Half an hour later, Doctor Sun came over on his own initiative and handed Yan Yi a test report.
Yan Yi took it. He already knew the result in his heart, but there still had to be a process of accepting reality.
As his eyes moved down the various indicators, Yan Yi’s face gradually flushed red.
He lifted his head and asked in astonishment, “Confirmed… pregnant?”
Xia Jingtian’s eyes widened. He snatched the report and read every single line without missing a word.
Holy shit. How is that possible?
He stood up, a head taller than Doctor Sun, grabbed him by the collar, and stared into his eyes through clenched teeth. “You didn’t mess this up, did you? Let me tell you, my family runs a hospital too. If I go back and get a different result, you’re going to regret it.”
The oppressive aura of a lion spread along with the release of his dominant pheromones.
Doctor Sun gave a strained, polite smile, reminded Yan Yi to get more rest and went over some pregnancy precautions, then left in a hurry—so rushed that he even left his ballpoint pen behind on the chair.
Yan Yi held the report, feeling as though a heavy stone in his chest had finally dropped. He carefully folded it into a neat square, tucked it into his pocket, and stood up to leave. Suddenly, he found himself craving shepherd’s purse dumplings from near the bar—maybe the baby in his belly was hungry.
“Hey, let me take you to my family’s hospital to check again. Something feels off,” Xia Jingtian said, intending to snap a photo of the report and send it to a classmate, but Yan Yi had already put it away and refused to take it out.
“Do you want me not to have a child that badly?” Yan Yi didn’t want to argue. He crushed the empty paper cup and tossed it into the trash. “You have a brother. You have parents. I have nothing. I just want to keep this baby.”
He wrapped his coat tighter and headed downstairs.
“That’s not what I meant.” Even though Xia Jingtian had been spoiled growing up, he still had basic empathy. He wouldn’t feel relieved even if this turned out to be a false pregnancy. He could clearly see how much Yan Yi longed for this child. He was only worried about Yan Yi’s health.
So he stood by the elevator, unable to speak, pierced by the suspicion in Yan Yi’s eyes.
With a heavy breath stuck in his chest, he went downstairs, slammed the car door shut with a bang, and sat in the driver’s seat, closing his eyes to steady himself.
His phone kept buzzing nonstop with notifications from several messaging apps. He had only changed to a new number a few days ago, yet classmates somehow got his contact again and started adding him to flirt.
Out of irritation, he changed his nickname everywhere to: “Married. Get lost.”
For the first time in his life, Young Master Xia felt wronged because of someone—and that someone was just an ordinary little rabbit.
At that moment, a classmate called. “Hey, idiot, flirting with your bunny brother again? Not even checking your messages.”
Xia Jingtian snapped, “Screw you, I’m annoyed as hell.”
The classmate raised his voice even more. “Oh? So now you don’t need me after asking about false pregnancy? Typical—you use people when you need them and ditch them after. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Don’t bring up false pregnancy. It’s real.” That hit a sore spot. Xia Jingtian cursed his ancestors thoroughly. “You’re just a quack.”
Classmate: “…That can’t be. Bring him to me.”
Someone knocked twice on the car window. Xia Jingtian rolled it down. “Who is it?!”
Yan Yi leaned on the window. “Sorry. I went too far just now.”
“….” Xia Jingtian instantly lost his temper. He took off his sunglasses. “Then give me a kiss and I’ll forgive you.”
“Forget it. Then don’t forgive me.” Yan Yi was in a good mood and didn’t bother with his teasing.
Xia Jingtian slowly drove alongside him, leaning his head out the window. “Treat me to dinner tonight. I came all this way with you, after all.”
Even though Yan Yi hadn’t needed him to come, chasing someone older inevitably required a bit of shameless coaxing.
How could an omega be this independent—completely not needing an alpha?
Yan Yi didn’t want to walk with him. Being around Xia Jingtian meant constantly resisting their high compatibility—it was draining and distracting. So he turned into a side alley.
Xia Jingtian had no choice but to take the main road.
Nanqi’s architecture carried the charm of an old town. The alleyways paved with blue stone bricks had wooden signposts wrapped in flowering vines every few steps.
Yan Yi answered a call from his boss along the way.
Gu Wei: “You done? I’m buying dried flowers on Zhongling Street. Come help me carry them.”
Yan Yi looked around for a signpost. The next intersection was Zhongling Street—not far.
“I’m done. I’m nearby. I’ll head over now.”
—
At five in the afternoon, the Changnan Expressway was jammed like a clogged torrent. Dusk was falling, and the lights along the road flickered on one after another.
Lu Shangjin had already driven off the exit ramp. A large bouquet of roses, kept fresh in a box, lay on the back seat.
While waiting at a red light, his fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel. On his left ring finger was an old platinum ring.
The harsh words he’d thrown at Yan Yi the night before last had slipped out of control, leaving him with a lingering sense of loss. After arranging his work, he deliberately drove out again to the dilapidated bar.
Passing Zhongling Street, Lu Shangjin checked the time—just enough to take Yan Yi out for dinner.
—
Gu Wei stood in front of a flower shop on Zhongling Street. Five or six boxes of dried flowers were stacked at his feet. The shop was tucked away in a small alley where cars couldn’t enter, and only the owner’s young daughter was watching the store.
Yan Yi walked over, bent down, and lifted two boxes. Supporting the bottom lightly with his left hand, he hooked one more box up with the tip of his foot and stacked it neatly, as effortlessly as if he were carrying a tray of wine.
Gu Wei rubbed his hands and picked up two large boxes of decorative dried flowers. “The car’s parked by the roadside. How were your test results?”
“Your employee is very healthy.”
“That’s good, then.”
Turning the corner, Yan Yi accidentally bumped into someone coming from the other side. The boxes of dried flowers in his hands remained perfectly steady. He lifted his lashes. “Sorry.”
“Oh, hey.”
Shao Wenjing steadied him, picked up the fallen report from the ground, and casually opened it. “Ah, pregnant. Congratulations.”
Yan Yi snatched the report back, clearly displeased at the ungentlemanly act of opening someone else’s belongings without permission. His upbringing kept him from showing anger.
Shao Wenjing lowered his alluring peach-blossom eyes, blocking Yan Yi’s path while covertly examining the gland at the back of his neck—it was clean and smooth, a faint pink.
He had clearly been marked before, yet now the mark was gone.
So Lu Shangjin had already removed it. That photo must have had quite an impact. For a possessive peregrine falcon alpha, what could drive him more insane than someone defiling his omega?
Seems like there’s no need for so much effort. While the little rabbit’s gland has only recovered to J1 level, forcibly marking him would be so convenient. After all, an A3-level omega develops a severe psychological dependence on the alpha who marks them.
A seemingly weak, ordinary lop-eared rabbit actually possessed a rare A3 gland—truly enviable.
Yan Yi had a good memory. He recognized him at a glance as the spider masseur he’d hired at a club three years ago. He also remembered the bone-chilling fear when Lu Shangjin had thrown their intimate photos at his feet.
Under the dim streetlights, Shao Wenjing’s eyes seemed to gleam with a metallic sheen, like an insect’s compound eyes. Though they curved gently with a smile, the way they stared at Yan Yi was deeply unsettling.
“Are you alone?” Shao Wenjing asked, hands in his pockets, leaning closer as he subtly inhaled the soft, sweet scent of milk candy.
Before Yan Yi could answer, Gu Wei turned the corner carrying the flowers and froze upon seeing Shao Wenjing.
Ignoring everyone else, Shao Wenjing grabbed Yan Yi’s shoulder, bared his sharp canine teeth, and a thin metallic sheen lit up in his eyes.
“Hey, what are you doing?!” Gu Wei threw down the flowers and was about to step in, when Shao Wenjing suddenly staggered back two steps, slamming hard into the wall behind him as if struck.
Yan Yi turned his head. Xia Jingtian stood a few steps away, his right hand still raised, chin slightly lifted as he looked at Shao Wenjing with provocation. “Old man, don’t move around. I might accidentally crush you into a meat patty.”
Puma lineage J1 ability: gravity manipulation.
“…Didn’t expect a place like this to have another M2 alpha besides me,” Shao Wenjing said, releasing oppressive pheromones and resisting the intensified gravity with gland energy as he slowly straightened up.
“Xiao Xia, don’t fight here.” Yan Yi frowned and stepped back—just as a sharp horn blared behind him.
A black BMW 760Li had stopped. Lu Shangjin stepped out from the driver’s seat, leaned against the car door, and lit a cigarette.
“Quite lively.”