Chapter 97 – The smile that gradually disappeared.
Jian Luo quietly looked at the queen. The queen was somewhat nervous. She looked at Jian Luo and said seriously, “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Jian Luo stood in place. “You’ve given me so much advice. Let me give you a piece of advice too.”
“What is it?”
“If you don’t leave now, you won’t be able to leave.”
The queen suddenly felt uneasy. She turned around and found no one behind her, and there were no pursuers here. “You deceived me?”
Jian Luo said, “Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”
A voice came from her communication bracelet. “Sis, you need to teleport quickly; the signal on your end is getting weaker.”
The queen frowned and finally hesitated no more. She opened her communication bracelet, and as it was taken apart, it seemed like an invisible wall was spinning. As it got closer, Jian Luo could feel the vortex coming from the other side.
The queen’s red dress billowed from the wind on the other side of the wall. She looked at Jian Luo again. “Are you really not coming with me? Is it for the child?”
Jian Luo watched her actions, unfazed. “Do you want to hear the truth?”
The queen nodded.
“I’ve never thought of escaping from him. Not in the past, and I probably won’t in the future. Thank you for your kindness. Goodbye.”
As he finished speaking, he received the queen’s rather complex gaze.
The queen stepped in, not forgetting to say to Jian Luo, “You will regret this.”
Jian Luo watched her quietly, unmoved.
As the entire portal engulfed her, the living person who had just stood there disappeared. Jian Luo stared at the empty ground for a while, and he felt like he should be thinking about something, but in reality, he wasn’t thinking anything at all.
“Bang!”
A loud noise came from outside, along with the sound of commotion.
Jian Luo looked up and saw a group of people entering, with General Lu Shifeng at the forefront, wearing a sharp military uniform. It seemed like today they were about to leave. He had a dark blue cloak dr4p3d over his back, and with his every move, the cloak fluttered, making him look quite imposing.
The black knee-high military boots stepped crisply on the clean floor, making sharp, efficient sounds. Finally, the owner of the boots stopped in front of Jian Luo.
Jian Luo raised his face to look at him, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
Lu Shifeng looked down at him, seemingly confirming his safety. He said, “Are you injured?”
Jian Luo took a deep breath and then replied, “No.”
“Hmm.”
Lu Shifeng glanced around the bathroom, took off his cloak, and dr4p3d it over Jian Luo’s shoulders. His voice carried a hint of magnetism, “If you’re scared, you can cry.”
Jian Luo remained silent.
The cloak was fastened around his shoulders, and along with it came the familiar scent of the man who had been with him every day. Honestly, he was trembling a bit. His earlier composure was just an act. Now, seeing the person who meant everything to him, there was no need for pretense. He said, “If you hadn’t come…”
Lu Shifeng raised an eyebrow. “If I hadn’t come?”
“Then my legs might have given out. I thought I wouldn’t last that long.”
It was clear he had been trying to find a topic to buy more time.
Lu Shifeng pulled out a clean handkerchief and handed it to him. “Wipe yourself.”
Jian Luo was momentarily stunned, then realized it was for him to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He took it and said, “Thank you.”
Lu Shifeng’s chief secretary said, “Bring him back.”
The chief secretary replied, “Yes!”
Jian Luo was still trying to steady his wobbly legs when he suddenly saw Lu Shifeng preparing to leave. He instinctively asked, “Where are you going?”
Outside, two rows of Dragon Clan soldiers were standing, glancing over in this direction, curious to see how the Supreme Commander would comfort his delicate little wife. Would he be all smiles, they wondered, and thought about how the Supreme Commander used to comfort others. If it weren’t for you, he might have already given you a beating. Now, he’s keeping his temper in check and speaking kindly. That’s really not easy.
Lu Shifeng stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at Jian Luo. “What do you think?”
Jian Luo asked, “Are you going to find her?”
Lu Shifeng’s handsome face showed little expression, and his blood-red eyes gazed calmly at Jian Luo. “She had set her sights on you.”
His voice was calm and steady, with an inexplicable hint of menace. “Damn.”
Jian Luo choked on his words.
Lu Shifeng’s presence was too overwhelming, and it frightened him. If the queen had escaped, there would be consequences for the leader, and as the last person to have contact with her, Jian Luo might not be let off easily. With this in mind, he walked closer to Lu Shifeng and said, “I’m not her accomplice.”
Lu Shifeng looked down at him from above. “I know.”
Jian Luo thought for a moment and decided to be honest: “She wanted me to go with her, but I didn’t.”
After speaking, he stole a few more glances at Lu Shifeng, trying to gauge the Supreme Commander’s reaction, but found only an unsurprised expression on his face.
Jian Luo hesitated. “Aren’t you shocked at all?”
Lu Shifeng said, “Clearly not. If you had gone with her, you wouldn’t still be standing here.”
Unable to argue with that, Jian Luo found it rather uninteresting. He muttered, “What if I had gone with her?”
Lu Shifeng lowered his head to look at him. His aura changed, becoming more imposing, and a strong sense of pressure emanated from him. He quirked a cold smile and said, one word at a time, “You can try.”
Suddenly, Jian Luo broke into a cold sweat. He even had a daring thought: what if… what if Lu Shifeng had already left?
If he had agreed, he might not be having this pleasant conversation right now.
Thinking of this, Jian Luo felt a bit wronged. He had been waiting here nervously, and that jerk was still outside, not coming in. He was making him worry, and he wondered what he had done to deserve this.
Jian Luo hung his head, feeling his nose tingle. He mumbled, “Oh.”
Lu Shifeng raised an eyebrow. The Supreme Commander wasn’t particularly adept at handling this kind of response. “Why are you crying?”
“Didn’t you say it’s okay to cry?” Pregnant people’s emotions can be quite unreasonable, and Jian Luo, feeling he couldn’t control himself, continued in a melodramatic tone, “My tears aren’t going to bother you. Aren’t you busy with something? You’re annoying.”
Lu Shifeng fell silent for a while, then spoke, “Jian Luo.”
Jian Luo grumbled, “What?”
“One million.” Lu Shifeng said, “When we get back, I’ll have someone set up an online shopping account for you, and you can use my credit card.”
Jian Luo couldn’t help but almost laugh. He had wanted to act a bit reserved, but he gave in happily. “What do you take me for? I’m not interested in these things.”
Lu Shifeng said, “Two million.”
“Okay, you win!”
Lu Shifeng’s powers of persuasion through money worked like a charm, and Jian Luo forgave him with a cheerful heart. Then, obediently, he stopped causing trouble and went back to the battleship with his chief secretary.
The chief secretary said, “Luo Luo, take a rest in this room. If you need anything, call me. I’ll be outside.”
Jian Luo nodded. “Thank you.”
The chief secretary smiled and left.
Once she had gone, Jian Luo slowly lay down on the bed. He glanced at his communication bracelet and couldn’t help but recall the queen’s words today. Whether it was about the Star Core or the communication bracelet, it all replayed in his mind.
The idea of plundering the fortunes of other planets was something he had never heard of. It did seem to match Lu Shifeng’s style, and in fact, Lu Shifeng had never been labeled as a good person in people’s mouths, even before he met him. The Supreme Commander was known as ruthless and merciless, and he had a reputation for being cold-blooded.
Xiu Liang had more than once warned him to stay away from Lu Shifeng.
The Star Core incident had made Jian Luo acutely aware that the man sleeping by his side was far from a saint. They were probably not on the same side either, but what could he do now? He had no way out. He was carrying Lu Shifeng’s child, his family lived within Lu Shifeng’s sphere of influence, and as Lu Shifeng had said, he had no way to escape, even if he wanted to.
Unless… he went back.
On the other side, the queen was seated, and she had shed her previous vulnerability. She raised her wine glass coquettishly. “Mission accomplished.”
The silver-haired person sitting above her scoffed. “Mission accomplished my foot. I told you to bring him back; where is he?”
“He didn’t want to come; what could I do?” The queen complained, “Besides, he’s your Dragon King’s little treasure. If anything happens to him, won’t Lu Shifeng annihilate me?”
Silver-gray: “What are you afraid of him for?”
The queen retorted, “Aren’t you afraid?”
While saying this, she glanced at Silver-gray, wondering where this man’s confidence came from. The last time he had crossed Lu Shifeng, he had been bedridden for half a month, and now he seemed to have forgotten the pain.
Silver-gray changed the subject, and his expression under the lamplight appeared somewhat eerie. “Enough with the nonsense. Have you completed the tasks I assigned to you?”
The queen nodded. “Don’t worry; everything is installed.”
Silver-gray sighed. “Do we need to steal some maternity and baby supplies?”
“No need,” the queen said. “Dragon children aren’t like regular babies. They’re basically borned old enough to be weaned and won’t need anyone’s care. Instead of thinking about the baby supplies, why don’t you figure out how to raise a human so he doesn’t die?”
“…”
Four months later.
Jian Luo had initially thought that he and Lu Shifeng would return within a few months, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. It seemed that Lu Shifeng was ensuring that he wasn’t disturbed on Dark Star, so the entire army hadn’t returned. It was like an interstellar vacation; while most people went on honeymoons after getting married, he was playing with a child in his belly.
However, the battleship was spacious, so he wasn’t feeling cramped. The only downside was that his belly was growing larger and larger. What used to be a small bump was now a noticeable bulge.
“Hiss…”
Jian Luo opened his eyes, waking up once again from his dream. As the months passed, his pregnancy symptoms had become more pronounced, and he could hardly sleep through the night. He was frequently awakened by the need to use the restroom or by leg cramps.
This time, it was a leg cramp.
Jian Luo slowly sat up, trying to get used to it and alleviate the discomfort.
There was some movement nearby, and Lu Shifeng sat up. “Leg cramp?”
Jian Luo noticed that he was awake and hurriedly said, “It’s nothing. You go back to sleep; I’ll be fine after I stretch for a while.”
Lu Shifeng was wearing the duck-themed pajamas he had worn on Dark Star. This attire somewhat diminished the Supreme Commander’s imposing presence. He sat up and spoke in a familiar tone, “Which leg?”
“…” Jian Luo pointed. “This one.”
Lu Shifeng reached out and massaged Jian Luo’s leg. After a long time, Jian Luo began to doubt whether Lu Shifeng was a professional masseur. Who could apply such evenly distributed pressure for so long?
Since the onset of his pregnancy symptoms, he had slept poorly, and it had also affected Lu Shifeng’s sleep.
Jian Luo looked at him and spoke gently, “Should we sleep in separate rooms?”
Lu Shifeng paused and gave him a glance. “What are you planning now?”
His tone seemed to suggest, “What mischief are you up to today, you little troublemaker?”
Jian Luo replied, “I don’t want to disturb your rest. Could you prepare another bed for me in a different room? This way, I won’t sleep well, and you won’t either.”
“…” Jian Luo thanked him silently.
They had been on the battleship for a month. The battleship had finally arrived at another destination, a planet that was friendly with Dark Star, and it was even wealthier. According to the chief secretary, it was a kingdom of elves.
Jian Luo was excited. “Elves? Are they the ones with the pointy ears and exceptionally beautiful looks?”
The chief secretary smiled. “Something like that.”
“Wow!” Jian Luo couldn’t contain his excitement. “I’m going to see elves!”
The chief secretary was curious. “Are elves so rare? If that’s the case, you weren’t very excited when you first met our Dragon King or the Phoenix Clan. They are all considered rare nobility.”
Jian Luo shook his head. “You can’t compare them.”
The chief secretary asked, “Why not?”
“I was excited at first,” Jian Luo sighed, “But when you’ve been with someone for a long time, it gets old. You get tired of it. Like, which family’s flowers can compare to the wildflowers you find in the wilderness?”
“Luo Luo…”
Jian Luo: “What?”
The chief secretary cast a glance behind Jian Luo and said, “Perhaps you should look behind you.”
Jian Luo turned to see Lu Shifeng standing not far away, looking at him with raised eyebrows. The unspoken threat in his gaze seemed to dare Jian Luo to repeat himself.
Jian Luo choked up, “What I meant was, as beautiful as wildflowers can be, they can’t compare to the charm of homegrown ones.”
The chief secretary couldn’t help but stifle her laughter.
As they entered the realm of the elves, Jian Luo was completely unrestrained. He looked left and right, especially when he saw little fairies sitting with transparent wings. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “They’re so cute!”
Lu Shifeng warned, “Don’t touch them casually.”
Jian Luo stood and asked, “Why not?”
The chief secretary explained, “Elves are not allowed to be touched at will. If you make physical contact with them, it might be considered a binding contract, implying that you’re their lifelong partner, meaning you can only be with one palm-sized person for the rest of your life.”
“…”
Now, they didn’t seem as cute anymore.
The group entered the Elf Palace, where the Elf King had prepared a banquet to welcome the guests. He appeared somewhat elderly, with stubble on his face. The decorations in the Elf Palace were almost entirely made of crystal, shining brightly and exuding exquisite beauty. The attire of the elf tribe was equally exquisite, with white dresses and crystal masks, creating an alluring and enchanting look.
Jian Luo couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow.”
With a baby girl in his belly, he knew he would have to dress her up beautifully in the future. If it’s a baby boy, well, who cares, he can wear whatever.
The group took their seats at the banquet table. Jian Luo looked at the crystal pitcher on the table filled with water and secretly asked Lu Shifeng, “What are we going to eat?”
Lu Shifeng pointed to the water pitcher in front of Jian Luo. “It’s right in front of you.”
Jian Luo couldn’t believe it. “You mean this?”
Do fairies really only drink dewdrops!?
Lu Shifeng raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you like elves? When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
“…”
Suddenly, his admiration waned.
The dancers among the elves who had been performing in the front hall had just finished. Their movements were graceful, and they all looked like celestial beings.
As Jian Luo enjoyed the spectacle, he was secretly planning to sneak away. However, the Elf King suddenly spoke, “How does the human guest find our dancers?”
Lu Shifeng held a cup and calmly replied, “They’re excellent.”
Jian Luo also nodded in agreement. The dance was truly captivating.
“Excellent! That’s wonderful!” The king applauded. “These performers will accompany the human guest for a while. They can keep you entertained during your leisure time and bring a smile to your face.”
“…”
The room fell into silence.
The smile on Jian Luo’s smile gradually faded as he realized the implications.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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