Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Reunion (Part 1)

“Leyan, the Empire has seven star sectors and over twenty space bases. Your dad’s Hanhe Base is the furthest and the poorest.”

“It has nothing but two low-level resource planets and a spaceport. Because it’s stuck on a major shipping lane, space pirates often show up.”

“Do you know what space pirates are? They’re big bad guys who specialize in robbing good people like us. They are very fierce and scary.”

“If you ask me, we should just go take a look, stay for two days, and then come back.”

Inside a star shuttle on the route from the capital, Blue Star, to the remote Hanhe Base in the Star River Empire, an elegantly dressed young man was speaking volubly, earnestly advising a cute child of about three or four years old.

The child, with soft, fine hair and milky-white skin, had a bit of baby fat, but his features were distinct and very pretty.

The young man was speaking animatedly, spitting as he talked, but his listener was remarkably composed. The child sat quietly, sucking on a packet of jelly, his large eyes as clear as two mirrors, reflecting the young man’s every movement.

At the other end of the route, in a conference room located on the top floor of the command tower at the Hanhe Base space city, several military officers were watching this scene on a monitoring screen.

Looking at the cute child, their hearts softened. Looking at the young man, they were deeply annoyed: “What is he rambling about! This Third Prince is truly unreliable!”

“Exactly! It’s true we’re the furthest, but how are we the poorest?”

“Ahem, Commander, the military budget surplus from last year has been calculated,” a staff officer who hadn’t participated in the discussion spoke up weakly.

“How much?” The young Commander He Chen, sitting at the head of the table with a straight posture, raised his eyes from the screen and looked at him.

“18,800,” the staff officer’s voice was even lower.

“How much?” A stout officer widened his eyes.

“One point, eighty-eight thousand,” the staff officer wiped his sweat. “But this year’s budget will arrive next month. If we are frugal this month, we can still manage.”

Silence. A deathly silence.

“L-look on the bright side. Although we have the smallest surplus, our annual budget execution rate is always number one,” the staff officer tried to salvage something, then obediently shut his mouth under a barrage of disdainful looks.

Another officer spoke up, boosting morale: “Reporting, Commander, the tracking squad has confirmed that the Fire Fox did not have an escape pod. All the bandits have been captured!”

“Mhm,” He Chen responded, his voice low and commanding. “Keep them separated, especially the high-ranking ones. Don’t let them meet yet.”

As his words fell, before the officer could reply, the sound from the screen suddenly became prominent again:

“And also, Leyan, your dad is a big, bad killer. He kills without batting an eye. Even the space pirates are afraid of him,” said the Third Prince, Chu Yunqi.

“What is a ‘big, bad killer’?” He Leyan finally put down his jelly and asked in a milky voice.

“A ‘big, bad killer’ is someone who is especially fierce and terrifying. Think about it, your dad and his people guard a place like Hanhe, constantly fighting space pirates. How could they not be fierce?”

They couldn’t… but being fierce toward space pirates—could that really be called “fierce”?

The officers grew indignant again, cautiously glancing up at the “big, bad killer,” He Chen.

Hmm, his face was quite dark, though that might be because he was sitting with his back to the light.

At this moment, on the screen, the child seemed confused: “Aren’t space pirates big bad guys?”

“…Yes,” Chu Yunqi answered.

“Then someone who fights big bad guys, aren’t they big good guys?”

“Oh, my dear young master!” The officers laughed. He Chen, at the head of the table, smiled with particular satisfaction.

Just as the smiles were broadening, the cute child on the screen bit his lip and looked at the person next to him: “Dad Wen, can I not go to that place?”

All the upturned corners of mouths froze.

The officers in front of the screen fell silent simultaneously. He Chen, at the head of the table, was especially silent.

“Leyan, hearing is not seeing. Seeing is believing,” said Wen Yi, the therapist from the Medical Academy who was sitting next to the child on the shuttle and responsible for escorting him. “What His Highness said are just rumors. You will only know what your dad is like when you meet him.”

“I don’t want to meet him…” He Leyan whispered.

“Leyan, you promised,” Doctor Wen’s tone was gentle but firm. He stroked He Leyan’s little head. “How does that saying go? A man of honor’s word once spoken—”

“A team of horses cannot overtake it,” He Leyan pouted.

“That’s right.” Doctor Wen rubbed his head and explained again, “Your dad really isn’t a bad person. He’s a soldier who protects us. He’s a big good guy.”

He Leyan stopped talking, sniffled, and put the jelly back into his mouth. His sadness turned into motivation, his little cheeks slightly puffed out as he sucked hard.

As he sucked, he wiped his reddened large eyes.

The air in the conference room seemed to grow heavy. The officers looked awkward, unable to stop themselves from trying to cheer themselves up:

“It’s fine, no need to worry. Once the young master arrives, he’ll see that the Commander and we are not scary.”

“Right! And isn’t Ning Tian accompanying the young master? Ning Tian is good-looking, the young master will like him. If the young master likes him, he’ll have a good impression of us!”

That made sense.

Just as He Chen was about to nod, a stern-faced young man in a crisp military uniform appeared on the screen, holding a tray. He first handed Chu Yunqi a wine glass, his voice cold: “The wine you requested.”

Then he turned to He Leyan: “Young Master, this is your lunch.”

It was clear he was trying to be gentle when speaking to the child, but it was still—indescribably stiff. After speaking, he stood there awkwardly holding the tray. If the child didn’t speak, he wouldn’t move.

It was Doctor Wen who smoothed things over, taking the tray from him and introducing the food for He Leyan to choose from.

Throughout the process, He Leyan only glanced at the young man—Ning Tian—and quietly said thank you. It was obvious they were not familiar with each other, and the child even seemed afraid.

“Didn’t you train him?” He Chen’s eyebrow twitched. He looked at Xiang Heng, the Deputy Captain, Executive Officer, and Instructor sitting next to him.

“His performance before leaving was actually acceptable,” Xiang Heng replied helplessly.

“I should have sent you instead,” He Chen said again.

“Ning Tian has his advantages. His reconnaissance and adaptability are better than mine. He can protect Leyan well.”

He’s a block of wood. Adaptability my foot. But since he had personally selected the man, He Chen didn’t say anything more. He looked at the time displayed on the terminal: “How much longer until they arrive?”

“Ten minutes. The shuttle is decelerating. The port is ready for docking,” Xiang Heng replied.

“Mhm.” He Chen swallowed. “Meeting adjourned.”

He said this and was the first to stand up.

As he stood up, there was a clinking and clanking sound, “like the ringing of jade pendants.” Everyone was stunned: “Commander, isn’t this… too formal?”

Too formal? He just wore a few extra medals and ribbons. Is that not allowed? He Chen straightened his collar and looked at Xiang Heng, who had suggested he display his best demeanor.

“Since the Third Prince is coming, the Commander should dress formally,” Xiang Heng calmly explained to the others—though even he hadn’t expected He Chen to be so literal as to hang everything on himself.

Didn’t he feel weighed down?

*

“I wore this for the ghost,” He Chen snorted after the officers dispersed, straightening his collar again.

He looked as if he was afraid that even swallowing would shake his golden collar insignia out of place.

“He is a prince, and he has your He family backing him. Technically, he’s your cousin. If you have any dissatisfaction, remember to keep it in check and don’t show it on your face,” Xiang Heng spoke more casually to He Chen now that they were alone. “Besides, he said he’s here for ‘experience,’ so he probably won’t stay long.”

“I know, he’s just leeching off Leyan’s popularity,” He Chen sneered.

The current Emperor likes to project an image of loving his people like his own children. Both princes flatter their father by adopting a commoner-friendly persona. The Third Prince, Chu Yunqi, has a team managing his influencer account. Because Leyan is highly followed online and has high national recognition, the Prince is clinging to Leyan.

However, this pampered Prince clearly doesn’t want to endure hardship here, which is why he keeps badmouthing the base and him, the father, constantly urging Leyan to return to the Star Capital.

But he can urge and badmouth all he wants, he shouldn’t use talk of “killing” to scare such a young child.

Thinking of the child’s reddened eyes, He Chen’s gaze turned cold: “Since His Highness knows we are poor, remember to make him suffer a little.”

“Understood,” Xiang Heng replied with a smile.

Good cousin, we have a long way to go. He Chen took long strides and walked out.

When he reached the door, just as he was about to push it open, he stopped.

He stood ramrod straight, looking very uneasy: “Do I look… alright?”

More than alright.

Xiang Heng scanned He Chen from bottom to top, from his pair of long, straight legs to his upright upper body, and then up to that handsome face that would be a disservice to the heavens if even a fraction was changed. He smiled for a moment.

All these gold and silver badges and ribbons would overwhelm anyone else, but on the deep-featured, stern-tempered He Chen, they only made him look more striking than usual.

“Don’t worry,” Xiang Heng’s confidence in this father-son meeting greatly increased. “Leyan will like you.”

*

“Captain Ning, we are decelerating soon. Please sit down,” Wen Yi said on the shuttle.

“Thank you, no need,” Ning Tian was cold yet respectful and polite, but still refused Wen Yi.

—The Commander had instructed him to take good care of the young master, not to leave his side for a step, and not to even blink.

The shuttle was decelerating, switching from warp drive to fusion propulsion. There would be a momentary spatial distortion causing mental energy fluctuations, and the subsequent flight would no longer be so stable. He had to keep a close watch.

“Don’t worry about him, let him stand if he wants,” Chu Yunqi glanced at the tall, handsome Ning Tian, whose face was as cold as the alloy wall of the cabin, and exhaled through his nose. “I just feel sorry for little Leyan, having to follow this bunch of cold-faced, cold-hearted bandits and uncivilized people. How will he manage his life from now on?”

His tone was full of regret, but there was no sympathy in his eyes, only a hint of impatience—his mother insisted he come along, and he would have to share in the hardship of this poor, remote place with its bandits and uncivilized people.

Wen Yi saw the impatience in his eyes but did not agree with the Prince. Instead, he gently held He Leyan’s small hand: “Commander He is Leyan’s father, and he will take good care of him.”

“What father? He hasn’t taken care of Leyan for a single day,” Chu Yunqi scoffed, adding in his mind: He just knows how to claim him.

As he thought this, he noticed Ning Tian’s icy gaze sweeping over him. He raised an eyebrow and looked back provocatively: “Speaking of which, will we finally get to see him this time? Leyan has been in the Star Capital for three years, and his busy father hasn’t shown his face once.”

Chu Yunqi said this, stroking He Leyan’s head with a look of pity and regret: “If you don’t have the ability, don’t take on the responsibility. Since he can’t be bothered to raise a child, he shouldn’t insist on being the father. Why should our Leyan suffer this hardship, right, Leyan?”

Who can’t be bothered to raise him? The Commander had no choice. The young master’s mental energy was unstable and he couldn’t leave the Medical Academy, and they couldn’t move the Medical Academy to the base.

Ning Tian frowned, preparing to explain, but the young master didn’t seem interested. He lowered his head, his long eyelashes obscuring his large eyes.

Ning Tian got stuck again: maybe he looked scary, and he was certainly clumsy with words. He had no idea how to talk to such a small child, even after traveling all this way.

Wen Yi knew how to talk to him, and he also wanted to help explain, but the deceleration was about to begin, and the shuttle was already shaking slightly. Wen Yi didn’t have time to explain. He grabbed He Leyan’s small hand and closed his eyes.

Ning Tian knew that Wen Yi was using his own mental domain to envelop the young master’s mental domain. Ning Tian glanced at the back seats, where their own therapist was already in position, just in case anything went wrong.

Ning Tian fell silent, only giving Chu Yunqi an icy glare.

The deceleration began. Everyone should have been seated and buckled up, but Ning Tian ignored the danger and remained standing in the aisle, vigilantly observing He Leyan and everyone else’s reactions, ready to move at any moment.

His expression remained stern, like a cold, iron tower.

Under his stern protection, the shuttle, which had slowed down by at least half but was still as fast as a phantom, passed between the two planets, Hanxiao and Heji, rapidly approaching the end of the route:

The Hanhe Space Base, which was ring-shaped, like open arms eagerly awaiting their arrival.