Chapter 176 – Second Child (Extra 1)
When Lu Shifeng woke up, he immediately noticed something was wrong.
The ceiling above him was no longer the one from the Dragon Clan’s bedroom, but instead, it belonged to a rather shabby and dim small room. The room was so poorly lit that even his excellent memory confirmed that he had never stayed in such a place, not even during missions.
A beeping sound came from outside.
Lu Shifeng sat up and looked around. Quickly, he noticed the discomfort in his body. He looked down and examined himself, finding that his body had changed.
Su Liang came in from outside and said, “A-Sheng, get up quickly. Luo Luo is already up. He got injured yesterday and wants to go out for a walk today.”
Luo Luo?
Lu Shifeng was very sensitive to his spouse’s name. Combining Su Liang’s words, he slowly understood the current situation. It seemed like a temporal convergence had caused his soul to briefly leave his body and, due to his and Jian Luo’s magnetic fields, he ended up inhabiting the body of Jian Luo’s relative. For some reason, he felt relieved that he hadn’t ended up in Su Liang’s body.
Outside, he heard a familiar voice, though it sounded much younger. It was the youthful Jian Luo, who stood at the door and said, “A-Sheng hasn’t gotten up yet?”
Su Liang pointed at him and said, “This child is being lazy today.”
Jian Luo chuckled softly, his smile always refreshing and pleasant: “He’s still young, let him sleep a bit more.”
Lu Shifeng quietly watched Jian Luo, suddenly wanting to admire him more.
However, Su Liang didn’t give him the chance: “Mom has to go to work. The plantation base assigned me an early shift today. There’s a bottle of nutrient solution on the table, eat it yourself.”
Jian Luo said, “Mom, I’ll pick you up in the evening.”
Su Liang smiled slightly: “Alright, I’ve left some vegetables for you on the stove. If you need to use them, just do it, but be sparing. We don’t have much at home.”
This period’s Su Liang surprised Lu Shifeng. She was dusty and sallow, wearing loose cloth clothes that covered her completely, a stark contrast to the radiant woman she would become.
Jian Luo said, “Got it, you go ahead.”
After Su Liang left, Jian Luo said to him, “Brother is going to livestream today. We only have a potato at home. I’ll stir-fry some shredded potatoes. Mom mentioned that the plantation center sometimes has some corn that isn’t good enough to be sold and gets discarded. I picked some last night that were still edible. I’ll grind them into cornmeal and we can make noodles or steam buns to eat…”
Lu Shifeng frowned at these words.
The Dragon King, used to a life of luxury and elegance, had never known the need to be frugal. For him, the only difficult decisions were which planet to attack today or what new mischief the young emperor might be planning for tomorrow.
He blurted out instinctively, “Buy something better, use my card.”
Jian Luo was stunned.
That kind of shocked and suspicious look fell on his younger brother. He looked at his skinny younger brother who was saying such surprising things and laughed: “It’s brother who got hit on the head, you’re talking nonsense.”
…
Lu Shifeng didn’t want to talk to this silly boy anymore.
Jian Luo started grinding cornmeal and peeling potatoes. During this time, Lu Shifeng kept watching him, following him around the kitchen to help. In fact, after he and Jian Luo had been married for several years, whenever he had free time, his favorite thing was to come home in the evening and just watch Jian Luo busy in the kitchen.
In the early years when the empire was just getting back on track, Jian Luo was very busy. As things gradually became more orderly, Jian Luo intentionally delegated more tasks and returned home to take care of the children, spend time with him, and do things he enjoyed.
“What do you want to eat, noodles or buns?”
Jian Luo asked.
Lu Shifeng came back to his senses: “Anything is fine.”
They were sitting at the table, and not far away, the television was showing the news. The broadcast was about the triumphant return of the Grand Marshal of the army, featuring footage of Lu Shifeng himself. At that time, he hadn’t yet met Jian Luo, but Jian Luo should have learned about him through these channels.
Suddenly, Lu Shifeng had an idea. While kneading the dough, he asked Jian Luo, “What do you think of Lu Shifeng?”
?
Preparing for the livestream, Jian Luo was stunned, then foolishly asked, “Who?”
“The one in the news,” Lu Shifeng watched his silly expression with some helplessness. “Don’t you watch the news?”
Jian Luo looked down, thought for a while, and then gave an evaluation: “So handsome!”
…
Lu Shifeng looked at his sincere, infatuated gaze, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Jian Luo continued thinking for a while before adding: “But he seems a bit hard to get along with. People like that are very dangerous.”
?
Lu Shifeng squinted his eyes, looking at his spouse who was speaking ill of him to his face: “Oh? How do you know?”
Jian Luo didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation: “Isn’t it obvious? To us, these nobles are quite dangerous. It’s fine to admire from afar, but you can’t expect them to befriend you.”
Lu Shifeng said, “You even praised him for being handsome.”
Jian Luo chuckled, looking at his silly brother: “Can’t I just admire?”
Lu Shifeng fell silent. Suddenly, he realized that Jian Luo might have been afraid of him from the beginning. If it weren’t for the child, they might not be together.
Lu Shifeng slowly said, “What if he isn’t that hard to get along with?”
“Do you like him?” Jian Luo thought his brother was dreaming today: “Aside from the status difference, there’s also the wealth gap. Even if you got together out of true love, these things would still become stumbling blocks, obstacles. If you can endure the pointing fingers and gossip without feeling sad, then it might work.”
Lu Shifeng listened to Jian Luo’s words and fell silent. It wasn’t just that. He felt a sharp pain, like being pricked in the heart. It wasn’t a sudden pain, but enough to cause discomfort.
Jian Luo continued: “Don’t think too much. Let things unfold naturally. Your brother doesn’t expect much, just to earn a little money, buy a house in the city, and that would be great.”
Lu Shifeng still wasn’t satisfied. He couldn’t bear the thought of a future without him. Maybe it was his age making him more particular about these small things. He didn’t want to change the subject: “What about your future partner? What are your thoughts and requirements?”
He wanted to know if he could meet Jian Luo’s expectations.
Jian Luo thought for a moment: “I want to have a child, work hard for our livelihood, occasionally quarrel over trivial matters, but mostly sit quietly together and keep each other company. That would be enough.”
Lu Shifeng thought about their three rebellious children. As they grew up, they sometimes made Jian Luo cry when he wasn’t around. Although Lu Shifeng preferred solving problems with force, Jian Luo liked to talk things out with them.
Over time, Lu Shifeng got annoyed and sent them all to boarding school. It was better not to see them. While it was good, it also made him feel that Jian Luo might be a bit lonely. Their lives were long, spanning thousands of years. It seemed that the few noisy years with the children had made him accustomed to the chaos, and when they left, the world felt empty.
When the livestream began, Lu Shifeng went outside.
He sat there, watching Jian Luo busy with the livestream, sweating in the small kitchen that was too cramped for him to move around, yet still smiling to give his audience the best experience.
He watched Jian Luo constantly.
When Jian Luo finally finished making lunch and earned some money, he came over and said, “Tomorrow we’ll buy some rice. By the way, someone contacted me to deliver a meal to their boss. I don’t know what the boss likes to eat.”
Lu Shifeng asked, “What’s their surname?”
Jian Luo didn’t expect his brother to ask this. He said, “I think it’s Jin.”
Hearing this, Lu Shifeng smiled, watching Jian Luo intently, as if trying to remember his face. After a long while, he said, “Whatever you cook, he’ll love it.”
Jian Luo was surprised: “Really?”
“Yes.” Lu Shifeng nodded, adding, “He’s not that difficult to get along with, and not dangerous, at least not to you.”
Jian Luo was stunned, finally sensing something was off. He stared wide-eyed at his brother as Lu Shifeng stood up. The Grand Marshal could feel the temporal disturbance, knowing he might have to leave soon.
Standing in front of Jian Luo, he bent down and gave him a hug, whispering in his ear, “Don’t be afraid of him. He loves you too.”
…
Morning sunlight streamed into the bedroom.
Lu Shifeng woke up, unsure if it was from a dream or not. He opened his eyes and saw Jian Luo sleeping beside him, looking more mature and grown. Each period had its own unique beauty.
Slowly, as time passed, Jian Luo opened his eyes.
Lu Shifeng said, “You’re awake.”
“Yes.” Jian Luo nodded lightly, then looked at Lu Shifeng and said, “I had a dream about some past events.”
Lu Shifeng said, “I also had a dream about you.”
Jian Luo was surprised. Nestling in Lu Shifeng’s arms, he whispered, “What was it about?”
Lu Shifeng said, “You told me you wanted a child with me. You liked me from the beginning but didn’t dare to say it because of certain reasons. You told me all this in the dream.”
?
Jian Luo sat up in disbelief: “Impossible, you’re lying.”
“Lying?” Lu Shifeng raised an eyebrow, chuckling coldly: “I look good and handsome, you said it yourself.”
Jian Luo started to believe: “Really, did I really say that?”
Lu Shifeng nodded, pulling Jian Luo under him. With a dominant posture, he bent down and said, “Since you said it, I’ll fulfill your wish.”
“No, I…”
Lu Shifeng leaned down, steadying his lips, and whispered, “Jian Luo, let’s have another child. This is what you said.”
???
T/N: Hope you enjoyed the side stories as much as I did!!! Just a few more before this series is really over~
Hope you’re having a good day! Drink water and make sure to sleep early! (>w<)/
If you like my translations, feel free to donate to my ko-fi!
I really, really appreciate all the support from my readers <3 It goes a long way and motivates me lots!
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
and many, many more!
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