Chapter 85 – Extra (Part One)

Chapter 85 - Extra (Part One)

Three years later.

Jing Baiyuan had just concluded a long meeting at City Hall and was about to leave.

But instead of heading straight home, he detoured to the nearby First Hospital.

Recently, Chu Li had received a promotion and had suddenly become swamped with work. Being a doctor had its perks, but the working hours were anything but "flexible." Once things got busy, it was not uncommon for him to go several days without returning home.

In addition, Jing Baiyuan was also occupied with official duties, leaving the two of them with only fleeting encounters every day. It had been a while since they last spent quality time together.

Fortunately, both of them had taken leave, planning to make up for their long-overdue "honeymoon."

The First Hospital was situated not far from City Hall. Jing Baiyuan parked his car in the hospital lot and, as he opened the door, he spotted Shen Fengbei emerging from the back entrance of the clinic. In recent years, Shen Fengbei's love life had been tumultuous, repeatedly breaking up and making up with his Alpha. It was rumored that they had parted ways again recently, causing Shen Fengbei to be on edge.

At this moment, after a night of overtime in the medical ward, his hair stood on end, reflecting his frazzled state. Upon seeing Jing Baiyuan, he rolled his eyes impatiently. "Here you are, looking for someone right after work. Can't you give your Omega some space?"

Jing Baiyuan had never bothered engaging in meaningless arguments with such individuals. He simply stepped out of the car, closed the door, and walked in while asking, "Working overtime today?"

Shen Fengbei rolled his eyes again and said, "No need, hurry up and take your people away."

Then, he called out, "Chu Li, your husband is here to pick you up!"

There was no response from inside. Jing Baiyuan arrived at the door just in time to see Chu Li rushing out, still wearing his gloves.

Upon seeing Jing Baiyuan, Chu Li hastily took off his gloves and handed them to him, saying, "I still have a bit of work to finish up. Wait for me a moment, please."

With that, he went back inside without turning around.

Jing Baiyuan stood innocently by the door, accepting Shen Fengbei's gloating smile before obediently finding a spot to sit down.

Half an hour later, Chu Li hurriedly emerged from within, having changed into different clothes. He spotted Jing Baiyuan sitting on a bench in the corridor. The Alpha's tall stature was clearly not suited for the low bench, causing his long legs to bend uncomfortably. In his hand, he still held the gloves Chu Li had given him earlier.

He looked rather obedient.

Chu Li couldn't help but smile, calling out to Jing Baiyuan. The Alpha rose promptly, and Chu Li dashed into his arms.

"Were you bored waiting?" Chu Li whispered into Jing Baiyuan's ear.

A hint of a smile flickered in Jing Baiyuan's serious eyes as he stroked Chu Li's forehead. "No."

Then, he bent down to hold Chu Li's hand. "Are you all packed up? Let's go home?"

Chu Li smiled. "Mm-hmm, let's go home."

The two of them left hand in hand. Shen Fengbei emerged from the inner room and saw their departing figures, baring his teeth in an exaggerated expression of disgust.

A new nurse passed by and, upon seeing Shen Fengbei's reaction, curiously looked at the backs of Chu Li and Jing Baiyuan. "Is that Doctor Chu's Alpha?"

She had only recently started working and knew that Chu Li had a powerful Alpha, but one so formidable that she had only seen him on television. Even now, witnessing him in person still left her in awe.

They were really a couple! And one of them even came to pick the other up from work!

Shen Fengbei glanced at her and said, "Worrying about useless things. Have you cleaned the wards? Documented the patients' records? Checked on their emotional state? Finished the drug inventory for today?"

The little nurse looked aggrieved. "You're so aggressive..."

-

Although Chu Li had left the hospital, he was still receiving a barrage of messages. On the way home, Jing Baiyuan tried to talk to him, but Chu Li's eyes were glued to his personal device, merely mumbling vague responses.

As the journey progressed, Jing Baiyuan remained silent. After a long stretch of silence in the car, Chu Li suddenly looked up. "Ah... I'm sorry!"

He realized he had neglected his partner for quite some time.

They had just arrived home. Jing Baiyuan parked the car in front of their house and glanced at Chu Li helplessly. With his lover being so understanding, Chu Li felt even more embarrassed and quickly disconnected his personal terminal. "Yesterday, there was a standard case at the hospital. They were originally going to ask me to attend a meeting..."

However, he had taken leave at the last minute, and the director still couldn't bear to let him go, explaining the patient's situation to him instead.

But Jing Baiyuan replied, "It's alright."

The more Jing Baiyuan acted like this, the more guilty Chu Li felt. He turned to face Jing Baiyuan directly and started apologizing sincerely.

The longer he spent with Jing Baiyuan, the more he learned from him. This man faced their relationship and any issues that arose with earnestness at all times. In the three years they had been together, they had had arguments, but Jing Baiyuan always approached them with patience and tolerance, giving in whenever possible and seeking Chu Li out for discussions whenever problems arose.

Without flashy tactics, Jing Baiyuan's simplest words consistently calmed Chu Li's restless heart.

Because his occasional tantrums were taken seriously, Chu Li had also learned to address potential issues with sincerity.

Like now, for instance.

Jing Baiyuan was genuinely unconcerned. He knew Chu Li was busy with work, and they were both still young. It was a good thing to be occupied with their careers at this stage in life.

But who could resist being delighted when their loved one took them so seriously?

After a gentle kiss in the car, the atmosphere between them became harmonious and warm once more.

Chu Li switched off his personal device and turned his attention to their upcoming trip.

Three years ago, Jing Baiyuan had mentioned wanting to visit his father Jing Fengcun's hometown in search of a method to freely transform. However, his commitments had held him back, and thus the journey had been delayed for several years.

In the past year, Qian Yun Alliance's affairs had fallen into a steady rhythm, allowing Jing Baiyuan to finally free up his hands. He discussed with Chu Li about taking an extended leave together. They aimed to search for a method to transform freely and make up for their hurried marriage, which lacked a honeymoon trip.

They had tickets for a night voyage, and their luggage was already packed. After arriving at their destination, Jing Baiyuan went upstairs to collect their belongings while Chu Li contacted Ya Lan, asking her to take care of Little Key.

Little Key, now a fully grown cat, had become a well-known figure in the Qian Yun Alliance due to Jing Baiyuan's habit of showcasing his family. Last year, Chu Li had implanted a tracking chip in it, expanding its territory beyond their home. As the "internet celebrity cat" of Qian Yun, Little Key frequently accompanied Ya Lan on outings and even ventured into interstellar travels, experiencing a feline life far more adventurous than most.

Once everything was in order, the couple set off on their journey.

After three days of sailing, they finally reached their destination - Jing Fengcun's hometown, "Snow Lanzhou Star."

This was a planet blanketed in heavy snow, with few permanent residents but many interstellar travelers.

They arrived during Snowdrift Star's peak tourist season. After visiting several hotels, they found only one with a single room available, and it was a small attic with a slightly wider single bed.

The two spent the night cuddled together on the single bed. The next day, a heavy snowfall descended. Their bed was positioned by the window, and Chu Li, feeling the chill, refused to get up. Thus, he huddled under the covers with Jing Baiyuanting, gazing quietly at the snow outside.

After watching the snowfall for a day, they visited the local orphanage the following day.

Coincidentally, Jing Fengcun's background resembled Chu Li's – he too was an orphan adopted by a family. However, his adoptive parents were elderly but kind to him... Unfortunately, after so many years, the elders had passed away, and they had no biological children of their own.

Jing Baiyuanting had no choice but to seek any leads at the orphanage.

The arrival of Jing Baiyuanting and Chu Li was a delightful surprise for the orphanage. The director arranged a full itinerary of visits and assigned several people to accompany them. Regrettably, after a day of searching, they made no progress.

The director shared, "Little Feng was left at our orphanage's doorstep. At that time, we were very poor and didn't have surveillance cameras. I never saw the person's face... He never came back to visit Little Feng, so we have no idea who he is."

Leaving the orphanage, Jing Baiyuanting appeared visibly disheartened. Chu Li comforted him, "We've just started. Didn't we take a two-month leave? We'll take our time here, and we'll find a way eventually."

Before their arrival, Bai Xian had prepared them for this. She and Jing Fengcun were childhood sweethearts, meeting in school before both pursuing studies on Blue Vein Star. After marriage, they returned to live there for a while. Knowing her husband's past was clean, Bai Xian had warned Jing Baiyuanting that this search might yield nothing.

She was already exploring a more reliable method to awaken him, one that wouldn't allow Jing Baiyuan to freely shift between human and feline forms but would at least minimize the risk of him being stuck in cat form upon waking up.

However, Jing Baiyuan still wanted to give it a try.

Upon hearing Chu Li's comforting words, Jing Baiyuan's mood visibly lifted. He held Chu Li's hand and said, "Alright, let's wait a bit longer."

-

This wait lasted for half a month, during which no useful clues were found.

Half a month later, an odd incident occurred on Snow Wave Star.

In a location 20,000 light-years away from Snowglaze Star, a collapsing black hole emerged, instilling fear in the inhabitants.

Jing Baiyuanting, being on the planet himself, couldn't ignore this development. He contacted Ya Lan to inquire about the situation. Ya Lan informed him that the black hole had suddenly appeared and was collapsing inward, without causing much disruption... It was just peculiar, as no one knew why such a black hole would materialize out of nowhere.

Deciding to investigate personally, Jing Baiyuanting offered to take Chu Li along. Since he intended to observe it from a safe distance in his warship, he deemed it harmless and consented to Chu Li's request.

The collapsing black hole proved to be larger than Chu Li had anticipated. It silently drifted in the cosmos, its dark aura contracting inward while the surrounding space warped due to the overflowing energy.

Chu Li leaned against the porthole, silently observing the vast black hole that seemed like a floating, unpredictable gateway. He wondered where it might lead them if they were to pass through.

"Yuanting, are all black holes like this?" He turned his head, curiosity sparking in him.

To his surprise, Jing Baiyuan's expression changed abruptly upon hearing the question. He swiftly switched to manual control, making a sharp turn that sent Chu Li slamming into the porthole glass! Chu Li nearly bit his tongue from the jolt, and as he turned his head, a look of horror spread across his face.

That black hole! It was expanding at an alarming rate, about to engulf their warship!

"Get out of here now!!"

In an instant, chaos erupted. The warship hastily retreated, but it was no match for the black hole's rapid expansion. Soon, Chu Li's vision was consumed by darkness...

Ya Lan's communication with Jing Baiyuan was still connected. The other end continued reporting on the black hole's status. Noticing Jing Baiyuan's silence, Ya Lan paused slightly, her tone growing anxious, "Admiral? Admiral! Are you there? Please respond..."

"Admiral... Please respond immediately!"