An Nuo still tightly held the chubby little child in his arms, his voice trembling, and his body slightly shaking. This sudden and unexpected recognition left An Nuo completely unprepared.
The chubby little child didn’t quite understand what Uncle An
Nuo was saying. Rubbing his eyes, he spoke in a sweet and mellow tone,
“Ningning is sleepy.”
After using the healing skill, the little child would sleep
for a long time.
The fact that he managed to stay awake this time was quite
remarkable. After persisting and telling Uncle An Nuo that he’s sleepy, the
little child tilted his head and fell fast asleep on An Nuo’s neck, breathing
softly.
An Nuo lowered his head and affectionately kissed the chubby
little child’s cheek.
He held onto the little child without letting go, but it was
difficult to check on Raphael’s condition while carrying the child in his arms.
Raphael was still in a drowsy state, and An Nuo was unsure of his exact
condition.
An Nuo glanced at the little child and then at Raphael.
After a few hesitant seconds.
An Nuo, unable to free his hands, gently kicked Raphael,
saying, “Raphael, how are you feeling?”
Raphael didn’t respond.
Observing this, An Nuo leaned in and touched his forehead.
“It’s almost healed.”
An Nuo murmured, “Ningning, such a young child, is already
capable of using healing power.”
Once An Nuo was certain of Raphael’s safety, he left the room.
With his own strength, he couldn’t carry Raphael, so he needed to find someone
to help.
Fortunately, the little prince Caesar, who was searching for
Ningning, arrived.
“Caesar, can you do me a favor?”
At this moment, Huo Lin still didn’t know what the sleeping
child had done, but he had a faint suspicion in his heart. He nodded, lifted
Raphael, who was twice his weight, and brought him into An Nuo’s palace.
Under An Nuo’s command, Huo Lin helped Raphael take a bath
and disinfect. As for the chubby child, Ningning, who was still sleeping, he
didn’t even have a bath and was simply picked up by An Nuo and placed back in
bed to continue sleeping.
Hesitant for a moment, Huo Lin asked, “Uncle An Nuo, aren’t
you worried that Ningning might be dirty?”
An Nuo gently touched the soft and chubby face of the child
and whispered, “He’s not dirty. There’s no odor on him.”
Huo Lin: “...”
Fine then.
After settling Raphael, Huo Lin turned his attention to
Ningning, who was still asleep. He felt that something was getting increasingly
off. “Uncle An Nuo, has Ningning been sleeping this whole time?”
An Nuo didn’t respond to that question. He only said, “Do you
have Zhan Xi’s contact information? I need to talk to him about something.”
Ningning was a child of their royal family, with both a
father and a mother. Although his father was a foreigner, someone whom An Nuo
didn’t view favorably, he was certain that this man, who was not a good person,
was definitely not Zhan Xi.
“Yes.”
Huo Lin gave An Nuo Zhan Xi’s star device number. An Nuo
didn’t have a star device himself, so he took out the star device from
Raphael’s body and noted down the number.
“Caesar.”
“Yes?”
“Can I trouble you to go outside and fetch something for me?”
An Nuo casually mentioned fetching something, clearly using it as an excuse to
get Huo Lin to leave.
Understanding his intentions, Huo Lin left obediently.
Once Huo Lin was gone, An Nuo immediately dialed Zhan Xi’s
number to video call the other. At the beginning of the call, the other side
hung up on him. It took several consecutive attempts before the call was
finally answered.
“Hello, who is—who are you?”
After a brief pause, Zhan Xi completed the interrupted
sentence, “Why are you video calling me?”
An Nuo introduced himself straightforwardly, saying, “I am An
Nuo.”
Zhan Xi was taken aback.
He looked at An Nuo in the video and thought about the words
his own child used to praise the other. In that instant, he finally understood
how his child could praise someone for so long.
This An Nuo was undeniably beautiful, to the point of being
excessively so.
Zhan Xi didn’t have any romantic thoughts about such beauty;
he simply continued to ask, “Did you call me because something happened to
Ningning?”
“Where did you find Ningning?”
Instead of answering Zhan Xi’s question, An Nuo threw a
question back at him.
Upon hearing An Nuo’s question, Zhan Xi furrowed his brows.
He was certain that this unfamiliar An Nuo on the screen couldn’t possibly know
that he had picked up Ningning.
Their gazes met, and the air seemed to freeze.
After a moment of silence, Zhan Xi chose to feign ignorance.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Ningning is my child, Mr. An Nuo. Don’t
you think you’re being a bit offensive—”
“I am his uncle.”
An Nuo interrupted Zhan Xi’s nonsense and added in a calm
tone, “I am his biological uncle.”
Zhan Xi: “...”
Zhan Xi’s expression instantly changed.
He clenched his fist, his gaze growing cold. “Mr. An Nuo,
words must not be spoken recklessly. You claim to be Ningning’s uncle. Do you
have any evidence?”
“I do.”
An Nuo’s tone remained calm. “Only members of our royal
family possess the power of healing-type mental power.”
As An Nuo uttered these words, the tightly clenched fist in
Zhan Xi’s hand suddenly felt weak.
He looked at the image of An Nuo on the screen, who seemed
too beautiful to be an ordinary person. Thinking about the words “healing-type
mental power” spoken by An Nuo, he knew deep down that An Nuo’s words were
essentially true.
Only those from the royal family could possess healing-type
mental power. It was an exclusive trait of the royal family, impossible for
others to impersonate.
However, Zhan Xi still found it difficult to accept.
If An Nuo was Ningning’s biological uncle, would Ningning’s
biological parents also come back?
When his Ningning met his biological parents, would he still
want Zhan Xi as his father?
Zhan Xi’s parents had passed away early, and he had never had
any relatives. He had no biological family, only people he considered as loved
ones. He had raised Ningning all this time as his own child, and Ningning was
the greatest joy in his life.
He couldn’t accept Ningning being taken away by someone else,
even if that person was Ningning’s true relative.
An Nuo could see the expression on Zhan Xi’s face.
“Zhan Xi, there’s no need to be too nervous. I won’t compete
with you for custody of Ningning.”
An Nuo’s beautiful eyes seemed to be able to see into
people’s hearts. As soon as he spoke, he addressed the concern that weighed
heavily on Zhan Xi’s mind.
“My health is poor, and I can’t take care of Ningning. I
won’t fight for custody, but I hope you won’t prevent me from occasionally
meeting Ningning.”
Upon hearing that An Nuo wouldn’t fight for custody, Zhan Xi
suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
His emotions fluctuated greatly, but now that he had relaxed,
a smile appeared on his face. “Alright, alright. As long as you really are
Ningning’s uncle, I won’t stop you from getting to know Ningning.”
“By the way, didn’t you ask me how I found Ningning earlier?
Let me tell you.”
Zhan Xi truthfully recounted how he found Ningning: “As for
how Ningning ended up on that spaceship, Ludwig is still investigating.”
The two adults discussed the main topic for a while, and
soon, the conversation shifted to the life of the little child in the past few
years.
Zhan Xi knew that as the uncle, he must be very eager to know
about his nephew’s growth experiences. Generously, he shared with An Nuo the
photos and videos of the little child from these past few years.
“When he was teething, his mouth couldn’t stay still. He
loved biting things, especially pacifiers. He ended up biting them to the point
of damage. He knew he would be scolded, so he secretly threw away the
pacifier.”
Zhan Xi didn’t just send photos to An Nuo; he also shared the
little stories behind the pictures.
An Nuo listened attentively.
Time flew by, and without realizing it, their video call had
lasted for over an hour.
During the call, Ling Qi also approached and greeted An Nuo.
Ling Qi straightforwardly complimented An Nuo’s beauty. He
had overheard their conversation just now, so he was well aware that the person
on the screen was Ningning’s uncle.
Ling Qi had a peculiar focus, and he asked, “I heard about a
saying before, ‘Xiao Nai Xiao Jiu’ (nephew resembles the uncle). An Nuo, do you
resemble Ningning when you were a child?”
An Nuo: “...”
How should he put it?
Ningning was different from all the royal children in the
royal family.
At least, in An Nuo’s experience, he had never seen a chubby
little child in the royal family who could finish four bowls of rice in one go.
Ningning’s physique as a child was also on the lean side,
making it impossible to compare with him.
“Cough, Zhan Xi has taken excellent care of Ningning. I was a
bit weaker when I was a child, not as, not as...”
“Not as chubby as him.”
Zhan Xi finished the sentence for him. “I have seen the
information about the royal children, and they seem quite thin, almost like
malnutrition. Was the way the royal family raised children not quite right?”
“Since birth, our royal children received the best care.
Every bite of food they consumed underwent strict inspection, and their
nutrition was plentiful.”
An Nuo, the survivor of the royal family, came forward to
talk about how the royal family carefully nurtured and raised their young
children.
However, the more he spoke, the more Zhan Xi shook his head.
“You’re not raising them properly. No wonder the mortality
rate of the children was so high.”
Zhan Xi wasn’t saying this to provoke An Nuo; he was speaking
the truth. “You’re raising the children like delicate flowers. As a result,
they couldn’t withstand even the slightest adversity.”
“The royal family has the protection of all its subjects.
They don’t need to personally endure hardships.”
An Nuo slightly frowned, clearly displeased with Zhan Xi’s
criticism.
But Zhan Xi’s temperament wouldn’t let him coddle a child.
When he raised Ningning, if he misbehaved, he would lift him up and spank his
buttocks.
So, in the face of the beauty’s discontent, Zhan Xi didn’t
show any pity or concern. He continued, “Didn’t you bother to read some books
from ancient Earth? On ancient Earth, there was a large population and many
children. They had a set of methods to raise them. If you had learned earlier,
the survival rate of the royal children would have doubled.”
“Also, I see that your health isn’t good, probably because
you weren’t raised properly.”
After giving it some thought, Zhan Xi made a decision. “If
you don’t mind, when Ningning comes back in a few days, you can come back with
him and stay with us for a while.”
“Look, this is Ling Qi. He cooks delicious food, and if you
come, you can eat his meals. Then you can stay here and work with us for a few
days. There’s no way your health wouldn’t improve.”
While listening to Zhan Xi’s constant chatter, An Nuo watched
as he flexed his biceps and even tried to take off Ling Qi’s clothes, urging
Ling Qi to show him his muscles. The result was a brutal beating from Ling Qi.
An Nuo watched silently.
Just as he thought, his sister wasn’t talkative, and her man
was even more reserved. The entire royal family wasn’t known for being chatty.
So why was this little child, Ningning, not only talkative but also overly
familiar with people?
It seemed the reason lay there.
“Let’s talk about it in a few days.”
An Nuo neither directly refused nor directly agreed.
After their conversation, An Nuo’s spirits were somewhat
exhausted.
“Zhan Xi, let’s talk about it another time.”
“Okay.”
They ended the video call, and Zhan Xi conveniently saved An
Nuo’s number.
After saving the number, Zhan Xi suddenly turned to Ling Qi and
asked, “Wait a minute, Ling Qi, were you staring at An Nuo the whole time?”
Ling Qi gave him a cold look, not bothering to respond.
Zhan Xi continued to pester him about the topic, “Not only
were you staring at him, but you also complimented his appearance!”
It was rare for Zhan Xi to hear a compliment from Ling Qi. As
he recalled An Nuo’s face and observed Ling Qi’s reaction, he felt that
something was fishy.
Ling Qi, on the other hand, thought Zhan Xi was acting like a
fool.
While the two were engrossed in their discussion, on the
other side, An Nuo, who had finished chatting with Zhan Xi, belatedly
remembered something.
He seemed to have forgotten to tell Zhan Xi that Ningning had
treated Raphael’s mental riot.
Among relatives, blood relatives who were elders could
directly check the mental power of younger relatives, and this type of
examination was more accurate than any device.
An Nuo had already examined Ningning.
Aside from being overly fatigued, the little child had no
other issues.
“Forget it.”
An Nuo murmured, “There’s probably no problem, anyway. Let’s
just forget about it.”
As he spoke, An Nuo set aside the Star Device.
His focus was still on the little child, and compared to the
little child lying in bed, Raphael, who was also lying there, felt slightly
neglected.
