Becca's first test arrived quickly.
Ryan looked at Butcher slowly getting up from the ground, raised his head, and asked his mother, "Mom, who is he?"
"Uh..."
Becca was stunned, truly unsure how to answer in such a short time.
Should she say Butcher is your mother's husband?
And then explain that your mother's husband is not your father?
Then she would also have to explain why your father was hitting your mother's husband—shouldn't it logically be the other way around?
Becca could only choose not to answer. She led Ryan to the room door and said, "Ryan, go back inside the house first. Don't come out until I call you."
"Huh? Oh..."
Ryan was a little disappointed, but he didn't disobey his mother, so he walked into the room, looking back every few steps.
"What are you doing here?" Becca asked Homelander impolitely.
This made Homelander laugh out of anger.
"Ryan is my son. Why can't I be here?"
"Shouldn't I be the one questioning you? Hiding my son for seven years without letting me know—what exactly are you trying to do?"
Becca gathered her courage and replied, "Ryan shouldn't have a bastard father like you!"
"Oh." Homelander sneered, staring intensely into Becca's eyes. "Then why did you give birth to him?"
"You could have chosen not to keep him and continued living happily with your husband over there."
Becca seemed to be struck, trembling all over. She guiltily glanced behind her, saw Butcher's complex gaze, and quickly turned back, responding weakly, "He... he is my son. I couldn't..."
Seeing Homelander aggressively interrogate Becca like this, Butcher, by his nature, should have stepped forward to defend her, but he didn't.
The thought in his heart was the same as Homelander's: if Becca had truly chosen to live happily with him, she wouldn't have given birth to Ryan.
"You don't understand, it was Vought..." Becca tried to defend herself.
But Homelander didn't indulge her at all: "Dr. Voughtbaum has told me everything. Vought begged you to give birth to Ryan back then; it wasn't coercion."
Judging from the environment Becca and Ryan live in now, it's clear that Vought has been treating Ryan according to Becca's wishes.
Becca was speechless for a moment.
"So this time, I'm taking my son!" Homelander announced to Becca, head held high.
"Impossible!" Becca immediately bristled. "Ryan is my son! No one can take him away!"
"He is also my son." Homelander's pupils gradually turned red. "No one can stop me from reuniting with my son!"
Becca suppressed her fear and roared softly, "If you kill me, if you kill Ryan's mother, he will never acknowledge you as his father for the rest of his life!"
Homelander's expression darkened. It was exactly as his elder brother had said.
But immediately, his expression relaxed. Luckily, his elder brother had prepared a plan in advance.
"Yes, that's right." Homelander turned his head toward Butcher beside Becca. "But I can kill him!"
Becca immediately froze. Ryan was her son whom she couldn't give up, but Butcher was also her husband. Although she had previously chosen her son over her husband, this did not mean she could accept her husband dying in front of her.
Although she had done many things a wife shouldn't do, Becca still loved Butcher.
"No, you can't!" Becca quickly shielded the struggling Butcher.
Although Butcher harbored countless resentments, once Becca stepped forward to protect him, the dissatisfaction in his heart vanished.
He also silently made up his mind.
"I'm taking Becca home!"
Hmm, the Oi-Man completely forgave Becca.
"Becca, I'm sorry," Butcher added silently in his heart.
According to the plan Fang Yuan devised on the way, if Becca still had feelings for Butcher, they should use that point for leverage.
"Get out of the way, Becca!" Butcher put his hand on Becca's shoulder, pushed her aside, and lifted his chin. "Let him kill me! I won't allow myself to be used to threaten you!"
The more he said this, the guiltier Becca felt. Although Butcher was volatile and extreme, his devotion to her was undeniable.
Just then, Homelander spoke up: "He is your husband?"
"Do you know how much trouble he's caused Vought these past few years?"
"Speaking of which, he really has nine lives, surviving until now."
Hearing Homelander say this, Becca felt even more apologetic; after all, Butcher was in this state because of her.
"I can let you see Ryan, but you must let Butcher live!" Becca took a step back and told Homelander.
"Just... see him?" Homelander wasn't satisfied. "Ryan is my son. I want to teach him myself!"
"You teach him?" Becca disregarded Homelander's immense power. She squinted at him. "Teach Ryan how to slaughter the innocent?"
Homelander was displeased: "And how are you any better? Making him live in a fake World since childhood?"
Fang Yuan nodded from the side. Although it was a quarrel, it counted as communication starting, and he felt it was time for his entrance.
So he walked over and pulled Homelander's arm. "Alright, John, let me talk."
To Becca's surprise, the lawless Homelander was incredibly obedient.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Fang Yuan calmly replied, "I am John's elder brother."
Becca's expression immediately became strange. Fang Yuan's appearance was maintained at around twenty years old, while Homelander was well into his thirties. Fang Yuan was his elder brother?
But Homelander proudly puffed out his chest, wearing an expression that clearly said, 'I am Fang Yuan's younger brother, and I am proud.'
"Becca Butcher, right?" Fang Yuan's opening words immediately made Becca feel dazed.
It had been a long time since anyone had called her that name, which made Becca recall the bits and pieces of her wonderful life with Butcher before.
Fang Yuan continued, "We came here without malice, otherwise Butcher would have been dead long ago."
"We just want to help John bring back his son, and in return, we can allow you and Butcher to go back."
Becca immediately shook her head. "Impossible! Ryan can only be with me!"
"I am his mother!"
Fang Yuan didn't mind. "Then you should also be clear that separating Ryan from his biological father from birth is inhumane."
"And the fact that we are here discussing this calmly with you is already very humane," Fang Yuan smiled. "You know we could forcibly take Ryan away."
"I said I can accept you coming to see Ryan." Becca's confidence was indeed lacking, so she could only leverage Ryan. "Ryan won't want to leave his mother either!"
"The premise is..." Fang Yuan's smile did not fade, "that Ryan doesn't know he has been living in a fake World since childhood, and that his mother has been deceiving him since birth!"
This sentence was like a sharp sword, piercing Becca's heart.
Indeed, just as Fang Yuan said, she wasn't flawless, and Ryan's living environment was her biggest weakness.
Fang Yuan didn't let up, pressing his attack: "Even if we don't forcibly take Ryan, once he grows older and realizes he has superpowers, he will know you're lying to him. Then, when I expose your true colors to him, we'll have plenty of ways to ensure Ryan doesn't resent us later."
Becca's strength seemed to be instantly drained, but at that moment, Butcher reached out and supported her.
Becca suddenly felt supported, but immediately after catching his breath, Butcher said to her, "Becca, Madelyn is dead. Now Vought is run by them."
"Are you really unwilling to give up that child?" Butcher asked.
Becca nodded vigorously.
Then Butcher seemed to finally make up his mind and proposed directly, "Why don't we just... raise him together!"
"Together?" Becca was stunned.
She couldn't believe that this idea was proposed by Butcher, the person who should logically hate Ryan's existence the most.
"That's right, together," Butcher said righteously. "Since neither of you is willing to give him up, let's raise him together."
"Becca is responsible for Ryan's education, and Homelander teaches Ryan his superpowers. This way, he won't be afraid of his powers, nor will he grow up to be a bastard like Homelander!" Butcher felt increasingly ashamed as he spoke.
He definitely didn't want to raise Ryan, but to get his wife back home, he had to compromise.
But these words were indeed most suitable coming from him, and most acceptable to Becca.
"Becca, a fake World can only raise another monster like Homelander. Let go!" Butcher took Becca's hand. "Let's go home!"
Homelander frowned fiercely. Why drag him into the conversation? What did he mean, 'monster'?
"Butcher..."
Becca's eyes filled with tears, and she was finally moved enough to embrace him.
She also agreed.
Since things had progressed this far, refusing was truly impossible.
Homelander burst into several loud laughs. He could finally be reunited with his son!
In fact, the plan they initially devised was to get Becca to agree to co-parenting. After all, Ryan was already so old, and Homelander didn't want to risk him suddenly losing his mother.
What Fang Yuan wanted to see more was Homelander and Butcher firmly tied together from this moment on.
The two mortal enemies from the original plot were now starting to co-parent a child—the news would certainly shock many people.
It was just that the relationship between Homelander and Butcher was indeed a bit messy... Subsequently, the group of four entered the room, and Becca formally introduced everyone's identity to Ryan.
Although Ryan found it strange that his mother's husband wasn't his father, he was extremely happy. He ran over, tightly grabbed a corner of Homelander's cape, and looked up incessantly at his father, melting Homelander's heart.
Becca took the opportunity to tell Ryan they were moving, and from now on, he would alternate living between his mother's house and his father's house.
"Can't we live together?" Ryan asked innocently.
Butcher's face darkened.
After receiving a negative answer, Ryan simply assumed his parents' relationship had broken down, which was why Butcher, the husband, had appeared.
Butcher: "I was here first!"
Ryan did not object; having a father already made him very happy.
"Come here, Ryan." After the agreement was finalized, Homelander quickly led Ryan to Fang Yuan.
"This is Dad's elder brother, which makes him your uncle!" Homelander introduced him eagerly.
He used the term 'elder brother,' specifically referring to an older sibling.
"Elder brother?"
Ryan was indeed confused, but he obediently called out to the visibly much younger Fang Yuan: "Uncle!"
Fang Yuan beamed. From now on, he was Uncle Fang.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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