Ever since bidding farewell to Lian Yucheng that day, Lian Qiguang had obediently remained in bed for more than a month. During this time, Murong Qing came again to examine him. Lian Qiguang’s body was different from that of other Naturals, and the babies inside him had always remained in good condition. Under normal circumstances, a Natural would have to have the fetus removed at around three or four months of pregnancy, but Lian Qiguang’s situation was special.
Murong Qing told Lian Qiguang that, given his current condition, the fetuses could remain in his womb until full term. From the children’s perspective, the longer they stayed in the womb, the better it would be for them. Of course, this depended on what Lian Qiguang wanted.
Lian Qiguang remained silent for a long time before choosing to carry the babies to full term.
Lian Qiguang’s decision moved Xiahou Shaoxuan. At the same time, seeing how Lian Qiguang had been eating and sleeping poorly because of this, his heart was filled with pain for him.
After privately asking Murong Qing and learning that there was nothing seriously wrong with Lian Qiguang’s body, Xiahou Shaoxuan sought Xiahou Zhong’s permission. Xiahou Zhong also knew that the constant stream of visitors these days was probably annoying Lian Qiguang. Without giving it much thought, he agreed to Xiahou Shaoxuan’s request.
The next day, under An Ruxin’s tearful gaze, Xiahou Shaoxuan took Lian Qiguang aboard a spacecraft and went to the Third District.
After arriving in the Third District, Xiahou Shaoxuan and Lian Qiguang first went to see Lian Yucheng. After hearing Lian Qiguang’s words that day, Lian Yucheng had gone home without any further delay and brought Lian Xiaozhu back. The house had also been renovated from top to bottom by people sent by Xiahou Shaoxuan.
Naturally, Lian Yucheng was happy to see Lian Qiguang return, but he was not particularly fond of Xiahou Shaoxuan. However, with Lian Qiguang present, Lian Yucheng could not show him a cold face, so he politely invited them inside.
Xiahou Shaoxuan did not stay long at Lian Yucheng’s place. After having a meal, he took Lian Qiguang to their new home.
The house Xiahou Shaoxuan had bought was not far from Lian Yucheng’s home. It took only half an hour to walk there. In order to keep Lian Qiguang in a good mood, Xiahou Shaoxuan had bought a small private courtyard with a two-story house. The yard was filled with little flowers that had no offensive abilities. The home was not large, but it was very cozy.
“Do you like it?” Xiahou Shaoxuan held Lian Qiguang by the shoulder and took him through every corner of the house. It had been almost four months now, and his belly had already begun to show. Since Lian Qiguang was carrying twins, it was more noticeable than an ordinary pregnancy.
These days, Lian Qiguang’s appetite had been getting worse and worse. Whatever he ate, he threw up. Looking at his increasingly thin little face, Xiahou Shaoxuan’s heart ached terribly. He could only think of every possible way to find food that suited his appetite and make him happy.
“Look, this is our bedroom.” Xiahou Shaoxuan pushed open a door. A warm blue projection filled the room, while a pot of tiny pale-purple flowers sat on the half-open windowsill.
“This bed?” Lian Qiguang immediately noticed the jade bed in the room and looked up at Xiahou Shaoxuan.
“Isn’t it the one you left for me last time? I brought it back.” Xiahou Shaoxuan smiled and gently rubbed Lian Qiguang’s soft hair. “It’s for you to recuperate on.”
“No need. I have my space and the lake water.”
“You can’t stay in your space all the time, can you?” Xiahou Shaoxuan carried Lian Qiguang to the bedside. Looking at the garden outside the window, bursting with flowers of every color, Lian Qiguang felt a little more at ease.
These days, Xiahou Shaoxuan had been trying every possible way to make him happy. Lian Qiguang had noticed it, of course. Actually, what troubled him most was not being unable to eat or vomiting endlessly, but that every time he closed his eyes, day or night, he saw that boundless sea of blood.
The uneasiness in his heart grew heavier and heavier. Lian Qiguang did not know whether it was merely an illusion or some kind of omen. He began to not want to sleep. Even when he closed his eyes under Xiahou Shaoxuan’s coaxing, his mind stubbornly forced itself to remain awake.
The reason Lian Qiguang had chosen to let the children remain until full term was because he was making calculations.
He was calculating how he could leave Xiahou Shaoxuan a healthy child. If one day he truly was no longer around, the children could become Xiahou Shaoxuan’s emotional anchor and make him continue living well.
“I like it here.” Lian Qiguang turned around, rose onto his tiptoes, hooked both arms around Xiahou Shaoxuan’s neck, and buried his head against Xiahou Shaoxuan’s chest, rubbing against him as he felt the powerful beating of his heart.
“Wifey…”
“Shaoxuan, you have to live well. You must live well, even if…” Even if one day I’m no longer here.
“Wifey, what’s wrong?” Sensing something strange about Lian Qiguang, Xiahou Shaoxuan released him and held his thin face between both hands, frowning slightly.
“Nothing.” Lian Qiguang remained silent for a long time before suddenly grinning. Then he took a step back, spread his arms, and spun around. “Shaoxuan, look. Have I gotten taller?”
Looking at Lian Qiguang’s dazed little face, Shaoxuan’s heart relaxed slightly. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Lian Qiguang’s head.
“Mhm, you’ve grown taller.”
“Shaoxuan, do you still remember what we were like when we first met?” Lian Qiguang leaned against the windowsill, propping his chin up with both hands as he gazed faintly at the garden outside. Suddenly, he asked the question.
“Mhm.” Xiahou Shaoxuan bent down beside Lian Qiguang, reached through the window, and picked a flower climbing up along the wall from the garden. “How could I forget?”
That cold young man who was actually lonely and isolated, with a pair of deep black eyes that seemed bottomless. He appeared heartless, yet carried an oppressive weariness and numbness that made it hard to breathe.
Although Xiahou Shaoxuan had been furious that Xiahou Zhong had presumptuously arranged his life for him, he had to admit that the moment he first saw this child, he had already fallen for him beyond redemption.
“What if we had never met in the first place, and had never gotten together? What would have happened?”
“There is no such possibility.” Xiahou Shaoxuan frowned and spoke in a hard voice.
Looking at Lian Qiguang’s aloof profile, Xiahou Shaoxuan reached out and pulled him up. He opened Lian Qiguang’s hand and placed the flower in his palm.
“Wifey, I once saw a sentence like this in an ancient book in Grandpa’s study. When two people meet and come to know each other, all the way to finally loving each other and staying together until the end, that is fate, and it is also something destined by heaven.”
Looking at Xiahou Shaoxuan’s faintly angry face, Lian Qiguang held the flower in his hand and remained silent for a long time. Then he suddenly said, “Shaoxuan, shall we go to the academy?”
Qingdi Military Academy
Lian Qiguang’s situation had caused an uproar not only in the First District, but across the entire Blue Star.
Lian Qiguang—a Space-Rank expert despite being underage, a triple-type esper, and the partner of Major General Xiahou Shao, the commander of the Fallen Star. And on top of that, he himself was actually a precious and supposedly “frail” Natural. Now he was even pregnant—with twins!!
When the news reached the academy, it caused an uproar. Qing Mu Rong, who had been drinking tea, even jolted so badly that he fell straight out of his chair.
Seeing Lian Qiguang lying on the ground covered in blood in the video, Qing Mu Rong nearly suffocated. Lian Qiguang was pregnant, yet he had sent him into the competition arena. If something had really happened to him because of that, never mind whether that old bastard Xiahou would chop him to pieces—he himself would have slammed his head against a wall and died in atonement.
Fortunately, according to the reports online afterward, and after asking Xiahou Zhong himself, he learned that Lian Qiguang was fine. He had originally wanted to find some time to go to the First District, but then learned that the Xiahou family’s gate was being blocked by people every day, so he could only give up. He planned to go and see him after there were fewer “guests” at the Xiahou residence.
No matter how much Qing Mu Rong racked his brain, he would never have imagined that the person he was thinking about so anxiously had already arrived at the academy.
Although more than a month had passed since Lian Qiguang’s incident, people were still talking about it with great enthusiasm. Today, the academy was as quiet as usual, but that tranquility was shattered by the arrival of a luxurious spacecraft.
Wearing a loose jacket and accompanied by Xiahou Shaoxuan, Lian Qiguang stepped off the spacecraft. Lian Qiguang swiped his student ID, while Xiahou Shaoxuan simply used facial recognition. The two entered the academy without a hitch.
“Hey, come on. What are you looking at?” A student saw that his companion had stopped moving and reached out to tug at him. However, his companion continued staring blankly at the academy entrance with his eyes wide open, his face filled with shock.
The student found it strange and followed his gaze. The moment he saw Lian Qiguang, he became dumbfounded as well.
Lian… Qiguang…
All the way through the academy, Lian Qiguang and Xiahou Shaoxuan received a one-hundred-percent rate of people turning their heads to look at them, yet they walked along completely unfazed.
Seeing the students around them stopping to stare stupidly, Lian Qiguang stopped as well. After thinking about it, he took a square metal box from his space. He turned around, walked over to a student, took out a piece of candy, and handed it over.
“Wedding candy.”
Seeing Lian Qiguang approach, the student widened his eyes and wanted to speak, but after opening and closing his mouth several times, he could not make a sound.
When he saw the candy Lian Qiguang offered him, the student accepted it blankly. Then Lian Qiguang handed over the little box in his hand and said expressionlessly,
“Gift money.”
“…”
The student.
“Gift money!” Seeing that the student did not move, Lian Qiguang immediately became displeased, thinking the student wanted to get away without paying.
Sensing the unfriendly pressure radiating from Lian Qiguang, the student immediately jolted back to his senses. Although he did not understand what “gift money” meant, he understood the word “money.” Without another word, he pulled out his star card and hurriedly stuffed it into the box.
“Say, ‘Happy marriage.’” Lian Qiguang demanded expressionlessly.
“Ha… Happy marriage…”
“Thank you.” Lian Qiguang shook the little box in his hand, thoroughly satisfied, and left.
Following behind Lian Qiguang, Xiahou Shaoxuan could not suppress the smile on his face as he watched his wife’s adorable, serious little expression.
Along the way, Lian Qiguang continued handing out wedding candy and receiving all kinds of star cards and cash. Soon, the box was full. Without hesitation, Lian Qiguang tossed it into his space and took out an even larger new box.
This double preparation immediately amused Xiahou Shaoxuan.
“Deadwood!” A surprised voice came from ahead. Qing Yi, Feng Qingyang, and several others ran over and surrounded Lian Qiguang.
“Deadwood, you’re back?” Feng Qingyang could not conceal the joy in his voice. “How are you feeling now? Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable or anything like that?”
To be honest, when they first heard the news about Lian Qiguang, all of them had been quite shocked. But once that shock faded, it was replaced by overwhelming concern.
Looking at them, Lian Qiguang’s mood improved considerably as well. He pulled out a handful of candies from his pocket and handed them over.
“Wedding candy.”
Feng Qingyang and the others froze. Although they did not understand what wedding candy meant, they still accepted it. But immediately afterward came the little metal box in Lian Qiguang’s hand.
“Gift money.”
“Gift money?” Lan Qi stared blankly at the metal box in Lian Qiguang’s hand. “What is gift money?”
“In the past, when two people got married, they would invite lots of people to eat wedding candy. Then, after you eat my wedding candy, you have to give gift money.” After thinking about what he had read in books before, Lian Qiguang vaguely conveyed the general meaning.
“This isn’t for me. It’s for the children.” As he spoke, Lian Qiguang pointed at his round little belly.
The group followed where Lian Qiguang was pointing and immediately became energetic. Although they were still confused, they quickly pulled out their star cards and stuffed them inside.
“Here! A year’s worth of spending money from me.” Qing Yi put down her star card and waved her hand boldly. “It’s for your babies!”
“Where’s Mi Xiaobao?” Lian Qiguang looked around but did not see Mi Xiaobao, so he asked in confusion.
“Who knows? We haven’t seen him for quite a while either.” Feng Qingyang scratched his head. “A few days after you left to participate in the survival competition, he disappeared. Then he suddenly came back less than two days later. Since then, he’s been disappearing for a few days every so often. He always looks absent-minded, and whenever we talk to him, he spaces out. We ask him, but he won’t say anything. It’s driving us crazy.”
He had disappeared again?
Lian Qiguang frowned slightly, a trace of doubt passing through his heart.
Just as Lian Qiguang was wondering about it, Xiahou Shaoxuan walked over and put an arm around his shoulders.
“Tired? Do you want to go rest for a while?”
“No need. I’m fine.”
“Deadwood, this is…” Lan Qi looked at Xiahou Shaoxuan, his tone hesitant.
“This is my wife, Xiahou Shaoxuan.” Lian Qiguang raised his voice slightly, clearly sounding rather proud.
Wife? Xiahou Shaoxuan? Major General Xiahou!!?
Qing Yi and the other three froze.
Xiahou Shaoxuan’s face darkened.
“Greetings, Major General!” Qing Yi was the first to react. She immediately stood straight and gave a crisp military salute, her voice ringing loudly.
That shout instantly left everyone around them dumbfounded. They stared foolishly at the tall, cold man, their hearts pounding wildly.
Major General? Major General Xiahou! The supreme commander of the Fallen Star! In the flesh!!
This strange silence did not last long. In an instant, hundreds and thousands of students stood straight in unison and gave a military salute. Their solemn voices shook the entire academy.
“Greetings, Commander!! The entire student body of Qingdi Military Academy, Third District, salutes you!”
“…”
Xiahou Shaoxuan.
“…”
Lian Qiguang.