Chapter 14: Emotionally stable like an old dog
Although Miss Zhou Sheqing appeared like a mountain, staring at Yu Yan and trying to impose more pressure on him, Yu Yan couldn’t help but think she resembled a little girl on the verge of tears, as if she had something precious taken away from her.
He had long checked the character relationships in the system and knew about the friendship and connections between Su He and Zhou Sheqing.
He was also aware that Zhou Sheqing had some affection for 012 and had tried to help 012 escape in the original plot.
However, there was no plot involving a conversation with “Kang Shi” at the moment, and there would be none in the future.
After revealing her unfriendly attitude, Miss Zhou Sheqing suddenly asked him, “What do you think about marrying me?”
Yu Yan’s polite smile turned into a question mark: “?”
“Or do you still have feelings for Su He?” Zhou Sheqing was aware of Kang Shi’s past affection for Su He.
“I have no romantic feelings for Su He,” Yu Yan replied calmly. “To be honest, I’m gay.”
This was a polite way of rejecting her. In reality, Yu Yan was asexual and had never had romantic or sexual feelings for anyone, regardless of gender.
The phrase had initially been used by his second brother to reject a persistent suitor, leading Yu Yan to discover its effectiveness.
Ninety percent of heterosexuals would give up pursuing him after hearing this.
“I don’t mind,” Miss Zhou Sheqing was not within that ninety percent.
She said calmly, “Marrying me could bring you many conveniences.”
Yu Yan was curious: “So what are your demands?”
“I want you to stay away from Su He in the future. Also, after we marry, I’ll secretly work with you on researching 012. Officially, he will be yours, but privately, he will be mine. I want control over him; you cannot interfere with him,” Zhou Sheqing said.
Yu Yan poured her a cup of tea and said, “I’m not quite sure I understand.”
Zhou Sheqing took a deep breath.
“You should know that I’m Zhou Xiangcheng’s sister. 012 spent two years in Zhou Xiangcheng’s lab.”
“You may have heard the rumors that Zhou Xiangcheng fell in love with an experimental subject, tried to develop a relationship, and was attacked, leaving him in critical condition.”
“I have heard about it,” Yu Yan replied. “May I ask, the last I heard Zhou Xiangcheng was hanging on by a thread. What’s his current condition?”
Zhou Sheqing’s cheeks tightened slightly. “Unfortunately, he’s still hanging on.”
Yu Yan expressed his regret, commenting, “He’s been hanging on for quite a while.”
It had been two months, and despite hearing that he was on the brink, he was still alive.
Zhou Sheqing spoke with a touch of sarcasm, “That’s because he’s the Kang family’s precious one. His mother can’t bear to see him die and has spent countless valuable medications on him. Such a person is always harder to die.”
“The rumors about Zhou Xiangcheng and 012 are false, or rather, most of them are false. Zhou Xiangcheng doesn’t know what love is.”
“We’re all born from genetic editing, but no genes are perfect. Where one excels, there are always flaws. Zhou Xiangcheng’s flaw is that he cannot understand human ethics or emotions.”
Zhou Sheqing touched her mechanical eye as she spoke.
“When we were children, Zhou Xiangcheng found my eyes interesting and tricked me into his lab, where he removed them for an experiment. If the butler hadn’t intervened, I would have been cut to pieces on his operating table.”
“Do you understand? That’s the kind of person he is.”
Yu Yan nodded in understanding.
Zhou Sheqing saw his sincere expression and continued:
“At first, Zhou Xiangcheng thought 012 was very valuable and wanted to cultivate more experimental subjects with 012’s genes. But 012 was a lab-grown product with significant genetic defects. Cells extracted from him couldn’t be cultured, and Zhou Xiangcheng’s breeding plan failed.”
Yu Yan nodded.
Yes, 012 was infertile.
“Zhou Xiangcheng didn’t give up. He thought that while his experimental breeding methods had failed, maybe natural reproduction would succeed. So he used medication to induce 012’s mating season.”
“He selected suitable experimental subjects, but the induced 012 exhibited unprecedented aggression. He violently killed and devoured all living creatures that came near.”
“Zhou Xiangcheng quickly came up with a bold idea. He began selecting humans to approach 012, including ordinary people he hired and his research assistants. All of them, without exception, were attacked by 012.”
“However, 012 did not reject Zhou Xiangcheng’s approach.”
“This lunatic, Zhou Xiangcheng, was so obsessed with 012 that he decided to approach him himself… And when he reached 012, 012 tore open his protective suit and then ripped his throat apart.”
Zhou Sheqing still vividly remembered that day—the frantic Zhou Xiangcheng, the anxious assistants, the restless air, and the splattered blood in the isolation room.
Zhou Xiangcheng’s head had been twisted off his neck, held on only by a few blood vessels. His inverted head, with bulging eyes, rolled and locked gaze with her.
The lab was filled with the terrified screams of people, while 012 licked the blood off his hands.
Returning from the memory, Zhou Sheqing looked at the man across from her, whose expression remained completely unmoved, and posed a sharp question:
“Zhou Xiangcheng viewed 012 as an untamable experimental subject and ultimately got burned by his own actions. What about you? Su He said you have no interest in researching 012. So, are you considering him as a pet?”
Zhou Sheqing wanted to say that she valued 012 more than anyone else, and that no one knew how much she wanted to help him, even willing to sacrifice her marriage to protect him.
She had many things she wanted to say but held back; she had already said too much today.
After a long silence, Yu Yan pondered for a moment before replying:
“What should I call him? How about ‘Yao’er’?”
Zhou Sheqing was taken aback. “What?”
Yu Yan explained, “Yao’er sounds like a play on ‘12,’ but in our context, it means the youngest child in the family.”
“My five brothers and I have decided to make him the sixth one.”
Zhou Sheqing’s face darkened. She tried to restrain herself but suddenly stood up and said angrily, “I didn’t tell you all this for you to make a joke out of it!”
Yu Yan, feeling helpless, was sincere in his response and didn’t understand why it had angered her.
Yu Yan found it hard to understand people with unstable emotions, as he was known for his calm demeanor.
But given his well-known good temper, he offered a soothing smile.
“Miss Zhou, don’t be angry. Would you like some tea?”
Miss Zhou seemed even more irritated.
The matchmaking dinner ended on a sour note.
Before leaving with her bag, Zhou Sheqing coldly remarked, “Zhou Xiangcheng, who has been in a coma for two months, woke up a few days ago. Relying solely on yourself may not be enough to keep 012. Please consider my cooperation proposal.”
012 had been dealt with by Zhou Xiangcheng’s mother, who worked at the Life Group, after Zhou Xiangcheng was injured and near death. Given his obsession with 012, there would likely be more trouble ahead.
Yu Yan rubbed his forehead.
The original owner in the plot did not have such concerns. In the original storyline, Kang Shi was happily tormenting 012, and 012 was casually killed by escaping from the lab around that time.
The escape opportunity for 012 seemed related to the upheaval at the research institute in the Central District, which likely had something to do with Zhou Xiangcheng.
“System, can I release 012 from the research institute at the original plot’s timeline?”
Yu Yan summoned the barely noticeable system for guidance.
[Dear Mr. Yu Yan, System 06 only assists with tasks. You have full decision-making freedom, and the system will not interfere. As long as Mr. Yu Yan can keep the villain’s harm value below 100 and address any issues when the harm value exceeds that, everything will be fine.]
With such broad task guidelines and a non-intrusive system assistant, Yu Yan nearly forgot he even had a task.
…
After the vacation ended, on his first day back at work, Yu Yan went as usual to feed the small animals in the care area.
He felt that the small animals, which had been looked after by an assistant for two days, seemed a bit off. They probably missed him.
As soon as he entered the care area, he was met with an enthusiastic welcome. The dragon snapping turtle slammed into the glass, the fish in the tank surfaced and splashed around, and the firebird jumped up to peck at his knees, showing its affection.
All of them were lively and excited.
Only the little one, Yao’er, was sulking. It sat on a three-meter-high branch, watching him from a distance and refusing to come down for its meal.
Yu Yan wondered why it had such a temper. After just two days of rest, he had forgotten any small conflicts between them.
Sighing, he donned his protective suit, set up a ladder on his shoulder, and entered 012’s care area.
He set up the ladder under 012’s tree, took the food, and calmly climbed up, sitting on the same branch as 012.
Placing the blood plasma bag aside, Yu Yan leaned against the tree trunk, his gaze directed towards his office. From this vantage point, he could see the layout of his entire office and any movement within it, making it an excellent observation spot.
Casually, he said, “From here, it feels like I’m living in a cage too, though my cage is even smaller than yours.”
012 sat on a distant tree branch. Even though it was a thin branch, 012 could sit on it, indicating its lightweight. It looked like a human but was as light as a bird, with many of its bones being hollow.
“Hmm? Why are you sitting so far away and not coming over to eat?” Yu Yan asked, puzzled.
Seeing the genuine confusion on Yu Yan’s face, 012, who had been resisting for a while, flew down from the tree, pressed down on the ladder, and pushed it aside.
Yu Yan, still sitting on the tree: ……
**TN
“幺儿” (yāo ér) – can be translated as “little child” or “youngest child.” It’s a way to refer to the youngest or smallest in a family or group. In some contexts, it can also be a term of endearment or familiarity, similar to calling someone “little one” in English. The character 幺 (yāo) often implies something small or young.
🤣🤣🤣 tantrum at its peak.