Lu Qiao and Violent Rabbit’s meeting in person had happened so suddenly that they did not have much time to reminisce. By this point, the medical personnel were already preparing to push Violent Rabbit onto the medical transport ship.
Lu Qiao was just about to let go when Violent Rabbit grabbed him and desperately widened his eyes, signaling that he still had something to say.
Lu Qiao was quick-witted. He turned his head toward Yan Qiu and said, “Y-You… go a little farther away!”
Yan Qiu glanced at him.
Lu Qiao waved his hand, urging him, “Hurry up, I have something to say to my friend!”
Yan Qiu smiled teasingly and took two steps back, crossing his arms as he watched them.
Lu Qiao somehow felt guilty. He swallowed and turned back, lowering his voice. “What is it?”
Violent Rabbit also lowered his voice and said vaguely, “When you get online, don’t tell anyone about what happened these past two days!”
“As long as you don’t tell anyone that Yan Qiu and I know each other, I won’t tell anyone about what happened to you these past two days either.” Lu Qiao cleverly made a condition in exchange.
Violent Rabbit gritted his teeth and said, “Fine! But you absolutely can’t say anything! N-Not about me coming here, getting tricked about the plastic surgery, or, or that…”
Lu Qiao was originally puzzled about what Violent Rabbit wanted to say, but seeing the way this guy’s face had turned red and how embarrassed he was to speak, Lu Qiao quickly understood what he meant. He raised his eyebrows slightly and said with amusement, “Or the fact that you wanted to have yourself made to look like Yan Qiu?”
Violent Rabbit: “…”
Right now, he wished he could bury himself in the ground.
Speaking of this matter, Lu Qiao finally felt like he had gotten some of his anger out.
He said almost smugly, “Yan Qiu is really good-looking, right? He’s tall, his muscles are well-developed, and his face is way better-looking than those celebrities!”
Lu Qiao gave a couple of smug little laughs, planted his hands on his hips, and raised his chin. “But no hospital can make someone look like him. It’s simply impossible! He’s one of a kind!”
“…” Violent Rabbit said gloomily, “As a man, you really don’t have even the slightest sense of competition toward him.”
Lu Qiao froze and hurriedly said, “How do I not have a sense of competition toward him? I’ve always regarded him as a competitor!”
“Oh, so your way of treating someone as a competitor is to keep showering them with compliments?” Violent Rabbit gave Lu Qiao a sidelong look and said strangely, “Looking at how proud you are, it almost seems like that face belongs to you.”
Lu Qiao: “…”
He was just about to refute him when Violent Rabbit pondered and said, “Ordinary competitors wouldn’t act like this. With your attitude, that’s more like how a girlfriend praises her boyfriend, isn’t it?”
Lu Qiao: “???”
His eyes widened. “You want to get beaten up by me again?!”
Violent Rabbit immediately raised his voice and shouted at the medical personnel, “Nurse ladies, hurry and push me away!! Immediately, right now!”
The medical personnel hurried over. Lu Qiao was pushed aside, watching as Violent Rabbit stuck out his tongue at him before being pushed onto the starship.
Lu Qiao glared at this guy.
What the heck? What did he mean by some girlfriend praising her boyfriend nonsense…
At some point, the man had walked over to his side and asked with great interest, “What were you talking about with your friend?”
Lu Qiao turned his head and looked at Yan Qiu, muttering, “I was discussing things with him objectively!”
Yan Qiu raised his eyebrows and repeated, word by word, “‘Discussing things objectively’?”
“Yeah!” Lu Qiao had no idea what was strange about it. He was even muttering inwardly, In this day and age, does only being someone’s girlfriend qualify you to discuss things objectively?
He gave a light snort and turned around to leave.
The man stood behind him, his eyes and brows filled with amusement.
A little after twelve noon, Luo Ye and the others set out. Lu Qiao and Yan Qiu also immediately departed, speeding up as much as possible so they could arrive at the Yan residence before seven.
They also brought Song Yue along. Although his younger brother was still lying in a hospital bed, he was no longer in serious condition. Song Yue had also already used up all the leave he had requested from the military, so he had to return.
Along the way, Song Yue chattered away, pulling Lu Qiao into asking how exactly he had unleashed secondary genes and how he had repaired the consciousness bodies. Lu Qiao dealt with him while answering, but he always felt that Yan Qiu’s gaze toward him was strange.
It seemed like he was always looking at him. Lu Qiao had no idea what Yan Qiu was thinking about, but every time he looked, he would smile in a way that made Lu Qiao feel uneasy.
Once, halfway through the journey, Lu Qiao could not help asking him quietly, “What exactly are you laughing about?”
Yan Qiu thought about it and said, “I’m curious where exactly you met that friend who wanted to have himself made to look like me.”
Lu Qiao: “…”
Fine. He would shut up.
One sentence was enough to silence him.
All the way until six in the evening, when they were almost back at the Yan residence, this man beside him had made him feel so restless that he could hardly sit still.
Yan Family Manor.
In the garden, a middle-aged man sat in a wheelchair, enjoying the cool evening breeze.
He was quietly talking with the woman pushing his wheelchair from behind. The woman was dressed in a military uniform, looking capable and heroic. She was none other than Yan Qiu’s mother, Qiu Yue, who had arrived home only an hour ago.
When Seir came over carrying a blanket and some water, the butler happened to be there as well. The moment he saw Seir, the butler hurriedly said, “Young Master Seir, these things should have been done by us. How could we trouble you—”
Seir smiled and said, “It’s fine.”
He walked over and smiled at Yan Qiu’s parents. “Although the weather here is still hot, Uncle, you just woke up and your body is still weak. You should at least cover your legs.”
Yan Qiu’s father’s face was still somewhat haggard, but his eyes were full of spirit.
He smiled at Seir, took the things Seir handed him, and said hoarsely, “Thank you for troubling yourself.”
“It’s no trouble.” Seir half-knelt down and asked with concern, “Uncle, how are you feeling now?”
Qiu Yue also looked at her husband with some worry.
Although the doctor brought by His Majesty the Emperor had examined him and said that he was fine, this man had ultimately slept for five whole years. His current weakness made him even more frail than an ordinary person, so she really could not help worrying.
Yan Qiu’s father, however, waved his hand and smiled. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”
He looked toward the distant sky dyed by the glow of the setting sun, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and murmured, “I feel very good right now.”
During the five years he had been asleep, he had known nothing. It was only when he was awakened in the consciousness world that he suddenly realized that a very long time must have passed.
When he woke up in reality, he discovered that the servants in the manor had all grown old, his wife was far away at the border, and his son had already become the Empire’s First Marshal.
He had merely slept once, yet the outside world had undergone earth-shaking changes.
But being able to wake up was already a blessing. Even with his current body, under His Majesty’s mercy he could continue to retain his rank as a marshal, although it was no longer possible for him to truly return to the battlefield. But being able to see his wife and child again was already enough to satisfy him.
And the person who had given him all of this was that young man with black hair and black eyes…
Seir lowered his eyes for a moment before raising them again with a smile. “It’s a shame Marshal Yan pushed aside his work and ran off to San Guang Star. Otherwise, Uncle, you would’ve been able to see him the moment you woke up.”
He turned to ask the butler, “Did the Marshal say when he would be back?”
The butler glanced at Yan Qiu’s parents. Qiu Yue smiled lightly and said, “The butler just told us. They’ll be arriving very soon.”
“Really?” Seir turned back and said with a smile, “It’s rare to see the Marshal push aside his own work and go out. Marshal Lunn normally doesn’t like dealing with administrative matters anyway, and today he spent the entire day complaining to me.”
As he spoke, he stuck out his tongue.
Yan Qiu’s father laughed. “Really? He dumped all of Yan Qiu’s work on him?”
“Yes.” Seir moved a little closer and rested his chin on Yan Qiu’s father’s knee, acting obediently. “If Uncle hadn’t woken up, I would’ve definitely had to stay up late working overtime with Marshal Lunn.”
Yan Qiu’s father laughed heartily.
Seir smiled. “Speaking of which, Uncle, how exactly did you wake up? Has someone in the Empire finally learned how to repair consciousness bodies?”
Yan Qiu’s father and mother merely smiled without answering.
Just then, a servant hurried over and said, “Master, Madam, Young Master and Young Master Lu are back!”
Yan Qiu’s parents’ eyes immediately lit up.
Yan Qiu’s father said to Qiu Yue, “Quick, push me over!”
Qiu Yue smiled. “Got it!”
Seir stiffened and could only stand up and move aside, allowing Qiu Yue to push her husband forward.
He stood there for a while before expressionlessly following them, where he encountered his father, who happened to be walking out of the villa.
At noon, he had come here together with his father.
When his father saw him, he happily called out, “I heard Marshal Yan is back. Come on, let’s go take a look.”
Lu Qiao and the others dropped Song Yue off at the military, then drove toward the Yan residence. It was only at this moment that Lu Qiao suddenly remembered that he seemed to have to face Yan Qiu’s parents. He actually felt a little nervous.
Only now did he realize that the Yan family really was a family of marshals. There were three people in one family, and all three were marshals!
And he was still only a soldier reservist!
His throat became dry from nervousness. He swallowed several times. Yan Qiu noticed and asked with amusement, “What are you nervous about? They’re just my parents. You weren’t this nervous when facing Lunn, were you?”
After a pause, Yan Qiu said quietly, “Didn’t you say my father was also your idol?”
“An idol is an idol, but, but he’s still a little different from Marshal Lunn…” Lu Qiao was so nervous that he was sweating.
“How is he different?” Yan Qiu looked at him and asked.
Lu Qiao glanced at Yan Qiu, then lowered his head and muttered, “He’s just different…”
As for how he was different… h-he had no idea! Anyway, he was just nervous!
Yan Qiu chuckled and stopped asking. He took Lu Qiao’s hand and got off the aircraft, where they saw the man and woman waiting outside.
The evening breeze blew over.
Yan Qiu’s expression became complicated. He called out, “Dad, Mom.”
Yan Qiu’s mother smiled and pushed her husband forward a little.
Yan Qiu’s father looked the man standing before him up and down—his son—and his eyes were filled with relief.
“Good. Very good.”
The Old Marshal Yan was exactly the same as the person Lu Qiao had seen in the consciousness world.
Thin and aged.
But that resolute expression and calmness in the face of changing circumstances still belonged to that great marshal.
Watching Yan Qiu reunite with his parents, Lu Qiao felt deeply moved, along with a different kind of sense of fulfillment.
He was sincerely happy for Yan Qiu—Yan Qiu’s family was complete again.
If only he and his parents could also be like this…
Thinking of himself, Lu Qiao’s expression dimmed slightly.
Just then, Old Marshal Yan spoke. “You’re Lu Qiao?”
Lu Qiao froze and looked up.
Old Marshal Yan was looking directly at him, his eyes carrying a smile.
Old Madam Yan was also looking at Lu Qiao with a smile.
“I-I-I, I am!” Lu Qiao stammered.
Yan Qiu’s lips curled up as he said to his father, “Dad, you should still remember him, right?”
Old Marshal Yan smiled warmly. “I remember. But I hadn’t been able to meet him all this time!”
Lu Qiao pointed at himself and blinked—Yan Qiu had mentioned him to Old Marshal Yan?
Old Madam Yan teasingly said, “We knew about you as early as five years ago, Lu Qiao. I heard you used to love chasing after Yan Qiu. I didn’t expect that even after five years, you two… would still end up bonded together!”
Old Madam Yan covered her lips and laughed ambiguously.
Lu Qiao’s face grew hot, and he became somewhat at a loss.
Yan Qiu’s father turned around and asked his wife, “Bonded together means that, right? Meaning the two of them—”
“No, no, no! Yan Qiu and I are good friends! We’re not that kind of relationship!” Lu Qiao’s face turned completely red as he hurriedly clarified.
Seeing him panic, the two elders both burst out laughing.
Lu Qiao glared at Yan Qiu, who was standing beside him and laughing along, thinking, Why isn’t this guy saying anything?!
After laughing, Yan Qiu’s father propelled his wheelchair forward himself.
He looked at Lu Qiao and said solemnly, “Lu Qiao, thank you for awakening me.”
Lu Qiao froze.
When Yan Qiu’s father had first awakened, he had been somewhat confused. He did not know whether what had happened in the consciousness world was reality or a dream he had experienced.
It was not until he heard that Yan Qiu had been bonded to someone that he suddenly had a premonition. He asked the butler who the person bonded to Yan Qiu was.
The butler gave him a photograph, and the person in the photograph looked exactly like the person he had met in the consciousness world.
—It was this young man whom Yan Qiu had brought home who had saved him!
Yan Qiu’s mother also said gratefully, “Without you, our family would never have been able to gather together like this again. Thank you so much, Lu Qiao.”
Lu Qiao felt his hand being squeezed. He looked over and saw the gentle gratitude in Yan Qiu’s eyes as well.
An indescribable sense of happiness suddenly rose in Lu Qiao’s heart.
He scratched his head and lowered it shyly, feeling very happy inside.
Yan Qiu’s father looked at the two of them, then exchanged a glance with his wife. He laughed heartily. “All right, we’re family from now on. It’s getting late. Let’s go inside and have dinner.”
Seeing the four of them chatting and laughing like a family, Seir clenched both fists.
His father sighed emotionally. “I didn’t expect Old Marshal Yan to be so accepting of that young man.”
“Dad, you don’t know how Old Marshal Yan woke up either?” Seir asked with a frown.
“He didn’t tell me.” His father looked at him and suddenly said, “This isn’t something we should know. If Old Marshal Yan is willing to tell us, he’ll tell us. If he doesn’t want to tell us, we shouldn’t ask. Seir, don’t lose your sense of propriety.”
Seir bit his lip and said nothing.
“I know you’re concerned about your uncle, but you’ve seen him now, and Old Marshal Yan is doing quite well. We should go back too,” his father reminded him. “Don’t disturb their family dinner.”
Seir suddenly turned around and demanded, “How can Lu Qiao count as their family?!”
His father froze.
Seir panted heavily, glaring at his father.
His father realized something. He was somewhat stunned, but in the next instant, his expression darkened.
He warned him, “Old Marshal Yan and Old Madam Yan acknowledge him, and Yan Qiu likes him. That young man is their family. Seir, don’t get confused!”
Seir trembled slightly and looked toward the villa again, just in time to meet the man’s gaze.
The man held the hand of the person beside him as they walked up the steps. He glanced at Seir, his gaze extremely faint.
Seir shuddered and immediately looked away.
He gritted his teeth. In the end, he turned around and left, his back looking flustered.
Old Marshal Yan had also noticed the situation in the distance. Seeing his old subordinate salute him before leaving with Seir, he let his wife push him into the house and said thoughtfully, “That child Seir has changed a little.”
As soon as Seir arrived here, he had fought to do the servants’ work, constantly circling around him. At the same time as being overly attentive, he had also said quite a few things.
The meaning behind his words was not something Old Marshal Yan could be too confused to discern.
Yan Qiu had pushed his work onto someone else for Lu Qiao—
Did Seir think he would blame Yan Qiu and Lu Qiao for something like this?
Not to mention that he was not originally such a serious person. Even if he were, Lu Qiao had saved his life. He was still too grateful to even think of being bothered by this matter.
Thinking of this, he teased his son, “I heard you pushed your work onto Lunn? This is the first time you’ve done something like this, right?”
Lu Qiao had originally been walking along just fine. When he heard this, it took him two seconds to react. He stopped in shock and asked, “You pushed your work aside just to come over?!”
Yan Qiu fell silent.
Lu Qiao was stunned—he and Song Yue had originally planned to set out today. Wasn’t Yan Qiu originally planning to leave with them today too? He had thought Yan Qiu was simply off work today!
Yan Qiu glanced at him and said calmly, “He had already pushed his work onto me several times before. This time, we’ll just consider it making him pay back his debt.”
Lu Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. So that’s what it was.
But Yan Qiu’s parents were secretly laughing. Yan Qiu had said that sentence in an attempt to defend himself, but it only made the situation even more abnormal on top of already being abnormal.
The four of them sat down around the dining table and had this not-too-late dinner.
During the meal, they chatted about Lu Qiao’s situation.
At present, only a few people knew about Lu Qiao’s abilities. Aside from the imperial family and a few people among the mental-power manipulators, Yan Qiu’s parents had also learned everything about Lu Qiao through a phone call yesterday, with Yan Qiu telling them about his situation.
Lu Qiao did not intend to be high-profile. Therefore, while on San Guang Star, he had already discussed it with Luo Ye and the others. They would simply let things take their natural course and did not need to widely announce his abilities to others.
As for whether other people would make any moves after finding out—
Old Marshal Yan said decisively, “You can rest assured. Our Yan family will always be your backing.”
Old Madam Yan spoke just as boldly. “No one will dare touch you.”
Yan Qiu said calmly beside him, “Don’t worry. I’m here.”
Lu Qiao was suddenly overwhelmed by the promises of the three members of the Yan family. He pursed his lips and smiled, saying, “It’s fine. I can protect myself too.”
He had awakened Level Three genes now, and he could feel the changes in his body himself.
He had become more agile and stronger than before, and he had confidence in his own strength.
“Speaking of which…” Yan Qiu’s father suddenly thought of something and said, “After awakening secondary genes, one’s appearance will also undergo some changes, right? Lu Qiao, you awakened two types of secondary genes, so the changes in your appearance should be even greater. This—”
Hearing this, Yan Qiu’s mother carefully examined Lu Qiao’s face and cautiously asked, “Lu Qiao, do you feel like you look different?”
Lu Qiao touched his face, confused. “Do I?”
He turned toward Yan Qiu and asked for confirmation, “Do I? Do I?”
Yan Qiu put down his utensils and shook his head helplessly. “Not yet.”
Yan Qiu’s father stroked his chin. “The changes might not come that quickly. You can pay attention to it for a while afterward.”
Lu Qiao immediately became excited. “Will I become stronger and taller? Just like Marshal Lunn!”
The moment those words came out, the three people at the dining table all froze.
The reason they froze was… what Lu Qiao had said was not impossible. They simply had never thought about it before.
Lu Qiao gave a “hehe” laugh, his eyes shining as he stared at Yan Qiu. “Maybe I’ll become several times stronger and more muscular than you by then! You’d better watch out!”
Yan Qiu: “…”
Yan Qiu’s expression became subtly strange for a moment.
Then he calmly said, “It’s fine. Even if you change, you’ll still be cute.”
Lu Qiao: “??? Even if I become like Marshal Lunn?”
Yan Qiu: “Mm.”
Lu Qiao: This man had to be crazy. He could find even that cute?