Chapter 96: Little Angel

Chapter 96 The Little Angel

Song Yuqing wore Qi Zhengqing’s shirt, loosely draped over his body with a few buttons undone.

When Qi Zhengqing wore the shirt, it fit him snugly with no extra room anywhere.

But on Song Yuqing, it looked a bit loose, and the length was just long enough to cover his legs.

Slender and delicate, so slight it seemed you could encircle him with one hand.

The moment Song Yuqing stepped onto Qi Zhengqing’s body, he became wet, and even a bit splashed onto his own cheek.

Song Yuqing: "..."

With a pale face, Song Yuqing used the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing to wipe away the splatter off his face.

His amber eyes looked at Qi Zhengqing with dissatisfaction, his fair toes pressing against Qi Zhengqing’s shoulder. "Don’t look at me like that."

"Useless," Song Yuqing said softly.

Clearly, Qi Zhengqing was even less able to control himself, yet he made so many demands of him.

He was much better than Qi Zhengqing—at least he wouldn’t lose his composure so quickly after just a touch.

Qi Zhengqing’s eyes darkened as he stared at that splashed, beautiful face. Traces of moisture dripped from his fair chin, his lips reddened from kissing parting slightly, while even his dark lashes were stained with filth.

Like a butterfly with wet wings, unable to flutter lightly.

Qi Zhengqing composed himself slightly, his eyes still fixed intently on Song Yuqing.

Soiled, yet even more beautiful.

So beautiful that it made one want to take a photo, save it in a private album, and take it out to admire again and again whenever he felt the urge.

However, Qi Zhengqing knew that if he recorded Song Yuqing like this, Song Yuqing would definitely have a falling out with him.

The only reason he hadn’t done so earlier was because Song Yuqing’s competitive little pride had flared up again.

The alpha, kneeling on the floor, leaned forward, his burning hot palm easily gripping Song Yuqing’s leg. The veins on the back of his hand bulged, and his calloused fingertips pressed into his skin as he kissed the side of the young man’s leg. "Sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten you messy..."

The alpha’s intensely possessive stare remained fixed on Song Yuqing’s face.

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing tilted his head to look at Qi Zhengqing. "I don’t sense any apology from you."

Even after being called out, Qi Zhengqing showed no embarrassment. "Theoretically, an apology is warranted."

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing didn’t plan to say more to the deviant. Just as he was about to pull away, the alpha grabbed his ankle, his voice hoarse as if pleading, "No more stepping on me. Let’s try another way..."

"Reward me, baby."

Scorching breath seeped through the thin fabric as the alpha lowered his head completely, his nose abruptly and forcefully nuzzling insistently, leaving Song Yuqing no room to refuse or retreat.

Song Yuqing’s fingers gripped the alpha’s hair. "You..."

More words were swallowed by his lips bitten tight, only a few low, unbearable sounds escaping.

Song Yuqing slept deeply. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains into the room, with the thin blanket and the alpha’s arm resting on the young man’s waist and back.

Even completely encircled in the alpha’s embrace, the scattered love bites covering the young man’s body were still visible.

The sunlight poured generously over Song Yuqing, making his skin glow like soft white jade.

In the bedroom, the breaths of the alpha and beta mingled, peaceful and intimate.

Qi Ran stood outside the bedroom, his hand itching to push the door open time and again.

Qi Zhengqing had always despised him, ever since he was a child. He didn’t understand why Qi Zhengqing, who loathed him, would still become his adoptive father. Sometimes, he thought Qi Zhengqing was just as the rumors said—a psychopath.

He had never expected Qi Zhengqing to show any fatherly affection toward him.

But what did Qi Zhengqing mean yesterday by his vile genes and dirty blood not being worthy of Song Yuqing?

Qi Ran’s mind raced with a mad and desperate thought: if he bled himself dry, would he then be worthy of Song Yuqing?

He was going mad.

After listening all night, he was already consumed by jealousy and insanity. He was an incurable pervert, listening to his adoptive father and Song Yuqing's intimacy.

Hearing them embrace again and again, hearing Song Yuqing scold Qi Zhengqing, countless times he’d wanted to storm in, to stop Qi Zhengqing from approaching Song Yuqing, to break them apart.

Song Yuqing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as he raised a hand to block the glaring sunlight. The alpha turned over, cupped a hand over his eyes, and kissed his lips.

Clearly in a bad mood after being blinded by the sunlight early in the morning, Song Yuqing said with a pale face, "You’re insane."

Qi Zhengqing: "Hmm?"

Song Yuqing moved Qi Zhengqing’s hand away. "A disease where you’ll die if you don’t kiss."

Qi Zhengqing got up to draw the curtains, his back to Song Yuqing as he replied, "Seems like a terminal illness."

"Does Councilor Song have any treatment plans?"

Song Yuqing lowered his head to button his shirt. "I suggest you glue your mouth shut."

"Such morning grumpiness," Qi Zhengqing said, embracing Song Yuqing from behind. "Sleep a bit longer. I’ve drawn the curtains. You can laze in bed a while more."

Song Yuqing didn’t reply, clearly aware that he was being unreasonable and taking his morning irritability out on the alpha. After dressing, he left the alpha with a displeased back of his head and went to wash up.

Qi Zhengqing watched Song Yuqing’s retreating figure. Some little cats simply didn’t acknowledge you once they left the bed.

Of course, they weren’t particularly acknowledging in bed either—once they were satisfied, they’d discard the alpha without hesitation.

Qi Zhengqing opened the door and came face to face with Qi Ran.

The alpha’s gaze bore down heavily, no longer just cold and severe but carrying the authoritative scrutiny of someone long in power. "What are you doing here?"

Qi Ran ignored Qi Zhengqing’s words and had no intention of answering his question. His eyes looked past Qi Zhengqing, trying to find Song Yuqing.

Qi Zhengqing: "Have you forgotten what I said yesterday?"

"I’m not here for you," Qi Ran clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

He was here... for Song Yuqing.

"Why won’t you allow me to see Qingqing? What’s wrong with my bloodline, my genes?"

Qi Ran couldn't restrain himself and let out a low growl.

Even a death row inmate, sentenced to execution, is entitled to a reason.

What right did Qi Zhengqing have to help Song Yuqing cut off all his options? At the very least, he should be told why it wasn't allowed.

Qi Zhengqing was merciless. "You covet your Little Father; that alone is disgusting enough."

"Would you dare tell him your filthy thoughts?" Qi Zhengqing stared at Qi Ran, pressing further, as if determined to tear away Qi Ran's last shred of dignity, leaving him no way to stand by Song Yuqing's side.

The color drained from Qi Ran's face.

"What are you arguing about?"

A cold, almost monotone voice broke the standoff between the alphas.

Qi Ran's gaze flickered as he looked at Song Yuqing, whose hair was still slightly damp, and mumbled, "Nothing, I just came to check on Little Father. I was worried."

Qi Zhengqing also spoke calmly, "I was just teaching Qi Ran to learn to solve his own problems and not turn to Little Father every time something happens."

A pair of mutually hostile father and son had clearly reached an agreement at that moment, putting on a show of "loving father and filial son" in front of Song Yuqing.

Song Yuqing looked at the two alphas, now almost the same height as each other, with Qi Ran having recently grown taller.

88: "Qingqing, you've grown taller too."

Song Yuqing: "Oh?"

88: "Yes, according to system statistics, you've grown by 2.5123 centimeters."

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing's tone was almost flat. "Thank you, concerned citizen. Next time, no need to be precise to four decimal places. You can round it to the nearest centimeter."

88: "Qingqing has grown two centimeters."

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing couldn't help but let out a thin-lipped remark, "Idiot, that's just rounding down."

Qi Ran could tell Song Yuqing wasn't particularly pleased and nervously clenched his fingers. "Little Father."

Song Yuqing gave a slight nod, acknowledging Qi Ran's address. "Hmm, go play."

The dog alpha dashed off faster than a skyrocket.

After saying this, he turned and walked away, still wearing the wrong slippers from bed.

Qi Zhengqing was melted by his wife's adorableness—this temper had a truly terrible temper, acting nasty in different ways to different people, yet it was incredibly endearing.

Qi Ran still wanted to say more but could only watch as the door closed in front of him.

As soon as Qi Zhengqing followed inside, he was met with Song Yuqing's scrutinizing gaze. "Why were you scolding him?"

Qi Zhengqing: "Shouldn't I? He's shameless."

"Darling, you are a kind..." mother.

That term wasn’t spoken aloud, but it was clear Qi Zhengqing was thinking it.

Song Yuqing was gentle with Qi Ran, arranged everything for him, and even discussed Qi Ran’s education behind closed doors rather than showing impatience in front of him. These were all reactions befitting an extremely gentle and rational mother.

Qi Zhengqing thought that Song Yuqing’s capacity for learning must have started from childhood—having been treated gently by his mother, he instinctively treated "vulnerable" alphas with kindness.

His planning for them was to secure his own future, but these occasional displays of tenderness and sternness were enough to drive alphas mad with obsession.

"Little Father."

"But alphas raised under protection are inherently weak."

Song Yuqing: "I have no plans to protect Qi Ran indefinitely."

"What I mean is, this matter between you and Qi Ran."

"You shouldn’t take your anger out on Qi Ran. He’s a child; none of this has anything to do with him."

Qi Zhengqing helped Song Yuqing sit on the table, his hand resting on Song Yuqing’s neck, forehead pressed against his. "Alright, let’s not talk about this."

"Let’s not argue because of him or because of the Qi family matters, okay?"

Qi Zhengqing continued reasoning calmly with Song Yuqing.

Song Yuqing gazed for a moment at the alpha, whose mood was clearly off, then wrapped his arms around the alpha’s neck. His lips parted slightly, but the words that came out weren’t soft.

"Qi Zhengqing, you’re an idiot, a damn dog." He wasn’t entirely focused on Qi Ran’s matter, but seeing Qi Zhengqing’s dog-like demeanor—suppressing intense emotions while thinking himself rational—Song Yuqing didn’t continue scolding him and spoke calmly.

"I’m not your mother, but if you really need it, I can hold you."

Qi Zhengqing paused slightly, a bitter smile touching his lips.

The secret he had always hidden, the shame he never wanted Song Yuqing to know—Song Yuqing had more or less guessed some of it.

"Qingqing, I’ve long passed the age where I need a mother’s care."

After saying this, Qi Zhengqing pressed against Song Yuqing’s lower abdomen. "But I need my partner’s concern."

"Last time, when Qi Ran pressed against your abdomen like this, I was very jealous."

Song Yuqing: "You’re different from him. He’s the son I raised."

"Then what about me? Am I your husband?" The alpha’s voice was slow and deep, carrying the unhurried pace unique to his age.

"Prospective lover." Song Yuqing chose the term that best fit his current thoughts. Without realizing it, Qi Zhengqing was becoming more important to him.

He trusted his intuition and knew they would remain entangled.

Prospective lover.

Song Yuqing would love him.

Song Yuqing: "Do you want to talk with me?"

"Just as you guessed, Qi Ran and I have the same mother."

"My mother was a beautiful Omega from a prestigious family, but Omegas are often just tools for marriage alliances. He married my father as his stepmother."

"Oh, and I had an older brother, but he’s dead. I killed him."

"After my father died, my mother was confined. Qi Ran is the child of that beast and my mother."

"Mother didn't love Father; in fact, she loved no one. Even if there was any affection, it was extorted through torment—more accurately, it was Stockholm syndrome."

Stockholm syndrome is not love but a survival mechanism.

Repeated emotional torment, repeated coercion, repeated attempts to escape, repeated miscarriages, yet forced by an alpha to conceive again, ultimately resulting in Qi Ran.

A low-ranking, worthless alpha.

He could never feel any pity for Qi Ran. Whenever he saw the shadow of that other alpha in Qi Ran, he wanted Qi Ran dead.

He only raised Qi Ran because that beast, after losing his legs and his inheritance rights, put Qi Ran in front of him as a constant reminder of everything, just to torment him.

He wanted to drive him mad, to watch him suffer the agony of wanting to kill the child his mother had loved in her unstable mental state, yet being forced to keep him.

He couldn't kill Qi Ran himself, but he could kill that beast, purge the Qi family, and wipe out every alpha who coveted his mother.

Song Yuqing listened quietly as Qi Zhengqing spoke, understanding his pain all too well.

One could only say that Qi Ran was not at fault, nor was Qi Zhengqing.

Yet the tragedy of the previous generation had destined their relationship to be inherently opposed, irreconcilable.

Qi Ran's wretched upbringing was predetermined from the start.

To be fair, if it were him, he would also want to kill them all. He was not a kind person.

Song Yuqing pressed his fingers on the alpha's face. "Just wait a little longer. Qi Ran will leave soon and won't appear before you again."

"I..."

The alpha took Song Yuqing's hand and pressed it against Song Yuqing's lower abdomen. "No need. If you want to raise Qi Ran as your son, you can continue to do so."

"My hatred for Qi Ran is my own emotion. I won't impose it on you."

Song Yuqing didn't hide anything from Qi Zhengqing either. "It's not just for your sake. I've already arranged his future long ago; I just haven't told him yet."

Of course, Song Yuqing didn't tell Qi Zhengqing that, after surmising the likely enmity between Qi Zhengqing and Qi Ran, he had decided to keep the two alphas far apart.

"Qi Zhengqing, I'm here too."

The young man's cool scent wafted into his lungs, enveloping him completely and gently, from the inside out.

He had long outgrown his need for comfort, the time of inner turmoil.

He thought he would no longer be stirred by the past.

But now, with Song Yuqing's words and embrace, his tension eased for a moment. Song Yuqing didn't see his experiences as shameful, nor did he see him as a madman who would kill his own kin.

"Darling, did your mother ever say you were like a little angel?"

Song Yuqing tilted his head slightly, staring at the alpha, who was now on his feet.

Qi Zhengqing was instantly certain that Song Yuqing's mother must have held her little moon and called him a little angel.

A gift from heaven.

When Song Yuqing was little, he would hug Song Fu when she cried, wipe her tears, and pat her back with his soft little hands, saying, "Don't cry, Mama's a good girl, don't cry."

"Let Qingqing blow on Mama's head, and it won't hurt anymore."

When Song Fu was sick, little Song Yuqing would bring her water, touch her forehead, and stay by her side, occasionally checking her temperature by feeling her forehead until his eyes grew too heavy to stay open, curling up into a small ball beside her.

They lived in poverty; even when sick, they couldn't afford a doctor and had to endure it.

But Song Fu never saw Song Yuqing as a burden. Song Yuqing was the one sweet spot in her drifting life, looking like a little angel, though his most praiseworthy trait was his innate ability to love.

During her long, muddled years, it was the love of this little sticky rice ball that brought her back to the world.

How could she not love her little moon?

Qi Zhengqing lifted Song Yuqing with one arm, so that Song Yuqing was straddling him, and kissed his scent gland. "Now, can we continue the intimacy interrupted by your morning grumpiness?"

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing reached a conclusion: an alpha's fragility is often just an act.

Alphas are just such deceitful dogs.

Pity an alpha, and you'll suffer for a lifetime.

Author's Note:

Song Qingqing: Unlucky, tricked again by a scheming alpha.

Qingqing and his mother had a mutual bond. Some children are just born with the ability to love, and our Qingqing is such a good baby!