The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 537: Farwell... Baby?

Chapter 537: Farwell... Baby?

The desire to delay his next move tugged at Xu Feng, but in truth, he knew he couldn’t afford to put things off any longer.

He had taken a quick "hoe bath"—the kind that left him feeling barely cleaner than before—but still cleaner than before, and dressed in what he could find.

The all-black outfit, complete with comfortable trainers, was far from what he’d normally wear in Dongzhou, but it was practical. It would have to do. He remembered the last fall he spent in Nanshan: cool, but not so bitter that a sweatshirt wouldn’t suffice.

He hoped he’d be back before the cold set in too deeply.

Dinner with the Feng trio felt almost ceremonial.

It was a bit more elaborate than the meals they’d shared on the road, a small celebration of sorts. The food was good, but Xu Feng could barely taste it. His mind was elsewhere, too filled with anticipation and nerves to appreciate the flavors. Even the warmth of the soup barely registered on his tongue.

The boys seemed to sense his restlessness, their usual playful energy a little more subdued, as though they understood he was about to leave. Xu Feng marveled at their maturity. How many goodbyes had they endured, to know how to handle this one with such control?

They planned to stay the night, and Yujie extended one last offer for Xu Feng to travel with them. He declined with a smile, trying to keep his tone light.

If his plan worked, he wouldn’t need to impose on their kindness any longer. If it didn’t, well, he would be back soon enough, and maybe he’d join them on their journey after all.

He left several jars of jam for the boys in one of the cooler, airtight rooms, a small parting gift. They could take with them back to their base or leave them here, whichever suited them best. The boys loved his jam—so much that Xu Feng had to warn Yujie not to let them have too much at once, or they’d sleep away an entire day in the van.

It was hard for their bodies to digest so much energy in a single sitting. They’d had this problem frequently in the first few days in the van. Now that he knew the cause, he shared this information with Yujie.

He’d even left a large jar of wine for her to drink slowly.

As he lingered in the quiet room on the top floor of the west-side teaching building—Xu Zeng’s room, the room he’d woken up in when he first came back to Dongmen—he took a deep breath.

It was time. Time to face the unknown.

Morning would come, and the Fengs would leave, but he hoped this wasn’t a real goodbye. They would meet again, somehow. He held on to that thought, letting it fuel him as he took one last look around the room.

The faint sound of zombies shuffling in the far distance reached his ears, like a grim farewell song. Maybe they would welcome him back if his plan failed, but he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

He wasn’t a fighter—never had been—but he was a survivor, and he’d figure this out one way or another.

Xu Feng laughed quietly to himself as he thought about his brother, the hermit crab, and how he might become just like him if things didn’t go as planned. Trading supplies for crystal cores, living quietly, keeping to himself—that could be his future if he couldn’t return home.

It was with that thought that he took the leap, slipping into his space with a burst of excitement. The piles of treasures he’d collected greeted him, shining in the dim light of the space.

He couldn’t help but grin—he was a dragon, after all. Hoarding came naturally.

But his glee was cut short by a sound he didn’t expect—crying. A sharp, desperate wail echoed through the air, bouncing off the piles of hoarded goods. Xu Feng’s heart leaped into his throat, and he moved cautiously toward the source.

He turned a corner created by his booty, weaving through the stacks of boxes of things that he would never put together himself and other miscellaneous supplies until he found the source of the noise. His breath caught in his chest.

Two tiny figures, one sitting, the other laying on the ground, both in a pile of broken eggshells and scattered crystal nuclei—far fewer than he remembered hoarding... collecting.

One of the babies, plump and toothless, was wailing loudly, trying to gum one of the crystal cores with a furious determination. The other, slightly bigger and with a few budding teeth, was trying to pull the core away as if knowing it wasn’t meant to be eaten at least not like that.

The bigger baby who was sitting up was switching between a pout, and mumbling unintelligibly at the other baby. He was trying his hardest, but despite being bigger, he couldn’t pry the crystal core from the smaller toothless baby.

Xu Feng’s mind went blank for a second, his hands trembling as he reached out toward the crying babies. He had so many questions—too many questions—but right now, all he could do was stare at them, overwhelmed by the sight.

His hands were in limbo.

Tears welled up in his eyes before he could stop them, spilling down his cheeks as he moved closer. The babies, finally sensing the presence of another, froze and turned their wide, round eyes toward him.

For a moment, they looked at him like he was the most terrifying thing they’d ever seen. And then, as if recognizing him, the toothless one’s cries grew louder.

He was just easily holding his own against his older brother, but now, his tears became heartbreakingly sorrowful. His hunger could no longer be contained when he saw his dad and both their grips on the crystal core loosened.

Xu Feng scooped the little one into his arms, his voice trembling as he whispered, "Xiao Long?"

The baby responded with a loud, enthusiastic babble, his tiny hands gripping Xu Feng’s shirt as if afraid to let go. Tears still clung to his chubby cheeks, but there was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

The wails had paused as his dad acknowledged him.

Xu Feng’s chest tightened, his heart swelling with a fierce, protective love he hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. He crouched down, reaching out to the older baby still sitting on the ground almost motionless. "Da Long?"

This little one managed a more composed expression, but his lips quivered with barely contained excitement. "Haah." He gave a small, satisfied huff, the way only a serious baby could, but Xu Feng could see the joy in his eyes.

And then the waterworks began—both from the babies and from Xu Feng himself. The babies’ cries turned to hungry wails, their little hands reaching out for him desperately.

Xu Feng’s mind raced, torn between holding them both and trying to find something to feed them. He glanced around the cluttered space, his hoarding suddenly a real problem as he tried to remember where he had stored any baby food.

Should he put Xiao Long down? Should he pick Da Long up?

He stumbled through the piles, frantically digging for anything edible. He found some cans of baby formula that weren’t expired, but then realized he didn’t have a way to heat water. He couldn’t set up a solar panel in seconds, and starting a fire in his space was definitely not an option.

Given the time, he probably couldn’t set up a solar panel in three years either.

In his panic, Xu Feng’s thoughts spiraled, but he eventually grabbed a cup of applesauce. It wasn’t ideal, but Da Long had a few teeth, and both babies looked suspiciously bigger than he’d expected newly hatched babies to be.

He settled on the ground with the babies who luckily couldn’t crawl yet, opening a set of baby spoons he had stored for his sons.

Xiao Long’s hands were already reaching eagerly for the plastic cup, and Xu Feng fed them spoonful after spoonful, alternating between the two to keep them from choking. They devoured the applesauce with the ferocity of tiny, starving beasts.

Three cups of applesauce later, Da Long fell asleep in Xu Feng’s arms, the spoon still clutched between his little teeth. Xiao Long, not to be outdone, had fallen asleep sprawled across Xu Feng’s lap, his tiny fingers tangled in his father’s sweatshirt.

Xu Feng felt his own exhaustion settle in as he looked down at his children, now peacefully napping against him. He leaned back, letting his head rest against a stack of baby goods, and took a deep breath, feeling the weight of everything wash over him.

He should have entered his space sooner. He didn’t know how long the two had been here alone. How had they even gotten into his space? Had Xu Zeng put them here?

"More questions, but no answers."