He, The Scumbag, Has Turned Over A New Leaf. - Chapter 1

Early in the morning, as the sun began to rise, the most prosperous noble villa district on the Insect Planet was exceptionally quiet. Inside a villa with a unique architectural design, a figure moved through the living room.

Tap, tap, tap.

The man was tall and walked with a steady gait, ascending the red mahogany staircase step by step before stepping into a room at the very end of the second floor. The door to the most magnificent room in the house was tightly shut, but it automatically unlocked upon identifying the newcomer. As his gaze probed the interior, the first thing to catch his eye was a luxurious, massive bed that occupied most of the bedroom.

The bed was empty. Ivan’s gaze shifted to the tall figure standing by the window. He did not stop and continued walking toward the window.

“Young Master, the Lord Consort is still in the confinement room.”

Lotte lowered his eyes, standing respectfully behind the B+ rank male insect—a rarity across the entire planet—quietly waiting for a response.

Ivan had his back to Lotte, his gaze vacant as he distractedly stirred his coffee. Hearing the steady, underlying concern in the voice behind him, he nodded calmly. “I know. You may go down first.”

“Yes.”

Although Lotte felt some concern for the former Marshal who had married into the Tushio family only recently, he was nowhere near the point of pleading for him. Upon hearing Ivan’s words, he responded in a low voice and slowly retreated.

Not until Lotte had stepped out of the room did Ivan’s tense expression finally relax. He let out a deep breath, set down his coffee cup, and slumped lazily into a chair by the window, his expression conflicted.

The middle-aged female insect who had just left was the butler of this mansion. He had watched Ivan grow up, and Ivan was terrified of slipping up in front of him. The reason for this anxiety was simple: Ivan was an intruder who had usurped this body.

He had originally been a jewelry designer in the modern world, but he had transmigrated into a novel he had been reading before falling asleep last night, titled The Handsome Lord Consort’s Fierce Love. Moreover, he had transmigrated into a minor cannon fodder character—a character leagues away from the protagonists, existing only to serve as a foil to highlight the protagonists’ beautiful, eternal love.

In the book, the Tushio family ranked among the four great noble families of the Haley Star. He was the only male insect of the Tushio family, and one whose father and mother were both deceased. He possessed wealth that an ordinary insect could not exhaust in a lifetime, and his future was bright. However, precisely because he had grown up without elders to guide him, Ivan had developed a life of luxury, dissipation, and a cruel, violent temperament.

Recently, the system had forcibly matched him with a female insect who was unsatisfactory in every way. Ivan, feeling extremely displeased, had beaten the insect half to death on their wedding night and had kept him locked in the confinement room ever since.

The Lord Consort mentioned just now by Butler Lotte was none other than that female insect—his newlywed and never-before-seen spouse, the disgraced Marshal, Tuovis.

Oh, right. Tushio Ivan was the male insect Ivan had transmigrated into.

In the book, due to Ivan’s sadistic nature, he eventually died during Tuovis’s mental power berserk state.

Ivan reviewed the novel’s plot, took a sip of the now-cold coffee, stood up, and let out a sigh of relief. He decided to pay a visit to the Marshal first.

Despite the interstellar setting, the Tushio villa displayed a distinct Chinese style, which gave Ivan a subtle sense of familiarity. He walked slowly down the red mahogany stairs, passed through the magnificent living room, and entered a courtyard filled with various flowers and plants that Ivan could not name.

This romantic and beautiful scenery only made Ivan frown. He quickened his pace, but it was too late; as he reached the center of the courtyard, he could not help but let out a massive sneeze.

Ivan covered his nose with his sleeve and walked quickly toward the confinement room.

In the entire villa, there were no other insects besides Butler Lotte. Ivan was a newcomer and did not know the location of the confinement room, nor did he dare to ask Lotte for fear of exposing himself. Fortunately, after two days of exploration, he had become familiar with a smart robot that knew every detail of the villa: Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi was silver-white all over. Its base was tray-shaped, much like a robotic vacuum, which allowed it to glide across the floor. Naturally, with the power of interstellar technology, Xiao Yi could also fly through the air.

Passing through the dense foliage in the courtyard, Ivan looked up and saw Xiao Yi, which possessed a pair of mechanical wings, flying rapidly from the backyard, bypassing the thick plants.

The backyard was vast, and there was a hidden door in an inconspicuous corner—the entrance to the underground confinement room. He followed Xiao Yi forward step by step.

As he rounded the corner, a faint sense of nervousness rose in Ivan’s heart. Upon nearing the hidden door, he saw a golden mushroom squatting there. Ivan paused.

The little golden mushroom let out a muffled, whimpering sob. Ivan walked to its side to observe, only to see the mushroom spring up in alarm, revealing a pair of teary, swollen, golden eyes. Ivan looked at the little male insect, who was not even as tall as his leg when he stood up, and a sense of pity stirred in his heart.

“Arie? Why are you squatting here crying?”

This golden-haired, golden-eyed little male insect was Tuovis’s younger brother, and the only insect in this world that Tuovis could not let go of.

In the book, Tuovis had begged Ivan on their wedding night to bring back Arie, who had been left in the capital star. He was harshly rejected and beaten by Ivan. Although Ivan eventually brought Arie back after locking Tuovis in the confinement room, he ignored the boy and even harbored intentions of abusing him. This was the primary spark that led to the hatred between Ivan and Tuovis later on.

As Ivan’s concerned words were spoken, Arie’s tears flowed even more fiercely. His mouth was clamped shut, and he wept silently, his face full of grievance and fear.

Ivan paused. The reason this golden-haired, golden-eyed little male insect was here and crying so miserably was obvious.

Looking at the tearful little Arie, Ivan often felt the illusion that he was bullying a child. He rubbed his forehead helplessly, squatted down to comfort him, and said, “Stop crying. I will let your brother out right now.”

Hearing this, little Arie tried hard to stifle his sobs. Though his eyes remained timid, he mustered the courage to ask, “Really?”

“Really.” Ivan reached out to gently wipe the tears from Arie’s face and smiled, saying, “Go wash your face first. When your brother comes out later and sees you with a face full of tears, he will surely worry. So, before he comes out, go wash your face, okay?”

Arie stopped sobbing, half-believing him.

He had been in this villa for three days, unable to see his brother or any other insects. Although this stranger in front of him had picked him up from the nursery, he had already deeply understood over the last three days that the beautiful big brother who smiled so prettily was not easy to get along with.

Ivan did not care what the little golden-haired boy thought and instructed the small robot secretary beside him, “Xiao Yi, take little Arie back to wash his face and have breakfast.”

“Understood, greatest handsome insect in the universe.”

Xiao Yi’s bewitching, hypnotic voice rang out. Ivan’s mouth twitched; he made a mental note that he must find an opportunity to change Xiao Yi’s bizarre voice and this skin-crawling title.

Arie did not want to leave—he wanted to see his brother with his own eyes—but he had no choice but to follow Ivan’s command. He followed Xiao Yi back to the villa, looking back every few steps.

Having resolved the minor trouble, Ivan breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and used the key in his pocket to open the door to the confinement room.

Yes, a key. You read that correctly. Even Ivan had not expected that in such a high-tech era, the Tushio family’s confinement room would still use a keyed lock.

The hidden door let out a creak. Ivan looked inside. First, he saw a flight of stairs leading downward, and beyond that, an abyss of darkness.

Ivan stooped, carefully feeling his way into the gloomy confinement room.

The further down he went, the thicker the pungent smell of blood became. Ivan frowned and turned on the flashlight on the light-brain on his wrist, taking it one step at a time.

The smell of blood grew more concentrated. Near the end, Ivan realized that the confinement room actually had lights, so he pressed the button on the wall to control the light source.

Piercing white light filled the room. Ivan squinted reflexively and was immediately dazzled by the setup of the confinement room.

Ivan had originally imagined the confinement room would be like the dark rooms in feudal noble families where children were locked up when they made mistakes. However, when he saw what was before him, he froze.

The pitch-black walls were covered in various instruments that made one blush; among them, the whips were the most prominent—leather, barbed, long, short—they had everything.

Ivan walked forward, looking shocked, and picked up a blood-stained barbed whip from the table, feeling a sense of dread.

Was his Lord Consort all right?

As he stood in the center of the confinement room, confused, a suppressed groan came from a corner by the table.

Ivan turned vigilantly, only to see an insect kneeling in the corner by the table.

The insect’s hair was disheveled, and he was kneeling on the ground with his head slightly bowed. His white shirt was stained and messy, and his muscular, well-defined upper body was covered in whip marks. His arms were bound behind his back by silver handcuffs, and he wore a black, metallic-sheened collar around his neck. At the very moment he saw Ivan, he bowed his head even lower.

Ivan guessed that this must be his never-before-seen Lord Consort—Tuovis.

Tuovis had originally been resting in the corner. When he heard movement at the door, he knew Ivan had come. He had intended to stay silent and endure it, but when he saw Ivan pick up a whip, Tuovis’s anxious heart finally plummeted to the bottom.

Taking the initiative to speak was better than passively waiting to be punished. Having not spoken for three days, he said in a hoarse voice, “Please punish me, Master.”

He did not care how Ivan tormented him. He was a female insect; his skin was tough, and he could withstand the pain. He only hoped that after Ivan had vented his frustration on him, he would help him find his younger brother.

Having not had a drop of water for so many days, even a female insect with top-tier physical strength could not endure it. Tuovis thought dully about when, at what angle, and with what force the whip would fall, waiting in the oppressive atmosphere for the punishment of the male insect he had only seen once on their wedding night.

Ivan did not know that Tuovis had thought so much in such a brief moment. At this very moment, he was also burning with anxiety.

Based on the current situation, this disheveled female insect kneeling on the ground must be the Lord Consort who had never met him yet already harbored hatred toward him. Ivan could not help but feel deeply worried about his future life.

He had transmigrated into a cannon fodder, transmigrated into a male insect, and as a cannon fodder male insect, he had beaten up the Imperial Marshal. What should he do? Waiting online—it was urgent!

The atmosphere in the confinement room was exceptionally oppressive. Or rather, the atmosphere between the two insects was exceptionally oppressive.

“Ahem.” After a moment of thought, Ivan put down the whip and decided to adopt a gentle approach.

“These past few days, I have given it some thought. I was wrong to hit you previously; beating an insect does not solve problems, and marrying me was not your original intention. How about this: if you want to dissolve the marriage, we will find a way together. If you do not want to, let us live our lives properly from now on.”

While speaking, Ivan kept staring at the insect kneeling on the ground, observing his reaction. Who would have thought that the insect on the ground would show no reaction to his words? As someone skilled in observing micro-expressions, Ivan even sensed that the insect’s despair had grown darker.

“Tuovis has no ulterior motives. Please punish me, Master.”

As he spoke, Tuovis’s back bowed even lower. If his hands had not been bound by the handcuffs, he would have bowed all the way to the floor.

Ivan frowned, not understanding Tuovis’s reaction. But since words were not working, he decided to take direct action.

Ivan walked forward, bent down, and unlocked the silver handcuffs. Naturally, during this process, Ivan continued to observe Tuovis’s emotions. Once he saw Tuovis’s emotions become unstable or show signs of a mental power berserk state, Ivan would flee immediately—preserving his life was paramount.

Fortunately, when he approached, although he could clearly sense Tuovis’s muscles tightening, there was no sign of resistance.

After confirming that Tuovis’s emotions were stable and he would not suddenly explode and kill him with his mental power, Ivan’s tight heart relaxed slightly. He threw away the handcuffs, supported Tuovis’s arm, and a smile appeared on his face with a gentle voice.

“Do not worry, I mean every word I say. When we go out, how about we let bygones be bygones?”

Tuovis felt uneasy, unable to fathom what kind of trick Ivan was playing, but he still followed his guidance and stood up.

As Tuovis stood up, Ivan finally saw his face clearly.

His features were well-defined, his nose bridge was high, and although his eyes were slightly lowered, one could catch a glimmer of light within them. There was a faint whip mark on the side of his dark cheek, which did not affect his heroic and handsome appearance at all.

Ivan raised an eyebrow. His cheap Lord Consort was not ugly at all; why had the Ivan in the original book been so disgusted by him? Ivan, unable to figure it out, stopped thinking about it and turned to walk outside.

“Let us go.”

But before he could take a single step, a gust of wind came from behind him.