Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 53
byChapter 53: The Third Day of Enlightenment
Waking up in the morning, He Chen felt much more comfortable.
It had to be him; his resistance was strong, and toxins couldn’t cause trouble!
He Chen rolled over and sat up, hearing the clinking of dishes and the sound of conversation downstairs.
He Chen checked the time and realized it was much later than usual. He quickly got out of bed to wash up.
Because everyone was busy dealing with the establishment of the institute and various post-disaster tasks, and since neither He Chen nor Lu Changqing put on airs, they lived together quite casually. They ate together when they could, and it was fine if they couldn’t, almost like a rolling feast. He Chen woke up late today, and no one had deliberately waited for him.
He Leyan had already finished his baby meal and was holding a picture book, asking Wen Yi, who had also just finished eating: “Papa Wen, what is this character?”
“It’s pronounced ‘bo’.”
“And this one?”
“Tao. Together with the first one, it’s ‘bo tao’ (waves). The one after that is ‘xiong yong’ (surging). ‘Bo tao xiong yong’ (surging waves)—all four characters are related to water, so they all have the three-dot water radical.”
“What’s going on? Why is Leyan suddenly so interested in learning characters?” Elder Fang asked curiously.
“I want to learn characters so I can read books myself!” He Leyan replied.
“Why is that?” Elder Fang asked again.
“Because, because I want to read them myself,” He Leyan said, glancing at He Moyan, who was dressed in black and eating silently.
He Moyan’s expression remained cool as he stood up: “I’m done eating.”
He then looked at He Leyan—his eyes rarely meeting anyone’s gaze: “Practice martial arts?”
“Okay!” He Leyan happily agreed, trotting after his brother and forgetting about learning characters.
Wen Yi had heard about Leyan’s experience last night, and he couldn’t help but smile. Elder Fang didn’t understand why he was smiling and questioned him with his eyes.
Just as Wen Yi was about to explain to Elder Fang, he heard a cough.
Wen Yi glanced at Lu Changqing, then turned and saw He Chen coming down the stairs.
Protecting even this? Afraid he might lose this little bit of face?
Wen Yi didn’t understand, but he was sensible and swallowed his words. He respectfully greeted He Chen: “Good morning, Commander He. Please sit down quickly. The Dean saved you some food.”
“Morning.” He Chen nodded at them and sat down in the chair next to Lu Changqing. He glanced at Wen Yi across the table: he felt that Wen Yi’s smiling gaze was somehow off.
[That secret, you didn’t tell anyone, did you?] He secretly messaged Wen Yi.
[Rest assured, I haven’t told anyone.] Wen Yi quickly replied, using his movements to conceal what he was doing, trying his best not to let the Dean see that he was privately messaging He Chen.
However, whether it was a misconception or not, he still felt the Dean’s scrutinizing gaze on him.
“Elder Fang, please take your time eating. I have a patient to see, so I’ll be leaving first.” Wen Yi quickly found an excuse, stood up, and left.
Only then did Lu Changqing stop looking at him. He picked up a plate beside him and handed it to He Chen.
“This is—” He Chen stared at the stack of small duck-shaped egg pancakes on the plate, momentarily stunned.
“This is, that thing?” What kind of pancake was the little duck?
“Leyan saved it for you. Only you have it.” Lu Changqing said, handing him a fork.
Elder Fang watched the two interact, his lips subtly curving upward.
What Leyan saved? When did Leyan save it? Why hadn’t he heard anything?
He Chen didn’t doubt it, though. He happily took the fork and reached for the sauce with his other hand. Unfortunately, his hand happened to brush against Lu Changqing’s.
Both paused, then simultaneously let go. He Chen deferred: “Senior Brother first.”
“I don’t need it. It’s for you.”
Lu Changqing said calmly, handing the sauce to He Chen.
“Thank you.” He Chen gripped the sauce bottle, absentmindedly squeezed it onto the pancake, and ate two bites distractedly. Then, as if having made a decision, he looked at Lu Changqing, “When are you free, Senior Brother? Shall we talk?”
“Talk about what?” Lu Changqing asked.
“Just, the thing we didn’t finish talking about yesterday.” He Chen said. Yesterday, his mind was a mess, and he had walked away without clarifying things, which wasn’t good. This feeling of having something unresolved was also awkward. “I’ve thought it through—”
“Eat first.” Lu Changqing interrupted him and glanced at Elder Fang.
Oh. He Chen also realized this wasn’t the place to talk. He looked at Elder Fang, met the other man’s smiling gaze, and without a word, lowered his head and began eating quickly.
Lu Changqing picked up his cup and took a sip of tea. Concealed by the teacup, his eyes were slightly somber.
He Chen was finally willing to talk, which should be a good thing, but He Chen’s various reactions since coming downstairs gave Lu Changqing a bad feeling: what He Chen was about to say was probably not what he hoped for.
At this moment, Elder Fang had someone clear his dishes. He stood up with a smile and looked at He Chen: “Don’t eat so fast. I, an old man, am finished, so I won’t hinder your conversation.”
“No, Elder Fang—” He Chen started to deny something.
Lu Changqing stood up simultaneously: “Elder Fang, I have some thoughts I’d like to discuss with you regarding the beast-kin.”
He spoke to Elder Fang, then turned to He Chen: “Shall we talk later? I’m free this afternoon and evening, in my office. Come find me whenever you have a moment.”
“Alright,” He Chen replied.
He didn’t necessarily have to talk right now. It was a good chance for him to think about his wording again.
He Chen watched Lu Changqing and Elder Fang leave, then slowed his eating pace. He looked at the little duck under his fork for a moment before opening his mouth and chewing slowly.
As he ate, he thought about the various things that had happened since returning from Han River to Star Capital and meeting Lu Changqing. The first meal, the contract Lu Changqing handed him; the second meal, the sunnyside-up eggs Lu Changqing made for him; the third meal, the joy of the Blood God Festival…
*
He Chen couldn’t find time to look for Lu Changqing all afternoon.
Chu Yunqi suddenly arrived on Hanxiao Star.
Ostensibly, it was for disaster relief, but as soon as he arrived, he clung to He Chen, complaining. After listening for a while, He Chen finally understood: Chu Yunqi had caused trouble and was exiled to Hanxiao by the Emperor.
The trouble stemmed from the Second Prince, Chu Yunlan.
When Xia Zhenye got into trouble, Chu Yunlan pleaded for him. Somehow, this matter reached the Emperor’s ears.
Hearing that Chu Yunlan had protected the Xia family because he had accepted a male consort gifted by them, who had then whispered sweet nothings in his ear, the Emperor smiled dismissively in public but severely reprimanded Chu Yunlan in private, accusing him of shamelessness and lack of personal virtue. The scolding escalated, even touching upon forming cliques for personal gain and usurping power.
The matter should have been unrelated to Chu Yunqi, who had merely laughed privately, saying, “Second Brother is so sentimental.”
The result was that some indecent photos of him previously socializing in certain clubs somehow ended up with the Emperor.
“You laugh at his sentimentality, but you are no better!” The Emperor was furious. Without allowing him to defend himself, he exiled him to the frontier.
“I’ve been wronged! Those were just casual encounters,” Chu Yunqi explained to He Chen.
“Before, Father Emperor wouldn’t let me get involved in politics, and I had nothing interesting to do. My friends all lived like that, so naturally, I did too…” Chu Yunqi said, glancing at He Chen, “But I still have my bottom line. I never got seriously involved.”
“Your Highness doesn’t need to explain this to me,” He Chen said.
“Mm.” Chu Yunqi rubbed his nose. “I was afraid you might misunderstand me.”
He looked up: “Tell me, how should we handle this disaster relief?”
“Yes. Hanxiao Star is small, but its core industry is in Hanxiao City, which suffered severe damage in this disaster…” He Chen analyzed the disaster situation and relief measures for Chu Yunqi in detail.
Perhaps he had received some instructions, or perhaps he wanted to establish a good image for himself again, but Chu Yunqi listened quite seriously and even proposed a few practical measures.
In contrast, He Chen became less focused after discussing for a while: “Your Highness, since the Second Prince was reprimanded, has anyone else been put in charge of the Blood Crystal allocation?”
“No, not yet,” Chu Yunqi pouted. “Lu Jingshan is protecting him.”
According to the Star River system, all political affairs converge in the Council. Compared to the Emperor, who only decides major issues, the Council Head—Lu Changqing’s father, Lu Jingshan—holds more weight in specific political matters.
He Chen’s brow twitched slightly: “What kind of temper does this Council Head have? I rarely hear about him.”
“Why?” Chu Yunqi raised an eyebrow. “Cousin, are you suddenly concerned about him? Are you worried he’ll oppose your good relationship with Dean Lu?”
“What good relationship? Your Highness, please don’t speak nonsense,” He Chen said vaguely.
He had promised Lu Changqing to let the rumors spread. Regardless of their actual relationship, he would keep his promise.
Sure enough, when Chu Yunqi heard this “explanation,” his smile became even more ambiguous.
“Actually, you don’t need to worry. The relationship between father and son is distant; Lu Jingshan won’t interfere with Lu Changqing’s affairs. However, conversely, Cousin, don’t expect any favor from Lu Jingshan either.”
Chu Yunqi reminded He Chen, implying that He Chen should stick with him and not try to have his cake and eat it too.
“I don’t expect it,” He Chen said. Then, he seemed to ask casually, “But why is their father-son relationship so poor?”
“Why? Because Lu Jingshan is psychologically twisted,” Chu Yunqi suddenly lowered his voice like a thief.
“What do you mean?” He Chen frowned.
“Didn’t you just ask why you rarely hear about him? It’s because he has a gloomy temper, and anyone who dares to discuss his affairs has suffered misfortune. Naturally, no one gossips anymore.”
“But Cousin, you asked me, and you asked the right person.”
“Let me tell you, this Lu Jingshan, he wasn’t born to his father and his nominal mother. Instead—”
Chu Yunqi lowered his voice even further at this point.
“He was born from an incestuous relationship between his father and his aunt.”
What nonsense? He Chen’s brow jumped, and he looked at Chu Yunqi suspiciously.
“What’s with that look? Believe it or not,” Chu Yunqi snorted. “But the truly twisted thing about Lu Jingshan isn’t that; it’s that he actually likes his nominal mother, who is your Dean Lu’s nominal grandmother.”
What kind of mess was this? He Chen was even more skeptical: “If such a thing were true, it would be extremely secretive. How could it be spread around for people to know?”
“If you want no one to know, you must not do it. Auntie swapped you and He Siyuan—such a secret matter still—cough, pretend I didn’t say that.”
“It’s fine if you say it.” He Chen was no longer so easily stung by He Yayun. Right now, he was more focused on the original topic that had been sidetracked. “Even if what you said is true, what does that have to do with Lu Jingshan treating Senior Brother Lu poorly?”
“Of course it does! Lu Jingshan likes his ‘mother,’ but Lu Changqing is the child he had with some other woman. Of course, he doesn’t like him.”
“What ‘other woman’? Your Highness, watch your words,” He Chen’s expression turned cold.
“I know,” Chu Yunqi twitched his mouth. “My mouth is just like this; it has no filter.”
“Anyway, you get the point. Lu Changqing is the child of Lu Jingshan and someone unknown, and Lu Jingshan doesn’t care about him.”
“In fact, Lu Changqing was nameless and unknown when he was little. No one in the entire Star Capital knew Lu Jingshan had such a child. He only started to stand out later because of his talent. I heard that an official once tried to flatter Lu Jingshan because of him, and Lu Jingshan actually said—” Chu Yunqi paused dramatically.
“Said what?” He Chen asked.
“‘He’s still alive?'” Chu Yunqi mimicked, frowning with a look of disgust.
Chu Yunqi probably treated it as amusing gossip, but He Chen’s brow furrowed deeply, and he remained silent for a long time.
“I don’t quite understand this, though. You two are both excellent, yet neither of you is favored by your biological fathers or mothers.”
“And me,” Chu Yunqi happily rubbed salt in others’ wounds, “although my aptitude is ordinary and I have no special skills, my Imperial Concubine still treats me like a treasure.”
“Your Highness is blessed, naturally, we cannot compare.”
“That’s not true either. Don’t underestimate yourselves. Isn’t fate something you earn yourself?”
“It is.” He Chen’s words held a touch more sincerity. “Your Highness is insightful.”
He said this, glancing over his desk. For some reason, he thought of another desk, and then he gazed out the window in a daze.
In the small garden outside the window, there was an empty patch in the middle. A small sapling used to be there. He Chen didn’t know the species, but seeing how lively and pleasant it looked, he had dug it up last night and given it to Lu Changqing.
At this moment, He Chen frowned self-reproachfully.
It was a birthday, and the gift he gave was too thoughtless.
Also, he somewhat understood why Senior Brother treated him differently than others.
That phrase, “Because you are you,” perhaps he had misunderstood that too?
———————–
Author’s Note: A certain Dean, currently brewing a confession plan in his office: No, you finally understood correctly for once [cracks up]