Time flies, and for the news media, things have been incredibly lively lately, with one major event after another, keeping the headlines fresh every day.
After a few days of rest, the Flying Eagle Beast has recovered very well and can now walk around by dragging its wings, though it still can't fly. Once it could walk, it immediately took matters into its own hands to visit the other beasts. Seeing them still in their cages, its mood instantly improved.
Without comparison, there's no joy.
The other beasts' conditions are also becoming more stable; even without sedatives, they no longer roar or become agitated. Unaware of the Flying Eagle Beast's inner thoughts, they are all happy that it can walk again and chat with it endlessly.
They come from different places, and their experiences are vastly different, which Xie Sen listens to with great interest.
The various beast owners frequently bring their contracted beasts to visit them, making the contracted beast accommodation area lively every day. Xie Sen often sits on a recliner, eating fruit and watching them play.
That day, he was reclining in a deck chair when he received a call from Ma Qun. Ma Qun's tone was relaxed, with obvious pleasure: "Ah Sen, the chili seedlings are ready. Should I have someone come and pick them up, or should I have someone deliver them to you?"
Xie Sen silently calculated the time; from the time he gave the chili seeds to Ma Qun until now, they were indeed almost ready.
He propped himself up and sat up straight: "Can I pick them up a day later?" He'd been too busy lately and had forgotten about the recruitment. He'd even specifically studied the recruitment format beforehand, but he'd forgotten to post it.
"Sure, I've notified the other three companies today. Their seeds are all being shipped out today. I'll keep yours for you." Ma Qun was very agreeable.
Xie Sen thanked him, then his eyes darted around as he asked, "Dean, I saw on the news that Professor Lu discovered quite a few plants. It's been a few days now, have they all been cultivated yet?"
Ma Qun's tone was slightly excited: "Yes, they've all been cultivated, including several kinds of fruit!"
Xie Sen asked, "Could you give me some fruit after they ripen?"
Ma Qun replied, "You four agricultural product companies will be given priority in cooperating with us on any type of plant. You know, the land where you planted chili peppers is more suitable for other plants. Don't worry, you'll be well taken care of."
Xie Sen thanked him: "Thank you, Dean, I'll cultivate the chili peppers diligently."
After hanging up, he sighed. The plants that Lu Qingxing discovered would take several more months to mature. He would have to wait before he could openly cultivate them.
He reminded himself to be patient. Anyway, he exchanged his daily vegetables and fruits for energy, and he wasn't short of money, so there was no rush to grow plants to make money.
He stroked the beak of the Flying Eagle Beast and said, "I have to go out. You guys play by yourselves."
He said this to all the contracted beasts. After speaking, he heard various responses, smiled, got up, and went back to the apartment to find Maine.
Maine was setting up programs in his office on the second floor. This time, he designed an all-around cleaning robot that could do all cleaning work, except cooking. It included sweeping, washing dishes, weeding, and so on.
Xie Sen had only stepped onto one step when Maine came downstairs. Xie Sen looked up at the sound of footsteps and joked with a smile, "Not working hard enough!"
Maine chuckled, "I heard you. Going out?" He walked over to Xie Sen in a few steps and shook Xie Sen's hand.
Xie Sen told the contracted beasts very confidently that they had enough money now and didn't need to rush to livestream to make money.
When Gu Luo and the others were researching the alien beasts, it was inconvenient for others to watch. He always stayed in the accommodation area, occasionally eating fruit and juice, which was also inconvenient for others to see. Therefore, the livestream was turned off during the day.
However, Maine wasn't comfortable leaving him unsupervised, so when he was in the dormitory area, Maine would watch him through the surveillance cameras, glancing at him occasionally while he worked. If he needed to speak with Maine, he could simply call out.
Xie Sen nodded: "Dean Ma said the chili seedlings are ready to be transplanted, and I'm planning to go to the school to recruit."
Maine pulled him to sit on the sofa: "No rush, post now, we can go to the school this afternoon. At this time, many students are looking for jobs everywhere, so there's no one at the school; going directly there won't be of any use."
Xie Sen slapped his forehead: "I almost forgot, I'll post first."
He had looked at many job postings, opened his bracelet to directly access the school forum, and quickly posted on the recruiting company's page with a striking title: "Recruiting 1 Botany Department Graduate and 1 Finance Department Graduate."
Since he only needed to grow chili peppers for now, he only planned to recruit one Botany Department student. His requirements for the Botany Department graduate were simple: a good personality was enough, while the requirements for the Finance Department graduate were more stringent.
After posting, he rested his chin on Maine's shoulder: "Let's not go out now. You can continue working. I don't need you to come with me."
Maine touched his ear, moving down the side of his ear, finally placing her hand on his abdomen: "Go to the hospital, it's a month postpartum."
Xie Sen's eyes widened: "How did you know?"
Maine coughed lightly in his ear: "You only forgot once, it must have been that time you got pregnant. I remember the date."
Xie Sen shrank back, rubbing his ear hard, trying to get rid of the tingling sensation. Even though they had already done everything intimately, hearing Maine say this made his face flush, and the frenzied scene from that day flashed through his mind.
Just as Maine had said, after examining Xie Sen, Dr. Bai smiled and said, "Congratulations, the baby is a month old and very healthy. You're also in good health. Just continue to supplement your nutrition and keep a good mood."
Xie Sen thanked Dr. Bai, who then reminded him, "Your tastes may change in the next two months. You might feel nauseous at the smell of things you usually like. These are the two most difficult months for pregnant women. Even if you don't want to eat, try to eat as much as possible."
Xie Sen nodded, while Maine frowned, "Is there any way to alleviate the reaction?"
Dr. Bai sighed, "Vegetables and fruits are easier for pregnant women to accept. You should know Director Ma; ask him to buy some for you. After two months, things will be much better."
Maine's brow relaxed. Vegetables and fruits that were hard to get for others were not difficult for Xie Sen.
The two thanked Dr. Bai again, agreed to come back for a check-up in a month, and left the hospital.
Back at the apartment, Maine asked Xie Sen what he wanted to eat. Xie Sen exchanged the ingredients and placed them on the kitchen counter. Maine hugged him from behind and kissed him. "Go out and have some juice and rest for a bit. I'll be done soon."
Xie Sen turned his head. "I'm fine. It'll be faster if we do it together." He nudged his back with his elbow. "I'm not fragile. If I didn't say anything, you wouldn't be able to tell I'm pregnant, right?"
Maine placed her hand on his abdomen. "The baby is too small to tell."
Xie Sen twisted his waist. "Anyway, I haven't been affected at all."
Soon, he was proven wrong. At lunch, he felt the effects of pregnancy deeply for the first time.
When Maine asked him what he wanted to eat, he ordered stewed potatoes and meat. He didn't have any reaction when eating the potatoes, but when he ate the meat, he only chewed a couple of times before turning his head to vomit and then dry heaving.
Since the ginger and garlic were activated, his family used them when cooking meat. The potatoes were obtained through the system and were particularly fragrant, almost completely masking the fishy smell of the meat. Normally, Xie Sen didn't notice any fishy smell when eating it.
However, when he ate the meat just now, as the meat was bitten open, the slight fishy smell that came out was amplified infinitely, and he suddenly felt an urge to vomit, which he couldn't control at all.
"Assen," Maine frowned, patting his back with one hand and handing him a glass of water with the other, "rinse your mouth."
Xie Sen grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth, incredibly relieved that the trash can was right next to him, preventing him from vomiting on the floor. However, he didn't want to smell the trash can for another second. He kicked it away, turned his head away in disgust, took his water glass, got up, and went to the bathroom. He rinsed his mouth several times before feeling refreshed.
Mei Yin stood beside him, her brow still furrowed: "Don't you like meat?"
Xie Sen recovered, looking utterly dejected: "Yes, this is probably what they call morning sickness."
Mei Yin rubbed his cheek twice: "I won't cook meat anymore."
Xie Sen grabbed her hand and led him outside: "No need, you'll still eat even if I don't." Seeing his worried expression, she squeezed his hand: "It's okay, if you don't eat meat, you can eat other things."
After finishing his meal, Xie Sen breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, apart from the meat, he didn't react to the other dishes.
After lunch break, the two headed to Xingcheng University. Maine explained to Xie Sen, "Every year starting in July, companies come to the school to recruit. The recruitment area is in the sports field, which is quite large. Since there aren't many student sports activities during the holidays, the school uses it for company recruitment."
Xie Sen, imagining modern job hunting scenarios, asked, "Should we borrow some tables and chairs later?"
Maine replied, "We'll find you a chair later. We're only recruiting a few people, so we'll be done quickly."
As the shuttle was about to land, Xie Sen glanced out the window and was surprised to see the parking lot completely full. "Are there so many people recruiting at the school today?"
Maine scanned the area outside, driving around the school for a while before finally finding an empty spot to land.
"Wait, don't get off yet." Seeing Xie Sen preparing to get off, Maine locked the door and activated her wristband.
Xie Sen leaned forward, his head hunched against the back of his chair. "What's wrong?"
Maine entered the forum and immediately saw Xie Sen's post with a large fire symbol. Xie Sen was stunned. "Even if they're recruiting plant science students, there shouldn't be this much of a reaction, right?"
Maine clicked into the post. At the top was the company's basic information: Peony Agricultural Products Company.
Maine didn't even scroll down, pointing to the company name. "You registered the company using your own identity, right?"
Xie Sen nodded, then suddenly realized, swiping the screen as he said, "You mean they found out the company is mine, that's why they're reacting so strongly?"
"Yeah."
Xie Sen quickly scanned the comments. He had to admit, his title was very obvious. After all, companies recruiting plant science students weren't rare, they were practically nonexistent. This one suddenly appearing was particularly eye-catching.
He posted for less than a minute before someone replied. The initial replies were all discussing what an agricultural products company did. After someone explained, many suspected it was a scam.
After all, with plants scarce and only research institutes capable of growing them, what fool would open an agricultural products company? Selling air?
Only botany students who followed the Institute of Botany said it might be true, as the institute had previously issued an announcement seeking cooperative agricultural product companies.
However, this response couldn't keep up with the skeptical students. While they suspected the Peony Company was a scam, they checked the company information. It's easy to start a company on Brant Star, but the information must be publicly available and registered under real names.
When they saw the boss was Xie Sen, the students immediately became excited. Some even wondered if it was just a coincidence of names. But when they saw the identity information, they knew it was definitely the incredibly popular streamer Xie Sen.
The news spread quickly, and students from other schools were also interested, expressing their desire to apply for the positions.
Would it be difficult to see the contracted beasts as the boss's employee? Definitely not. In fact, viewers who watched the live stream had seen the large tracts of land near the apartment and assumed that Xie Sen's employees would be working there.
This meant they could see the contracted beasts every day, observe them up close, and perhaps even play with them outside of work—it was exciting to think about.
Xie Sen curled his lip. These people really knew how to think! The employees he was hiring were for farming, not for playing with contracted beasts!
He stopped scrolling through the comments, put his hand on Maine's shoulder, and rested his chin on the top of the chair back: "What should we do? There might be a lot of people at the sports field."
Maine: "You can't go, you'll get jostled. I'll take you back, and I'll come back later. I'll video chat with you during the recruitment,
and you can pick the ones you like." Xie Sen laughed: "They're for doing the work, not for me to look at."
Maine: "If you don't like them, no matter how capable they are , I
won't hire them." Xie Sen poked his cheek: "If I like them, won't you be jealous?"
Maine grabbed his hand and kissed it: "There are more females than males in the botany and finance departments, so I'll choose two females."
Xie Sen glanced at him: "Females? Then they might have ulterior motives for applying." He blinked, "In my opinion, the females and males here are the same, only the height is different."
Maine raised an eyebrow and looked at him intently: "Didn't your world have gender distinctions before?"
"No, we're even more different than you. Look, apart from appearance and animal markings, don't you females and males look the same? Not in modern times."
Maine realized something, chuckled, and hooked his chin, gently rubbing his fingers on it: "So, you like me, like a male on a female?"
Shesen nodded, thinking of Guro: "Male-male pairings are legal here, right?"
"Yes, marriage is free. Even if someone wants to be a partner with Feishuo, no one will interfere. However, it's rare for two males to be together. Males have strong personalities and find it hard to tolerate a partner stronger than themselves," Maine said.
Xie Sen scoffed, "So you didn't know I was female before, and you thought I was weak, which is why you didn't reject me?"
Maine tapped his forehead, smiling at him, "What do you think?"
Xie Sen couldn't help but laugh, tilting his chin slightly, "It's all because I'm too handsome."
Maine chuckled, then frowned, "If there's no difference between female and male to you... then I'll just breed, I have the tools anyway."
Xie Sen rolled his eyes at him, patting his face, "Honey, be confident, with your looks, who else could I possibly fancy?"
Maine smiled at him, turned around and knelt on the chair, kissing Xie Sen on the lips. Just as she was about to continue, Xie Sen's bracelet rang.
Xie Sen glanced at the communication notification and was startled. It was his teacher. He instinctively pushed Maine aside and returned to his seat, saying, "Hello, teacher."
The teacher greeted him and got straight to the point: "I saw the post on the forum. You're recruiting, is that true?"
The forum was buzzing with discussion, so Xie Sen wasn't surprised his teacher knew. "Yes."
The teacher's tone was full of admiration: "You're amazing! In the entire botany department, you're the most promising. You haven't arrived at school yet, have you? Don't go to the sports field; it's crowded there, and it's not safe for you since you're pregnant."
Xie Sen: Sure enough, everyone knows he's pregnant!
The teacher continued, "Tell me your requirements. I know botany students best and can recommend some. I can also ask some professors in finance for you."
Xie Sen hesitated for a moment but didn't refuse. "Thank you, teacher. Good personality is fine. There aren't many requirements for botany students, but finance students need a solid professional foundation. Preferably, they should both be female."
The teacher smiled and said, "Your requirements are simple, and there are many people who fit the bill. Why don't you come to my office and take a look?"
With the teacher's targeted recommendations, Xie Sen quickly recruited two suitable employees: two quiet and shy females from families that weren't well-off.
He exchanged contact information with them, arranged to meet at the farm the next day, and left the office with Maine.
As soon as he stepped out of the office building, he was spotted and surrounded before even leaving the school gate.
Maine protected him, giving him a "keep away" look. Xie Sen, hearing the voices calling his name from all around, lowered his head and pouted. They used to whisper bad things about him, but in such a short time, their attitudes had changed drastically.
Maine's coldness intensified, his icy gaze sweeping over the people retreating in front of him: "Get out of the way!"
Some, intimidated by Maine's powerful aura, quickly ran to the side, while others, unwilling to give up, shouted at Xie Sen: "God Xie, I want to see the contracted beast! For the sake of being in the same school, please let me go!"
"God Xie, I want to go too."
"God Xie..."
At first, Xie Sen thought he had misheard, or that the speaker had an accent and couldn't distinguish between retroflex and alveolar consonants. After hearing the various voices, he finally understood that he hadn't misheard; his classmates' nickname for him had indeed changed from 'Xie the Useless' to 'God Xie'.
"What a fickle young man!"
Maine glanced at him coldly, then pulled Xie Sen into his arms, covering his ears with his hands. Xie Sen immediately understood what he was about to do and quickly grabbed his hands, "No!"
Maine's actions clearly indicated he was about to summon a flying lion beast. The roar of the flying lion beast was fierce, and many of the students around were female. If the flying lion beast roared, a whole row would probably fall down. If that happened, it would be troublesome.
Maine looked down at him, released his hands, and slid them to his waist, "I'll carry you out."
"Son!!!" Xie Sen was about to refuse when a sharp and excited voice came from the front.
The students crowded together in front were pushed aside from behind like a door. Some hot-tempered students immediately started cursing, but the newcomer ignored them and quickly rushed to the front through the gap, followed by several others.
Leading the way was a thin, dark-skinned man. Upon seeing Xie Sen, he excitedly shouted, "Son, I've finally found you!"
Close behind him was a pale-faced woman with black hair and eyes, tears welling in her eyes, crying, "Baby, Daddy thought I'd never see you again."
Xie Sen was completely bewildered. What was going on?
"Ah Sen, they are your biological parents. They suffered so much searching for you. You can't disown them!" Two people were pulled out from the crowd; these were Xie Sen's adoptive father's parents. These words were spoken by Xie's father.
The surrounding area buzzed with discussion, everyone showing great enthusiasm for this sudden turn of events.
The black-haired female looked at Xie Sen with teary eyes, expressing her longing. After saying a few words, she tried to take Xie Sen's hand, but Maine coldly rebuked her: "Stay away!"
The black-haired female trembled, tears streaming down her face. She dared not move forward, taking a small step back, looking at Xie Sen with a face full of heartache: "Son, how did you end up with such a fierce male? Did he force you? Don't worry, you're not an orphan anymore. My father and dad will support you..."
Xie Sen raised his hand to stop her: "I'm sorry, actually, I think my male is too gentle. Just now, the moment you stepped forward, he should have kicked you out of the crowd. He only scolded you. I'm actually very dissatisfied."
The black-haired female stared at him blankly, realizing the meaning behind his words. Her body trembled, and she took a step back.
Maine put his arm around Shesen's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Not satisfied? I can fix it."
"Son, he's your father! How could you treat him like this!" the tall, thin man roared, then softened his voice, which choked with emotion. "I'm sorry, it was all our carelessness that caused you to be lost. If you had grown up with us, you would have been a filial and good child."
Many voices of sympathy rose from the surroundings. Males were usually strong, so when a male shed tears, it was easy to evoke sympathy.
The black-haired female choked up, saying, "Dad doesn't blame you. Dad knows you must have suffered a lot when you were little. Dad will definitely make it up to you in the future."
Xie Sen rolled his eyes, "My adoptive parents' parents were terrible, but my adoptive parents are very good. I didn't suffer. By the way, stop calling me son, dad, and father all the time. You might have the wrong people."
Xie's father said, "No, look how much you look like them. The time their son went missing matches the time you were brought back. They are your parents."
Xie Sen looked at him and sneered, having absolutely no goodwill towards him: "Does it matter if they are or aren't? I'm an adult now. People I haven't seen for eighteen years, even if they are my parents, so what?"
"You..." Xie's father choked, then cursed again, "You really are heartless! My son and daughter-in-law raised you for so many years, how much money did they spend! Now that you have money, you ignore us, and now you don't even recognize your own parents!"
Xie Sen continued to sneer, "The lawyer already told you last time, right? We have no relationship whatsoever. Out of respect for your adoptive father, I'm not going to cause you any trouble, but you seem dissatisfied?"
"Son," the black-haired female said, wiping away tears, "I know you have grievances against us, but you can't disown us. Give us a chance to make it up to you."
Xie Sen turned his head and whispered something to Maine. Maine released him and quickly plucked a hair from each of the black-haired female and the tall, thin male, putting them in his backpack.
The two men whose hairs had been pulled covered their heads, staring wide-eyed at Maine: "What are you doing?"
Maine ignored them. Xie Sen said, "Whether you are related to me by blood or not is irrelevant to me, but some things always need to be investigated."
Xie's father shouted, "We've already done the DNA test; you are their son. You secretly did the test, are you trying to deny it?"
Xie Sen ignored him and said to Maine, "Let's go!" He summoned two vines, one on each side, binding the people blocking the way and pulling them aside. They moved swiftly, binding the front and then the back, neatly clearing a path.
Maine picked Xie Sen up and carried him away from the crowd at lightning speed. Once no one was blocking the way, Xie Sen recalled the vines.