The Bai Family Residence.
The heavy, standard-issue front doors, steeped in the oppressive weight of the pre-Empire era, were cast from a deep crimson alloy. Under the afternoon sun, they offered no warmth, instead exuding a suffocating, ominous stillness like the calm before a storm. Bai Ruonian stood before them, holding a carefully selected bouquet of pale pink carnations. Against the dark door, he looked so pale and frail, as if he didn’t belong in this world at all.
He knocked lightly.
With a drawn-out creak, the door opened. Behind it was Nanny Wu’s familiar, rigid face. The Bai family’s live-in housekeeper first cast a vigilant, rapid glance over the area behind Bai Ruonian. Only after confirming the empty driveway—devoid of that iconic black hovercar or its terrifying occupant—did she let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief, her tense shoulders sagging slightly.
Bai Ruonian carefully greeted, “Nanny Wu,” receiving only a flat, indifferent look in return.
“I heard my mother is sick?”
Bai Ruonian asked, standing in the doorway with a hint of awkwardness.
Nanny Wu’s expression froze for a split second before she quickly nodded. “Oh, Little Bai! Your mother’s been ill for days, and you haven’t come to see her. We had to send three messages and four requests! What kind of son acts like this?”
Her tone was laced with undisguised resentment and reproach. Her gaze fell on the bouquet in his arms, and with a near-impatient gesture, she reached out and snatched it. The move was so rough that a few delicate petals fluttered down onto the polished floor. Without a second glance, Nanny Wu stepped directly on them with her hard-soled slippers, grinding that fragile beauty into the dust.
Bai Ruonian’s eyes followed the ruined petals. A small, sharp needle of pain pricked at his heart. He looked up, confused. “I came as soon as Dad said Mom was sick?”
He had rushed over the moment he got the message.
“Hmph. Refusing to answer so many calls, one might think you were as busy as that gentleman…”
Nanny Wu was still muttering when Chen Zhenghe poked his head out from behind the door, a sardonic smile on his face. “Nanny Wu, are we allowed in or not? If not, we’ll be leaving.”
Only then did Nanny Wu notice the other figure standing in the portico’s shadow. Her expression immediately shifted, her acerbic demeanor replaced by a smile that bordered on fawning. “Oh dear! Of course not! Little Chen… no, Young Master Chen! You’ve come too? Please, please come in!” She had instinctively used his old title, but swiftly corrected herself under Chen Zhenghe’s amused glance, her smile crinkling her face.
Chen Zhenghe didn’t reply, merely quirking a corner of his mouth in acknowledgment.
Nanny Wu shot another quick, reluctant look at Bai Ruonian and lowered her voice. “…Young Master Bai, please come in.”
Bai Ruonian lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting a small shadow. Ignoring her, he stepped into this place that had once been his nominal “home.” A wave of cold air, heavy and stale, mixed with the scent of expensive incense, washed over him. In the foyer, a massive crystal chandelier refracted a blinding, sharp light, its pieces chiming with a crisp, clattering sound. In his injured ear, the noise dissolved into a persistent buzz.
This environment, which should have been familiar from memory, now felt utterly alien.
He didn’t like it.
Instinctively, he looked back. The heavy crimson door had silently shut, sealing him off from the outside world. On the rack in the entryway, his bouquet of carnations, so roughly handled by Nanny Wu, sat forlornly in a mismatched, plain glass vase, its petals already wilting, looking lonely and pitiful.
Maybe he should leave.
Just as he was about to turn, he saw a graceful woman descending the stairs. Her makeup was immaculate, her carmine nails tapping against the handrail.
“Little Bai, you’re here.”
Madam Bai maintained a proper, perfectly measured smile, a sigh of relief escaping her after confirming Lu Mingjin wasn’t present. She frowned slightly upon seeing Chen Zhenghe but quickly smoothed her expression into one of gentle warmth. “Oh, Little Chen is here too?”
Bai Ruonian looked up at Madam Bai, an instinctive urge to call her “Mom” rising within him.
She looked so much like the mother in his memories, yet her eyes held a certain distance.
He opened his mouth, dazed, just as a clear voice rang through the air.
“Mom!”
With a patter of footsteps, Bai Jianyin ran over, draping a shawl over Madam Bai’s shoulders with tender care. He then smoothly looped his arm through hers. “Really, you didn’t even wait for me,” he chided lightly.
Madam Bai patted his hand, offering a warm smile. “It’s not like Mom can run away, can she?”
A perfect picture of motherly affection and filial piety.
Bai Ruonian stood below, watching them blankly. It felt as if an invisible hand had squeezed his heart. His blood seemed to stagnate, a chill seeping through his entire body.
A reaction from the original owner’s body…
But this feeling… it made him feel awful.
There was no anticipated warmth. He was just cold.
Chen Zhenghe noticed the strange look on Bai Ruonian’s face. He glanced at Madam Bai and flashed a grin. “Little Bai said you were sick, but you don’t look it! Such a healthy complexion. He was in such a frantic rush to bring you carnations. I’d say he should have brought some Sun Roses instead.”
Madam Bai’s expression froze for a second before she laughed it off. “I was ill a while ago…”
“The Major General’s wife wouldn’t even take my calls. His mother was missing him. What other way was there to say it?”
Another voice cut in. It was Bai Shouyi. He stepped past Chen Zhenghe, his gaze fixed on Bai Ruonian. Unlike the blustering cowardice he’d shown at the hospital, his expression was now as amiable as a loving father’s. His question, however, was an accusation directed at Bai Ruonian. At the same time, his eyes locked onto the back of Bai Ruonian’s neck.
No Mark. And Lu Mingjin hadn’t come either. This meant their relationship wasn’t going well.
Bai Jianyin chose that moment to joke, though his tone couldn’t hide the jealousy. “Little Bai’s status is different now. He’s the Major General’s wife. If Mom gets sick, we probably have to send a formal invitation to request his presence.”
Chen Zhenghe frowned, but he had no standing to speak here. He looked at Bai Ruonian, whose eyes held a blank, lost look, as if he hadn’t even registered the veiled hostility in those words.
Bai Jianyin’s lips curved into a smile. Such a useless waste. He can’t even understand what’s being said. He’ll never amount to anything.
Bai Ruonian indeed hadn’t grasped his meaning. He simply tilted his head and looked at Bai Shouyi. “Didn’t you say before that I wasn’t part of the Bai family anymore? And my ear… it doesn’t work so well after you hit me. I can’t hear ringing clearly.”
He raised his eyes, his gaze earnest yet naïve, the naivety tinged with genuine confusion. “If you have something to say, you could send a message.”
Standing off to the side, Chen Zhenghe couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter.
The other Bai family members wore stiff expressions, their faces a bit sour.
Bai Shouyi’s face darkened like a gathering storm. The old Bai Ruonian would never have dared to speak to him like this.
“Little Bai, where did you learn to talk back to your elders like this?”
Bai Ruonian’s face was a perfect mask of confusion and innocence as he looked at his father. “Wasn’t I just telling the truth?”
“You…”
The words choked Bai Shouyi with fury, yet he had no outlet for his anger.
It was, after all, the truth.
Just as Bai Shouyi found himself in a tight spot, Bai Jianyin spoke up, a glimmer of tears in his eyes. “Little Bai, it’s all my fault. I had to choose that exact moment to come back to the Bai family, and you happened to run into us. It made you have a huge fight with Dad, and that’s how you got this lingering illness. It’s all my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame me!”
Bai Ruonian blinked.
Why is he suddenly crying?
He didn’t get it.
He wanted to extend a paw, tilt his head, and see if the tears were real or fake.
Bai Ruonian’s lack of reaction made Bai Jianyin feel awkward. But Madam Bai, who had been silent for a while, quickly moved to comfort him.
“How could this possibly be your fault? You are a child of the Bai family, my own flesh and blood. Coming home is the most natural thing in the world.”
Her eyes were full of heartache.
Bai Ruonian stared blankly. That look… it used to be in his memories too.
So, Mom was still Mom. She just wasn’t his mother anymore.
He wasn’t their biological child. So, coming home probably wasn’t the most natural thing for him.
Only then did Madam Bai remember her other child. She coughed awkwardly and changed the subject. “Why is everyone just standing there? Nanny Wu has already prepared the meal. It’s rare for Little Bai to come back…”
Even a cat would find that statement insincere.
Bai Ruonian pressed down on his slightly trembling hands. This was the physiological reaction of the dead original owner, not his.
Mother wasn’t his mother. Home wasn’t his home. But so what?
He had his Master. What was he afraid of?
If he had a tail right now, it would surely be held high with pride.
His Master was better than every single person here.
Seeing Bai Ruonian standing still, Bai Shouyi raised an eyebrow and said sternly, “What’s the matter? Do we need to formally invite you to dine?”
Bai Ruonian tilted his head and let out a sigh.
He had originally come back to feel what a mother was like, but now it seemed it was nothing special.
Nothing compared to his Master.
His tone was utterly sincere, his blue eyes blinking with pure honesty. Mimicking the drama serials he’d seen on the screen two days ago, he said, “It’s good that Mom isn’t sick. I won’t stay for dinner… After all… my mere presence disrupts the family harmony.”
Bai Shouyi was taken aback.
Everyone present was stunned.
Several pairs of eyes stared at him, clearly not expecting Bai Ruonian to refuse so directly and decisively.
“Huh?”
Madam Bai’s expression turned flustered. She looked at Bai Shouyi, who was also at a loss.
The plan to lure Bai Ruonian here today was clearly because they needed something from him. They had intended to use the rhetoric of “a debt of upbringing greater than heaven” for emotional blackmail. They never imagined Bai Ruonian wouldn’t even sit down at the dining table.
He wasn’t playing by any predictable rules.
“This… how can you not eat? Who said you’re disrupting the family harmony?”
Madam Bai hurried to smooth things over, forcing a smile and glaring at Bai Shouyi.
Bai Ruonian continued his act.
“Dad said I was talking back to an elder. How could I have the face to eat? I’d better just leave.”
Bai Shouyi’s face turned ashen. He was put on the spot. He wanted Bai Ruonian to stay but couldn’t bring himself to back down. Finally, he forced out, “That’s not what I meant.”
Chen Zhenghe watched from the side, completely dumbfounded.
With just one sentence, the entire situation had been flipped.
Bai Ruonian lifted his gaze, scanning the room and meeting everyone’s eyes.
He saw anticipation, fear, and a simmering anger they dared not voice.
He wrinkled his nose. This was weird.
Just like before.
First, they had been ready to hit him, but the moment his Master was mentioned, their faces changed.
Now, they were even using their mother’s illness as a pretext to get him here.
Why were they so insistent on him staying for this meal today?
Was it also because of his Master?
Bai Ruonian felt a prickle of suspicion and alertness.
What are they trying to do?
As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. Bai Ruonian changed his mind.
He looked down at the floor, thought for a moment, and said, “Alright.”
Bai Family Residence. The Dining Room.
With the earlier groundwork laid, Bai Shouyi, who had intended to mix firmness with gentleness over this meal, opted for a completely conciliatory approach.
He reached out with his chopsticks and placed a piece of fish onto Bai Ruonian’s plate.
“Little Bai, have you been adjusting well?” Bai Shouyi’s tone was so gentle it was almost eerie. “How are things going with Major General Lu?”
“Fine.” Bai Ruonian glanced at the piece of fish. It was from the back, a cut he didn’t like.
He liked the tender white meat right below the gills, the freshest part. The belly was okay too, relatively fatty.
He poked at the piece of meat and glanced at Bai Shouyi. “Just fine.”
Bai Jianyin looked at the unmarked, pale skin on the back of Bai Ruonian’s neck and couldn’t suppress a scoff.
Not marked, and he says it’s ‘fine’?
“Little Bai’s life is the best, just enjoying an easy life,” Bai Jianyin said. “Unlike me, stuck having to study at the Imperial Academy.”
“Yeah, it’s the best.” Bai Ruonian was busy eating and barely heard him.
Bai Jianyin’s expression stiffened.
Chen Zhenghe, standing to one side, frowned. These words didn’t sit right with him.
Everyone knew that attending the Imperial Academy meant a limitless future. Bai Ruonian had also been accepted there, only to be forced by the family into an engagement with Gao Siyang. And now, Bai Jianyin was rubbing it in his face. Wasn’t this just twisting a knife in a wound?
Just as Chen Zhenghe was about to speak, a cry of “Whoops!” rang out. Nanny Wu slipped right in front of him, spilling the entire bowl of bird’s nest soup all over his clothes.
“I’m so sorry, so sorry, Little Boss Chen,” Nanny Wu apologized profusely. “I’m old and useless.”
Madam Bai spoke up at that moment. “What are you waiting for, Nanny Wu? Take Zhenghe to change.”
Chen Zhenghe didn’t think much of it and got up to follow her out of the dining room.
Madam Bai rose and shut the door.
With the outsider gone, certain things were easier to say. Besides, if this dragged on any longer, Bai Shouyi felt his smile would freeze on his face from the effort.
He patted Bai Ruonian’s shoulder with feigned warmth. “Little Bai, you don’t need to hide it. There’s no Mark on your neck. An AI match isn’t the same as truly liking each other, and you were just recently engaged to Gao Siyang. It’s only normal the Major General doesn’t fancy you. Just think, with Major General Lu’s power, he could get rid of you any day. You need to secure a way out for yourself.”
Bai Ruonian blinked. He couldn’t hear very clearly, but he caught the key point.
His Master didn’t like him.
That was true enough.
Bai Ruonian’s eyelashes trembled. He tilted his head and waited quietly for what would come next, as if seriously considering the problem. He definitely couldn’t let his Master get rid of him.
“Then what should I do?”
A surge of delight rose in Bai Shouyi’s heart. Looks like he’s biting.
He spoke with feigned patience. “You need to find a way out for yourself. A family only prospers when the clan prospers. All you have to do is a small favor. Report Major General Lu’s movements now and then, or…” Bai Shouyi paused meaningfully, “plant a little something in his study.”
A faint electrical crackle transmitted the conversation through a Terminal into a Starship.
The interior of the starship was utterly silent as it sailed through the void.
Zhang Huaijin cautiously glanced at Lu Mingjin.
The latter’s face was completely expressionless.
He had heard every word just now, through Bai Ruonian’s Terminal.
