Chapter 63

Chapter 63

When Lu Yao returned home, Xia Shiyue was still out. For some reason, Gu Hechen had been frequently contacting Xia Shiyue lately, always claiming emergencies at the shop. Xia Shiyue was so swamped that he barely had time to come home and talk with Lu Yao.

Wen Zheng didn’t notice Lu Yao’s return. She was hidden away in the small conservatory in the yard, on the phone with Fu Yanhuai.

"Thursday’s no good, Friday’s no good either? What about the weekend?"

Just as Lu Yao was lost in thought, Wen Zheng also wanted to use this opportunity to get Fu Yanhuai to come home. Even if it didn't deepen their relationship, it would be good for Fu Yanhuai to spend some time with Nian Nian. Every time he visited Nian Nian, he would just sit for a bit and then leave. Wen Zheng believed that parental companionship was essential for a child’s growth, but Fu Yanhuai clearly wasn’t focused on his child.

Fu Yanhuai had his final gland extraction scheduled for the next day. He massaged his temples. "Next week."

Excessive gland extractions had too many side effects. Fu Yanhuai couldn’t guarantee he’d appear completely normal in front of Wen Zheng over the weekend.

He knew his mother well; she wasn’t easily fooled.

Wen Zheng grew slightly wary. "What’s so important this weekend that you can’t come back until next week? Does the company project really need your personal oversight to wrap up? Is Fu Group about to go bankrupt?"

Fu Yanhuai sighed at her sarcastic remark. "Not yet. It’ll survive for decades without a problem."

"Then what exactly are you busy with?" Wen Zheng said bluntly. "You keep making excuses not to come home. Are you hiding something from me?"

Fu Yanhuai replied calmly, "No. Lu Yao doesn’t like seeing me. I don’t want to upset him."

Wen Zheng retorted, "You deserve it. You’re coming home this weekend. That’s final."

Wen Zheng hung up abruptly. Fu Yanhuai sighed. But as Wen Zheng had said, the company’s workload wasn’t heavy lately.

Fu Yanhuai’s fever had returned that evening, so he left work unusually early.

After returning home, he didn’t eat anything and went straight to bed for a short rest. The housekeeper knocked on Fu Yanhuai’s bedroom door with a tray before pushing it open. "Mr. Fu."

Fu Yanhuai’s eyes remained closed. "You can go. I’m not hungry yet."

The housekeeper frowned deeply. "Irregular meals are bad for your stomach, and your gland is severely damaged. You should at least eat something to help with recovery."

"No need," Fu Yanhuai said, opening his eyes to look at the housekeeper. "Tomorrow is the last time."

The housekeeper paused. "But I thought the treatment was long-term, to avoid causing Mr. Lu too severe a reaction..."

Fu Yanhuai simply hummed in acknowledgment. "No more after this. You can go. I’ll sleep for a while."

The housekeeper didn’t understand what "no more after this" meant, but he shook his head and left.

When Lu Yao left after giving birth, he hadn’t touched anything in the bedroom. When Fu Yanhuai returned from his business trips, he hadn’t removed Lu Yao’s belongings either.

The other side of the king-size bed remained empty. In the early days after Lu Yao left, faint traces of caramel scent still lingered on the pillowcase and blanket, but they soon vanished completely.

A couple of days ago, Fu Yanhuai impulsively bought a caramel-scented air freshener, but it just wasn’t the same.

Now that Lu Yao’s gland was recovering and Nian Nian’s condition had improved significantly, he should have been producing pheromones. But Fu Yanhuai smelled nothing.

The scent of Silver Fir was almost entirely gone. For a moment, Fu Yanhuai felt as if he had experienced the world of a beta.

Fu Yanhuai closed his eyes again, surrounded by silence.

When Lu Yao entered the house, he didn’t see Wen Zheng. He didn’t think much of it; she was probably out for a spa treatment. Lu Yao went straight upstairs to see Nian Nian.

Nian Nian was playing with a newly bought puppy toy, while Cream dozed nearby. Lu Yao smiled at the sight of them.

"Nian Nian, Daddy’s home."

Nian Nian struggled to lift the toy with a grunt. Lu Yao walked over and picked him up. "Were you a good boy today, baby?"

Nian Nian stared at Lu Yao with wide, round eyes, then suddenly sneezed—"A-choo!"—and lowered his head.

Lu Yao froze. "Nian Nian?"

Nian Nian grinned innocently, looking up at Lu Yao, and held out the puppy toy, wanting to play with him.

But Lu Yao slowly frowned. He grabbed a tissue to wipe Nian Nian’s face. "Why is your nose running?"

Noticing the change in Lu Yao’s mood, Nian Nian made a small sound and lowered his head, tugging at the toy. Lu Yao touched his forehead, then held him close to check his temperature.

Lu Yao didn’t detect anything unusual, but Nian Nian seemed to love being held close by Lu Yao. He wiggled excitedly, wanting more.

Lu Yao poked Nian Nian’s palm, and Nian Nian tightly grasped his finger.

"His hands feel a little cold," Lu Yao murmured to himself. "Let’s put on a jacket."

It was the changing of seasons—chilly in the mornings and evenings but warm midday. However, the Fu residence was climate-controlled year-round, and the nursery’s insulation was excellent. Nian Nian shouldn’t have caught a chill.

Lu Yao carried Nian Nian to pick out a jacket. "Let’s wear this one. It’s not too thick—good for indoors."

After fastening the buttons, Lu Yao felt much more at ease. Nian Nian clearly didn’t care about being hot or cold; he just wanted Lu Yao to play with him.

Lu Yao spent time with him until dinner. Nian Nian was then carried downstairs to watch everyone eat before being fed and put to bed.

Everything seemed normal—until the middle of the night, when the nurse knocked on Lu Yao’s bedroom door earlier than usual.

Still groggy from sleep, Lu Yao opened the door to find the nurse looking grave. "Young master has a fever."

Lu Yao instantly snapped awake and rushed to the nursery. Surprisingly, Nian Nian wasn’t crying. He was awake, sitting in his crib with a fever patch on his forehead, curiously watching everyone hurry around.

Though sick, he seemed in decent spirits. Still, Lu Yao was worried. He touched Nian Nian’s cheek—it was definitely warm.

Lu Yao grew anxious. "How did he suddenly get a fever? This afternoon, I noticed he had a runny nose and put an extra layer on him."

The nurse reassured him softly, "Children have weaker immune systems. Fevers and colds are common during seasonal transitions, but it’s nothing to worry about. The family doctor has already been called."

Nian Nian didn’t seem too uncomfortable, just less active than usual. He reached out for Lu Yao to hold him.

Once in Lu Yao’s arms, Nian Nian snuggled in happily. Lu Yao removed his gland patch—though his gland wasn’t fully healed yet, it should still help a little now.

Nian Nian closed his eyes happily, cooing as Lu Yao patted him soothingly.

Lu Yao said to the nurse, "Could you please get my phone for me?"

Since Nian Nian was sick, he’d postpone his hospital visit for medication until tomorrow. He wouldn’t feel at ease until Nian Nian’s fever subsided completely.

The nurse nodded and went to fetch it. Lu Yao wondered if he’d let Nian Nian catch a chill during their morning stroll in the yard. It had been cold—he should’ve dressed him more warmly.

Once he had his phone, Lu Yao texted Fu Yanhuai directly: *Nian Nian has a fever. I’ll postpone the hospital visit until tomorrow.*

Fu Yanhuai had a slight fever again that evening and had gone to bed early for once. He was a light sleeper and didn't sleep much, so when his fever broke in the middle of the night, he got up to drink some water.

At the dining table, he saw Lu Yao’s message and arched an eyebrow. *Nian Nian has a fever?*

He responded immediately: *Okay. How is Nian Nian's condition? Is it serious?*

Lu Yao had barely put his phone down after sending the message when Fu Yanhuai’s reply popped up right away.

Lu Yao glanced at the time—2:23 a.m.

Puzzled, he checked his phone again. "It's so late. You're still up?"

Since Fu Yanhuai was Nian Nian’s father, Lu Yao answered truthfully: *His fever is at 38.2°C, but he isn’t crying and seems lively.*

This time, Fu Yanhuai pressed for details: *Did he catch a chill, or was he exposed to a virus?*

Nian Nian had been whimpering in Lu Yao’s arms for a while, but now, belatedly realizing his discomfort, his mood became unstable. He squirmed, about to burst into tears.

Lu Yao quickly replied to Fu Yanhuai: *It’s probably just a chill.*

Then he tossed his phone aside completely, grabbing a towel to wipe Nian Nian’s face and using alcohol rubs to bring the fever down.

Fu Yanhuai asked another question: *Has Dr. Feng arrived yet?*

In that short time, Nian Nian completely gave in to feeling awful and let loose with a full-blown cry.

Lu Yao and the nurse frantically tried to calm him down. Fu Yanhuai waited but received no further reply from Lu Yao.

Sitting alone on the quiet couch in the middle of the night, Fu Yanhuai carefully typed out a message and sent it: *Remember to rest early. Don’t push yourself too hard.*

Lu Yao didn’t see it—and even if he had, he wouldn’t have responded. Nian Nian’s crying was so loud that it eventually woke everyone up. Fu Jizhong was so worried about Nian Nian that he was ready to become a human toy to cheer the child.

Even when Dr. Feng arrived, there wasn’t much he could do. The child was too young for injections or medication, so they could only rely on physical cooling and extra care from the adults.

This went on until daybreak before Nian Nian finally fell into an exhausted sleep. Lu Yao, whose health wasn’t as robust as before, was completely wiped out from the sleepless night. He went straight to bed and didn’t wake until noon.

Lu Yao didn’t go to the hospital, but Fu Yanhuai went as usual to extract gland fluid. Wen Zheng had given him a final ultimatum to return home over the weekend, but Fu Yanhuai didn’t want the gland extraction and his homecoming to be too close together.

The bruising on Fu Yanhuai’s neck had worsened significantly. The doctor sternly reminded him, "Your gland is in bad shape, and you’re suffering from pheromone resistance. You shouldn’t have been able to smell pheromones since a week ago. Are you sure you still want to proceed today?"

Fu Yanhuai looked exhausted too, having been unable to fall back asleep after waking in the middle of the night. "Go ahead."

This time, Fu Yanhuai came down with a fever almost immediately after leaving the hospital. He was forced to skip work and went straight home to rest in bed.

Not long after changing his clothes, Wen Zheng called. "Nian Nian is sick. Come see him after work today."

Fu Yanhuai’s headache worsened. He replied hoarsely, "Not today."

Wen Zheng immediately picked up on the oddity in his voice. "What’s wrong with you?"

Her suspicion grew. "You’ve been making excuses not to come home since yesterday. Now the child is sick, and you still won’t come back. What are you hiding from me?"

Fu Yanhuai offered a half-truth. "I’m sick too. Going back would risk infecting Nian Nian."

Wen Zheng was skeptical. "You do sound ill, but how could an S-rank get sick? It’s been years since you last fell ill."

Fu Yanhuai brushed it off. "It’s the season change. Many at the company have colds. Not today—this weekend. Did Little Deer stay up late taking care of Nian Nian last night?"

Wen Zheng narrowed her eyes slightly. "He's still out cold. In that case, I’ll just come see you instead. It’s only natural for a mother to check on her sick child."

Fu Yanhuai let out a resigned chuckle. "What are you trying to do? There’s no need. Little Deer might struggle to handle Nian Nian alone—you should help him more."

Wen Zheng didn’t argue further. She agreed readily, "Fine. But remember—you’re coming home this weekend."

Fu Yanhuai grunted in reply. "Understood."