Before dinner, Yan Yi lowered his head and tended the roses in the planter. Every day, a few petals withered and fell onto the table. He carefully gathered them one by one and tucked them into an old book, using them as makeshift bookmarks.
The bouquet had loosened and lost its original shape, but even so, Yan Yi cherished it—because happiness that had come from a dream turning real was too hard-won to discard.
Lu Shangjin’s assistant worked efficiently and soon brought back the belongings Yan Yi had left at the ruined bar. Yan Yi searched through them again and again, confirming that his notebook was not there.
After calling the assistant, who kept apologizing and insisted he had brought back everything from the room, offering to go back and search again, Yan Yi simply said he had found it.
He wasn’t used to troubling others.
Now that Jin-ge was back, the notebook no longer mattered.
Over the past two days, Yan Yi had been adding points to Lu Shangjin in his heart—so many that the score had already overflowed. Once the baby was born, once their love had a tangible result, there would probably never be any deductions again.
He sat back down on the sofa and glanced at the clock on the wall. He wondered if Lu Shangjin was still waiting for the test results. He tried calling—but the call wouldn’t go through.
So he sent a message instead:
“Darling, will you come home for dinner tonight?”
The message sank like a stone into the sea.
Yan Yi stared at the screen, feeling a hollow ache in his chest. The word “darling” only felt sweet when it was answered.
By five-thirty, Lu Shangjin still hadn’t returned. Yan Yi decided to start preparing dinner while waiting.
He put on an apron, adjusted the bow at the back, letting his small tail peek out for some air, and stood in soft slippers, stirring the milky fish soup in the pot.
“Baby, we’re having fish soup tonight. You have to eat well—little rabbits should be soft and round to be cute.”
He gently stroked his abdomen.
When Lu Shangjin wasn’t around, the little life inside him became his companion, easing his loneliness.
If it turned out to be a peregrine falcon baby, that would be nice too—as long as it had a gentle temperament.
He counted the days, quietly anticipating the arrival of this miraculous little angel.
Footsteps sounded outside.
Yan Yi’s ears perked up instantly. He hurried to turn off the stove, took off his apron, and walked quickly to the door, ready to welcome his alpha home.
The door swung open—
and five or six doctors in white coats suddenly rushed in.
Yan Yi stepped back, alarmed. “Who are you? What are you doing?”
The leading doctor had a branded marking on his neck: PBB000576. The others bore similar serial numbers, most of them J1-level alphas.
“We’re here to treat Mr. Yan’s false pregnancy. This condition is extremely harmful to the body and must be handled immediately.” The doctor set down his medical kit and gestured. “Administer anesthesia first.”
Four doctors rushed forward. Two grabbed Yan Yi’s arms, another pinned his waist, forcing him onto the sofa, while the last prepared a syringe.
“Let me go!” Yan Yi struggled violently, screaming, “This isn’t a false pregnancy! I’ve been examined—I have a baby! Who sent you?!”
The anesthetic spread quickly through his body. His resistance weakened. Pale with fear, he reached desperately for his phone and dialed Lu Shangjin.
The call connected.
“Jin-ge… save me… I’m scared…”
The call was cut off.
Yan Yi lifted his head weakly—
and saw Lu Shangjin standing in front of him, holding the phone, expression cold and unmoved.
He reached out trembling hands toward him.
Hoping his alpha would pull him out of hell.
“Save me… Jin-ge…”
“Why are you angry… I’ll be good… I’ll listen to you…”
For a brief moment, Lu Shangjin hesitated.
The trembling little rabbit before him resembled the past—kneeling in blood, reaching out helplessly, begging to be taken away.
“They’re going to kill our baby…” Yan Yi’s fingers clawed weakly at the sofa, leaving faint streaks of blood.
The hesitation in Lu Shangjin’s eyes ignited into fury.
A violent wave of pheromones engulfed Yan Yi—oppressive, suffocating. He froze, trembling in fear under Lu Shangjin’s gaze.
“You lied to me.”
Yan Yi stared at him in disbelief. “Why…”
Doctors moved in again, but Lu Shangjin pulled Yan Yi into his arms, pressing hard against his abdomen.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Yan Yi struggled desperately, panic overtaking him.
“It hurts! Let go!!”
“Jin-ge, you promised—you said you’d love the baby… I’ll take care of it myself… please… don’t kill it…”
Lu Shangjin’s hands trembled.
He forced Yan Yi down, voice tight with rage.
“You lied to me… what exactly happened between you and Xia Jingtian when you were preparing for surgery?”
Yan Yi’s vision blurred with tears. “I didn’t… I don’t know… I didn’t lie…”
Lu Shangjin forced him to look at a video—surveillance footage of Xia Jingtian entering his hospital room and leaving only the next morning.
“How long were you together?”
The truth no longer mattered to him.
What mattered was that everything he had believed—the child, the hope—was gone.
“Fake pregnancy… forging reports to fool me—was it fun?”
“You betrayed me.”
Yan Yi’s voice grew weaker. Pain and fear overwhelmed him. He could only feel that the person he loved most was trying to destroy what little he had left.
“I didn’t lie… the report said it was real… I really…”
His eyes lost their light.
Blood slowly spread across the floor.
Lu Shangjin tossed down the report.
“Finish the rest.”
The doctors rushed forward.
Yan Yi clutched the paper with trembling hands, staring blankly at the words:
“Confirmed false pregnancy.”
But it had felt real.
All he wanted was a little rabbit baby—to keep him company, to make the lonely nights without Lu Shangjin a little less empty.
Now—
there was no loving alpha.
And no little rabbit either.