AHDIBCB Chapter 77

That same night, upon returning to Xingdu, many had prepared to welcome Li Heng and Yuan Yi as they moved into the imperial palace. But in the end, neither of them stayed there—they only visited briefly to get a general sense of the layout, and then went straight back home.

Principal Li had already been waiting at home for quite some time. He’d been buried in experiments before, busy to the point that his feet barely touched the ground. But now that his project had finally reached a staged conclusion, he could afford to take a short break.

After being apart for so long and longing for this reunion day after day, he could finally see his grandsons in person. Just thinking about it made him excited!

When Yuan Yi stepped out of the aircraft and saw that Principal Li was actually waiting outside in the cold night air—and only went back inside once he saw their aircraft entering the hangar—he said, “Dad, why weren’t you inside? It’s so cold out.”

Principal Li replied, “It’s not cold.” But just as he was about to pick up the babies, he paused and corrected himself, “Actually… it is a little cold.”

Professor Jian chuckled and said, “I told him not to wait outside, but he wouldn’t listen. He insisted on seeing his grandsons the moment they arrived. As soon as things were settled at the lab, he rushed over to wait.”

Principal Li said, “You must be tired from the trip, Xiao Yi. Come, let’s talk in the living room.”

The whole family headed into the living room, which was set to a higher temperature than usual—perfect for the babies. Yuan Yi and Li Heng placed the two children in their floating bassinets and took off their coats. Grandpa and Grandma eagerly came over to see their grandsons. Grandma picked up the younger one and said with a smile, “See? I told you. Didn’t listen, and now you’ve caught a chill. You need to warm up before holding them. Oh my sweet little darling, why do you smell so good? Come, let Grandma snuggle you.”

Principal Li said, “If you’d told me that earlier, I definitely wouldn’t have gone out into the cold—or at least I’d have dressed warmer. Is this Hanhan?”

Professor Jian couldn’t actually tell them apart either. The two brothers looked exactly the same. Fortunately, she usually identified them by the color of their clothes, so with a glance she knew who was who.

She asked, “Xiao Yi, are you hungry? I prepared a bit of supper—if you are, have a bite before going to rest.”

Yuan Yi hadn’t really eaten much that evening. He’d had a decent meal earlier in the resting room at the old general’s place, but after going to the imperial palace and meeting with many court officials, he’d only managed to eat a little something—and maybe because lunch was heavy, he hadn’t felt that hungry at the time.

Now, though, he did feel his stomach was a bit empty, so he said, “Then I’ll have a bit. Honey, are you eating too?”

Li Heng replied, “I am. I need to eat—how else am I going to fight these two little guys? They’ve started to fight back now. If they sense my mental energy when they’re sleepy but I’m not, they’ll try to make me drowsy too.”

Principal Li was surprised. “Seriously? They already have the awareness to push back with their mental power?”

Li Heng also found it fascinating. “Yes—and it’s quite obvious.”

Hearing that, Principal Li couldn’t wait. He rushed off to the bathroom to turn on the drying system and warm himself up with hot air, then came back to hold one of the babies. While he wasn’t as strong mentally as his son, he was still their biological grandfather and could perceive mental energy.

Sure enough, as he held his eldest grandson, he noticed something different. People with strong mental abilities could show signs of consciousness even in sleep—it was like a semi-awake state, with a very active mind. Even though they were actually sleeping deeply, part of their energy remained on alert while the other part rested. This didn’t affect the quality of their sleep; in fact, after a short rest, they could be more energized than ordinary people who slept twice as long.

The two little ones had been sleeping soundly, but perhaps sensing that the person holding them wasn’t one of their parents, they woke up not long after.

And once awake, they started crying in protest—loudly—until Li Heng and Yuan Yi took them back into their arms. Only then did they stop crying. But while they stopped crying, they didn’t go back to sleep.

Professor Jian guessed they were probably hungry, so she went to prepare some formula. Yuan Yi and Li Heng each fed one baby, then put them back into their floating cribs.

Principal Li asked, “How has Xiao Yi been resting lately? If you’re tired, Jian and I can take care of them at night.”

Yuan Yi instinctively replied, “It’s okay, Dad. Heng and I can handle it. They wake up a lot during the night—we don’t want you losing sleep too.”

Under the table, Professor Jian lightly nudged Principal Li with her foot. “They’re still so little. You can’t separate them from Xiao Yi at night. We can just watch them during the day if there’s time.”

Having been married for so long, Principal Li immediately understood that Jian must have her reasons for saying that, so he didn’t press further.

After supper, Yuan Yi and Li Heng took the babies upstairs. Yuan Yi laid them in the crib, but after thinking for a moment, brought them back into bed with him.

He was still shaken by what had happened during the day and just didn’t feel safe putting them anywhere else.

Fortunately, the bed was big enough, and the babies were still small—there was plenty of space for everyone.

Li Heng gestured for Li Mian and Xuan Ying to help keep watch through the night, since it was a new environment.

Li Mian said, “Don’t worry, Master. I’ll monitor everything all night without a break—I’ll definitely take good care of them.”

Yuan Yi said, “When I have time, I’ll make you new clothes to wear.”

Li Mian immediately looked toward Li Heng. Li Heng gave a cold snort, handing Yuan Yi some warm milk as he said, “Since you’ve done well looking after your Brother Yi these days, I’ll allow it.”

Just then, Yuan Yi suddenly said, “Starting tomorrow, if Mom and Dad don’t object, why don’t we let them help take care of Chenchen and Hanhan? What do you think?”

Li Heng turned toward him, slightly surprised. “Why? Didn’t we agree to take care of them ourselves at least until they’re a month old?”

When children are very young, being cared for by their parents gives them the greatest sense of security—no matter how advanced the times become, that much never changes.

In this day and age, robotic assistants, nannies, and childcare specialists are fully capable of looking after babies. But there’s still a fundamental difference between people and robots. And as for outsiders—well, it’s hard to truly feel at ease entrusting your children to them. So Li Heng understood Yuan Yi’s original intent.

Yuan Yi explained, “Chenchen and Hanhan are both alphas—and highly sensitive to mental signals at that. I’m their dad, and my anxiety and unease will affect them. I don’t think that’s a good thing. They’re still so small; they should grow up in a relaxed environment—that’s what’s best for their natural development. Besides, with me keeping such a close eye on them all the time, Mom and Dad probably feel too awkward to say they want to play with their grandkids.”

Professor Jian was more easygoing—she’d been playing with the babies every day since they were born. As for Principal Li, this was actually the first time he’d gotten to hold them, and he absolutely adored his two grandsons. In truth, when he offered to help look after them earlier, it was both out of goodwill and because he genuinely wanted to spend more time with his grandkids. But when Professor Jian made her comment, Principal Li had dropped the matter.

There was also another reason: Yuan Yi needed to gradually desensitize himself. Otherwise, constantly being in such a hyper-alert state would be bad for both his own and the children’s mental health.

Soon, Li Heng would also become quite busy. With the war just over, there were many matters that needed adjustment. The punishments and rewards that needed to be dealt out—all of that would be up to Li Heng to decide.

He couldn’t avoid the issue.

Li Heng said, “Mom and Dad will definitely be happy to help. But if you stay anxious for too long, it won’t be good for your recovery either. How about this—until the babies’ one-month mark, we’ll still take care of them ourselves at night. I’ll use my spiritual power to help you sleep more deeply at night, so you won’t affect them unconsciously. During the day, Mom and Dad can take over. They’re still on leave anyway, and Grandfather even found a few trustworthy old nannies who can help out. During this period, you can rest, read some books, or review the design drafts and give the designers suggestions for renovating the house we’ll be living in. Once the babies are a month old and I fully mark you, we can start easing off a little.”

Yuan Yi nodded. “Good thing they’re both alphas. If they were omegas, I think I’d be even more nervous.”

Li Heng hugged Yuan Yi from behind. “Let’s raise them strong. That way, if they have little brothers or sisters in the future, they can protect them.”

Yuan Yi turned his head. “Who said I’m going to give them little brothers or sisters?”

Li Heng replied, “Wasn’t it you who said you wanted to live a long life? I thought that meant you planned to give me a few more kids along the way. But if you don’t want to, that’s fine too—as long as you’re happy.”

Yuan Yi played with Li Heng’s fingers. “First, I want to finish my studies. I also want to figure out the sea beast issue on Aysdiya. Has there been any word from He Yanwu?”

After the defeat of the Second Prince, they hadn’t just abandoned the situation on Aysdiya. He Yanwu had stayed behind—he was the most familiar with the place and had the deepest emotional ties to it. But he’d been busy nonstop, and Yuan Yi hadn’t had the chance to ask.

Li Heng said, “Yes, there’s news. The Immortal Mountain wasn’t really affected, but the seawater has definitely been polluted to some extent. Now he’s really going to dive into environmental research. The upside is that we can now officially deploy people to help—no more hiding it. Dad’s going to help too.”

Yuan Yi thought of those little sea beasts and felt a strange, hard-to-describe emotion. No matter what, as long as they were alive, there was still a chance they’d meet again.

“Does the wound still hurt?” Li Heng asked softly, gently stroking Yuan Yi’s abdomen.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Let me see how it’s healing.”

“No.” Yuan Yi instinctively pressed down on his clothes.

He’d eaten a lot during pregnancy. While most of it had gone to the babies, he had still gained quite a bit himself, and it had left some effects. Especially his belly—after giving birth, the skin had become loose and hadn’t fully recovered yet. He still felt a little self-conscious about it.

Even though he and Li Heng had seen each other naked before, it felt different now.

Li Heng had never said anything about it, but Yuan Yi still cared. He wanted to get back to his pre-pregnancy figure before…

Li Heng didn’t need to ask to know what Yuan Yi was thinking. But if he backed off now, Yuan Yi would probably start overthinking and putting pressure on himself. So he said, “Wife, are you still mad at me?”

Yuan Yi was startled for a moment. He turned to face Li Heng and said, “Why would I be mad at you? Did you do something?”

Li Heng replied, “That’s just it—I don’t know what I might’ve done to upset you, that’s why I’m asking. I only wanted to look at your stomach and you wouldn’t let me. Did I not do something well enough? Is that why it’s still hard for you to fully trust me?”

Yuan Yi: “…”

He knew perfectly well Li Heng was probably just pretending to be pitiful on purpose, but he still couldn’t resist that kind of emotional tactic.

Flustered, he muttered, “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Li Heng kissed his lips. “Then let me look. I love the way you look at every stage—I want to remember all of it.”

Yuan Yi had no choice but to loosen his grip.

Li Heng lifted his shirt and kissed his belly, more reverently than even when Yuan Yi was carrying their children.

Yuan Yi instantly felt a little… awkward. He turned to the side and curled his legs slightly.

Li Heng noticed his shyness and chuckled. “Wife, you want to too, don’t you?”

Yuan Yi: “Shut up!”