Fynn understood the rationale, but it still didn’t feel right, “But why did the two have to meet up, anyway? If it was just a discussion, it could have been done remotely. Did the councilor come to pick up drugs and see the research results first hand? But since councilor Desmond had access to the lab, couldn’t he have just gone in and taken the drugs himself? Why the need to meet up?”
This time, Noah was the one to speak up, “Would a paranoid person, such as Asan, trust the other to quietly take a few drug samples and see himself out? He had to be there to supervise the other and make sure he didn’t do anything he shouldn’t.”
Fynn paused a moment to consider Noah’s words, then he spoke up again, “But if the councilor had access rights to the lab, couldn’t he have dropped in at any time, all by himself?”
“What makes you think he had permanent access rights? Asan could have granted his number clearance each time they were supposed to meet and revoked them afterward.” Noah sighed softly, “You found those two unknown communicator numbers on the access logs, but there are no corresponding logs for granting or revoking access clearance.” Noah’s two amber eyes narrowed, “In fact, I bet that, too, will be exploited by Asan in his defense. He’ll just say he has no idea how those unknown two numbers got their access rights. Maybe their security system was hacked?”
Fynn’s eyebrows furrowed, “It’s true that we don’t have any proof that it was him that gave those numbers access rights…”
The room fell into a momentary silence, then Noah spoke up again, “By the way, I assume you already tried calling those two unknown numbers?”
Fynn nodded, his loose ponytail bobbing up and down, “That’s the first thing we tried. However, the calls didn’t go through. It is very likely that their communicators are set to automatically block calls from those not on their contact list. Which makes sense; they wouldn’t want to give up their identities by answering a wrong call.”
“What about messages? Can those still be sent?”
“I would assume so. Otherwise, there would be no way for numbers not on their contact list to contact them at all. Besides, communicators usually don’t have a built-in setting for blocking all messages. They’d have to be specially modified to include that. And why go through the trouble of getting it modified when it might not even be beneficial. If all messages are blocked, it would mean they wouldn’t even receive some automated service messages.”
“So we can message them but can’t call them.” Noah cupped his chin in thought, and his two amber eyes narrowed dangerously. Or rather, not as dangerously as he thought. He just looked like an angry kitten plotting revenge.
The other two men patiently gave him some room to think. Or rather, they were too mesmerized by his adorable mannerisms to interrupt him.
“If our conjectures are right, then after Asan is done tying up loose ends and preparing his defense, he’ll contact you himself, claiming he just found out the peacekeepers were looking for him.” The Noah-kitty’s cute snarl was replaced by a pout, “It would be best if we could find him before he is ready for us, but it’s probably already too late. If I were him, I would have left Concordia last night. As long as he is in another city, we would lack jurisdiction to arrest him even if we did have evidence of his guilt. We’d have to appeal to the international court.” Noah fidgeted in his seat and then grumbled, “Our best bet now is to catch the councilor red-handed. Hopefully, we can find something that can be used against Asan in the councilor’s communicator. Or maybe, the councilor would be willing to strike a deal for a more lenient court hearing and testify against his accomplices.”
Fynn rubbed his glabella and closed his tired eyes, “I wish it were that simple. We’d have to have sufficient grounds to arrest the councilor in the first place.”
Noah’s two bright eyes locked with Fynn’s half-open ones, “I have a way. A way that will allow you to immediately arrest him if he is guilty. As for Asan…” Noah huffed, “Can you find out whether he left the city already? If so, then…” Noah’s pink lips curved slightly, “there is a tactic we can try…”
***
After settling the terrorist-related matters, it was time to focus on settling the marriage arrangements. The entire family, besides the actual newlyweds-to-be, had been busy handling various wedding changes since early morning. And now it was time for two grooms to experience the same woes.
Last minute changes needed to be made to Noah’s wedding tuxedo. Now that he was not just attending the wedding but actually getting married, he couldn’t just wear any random tuxedo from his closet. No, no, no! His tuxedo had to be a matching set with Levi’s.
Starry-eyed Maery, (✪ ω ✪) “Baby brother, I think you’d look great in white! How about we make you a tux that’s the same as Levi’s but inverted in color?”
The idea was barely out when outraged Cordia daddy shot it down, “Absolutely not!!! If he wears white, wouldn't it imply he is the bride?!” (ꐦ °Д°)
His intentions were good, but unfortunately, his outburst rubbed the two women present the wrong way, “What's wrong with being a bride?! Do you think a bride is somehow lower than her husband?! Hey, hey!! Do you look down on women?!” (°ㅂ°╬)
Cordia daddy, who had been cornered by his own wife and daughter, “…it's not the issue of superiority or inferiority, it's the issue of gender!” QAQ
His attempts of explaining himself did not get the desired outcome, “So what? You look down on transgender people?!” (≖_≖)
Cordia daddy felt his spleen, lungs, and liver all hurting, “...what? No! But my good son isn't transgender! He is 100% male!” щ(゚Д゚щ)
Levi nodded seriously, “Mn. 100% male.” (*︶‿︶*) ‘I confirmed it with my very own eyes. And hands.’ (ノ*^o^)ノ*
However, upon being glared at by his mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Levi felt obliged to add, “But my baby would indeed look good in white.”
Noah, ‘Um… hello? Is no one going to ask my opinion on this?’ 〒▽〒 Noah awkwardly raised his hand, “Um… I’m with dad on this one…”
Cordia daddy turned to gaze at his son with unshed tears in his eyes, ‘My good son! So, you have not abandoned your old man after all!’ ಥ‿ಥ
Levi did not even bat an eye as his words did a shameless 180-degree turn, “My darling is so good looking. Of course, he’d look good wearing any color.”
Cordia daddy, Cordia mommy and Maery, “…” ‘Why is there suddenly a taste of dog food in my mouth?’ ಠ_ಠ
Noah, “…” (⁄ ⁄> ﹏ <⁄ ⁄) Ah, ah! This husband of his was too embarrassing!
Noah tried to pull his hands away from Levi’s big ones, which were kneading and pinching and playing with his hands as if he was a plushie. But this big shameless thing refused to let go!
‘And why are you using those embarrassing endearments in front of my parents?! щ(゚Д゚щ)It’s not like they are not in on the truth!’ ○| ̄|_ ‘How are you not embarrassed?? How thick IS your skin?!’
Blackie clicked his tongue, ‘Ah, yes. They are certainly in on the truth. Unlike you. Tsk, tsk, tragic, really tragic!’ (ಡ艸ಡ)
And thus, the matter of the tuxedo was settled – Noah would be wearing the exact same design as Levi.
Next, Noah had his measurements taken in the other room, while Levi used this time to admire the couple photos the reporters had taken yesterday in the cinema.
‘Ah, look at my baby obediently sitting on my lap!’
‘Ah, how adorable! Look at him snuggling inside my bosom like a little bird!’ ❤o(≧▽≦)o
Suffice to say, Levi saved each one of the candid photos in his “My Baby <3” collection. He also didn’t forget to leave a like on ones that were especially pleasing to the eye.
Reporters who had their photos liked by the official account of the famously unreasonable and cold-hearted wild wolf Astar Levi, “…” ‘Is this a threat? This must be a threat, right??’ 😱
After the matter of tuxedos was resolved, the natural progression of things led the two grooms to the topic of rings. Both wedding AND engagement rings! When Levi realized that he was getting married to his baby, yet not only had he not officially proposed, but his baby’s lovely hands didn’t even have his ring on, he felt so sour inside that his face scrunched up like a squeezed sponge. This needed to be corrected! Right now! (ꐦ °Д°) But how could he correct it when he didn’t even have the rings yet?! (ノಥ益ಥ)ノ ┻━┻ What was he supposed to do? Reuse the rings from the previous engagement? Of course he couldn’t do that!!! Even if there was no issue with the ring size and the feminine design, how could he let his precious wear things that were not just picked by someone else but even worn by someone else before?! Even if he used his feet to think, he still wouldn’t manage to come up with such a stupid idea! But, ah, the realization that those slen
This warning immediately roused Levi from his lethargic state, “Why be careful? Wouldn’t such a reality be a good thing? For a married couple to be happily in love, isn't that how it should be?” Noah fell silent for a moment, then his pink mouth opened to reveal what lay hidden in the depths of his heart, “That's only if it's mutual. If it's one-sided, it would just be sad.” Levi deeply stared into the little one’s two shiny orbs, “That’s only if it forever remains one-sided.” Then the bottomless abyss within the pool of blue was replaced with a shimmer of mischief, “But why would it be… ah! Don’t tell me you intend to seduce me and then dump me?!” Levi’s face warped into exaggerated shock and grief, “Ah, ah, you can’t play with hearts like this! You must take responsibility for me!” Noah’s melancholy was instantly broken, and his glorious bright red blush made its triumphant return. “Who–who–who is playing with hearts?! What ‘seduce and dump’?! And what ‘tak
Since neither Noah nor Levi were the ones who scheduled all that, they had to ask Maery to deal with… uh… canceling it? Maery, “No way! (︶^︶)ノI got two weeks off work for this! And now I don’t even need to bring that scourge along on my vacation! (ノ*^o^)ノ* Yatta!” In other words… “Dear brother, I don’t care where you go for your honeymoon, as for me, dead or alive, I am going to that spa!” (✧ᴗ✧)و Noah, “…” ( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) ‘…does that mean you intend to go with us – but not with us – on our honeymoon?’ Blackie shook his head, “Host, you are not asking the right questions here!”(︶^︶)ノ Blackie turned his virtual eyes towards Maery, “Do tell, o( ̄▽ ̄)d what plans have you made that would ensure your corpse gets smuggled into the spa? Come on, don’t keep us in suspense!” Noah, “…” (◞‸ლ) Feeling helpless due to both his sister AND his pesky system, Noah turned to his fiancé for help. Only to see the other crossing over prett
Noah looked at the loner wolf’s drooping ears and tail and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Something urgent popped up?” He guessed. Otherwise, why would Levi suddenly change his mind after coming out of a call with Astar daddy? The ‘ate a loss’ Astar Levi nodded his head weakly, “Mn. Extremely pressing. Has to be handled ASAP. I’m afraid I won’t be getting much rest tonight.” Then, seeing his baby’s concerned little face, he added, “Don’t worry. It’s only this one time. I’ll manage without soothing tonight, and you can soothe me to sleep tomorrow.” Blackie, ‘…Only this one time? ಠಿ_ಠ So you are saying that you intend to sleep WITHOUT my host only this ONE time?? ಠ_ಠ ‘…Host, how are you not picking up on this?!’ щ(゚Д゚щ) Seeing Levi’s determination despite the dejection, Noah didn’t wish to delay Levi from his urgent matter any longer. Though his heart ached for the other, what Levi needed right now were not empty words
And that’s how Astar Levi resisted the great temptation of sleeping with his baby tonight and resolved himself to stay up studying instead. With unwavering determination sparkling within his blue eyes, he gritted his teeth valiantly and declined his baby’s offer of soothing. Seeing his son turning back and heading for his own room, Cordia daddy’s face proudly blossomed into a victorious smirk. A smirk that would have turned upside down faster than the speed of light if only he knew that this win was actually a Pyrrhic victory. _(´ཀ`∠)_ ‘These pig teammates!!! (ꐦ °Д°) All of them…! All of them are working for the other team!!!’ (ノಥ益ಥ)ノ ┻━┻ ‘They are his parents, ah! Of course they are working for the other team!’ Blackie shook his virtual head in pity, ‘Tsk, tsk. No wonder the city lord of Astarea has his entire city in his pocket while you get schemed against by your own councilors! The difference in IQ is so big, ah!’
Worst still, even though these last few messy clauses were separated from the rest of the agreement in all ways, they were still considered to be a part of the agreement. And as such, once the contract was signed, everything on it would be valid indefinitely and could only be changed if both parties agreed to the change. Noah blinked his long eyelashes at the document and couldn’t help but complain, “The lawyer who worked on these last few clauses did a sloppy job …” And that wasn’t just Noah’s layman opinion. Education in this not-so-utopian world was rather streamlined. High schools were highly specialized, and university lectures and course materials were all available online, so everyone could study at their own pace. Those ready to spend more time and effort in their studies could finish their higher education years earlier. Which was exactly what Levi, Aris, and Maery had all done. In other words – yo, don't let Aris’ young age of 18 fool you! Aris, and
In the afternoon, both pairs of rings arrived. However, before Levi could even touch the marriage rings to check whether his instructions have been fulfilled properly, they were unceremoniously snatched by Maery for safekeeping as the best man–ahem, woman. With eyebrows twitching in annoyance due to this third wheel which kept popping up all over the place, Levi gripped the engagement rings in his hand tightly, lest the other snatched them away too. Tsk. No matter. He’d be putting that wedding ring on his darling’s finger tomorrow. As for today… Levi had wanted to propose to his baby, but on second thought, he found the idea stupid. After all, his darling had already agreed to marry him. Since Levi had already gotten the answer he had wanted, why would he ask this tricky question again and shoulder this unnecessary risk of the positive answer changing into a negative? Hence, he’d just skip the first half of the proposal and fast-forward to putting the
Hearing Levi’s bitter struggle, Noah realized that he had asked a stupid question. Like a boiled lobster, he turned pink from head to toe, only a single step short from letting out steam. His neck shrunk into himself, and his round eyes darted left and right, looking everywhere other than at Levi. Noah hesitated for a long moment before he managed to gather the courage to voice his doubts, “You… are you actually gay?” “I don’t know,” Levi replied very honestly. He hadn't been particularly attracted to any of the two genders until meeting his baby. So right now, he couldn’t really be sure whether his gender preference leaned towards men or if he just liked this one person that just happened to be a man. True, thinking of his baby’s little PP made Levi’s blood boil, but he also thought that if his baby didn’t have a little bird down there but a bird's nest, he would still be just as lovely. But what-ifs were, in the end, just speculation. Since this one