Smelian stared blankly at the man. "She already gave me permission to work. What else is there to say?"

His tone was so matter-of-fact it made the man’s question seem utterly pointless.

So much so that the director, who had been standing at the door hoping to see Smelian make a fool of himself, was left speechless.

’That’s right. His Female Master already allows him to go out and work, so what wouldn’t she allow?’

’Come to think of it, the way Smelian is being treated now... isn’t that the same as the status he himself enjoyed as a secondary husband?’

’On what grounds?’

Smelian ignored the resentment on the man’s face and said directly to his assistant, "Pull up the patient files from the time I was away. I’ll review them and then we can schedule appointments."

The assistant shot a quick glance at the director in the doorway before nodding. "Of course. I’ll get them ready right now."

Seeing that he was being ignored, the director said, unwilling to let it go, "Since you’re back, just focus on your work. And don’t go stirring up any trouble."

With that, he turned and left.

In truth, there was nothing he could do about Smelian. Aside from his status as a "defective product," the man’s surgical skills were top-notch. He couldn’t make a real move against him. If he did, the hospital director would be the first to punish him!

Smelian paid the man no mind. Once he was gone, Smelian returned to his desk and sat down, waiting for his assistant to bring back the files.

But beneath his placid expression, his mind was anything but calm.

’In truth, when he first went to Duke Lu Xia’s Mansion, he had already prepared himself to lose his job. He never imagined he would one day return to the hospital.’

’After all, his status was merely that of a husband—a plaything. All he needed to do was serve his Female Master well. A career was not something he was supposed to worry about.’

’Many families treated their husbands this way; he was no exception.’

’He didn’t even know how to sweet-talk or flatter people. If Duke Lu Xia had truly been as the rumors described, he would have surely died a horrible death.’

’At times, he’d thought that dying might be for the best. At least then he would no longer be oppressed by this world.’

’But the Duke Lu Xia he’d met was completely different from what he’d imagined. Now, he could no longer tell which one was the real Duke Lu Xia.’

’It seemed he needed time to accept this new reality.’

*

Lu Xia accompanied Graces to the gene testing center to get his gene fusion degree tested.

The staff member who greeted them looked from Lu Xia to Graces, then asked skeptically, "Who is here for the gene fusion degree test?"

’Gene fusion doesn’t apply to females, and Graces is far too old. Neither of them seems to be the right candidate.’

While the staff member was still puzzled, Lu Xia pointed to Graces. "We’re here to get him re-tested, please."

After confirming that the re-test was indeed for the man before them, the staff member fell silent for a moment. "Alright, please come this way to fill out the form."

’Whatever the reason, if they’re willing to pay for the test, there’s no need for me to stop them. It’s not my money they’re wasting, after all.’ With that thought, the staff member pulled out a form and handed it over.

Graces took the form and stepped aside to fill it out, with Lu Xia waiting quietly nearby.

Just then, the door to a nearby office flew open, followed by a torrent of curses. "You useless trash! This is the third time! You’ve been injected with six gene fusion agents, and you’re still a defective product! Is this how you repay me?"

The hysterical female was viciously pinching a teenage boy, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. The boy’s face was completely numb as he let her do as she pleased, as if he had lost the will to resist.

"You good-for-nothing, defective product! If I had known this would happen, I never would have bothered breeding you! You’re garbage! Why don’t you just go die!" the female shrieked, unleashing all of her frustrations on the boy.

The nearby staff only made a half-hearted attempt to intervene, clearly having no real intention of getting involved.

Some staff members even wore expressions of disgust, clearly just wanting the mother and son to leave as soon as possible.

In the vast hall, everyone could see and hear the raucous scene, yet no one did a thing.

Lu Xia’s brow furrowed. This was the first time she had seen the aftermath of a failed gene fusion with her own eyes.

’I wonder if Graces faced these kinds of baseless accusations when he failed...’

"Stay here, I’m going over there for a second." With those words, Lu Xia strode forward before Graces even had a chance to react.

"What are you all doing? Aren’t you going to step in and stop this?" Lu Xia’s sudden interjection made the staff, who had only been posturing before, jolt into action. They immediately moved to separate the boy from his mother.

Seeing this, the hysterical female became even more agitated. She shot Lu Xia a furious glare. "Who the hell do you think you are, meddling in my affairs?"

"With an attitude like yours, what kind of good child did you expect to raise?" Lu Xia’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to those nearby. "Did you only give birth to him so he could become a Gene Fusion Expert? If that’s the case, you would have been better off not having him at all. You bring him into this world only to not raise him properly. Are you even fit to be a mother?"

It was safe to say Lu Xia’s words were brutally direct.

The woman seemed completely blindsided by Lu Xia’s words. For a moment, she was so angry she was speechless, unable to think of a rebuttal.

"You... what right do you have to say that to me? So this defective product is in the right, is he? After everything I’ve done for him, this is how he repays me! This piece of trash does nothing but humiliate me! It’s easy for you to talk. If you care so much, why don’t you take him home and raise him yourself!"

"Alright," Lu Xia said, taking the woman at her word. She turned her gaze to the boy. "Would you like to come with me? You look old enough. If you’re willing, you can come work for me."

The boy seemed stunned that Lu Xia had suddenly come to his defense. His gaze shifted from Lu Xia, to Graces standing behind her, and then to his enraged mother.

’Ever since his first gene fusion agent injection failed, his mother had gone mad. The verbal and physical abuse was a daily occurrence. He’d gone from initial fear to his current numbness, with nothing left to hope for.’

’After this latest failure, he’d even prepared himself to be sold off. After all, that’s what happened to all the other "defective" males he knew.’

’Sold off by their families to extract one last bit of value from them.’

’Compared to that fate, he might as well go with this kind woman.’

He gave a slight nod. "Alright."

’For him, at this point, going anywhere was the same. It made no difference.’

His nod, however, seemed to utterly enrage his mother. "If you really dare to go with her, then don’t ever come home again!"

"I didn’t have a home to begin with." It was the first time the boy had spoken. His voice was raw and hoarse, as if he hadn’t used it in a very long time.