Chapter 12

Shen Jin settled into a chair at the dining table, his gaze sweeping over it.

Though a teapot was absent, a spread of dishes awaited.

It would suffice for now.

"Jiang Linchuan, come here."

For the sake of the meal, he would temporarily permit Jiang Linchuan to serve him.

"What's wrong?"

As the new day dawned, the baby awoke with earth-shattering cries. Jiang Linchuan, having just splashed water on his face, rushed towards the nursery. Passing the dining table, he casually tossed out the question.

Changing diapers, preparing milk, soothing the child—Jiang Linchuan was a whirlwind of activity.

Shen Jin's eyes tracked his movements for a few moments before his expression gradually cooled to icy detachment.

Indeed, such a person was unfit to serve him.

Noticing Shen Jin hadn't touched his chopsticks, Chen Lanzhi peeled a boiled egg and placed it on his plate. Adopting her sweetest, most gentle tone, she said, "An egg for breakfast is good for your health, dear."

From this day forward, he was her grand-nephew. In their squad, almost every member was a confirmed bachelor. The captain was the first to break ranks... well, he was still a bachelor, but now a dad by extraordinary circumstances.

Regardless, the squad had finally welcomed a child—a joyous occasion.

Chen Lanzhi's gaze softened with increasing affection as she looked at Shen Jin.

Shen Jin shot her a glance, then picked up a fresh egg, mimicking her actions of cracking and peeling it.

Chen Lanzhi, having met with another rebuff, quietly retrieved the egg and ate it herself.

What a character, this son.

To have such a son was the captain's good fortune!

Chen Lanzhi quickly finished her breakfast and went to the nursery. The baby on the bed was drinking milk and playing with its feet—pale and soft-skinned, with large blue eyes. Hearing her, the baby turned its gaze to Chen Lanzhi, who smiled back, her eyes crinkling. The little one gurgled with laughter.

What an adorable son. Compared to the older one outside, this one was simply a sweet little angel.

To have such a son, the captain was truly blessed again!

"Normally, you'd be reporting back to the team today to close out your leave, but given the current situation, even regular work attendance will be a problem," Chen Lanzhi said, shifting her gaze from the child to Jiang Linchuan. "When I had my baby and was in confinement, I had a fantastic postpartum nanny. Would you like me to introduce her?"

Jiang Linchuan shook his head. "No need, I'll manage them myself."

"That won't be easy," Chen Lanzhi said gravely. "Captain, you've never had or raised a child—you have no idea how overwhelming it can be. And you have to work; what will you do with the child then?"

Special agents are on call 24/7, and Jiang Linchuan, as captain of the Special Operations Brigade, has many responsibilities.

Staying in Baigu Town for a year had already been the absolute limit. His superiors had repeatedly demanded his return, and just as he finally came back, this situation arose.

"I'll figure something out," Jiang Linchuan said, putting socks on the child. "But the immediate priority is to get their identity documents sorted as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, leave it to my husband, Old Lin. He'll handle it flawlessly, without a hitch," Chen Lanzhi assured. "Only Zheng Jian and I know where they came from."

"Thank you for your trouble this time. Please thank your husband for me too."

"Don't mention it, Captain," Chen Lanzhi said, checking her watch. "Is there anything else you need help with? I can take some leave."

"Do you know how to take care of a child?" Jiang Linchuan asked her.

"No," Chen Lanzhi shook her head. "Heaven only granted me the ability to give birth."

"Understood," Jiang Linchuan nodded. "You may go, no need for me to see you out."

Chen Lanzhi departed, the roar of her silver motorcycle catching Shen Jin's attention. He walked to the window, glanced outside, and his eyes brightened.

"Shen Jin, come here. Hold the child so I can eat something." Jiang Linchuan emerged, carrying the baby who had inexplicably begun whimpering and crying, and gestured to Shen Jin with a tilt of his chin.

Hold the child?

How could he possibly hold a child?

His not devouring it was already the greatest act of kindness.

Shen Jin had no intention of engaging with this glib human man. He remained motionless, staring out the window. The motorcycle had long since vanished from sight.

"Let me eat breakfast, and I'll take you out. If you don't want to go out, that's fine too. Anyway, you can wear my clothes—I don't mind." Jiang Linchuan bounced the child in his arms. The baby had been fed, its diaper changed—why was it still crying?

The cool back of the head turned. The cold figure approached, eyelids drooping, his tone clearly annoyed. "Why don't you just put him on the bed? Why do you have to hold him?"

"He's crying," Jiang Linchuan said.

"Right, he's crying, and it's very irritating. So, why can't you put him on the bed?"

Their eyes met, the air thick with unspoken words.

Jiang Linchuan tried to hand the child to him, but Shen Jin recoiled a step, as if dodging a hot potato.

Defiant, ill-tempered, and unreasonable—if it were any other team member, Jiang Linchuan would have already kicked them out and ordered them to do push-ups.

But this was his newly acknowledged eldest son. A father-son bond hadn't yet formed, so he couldn't be too forceful.

Jiang Linchuan tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. "Hold the child or feed me—choose one."

Shen Jin glanced at him, then at the food on the table, seemingly deep in thought.

Jiang Linchuan thought to himself that there might still be hope for this kid; it just required the right approach.

After a long moment, Shen Jin slowly picked up the half-eaten egg from the table and brought it to Jiang Linchuan's mouth. "Eat."

The egg wasn't tasty; he had taken one bite and discarded it. But since it was his leftover, this human man wasn't worthy of it.

Still, in his great mercy, he bestowed it upon him.

Jiang Linchuan looked at the egg held by those slender, pale fingers, now offered to his lips. For a fleeting moment, he felt a surge of unexpected emotion, complex and hard to describe.

This must be what it feels like to be a father.

Even if it was a leftover, a father wouldn't disdain his son's offering.

A breakthrough moment—stay calm.

Jiang Linchuan opened his mouth, took the leftover egg, and swallowed it in two bites.

Shen Jin picked up another piece of pancake. Originally, this pancake had green vegetable leaves and what appeared to be fragrant red meat inside. The leaves tasted bland, but the red meat was delicious—so he ate all of it. The remaining pancake edges were unappetizing.

Given to Jiang Linchuan.

Jiang Linchuan stared at the small, lettuce-topped egg pancake—slightly nibbled—held to his lips. His jaw tightened as he opened his mouth.

Then came the sweet steamed bun with filling—the red filling was tasty, but the skin was not.

Given to Jiang Linchuan.

The plain soy milk paled in comparison to infant formula.

Given to Jiang Linchuan.

Every item on the breakfast table had been sampled by Shen Jin; all leftovers were handed off to the irritating human.

Thus, the entire breakfast vanished—nothing remained.

Shen Jin glanced at the grease smearing his hands, grimaced in disgust, and washed them thoroughly with scented hand soap.

After this father-son bonding interlude, the two finally headed for the mall.

Jiang Linchuan’s car had been left with the team—driven back earlier by Geng Yang and others—since prolonged idling could damage the engine. Before Jiang Linchuan’s return, Geng Yang had refueled and retrieved it.

Jiang Linchuan used his key fob to unlock the door, opened the rear door for Shen Jin, then swiftly lifted the child into his arms. As Shen Jin frowned and raised his hand, Jiang Linchuan seized his wrist.

Shen Jin lifted his eyelids.

Jiang Linchuan knelt on one knee across the adjacent seat, bracing one hand against the seatback while leaning down to meet Shen Jin’s gaze. “I need to drive. Just hold him for a moment—we’ll arrive shortly. If you refuse…”

“What then?” Shen Jin fixed his gaze on his restrained wrist, a sharp glint flashing between his brows. With the slightest flex of his fingers, he could shatter the bones.

“He’ll start crying.” Jiang Linchuan released his wrist, gently ruffled his blue hair, and spoke softly: “If you’d rather not be driven mad by his wailing, hold him properly.”

Shen Jin grabbed the hand disturbing his hair, weighing whether to crush the audacious human’s bones.

“If you behave, I’ll reward you later,” Jiang Linchuan added.

“Okay?” Jiang Linchuan gently flexed the wrist still gripped in Shen Jin’s hand.

Not large—but undeniably strong.

Shen Jin narrowed his eyes, pressed his lips together, held Jiang Linchuan’s gaze for a beat, then slowly let go.

Jiang Linchuan pressed his lips together, rose smoothly as if nothing had occurred, closed the door, circled to the driver’s side—and suppressed a quiet smile.

Shen Jin looked down at the tiny *waste* in his arms, chewing its own feet, and snorted in disdain.

Clothes, phone, shoes, and the promised reward—if even one went missing, he’d kill Jiang Linchuan once for each omission.

Jiang Linchuan started the engine and drove toward the nearest mall.

En route, he called his former housekeeper and asked her to clean the apartment during this window. He hadn’t mentioned it earlier—he’d assumed he’d head straight back to the Special Operations Brigade this time, never anticipating two unexpected additions along the way.

After hanging up, Jiang Linchuan glanced in the rearview mirror. The first surprise had already struck another pose in this environment.

Shen Jin looked delicate—but was in fact quite tall, especially with long, straight legs. So he slouched there, his legs stretched forward, pressing against the driver’s seatback, letting the baby lie across his lap. This freed both hands. He rested an elbow on the window, propping his head up with one hand—languid, yet effortlessly elegant.

“Why don’t you like him?” Jiang Linchuan asked.

“Why should I?” Shen Jin shot back.

Forget it—change the subject.

“The baby still doesn’t have a name. Shall we pick one? Any suggestions?”

“Little waste,” Shen Jin said.

“…”

Try another topic.

“Have you seen his mother?” Jiang Linchuan’s eyes gleamed shrewdly, locked onto the figure in the back seat.

“Why would I have seen his mother?”

“Then have you seen your own mother?” Jiang Linchuan pressed.

“…”

Conversation over.

The chatterbox snapped his mouth shut and steered the car into the underground parking lot.

The mall was enormous—offering food, clothing, household goods—a true one-stop destination.

Seeing the flicker of excitement in Shen Jin’s eyes, Jiang Linchuan smiled. After all, he was still a child.

Their first purchase was a stroller—so the little waste could be wheeled instead of carried.

Noticing Shen Jin’s unwavering stare fixed on the stroller, Jiang Linchuan tugged him back: “You can’t take it apart.”

Shen Jin ignored the nonsense.

The mall overflowed with items—none of which Shen Jin had ever seen before. He wanted to touch everything.

The human world had changed drastically since the past.

No wonder those monsters were always desperate to invade it—to settle here, to crush humanity beneath their feet.

Suddenly, Shen Jin lifted an eyebrow.

He turned to look at the person beside him.

Jiang Linchuan stood before a clothing rack, holding up two T-shirts to gauge fit against Shen Jin’s frame—his expression calm and focused.

“What’s wrong? Like this one?” Jiang Linchuan pulled dark blue jeans from the hanger and checked the size tag.

Shen Jin glanced at Jiang Linchuan’s watch. Both Jiang Linchuan and his watch remained perfectly still.

At least five monsters were active inside the mall—yet this normally hyper-attuned man hadn’t sensed a thing.

“These should fit,” Jiang Linchuan said, handing him the pants. “Try them on.”

Shen Jin glanced over, then reached out to grab the waistband of his pants and started to pull them down.

Jiang Linchuan swiftly grabbed his hand, his temple throbbing, "You can't take them off here."

"Why?" Shen Jin retorted, displeased.

Who dared to stop him from taking off his pants?

"Because..." Jiang Linchuan gripped his hand tightly, afraid that if he let go, the loose shorts would slip down his smooth legs. After searching for the right words, he finally said, "They don't deserve to see your body."

Shen Jin blinked.

That made sense.