the hallway.

The spark of hope felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over it, extinguishing it completely.

Kāng nà sighed softly, a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

If Gā lè tè had even a shred of feeling for him, he wouldn’t have poisoned him so decisively.

Having died once, how could he still not shake off this bad habit of being love-struck?

Kāng nà’s gaze turned cold again, and taking the opportunity to adjust his suit, he broke free from the military female’s hand and silently boarded the starship.

“Did you break the door at the Lǎo lā house?”

Gā lè tè lowered his gaze and quickly admitted his fault: “Xióng zhǔ, I knocked on the door, but Lady Lǎo lā didn’t open it. I was worried about your safety, so I barged in. I’m sorry.”

Deliberately damaging property and illegally invading a bug’s residence, especially when that residence belonged to a single male bug.

But Gā lè tè just used a single sentence about worrying for his safety to take all the blame on himself, as if he were a troublesome and unreasonable male bug, and all the illegal actions Gā lè tè took were because of him.

How had he never noticed how good the female bug was at shifting blame!

Kāng nà’s chest heaved violently, and he tugged at the white flower decoration around his neck, finally allowing his breathing to ease a bit.

He suppressed the anger in his heart and tried to maintain the gentle and caring love-struck bug persona: “It’s my fault for making you worry. Let’s get the Lǎo lā house door fixed.”

“I’ll have Lái ēn take care of it; you don’t need to worry, Xióng zhǔ.”

• However, the true victim of the door-kicking incident had no mood to care about the barely standing security door.

Because Lǎo lā was nervously holding the smart brain, trying to face the hundred thousand online viewers alone.

[Ahhhh, the streamer is finally back!]
[Quickly connect, my rebellious child hasn’t eaten for three days, just waiting for the streamer to save him!]
[This streamer can really communicate with pets, don’t tell me it’s another scammer!]
[Impossible, the Grand Prince has connected, it’s definitely real!]
[Streamer, hurry up and speak, I’ve sent you gifts!]

Looking at the dense barrage of comments and the dazzling gift effects, Lǎo lā became even more nervous. He cautiously aimed at the screen and carefully said the explanation he had thought about for a long time: “Everyone, today’s connection segment ends here. Next, let me show you my little cat.”

[Looking at cats? Boring, I’d rather watch my Aì shā baby.]
[Exactly, your cat can’t be smarter than Aì shā.]
[Not necessarily, Teacher Máng guǒ can communicate with pets; maybe his cat is smarter than Aì shā.]
[That’s true, I’ll wait and see.]
[Looking forward to it.]

Lǎo lā silently sighed in his heart, gritted his teeth, and opened the room where the three little ones lived: “This is my cat. The calico is called Huā huā, the white cat is called Xiǎo xuě, and the cow cat is called Jǐng zhǎng.”

In the twenty-square-meter room, there was a wooden castle bunk bed by the window, with soft mattresses and macaroon-colored cushions that looked warm and comfortable, though the space was a bit small, making it cramped for adult bugs to sleep.

Opposite the castle bed was a huge tree trunk-shaped cat climbing frame, with small platforms and sisal ropes on each branch for the cats to rest and scratch. The top of the trunk was connected to a cat tunnel made of coir rope, circling the entire ceiling. Besides that, there were several mats and plush toys scattered on the floor, some of which had already been clawed open.

[Wow, this room is so beautiful, it’s even better than my bedroom!]
[What a big wooden cat climbing frame, the cats are so lucky.]
[So where’s the cat bed?]
[On the mats on the floor, I guess.]
[So Teacher Máng guǒ raised the cats and the bug babies together? That doesn’t seem very hygienic; cats can have parasites and infectious diseases.]
[How many times do we have to debunk this? Cat infectious diseases won’t infect bug babies, okay?]

“Bug babies? There are no bug babies in this room, only little cats live here.” Lǎo lā pointed the camera at the bug babies’ bed that the viewers mentioned, “This is the cat bed, with two below and one above, just right for three cats.”

Before he finished speaking, a string of question marks appeared on the screen.

[??? My bed isn’t even this beautiful.]
[My childhood dream was actually realized first by three little cats.]
[Bugs are not as good as cats series.]
[The cats have their own room? Competing with you rich bugs is just unfair!]
[Quick, quick, I want to see the little cats.]

Perhaps because the cat bed was too luxurious, the viewers in the live stream didn’t leave much and were all waiting to see just how smart the pet communicator’s cats were.

“Let me find them.”

Since the three little cats were usually free-range, and there were too many places for them to stay in the room, Lǎo lā jumped around for a long time before finally pulling out the relatively quiet Xiǎo xuě from the tunnel, while the other two were just nowhere to be found.

Lǎo lā carefully placed Xiǎo xuě on the mat, aiming the camera at the little white cat’s pink paws: “Sorry, I don’t know where the other two are hiding. Everyone, let’s make do with Xiǎo xuě for now. They’ll come out when it’s time for dinner at six.”

[Pfft, is this really snow? It looks so dirty.]
[Yeah, it’s way uglier than Aì shā. Don’t you usually wash him?]
[Seriously, can’t you put in a little effort?]
[His fur is all matted; he won’t have fleas, right?]
[So disgusting, I’m outta here.]

“What do you guys know? The little cat hasn’t finished its vaccinations; bathing it now could make it sick.” Lǎo lā huffed angrily, “A bunch of amateurs, don’t give advice if you don’t understand. Besides, my baby has already been de-fleaed; it’s not disgusting, stop talking nonsense!”

Even though Lǎo lā had explained thoroughly, many viewers who were particular about appearances immediately left the live stream after seeing the dirty Xiǎo xuě. The originally hundred-thousand-plus live stream audience dwindled to just fifty thousand.

[By the way, what can Xiǎo xuě do? Can it do math?]
[I saw Aì shā can fetch toys and help Sū shān get snacks; can Xiǎo xuě do that?]
[Aì shā recently learned to dance; let Xiǎo xuě dance too.]

Looking at the various requests on the screen and then at the little white cat lying on the mat, carefree and nibbling on its paws, Lǎo lā felt a headache coming on.

He was still a single male bug, so why was he facing questions about how his own baby couldn’t compare to the neighbor’s baby!

“Well, my Xiǎo xuě is still young; it probably can’t do the things you mentioned.” Lǎo lā scratched his head awkwardly, “But my Xiǎo xuě can lick its paws; that’s pretty cute, right?”

[So it can’t do anything at all.]
[What a waste of time waiting for so long!]
[This is so boring; I’d rather go watch my Aì shā baby.]

At first, the comments were just complaints, but they gradually turned into insults and attacks.

[What a useless thing.]
[A useless bug raising a useless cat.]
[No wonder the streamer previously connected to slander Sū shān for abusing cats; it turns out it’s because he can’t train cats himself.]

Lǎo lā initially held back, but after seeing these nasty comments, his temper flared: “What do you mean useless? Isn’t a little cat supposed to eat and drink? Some streamers will do anything for views, and you still support them; I really don’t know if you have a brain.”

[Hehe, he’s getting anxious.]
[Aì shā is smart; it wasn’t trained to be that way.]
[Some bugs just can’t accept the truth.]

“Smart? No matter how smart a cat is, it can’t do math without training. Even bug babies have to learn math for a while, okay?”

Lǎo lā got into a heated argument with the viewers, and when he casually glanced at the upper right corner, he saw that the live stream, which had originally had fifty to sixty thousand viewers, had dwindled to less than ten thousand, and the gap in points with the third place was constantly narrowing.

The male bug sighed softly, irritably scratching his hair: “The next three and a half hours will just be about cats; you can watch if you want.”

Anyway, Kāng nà said that as long as they finished the competition, it would count as a victory. He was already tired of the insults, so let them do as they pleased.

Lǎo lā set the smart brain on the table, casually picked up the little white cat that was snoring softly, placed it on his lap, and gently squeezed its pink paw pads, only to be unexpectedly slapped by the still-sleepy little cat.

Refreshing!

• In the couple’s private room at Zhēn xiǎng yuàn, the napkins were folded into the shape of a pair of swans, and a pair of red candles sat on the pink tablecloth, with fresh red rose petals scattered on the pristine white plates.

The bug race encourages reproduction, and restaurants like Zhēn xiǎng yuàn, designed for couples, are at the forefront. The private rooms are not only decorated romantically but also feature a genuine leather sofa large enough for two bugs to roll around freely, making it convenient for the male bug to suddenly feel inspired while eating and directly indulge in the female bug.

Alternatively, the female bug could serve as a dish, holding the food while the male bug savored the delicacies and admired the female bug’s beautiful body.

However, as a general, Gā lè tè naturally couldn’t be used as a dish; they were simply there to have a meal.

“Sweet roasted goose, braised beef brisket, salt-baked chicken, blanched Chinese broccoli, and five bowls of rice, thank you.”

After Gā lè tè finished ordering, he handed the menu to the waiter without consulting Kāng nà at all.

The waiter was a bit dumbfounded.

He had served so many couples and had never seen a female bug order food without consulting the male bug.

The most crucial part was that the handsome male bug sitting opposite didn’t seem to be angry at all.

How could such a rebellious female bug find a male master, while he was still single!

The waiter silently screamed three times in his heart, thought for a moment, and still approached Kāng nà: “Sir, would you like to add any dishes?”

Kāng nà was currently looking down at the smart brain to check the recommended dishes from Zhēn xiǎng yuàn.

Since he was already here and had lost all love, if he didn’t eat well, he would be at a greater loss.

“Two roasted squabs, and one Bread Temptation.”

“What is Bread Temptation?”

“Bread filled with ice cream…” Kāng nà was halfway through his answer when he suddenly looked up, “Bread Temptation is the signature dish of Zhēn xiǎng yuàn. You’re the one who booked the restaurant, and you don’t even know this?”

Gā lè tè was taken aback for a moment and casually replied, “The restaurant wasn’t booked by me; it was Lái ēn who found it. Although it’s summer now, eating too much ice cream isn’t good for your health, so let’s skip it.”

After saying that, the military female didn’t wait for Kāng nà to respond and turned to the waiter, “Just those four dishes I mentioned, plus two roasted squabs, and bring them out quickly, thank you.”