Paranoid Alpha Chapter 46: Frankness

Chapter 46: Frankness

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCai

A gentle breeze swept through the sea of flowers, carrying with it the faint fragrance of flowers mingled with the distant tinkling of bells on Lin Lang’s body. Between the two, there was a moment of quiet. Suddenly, Lyss reached up and hooked his hand around Lu Xingye’s neck, forcefully hurling himself into his embrace.

Lu Xingye was stunned for three seconds before swiftly lifting him into his arms, his grip almost crushing him.

Perhaps for the first time in five years, it was an embrace devoid of any other emotions between them.

A subtle warmth emanated from the nape of his neck, startling Lu Xingye. He hurriedly patted his back, “Don’t cry, I’m sorry, brother, I shouldn’t have said those things… please don’t cry…”

Muffled, Lyss muttered, “Shut up.”

Lu Xingye immediately quieted down, but there was still a hint of awkwardness in his expression.

The pain and regret from the aftermath clashed within, yet the joy of being embraced by the beloved overshadowed these negative emotions. The overly complicated blend of feelings was like a spilled spice rack, a jumble of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors in the heart.

But ultimately, all the pain couldn’t overpower that speck of sweetness.

“Lin Lang is your daughter,” Lu Xingye heard the person in his arms whisper softly.

This statement was the final straw overwhelming the pain.

Even though he had suspected this fact long ago, when Lu Xingye heard Lyss say it himself, he shuddered all over. After a long while, his throat moved up and down as he said, “… I know.”

As expected, Lu Xingye was abruptly pushed away.

There was a faint trace of a hidden blush in Lyss’s eyes, a glint of moisture, but the gaze had turned calm. “You knew all along?”

An expected inquiry. Lu Xingye cleared his throat, beginning to contemplate how to explain this, in short, to deceive.

It wasn’t because he wanted to excuse himself, but he didn’t want to burden Lyss with the specific details of his experiences over the past five years.

Some pains were better experienced alone; sharing them would burden him more.

But evidently, Lu Xingye’s thoughts were entirely insufficient before Lyss.

Just as Lu Xingye was preparing his words, he was dragged by the arm to a nearby pavilion.

The Empire always liked to exhibit its luxury in such minor details; even small cups were carved, not to mention excessively ornate round tables.

Lyss paid no attention to these details, positioning Lu Xingye in place and taking the seat opposite. “Speak.”

Meeting those golden eyes, Lu Xingye suddenly found it difficult to articulate the words he had prepared.

“One last chance.” Faced with Lu Xingye’s silence, Lyss picked up a glass of water from the side, gazing at the calm surface. “I don’t want to hear any more deceit.”

Lyss’s tone was calm, as calm as that night five years ago.

The deep-seated fear suddenly surged within Lu Xingye, and he instinctively held onto Lyss’s wrist, wanting to speak up to avoid being abandoned once again.

“That night… when you drove me away, I was desolate. I contacted Rabbit and Fox, and piloted the mecha to the coordinates where Lu Jin disappeared…” Lu Xingye began slowly, as if each word uttered required all his strength, but he still didn’t disclose what he intended to do at those coordinates. “By chance, I entered that crevice. After bringing you into that crevice, I found a diary, a chip, and a research report… enough to overturn the entire interstellar studies. I contacted Rabbit and Fox through the spatial transmitter, sent them the research report, then destroyed the report, leaving only the diary and the chip… as you already know.”

He intentionally blurred some details, but Lyss keenly interrupted, “You were aware of the coordinates where Mother disappeared, did you not go there before?”

A terrifying insight. Lu Xingye thought about it but obediently replied, “I did.”

Lyss narrowed his golden eyes, “You didn’t find that crevice before? Why did you contact your friends at that time?”

“I…” Lu Xingye awkwardly opened his mouth, “I intended to bid farewell to them at that time.”

Lyss suddenly closed his eyes, unable to control his frustration, he pulled away Lu Xingye’s hand clasping his wrist, pursing his lips in a vexed manner.

Lu Xingye, like a guilty puppy, spoke up, “I’m sorry.”

Lifting his gaze with an indescribable expression, Lyss looked at him, “Continue.”

“Given the level of the spatial transmitter at that time, as you’re aware, it could only maintain a short time span and the spatial stability was uncertain. Moreover, to cross the crevice, the spatial transmitter could only transfer objects weighing less than a kilogram. I used that transmitter to transfer the research report.” Lu Xingye cautiously continued, “The limited transfer capacity made me think I wouldn’t survive, so I kept it from you. The result after the explosion was mostly as I expected, the only deviation was… Rabbit and Fox managed to contact Dr. Qiu in the final moments of the explosion. She used the transmitter to transfer the remaining half of my body to the Starfall Sea.”

Lu Xingye said “half,” but considering what he said earlier about the spatial transmitter only being able to transfer objects weighing less than a kilogram, Lyss immediately guessed his implied meaning: the so-called “half-body” might have been just his head.

His fingers tightened suddenly, leaving several crescent-shaped imprints on his palm, almost piercing into the flesh.

Seeing this, Lu Xingye raised his hand and held Lyss’s wrist, gently prying his fingers open. “The remainder… Do you want to hear it?”

Taking a deep breath, Lyss looked at him earnestly, “Everything that happened in these five years, every detail, I want to know.”

Rubbing his wrist, Lu Xingye remained silent for three seconds before slowly continuing.

He narrated everything that had happened in the past five years in a straightforward manner.

Lu Xingye didn’t justify his attitude after five years, nor did he conceal anything.

Thus, even though Lyss was mentally prepared, he still froze in shock at the following narrative.

A soul-crushing experience, akin to slow torture.

Despite Lu Xingye’s calm recounting and Lyss’s complete lack of experience in what he described, the tangible pain felt like knives, slicing through Lyss’s reason.

It wasn’t that Lu Xingye didn’t want to come back to see him, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t intentional misunderstanding, but physical pain that made him fear these matters on a physiological level.

In these five years, apart from pain, he hadn’t brought anything else to him.

The little girl who brought him countless comforts nearly took Lu Xingye’s life.

If it weren’t for meeting him, Lu Xingye wouldn’t have experienced the pain of these five years, wouldn’t have faced the questioning of the loved one, and wouldn’t have suffered from psychological aftermath.

“The human body is weak,” Lu Xingye concluded his statement with these words, “Qiu once attempted to treat my condition, but… at that time, I couldn’t hear any news about Lin Lang within the words she spoke.”

Lyss was momentarily stunned, “Couldn’t hear?”

“Yes, couldn’t hear.” Lu Xingye looked into the distance where Lin Lang was, “The aftermath of that surgery caused a massive stress reaction in my brain. For a long time, I couldn’t hear any information about her, and it persisted until three months ago… I completely lost the memories of that surgery, and naturally, I “forgot’ everything about Lin Lang.”

Lyss said with some bitterness, “So that’s why you always thought Lin Lang was my child with someone else.”

“Right.” Lu Xingye closed his eyes, “But regardless of the reason, this isn’t the excuse for my misunderstanding about you and Lin Lang. I’m sorry, I am a—”

“I don’t want to hear these words,” Lyss interrupted, furrowing his brows, “I hope this is the last time I have to say it.”

Lu Xingye paused and whispered, “Aren’t you angry with me?”

“Why would I be angry with you?” Lyss, in an almost humble attitude, finally couldn’t bear it and said, “I’m angry because you didn’t tell me anything and you would rather face everything alone, or because you’re hiding from me and destroying Mother’s keepsakes without even letting me have a look? You call me brother, but you casually dispose of Mother’s belongings. Is there any consideration for me in your eyes?”

Lyss’s tone carried a noticeable fluctuation, evidently showing some irritation.

His anger was not just about Lu Xingye’s recent attitude but more about the words spoken earlier. He was angry because the other didn’t want to share anything with him, and he was upset about making Lu Xingye go through all of this.

Lyss’s tone was quite impolite, and Lu Xingye, hearing this, for some reason, felt his face heat up. “…I thought you would be angry with me for saying that nonsense to you these past few days.”

Lyss turned his head to glance at Lin Lang. Seeing that his daughter was still quite far away, probably unable to hear their conversation, he then turned back to Lu Xingye. “You also know that you were talking nonsense? Why do I feel like everything you said is from your heart?”

Lu Xingye subconsciously said, “I didn’t—”

Lyss calmly interrupted him, “Does it feel comfortable for  brother to sleep? Or is it more comfortable for a widower to sleep?”

Lu Xingye seemed completely unprepared for such words to come from Lyss’s mouth. After a few seconds of stunned silence, his face suddenly turned red. He quickly turned to look at Lin Lang, lowering his voice anxiously, “Lin Lang is over there!”

“Why weren’t you afraid of her hearing when we were in my bedroom just now?” Lyss said, then turned his head and called out to his daughter, “Lin Lang, come here.”

Lu Xingye’s breath suddenly caught, and the little girl, upon hearing this, obediently ran over, asking, “Mommy, what’s wrong?”

The adorable little figure seemed to be in high spirits, with a sunny smile on her face. The bells on her wrist constantly made a crisp sound, but when she ran to the two adults, she didn’t stop in time and stumbled forward.

Lyss was startled and hurried to catch her, but Lu Xingye was quicker and raised his hand to support the little girl first.

Compared to the two adults who almost had a heart attack, Lin Lang, in Lu Xingye’s arms, blinked innocently. Then, she looked up with a clever smile and said, “Thank you, brother.”

Lu Xingye breathed a sigh of relief, letting go of the little girl. Before he could speak, Lyss said to Lin Lang, “Don’t call him brother, call him Dad.”

The author has a message:

Educating a little dog is, of course, in that aspect! The poor dog has been through so much; it’s not abuse!

He’s just a bit PTSD; he needs a little education to make him realize that his wife loves him. Stop thinking wildly every day, imagining competing with a nonexistent alpha for his wife.