Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 9
byChapter 9: Mother
“What, do you have something urgent to attend to?”
Seeing Lu Changqing look down at his terminal again shortly after putting it down, a middle-aged patient who had already taken off his jacket and settled into the treatment pod asked.
“I have a call, it’s quite important,” Lu Changqing said. “General Li, could you wait two minutes?”
“Of course, Changqing, please go ahead.” The middle-aged man was very straightforward and polite to Lu Changqing—even though in terms of age, rank, and family connections, he was certainly Lu Changqing’s elder, his life depended on the other man, so how could he dare put on airs?
Lu Changqing nodded to him, walked into the cubicle to take the call, but a second before answering, he narrowed his eyes, and his long fingers tapped the screen, changing the video call to a voice call—
“Leyan, is something wrong?”
“Daddy.” From the earpiece came a soft, sweet child’s voice that melted the heart. “Daddy, I miss you all.”
Lu Changqing’s lips curved slightly, his voice clear and calm: “Everyone misses you too, Leyan. No matter where you are, Daddy is still Daddy.”
“Cough!” A fake cough came from the other end of the line.
Lu Changqing’s expression shifted slightly: “Is someone next to you?”
“Mhm.” He Leyan turned his head to look at He Chen, paused, and after a moment of struggling thought, replied, “There’s a person who wants to talk to you.”
What did he mean by “a person”?
He Chen, who had no official title, forced a smile at the terminal displaying the officially titled “Daddy”: “Hello, I am Leyan’s father, He Chen.”
“Hello.” Lu Changqing’s eyes deepened.
“Thank you for taking such good care of Leyan. I’ve prepared a small gift and asked Doctor Wen to deliver it as a token of my appreciation. When I have a chance to return to Star Capital, I will certainly visit to thank you in person,” He Chen said.
“Alright.”
Alright?
He Chen was stunned. Shouldn’t a normal person decline politely and exchange pleasantries?
“I am more familiar with Leyan’s condition. If you have any questions or needs, you can contact me to discuss them,” the other party added.
That sounded much more normal.
“Thank you very much. I was just thinking the same thing. If it’s convenient, could I add your communication number?” He Chen asked.
“…You may.” The other party answered after a moment of silence.
He was a man of few words.
He Chen used his terminal to send a friend request to the man, and politely asked, “What is your surname?”
The other party paused again: “My surname is Lu.”
Lu, huh… Those surnamed Lu were usually formidable individuals. He Chen thought of someone, then hastily drove that person from his mind as if warding off evil, added a note for the pediatrician, saved him in his contacts, and handed the call back to He Leyan.
The person on the other end must have said something else to He Leyan, as the call ended quickly.
“Daddy has patients.” After the call ended, He Leyan said sadly, likely trying to console himself. After saying it, he realized his confidant was the “big monster.” He pursed his lips, lowered his head, and continued drinking his milk. As he drank, he let out a small, wronged sob.
“Don’t be sad,” He Chen said, slightly at a loss for how to comfort him. “Actually, ‘Daddy’ has been with you all along.”
Where? He Leyan looked up at him.
He Chen understood his confusion and quickly replied: “See, right here, in your heart.”
Liar… He Leyan was a big boy who had passed his third birthday; he wouldn’t believe such things.
But, he stopped crying after all. He switched the bottle to his right hand and shielded his chest with his left arm, protecting his heart.
No need to hold it, it won’t fall out…
He Chen felt both a pang of sadness and a fear that He Leyan would become more upset and start crying again. He searched for something to say to distract He Leyan: “Um, we actually have a lot of fun things here. Do you want to go out and play?”
“We have a Level Three Gravity Field (training ground), a target practice mini-game (still a training ground), and we can ride a small aircraft (reconnaissance plane) to play hide-and-seek in the port. Oh, and,” He Chen racked his brain, “we can also wear a spacesuit and take a walk in space.”
“But you’re a bit too small.” They would need to make a tiny spacesuit.
He Chen scrutinized He Leyan, measuring his size with his eyes: “Your height, clothes and pants combined, aren’t much longer than a helmet.”
As he spoke, he imagined how adorable the round little cub would be and couldn’t help but smile. Halfway through the smile, he suddenly stopped: “Ahem, I’m not laughing at you.”
If he hadn’t said that, He Leyan wouldn’t have thought it was a “joke.” Since he did, He Leyan’s small face tightened: “I need to meditate now.”
He Leyan said this not because he was angry. He could sense that the big monster meant no harm when he said those things; he genuinely wanted to take him out to play.
However, he didn’t know or understand what a gravity field or a small aircraft was.
Since arriving here, everything felt strange, as if he had returned to a time when he was very small, when his mental power had gone wrong, and he couldn’t hear others speak. He only saw the adults anxiously moving their mouths but didn’t understand what they meant… He felt like he was the only one left in the world, and he was a little scared.
Now, only meditation was familiar to him.
“You’re still young, you don’t need to work so hard…” He Chen muttered softly. Seeing that the child was still determined to meditate, he wisely stood up—and stood two steps back, afraid that his height might frighten the child. “Go ahead. I’ll handle some work over there. I’ll take you to eat later.” He pointed to his room.
He Leyan nodded and walked along the small path, stepping on the little red fish, toward the meditation room.
The little red fish swam and played hide-and-seek under his feet. His steps slowed, and his mood suddenly brightened a little.
In the pediatric ward, one child said his father would buy him many toys, and He Leyan had nothing to say. In the future, he would have something to say.
He also… had a father.
A real, living father, no longer just the “father” Daddy told him about in stories, nor the scary “father” that His Highness Uncle talked about.
Just, just a clumsy father.
Thinking this, He Leyan suddenly turned his head back.
Oh dear, the big monster was still standing there watching him, his eyes sparkling.
He Leyan quickly snapped his small head back, his face slowly turning red.
“What’s wrong?” the big monster asked behind him.
He Leyan bit his lip.
Daddy had just said on the phone that he should communicate more with “Father”…
He Leyan mustered his courage and turned back again: “Tomorrow, can we ride the small aircraft?”
“Of course!” He Chen replied, overjoyed.
He Leyan nodded, ready to turn his small head back.
“Oh, right, Leyan,” He Chen was happy and wanted to make the cub happy too. “I’m returning to Star Capital next month for a debriefing. I’ll take you to see Daddy and the others then.”
“Really?” He Leyan looked surprised and delighted.
He Chen felt a little sour again. “Really, I never lie.”
“You did lie…” The child paused, then said in a milky voice.
“When did I—” He Chen stopped mid-sentence, met He Leyan’s large eyes, and remembered something: he had indeed lied, more than once. Scaring the Third Prince was one time, and saying the cub “pooped” was another…
If he had known this child understood everything and was quite sensitive about his dignity, he would have used a different excuse back then.
Hindsight is 20/20. He Chen cleared his throat: “I rarely lie. Only in special circumstances.”
He Leyan remained silent, watching him quietly.
“Ahem! Well, weren’t you going to meditate? Hurry up and go in. Time is gold!”
*
Watching He Leyan enter the meditation room, He Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He tidied the cub’s small bed, smoothed the blanket, and patted the small pillow that the cub had slept into a dent. Thinking about how the cub had spoken several sentences to him, a genuine, silly smile appeared on his face until his wrist terminal chimed, bringing him back to reality.
A message popped up on the terminal, without a single word, only an emoji: a gloomy, dejected face.
He Chen smiled again and dialed a call: “Class is over?”
A sound of “Mhm” came from the other end.
“Did you understand anything?”
Silence. Deathly silence.
He Chen’s smile widened: “If you don’t understand, ask the teacher more. Leyan doesn’t need you to watch him now, so focus on your studies.”
Finally, a voice came from the other end, sounding like a teenager, but somewhat hoarse and deep: “Going back.”
Just two words, but He Chen had no trouble understanding: “No way. A bet is a bet. Since you lost, you have to go to school.”
“Besides, I already paid the tuition. It was a huge sum, more expensive than buying a set of battle armor.”
The other side fell silent.
He Chen dropped the joking tone, his voice becoming more serious: “Alright, I’ll come back to Star Capital to see you next month. Eat well and practice your martial arts. I’ll be checking when I get there.”
The other side responded with an “Mhm.”
An “Mhm” was already a remarkable response. He Chen didn’t expect more and smiled, preparing to end the call, when he suddenly remembered something: “Leyan’s ‘Daddy,’ do you know who that is?”
The other side was quiet for a while, seemingly thinking. He Chen waited for several breaths before hearing the reply: “They all are.”
“Huh?”
“The males are all Dads, and the females are all Moms.” Rarely, a long sentence came from the opposite side.
He Chen felt a mix of emotions: “That person is different. Forget it…”
Silly child. Both of them are.
“Study hard, interact with people more. I won’t talk anymore, I have a communication—”
He Chen looked down at the caller ID on his terminal, and the relaxed smile on his face suddenly vanished.
After a two-second pause, he walked into his room, closed the door, and answered the call: “Good evening.”
After a moment of silence, skipping the expected salutation, he continued to ask, “What brings you to call?”
He Yayun on the other end ignored his greeting and question, asking directly in a cold voice, “I heard you intend to let Siyuan be the child’s godfather?”
“I had that thought,” He Chen said calmly, “but the Third Prince—”
“If you are truly sincere, send the child back to Star Capital.” He Yayun interrupted him coldly. “Siyuan holds a position in the military, his conditions are better than yours in all aspects, and his temperament is more suitable than yours. It is far more appropriate for him to raise the child than you.”
“But I am Leyan’s father.” He Chen’s face was expressionless. “I am neither disabled nor mentally unsound. According to the Star River Law, my child should be raised by me.”
After saying this, his tone softened slightly:
“Handing Leyan over to someone else is absolutely impossible. If Elder Brother truly likes him, being his godfather is enough.”
“You agree to let Siyuan be the godfather?” He Yayun, who was about to erupt in anger, paused at the last sentence, her expression shifting slightly.
“If Elder Brother doesn’t mind,” He Chen said calmly. “However, I heard from the Third Prince that His Majesty just issued an edict allowing Leyan to choose for himself. Rushing to appoint Elder Brother now would be contradicting His Majesty’s decree, so I think this matter is not urgent. We can discuss it when Leyan is older.”
“How old?”
“After his fourth birthday, that should be about right,” He Chen said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
He Yayun frowned: “Is that true?”
“It is true.” He Chen lowered his voice, carrying a perfectly measured mix of stubbornness and disappointment. “I would not lie to you.”
He Yayun lifted her head higher, but her body relaxed: “I understand.”
She said arrogantly and impatiently, “You owe your current position to the He family. Don’t think about keeping resources all to yourself now that you have them. You must know how to repay.”
“Resources”?
He Chen’s eyes darkened. He walked into the study with an expressionless face, pulled open a drawer, and while reaching for something, replied, “Yes.”
After answering, he asked again, “Is this repayment for the He family, or for Elder Brother?”
“It is the same thing.” He Yayun’s voice was displeased, but she suppressed it, forcing her tone to be gentle, though it sounded extremely unnatural. “Take care of yourself. Come back to visit when you have time.”
“Yes.” He Chen’s reply was much more natural than hers. “Thank you.”
The other party hung up impatiently, and He Chen also ended the communication.
The moment he disconnected, a deeply suppressed low howl immediately sounded beside him.
“Shh.” He Chen pressed down hard on the snow wolf with one hand, while with the other, he injected the syringe he had just retrieved into the vein on the inside of his arm. The bulging veins flattened, and the pain on his face was concealed. He Chen leaned back against the wall, using his shoulder to hit the switch. The warm yellow light came on, dispelling the darkness for him.
At least, dispelling some of it.
*
“Mother, what did he say?” In one of the villas in the He family compound, He Siyuan personally poured a cup of tea and handed it to He Yayun, asking casually.
The ornate, complex vintage chandelier sparkled brightly above his head, yet it cast a few shadows of unpredictability on his handsome face.
“He agreed to let you be the godfather, but he won’t send the child back,” He Yayun took the tea, sipped it, and frowned, a hint of gloom flashing in her eyes. “His wings have grown hard; he actually dared to contradict me.”
“Mother shouldn’t pressure him too much,” He Siyuan said gently. “If you directly suppress him like this, he might harbor resentment.”
“I gave him his life; what right does he have to resent me?” He Yayun scoffed coldly. Her features were no less attractive than her twin sister He Fei’s, and she was only a few years older than He Fei, but perhaps due to her gloomy personality and habit of frowning, deep vertical lines had formed between her brows. With this frown and cold scoff, her appearance showed signs of age and severity.
Xia Xue, He Siyuan’s wife, noticed this and inwardly clicked her tongue, though her expression was respectful and flattering: “Mother is right. Everything he enjoys now was given by Mother. Without Mother, he would just be a poor worm in the slums.”
“Xue’er.” He Siyuan showed displeasure. “He is Mother’s son, my brother.”
“How is he worthy? The son of a criminal. Mother was kind enough to give him a way out.” Xia Xue gave her husband a reproachful look, not noticing the momentary strange look in her husband’s eyes, and then looked back at He Yayun. “Mother, to avoid complications, why don’t you talk to He Chen again? I’ve heard the servants say that if your tone is slightly softer, he will cling to you like a dog.”
As she spoke, she seemed to think she had made a particularly apt comparison and giggled.
He Yayun’s face was taut, showing no sign of being amused: “You go back first. I have a few things to discuss with Siyuan.”
“Yes.” Xia Xue stopped laughing, stood up somewhat unhappily, cast a wronged look at He Siyuan, and seeing He Siyuan nod slightly to her, she walked out.
Stepping out of the villa, she looked back. He Siyuan and He Yayun were talking, their backs to her, huddled close, looking very intimate. She snorted and walked away with pursed lips.
“Your wife was right about one thing: complications arise over time. Although he agreed to let you be the godfather, he dragged the timeline until next year. There’s no telling what variables might arise in the meantime, Siyuan. You cannot let him lead you by the nose.”
“Mother’s reminder is noted.” He Siyuan nodded, pondering deeply. “But I don’t know what I can use to persuade him.”
“The three-year rotation is coming up soon. Use that to restrain him,” He Yayun said coldly.
He Siyuan smiled: “Mother, he came from hardship. He may not care about the rotation location.”
He Yayun paused in her tea drinking: “The lower class will always be the lower class.”
She suddenly generated a great deal of hatred from somewhere, and with a gloomy face, she set the teacup down heavily: “Then his promotion will be shelved for a while longer.”
“Mother, I can intercede in the rotation arrangements, but his promotion is not up to me,” He Siyuan gave a wry smile, then concealed it, a hint of disappointment showing on his face. “Moreover, Great Uncle is gradually starting to value him. He previously mentioned that He Chen should be promoted, especially now that he has achieved merit in suppressing bandits—”
“Merit in suppressing bandits?” He Yayun interrupted He Siyuan.
“Yes. The military just received a report today that he launched a surprise attack and wiped out the two major star pirate groups, Fire Fox and Bright Dragon, in a short time. The military is abuzz with talk of his achievement today.”
“His ‘achievement’?” He Yayun had been frowning at the mention of “Fire Fox,” and now she let out a cold laugh. “The military doesn’t need to worry about it. Do you really think your Great Uncle will acknowledge this ‘achievement’ of his?”
“Mother… be careful of eavesdroppers.”
He Yayun stopped speaking and put down the teacup: “You don’t need to worry about this. I will talk to your Great Uncle.”
“Yes.” He Siyuan answered respectfully, hiding the fleeting glint in his eyes, and showed some hesitation. “Mother, too much is as bad as too little. If we make things difficult for He Chen like this, I don’t mind, but I fear outsiders will speak ill of you again.”
“Do I care about a few idle words?” He Yayun said proudly. “I will spread the word that I believe he, as a He family son, still needs tempering. Anyone who has something to say can come directly to me.”
“Mother… why must you be like this? Actually, I don’t have such great ambition. Whether I become the godfather or not—” As He Siyuan spoke, he suddenly groaned, raised his hand to clutch his forehead, and the veins in his neck bulged.
“Siyuan?” He Yayun’s expression changed. “Is your riot period starting again?”
“I’m fine…” He Siyuan gritted his teeth, managed to say a word, and fumbled in his pocket for an inhibitor, his hand shaking as he tried to inject himself.
“How can you use this? It harms your body!” He Yayun snatched the inhibitor away. “Someone, quickly, call the family therapist!”
As she spoke, she had the servants help He Siyuan lie down on the luxurious, comfortable sofa, instructed several people to carefully hold down his hands and feet to prevent him from accidentally injuring himself, and personally helped him unbutton his collar for air, rubbing his forehead. Her expression was rarely without gloom, instead filled with worry, and even her voice was unusually gentle: “Siyuan, bear with it. The therapist will be here immediately.”
“Thank you… Mother.” He Siyuan was also extremely considerate, enduring the severe headache while still comforting his mother. “You don’t need to worry. I… have an appointment with Director Lu. This condition… will be cured soon…”