Chapter 65

Chapter 65

During work hours, An Nuo's mind often wandered, unable to stop thinking about having children.

If he and Lu Yunyan really had a child…

At the very least, in terms of looks, it would be an adorable child, wouldn't it?

An Nuo had a fair bit of confidence in his appearance. Though he'd encountered many malicious people targeting him over the years, not a single person had ever called him ugly.

Lu Yunyan's personality might be a bit sharp-tongued, but his looks were equally outstanding.

They surely wouldn't produce an ugly child.

Unless there was a genetic mutation.

The thought of having a little baby that resembled him—fair, chubby, and utterly charming—made An Nuo yearn to pour all his love into it.

Everything he hadn't possessed, everything he regretted missing out on—he would undoubtedly make sure his child received it all.

All his overflowing love would be given to their child.

As for material comforts, that went without saying—every desire would be met.

After all, Lu Yunyan was incredibly wealthy. Building a balloon castle or a sandcastle at home for the child, or even both, would be no trouble at all.

Wait, no—he was thinking too small.

Sandcastles and balloon castles were too modest. He should build the child a real castle.

That morning, nestled in Lu Yunyan's arms, An Nuo's thoughts had been somewhat pessimistic.

But now, that pessimism was gone.

He had become overly optimistic.

No, no—An Nuo himself realized his emotions were on a wild rollercoaster, as if he were unwell.

He needed to calm down quickly and consider practical matters.

He was only twenty; wasn't that too young to have a child?

And if Bai Wu and Luo Heng found out, how would he explain it to them?

Had their pretend relationship turned into something real?

But he couldn't even be sure what exactly he and Lu Yunyan were to each other…

Regarding sincerity, Lu Yunyan admitted to having genuine feelings.

Yet, with a permanent mark established and the pervasive influence of pheromones, how could An Nuo be certain that this sincerity was truly authentic?

After much deliberation, An Nuo couldn't resist wanting to consult Bai Wu.

This was precisely when he needed "Teacher Bai" to come online and offer advice.

An Nuo didn't post in the group chat this time; he messaged Bai Wu privately.

After all, Luo Heng was an alpha, and some topics required maintaining gender boundaries.

An Nuo: "Emergency summon!"

An Nuo: "Appear, beast of the Dark Forces!"

Bai Wu, who usually replied instantly, hadn't responded after five minutes.

An Nuo was incredulous—it was broad daylight, and Bai Wu always had his phone glued to his hand, replying swiftly.

An Nuo sent several more emojis, determined to conjure Bai Wu into action.

After relentlessly pestering him for two minutes, Bai Wu finally stirred.

Bai Wu: "?"

Such a cold question mark.

After all those messages, this was Bai Wu's reaction.

But never mind—the important thing was the matter at hand.

An Nuo: "There's something I want to discuss with you. Would it be convenient for a voice call?"

It was difficult to explain in text; speaking would be much easier.

An Nuo had even planned to slip away to the break room to chat.

Since no one went in there during work hours, he could lock the door, speak softly, and no one outside would hear.

Bai Wu: "Is it very urgent?"

An Nuo: "Not terribly urgent."

Bai Wu: "Later, then."

An Nuo: ?

Today's Bai Wu was genuinely cold—it was definitely not An Nuo's imagination.

An Nuo: "You're so cold to me today."

An Nuo: "I'm about to shed little pearls QAQ"

Bai Wu sent two voice messages. When An Nuo clicked to listen, he realized it wasn't Bai Wu at all—it was Luo Heng.

Luo Heng: "You can talk to him later when he wakes up. He's still asleep now. If it's really urgent, I can wake him up."

"He set a personalized ringtone for your messages, and it woke me up first. I saw it was you, so I replied directly from his phone."

So that was it.

No wonder today's Bai Wu seemed so cold, as if possessed by Luo Heng.

It turned out it really was Luo Heng himself texting him.

An Nuo wasn't particularly surprised that they were sleeping together—the three of them had slept together before, and he and Bai Wu often shared a bed.

An Nuo: "So that's what happened! But why are you two still asleep? Where did you go sneaking off to last night behind my back!"

Though he had also been secretly cavorting with Lu Yunyan behind their backs—even if they'd invited him last night, he wouldn't have gone.

Luo Heng: "A drinking buddy's birthday. We partied, drank too much, and we're still on the cruise ship."

An Nuo: "No wonder you still sound out of it."

An Nuo: "Then go back to sleep; just have him message me when he wakes up."

Luo Heng: "Okay."

Without Teacher Bai's help to brainstorm, An Nuo could only continue thinking to himself.

And so his thoughts drifted even further afield.

An Nuo suddenly wondered: if they really had a child, would that mean when the agreement expired, if he couldn't bear to leave Lu Yunyan, he could use the child as leverage to stay?

The legendary strategy of using a child to secure one's position!

At this thought, a determined glint ignited in An Nuo's eyes. As long as he didn't want to leave, Lu Yunyan wouldn't be able to kick him out—he'd cling to Lu Yunyan like a ghost!

But this determination didn't last long, because An Nuo knew all too well he lacked such power.

He didn't possess a ghost's strength or patience, at most only a ghost's resentment.

Unless Lu Yunyan was truly sincere.

Otherwise, there were countless ways to sweep him out the door.

Yet, regarding Lu Yunyan's repeated declarations of sincerity, An Nuo always harbored some doubt.

Not that he deliberately meant to distrust Lu Yunyan, but simply lacked confidence, feeling unworthy and fearing the outcome would only hurt him.

After some thought, An Nuo texted Lu Yunyan directly: "Are you free right now?"

Lu Yunyan was in his office. An Nuo didn't know what he was doing, only that he replied fifteen minutes later.

Lu Yunyan: "I have a meeting in an hour."

An Nuo: "Get up."

An Nuo: "Let's talk in the break room."

Lu Yunyan: "?"

An Nuo: "Got a problem with that?"

Lu Yunyan: "No, I'll go there now."

An Nuo: "Give me five minutes, I'll go first."

An Nuo: "Come in five minutes later."

Lu Yunyan: "Okay."

An Nuo stood up and left his seat. Fortunately, no colleagues paid attention to where he went, and he smoothly entered the break room.

Five minutes later, Lu Yunyan entered precisely on time.

An Nuo quickly locked the door and pulled Lu Yunyan to the farthest corner.

Lu Yunyan didn't know what An Nuo wanted to say, but he was willing to cooperate with all of An Nuo's seemingly peculiar yet endearing behaviors.

"You specifically called me here to tell me something?"

An Nuo pursed his lips.

Saying what came next required courage. In the past, An Nuo would probably have kept it to himself, mulling over it for days, searching for the most opportune moment and crafting the most appropriate words.

But this time, he didn't want to exhaust himself for days. Since the thought had come today, he'd express it today.

An Nuo looked at Lu Yunyan, his gaze steady and serious: "…What I'm about to say is very serious. You must listen carefully!"

They were both standing. From Lu Yunyan's perspective, looking down, he could see An Nuo's determined eyes, his fair and soft cheeks, his moist lips, and the round cupid's bow in the center of his upper lip.

Adorable. I want to kiss him.

Who could resist not kissing that?

But Lu Yunyan had to hold back for now: "Mm, go ahead."

"…This morning, you said you wanted to have a child with me. You were serious, you'd thought it through, and you weren't joking with me, right?"

"Mm, I was very serious."

An Nuo mustered his courage: "…But suppose we really divorce, what then? Would you have children with another omega?"

Though An Nuo's attitude was serious, to Lu Yunyan's ears, the question sounded somewhat childishly amusing.

"How would I have children with another omega?" Lu Yunyan laughed in response. "I can't even have close contact with other omegas."

It was worrying over nothing, just overthinking things.

"But in three years, won't you be cured?"

"…"

Lu Yunyan's smile froze.

"If you're cured, you wouldn't be repulsed by other omegas anymore, right?"

"…"

Crap.

He'd told too many lies and ended up forgetting this fundamental premise, and An Nuo had spotted that blind spot.

One really shouldn't tell too many lies, otherwise, there will always be moments when the story doesn't hold up.

"It's hard to say."

Lu Yunyan couldn't give too definite an answer; it would seem insincere.

He could only offer a vague reply that amounted to saying nothing.

"What will happen, not even I can say, let alone the doctors. Everything will depend on the situation at the time."

Afraid An Nuo would press further, Lu Yunyan interjected: "Honestly, your asking this makes me a little sad. It feels like you're doubting me."

But An Nuo was indeed doubting him; Lu Yunyan's feeling was correct.

Still, hearing this, An Nuo felt a little awkward: "Sorry, I didn't mean to doubt you. It's just that I thought of my… biological father, um… so I worried about that."

Who doesn't love it in the beginning?

He believed that An's father must have loved the omega he had marked initially.

But as time passed, their pheromones became increasingly blended, emotional fluctuations from hormones gradually calmed down, and everything became routine. Even the most passionate love turned into indifference, even coldness.

His body began to stir again, yearning for new excitement.

Lu Yunyan casually remarked, "Then you shouldn't look at your biological father; you should look at my father instead. I carry his genes and grew up in an environment shaped by them."

An Nuo felt a sharp pang.

"…What do you mean by bringing up genes? Are you implying something about me? It's not like I chose to be born to someone like that!"

Lu Yunyan was startled and quickly said, "I know, I know. Don't be angry. You know I didn't mean it that way."

"Then what did you mean!"

"There are plenty of alphas like that! Why are you dragging genetics into this!"

Damn, it seemed he had stepped right into An Nuo’s biggest minefield.

Unlike the previous times when he was teased into a huff, An Nuo now seemed dangerously inconsolable.

"I'm sorry, baby. Please forgive me."

But when it was time to apologize seriously, Lu Yunyan immediately did so, bending down and reaching out to gently touch An Nuo’s cheek, appearing humble and sincere.

"I won't say things like that again. Don't be angry. I know I was wrong."

An Nuo frowned and let out a heavy huff.

What had been hard to say earlier now came pouring out in one breath.

"I know that if I agree to have a child with you, but we separate later, the child would definitely go to you… So I'm telling you now, if you have children with another omega in the future, our child will belong to me!"

A child without an omega dad around, left alone with an alpha dad, would have a miserable life.

An Nuo had experienced this firsthand and was determined not to let such a tragedy repeat itself with his own child.

Even if Lu Yunyan would never become a scumbag father like An's father, An Nuo wasn’t willing to gamble on that possibility.

"I know that if the child stays with me, the material conditions wouldn't compare to being with you… So you'll have to compensate us with a huge amount of money! Enough to keep me and the child comfortable for life!"

He had originally intended to say that having a child was conditional on Lu Yunyan not having children with other omegas, but who could say for sure what the future held?

Even if Lu Yunyan agreed now, he might change his mind later.

Hearing An Nuo angrily make such demands, Lu Yunyan was first stunned, then his lips curved into a smile.

—An Nuo definitely had no idea how adorable he was being, even with the reasons he gave.

On this point, Lu Yunyan guessed right.

An Nuo truly had no idea what Lu Yunyan was laughing about, but he knew that smile was annoying.

Keep laughing. What's so funny?

I'll wipe that smile off your face right now.

An Nuo continued, "If I also find another alpha by then, you can't interfere, and you definitely can't revoke the compensation you gave me because of it. You have to provide for my family!"

"…"

An Nuo guessed right too.

After hearing this, Lu Yunyan was floored.

He immediately frowned, his face fell, and all traces of laughter disappeared completely.