Pregnant with My Late Husband’s Child - Chapter 2

“Yixing is getting married.”

The wedding date is April 18th, and the engagement ceremony, an indispensable part of the process, is set for April 1st. In the era of Old Earth, people called this April Fool’s Day, and the tradition remains the same today. Regarding this, the media has boldly remarked that this is truly a hurried wedding.

Hurried to the point of feeling like a joke.

Li Yixing remains non-committal. In his view, this political marriage is not much different from a joke anyway.

587 prepared his master’s clothes for the next day, placing them respectfully by the bedside. Meanwhile, in the bathroom, under the cold light, Li Yixing was submerged in the water with his eyes tightly shut, his nape resting against the edge of the tub. His fragile Adam’s apple was exposed. Amidst the swirling water ripples and the hazy steam, one could see his fair skin, two collarbones as straight as long blades, and his full, firm, and powerful muscles.

Objectively speaking, Department Chief Li possesses an excellent physique—broad-shouldered and slim-waisted, with perfectly proportioned muscle and bone. Countless men and women are drawn to him, but there is one flaw: he has a very long scar on his body. The scar spans from his left chest to his lower-left back like a centipede, offering a glimpse into the fierce and dangerous nature of the injury he sustained.

Of course, in the New Era, human scar-removal and aesthetic technologies have reached their pinnacle; such a scar is not difficult to remove, especially since Li Yixing resides in the Alliance capital, Nuwa Star.

Yet, for some reason, the scar remains on Li Yixing’s body, adding an element of sinister danger to this cold, stoic man.

About ten minutes later, Li Yixing stood up from the tub, his bare feet touching the cold floor. He put on his gray cotton pajamas and lay down on the bed.

He sleeps very still, almost motionless. If it weren’t for the rise and fall of his chest, one might mistake him for a corpse from a distance.

This counterfeit “corpse” slept for six hours, then got up punctually to wash up and change his clothes.

The outfit prepared by 587 was simple: a casual cotton shirt and trousers, white on top and gray on the bottom. It was clean and understated, but when worn by Li Yixing, it only amplified his sense of cold, untouchable detachment.

Today, Li Yixing is scheduled to visit Her Excellency Audrey White, one of the three current Chief Executives of the Alliance and his direct superior. But before that, he has other business to attend to.

He left the house with practiced ease, started his aircraft, and set the coordinates for the Angel Hall Cemetery.

During the flight, he unsurprisingly spotted a few “flies” trailing behind him. Li Yixing lifted his eyelids, glanced at the real-time navigation map with utter indifference, and emotionlessly increased the aircraft’s speed.

The silver-gray aircraft came to a halt in front of the Angel Hall Cemetery. The artificial intelligence guarding the gate asked in a muffled voice, “Mr. Li, greetings. I will now perform a security scan.”

A white light erupted from the AI’s eyes, scanning Li Yixing from head to toe. Only after confirming that he carried no dangerous weapons did it step aside to grant entry.

Angel Hall Cemetery is the burial ground for Alliance officers and soldiers. It is spread across the five major star systems of the Alliance; on Nuwa Star alone, there are over 300 Angel Halls. Unless something unexpected happens, Li Yixing will be buried here after his death.

Holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, he walked slowly and quietly to a tombstone. Embedded on the stone was a photograph of a man and a woman, their arms linked intimately, faces beaming with smiles as they looked toward him.

Li Yixing placed the white chrysanthemums gently before the stone and stood at attention.

“Dad, Mom,” Li Yixing articulated clearly, “Yixing is getting married.”

“Although this is not the happy family or the stable life you had hoped for,” Li Yixing said, his black pupils reflecting the gray-white points of light, “this is my choice, and I do not regret it.”

“Please rest assured; one day, we will be reunited. When that time comes, I will attain true happiness and joy.”

The “flies” outside the cemetery waited for ten minutes. Unable to spot Li Yixing and having received no word from their companions, they sensed something was wrong. They immediately rushed into the Angel Hall Cemetery and sprinted to the destination.

Next to the gray-white tombstone lay a scattered bunch of white chrysanthemums, while their companions were lying on the ground unconscious, their limbs twisted and faces contorted in pain. A large turtle symbol had been drawn on each of their foreheads with a black marker, as if mocking their stupidity and incompetence.

“Damn it!” the supervisor kicked the unconscious subordinate hard, growling, “We lost him again!”

At that moment, Li Yixing had already boarded his aircraft, heading off to meet his superior, Audrey White.

This Alliance Chief Executive lives in a small villa in the Yas District. About three kilometers away is the famous Dacles Military Academy, where Li Yixing studied for four years. As the aircraft flew over the academy, Li Yixing looked down to see many students undergoing drills on the field.

As it happens, Her Excellency Audrey White once served as a professor of military combat at Dacles Military Academy. Li Yixing had the honor of taking her classes and still addresses her as “Teacher.”

When he was led inside by a household robot, Audrey was reviewing documents. Li Yixing handed the gift to the robot and bowed his head to greet her: “Teacher.” After receiving a nod, Li Yixing sat on a bench to her side. In the open-plan kitchen nearby, Audrey’s husband, Su Cheng, was tinkering with coffee for her. He was wearing casual loungewear, and one could see his stomach slightly protruding.

Remembering that he was pregnant, Li Yixing stood up politely and said to Su Cheng, “Mr. Su Cheng, allow me.”

“It’s fine,” Su Cheng waved him off. “She isn’t used to anyone else’s brewing.”

Audrey also gestured for Li Yixing to sit back down: “It’s alright, moving around is good for the baby.”

Li Yixing took the document Audrey handed him but did not open it, saying only, “I originally thought you and Mr. Su Cheng would choose in-vitro embryo cultivation. I didn’t expect you to go with gestational surrogate reproduction in the end.”

Both in-vitro embryo cultivation and gestational surrogate reproduction are assisted reproductive technologies invented for same-sex couples and women who have had hysterectomies but still wish to have children. The only difference is that in-vitro cultivation also helps families who want children but do not want to go through pregnancy themselves.

When these two methods first emerged, they sparked heated debates among the public, with arguments over which was superior becoming particularly intense.

The “Naturalist” faction insisted that gestational surrogate reproduction was superior because it is closer to the primitive, natural method of human reproduction. It provides nutrients directly, allows for interaction between parents and the fetus, provides emotional value, and builds parental bonds. They argue that children born through in-vitro cultivation tend to have cold personalities, are prone to autism, and are more likely to be antisocial. They also claim that without experiencing the hardship of pregnancy and the wonder of life’s inception, one cannot truly bond with a child or be responsible for them.

They even published survey reports. The report showed that they sampled 800,000 people across the five major star systems, and among the 800,000 who used in-vitro cultivation to reproduce, 73.6% felt they were not close to their children. They further argued that the probability of terminating the cultivation process in these centers is extremely high, calling it irresponsible and disrespectful to life.

The “Technologist” faction, however, argued that gestational surrogate reproduction is simply an unnecessary burden. They say in-vitro cultivation is convenient and does not disrupt one’s lifestyle. Not everyone wants to endure ten months of pregnancy; if one can have a child painlessly, wouldn’t that be a win-win situation? As for emotions, they can be nurtured later. Furthermore, cultivation centers now mandate visitation and accompaniment, so how could parental bonds not be established? Many families who used in-vitro cultivation are harmonious and natural, no different from those who give birth naturally. They even suspected that the Naturalists’ data was fabricated.

Of course, there were also citizens who said, “Just stop having kids altogether! Children are nothing! Freedom and leisure are much better!” They argued that the debate between the Naturalists and Technologists is just a ploy to promote their respective technologies for profit, given that both methods are outrageously expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of Alliance credits.

However, those hundreds of thousands of credits were just the initial costs. After a long period of development, combined with various subsidies from the Alliance government, assisted reproductive technology has become a popularized and accessible medical service.

Returning to the topic, for Alliance Chief Executive Audrey White and her husband, who teaches at the Venus Academy of the Arts, in-vitro embryo cultivation would certainly have been more convenient.

“We originally planned for that, but I am too busy,” Audrey explained. “The Alliance’s ‘Reproduction Act’ stipulates that if in-vitro cultivation is used, both parents must go to the cultivation center together at least three times a week to cooperate with the center in accompanying and interacting with the embryo. Beyond that, one must unconditionally comply with any summons from the center. If there are more than three violations, the embryo is automatically destroyed.”

“The cultivation center usually requires at least three hours per interaction,” Audrey said helplessly. “I don’t have the time to deal with that. So, in the end, we chose for Su Cheng to carry the pregnancy.”

Li Yixing nodded in understanding. As he lowered his eyes to process several documents for Audrey, he heard her say, “I called you here because I received news yesterday that your wedding date with Feng Zhao is next month.”

Li Yixing filed the processed documents away: “Yes.”

“I am very sorry. I know that you and Feng Zhao have had many disagreements,” Audrey glanced toward her husband to ensure he wasn’t paying attention, then said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “but I have no position to prevent this marriage.”

“It’s fine, Teacher,” Li Yixing looked up, his tone calm. “I am here voluntarily. As they say, Feng Zhao and I are in a free-love relationship…”

“Affectionate and deep.”

“Zhao shouldn’t give you a hard time,” Audrey said. “Back when you were exposed on Rhea Star and retreated all the way to the Tartarus system at the edge of the Oga Empire, it was he who brought men to retrieve you.”

“A coincidence,” Li Yixing said. “He just happened to be patrolling the edge of the Fifth Star System with his team that day. I would have been saved regardless of who it was.”

The moment those words fell, Audrey’s wrist communicator rang. As soon as she connected it, a projection appeared in mid-air, and a Major General with chestnut hair smiled as he greeted everyone.

“Good afternoon, Teacher Audrey. I just finished drilling the little brats at Dacles Military Academy and was planning to drop by to visit you and Mr. Su Cheng.”

A deep and magnetic voice came from the communicator, carrying a touch of maturity mixed with playfulness.

As he spoke, Feng Zhao’s lead-gray eyes shifted, and his gaze landed on Li Yixing.

Li Yixing: “…”

He stared expressionlessly as the smile at the corners of Feng Zhao’s mouth widened with an unmistakably malicious intent, his eyes curving into slits.

He was smiling, but it didn’t feel friendly. Instead, it felt like being targeted by a wild beast.

“What a coincidence,” Feng Zhao said in a cheerful tone. “My fiancé is here too.”

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