Chapter 39: Then keep giving birth, until I'm satisfied. That's right...

Pei Jiqing felt his brain, fresh from the anesthesia, struggled to process the situation. He felt

groggy and sluggish, the world seeming unreal.

He thought he was dreaming, but his body refused to cooperate, shattering his illusions.

The pain pump on the back of his hand dripped medication. There was no sharp pain, only the distinct presence of the incision on his abdomen, a reminder that he couldn't deceive himself.

It was inevitable, and there was no chance of getting away with it. He should have moved out of Nan'an long ago.

The room was oppressively silent, neither of them saying a word.

It was as if whoever spoke first would lose.

Pei Jiqing was so weak that even breathing strained against his wound. He feared that if he said another word, the freshly stitched wound beneath the bandage would open, so he simply closed his eyes and let sleep consume him.

When he woke the next day, the figures of the medical staff flickered before his eyes.

The faint scent of disinfectant, the soft creaking of instruments, the sheets rumbling against his body—everything felt too real.

Pei Jiqing instinctively glanced around, but couldn't find Chen Huixing. The room was noticeably fancier than before.

He suddenly clutched the sleeve of the nurse beside him, changing his dressing. "Where's my baby?"

Her voice was so hoarse it was unfamiliar to him.

He hadn't even had time to see the tiny, crumpled child since the cry in the delivery room.

The nurse handed him a tablet, and the surveillance footage popped up. Curled up in an incubator was a baby in a white jumpsuit, its chest rising and falling rhythmically.

Pei Jiqing stared at the screen, suddenly realizing this was the so-called physical connection, even across the electronic screen, and the incision he had just made.

"The baby's jaundice levels are high, but she's stable."

Someone quickly swaddled the child in a pristine white swaddle and carefully cradled her to feed. The baby, eyes closed, wore a small white bonnet, her cheeks still red. Curled up in a wrinkled ball, she instinctively suckled and moved healthily, revealing the tenderness of new life.

Pei Jiqing watched silently for a moment before whispering, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"She's a beautiful little princess."

Before the age of ten, gender can be determined. Before the differentiation period, sex can only be determined through the most basic physical characteristics.

Alphas tend to have broader skeletons, with muscle lines beginning to emerge before puberty; Omegas, regardless of gender, tend to be more slender and thin.

Of course, this is just a probability, not an iron rule; there are exceptions.

Pei Jiqing glanced at the red little thing on the screen again. She was unconsciously smacking her lips, her wrinkled face like a little monkey, making the nurse's description of "pretty" even more questionable.

Pei Jiqing checked the screen again. How could this little ball of flesh, which couldn't even open its eyes, be beautiful?

Logically, neither one of them should be too ugly.

The nurse quickly took the tablet away and said that the most important thing for Pei Jiqing now was to improve his health.

Chen Huixing was like a ghost; after appearing that night, he hadn't been seen since.

Pei Jiqing sometimes stared at the ceiling and couldn't help wondering - what on earth was Chen Huixing trying to achieve by going to such great lengths to capture him? Being able to bring him back to Ling City from the delivery room in Nan'an without anyone noticing was it for revenge? Or was it simply to humiliate him? Or perhaps... to take his daughter away?

He couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped wasting his energy.

The most important thing right now was to take good care of his body. Pei Jiqing forced himself to take those supplements, eat and sleep on time, and when he was finally able to get out of bed, he gritted his teeth and recovered.

He had to recover his strength quickly.

If he had to escape, he couldn't not even have the strength to run.

Under the careful care of the medical staff, Pei Jiqing's body recovered quickly. In just half a month, the wound on his abdomen had healed smoothly, leaving only a faint mark. The doctors said that the scar would fade over time, and he just needed to apply ointment on time every day.

His face was also rosy.

Pei Jiqing said to the nurse, "Bring the child to me."

The nurse gently placed the tray on the bedside table. Her voice was gentle but unyielding, "Mr. Shen specifically instructed that you need to rest. The baby's crying might disturb your rest."

Pei Jiqing thought he was like carefully captive prey. Even his own flesh and blood had become a bargaining chip for Chen Huixing to manipulate.

The most ridiculous thing was that he wasn't even allowed to look at his daughter more than once. He wasn't even

allowed to check the surveillance camera more than once each day, euphemistically claiming it was "radiation hazards" and "this is all for your own good." He was only allowed to watch the monitor for a few minutes at set times.

Pei Jiqing endured it, silently counting the days until the twenty-fifth day, when he felt the energy in his body finally rise like the tide, ready for action.

He said to the nurse, "I want to see Chen Huixing."

The nurse paused as she adjusted the corners of his quilt. "Mr. Shen wants you to focus on your rest."

Pei Jiqing stared at the nurse for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and tentatively dropped a water glass.

The sound of the glass water cup exploding on the ground was particularly crisp.

"Can you see me now?"

The senior nurse repeated, without even changing the curve of his lips, "You are still recuperating."

Pei Jiqing then lightly overturned the vase, the picture frame, the clock...

When Chen Huixing appeared at the door of the ward, the tip of his leather shoe just touched a piece of broken porcelain. He glanced at the mess on the floor and clapped his hands: "Looks like you've recovered well. You can even smash things."

Pei Jiqing turned, and his eyes first met Chen Huixing's deep eyes, the muscles faintly visible under his blue shirt.

After six months of not seeing him, the aura surrounding Chen Huixing became even more captivating - he stood against the light, the shadow spreading from his brow to his jaw, his whole body like a ball of thick ink that could not be dissolved, with a suffocating aggression.

The innate Alpha oppression seemed to have substance, spreading in the air with every step he took.

When Chen Huixing waved his hand to dismiss everyone and the door closed, Pei Jiqing subconsciously took two steps back.

"Didn't you want to see me? Why did you become mute after seeing me?"

Pei Jiqing's fingertips pinched his palm unconsciously. To be honest, he had always been afraid of everything about this S-class Alpha, the terrifying pheromones, the overwhelming strength, the power to make things happen with a wave of his hand... When their relationship was still okay, he could still act like a spoiled child by being Chen Huixing's Omega to gain some sympathy.

But now, everything that stood between them made any words seem pale and ridiculous.

Pei Jiqing's voice was dry: "I want to know, what do you want?"

Chen Huixing approached with long legs, and Pei Jiqing unconsciously backed away until his thigh hit the edge of the bed.

"Are you afraid of me?" There was ice in Chen Huixing's eyes, "Where did the courage you had to risk your life with Cen Yuean go?"

With his back against the hard bed frame, Pei Jiqing lowered his eyelashes: "...I have my reasons."

The words were so soft that they were almost inaudible, but Chen Huixing heard them all.

Chen Huixing's palm suddenly clasped the back of his neck, so hard that it hurt. The temperature of Alpha's palm was transmitted through the skin, so hot that it almost burned people.

"Do you think," Chen Huixing leaned closer, and their eyes met, "will I still believe a word you say now?"

Pei Jiqing's breathing was stagnant in his chest.

Chen Huixing's fingertips traced his carotid artery, and his fingers suddenly tightened, and he began to count Pei Jiqing's crimes and said: "The matching is fake, the identity of the young master of the Pei family is fake, even those ironed shirts and boiled soups - are fake, Pei Jiqing, aren't you tired of acting all these years? What on earth is real about you?"

Pei Jiqing thought, Chen Huixing finally knew everything.

So he was almost certain that Chen Huixing brought him back just to retaliate and torture him.

Chen Huixing was a person who could not tolerate any sand in his eyes and could not tolerate betrayal.

Pei Jiqing jerked his head back, the last layer of his veneer of sweetness peeling away like shattered glass. A sneer curled up his lips. "...Yes, it's all fake. Only my dislike for you is absolutely true!"

Pei Jiqing reasoned that if Chen Huixing believed love could be acted out, then hatred would surely be taken seriously.

Chen Huixing, the Alpha at the pinnacle of power, would never understand. He wouldn't know the suffocating feeling of being strangled by fate, the humiliation of being forced to move forward, and certainly not someone like Pei Jiqing, who had struggled mightily.

Yet, fate always played him inexplicable tricks.

"Hate me?"

Chen Huixing pinched Pei Jiqing's chin with his thumb, applying slight pressure. "Pei Jiqing, what on earth have you been trying to achieve by staying by my side all these years?"

Pei Jiqing's eyes flushed a sickly red, as if he wanted to release all the pent-up resentment he'd been holding. "Your wealth and prestige? Do you really think I was willing to marry you? The Pei family threatened Wei Ji's life to force me to do it! You're conceited and overbearing, with no respect for others. I've had enough of being Madam Shen!"

The last few words were practically screamed out.

Chen Huixing let out a cold sneer. "That's unreasonable! It's sheer nonsense."

Pei Jiqing was forced to raise his chin, his neck twisting into a stubborn curve. His breathing suddenly became rapid. "I did say a lot of things against my will. It makes me sick just thinking about it now."

Chen Huixing's expression darkened even further.

"Chen Huixing, guess what the final agreement between Cen Yuean and I was?" Pei Jiqing leaned forward, a look of utter despair in his eyes. "If I suddenly disappear one day, the shady contents of your safe will be all over the headlines." In Chen

Huixing's study stood a pitch-black safe. Even Pei Jiqing didn't know the combination. Chen Huixing treasured it dearly, and Pei Jiqing inevitably thought it held Chen Huixing's secrets.

Someone in Chen Huixing's position couldn't possibly be without them.

"Are you threatening me?"

Pei Jiqing's fingers gripped Chen Huixing's wrist tightly, his knuckles white with the pressure. He promised, "If you let my daughter and I go, I swear I'll never return to Ling City and won't say a word!" Chen Huixing

's gaze was terrifyingly stern. He suddenly pulled out his phone, tapped the screen with his slender fingers, and dialed Cen Yuean's number.

The call notification tone was particularly piercing in the silent room.

"Hello?" Cen Yuean's voice came through the receiver.

Chen Huixing said, "My wife wants to talk to you, Commander, about something related to my safe. Last time, my wife went out to relax. Thanks to the Cen family for the special plane. I'm also letting you know that I've taken my wife home. I'll send an invitation to my daughter's hundred-day celebration."

A long silence fell on the other end of the line.

Pei Jiqing's pupils suddenly constricted, and the color drained from his face. He looked at Chen Huixing as if he were a complete lunatic.

Chen Huixing hung up the call cleanly and threw the phone aside. He leaned over Pei Jiqing and stroked his trembling lips with his fingertips: "Since you acted so well, why don't you keep acting? You are really the best actor I have ever seen in my life. Next, I will provide the venue and extras, and continue to be your Mrs. Shen." "

...Our compatibility is very low. The pheromone level of that child will not be too high, and you will not be satisfied."

Chen Huixing smiled and put his hand on Pei Jiqing's lower abdomen: "Then keep giving birth until I am satisfied. By the way, the contraceptive pills you bought before have been banned."