NOVEL NEXT 62
In the nursery on the third floor of He Qin’s home.
The sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting light onto the floor. Rhys reclined on a soft couch, going through documents and work reports submitted by his subordinates.
The floor was covered with soft mats, and the sharp edges of all furniture were wrapped in soft cloth. Milo was a restless child, always getting into trouble except when he was sleeping, during which he was the most well-behaved. At all other times, he was a little troublemaker.
Every afternoon, when the sun wasn’t too harsh but still warm, Rhys would leave the little one on the third-floor carpet, letting him explore to his heart’s content.
With Rhys personally watching over him and the full protective measures in place in the room, the child wouldn’t get hurt.
The reason for this daily sunbathing routine was twofold: first, the sun was beneficial for the little one’s growth and health, and second, it was a recommendation from Dr. Buya.
According to Dr. Buya, sunlight was also crucial for the proper development of the little one’s back wings.
Dr. Buya had scoured medical books and his own library at home, eventually finding a dusty, old book in the attic, which contained cases of male zergs with wings.
Dr. Buya recalled that this book had been acquired by his master by chance. The book mainly described rare and peculiar diseases, ones that might only affect a patient once in several centuries. Over time, Buya’s master had relegated it to the attic among other miscellaneous items.
In this book, there was a description of male zergs from centuries ago who typically had sturdy wings. However, as time passed, the combat abilities of male zergs declined, and wings ceased to appear.
A century ago, the author of this book treated a certain male zerg of partial royal blood, who, overnight, experienced a tearing of the skin on his back, revealing wings similar to those of a female zerg’s young.
This male zerg’s ancestors had royal blood, but his forebears had not adhered to the rule of marrying within the royal family, making his royal blood quite diluted.
For various reasons, this male zerg prince did not wish to publicize the growth of his wings. As doctors are obliged to keep patient information confidential, the author of the book only privately researched the anomaly in the male zerg.
Ultimately, the book contained a statement that explained the peculiarities of He Qin and the little one: “Any royal blood, no matter how diluted or whether the bloodline is that of kings or princes, can manifest atavistic traits.”
As a doctor, Buya was both excited and worried about encountering such a rare and difficult case.
Under He Qin’s direction, he assembled a research team composed of his closest friends to conduct a series of studies on the atavism present in He Qin and the little one.
By sunbathing, the little one could absorb many beneficial factors from the sunlight, which would boost various hormones in his body during his infancy.
“Gurulululu.” The leopard, already larger than an adult male zerg, lazily lay on the carpet.
The warm sun shone on its body, and Little Guai squinted its eyes, purring in the manner of a comfortable feline.
The silver-haired female zerg, who had toned down his imposing aura, half-reclined on the soft couch, exuding the air of a delicate beauty. The large feline, whose temperament belied its appearance, forced its head into the female zerg’s palm, docilely waiting for its master’s caress.
“A-da.” The shout of an agile little chubby disrupted the serene scene.
The little zerg threw blocks everywhere, and finding nothing else to throw, he turned his attention to the leopard’s swaying, sturdy tail.
He couldn’t grab the leopard’s tail due to his slow reflexes and lack of strength, and after a while, he grew frustrated.
He tried his best to slap the leopard’s rump, but his small strength couldn’t affect the thick-skinned beast at all.
Little Guai continued to enjoy the warm sunlight, unbothered, while the unsuccessful little zerg pouted and crawled laboriously to the female zerg’s side, “Mmm, ah, ah.”
Was he complaining?
Rhys felt a small hand tugging at his hanging hair. He put down the report, reached out with his long arm, and effortlessly scooped up the somewhat hefty little male zerg into his arms.
“What’s wrong? Are you thirsty?” Rhys lay back on the soft couch, placing the little one on his now-restored eight-pack abs.
The little one didn’t understand the female zerg’s words, his mind and eyes full of his beautiful father’s face.
He lay down on the male zerg’s body, wriggling a bit, and then planted a wet kiss on Rhys’s cheek. One kiss wasn’t enough for him; he even stuck out his pink tongue to lick Rhys’s cheek, covering him in the child’s drool.
“You… who taught you this?” Rhys gently patted the cheeky little one, grabbing a shirt someone had carelessly left behind to wipe his face.
His master’s clothes were thrown around again!
He might as well use it as a napkin since he was the one who did the laundry anyway.
It’s not that the male master was unwilling to do housework. In fact, when he had time, He Qin was more than willing to help Rhys with the chores.
However, the more he did, the more he messed up, causing astonishing damage. He either ruined high-tech appliances or the items he was cleaning.
One day, Rhys came home from the military and opened the door to find his master furiously cleaning up a chaotic living room.
Since then, Rhys took over all the housework and subtly persuaded the master to give up on the idea of helping with chores.
His master simply wasn’t cut out for housework.
“Clang.” Rhys’s keen ears picked up the sound of the front door being kicked open downstairs.
“Rhys, Milo, I’m back.” He Qin’s mood wasn’t great; he entered the house with a tense face. But as he pushed open the door to the third floor and saw his lover, child, and pet getting along harmoniously, his gloomy mood instantly lifted.
Rhys picked up the child and walked over to the male zerg, “Master, welcome back. Did you get any secrets out of Woody?”
The clingy leopard, seeing his owner stand up, also walked over, rubbing against the male zerg’s leg.
“Um, I don’t know how to say it.” He Qin lowered his head, feeling very downcast.
“It’s okay, if you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to. As long as it doesn’t hurt you.”
Seeing his master hurt physically or emotionally was something Rhys couldn’t bear.
“No, my family is your family too, Rhys. This is something I need to tell you.”
“Alright, whatever you decide.”
Sensing his male father’s sadness, the little one offered another kiss. In little Milo’s memory, his father always kissed the female zerg when he was happy, and the joy in the male zerg’s eyes was always evident.
“Woody told me the truth about my parents today.”
He Qin paused before continuing, “The incident my male father encountered back then wasn’t an accident. It was orchestrated by another royal male zerg who was jealous of my male father’s popularity. They sabotaged the combustion chamber in advance and bribed a group of interstellar pirates to attack when the starship lost power. Their goal was to kill my parents.”
“And how did Woody know this?” Rhys zeroed in on the key point.
“He said that back then, he was mischievously running around the castle and accidentally overheard that male’s plan outside a door.”
“Didn’t that person pass away a few years ago?”
“Exactly, so there’s no evidence, and no one knows if Woody is telling the truth.”
Believing it felt like conceding defeat to He Qin, yet doubting it left the cause of his parent’s deaths as a nagging issue, always bothering him.
“Master, don’t dwell on it. It’s all in the past. I think your parents wouldn’t want to see you troubled over this now.” Rhys lowered his head and planted a kiss on He Qin’s forehead.
He led He Qin to the couch, where the two of them and the leopard surrounded He Qin, all looking at him with pitiful eyes.
The scene was both bizarre and amusing.
He Qin burst into laughter, “Alright, just let me have some peace and quiet.”
With that, Rhys, fearing the child and the leopard would disturb He Qin, gathered the little one in one arm and grabbed the leopard’s collar with the other, quietly retreating.
He’s already an adult; he shouldn’t let his sadness affect his family.
With his optimistic and positive nature, He Qin soon figured it out.
As Rhys had said, his deceased parents wouldn’t want to see him troubled over uncovering the truth.
Some things must be let go to find true peace.
Living well with Rhys, having two or three more children, that’s the life his parents would want to see.
“Come here, my Milo, let father see if I scared you.” He Qin lifted the little one up, giving his soft cheek a kiss.
The little one, indeed frightened by He Qin’s earlier serious demeanor, couldn’t hide his mischief seeing his smiling father again. He clenched his little fist and tried to punch He Qin in the face.
“Milo, that’s not acceptable.” Rhys quickly intervened, pulling the little one back into his arms.
Though Milo was a little male zerg, Rhys believed in instilling respect for He Qin and teaching him to be filial when he grew up.
“This is your male father; you can’t do that to him, understand? If I see you disrespecting him again, I’ll stop sleeping with you.” Rhys didn’t want his little one to grow up as spoiled and arrogant as Qi Lun.
If that were to happen, he’d rather not have a child.
Fortunately, their little one was a good child who knew when to admit his mistakes. Sensing Rhys’s rare sternness, Milo realized he was wrong.
Rhys rarely showed that expression or spoke so firmly.
No, if female father was unhappy, he’d have to sleep alone on the scary third floor, away from both parents.
“Aiya, aiya.” The little one, not yet able to speak, could only use gestures and looks to show He Qin he understood his mistake.
He pointed at He Qin’s large hand, then made a spanking motion, his face full of worry, torn between wanting to be punished and fearing the pain.
When he slept with his parents, little Milo had seen late at night that his male father punished his disobedient female father in the same way. Each time, his female father would hold back tears, looking very pitiful.
Little Milo had never been spanked, but recalling his female father’s miserable expression made him tremble with fear.
His male father’s strength must be tremendous. Would his butt get bruised?
“Master!”
Realizing who the little one’s actions were mimicking, Rhys glared at He Qin in a teasing manner and called out “Master,” his ears and cheeks turning crimson.
“Um, it seems we should start teaching Milo to sleep by himself,” He Qin said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.
Little Milo looked bewildered. Hey, why does he have to sleep separately from his parents even after apologizing?
Things weren’t supposed to turn out this way!