Chapter 73: Willing

Jiang Miao cried.

She crossed into the interstellar era, and for the first time since then, she cried because she felt useless.

She really underestimated the task of raising a child.

No wonder, in this era where marriage is not required, the government mandates that parenting partners must jointly raise a child in the first three years. Because raising a child alone is truly exhausting.

As she cried, Yan He smiled.

“Don’t cry, you’ll get used to it slowly. It’s always like this at the beginning, isn’t it all said like that on the forums? Frantic, not knowing where to start.” He waved his hand, and a robot brought over tissues. He took one and wiped Jiang Miao’s tears and nose.

Jiang Miao stopped crying and said hesitantly, “I just feel like I’m too naive, too self-righteous. Being a caregiver is not as easy as I thought…”

“Of course not.” Yan He embraced her, kissed the top of her head, “That’s why you need me.”

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Before, he had only said he couldn’t promise “forever.”

Feeling Jiang Miao’s body suddenly tense, Yan He gently patted her back, “I’m talking about the future, not now.”

Jiang Miao breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

After some thought, with a reluctance growing in her heart and suddenly acting petulant, she hugged his waist tightly, tilted her head back with a touch of grievance, and asked, “Can’t you stay? Can’t you stay in the Capital Star?”

Yan He kissed her but didn’t answer.

Jiang Miao knew the answer already. He had been lingering in the Capital Star for a few years, but sooner or later, he would have to return to the frontlines.

She still remembered when he first came to this house a year ago, cold and seemingly exuding a murderous aura.

It was all the damned genes’ fault. Yan He’s biological father, and his father before him, were both soldiers. The genes he inherited were inherently those of a warrior. Forcing him to stay in the luxurious nest of the Capital Star as the “privileged bodyguard” he despised was contrary to his genetic instincts.

Jiang Miao stared into Yan He’s eyes and saw a hint of indescribable suppressed emotion in them.

Jiang Miao had just cried her eyes out feeling “useless”, but now that the emotions had passed, her inherent spirited nature surfaced. She took a deep breath and said, “The Romo Star System, right?”

A surge of determination rose in Jiang Miao’s chest.

“Even if you’re returning to the frontlines, you’re settling in the Romo Star System, aren’t you?” she said, “Whenever you’re planning to go back, let me know in advance. I’ll arrange things and take Ruirui with you.”

Yan He suddenly looked up, incredulous.

“You’re willing to leave the Capital Star Zone?” he exclaimed.

Opportunities abound in the Capital Star Zone, with high welfare. It has always been a place where people strive to settle. However, settling here comes with strict policies and exorbitant housing prices. Those who successfully settle down here like Jiang Miao are social elites, successful individuals.

And once these people identify themselves as “Capital Star residents,” they hardly ever want to leave the Capital Star Zone, not even for the Six Major Inner Domain Star Regions.

Jiang Miao, at a young age, had fought her way to owning a house and establishing social status in the Capital Star. Her future in the Capital Star was bright and promising. Yan He had considered letting her give up all of this and go outside the Capital Star Zone, but… he had never brought it up.

Yan He looked at Jiang Miao. She had just cried, her eyes and nose still red, but she had already regained her spirit. Her eyes were bright, shining like they had been washed with water, burning with fierce determination.

She had an air of “If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain” about her.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Yan He said insincerely, “The border regions can’t compare to here.”

“Even if it’s the border regions, there are still First-Class Civilized Stars, right? With my resume, I can find a job anywhere, don’t worry!” Jiang Miao wasn’t acting impulsively.

She had secretly considered this even back when Yan He wouldn’t promise “forever.”

The Capital Star Zone was indeed comfortable, but Jiang Miao didn’t feel a strong sense of belonging here to the extent that she had “put down roots.”

Home is where my heart is at peace.

Where is peace of mind? Jiang Miao felt that if she and Jiang Rui were to live comfortably in the Capital Star while Yan He fought alone on the frontlines, with uncertain life and death, her heart wouldn’t be at ease.

Her heart belonged to Yan He, naturally finding peace only when she was with him.

Yan He felt fulfilled, his heart brimming with completeness.

He took a deep breath. “Are you really willing…”

Jiang Miao didn’t wait for him to finish. She said without hesitation, “I’m willing.”

Yan He felt as if he heard a question asked by a kind elder many years ago, “Child, are you willing?”

Back then, he had answered without hesitation, “I’m willing!”

At that time, he had no doubts because what others promised him was peace and happiness, a homecoming after wandering.

Did Jiang Miao… also consider being with him a homecoming?

Electric currents of excitement surged in Yan He’s chest.

He suddenly hugged Jiang Miao tightly, so tight that Jiang Miao found it difficult to breathe.

“Jiang Miao! Jiang Miao!” he whispered in her ear, “Come with me, I’ll take you to a better and farther place…”

Where was this better and farther place? It sounded like the hollow promises of a love fraud, utterly unfulfilled.

But Jiang Miao didn’t care.

So what if they left the Capital Star? So what if they went to the border regions? For Jiang Miao, it was just a matter of changing her workplace and living environment. As long as they didn’t send her to undeveloped wilderness, Jiang Miao had the ability to establish herself anywhere with modern civilization.

She couldn’t help but smile and ask, “So when are we leaving?”

She had already started to calculate in her mind whether to sell or rent out this house when the time came.

But Yan He held her tightly, continuously kissing her forehead, cheeks. “Not now, it’s still early… Xiaona, take Ruirui back to his room… Turn off all the surveillance.”

He picked up Jiang Miao and carried her to the dining table…

Jiang Miao spent the whole day lazily lying on the sofa, watching Yan He play with Jiang Rui. Not only had she recovered from the exhaustion of taking care of the child these past two days, but she also felt refreshed and lazy.

She bit into a piece of fruit, thinking to herself that if Yan He continued to spoil her like this, he might really spoil her, and laziness would naturally grow from her heart. That’s why those parenting partners who became couples always easily ran into conflicts and eventually parted ways.

Jiang Miao swallowed the last bite of fruit, tossed the core back, and the trash can slid over, its lid opening steadily to catch the core.

Jiang Miao stood up, reverting to her tomboyish self.

“I’ll take over, you rest for a while,” she said, extending her hand.

Yan He glanced at her, seeing no trace of the previous despair in her features. He placed the chubby little Jiang Rui into her arms.

“Fatty! I’m your mom!” Jiang Miao had completely regained her spirits, dispelling the slight shadow of frustration from the past two days. “Let’s get along well, okay?”

Yan He sat on the sofa, chin resting on his hand, watching the new mom regain her composure, a smile playing on his lips.

That night was another night of intimacy, and the next day Yan He had to return to the base again, this time for two days.

Jiang Miao kissed Jiang Rui goodbye on the balcony.

“Go on, go on,” she said, “Don’t miss the ship.”

Yan He glanced at her, and she straightened her chest. “I won’t cry anymore, trust me, I’ll adapt.”

Yan He chuckled, kissing her on the cheek. “Don’t force yourself too hard. Use the robots when necessary, just keep an eye on everything.” He kissed the little chubby one again and drove to work.

“Alright, baby, it’s time for us to take a bath!” Jiang Miao began another day as a full-time mom. “Bath time, exercise time!”

Jiang Rui woke up early, took a morning bath, drank milk, and then fell back asleep.

Jiang Miao tried the breathing sleep technique Yan He had taught her, and indeed, it was easier to fall asleep than before. When Jiang Rui woke up, she woke up too.

After feeding Jiang Rui and putting on an extra layer of clothing, Jiang Miao pushed him to the autumn garden. Since Louise loved to compete with others and criticize others’ figures in the spring garden, Jiang Miao went to the autumn garden, where there was no competition.

Liu Chenguang, on Yan He’s request, also came to the autumn garden to meet Jiang Miao. A few other parents also joined in, and they all gathered together to chat and share parenting experiences, which not only benefited Jiang Miao as a novice but also made time fly by.

By the time she lay down in bed at night, Jiang Miao felt that the days of taking care of the child alone didn’t seem as difficult as they had initially.

She also tried letting the robots assist her when she couldn’t get up at night. She didn’t completely hand over everything to the robots; she still kept her eyes half-closed, watching from the side.

The combination of human effort and technology made things significantly easier.

Yan He’s breathing sleep technique was also very effective.

When Yan He returned home from the base once again, he noticed that Jiang Miao looked much better than last time.

The new mom was gradually getting used to it and doing better and better.

Time passed quickly, and soon, Jiang Miao’s one-month leave was coming to an end.

“How do you feel now?” Yan He asked her on the last day.

“It’s a very conflicting feeling,” Jiang Miao sighed. “On one hand, I feel relieved and happy that I can go back to work, but on the other hand, I don’t want to leave him.”

“You’re much better than me,” Yan He said sourly. “At least you can monitor him from the company.”

He couldn’t do that in the military base, and he couldn’t help feeling jealous.

“I’m not just looking after him,” Jiang Miao leaned over and kissed the jealous man. “I’m also watching you.”

The two of them took advantage of Jiang Rui’s nap to indulge themselves on the sofa.

The bright sunlight illuminated everything clearly. After the joy faded, Jiang Miao noticed a patch of soft pale pink skin on Yan He’s shoulder.

“Huh? Are you injured? What happened?” she asked in surprise.

Medical lasers not only stopped bleeding but also stimulated rapid cell division, promoting quick wound healing. However, the newly formed skin was delicate and had a pale pink color.

Because the wound had already healed, the pink color alone didn’t reveal the nature or cause of the injury.

Yan He remained calm and said, “During gun practice, someone’s gun misfired, just a minor scratch.”

Jiang Miao ran her fingers over the area. The skin was smooth, although slightly pink, there was no abnormal growth, so she wasn’t too worried. She just reminded Yan He to “be careful next time.”

But when she turned her head, she saw a dozen or so basketball-sized metal spheres flying past the floor-to-ceiling window at high speed.

“What’s going on these days?” she frowned. “Why are there so many ‘Guardians’ flying around every day? Are they searching for fugitives?”

The Guardians, named for their role in maintaining security in the Capital Star city, were essentially unmanned drones or flying robots responsible for policing the city.

“Who knows,” Yan He brushed past her head, then kissed her to divert her attention away from the window.

Another group of Guardians whizzed by.

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Sansukini: Uh… Did I mention that there’s espionage involved in this novel?

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