If this had been a face-to-face conversation, Zhan Xi would have already rolled up his sleeves.
He gripped the star device tightly, raising his voice several notches: “What have you done to my child?! Let me tell you, you’re not qualified to be my child’s father!”
Zhan Xi found the other person’s claim both absurd and ridiculous. The precious little child he had raised—how could this person just declare himself the father?
The man on the other end listened to Zhan Xi’s furious tone without a change in expression.
Only when the voice on the other side gradually steadied did he continue, “I’m not here to fight you over him.”
Zhan Xi: “…”
Zhan Xi was completely baffled by the man’s intentions. He followed up with a question, “Then what do you want?”
“I want to talk to you about this child.”
The man was fully aware of his own situation. He wouldn’t leave this place; he still had to wait here for his wife to return.
But as for his child, since the little child had found his way to him, he couldn’t just ignore it.
The conversation between the two fathers lasted a long time.
At first, Zhan Xi didn’t believe the man’s claim, but gradually, he had no choice but to accept it.
After the call ended.
Zhan Xi called Ling Qi and immediately moved the little child’s crib onto the spaceship: “Let’s go pick up Ningning.”
They left in such a hurry that they didn’t even have time to inform the palace.
On the way.
Zhan Xi told Ling Qi about the phone call. His expression had been off ever since he moved the crib, and he hadn’t said a word since boarding the spaceship.
Ling Qi knew that there was something on his mind and that his emotions were unstable, but he didn’t push him. He just waited for him to speak up on his own.
Halfway through the flight, Zhan Xi finally calmed down and told Ling Qi everything: "Ningning overused his mental energy to save his biological father. We need to bring the small bed over so Ningning can sleep... His father said Ningning’s head is still hurting."
As Zhan Xi spoke about the arrangements for Ningning, his voice suddenly faltered, and his eyes grew slightly red.
"Ling Qi, I feel so despicable. When Ningning’s father said he wouldn’t take Ningning away from me, I actually felt relieved, even grateful."
It was clear that Ningning’s biological father had been in some kind of trouble back then, which was why he hadn’t been able to find Ningning or raise him.
Even though Zhan Xi was the one who had found and raised Ningning, if Ningning’s biological father really wanted to fight for custody, Zhan Xi might not have been able to win.
"I really can’t live without Ningning."
Zhan Xi was still piloting the spaceship, his eyes fixed ahead, not looking at Ling Qi.
Ling Qi didn’t look at his face either, but just from the sound of his voice, he could tell that Zhan Xi’s eyes were probably red.
When they had first found Ningning, he was only about seven or eight months old—a tiny little thing who couldn’t even speak or walk, only crawl around for a bit before getting tired and collapsing.
Back then, Zhan Xi wasn’t much older himself, with a scruffy beard. He had no experience raising a child, and he could barely take care of himself properly.
The others who had been there at the time felt sorry for the little child, but no one offered to take him in. Their hearts had grown cold and hardened, and they weren’t easily moved by a child.
But Zhan Xi’s heart softened.
He picked up the little child and took him to the barren planet to raise him. At first, it was chaos—figuring out how to make formula, change diapers, and deal with a baby who would cry all night long.
No one thought Zhan Xi would last.
But as the days went by, Zhan Xi shaved off his beard, learned how to choose and buy formula, change diapers, and even check the baby’s stool to make sure he was healthy. When the baby wouldn’t stop crying at night, he’d take him out for a walk.
The little child couldn’t speak, so when he was uncomfortable, all he could do was cry.
Zhan Xi, who had once been so impatient, managed to raise the child all by himself, and the little child grew up chubby and healthy.
He had gotten through the hardest part of raising a child.
Now, suddenly being asked to give the child back—Zhan Xi truly couldn’t do it.
As Ling Qi listened to him talk about Ningning, about all the little things here and there, he knew that Zhan Xi just couldn’t bear to let him go.
"Don’t overthink it. Didn’t you already say he wouldn’t compete with you?"
Ling Qi patted his shoulder, softening his tone for once: "Our Ningning still has to go to school. Even if his biological father showed up, he couldn’t just take Ningning away."
"Ling Qi, do you remember when Ningning was locked up to do his homework?"
"Of course, I remember. Didn’t we even send the homework over to him? Savi's uncle said he finished it in a few days and even corrected his mistakes."
When this news came back, Zhan Xi had even mentioned it in the family group chat.
They were all worried sick about the little child’s studies.
They couldn’t bring themselves to be too strict with him. At most, they’d spank his bottom when they got really angry, but even that stopped working after a while.
Sometimes, when the little child misbehaved, he’d even stick out his chubby little butt himself and tell his dad to hurry up and spank him.
Afterward, he’d go watch TV.
But now, at Savi’s place, not only did he finish his homework in just a few days, but he even corrected his mistakes. This level of efficiency and attitude toward studying was something none of them could believe.
The First Uncle even took photos of the homework and showed them, so they had no choice but to accept it.
"Ningning’s homework wasn’t supervised by Savi's uncle. It was his biological father who taught him."
When Zhan Xi said this, Ling Qi was stunned.
"Ningning went to his biological father’s place to do his homework. At first, his father didn’t want to bother with him, but after watching him struggle for two days, he couldn’t take it anymore and finally showed up."
Zhan Xi’s expression was complicated as he continued: "Once his father appeared, he immediately locked him up to do his homework. He made him rewrite it several times. If his handwriting was bad, he had to rewrite it. If he answered carelessly, he had to rewrite it. And after rewriting, he had to correct his mistakes."
Ling Qi: "..."
Ling Qi didn’t know what expression to make anymore.
He looked at Zhan Xi, the dad who was standing in front of him, and then thought about the dad who locked Ningning up to do his homework.
Comparing the two, it was clear that the latter was the real tough one.
Zhan Xi thought for a moment and added: "Oh, and at the end of our phone call, his biological father said that if he doesn’t do his homework properly in the future, we can send him back over."
"Send him back to be locked up again?"
Ling Qi found it hard to believe: "His biological father can really be that strict?!"
They were all too familiar with how their little Ningning behaved when doing homework.
The little child loved to dawdle with his pencil in hand. If you scolded him, he would start crying, tears welling up in his eyes as he worked on his assignments, making you both heartbroken and anxious.
Ling Qi often helped the little child with his studies, and every time before tutoring, he would brew a cup of tea to calm himself down.
It wasn’t just him—even Huo Lin found it challenging when helping their little child with homework.
Yet, the learning issues that had troubled them for so long were resolved by the biological father in just a few days.
“Zhan Xi, when we get there, see if you can have a detailed chat with his biological father about his studies.”
“Okay.”
As the two chatted, Zhan Xi’s initially gloomy mood gradually brightened.
The other party had assured him that he wouldn’t try to take the little child away.
As long as he didn’t try to take the little child, everything else could be worked out.
The spaceship continued at full speed. They had left in a hurry and didn’t bring many gifts for Savi, except for Ningning’s small bed and some holiday gifts they had prepared for the New Year.
Sitting in the cockpit, both of them were wondering how Ningning’s biological father had managed to get the little child to behave so well.
