Chapter 247
Rong Heng felt a wave of relief after hearing Li Sinian’s words. If that’s the case, living with Ika wouldn’t be an issue.
Li Sinian glanced at his son, understanding he was upset about being separated from his sister. He ruffled Rong Heng’s hair again and said, “When interacting with girls, you have to be mindful, but among men, there aren’t as many restrictions.”
“Back in the day, when I first joined the army, we used to eat and sleep together with our comrades, sometimes even squeezing into one bed at night.”
Rong Heng had heard countless stories about Li Sinian’s younger days fighting battles. Curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, “Dad, were you also fighting monsters back then?”
“Yes.” Li Sinian nodded. “The interstellar regions aren’t peaceful. There are often interstellar monsters. Most of them live in other galaxies, but occasionally, due to unknown phenomena, they’ll suddenly appear in a corner of our galaxy.”
In such cases, local garrisons were required to take action, and sometimes troops from nearby planets were deployed as reinforcements.
“Are they stronger than the monsters on Earth Star?” Rong Heng asked.
“Some are stronger, some weaker,” Li Sinian explained. “However, the monsters on Earth Star are restrained by the power of the Crimson Flame and your Sword Qi, so fighting them is relatively easier.”
In contrast, interstellar monsters often possessed unique traits. Although beast-blood warriors had encountered Crimson Flame Tigers among them, their displayed power seemed inferior to Ran Lie’s.
Rong Heng fell into thought, and Li Sinian, noticing his contemplation, couldn’t help but smile. “What’s on your mind? Are you planning to join the military like your dad?”
However, Rong Heng shook his head.
“I want to stay on Earth Star and cultivate.” He never forgot the promise he made to Su Su.
Li Sinian took a deep breath and nodded.
Yes, before Earth Star was restored, his children couldn’t—or rather, wouldn’t—leave.
But…
Since they had already established the Cub Squad and registered with the Star Alliance, if the Star Alliance summoned them, would they have to defy the order? Li Sinian couldn’t help but feel a twinge of worry.
Therefore, restoring Earth Star before the children came of age was imperative.
Now that the Creek couple had arrived, it was time to consider persuading—no, inviting—other old friends to Earth Star as well.
After all, with Ika’s condition showing such clear improvement, it should be enough to attract the parents who hadn’t yet departed for various reasons!
Li Sinian smiled slightly and said to Rong Heng, “Keeping your promises is an excellent quality. Stick to it.”
“Got it, Dad.”
Then, Li Sinian extended his hand to the little merman in the pool. Ika, who was generally friendly toward Li Sinian—likely because Rong Heng resembled his father—obediently placed his hand in Li Sinian’s palm.
The next moment, Ika disappeared from where he was. When he reappeared, he was in Rong Heng’s bathroom.
The bathtub was filled with clean water, just enough for Ika to lie in.
Ika, surprised to find himself in water again after being transported to the room, joyfully slapped his tail against the water.
Although Ika’s beast transformation had significantly improved, his current in-between state was still awkward. He couldn’t stay in the pool for too long as he risked drowning, but he also couldn’t remain out of the water for extended periods.
According to the Creek couple, Ika’s tail couldn’t be left dry for too long; otherwise, the scales would crack and fall off, potentially leading to severe conditions.
Letting him stay in the bathtub was Mrs. Creek’s suggestion.
After Su Ci finished channeling the bloodline power for Ika, the Creek couple left their room to check on their son.
But as soon as Ika saw them, his previously calm demeanor became agitated again. The scales that had receded from his upper body started creeping upward once more.
The Creeks had no choice but to stay out of Ika’s sight, retreating to a distance where he couldn’t see them.
Their son no longer recognized them, and his attitude toward strangers was gentler than toward them. This was perhaps the greatest punishment for their past negligence.
“For tonight, you’ll stay here,” Li Sinian said.
Ika happily nodded. But when he saw Rong Heng and Li Sinian preparing to leave the bathroom, he quickly grabbed Rong Heng’s clothes.
“Yangyang, where are you going?”
Rong Heng turned back to look at him. “I’m going to sleep outside.”
“I… I want to sleep outside too!” The little merman looked at him pitifully, pleading, “Please?”
What could Rong Heng do?
He had no choice but to move the bathtub into the bedroom with Li Sinian’s help. After all, the bathroom was cramped, and leaving Ika to sleep alone there felt strange.
“Don’t splash water everywhere,” Rong Heng warned.
“Okay, okay,” the little merman nodded repeatedly, wearing an obedient expression.
From the outside, Ika looked a few years older than Rong Heng, yet he acted like an adorably well-behaved younger brother. Even Li Sinian found it curious.
Still, it wasn’t a bad thing for either of them.
Li Sinian soon left Rong Heng’s room. After freshening up, Rong Heng returned to the bedroom and began writing in his growth journal for the day.
True to his word, Ika behaved quietly. Rong Heng became so engrossed in his writing that he almost forgot someone else was in the room. When he finally finished and turned around, he met the little merman’s striking blue eyes.
“Yang Yang~” the merman called him with a cheerful smile.
“Mm.”
“Are you done?” Ika asked.
Rong Heng nodded, watching as Ika stretched out a slender hand and lightly patted the bed. The bathtub had been placed right next to Rong Heng’s bed, so Ika could easily reach it.
“Then come over here! I have so much to tell you.”
Seeing Ika’s excited expression, Rong Heng couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
He got up, walked over, took off his shoes, and climbed onto the bed. When Ika began speaking, Rong Heng lowered his voice to remind him, “Keep it down, or you’ll wake Su Su.”
Hearing Su Su’s name, the little merman immediately covered his mouth in alarm.
After a moment, he cautiously leaned closer to Rong Heng’s ear and whispered, “Is this quiet enough?”
Rong Heng, feeling a tickling sensation, tilted his head slightly and said, “Yes, that’s fine.”
“Good,” Ika sighed in relief, then smiled again. He said, “Yang Yang, I’m so happy to see you again. I… I missed you so much.”
The soft and tender tone of his last sentence felt like a feather brushing against Rong Heng’s heart.
Pressing his lips together, Rong Heng felt a pang of guilt.
Ika had never forgotten him, yet he… had left Ika behind in his memories until their reunion.
“I’m sorry…” he murmured.
“Why are you apologizing?” Ika tilted his head in confusion. “I always thought you were dead. To see you alive and healthy is the greatest blessing of my life.”
Hearing Ika’s earnest words, Rong Heng turned to look at him, only to see genuine sincerity in the little merman’s eyes.
He truly meant it.
Rong Heng was deeply moved. Unable to help himself, he reached out and ruffled Ika’s hair vigorously. “You’re still so young. You’ll have so many more blessings to experience in the future.”
Ika’s eyes curved into crescents as he smiled brightly, nodding enthusiastically. “Mm! I love hearing that!”
Rong Heng withdrew his hand and said, “Tell me about the past. I… can’t remember much of it.”
He had been too young back then, and the memories he could recall were very limited.
“Okay!”
Ika readily agreed, but instead of starting to speak, he glanced at Rong Heng’s communicator and asked, “Yangyang, can this connect to the StarNet?”
Rong Heng shook his head. Before Ika could feel disappointed, he called out, “Xiao Zhi.”
A holographic screen appeared in midair, accompanied by the voice of the base’s AI. With Rong Heng’s help, Ika successfully connected to the StarNet.
Ika logged into a website and pulled up a series of saved videos. These videos were arranged chronologically, numbering around a hundred or two.
He opened the first one and said cheerfully, “This is the first time we met.”
As Rong Heng looked on curiously, the video began playing.
The opening scene showed the back of a small boy. He was tiny, probably only one or two years old. The boy’s distinctive blue curls made it clear that this was Ika when he was younger.
He was toddling along on short little legs, walking through a long corridor, until he arrived in front of a door.
“Young Master Ika…”
“Shhh—”
The boy turned to the camera and made a gesture to hush the speaker. Rong Heng could now see his chubby little face, full of baby fat.
So cute…
Though maybe just a tiny bit less cute than his sister had been at that age, Rong Heng thought.
At the same time, the face of the little boy in his memory seemed to grow clearer.
After the robotic voice fell silent, the boy turned back to the door. He reached out his small hands and pushed it open a crack, revealing an old-fashioned door design.
The camera followed through the opening, capturing the scene inside the room.
The first thing it focused on was a pair of small, neatly placed feet dangling from a sofa. They were clad in adorable little black shoes and ankle-length white socks.
As the camera adjusted, it revealed a little boy sitting beside an adult on the sofa.
“Yangyang, that’s you!” Ika exclaimed. He had watched this video countless times but still seemed captivated by it.
Rong Heng recognized himself.
That was him—his younger self.
What happened next made Rong Heng smile faintly.
Ika, seeing a strange child for the first time, got so excited that he tumbled headfirst into the room, landing flat on his face.
“Wuu… wuu…” Little Ika whimpered in distress.
The adults in the room all turned to look, but the little boy sitting properly on the sofa was the first to leap down and run toward Ika.
“Are you okay?”
The boy helped Ika up, giving the camera a stern look, as if blaming the robot butler for not taking better care of Ika. Despite his young age, he already had a hint of authority.
The little Ika, after being helped up, had his back to the camera, making it hard to see his face. But from his voice, it was easy to imagine his pitiful, tearful expression.
“Brother… hug…” he said, stretching out his small arms, his soft, childish voice sounding utterly pitiful.
The little boy really did reach out and give him a hug.
Only then did the adults come over to them. After a brief moment of chaotic footage, they were taken outside to play in the garden together.
When little Rong Heng was eventually taken away by Li Sinian and his wife, little Ika stood at the door, reluctantly watching their hovercar disappear into the distance.
Every meeting they had after that was recorded by the robot butler, every moment carefully preserved in these videos.
“Have you been watching these videos all this time?” Rong Heng asked.
“Mm! I watch them every day!”
After Rong Heng went missing, Ika’s bloodline power suddenly erupted. Already lacking much companionship, he was also deprived of the chance to attend daycare.
He was left alone at home, accompanied only by the robot butler and his toys, with his parents occasionally stopping by to stabilize his bloodline power before leaving again in a hurry.
As he grew older, and his bloodline eruptions became more frequent, he had to rely on sedatives to suppress them.
These videos of his time with Rong Heng became his sole comfort during those long, lonely, and painful days after Rong Heng’s disappearance.
Because of this, Ika remembered Rong Heng deeply, even after years of separation—even when Rong Heng had forgotten about him.
Rong Heng couldn’t help but glance at Ika. As he recounted these memories, Ika still smiled so brightly, but Rong Heng felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“Why are you apologizing again?” Ika asked, puzzled.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to be with you back then,” Rong Heng said.
“When Yang Yang was suffering, I wasn’t by your side either,” Ika said earnestly. “So let’s stay together from now on, and never part again, okay?”
Looking into Ika’s hopeful eyes, Rong Heng hesitated for a moment before softly replying.
“Okay.”
