Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

After finishing a cup of coffee, at 9:10, the terminal finally lit up its projection screen in the air.

Hen quickly tugged at his collar, pointing the terminal's camera at himself, trying to look as radiant as possible before glancing at the screen.

Behind the luxurious nanmu wood desk, with a huge bookshelf against an entire wall, a mature woman with long, light blue hair sat in a large leather office chair, absentmindedly saying, "Why are you making so many calls?"

The woman was dressed in a pure black silk suit, thin and semi-transparent, with her chair reclined at a semi-reclining angle. She was leaning back in her office chair, her legs propped up on a footstool, a wool blanket covering her body, one hand holding a book of daily recipes for children aged ten to fifteen, which she was intently flipping through, while her other hand was hidden under the blanket.

Even during her leisurely reading time, Blanca still looked gentle and dignified, much like a virtuous wife with a strong literary temperament.

Hen and Blanca first met in the library of the Fire Moth. Both were intellectuals. Blanca was looking for children's picture books suitable for Shen Liang's age, while Hen stared in a daze at the literary girl sitting in the sunlight, reading a book, wearing a knitted cotton dress. In this era, very few people still chose physical books, and the dreamlike beauty of the book made him certain that this was the person he had been pursuing for his entire life.

"I missed you," Hen said with a smile.

"Don't be so mushy." A fleeting hint of displeasure crossed Blanca's face. "Don't you have work today?"

"I called you during my break, why didn't you answer?"

Blanca was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't want to answer."

She didn't really want to make up a reason right away, and she didn't want to lie, so she could only tell the truth quietly.

Hen was taken aback. He hadn't expected his wife to say such a thing, but considering that she was going through a special period, and that the doctor had said it was normal for women to be moody during this time, he could only nod and say, "After all, the construction outside was like thunder today. Aren't you very afraid of noises outside when you're alone? You even have to sleep with the lights on. I was afraid you'd be scared again today, so I called you to calm you down."

"unnecessary."

"No need...? That's right, Gretchen is here. How could Mommy be afraid with Gretchen in her belly... What's that saying again? A mother's love makes her strong! Yes, you're becoming more and more like a mother!"

Blanca's expression was slightly complicated, then she coldly closed her book. "Making conversation?"

Hen frowned as he looked at his wife's impatient expression on the screen, but still said gently, "Isn't this what couples talk about? I'm only talking about work here, you don't want to hear it, do you? How about you tell me about your life, Blanca?"

Tell me about my life?

Blanca wanted to scoff inwardly. Are you sure you want to hear about my personal life, human? Are you sure you want to know what your wife has been through lately?

She was about to speak when she realized that her arrogance and disdain for humans as a Herrscher had resurfaced. Becoming a Herrscher had undeniably affected her personality; although she could remain normal most of the time, her perception of humanity would require time to change.

Except for that one little wolf dog who couldn't let go of her from before becoming a Herrscher to after becoming one.

She had no choice but to close her eyes, calm herself down, and say, "I have someone with me today, so you don't need to worry."

"Accompany you? Who?"

“My colleagues at the lab, even though I no longer work there, have been very kind to me and have always taken care of me.” Blanca wasn’t lying.

Hen gritted his teeth and realized that he had clenched his fists without even noticing.

In fact, some things, or rather, some clues, cannot be completely erased.

The moths that chase the flame are only so big. Everyone spends their days together, and even if everyone tries to hide their secrets, there will always be some loose ends.

"Is it... a doll?" Hen asked in a low voice.

Hen knew long ago that Blanca really liked that little android from the Infinite Experimentation Laboratory. Long ago, before they even got married, Blanca often brought Eve back to his dormitory to spend the night.

It wasn't just Blanca; that kid had grown up relying on the kindness of others, and he didn't even have his own dormitory. He left all his belongings in the Infinite Laboratory. Blanca loved picking out clothes for him, hoping that when it was Möbius's turn, he could try them on, but often by the time it was her turn, the doll had grown too big for the clothes.

But Blanca would still happily bring Eve back every few months with a bunch of beautiful clothes, even after they got married. Whenever Möbius dumped Eve on her, she could only apologize and call him to tell him to work overtime for a week, because the child was shy and didn't like being in the same room with strangers.

Hen could only return to his original single dormitory room, feeling both annoyed and amused. He thought to himself, how could Eve, the Son of Man, that aloof and taciturn little boy, possibly be associated with the word "shy"? "If he comes, I'll be kicked out. So this double dormitory room was assigned to him?!"

But now, Hen does care a little more. Three years have passed, and the son has grown up, yet Blanca's doting on him remains unchanged. Even though Eve is still a young and beautiful child, a boy more beautiful than a girl... he is still a boy after all.

Even so, every time Hen saw Eve coming out of Blanca's room, standing in the artificial morning sunlight, her face so beautiful it was almost holy, he couldn't recall his concerns and doubts at all... Those thoughts seemed so sinister and filthy when Eve looked at him innocently, so much so that Hen always felt guilty and would often bring delicious food to make up for it to this little angel.

But as long as he doesn't look at Eve's little face, he can still maintain his concern.

He would occasionally overhear many girls talking enthusiastically about Eve, and at first he just thought they were some infatuated girls having wild fantasies. But after hearing it so many times, he couldn't help but pay attention to the gossip. Coupled with Blanca's increasingly erratic behavior, he inevitably... wanted to have a good talk with Blanca.

"Are you that interested in the doll?" Blanca asked, pulling the blanket up slightly to cover her neck.

"It's not good for pregnant women to have the air conditioning on too high," Hen reminded her, then carefully chose her words, "The baby... is a teenager now, he has to grow up on his own, he can't always be with us."

“Not ‘we,’ just ‘I’,” Blanca said softly, patting the blanket again.

“I know you like dolls, but we…we have Gretchen too.”

“The doll could be Gretsch’s brother.”

“He’s an android. How can an android be Gretchen’s brother?” Hen observed his wife’s expression. This wasn’t the first time they had talked about this. Every time they did, Blanca would be very unhappy. But he still said in a low voice, “He’ll still look like this in twenty years. Are you going to make him call Gretchen ‘sister’ then?”

"What does that matter?"

"What I mean is that he is ultimately not human."

"he is."

“I didn’t mean to emphasize human ethics to you. I just said that he has an extremely long lifespan and never grows old. His way of seeing the world is completely different from ours. He will never be able to live up to human values. That’s an objective fact. I also like dolls, but liking them doesn’t mean we have to get too close. We are an ordinary family, not people with advanced thinking like Dr. Mebius… They can coexist with different species, but we can’t.”

“It’s ‘you’ who’s not good enough.” Blanca’s tone remained indifferent.

“But we are a family, we are one. I welcome Doll and Gretchen to be friends, and I welcome him to come to our house to play, but I cannot accept that you love him so much, and I cannot accept that he is a part of our family.” Hen finally said it, looking at Blanca’s indifferent face, “You can think that I can’t tolerate Doll, that I am selfish… but I have to say, Blanca, selfishness is a man’s nature.”

"Is it also a doll's nature?" Blanca asked softly.

"This... I don't know. After all, the doll can't be considered a normal human being. His genes are a combination of several girls' genes, so I'm not sure if he has this..."

“I didn’t ask you,” Blanca interrupted, without even glancing at the screen. “But you’re right, selfishness is in a man’s nature, and I really didn’t consider his feelings. Even if he can tolerate me for now, his possessiveness will eventually erupt, and that won’t be good.”

Hen's expression turned slightly awkward. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for the doll to leave, it's just that we're a little..."

“I wasn’t talking about you,” Blanca interrupted again.

Hen was stunned. "You're not talking about me? Then who are you talking about?"

Before he could figure out the meaning behind her words, Hen glanced at the screen casually. Just then, Blanca stretched, and the blanket hanging in front of her chest slid down.

Blanca was wearing a breathable, low-cut dress, which was her usual pajamas. After the blanket slipped down, Blanca's fair collarbone and faintly deep skin should have been visible, but a sharp-eyed observer spotted a smooth, black glimpse. In less than a second, Blanca immediately pulled the blanket over herself.

Hen's vision almost went black for a moment. He immediately rewound the video a few seconds, and the answer was obvious. He wasn't mistaken; it was a beautiful clump of long hair.

During their conversation, the long-haired man nestled in Blanca's arms, fast asleep, his face buried against her chest, breathing evenly. The blanket was bulging not just because Blanca was pregnant, but because someone was hidden underneath; Blanca kept the blanket pulled up because she needed cover… Throughout their conversation, Blanca tenderly held the unknown child, stroking his back to help him sleep more soundly!

But Hen quickly calmed down.

Now that everyone's an adult, it's not appropriate to be so eager to show any lack of maturity. Holding someone doesn't mean anything; even in public, Eve often sits in someone's lap—it's his habit, and it's also the habit of most girls.

Blanca didn't shy away from holding Eve; it wasn't the first time he'd seen her like this. It was just that this time it was in the bedroom, in a private setting… such an occasion could easily make one's blood boil, but Hen knew things probably wouldn't turn out the way he expected.

Even if we assume the most sordid thoughts... at least even if Doll is that kind of person, Blanca wouldn't be.

"Oops, we've been exposed," Blanca said casually.

These words made Hen feel like his rationality was about to collapse.

But he suppressed his anger: "You're holding... a doll?"

"Are you angry?"

"You knew I would be angry, yet you still did it?"

"That's just a man's possessiveness."

Hen Teng stood up abruptly, gritting his teeth as he said, "Blanca, I've recently... heard some rumors."

"About the doll?"

"Your Infinite Experimentation Institute has a secret project, right? It's called the 'Children of Man Gene Preservation Project'? I don't quite understand the specifics of the project, but it involves Eve... You were involved, weren't you?"

"how do you know."

“A colleague of mine told me to pay a little attention to you, saying that people who went through that experiment will have red marks on their bodies.”

Blanca remained silent.

"When we went to check on Gretsch that time, the stigmata on your waist... it must be one of those things, right?"

Blanca sighed. "I've been very careful not to expose my body in front of you, but I didn't expect this."

Hen took a deep breath. "I don't know what experiment you participated in, but my colleague told me... that the Stigmata is the latest product of the Infinite Experimentation Institute, and it represents... the knight of the Son of Man."

Blanca suddenly burst out laughing.

It wasn't that she wanted to laugh, but she could guess the complicated expression on Hen's colleague's face when she said those words. That colleague must also be a female colleague who had volunteered. On the one hand, she wanted to tell Hen the truth so that he would suffer less, but on the other hand, she didn't want to be too cruel, so she could only hint at it in a very subtle way.

A knight of the son of man... How could that colleague even come up with that idea!

"So... your relationship with the doll is unusually close, isn't it?" Hen whispered. "You're holding the doll, right? Can I see it?"

Blanca stopped smiling seductively, blinked, and stared at the screen: "Are you sure?"

Chapter 53 I'm sorry, and then, goodbye.

"Blanca!" Hen shouted angrily, "What's wrong with you? You're not acting like the Blanca I know at all! You..."

“Because you’ve never known the real me,” Blanca interjected, looking tenderly at her former husband. “I’ve never betrayed you, and I’ve always loved only one person. Truly, my heart… has remained steadfast.”

She smiled and pulled back her blanket. The cheongsam-clad girl, Cang Xuan, with her black hair cascading down to her bottom, groggily opened her eyes, cried out that she was cold, and curled up even more, gesturing for Blanca to get the blanket.

Hen's expression was quite interesting.

He was prepared to use the situation to his advantage and lash out, but the little girl in Blanca's arms caught him off guard. Based on his impression of his wife... this shouldn't be the case.

"I'm so sorry, I misunderstood you. I'm relieved that Miss Cangxuan is with you. I was indeed a little..."

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m the one who should apologize. I really can’t be your wife anymore,” Blanca said with a smile.