Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 12
byChapter 12: Dad Tells a Story
He Leyan ultimately chose the steamed egg custard as the first step of his dinner.
He didn’t skip any of the other adorable foods either. Deng Tie watched him with some concern, afraid he would overeat, and reminded him several times.
He Chen originally didn’t think it was too much; the cub needed to grow, so of course he should eat more. But Deng Tie’s frequent reminders made him uneasy, and he ended up snatching half of the later dishes and stuffing them into his own stomach.
With a belly full of little chicks, ducks, and bears, He Chen was called away by a subordinate to handle some official business. He then rushed to the training room to complete his mandatory daily physical training before hurrying back to his quarters.
More accurately, his and He Leyan’s quarters.
He Leyan had already been bathed and changed into pajamas under Deng Tie’s care. He was sitting on the carpet, playing with a jigsaw puzzle set with Deng Tie.
“Commander, you’re back?” Seeing He Chen appear, Deng Tie, with great tact, stood up. He turned to He Leyan, “Leyan, let the Commander finish the rest with you. Uncle Deng’s eyes are getting blurry, so I need to go to sleep now.”
He Leyan glanced at He Chen and agreed, his voice quiet. He looked… a little down?
He Chen wasn’t sure what was wrong, but Deng Tie gave him a meaningful look, signaling him to come in and play with the child, before quietly slipping out.
He Chen stood for a moment, took a deep breath, and strode his long legs toward the carpet. He sat cross-legged, maintaining a moderate distance from He Leyan, and asked in the gentlest—and most natural—voice possible, “What are you putting together?”
“A puppy,” He Leyan answered softly.
“A puppy? Do you like dogs very much?” He Chen immediately followed up, striking while the iron was hot.
He Leyan nodded silently.
“Puppies are great, I like them too,” He Chen said, sitting down and attempting to join He Leyan’s game. However, he picked up a puzzle piece and spent a long time trying to figure out where it went—
He had seen these things but never played with them, so he genuinely didn’t know where to place it.
He Leyan looked at him, then looked at him again, and finally couldn’t help but point to the correct empty space.
“Here?” He Chen happily placed the piece.
He Leyan placed the next piece.
He Chen observed two pieces in a row and had already figured out the trick. He and He Leyan took turns, piece by piece, until the puppy was complete.
He was filled with a sense of accomplishment!
But just as he picked up his terminal to take a photo, the child grabbed a handful of puzzle pieces and began putting them back into the toy box.
“Wait!” He Chen tried to stop him, but it was too late.
“This is my first time doing a puzzle,” he said pitifully when He Leyan looked at him.
He Leyan’s small hands froze. He hesitated, wondering whether he should put it back together for him.
“I’ve been looking forward to you coming back from the Medical Academy for a long time. I bought these toys ages ago and have been waiting for you to play with them. I didn’t realize you were so big now. Are these toys too simple and childish?” He Chen continued, sounding miserable.
Why did that sound familiar? Even the tone was similar to… Grandpa Wang the chef.
He Leyan felt something was strange, but he shook his head solemnly, “Not childish.”
He Chen secretly curved the corner of his lips.
“No need to put it back together,” He Chen stopped him again when He Leyan actually started to reassemble the pieces, and then praised him sincerely, “That’s a really good habit you have, putting away your toys after you play.”
—The parenting book said that good behavior should be affirmed often to help reinforce positive actions and, importantly, to make the child happy.
He Chen secretly glanced at He Leyan. He didn’t see happiness; instead, he saw the child looking a little wilted—or rather, even more wilted.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” He Chen quickly asked.
He Leyan shook his head.
He Chen sighed in relief. He also thought the cub shouldn’t be sick; he seemed fine during the flight earlier, and he had an appetite at dinner.
“Then what is it? Are you sleepy?”
He Leyan nodded, then shook his head.
“My Dad taught me to tidy up,” the child said sullenly, head lowered.
Ah… so he missed his Dad.
Realizing this, He Chen felt a little helpless, and also, just a tiny bit disappointed.
However, his small disappointment was nothing compared to the cub’s difficulty adjusting to a new environment. He racked his brain for ways to cheer the cub up and suddenly noticed several hardcover, brightly colored picture books on the coffee table.
Seeing the books, He Chen immediately recalled the reminder his “Dad” had just sent him: Leyan likes picture books before bed.
He glanced at He Leyan, picked up two picture books from the coffee table, “It’s time for bed. Dad will tell you a bedtime story.”
He saw He Leyan about to shake his head and quickly added, “This is an instruction from your Dad!”
Those two words worked like a charm.
He Leyan silently climbed onto the sofa, clutching an old, soft, grayish-white little wolf plushie—a gift from his Dad. His Dad had told him that his father’s Ethereal Form was a wolf just like this toy.
For a long time, He Leyan had believed He Chen’s Ethereal Form was a cute wolf, just like his plushie…
He Leyan thought about the real, large wolf he had seen earlier today—the majestic but very wronged large wolf—and bit his lip.
He really does like puppies, He Chen thought, glancing at the toy in the cub’s hand. He made a mental note, held the book, and sat down next to the cub, “Let’s read this one first, The Three Little Pigs.”
He started happily. After reading two pages, his expression began to stiffen. After two more pages, his expression became even more rigid.
“This Big Bad Wolf must be playing a game of blowing down houses with the little pigs.”
“No, he wants to eat the little pigs,” He Leyan explained very seriously.
“Hmm, he’s a bad wolf,” He Chen said stiffly. “But not all wolves are that bad.”
“…” He Leyan fell silent, gripping the little wolf in his hand.
“…Maybe we should switch to a different book.”
He Chen pulled out another book: Little Red Riding Hood.
Having lived as a vagrant since childhood, He Chen had never read any proper picture books. He didn’t realize the sheer… malice hidden within these books. Malice toward wolves.
Did wolves offend the Fairy Tale Writers Association or something? Can’t you write a fairy tale without a wolf?
Halfway through Little Red Riding Hood, seeing the Big Bad Wolf about to eat Grandma, He Chen’s face turned green. He closed the book, “You’ve read all these stories. How about Dad tells you one you haven’t heard?”
He said this, then recalled something, and a warm light appeared on his face. He hadn’t been completely vagrant as a child; the old man had taken him in and raised him for a few years. The old man had told him stories, though it was always the same few, repeated over and over.
“Once upon a time, there was a—a Divine Wolf. Its name was Hou Yi. Back then, there were ten suns scorching the sky of Blue Star, and everyone was terribly hot. So Hou Yi—”
“So Hou Yi drew his bow and shot down nine suns,” He Leyan interrupted, his large eyes clear as he looked at He Chen. “Wolves don’t shoot arrows.”
“Who says they don’t? A god, a Divine Wolf does,” He Chen rubbed his hands on his pants. “Forget it, you’ve heard that one. Let’s tell another.”
“Once upon a time, there was a Giant Wolf named Kuafu,” He Chen continued. He glanced at He Leyan’s expression, saw the cub listening with his small ears perked up and no intention of interrupting, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, continuing confidently, “Back then, Blue Star was often shrouded in darkness, so the Giant Wolf Kuafu wanted to chase the sun and make it shine on the earth forever.”
“Halfway there, Kuafu got thirsty and drank up the water of two large rivers. Then he kept chasing, chasing, and finally caught up to the sun and ordered the sun to stay on duty every day…”
“That’s wrong,” He Leyan frowned tightly. “Kuafu didn’t catch the sun.”
“He did catch it—”
“He didn’t. He died of thirst before reaching it.”
“What?” He Chen was stunned. “What ‘died of thirst’?”
“It means he died of thirst halfway,” He Leyan explained with a serious little face. “Dad told me.”
“Your Dad told you wrong,” He Chen stated with certainty.
“Dad would never tell me wrong!” He Leyan suddenly became agitated, his small face flushed. “Kuafu was a person, and Hou Yi was a person too! You’re the one who got it wrong!”
“Well, I made a slight adaptation—where are you going?”
“Pee-pee!”
He Chen chuckled, “Pee-pee is fine, no need to be so loud.”
He Leyan’s small face turned even redder.
After angrily finishing his pee-pee, he refused to listen to the big bad guy tell distorted stories anymore. He climbed into bed by himself, “I’m going to sleep now.”
“Sleeping already? It’s still early. Well… you have good habits.”
He Chen said this, standing at the door, conflicted for a moment. He couldn’t help but ask, “Did he really… die of thirst?”
He Leyan, who had climbed into bed and pulled up his own blanket, paused and nodded.
“And he didn’t… catch the sun?”
“No.”
That rotten old man… He Chen lowered his head, wanting to laugh, but his eyes briefly turned red. Saying that anyone could catch their own sun if they just persevered—it was all a lie…
He Leyan lay down, his back to the clumsy big monster, and closed his eyes. But his mood felt off: What was wrong with the big monster? Was he sad because he was told he got the story wrong?
But wrong is wrong, and lying to children is bad. He even said he rarely lies…
He Leyan thought this, yet he couldn’t help wanting to turn around and look at the big monster. But just then, he heard the big monster, who had been standing still, walk over and pull his blanket up higher.
“Well, I actually know other stories. Have you heard of the Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains? And also, Great Yu Controlling the Waters—”
“It’s Da Yu,” He Leyan couldn’t help but correct him.
“Isn’t that the Foolish Old Man’s son, Da Yu (Big Fool)?” He Chen looked innocent.
He Leyan was stunned for a moment. He turned around, looked at He Chen with uncertainty, and then looked down at his terminal, “I’ll ask Dad.”
“No need!” He Chen instinctively tried to stop him, but it was too late.
—He Leyan was probably already planning to call his “Dad,” and the terminal was still on the call interface. As He Chen spoke, the call had already gone through and was instantly answered…
“The name ‘Yugong’ (Foolish Old Man) is merely an allegorical treatment, representing Yugong’s personality. Even if Yugong had a son, and the son’s surname was truly Yu (Fool), he should be called ‘Yu Da,’ not ‘Da Yu’ (Big Fool).”
A slow, methodical, and earnest explanation came from the other end of the phone…
But He Chen could swear that the person on the other end was absolutely not that earnest right now.
And as He Leyan nodded seriously while looking at He Chen, He Chen was certain that his image had shrunk by at least thirty centimeters in the child’s mind.
That rotten old man ruined me… He Chen silently curled his toes, but his face remained calm, “Got it. Good night, sleep early. Don’t talk on the phone for too long.”
He gave a few random instructions and fled in disarray.
*
“What is it doing?”
In the corridor of the dormitory area, several officers returning from official duties stopped short, looking at the large wolf at the end of the hallway with complex expressions.
The spaceport was mostly constructed of heavy alloy, and the dormitory area was no exception. However, for humanistic consideration, a large, curved floor-to-ceiling window was placed at the end of the corridor. From the window, one could see the nearby ecological zone, the distant suspended orbital ring, and the vast deep space beyond, making it a good spot for viewing and contemplation.
At this moment, Commander He Chen’s Ethereal Form, the Snow Wolf, was squatting in front of the large circular window, quietly, lonely, gazing upward at a forty-five-degree angle outside the window.
After gazing for a while, it buried its massive head in the curtains, letting out two embarrassed, shameful “woof woof” sounds, wriggled a bit, and then continued its forty-five-degree upward gaze…
“What’s wrong now…” The crowd discussed, trying to suppress their laughter.
Xiang Heng, who was surrounded by the group, also curved his lips and asked the guard at He Chen and his son’s door, “Where is the Commander?”
“Inside,” the guard whispered.
“And it, how long has it been out?” Xiang Heng asked again.
The guard followed his gaze to the large wolf, “For a while now.”
For a while? Does he even know? Xiang Heng frowned slightly.
“Brother Xiang, what’s going on? The Boss’s Ethereal Form has been appearing quite frequently lately,” a military officer behind Xiang Heng asked in a low voice.
“Yeah, the Commander was so severely injured before. Could there be some lingering issue?” Someone sobered up, looking worried.
“No, he’s been treated,” Xiang Heng answered steadily. “The Commander is just a little excited about reuniting with his son. Alright, everyone disperse.”
Xiang Heng dismissed the crowd but stood in the corridor for a moment longer. Seeing that the large wolf showed no sign of disappearing, he raised his wrist, preparing to activate his terminal to remind He Chen.
But just as the terminal lit up, a string of encrypted red characters flashed across the screen.
Xiang Heng’s expression didn’t change, but he put away his terminal. He glanced at He Chen’s door, turned, and walked back to his own quarters.
Inside his quarters, he closed the door. Xiang Heng paused for a moment, then reopened his terminal and entered the key.
The encrypted red characters scrolled, finally decoding into a simple black dialogue box.
As soon as the dialogue box formed, a line of text immediately appeared: [Why didn’t you stop the annihilation of Fire Fox?]
The text flickered, but the faint light did not illuminate the darkness in Xiang Heng’s eyes.
He was silent for a moment, then replied: [The target of this operation was originally just Shenglong. Something happened midway, and he suddenly attacked Fire Fox.]
[Are you saying you didn’t know beforehand and didn’t participate in the action?]
[Yes.]
[Idiot!]
[Has he already grown suspicious of you?!]
The other side of the dialogue box seemed exasperated, but Xiang Heng remained calm, calmly lying: [He is not suspicious. He still trusts me completely. This was just an accident.]
[The annihilation of Fire Fox might be a good thing,] he continued typing.
[Good?]
[Fire Fox suffered heavy losses three years ago, and their appetite has grown too large. They are becoming difficult to control,] Xiang Heng calmly typed. [Losing one disobedient Fire Fox allows us to replace it with an obedient one.]
The other end of the dialogue box was silent for a moment, then sent a message: [Silence them. We cannot allow Fire Fox to implicate us. Get this done immediately, or you know the consequences.]
Xiang Heng paused again, then replied: [Understood.]
The dialogue box vanished.
Xiang Heng closed his terminal, turned on the light, and walked to the bathroom. Just as he always did, he began unbuttoning his uniform, changing clothes, and methodically brushing his teeth.
Facing the mirror, facing the military academy photo of the four of them pasted on the mirror, a ripple finally disturbed the calm in his eyes.
I’m sorry… He calmly lowered his gaze, then suddenly reached out and punched the mirror, shattering it.