The journey from Chad to China was smooth.
Zhu Xuanyue had replicated Da Vinci and the latter’s family was a mysterious and prominent one with enough power to affect America’s strategy. This news wasn’t great to the world but to Xia Lei, it was an advantage. If Zhu Xuanyue so wishes to do nothing, not even the CIA nor FA Organization could do anything to him either. The Pentagon wouldn’t be able to do much too. Why? Well, nothing good would come out from going against Zhu Xuanyue.
The events that transpired in the Jungle of No Return did make it on the news. China had expressed their protests and the outcome was as expected- All blame was pushed onto the Boko Haram armed group. The Americans did not admit to it and the Boko Haram’s spokesperson had taken responsibility for the incident. All evidence collected by the Vientiane Group was futile.
His trip to Nigeria seemed to be a node. After their return, neither Xia Lei nor the Thunder Horse Organization had run into any trouble. Everything was calm at home and elsewhere but Xia Lei was aware that this would be the last peace he’d taste.
The prehistoric chosen one had graced him three years to live and Zhu Xuanyue was waiting for that day as well. Any day passed meant one day closer to his death. As soon as that day arrived, Xia Lei would face the greatest storm in his lifetime!
This was probably the calm before the storm.
Even so, Xia Lei dove headfirst into Thunder Horse’s efforts for the super fighter jet and bomber plane as soon as he returned. This was the last thing he wished to see through before his doom. The man desired to make one last contribution to the country and its people.
Before he knew it, three months had passed.
The Peace Mansion.
“Papa!” Xia Fan pushed the study’s door open, grimace adorning her cute face. “Big brother is bullying me!”
Xia Lei placed his documents down. He went over to his daughter with a smile. “Which brother has bullied our little Fan Fan? Tell me and papa will go scold him.”
“It’s Brother Xia Long.” Xia Fan answered with her childish voice. “I was drawing on the garden dirt and he peed on my drawing.”
“...”
At this moment, Xia Long peeked a head into the study, looking a tad bit guilty. “Papa, I just wanted to give her drawing a river.” He continued, “I’m a good boy. Are you really going to scold me?”
Xia Lei did not know what to say.
Before the tension between Xia Fan and Xia Long could be solved, Liang Jiayu and Xia Jianghe entered the study.
“Papa.” Liang Jiayu scowled. “Xia Jianghe broke my toy.”
Xia Jianghe retorted, “Papa, Brother Jiayu tore my doll.”
The four children began to argue noisily in the study and Xia Lei was cooking up a migraine at the scene. A normal child wasn’t capable of speaking at half a year old, let alone walk or fight. Yet, his kids were already able to draw, play toys and quarrel. The funniest thing was that sibling conflicts like these were frequent. Sometimes, Xia Lei would need to solve petty issues multiple times a day.
“Can’t you all get along? Why do you need to fight each other? Can’t you share your toys and play together peacefully?” Xia Lei tried to look stern. He was not adamant to practise favouritism, all four children would be reprimanded fairly.
“But Brother Xia Long is clearly wrong!” screamed Xia Fan.
“I am not wrong. I just wanted to give you a river,” replied Xia Long.
“You need to return me a toy,” insisted Liang Jiayu.
“Then you need to return me one doll.” Xia Jianghe was not backing down either.
In front of four quarrelling toddlers, the strict father look was useless.
Xia Lei hugged his own head and began to mumble incoherently. “Oh god, please help me.”
At this moment, Tang Yuyan entered through the door. “Oh my, what are you all doing here? You’re already in your father’s office fighting this early in the morning? You’re going to disturb his work.”
Xia Lei had prayed for divine intervention and a goddess was sent to him. At this point, Tang Yuyan’s lower abdomen was starting to swell and her visits to Bureau 101 were less frequent. Most often, she would be directing operations remotely from the Peace Mansion. If she was someone else, this wouldn’t be permitted but Tang Yuyan was pregnant with Xia Lei’s child.
China’s higher authorities had long heard about how intelligent Xia Lei’s children were. Every offspring born by Xia Lei were super talents presented to the country. There was no harm in having more of them. How could the country afford to not protect them?
Tang Yuyan placed a cup of steaming Oolong tea on his desk. In a gentle voice, she said, “Hubby, I just made this tea so it’s still hot. You should wait for a little before drinking.”
Xia Lei nodded with a smile.
“Fifth mother.” Xia Long called out to Tang Yuyan. “Have you seen my mama?”
Tang Yuyan answered, “Yeah, I saw her outside.”
Speaking of Long Bing, the woman entered the study as if on cue. “Xia Long, were you looking for me?”
“Mama, I’m hungry.” Xia Long spread his arms wide and ran towards her. “I want milk.”
Long Bing looked embarrassed. “You’re already a big boy, you should be eating rice instead. No milk for you.”
“Nooooooo! I want milk! I want milk!” Xia Long threw a tantrum and began rolling on the ground.
Long Bing caved and lifted her shirt. She began breastfeeding Xia Long.
“Third mother, I want some milk too.” Liang Jiayu stared at Long Bing with wide eyes. The sight of Xia Long suckling milk had Liang Jiayu envious.
Long Bing was bewildered. “You should go to your mother. I… I’m out of milk already.”
Liang Jiayu pouted. “But your other side is unoccupied.”
“...”
Luckily for her, Jiang Ruyi, Liang Siyao and Fan Fan joined them in the study. Now, the whole family was gathered in the same room. At the sight of their mothers, the three other babies began demanding milk. The other women lifted their tops and began feeding their child. In an instant, the study was filled with unsynchronised suckling noises and the exciting scenery of pale snowy mounts.
“Yuyan, now that your bump has gotten bigger, how are you feeling recently?” asked Long Bing.
Tang Yuyan beamed. “Well, I feel a little bloated and less agile than before.”
“Well, that is a given. After all, you’re carrying another human being inside you. There’s no way you’ll be as agile as before. You try to move less,” suggested Long Bing with concern.
Tang Yuyan’s smile grew wider.
“Hubby, how is your progress on the plane?” Liang Siyao went to Xia Lei.
He answered, “I’ll be done with it today.”
“Huh? So soon?” Fan Fan gaped. “That’s a fighter jet and bomber plane you’re talking about!”
Xia Lei merely smiled. “I’m only done with the design plan and programming. If we’re going to produce the Yan Wang fighter jet and Kun Peng bomber plane at the same time, we’ll require at least a year to complete everything.”
Fan Fan’s eyes were shimmering with respect. “You’re probably the only person in the world capable of this. Our country has been working on fighter jets for tens of years and we had only been replicating designs till this day, which earned us sanctions. But you will end this humiliation soon. I’ll go make a call and tell the chief about this. I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed to hear this.”
Catching her words, Xia Fan was displeased. “Mama, you can only call after I’m done with milk.”
“Why you little-” Fan Fan slapped her little buttocks but did not pull her handphone out in the end. Her child was as important to her as the country’s affairs.
Xia Long raised his head from between Long Bing’s arm. “When I grow up, I must study hard and invent a breast with never-ending milk.”
“Uh…” Long Bing’s eyes went wide. There was a moment of silence before a slap was delivered to his ass. “You little rascal. Why do you need to invent something like that?”
“To eat!” Xia Long saw no fault in his idea.
Long Bing spanked his ass once again. “You’re just like your father!”
Xia Lei had nothing to defend himself.
On the other end, Xia Jianghe detached her lips from her mother’s breast momentarily. With minute droplets around her lips, she asked, “Papa, why do we have so many mothers? The other kids only have one.”
“Uh…” That certainly surprised Xia Lei for he could not answer this question.
There were downsides to having incredible smart children. Before they were even one year old, the babies had already gotten some sort of understanding of the family’s situation. Xia Lei, as a father, could not offer an explanation to his children about their extraordinary familial dynamics.
“Hubby, you should drink your tea. It’s getting cold.” Tang Yuyan pressed the cup into Xia Lei’s palm.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Xia Lei took a sip. Immediately, his insides were roaring and upset at the substance. He promptly placed the cup down and switched the topic. It had been more than three months and his distaste towards regular food had gotten extreme. In the beginning, he was still fine with beverages but the response had only gotten worse as time passed.
Thankfully, energy bars did not taste too awful to him. It was the only thing keeping him away from hunting for food. From the consumption of the last AE capsule till this day, the only thing he had eaten was the python in the African jungle. He had not preyed on his kind and morphed into a devil as he feared.
“Hubby, are we interrupting your work?” Jiang Ruyi questioned.
Xia Lei grinned. “No, not at all. Watching you all breastfeeding the children here makes my mind a little more active.”
Truthfully, his mind had been working the whole time even during his family bonding time.
Jiang Ruyi spat lightly. “I knew you would say something like that. Please don’t repeat things like that in front of the children, it’s bad for their development.”
Xia Jianghe raised her head and rolled her eyes at Xia Lei. “Bad papa.”
“...”
Laughter ensued.
The happier things were, the sadder Xia Lei felt. How he wished to see his children grow up, watch them marry their other halves, become the grandfather to their offspring and love their mothers till the death do them apart. Xia Lei’s time was ticking and there was not enough to follow their growth.
Ring ring… Ring ring…
Tang Yuyan’s phone rang abruptly. She quickly answered, “Yes, it’s me. What’s the matter?”
A man’s voice rang over the line. “Do you not need to clock into work? We have an important international issue on hand, you need to come over now for a meeting.”
Xia Lei could hear Tang Bochuan’s voice clearly. The tone he had used on Tang Yuyan made Xia Lei uncomfortable. The man was Tang Yuyan’s subordinate but he had sounded absolutely demanding.
“I’ll be there right away.” Tang Yuyan hung up and turned to face Xia Lei. “Hubby, I’m going back to the bureau for a meeting.”
“Go, just call me if you need me,” said Xia Lei.
Tang Yuyan quickly bid the other women farewell and left.
Xia Lei folded his hacking laptop and announced, “I too will be leaving for a meeting now. Tomorrow, the Thunder Horse Organization will begin producing the first Yan Wang fighter jet and Kun Peng bomber plane.”
“Wow. That’s so fast.” Fan Fan couldn’t believe Xia Lei had already made decisions like that.
“The sooner the better. Alright, see you later.” With his laptop under one arm, Xia Lei left the study.
Jiang Ruyi called after him. “Come back for lunch this afternoon. I’ll make something nice for you.”
Xia Lei frantically rejected, “No need, no need. I think I won’t be able to return on time. You guys go ahead, no need to wait for me.”
Eating had unexpectedly become agony to him.