Chapter 63

The 520 Embryo Project had been the flashpoint of their conflict, and now that it was all out in the open, the two of them were silent for a long while.

It was Huo Jilin who spoke first.

Looking at Chen Jue's belly, he asked softly, "How did you make peace with having this kid?"

If it were him, he wouldn't have kept it—but this was Chen Jue.

Chen Jue respected all things scientific.

Chen Jue knew what he was asking, and he ran a hand over his belly, saying offhandedly, "At first I wasn't on board either. But once I understood the biology of it, I was fine. It's not a mutation—just a phase in human evolution."

Seeing the confusion on Huo Jilin's face, Chen Jue went on to explain: "Or rather, back in ancient times when the population was tiny, originally, humans could all reproduce like I can. It was only later, to adapt to nature, to survive, and to breed species better suited for survival in the natural world, that we evolved generation by generation... First, males evolved with tougher bodies and atrophied birth canals, while females gave up their tall frames to become softer and better suited for childbirth.

Eventually, with climate change and cultural evolution, maybe we'll evolve to where nobody can have kids, and then the species dies out—or the government steps in with the 520 Embryo Project, creating increasingly perfect humans, so humans never have to give birth themselves..."

"..."

Nice. A perfect closed loop.

They were just one link in that chain.

Huo Jilin was at a loss for words.

This isn't evolution—it's devolution!

But then again, though, birth rates really did drop lower every year in later generations. Hospital maternity wards shrank a little more each year until they finally merged with pediatrics.

Back then, you could hear babies wailing just by walking past the maternity ward. But in those later years, the crying had faded to almost nothing, and it was oddly bleak.

This was also why the 520 Project was put into action.

Human evolution, women waking up—nobody wanted to carry the burden of childbirth anymore. The planet was getting more polluted, and diseases were breaking out everywhere, and it was no longer fit for babies to be born. Maybe Chen Jue had a point.

When that day really comes, what's the point of manufacturing more humans? Might as well just let the whole species die out.

Huo Jilin just stared at Chen Jue, blown away by his viewpoint. It wasn't like he'd never had similar thoughts, but he'd never dared to think it through as boldly as Chen Jue did.

What the hell was going on in Chen Jue's head?

Huo Jilin didn't want the genius to keep going down this path—if he kept going, the two of them would get pulled into the whole thing.

All these causes and effects were linked.

This life felt like it was their past life.

Chen Jue's logic held up completely, and you could even trace it backward.

Because of this past life, the 520 Embryo Project came to be later on.

If the two of them now were the past life that led to the 520 Project...

If this life truly was their past life, then how many descendants had the two of them produced...

No!

He couldn't keep thinking about this—if he did, the whole moral order would go to hell.

He absolutely couldn't think about it. In this life or the last, he and Chen Jue had to have no blood relation!

Seeing Chen Jue still holding his belly, Huo Jilin took a deep breath and asked him, "How are you feeling now?"

Chen Jue touched his belly. It was much better now—earlier, while saving Huo Jilin, he hadn't been able to pay attention to it, and his tense mood had affected it too. It had been tense, but now it had relaxed along with him.

"It's fine."

"So it's due in a month and a half?" Huo Jilin continued.

Chen Jue nodded again.

"Then next time I'm in town, I'll talk to Old Doctor Tang and have him come deliver it. And I'll give Aunt Zhao from Zhao Family Village a heads-up too."

Huo Jilin thought through every doctor he could think of, but still felt it wasn't safe enough. He wanted to ask around for a more renowned gynecologist. No one knew how nervous he was about Chen Jue giving birth. He didn't want Chen Jue to give birth at all—but it was happening anyway.

Chen Jue looked at him. Huo Jilin didn't want Chen Jue to see how nervous he was, so he changed the subject, smiling at him: "Chen Jue, will you stay? I promise I won't piss you off anymore. I know you were abandoned as a kid, so you have a hard time trusting people—not me, not anyone. It's a condition of lacking trust and a sense of security. But I figure, other than me, there's no one left in this world you can trust or rely on."

Chen Jue couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. Huo Jilin was doing that on purpose. With that silver tongue of his that charmed Shopkeeper Dong, there was no way he was this bad at talking—all his harsh words were aimed squarely at Chen Jue.

How could he pick apart Chen Jue's past on one hand, and then have the nerve to call himself his "only one to trust and rely on" on the other?

Huo Jilin even went on to explain himself, saying: "We've known each other for five years, and in all that time, I've been exactly like this. With you, I say what's on my mind, holding nothing back, being straight with you. I hope you can relax around me, without worrying about showing your cards. You're you—here, you'll always just be Chen Jue. You can say whatever you want and do whatever you want.

Everything I just said is true. I'll support you no matter what and give you all the surgical support you need. You know I can pull it off."

Chen Jue just looked at him. He knew Huo Jilin was a master negotiator and just as good at playing mind games. He knew that at this moment, his own resolve was starting to crack a little.

If Huo Jilin had been all smooth talk, Chen Jue wouldn't have bought it at all.

Huo Jilin struck while the iron was hot, racking up more points for himself: "Look at the last surgery—didn't I come in handy? I can not only back you financially, but anywhere else, as long as you need me, I'll help out without any complaints. I won't interfere with any decision you make, period."

Chen Jue looked at him and gave a slight shake of his head. "Absolutely no interference?"

Huo Jilin's past had indeed been wiped clean, and Chen Jue wasn't going to hold onto a blood feud against him. But Huo Jilin's attitude before had been too hardline—how could he just believe that Huo Jilin would never interfere? People who've been domineering for too long don't change easily. It's called "old habits die hard."

Huo Jilin had been in the army for three years. Three years of military training, and the only trace of army life was the way he folded his blankets—nothing else showed.

"Absolutely no interference!" Huo Jilin said, pounding his chest. There was a patch on his chest area—he'd ripped his clothes last time chasing a chicken, and Chen Jue had just sewn patches over all the other worn-out spots, the one on the chest being the biggest.

Huo Jilin had money later on and bought several new outer coats, but he always kept wearing this same undershirt. He knew how to stretch a dollar—with limited resources, he made sure the outside looked good first.

As for the real state of things at home...

Chen Jue smiled when he saw the patch.

Wealth and power give people nerve. Huo Jilin was born with a silver spoon in his mouth; only people up on high had the luxury of bossing others around.

Huo Jilin had been the client, so he'd thrown his weight around at their Zhonghai Hospital and made an example of Chen Jue's decisions to scare everyone else into line.

Now, Huo Jilin was a fallen phoenix, worse off than a chicken, which was why he could be so eager and sincere tonight.

Sure enough, Huo Jilin told him: "We can sign a contract. From now on, every decision goes through a contract, and you'll have half the say. I'm working on something right now, and I need you for it. If it works out, it'll be a huge win..."

He cleared his throat: "It's something that'll do people good, and it's related to medicine. I need you to be in charge of quality control, so I genuinely want to work with you on this. Once I've got the whole plan figured out, I'll let you know."

It was probably almost dawn, because Chen Jue was getting drowsy.

Chen Jue yawned and forgot where they'd left off in their conversation. His brain was ready to check out.

Last night's wild ride had completely drained him. Whatever it was, it could wait till tomorrow.

He said to Huo Jilin, "I need to think about it."

Huo Jilin smiled. "Alright, take your time. Right now, your health's the priority. You need lots of sleep and less to worry about."

Chen Jue pointed at the small kang table. "Move the table back."

He wasn't used to someone sleeping up against him.

He really did have issues trusting people and feeling secure.

He closed his eyes, feeling drowsy. In just a day and a night, it felt like he'd lived two lifetimes.

The life-and-death matters of his past life were settled, and this life had no loose ends either—so they were square.

Only on equal footing could people really talk about working together.

Huo Jilin moved his own bedding aside first, then carried the little kang table back over. Chen Jue had already turned over, facing away from him, asleep.

Huo Jilin blew out the lamp too and drifted off at some point. Outside, the rain and thunder pattered softly, mixing with the wind into a lullaby.

They slept straight through till broad daylight.

Sunlight streamed through the translucent shell window, lighting up the whole room—sun was out.

The weather up north was pretty nice and crisp. Hard to believe it was clear this morning after that fierce storm yesterday. If it weren't for the leaves all over the ground, you'd think last night was just a dream. Last night... it did seem like a dream.

Chen Jue watched Huo Jilin sweeping the yard and thought, he'd been struck by lightning and landed here...

From now on, every time it thundered, this would never be dropped...

Huo Jilin turned back and said to him, "It's colder out. Bundle up."

Uncle Liu said that after the start of autumn, each autumn rain brings a chill. The temperature outside had indeed dropped. But Chen Jue, probably because he was pregnant, didn't feel the cold much.

When he saw Huo Jilin about to dump all the swept-up leaves and hazelnuts into Old Horse Ancestor's stone trough, Chen Jue asked for a basket to pick out the hazelnuts and dry them in the sun for roasting. Huo Jilin sifted them out for him with a sieve.

For breakfast, Huo Jilin cooked noodles. Hot noodle soup—first frying the eggs, then pouring in hot water, the broth taking on a chicken-soup flavor, and then poaching two more eggs.

There were plenty of greens. Chen Jue ate his fill, and using the remaining fire, he prepared to stir-fry the chestnuts and hazelnuts together.

Zhou Qingzhu came again. Actually, he had arrived early in the morning, circling their front door several times, but they just wouldn't open it. With no choice, he had gathered some mushrooms nearby.

No sooner had he filled his basket than he hurried down.

Fortunately, the two had opened the door.

And it seemed they had made up again.

Zhou Qingzhu tiptoed into their yard and furtively observed their expressions.

He had come to check whether they had divorced or not.

Huo Jilin waved his hand at him impatiently. "What are you here for? Nothing's wrong. Go on back now."