Inside the hastily erected tent, Lu Xunzhi and Arcius stared at one another, the air thick with hostility. Pu Xin yawned softly and, coaxed by Qi Xia, had already fallen asleep in the hovercar.
Her heart was big and carefree. Convinced that she had already found her second little one, she slept soundly without a single worry, completely unaware that a century-level confrontation was about to erupt in the nearby tent.
Doctors summoned by both sides arrived at the tent at the same time. When it came to matters concerning his foolish mother, Lu Xunzhi was never careless. There was absolutely no way he would entrust the DNA test to anyone else. Besides, Arcius was a man full of lies. At the auction earlier he had already used petty tricks in an attempt to win his mother’s favor. Who knew what he might do to the DNA test results?
He spoke first.
“Mr. Arcius, extend your arm. I need to collect your blood for a DNA test.”
His distrust was practically written across his face.
Arcius showed nothing but disdain. The gentle elegance he had displayed in front of Pu Xin vanished instantly. With a cold laugh, he crossed one leg over the other.
“Major Lu, you should know that I cannot trust you either. I have a complete medical team. A trivial matter like DNA testing won’t trouble you.”
This tyrannical brute had a narrow mind and always liked to assume the worst about him. Just thinking about the possibility that he might actually be brothers with him made Arcius break out in goosebumps.
“What a coincidence. Your character isn’t trustworthy either. My mom is simple and easy to fool. I won’t argue about what happened earlier, but you’d better understand that my mom isn’t someone whose feelings you can toy with.”
Their gazes collided again in midair, sparks flying as neither side was willing to back down.
After a short standoff, the two men turned their heads away at the same time and snorted coldly in unison.
Qi Xia secretly glanced at his major, while Rot cautiously peeked at his own CEO.
Both of them were horrified to discover that Major Lu and Arcius actually looked seventy to eighty percent alike. That resemblance slowly overlapped with the sleeping Little Dandelion in the hovercar. Yet the two men who held deep grudges against each other seemed completely unaware of it.
Recalling how Pu Xin had linked arms with both of them earlier, Qi Xia quietly took a step back, activated the camera on his smart device, and, under Rot’s wide-eyed stare, secretly snapped a photo. He decided to show it to Pu Xin after she woke up.
Lu Xunzhi and Arcius, who loathed the sight of each other, noticed none of this. Qi Xia ignored Rot’s glare and even raised his chin slightly in smug superiority.
Foolish employee. The lady of the house was the key to the future.
Rot curled his lip dismissively and turned his head away.
After a moment of stalemate, Arcius curled his lips.
“If I refuse to let you take my blood, what will you do? Use force?”
Lu Xunzhi was perfectly capable of doing that. Having once been roommates at Imperial Capital University, Arcius knew exactly how rough he could be. He lifted his chin arrogantly. Only idiots relied on brute force to solve problems.
Of course, a capitalist would never admit that sometimes violence was the fastest way to reach a goal.
Lu Xunzhi scoffed at his pretentious behavior.
“Whether you take the test is your choice. Anyway, I’m definitely my mom’s biological son. You, on the other hand, might not be.”
He flaunted his certainty and looked down at Arcius with contempt, mocking his shameless attempt to claim someone else’s mother.
Arcius felt slightly stifled, but until the DNA test was done he truly could not confirm whether he and Little Dandelion had a parent-child relationship.
He had never imagined that one day he would desperately want to acknowledge a woman who had never appeared in his life as his mother… no, an alien species.
In the Empire, hybrids between humans and alien species or between humans and the insect race were considered a sin. Even the emperor’s own child would receive nothing but hatred.
Arcius had once hated the mother who gave birth to him yet whom he had never met, hated her for being an alien species. But as he grew older he realized that the person he should hate was not his mother, nor anyone else.
People were bullied because they were not strong enough.
When he gained immense wealth and power, those who had once mocked him crawled humbly at his feet. Their greatest courage was merely to curse him viciously in dark corners where he could not see.
The role of “mother” gradually faded from his world.
Yet when the image of Little Dandelion’s star-filled eyes flashed through his mind, Arcius found that he simply could not walk away. The yearning in his heart nailed his feet firmly to the ground, even making him tolerate Lu Xunzhi’s sarcastic remarks.
Not long ago she had held his hand sincerely and stubbornly, happily repeating his name like a childish little ghost. He couldn’t look away. His heart had softened, and he wanted her to be his mother.
Arcius was a true predator. Since childhood he had always found ways to obtain whatever he wanted. As he grew older he became more restrained, often using money to achieve his goals, but that did not mean he had forgotten how to take things by force.
He clearly understood that he wanted to stay by that little dandelion’s side.
To obtain what he wanted, a bit of grievance meant nothing.
Arcius rolled up his sleeve and extended his pale arm to his attending physician.
“Please draw my blood for the DNA test.”
Lu Xunzhi let out a soft laugh.
“With only your blood, how do you plan to do a DNA test?”
Arcius froze mid-motion.
A long-unfamiliar sense of frustration rose in his chest. Gritting his teeth, he turned to the doctor Lu Xunzhi had summoned.
“Please conduct the DNA test.”
But without Lu Xunzhi’s order, the doctor did not dare move.
Lu Xunzhi felt satisfied. Pulling open his coat, he sat down comfortably.
“You don’t need to worry about me falsifying the DNA results. After all, I’m not like certain capitalists with zero credibility. Besides, if you really become my mom’s son, you’ll have to call me big brother.”
Back then the little wolf cub had caused endless trouble and always dragged him into it. He had helped him several times without even receiving a thank-you. Even after all these years the brat still acted immature and kept looking for trouble with him. It was time to teach him a lesson.
With the initiative firmly in his hands, Lu Xunzhi leisurely tapped the table with his finger.
“Come on. Call me big brother and let me hear it.”
Arcius: “…”
He had acknowledged a mother before even confirming she was really his mother. Now he had walked straight into a trap.
His gaze flickered dangerously, clearly on the verge of exploding. Rot quietly stepped back, calculating when he should retreat completely to avoid getting caught in the crossfire if the two started fighting.
Lu Xunzhi, meanwhile, felt extremely pleased. In terms of fighting, Arcius was not his match. In terms of age, Arcius had to call him brother. The frustration of the night disappeared instantly. Major Lu even felt that having a cheap younger brother wasn’t such a bad thing.
His finger tapped the table casually. Just when he thought Arcius would never give in, the latter suddenly smiled.
“Brother.”
Lu Xunzhi: “?”
The guy’s temper softened that quickly?
It seemed his foolish mother had an even greater influence than he had imagined.
Lu Xunzhi stretched his long legs comfortably.
“The DNA test hasn’t even been done yet. Don’t call me so fast.”
He had taken advantage and was still acting modest. Yet Arcius showed no anger at all. Instead, he looked strangely obedient.
“It doesn’t matter even if the DNA result hasn’t come out yet. Mom definitely wouldn’t mistake me for someone else. Tonight… could I stay at your house so I can spend more time with her?”
This was completely unlike Arcius.
Lu Xunzhi instinctively sensed something wrong. When he looked directly into Arcius’s eyes, he discovered that reflected within them was a light green figure.
Little Dandelion had gotten out of the hovercar at some unknown moment. Still half asleep, she had wandered over and now stood behind him with her head tilted, looking confused.
Lu Xunzhi shuddered and instantly swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue.
He sneered inwardly.
He knew Arcius was a scheming bastard.
He immediately stood up to coax his foolish mother back to the hovercar. But she suddenly dashed past him barefoot, rushed to Arcius, and hugged him tightly.
“Little one… little one…”
She murmured softly like a fluffy ball, rubbing against him repeatedly.
Lu Xunzhi froze as the little breeze brushed past him. Hearing her coquettish voice, his face darkened instantly.
Qi Xia sensed danger immediately and retreated several steps.
Arcius allowed Pu Xin to rub against him. Though he had never been this close to someone before and his body remained stiff, being held again by Little Dandelion was not as unpleasant as before. In fact, it was somewhat comfortable.
Pu Xin leaned against the chair while hugging him. Arcius instinctively placed one arm around her waist to prevent her from slipping to the ground.
She seemed not fully awake, murmuring “little one” repeatedly. Arcius found her extremely adorable and responded softly.
Little Dandelion hugged him even tighter, her murmurs gradually calming as if a child who had been comforted from a nightmare.
Sensing the change in her mood, Arcius hesitated briefly before gently patting her shoulder.
“I’m here.”
This harmonious scene of mother and child deeply stimulated Lu Xunzhi. Jealousy surged through him like sour lemons. He wanted nothing more than to snatch his foolish mother back from Arcius’s arms.
Arcius clearly sensed the sour jealousy in the air and raised an eyebrow smugly at him. His movements became even gentler.
Pu Xin liked the comfort very much. Her frown relaxed and her half-open eyes closed obediently, as if she might fall asleep right there in his arms.
Arcius carefully lifted the “immunity token” in his arms and said softly to the vinegar-filled Lu Xunzhi,
“Major Lu, may I stay overnight at your house now?”
He was not only going to sour this lemon to death, he was going to swagger into his house while carrying his mother, repaying the earlier humiliation.
Since Pu Xin had already fallen asleep in Arcius’s arms, Lu Xunzhi had no choice but to endure it, even if he was drowning in jealousy. His mother had been busy all night and had helped the National Security Bureau tremendously. He couldn’t bear to wake her.
Snorting coldly, he dropped the ridiculous demands and walked toward the hovercar first.
Arcius followed behind with the feather-light Little Dandelion in his arms, a smile unconsciously lifting the corners of his lips.
Having a mother didn’t feel bad at all.
Though she was small, naive, and foolish enough to be easily deceived, that didn’t matter. He was more than capable of protecting her.
Thinking this, Arcius tightened his arms slightly to ensure he held Pu Xin securely.
Neither the jealous lemon walking ahead nor the smug childish ghost behind noticed that the obedient Little Dandelion nestled in his arms secretly opened her eyes for a peek before quickly closing them again to continue pretending to sleep.
She was a little worried.
Her little ones behaved well in front of her, but when alone they were like two lit firecrackers, constantly provoking each other. It was extremely childish.
Unfortunately she couldn’t think of a way to make them get along. Her mind became tangled like a ball of yarn. Tilting her head, she soon truly drifted into sleep.
The hovercar stopped at the house. Arcius had carried the foolish mother the entire way. Lu Xunzhi’s jealousy nearly froze the air around him.
Finally, when they got out of the car, he said through gritted teeth,
“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Arcius. Please give my mom back to me.”
He extended his arms to take her.
But Arcius easily turned aside, avoiding him, and lowered his voice solemnly.
“Keep your voice down. Don’t wake Mom.”
He stood on the moral high ground of caring for their mother while giving Lu Xunzhi a disdainful look.
Lu Xunzhi: “…”
What a shameless man.
Hearing Lu Xunzhi grinding his teeth, Arcius felt even better. Holding the soft Little Dandelion, he walked forward under Lu Xunzhi’s murderous gaze.
Since he had no permission to open the door, he turned and signaled for Lu Xunzhi to do it.
Lu Xunzhi’s hair nearly stood on end from anger. Yet when he saw the foolish mother sleeping sweetly, his anger deflated instantly like a punctured balloon.
He opened the door irritably and led Arcius into his private residence. Qi Xia and Rot followed behind.
The two subordinates occasionally exchanged glances and both saw the same thought in each other’s eyes.
Their Major / CEO might only be three and a half years old this year.
After placing Pu Xin in the large green-themed bedroom Lu Xunzhi had decorated for her, the two men left quietly.
Later that night, leaning against the wall outside her room, Lu Xunzhi asked coldly,
“Mr. Arcius, shouldn’t you explain why you appeared at the underground auction?”
Even though Arcius had not participated in the final bidding, someone of his status had no reason to attend such an auction unless he had originally come for the alien species trade.
Arcius folded his arms.
“A partner I met recently invited me. I thought it was a normal auction and came to take a look.”
Lu Xunzhi didn’t believe him at all.
Soon he revealed the real reason for his suspicion.
“National Security just discovered that the auction house used to belong to the Aaron Group. As its former owner, don’t you think you owe an explanation?”
Arcius spread his hands calmly.
“Major Lu, do you know how large my corporate empire is? The Aaron Group launches countless projects every year. Do I have to personally inspect every company we acquire?”
Then he countered coolly.
“Can you guarantee every soldier under your command is completely clean?”
The argument was so convincing that Lu Xunzhi could only stare at him.
Finally he snorted. “Come downstairs and give your blood.”
Two hours later, after the DNA samples were taken and sent to the hospital, both men waited for the results.
The result eventually arrived.
Arcius and Pu Xin had a confirmed parent-child relationship.
Later that night, while Arcius slept in the guest room, Pu Xin secretly crept in and used her healing ability to soothe the strange condition in his body. Overwhelmed by warmth and emotion he had never experienced before, the proud capitalist finally broke down in tears in his mother’s arms.
When he shyly whispered the word “Mom,” Pu Xin hugged him happily and demanded he say it again.
Arcius blushed and repeated softly, “Mom…”