ARIWLBBC Chapter 106

“Madam An Mei!” Bo Ge jumped down from the big cat’s embrace in delight. Madam An Mei let go of her husband and gave the boy who ran over a warm hug.

Lie Lanyang and Lie Beishuang exchanged a look. After a long silence, Lie Lanyang spoke, somewhat hesitantly.

“After the event… would you like to come over for dinner?”

Lie Beishuang looked toward the boy, and Bo Ge nodded at the man excitedly, like a pecking chick.

“Then I’ll take you up on the offer.”

Lie Beishuang glanced at Lie Lanyang. Upon closer inspection, the man had changed a bit from the image in his memory.

There were new wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and his presence was no longer as imposing as it once was—or perhaps… it was because he himself had grown to a new level.

Bo Ge was happily enjoying dinner at the Lie family’s home. Lie Beishuang sat across from him, calmly cutting his steak with steady hands.

The Lie family’s younger and older leopards were all gathered again. This time, however, none of them were in beast form. All were dressed neatly, dining in silence, not daring to make a sound. From time to time, they glanced at the two distinguished guests at the table.

“This year’s celebration event was quite good,” Lie Lanyang broke the silence, looking at Bo Ge. “Especially your performance, little Bo Ge—it was very well done.”

“Thank you, Uncle!” Bo Ge beamed, smiling like a flower from the compliment.

“Yes! Especially that moment when you were about to blow up the brain bug—I really thought you all were going to sacrifice yourselves,” Madam An Mei chimed in. “Thank goodness it turned out you used the jammed laser weapon in the end.”

“That segment seemed like a tribute of sorts,” Lie Lanyang looked at Lie Beishuang. “I recall that Beishuang once participated in an operation against the brain bugs. That scene really happened, didn’t it?”

“I wasn’t the one in charge of that battle,” Lie Beishuang put down his knife and fork, looking up at Lie Lanyang with a blank expression.

“If it was anything, it was more of a mockery than a tribute.”

As soon as his deep voice rang out, the large dining room instantly fell silent.

Dozens of eyes turned to them in unison. The atmosphere became tense—everyone remembered what had happened last time. Lie Lanyang realized he’d brought up a terrible topic, and his neck started to ache again.

“They did the math—over a hundred warships were lost under my command during wartime. Aside from a few malfunctions, most of them were self-destructed.

“So they designed that scene in the event to tell me not to blow up so many ships.”

Lie Beishuang recounted it calmly.

“Uh… well, they’re pretty bold,” Madam An Mei tried to lift the mood with a smile.

“I only skimmed the Alliance’s celebration plans earlier,” Lie Beishuang said, looking at her. “It was only after Gugu got involved in the performance that I reviewed the details.”

“You looked through the event content on your own just because I wouldn’t let you see it?” Bo Ge widened his eyes in surprise. “Then why didn’t you have them change it when you saw that scene?”

“Because you were going to perform in it. Changing it would’ve affected the overall impact,” Lie Beishuang answered matter-of-factly.

After a brief silence, Madam An Mei couldn’t hold back her laughter. She threw an arm over Lie Lanyang’s shoulder, clutched her stomach with the other hand, and laughed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes—no one knew exactly what had tickled her so much.

Bo Ge, feeling a little guilty, cut a piece of the house-special roast meat from his plate and, stretching with effort, placed it into Lie Beishuang’s plate.

“You should’ve told me earlier. If I’d known it was mocking you, I wouldn’t have done it,” Bo Ge mumbled.

“A true warrior should be able to laugh at themselves,” Lie Lanyang, supporting his wife, encouraged Lie Beishuang. “Back in the early days, they used to mock me for being too sentimental. Someone even sent me a set of oversized women’s clothing.”

“Hmm?” Bo Ge looked at Lie Lanyang in surprise. Someone actually dared to do that to him? Weren’t they afraid it would lead to a fight?

“Little Bo Ge, guess what I did?” Lie Lanyang smiled at him.

Bo Ge pressed his lips together, conflicted. It didn’t seem likely he’d fight them, but he also didn’t seem like the type to wear women’s clothes.

“Beishuang, why don’t you guess?” Lie Lanyang turned to him.

“You thanked the person, took the women’s clothing home, had Madam An Mei alter them into two dresses, and gave them to your daughters. Then you had the girls message that officer to thank him for the gift.”

Lie Beishuang replied fluently.

“You knew about that?” This time, it was Lie Lanyang who was surprised.

“When I first enlisted, a superior officer told me the story,” Lie Beishuang said calmly. “He told me you were the best commander he had ever seen.”

Lie Lanyang stared at Lie Beishuang, momentarily at a loss for words.

Bo Ge’s eyes darted back and forth between father and son.

Lie Beishuang had always cared deeply about this father of his. He remembered every word from that conversation over a decade ago. Maybe it was precisely because of those words that he had worked so hard—to become an outstanding commander like his father.

“Two years ago, I saw that officer again,” Lie Beishuang met Lie Lanyang’s gaze.

“He told me that now I am the best commander in his eyes—no one else comes close.”

Lie Lanyang awkwardly gave Lie Beishuang a firm pat on the shoulder, while Madam An Mei, who had just calmed down, burst out laughing again—this time with a honking snort.

The atmosphere slowly lightened, and many people began smiling. The way they looked at Lie Beishuang was no longer as tense as before.

Bo Ge lowered his head, trying not to laugh. He hadn’t expected his big cat to be that competitive.

“No helping it—the younger generation is something to be reckoned with,” Lie Lanyang chuckled and coughed. “To be honest, back then I wasn’t giving it my all. I had a huge family, so many children—half my attention was always at home. At your age, I think I already had twenty or thirty kids.”

Lie Beishuang raised an eyebrow.

Can’t beat me, so you’re competing with children now?

“You better stop talking,” Madam Anmei slapped Lie Lanyang on the chest. “Back when you were in the legion, it was me who took care of the kids, alright?”

Seeing his wife speak up, Lie Lanyang immediately nodded. “Right, my wife worked hard.”

“I raised so many children, and now I’m even looking after grandkids and great-grandkids.” Madam Anmei looked at Bo Ge. “Little Bo Ge, when can I hold your baby?”

The topic shifted smoothly, catching Bo Ge off guard. He looked helplessly toward Lie Beishuang.

“We’re not planning to have a cub for now,” Lie Beishuang responded calmly.

“What?” Madam Anmei almost jumped up. “Why not!”

Lie Beishuang stayed silent. Bo Ge glanced at the big cat across from him but didn’t speak either.

Even though baby leopards are adorable to pet, the big cat still hadn’t completely recovered from the psychological trauma. Before that happened, Bo Ge didn’t want to force anything on him.

Lie Lanyang gave Lie Beishuang a thoughtful glance, then naturally changed the subject. “Little Bo Ge, you’re planning to attend a higher institute, right? Which one are you applying to?”

“First Military Academy,” Bo Ge smiled cooperatively, helping shift the topic. Madam Anmei clearly wasn’t satisfied and kept her eyes on Lie Beishuang and Bo Ge.

After dinner, as the two were about to leave, Lie Lanyang pulled Lie Beishuang aside to talk privately. Madam Anmei dragged Bo Ge to another corner and asked mysteriously, “Do you want a little leopard to play with?”

“Yes,” Bo Ge nodded right away, already considering which of Madam Anmei’s grandsons to ask for. Great-grandsons would be fine too—especially if they were twins.

“Alright.” Madam Anmei smiled and pulled out a bottle of liquid, dabbing some on the boy’s wrists and neck.

“What’s this?” Bo Ge raised his hand and sniffed, confused. There was no scent.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Madam Anmei’s smile was full of meaning.

When Lie Beishuang and Lie Lanyang finished talking, the couple escorted the two outside the villa and watched them board their aircraft before heading back.

“What did you two talk about?” Madam Anmei asked, clearly in a great mood.

“About offspring,” Lie Lanyang sighed. “Once bitten by a snake, you fear even a rope for ten years. The Alliance’s fertility center did have some oversight before, but it’s much more regulated now. Because of that incident, I was afraid too. But I can’t let my own fear become my son’s fear. Someone has to take the first brave step.”

Madam Anmei nodded in agreement and linked arms with her husband as they returned to the villa.

Inside, Lie Lanyang rubbed his nose and looked at Madam Anmei, his face a little red. “Wife… did you…?”

“Nope.” Madam Anmei laughed happily. “I just dabbed a little on Little Bo Ge.”

—

Inside the aircraft, Bo Ge tapped his smart device. He had originally planned to bring Hope back the day before, but after spending time with his fellow robots, Hope had developed feelings for them.

None of those robots had anyone to claim them. Without help, their only fate would be factory decommissioning and destruction.

They had worked so hard to repair themselves, trying to prove their usefulness. Every time someone passed by, they eagerly approached, but no one took them home. Their efforts were wasted.

Bo Ge couldn’t bear it. He had taken all ten-plus robots back and housed them in the previously rented villa. He hadn’t yet told the big cat about it.

How should he gently tell the big cat that he wanted to adopt a group of self-aware robots?

Sure, it wasn’t exactly rational—but Bo Ge couldn’t ignore their pleading eyes and let them be destroyed.

Especially when he thought about the two robots who were destroyed in the battle with Laplace—it filled him with guilt.

“Mimi…” Bo Ge tried to speak.

“Mm.”

The man’s voice was right beside his ear, and his breath inexplicably warm.

Bo Ge sensed something was off. He turned to look and saw the big cat leaning against him, head lowered, sniffing his scent.

“Do I smell like something?” Bo Ge curiously sniffed himself—there was no odor?

“There’s… a very fragrant scent.”

A very fragrant scent?

Bo Ge sniffed hard again but still smelled nothing.

“Do you feel hot?” Lie Beishuang raised his hand, loosening his collar and unbuttoning his shirt.

“I don’t feel hot,” Bo Ge said in confusion, raising his hand to check the big cat’s forehead.

“It’s stronger now.” The man frowned, his breathing a little erratic.

Bo Ge tried feeling the temperature on the big cat’s forehead—then remembered a doctor saying the neck was more accurate. He reached toward the man’s neck and met his gaze—then suddenly realized something was wrong.

The big cat looked visibly uncomfortable. His eyes were nearly blood red, his whole body flushed, and sweat beaded on his skin.

“It’s starting?” Bo Ge frowned, trying to calculate the days. This was early. The full heat phase had come nearly a week ahead of schedule.

Luckily, the Alliance celebration was over. Taking two days off shouldn’t be a problem.

“You’re probably entering full heat.” Bo Ge gently stroked the big cat’s back, trying to soothe him. “This round feels different from the last two. But don’t be scared—I’m here.”

The boy’s gentle reassurance brought some comfort. Lie Beishuang slowly turned his head, took Bo Ge’s hand, and kissed it softly.

Bo Ge leaned in and kissed the big cat’s forehead. Lie Beishuang pulled off his shirt, took the boy’s hand, and placed it over his heart.

“You’ll catch a cold.” Bo Ge looked worried. The man’s heartbeat was so fast.

“It’s… unbearable…” Lie Beishuang frowned, panting. Bo Ge had originally been admiring the man’s defined chest—then his eyes moved downward to his abs.

Licking his lips, Bo Ge’s gaze shifted again. But when he saw the flag standing tall and proud—he couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock.

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