Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 55
byChapter 55: Sworn Brotherhood
“Are you really having a headache, or is it fake?”
He Chen looked at Lu Changqing’s complexion. Since the earthquake, he seemed never to have had a proper rest.
“Fake,” Lu Changqing said.
“…You don’t have to be so honest.”
“If I’m not honest, how can I be worthy of a sworn brotherhood with you?”
“Cough!” He Chen cleared his throat. “If you’re not having a headache, I have serious business to discuss with Senior Brother.”
“Go ahead.”
“I received intelligence from my secret agents near Ping Mountain Base. He Hongsheng plans to use the excuse of a riot breaking out to dismantle and remove the production lines of several pillar enterprises on Shangyun Star.”
“Is the information reliable?” Lu Changqing asked.
Ping Mountain Base governs six stars. Of these, Shangyun and Xiayun Stars are close to Han River Base and are part of the half designated to be ceded to Han River. Taking two out of six might seem like a loss, but Shangyun and Xiayun are the two stars with the most resources and best endowments in Ping Mountain Base, possessing industrial chains that are quite respectable across the entire Empire and contribute a large amount of GDP.
Destroying such valuable assets rather than leaving them for He Chen certainly sounded like the He family’s style of doing things.
“Reliable. Although I’m not specialized in intelligence, I have a few deep cover agents that I placed three years ago,” He Chen said, his eyes noticeably sharper. “Since he plans a ‘riot,’ he should be prepared for suppression.”
Lu Changqing looked at him. “You plan to—”
“I plan to take people there within the next couple of days. I’ll tell everyone I’ve returned to the base. I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother to look after Leyan these few days.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lu Changqing said.
“No need—”
“The handover hasn’t happened yet. It would be hard to explain your presence there with troops, and the He family would definitely use that handle against you. But if you go as a guest invited by a certain new magnate on Shangyun Star, accompanying me to their home for a visit and to treat their family members, it provides a plausible reason.”
This reason was indeed more legitimate than the “inspection tour” he had thought of.
He Chen didn’t hesitate much and nodded in agreement. However—“Is there such a magnate?”
“Yes. After the branch campus groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow, I will introduce you.”
He Chen was surprised. “Did Senior Brother foresee this and prepare such a person long ago?”
“I was merely preparing to scout Shangyun Star,” Lu Changqing replied.
He Chen was silent for a moment. “Senior Brother, thank you for your effort.”
“Matters concerning a sworn brotherhood naturally require effort,” Lu Changqing said, looking at him.
“Cough!” He Chen averted his gaze. “Well, you should get busy. I promised to go back and spend time with Leyan tonight, so I’ll be leaving now.”
“Coincidentally, I was just about to head back too,” Lu Changqing said, opening the door.
He Chen paused for a moment, then followed his steps.
“We can talk about future matters later. I will wait until the day you trust me. For now, let’s continue as we are, alright?” As they walked through the lobby, Lu Changqing seemed to sense He Chen’s awkwardness and whispered beside him.
His voice was low and gentle.
He Chen nodded, then couldn’t help but say, “Senior Brother doesn’t need to wait for me. I’m not worth your wait.”
“You are worth it,” Lu Changqing pressed the elevator button with his back to He Chen. “You are worth anything in this world.”
The last sentence was spoken very softly. If He Chen hadn’t had excellent hearing, he might not have caught it.
But He Chen did have excellent hearing.
His face felt slightly warm. He followed Lu Changqing into the elevator, endured it for a moment, and finally couldn’t resist speaking. “You are too.”
“Senior Brother is worth anything. It was Lu Jingshan’s fault for not loving Senior Brother.”
Idiot.
Lu Changqing clenched his fingers. A part of his heart that had long been numb, like a dead thing, suddenly received nourishment and trembled, threatening to come alive.
“Ah, Director, sorry.” The closing elevator doors opened again. Several people were carrying a large box and trying to enter, but seeing Lu Changqing and He Chen, they quickly stopped and prepared to back out.
“It’s fine, come in,” He Chen said, feeling the atmosphere of their solitude was a bit strange, and urged the people to enter.
But when they actually came in, he regretted it.
The box was too large, forcing him and Lu Changqing to yield space. With this adjustment, the two of them were practically pressed together at zero distance.
And they were facing each other.
He Chen’s arm somehow bumped Lu Changqing’s waist, and Lu Changqing instinctively steadied him with a hand. They exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away.
He Chen’s heart rate sped up slightly. He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he heard another heartbeat close by, beating just as fast as his own.
Like synchronized drumbeats, echoing loudly in the shadows.
“It’s decided,小白 (Little White), I choose you!”
In the living room, He Leyan was kneeling alone on the carpet, holding up a puppy plush toy and performing thunderous “attacks” against a transforming robot on the coffee table—with “boom,” “smash,” and “whoosh” sounds, using all sorts of moves.
With a headbutt, the puppy knocked the robot over. He Leyan cheered, “Yay, we won again!”
It would be hard not to win, wouldn’t it? He Chen laughed out loud. “How many rounds have you won?”
“Papa! Dadbi!” He Leyan looked up, saw He Chen and Lu Changqing had returned, happily threw down his toys, and ran toward them.
“Why are you playing by yourself? Where is Papa Wen, and your brother?”
“They are all busy with things,” He Leyan replied.
“Hmm.” He Chen looked at the row of plush toys lined up on the sofa, feeling a little heartache.
The child was too lonely, having to play with toys by himself.
Of course, nestled among the toys was a small spirit body snake, which he intentionally ignored when his eyes swept over it.
“What are you playing? Papa will play with you.”
“Really?” He Leyan was very happy. “Can Dadbi join too?”
“Your Dadbi is tired these days—”
“It’s alright,” Lu Changqing interjected. “I haven’t spent time with Leyan for several days either.”
He said this, led He Leyan to sit on the sofa, and saw He Chen standing stiffly to the side, hesitant to sit. He glanced at the little snake nearby and understood.
“Isn’t it very well-behaved?” Lu Changqing asked.
It was very well-behaved, coiled up with the puppy and wolf plushies, pretending to be a plush toy itself, looking rather simple-minded…
He Chen swallowed, then sat down a short distance away.
Lu Changqing noticed his tense, battle-ready posture, and quietly tapped the little black snake’s tail. As if receiving a hint, the black snake slowly uncoiled its body, climbed onto Lu Changqing’s arm, affectionately rubbed its head against him, and then vanished.
It seemed this fellow was actually quite cute?
He Chen swallowed again and looked at He Leyan. “What do you want to play?”
Leyan looked at him, then at Lu Changqing—Papa Wen had said that Papa and Dadbi were good friends, but they were both very busy and didn’t have time to communicate, so he needed to create more opportunities for them to be together.
He Leyan blinked his big eyes. “Let’s play Big Pinwheel.”
“What is Big Pinwheel?” Lu Changqing asked, confused, looking at He Chen, whose face showed no confusion.
“It’s mimicking the equipment we use for vestibular training,” He Chen explained, instantly demonstrating by clasping He Leyan’s abdomen and back with both hands and flipping him 360 degrees.
He flipped him so fast that Lu Changqing’s eyes blurred, but He Leyan didn’t feel uncomfortable. Instead, he giggled.
“Papa and Dadbi together, like Papa and Uncle Ning,” the child requested, proposing an advanced requirement after being spun twice.
He Chen looked at Lu Changqing.
Lu Changqing asked, “How do we do that?”
He Chen coughed, sat down on the carpet, and extended both hands toward Lu Changqing.
Lu Changqing’s intelligence was very high, so understanding the action was not difficult.
He sat opposite He Chen and grasped the hands He Chen offered.
He Chen’s fingers stiffened for a moment, especially the alloy one.
“Here I come!” He Leyan cheered, took two small running steps, and squeezed into the circle formed by their arms.
He Chen didn’t have time to think further. He applied force, moving Lu Changqing’s arms, securely sandwiching He Leyan front and back, and flipped him over.
A child’s happiness is simple. With just this simple action, He Leyan laughed happily again. “Again!”
If he liked it, He Chen wouldn’t tire even if he flipped him ten thousand times.
However, before they reached ten flips, He Leyan stopped himself. “My heart is beating so fast!”
He Chen chuckled, rubbing his chest. “It is fast, like a little motor. Time to rest.”
“Papa will draw with you. How about Dadbi goes to rest?”
“Okay.” Leyan nodded. Today’s mission was complete. They would continue tomorrow!
Lu Changqing rubbed He Leyan’s head, glanced at He Chen, stood up, and went upstairs.
On the stairs, he turned back to look at the living room. He saw He Chen holding He Leyan in his lap, his semi-mechanical large hand holding a small, tender hand, both bent over the coffee table drawing.
A profile with excellent lines was particularly striking under the light, yet the most captivating aspect wasn’t his superior appearance. What it was, Lu Changqing found hard to articulate.
Since he first met He Chen many years ago, even before he understood He Chen’s character or background, there was something fragile yet incredibly resilient beneath He Chen’s eyes, hidden behind his bright smile, that inexplicably drew Lu Changqing in.
The deeper his understanding, the stronger the attraction. It gradually became like a black hole, making even someone as rational as Lu Changqing unable to resist.
But he could only proceed slowly. Softening a head wolf covered in scars was naturally not an easy task. No matter how affectionate and kind He Chen seemed, he had his defenses and persistence.
Thinking this, Lu Changqing calmed his slight impatience, subtly clenched the palm that had just touched He Chen, endured the empty feeling of billions of sensory cells being awakened yet unable to be truly satisfied, and walked upstairs.
As for He Chen, only after Lu Changqing turned and he could no longer feel his gaze did he look up toward the stairs, then quickly lowered his eyes to continue drawing with He Leyan.
His left hand, the one not drawing, flexed on his thigh.
Perhaps he would have to go through a period of “withdrawal” again. It didn’t matter. If he could do it back then, he could certainly do it now!
It was a beautiful, sunny day in September of the Star River Calendar when the Han River Branch of the Imperial Medical Academy officially broke ground.
The groundbreaking ceremony was brief, but the number of guests was considerable.
After the ceremony, Lu Changqing specifically introduced two guests to He Chen.
One was Fan Maode, the head of the Fan family, a technology magnate from Shangyun Star in Ping Mountain Base—an articulate middle-aged businessman. Knowing Lu Changqing intended to use his connections to go to Shangyun Star, He Chen politely chatted with him for a couple of minutes.
The other was a military officer ranked one level higher than He Chen, Zhao Huai, the commander of Sui Mountain Base. He was over ten years older than He Chen, falling between youth and middle age for a Blue Star person. He was cheerful and his conversation was often humorous.
“Is he an old subordinate of Shen Xingzhou?” He Chen found a moment when Lu Changqing was free and quietly sought confirmation.
Lu Changqing nodded, whispering near He Chen’s ear, “He also sought treatment from me. He came today in a private capacity to offer congratulations.”
“He also sought treatment from you?” He Chen asked, inexplicably.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” Just as He Chen spoke, Zhao Huai finished his socializing and walked straight toward He Chen. “Junior Brother, I can call you that, right? I also graduated from the First Military Academy’s Command Department.”
“Of course, Senior Brother,” He Chen replied smoothly.
“Junior Brother looks even more handsome in person than in the blurry pictures circulating online,” Zhao Huai chuckled.
He Chen paid no mind to such social pleasantries. “Senior Brother is the one in his prime.”
“Not at all.” Zhao Huai smiled, then cut to the chase, pulling out… a pink, soft notebook. “Junior Brother, my little sister heard I was coming to Han River and begged me to meet you and get an autograph for her.”
He opened the front page of the notebook and pulled out a gaudy pink pen from the fold. “Please, Junior Brother, could you sign it for her?”
“Sign… what?” He Chen took the pen, utterly bewildered.
“Just sign your name. If you could write, ‘To Zhao Qinqin, wishing you happiness,’ that would be even better,” Zhao Huai said.
He Chen wrote the requested phrase as neatly as possible in the notebook, signed his name, and handed the notebook back to Zhao Huai.
“Ahem, this pen, you used it. She specifically instructed me to bring it back too,” Zhao Huai added.
He Chen’s expression was strange as he handed the pen back as well.
“By the way, I must apologize for asking, Junior Brother,” the usually composed Zhao Huai finally showed a hint of embarrassment. “Are you single, Junior Brother? My sister has a cheerful personality and a decent appearance. Although she acts unconventionally, her heart is still—”
“Cough!” Lu Changqing, standing nearby, finally let out a soft cough upon hearing this.
Zhao Huai stopped speaking, glanced at Lu Changqing, or rather, at both of them, and laughed awkwardly. “My apologies, Director Lu. I understand. I just needed to give the child an answer.”
“Don’t mind it, Junior Brother. It’s just that you are too outstanding,” Zhao Huai said, putting away the notebook and pen, returning to his cheerful demeanor. He patted He Chen’s shoulder. “When can we, as fellow students, spar a bit?”
As Zhao Huai spoke, he heard Lu Changqing cough subtly again.
Zhao Huai’s hand on He Chen’s shoulder paused for a moment, then he naturally withdrew it.
He hadn’t fully understood before, but now he completely got it.
He Chen, however, didn’t notice this subtle detail. Just as Zhao Huai was speaking to him, his eyes met Xiang Heng’s.
Although the negotiations were fraught with friction, the negotiation team led by Xiang Heng still represented Ping Mountain Base. Lu Changqing and He Chen had discussed it and invited them to attend the ceremony.
“I just learned that the Medical Academy and Han River Sanatorium signed a co-development agreement. Congratulations on shedding a burden,” Xiang Heng walked up, speaking calmly, without deliberately avoiding He Chen.
At the same time, he looked at Lu Changqing and nodded from a distance, seemingly expressing thanks.
Lu Changqing responded with a nod.
“I haven’t congratulated you on your promotion to Colonel yet,” He Chen said, looking at Xiang Heng. His tone wasn’t cold, but it was devoid of emotion, like a ruler—it wouldn’t hurt anyone, but it instantly created distance.
Xiang Heng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn’t.
He simply put down the plate of buffet food he was holding, turned, and walked away to talk to others.
He Chen looked at the plate he seemed to have unintentionally left behind and clenched his fingers. The plate contained stir-fried pork, lemon shrimp, and yellow croaker fried with rice cakes… every dish was exactly what He Chen preferred.
What was he trying to do? Did he think one plate of food was enough to reconcile with him?
That was impossible!
Absolutely impossible.
He Chen stared intently at Xiang Heng’s back as he chatted with others. Seeing that Xiang Heng didn’t turn around or show any intention of acknowledging him again, He Chen clenched his hand once more, pushed the plate aside, and strode away in another direction.