Chapter 1652: Parental Anxiety

Zhao Li Xin took her hand and gently pressed her palm against his cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment and slowly inhaled her scent. It was a scent no one else could perceive—not even Lory herself. But to him, it was unmistakable.

"I don’t know the first thing about parenthood, let alone being a father..." he admitted, his voice thoughtful, almost contemplative.

When he opened his eyes again, there was an unfamiliar helplessness in them. "I’m definitely not a good son or disciple... I’m not even a good master," he said in a self-deprecating tone. "I don’t think I’m even a good husband to you."

His gaze lowered for a moment. "We don’t always see things the same way, Lory. Especially when it comes to our enemies." His voice remained calm, but there was a trace of uncertainty beneath it. "You have your own values when it comes to how far one should go, even toward those who have wronged you. I... don’t think the same way. Once someone becomes my enemy, I don’t have much mercy left to give."

He paused, his thumb gently brushing across the back of her hand.

"That’s why sometimes I wonder..." he continued quietly, "when our children grow up, will they understand me? Or will they think their father is someone they should fear?"

"That’s you worry about?" Lory said with playfull tone.

"I’m being serious, Lory," Zhao Li Xin complained, his voice carrying a rare hint of a whine.

Lory burst into laughter. "Okay—okay." She waved her hands, then moved her chair closer and reached up, cupping his handsome face between her hands. "Listen, silly man," she said in a reproachful tone. "You’re not that bad. I know why you did what you did. If I were placed in that position, I don’t think I would do anything differently from you."

Lory took a deep sigh, then looked at him seriously. "I know more or less what those people did to you, and that’s awful, very awful. If I had known from the start, I wouldn’t have stopped you from killing them all. But you didn’t."

"Because you wouldn’t like it," Zhao Li Xin said, looking at Lory worriedly.

The corners of Lory’s eyes crinkled. "And that’s what makes me love you."

Zhao Li Xin looked at her confusedly, and Lory chuckled a little. "You make compromises. You’re willing to change your, and you never force me to accept your way. You never force me to change... and I’m grateful and love you for that."

Her thumbs gently brushed his cheeks. "I think you underestimate yourself, my dear lord. You forgot that a lot of people are willing to follow you. They trust you, depend on you, and care about you. The Mong brothers, Mong Ki, Mong Yi, Jin Hao, Bei Li Yan, and all the Hei Shen Sect members... You really think they would stay by your side if they believed you were nothing more than a cold-blooded murderer?" She smiled softly. "They trust you. They respect you. And, in their own way, I know they love you—not just as their leader, but as a friend."

Lory narrowed her eyes slightly. "And to me..." Her gaze softened with unmistakable affection. "To me, you’re the best husband I could have ever wished for." ℯ

"Really?" Zhao Li Xin’s dark, gloomy eyes suddenly sparked with a flicker of joy.

Lory’s smile grew wider. "Really."

But his expression soon changed again. "Even when I almost killed you..." The words came out low and heavy, burdened by an old pain that had never truly disappeared.

Lory’s smile never faltered. Her hands remained gently cradling his face. "Li Xin... I know why you hurt me back then and part of the reason things became that way is because of me." Her thumb softly brushed beneath his eye. "But you didn’t kill me. You saved me. Remember?"

Her voice grew softer. "You saved me in more ways than you probably realize. You saved my cursed soul. You saved me from the fate I thought I couldn’t escape." She looked into his eyes, her own filled with warmth. "When I thought my life was already destined to end in misery, you gave me another path. You gave me hope when I had none left."

Her violet eyes shimmered beneath the soft morning sunlight. "And look at where we are now." A bright, almost mischievous grin spread across her face. "I’ve reunited with my long-lost family. You saved my brother. And you gave me children—two of them, no less."

Her fingers intertwined gently with his. "You’ve given me everything. And not once have you ever disappointed me." Her smile softened, but the certainty in her eyes remained unwavering.

"That is why I believe, with all my heart..." Lory leaned closer, her gaze unwavering. "You will not dissapointed them either, you’re going to be a good father Li Xin."

Zhao Li Xin’s usually cold expression brightened for a brief moment, only to dim again the very next second.

"Really...? You don’t think our sons going to hate me, fear me? Or worse, what if they... grow up like me?" His voice was etched with genuine horror.

Zhao Li Xin wasn’t oblivious to his strange character. On the contrary, no one knew better than him how broken he actually was as a man. He knew full well that normal people didn’t act like him, so his worry was well-founded.

She reached over and pinched his cheek. "Stupid husband!"

She pulled his cheek outward before releasing it a second later and gently rubbing the spot to soothe the sting. "That will never happen. Your sons will love you. And what’s wrong if they grow up like you? You’re a bit weird, but that doesn’t make you bad. You’re smart, thoughtful, loyal, resilient, and strong. And no matter how powerful you become, you never hurt innocent people."

"Because it’s not fun," Zhao Li Xin honestly said..

Lory paused for a second, then narrowed her eyes. For him, that was still much better than people who justified killing innocent people by saying, "For the greater good," or, "To prevent a bigger problem in the future." At least, her husband never tried to justify his actions. He would never go after innocent people untill they brought trouble upon him.

Seeing the stubborn look on his face, Lory couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "Fine," she muttered, giving him a resigned look. "If it makes you feel better, then I’ll tell you this. A lot of people say sons share more similarities with their mothers, which means your sons will be like me."

She caught his gaze and smiled faintly. "They’ll adore you and love you just like I do." Her smile turned mischievous. "And they’ll also be troublemakers."

Lory quickly cleared her throat after mumbling the last word, then continued, "And as for them hating you, you don’t have to worry about that."

She leaned back slightly, waving a hand as if brushing the concern aside. "Once in a while, they’ll get angry or annoyed with both of us. No big deal." Her expression grew more thoughtful. "And it’ll surely get worse when they reach puberty, but that’s normal. All parents go through it."

She reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "That’s why we have each other. We can let those brats defeat us."

"Really?" Zhao Li Xin looked at her, still somewhat in doubt. "Have you ever fought with your father?" he asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, but not as much as Lucas." Lory shrugged. "I think that’s the difference between sons and daughters. I remember Lucas had a few disagreements with Father, but it always ended up fine later."

"So it happens..." Zhao Li Xin looked genuinely surprised, as though she had just revealed some astonishing secret.

"Yeah. I think children in this world tend to be more expressive when voicing their minds. They can also be much ruder compared to the children in your world."

"They’re more honest," Zhao Li Xin concluded.

"You could say that." Lory scoffed. "But I prefer the word bratty." She couldn’t help remembering the child she had once seen throwing a tantrum over a Poko-Poko figurine. Lory had tried doing something similar once.

What happened after that?

She lost two weeks’ worth of dessert and was sentenced to extra hours of studying her two most hated subjects—mathematics and science—with Fredhardt, all on her father’s orders.

After that, she had never dared to use that trick again. Yeah, there was no room for acting spoiled when you are a Lucient heir.

"What I’m trying to say is, you don’t have to worry too much. Our children will have their own lives, their own trials, and their own burdens. All we can do is support them and help them along the way. And if they ever dare to do anything that upsets you..."

Lory raised her fist with a determined look. "They’ll have to answer to me."

Zhao Li Xin stunned. "Really? You’ll take my side?"

ussually in his world the Sons become the mothers focus, and they tend to side with their Sons even agains their own husband so naturaly he think Lory would be the same, after all he knew how much lory put family importance so he was genuinely surprised.

"Of course," Lory said matter-of-factly. "I’ll always be on your side. You’re the one who’s going to accompany me until we’re old, anyway." ⅇℯ𝚕.

"Oh..."

Zhao Li Xin blinked, as though he had only just realized the weight behind her words.

A quiet smile gradually spread across his face. The dark clouds that had been hovering over his mind seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by the warmth of a bright sunrise.

So that was how she saw it. Just like that, all his doubts and worries disappeared.

Zhao Li Xin took Lory’s hands, a quiet laugh escaping his lips as he gently brought them to his own before pressing a tender kiss against her knuckles.

"Thank you. Thank you for always staying by my side."

Lory’s cheeks flushed, and she giggled softly. "I’ve never said this before, but... thank you. Thank you for searching for me for years and never giving up."

Zhao Li Xin was reminded of the time he had spent searching for the mysterious woman who had once healed him—the woman with a soothing scent and a voice that had managed to slip through the cracks of his cold heart, reaching a place he had once thought never existed.

He gently placed a hand on top of her head before pulling her closer. Then, he lowered his head and pressed a soft kiss against her lips.

The sun had climbed higher into the sky, its golden rays pouring down around them like curtains of light, bathing the two figures in a warm, radiant glow. For a moment, the world seemed to grow quiet, leaving only the warmth between them beneath the gentle morning sun.