Chapter 404: Bringing up Qinghe
Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Bringing up Qinghe
By the time Ning Xuan had adjusted her clothes and reached the reception hall, Yu Mingche was greeting Chairman Wang and escorting him inside.
Ning Xuan and Chairman Wang were already quite familiar with each other, so they exchanged a familiar greeting. Ning Xuan then looked toward Yu Mingche, and she could tell that he seemed to have something to say to her.
"After you, Lord Contract Master." Yu Mingche took half a step back and moved to stand behind Ning Xuan.
Ning Xuan took Yu Mingche’s hand and asked in a low, concerned voice, "What’s wrong? Why are you so pale?"
"Xuanyuan, you know my birth mother is unknown and my father died long ago. Do you mind?" Yu Mingche whispered in her ear.
"None of that is a secret; I’ve known for a long time. Why would I mind? Is that what you’re worried about? Did the people who came to investigate from the administration center give you a hard time?" Ning Xuan asked, confused.
"No, it was just routine questioning. I was just forced to recall many things I didn’t want to, and it’s put me in a bad mood," Yu Mingche said dejectedly.
"Since you don’t want to dwell on it, you should go rest. This was just a formality, nothing important," Ning Xuan said in a gentle tone.
Yu Mingche hugged Ning Xuan and nuzzled against her. "Xuanyuan, thank you."
"Try to think about things that make you happy. I’ll come find you tonight." Ning Xuan and Yu Mingche had both been very busy the past few days and hadn’t seen much of each other. With something clearly weighing on his mind, Ning Xuan knew that no matter how busy she was, she had to make time to see him.
"Okay," Yu Mingche nodded.
’Ever since he saw the report from the fertility center, his emotions had become very unstable. He had previously assumed it was due to the changes in his physical structure, but now he realized the problem was with his mental health.’
Yu Mingche took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. ’He had faced severe psychological problems in his youth and had managed to pull through. Now that he was an adult, so much stronger than he was as a child, he could definitely get himself back on track.’
Feng Linran watched as Yu Mingche closed the courtyard gate and adjusted the house’s access permissions to bar entry to anyone, including him. Deep worry filled his eyes.
’He had been with Yu Mingche for over a decade and had long sensed that something was off. The Yu Mingche he knew was always meticulous in his thinking, so intelligent it was almost inhuman, and his plans were infallible. It always felt like everything was within his grasp. He had never been this anxious, depressed, and moody before. It was as if something had spun out of control.’
Chairman Wang had indeed come to investigate Yu Mingche’s situation. Regulations required Yu Mingche to be questioned, but since Ning Xuan was so blatantly shielding him, Chairman Wang could only concede with a sigh.
"Ning Xuan, you’re very young and your background is quite simple. You don’t have any family elders to worry about these things for you. We are investigating these matters out of a sense of responsibility toward you," Chairman Wang said in a grave, heartfelt tone.
Of course, the reason the Controller Protection Association and other departments were being so thorough was that Ning Xuan’s Potential Value was remarkably high, and she was drawing a great deal of attention from all sides.
"I know, and I’m very grateful to you all. However, you must be aware of Yu Mingche’s condition. He was in a terrible state just now, and I’m afraid it might affect the child. In any case, the final investigation report comes to me, so I can just review it myself," Ning Xuan said with a smile.
"Since you’re determined to stop this line of questioning, you should look through this file in detail. If there are no problems, sign in the blank space at the very end." Chairman Wang had no other option and handed her the thick stack of documents.
Ning Xuan quickly flipped through the file, reaching the last page in a flash and preparing to sign.
"Ning Xuan, you’d better look more carefully. Yu Mingche’s upbringing is very complicated. The Yu Family is the ruling family of the S-Class Resource Star, Venus, and they are one of the Seven Great Families of the Elder Council. Despite such a powerful family background, Yu Mingche refuses to acknowledge he’s a member of the Yu Family. What’s more, he doesn’t plan to allow anyone from the Yu Family to be invited to the Contract ceremony," Chairman Wang cautioned.
"I saw that. He had a very difficult childhood. That so-called family brought him nothing but pain. It’s better to disown a family like that. I respect his decision." Without hesitation, Ning Xuan signed her name.
By signing the document, Ning Xuan was officially acknowledging and accepting everything that had ever happened to Yu Mingche.
"He and the others are lucky to have met you. By the way, do you want to hold ceremonies for your other Contractors at the same time? The investigation for a husband is more troublesome; for the other Contractors, it’s much simpler," Chairman Wang asked.
"Let’s wait a while longer." Ning Xuan had originally planned to do them all at once, but after thinking about Ying Yaoshi, she decided to schedule the other Contract ceremonies for after his.
"Very well, then. Ning Xuan, now that we’ve finished with official business, there’s a personal matter I was hoping to ask of you." A distinctly fawning expression appeared on Chairman Wang’s face.
"A personal matter? Let me be clear: I’m not taking on any Half-beastmen, nor any more Contractors. If you’re trying to shove someone else my way, you can forget it," Ning Xuan stated.
"I’m not trying to push anyone on you. Do you remember Qinghe?" Chairman Wang asked, watching her expression.
Ning Xuan nodded. "I remember. He’s very powerful. At the New Star Body, he absorbed a great deal of the spiral nebula. His Spiritual Sea stabilized, and so did his Mutated Value. What’s this about? Why are you bringing him up?"
The mention of Qinghe reminded Ning Xuan of Tang Xue. Just three months ago, Ning Xuan had received a message from her.
"He rendered great service in the Realm of Chaos, and his crimes have been pardoned. But the Realm of Chaos is exceedingly dangerous. His Spiritual Sea was severely polluted, and he’s only been holding on until now thanks to potent spirit inhibitors. Two days ago, even those stopped working for him. He’s now locked away on the newly reinforced ninth basement level of the Training Institute."
"Is that so? Then you should hurry and get him treatment. What’s the use of just locking him up? Oh..." As she spoke, realization dawned on her. "Chairman Wang, are you asking me to help treat him?"
"We’ve tried all sorts of methods to treat him, but none have had any significant effect. Every doctor who has seen him believes he’s a lost cause," Chairman Wang said, a look of deep regret on his face.
"That’s a real shame," Ning Xuan replied.
When Chairman Wang saw that Ning Xuan had no further reaction after saying it was a shame, he knew she wasn’t particularly concerned about Qinghe. Resigned, he could only continue, "After an evaluation by an authoritative medical team, it was determined that his condition requires him to stay by the side of a female with a high Spiritual Power Level for an extended period. Only with long-term, continuous soothing is it possible for him to overcome this crisis," Chairman Wang explained.
"Don’t look at me. There are plenty of women with a higher Spiritual Power Level than mine, aren’t there? I’ve already taken in Di Youlin, and I have a fair number of Contractors already. You can’t just shove Qinghe onto me."