Chapter 23: This isn't a sign of estrus, but rather something like—pregnancy...

Pei Jiqing and Shen Huixing's conversation that day went unheard.

But the slap landed in plain sight, piercing the silence with a sharp, abrupt snap.

For a moment, the entire space seemed drained of sound, even breathing stagnated, leaving only the lingering echo of the slap trembling in the silence.

As Shen Huixing turned to leave, a gust of cold air rustled from the hem of his clothes, his eyes brimming with shock and fury.

As if pierced by some unbelievable betrayal, he vanished from sight with a resolute back.

Pei Jiqing met their stunned gazes with an apologetic smile and two words: "Please keep today's events confidential."

His colleagues smoothed things over, agreeing that it was normal for husbands to argue.

As they left, anxiously, they all gave Pei Jiqing admiring glances.

As the crowd dispersed anxiously, their eyes couldn't help but linger on Pei Jiqing, filled with wonder—who could have imagined?

Pei Jiqing, who usually only had eyes for his own Alpha and was gentle to the point of indulgence, actually dared to raise his hand and slap the military chief executive officer, slapping him without hesitation.

Clean and neat.

Pei Jiqing waited until everyone had left.

He slowly opened his palm and looked at it, as if he could still relive the burning tremor of that moment. He placed his thumb on his brow and pressed lightly, as if to suppress some surging emotions back into his heart.

Chen Huixing's rarely lit communication icon remained silent. This was the account Pei Jiqing had registered for him, and he was his only friend.

It contained the occasional nonsense he had sent.

Chen Huixing rarely replied to him, and his replies were very brief, basically "um" or "ok."

Chen Huixing also uses commercially available communication apps, but with a similar frequency. Communications within the military are strictly controlled. Pei Jiqing had changed this profile picture to a photo of them holding hands.

Their hands, clasped together, took on a soft, warm hue in the sunlight.

Pei Jiqing's fingers were long, white, and well-defined, like a piece of cold jade, while Chen Huixing's palms were broad and strong, their fingertips calloused with years of gripping a gun, holding him tightly.

Pei Jiqing had taken the photo with Chen Huixing entwined.

With their fingers intertwined, tiny slivers of light filtering through them, they looked, at first glance, like a pair of entwined lovers.

Looking back now, Pei Jiqing felt that he had been ridiculously hypocritical. Pei Jiqing had indulged in countless such sappy little thoughts, not least this one.

So many that even self-deprecation now seemed unnecessary.

This time, the words of apology lingered on his fingertips, but Pei Jiqing finally took them back and never crossed the silent dialog box again.

Was he wrong? It was indeed wrong for him to hit people.

But what about those harsh words from Chen Huixing? What about those questions filled with suspicion and ridicule? Pei Jiqing closed his eyes, but he could still hear Chen Huixing's cold voice echoing in his ears, every word was like a blade, cutting him painfully.

- In the eyes of Shen Huixing, was he really such a despicable existence?

Pei Jiqing couldn't understand how Shen Huixing could say such words?

In his heart, was he such a dissolute Omega that he could do such a thing as cheating on his wife.

So Shen Huixing didn't go home for one day, one week, half a month, and one month. The absence of the Alpha became the norm.

As Sister Zhang brought the hot tea, she cautiously tried to comfort Pei Jiqing: "How could a young couple hold grudges overnight? Madam, you know Mr. Chen's temper best..."

Pei Jiqing gazed at his swaying reflection in the teacup and suddenly chuckled: "Then why... couldn't he make an exception for me just once?"

Five years.

More than eighteen hundred mornings and evenings.

He had given his entire heart to the other person, yet he couldn't even get a single exception in return.

It really felt like it wasn't worth it.

In the morning light, Pei Jiqing mechanically chewed his breakfast. The morning news on the TV screen was broadcasting Chen Huixing's itinerary. The Alpha, who had always looked stern in front of the camera, was surrounded by people. They were clearly the people he knew best, but now, across the screen, they felt like strangers.

The sound of knives and forks scraping across porcelain plates became the only echo in this empty morning.

Pei Jiqing wondered if Chen Huixing would also be bothered by that slap, tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep? Or, would he let his thoughts slip to himself briefly during a break in a meeting, while flipping through documents?

The fever of the election swept the whole city, and the Alphas under the spotlight were full of vigor.

In front of those grand ambitions, Pei Jiqing was just a footnote that could be put aside at any time, and had long been forgotten. Chen Huixing had more important things to do. The power of the military, the game of parliament, which one is not more worthy of worrying about than an Omega?

When that slap fell, did Chen Huixing feel the pain of his heart being torn apart?

Probably not.

He would only be angry, angry that his usually docile partner dared to humiliate him in public.

That's why Chen Huixing is now treating Pei Jiqing coldly, not caring about anything, like a blunt knife, cutting this relationship inch by inch.

He was probably sure that Pei Jiqing would bow his head.

In the past, Pei Jiqing would have bowed his head, swallowing his grievances into a soft apology. But this time, he refused to give it a second thought. It was as if a stubborn thorn had suddenly sprouted from his bones, and he refused to bend his spine again.

Over the years, he had chosen the safest way to stay by Shen Huixing's side. He had trimmed himself into the most appropriate shape, like a domesticated plant, growing only according to the Alpha's preferences.

Well-behaved, docile, and non-threatening - he thought that this would allow him to remain in Shen Huixing's sight forever.

But the sharp accusation of "infidelity" was still easily hung over his head.

It turned out that no matter how perfect obedience was, it could not withstand the innate suspicion of the Alpha.

Whether it was the soothing tenderness in daily life or the uncontrollable slap that day, neither of them caused a ripple in Shen Huixing's heart - like a stone thrown into a deep pool, it was swallowed up in an instant without a trace.

Pei Jiqing had never been the one to make an exception for him.

No matter whether it was the gentle and considerate Omega or the Omega who slapped him, neither of them could occupy any space in his heart.

The former was worry-free, while the latter was infuriating.

There were no exceptions and no special cases.

Occasionally, a bitter resentment would surge in Pei Jiqing's chest, but he knew that love was the most difficult thing in the world that could not be sought or retained - especially for someone like Shen Huixing who was always condescending.

There were too many things between them: lies, class, power, and those deep-rooted arrogance.

Shen Huixing stood in the clouds, and he was just a speck of dust that the other party would glance at when he occasionally showed mercy.

So the weekly meeting with Wei Ji became a rare respite for Pei Jiqing.

They talked about work, recalled the mottled old stories in the downtown area, and recalled Pei Jiqing's mother, Ms. Xu Mingzhu, because they had a common background and could talk about too much.

Pei Jiqing looked at Wei Ji's reflection in the glass window, and suddenly felt that the other party was much braver than himself.

At least Wei Ji could live openly in the sunshine, while he still didn't dare reveal that past to Chen Huixing.

"Your mother should be very happy," Wei Ji's fingertips gently stroked the rim of the glass. "You married a respectable Alpha."

Pei Jiqing lowered his eyelashes, whispering softly through the collapsing foam of his latte art, "...maybe."

He wondered what his mother would think in the afterlife—whether that woman, a lifelong strong-willed woman, would be pleased that her son had found success, or heartbroken.

Wei Ji stopped talking about when Pei Jiqing and Shen Huixing would divorce.

Until one day, Pei Jiqing received a call from Xu Ze. This time, for some reason, Xu Ze's tone was no longer businesslike, but cautiously tentative: "...Madam, Mr. Shen is experiencing a sensitive period. Could you come over?"

It was the same again.

Pei Jiqing's knuckles turned slightly white as he gripped the phone.

He suddenly wanted to laugh—what did Chen Huixing really think of him? A comfort tool that could be called at any time? A pain suppressant? Or was it only when instinct tormented that the proud Alpha allowed himself to think of his legal mate?

Silence stretched over the call, like a stagnant pool.

Then, suddenly, Chen Huixing's raspy growl reached the other end of the line: "We don't need him to come!"

A second later, a busy tone rang out.

"Beep, beep—"

the mechanical notification echoed through the empty room.

Sister Zhang sighed, "Why bother? How will you, Madam, survive your estrus? And how will Mr. Shen survive his susceptible period?"

Pei Jiqing opened his mouth, but before he could utter the word "inhibitor" he was struck by a terrifying thought—his estrus hadn't arrived yet.

He had been waiting for this opportunity, for his estrus to coincide with Shen Huixing's susceptible period.

Waiting for Chen Huixing's embrace when passion surged, waiting for the unspoken reconciliation when pheromones mingled.

They always did this, melting awkward conversations into physical contact, letting desire replace apology, letting lingering affection mask any rifts.

Pei Jiqing knew better than anyone how sick this kind of relationship was.

But this marriage was twisted and deformed from the beginning. He had long been accustomed to bowing his head and showing weakness, and accustomed to using his body instead of language. He didn't know how a normal partner should communicate, just like he didn't know how to straighten his spine in front of Shen Huixing.

But at this moment, a more terrifying guess grabbed his breath. Recently, he was indeed greedy for the taste of Alph secretion, but he was unusually sober - this was not a sign of estrus, but like - pregnancy.

Pei Jiqing's hand unconsciously touched his lower abdomen, and his heartbeat was as deafening as a drum.