Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Li Xiujin turned his face toward him, studying him for a moment:

“You want to?”

“I...” Lin Ze lowered his eyes, his face slightly flushed, “Yes...”

Lin Ze was in a bad mood, yet he was actively inviting him. Li Xiujin scrutinized him. “But I don’t want to.”

Shame washed over Lin Ze, and he whispered softly, “You’re tired, is that it?”

“I’m in a bad mood.”

“Did something happen?”

“Will you tell me?”

“Li Tingyuan donated to the Regeneration Plan seven years ago.”

“That’s a good thing. We really needed funding back then...” Lin Ze murmured.

“What if he’s connected to your teammate’s death?”

“...Then he should face the consequences, just like me.”

“What about me?”

“You?” Lin Ze was taken aback. “What he did has nothing to do with you.”

Feeling ashamed, Lin Ze gently touched Li Xiujin’s face and asked softly, “Is that why you’re in a bad mood?”

Lin Ze didn’t know what to say to cheer him up, so he could only unbutton his pajamas and ask shyly, “Xiu Jin, do you want to... taste it?”

Almost as soon as it was unbuttoned, the unique scent belonging to Lin Ze wafted out. Li Xiujin’s breath hitched.

“Xiu Jin...” Seeing him just staring without moving, Lin Ze felt very embarrassed. “Don’t you want to?”

Li Xiujin had thought he was in a bad mood because he knew Li Tingyuan was involved in the events of seven years ago. But now it seemed that wasn’t the case; his unhappiness had nothing to do with Li Tingyuan.

It took immense self-control not to open his mouth. Li Xiujin swallowed hard and asked, “Then what about you? Why are you in a bad mood?”

*

When Lin Ze opened his eyes, Li Xiujin was already gone. Lin Ze sat on the bed, staring blankly at his own abdomen.

He had the day off. After having some breakfast, Lin Ze met with Lu Mo. Lu Mo told him that Li Tingyuan’s connection to the Regeneration Plan from seven years ago was only as a donor, meaning Li Tingyuan could be cleared of suspicion.

“Colonel, I thought you’d be relieved?”

“Why?”

“After all, Li Tingyuan is Li Xiujin’s grandfather. If Li Tingyuan really were involved in what happened seven years ago, it would indeed be hard to know how to face Li Xiujin, right?”

“Seven years ago, Li Xiujin was only fifteen. No matter what heinous things Li Tingyuan did, it had nothing to do with him. He was just a child...”

Lu Mo felt reassured. “So when will we have a chance to meet Li Tong?”

“I need to test the waters with Li Xiujin. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

“Otherwise, we could just tell General Li about this. It would make our investigation much easier.”

Lin Ze knew that, of course. But if Li Tingyuan really was the killer, and Li Xiujin was unaware, then Li Xiujin could be forgiven. If Li Xiujin knew, he would be implicated.

He was still so young. Lin Ze didn’t want him to ruin his future because of him.

After ending the call with Lu Mo, Lin Ze stared at his phone. Finally, he typed into the search bar: ‘What to do if you can’t get pregnant after being married for a long time?’

Not many answers came up. Lin Ze thought for a moment and went to a platform popular among omegas called “Little Red Book” to post a help request.

“Married for six months, but still can’t get pregnant. What should I do?”

People seemed particularly fond of such help questions. Not long after Lin Ze posted, many replied.

- It must be the alpha’s body that’s no good. Suggest finding a new husband.

Lin Ze felt ashamed and replied.

- My husband’s body is normal. Divorce isn’t an option in the short term.

- Many wives have a filter for their husbands. They look like kappas but post saying their husbands are very handsome. OP, is your filter for your husband too strong?

*He often works late and still manages to do it when I’m asleep after coming home. So saying his body is normal probably isn’t just a filter.*

- How frequent is your marital life? How many times a week?

- Almost once a day, sometimes several times a day. Not sure if that’s normal.

- ???

Is your husband a vibrator? Doesn’t he ever stop?

Lin Ze didn’t know how to reply. He had only ever been with Xiu Jin and didn’t know how it was with others. But everyone seemed shocked, as if they thought it was too frequent, even abnormally so.

- Even if it’s frequent, poor quality is useless (not jealous).

- My husband’s test reports are normal.

When signing the papers, Fu Zhi had given him a detailed copy of Li Xiujin’s physical examination report.

- Then it’s your problem.

- OP, you’re not an alpha and a beta, are you?

- If it’s an alpha and a beta, of course you can’t have children!!!

Saying he was an alpha-omega hybrid might expose his identity. Lin Ze only replied that he was a special omega.

- Not sure what you mean by ‘special,’ OP, but based on my clinical experience, many omegas can’t get pregnant because their reproductive cavity isn’t well-developed. Even if the alpha’s body is normal, they still can’t conceive.

This person seemed to be a doctor. His reproductive cavity did indeed have problems...

- What should I do then?

- Stay in a good mood, have sex more frequently, try positions that are easier for pregnancy, and then leave it to fate.

Lin Ze thanked everyone who gave him advice one by one, then searched for a few positions that were easier for pregnancy. It turned out you needed to prop up your waist or raise your hips to better absorb the alpha. Blushing, Lin Ze saved them to his favorites.

In the afternoon, Lin Ze prepared the dishes Xiu Jin loved and waited at home for his return. Hearing the car, he walked to the entrance.

When Li Xiujin entered and saw him wearing light-colored loungewear, his face glowing with a soft radiance, standing there obediently waiting for him, his Adam’s apple bobbed. He wrapped an arm around his waist, lowered his head, and kissed him.

Not long after dinner, Yang Yu arrived. He and Li Xiujin went into the study together and didn't emerge for about two hours. Lin Ze walked him to the door. As Yang Yu was getting into the car, Lin Ze pretended to ask casually, “Has something happened recently?”

Yang Yu asked, “Why do you ask?”

“Xiu Jin has been coming home very late. I’m worried…”

Yang Yu’s guard instantly relaxed: “It’s nothing major, really. We just found out that Su Jingyuan’s wife seems a bit off.”

“Is she locked up?”

“Yes.”

“Still in the detention center?”

“No, she’s at…” Yang Yu caught himself in time and made an excuse, “I’ve got things to do. I should head out.”

Not in the detention center? Then where is she being held? He had almost gotten it out of him. Since he failed to extract the information this time, it would be harder next time.

Just as he was thinking this, Li Xiujin pushed the door open.

Lin Ze thought Li Xiujin would want to do it, but he didn't. Instead, he just burrowed into Lin Ze’s arms, sucking like a baby. Lin Ze could feel his heat, but he still showed no intention of…

“Xiu Jin, don’t you want to?” Lin Ze asked, his cheeks flushed with shame.

Li Xiujin paused slightly. Such initiative usually meant Lin Ze was asking for a favor.

Remembering the text message Yang Yu had just sent him, he said:

“Come with me tomorrow to meet someone.”

Was this a polite refusal? It was already the second time. Lin Ze felt slightly embarrassed but didn’t let it show. Instead, he asked, “Won’t I be disturbing you?”

“No.”

“Okay…”

“Aren’t you going to ask who we’re meeting?”

“Who is it?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow.”

After saying that, Li Xiujin buried himself back in Lin Ze’s embrace.

Lin Ze trembled slightly.

The next day, he and Li Xiujin arrived at a heavily guarded isolation sanatorium.

When Lin Ze saw Li Tong, he was slightly taken aback.

He had wanted to see Li Tong, and the very next day, he was brought here.

Li Tong was a very poised omega. Even under guard, she maintained her elegance. When she saw Li Xiujin, she sneered, “Wasn’t it enough for you to drive my husband to his death? Now you want to do the same to me?”

“Your husband committed suicide. No one drove him to it,” Yang Yu said.

Li Tong snorted coldly. Her gaze fell on Lin Ze’s face, her pupils dilating slightly before quickly returning to normal.

Lin Ze caught that change in her expression. She had seen him before.

Then, Li Tong was taken to the interrogation room. Lin Ze stood at the door and whispered, “This should be confidential work. I’ll wait for you outside…”

“Come in with me,” Li Xiujin said.

Once inside, Li Xiujin didn’t waste much time with her: “Seven years ago, Wang Min, Chen Qiang, and others sent you a large sum of money, right?”

“I don’t remember.”

Yang Yu placed the documents in front of her. “Don’t try to deny it.”

“So what if they did?”

“What was the money for?” Yang Yu asked.

“Isn’t that my own business?”

Li Xiujin sneered, “Of course.”

“Yang Yu, play it for her.”

“Mom, they’ve arrested me! Save me, please save me!”

A young boy’s desperate cries came from the phone. Lin Ze recognized the voice—it was Su Jingyuan’s son, Su Chengjun.

Li Tong’s face instantly paled. “What are you doing to my son?”

“That depends on how cooperative you are,” Li Xiujin said calmly.

Li Tong’s chest heaved for a moment, as if she had given in: “At the time, Su Jingyuan opened a company in my name. They transferred the money as an investment. I don't know anything about what they might have donated to before.”

“What kind of company?”

“An energy company.”

“Energy?” Li Xiujin narrowed his eyes.

Lin Ze also grew alert.

“An energy company that extracts combustible ice.”

Combustible ice…

Combustible ice is a solid, clean energy source that resembles ice and can be ignited. It forms under low temperatures and high pressure in deep-sea or permafrost environments. It has large reserves, is cleaner, and can be used for cooking, heating, electricity generation… In the future, it is expected to replace natural gas and coal as a primary energy source.

The energy being extracted by the Regeneration Plan was precisely this.

Due to the extreme environments where it exists, the government specifically dispatched soldiers with strong physical constitutions, like Lin Ze, along with intelligent machinery to locate specific sites and collect samples.

Why would Su Jingyuan open such a company? This type of energy resource belongs to the state. Private enterprises must report and obtain approval; otherwise, sampling or extraction is considered illegal…

“Is there anything else you want to say?” Yang Yu demanded sternly.

“I’ve said all I know. When will you let me and my son go?” Li Tong pleaded.

“We need to verify whether what you’ve said is true. If it is, then soon. If not, then I’m afraid we can’t oblige,” Yang Yu said with a faint smile.

Back in the car, Lin Ze was somewhat lost in thought.

Su Jingyuan had opened an energy company in Li Tong’s name to extract combustible ice. And the several businessmen who had donated to the Regeneration Plan had all uniformly invested in this company.

Are they planning to use the guise of donations to pinpoint the exact location of combustible ice, then secretly extract and sell it? Or is there another conspiracy? Are my teammates' deaths connected to these people?

Suddenly, a chill spread across his waist as a large hand slipped under his shirt, kneading his abdomen. Lin Ze trembled as he snapped back to reality, meeting Li Xiujin's scrutinizing gaze. "This started as an investigation into Su Jingyuan's cause of death, but we uncovered clues related to what happened seven years ago. Quite a coincidence, isn't it?"

Lin Ze hummed in agreement.

"Does that jog your memory, Colonel Lin?"

Lin Ze shook his head. At this moment, he realized Li Xiujin had deliberately brought him here.

"Too bad. It seems we'll have to start with those entrepreneurs."

"That seems to be the only way..." Lin Ze replied.

"Then why haven't you texted your subordinates yet, ordering them to investigate immediately?" Li Xiujin said coldly.

Lin Ze felt a chill run down his spine. "This matter is no longer my concern..."

"Is that so?"

"Yes..."

Li Xiujin studied him; sure enough, he still wasn't planning to tell the truth. Even if they were going to have a child together, he still didn't trust him.

Under his gaze, Lin Ze felt a pang of anxiety. Soon, Li Xiujin withdrew his hand from his clothes, instructed the driver to take him home, then opened the car door and left without another glance.

Sitting alone in the car, Lin Ze wondered uneasily, *Did I make him angry again?*

Back home, Lin Ze sent the information to Lu Mo, telling him to quickly investigate those entrepreneurs.

He sat for a while, then prepared the evening meal for Xiu Jin. After finishing, the maid suggested he have a bite. Lin Ze saw a slick of grease floating on the soup and, for some reason, felt his stomach churn.

"I'm a bit tired and don't have an appetite..." Lin Ze apologized.

The food grew cold, but Li Xiujin still hadn't returned. Lin Ze had no choice but to go back to his room. Lying in bed, the lingering nausea persisted, but he didn't pay it much mind. In the past, he had also felt nauseous or even thrown up due to intense anxiety.

Lin Ze forced himself to stay awake, waiting until Li Xiujin returned. Li Xiujin's face was still cold, as if he was still angry with him. He lay beside him, not holding him close like he usually would, but keeping a distance.

Li Xiujin's gaze fell on his abdomen as he deliberately questioned, "You eat so much every night, so why haven't you gotten pregnant yet?"

"I'll try harder..."

Li Xiujin's Adam's apple bobbed. "Oh? How will you try harder?"

"I've learned a few positions that are... easier for conception..."

Li Xiujin's eyes darkened immediately. He wrapped his arms around Lin Ze's waist, pried open his lips, and sucked on them until they were slick and wet before pulling away.

Lin Ze felt ashamed.

Li Xiujin patted his buttocks, his voice hoarse:

"Then show your husband these 'conception positions' right now."