Chapter 10: Please Don’t Blame Yaoyao, It Was All My Idea

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Please Don’t Blame Yaoyao, It Was All My Idea

In truth, Shu Xin had been wanting to find an opportunity to ask about Xiao Juzi’s biological father.

But she worried the topic would be a painful one for Shu Yao, so she and her three brothers had a tacit understanding not to bring it up.

And now, Xiao Juzi’s father had suddenly appeared.

She had to get to the bottom of the man’s background.

She couldn’t get much information from Shu Yao, so all she could do was wait patiently for the man to deliver himself to their doorstep.

「The next morning.」

The entire Shu Family was on high alert, making the atmosphere in the house even more tense and oppressive than a war room.

She wondered if the Federation’s First Commander would be able to handle such a scene when he arrived.

But more than worrying about the situation the man was about to face, Shu Yao was concerned about her son’s feelings.

"You’re about to meet your daddy. Are you happy?"

Xiao Juzi wore a deeply troubled expression. His mood was so foul that even his fur didn’t seem as bright as usual.

"Mommy..."

The little Zaizai was too young, his vocabulary too limited to describe his complicated feelings to his mother. He was curious about the father he’d never met, but at the same time, he didn’t want another stranger intruding on his and his mommy’s life.

"I think... just the two of us is great!"

Shu Yao felt a pang of regret for not leaving the Ninth District sooner.

’If I’d left the Ninth District two years earlier, maybe I would have reunited with the Shu Family back then. Xiao Juzi’s concept of family wouldn’t be so narrow.’

Shu Yao sighed. "Be good now. Try to be happy."

But Xiao Juzi remained dejected. His fluffy tail drooped listlessly, and his ears hung low.

Standing to the side, Shu Xin patiently tried to coax the child. "If Xiao Juzi only has Mommy, then you can only get Mommy’s love. Grandma, your grand-uncles, and your daddy all have their own love to give, and Mommy can’t give you theirs, you know."

"I only need Mommy’s love!" Xiao Juzi said, rubbing his small, furry head against Shu Yao’s chin.

Shu Yao glanced at his favorite Mecha toy.

"Since you don’t need Grandma’s and your grand-uncles’ love, how about Mommy helps you give all these toys back?"

Xiao Juzi’s expression immediately turned to one of reluctance. After a moment of internal struggle, he whispered a counter-offer, "Let me keep one, just one! Please?"

Shu Yao lined up his favorite toys. "Think carefully now. If you accept them, you’ll get lots and lots more toys in the future!"

Xiao Juzi pouted, his triangular mouth jutting out.

"Forget it," Shu Xin said, not wanting to force the child. "Xiao Juzi is still little. He’ll understand when he’s older."

Just then, Shu Yao received a message from Qin Shiwei.

He had arrived at the main gate of the Shu Family estate.

Shu Yao rode a self-balancing scooter to greet him. When she reached the gate, however, all she saw was a low-profile Flying Machine and a man with an ordinary-looking face.

’Where’s the Commander?’

She sent Qin Shiwei a message with her Light Brain: "Where are you?"

"Are you blind?" The seemingly ordinary man’s voice held a trace of displeasure.

GASP!

Realizing that this was the Commander himself, Shu Yao was flabbergasted.

’Is this really the First Commander, the man whose looks were considered the peak of perfection?!’

But while his facial features had changed, that sharp, decisive, and imposing aura of his was still present.

He was still wearing a military uniform, just not a Commander’s uniform.

It looked ordinary, but it was the special-issue uniform of Military Department One.

Shu Yao sized him up carefully and found that, aside from the color of his eyes, it was truly as if he had a completely different face.

"Is the Federation’s cosmetic surgery technology this advanced?!"

It had only been one night!

And the Commander had shown up wearing a different face.

Qin Shiwei showed her a black, circular device on the back of his neck. The device was stuck firmly to his skin like a magnet.

"This kind of device can alter one’s appearance."

Shu Yao hadn’t wanted him to expose his identity, so he had no choice but to change his appearance.

Hearing that his voice was still the same, Shu Yao felt a little uneasy. "Shouldn’t you disguise your voice, too?"

"There’s no need," Qin Shiwei said calmly. "I’ve never interacted with anyone from the Shu Family before. They shouldn’t be able to recognize me by my voice."

"Oh, good, good." Shu Yao had the guard robot open the electronic gate. "Let’s go in."

Qin Shiwei commanded his Light Brain, "Proceed."

Shu Yao: "???"

’Is this man here to visit his mother-in-law, or is he here to command a battle?’

Over twenty robots then filed out of the Flying Machine in an orderly line, each one carrying a gift.

Shu Yao was quite surprised. "I never would have guessed. You’re actually quite thoughtful."

Qin Shiwei stated truthfully, "These were all prepared by His Majesty."

Shu Yao’s smile froze. ’Never mind I said anything.’

Qin Shiwei said, "His Majesty is more skilled when it comes to acting the part. He said the things he prepared would be more suitable than what I would have prepared."

’Suddenly, I’m dying to know what the Commander prepared...’

Shu Yao led him to meet the Shu Family.

When the two sides met, the atmosphere was awkward to the extreme.

Shu Guohua kept a stern face, ready to put the man in his place at any moment.

"Big Brother," Shu Chao Yu said quietly to his tense-faced older brother after recognizing the uniform Qin Shiwei was wearing. "It’s a uniform from Military Department One."

Shu Guohua snorted coldly.

Shu Yao was so worried she felt like she was about to go bald.

’I can’t just sit here and wait for the worst, I have to take the initiative!’

At Shu Yao’s subtle cue, Qin Shiwei broke the silence.

"Hello, everyone. I am the child’s biological father, and also Yaoyao’s legal husband."

"H-Husband?!" Shu Xin exclaimed in shock.

Qin Shiwei stated stiffly, "To make it easier to register the child’s household and to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future, Yaoyao and I discussed it yesterday and went ahead and registered our marriage."

Shu Xin was both anxious and angry. "Yaoyao, this is a huge deal! How could you not discuss it with your mother first?!"

"Please..." Qin Shiwei defended Shu Yao awkwardly. "Don’t blame Yaoyao. It was all my idea."

Shu Yao herself had been agonizing over whether to tell the Shu Family she had gotten married yesterday. After thinking it over all night, she had decided it was better to wait for the right moment to tell them.

’I can’t believe this man just dropped the bomb about us registering our marriage the moment he arrived!’

’Then again, it’s my fault for not giving Qin Shiwei a heads-up.’

Qin Shiwei’s self-introduction continued:

"I hold a position in Military Department One. My work usually involves Federation secrets, so the details of my job, including my identity, are confidential. Please forgive me for not being at liberty to disclose too much to you."

Shu Chao Yu asked aggressively, "So we can’t even know your name?"

Qin Shiwei: "You can call me Ah Bao."

Shu Chao Yu pressed, "We know nothing about you. How can we be sure that you’re really Xiao Juzi’s father?"

Qin Shiwei responded with composure, "I received a notification back when Yaoyao took the child to Imperial Hospital for a paternity test. Due to the special nature of my work and identity, the moment the system detected a biological relationship between the child and me, the record was encrypted and protected by the main brain."

Shu Xin had a sudden realization. "Oh, no wonder the system wouldn’t approve it when I tried to register Xiao Juzi’s household."

Qin Shiwei gave her a slight nod.

Noticing that her uncle still had doubts, Shu Yao secretly nudged the man beside her.

"Why don’t you... make your tail appear and show my uncles?"