Chapter 24: Was this the only reason you married me, ninety percent? ...

Sister Zhang pleaded earnestly, her every word tinged with the heartfelt wisdom of someone who had experienced it all: "You two aren't just sulking each other, you're clearly just trying to provoke each other..."

But Pei Jiqing's spirit had already drifted away.

-- No way?

-- Just that one time I forgot to give Chen Huixing the medicine. --

Just once...

His fingertips unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes. Chen Huixing wasn't used to wearing condoms; he didn't like the feeling of being in between, and Pei Jiqing had long since gotten used to it.

In the past few years, Pei Jiqing had taken advantage of his inability to get pregnant and had done many impromptu things. They were newlyweds at the time, so it was even more outrageous, but behind closed doors, it wasn't excessive.

Is an S-class Alpha really that terrifying?

Just once.

Pei Jiqing tried to stand, but his legs suddenly gave out. His knees buckled, and he fell back into his chair. A hidden premonition washed over him like a tide, making even breathing difficult.

Sister Zhang's voice, like calling through frosted glass, finally brought Pei Jiqing's drifting soul back to his senses. He raised his eyes dazedly, his eyelashes fluttering. "...What's wrong?" "

Ma'am, you look frighteningly pale," Sister Zhang frowned, pressing her palm to his forehead. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Pei Jiqing tilted his head away from the warm touch, his Adam's apple rolling. "...Nothing."

"That doesn't look okay," Sister Zhang tugged at her apron anxiously. "I'll call the driver right away. Let's go to the hospital."

"No need." He suddenly grabbed Sister Zhang's wrist with such force that she was startled. Realizing his loss of composure, he slowly released his fingers. "I'll just go upstairs and lie down for a while... If anyone wants to see you, just say I'm not here."

When Xu Ze's phone rang again, the ringtone pierced the silence of the villa. As Sister Zhang answered, she heard the upstairs bedroom door close.

"Secretary Xu," Sister Zhang lowered her voice, unconsciously glancing toward the closed door on the second floor. "Madam was feeling unwell..."

After Xu Ze couldn't get through to Pei Jiqing, he called the villa.

Xu Ze's voice came through the line, a bit hesitant, "Mr. Shen's condition... isn't very good either."

More than just not good.

In Xu Ze's memory, he had never seen Shen Huixing like that—like a trapped animal, irritable and easily angered, yet also filled with an indescribable restlessness.

Thinking of Pei Jiqing's forced calm yet pale face, Sister Zhang's heart ached. She couldn't help but exaggerate, saying, "Secretary Xu, please tell Mr. Shen that Madam Shen has been in tears these days... She can't eat, can't sleep, and her eyes have been swollen several times."

She paused, her voice choked with sobs. "Madam Shen won't say these things, but I really can't bear to see her go on like this. How can her body bear it? As the head of the family, you should be more generous..."

There was a moment's silence on the other end of the line. Xu Ze asked businesslike, "Is there anything else Madam Shen needs to convey?"

"Secretary Xu," Sister Zhang said, lowering her voice, "Please say a few good words to Mr. Shen. Haven't they reconciled every time they met over the years? We should help to bridge the gap and do more work, right?"

Indeed.

Over the years, Shen Huixing and Pei Jiqing had rarely argued. It wasn't that they were particularly affectionate, but Pei Jiqing's temperament was truly gentle—like a pool of still water, always tolerant of everything.

Even if there were occasional disagreements, like the time Pei Jiqing had gaffe on the show, he would quickly resolve them in a gentle manner.

Xu Ze thought expressionlessly of Chen Huixing's mood swings in recent days.

"...Okay." He finally replied with this, his voice so calm that no emotion could be detected.

Pei Jiqing tossed and turned on the bed all morning, his thoughts like spilled silk threads, tangled in a mess.

He unconsciously placed his hands on his lower abdomen, his fingertips trembling slightly, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

The afternoon sun shone obliquely through the gauze curtains onto the bedding. He finally took out his phone and typed "Omega early pregnancy symptoms" into the search bar, word by word.

The items that popped up on the screen were like small hammers, hammering at his nerves one after another—irritability, craving for Alph hormones... every one of them matched the mark.

The afternoon sun slanted through the car window, but he still went out that afternoon, wrapping himself up tightly before leaving. He drove for two hours, through the bustling city, until the navigation indicated he was nearing the suburbs, and finally stopped in front of a small, grayish-white hospital.

The smell of disinfectant lingered in the corridors as he mechanically completed the tests, his entire body a shell devoid of soul.

The doctor glanced at him, fully armed, furtive, and distracted, not even bothering to lift an eyelid: "Turn right outside and get a number."

Pei Jiqing was stunned: "Huh?"

"You're not going to have an abortion?" The doctor tapped the medical record with his ballpoint pen. "It's still in time for dinner."

Pei Jiqing: "Really... pregnant?"

The doctor said: "Yes, so do you want to have the operation?"

The thin medical checkup sheet trembled slightly in Pei Jiqing's hands.

Over a month—this fact was written in black and white.

In five years of marriage, from the ages of twenty-four to twenty-nine, Pei Jiqing had never imagined that he would welcome a new life at such a time, in such a way.

The doctor asked him again if he would stay.

Pei Jiqing said, "I'll go back and discuss it with my Alpha," and then fled.

In the parking lot, he sat in the driver's seat for a long time without moving.

The swaying shadows of the trees outside the car window looked very much like the thoughts swaying in his heart.

Should he stay? Does he really have the right to decide? If this child is mediocre in the future, it will definitely be very obvious. How will Chen Huixing look at this child who is not good enough? How will he look at him?

When Pei Jiqing's phone rang again, Xu Ze mentioned that Chen Huixing was in a bad condition during the susceptible period.

On the other end of the phone, Xu Ze, who was always businesslike, hesitated rarely: "...Sir actually wants you to come over. On your birthday, Mr. Chen turned down all his schedules to come back and celebrate your birthday." The

voice paused, and Xu Ze seemed to have made a great decision: "He regrets it too."

Pei Jiqing's fingertips holding the phone trembled slightly.

Xu Ze never said such emotional words. As Shen Huixing's most capable secretary, Xu Ze has always been as restrained and rational as his boss.

Pei Jiqing had to admit that he was soft-hearted, and a secret expectation rose in his chest.

If Shen Huixing could bow his head once, even just once, he would be willing to tell all the secrets he had kept over the years. There were too many unspoken words between them, and now - they had a child.

This unexpected life was like a weak flame, but it inexplicably gave Pei Jiqing the courage to overturn everything.

Pei Jiqing's hand gently covered his lower abdomen. Perhaps he was an existence that was not expected by anyone except his mother.

He didn't want this life to be treated like this.

So he boarded a plane bound for another city. Clouds rolled outside the window. When Xu Ze met him at the airport, he silently took his luggage, the room card he handed him gleaming with a cool metallic sheen in his palm.

The moment he pushed open the door, the rich scent of redwood washed over him like a tide, drenching him completely. The curtains were drawn tightly in the room, and in the dim light, only the bulge on the bed could be seen.

Pei Jiqing approached. The hotel room was well-appointed, the curtains tightly drawn.

Xu Ze's words that Chen Huixing had taken inhibitors were still ringing in his ears, and the next moment, his wrist was

clamped tightly—a grip only those who were gripped knew how powerful it was. Pei Jiqing was pulled against the bed with astonishing force, falling into the Alpha's scalding warmth.

"Why did you come so late?" Chen Huixing's voice was filled with the anxiety characteristic of a vulnerable period. His hot breath puffed against his ear, making Pei Jiqing's face flush and causing him to shudder. The chest beneath his palm rose and fell violently, his heartbeat deafening, like a beast eager for food.

And Pei Jiqing was the food he was targeting.

Chen Huixing bit his neck, and when the tip of his teeth touched the back of his neck, Pei Jiqing suddenly struggled, forced to raise his neck and push him away: "Wait! Husband, wait a minute!"

He shrank back to avoid it, and in the chaos, his fingertips brushed across the Alpha's cheek again. Although there was no wind from his palm, and he didn't feel any pain, Pei Jiqing's resistance still made Chen Huixing frown. He stopped suddenly, his scarlet eyes full of confusion and anxiety: "If you don't want to do it, why are you here?"

Every word of Chen Huixing was like an ice cone, piercing Pei Jiqing's heart: "What? Now you won't even let me touch you?"

Pei Jiqing felt like a basin of cold water was poured on his head, and his whole body was cold: "...You called me here to do this?"

Chen Huixing stood up as if he was uninterested, his voice was hoarse, probably because he was tortured by the susceptible period: "What else?"

That tone seemed to be asking Pei Jiqing what unnecessary words he was saying.

When Pei Jiqing heard this, he already knew how self-righteous he'd been. He hadn't imagined Xu Ze would one day learn to lie, but he still whispered, almost as if torturing himself, "Chen Huixing, was this the only reason you married me? Ninety percent?" Chen

Huixing didn't understand what Pei Jiqing was fussing about. Now he was calling him by his name. He hadn't even explained what happened before, and now he was giving him a way out. What else did Pei Jiqing want? Xu Ze said he'd been crying at home day and night, so Chen Huixing agreed to let him come. Otherwise, Pei Jiqing's mating season would be difficult without him.

Pei Jiqing was different. He was an Alpha who had undergone rigorous training.

Was there any Alpha in the world with less dignity than him?

"What else?" Chen Huixing asked, the same question. "I don't want my Omega to be involved in a scandal one day. I don't want to see that happen again."

The darkness was the perfect shield, hiding the tears that suddenly burst forth from Pei Jiqing. If the downfall was long, this moment of clarity was more excruciating and cruel than any pain.

The five years of tenderness were nothing but a self-deceiving dream. Pei Jiqing fell completely, while the other party remained sober as ever. Chen Huixing wanted an Omega who was like a vase.

Pei Jiqing said, "You won't see it again."

Chen Huixing said "hmm". The next moment he leaned over and wanted to hug Pei Jiqing again, but was pushed away, along with the pheromones that had nowhere to go.

Pei Jiqing got out of bed: "...Husband, Secretary Xu said that you have taken inhibitors. I believe that with your willpower, the susceptible period will not be a big deal. After all, you controlled it very well before we got married. I'll ask Secretary Xu to get me another room. This room stinks."

Chen Huixing: "..."