Cheng Jin was allowed to leave the hospital after a week. In comparison, Lu Tao’s recovery was noticeably quicker; he was discharged on the third day and moved into Cheng Jin’s room to take care of him.

The couple rarely spent such intimate time together, and most of their interactions were typically one-on-one. At first, Cheng Jin worried it might feel awkward, but he soon realized that wasn’t the case at all.

Even though they didn’t share many common interests or hobbies, they managed to live together like ordinary partners. Cheng Jin noticed that Lu Tao had changed quite a bit; for example, when Cheng Jin was binge-watching a drama on the holographic screen, Lu Tao would occasionally join him after work to watch as well.

Initially, when Lu Tao first did this, Cheng Jin felt a mix of anxiety and embarrassment, fearing that his choice of light-hearted drama might bore his husband. To his surprise, however, Lu Tao didn’t criticize him at all; instead, he watched intently and even engaged in discussions about the plot. The only time he pointed out mistakes was during the fight scenes, mentioning things like the wrong order of assembling a gun or incorrect gear. This left Cheng Jin stunned yet learning something new.

Cheng Jin was both shocked and delighted by his husband’s transformation. He gradually felt more comfortable being playful, daring to touch Lu Tao and even asking for kisses.

Fei Li handled Cheng Jin’s discharge procedures while Lu Tao organized their belongings. As he tidied up, he said, “Grandmother wants us to go back for a visit. Are we going?”

Cheng Jin nodded eagerly. “Of course! I need to thank Grandmother in person.”

After grabbing their not-so-heavy luggage, they thanked Fei Li. When Cheng Jin spotted the ice-blue car parked at the entrance, he paused for a moment, feeling a bit shy. He even reached out to touch the car’s surface before Lu Tao asked, “Do you like it?”

“I love it!” Cheng Jin smiled sweetly. “I’m a huge fan of this color!”

Fei Li didn’t join them; the car was set to autopilot, and both Cheng Jin and Lu Tao sat in the backseat. Lu Tao seemed preoccupied, opening a holographic screen to browse through documents. Cheng Jin didn’t want to disturb him, so he opened his own screen. Upon seeing a new message prompt in the lower right corner, he clicked on it excitedly. The unfamiliar icon puzzled him at first, but when he read the text, he burst out with joy, “I—I received an order!”

Lu Tao turned to look at him. “What order?”

Cheng Jin’s face flushed with excitement, radiating happiness. “I applied for a virtual shop online where I can customize dresses and create handmade knitted items, and now I’ve received a new order!”

Lu Tao glanced at Cheng Jin’s holographic screen, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. “Nice.”

“This is my third order! The first two were tiny orders, both sent to addresses on the Geothermal Planet,” Cheng Jin said, finally showing some cleverness. “I actually thought my brother was secretly placing orders for me to cheer me up.” He laughed again, “But this one is definitely not! The address is on Planet 55! My brother doesn’t have friends that far away!” Cheng Jin opened the order details, looking closely. The customer requested a dress and even sent over sizing information, including materials and colors.

Seeing Cheng Jin so excited, Lu Tao momentarily set aside his work and asked, “Do you really like it?”

Cheng Jin nodded vigorously. “I love making clothes and knitting!” After saying this, he suddenly felt a bit awkward and cautiously looked at his husband. “Is it… not okay for me to like this?”

“Of course not,” Lu Tao replied seriously. “Finding your interests and hobbies is a good thing. I won’t stop you; in fact, I’m happy for you. After all, you finally have something you’re truly passionate about.”

Cheng Jin felt deeply moved by his husband’s words and a bit shy. “Yeah, before… I felt like I was living in vain, not creating any value at all. But I’ve made up my mind; I want to develop my own career. I love making clothes, and I’ll keep doing it.”

Lu Tao said, “I’ll support you.” As he spoke, he reached out and gently pinched Cheng Jin’s cheek, his watchful eyes softening.

The strange yet familiar gesture left Cheng Jin momentarily stunned, memories flashing through his mind. Lu Tao noticed his surprise and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Cheng Jin felt his throat dry, taking a while to respond. “You… didn’t used to pinch my face…”

“Do you mind?”

Cheng Jin quickly shook his head, hiding the shock inside, and turned his attention back to the holographic screen in front of him. For some reason, though he was interested in the matter at hand, he couldn’t focus; his thoughts kept circling back to Lu Tao’s recent action.

Pinching cheeks… that was something Lu Tao, guided by his derivative personality, often did.

The scene just now felt eerily similar.

In fact, they were essentially the same person; it wasn’t surprising that they would have similar actions. What was strange was that Lu Tao would do such a thing.

Could it be…?

“What are you thinking about?” Lu Tao’s gaze caught onto Cheng Jin’s distraction. He had turned off his own screen and was now focusing entirely on him, a questioning look on his face.

Cheng Jin slowly lifted his head to meet his gaze, his throat constricting. The buried question struggled to be voiced. Lu Tao became slightly more serious and asked again, “What are you thinking about?”

Cheng Jin could no longer hold back and finally blurted out, “Did you… really undergo surgery to eliminate the derivative personality?”

Lu Tao paused briefly before responding. “Why do you ask?”

Cheng Jin hesitated and shook his head. “I—I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just that your action just now was so similar to ‘him,’ and I…”

“I had the surgery,” Lu Tao interrupted him, speaking calmly. “But it wasn’t an elimination; it was a fusion.”

Cheng Jin’s eyes widened in shock at those words.

“The ‘chimeras’ are formed by combining two different genetic entities. The Indira family has been persistent in conducting human experiments for many years to create their own powerful team, and their foundational drugs are derived from the Bug race. I was attacked by the Bug race, which led to the emergence of my derivative personality,” Lu Tao explained in a low voice, speaking clearly with each word. “But I did not merge with the genes of other species, so theoretically, that me is still me.”

Cheng Jin replied stiffly, “I know that; I—I don’t see you as different people.” Although he said this, he knew in his heart that he did.

After all, the two personalities were vastly different; how could he not care about these differences? The reason he wanted to leave before was that they were different. No matter how much the derivative personality loved him or spoiled him, the main personality couldn’t empathize. Once he recovered, he would be met with indifference again.

That’s why he had felt disheartened and chose to leave while Lu Tao was recovering.

Lu Tao seemed to see through his thoughts but didn’t address them directly. Instead, he continued, “I’m like two different paths chosen by the same person; naturally, the places we arrive at are worlds apart.”

Cheng Jin looked at him, half-understanding.

After a moment, Lu Tao explained, “For example—if your father and brother were strict with you from a young age, insisting you score 100 on exams and hiring tutors to force you to study, what kind of person would you become?”

Cheng Jin instinctively replied, “I would cry.”

Lu Tao seemed a bit helpless and took a while before saying, “If crying doesn’t help, and the only way to get what you want is through hard work, wouldn’t your character and life be different from now?”

Cheng Jin pondered seriously and then nodded. “It would definitely be different; at least I’d graduate high school.”

“Right. So do you understand my point?” Lu Tao stated seriously. “The derivative personality is simply a part of me that hasn’t been explored or that I’ve hidden away; it’s still me. If my parents hadn’t died unexpectedly and my grandmother hadn’t been so strict with me, I might have developed that personality.”

Cheng Jin felt enlightened. “So that’s how it is.”

Lu Tao ruffled his hair, appearing somewhat relieved. “I didn’t want to accept my imperfect self, but I ultimately made this decision.” He looked at Cheng Jin, his gaze revealing a rare tenderness. “I don’t want to ruin our marriage.”

Hearing this, Cheng Jin’s heart raced, and his face grew warmer. He suddenly thought of a question. “So, do you have his memories now?”

Lu Tao replied, “I have a part of them.”

Cheng Jin felt too shy to ask which parts they were, especially since the things he did with the derivative personality were rather embarrassing. Just as he was about to change the topic, the car came to a stop—they had arrived at Lu Tao’s family home.

Once inside, they found that Grandmother was not there. Lu Tao searched the first floor but couldn’t find her. Cheng Jin, hesitant to move around too much, suggested softly, “Maybe Grandmother is in her studio on the second floor. Should we go check?”

Lu Tao seemed surprised. “You’ve been here before?”

“I came last time,” Cheng Jin recalled. “Once to say goodbye, and another time to bring that luminous pearl you bought.” He looked at his husband, who was drawing closer. “In the end, Grandmother said that couldn’t possibly be something you wanted to gift her because you knew she wouldn’t like it.” Cheng Jin’s tone was filled with hope, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. “So, will you tell me the truth now? Was it really… you buying it for me?”

Lu Tao smiled slightly. “Yes.”

Hearing this answer, Cheng Jin couldn’t help but laugh, feeling a bit bashful. “Then why did you say it wasn’t before? It made me a little sad, like I was just being overly sentimental.”

Lu Tao replied, “That was my mistake.”

Cheng Jin immediately beamed. “I’m not mad at you.” He looked shyly at his handsome husband, feeling like he was in a sweet dream under his tender gaze. Unable to resist, he stood on his tiptoes, tilting his head back as Lu Tao leaned down, meeting him halfway for a kiss.

They only pulled away after a sudden cough interrupted them, and Cheng Jin’s face turned bright red. When he noticed Grandmother standing on the second floor, he exclaimed in surprise, “Grandmother, you can walk now?”

The old lady was indeed walking on her own, without a wheelchair in sight. She said, “I still can’t walk too far.” Then she waved at them. “Aren’t you going to come help me?”

Cheng Jin hurriedly replied, “I’ll be right there!” Just as he was about to run upstairs, Lu Tao grabbed his hand, leading him toward the stairs together.

Their tightly clasped hands radiated warmth; it started as a passive hold but gradually shifted to interlacing their fingers. Cheng Jin couldn’t help but smile sweetly at his husband beside him.

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Translator Notes:

Finally it ends, I have been stockpiling to upload all at once, hoping no other TLer gonna pick this up 😏😏
There is another 17 Extras to go~
And we can finally get the closure for Yan Qi and Cheng Xu 😭 😭