Chapter 60 1/2

Jiang Li raised his eyes, spreading his fingers. “No concealed blades.”

Cen Lang held his delicate wrist, trembling with fear. “Darling, your words are frightening. What does ‘concealed blades’ mean?”

Considering Dr. Xiao Jiang’s hidden needle skills, concealed blades might not be impossible. He vowed not to let Jiang Li help him in the future.

Jiang Li lifted his gaze, his black-and-white eyes clear and indifferent. “Are you scared lying here?”

Cen Lang replied, “Not scared, but a male instinctive unease towards the unknown.” He paused, then closed his mouth and said, “Sorry.”

Jiang Li remarked, “Not informing your partner about risks during a business trip is like not telling a patient about surgery risks. Regret comes too late, understand?”

Cen Lang admired Jiang Li’s wisdom; even with a surgical knife poised on his leg, it felt like an intoxicating touch.

Cen Lang lifted Jiang Li’s hand higher, uncovering the sterile cloth, then pulled it to his sides, embracing him.

“I was wrong, dear.”

“Darling.”

Cen Lang called out, melting the frost on Jiang Li’s face. He knew Jiang Li might like being called “darling” a bit, but saying it too much was not ideal.

Jiang Li lowered his eyes, putting away the disinfectant. “Don’t call me that way.”

Did he think Jiang Li didn’t understand? Cen Lang just mentioned that Jiang Li took on tasks others would die doing. Letting Cen Lang leave three months before his delivery was not without risks.

Jiang Li didn’t intend to stop Cen Lang; he just wanted to be informed.

Cen Lang: “Shall I disinfect a hundred times until dawn?”

Jiang Li teased, “Playing house?”

Cen Lang pulled Jiang Li onto the bed, sitting between his legs and embracing him from behind. This was suitable during pregnancy, and the soothing voice was closest to the ears. “I’m not playing house; it’s real.”

“I confess, because of the long distance and unknown factors, there’s a certain risk. But whenever I had time, I flew outside the third border for training. I have experience and confidence to come back.”

“I promise, if danger comes, I’ll turn and run; if the signal weakens, I’ll stop.”

Cen Lang spoke the most cowardly words of his life: “Can I, Dr. Xiao Jiang? In the study computer, you saw it; there’s a special message box. Open it, and I’ll send you coordinates every day. Of course, as I go farther, there might be delays; what you receive tomorrow could be from the day before.”

“The coordinates indicate where the signal ship captures the white flames, transmitted level by level. It has no other communication function, so once I’m out of a certain range, I can’t send letters, only encrypted coordinates.”

Cen Lang didn’t utter the cliché, “If you don’t want me to go, I won’t go.” There was still that unspoken understanding.

Jiang Li: “Don’t hold me like this.”

Cen Lang felt a faint unease. Could Jiang Li be genuinely angry?

Jiang Li: “I want to watch over you.”

Softening, Cen Lang changed positions, making Jiang Li face him while sitting on his lap.

Jiang Li’s eyes turned affectionate tonight. He gazed at Cen Lang, supporting his shoulders. “Is the hibernation chamber for Baiyan fixed?”

Cen Lang: “Yes, it’s been replaced.”

Jiang Li: “If I don’t find my dad, even six months pregnant, I’ll go with you. I can lie in the hibernation chamber.”

He said emotionlessly, “When we landed on the desolate planet, I thought, if we couldn’t leave, I would tell you I was pregnant. Although the cub hasn’t been born yet, being with two dads in death, he won’t be an orphan in the next life.”

“I really hope the cub has two dads. What do you think?”

Cen Lang’s mind trembled. Jiang Li’s calm words about life and death together were more heartbreaking than a hysterical plea. He had just heard a grand confession but had nothing to offer for now. “I will come back.” “If I don’t return on time, punish me.”

Jiang Li kissed his lips, his wrists folded in front of his chest, creating a gap for Cen Lang’s belly.

Cen Lang, still naked from the shower, felt Jiang Li grip his chest with short, manicured nails, leaving crescent marks.

It was the first time Jiang Li left marks on him other than disinfectant. Cen Lang kissed back gently until he noticed Jiang Li unbuttoning his shirt.

“How about waiting until tonight?” Cen Lang restrained the exploding desire. “I leave at dawn.”

Jiang Li didn’t like public intimacy during the day, and today Cen Lang was willing to comply with anything.

Their faces were close, and Cen Lang saw a hint of mockery in Jiang Li’s eyes. “Are you planning to leave my bed right after?”

Some farewell time had to be reserved, either in the daylight or at night. Apparently, bidding goodbye before departure was more decent than fooling around in bed.

Cen Lang’s Adam’s apple rolled. “Then it’s now.”

Seeing Jiang Li eager to take control but shy, Cen Lang pulled a thin blanket from the side, covering them.

The light could penetrate the silk blanket, dim but revealing.

Jiang Li undressed, staring at Cen Lang. “I want to accompany you to the transfer point; watch you board the battleship.” Baiyan was parked at the interstellar transfer point, and Cen Lang had to change ships.

Cen Lang: “Darling, it’s less than an hour from here to the transfer point. The spacecraft’s launch causes strong airflow turbulence. You still have to come back alone. I can’t bear to see you return alone.”

He was still selfish. He let Jiang Li watch his back, but he didn’t want to see Jiang Li walking towards the spaceship alone. He would inevitably send him back to the ground personally, only feeling at ease when his feet were firmly on the ground.

Jiang Li hit him where it hurt. “Disagree?”

Cen Lang sighed. “Alright, Dr. Xiaojiang.” As a young and spirited Alpha, he couldn’t endure being treated like this.

Jiang Li asserted, “If you disagree, then don’t move.”

Don’t move.

If Jiang Li hadn’t made this request, Cen Lang would have been thrown into chaos due to the simultaneous stimuli of memories unsealed by brain synchronisation and the present reality.

He didn’t know whether to focus on watching Jiang Li or deeply contemplate the madness in his memories.

Night clashed with day, and vision conflicted with hearing, each refusing to yield. Yet they complemented each other like wind and moon.

Until downstairs, the lunch bell rang.