I Was Scammed By A Snow Leopard cub - Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Xie Yingcheng’s Beast Form

After the cub fell asleep, Luo Yu stepped out of his room, walked around the living room twice, and after giving himself enough mental preparation, he stepped onto the second floor again.

It’s strange, it seems like every time he decides to discuss something with Xie Yingcheng, it’s somehow at night.

Luo Yu knocked on the study door with a subtle mood.

“Admiral? Are you free now? I have something to discuss with you.”

A reply quickly came from the other end: “Come in.” Luo Yu pushed open the door and saw Xie Yingcheng sitting behind the desk as usual, with a document in front of him.

“It just so happens that I have something to talk to you about.” Xie Yingcheng handed the document to Luo Yu.

Luo Yu took it and looked at it: “…Marriage agreement?”

“Well. Take a look and see if there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, and we can modify it.”

As it involved something related to him, Luo Yu could only temporarily put aside Tuan Tuan’s matter and picked up the document to read it carefully. The content was not long, and Luo Yu finished reading it quickly, but his body froze when he saw a certain content.

“Admiral, what does it mean to only fulfill the legal obligations of a partner within a certain scope…?”

Xie Yingcheng quickly explained: “To the outside world, we are a couple. When necessary, there may be physical contact or temporary marking.”

Luo Yu immediately breathed a sigh of relief: ‘It’s okay, it’s just a temporary mark.’

Temporary marking occurs when an alpha leaves the scent of his pheromones on his omega. It is an act of declaring sovereignty in a sense, and can also have a certain soothing effect during the susceptible period. The simplest way of temporary marking is to kiss or bite the glands on the back of the neck.

It was just a bite, Luo Yu subconsciously ignored the first option and felt relieved.

“Then there shouldn’t be any problems on my end.” Luo Yu noticed that the agreement did not give a time limit at the end, “What’s the time limit?”

Xie Yingcheng deliberately did not fill in this item.

He looked at Luo Yu and tapped the table with his fingers: “In fact, I’m not sure when the investigation will be completed. It may take three months, half a year, or even longer. What is the longest time you can accept?”

Luo Yu was a little confused.

What is the longest time he can accept? He doesn’t seem to care about the time. After all, it’s just a marriage on paper. For him, only the matter of moving the studio to the main planet and living in a different place was a bit of a hassle. The whole marriage agreement was nothing more than having a cub in his life and taking care of a nominal partner.

“Or else just fill it out for one year first, and if it’s not resolved, then renew it then?” Luo Yu answered hesitantly.

‘One year? That should be enough.’

After a brief thought, Xie Yingcheng readily agreed. After both parties signed, each kept a copy, and the contract was finalized.

After settling his own affairs, Luo Yu remembered that he had come to discuss the kindergarten matters with Xie Yingcheng. Just as he was about to bring it up, he suddenly thought of a clause in the agreement – becoming Xie Anxing’s legal father and having the responsibility to take care of the cub.

Luo Yu smiled and flicked the edge of the agreement between his fingertips: “Admiral, since I am also Tuan Tuan’s father now, I should be considered one of his guardians, right?”

Xie Yingcheng saw the slightly cunning smile on his face and quickly understood what he wanted to express.

Without even looking up, he flipped through the other documents on the table: “There’s no need to talk about the kindergarten.”

“…” Luo Yu rolled up the agreement and tapped it on his desk twice. “Why can’t we talk about it? I think we can talk about it.”

Xie Yingcheng looked up at him, exhaled slowly, and said in a deep voice: “When he reaches the right age, I will naturally send him to school. He can learn what can be taught in kindergarten at home.”

In fact, Tuan Tuan receives much more advanced education than his peers. So far, it seems that the cub has no problems adapting and there is no reason for him to go to kindergarten.

Luo Yu argued: “Sending Tuan Tuan to kindergarten is not only for education, but more importantly for him to interact with his peers. Tuan Tuan stays at home from morning till night every day. Now, he has me to accompany him, but what about in the future? In the future, he can only play by himself. Don’t you think it’s a bit cruel for him?”

Luo Yu found it unacceptable when he thought that after he left, the cub would have no one to accompany him and would have to go to class alone.

Xie Yingcheng’s voice turned cold: “Are you blaming me?”

Luo Yu subconsciously denied: “No!”

He looked up and met Xie Yingcheng’s gaze. His eyes were deep and sharp, and no emotion could be seen in them, but there was a kind of majesty that could not be challenged.

In the past, Luo Yu might have chosen to give up, but when he thought of the cub curled up in the quilt, whispering to him in agreement, he straightened his back again.

“Excuse me, Admiral. You have not done a good job in taking care of and accompanying the cubs.” He bit his lip as he said this, his heart beating fast, and he looked directly at Xie Yingcheng without fear.

The topic of the debate changed quietly, and Xie Yingcheng withdrew his gaze from Luo Yu and moved it to the floor-to-ceiling window in the distance.

“I don’t deny it, Luo Yu.” His voice returned to calm, “But in addition to taking care of him and accompanying him, I also have the obligation to protect him. I don’t want him to become a tool for others to hurt me, do you understand this?”

“……”

This was the only point that Luo Yu could not refute.

Seeing that the topic was about to fall into the same deadlock as the night before, Luo Yu gritted his teeth and made a desperate attempt.

“You are no longer the commander, Admiral Bourne-Copeland. I don’t believe that you don’t have the time and ability to protect a cub now.”

“If ‘spending more time with the family’ is just an excuse, then I have nothing to say.”

Resigning, getting married, becoming a visiting professor at the main star military academy. These are all to divert attention and cover up the reasons for the investigation. But what is the purpose of the investigation?

Xie Yingcheng was an officer. In his heart, the empire and the people were above everything else, but Luo Yu was not like that.

He is just an ordinary person. All he can take care of is his own little piece of land, taking good care of his cubs and protecting his family.

“I hope the admiral will consider this matter carefully again. If you still disagree, I will no longer insist.” Luo Yu said this sincerely and left the study, leaving Xie Yingcheng alone in deep thought.

The man stood up from his desk and walked to the window. The summer night on the main star was peaceful and tranquil. The scene of commanding the battle on the front line seemed to be just yesterday, yet it seemed to be very far away.

Why did he want to return to the main planet? Why did he choose to resign and try every possible means to resolve the Cecilia incident?

It is simply to protect the important people and allow his cub to grow up safely and happily.

Xie Yingcheng stared at the crescent moon in the sky for a long time, then looked away.

•|•

The next morning, everything was as usual.

Luo Yu had already tried his best. If Xie Yingcheng really couldn’t accept it, he had no other choice. Since he couldn’t influence his final decision, he simply relaxed completely, pretending that yesterday’s conversation had never happened, and acted naturally.

Instead, Xie Yingcheng looked at Luo Yu from time to time, which made the sensitive cub suspicious.

The little detective went online. He picked up a piece of pumpkin pie with a fork and used it as a magnifying glass. He carefully observed and collected evidence. When Luo Yu turned around and temporarily left the table, he quietly approached his father.

“Father, why have you been looking at Luo Luo this morning?”

Xie Yingcheng, who was looking at Luo Yu, was caught by the cub. He coughed lightly and then looked away awkwardly.

He stacked the coffee cup and the plate together and pretended to be calm: “Nothing.” After Luo Yu returned to the dining table again, he never looked at him again.

The little cub wrinkled his nose and ate the pumpkin pie in one gulp. He always felt that things were not that simple.

After breakfast, Xie Yingcheng was about to return to the study on the second floor. The cub was a little anxious. His eyes swept over the banyan tree in the yard, on which small flowers had bloomed without him noticing when.

An idea suddenly occurred to the cub’s little head.

“Luo Luo, it looks like the trees outside are in bloom! Can Tuan Tuan go take a look later?” The cub deliberately spoke loudly so that the two parents present could hear.

Luo Yu naturally agreed: “Okay.” Xie Yingcheng paused in his steps, but finally went upstairs.

The cub, who failed to get what he wanted, pouted and quietly kept the matter in his heart.

The weather was very good today, with bright sunshine in the early morning. The banyan tree was lush and leafy, with fluffy pink flowers dotted between its intersecting branches.

The yard was well maintained by a professional gardener, and in the height of summer many plants were in bloom.

Luo Yu took the cub for a slow stroll in the yard, pointing out the plants he recognized to the cub.

“Luo Luo, what is that?” The cub pointed at the six-petal lavender flower.

“It should be Clematis.” Luo Yu moved closer to take a closer look.

“Why is it called Clematis? Is it because the flowers are hard?” The cub touched the petals carefully, but felt something soft, and asked Luo Yu in confusion.

Luo Yu laughed and pointed at the flower stem and patiently explained to the cub: “Tuan Tuan, look here, doesn’t it look a bit like wire?”

The cub touched it and said, “Really! And it’s hard too.”

Two people, one big and one small, squatted in front of the plants, whispering and studying. On the second floor, the man who should have been in the study was leaning against the terrace on the second floor, silently watching the warm and harmonious scene in front of him.

Luo Yu lowered his head and spoke gently to the cub, a faint smile on his lips. His fingertips subconsciously moved softly as they touched the petals, like a butterfly lingering for a moment.

The sunlight passed through the clouds and shone on his wrists and neck, casting a light glow on them.

Xie Yingcheng was lost in thought as he stared at it.

After a while, the cub finally remembered the purpose of going to the yard and walked slowly to the banyan tree.

The banyan tree flowers were small, hidden among the leaves, and difficult to see clearly. The cub moved his fingers, feeling itchy.

After watching obediently for a while, he finally couldn’t help himself and grabbed Luo Yu’s clothes.

“Luo Luo, can I please climb up and take a look?”

Luo Yu was stunned.

Can snow leopards… climb trees?

Should be possible, right?

He didn’t know whether he should agree to the cub’s request, but just as he was hesitating, the cub had changed back into its animal form and quickly jumped onto a branch more than one meter above the ground.

The little guy used his thick and long tail to keep balance while jumping nimbly between the branches. Luo Yu stared at it nervously under the tree, fearing that the cub would accidentally fall down, and his footsteps kept moving under the tree following the cub’s figure.

A little cub climbed more and more happily, and after seeing the target, it jumped up and stepped on the thin branches to see the small flowers on them.

Pink and as furry as Tuan Tuan!

The cub stretched out a paw and touched it curiously, then whimpered excitedly. When he looked up, he found his father on the second-floor terrace.

The little cub was startled and slipped, and fell off the tree. Its little paws flapped in the air and leaves fell down.

Luo Yu, who had been staring at the cub nervously, had his scream stuck in his throat. His body moved subconsciously and he stretched out his arms to catch the cub.

Inertia knocked him to the ground. In half a second, Luo Yu only had time to turn around, holding the little cub in his arms, and landing on his back.

However, the expected pain did not appear.

Feeling soft and warm beneath him, Luo Yu stared blankly at the huge snow leopard that suddenly appeared, his mind going blank for a moment.

Unlike the cub’s silver-white fur, Xie Yingcheng’s fur is silver with gray, just like his hair color.

The thick, long and powerful tail supported his balance, and the moment he landed steadily, it wrapped around his waist and protected him tightly.

Luo Yu raised his head in a daze. The adult snow leopard’s gaze was completely different from that of the cub. It was cold and sharp, revealing a fierce and cold look.

Luo Yu subconsciously touched the snow leopard’s tail.

…So soft.

Luo Yu couldn’t help but touch it again.