Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Fu Han mumbled for a long time, as if finally grasping the meaning of his words. He fell silent, his gaze dropping, and his hands trembling slightly.

Ji Qingyu then noticed the box in his hand. Inside was a beautiful ring—not the star pendant this time. Truth be told, Ji Qingyu had actually preferred the pendant. This diamond, however, was large and brilliant, as if attempting to convey a measure of sincerity.

Fu Han’s eyes were dark and somber.

He didn't seem fully lucid, yet he gripped Ji Qingyu’s hand tightly, refusing to let go. His face was buried in Ji Qingyu’s abdomen. "Anyway, no matter what, you won’t forgive me, will you?"

"You’ll leave me too, just like my mother did, and never come back." From this angle, Fu Han’s features remained sharp, but his eyes held a rare gentleness, carrying an emotion Ji Qingyu couldn't quite comprehend.

Fu Han seemed to have been waiting there for a long time; his clothes appeared to be covered in a layer of dew. Ji Qingyu touched his forehead and found it even hotter than his own had been a few days prior.

Fu Han allowed Ji Qingyu to touch him, still clinging tightly to Ji Qingyu's leg, refusing to release his grip. Ji Qingyu’s fingers probed Fu Han’s forehead a couple of times, and Fu Han bit down on them, leaving a mark. Ji Qingyu hissed in pain, then Fu Han licked the spot twice, as if in apology.

Ji Qingyu shivered at Fu Han's lick and sighed. He couldn’t just abandon him by the roadside. After hesitating for a while, he exerted all his strength to drag Fu Han inside, then unceremoniously dropped him onto the bed. Fu Han’s hand still held onto him, unwilling to let go.

Exhausted and sweating, Ji Qingyu collapsed onto the bedside, watching Fu Han. When Fu Han slept, his brows were always slightly furrowed. His hands were broad, and the faint glow of streetlights filtered into the room.

He went to fetch a damp towel and found some fever-reducing medicine that was safe to take after drinking alcohol.

There was only one bed. Ji Qingyu glanced at the sofa, then wiped the sweat from his forehead. With a hint of petulance, he finally pulled his clothes around himself and lay down beside Fu Han.

He touched Fu Han’s nose bridge and sighed softly. "Didn’t you say you didn’t like me? Weren’t you afraid I’d bear your child? Didn’t you say I was annoying? You know I hold grudges—I remember everything you said."

Fu Han wrapped his arms around Ji Qingyu’s waist, nestling closer into the Omega’s embrace.

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Ji Qingyu finally decided to reinstall Weibo on his phone. As he scrolled through, he slowly pieced together everything that had happened recently.

Countless comments from netizens scrolled before his eyes like falling snow. Fu Han’s hand suddenly reached out and rested beside Ji Qingyu on the bed, his entire body radiating heat like a furnace, enveloping Ji Qingyu with an undeniable presence.

Ji Qingyu kept his gaze fixed on the screen.

The latest trending topic was marked "explosive"—something that had happened earlier that night. New real-time comments kept appearing:

"So only part of the copyright can be reclaimed? The rest can’t be due to insufficient evidence?"

"After all this time, it’s probably hopeless to get it back, right?"

"Didn’t you see? Fu Han spent tens of millions to buy it."

"Tens of millions? For those crappy songs? Is he insane?"

How much did he spend?

Ji Qingyu’s eyes widened. Fu Han was still sleeping, holding him tightly.

The pain only lessened when Fu Han was around. His gland had probably betrayed him—the doctor said pregnant Omegas needed an Alpha’s pheromones for comfort, which might be especially true for him.

He hadn’t fully processed it yet, still reeling from the news he’d just discovered.

Moonlight streamed in, casting long shadows of the two in the night. Had Fu Han been waiting at the door to tell him this news? What had he been thinking while he waited? Why had he bought all those songs?

It was such a waste of money. Even Ji Qingyu felt pained. They were just a few songs—no matter how rich you were, you shouldn’t burn money like that.

The bed in Jiangcheng was even smaller than the one in the secondary bedroom back in Beijing. With Fu Han taking up so much space, Ji Qingyu had to curl up in his arms to avoid falling off. Sweating from Fu Han’s embrace, Ji Qingyu shifted uncomfortably, only to be held even tighter. Fu Han’s hair brushed against Ji Qingyu’s ear, tickling him slightly.

Jiangnan was different from the capital—warm but humid, with a layer of green shadows overlapping outside the window.

It wasn’t dawn yet. Ji Qingyu was exhausted, and Fu Han’s scent was comforting. Drowsily, he grasped Fu Han’s hand. His gland sent out positive signals, the pain fading away, and he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He slept deeply, and when he woke up, the space behind him was empty. Ji Qingyu got up somewhat disoriented, smelling the delicious aroma of food.

Ma Yu was also at the door. It seemed he had successfully negotiated the land purchase. The moment he stepped inside and saw Fu Han, he froze, his expression immediately darkening like a protective mother hen. Mustering his courage, he shouted:

"What are you doing here?"

Fu Han was in the kitchen cooking noodles. He turned his face with a look of disdain and malice, leisurely eyeing Ma Yu with a provocative smile. He was still wearing an apron, which made the scene somewhat comical.

"Get out of here! You’re not welcome here—neither I nor Xiao Yu want you here!" Ma Yu held freshly picked fruit—bright red persimmons—and slowly, cautiously stepped inside, positioning himself between Fu Han and the bedroom.

"Who are you?" Fu Han ignored Ma Yu, simply placing the noodles into a bowl, adding some scallions, and preparing to bring it into the bedroom. When his gaze darkened, it always carried an intimidating pressure. Ma Yu stood frozen, not yet processing the situation, as Fu Han brushed past him.

He pushed the bedroom door open slightly, as if intentionally letting Ma Yu see inside—only one bed, the sheets messy and crumpled, and the clothes Fu Han wore seemed to be Ji Qingyu’s.

"What? What’s going on here?" Ma Yu rushed in, blocking the space in front of Ji Qingyu’s bed. "What did you do again? Are you even human?"

"If I’m not human, does that make you, someone who takes advantage of others, any better?" Fu Han remained composed, like a lion marking his territory.

"Don’t project your filth onto everyone else! If Xiao Yu hadn’t had enough of you, would I have taken him away? You should go back to wherever you came from. No matter how rich or powerful you are, what does that have to do with us? You’re shameless... utterly shameless. Where were you all this time?" Ma Yu actually dared to say all this right in front of Fu Han. Ji Qingyu silently applauded him.

The sound of something shattering—Fu Han had smashed a ceramic jar nearby.

Ma Yu fell silent. Truth be told, being able to curse like that in front of Fu Han was already an act of immense courage in Ji Qingyu’s eyes.

"Stop arguing..." A weak voice interrupted them at just the right moment. Ji Qingyu wasn’t sure if the landlord’s ceramic jar was a decoration or an antique—he might have to pay for it.

The two fell silent. Ma Yu peeked into the room. "Xiao Yu, are you okay?"

"Yeah..." It wouldn’t be good if they kept arguing.

His stomach growled loudly—he was starving, and his ears were anything but peaceful, listening to the two of them bickering back and forth. If he hadn’t been so weak, he would have walked out and put as much distance between himself and them as possible.

Fu Han pushed Ma Yu out of the bedroom and locked the door. Ma Yu continued cursing outside until Ji Qingyu, unable to take it anymore, ordered them to shut up. Only then did he get a moment of peace.

The noodles were delicious. After Ji Qingyu finished one bowl, Fu Han gave him the rest, adding some osmanthus sauce on top.

"When did you..."

"I made it these past few days. You’ve liked it since high school."

Ji Qingyu looked at Fu Han’s hands. He had never been one to care much about his own body—he’d stopped wrapping the bandages after just a few days.

The bruises still looked shocking. Ji Qingyu’s gaze lingered for a couple of seconds before he finally looked away silently.

"Your gland is too fragile. Carrying a child is practically gambling with your life," Fu Han said.

"It’s not your child anyway," Ji Qingyu retorted stubbornly.

Fu Han laughed. "With how often we were together those days, it’d be strange if you managed to find someone else."

"Yeah, I must have pleased you well, so you came back for me," Ji Qingyu said.

Fu Han was taken aback. He wanted to say, "That’s not it," but found he couldn’t refute it.

He was about to argue further, but Ji Qingyu was too exhausted. Ma Yu was still outside, and Ji Qingyu felt incredibly drowsy. Just as he tried to get up, a sudden, sharp neural pain struck the back of his neck. Agony visited him once again, and the bowl in his hand slipped, shattering on the floor.

Both of them froze. Ji Qingyu’s pheromones grew intense, more potent than ever before, but at the same time, the pain in the back of his neck was also more excruciating than it had ever been.

He opened his mouth but had no time to utter a word before darkness abruptly swallowed his vision, and his body slumped uncontrollably.

Fu Han reacted quickly, rushing over to catch him.

"Ji Qingyu? Ji Qingyu!" Fu Han's panicked voice shouted beside him.

He could only see the ceiling gradually fading to black as Ma Yu rushed in from the next room. Then he fainted, and knew nothing more.

When he woke again, he was in a hospital.

A pungent smell of disinfectant filled the air. Ji Qingyu was roused by the sound of two people arguing. The door wasn't properly closed, just slightly ajar. Fu Han's figure remained tall and arrogant, blocking the doorway, while most of the noise came from Ma Yu, who was berating Fu Han relentlessly.

Ji Qingyu noticed something clipped to his hand and simply pulled it off. The moment he did, the nearby heart monitor began to alarm, as though there'd been an emergency. The next second, the arguing stopped, and the door slammed open with a harsh screech.

Catching a glimpse of panic in Fu Han's eyes, Ji Qingyu pretended not to see and turned away, pulling the blanket up. He buried his head like an ostrich hiding in the sand.

"Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, are you okay? Did he do something to you? How could you just faint like that?" Ma Yu barged in, shoving Fu Han aside, and grabbed Ji Qingyu's hand.

Veins bulged on Fu Han's forehead as he restrained himself, staying put nearby—though Ji Qingyu suspected what Fu Han really wanted was to kick Ma Yu out of the room.

Jostled by Ma Yu's shaking, Ji Qingyu had no choice but to repeatedly insist he was fine, adding that if the shaking continued, something worse might happen. Then he glanced behind him; Fu Han was frowning, wanting to approach but not daring to come closer.

"What exactly is wrong with me?" Ji Qingyu asked.

Ma Yu sobbed while speaking, "The doctor said your gland can't take the strain. Let's not keep this child, okay? Your own health is more important than a baby."

"Your gland has preexisting damage. Those six years... you had no alpha's pheromones. Repeated heats severely damaged your gland. Later... later I had you undergo that surgery. If you try to carry this child to term... it might not hold up." As Fu Han spoke, Ma Yu leaped up in rage and punched him in the face, sending him stumbling back several steps. Fu Han turned his head away, unable to look at Ji Qingyu.

"I'm sorry. I'll do everything I can to find a way to treat this. I didn't know, I..." Fu Han's face was swollen, the corner of his mouth split and bleeding.

"The only thing you can do is stay away from him. Can't you just stop clinging? Get out, will you?" Ma Yu roared.

Fu Han gave a dangerously sharp look at Ma Yu before turning back to Ji Qingyu with a pleading, almost pitiful expression. He pulled Ji Qingyu into his arms. "You need my pheromones to calm you. I'll have the doctor come regularly. If you don't want to see me, I'll only come with the doctor. The medical resources here are limited. For your health, and for the child's... once your work is done, we'll return to Jiangcheng, okay?"

As he spoke, his fangs brushed against Ji Qingyu's neck. Warmth coursed through his body.

Ji Qingyu heard him murmuring something by his ear and, after a long moment, made out the words: "Don't send me away. I'm begging you, let me do something for you, brother."