Pu Xin did not understand what awkwardness meant. Other than toward her little one, she was never clingy. After shaking hands with Lu Bieling to show goodwill, she naturally kept a comfortable distance from him.
Seeing that she clearly had something to say, Lu Bieling walked ahead first and made a polite gesture.
“If you have something to discuss, let’s go inside.”
His respectful form of address instantly changed Fang Zhiren’s expression. She stared at Lu Bieling in disbelief that he would show such a gentle attitude toward a woman, even taking the initiative to shake her hand.
Thinking about Pu Xin’s introduction and the identical eyes she shared with Lu Xunzhi, Fang Zhiren’s heart tightened.
Anyone coveting the position of the marshal’s wife had heard the rumors about Lu Xunzhi’s mother. Some said she had died long ago, others claimed she was an alien. But rumors were only rumors. Without proof, no one could question Lu Xunzhi’s identity.
Now an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl claimed to be his mother and had instantly identified that Fang Zhiren had used Devil Flower saliva as a beauty treatment.
An alien. She had to be an alien.
Fang Zhiren quietly inhaled a cold breath and tightened her grip on her handbag. Just as she was about to speak, several guards stepped forward and blocked her path, firmly escorting her out of the Lu residence.
Unwilling to leave like this, she struggled as they dragged her away and shouted, “Marshal! She’s an alien! An alien!”
She had spent decades trying and failing to become the marshal’s wife. Why should an alien be able to bear Lu Bieling’s child and have that child grow up to become a federal major general under his protection?
She expected Lu Bieling to stop the guards, but he did not even turn his head, as if he had not heard her at all.
Thrown outside the Lu residence, Fang Zhiren fell hard, seeing stars. Suddenly she remembered that when someone had proposed the law promoting racial harmony and favorable policies for gentle-type aliens and mixed-blood individuals, Lu Bieling had been the first among the ten marshals to support it.
In recent years, he had also promoted quite a number of mixed-blood officers.
Her eyes widened as a bold thought formed in her mind.
Lu Bieling had known all along that Lu Xunzhi’s mother was an alien. All the sweeping reforms he had pushed through the Federation in recent years had been paving the way for Lu Xunzhi.
“Was it you who took my seed back then?” Pu Xin asked eagerly as soon as they entered the study.
After seeing her grown little one, she had long wanted to ask this question. But considering that he had been only a seed at the time and could not perceive the world, she assumed he would not know what had happened.
Lu Bieling removed his military coat. His adjutant Su Kai stepped forward to take it and hang it on the rack. Hearing Pu Xin’s question, he looked slightly surprised, though years of experience had taught him to keep his emotions hidden.
“To be frank, I also don’t know why Xunzhi appeared beside me, or why he even possesses my genes. I once suspected that his mother might have done something inappropriate to me while I was seriously injured.”
The commotion Lu Xunzhi had caused at the FSB had been impossible to suppress. He had even openly declared that Pu Xin was his mother. The FSB Director could not handle it and reported it to the Minister of Defense, who in turn found the matter troublesome and contacted the marshal’s secretariat.
Lu Bieling had already seen the DNA test results. Yesterday, when Lu Jinyu had complained about Lu Xunzhi’s so-called girlfriend, Pu Xin had immediately come to mind.
Lu Bieling had never concealed the truth from Lu Xunzhi. He truly did not know where his unexpected son had come from.
Not long after he became marshal, a massive insect swarm that appeared only once in a century broke out. After leading the fleet through a brutal battle and carving out a path, he became separated from his forces by accident.
Exhausted from prolonged combat, he lost consciousness. When he woke up, an entire year had passed, and beside him lay a chubby little boy.
At first Lu Bieling assumed the boy belonged to whoever had saved him. But after waiting half a month at the same spot without anyone appearing, he had no choice but to take the child away. Only then did he discover a birthmark identical to his own on the boy’s body.
After genetic testing confirmed the relationship, Marshal Lu, who had never panicked even when facing the Insect King, lost his composure. He led his fleet back to the place where he had awakened and searched every inch of the area, but found nothing.
And so the unexpected son was acknowledged.
Soon afterward he also discovered the child’s unusual traits. Lu Xunzhi was born with abilities and could sense the presence of aliens. Together with those emerald green eyes, it was difficult not to suspect the truth.
Lu Xunzhi’s mother was an alien.
Recalling those events now, Lu Bieling’s feelings were somewhat complicated. Before meeting Pu Xin, he had even considered whether he should simply snap her slender neck.
But now it seemed the situation was not what he had imagined.
Not some irresponsible woman abandoning her child after a brief encounter.
Pu Xin stood neatly and asked obediently, “What kind of inappropriate thing?”
Lu Bieling fell silent. Lu Xunzhi was even more speechless.
What should one do when their mother was too innocent? Urgent advice needed.
Lu Bieling covered his mouth and coughed lightly. He had already spoken rather calmly about his embarrassing suspicion, assuming she would understand that his point was that he did not know how the child had come into existence. Apparently, he had overestimated the logical thinking of aliens.
He decided not to continue the awkward topic.
“Why do you think someone took your seed?”
There were indeed many scholars who studied aliens, but dandelions were extremely common and had little research value. They had already been thoroughly studied a hundred years ago and listed in the alien registry.
However, a dandelion capable of pacifying violent-type aliens certainly had immense research value.
Pu Xin frowned deeply. After finally producing her seeds, she had fallen asleep. She knew very clearly that before she awakened, the seeds could not have left her to sprout on their own.
When she woke up, the seeds were gone. The little aliens around her had told her that a human had once entered the Devil’s Eye. That human possessed extremely powerful combat ability. Almost no one in the Devil’s Eye had been his opponent, yet none of the aliens had clearly seen his appearance.
Standing to the side, Lu Xunzhi finally understood the situation. His unexpected parents both had no idea how he had come into existence.
That realization left him somewhat speechless.
Rubbing his forehead, he was about to speak when Lu Bieling politely said, “You may stay by Xunzhi’s side as long as you wish. If you have any questions, you can contact me anytime. My terminal number has been sent to your smart brain. If you have nothing else to do for now, could you please rest in the lounge next door? I have something to discuss with Xunzhi.”
Pu Xin nodded blankly and began fiddling awkwardly with the smart brain bracelet on her wrist.
Smart brains came in many forms. Some looked like watches, others like rings. The one on Pu Xin’s wrist had been specially customized for her by Lu Xunzhi. It was platinum-white with dandelion patterns, resembling a bracelet.
She was still not used to human technology and had barely used it since receiving it.
Lu Bieling’s adjutant Su Kai walked ahead to guide her. As he walked, he could not help observing the young master’s biological mother. Even though he had dealt with many aliens and mixed-blood individuals, it was still difficult to associate this youthful girl with the mother of a man nearly twenty-eight years old.
Pu Xin did not care about his gaze. As they passed a corridor window, she looked outside and saw a vast garden filled with plants.
Her eyes lit up with excitement. Pointing at the large fountain in the center, she asked, “Can I go play over there?”
After a brief hesitation, Su Kai nodded and sent a message to Lu Bieling.
Receiving permission, Pu Xin happily lifted her skirt and prepared to climb out the window.
Su Kai was startled and quickly grabbed her arm to stop her. Pu Xin looked at him in confusion, suspecting he had changed his mind.
Unable to bear her clear, pure gaze, he stiffly explained, “You can’t jump.”
If she fell and got hurt, the young master might strangle him.
Pu Xin’s limited understanding of the human world did not allow her to comprehend why he would stop her from rolling along with the wind.
Reluctantly nodding, she suppressed her excitement and followed him toward the stairs.
The marshal’s residence was excessively large, but only Lu Bieling and those he permitted could enter this building. The rest of the Lu family lived on the other side of the estate.
Breathing in the fresh air of the garden, Pu Xin had a strong urge to transform into a fluffy dandelion ball and roll around on the grass. But remembering humans’ strange ideas, she restrained herself.
Instead, she sat on the long circular stone railing surrounding the fountain. Before Su Kai could stop her, she quickly took off her shoes and stretched her legs into the shallow pool.
The fountain sprayed water into the air, turning into fine mist as it fell. Pu Xin spread her arms wide, welcoming the cool droplets.
Standing nearby and too late to stop her, Su Kai twitched helplessly and continued his duty of reporting the situation. He even recorded the scene with his smart brain.
Inside the study, Lu Xunzhi looked at the projection with a headache. Pu Xin had tied the hem of her skirt above her knees and was happily kicking the water.
“She… likes playing with water,” he coughed awkwardly.
Why did he feel as though his child had been caught doing something naughty and he had to apologize on her behalf?
Lu Bieling gave a noncommittal hum and closed the projection.
“Protect her well. She may become the key to effectively controlling the spread of violent-type aliens.”
The Purple Mandrake recovered from the underground auction house, along with the giant cactus and Sunflower that had rampaged through the city, still possessed tremendous offensive power after being transferred to the FSB Alien Research Department.
Yet none of them displayed violent behavior anymore. When humans showed goodwill, they even responded with friendliness, a trait typical of gentle-type aliens. All three also showed signs of gradually transforming into human forms.
The Purple Mandrake was understandable, since it was already a gentle-type alien capable of taking human form. But the other two had undeniably been violent-type aliens.
And it was common knowledge that violent-type aliens could not assume human form because they despised humans, arrogantly viewing them merely as prey.
“You don’t need to remind me,” Lu Xunzhi replied calmly.
As a father, Lu Bieling naturally understood the meaning beneath his words.
Did he really need a reason to protect his own mother?
Lu Bieling raised an eyebrow. “I thought you always believed she abandoned you and wouldn’t feel much affection after meeting her.”
Lu Xunzhi turned his head aside and scoffed.
“According to your logic, it’s because you couldn’t keep her.”
He even looked Lu Bieling up and down, as if saying: you’re not that impressive looking anyway. No wonder my mom barely glanced at you.
Lu Bieling fell silent.
Now that the boy had a mother, his wings had grown stronger.
Having finally won an exchange with his father for once, Lu Xunzhi stood up.
“She likes to wander around. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Staying home and soaking her feet in a basin was one thing. Going outside and splashing in fountains was another. Who knew how she had developed such a strange habit? At least she remembered his warning not to transform into a dandelion outside.
Lu Bieling watched him leave the study, somewhat surprised by how seriously he took Pu Xin.
He reopened Su Kai’s projection. The little dandelion was no longer kicking water. She had crouched beside a plant nutrient dispenser shaped like a round-bellied gardener robot, curiously poking it.
Her mother was pure and innocent, like an untouched sheet of white paper. Lu Xunzhi, however, had matured early and carried an overwhelming sense of responsibility. The resentment he had once held had likely burst like a punctured balloon the moment he met her. Now he would worry everywhere that she might be bullied.
Lu Bieling closed the projection and initiated a call. His dark, cold eyes settled into icy calm.
“Back then you said my gene lock showed abnormalities. Does that mean my genetic code might have been stolen?”