Chapter 227: Persuading Parents
After the examination, Shi Lan and Ye Ming left the research institute.
As she settled into the Hovercar, a sense of lingering fear still clung to her.
After calming down for a moment, she asked in her mind, ’By the way, Xiao Du, you said the vine has a spirit body too. How come I can’t hear its voice?’
Xiao Du explained, ’Master, that’s because it’s already in a symbiotic relationship with me. We’re a combined entity now, so for the time being, only I can sense its consciousness. Maybe in the future, it’ll have a chance to separate and form its own complete spirit body.’
’Oh, and Master, it just shyly said it wants you to give it a name, too.’
Shi Lan, who was terrible at naming things, thought for a good while before replying, ’Let’s call it Xiao Hei, then. We found it on Black Star.’
Xiao Du secretly compared the two spirit bodies’ names and was clearly much happier, its tone turning cheerful. ’Its name was definitely better-sounding.’
Xiao Hei wasn’t displeased with its new name either. It even had Xiao Du convey that it liked the name very much.
Shi Lan let out a sheepish sigh of relief.
’She really was awful at coming up with names. Since her Fertility Value was no longer an issue, she decided she would leave the task of naming any future children to Ye Ming and the other four.’
At noon, Shi Lan and Ye Ming had lunch together before parting ways.
However, to her surprise, after she returned to the Interstellar Mansion, she didn’t see the usually clingy Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng all afternoon.
Of course, the two of them were indeed busy. Mu Tangfeng had taken what he’d overheard Jiang Yan say last night to heart.
Today, he specifically waited until both his parents were home to talk to them directly.
He was very direct. "Mom, Dad, are you against me being with Shi Lan?"
Mr. and Mrs. Mu exchanged a look. Mrs. Mu curved her lips into a smile and asked, "Oh? What makes you suddenly think that?"
’Her son was usually so oblivious. How could he have noticed something like this?’
Mu Tangfeng frowned. "I don’t care. Mom, Dad, I only like Shi Lan. You know that I’d planned on never finding a female partner. Now that I’ve finally met a female I like, I hope you can give us your blessing."
His tone softened considerably as he started singing her praises. "Shi Lan is a really good person. You have no idea. Before she came to Black Star, some of the Prison Directors would spike our food to mess with us. Jiang Xia even got poisoned once. But Shi Lan was different. She was a truly dedicated Prison Director. She’d buy us whatever we needed and even cooked all sorts of food for us so our life in prison wouldn’t be so monotonous..."
Mu Tangfeng wasn’t one to praise others, but every time he spoke of Shi Lan, Mrs. Mu heard nothing but endless compliments.
She understood perfectly well how much her son liked the girl. But right now, she was more concerned about something else. "You said someone tried to harm you?"
Mu Tangfeng nodded.
"Do you know who it was?"
Mr. Mu asked in a low voice.
Mu Tangfeng scoffed. "Who else could be so vicious besides the Bai Family and the Second Prince?"
It wasn’t surprising that the Bai Family would have such intentions, but they were shocked that the Second Prince also wanted to harm them.
However, his main target was likely the Eldest Prince.
The expressions on Mr. and Mrs. Mu’s faces turned cold. "You silly boy, why didn’t you ever tell us about this before?"
Hearing their question, Mu Tangfeng felt a little guilty.
Back then, he had always felt his days were numbered. He also thought he’d caused his parents too much trouble growing up and didn’t want to bother them with something like this.
Besides, it wasn’t like he’d lost out. They had made those Prison Directors suffer miserably.
But all of that was in the past and didn’t matter now. What he was supposed to be talking about was Lanlan.
He returned to the topic. "Mom, Dad, Lanlan is so wonderful. I just like her, and I will only ever like her."
Mr. and Mrs. Mu were rendered speechless by their son. They used to watch him act so cold toward females, but who knew he was so completely love-struck?
Mr. Mu tried to reason with him. "Now, son, we’re not saying that little girl Shi Lan is no good. It’s just that her Fertility Value is zero. In the future, there will be no one to carry on the Mu Family line."
He pouted. "Can’t you two just try a little harder? You’re in your fifties—the perfect time to try for a second child."
In the interstellar era, the average lifespan was 200 years. Mr. and Mrs. Mu both looked very young and had no gray hair.
The reason the Director had them was because she gave birth to Ye Ming relatively late in life and was much older.
Mr. Mu said angrily, "You think I don’t want to?"
"What are you talking about?"
Mrs. Mu quickly stopped him. They had to maintain their parental image in front of their son.
"See? That proves my point, doesn’t it? What’s the use of having a Fertility Value? It doesn’t guarantee you can have children."
"What do you know? Having a chance to conceive and being unable to conceive are two completely different concepts."
Mr. Mu continued to coax him. "Just think about it. Our Paradise Bird Clan’s beast form is so beautiful. Don’t you look forward to seeing your own child with the same beast form as you, carrying on your bloodline?"
Mu Tangfeng followed his father’s line of thought for three seconds before shaking his head firmly again. "Mom, Dad, I know you mean well, but she’s the only female I’ve ever liked this much in my entire life. I can’t imagine a life without her."
"Fine, let’s not talk about the Fertility Value for now. Think about this: your spiritual power is so high that you’ll always need a female’s comfort. Shi Lan is F-level. What will you do in the future if your collapse value rises again? You don’t want to be separated from the person you love and sent back to Black Star, do you?"
"So, what you’re saying is, if Shi Lan has spiritual power, you won’t have any objections?"
Mu Tangfeng asked his father in return.
Mr. and Mrs. Mu pondered for a moment before nodding. In the end, they were more concerned about their son’s safety than about having grandchildren.
The reason they insisted on a partner with spiritual power was that a spiritual power collapse sometimes required Deep Healing. The Basic Healing provided by ordinary doctors might not be as effective and would take effect slowly.
Therefore, in terms of both speed and effect, Shi Lan’s spiritual power healing was unique in this world.
Hearing this, Mu Tangfeng’s lips curled up in an excited grin. "Then you have to agree, because Lanlan’s Spiritual Power Level is A."
"How is that possible? Wasn’t she said to be a usele—... an F-level female?"
Mr. Mu had originally wanted to say "useless female," but the moment he started to speak, he felt his son’s icy glare and cleverly corrected himself.
Mu Tangfeng explained, "Everyone’s spiritual power can change after they reach adulthood. Lanlan just never got re-tested, which is why everyone still thinks she’s F-level."
"If she hasn’t been tested, how do you know she’s A-level?"
"All I’m telling you is that Lanlan isn’t F-level. She’ll be able to treat me in the future."
Mu Tangfeng knew about the unique nature of Shi Lan’s spiritual power, so even when facing his own parents, he chose to be vague for the time being and not reveal too much.
"So, Mom, Dad, you just said it yourselves. You can’t object anymore, okay?"
Mr. and Mrs. Mu sensed their son’s determination, and their stance had, in fact, already softened considerably without them even realizing it.
After a long moment, Mrs. Mu finally said, "When you have time in the next couple of days, ask her to come over for a meal."
Mu Tangfeng studied her expression carefully. "Mom, you can’t bully her. She has a gentle personality."
"Of course not. Why would I bully a female?"
Mrs. Mu looked at her fiercely protective son with exasperation. Although she lamented that you can’t hold on to your children forever, as a parent, she had long anticipated this day.
Besides, things had turned out much better than she had imagined. She had originally worried that her son would never be able to leave Black Star, and she had also worried that he would be alone for the rest of his life.
Now, if she were to be honest, she felt more gratitude toward Shi Lan than anything else—gratitude for the dedicated care she had given her son on Black Star.