“Bai Feng!”
A tremendous force slammed into Bai Feng, sending him flying. The sickening sound of flesh being torn apart rang clearly in his ears.
He tumbled uncontrollably across the ground several times. Amid the swirling dust, he barely managed to catch sight of chunks of blood splattered flesh being devoured by a frenzied eagle like spirit form.
Then, a head, eyes still wide open in death, rolled across the ground and stopped right in front of his face.
Bai Feng would never forget that head.
The once neat, jet black hair was now clumped together with blood. The eyes that had once been deep and smiling now bulged grotesquely and the face was marred with gashes where flesh had been ripped open by sharp claws…
Blood…
It was blood…
There was blood everywhere…
It was Le Zhuo’s blood.
Le Zhuo had died to save him.
This was the second time Le Zhuo had saved him. The first time, he had been reduced to a fool. The second time, he had paid with his life.
“Le Zhuo! Zhuo Zhuo!”
Bai Feng jolted awake from the nightmare, drenched in cold sweat, shouting Le Zhuo’s name at the top of his lungs.
“Xiao Feng, what’s wrong with you?”
Madam Bai looked at her eldest son with concern, her heart aching as she wiped the sweat from his forehead. Beside her, though Father Bai’s face remained stern, the worry in his eyes was impossible to conceal.
For a brief moment, Bai Feng seemed dazed. After a long pause, his unfocused eyes slowly regained clarity.
And then he saw Bai Jiao and Le Zhuo standing hand in hand by his hospital bed.
Terror surged through him so violently it felt as though his soul might leave his body.
“Ghosts! There are ghosts! Ah!”
“Ghosts? Where are the ghosts?” Le Zhuo instinctively tightened his hold on Bai Jiao. Even though he was frightened, he still looked around warily.
He had to protect Bai Jiao.
“Don’t be afraid. There are no ghosts. I’ll protect you.” Bai Jiao found his reaction adorable and pinched his cheek.
“I’m the one protecting you!” Le Zhuo insisted.
Bai Jiao’s eyes curved slightly. “Mm, alright. You protect me.”
“Bai Jiao, Le Zhuo, you’re already dead! Why are you here!” Bai Feng screamed hoarsely, his body shrinking back again and again.
Father Bai’s face immediately darkened and he barked sternly, “Bai Feng! I think you’ve truly lost your mind! What nonsense are you talking about? Your younger brother is perfectly alive, how can you, as his elder brother, curse him like this?”
Madam Bai was even more furious. She slapped Bai Feng hard across the face to snap him out of it.
Back when their youngest son had encountered an accident on the wasteland planet, they had been unable to reach him in time for certain reasons. That had become their greatest regret and now Bai Feng was actually cursing Bai Jiao’s death, this was completely unacceptable!
“Dad, Mom, what are you talking about? Didn’t my brother die years ago during a mission on that wasteland planet? The one standing here isn’t a person, it’s a ghost! And Le Zhuo, I saw him die right in front of me!”
This time, even Le Zhuo and Bai Jiao couldn’t hold back.
Le Zhuo stepped forward and slapped Bai Feng, while Bai Jiao struck him hard enough to knock out one of his front teeth, forcing him to properly come to his senses.
“Brother, I think you’ve really gone mad just to be with Le Shan. Now you’re even cursing me and Le Zhuo to death. I’ve already agreed to let you have your way, what more do you want?” Bai Jiao’s grip tightened, his gaze as cold as the frost of midwinter.
Bai Feng spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his mouth as he stared blankly at Bai Jiao and Le Zhuo before him.
At last, he realized they were alive, real, standing right in front of him.
“Dad, Mom, since my brother is already carrying Le Shan’s child and Zhuo Zhuo has recovered, you should switch our marriage arrangements,” Bai Jiao said, his tone edged with threat. “I’ve been very busy lately, managing quite a number of people. I’m sure you wouldn’t want me wasting time on something like this.”
“Besides, I’m already with Le Zhuo.” Bai Jiao wrapped his arms around Le Zhuo, his expression softening, taking on an inexplicably aggrieved and pitiful air.
Father Bai and Madam Bai suddenly felt like villains breaking apart a pair of lovers and for a moment, neither knew what to say.
“Are you telling the truth? Le Zhuo has completely recovered?” Madam Bai asked tentatively.
Bai Jiao countered, “Of course he has. Just look at him now, does he look like a fool to you?”
Le Zhuo hugged Bai Jiao back and said earnestly, “Yes, I’ve recovered! And I truly love Jiao Jiao. Uncle, Auntie, please let me be with Bai Jiao.”
Le Zhuo’s gaze was now clear and bright, completely different from his former erratic, unstable state. However, Father Bai and Madam Bai were both people who cared deeply about appearances. If news of two brothers swapping fiances were to spread, it would undoubtedly damage their reputation. For a moment, they hesitated.
“Bai Feng!”
Le Shan arrived at just the right moment. The door was pushed open and the first thing he saw was Bai Jiao and Le Zhuo locked in each other’s embrace.
In an instant, he forgot the reason he had come. His voice rang out sharply, full of anger. “Le Zhuo! What are you doing? Let go of him!”
Not only did Le Zhuo refuse to let go, he held on even tighter. “Why should I? He’s my fiance, I won’t let go!”
“What do you mean, your fiance? He’s clearly my-”
“Your fiance is over there and he’s even pregnant!” Le Zhuo cut him off directly, pointing toward Bai Feng lying on the hospital bed.
Following the direction of his finger, Le Shan looked over and saw Bai Feng, his cheeks swollen high, lying there on the bed.
“I…”
“You’re not thinking of shirking responsibility, are you?” Le Zhuo pressed him.
A pained expression surfaced on Le Shan’s face. “I… of course… I’ll take responsibility.”
“Then that settles it. Our fiances are officially exchanged and the wedding date should be put on the agenda as well.” In front of everyone, Le Zhuo turned to Bai Jiao with a hint of nervousness and asked, “Jiao Jiao, are you willing to marry me?”
The proposal was undeniably hasty but Le Zhuo was truly afraid that if he waited any longer, Bai Jiao might be taken away by someone else.
“I am willing.” Bai Jiao answered without the slightest hesitation.
For some reason, the intimate scene between the two of them stung Bai Feng’s eyes. His emotions surged violently and just as he was about to say something, a heavy, dragging pain suddenly spread through his abdomen.
“My stomach… my stomach hurts so much. I think I’m about to give birth, ah!”
That cry snapped everyone out of watching Bai Jiao and Le Zhuo’s display of affection.
Though shocked, Le Shan was still concerned about the child in Bai Feng’s belly. He shouted loudly, “Doctor! Doctor! There’s a guide about to give birth here! Hurry!”
The doctors in the corridor heard his call and immediately began summoning others to help. Before long, the hospital room was crowded with people.
Watching Bai Feng’s twisted, pain filled expression, Le Zhuo felt a dull heaviness settle in his chest.
He asked, “Jiao Jiao, does giving birth hurt a lot?”
“Mm.”
Although Bai Jiao had never experienced it himself, he was knowledgeable about such matters. “Many people die from complications during childbirth.”
“Then let’s not have children in the future,” Le Zhuo said. The moment he heard the word “die,” fear crept into his heart. “I don’t want you to face any danger.”
Bai Jiao raised a brow. “So you used to think about me having children?”
“The first time I saw you, I had already thought about what we’d name our child.”
“What would we name them?” Bai Jiao asked.
Le Zhuo had only meant it as a way to express love at first sight, a playful remark but he hadn’t expected Bai Jiao to take it seriously.
“It would be… be…”
Seeing him unable to answer, Bai Jiao curved his lips and pinched his cheek. “Liar.”
“We’re not having one anyway! Don’t ask!” Le Zhuo huffed in embarrassment, tightening his hold around Bai Jiao.
“Hopeless fool.”
They leaned against each other in the hospital corridor, whispering quietly. The child’s father, Le Shan, had gone into the delivery room, while Father Bai and Madam Bai sat anxiously outside, occasionally glancing toward Bai Jiao and Le Zhuo.
Before long, Bai Jiao received a message. The subordinate carrying out his orders informed him that Xia Gu had already made contact with Bai Xiuzhu and Lan Tingxue.
Early that morning, Bai Jiao had already inserted Xia Gu into his newly recruited group and instructed the subordinate training them to “take good care” of him.
Xia Gu himself was perceptive. Upon learning that Bai Jiao’s task for him was to make two sentinels fall for him, he agreed without hesitation.
A brand new identity, a future where he could climb upward step by step, no one trapped in the mud would refuse such a bright and promising path.
Everything had been arranged. Even if Father Bai and Madam Bai still hesitated now, once these matters were exposed before them, they would have no room left to hesitate.
Listening to Bai Feng’s heart wrenching screams from the delivery room, along with Le Shan’s cries of pain as he was bitten, Le Zhuo felt a mixture of complicated emotions.
He had originally wanted to take revenge on Bai Feng and Le Shan but those things they had done to harm him had ultimately been nothing more than a dream. Reality, because of Bai Jiao’s presence, had completely changed.
Now, Le Zhuo even felt a little grateful that Bai Feng and Le Shan had gotten together, it had allowed him to pick up a rare treasure, to meet someone as wonderful as Bai Jiao.
“Does it still hurt?”
Bai Jiao glanced at him, thinking the hospital seats were too hard and that sitting on them would be uncomfortable for Le Zhuo.
Only then did Le Zhuo’s ever busy mind finally register the soreness at his back. His expression shifted immediately.
“It didn’t hurt when you didn’t mention it but now that you have, it really does,” Le Zhuo muttered.
“Let’s go.” Bai Jiao took his hand and pulled him to his feet.
“Go where? It wouldn’t be good to go home now, right?” Le Zhuo had already slipped into the role of a member of the Bai family by marriage and felt that since his future brother in law was giving birth, he should stay and wait.
“Who said anything about going home? We’re going to the restroom,” Bai Jiao said. “Though if you want to go home now, that’s fine too.”
“Not going home. We’ll wait for Uncle and Auntie, no, Dad and Mom, to go home first, then we’ll go back,” Le Zhuo said, giving Bai Jiao a strange look. “You’re so clingy. Why do you need someone to go with you just to use the restroom?”
Even so, he was secretly delighted, practically sticking to Bai Jiao’s side.
“Who’s the clingy one?” Bai Jiao squeezed his hand.
“You are.” Le Zhuo’s eyes flicked upward guiltily.
The hospital restroom carried the sharp scent of disinfectant but thanks to cleaning robots, it was spotless.
Bai Jiao pushed Le Zhuo into one of the stalls and went in with him.
Le Zhuo looked troubled, lowering his voice. “Do we really have to go together? Th this isn’t very appropriate, is it?”
“Stop talking. Take off your pants and turn around.” Bai Jiao pinched his lips shut, stopping him from continuing to ramble.
Le Zhuo: “…”
He caught sight of the faint scar on Bai Jiao’s neck. Though the situation felt extremely strange, he still gave in, resignedly turning around and lowering his pants.
This was so embarrassing. Doing something like this in a hospital restroom, it felt so improper.
“Jiao Jiao, this really isn’t right…” Le Zhuo tried to persuade him.
“Do you want people to hear you?” Bai Jiao let out a soft laugh by his ear.
Le Zhuo’s face flushed red. He pressed his lips together and said nothing more.
A cool fingertip brushed against him, carefully applying ointment. Le Zhuo bit down on his own hand, bracing himself to keep from making any sound.
Unexpectedly, Bai Jiao only applied the ointment in a gentle circle without going any further, then thoughtfully helped him pull his pants back up.
“All done. Let’s go downstairs and get you a soft cushion first.”
Holding him, Bai Jiao pushed open the door, only to see Le Shan standing at the sink, washing the blood from his hands.
Le Shan turned his head at the same time. When he saw the two of them coming out of the stall together, with a suspicious flush still lingering across Le Zhuo’s face, he was so furious he nearly fainted.
“Jiao Jiao, you… you two…”
He still refused to accept the fact that Bai Jiao and Le Zhuo were together.
“Has my brother finished giving birth? As the father of the child, instead of staying in the delivery room, you’re here hiding in the restroom?” Bai Jiao’s single sentence left Le Shan completely speechless.
The child was indeed Le Shan’s, this was an undeniable fact.
“Jiao Jiao, I’m not hiding. I want to talk to you,” Le Shan said, his face full of sorrow as he stared at their clasped hands. “Let go first. Let Le Zhuo step outside. Let’s talk…”
“There’s nothing for me to say to you. After all, you were the one who betrayed me first, weren’t you?” Bai Jiao pulled Le Zhuo along and walked out.
He truly had no interest in wasting words on Le Shan.
“That was an accident. I drank too much that day…” Le Shan hurried after them, trying to explain.
“And after that? Was that an accident too?” Bai Jiao let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Le Shan, you don’t really think I wouldn’t know that you and my brother were still sleeping together on the very day I returned, do you?”
Le Shan’s breath hitched. “Jiao Jiao…”
“Don’t call me that. It makes me sick.”
Le Zhuo had never seen Le Shan look so lost and shattered. This was someone who had always looked down on him, secretly mocking and suppressing him, calling him a fool behind his back.
Seeing Le Shan reduced to this state, Le Zhuo felt it was deserved but at the same time, he felt the punishment wasn’t nearly enough.
Just losing a fiance was already unbearable? What about when his reputation was completely ruined in the future?
“Jiao Jiao, Jiao Jiao.” Le Zhuo swayed their joined hands, his voice soft and clingy.
“Mm? What is it?” Bai Jiao tilted his head to look at the person bouncing beside him. “Doesn’t it hurt anymore?”
“Don’t mention it, once you do, it starts hurting again.” Le Zhuo stopped hopping and rubbed his lower back.
The ointment had eased the pain somewhat but it was still there.
“Your waist hurts too? I’ll rub it for you when we get back,” Bai Jiao murmured softly by his ear.
They had been waiting for the elevator but when the people inside saw Le Zhuo’s posture, they stepped out on their own.
“Make way, make way, give space for the expectant parent. Let them go first.”
Le Zhuo’s hand froze mid motion as he rubbed his waist. His face flushed bright red. He wanted to explain that he wasn’t pregnant but Bai Jiao covered his mouth before he could speak.
“Thank you, everyone.” Bai Jiao led Le Zhuo into the elevator.
The people outside seemed to be in high spirits. “We’re not in a hurry. You go ahead, don’t get squeezed.”
Le Zhuo didn’t dare say a word. He kept his hand at his waist, not daring to lower it, afraid someone might notice something off.
Only after Bai Jiao half held him out of the hospital did Le Zhuo finally shake his arm free and return to his lively self.
“Isn’t that deceiving people? I’m not even pregnant!” Le Zhuo muttered.
Bai Jiao replied calmly, “If you told them they misunderstood, they’d feel embarrassed instead. Look, just now they thought they were helping someone. Weren’t they happy?”
Le Zhuo thought about it carefully. That did seem to be the case.
“Don’t worry. People who do good deeds will be rewarded.” Bai Jiao held his waist and gently rubbed it.
Everyone had their own cause and effect. From their faces alone, Bai Jiao could already tell that those people would have smooth and fortunate lives ahead.
“Alright.” Le Zhuo naturally believed everything Bai Jiao said.
They went to a convenience store together and bought quite a few things. As they passed a baby supplies shop, they ran into a servant from home who was purchasing items.
The servant explained that Bai Feng’s delivery had been so sudden that nothing had been prepared in advance, so they were now scrambling at the last minute.
Just as the servant finished buying everything, they went back upstairs together. Before long, “good news” arrived.
As expected of one of the protagonists of this world, Bai Feng safely gave birth to a male sentinel.
However, he lay weakly on the bed, his eyes closed, without even the strength to look at his own child.
“Dad, Mom, since my brother has already given birth, should we do a paternity test? That way, the child’s identity can be confirmed in the future,” Bai Jiao said. “And my brother and Le Shan should get married as soon as possible. After all, an unwed pregnancy doesn’t sound good if it gets out.”
“Well…”
“If you still don’t decide, what will you do when reporters come knocking? How will you explain it then?” Bai Jiao turned to Le Shan. “Le Shan, you’re not going to refuse responsibility for your own child, are you?”
Le Shan couldn’t say a word. He could only remain silent.
He regretted it deeply now. Looking at Bai Jiao’s alternation between icy indifference and biting mockery, he felt as if his intestines had turned green with regret.
If only he had gone to the wasteland planet to find Bai Jiao… if only he hadn’t gotten involved with Bai Feng… would things be different now?
“Let your brother rest well first. After all this, you and Le Zhuo must be tired too, go back for now,” Father Bai quickly urged.
Bai Jiao didn’t bother with formalities. He simply took Le Zhuo and left.
It was already late. After returning home, the two of them took showers and Le Zhuo began organizing the many things he had brought over.
Especially when it came to the equipment for building robots, he handled everything with extreme care. He had to admit that deciding to move in this morning had been an impulsive decision.
In fact, he had already completed one robot and had even shipped it to Bai Jiao.
“Don’t you need my help?” Bai Jiao naturally knew what he was sneaking around doing yet deliberately asked anyway.
“No need! I can do it myself!” Like a startled rabbit, Le Zhuo hugged his things and dashed upstairs.
Just then, Bai Jiao’s delivery also arrived. He went out to sign for it and didn’t bother with Le Zhuo any further.
After signing, he didn’t open it. There were too many items, so he set them aside, deciding to first watch Le Zhuo move his things.
“Does your waist still hurt?” Bai Jiao asked from the sofa, his tone full of concern. “Does your backside still hurt?”
“Doesn’t hurt! Nothing hurts! I can walk like the wind!”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“Then why didn’t you let the robots help you carry your things?”
“My stuff is very valuable, I was worried the robots might be clumsy,” Le Zhuo improvised.
“Oh, is that so? It’s not because you don’t want me to see it, right?”
“…” Hearing Bai Jiao’s seemingly casual tone, a bead of sweat rolled down Le Zhuo’s forehead. “No, of course not. Why would I not want you to see it? I was just afraid you’d get tired. You should sit and rest properly.”
Bai Jiao echoed something Le Zhuo used to say in his lovestruck state: “You’re so good to me.”
“Well, of course. You’re my boyfriend, I’m naturally good to you.”
Bai Jiao corrected him, “Now I’m your fiance.”
“Alright, alright, fiance, my fiance.” Le Zhuo answered perfunctorily but inside he was blooming with joy.
They chatted like that and when Le Zhuo had finally finished tidying everything up, he rushed over and threw himself into Bai Jiao’s arms. “Time for your fiance to massage your waist!”
It had stopped hurting before but after all that busy work, the soreness had returned.
The two of them curled up together on a beanbag chair. Bai Jiao buried his face against Le Zhuo’s chest, his arm reaching around to knead his waist.
Perhaps it was because Le Zhuo had once been a soldier in this world, his physique was exceptionally good. Even during the time he had been foolish, he had still been running around every day, so his body hadn’t wasted away at all. As a result, the area before his chest was especially full and well built.
Before long, Le Zhuo grew drowsy under the steady massage and soon he fell asleep in Bai Jiao’s arms.
Bai Jiao carried him to the bed. Seeing that it was about time, he simply lay down beside him and went to sleep as well.
The next morning, he received a call from Bai’s parents, asking him and Le Zhuo to come over to discuss the wedding.
Bai Jiao left them with just one sentence.
If they didn’t agree to him being with Le Zhuo, he would not return.
As expected, Father Bai and Madam Bai fell silent, allowing Bai Jiao to hang up the call.
“Jiao Jiao, what’s wrong?”
Le Zhuo rubbed his sleepy eyes and groped his way back into Bai Jiao’s embrace.
“Nothing. Bai Feng’s been discharged from the hospital. They just called to inform me.”
“Oh… then you’re going to be an uncle?” Le Zhuo mumbled drowsily. “So am I the uncle in law or the elder uncle?”
“…” Bai Jiao was rarely stumped by a question but after a brief pause, he answered, “We can each count it our own way.”
“Alright.” Le Zhuo clung to him for a while longer before reluctantly getting up to wash and prepare to go upstairs to work.
After they finished washing up together, Bai Jiao remembered that he still had a pile of packages he hadn’t opened.
The two of them went about their own tasks, not disturbing each other.
Bai Jiao’s packages were a collection of outfits he had purchased on the recommendation of the arena owner, along with one large parcel that had been tightly wrapped. When he opened it, he discovered it was the robot Le Zhuo had made.
The robot looked almost exactly like Le Zhuo himself, though the mechanical startup sound still gave it away.
When Le Zhuo had sent it out, out of embarrassment, he had even dressed the robot in a simple white shirt and shorts.
After a moment’s thought, Bai Jiao decided to name the robot Number One.
Once everything was adjusted, he could finally begin issuing commands.
“Number One, take off your clothes.”
“Yes, Master.”
The robot, identical to Le Zhuo, immediately sat up from the foam packaging upon receiving the command and began removing its simple outfit.
“…He even put underwear on the robot.”
Bai Jiao curved his lips, amused by how endearing Le Zhuo was.
“Number One, come here.”
“Yes, Master.”
The robot moved smoothly, no different from an ordinary human.
From the pile of outfits, Bai Jiao picked out a rabbit themed one. To avoid the robot damaging the delicate fabric, he decided to dress it himself.
The rabbit outfit naturally included a tail. He couldn’t bear to use something like that on Le Zhuo but he had no such reservations when it came to the robot.
The outfit resembled a bunny suit: a headband with rabbit ears, a strip of soft fur partially covering the chest and a black one piece design.
“Number One, turn around.”
Bai Jiao had no need to be gentle with a robot and prepared to dress it directly.
At first, he had bought the robot just to tease Le Zhuo but now it seemed like a very useful “clothes hanger.”
Upstairs, Le Zhuo suddenly received a notification that the robot’s rear system had been activated and he was stunned.
He himself was right here, how could Bai Jiao do something like that to his robot?!