Chapter 2: The Past
Lin Xia was an illegitimate child of the Cheng family, a third-rate family in Kyoto. He lived in an orphanage until the age of seven, when he was finally brought to the Cheng family. His mother, the woman who gave birth to him, considered him a burden, unable to gain any advantage from his biological father. So, she abandoned him. Fortunately, a kind person sent him to the orphanage.
The Cheng family, a third-rate family pretending to be first-rate, was a cesspool of filth and corruption. They lacked the capabilities of a first-rate family but possessed more rules than any.
The Cheng family had numerous descendants, but only the legitimate heirs received proper cultivation. They constantly fought among themselves for power and status within the family, using illegitimate children as mere tools in their struggles.
Back then, Lin Xia was still called Cheng Cheng. Not long after graduating from university, he was tricked by his only trusted half-brother in the Cheng family, Cheng Ye, into a man’s bed. Lin Xia had been drugged that day, unconscious and completely unaware of the man’s identity.
The next day, Lin Xia woke up, realizing he had been with someone. His heart ached with sorrow and despair. The only person in the Cheng family who had ever been kind to him had been using him all along. Cheng Ye treated everyone the same. Because Cheng Ye had been slightly kinder to him, Lin Xia had believed that Cheng Ye was his only light in the Cheng family. He had been deluding himself until Cheng Ye, in order to secure a collaboration with a first-rate family, had callously sent him to a man’s bed.
Upon waking up, Lin Xia’s heart was finally broken. He no longer had any affection for Cheng Ye or the Cheng family. He only wanted to escape the Cheng family and that soul-crushing place.
In the vast hotel room, Lin Xia was alone. He discovered that almost every inch of his body was marked from the passionate encounter, including his inner thighs. It had been a violent night.
Despite the discomfort, his body was clean, indicating that someone had cleaned him up.
With difficulty, Lin Xia gathered his discarded clothes and put them on. Then he left the hotel, returned to the Cheng family once, and packed his essential belongings – only some documents and bank cards. The money in the bank account was his saved allowance and earnings from part-time jobs. Lin Xia felt no security in the Cheng family; only saving money made him feel secure.
Leaving the Cheng family, Lin Xia decided to revert to the name he had in the orphanage: Lin Xia. Fortunately, the Cheng family had never officially acknowledged him, never registering him under their family name. Cheng Cheng was just a name they’d given him. His household registration and ID still used Lin Xia. He never wanted the name the Cheng family had given him again.
Without the Cheng family’s knowledge, Lin Xia left Kyoto and wandered aimlessly. One day, he noticed something unusual about his body. He went to a small clinic for a checkup and discovered he was pregnant.
Upon hearing the results, Lin Xia fled the clinic in a panic, under the doctor’s bewildered and astonished gaze. Once calm, he began to consider his future.
Honestly, male pregnancy was incredibly rare, but not unheard of. These events, usually only found in the news, were happening to him. He could accept it, but the child’s fate was a major problem.
Ultimately, Lin Xia chose to keep the child. He felt he had no family, and having a child with his blood was a good thing. Besides, the child in his belly was a life, and having grown up in an orphanage, he knew the value of life.
Lin Xia had a doctor friend in Jiang City and planned to go there to rely on him.
His friend, Chen Mingjie, was someone he had met online on a pet forum, bonding over shared interests. Upon receiving Lin Xia’s message, Chen Mingjie enthusiastically welcomed him. So, Lin Xia went to Jiang City.
Chen Mingjie’s father was the director of the hospital where he worked. Using his privileged position as the young master, Chen Mingjie helped Lin Xia give birth to his child.
However, a few months into the pregnancy, when Chen Mingjie examined Lin Xia, he discovered that Lin Xia wasn’t carrying a human baby but a four-legged animal.
But the knowledgeable Chen Mingjie wasn’t frightened. He knew about the existence of another race—a secretive group indistinguishable from humans in appearance and behavior, except for their ability to shapeshift into animals, like the furries in novels. They were known as the Other Species.
Members of the Other Species generally remained in animal form until the age of three, only transforming into human form afterward. This meant that their offspring were in animal form for the first three years.
Chen Mingjie knew this because his family was in the medical field and had encountered members of the Other Species. He had seen relevant materials.
Though shocked that he wasn’t carrying a human child, after intense inner conflict, Lin Xia eventually accepted his child’s identity. He had already decided to keep the child, regardless of its nature. He would accept and love his child.
The child was a small white tiger with bright blue eyes. It looked like a tiger but also a bit like a cat; initially, they couldn’t be certain of its identity. Lin Xia named him Lin Yu’an, hoping for a healthy, wealthy, and peaceful life for him. Yu’an’s nickname was Bao Bao (baby), as Lin Xia always called him that.
After the child’s birth, Lin Xia needed to consider his livelihood. He loved animals. His orphanage mother had been incredibly kind, often feeding stray cats and dogs. Influenced by her, Lin Xia developed a love for animals. Even in the Cheng family, he didn’t abandon this love, resolutely choosing veterinary medicine as his major despite the Cheng family’s opposition and ridicule. Although he hadn’t yet passed the veterinary licensing exam, he possessed the necessary professional skills and qualities, along with the necessary qualifications. While pregnant with the white furball, Lin Xia prepared for the exam and passed it sometime after the birth.
Chen Mingjie, also an animal lover, suggested he open a pet shop, which Lin Xia eventually adopted. With his remaining savings and the help of Chen Mingjie and the Chen family, Lin Xia opened a pet shop called “Story,” which had been operating for a year and a half and was doing fairly well.
…
After dinner, the father and son went to bathe. Tigers enjoy bathing, and the white furball was no exception; he especially enjoyed bathing with his father. His father would apply fragrant bath wash, scrub him clean, and then dry him with a highly absorbent towel. The washed white furball smelled wonderfully fragrant.
After their bath, the father and son went to bed.
“Aowu~” Papa, tell a story!
The white furball wanted a story, so Lin Xia picked up a storybook and read him a bedtime story. The white furball eventually fell asleep. Seeing that the white furball was asleep, Lin Xia quietly left to settle the day’s accounts at his desk. After finishing the accounts, Lin Xia quietly returned to bed, snuggling with his son.
Another day passed. With the sunrise came a new day…
Author’s Note: In response to readers asking about Lin Xia’s funds to open the pet shop, I’ll explain. While in the Cheng family, Lin Xia received an allowance and worked part-time jobs. He saved his earnings, and with those savings and the help of Chen Mingjie and the Chen family, he opened his shop.