Chapter 269
Chapter 269: The Cubs’ Dad Confessed on the Road, and the Cubs Were Already on the Road to Birth
Jiang Tea Tea twisted her wrist. His grip was tight but didn’t hurt. His other hand held her waist, soothing pouring around her like he was afraid she’d bolt.
She stopped struggling and looked up. “Your Highness, when you negotiate with people, do you grab their wrist and hold their waist like this?”
Chong Ming looked down at her. “Of course not.”
Jiang Tea Tea shifted. “Then you’re doing this to me because you look down on me and don’t treat me like a person?”
Chong Ming’s expression tightened. He lowered himself completely, voice sincere. “No. When I negotiate with others, if we don’t agree, I can flip the table and walk away.”
“When I negotiate with you, you’re the one who can flip the table. I’m the one who wants to cooperate so badly that I keep lowering my bottom line—until I have no bottom line.”
“Grabbing your wrist and holding your waist is because I’m afraid you’ll flip the table and hurt yourself.” His eyes didn’t move from hers. “And I’m afraid you won’t even bother flipping it. You’ll just ignore me.”
Tch. As expected of the Empire’s Commander-in-Chief and regent prince—the male at the top of the M31 star system.
Those words were pretty enough to stir the fake heiress’s leftover consciousness, screaming inside Jiang Tea Tea’s mind that she shipped it. The Commander-in-Chief was truly the ideal man—the most wanted marriage target for males and females in the M31 star system.
Love, love, love. She loved the Commander-in-Chief’s type. Every other male was weak compared to him.
Jiang Tea Tea warned the fake heiress’s leftover consciousness: don’t make trouble. Don’t think it’s romantic.
Romantic my ass. As a great demon, you either cultivated and lived forever, or cultivated and ascended, blessing a region.
Love was the thing that killed whoever touched it—demon, ghost, devil, immortal, human. So many examples. Learn the lesson.
She carried five dragon hatchlings. No romance debt. Finish the contract with the fake heiress. Find a way back to the demon realm, or cultivate and ascend with cubs—a legend.
Once you touched love, who knew what came? A demon clan you couldn’t return to? An immortal realm you couldn’t reach?
When he died, would she spend eternity searching for his reincarnation, or live lonely here? Terrifying. Miserable.
Seeing her go silent, Chong Ming tightened his hand on her waist. His golden eyes poured possessiveness and love over her like a storm.
“Jiang Tea Tea,” he said, voice low, “on the battlefield or at negotiations, even if I’m losing, I’m still the one holding the initiative.”
“Only with you…” He exhaled. “I thought of many ways. I wanted to gain initiative through different routes. I even thought about locking you in the imperial palace until you loved me, then letting you out.”
“But I failed. Every thought failed before I even acted. If you don’t open your person and heart to me, I can never hold initiative.”
“Even if you open up, you’ll still be the one holding initiative, picking me, flipping my table.” He paused, and his smile turned bitter and sweet. “But even if you pick me and flip my table, I’m still happy.”
“I wanted to take it slow, let feelings grow over time. But I thought again—I’m not young. I’m over one hundred and thirty years older than you.”
“If I want you, want to register marriage with you, want to hug and kiss you openly, and have cubs with you, then I have to tell you plainly and honestly.”
Her hand was still pressed to his chest. He made her feel his heartbeat, as if every word was sealed with it.
Her palm felt scalding. She tried to pull back, but he held her steady. Looking into his eyes, her heart went chaotic, skipping again. Inside her belly, the cubs churned with her heartbeat, fierce and violent.
Jiang Tea Tea moved her lips. “Let go of me first. My belly feels a little uncomfortable.”
Chong Ming’s hand tightened, then loosened. He scooped her up, placed her on a soft sofa, and knelt before her.
Jiang Tea Tea held her belly. Her hand was visibly pushed up by movement inside.
The cubs moved too obviously—too abnormally lively. It was like they all started moving at once, pushing at her belly.
Her hand couldn’t cover it at all.
Her belly bulged here, bulged there—several spots at once.
Chong Ming stared, pupils contracting. His voice went hoarse. “Jiang Tea Tea… are you sure there’s only one cub in there?”
The cubs were so active her belly hurt. Jiang Tea Tea hunched, covering her belly and blocking his view. “I’m uncomfortable. I don’t want to argue. Please leave.”
She was pale with pain, eyes red. Chong Ming looked up at her and bargained, “I’ll call Cheng Yuan and Cheng Lin Yue to examine you. I won’t look. I just want to confirm you’re safe.”
She wouldn’t tell. He wouldn’t force.
Jiang Tea Tea paused. “Fine.”
Her five cubs were too unruly today.
They wriggled and pushed until her belly hurt.
Chong Ming froze at her agreement. “Wait. I’ll call them.”
He stepped aside and called Cheng Yuan.
After the call, he opened cabin clearance for Cheng Yuan and Cheng Lin Yue.
Then he took off his uniform coat, rolled up his sleeves, took a cup and blade, and sliced his wrist.
The cut was deep. Dragon blood flowed into the cup. In a blink, the cup filled.
He sprayed medical mist on his wrist, lowered his sleeve to cover it, carried the cup back, and knelt before Jiang Tea Tea. “Here. Drink.”
Jiang Tea Tea looked from the cup to him. His eyes were full of worry. “I can’t drink right now. Set it aside.”
Chong Ming sealed the cup and set it within reach. “They’ll arrive within fifty minutes. Do you want me to carry you to bed to rest?”
The bed wasn’t far. It looked like the one in the imperial palace—a half-oval nest.
Jiang Tea Tea glanced at the bed but didn’t answer, and Chong Ming carefully lifted her anyway.
The moment she leaned against him, the cubs quieted. No more wriggling. No more excitement.
Jiang Tea Tea: “…”
Her cubs should’ve been on her side. Instead they were completely on Chong Ming’s side. She was furious. Later she’d teach them a lesson.
Chong Ming laid her on the bed and covered her with a thin blanket. He sat on the edge and poured psychic soothing, looking like he blamed himself for being too forward and pressing too hard.
Jiang Tea Tea curled up and held her belly—mostly to draw on magic power and check on the cubs.
All five cubs were curled together, quiet as can be. They’d grown small fleshy horns and little claws. From pinky-thick, they were now as thick as her ring finger.
Jiang Tea Tea’s irritation spiked. Earlier they churned until she hurt. Now all five were good as gold.
What—was that earlier tantrum to make her accept dating and registering marriage with their dad?
Not even born yet and their claws already turned outward. Once they were born and saw him, wouldn’t they throw themselves at him?
In her mind, Jiang Tea Tea launched a silent, ruthless lecture at the five cubs, telling them who was heaven, who was earth, and who controlled their tiny lives.
The five cubs curled tighter like they understood—like a tangled ball of yarn, weak and pitiful.
After finishing, Jiang Tea Tea suddenly sat up. “Chong Ming, my belly is fine now. It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine. You can go.”
Chong Ming startled and reached out, as if to steady her. Hearing her, his hand stopped midair and lowered slowly. “We agreed we’d stay together tonight. You and the cubs need soothing.”
Jiang Tea Tea reminded him, “I never agreed to stay with you tonight, and I never agreed to date you with the goal of registering marriage.”
Chong Ming’s fingers curled against the blanket. “Wait until Cheng Yuan and Cheng Lin Yue examine you, then we’ll talk.”
Jiang Tea Tea urged him, “Leave my room now. I want quiet for a bit.”
Chong Ming didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay, hug her, watch her. But meeting her black eyes, he lost. “Fine. I’ll go downstairs and receive Cheng Yuan and Cheng Lin Yue. If you need anything, call the smart system. 123 can relay anything downstairs.”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “Got it.”
Chong Ming stepped back and left.
He didn’t take his uniform coat. It remained on the sofa, like it declared he was another master here.
Hearing him go downstairs, Jiang Tea Tea flopped onto the bed and patted her belly hard, over and over, until the cubs didn’t dare move.
Then her hand pressed over her heart.
When Old Loach confessed so seriously, whether she admitted it or not, she wasn’t as indifferent as before.
Her heart skipped. Her thoughts tangled. Her mind started imagining the future he described.
Even earlier, when Kong Que said Tian Qiong Planet’s princess and the merfolk clan’s princess and prince were coming to match him, she’d felt uncomfortable.
Her gossip hunger covered it at the time, but now that she thought back, the discomfort still lingered.
Did she have improper thoughts about her “reserve food” and “great tonic dragon”? Did she no longer want to kill him and bury him under her roots, but instead crave his body and want to sleep with him?
That realization scared her.
She sprang from bed, ran out, stood at the third-floor railing, and looked down.
On the first floor, Chong Ming sat in the center of the hall. As if he heard her, he lifted his head.
Third floor and first floor—not far, not close.
Their gazes met across the open space.
Cheng Yuan and Cheng Lin Yue said they’d arrive within fifty minutes. They arrived in thirty-five.
If you asked why, it was because Cheng Yuan didn’t just study dark medical art and potions. He also studied flyer modifications.
His flyer looked old enough nobody would pick it up off the road, but after high-quality modifications, its full speed was faster than the newest models. That’s how he arrived so quickly.
“Sister Tea, are you okay? Where does it hurt?” After saluting and greeting the Commander-in-Chief, Cheng Lin Yue rushed to the third floor, anxious.
Jiang Tea Tea glanced downstairs. Cheng Yuan was walking up with Chong Ming, not fast, not slow.
Jiang Tea Tea replied quietly, “I’m fine. About half an hour ago, my belly suddenly cramped.”
Cheng Lin Yue instinctively stepped closer and asked softly, “When it cramped, did it feel like it was dropping downward?”
Jiang Tea Tea shook her head. “No.”
Cheng Lin Yue patted her chest. “Good, good. Then you’re probably not about to give birth. Maybe you’re exhausted, or maybe they were too lively.”
“But it’s fine. Once my uncle comes up and checks you properly, we’ll know what’s going on.”
Five gold dragon clan cubs in one belly was a case Cheng Lin Yue and her uncle had never seen. They couldn’t treat it as normal.
Chong Ming escorted Cheng Yuan upstairs, then stopped on the second floor. He stood at the railing and looked up.
Jiang Tea Tea met his gaze, then turned and walked into the third-floor bedroom. She shut the door. “Cheng Lin Yue, check if there are cameras in here.”
Only then did Cheng Lin Yue realize she’d made a fatal mistake—entering an unfamiliar place and talking about cubs without checking for surveillance.
She got busy at once. She pulled out all the tools her uncle had given her and started scanning.
Cheng Yuan pulled out examination instruments from his storage button and adjusted them.
Only after Cheng Lin Yue confirmed there were no cameras or listening devices—and after she placed multiple signal blockers—did Cheng Yuan tell Jiang Tea Tea to lie down on the instrument.
The scan passed over Jiang Tea Tea’s belly. The cubs inside appeared clearly on the screen.
Cheng Yuan stared at the data, his expression growing heavier.
When Jiang Tea Tea sat up, Cheng Yuan lifted his eyes and spoke in a low, serious voice. “Miss Jiang, based on the results and data, your five cubs—aside from being small—are otherwise in the state of dragon clan cubs one year after hatching.”
“Those two that we said were a bit small before—now, besides still being a little small, there’s no problem.” He swallowed, gaze fixed. “But looking at their condition… it’s like they’re ready to be born at any moment.”