Chapter 3: You Have a Two-Year-Old Child With Her
The day after the storm dawned bright and sunny, the clouds scattered across the sky like freshly popped popcorn.
Xi He City Zoo wasn’t crowded. After walking hand-in-hand with her mother for a while, Ming Zaozao realized the significant height difference between them. Her arm was getting tired from holding it up so high, and they hadn’t even reached the lambs yet.
But Ming Zaozao didn’t want to burden her mother by asking to be carried, as they still had some distance to cover. So, when she spotted the automated children’s cars on the adjacent lane, she immediately stopped.
“Mama.”
“Hmm?”
Ming Zaozao pointed to the nearest pink car. “Baby wants to ride in that one.”
Ming Fei explained, “Zaozao, you’re not four yet. You can’t ride in that car by yourself.”
The automated children’s cars in the park were programmed to require riders to be at least four years old. After boarding, one could select a destination on the display screen and then drive along a dedicated automated lane separated from the pedestrian walkway. This was a recently added feature at the zoo, and Ming Zaozao, who couldn’t yet read, naturally didn’t understand the instructions below.
Li Xing offered a suggestion. “Zaozao, how about we ride the little train together? Auntie hasn’t exercised in ages and can barely walk anymore.”
Ming Zaozao readily agreed. “Okay!”
While waiting, Ming Zaozao struck up a conversation with a child nearby, her extroverted nature shining through, making Ming Fei appear even more introverted by comparison.
The colorful cartoon train chugged along from afar, blending perfectly with the zoo’s picturesque scenery, resembling a scene straight out of an animated film. Once aboard, Ming Zaozao began imitating a train conductor from a cartoon, gripping the virtual steering wheel and making “choo-choo” sounds.
Watching her, Li Xing thought her friend’s daughter was utterly adorable.
The train reached their destination. The three of them disembarked and took a shortcut across the lawn, finally arriving at the lamb enclosure Ming Zaozao had been longing to see.
There was a zookeeper in each enclosure. Ming Zaozao wanted to feed the lambs, so she prepared to follow the zookeeper to put on gloves and enter the enclosure. Before parting from Ming Fei, she asked her mother to bend down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, her round eyes curving into crescent moons.
“Mama, Baby will feed the lambs, Mama take pictures.”
“Okay.” Ming Fei rolled up her sleeves. “Zaozao, listen to the zookeeper, don’t feed the lambs anything strange.”
“Mm!” Ming Zaozao nodded seriously. “Baby understands.”
“Go on then.”
Ming Zaozao waved goodbye and excitedly ran towards the zookeeper. Ming Fei and Li Xing stood outside the fence, watching as Ming Zaozao approached the light brown Taiya sheep with a handful of fresh grass. The tiny Ming Zaozao wasn’t even as tall as the juvenile Taiya sheep. They were gentle creatures, very friendly towards humans, ranking third on the new century’s list of the most docile animals.
As Ming Zaozao approached, they began to bleat, their chocolate-and-vanilla colored tails wagging back and forth.
Ming Fei took out her camera, capturing the scene of Ming Zaozao feeding the lambs. Beside her, Li Xing sighed with emotion.
“I get you now.”
“Hmm?”
“Having a daughter is wonderful.” Li Xing’s eyes softened. “But only if she’s as well-behaved as Zaozao. Otherwise, I’d rather stay single. I couldn’t handle a spoiled brat throwing tantrums.”
Ming Fei was a little surprised. Three years ago, when she decided to go to the gene cultivation center, Li Xing had been against it.
Back then, Li Xing hadn’t understood. “You’re so young, you just graduated, haven’t even really enjoyed life, and you’ve decided to shoulder such a heavy responsibility?”
“Ming Fei, I advise you to reconsider, at least wait five or six years before thinking about having children. Even though you say you don’t have any expectations for love, what if you meet someone you like later on? Even though gene cultivation is very common now, what if your sweetheart minds that you have a child?”
“And raising a child isn’t like raising a kitten or a puppy. Children are full of uncertainty and risks. Are you really prepared?”
So much time had passed that Ming Fei couldn’t quite recall her answer back then. But she remembered that after she achieved a perfect score in the gene cultivation center’s rigorous assessment, Li Xing had finally understood her resolve and never voiced any further objections.
And after Ming Zaozao was born, Li Xing had been wonderful to her.
“Hey—” Li Xing waved her hand. “What are you thinking about? You’re so lost in thought.”
Snapping out of her reverie, Ming Fei smiled. “Nothing. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
“My mom has been relentlessly hounding me lately. Remember the arranged marriage I mentioned before?” Li Xing sighed. “After their family’s promotion, our two families interacted less and less. But recently, for some reason, that person actually sent my mom our old childhood marriage contract and even brought a bunch of gifts to our house for dinner.”
“My mom wants me to give her a chance.”
Ming Fei set up her camera to continue recording and walked over to the bench under a nearby tree. She took out two bottles of water from her bag, handing one to Li Xing.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling Ming Fei, the golden light softening her features.
“I remember.”
She unscrewed the bottle cap. “What do you think?”
Li Xing came from a well-off family with a harmonious and happy atmosphere. One mother was the director of the city hospital, the other a senior manager at a multinational corporation, and both grandmothers worked for the government. Li Xing was cheerful, straightforward, and generous, having grown up surrounded by love. Ming Fei understood her initial opposition.
These things were commonplace in Li Xing’s life; she had always possessed them, been constantly enveloped by them. So she wouldn’t understand how deeply someone who had never had these things, who had been repeatedly abandoned, could yearn for them.
“Of course I…” Li Xing paused. “Of course, absolutely not!”
She continued, “Do you know where that person works now?”
“Where?”
“—The Court.”
Ming Fei’s expression remained unfazed. These things felt distant to her. She simply commented, “Up-and-coming.”
As if remembering something, Li Xing frowned. “By the way, have you heard about the recent gene theft case everyone’s talking about?”
“I’ve heard a little.”
Li Xing condemned the perpetrators without hesitation. “I hope those gene traffickers get locked up soon. In the next public opinion poll, I’m going to report this to the monarch and suggest she strengthens the review process and penalties.”
Ming Fei asked, puzzled, “The cultivation center facilitates matching. Why would gene theft even happen?”
Even though no one was around, Li Xing lowered her voice to explain to her somewhat naive friend, “According to my mother, the victims of this gene theft are basically all exceptional talents in various fields, which is why the Court is investigating this matter.”
“Although gene matching at the cultivation center has been widespread for a long time, you have to understand that most of the genes in their database belong to ordinary citizens. Many entrepreneurs and politicians, to ensure the superior genetics of their next generation, form power couples and then use artificial incubation chambers to conceive their children. Their genes aren’t in the database, but that doesn’t stop some unscrupulous individuals from wanting to steal them.”
Ming Fei questioned, “But with current gene rejection rates, multiple conditions need to be met for successful matching and incubation. If the genes aren’t compatible, wouldn’t stealing them be pointless?”
Shortly after arriving in this world, Ming Fei had learned about its history.
Compared to her previous unified ABO world, this new world had once been unified but was now fragmented.
In the year 1700 of the old calendar, a sudden viral crisis swept the globe, causing the already fragile Global Republic Alliance to fracture. By 1705, the global population had dropped to 70% of its original size, and by 1710, it had fallen further to 55%. In 1711, the development and distribution of WIC293 marked the end of the viral crisis.
In 1712, the Global Republic Alliance officially split into three major empires—Taiya Kingdom, Yi Meng Independent State, and Silla Kingdom—along with seven smaller nations considerably less powerful. This year also marked the beginning of the New Era and a new calendar.
Now, in the year 167 of the New Era, technology, medicine, and other fields had made tremendous advancements.
It was also in the century following the viral crisis that governments, to boost birth rates, heavily invested in cutting-edge technologies like genetic engineering. While implementing a series of subsidy policies, they encouraged the now-low marriage rate population to try gene matching and conception.
However, the current success rate of gene matching and conception remained low across all nations.
Because after the viral crisis, the human genome had undergone some recessive mutations. Successful matching required numerous conditions to align; it wasn’t simply a matter of placing two sets of genes into an artificial incubation chamber. And while the government encouraged and promoted gene matching and conception, to protect the healthy development of children, they had also implemented extremely stringent assessments and tests that many unqualified individuals simply couldn’t pass.
“Dubistwiediefettesterose—”
(T/n: You are like the most luscious rose.(German)
(lit) “You are like the fattest rose.” A humorous or exaggerated compliment (or insult, depending on tone).)
A ringtone interrupted their conversation and thoughts. Li Xing set down her water and walked over to the right side of the tree to answer the call. Ming Fei went to check the recording on her camera. Ming Zaozao in the footage was constantly smiling, her smile as sweet as powdered sugar.
Five minutes later, Li Xing returned, her face flushed with anger. She vented as soon as she approached, “She called to tell me she’ll be at my house in half an hour.”
“Are you going back?”
Li Xing looked up at the sky and sighed. “This is so annoying! What’s wrong with Wei Lingyu? She wasn’t like this before.”
“Wei Lingyu?”
“Yes. Sounds familiar, right? She’s the Secretary-General of the Court.” Li Xing’s eyes lit up. “If she can get me Chief Justice Zhu’s autograph, then this lady will consider having lunch with her.”
Ming Fei chuckled. “You’re a fan of Chief Justice Zhu too?”
“Who in Yi Meng Independent State isn’t a fan of Chief Justice Zhu?”
Ming Fei simply smiled without responding.
She wasn’t interested in these powerful figures and never actively sought out information about them. However, despite her tendency towards face blindness, she remembered Chief Justice Zhu’s face.
The reason was simple.
Purely because—in her previous ABO world, nobles possessed distinctive facial features, and Chief Justice Zhu’s features were identical.
—Black hair and blue eyes.
Like gems dropped from heaven.
Learning that Li Xing had to leave early, Ming Zaozao simply asked why and didn’t press further.
After feeding the lambs, it was almost noon. They went to the rest area for lunch and then continued to explore other parts of the zoo.
Both mother and daughter adored red pandas. Ming Fei had even crocheted red panda vests, hats, and gloves for Ming Zaozao, which she had forgotten to wear today. After leaving the red panda enclosure, Ming Zaozao used her saved New Year’s money to buy two red panda headbands.
One for herself, and one for her mother.
Then, she happily went to the nearby aviary, observing various bird species. Ming Zaozao’s favorite was the Windleaf Bird, because its feathers were a delicate pink and it could dance.
Beyond the aviary lay the tiger and lion enclosure. Ming Fei held Ming Zaozao’s hand tightly, slightly worried that she might be scared again.
But Ming Zaozao wasn’t afraid at all. In front of several white tigers, she even imitated the dance she had just seen the Windleaf Bird perform. She mimicked it perfectly, tiptoeing, twirling, bobbing her head, and finally, in her sweet, childish voice, she addressed the tigers.
“This is the little bird’s dance.”
“Baby knows you can’t see it.” Ming Zaozao explained considerately. “Baby’s dancing for you, no need to thank me.”
The white tigers roared, and the smallest one even rolled on the ground.
Charmed by her daughter’s cuteness, Ming Fei reached out and touched the little panda on her headband, her smile deepening.
It took them the entire afternoon to explore the west side of the zoo. After leaving, Ming Fei took Ming Zaozao to the mall, stocking up on necessities. After dinner, Ming Zaozao played in the mall’s amusement park for a long time. By the time they returned home, it was already nine o’clock in the evening.
They slept soundly.
It rained again the following day, so mother and daughter stayed home. They ventured out the next morning to go fishing at the nearby lake. This was one of Ming Fei’s few hobbies. Ming Zaozao, worried about scaring the fish away, spoke in hushed whispers, covering her mouth like a kitten concealing its claws.
The weekend flew by.
At 12:41 pm, Xi He City was deluged with rain.
Halfway up Zeyun Mountain in the North District, a modified military vehicle sped through the downpour. Raindrops hammered against the car like a relentless drummer, but all sound was shut out by the windows.
Four people sat in the back of the driverless military vehicle.
The woman in the center wore an indifferent expression, her blue eyes as deep as the ocean. She calmly flipped through encrypted documents. Up front, Secretary-General Wei Lingyu paused after checking a message.
“Chief Justice.”
The address drew the attention of Lan Lubai and Min Man, also seated in the back.
The woman’s movements didn’t cease, her fingers still holding the page. “Report.”
“Yes.” Wei Lingyu continued, “According to the latest investigation, the SE Group accidentally misplaced your genetic sample at the government’s gene cultivation center. Due to the center’s strict controls and their inability to locate the original sample in the gene bank, the SE Group abandoned the search.”
Hearing this, Lan Lubai and Min Man both breathed a sigh of relief. This outcome was as good as it could get. The chance of anyone matching Zhu Yiqiao’s genes in that vast pool of samples was practically zero.
But the next moment—
“The cultivation center fully cooperated with the investigation and sent a report just now.”
“The report indicates that your genetic sample successfully matched with a woman named Ming Fei three years ago.” Wei Lingyu calmly read out the results. “Currently, you have a two-year-and-two-month-old child with her.”
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