Chapter 8: Shen Qingyan Saw a Familiar Look in Dabao’s Eyes

In the space, Shen Qingyan opened his eyes. He had spent the entire night thinking about who Gu Siqing really was. As he pondered, he eventually fell asleep. Now that he moved slightly, a robot immediately approached from a distance.

“Master, do you have any instructions?”

Looking at the robot before him, Shen Qingyan took a deep breath—he could basically get used to this. He originally wanted to shake his head and say he didn’t need anything, but then suddenly remembered what Gu Siqing said yesterday. He decided to test his legs to see if what she said was true—could he actually feel something now?

He moved slightly, and a sharp pain instantly surged through his heart. Even as someone who had spent years on the battlefield, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows and shudder.

He could really feel something!

A gleam lit up in his eyes. Ever since he had been discharged and stayed at home, he’d fallen into despair. Looking at the medals and photos from his past, he often found himself sleepless, eyes wet with tears. In his most hopeless moments, he would punch his legs hard, but he felt nothing.

Now, with pain returning, he quickly asked the robot to move his leg slightly again to confirm it wasn’t an illusion. Following his command, the robot gently lifted his leg—and the pain intensified, buzzing in his head.

There was real sensation!

He pinched his waist hard, confirming he wasn’t dreaming. Hope lit up his face—he really had a chance! Gu Siqing wasn’t joking. In the past, he couldn’t feel anything, but today, when the robot moved his leg, he could distinctly feel it. He was thrilled.

He had long dreamed that if one day his legs healed, he would throw himself back into serving the country. Now that there was hope, how could he not be overjoyed? His eyes even welled up with tears of joy.

Just then, Gu Siqing brought the two children in. Considering it had been their wedding night yesterday, Shen Qingyan’s parents had taken the children with them. This morning, Gu Siqing had just brought them back.

The moment they entered the room and saw Shen Qingyan lying in bed, the children looked at Gu Siqing and blinked. “Mama, is this our Dad?”

“Yes.” The moment Gu Siqing confirmed, the two kids widened their eyes with excitement and both shouted, “Dad!”

Looking at the two children, Shen Qingyan felt a strange tug in his heart. He nodded in acknowledgment.

“Dad,” the kids slowly walked over. “Why are you lying in bed? Can you get up and play with us?”

Shen Qingyan looked at them and unexpectedly felt a surge of tenderness. But when it came to answering their questions, he didn’t know what to say. Should he tell them he was a cripple? He didn’t want to admit that.

Gu Siqing walked over and gently patted the children’s heads. “Dad is sick. Once he gets better, he’ll play with you. Can you two be good for now?”

Hearing that their Dad was sick, the kids nodded quickly and didn’t dare to disturb him anymore. Their well-behaved reactions made Shen Qingyan’s heart ache.

“How are you feeling?” Gu Siqing asked after sending the children to play at the side.

Shen Qingyan nodded eagerly. “You can unbind me now. I believe everything you said—I won’t resist anymore. I trust you can heal me.”

Yesterday, he had real doubts. But now, he had figured things out. Some people simply possess extraordinary abilities. Overthinking it was pointless. Besides, she was now his newlywed wife—if she could truly heal him and held no threat to the nation, he would devote the rest of his life to loving and protecting her.

Hearing this, Gu Siqing pressed a button at the top of the control panel. All the restraints instantly disappeared. Shen Qingyan finally breathed a sigh of relief as he lay on the bed.

“These children…” His eyes lingered on the two kids playing quietly nearby, overwhelmed with emotion. “They’re called Dabao and Xiaobao?”

He asked softly, heart heavy. The kids looked up at him curiously. Seeing their adorable faces, he wanted to get closer, so he beckoned to them. To his surprise, they rushed over joyfully.

They had assumed their new father wouldn’t like them—his gesture meant he might accept them!

As they got closer to the bed, Shen Qingyan looked at Dabao’s face and felt a faint sense of familiarity flash across his mind—but he quickly shook his head bitterly. What was he thinking?

He reached out to touch their heads but hesitated and withdrew his hand. Still, he smiled. “You two are very cute. I will treat you like my own from now on.”

Hearing that, Gu Siqing felt a bit emotional. In their previous life, Shen Qingyan had truly treated the children as his own. He had always been a man of integrity.

“Let me help you sit up and try,” she said, helping him struggle to a seated position against the wall. The moment he sat up, he could feel his body again.

“Dad.” The kids called out once more, stepping forward but then hesitating again—remembering what their mom said about not disturbing their sick dad.

“Come here,” Shen Qingyan said gently, calling them over. This time, he extended his hand and successfully patted their heads.

Though his face was pale, he patiently said, “If there’s anything, you can always tell me. You don’t have to stay so far away—I will get better.”

Gu Siqing said he’d recover and be able to play with them. He believed it too.

As his hand touched their heads, the kids beamed like they had just gotten new toys.

Watching the interaction, Gu Siqing had a thought she wanted to test. Maybe, just maybe, those kids really were Shen Qingyan’s biological children? After all, she had the most advanced instruments in the space—doing a DNA test would be easy.

With that in mind, she moved forward, plucked a few hairs from Shen Qingyan’s head, and then two from Dabao’s.

“What are you doing?” Shen Qingyan asked, confused.

“Nothing, just doing a test,” Gu Siqing said, not ready to share her suspicion until she had results. It had been three years since that drunken night during a school reunion. If the DNA test confirmed paternity, she could finally piece things together.

Shen Qingyan didn’t overthink it but found it odd that Dabao’s hair was needed for his test. Still, he quickly let it go—surely Gu Siqing would tell him the results eventually, right?

But thinking about the results brought a wave of bitterness. There was a secret he had never told anyone. Aside from his paralyzed legs… he also couldn’t have children. If Gu Siqing’s test discovered that—what then?

As Gu Siqing left the room and went to the testing chamber, Shen Qingyan pondered everything. Once he left this place, he would investigate Gu Siqing’s background. If she wasn’t a spy like he feared, and if she really had no ulterior motives, he would be loyal to her forever—and truly treat the two kids as his own.

After all, he would never have children of his own. Loving Gu Siqing’s children as if they were his—that might be for the best.

With this thought, he looked at the kids more tenderly and started talking to them, hoping to get to know them better.

Meanwhile, Gu Siqing entered the precision lab, handed the hairs to the robot, and asked it to conduct the test. Once that was underway, she went to cook.

Just like yesterday, she pulled out vegetables from the space, stir-fried a dish, made soup, and also cooked some preserved egg and lean meat congee.

The kitchen in the space was highly intelligent. By the time the congee finished cooking, the other dishes were ready too. Gu Siqing placed them on a serving cart and brought them to Shen Qingyan’s room, calling the children over to eat together.

She served Shen Qingyan a bowl of congee. “You need to eat more nutritious food now—but take it slow. I’ll be managing your meals.”

The fragrant congee made Shen Qingyan realize how hungry he was. He took the bowl and started eating slowly. As he ate, he thought about how Gu Siqing had spoon-fed him yesterday. It made him feel even more convinced—she probably wasn’t a spy. Perhaps she really did have some unusual abilities.

Still, he had to investigate. In this era, evidence was essential.

“Dad, eat some vegetables.” The children, growing fonder of Shen Qingyan after their earlier chat, started giving him food just like they did for Gu Siqing.

His fondness for them grew again. Gu Siqing noticed their interaction from the corner of her eye and smiled inwardly. The congee, enriched with spiritual spring water, tasted better than usual. She even helped herself to an extra bowl.

After dinner, the robot cleared the table. They rested for a while before Gu Siqing suggested, “Since we did surgery yesterday, let’s go for another checkup today.”

Shen Qingyan no longer resisted and nodded obediently.

Seeing his cooperation, Gu Siqing snapped her fingers. A robot brought in an advanced wheelchair, and two others helped Shen Qingyan into it.

As she pushed the wheelchair from behind, the children trailed after her.

Gu Siqing chuckled. “You two go play in the yard. Mom is taking Dad for a checkup, okay?”

The children blinked, thinking the yard was fun enough—they dashed downstairs.