When Cheng Jin woke up, he felt as if he had been asleep for a long time. His whole body felt soft and powerless. As he opened his eyes, all he saw was a snowy white ceiling. It took him a moment to realize that it was indeed the ceiling above him.

As his awareness slowly returned, Cheng Jin recalled the events leading up to his fainting, specifically the injury on Lu Tao’s abdomen and the stabbing pain in his own belly. Startled, he almost sprang upright, exclaiming, “Lu Tao…!”

His sudden movement caught the attention of the person next to him. His grandmother was sitting in a wheelchair, a book resting on her lap. She had apparently been reading before Cheng Jin’s outburst, as she looked up with a calm expression, not at all panicked. “Lie back down; you’re not in a condition to get up right now.”

Seeing his grandmother surprised him. He stared blankly, asking, “How did you get here? Where is this place? And Lu Tao? How is he?”

“It’s a maternity hospital,” his grandmother answered, addressing one of his questions first. “Lu Tao is at the military hospital; he’s fine.”

Cheng Jin looked at her with a mix of disbelief and hope. “Really?”

His grandmother smirked slightly. “He’s my grandson. If something happened to him, would I be able to stay calm like this?”

Her words reassured Cheng Jin far more than Fei Li’s earlier assurances. His grandmother scanned him and added, “As for you, the baby’s emotional state is affected by yours, so you need to stay in the hospital for a week on bed rest. Since you don’t have any other relatives on the Imperial Planet, I had to come here to handle your hospitalization paperwork.” She huffed lightly, clearly dissatisfied. “Having a child and still running around—what’s wrong with you?”

“I…” Cheng Jin’s heart gradually settled. Leaning back against the pillow, he felt a twinge of guilt. “I didn’t know I was pregnant when I left…”

“I figured as much,” his grandmother replied, turning a page in her book. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have wanted to leave.”

Cheng Jin’s face turned slightly red. He glanced at his communicator; it displayed that more than twelve hours had passed since he fainted. Biting his lip, he hesitated before asking, “Grandmother, can I contact Lu Tao now?”

“Not sure,” she said, glancing at his disappointed face. “Why don’t you ask that kid Fei Li? He’s over there.”

Cheng Jin quickly nodded, eager to call Fei Li, but for some reason, it felt like all the strength had drained from his body, and even tapping the screen felt exhausting. His grandmother noticed this and put the book away. “You should eat something first.”

Cheng Jin nodded softly.

His grandmother maneuvered her wheelchair outside the room and soon returned with a thermos containing chicken soup. After drinking a bit, Cheng Jin finally felt a little strength return. Suddenly, his grandmother asked, “Is your belly still hurting?”

Cheng Jin checked and shook his head. “Not anymore.”

“Next time, don’t be so reckless.”

“Okay.” Cheng Jin set down the bowl and quickly contacted Fei Li. After a brief wait, the call connected, and Fei Li greeted him with, “Mr. Cheng.” Before Cheng Jin could ask, the camera angle shifted.

Seeing Lu Tao lying on the hospital bed, Cheng Jin’s heart jumped. On the screen, Lu Tao had his eyes closed. The indifference and resilience he usually exuded were now replaced with a peaceful expression. His face appeared a bit pale, and his lips lacked color. It was clear that his injuries were more serious than Fei Li had suggested; he must have gone through quite a bit to survive.

Cheng Jin’s breathing became shallow. He had never seen Lu Tao so vulnerable. His husband, who always seemed so reliable and capable of anything, could also be hurt and even delay treatment for personal reasons.

Seeing Lu Tao like this clarified the feelings Cheng Jin had hesitated to define as “liking” or “true love.” He stared at Lu Tao, his eyes growing sore, and finally sniffled, quietly asking, “Fei Li, when will he wake up?”

Fei Li replied, “The doctor said within twenty-four hours.” He paused, then asked, “Is Mr. Cheng okay?”

Cheng Jin was about to say “fine,” but his grandmother suddenly spoke up, “You need to rest more to get better. Let’s hang up; once you’re stable, go see him yourself.”

Though reluctant, Cheng Jin said goodbye to Fei Li and ended the call. A nurse came in to give him a shot, and a doctor examined him, handing over a report. “Here’s your pregnancy check-up result. You can take a look. The baby seems fine for now, but you need to stay in bed, and your emotional fluctuations shouldn’t be too great; otherwise, it could affect the fetus.”

“Okay, thank you.” Cheng Jin took the report, which was very detailed, even containing a clear image of his uterine cavity. For the first time, he saw the baby inside him.

It was tiny, already taking on a human form, and he could even see the hands and feet.

In less than five months, the baby would be born.

When he reached the gender section, Cheng Jin murmured, “It’s a boy.”

His grandmother looked up, extending her hand. “Let me see.”

Cheng Jin handed over the paper. His grandmother examined it seriously, a hint of affection appearing on her face. “He has some features resembling Lu Tao, but also looks like you.”

Cheng Jin smiled. “Shouldn’t… it be too early to tell?”

“Where’s the confusion? You can still see an outline.” His grandmother returned the report, bluntly saying, “But I hope his intelligence will follow Lu Tao’s, not yours.”

Cheng Jin didn’t deny that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Deep down, he hoped the baby would take after his husband. For some reason, seeing the image of the child now gave him a real sense of “I really have a baby.” He carefully scanned the other results on the report, many of which he didn’t quite understand. When he saw the “date of conception,” he froze.

The child was conceived during their trip to Planet Sunshine, on the very day he almost had an accident.

So this child…

But Cheng Jin quickly let go of that thought. Biologically speaking, regardless of whether it was his main persona or the derived persona who had been with him at that moment, the child was definitely Lu Tao’s blood.

Feeling a bit weak, Cheng Jin sat for a while before drifting off to sleep again. When he woke up, he first heard the sound of the night wind rustling the leaves, then felt someone holding his hand. Blinking his eyes, he realized it was dark—clearly already nighttime—and the lights in the ward weren’t fully on, making it hard for him to see who was holding his hand.

But that touch… Cheng Jin’s heart leaped with joy, and he immediately called out, “Husband?”

“It’s me.” Lu Tao’s voice rang out from the darkness, devoid of the usual indifference, carrying a hint of warmth.

Cheng Jin smiled but quickly furrowed his brow. “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the hospital? I should be the one going to see you! How’s your wound? Is it still bleeding? Does it hurt?”

A rapid-fire series of questions made Lu Tao chuckle softly. He stretched out his other hand to press a switch on the wall, illuminating the hospital room.

Cheng Jin thought he must have imagined it until he saw the smile lingering at the corner of Lu Tao’s mouth, confirming it wasn’t a hallucination. He stared at Lu Tao for a long moment before finally saying, “You smiled?”

Lu Tao squeezed his hand and asked, “Feeling better?”

Cheng Jin quickly nodded, gazing at him eagerly. “What about you?”

Lu Tao stood up, releasing Cheng Jin’s hand, and lifted his shirt. His bronze skin was wrapped in bandages, patched with gauze, clearly the work of a top-tier doctor. Cheng Jin wanted to reach out and touch it but hesitated, finally asking softly, “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt? You shouldn’t have had any alcohol, yet you drank. You could have just refused me.”

Lu Tao lowered his shirt, his face calm. “I forgot.”

Cheng Jin shot him an incredulous look, intrigued. “So you lie too?”

Lu Tao sat back in the chair, his expression noncommittal. Cheng Jin said, “Is it okay for you to be here? It’s only been a few hours since your surgery.”

“It’s fine; it was just suturing. There’s nothing dangerous about it.” Lu Tao said it so casually, as if what happened that morning was merely a trivial matter.

Cheng Jin didn’t agree with his attitude but was used to following along. He didn’t know how to argue against it. He wanted to hug his husband, to kiss him, but he didn’t dare take the initiative, so he changed the subject to fill the awkward silence. “Did Grandma go back?”

“Yeah, I had her leave after I arrived.”

“She worked hard to get here, and… it must have been tough for her to come.”

Lu Tao looked at him. “Aren’t you two reconciled?”

Cheng Jin’s face flushed, and he whispered, “It’s because Grandma is magnanimous.” His gaze drifted to something nearby, and his heart became chaotic again. “Did you look at the test results?”

Lu Tao replied, “The baby seems like it will be really cute.”

Cheng Jin felt a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, right.” He regretted not hiding that piece of paper. Although it didn’t need to be stated explicitly, they both knew the date of conception was when the derived persona had taken over Lu Tao’s body, but it still felt awkward. Cheng Jin secretly reached for the paper, wanting to fold it up, when Lu Tao suddenly said, “The date of conception is quite coincidental.”

Cheng Jin looked at him, startled. “W-what?”

Lu Tao said, “That day was precisely me.”

At first, Cheng Jin didn’t quite grasp what he meant, but when he understood, his eyes widened in shock. “What? You? That day was… was you?”

Lu Tao confirmed, “It was me.”

“How could it be you?” Cheng Jin was surprised and began to recall what had happened that day. Some details had left him puzzled; now that he thought about it, if his actual husband had been the one making love to him, it would indeed explain things. Realizing this, Cheng Jin felt both embarrassed and a little flustered. “You… didn’t say anything at that time…”

Lu Tao looked innocent. “I wasn’t clear on the situation back then.” He fixed his gaze on Cheng Jin. “So? Are you disappointed to find out it was me?”

Cheng Jin quickly shook his head, his face burning red. “How could I… I didn’t.”

Lu Tao said, “That’s good.”