“Yanyan… do you remember me?” Lu Shangjin gently stroked his hair, lifting his chin to look at him. “What’s my name?”
Yan Yi didn’t like having his face held like that. He shook his head to slip away and lightly pushed him. “I’m hungry.”
“I already told Xiao Ning—food will be here soon. Be good.” Lu Shangjin rubbed the little rabbit ears that had perked up again. “Let the doctor take a look at you first.”
Yan Yi frowned. A faint flush rose on his pale face. He gathered his two small ears into his hands and tugged at them, mumbling, “You can’t touch my ears. Nobody can.”
Lu Shangjin hesitated, then asked softly, “Not even Brother Jin?”
The little rabbit froze for a moment, dazed. Then he tugged at his ears and muttered, “Brother Jin can touch them. You can’t. The Little Prince can. Old men can’t.”
Old man? The words hit Lu Shangjin like a punch to the chest.
After the call bell rang a few times, Doctor Zhong came in person. Yan Yi waking up was within his expectations. He walked over and gave the little rabbit a quick checkup.
“Everything is normal,” Doctor Zhong said with an easy smile.
“This is normal?” Lu Shangjin held the squirming rabbit in his arms, lifting him face-up and grabbing his kicking feet. “He looks like he’s only seven.”
“Yes. The newly transplanted gland has only developed to the size of a seven-year-old child. It will gradually grow to normal over time. During this period, he’ll need growth-support medication and a large amount of soothing pheromones. Since the brain wasn’t damaged, his memories will recover slowly. There’s no rushing it.”
“Conservatively, it will take one to two years for a full recovery.”
“That long?” Lu Shangjin struggled to hold down the bouncing little rabbit and lowered his head to coax him softly, “Be good, baby.”
As long as he can recover, that’s enough.
Yan Yi looked around in confusion when he heard that, wondering who “baby” was, then started fussing again about being hungry.
“You’re the baby.” Lu Shangjin adjusted his hold on him. “We’ll eat when the food comes.”
Doctor Zhong had been worried Lu Shangjin might lose patience with an omega, but his expression finally relaxed. He wrote down some precautions and handed them over.
“His gland is currently awakened but not yet differentiated. The differentiation potential is still A3. Whether he can reach A3 again depends on luck.”
“If you’re attached to A3, you can try recreating the circumstances that triggered his previous differentiation. Under the same stimulus, it might complete the process.”
Lu Shangjin’s expression suddenly turned cold.
Recreate it? Put the little rabbit’s hand back into a juicer and grind it again?
“…No. Let fate decide.” He took Yan Yi’s thin hand and gently rubbed the joints of his left fingers. Reaching A3 had been too painful, too hard-won.
“Stay for observation another three days. If there are no other symptoms, he can be discharged.” Doctor Zhong took out a small pack of candy balls and handed them to Yan Yi, bending down slightly. “Be good and listen to Mr. Lu.”
Yan Yi bit the paper wrapper and blinked at him.
After Doctor Zhong left, Yan Yi sat obediently in Lu Shangjin’s arms, eating candy balls. After a quiet moment, he suddenly sniffed and looked up at him. “I need to pee.”
Lu Shangjin pinched his cheek and carried him to the bathroom in the private ward.
But Yan Yi wouldn’t stay still in his arms, kicking his bare feet.
One little toe hit the doorframe.
Yan Yi suddenly went still.
Ten seconds later, his eyes filled with tears and his lips trembled.
“Ah.” Lu Shangjin quickly crouched down to rub his injured toe. “That hurt, didn’t it? Stop messing around.”
“I don’t want to use this bathroom anymore.” Yan Yi choked back tears, wiping his eyes.
“Alright, we’ll use the one outside.” Lu Shangjin carried him out of the room.
When he opened the door, Xia Jingtian was crouched against the wall.
He had only come to see if Yan Yi was okay, but he had no right to visit.
Yan Yi ending up like this—he had played a part in it. He wanted to atone, even if it meant risking his life to break into PBB with Lu Shangjin.
Just staying outside for a while was enough. As if he had come.
Xia Jingtian didn’t expect them to come out. He froze for a moment, then stood up awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair.
Yan Yi stared at him wide-eyed. “Kitty.”
Xia Jingtian stiffened slightly, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall. “…Lion.”
The little rabbit ears perked up, then drooped in fear. Yan Yi sniffled, looking up at Lu Shangjin with teary eyes.
Lu Shangjin shot Xia Jingtian a sideways glance.
Xia Jingtian scratched his head, confused. After a long pause, he forced out, “Meow.”
After taking Yan Yi to the restroom and coming back, Yan Yi kept looking around, still searching for the “kitty.”
“He smells really nice,” Yan Yi murmured to himself while playing with his fingers, opening his mouth to eat the vegetable porridge Lu Shangjin fed him. “Like grass. Like leaves in the wind.”
Lu Shangjin’s gaze darkened. He held the bowl in silence for a moment, then scooped up another spoonful, adding a piece of bok choy and blowing it cool before feeding him. “Eat more.”
Yan Yi sensed that the alpha seemed a little sad. Uneasy, he fidgeted with his fingers and tried to comfort him. “You smell nice too.”
“That’s enough.” Lu Shangjin crumpled the paper pad under the bowl, stirring the porridge. His voice turned hoarse. “Anything else you want to eat?”
“I want carrots.” Yan Yi bit his lip. “Are you mad?”
“No. Come here, baby.” Lu Shangjin lifted him with one hand and helped him change into a clean hospital gown. “I’ll go buy you carrots. Stay here and behave.”
He walked out of the ward like he was running away.
Children speak bluntly—honest, but often the most hurtful.
He washed his face in the public restroom, shaved the stubble from his chin, trying to hide his exhaustion.
When he looked up, Xia Jingtian was beside him, washing his hands. Seeing Lu Shangjin glance over, he raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t misunderstand. My brother’s talking to Zhong Caibing. I’m just waiting to go back with him.”
Water dripped from Lu Shangjin’s chin and hair, trailing down his neck into his slightly open collar.
The oppressive scent of narcissus pheromones spread out. But after days of overexertion and constantly squeezing out soothing pheromones for Yan Yi, his gland had already run dry. Even the pressure in his pheromones had weakened.
Like a wilted narcissus, its crumpled petals struggling among flowers in full bloom.
Xia Jingtian, an M2 alpha, was immediately provoked by another alpha releasing oppressive pheromones. His competitive instincts flared, and he released his own powerful pressure, the scent of baby’s breath flooding the room like lightning.
Lu Shangjin let out a tired breath, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, withdrawing from the overwhelming force.
“What are you doing?” Xia Jingtian reined in his pheromones, rolling up his sleeves. “You’re already this beat up—why pick a fight? This is our territory.”
Lu Shangjin wiped the water from his face, leaned back against the wall, and pressed his hand to the gland at the back of his neck, massaging it. His throat was hoarse; he had to cough before he could speak.
“How high is your compatibility with Yan Yi?”
“You won’t want to hear it.” Xia Jingtian smiled, spreading his hands. “Ninety-six percent.”
Lu Shangjin steadied himself against the sink. A ringing filled his head, like several nerves snapping one after another, throbbing painfully.
Xia Jingtian leaned casually against the wall, chin slightly raised. “You should be glad we made that bet. If you came back alive with the stem cells, I’d back off. With our compatibility, and him not remembering anything now—if I pursued him, he’d definitely say yes.”
Would he?
He didn’t know.
When Lu Shangjin left, he slammed the restroom door hard behind him and drove off to buy carrots for Yan Yi.
A tall, striking alpha carefully picking carrots in the produce section drew plenty of attention. The store clerk didn’t dare approach, just waited nearby.
Lu Shangjin asked first, “Which ones taste better?”
The clerk had been staring at his deep-set eyes in a daze and only snapped out of it when he spoke. “Are you stir-frying, making soup, or curry?”
“Eating them raw. As a snack.”
“…Alright. Baby carrots have a good texture.” The clerk handed him a packaged box. Lu Shangjin looked at the small, fresh carrots—each about the size of his little finger—then added ten boxes to his cart and pushed it away.
He rarely came to malls. The few times he had were years ago, when Yan Yi had dragged him along on a whim.
At seventeen, Yan Yi had been the most troublesome—but irresistibly adorable.
Leaning back against Lu Shangjin’s chest while pushing the cart, acting spoiled, asking for the highest box of cereal.
He could easily jump two floors in one leap, but he just wanted to act cute and be indulged by his alpha.
Without years of fighting side by side, of life-and-death trust—if it were only a seventy-five percent compatibility and ordinary daily life… would he still have fallen in love with me?
Lu Shangjin carefully arranged the carrots in the cart, then picked out a small case of yogurt and imported premium beef jerky.
Even if he didn’t like meat, he still needed to eat some. Think of it as something to chew on. His body would recover faster. He was too thin—like a snowflake resting in the palm, ready to disappear at any moment.
On the way back to the hospital, he passed a flower shop.
The roses displayed outside were vivid and beautiful. Lu Shangjin pulled over and asked the owner to wrap a bouquet.
The owner proudly introduced a special variety called “Drunken Beauty,” with petals deepening from light to dark red, leaning against each other like a tipsy beauty seeking someone to confide in—unique in both propagation and color.
After a long explanation, it was essentially to justify why each flower cost three hundred, so it wouldn’t seem like he was taking advantage of a rich alpha.
Lu Shangjin brought the bouquet back to the ward, instantly adding color to the cold, pale room.
Yan Yi was lying obediently on the bed, playing with Lu Shangjin’s phone.
“Mmm, you’re back.” Yan Yi tossed the phone aside and looked up at him. When he saw the roses in his hand, he froze for a moment.
Then he plucked one, stuffed it into his mouth—crunch—bit it off and chewed.
“…Sigh.” Lu Shangjin sat down helplessly, stroking his head and pulling the flower-chewing rabbit into his lap. “Slow down.”
Then he picked up his phone to see what else Yan Yi had done—and his face twisted.
Yan Yi had sent Bi Rui Jing a message: “I’m hungryyyy,” followed by a string of chaotic emoticons.
He’d also sent Xia Pingtian: “Cryinggg.”
Bi Rui Jing hadn’t replied—probably getting beaten by his wife.
Xia Pingtian had replied:
“Brother Lu, don’t be too sad.”