Chapter 70: Three Months Pregnant

Chapter 70: Three Months Pregnant

Now that he'd lost his labor force, Xie Chi was utterly dejected.

Yan Wanqiu watched him with amusement and said, "People from various cities will be arriving soon. I'll need you to teach them how to deal with the Mechanical Alien Race these next few days. Don't rush home today—just get them set up first."

Xie Chi started to say something, then hesitated: "I still have things at home—"

"I'm extending your time together until tomorrow noon."

Xie Chi immediately fell silent and agreed crisply: "Yes."

Although Xie Chi's way of thinking was strange, he always did what he said he would, so Yan Wanqiu wasn't worried about him skipping out mid-work to go home.

He took his time with some routine work, changed his clothes, and then headed home.

After resting for a while at home and getting dinner ingredients ready, Yan Wanqiu finally heard the door.

The door opened, accompanied by a young man's cheerful voice: "Babe, I'm home! Sorry I'm late—His Majesty said we can hang out together till tomorrow. He suddenly gave me a job this afternoon—training people from other cities. I grabbed some local snacks off them—honey butter cookies, preserved plums... Babe, why are you cooking again?"

Xie Chi breezed in, carrying a big bag of snacks. He spotted Yan Wanqiu in the kitchen, dropped the bag, and took the knife from him: "I've got this."

Yan Wanqiu didn't object, just stood beside him explaining: "Everything's prepped—just stir-fry it. The onions go with the beef, the garlic's for the bok choy in the sink, and the eggs are for..."

Listening to him, Xie Chi scrambled to pull up recipes and heat up the wok.

Yan Wanqiu walked to the living room, dug through the snack bag, and pulled out a pack of honey butter cookies to try.

These were a specialty of Xiansong City. The cookies were soft, melt-in-your-mouth, with a honey-butter aroma that was surprisingly good.

Yan Wanqiu leaned against the kitchen doorframe, cookie in hand: "What made you think to buy snacks?"

Xie Chi explained: "They had luggage, and I saw the Xiansong people sharing food with Yure—there were preserved plums. I remembered you like sour stuff, so I asked if they had more. Turns out they brought a ton of snacks."

"When they heard me ask, they started pushing bags and bundles on me. I felt bad taking them for free, so I paid them what they were worth. The ones who wouldn't take money, I traded stuff for."

Xie Chi muttered while cooking: "So weird—why would they bring snacks? Did those city lords set this up again?"

Yan Wanqiu chuckled and held a cookie to Xie Chi's lips: "They're all just barely twenty, after all. Coming to a strange city, it's normal to bring familiar food in case they don't settle in well."

Xie Chi bit right where Yan Wanqiu had bitten and took the rest of the cookie.

It really was tasty.

Chewing, he remembered when he first arrived in this world and laughed: "True. When I first got here, I couldn't even figure out how to open a lunchbox. Took me ages to realize it was twist-open."

He told it as a joke, but to Yan Wanqiu's ears, it carried a different weight.

Xie Chi was only eighteen.

When he first crossed over from the future, facing a strange world and life-or-death danger—what had he been thinking?

Yan Wanqiu tried to remember what Xie Chi had been like then, but back then, he'd seen Xie Chi as a traitor. And with his condition from Pheromone Dysregulation Syndrome being so bad, all he remembered of Xie Chi was the few times the kid came to report to him.

"Dummy." Yan Wanqiu sighed and handed him a preserved plum.

Xie Chi, still stir-frying, suddenly got called a dummy and whined: "I'm not dumb—I passed an IQ test. My IQ's above average."

Yan Wanqiu laughed: "I wasn't talking about you. I meant me, okay?"

Xie Chi got even more flustered: "No! You're not dumb either, babe!"

They kept talking through dinner.

Since greasy food still made him nauseous, Yan Wanqiu didn't touch the meat, which had Xie Chi worrying again.

After cleaning up the dishes, Xie Chi went to shower first.

Yan Wanqiu sorted the snacks Xie Chi brought into a small basket and set it on the table so he could grab them anytime.

By the time he finished, Xie Chi was done showering.

"Babe, I'm done. Go take a shower and rest."

Xie Chi's hair wasn't fully dried, still carrying a hint of moisture. His features were naturally innocent, and all relaxed and at home like this, he looked even more adorably vulnerable.

A mischievous idea crossed Yan Wanqiu's mind.

He beckoned: "Come here."

Xie Chi obediently approached: "What's up, babe—?"

His voice rose with each syllable, but by the end, Xie Chi was staring with wide, stunned eyes, frozen in place.

Because the man's slender fingers were undoing his robe one button at a time, revealing the bandages underneath.

The bandages wrapped snugly around his chest, looking incredibly suggestive in this situation.

"Y-y-y-y-you..." Xie Chi stammered for a long time before finally getting out, "Are you injured?"

Yan Wanqiu couldn't help but laugh softly at his reaction.

He let his robe hang at his elbows, then raised his hands and, right in front of Xie Chi, started unwinding the bandages.

"I really am injured," Yan Wanqiu said slowly, deliberately. "Come see for yourself?"

Xie Chi stepped forward instinctively, until only half a step separated them.

The skin beneath the bandages was finally revealed.

Red and swollen, with deep marks from being wrapped so long, hot as if fresh out of the oven.

Xie Chi's face turned even redder than the man's.

Yan Wanqiu chuckled and pulled him close, pressing the soft warmth that had been bound all afternoon against Xie Chi's face.

"It's not very comfortable. Won't you help me out, baby?"

Xie Chi's brain went completely blank.

He bit down.

The man was half-leaning against the dining table, stroking the back of Xie Chi's head indulgently, letting himself sink down bit by bit with the young alpha's momentum.

White hair spilled messily across the table, the cool marble sending a chill through Yan Wanqiu and making him arch his back.

His aching, swollen chest was bitten and gnawed into bruised red marks in the little alpha's mouth. Yan Wanqiu narrowed his eyes in pleasure, letting the other taste him as he pleased.

"Baby, have we ever tried out the dining room in our new place?"

……

Every day with my wife, I've eaten more than three meals' worth.

Xie Chi overindulged to the point of being milk-drunk, and Yan Wanqiu wasn't much better off.

Yan Wanqiu's chest, which had already been so swollen that Xie Chi could barely support it with one hand, now required both hands just to cover.

Like dough slowly rising, it grew larger and larger under Xie Chi's nibbling.

Yan Wanqiu had almost forgotten what it had looked like originally.

Watching Xie Chi guiltily applying soothing cream to him, he couldn't resist teasing him: "Not eating anymore?"

Xie Chi snapped back to his senses, utterly mortified, and shook his head repeatedly.

Eating his wife like this all the time—what was that about? It made him look like he hadn't been weaned.

Yan Wanqiu laughed, his chest heaving with each chuckle.

Xie Chi didn't dare look at him. He asked in a very small voice: "Honey, if this doesn't heal, maybe we should see a doctor..."

"It's nothing, just a bit of an allergy recently," Yan Wanqiu continued to fool him. "Dr. Fu has already given me allergy meds. It'll clear up in a while. If you don't believe me, you can ask him later."

Xie Chi wasn't so sure.

He didn't doubt his wife's words, but he was now very suspicious of You Fuzhu's medical expertise.

A doctor who couldn't even properly treat a stomach condition—what if he misdiagnosed his wife?

But since his wife said so, he didn't press further. After applying the medicine, he lay back on the bed, trying as much as possible to avoid his wife's swollen chest.

Yan Wanqiu raised an eyebrow: "Why aren't you looking at me anymore? Don't like it?"

Xie Chi was almost teased into curling up like a shrimp: "I do like it... it's just, I'm afraid it'll hurt you."

Yan Wanqiu laughed again: "When you were biting me just now, I didn't see you worrying about my pain."

Xie Chi was at a loss for words, unable to utter a single syllable.

Seeing that he had teased the man into speechlessness, Yan Wanqiu finally held back.

He reached out and pulled Xie Chi into his arms: "Alright, no more teasing. Let's sleep."

He patted Xie Chi's back, then couldn't resist adding mischievously: "If you like it, look while you can. It won't be like this forever."

Xie Chi flared up again at his words.

A few minutes later, Xie Chi, blushing, leaned gently against his chest.

.

Time with his wife always flew by.

The next day, reluctantly bidding farewell to Ji Chou, Xie Chi realized Ji Chou hadn't taken the snacks but had neatly packed them for him.

He immediately messaged to ask, and received the man's reply: "Just some things kids like to eat."

Xie Chi sent a sticker of a puppy lifting a barbell, indicating he was very strong, then headed out to work with the snacks in tow.

Thanks to Yan Wanqiu's open-sourcing of weapon designs, the various satellite planets immediately organized armed resistance, forcing the Mechanical Civilization's advance to slow down.

Capturing resort planet K322 had taken them only three hours, but beyond that, they spent a full three weeks without managing to take any of the resource-rich satellite planets of the Kingdom.

Among these resisting satellite planets was the one where Yan Wanqiu's maternal family, the Chen family, had resided. But the Chen family had already been wiped out, so Yan Wanqiu paid little attention to it.

All the information about the Mechanical Civilization was released under Yan Wanqiu's own name, which greatly boosted his prestige throughout the Kingdom.

Originally, the satellite planets had simply not opposed his claim to the throne—after all, Yan Huishi had colluded with external enemies—but Yan Wanqiu's reputation had been thoroughly ruined even before his exile.

The satellite planets simply didn't agree with Yan Huishi's collusion with foreign forces, but that didn't mean they were willing to support someone known to all as a "madman."

Moreover, they too harbored ambitions of ascending to the throne themselves.

But Yan Wanqiu's move not only temporarily stalled the one-sided war for the entire Kingdom, making countless high-ranking officials speculate about how many more cards he held, but also earned him the gratitude of countless ordinary citizens.

Anyone could access the galactic network, and everyone could download a file about the Mechanical Civilization and electromagnetic weapons from Yan Wanqiu's homepage. Those with the means could even try to replicate the weapons themselves.

With this move, Yan Wanqiu effectively saved countless lives. Though he gave up some technology, he gained a grassroots foundation that others might not achieve in decades.

A month after the Mechanical Civilization was dragged into a war of attrition by the various planets, Yan Huishi finally couldn't sit still anymore.

Yan Tianhe remained unfound, and his ascension was questionable. The satellite planets' calls for Yan Wanqiu to take the throne grew louder, and countless people denounced Yan Huishi for colluding with foreign forces.

One day after the drones of Blizzard City were unveiled, Yan Huishi sent out his troops.

Not to help the satellite planets eliminate the Mechanical Civilization, but to invade the satellite planets alongside the Mechanical Alien Race.

The satellite planets had always been on guard against alien invasions, never expecting to be stabbed in the back by their own kind. In an instant, the stalemate was completely shattered, countless planets fell in the chaos, and Yan Huishi had fully positioned himself against the entire Kingdom.

The commander of the Main Star Army angrily resigned to express his discontent, only to be found dead at home the next day.

"...Four planets around the North Star Region have fallen. According to the latest intel from Yure, there are already recruitment notices on resort planet K322. The worksite is underground, most likely a network hub."

North Star Region, Blizzard City. Xie Chi and Yan Wanqiu sat together in the aircraft heading to the research institute.

As the scale of research grew, the institute had gradually moved out of the city center to the suburbs, becoming a massive facility on par with the original base.

Xie Chi and Yan Wanqiu were heading to the institute to inspect the newly manufactured drones. After sharing the intel he had just received, Xie Chi looked at Yan Wanqiu, waiting for his response.

Yan Wanqiu lowered his gaze, thinking for a moment: "Tell them to stay in hiding, try to blend into the recruitment crowd, and strike when the time is right."

Xie Chi nodded: "That's what I was thinking too. Yan Huishi's sudden involvement, with his march route heading straight for us, means a battle is coming. Destroying the network hub now would only cause unnecessary sacrifices. But..."

He paused, then said: "Even if we win, they won't stop. They'll immediately rebuild the hub, and this way, we'll be dragged into a war of attrition too."

"The North Star Region only has a population of a little over a million. At most, we can hold out for half a year before we run out of people to fight."

Yan Huishi's involvement had brought new changes to the entire war situation. He had directly given up on finding Yan Tianhe. In Yan Wanqiu's original prediction, the satellite planets could hold out for at least two to three months or longer, but now that estimate was cut in half.

It had only been a little over a month, and their drones had only just been completed.

Yan Wanqiu, wearing a loose trench coat, sat in the passenger seat, listening quietly. After Xie Chi finished, he asked: "So what's your suggestion?"

Xie Chi said seriously: "I don't mind open-sourcing my quantum gun and quantum cannon to buy the satellite planets as much time as possible."

Yan Wanqiu shook his head: "No. Setting aside the risk of the satellite planets growing too powerful, quantum weapons are too advanced, and their raw materials are extremely precious. Even if open-sourced, they can't achieve full coverage in a short time like electromagnetic weapons did. They won't be decisive in the war."

Xie Chi frowned, thought for a while, then gave up: "Then I don't know what to do either."

Yan Wanqiu chuckled lightly: "Don't make such a gloomy face. We're far from a dead end."

"Since Yan Huishi's involvement has turned the tide of the battle, we'll just have to make sure he never sets foot on the field again."

Xie Chi asked, confused, "What does Your Majesty mean?"

Yan Wanqiu said, "They're gunning for the thermal ore. Once the network hub is finished, they'll definitely attack North Domain Star. If we can win, I'll take some people back in that window to seize control of Yan Huishi, first securing the Main Star Army, then reinforcing North Domain Star to turn the tide."

Xie Chi was stunned: "How is that possible? The entire main star is crawling with Mechanical Civilization forces now. Even if you went back, you'd—"

He trailed off.

Because he realized it really was possible.

Yan Wanqiu's goal was to capture Yan Huishi and take back military command, not to eradicate the Mechanical Civilization on the main star.

He still had plenty of his people left on the main star. A surprise strike during the lull in the fighting had a decent chance of success.

And the main star was already fed up with Yan Huishi. Under his orders, they'd been turning their weapons on their own people, and morale within the army had completely fallen apart.

If Yan Wanqiu appeared at that moment, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger—he could easily rally the troops, clean house on the main star, reinforce North Domain Star, and relieve pressure on the satellite stars.

Seeing that Xie Chi had caught on, Yan Wanqiu said, taking his time, "But that's all contingent on us winning. If North Domain Star gets dragged into a drawn-out battle, I might not get a chance to slip away anytime soon."

He added, as if it were no big deal, "What about you? So what's your plan then—head back to the main star with me, or stay and hold down North Domain Star?"

Xie Chi hesitated.

He still hadn't made up his mind about staying or leaving.

Though he was wholeheartedly helping Yan Wanqiu, like everyone else, he wasn't really confident about how the war would turn out.

Yan Wanqiu seemed to have some trust in him now. If he wanted, he could grab his wife and bolt at any moment.

But Xie Chi purposely avoided thinking about that, burying himself in work, trying to stall with everyday busywork.

But eventually, he'd still have to make a choice.

Xie Chi looked down and said quietly, "I'll do whatever Your Majesty decides."

Yan Wanqiu smiled and let it go: "Mm, let's drop that for now. We'll see if anyone's got any bright ideas at this afternoon's online meeting."

Xie Chi hadn't made up his mind, so he'd just wait.

His hand wandered to his lower belly, and he thought, eyes downcast, that the worst-case scenario was simply knocking Xie Chi out the second he tried to leave with "Ji Chou."

He was already three months along.

Thanks to You Fuzhu's care and his weekly pheromone doses, the babies had finally made it past the most dangerous period. His chest had grown to the point where Xie Chi's two hands couldn't cup it, and the ache from engorgement had slowly settled down.

Because they were twins, his belly was showing earlier. Yan Wanqiu now had a slight bump.

Loose clothing hid it, but with his clothes off, you could see his fading abs.

This was because his expanding womb was stretching and thinning the linea alba, causing his abdominal muscles to separate.

As the two babies grew, his abs would fade more and more until his belly became soft and pregnant, only recovering after birth.

Both babies were healthy. Even if it was just for their sake, Xie Chi wouldn't think of running after being knocked out and dragged off.

Yan Wanqiu thought to himself.

Though by then, Xie Chi would probably be unwilling to sleep with him. For the babies' safety, he'd just have to tie Xie Chi up and do it himself.

But with a bigger belly, it'd be awkward anyway—he'd naturally be on top, so the physical distance between them wouldn't really change.

What was different was the distance between their hearts.

Yan Wanqiu was a master at going with the flow. If possible, he still hoped things between him and Xie Chi could progress naturally.

Xie Chi, clueless that Yan Wanqiu had already pictured locking him up, was stressing over whether to text his wife.

His wife had clearly been running on empty lately—trembling at the slightest touch down there, begging for mercy after a couple of rounds, and his chest never bouncing back. He seemed to be hiding something, but both his wife and You Fuzhu kept insisting everything was fine.

Even as clueless as Xie Chi was, he could tell something was off.

He suspected it was a leftover from the stomach illness, but he had no proof.

If war broke out, it would definitely put Ji Chou in danger. He wanted to send Ji Chou away early, but was worried he couldn't keep him safe.

In the past, for such a dilemma, Xie Chi would consult Yan Wanqiu—the love advisor he'd paid for with his own head.

But now, he had a suspicion that Yan Wanqiu and Ji Chou were the same person.

Though the theory was ridiculous, Xie Chi didn't dare ask Yan Wanqiu for love advice anymore, so he had to work it out on his own.

He let out a sigh.

The shuttle touched down at the research institute. Xie Chi slung his guitar case over his shoulder and got off after Yan Wanqiu.

An omega researcher passing by smiled and greeted them: "Your Majesty, Lord Xie."

Xie Chi gave him a nod.

Most people at the institute were handpicked by Shi Peijue, pulled from civilians and city officials alike, no matter their gender—only skill counted.

The omega in front of him used to be a welder, brought in because he was damn good at it.

In an institute where everyone looked dead on their feet, like they were about to kick the bucket any second, this omega was one of the few who actually smiled while working, so Xie Chi remembered him.

After greeting them, the omega hurried away, and Xie Chi and Yan Wanqiu headed for the drone research department.

And then—

"Bang!"

"Ahh—!!"

A heavy thud, then a blood-curdling scream.

Xie Chi instinctively whipped out a quantum gun from his spatial storage, whirling around to shield Yan Wanqiu behind him.

Then he saw something he'd never forget—

A cold metallic body, over two meters tall, with a round head. The bizarre robot morphed its "arm" into a sharp blade and, right in front of him, sliced the omega's head clean off.

Blood sprayed, freezing almost instantly in the cold wind.

Thump, thump.

The head rolled to a stop at his feet, eyes wide open, face still twisted in the terror of its last moment.

The people around them scattered in panic, and the research institute quickly blared the enemy invasion alarm.

"Alien invasion! Alien invasion!"

"Quick, get the weapons out per the plan!"

Xie Chi stared blankly at the severed head.

The massive machine, noticing that Xie Chi hadn't fled for some reason, displayed a "?" on its smooth, spherical "head."

The network hub hadn't been established yet, so it couldn't access the network.

Moreover, as a vanguard sent to destroy the weapons in the Northern Star domain, it had limited information and didn't immediately recognize Xie Chi.

But it did recognize Yan Wanqiu behind Xie Chi—that iconic white hair and those crimson eyes were impossible to miss.

Without hesitation, the machine strode toward Xie Chi.

A massive shadow slowly enveloped the two of them.

Yan Wanqiu, nauseated by the stench of blood, suppressed his discomfort, drew his sidearm, and tugged at the dazed Xie Chi, pulling him back a few steps. "Xie Chi, run!"

Xie Chi finally snapped back to reality.

He looked up at the approaching machine, his expression gradually turning cold, his eyes brimming with barely concealed murderous intent.