Becoming the Heavenly Dao’s Dad

Silly version of the blurb:

In a classic old-school meet-cute, Dias and Bai Lai encounter each other on an uninhabited planet. They think they'll live happily ever after, just as the trope promises, but...

You waste money, I act crazy; you're gentle and refined, I'm a lovesick, unhinged dog. After five happy years together, Dias doesn't consider himself a scummy Alpha. So why has he triggered the whole running-away-while-pregnant routine?

A mysterious background? Whatever. Squandering money? Whatever. Joining a cult? I'll put up with it. But running away while pregnant is absolutely unacceptable!

Bai Lai: Believe me, I'm really the Heavenly Dao's dad.

Serious version of the blurb:

Bai Lai should have returned to the heavens and earth, but instead he gained an extra lifetime, and an extra lover. He thinks he's obviously good to his lover, but his lover keeps thinking he's been brainwashed by a cult.

Dias survived against the odds and brought home a lover. They spent five years together, growing close, and even had a child. He always thought he was happy.

But then his lover and child were both brainwashed by a cult. His lover thinks he's the Heavenly Dao's dad, and his child thinks they're the future Heavenly Dao. It's a real headache.

Six years ago, he told him to wait.

Six years later: Hah, so you do know how to come back?

In short, this is a story about brainwashing and resisting brainwashing. In the end, everyone discovers there's no need to brainwash anyone: the truth is the truth. The way of Heaven is the way of all things in the world. Everything and everyone is part of it.

Be good. We're in the interstellar age now. Let's not do that sort of thing.

Theme: Conflict between cultivation and technological ideas