What Lan Ya didn’t say, of course, was why she had chosen a "defective" male as one of her partners. It was all because she saw that nearly all of Lu Xia’s partners had been transformed from "defective" individuals into Gene Fusion Experts. Each one of those males was outstanding on his own—it was enough to make anyone green with envy.

So this time, when she met a "defective" male she found pleasing to the eye, she didn’t refuse. Instead, she happily accepted him and personally brought him over for a gene fusion agent injection, personally turning him into a Gene Fusion Expert.

She just wanted a high-quality male partner, just like Lu Xia’s.

But even though Lan Ya hadn’t said any of this, Lu Xia knew it all perfectly well.

After all, every time Lan Ya saw the males around her, she looked so jealous and envious. Now that she had personally brought a "defective" male to be transformed, what was there not to understand? It was all too obvious.

But while thinking this, Lu Xia didn’t say it out loud. Some things were best left unsaid.

Seeing that Lu Xia didn’t say much, Lan Ya felt a sense of relief. "What brings you here? Do you need something?"

"Just came to take a look. You’re busy, so come find me later if you need anything." After speaking, Lu Xia prepared to leave with Simon, but Lan Ya suddenly called out, "Wait a minute."

As she said this, she reached out and tugged on Lu Xia’s arm, looking her over from head to toe with suspicion. "Why do I get the feeling you’ve gained some weight recently? You’ve got a little belly, don’t you?"

While saying this, Lan Ya even tried to reach out and touch Lu Xia’s stomach, but Lu Xia pushed her hand away. "I guess I have gained some weight. Was there anything else?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Lan Ya withdrew her hand. "No, nothing else. Just, don’t get too fat. If you get too fat, no clothes will look good on you."

Apparently, in Lan Ya’s mind, this was a very well-intentioned reminder.

Lu Xia just pretended not to hear and gave her a smile. "Got it."

The moment she finished speaking, she hurriedly left with Simon.

’I can still use the excuse of gaining weight for now, but once my belly gets bigger, it’ll probably be hard to find another excuse. After all, nobody gains weight only in their stomach.’

Simon could tell that Lu Xia was a bit upset and asked without thinking, "Are you okay?"

Lu Xia glanced back at him with a smile. "I’m fine."

Simon could tell she wasn’t fine; she just didn’t want to talk to him about it.

In fact, he knew very well in his heart that even if Lu Xia told him, he wouldn’t know how to change the situation.

In his past life, something like this had never been within his realm of consideration. He believed that everyone living in this world probably never even considered the possibility of natural conception.

To them, natural conception was an unattainable dream.

Who would have thought a dream could one day become reality?

Take Lan Ya, for example. She was right there and had clearly noticed something unusual about Lu Xia, but could still only think of weight gain, not pregnancy.

Actually, Lu Xia wasn’t taking this matter too seriously. She was just a little worried about the future now that Lan Ya had noticed something was off. But in truth, with Her Majesty Queen about to step down and the Empire’s power about to shift, the Fertility Research Institute—once a source of trouble in her eyes—was now her own No. 3 Courtyard. It could be said that even if her natural pregnancy was exposed now, there was nothing to worry about.

All internal and external threats had been resolved.

The only thing was that after it was exposed, it would affect her ability to go out to some extent, but she believed this would only be temporary.

As long as her research confirmed that Spiritual Spring Water was helpful for natural conception, then everyone’s attention would no longer be on her.

By sorting out her thoughts, Lu Xia managed to calm herself down.

She led Simon to the Alien Gene Research Room.

When the researcher in charge saw them arrive, he came over and said, "The Golden Spirit Gene has entered its final testing phase. It should be successfully completed in about another month."

He assumed Lu Xia had come at this time to check on the progress of the Golden Spirit Gene.

But unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, he saw Lu Xia take a familiar-looking box from Simon’s hands and hand it to him.

There was no need to ask; just by taking it, he knew what the box contained.

After all, they already had three identical boxes there.

For everyone else, Alien Genes were incredibly hard to find, but for Duke Lu Xia, they seemed to be a dime a dozen, appearing one after another in a continuous supply.

So he didn’t ask where this Alien Gene came from. He just silently opened the box, and when he saw the Wood Spirit Gene inside, he was even more shocked.

Not only were they a dime a dozen, but they were all different kinds.

"I’ll make arrangements to begin the extraction of the Wood Spirit Gene."

By now, they were a very well-rounded research team. There were many things they knew how to handle even without Duke Lu Xia giving instructions.

Hearing this, Lu Xia replied with confidence, "I’ll be counting on you, then. Your monthly bonuses will be doubled from now on."

At these words, everyone smiled.

Everyone knew that Duke Lu Xia was a very generous boss. Working for her not only allowed them to realize their own self-worth but also gave them a profound sense of accomplishment. They felt their efforts and rewards were directly proportional. Even if the work was hard, they endured it gladly.

After all, even though they were researchers, they were still human, to put it bluntly. They also wanted to use money to reflect their self-worth. Even if the money often just sat in their accounts because they had no time to spend it, having it was better than not.

Lu Xia handed the item to the person in charge without giving any special instructions. Given their prior success with three types of Alien Gene Extraction Liquid, the fourth was merely a matter of time.

They were all very experienced by now.

As she was leaving, however, Lu Xia made a point to add, "Order whatever you want to eat. It’s my treat today."

The person in charge immediately laughed. "In that case, we won’t hold back!"

Simon followed by Lu Xia’s side. Even though he hadn’t participated in the exchange at all, he could see that Lu Xia treated her people very well, and they all trusted and respected her in return.

The young female’s shining qualities weren’t just visible to them. Anyone who wasn’t blind, anyone who had ever interacted with Duke Lu Xia, could see them.

Because she was just that wonderful.

She was like a character from a fairy tale—no, she was even more captivating than a fairy tale.

After leaving the research room, Lu Xia made a point of telling Simon, "Don’t worry, they’re very experienced. They won’t keep you waiting too long."

Precisely because they were so experienced now, the Alien Gene Extraction Liquid process was very fast—it would take at most half the time of the Fire Spirit Gene Extraction Liquid.

Simon knew that Lu Xia was telling him not to be anxious.

The young female’s thoughtfulness truly showed in every little thing she did.