Ye Mingxuan awoke to a kiss that morning. The man’s tongue swept through his mouth, sucking on his tongue tip, licking it repeatedly as if savoring a green tongue popsicle.
He widened his eyes, a gasp escaping his throat as he tried to pull away.
The man had anticipated this, pinching his jaw to hold him still and kissing him even more forcefully.
Ye Mingxuan felt the air sucked from his mouth. Unable to resist, he could only stare silently, his eyes fixed on Tan Sizhe’s perfectly defined lashes.
After the kiss, Tan Sizhe released him, carefully avoiding his pregnant belly as he braced himself on either side. “The first trimester is critical. Starting tonight, I’ll be home every evening unless there’s something truly urgent at the company.”
Ye Mingxuan blinked, his lips numb and swollen as if he’d eaten chili peppers. He nodded at the man.
Tan Sizhe curved his lips and gave his cheek a light bite. “Aunt Fu will be back today. I’ll explain everything to her. You don’t need to worry.”
Ye Mingxuan pressed his lips together. “Mm.”
His little wife looked so obedient—his hair tousled, his lips and eyes glistening from his kisses, even his belly slightly rounded with his child inside. It was a sign he belonged to him, inside and out.
The thought made a vein throb on Tan Sizhe’s forehead as a sense of foreboding pressed down, impossible to shake.
He pulled back the covers and got out of bed, heading into the bathroom to shower. Half an hour passed without him emerging.
Ye Mingxuan had already dressed. Glancing at the tightly shut bathroom door, puzzled, he went to the adjacent bathroom to wash up.
By the time he finished, Tan Sizhe emerged from the bathroom. The moment their eyes met, Ye Mingxuan felt a chill radiating from him.
Tan Sizhe’s hair was damp from cold water, his skin pale and cold like jade. His gaze had regained its focus, tinged with a lazy languor after release.
“Sir, you took a cold shower?”
Ye Mingxuan glanced at today’s temperature—it was pleasantly cool, yet he hadn’t realized the gentleman had such robust constitution.
“What are you staring at?” Tan Sizhe flicked his forehead lightly. “Come downstairs for breakfast.”
Ye Mingxuan: “Oh.”
After breakfast, Ye Mingxuan grabbed his backpack and headed to the entryway to change shoes. Tan Sizhe handed him a jacket: “Don’t catch a chill.”
It was the transitional season, when stomachaches and fevers were common. Ye Mingxuan took the jacket and slipped it on immediately: “Sir, I’ll be heading out now.”
Tan Sizhe: “Mm.”
As Ye Mingxuan stepped outside, he breathed in the fresh air. He pulled his coat tighter around himself, feeling incredibly at ease.
Upon entering the classroom, he saw Lin Jiale lying face-down on the desk, utterly miserable. Ye Mingxuan tapped his shoulder: “Jiale, what’s wrong?”
Zhang Shushu blurted out, “He’s got diarrhea. He went four times last night and his butt’s numb from the pain.”
Ye Mingxuan asked, “Are you okay? Did you take medicine?”
Lin Jiale lifted his head. “I did. I’m just exhausted now. Looks like I’ll be sleeping all day. I was planning to pay attention in class.”
Zhang Shushu scoffed: “Yeah right. When have you ever actually listened? Don’t make excuses.”
Lin Jiale snapped: “Zhang Shushu, you #&%#!!^…”
Zhang Shushu waved him off: “Alright, alright. Just sleep.”
Lin Jiale glared at him, lowered his head, and instantly fell asleep.
Zhang Shushu shrugged at Ye Mingxuan: “See? Marxism class is the fastest way to fall asleep.”
Ye Mingxuan closed the window to block the chill, sat down, and rested his head on the desk like Lin Jiale, his mind racing.
Pregnant… How could he take PE class? How could he run?
He’d definitely have to ask the PE teacher for permission, but how could he explain it? He couldn’t just blurt out he was pregnant… The teacher would think he was crazy.
Ye Mingxuan sighed heavily, listening to the teacher’s endless lecture as if sitting in a temple listening to the abbot chant sutras.
He drifted off to sleep.
“…” Zhang Shushu glanced at the teacher, then used his tablet to cover his face—a futile attempt at concealment—before burying his head to sleep.
Before long, the back two rows of students collapsed one after another.
Teacher: “…”
Go home, go home, child.
Ye Mingxuan, being pregnant, was prone to drowsiness anyway. Combined with the tedious lecture, he grew even sleepier. He closed his eyes and slept straight through until lunchtime.
Lin Jiale seemed to have an alarm clock inside her body. The moment it was time to eat, she woke up automatically, grabbing Ye Mingxuan’s hand and trying to drag him outside.
“Hurry up, Mingxuan! Let’s go to the cafeteria! If you don’t hurry, we’ll be late!”
Lin Jiale: “Huh? Why?”
Ye Mingxuan felt terribly guilty about lying to his friend, but he couldn’t tell the truth. He could only keep apologizing: “I’m really sorry. I’ve been eating at home lately.”
Tan Sizhe said he needed to control his weight and nutrition, so he told him to go home for meals every day. Aunt Fu would prepare nutritious meals for him according to the diet plan.
Lin Jiale didn’t press further: “Alright, I’ll eat with Zhang Shushu. See you tomorrow.”
Ye Mingxuan nodded happily, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left.
Lin Jiale watched Ye Mingxuan’s retreating figure, then grabbed Zhang Shushu beside him: “Something’s off. Very off.”
Zhang Shushu: “Huh?”
Lin Jiale: “Why would he insist on eating at home?”
Zhang Shushu: “He probably just thinks the cafeteria food is gross.”
Lin Jiale: “Nonsense. Do you even believe that? A University’s cafeteria is delicious and clean. Otherwise, why would I have to fight for a seat every day?”
Zhang Shushu: “Then why?”
Lin Jiale fell silent.
He knew full well about Ye Mingxuan’s financial situation. At the start of the semester, he’d been barely scraping by. Then suddenly, he’d gotten a “boyfriend” who was incredibly wealthy—someone who’d loaded five thousand yuan onto his meal card in one go. Five thousand for living expenses might be understandable, but who loads five thousand onto a meal card?
Then there was that Audi R8 he’d seen dropping Ye Mingxuan off at school last time. That must be Ye Mingxuan’s boyfriend—and a rich one at that. But why would a wealthy man date a broke college student?
Considering Ye Mingxuan’s handsome looks and gentle demeanor, a suspicion began to form in Lin Jiale’s mind.
Oh no, his buddy couldn’t be kept as a sugar baby, could he?
Good heavens! Ye Mingxuan, you’re such a fool!!
“This can’t be! I have to stop Ye Mingxuan!” Lin Jiale immediately dashed toward the door.
Zhang Shushu grabbed his backpack, utterly confused: “What are you doing? Abandoning your bag?!”
Lin Jiale sprinted to the school gate, spotting Ye Mingxuan’s retreating figure in the distance. He gave chase with all his might: “Mingxuan! Mingxuan! Don’t do anything foolish!”
But it was too late. Ye Mingxuan got into the Audi Lin Jiale had seen last time, slammed the door, and the car sped away.
He hadn’t run a thousand meters since the college entrance exams. Even this short distance left Lin Jiale running like his life depended on it. Stopping, he leaned on his knees, gasping for breath: “Oh no, oh no!”
His brother had fallen!…
Once seated in the car, Ye Mingxuan removed his jacket, folded it neatly, and stuffed it into his backpack.
“Mr. Bai, thank you for picking me up.”
“You’re welcome. Mr. Tan is quite busy, so this idle fellow here came to fetch you.”
Ye Mingxuan placed his backpack on his lap and sat with knees together in the backseat. “It really wasn’t necessary. I could have made it home on my own.”
Just then, the traffic light turned red. Bai Yu stopped the car and said gently, “I don’t have much to do at noon. Might as well make use of the time.”
“I might just crash your place for lunch. Hope that’s okay?”
Ye Mingxuan shook his head. “Not at all!”
Bai Yu nodded. “Aunt Fu’s cooking is amazing. I had it once before and haven’t stopped craving it since.”
Ye Mingxuan added, “Yeah, Aunt Fu’s cooking is exceptional. I always end up eating two bowls of rice.”
The light turned green, and the car slowly started moving again.
Bai Yu turned the steering wheel. “Looks like you and Tan Sizhe have reconciled.”
Ye Mingxuan froze, embarrassed. “Mr. Bai, you noticed?”
Bai Yu: “Of course. The other day, Mr. Tan came to work with such a heavy atmosphere, everyone was afraid to even breathe. But today, he arrived and treated the entire company to Starbucks. Clearly, he’s in a great mood.”
Ye Mingxuan twisted the straps of his backpack into a knot. “That’s wonderful.”
As long as the boss isn’t angry, that’s wonderful.
Bai Yu said, “I was planning to talk to you if you hadn’t reconciled, but now that you have, I won’t need to.”
“However, there’s one thing I want to tell you.”
“Mr. Tan initially wanted to terminate this pregnancy, not because he didn’t want the child, but because he consulted a doctor. The doctor said pregnancy poses significant risks to your health and could harm your body. That’s why he didn’t want the baby.”
Ye Mingxuan froze, his mind blank for over ten seconds: “R-really?”
Ye Mingxuan’s heart clenched. With the car window half-open, the howling autumn wind whipped past his ears.
So it wasn’t that Mr. Tan didn’t want this child. He’d made that decision out of concern for Ye Mingxuan’s health.
And Ye Mingxuan had misunderstood Tan Sizhe from the very beginning.
