Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 22
byChapter 22 Shared Sensation
Daddy?
He Chen looked in the direction of the voice but saw nothing—there were too many people blocking his view, and the person had just crouched down to hug Le Yan.
He Chen only managed to glimpse through the gaps between people that the “Daddy” was wearing black trousers and a white lab coat, had fair skin, and his wrist, extended to embrace Le Yan, resembled a piece of cold jade.
Then the person stood up straight.
His figure was tall and slender, conspicuous in the crowd, but He Chen still couldn’t see his face—He Leyan was clinging to him like a panda cub to a bamboo stalk, his face buried against the man’s, his arms wrapped around the man’s neck, his entire small body straining with effort.
He wants him that much… He Chen’s heart was souring when he heard the man gently comfort Le Yan, then turn to look at him.
He Chen subconsciously took a deep breath: “Hello, Lu—”
He had prepared an impeccable expression, ready to meet this ‘Daddy’ with the generous composure of the primary father—he absolutely couldn’t show any weakness.
But—
But—
The instant he saw the “Daddy’s” face clearly, He Chen abruptly held his breath.
“Commander He?” Wen Yi looked at He Chen in surprise: Why did he suddenly pick up the potted plant again? And with a movement as fast as a gust of wind.
“Commander He.” Lu Changqing walked towards He Chen, holding He Leyan with one arm, his expression calm and composed.
He Chen’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He gritted his teeth and put down the potted plant: “Senior Lu.”
He spoke, not daring to look directly at Lu Changqing, but instead glanced at He Leyan, who was still clinging to Lu Changqing: Ancestor! Who are you calling “Daddy”!!
He Leyan also looked at He Chen curiously: What is “Senior”?
“Long time no see.” Lu Changqing extended his hand calmly. He Chen reacted and shook it.
The metallic texture felt somewhat jarring. Lu Changqing glanced at He Chen’s right hand, but He Chen had already withdrawn it, his expression indescribably awkward: “I didn’t expect the Daddy Le Yan spoke of to be you.”
“I also didn’t expect Commander He to still recognize me, his senior.”
“Of course I recognize you.” He Chen smiled—a look worse than crying.
How could he not recognize him? That elegant and ethereal face had once been the stuff of his nightmares.
It was a tale of blood and tears. He Chen glanced at He Leyan—the whole thing was actually started by his biological father, Han Jin.
He Chen, Han Jin, and the others attended the same school as Lu Changqing, but Lu Changqing was already a graduate student interning at the campus treatment center while they were undergraduates. Once, when Han Jin’s mental power fluctuated and he went for treatment, Lu Changqing happened to be there.
That treatment was unusual because Han Jin experienced a “riot,” losing control of his consciousness and attacking Lu Changqing.
But Lu Changqing wasn’t injured; Han Jin was—not only was his Mental Avatar suppressed by the other party, but Han Jin didn’t gain any advantage in the physical fight either.
It was this “riot” that made Han Jin, the martial arts fanatic, realize Lu Changqing was skilled in combat, and quite good at it. He began repeatedly visiting to “seek advice,” returning bruised and swollen every time.
After numerous instances, the matter somehow escalated into a rivalry between their Combat and Command departments and the Treatment department. The top few on the combat power rankings took turns challenging Lu Changqing. By the time it was He Chen’s turn, who was ranked number one, the Combat and Command departments were nearly out of intact people.
He Chen’s match ended in a draw, with a sense of stopping just short of the limit. He Chen initially thought the seemingly god-like senior was simply tired of their continuous provocations.
Later, he realized that Lu Changqing desperately needed people to “provoke” him and spar.
He Chen even suspected that the previous rivalry was intentionally orchestrated by this seemingly divine senior, serving as a kind of “audition.” He Chen was “lucky” enough to be selected, and soon ended up in his hands for remedial classes after failing a course. Every day he spent there was… indescribable.
“Put it down. How long are you planning to hold it?” After bringing the father and son to his office, Lu Changqing held He Leyan while a doctor drew blood from the child’s finger, then looked at the “potted plant” He Chen.
He Chen tightened his grip on the pot: “The floor is dirty—no, the flowerpot is dirty. Don’t dirty the floor.”
Dirty? He Leyan tilted his head to look at the bottom of the flowerpot, but before he could see clearly, his small face suddenly twitched—in the moment he was distracted, the pediatric doctor quickly pricked his finger for blood.
“Does it hurt?” Lu Changqing asked, looking down with a smile.
“Daddy, blow on it.” He Leyan held his finger, whining sweetly and naturally, a level of spontaneity He Chen had never witnessed before.
He Chen unconsciously moved the flowerpot, watching Lu Changqing genuinely blow on He Leyan’s finger, his face showing a relaxed gentleness He Chen had never seen.
“Ahem!” The superfluous person, He Chen, put down the flowerpot with a sound that was neither too loud nor too soft, perfectly disrupting the atmosphere between the large and small figures—
“This is called the Five-Color Tree. After it blooms, it can bear fruits of different colors and shapes. Le Yan said Senior likes plants, so we found it together while shopping.”
“Thank you.” Lu Changqing glanced at the small, pinecone-like tree, then looked back at He Chen. “Junior, you’re too kind.”
“It’s nothing.” He Chen said. “Is this all the check-up Le Yan needs? How long until the results are out?”
He asked, looking sourly at He Leyan nestled in Lu Changqing’s arms.
You little brat, you’re acknowledging a thief as your father…
“Results in twenty minutes,” Lu Changqing said, setting He Leyan down. He told the child, “Since you’re back, let Papa Wen take you for a comprehensive check-up to see if your body has any issues adapting after being in space.”
He Leyan didn’t want to go, shaking his head like a little adult: “My body is fine. I even learned how to do a somersault!”
“Is that so?” Lu Changqing asked the child, but his eyes were on He Chen, making He Chen inexplicably uncomfortable.
What’s wrong with learning somersaults? Children should exercise more. He Chen thought awkwardly.
“What else did you learn?” Lu Changqing asked He Leyan.
“I also learned how to punch!” He Leyan said, striking a small pose and throwing two punches into the air with “Heng Heng Ha Hei.”
Lu Changqing’s lips curved up.
He Chen felt even more uneasy. Seeing that He Leyan was about to follow up his punches with a somersault for Lu Changqing, he quickly intervened: “That’s enough, Le Yan. Go for your check-up first!”
He Leyan still didn’t want to go; he hadn’t performed his somersault yet.
However, he remembered something important.
Something much more urgent than a somersault.
“Daddy, can you check Papa?”
“Of course. You go out with Papa Wen, and Daddy will quietly start checking Papa.”
He Leyan nodded, glanced at He Chen, then looked back at Lu Changqing, whispering: “Daddy, please.”
Please take a good look at the big monster.
“Don’t worry.” Lu Changqing exchanged a look with him.
He Leyan seemed reassured, letting go of Lu Changqing to leave. He Chen subconsciously followed, but Lu Changqing called him back:
“Junior, stay.”
“Wen Yi will accompany Le Yan. Your people are outside, too, right?”
“Yes.” Ning Tian was outside.
But He Chen still didn’t want to stay… “Senior has many things to attend to. I shouldn’t bother you. I can find someone else for treatment.”
He Chen had actually planned to find Wen Yi; saying “find Daddy for treatment” was purely to placate He Leyan—he had no idea his “Daddy” was actually a healer…
“I promised Le Yan,” Lu Changqing said calmly.
He Leyan, being led out by the assistant, turned back when he heard this, his voice happy and loud: “Thank you, Daddy!”
After speaking, he worriedly winked at He Chen, signaling him to hurry up…
He Chen received his cub’s signal, clenched his fingers, and stayed behind with tears in his heart.
The door closed, and the room became very quiet. Lu Changqing’s footsteps were clearly audible.
He Chen heard him walk behind the desk to retrieve something, then heard him speak: “Sit.”
He Chen obediently sat on the sofa.
“Le Yan cares about you very much,” Lu Changqing said, walking over and handing He Chen a conductor wire.
“He’s closer to you,” He Chen replied. The sourness couldn’t be completely masked.
Lu Changqing paused for a moment, explaining, “I have more Mental Links with Le Yan.”
Oh. He Chen was actually somewhat comforted: With more Mental Links, the person being soothed would indeed develop a feeling for the soother—
He Chen stopped abruptly at that thought.
He looked up at Lu Changqing, then quickly lowered his head, his expression momentarily unnatural.
By the time Lu Changqing noticed He Chen’s gaze, He Chen had already skillfully connected the conductor wire to his wrist, but he held the other end in his hand, hesitating to hand it over: “Ahem, um, may I ask what your consultation fee is now, Senior?”
“I won’t charge you.” Lu Changqing gently pulled the end of the conductor wire from He Chen’s hand and connected it to the monitoring equipment he had temporarily brought out.
“That’s not appropriate,” He Chen said, looking up to face Lu Changqing squarely for once. “I have already benefited too much from you, Senior.”
When he was young and naive in military school, He Chen thought that during those two years of remedial classes, Lu Changqing was only teaching him control and consolidation of his Mental Domain. Only later did he realize that through the daily links, Lu Changqing had virtually reshaped the foundation of his Mental Domain, fixing the flaws he had haphazardly created after his awakening without proper guidance, laying a solid foundation for his later advancement.
The methods Lu Changqing taught him for controlling his Mental Domain were not the “common knowledge” he thought they were for exams, but a clear path provided by a top-tier healer.
Thinking of this, He Chen felt restless. He suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Lu Changqing: “I never properly thanked you, Senior.”
“Why haven’t you thanked me? You send me things every year.” Lu Changqing avoided his bow and motioned for him to sit down again.
“Nothing valuable,” He Chen said awkwardly, glancing at the Five-Color Tree he had brought on the coffee table: He didn’t have much money, so he just collected any interesting novelty he came across and secretly mailed it to Lu Changqing.
Wait a minute— “Senior knew it was me who sent them?”
“Your unique handwriting is unforgettable.”
“Ahem.” He Chen rubbed his nose. “Senior always had a good memory.”
“Unlike Commander He, who is busy with important affairs and can’t even recognize an old acquaintance’s voice.”
He Chen was sweating profusely: “Actually, it sounded a little familiar, but I didn’t think of it that way. I thought you were—”
“You thought I was a pediatrician,” Lu Changqing finished for him.
You seem quite aware. He Chen suddenly raised an eyebrow: “But Senior knew I was mistaken. Why didn’t you correct me?”
Lu Changqing was silent for a moment, then countered: “Why did you delete my contact information back then?”
…“Accidental deletion.”
Lu Changqing looked at him: “Le Yan said Commander He lies as easily as breathing and eating. It seems he wasn’t exaggerating.”
…That child. He Chen put on his well-practiced poker face and calmly repeated: “It was truly an accidental deletion.”
Lu Changqing paused, then explained: “I wasn’t targeting you back then. I needed someone to spar with for my physical advancement.”
“I know.” He Chen wasn’t stupid. There was only one reason a healer would spend so much time on physical breakthroughs: his physical fitness and mental power were severely mismatched, and he had to advance physically as quickly as possible.
“Being a sparring partner was something I agreed to anyway. It was the condition for Senior giving me remedial classes. There was no ‘targeting’ involved.” He Chen said.
He had failed the Mental Domain Control course fair and square; Lu Changqing hadn’t rigged anything. At most, Lu Changqing seized his need, trading remedial classes for sparring—a fair exchange.
Moreover, the value of his “remedial classes” was extraordinary.
He Chen didn’t harbor resentment or avoid Lu Changqing because he feared being a sparring partner.
He had an unspeakable difficulty: after two years of remedial classes, he had linked with Lu Changqing too many times and developed a slight treatment dependency—the kind where he felt uncomfortable if he didn’t receive treatment from him for a day.
And Lu Changqing’s tone suggested he might want to renew the agreement for another year. He Chen was afraid he might impulsively agree and worsen his dependency, so he decisively fled.
“It’s good that you understand.” Lu Changqing glanced at He Chen, not dwelling on the topic. He sat down on the sofa beside He Chen, extended his hand, and motioned for He Chen to offer his wrist.
He Chen hesitated for a moment, then obediently stretched out his hand.
Lu Changqing’s fingers rested on his wrist, and he asked, “When are you free? Let me treat you to a meal. You’ve thanked me, but I haven’t thanked you yet.”
“Senior doesn’t need to thank me. Back then, I also—” Halfway through his sentence, He Chen realized something was wrong: Lu Changqing had already brought him into his Mental Domain.
Without any barrier, without any hindrance.
He Chen stood on the vast ice plain of his Mental Domain, looking at Lu Changqing who was gazing into the distance: Right, it’s been ten years. The prodigy is naturally even more prodigious.
“You also what?” The “prodigy” Lu Changqing turned back to look at He Chen, frowning slightly.
When suddenly entering the Mental Domain, the owner usually presents their unguarded self, closer to their true heart and their current mental state.
The He Chen of the moment was wearing a combat suit, but the sleeves and lapels of the suit were ripped in many places, making him look battle-scarred. He Chen’s face was also covered in bloodstains, as if cut by sharp blades, adding a strange, vivid beauty to his chiseled face.
Vivid, yet exhausted.
—He Chen looked very tired, which was not surprising. There were several swirling snowstorms in his Mental Domain, and he was immediately caught in one upon appearing.
This was the concretization of a mental power riot.
Mental Domains differ, and the things they concretize also differ, but they share a common characteristic: attacking the owner and destroying the stability of the Mental Domain.
He Chen was accustomed to this kind of attack. He walked out of the eye of the storm and answered Lu Changqing: “I also benefited greatly back then, both physically and mentally.”
As he spoke, he noticed Lu Changqing looking at him. Following Lu Changqing’s gaze, he looked down at his ragged, beggar-like appearance, and his face instantly flushed. In a thousandth of a second, he completed a transformation.
He became Commander He Chen in a crisp military uniform.
Lu Changqing watched him for a moment, but quickly looked behind him—the storm seemed to have eyes, locking onto He Chen, roaring as it swept towards him again, until Lu Changqing extended a single finger.
No extra movement was visible, nor any energy flow, but the storm paused instantly. The blade-like snowflakes and ice crystals softened and slowly dissipated.
Is this his current strength? He Chen swallowed: “Thank you, Senior.”
“No need.” Lu Changqing sat cross-legged on the ice plain and closed his eyes.
Soon, even though he was still within the Mental Domain, He Chen felt a sense of ease and comfort, as if his brain and mind were simultaneously being washed with warm water.
It was a comfort he hadn’t felt in a long time. It made him involuntarily want to close his eyes, to completely sink into it.
But he instinctively resisted, maintaining his clarity… After an unknown amount of time, Lu Changqing opened his eyes. They exchanged a glance and simultaneously returned to reality.
His wrist felt empty; Lu Changqing had withdrawn his hand.
He Chen was fully awake: “Thank you, Senior. You went to a lot of trouble.”
“No need for formalities,” Lu Changqing said. “The problem has been neglected for too long. Today was just treating the symptoms. Starting tomorrow, every afternoon—”
“I feel much better already. I won’t trouble you with further treatment! I’ll find Doctor Wen; I already made an appointment with him.” He Chen interrupted him.
Lu Changqing seemed slightly surprised. He held the conductor wire, slowly raising his eyes: “Find Doctor Wen?”
“Yes. You must be busy, Senior.” He Chen said, coughing, and awkwardly looked at the large, fluffy creature half-crouching, half-lying beside Lu Changqing… He lowered his voice, “I apologize, Senior.”
Come back, big guy!
He desperately winked at his disobedient Mental Avatar, but the creature deliberately turned its head away, stuck to the carpet as if glued, remaining perfectly still.
Lu Changqing glanced at the large, snowy, fluffy wolf. As if casually, he reached out and scratched the wolf’s chin. “You haven’t changed much, but it has grown quite a bit.”
Due to the Shared Sensation, He Chen’s chin itched, and he strongly suppressed any outward reaction: “You jest, Senior. It’s still immature.”
He Chen completely disagreed with Lu Changqing. He himself was clearly much more mature and steady, but his Mental Avatar was still unreliable, rubbing against things it shouldn’t.
Everyone in the Empire knew that Lu Changqing always maintained distance from Mental Avatars and never touched them, because his affinity was too high, and they all loved to cling to him. He had to avoid them, especially the fluffy ones—those types were usually extra clingy.
Like his own.
He Chen watched his Mental Avatar refusing to get up from the floor, desperately signaling it to return where it belonged.
It was well known that a Mental Avatar’s behavior was a reflection of the owner’s will, but that was only in most cases. At this moment, he truly didn’t intend for this!
How easily this could be misunderstood!
Lu Changqing silently scratched the wolf’s chin again, then put that hand behind his back and spoke again: “You are already high-level S-class. Others will find treating you difficult. Subsequent treatment should still be—”
“Subsequent treatment is truly unnecessary!”
He Chen didn’t want to expend energy overcoming withdrawal symptoms again. He quickly stood up, stretched out his long leg, and stepped on the tail of the large wolf that was trying to inch closer to Lu Changqing’s leg. Ignoring the creature’s resistant thoughts, he forcefully recalled it into his Mental Domain.
“I’m sorry, Senior.” Seeing Lu Changqing look at him, He Chen offered a composed smile. “Senior must be busy. I’ll go see if Le Yan is finished.”
“I’m not busy. No patients at the moment. I have an appointment to meet someone to discuss business,” Lu Changqing said.
“Then I shouldn’t interrupt even more.”
“There’s no inconvenience. The person who made the appointment with me is you.”
Lu Changqing said this, and seeing He Chen’s confusion, he slowly and deliberately wrote a strong vertical line and a horizontal line on the table with his finger:
An L.