"Did Grandma say anything to you?"
Little Qi thought for a mont: "Grandma said this is a gift for Mom, but Little Qi didn’t bring a present."
Ruan Li remained silent; this was sothing Ruan Ying would indeed do.
"Do you have a Smart Brain?"
Little Qi nodded and showed Ruan Li the Smart Brain he had just received. It displayed information that his mother was Ruan Li.
Lu Mujie sent the results directly to Ruan Li via Smart Brain, saying, "Little Qi is indeed your child, genetically speaking."
Little Qi looked up at the distressed Ruan Li, and said softly and helplessly, "Mom..."
Mom didn’t seem to like him at all.
What could Ruan Li say? Her feelings towards this suddenly appearing child were very complicated. Genetically, he was their child, but Ruan Li felt no maternal bond with him. Should she send him back to Ruan Ying?
Seeing the yearning in Little Qi’s eyes, Ruan Li felt torn inside.
Xu Mo was even more indifferent to this child. Even if genetically matched, he was not the child of him and Ruan Li.
Lu Mujie’s video call continued. Observing Ruan Li’s silent struggle, he said, "Why not send him to my lab? I can ’take care’ of him for you for the ti being."
After all, he’s a Beastman, with tough skin, he won’t die.
Little Qi helplessly grabbed Ruan Li’s sleeve. The ten-year-old Beastman’s tall stature, with eyes almost identical to Ruan Li’s brown-black ones, looked at her, "Mom, I don’t want to go."
Ruan Li pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache, "Second brother, I’ll send him over to you. Can you help check if there’s anything wrong with this child?"
The main issue was acknowledging that Ruan Ying was impeccable, even mad, in scientific research, yet she undoubtedly lacked so moral restraint.
Upon hearing Ruan Li’s words, Little Qi’s pupils contracted sharply. He knew what this ant and pleaded, "Mom, please don’t abandon . I don’t want to go to the lab!"
Logically, a child shouldn’t fear the unknown to this extent... which could only an he’s likely been through sothing.
Ruan Li t his moist eyes and instinctively grasped his hand, comforting him, "Don’t worry, nothing will happen to you."
It was rely for Mu Ji to conduct so checks.
Although Little Qi’s body trembled slightly with fear, he still clung to Ruan Li’s hand, unwilling to let go.
Ruan Li, having no choice, could only personally take him there.
"Do you need help checking his mory?" Lu Mujie asked.
"Will it harm his body?"
"It might cause slight damage to the cerebral cortex, but it won’t affect his intelligence."
"Forget it, just check for anything wrong physically."
An hour later, Lu Mujie handed over a paper report, his dark eyes full of amazent, "His genetic integration is very perfect, his physical data is also very healthy, surpassing seventy percent of children his age, with awakened dual superpowers."
"However, children are usually quite sensitive psychologically. This is the interstellar universal child psychology test, scoring a perfect score of 100, he only scored 16."
"This suggests that this child has so psychological disorder, which might be why she had to give him to you."
Through the one-way mirror, Ruan Li could clearly see Little Qi’s slightly thin figure standing lonely and helpless in the stark lab.
"What about the others? Any trackers or recorders?"
Lu Mujie shook his head, "But there’s a chip hanging on his neck. Do you want to look at the contents?"
Lu Mujie wasn’t curious enough to open it; he guessed it was sothing Ruan Ying left for Ruan Li.
"No, it’s best to destroy it." Ruan Li didn’t want to complicate things further.
Ruan Li eventually brought Little Qi back ho.
She couldn’t bear seeing a pair of eyes just like hers and remain unmoved.
After talking to him for a few more sentences, there was no sign this child had any psychological disorder; at most, he was a bit introverted and sowhat clingy to her.
Ruan Yi blabbed to all the kids in the family about Little Qi, which led to them observing him curiously from the staircase railing while Little Qi was sitting on the sofa with Ruan Li.
"Apparently, he was raised by Grandma," Ruan Yi shared so scoop.
"Impossible, I didn’t see him at Grandma’s last ti," Ruan Jing (She Xiaoyi) said.
"Silly, would Grandma let you see him?"
"But where did he co from? Mom wasn’t pregnant?"
The noise of the kids upstairs grew louder.
Ruan Li addressed them, "Have you finished your howork? If not, why are you playing here?"
When they saw Mom was getting angry, the kids quickly tucked their tails between their legs and scurried back to their rooms to do their howork.
Little Qi looked up, his senses extrely sharp, and he heard almost every word they had just said.
They lived with Mom all the ti, how fortunate.
Having Mom’s care must be such a nice feeling.
Little Qi touched his left hand, the one Ruan Li had held before. The lingering warmth and sensation felt so real.
All of this felt like a dream.
Mother holding his hand for the first ti.
He finally t his mother.
But she had so many children... would she like him?
Suddenly, Little Qi felt a bit jealous. How could those kids dare to upset the mother?
His brown-black eyes stared at the ground quietly.
Ruan Li saw him lower his eyes and thought he was shutting down. Her voice softened, "I’ve had a room prepared for you on the fifth floor by the robot, you can rest there tonight."
Little Qi looked up. Mother’s voice was so gentle; was she considering him her child too?
He wanted to see what it looked like when Mom regarded him as her child.
He looked up at Ruan Li with hopeful anticipation.
Nothing, there was nothing.
Her gaze was so cold.
Completely different from the way she looked at those children earlier.
Little Qi lowered his head, his eyes growing more profound.
However, the warmth and sensation from his hand made his whole body tense.
As he raised his eyes, they once again turned back to innocent and pure.
Ruan Li took his hand, "Co on, I’ll take you to your room."
He obediently followed behind Ruan Li like a doll.
Until they reached his door, opened it, and there was a clean and cozy yet warm room.
Little Qi’s gaze dimd.
Sadly, there was no scent of a mother.
Ruan Li let go of his hand, only to find his little hand tightly gripping hers.
Ruan Li crouched down, "Little Qi, is sothing wrong?"
Little Qi pursed his lips, his watery eyes looking at her.
Ruan Li patiently waited for a mont, only to hear him speak crisply, "Can I sleep with mommy?"
Just arriving in a new environnt, fear is quite normal.
Ruan Li agreed and, after filling the bathtub with hot water, said, "You bathe first. These are new pajamas, put them on after you finish bathing."
After changing into soft clothes post-bath, Little Qi obediently lay in bed. He watched his mother leaning against the bedhead, softly reading a children’s story to him, unwilling to look away for a long ti.
After finishing a short story, Ruan Li turned to see Little Qi staring at her with his round eyes.
"Close your eyes and sleep."
"Okay." He closed his eyes, and only then did Ruan Li leave.
Lu Mujie waited by the door.
"Little Li, what are you planning to do with this child? I’ve looked at that chip, and it records a fully mature gene fusion technology."
Ruan Li paused and asked, "Is this technology legal?"
"If it’s only used for animal experints, there’s absolutely no problem."
Ruan Li understood his aning, "Since Ruan Ying gave it to , I can decide its use."
Lu Mujie looked at her, waiting for her answer.
"Destroy it."
"... Do you know how big an uproar this technology would cause if it got reported across the interstellar?"
Ruan Li shook her head, "No matter how sensational, it shouldn’t be the reason for its existence. Do you wish to see countless children like Little Qi in the future?"
"It goes against biological laws, no matter how sensational it gets, it’s unacceptable."
Lu Mujie said softly, "If this technology can be promoted, females wouldn’t need to give birth themselves in the future."
"Of course, it’s still more harmful than beneficial. If we deprive females of their reproductive rights, it will undoubtedly lead to greater chaos."
"Don’t worry, I will completely destroy it."
Before Ruan Li left, she pushed open the door for a glance, found Little Qi sleeping peacefully, and only then left at ease.
...
"Boss, are you really sure about this?"
"Yes, I’m the only one who can do this. By then, I’ll extract the energy from my body and give it to Ruan Li. Rember to retrieve my bionic body." Wen’s expression was indifferent, as if discussing a trivial matter like today’s weather.
"But what will you do without the energy?" Su Bai asked nervously.
Wen looked at the beautiful rose clouds in the night sky, seemingly reminded of the brief ti spent in that desert.
Would anyone care?
"No one will care about my departure."
"... I care, the little female will care too." Su Bai retorted.
Wen suddenly smiled a little, "Ten years, I might wake up in ten years. As for my matters, there’s no need to tell her."
Ten years later, Su Bai sat daily in front of the bionic body, his cat-eyes nearly blind from staring.
"Boss, why aren’t you back yet? The little female has already married her tenth beast husband. If you don’t co back soon, you won’t even get a spot."
Waiting from dusk till dawn, then dusk again.
"... Boss, you tricked a cat..."
"... You’re still not asleep?"
The desert cat, almost dying suddenly, was startled awake, "Boss?!! When did you wake up?!!"
"About eight hours ago," Wen thought for a while.
"Then why didn’t you call !" Su Bai shouted heart-wrenchingly.
"I just wanted to see how long you could go without sleeping."
"Boss!!!"
The person who was yelling a mont ago was suddenly silenced by the man’s glance the next mont.
"Please go find the little female! We’re not in a tragic drama."
The office door suddenly knocked.
The door opened, it was the person they longed for.
"Long ti no see."
—The End (2025.04.01)
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