AHDIBCB Chapter 41

What do I tell you?

Li Heng was almost at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought that Yuan Yi might have doubts about whether he was still alive, but he never expected him to do something like this. At first glance, it looked like a mini version of a memorial service—just missing someone crying a little.

Li Heng held the photo, gritted his teeth, and pinched Yuan Yi’s cheek. He almost wanted to shake him awake to ask what exactly he was trying to do here.

Could it be that he didn’t realize his husband was still alive, but instead thought he was really dead?

How could food be sent by a dead person? And all that original pheromone of his—how could a dead person have that!

You little fool, usually quite clever, but suddenly acting all muddled.

Li Heng was speechless, and after the silence, he couldn’t help but feel amused.

To be honest, his wife’s skills were really beyond reproach. The gold ingots were cute, each one perfectly made. The little white flowers were also folded very fresh-looking. But placing them next to his photo—it just left him speechless. If he took everything away, wouldn’t Yuan Yi think he was really “floating” back to collect money?

Li Heng sighed, deciding to go back and inform Winter Wolf and Flight Wolf that the alert was lifted, and they could return. After saying that, he hurried back to take a bath and then carry Yuan Yi to bed.

As for his fleet’s “treasures,” he installed the energy boxes to wake up Li Mian, then asked Li Mian to store them in a drawer.

Li Mian just activated and, seeing the pile of colorful decorations, hadn’t reacted yet. From his robotic aesthetic perspective, he even thought it was quite beautiful and said, “Master, why do we need to put it away? Doesn’t it look good here? Your study is so cold and rigid in style; adding this makes it feel really different, right?”

Li Heng said, “I told you to put it away, so just do it. Why so many questions?”

Li Mian replied with an “Oh,” and then flew back and forth, like a little bee, putting the flowers and gold ingots into the drawer. Then he asked, “By the way, Master, where’s your photo? Did Brother Yi print your photo because he misses you? Wants to kiss you? Did you see anything?”

Kiss me? Li Heng, thinking of that black-and-white photo, immediately remembered the three sticks of incense.

He had already extinguished the incense and thrown it into the trash can. Now Yuan Yi should understand what he meant, right?

If it weren’t for the fact that he was wearing so little in the summer, making it easy to be noticed, he would have definitely bitten Yuan Yi by now. All that little bit of art technique he had learned was now being used in such a strange way.

But he did sleep soundly.

Li Heng looked at Yuan Yi lying on the bed, his brows relaxed, his sleeping face peaceful. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get mad. For a moment, he really felt the impulse to wake Yuan Yi up and chat face to face with him.

At this moment, Li Mian finished his task and floated back, looking at Yuan Yi with Li Heng. He whispered, “Master, Brother Yi really looks beautiful, doesn’t he?”

Li Heng said, “Mm. Have you wiped off all the fingerprints on him? Find a place to rub.”

Li Mian replied, “I’ve rubbed them off. But Master, if Brother Yi asks tomorrow who installed the energy box, what should I say?”

Li Heng was somewhat silent.

This was obviously a great opportunity for confession. As long as he provided enough information, Yuan Yi would know that he was still alive when he woke up. But what about after that?

He still couldn’t return openly, and Yuan Yi didn’t have any real feelings for him. Even setting up the “memorial altar” for him was clearly a gesture of repayment, probably to thank him for bringing original pheromones and food.

The Nine-Color Star Bridge incident hadn’t been fully resolved, and at this stage, he could suddenly disappear at any moment. Yuan Yi didn’t have much emotional attachment to him, so he wouldn’t feel too much worry or expectation. But if they spent more time together, the omega’s natural dependency on his alpha would certainly make Yuan Yi uneasy about his disappearance.

And with pregnancy, it was essential to give Yuan Yi as much security as possible.

Li Heng told Li Mian, “Just say you don’t know, the rest I’ll handle myself.”

Before leaving that night, Li Heng took the black-and-white photo and replaced it with the color photo in the spot where the black-and-white photo had been. And where the gold ingots and small white flowers had been placed, he put other things—those edible grasses brought back from the blue gel planet.

Fortunately, the warship was painted in its original colors and wasn’t turned into black and white. With this change, it finally looked much more pleasing to the eye.

Before leaving, he left behind some pheromones and also instructed Li Mian to pay close attention to Yuan Yi’s emotions, to see if he was angry or scared, and so on.

So, when Yuan Yi woke up the next day, he finally saw something different.

That photo, along with those little grasses. Although there were no obvious fingerprints left, he realized that these things had likely been touched, as they all carried the scent of cedar.

He was playing with one of the crystal spheres containing the little grasses when he called for Li Mian. “Who installed the energy box for you?”

Li Mian had been lying so much recently that he had already gotten used to it. Without any guilt, he said, “I don’t know. Brother Yi, did you take apart my energy box last night? I have no idea what happened. You didn’t even say anything to me. I’m so sad.”

Li Mian looked at his little finger, head lowered, with a look of grievance. “I’ve really been sincere and genuine with you.”

Yuan Yi’s dark eyes seemed to see through everything. “Are you sure?”

Li Mian said, “Sure.”

At this point, Yuan Yi took a paper gold ingot out of the drawer. “Then tell me, whose little handprint is on this gold ingot? Stretch your little paw over here so I can take a look.”

Li Mian immediately felt guilty and hurriedly moved his little paw behind his back. “I don’t know what gold ingot you’re talking about.”

Yuan Yi took a deep breath, inhaling the scent in the study. “He’s been here, and he’s been in the study.”

What the hell?! Li Mian’s mind raced, thinking that when it took the gold ingot and the little flowers last night, it had been so careful!

Yuan Yi then said, “You touched my little flowers and my paper gold ingot. I specifically put glue on them. He didn’t touch them, but you did. You also helped him control the air purification system. When there was a lot of pheromone, you set the circulation to internal; when there was less, you set it to external. You made the cleaning robot clean all the fingerprints in the room. But Li Mian, your energy box is a solid piece. Are you sure you cleaned the fingerprints on the part that was locked inside too?”

If Li Mian could sweat, it would be sweating bullets by now.

It had no idea whether it had wiped off the fingerprints inside the energy box! When it took it off, it wasn’t “awake.” As for when it put it back on, of course, it only wiped the exterior!

Li Mian, however, still remembered Li Heng’s instructions and, gritting its teeth, said, “Brother Yi, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yuan Yi said, “It’s fine, as long as I know what I’m saying.”

If the things he had done were seen by anyone other than Li Heng, then those close to Li Heng would surely be upset, throwing those things away or waking him up to have a talk about it. But those who weren’t close to Li Heng probably wouldn’t do anything at all.

Yet, the person had put these things into the drawer, neither throwing them away nor taking them, which meant what? It meant this person cared, but not too much.

And those three sticks of incense, they hadn’t been fully burned yet, but had been thrown into the trash can. However, they hadn’t allowed the trash can to destroy them. It seemed like they wanted him to see them.

Besides Li Heng himself, he couldn’t think of anyone else who would do this.

Although he had never met Li Heng, he had watched many of Li Heng’s speeches online and had heard many stories about Li Heng from Li Mian. Seeing a person’s actions is like seeing the person themselves; one doesn’t necessarily have to meet face to face to understand someone.

From what he had learned, Li Heng was rough yet meticulous, proud but polite, cold yet affectionate. People often say that righteousness doesn’t manage wealth, and kindness doesn’t lead troops. Li Heng led troops, but he had his own tolerance and kindness.

At this point, Li Mian cautiously asked, “Brother Yi, aren’t you angry?”

Yuan Yi asked back, “Do you think I should be angry? Why should I be angry?”

Li Mian said, “Because… because…”

Of course, it was because it had lied multiple times! But it didn’t dare say that. What if Yuan Yi didn’t like it anymore?

Li Mian stood on the desk, looked up at Yuan Yi, and then lowered its head, reflecting on itself.

Every time Li Mian looked down at the short-sleeved shirt and shorts Yuan Yi had made for it, it felt like it was going against its own principles. Yuan Yi treated it so much better than its master did. Yet, it still had to help its master deceive Yuan Yi.

Its master was so annoying!

Seeing Li Mian’s downcast expression, Yuan Yi found it quite cute and gently patted its little curly hair. “You only have the rules you need to follow, you don’t need to act like this. Besides, he doesn’t have any ill intentions towards me, does he? We’re all just doing what we’re supposed to do, not hurting anyone, so there’s no need to feel guilty or sorry.”

Li Mian asked in confusion, “But I’m lying to you, why can you be so calm? Don’t you feel sad?”

Yuan Yi smiled and said, “Why should I be sad? No one owes me anything, and I don’t owe anyone. If someone is good to me, it’s a favor, and I’ll do my best to return it. If not, that’s perfectly normal. There’s no need to complain. Life is only a few decades long, we’re just living in the present, it’s really not that complicated.”

Yuan Yi folded two triangular corner protectors from paper, and glued one on each of the transparent shells of the two small plant spheres. This way, it became a very simple photo frame. He slid the two bottom corners of Li Heng’s photo into the triangular protectors and placed it on the desk.

As for the rest, he also placed them beside it, and now it didn’t look so much like a mourning hall anymore.

Li Mian stared blankly at Yuan Yi.

Li Heng silently watched Yuan Yi through the communicator.

He really did kind of hope Yuan Yi would be sad or angry, at least that would show he cared a little bit. But looking at Yuan Yi now, it seemed the only thing he cared about was his pheromones. As for Li Heng himself, he seemed truly dispensable.

How could someone just about to turn twenty be so calm?

General Li suddenly felt a bit of difficulty.

Yuan Yi, on the other hand, had completely relaxed. The other person, from the looks of it, should be a human. Taking away the black-and-white photo and leaving the color photo was a good way of signaling this. If it was a person, the only place they could have come from was behind the cabinet. Although he still couldn’t figure out how they had entered, that no longer mattered.

The other person didn’t want him to know, or rather, didn’t want him to see, so he would act as if he hadn’t seen anything.

The other person probably didn’t want too much interaction between them, after all, there weren’t any feelings involved. Also, it wasn’t time for him to reveal himself yet. If it was time, he certainly wouldn’t have come and gone so quietly. At the very least, he should have met Professor Jian.

Maybe he had only come back to check on the child out of concern. Yuan Yi could understand that.

Now, the only question was, if Li Heng hadn’t died and had come back, who would get custody of the child?

He didn’t want to be separated from the children, but he also remembered what Li Mian had said—Li Heng had found his true love.

He didn’t think someone like Li Heng would easily change his feelings, and divorce was inevitable.

Li Heng would definitely be with the person he loved. So, what would happen to his children in the future?

Yuan Yi thought and thought, and felt that this matter had to be planned early.

So, that night, he didn’t think about how to confirm whether the visitor was a ghost or a person, nor did he force himself to stay awake like before.

He just took some paper and a pen and wrote a line of words, leaving it on the nightstand.

So, when Li Heng came over, he immediately saw the paper because Li Mian was also pointing at the words with his little finger, and there was no way he could miss it.

— “Everything can belong to you, the marriage can be dissolved. But the children must stay with me.”

Thinking that from tonight onwards, he could relax a bit and no longer need to remind Li Mian to clean this or tidy up that, General Li was immediately speechless.

He had been imagining that the bond created by sending pheromones over the past few days might be of some use, but now it seemed like it wasn’t going to work.

Li Mian: “Master, what do we do now?”

Li Heng looked at the person who was sleeping soundly on the bed without any defense. “Based on what you know about him, how likely is it that he will take the children if I don’t agree to his conditions?”

Li Mian: “Uh, over ninety-eight percent.”

Li Heng nodded. “Go to the study.”

Li Mian: “Why?”

Li Heng ignored it, went to the bathroom, took a shower, changed clothes, and after a moment of hesitation, he withdrew the mental comfort.

He sat at the edge of the bed, poked at Yuan Yi’s cheek, and said, “Honey, wake up.”

 

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The Hide & Seek game is finally over. And the winner is…………… our Xiao Yi!!!!