He, The Scumbag, Has Turned Over A New Leaf. - Chapter 10

When Arui returned and saw Tovis, he shouted with excitement and clung to him, his happy laughter echoing throughout the villa.

After the family finished dinner and Arui was tucked into bed by Lotte, Tovis and Ivan retreated to the study to catch up on everything that had happened during their time apart.

“So, the energy mineral extraction rights for Harley Star have been handed over to Cui Li?”

Ivan leaned against the desk and replied, “Yes. The extraction yield is extremely low anyway, so keeping them would be like having nothing at all. Giving them to Cui Li is just a matter of convenience.”

Although Tovis heard Ivan’s explanation, he remained skeptical. Extraction rights were incredibly precious. Even if the yield on Harley Star was not massive, it was far better than nothing. Once even a single load of ore was extracted, it would be a hot commodity with no market price.

Sitting across from Ivan with a coffee table between them, Tovis’s thoughts drifted. Who exactly wants to harm me? And how can I ever repay Ivan for this kindness?

A tempting, irritating pheromone scent drifted through the room. Ivan’s voice broke the silence near Tovis’s ear.

Ivan patted Tovis on the shoulder and said encouragingly, “Alright, stop overthinking it. You have just come back, so get some rest.” There was a strange smell in the study that made it difficult for Ivan to breathe, so he left Tovis to his contemplations and departed.

After Ivan left, Tovis returned to the bedroom. Seeing the small, soft lump on the bed, he brushed aside his chaotic thoughts, moved softly, and lay down next to his younger brother to sleep.

Ever since Tovis was successfully ransomed, Ivan and Tovis had lived in the villa with mutual respect.

In this society, it was common for males to seek new partners, but it was almost impossible for a female to leave their master voluntarily. Upon learning that the only way to annul a marriage was to have the female spouse stripped of status and sent to military court for crimes, Ivan gave up on the idea.

Instead, he began to practice his elusive mental power. Every morning after his run, Ivan would use his mental power to dry the water off his body after showering. Over time, his control over his mental energy improved significantly.

The only drawback was that Ivan often detected a faint, lingering pheromone scent coming from Tovis lately. Through some last-minute research, Ivan learned that female pheromones are typically contained within the body. If they could be detected by others, it indicated that the female’s mental state was in flux and the pheromones were becoming difficult to control.

Ivan was constantly on edge, but he dared not bring it up. Although he no longer abused Tovis like the original Ivan in the book, he currently had no ability to help Tovis calm the mental storm raging in his mind.

Ivan stood at the kitchen doorway, fretting. He had looked it up online and discovered that relieving a female’s mental instability required not only the male’s mental power but also deep interaction between the two.

Upon learning the method, Ivan felt completely helpless. Despite having worked in the fashion and jewelry industry where he knew many gay men, he was a straight man himself. After transmigrating to this world, he felt zero romantic attraction to female Zergs.

He had been agonizing over this for days.

Just as he was standing there, staring blankly into his coffee cup, Arui’s small, milky voice came from the doorway.

“Brother, Brother, what are you eating?”

After living together for some time, Arui’s address for Ivan had evolved from a stranger to “pretty big brother,” and finally to just “Brother.”

Arui scurried toward Ivan like a little cannonball. Ivan quickly set down his coffee, squatted, and picked up the milky little male.

Tovis was currently off-duty and did not have much to do, so he rarely stayed more than ten meters away from Arui. As soon as Ivan picked the boy up, Tovis emerged from the hallway. The two men locked eyes, Ivan offered a greeting, and then he answered Arui. “Brother is drinking coffee. It is bitter; children cannot drink it.”

Arui clearly did not believe him and clamored to try it. Ivan, believing in learning through experience, dipped a spoon into the coffee he had prepared for Tovis and held it out to Arui.

Arui’s big golden eyes stared hungrily at the brown liquid on the silver spoon. He snatched it and put it in his mouth. In an instant, his big eyes squinted shut, his light brows furrowed, and he lost all control over his facial expressions.

Ivan laughed heartily at the sight. Tovis walked over, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.

“Let’s have breakfast.”

Ivan, finished with his fun, put away the spoon and carried the pouting Arui toward the dining room.

Tovis walked over to the coffee cup prepared for him. He frowned imperceptibly but drank it all down as if he were facing death. He had never tasted the stuff in his life. Even though his female father was a commander on Dark Earth Star and he had been a Marshal, females were not treated as delicately as males; they usually just consumed nutrient paste. He did not understand why males drank something that tasted even worse than nutrient paste.

As the bitterness spread in his mouth, Tovis poured himself a glass of water, finished it, and then headed to the dining room.

After a quiet breakfast, Tovis took Arui to play in the dirt in the yard, while Ivan began preparing for the energy mine handover.

Harley Star was small, but it was a web of interlocking forces. Every year, the four noble families held competitions to decide who would hold the extraction rights. Saving Tovis was a small matter compared to helping Cui Li secure those rights.

Actually, Ivan wanted to give up. Now that Tovis was back, as long as they acted cautiously, they should not be targeted again. However, he knew that a thief might stop for a day, but one could never stop guarding against someone plotting in the shadows. It was better to help Cui Li obtain the extraction rights as promised, follow that lead, and gradually uncover the mastermind.

Ivan was currently researching the relationship network of the four families and the details of the annual competition. According to the Star Network, the four families were the Pushiu family (Ivan), the Kingsby family (Ace), the Huba family, and the Doer-ye family.

The Huba and Doer-ye families were notorious for being at odds, fighting over resources and politics. Because their power was so great, their methods were cruel, and the casualties were high. Compared to them, the Pushiu and Kingsby families were relatively weak, and surprisingly, their relationship with the other two was not too bad.

After understanding the situation, Ivan was even more confused. Why did the Pushiu family, who were essentially at the bottom of the hierarchy, win the extraction rights last year?

With this question in mind, he searched for the history of the competitions and the secrets of the four families.

After reading through the reports, Ivan finally understood: his family had simply lucked out. During the previous year’s competition, the Huba and Doer-ye families were locked in a vicious struggle. The Pushiu and Kingsby families had sent Ivan Pushiu and Ace, respectively, to compete. Somehow, the two decided to settle the entire competition by rolling dice. Most importantly, Ivan Pushiu had won. Meanwhile, the Huba and Doer-ye families had assassinated each other’s competitors the night before the finals, causing both to be disqualified.

Understanding the cause and effect, Ivan could not help but laugh.

After closing the gossip columns, Ivan looked at the past competition results and noticed that while the challenges were different every year, the Huba family was usually the winner.

He decided he would have to find a time to visit Cui Li again. To help him win the rights, he needed more inside information.

“Uncle Lotte!”

Ivan set down his light-brain and ran to the yard to find Lotte to arrange another appointment.

Lotte was busy building a mud hut with Arui. Upon hearing Ivan’s request, Lotte smiled. “Young Master, if you want to know about these things, you can just ask me. Why go through the trouble of bothering Commander Cui Li?”

Lotte’s words struck Ivan like a bolt of lightning. Of course! Since Lotte was a member of one of the four families, how could he not have access to more detailed clues than those available on the Star Network?

Ivan realized his mistake and said, “Uncle, please gather all the information regarding the four families and the energy mine extraction rights and leave it in my study.”

“Very well.”

Lotte left to complete the task. Ivan was about to go back and organize his thoughts when Tovis suddenly called out to him.

Arui was focused on his mud castle, so Ivan followed Tovis to the shady corner of the courtyard.

“What is it?” Ivan asked, feeling puzzled.

Tovis looked at him with deep eyes. “If you regret it, I can help you take back the energy mine extraction rights.”

Ivan froze for a moment, then laughed. “Do not overthink it. Whoever gets the extraction rights depends on the competition results. If I need your help later, I certainly will not be shy about asking.”

Under the sun, Ivan smiled boldly.

Tovis’s calm and steady composure faltered. His thoughts went blank; Ivan’s smile seemed to hold the warmth of the sun, burning straight into his heart.