Lu Xia hadn’t expected Lan Ya to be such a chatterbox, spilling everything without restraint, which left her feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Picking up the meal box Grace had brought, she spoke with feigned nonchalance: “That’s just how she is, don’t take it to heart.”
“Mhm, I know.” Grace’s tone sounded calm, as if Lan Ya’s words hadn’t affected him at all, which relieved Lu Xia. “Why did you get off work so early today?”
“It hasn’t been very busy lately, so I can leave early.” But he didn’t elaborate on exactly how he managed it. Watching Lu Xia eat the meal he had personally prepared, his eyes shone with tenderness. “How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
“It’s quite delicious. Actually, you don’t need to cook every day; there are chefs at home…”
“I know, but I want to do something for you.” Grace suddenly interrupted her, expressing his feelings. This took Lu Xia by surprise. Then, thinking that he might be doing this for the child in her womb, she felt it was normal and nodded without saying anything more.
But honestly, Grace’s cooking skills were really good.
After the meal, Lu Xia’s drowsiness returned. She had been like this recently—especially prone to sleepiness and fatigue.
After simply wiping her mouth, Lu Xia wanted to get up and rest in the lounge. But as soon as she moved, Grace suddenly reached over: “You didn’t wipe this spot clean.”
As he said this, he helped her wipe the corner of her mouth clean.
The sudden gesture left Lu Xia momentarily stunned. She blinked, feeling a bit strange, but when she glanced up at the man’s unchanged expression, she wondered if she was overthinking it. “Thank you. I’m going to sleep for a while. If there’s nothing else, you can head back first.”
With that, she didn’t look at Grace again and walked straight toward the lounge, thus failing to notice the slight upward curve of Grace’s lips.
He realized it wasn’t an illusion—the little female before him wasn’t guarding against him.
In truth, the Empire’s understanding of males wasn’t wrong. They were all a greedy bunch; given even a slight opportunity, they would charge forward without hesitation. He was no exception.
Grace didn’t follow Lu Xia’s suggestion to leave early. Instead, he sat down and waited for her to wake up so they could go home together.
Lu Xia slept deeply, and when she woke up, she felt disoriented, momentarily forgetting where she was. As she fully regained consciousness and prepared to get out of bed, a wave of dizziness and abdominal cramps washed over her, instantly breaking her out in a cold sweat.
Hearing the sounds from the lounge, Grace, who had been waiting outside, abruptly opened his eyes and rushed to the door. “Are you alright?”
“Grace…” Lu Xia’s call wasn’t loud, but it was enough for Grace to hear.
Without hesitation, the man pushed the door open and rushed inside.
When he saw Lu Xia curled up on the bed, her face pale and unable to hide her pain, Grace couldn’t help but panic. He scooped her into his arms. “Where does it hurt?”
As soon as he spoke, the terminal on Lu Xia’s wrist chimed, displaying the name “Doctor Eugene” on the screen.
Realizing what was happening, Grace quickly answered. From the other end came: “Your Excellency Lu Xia, I’ve detected an abnormality in your physical condition. Are you alright?”
“She’s not doing well. Can you come over immediately?” Grace quickly described Lu Xia’s current state. “She seems to be in a lot of pain.”
“In such a situation, it would be best for you to bring her to the hospital for a comprehensive examination. After all, her case has no precedent, and there is far too little reference material available on this matter.” Without test results, Eugene couldn’t draw any conclusions, let alone begin treatment.
Grace wasted no time. Seeing the little female’s furrowed brows and pained expression, he quickly said, “We’ll head over right away.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he fetched a blanket, wrapped Lu Xia tightly, and swiftly carried her out of Yihao Yuan.
Before leaving, he had already contacted the old butler to prepare the hovercar in advance.
Seeing Lu Xia’s pale face as Grace carried her in his arms, the old butler was startled. “What happened? She was fine just a while ago!”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait for the hospital examination to draw any conclusions. You know where Doctor Youjin is, right? Take us to him now, quickly!”
“Oh, right, of course!” The situation had unfolded so suddenly that the old butler failed to notice the subtle shift in Grace’s demeanor—an unmistakable aura of authority that was impossible to refuse and dared not be challenged.
Had the old butler not been caught off guard by the incident, he would have realized that such commanding presence shouldn’t belong to a ‘defective product’ male who had endured so much suffering.
On the way to the hospital, the hovercar sped along at breakneck speed.
Eugene had already made preparations upon receiving the message. The moment they arrived, he immediately began conducting a series of tests for Lu Xia without delay.
By this time, Lu Xia had already fallen unconscious from the pain.
Lu Xia was still in the early stages of pregnancy, with no visible signs of a baby bump. Without being told, no one would have guessed she was expecting.
While waiting for the test results, Eugene inquired in detail with the old butler about Lu Xia’s recent circumstances. When he learned that Grace was the male father of the child, even someone as experienced as Eugene couldn’t help but be taken aback, remaining speechless for quite some time.
Finally, with a tone of great uncertainty, he asked, “Mr. Grace, I apologize for the intrusion, but may I ask—are you a non-genetic fusion individual?”
Eugene’s question was phrased quite gently. Instead of directly asking whether Grace was a ‘defective product’ male, he used the term ‘non-genetic fusion individual,’ showing Grace a measure of respect.
Grace nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
His reply was straightforward, without the slightest hesitation or attempt to conceal anything. In fact, after answering, Grace seemed to realize why Eugene had asked the question and quickly followed up with one of his own: “Does my condition have any impact on my female master’s current situation?”
He was worried that his own issues might be causing Lu Xia such pain.
Eugene hadn’t expected Grace to ask this. He was still reeling from the shock that the male father of the child in Lu Xia’s womb was actually a ‘defective product’ male—completely contrary to his initial assumptions.
Given Lu Xia’s status, even if she wanted a child, she would never have chosen one from a ‘defective product’ male. So, when he first learned that Lu Xia had conceived naturally, his immediate assumption was that her partner must be a male with an exceptionally high Gene Fusion Degree, capable of creating such a miracle.
But now, Grace’s appearance had completely overturned his earlier speculation, delivering an utterly unexpected shock.
Duke Lu Xia was actually carrying the youngling of a ‘defective product’ male in his womb. If the people at the Reproduction Research Institute were to find out, they would surely be shocked beyond belief!
Natural Conception alone already held immense research value, let alone the fact that Lu Xia was carrying the youngling of a ‘defective product’ male. After all, everyone knew that ‘defective product’ males were completely incapable of reproduction.