Cheng Jin only felt a brief surge of sympathy for Yan Qi when he first heard about his accident; it quickly evaporated, especially after seeing how smug Yan Qi looked when Cheng Xu agreed to be with him. Even seeing Yan Qi slowly move to sit in his wheelchair didn’t invoke any pity from Cheng Jin anymore. Grinding his teeth, Cheng Jin sneered, “Yan Qi, you don’t really need to come here, especially since it just means more work for my brother to look after you.”

Yan Qi gave him a smile, showing off his white teeth, “Xu Ge is happy to do it, right?” He turned to Cheng Xu with a sweet, loving expression, like a perfect lover.

Cheng Xu glanced at him and said, “Stop bickering,” and patted him, “Go inside, I want to talk to Cheng Jin for a moment.”

Yan Qi looked a bit hurt, “Is there something you can’t say in front of me?”

Cheng Jin rolled his eyes, thankful that his brother wasn’t indulging Yan Qi. “Go inside,” Cheng Xu repeated. Reluctantly, Yan Qi pressed the button on his wheelchair.

Once he was inside, Cheng Jin couldn’t help but ask, “Bro, are you really sure about spending your life with him? I just don’t see how Yan Qi is reliable at all! And what about dad…”

He lowered his voice when he mentioned their father, his frustration fading a bit, “Did dad agree?”

Cheng Xu was silent for a moment before responding, “Not exactly agree, but he didn’t strongly oppose either.” He added, “It’s in life-and-death situations that you truly see someone’s heart. He was willing to risk his life for me; what more can I question?” The past was indeed a thorn, but the fear of losing Yan Qi overshadowed those minor scars.

Cheng Jin was at a loss for words, and after a while, he continued, “Why didn’t dad come with you this time? He’s not blaming me, is he?”

“No, he just lost his qualifications to come to the Imperial Planet. When the route to the Geothermal Planet officially opens, you can bring Baby along.” Cheng Xu touched his head, “I left right after your delivery. How’s your body now? Have the scars healed?”

Cheng Jin quickly nodded, “It’s been almost two months, all healed! What about Yan Qi, his legs need over two years of treatment, right?”

“One and a half years, with three surgeries in total.” Cheng Xu squeezed his hand, “Let’s go in, I want to see Baby.”

Baby was the absolute star of the party. Now fifty-eight days old, his features were becoming more defined and he looked even more like Cheng Jin. The small robot, Cheng Cheng, had been upgraded with a baby care program, which helped the new dads, Cheng Jin and Lu Tao, handle most of the childcare smoothly.

The party was lively all day, and the baby was adored by everyone, especially by Cheng Xu, who even took part in feeding him milk, changing diapers, and bathing him. By evening, he decided to stay the night.

Everyone else had left, except Yan Qi, who refused to go. When he heard Cheng Xu’s decision, the handsome man’s eyes nearly shot flames. He managed to suppress his anger, quickly switching to a pitiful expression, “Xu Ge, what about me?”

Cheng Jin quickly said, “Of course, you’re going back. Do you want my husband to drive you?”

Yan Qi glared at him, then looked back at Cheng Xu, “We haven’t seen each other for fifty-six days.” Since being revived, Cheng Xu had only stayed a few days before leaving, and his second visit was for Cheng Jin’s delivery, also just for a couple of days. Yan Qi had been longing for Cheng Xu’s arrival for so long, and if it weren’t for the need to prepare for the first leg surgery, he might have even rushed to the Geothermal Planet to stay glued to Cheng Xu.

Worried about his brother’s soft heart, Cheng Jin quickly added, “I haven’t seen my brother for so long either, what’s wrong with him staying here one night? Our baby likes him, and my brother likes the baby too.”

Yan Qi felt bitter but soon thought of a compromise, “Then I’ll stay here too.” He looked at Cheng Xu with a look of compromise and flashed a smile, “Is that okay?”

Cheng Jin couldn’t believe how shameless he was, and seeing that his brother was about to agree, he looked helplessly at his husband. Lu Tao said, “Let him stay.”

Cheng Jin was full of doubt and later asked his husband in private, “Why did you agree to let him stay?”

“There’s no reason not to agree.” Lu Tao simply explained, watching Cheng Jin, his tone calm, “Why do you dislike him so much?”

“Shouldn’t I?” Cheng Jin looked shocked, “Yan Qi is so arrogant, isn’t that annoying to everyone?”

Lu Tao held his hand, his fingertips gently caressing Cheng Jin’s palm, his voice still very calm, “But your reaction is a bit extreme, it makes you look very possessive of Cheng Xu. That might make me misunderstand.”

“What?”

Lu Tao looked at him and slowly said, “That you might have a brother complex.”

Cheng Jin blinked, puzzled, then his face turned red, feeling both embarrassed and sweet, “Husband, are you… jealous?”

“Yes, I am jealous.”

Feeling his husband’s care, Cheng Jin’s heart filled with joy, his earlier irritation vanishing completely. He quickly wrapped his arms around his husband’s neck and kissed his lips, “Why would you be jealous of my brother? We’re just siblings.”

“Then who should I be jealous of? Yan Qi?”

“How did it turn to him…”

Lu Tao wrapped his arms around his waist, letting him sit on his lap, “Wasn’t he almost your fiancé?”

“How do you… know?” Cheng Jin was even more shocked; this was something he barely knew himself, having heard it from Yan Qi, and something that should only be known by Lu Tao’s alternate personality.

Lu Tao calmly explained, “Seeing Yan Qi again triggered a memory. It must have been significant, hence why it’s so deeply ingrained.” He pinched Cheng Jin’s cheek, even such intimate gestures barely changing his stoic expression, “It must be something important.”

Cheng Jin paused, then laughed, pleased, “So that’s it…”

Their house was large enough to accommodate everyone comfortably in guest rooms, though Yan Qi, due to his mobility issues, had to choose a room on the ground floor. Yan Qi didn’t show any dissatisfaction and was quiet as a mouse until Cheng Jin suggested talking with his brother through the night. Yan Qi then grabbed Cheng Xu’s sleeve and pleaded with a pitiful tone, “Xu Ge, I’m sleepy, can you help me wash?”

Cheng Jin was speechless, “It won’t kill you to skip it for one night!”

But Yan Qi continued in his pitiful mode, “I’m a clean person, not being able to bathe for so long has been torture. I just want to wipe down with warm water…”

Cheng Xu eventually compromised.

“Ahh! I’ve realized, finding Yan Qi for my brother is even scarier than him finding a sister-in-law! Why did I ever try to stop my brother from getting married? If he had just married some random woman, none of this would be happening!” Cheng Jin grew more distressed the more he thought about it, but aside from complaining to his husband, he felt helpless.

Lu Tao smoothed his fur, calmly saying, “Go to sleep.”

Baby had his own nursery, and the care during the night was mostly handled by the small robot Cheng Cheng, a common practice on the Imperial Planet. Still, Cheng Jin usually got up once at night to check on him, perhaps a parental instinct, as he wouldn’t have gotten up at night before.

After sleeping for a bit over an hour, he woke as usual, about to get out of bed when Lu Tao gently held his wrist, whispering, “You don’t have to go; Cheng Cheng will take care of him.”

“I know, I just want to take a look.” Cheng Jin got out of bed and tiptoed out the door.

Only one wall light was on in the living room, not very bright, but enough to see the furnishings clearly. Cheng Jin walked straight to the nursery, gently pushed open the door, and turned on the light. The small robot, recharging while on guard, saw Cheng Jin enter and even lowered its voice to greet “Little Master.” Cheng Jin touched its smooth head and softly said, “Thanks for your hard work.”

“Cheng Cheng isn’t tired!” The robot replied with pride, proud to be trusted with the task of “nanny,” a testament to its reliability in the eyes of its owners. It had indeed taken great care of Baby during this time.

The baby was soundly asleep after feeding. Cheng Jin watched him affectionately for a while, checked that his diaper was still dry, and then left the nursery as quietly as he had entered.

After softly closing the door, Cheng Jin yawned, ready to head back to bed, but his ears caught an unusual sound.

It was coming from the direction of the guest room.

It sounded like his brother was crying?

Cheng Jin’s drowsiness instantly vanished, and he became fully alert. Frowning, he tiptoed toward the guest room door, the sound of his brother’s crying becoming clearer. Anger surged through him.

Could it be Yan Qi bullying his brother?

Without a second thought, he went to open the guest room door, intending to help his brother. But unexpectedly, the door wasn’t locked. Pushing it open, he created about a ten-centimeter gap, through which he could clearly see into the room.

From his angle, he could see the bed, and on it, two figures were intertwined: lying beneath was Yan Qi, and on top, naturally, was his brother, Cheng Xu.

They were making love.