Extra 4

Originally, at this stage, Ji Ruo needed to hibernate for half a month at a time, but this time he woke up after only hibernating for a week. Rong Shi was afraid he couldn’t hold on and asked Ji Ming to check on him.

Ji Ruo waved his hand. “I was just checked. I’m in a good state right now.”

Rong Shi was not at ease and was about to persuade him again when he heard hurried footsteps from behind.

“A-Ruo!” Rong Guang walked up the steps in a few strides and held him in front of him. “Why did you wake up so fast? I was planning to wait for you to wake up with our son.”

Ji Ruo held Mianmian and walked down the stairs. “The new medicine works fast.”

Afraid of tiring his wife, Rong Guang took the little son from his arms, casually held his wife’s hand, and felt delighted in his heart.

“Are you hungry? I’ll make whatever you want to eat.”

Ji Ruo thought for a moment. “Shredded chicken noodle soup, is that okay?”

Meeting Ji Ruo’s gaze, Rong Guang’s heart skipped a beat.

It was embarrassing to say, but after being married for so many years, he seemed to still be in the honeymoon phase, with no resistance to his wife at all.

“Of course, you can! You can have whatever you want to eat.”

Ji Ruo: “I mean, do you know how to make it?”

Rong Guang felt guilty. “…P-probably?”

Since his wife had been in hibernation, he had rarely cooked.

The others: “…”

After chatting in the living room for a while, Mianmian pulled Cola to the open-plan small study to do their homework.

Ji Ming, who had been called Grandpa, was overjoyed and trotted over to guide them in their studies.

Rong Shi and Song Yu had something to do and had to go out. After saying goodbye to Ji Ruo, they drove away.

Everyone seemed to be intentionally creating an opportunity for Rong Guang and Ji Ruo to be alone.

The ingredients ordered online arrived in less than ten minutes.

Rong Guang was afraid his wife would be hungry and didn’t dare to delay any longer. He found a tutorial online, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to go to the kitchen to have a big go at it.

Ji Ruo got up and followed him. Receiving Rong Guang’s surprised gaze, he said lightly, “I’m afraid you’ll blow up the kitchen.”

Rong Guang: “…”

He wasn’t that clumsy.

Ji Ruo: “Xiao Shi rarely has some free time. Don’t cause him any trouble.”

Rong Guang: “…………”

Aren’t you worried I’ll get hurt in the explosion?

The chicken was processed and very fresh.

The chicken had to be stewed first to make a rich chicken broth for it to be delicious.

“First, cut the chicken into large pieces, blanch it two to three times, wash off the blood, and then—”

Rong Guang looked at the tutorial on the virtual screen and muttered to himself.

He looked very unreliable. Ji Ruo unbuttoned his cuffs, preparing to help wash the spices.

“Do we have ginger at home?”

“Yes.” Rong Guang found a piece of ginger.

Ji Ruo: “What about scallions, shiitake mushrooms, and red dates?”

“We should have them.” Rong Guang rummaged through the cabinets.

Ji Ruo: “Can you find ingredients in the cabinet under the sink?”

Silently closing the cabinet door, Rong Guang: “…”

In the end, it was Ji Ruo who found all the spices himself.

He walked to the sink and was about to roll up his cuffs when Rong Guang took his hand.

“Honey?” Ji Ruo looked up.

Rong Guang lowered his head slightly and kissed him on the lips.

“This house only feels like a home when you’re here.”

Ji Ruo’s eyes flickered, and he kissed him back. “As long as you have me in your heart, I’ll always be here.”

Rong Guang held him tight. The bitterness that had been bottled up in his heart for all these years was only slightly revealed in front of his wife.

“I want to be with you, raise rabbits every day, plant flowers and grass, watch the sunrise and sunset, and watch the children grow up and start their own families.”

Ji Ruo leaned on his shoulder, his eyes soft, the corners of his lips slightly raised. “You’re about to be promoted to Lieutenant General. It’s impossible for you to be with me every day, right?”

Rong Guang buried his face in his neck, feeling wronged. “You still have to have small goals. What if they come true?”

Ji Ruo chuckled lightly. “When you retire, I’ll accompany you.”

Rong Guang almost cried. “Retirement is at least another forty years away.”

The average age in the Empire was 120, and the normal retirement age was 70, but high-level officials generally found it difficult to retire on time. Just like Qian Li and the offending Lin Quan, they still couldn’t fully retire even in their nineties.

Ji Ruo deliberately said, “Then what should we do? You’ll resign and go back to our hometown with me?”

Rong Guang looked at him, unable to answer.

He wanted to, but he couldn’t.

The military had just undergone a major purge, and many systems needed to be rebuilt. Although it wasn’t that it couldn’t function without him, he couldn’t betray Qian Li’s trust.

If he didn’t move up quickly, Old Qian would probably really work himself to death in his post, which would be too pitiful.

“I’m sorry,” Rong Guang apologized in a low voice. “I can’t for now. It’s not that I’m greedy for power, it’s just—”

“I was just saying it casually. Why are you so serious?” Ji Ruo stroked his chin, his forehead resting against his. “No need to explain, I understand everything.”

If Rong Guang was greedy for power, then after he was rescued by him more than twenty years ago, he would have been sent to prison immediately.

With the situation at that time, he would definitely have been secretly executed by Lin Quan’s people on trumped-up charges.

But Rong Guang had stayed with him for a week.

He gave him a chance to defend himself, gave him all his trust, and even put his future on the line because of it.

To be able to receive his partner’s complete trust and support was the ultimate happiness for Rong Guang.

He suddenly felt that he was very lucky to have met someone as beautiful and gentle as Ji Ruo in this life.

“Get well soon. You can’t sleep anymore,” Rong Guang sighed lightly.

Just as Ji Ruo was about to speak, he heard the other person say aggrievedly, “I’m already a few years older than you. If this goes on, I’ll become an old man, and you’ll still be a young man.”

Ji Ruo: “…”

Rong Guang was aggrieved. “I’ve been running around all these years and haven’t taken good care of myself. I’ve aged a lot.”

Ji Ruo patted his head with a wooden face. “You’re still young.”

Rong Guang said seriously, “From today on, I’m going to use a face mask every day. You supervise me.”

Ji Ruo: “…………”

You’ve had enough.

After being lovey-dovey for half a day, it was almost noon by the time the shredded chicken noodles were ready.

Rong Guang brought the noodles to the table, pulled out a chair for Ji Ruo to sit down first, and then walked towards the small study himself.

Several people in the family loved to read, so when they were designing the house, they had sectioned off an area in the living room near the French window and built a large floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.

It could also be used as a study for Mianmian.

From a distance, he saw Ji Ming sitting next to the two little cubs, explaining something to them.

Although he couldn’t hear, Rong Guang could see that he was very happy.

This science maniac had neglected his two biological sons for so many years, yet he was giving fatherly love to his grandchildren.

Is this what they call doting on grandchildren?

Rong Guang walked over. “Father, it’s time to eat.”

Ji Ming was explaining the wonders of various plants to Mianmian and Cola. Fearing that the two children wouldn’t understand, he had specially switched to simple language.

Hearing Rong Guang’s voice in his ear, he was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

Rong Guang went to pick up the children. Seeing him look over, he said casually, “It’s already noon. Just have a simple meal at home. A-Ruo hasn’t eaten with you in a long time.”

Ji Ming’s eyes flickered. After reacting, he hurriedly agreed.

As Rong Guang turned around, Ji Ming hurriedly called out to him.

“I, I don’t know how to do anything except experiments. It’s all my fault that A-Ling turned out like that—”

Speaking of this topic, Rong Guang’s eyes darkened.

Ji Ming nervously clasped his hands, his head lowered, not daring to look at Rong Guang’s eyes.

“If I had been able to spend half my time looking after them, I wouldn’t have caused one to commit a crime and the other to have such a weak body.”

Cola was completely out of it. Smelling the shredded chicken noodles, his stomach rumbled.

Although he didn’t understand, seeing the two adults’ serious expressions, he secretly pulled Mianmian’s hand to touch his own stomach, indicating that he was hungry.

Mianmian patted Cola’s face, telling him to wait patiently, trying hard to pretend he didn’t understand.

He hadn’t told his parents about his reincarnation. If he did, it might involve things from his past life.

Since this life already had a better ending, dwelling on the ending of the previous life would only be looking for trouble.

Rong Guang glanced at the dining table and happened to meet Ji Ruo’s gaze from afar.

He chuckled lightly and said in a low voice, “A-Ruo has never blamed you. You don’t need to be too obsessed with the past. If you’ve made a mistake, just make up for it properly.”

Growing up in an environment lacking family affection and being raised as a modified human and an experimental subject, A-Ruo did not hate or resent. Rong Guang respected his thoughts and attitude, so naturally, he wouldn’t say much.

There were many imperfections in this world.

Imperfect body structures, personalities, lives—

Accepting all imperfections and striving to live the way you want to is the composure an adult should have.

Ji Ming wiped his face and followed Rong Guang to the dining table to sit down.

“Father.” Ji Ruo pushed a large bowl of shredded chicken noodle soup in front of him. “Ah Guang made this. Please try it.”

This one word, “Father,” sounded better to Ji Ming than any other sound.

“Eh!” He hurriedly picked up his chopsticks and took a big bite. “Delicious!”

Seeing that the strange atmosphere from just now was gone, Cola finally dared to speak loudly.

Holding his chopsticks, his eyes stared at Ji Ruo’s action of putting noodles into the children’s bowl, swallowing his saliva.

“Dad, I’m hungry. I want more.”

Ji Ruo placed the bowl in front of him. “It’s Uncle.”

Cola clumsily used his chopsticks to pick up the noodles and repeated perfunctorily, “It’s Uncle.”

Ji Ruo: “…”

Mianmian: “…”

This guy wasn’t listening at all.

With Ji Ruo’s guidance on the side, this lunch was a great success.

The afternoon sun was just right. Ji Ruo sat on the sofa near the French window and had Ji Ming check his pheromone levels.

It was a rare opportunity for the father and son to sit face to face so leisurely.

Ji Ruo had been enduring his disheveled appearance for a long time.

“Are you still as busy as before?”

Ji Ming nodded habitually, but after reacting, he quickly shook his head.

“It’s fine. Old Qin is capable, and the new drug development is going very smoothly.”

“Then can you take another half day off in the afternoon?” Ji Ruo asked.

His son was asking, so of course he could!

Even if he couldn’t, he had to.

Seeing Ji Ming nod, Ji Ruo opened his terminal and tapped a few times, then quickly closed it.

“I’ve asked a barber to come to the house to give you a haircut this afternoon.”

Ji Ming nodded obediently.

Ji Ruo: “I’m not sure about your clothing size. I bought two sets of clothes that will arrive in a while. You can try them on. If you don’t like them, we can exchange them.”

Ji Ming nodded obediently.

He’s so sloppy, maybe it’s better to have him live with us? Ji Ruo thought seriously.

He knew that Rong Guang definitely wouldn’t mind having his father live with them, but his illness was still not very stable at the moment, and his husband and child were often not at home. The result of having the old man over might not be much different from him living alone.

Those two short sentences made Ji Ming so happy he wanted to spin in circles on the spot.

He suddenly recalled that year, the happiness Qin Lin had shown when he said his partner was pregnant.

He was a staunch bachelor, but at that moment, he had the idea of having children.

Although the process was terrible, in the end, he still got what he wanted back then.

In the evening, Rong Shi and Song Yu returned from their business, and they also brought back many good ingredients.

Rong Guang had been clingy with his wife all day, so the accumulated official duties had to be dealt with, and he was driven to the study by Ji Ruo.

“It’s a rare occasion for the whole family to be here. I’ll cook tonight.” Rong Shi rolled up his cuffs and pulled Song Yu, who was about to slip away. “You help me.”

Song Yu turned his head to look at him, his voice cool. “It’s very expensive to have His Highness the Prince as an assistant.”

“Very expensive?” A hint of a smile appeared in Rong Shi’s cold eyes. “Is a blank check enough?”

Song Yu: “…”

What kind of hole did he dig for himself?

Cola knew there were many delicious things in the kitchen and trotted over. “I’ll help too.”

Mianmian was afraid he would cause trouble and anger Yu-ge, which would inevitably lead to another beating, so he had to follow, afraid he would cause trouble.

The kitchen was bustling with activity, and a faint fragrance soon filled the air.

When Rong Guang came downstairs, Ji Ruo was sitting on the wooden corridor in the backyard, admiring the scenery.

He took a shawl and wrapped it around him from behind. “What are you thinking about?”

Ji Ruo said softly, “I’m thinking about which piece of land to plan out for raising rabbits.”

Rong Guang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. “Later, the rabbits reproduce too fast. I’m afraid there won’t be enough grass to eat.”

Ji Ruo: “Are you just worried about that?”

Thinking of the dark history of running around for grass, Rong Guang looked at him. “Raising rabbit cubs is not as good as raising children. At least children don’t eat grass.”

Ji Ruo: “Then let’s have another one?”

Rong Guang: “…………”

Staring at Ji Ruo’s eyes, Rong Guang opened his mouth and racked his brains to say, “Honey, look, Xiao Shi is already so old. If we have another one, won’t the age gap be too big? People might even think it’s his child—”

Having a second child almost cost his wife’s life, and he wanted a third?

Impossible. Not in this lifetime.

Ji Ruo: “I was joking. Why are you so nervous?”

Rong Guang breathed a sigh of relief. “…”

A false alarm.

Ji Ruo said seriously, “When my body has recovered, it’s fine to have another one.”

Rong Guang choked. “…………”

Was it his illusion?

Has his wife become naughty?

__

Author’s note:

Rong Dad: If you don’t like it, I won’t have another one.

Rong Father: It’s not that I don’t like it—I really don’t like it—no, I like it—no, I don’t like it—forget it, wife is the boss, what wife says goes. [Lying flat in tears]

Rong Dad: Good boy. [Pats head]

Rong Father: How do I persuade my wife to give up on having children?

Rong Bunny: Either become a monk or get a vasectomy.

Rong Father: …

#That actually makes a lot of sense.#