The cold night wind of the northern region scraped against exposed skin, cutting into the bones like something gnawing at them.
Lu Shangjin stood in a thin shirt at the corner near the Union Tower, wandering back and forth for a long time with both hands in his pockets, tightly gripping the old wedding ring. That day, he had ignored the engineers’ attempts to stop him and searched through the ruins for an entire day. He dug through piles of steel and debris until he finally pulled out this ring. After washing it clean by the sea while crouching there, he had carefully kept it in the pocket closest to his heart ever since.
The moment he returned to A3-level condition, there was only one thought in his mind—to go back to Yan Yi immediately. Even if he would be beaten or kicked away, he just wanted to hold him, lock him tightly in his arms, shamelessly kiss him and love him without letting go.
Bloodstains mixed with nervous cold sweat soaked through the back of his clothes. He looked utterly disheveled. He should have gone back first to clean himself up, at least hide the wounds all over his body, but he desperately wanted to see him.
So he stole a security uniform and an ID card, planning to quietly observe how Yan Yi was doing first.
The omega’s resting room was empty. The only open drawer contained rows of medication bottles.
Footsteps sounded in the room. Lu Shangjin originally intended to take the bottles and confront him directly, but then he saw a gray falcon alpha standing behind Yan Yi. He heard Yan Yi call him Mu Lan.
That alpha looked at Yan Yi with focused and considerate eyes, but Lu Shangjin could not perceive that detail. All he saw was the coat draped over Yan Yi’s body—his coat.
It was cold this season. Late at night, it was indeed chilly. He searched his entire body but could not find anything warm enough to drape over the omega.
He stared from a distance into Yan Yi’s eyes. If there was even the slightest unwillingness in those eyes, he would immediately rush forward and take Yan Yi away, using A3-level suppression pheromones to forcibly drive away every alpha around him.
Lu Shangjin waited for that, but Yan Yi remained calm from beginning to end. He did not respond warmly, nor did he resist. He spoke to the alpha as usual, then took a pile of unfamiliar medication.
At that moment, his mind went completely blank. He could only stare at Yan Yi in a daze, and a thought suddenly surfaced—maybe Yan Yi would let that alpha be called “father” by Lu Yan.
Lu Shangjin stood in the shadows and watched as Yan Yi lay on that alpha’s lap and fell asleep. His already warmed body from the air conditioning turned cold again.
His tightly clenched hand loosened unconsciously, and the wedding ring slipped deeper into his pocket.
He stood there in the darkness the entire time. After Yan Yi woke and left, he rushed to the drawer containing the medicine, anxiously checked each bottle, and searched each name online. The effects were all the same—antidepressants.
His heart suddenly felt as if a heavy weight had fallen onto it.
He investigated Yan Yi’s daily work, piecing together clues until he confirmed Yan Yi was leading a team to eliminate a terrorist organization.
All his suppressed anger and frustration were unleashed onto the Red-tailed Hawk A3 leader. He went alone to challenge him and broke seven of the alpha’s ribs with brutal force. Hearing the alpha’s screams did nothing to ease the heaviness in his chest.
Later, he also tried to intercept Mu Lan at the door, but he could not bring himself to act. After all, perhaps that alpha was someone Yan Yi allowed to stay by his side.
From that day on, he lost the courage to face him directly and could only approach their lives from the shadows.
When Yan Yi was not around, he sat on a tree branch in the courtyard, staring through the glass at little Lu Yan in his diaper building blocks inside. At times, he would become dazed and want to reach through the glass to touch the child’s soft rabbit ears.
Lu Yan noticed him, crawled over to the glass door, and pressed his face against it, leaving a patch of saliva. Since there was a lock for safety, he could not get out.
Lu Shangjin climbed onto the balcony, sat down, and pressed his rough fingertip against the glass opposite Lu Yan’s small hand. He taught him to call him “father.”
“Alpha father is only me. Remember that. Don’t call the wrong one.”
Lu Yan blinked his large eyes in confusion, then smiled happily, pressing his face flat against the glass.
“Father.”
He had just learned to speak. He murmured “father” repeatedly, though it was unclear what else he wanted to say.
Lu Shangjin stared at him for a long time, then pressed a kiss against the glass where Lu Yan’s forehead was. “Father loves you too.”
—
Lu Shangjin suddenly bumped his head against the edge of the bed and sat up, clutching it. Only then did he realize he had fallen asleep on the floor.
He recalled everything from the dream clearly. Yan Yi had pulled off his mask and angrily asked him if he still knew how to come back.
Yan Yi was curled up on the bed, still holding onto Lu Yan’s crib rail even in sleep.
Lu Yan had woken up. Seeing his father’s hand in the crib, he crawled over and bit it lightly with his small teeth.
Lu Shangjin did not stop him.
He lifted the child and held him on his arm. Lu Yan wrapped his small arms around his neck. The child seemed uneasy, constantly touching his father’s neck and trying to put it in his mouth.
Only then did Lu Shangjin understand something. He carried Lu Yan to the balcony, closed the glass door, and slowly released calming pheromones.
The rabbit ears perked up. Lu Yan quieted down in his arms.
“Daddy promises you. From now on, I’ll stay with you properly.”
“Mm!” Lu Yan smiled shyly.
—
Yan Yi woke up, reached for his child, and then suddenly froze when he saw Lu Shangjin.
In the next moment, he grabbed Lu Shangjin’s collar, pulled him down, and stared into his eyes with anger and disbelief.
“You still know how to come back?”