Oh, The Shifts! The Shifts! The Wild, Wild Shifts!

The dark red beast-skin sofa remained, its four or five sky-blue cushions still in place. Yet, the little girl who usually occupied the center of those cushions was gone.

In her stead was a boy, two or three years old. He wore the little girl’s red tunic, his physique, height, and even the fluffy embroidered shoes on his feet were identical to hers. His face, too, was like that of the little girl’s twin – an adorable, finely sculpted jade-like child.

However, the boy’s expression was poles apart from the girl’s. The girl was the kind of adorable that melted hearts, with a mischievous glint. This boy, by contrast, wore a stony, expressionless face, exuding a cool aloofness—or perhaps, it was more like everyone in the world owed him a copper coin!

Du Chen rubbed his eyes vigorously, then looked again. Indeed! While the two children’s appearances were virtually identical, the child now wore open-crotch pants, making gender instantly obvious. There was no way he could be mistaken!

“No, wait, my baby is a daughter!” Du Chen exclaimed, shocked.

“My dear brother, do you really think a baby with *this* little thing could be a girl?” The scoundrel Steve pointed at the little 'thing' peeking from the boy’s open-crotch pants.

At that moment, the little fellow was busy dismantling the two pigtails on top of his head, letting his hair fall over his shoulders. Seeing Steve point at his private parts, he instinctively pressed his legs together. Was this truly the action of a child?

“Dad, you’re back!” The boy spoke, calling out “Dad” directly, which startled Du Chen. Moreover, the boy spoke much more fluently than the little girl, sounding nothing like a two or three-year-old child should. He spoke with the same stern expression, lips pursed, his dark eyes sharp and piercing, yet he gazed at Du Chen with a hint of warmth before fixing his stare on Steve. “You, what are you doing?”

“Heh, this little rascal is quite interesting!” Steve chuckled, picking up the boy and still peeking at his little ‘thing’. “He can already talk! I’m your dad’s brother. Come, tell your Uncle, how old are you?”

The little fellow let out a ‘Hmph!’. “You rogue, actually staring at my ‘privacy’!” His demeanor was even more arrogant than Du Chen pretending to be a peerless master, as if he were a Titled Battle God and Steve merely a tiny ant. “Put me down quickly! You’re Dad’s brother, so I’ll give you one chance!”

“Haha, I can’t take it! Francis, where did you pick up such a little guy? He’s too amusing! He’ll definitely be a master someday, at least he certainly looks the part!” Steve said, captivated by the boy's adorable yet defiant air. He leaned in, intending to plant a kiss.

Suddenly, the boy extended his index and middle fingers of his right hand. He gave a domineering look at Steve’s eyes, then at his own short fingers, seemingly thinking his fingers were too short to effectively gouge out eyes. By then, Steve had already pouted and leaned closer. The little fellow didn’t hesitate. “Hmph! You seek death!” *Plop!* He plunged his fingers into Steve’s nostrils.

“Ouch, this brat!” Steve hurriedly set the little fellow back on the sofa, asking with a wry smile, “Why did you stick your fingers up my nose?” The little fellow turned his head away, disdaining to look at Steve, while smoothing his slightly disheveled hair. He coldly scoffed, “A master needs no reason!”

“He’s truly your son!” Steve clapped Du Chen’s shoulder, looking at his usually quick-witted brother, who was now utterly dumbfounded. Steve suddenly lowered his voice. “Charles, my dear brother, are you sure you truly want to adopt this little fellow, make him your ‘son’?” He heavily emphasized the word “son.”

Du Chen, still staring at the boy, nodded woodenly.

Steve hesitated slightly, then said with concern, “Then you must teach him well from now on. You are now an Imperial Lord, with a Charitable Foundation under your care. In the future, you absolutely must not let him and your biological son conflict over family property!” Steve’s concern was truly heartfelt. Coming from a noble estate, he had seen too many such incidents and didn’t want his own brother to suffer the tragic bloodshed of an adopted son vying with a biological son for inheritance. That was why he said this.

But Du Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What was his older brother thinking? Leaving aside the fact that he probably couldn’t get close to women his entire life, making a biological son virtually impossible, this little 'thing' in front of him was headache-inducing enough.

“Tired. Sleep. You, leave immediately!” The little fellow shot Steve a disdainful look, then promptly collapsed and fell asleep.

“Heh, my little nephew is giving me marching orders!” Steve pondered for a moment, then pulled Du Chen’s hand and walked out of the attic. “I’ve arranged to meet a few senior sisters for some shopping; I’m off!” As he walked out, Steve earnestly reminded Du Chen that the boy had a bad temper, that he absolutely must teach him well, lest he conflict with a future biological son, and end up like Du Chen and Charles…

Though he was verbose, Du Chen felt a warmth spread through his heart. His elder brother, despite his endless chatter, genuinely cared for him. To have such an older brother in this life was truly fortunate.

Arriving at the doorway, Steve’s expression suddenly grew solemn. “Brother, one last piece of advice from your elder brother: it’s best not to adopt him!” He paused, then gave a lecherous grin. “How can you pick up girls with a son?!” With that, he chuckled and walked away.

This elder brother! If you split his head open, you’d probably find his brain was shaped like a naked woman!

Du Chen shook his head inwardly. Just as he was about to return to the courtyard, someone called out from behind him, “Charles!”

Miss Rose approached, her expression hurried. Coming before Du Chen, she saw that the surroundings were quiet and empty, so she lowered her voice. “I know all about the Mount Tianshan matter. Lord Bairu ordered me to inquire about the laboratory.”

*You know? Everything? Lord Bairu couldn’t possibly have told you about my ‘friends’.*

Du Chen smiled. “Please inform Lord Bairu that everything is proceeding smoothly, and the Holy Church no longer needs to worry.”

“That’s good!” Miss Rose smiled happily. “You’ve rendered a great service this time; promotion and a raise should be just around the corner!” She pushed Du Chen towards the courtyard. “I just saw Harry at the docks. He was buying baby supplies and said you adopted a daughter, supposedly quite adorable! Come on, let big sister see your little darling! Are you planning a loli scheme?”

Seeing Miss Rose’s eagerness, Du Chen found it hard to refuse. Besides, she was a woman; he could ask her about childcare. “He’s on the second floor, but that damned Shieb! He’s a complete scoundrel!” Du Chen said indignantly. “I clearly adopted a son, why did he say daughter? Hmph, Shieb! Miss Rose, my ‘son’ is right inside!”

“A son? That’s fine too, as long as he’s cute and fun!” Miss Rose pushed open the door, glanced at the sofa inside the room, then turned back, displeased. “Charles, I think *you’re* the scoundrel! What a cute little girl, why did you say son?”

With that, Miss Rose rushed forward, picked up the child, and gave her a big kiss. “Mmm, so cute! Let big sister kiss you!”

The little girl was back!

Du Chen was on the verge of a breakdown. Son? Or daughter?

“Sister, pretty!” The little girl kissed Miss Rose back, her adorable and charming demeanor immediately delighting Miss Rose, who took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and put it on the little girl’s arm. “Hey, Charles, what’s this little one’s name?”

Du Chen numbly shook his head. “Haven’t named her yet.”

“Why do you look so dazed? I’ll give her one. How about Belmonde?”

“Belmonde, pretty! Sister, thank you!” The little girl kissed Miss Rose again, snuggling into her arms.

Du Chen nodded blankly. “Okay, Belmonde it is. Right, if Belmonde has a younger brother in the future, what should he be called?”

“Oh? You’re only in your teens, already thinking of marriage and children?” Miss Rose teased Belmonde while pondering. “For a boy… Alex, what do you think?”

“Fine, Alex it is!”

At this moment, Du Chen’s chaotic brain finally returned to normal. A shiver ran down his spine! This child came from Philip’s laboratory; common sense couldn’t explain him! Could it be that this child possessed illusions?

“Miss Rose, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to spend time with Belmonde later. For now, shouldn’t you go report the news to Lord Bairu immediately?”

“Lord Bairu just took his medicine and is currently healing. I can see him tonight!” Miss Rose played with little Belmonde for a while, then gave Du Chen some childcare tips before finally leaving Dormitory Number Eighteen.

As soon as she left, Du Chen immediately locked the door, placed little Belmonde on the table, and staring into her big eyes, asked, “Belmonde, where’s that little boy? Alex!”

Belmonde no longer had her playful smile. Her face crumpled, and she said, aggrieved, “Ate him! Alex is bad!” With that, big tears streamed down her cheeks.

Du Chen’s heart ached at the sight. He wiped away her tears and said gently, “My darling daughter, you…”

*Poof!* A wisp of smoke rose from Belmonde, then immediately dispersed, but she had already transformed into Alex!

“Son?!” Du Chen cried out in alarm.

With another *Poof!* Alex changed back into Belmonde.

“Daughter…” Du Chen felt dizzy from the rapid changes.

“Shut up!” Alex reappeared, waving his hands frantically. “Don’t utter the words ‘daughter’ again! Otherwise, even if you’re my dad, I’ll still stick my fingers up your nostrils!”

Du Chen nodded blankly. Alex then explained, “You just need to know one thing! Belmonde and I share one body!” He harrumphed, glancing at his own body. “I just told Belmonde that this ‘territory’ will be shared from now on. If you call ‘daughter,’ Belmonde goes in, and I come out. If you call ‘son,’ I go in, and Belmonde comes out! Understand?”

Du Chen muttered to himself a few times, “Call ‘son,’ Belmonde comes out. Call ‘daughter,’ Alex comes out…”

“So confusing, can’t you…”

“Shut up! Even if you’re my dad, everything you say is ignored by me!” He haughtily rolled his eyes at Du Chen, wagging a finger. “Don’t ask me why; a master needs no reason!”

“Uh, Alex, I just want to ask one thing!” Du Chen saw that this boy was quite shrewd, unlike the somewhat inarticulate Belmonde, so he hesitated before asking, “Are you sure, I’m your dad?”

Alex’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at Du Chen strangely, bewildered. “I was born inside Belmonde’s body. She said you’re my dad, so that’s what you are!” He then counted on his fingers. “Then Belmonde is my mom? You’re my dad… But why does Belmonde call you dad? Dad, mom, it’s so confusing, what should I do?!”

*Damn, he’s just a silly kid after all!* Alex and Belmonde — was it dual personality, or two souls sharing one body? Neither, because this child’s body could even switch genders! How could such a bizarre thing happen? Was this another of Philip’s experiments, or…

A light bulb went off in Du Chen’s mind. Alex was born in Belmonde’s stomach… He remembered the egg from earlier and quickly yelled, “Son!” Alex retreated into the body, and the little fellow changed back into Belmonde.

Du Chen carried Belmonde out of the room, casually grabbing a jar of wine, and headed to Bovin’s tent at the entrance. “Mr. Bovin? What did you mean by that egg just now?”