Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Li Xiujin paused in the act of getting up. He turned Lin Ze's face back towards him, the face that had turned away after he finished asking his question. "Look at me."

Lin Ze's eyelashes trembled, and he looked directly at him.

Li Xiujin's gaze swept over Lin Ze's face, scrutinizing it. "Did Li Tingyuan secretly meet with you?"

"No."

"Don't you lie to me."

Lin Ze shook his head quickly again.

"Then why did you say something like that all of a sudden?" Li Xiujin's expression darkened.

"I just feel... since the child came into this world by our choice, we have the responsibility and duty to let him feel happiness and love..."

"You don't think I'm capable of that." Li Xiujin spoke. "You think because I was abused since childhood, I'll treat the child the same way, is that it?"

His tone was calm, but Lin Ze's heart twisted painfully. "I don't think that. Lately, maybe because of the pregnancy, my mind's a bit all over the place. But I know, you definitely wouldn't treat the child that way..."

"He's the child you're carrying for me," Li Xiujin held him in his arms. "Of course I'll love him."

Lin Ze's body trembled slightly. "Thank you, Xiu Jin..."

Li Xiujin cupped his face, pressing their foreheads together, he said, his voice hoarse:

"But he will always be second in my heart."

Second. Lin Ze stared at him blankly. *Was he first?* His fair face grew slightly warm. "It's the same for me."

"Oh?" Li Xiujin's breathing grew rapid. "Then who is first for you?"

Seeing he didn't answer, Li Xiujin's eyes darkened rapidly. "Is it that idiot Lin Zhuo?"

Of course, Lin Zhuo was important to him. But ever since Xiu Jin took a bullet for him once, his priorities had shifted. But Lin Ze didn't know how to say it out loud. He just clumsily changed the subject, asking shyly, "Xiu Jin, are you uncomfortable? Do you need... me to help you?"

"Don't change the subject." Li Xiujin gripped his chin, staring straight into his eyes.

"It's you..."

Lin Ze had liked him since he was fifteen. If he didn't place him in an equal position, then in Lin Ze's view, it would be a betrayal.

Li Xiujin's scalp prickled. Only at this moment did he finally feel that fate hadn't been entirely cruel. He pulled him in by the back of his head. "Kiss me."

Lin Ze's face flushed. He slowly leaned closer. The moment he touched those cool, clean lips, Li Xiujin took over. His waist was gently pulled forward, and his lips were parted.

Lin Ze's mind went blank from such a kiss, a weak, trembling ache spreading in his abdomen.

Feeling something, Lin Ze came to his senses a little. He trembled, somewhat afraid, yet also somewhat desiring him.

And Li Xiujin was truly about to burst from holding back. Afraid he couldn't control himself, he broke the kiss.

His voice was hoarse. "Give me your underwear."

He wanted his underwear...

Lin Ze's shoulders trembled slightly as he took them off and handed them over. Li Xiujin took them and went to the bathroom.

Lin Ze put on a new pair and lay on the bed, lying there in shame listening to the sound of water from the bathroom. He wasn't a clueless alpha. Asking for his underwear at a time like this definitely wasn't to wash them for him.

For some reason, this act of him taking care of himself with just a wall between them made Lin Ze feel even more ashamed.

He suddenly remembered the last time Li Xiujin was on a business trip, several pairs of underwear had gone missing. Had he taken those too...

Lin Ze covered his flushed face, feeling very guilty. He was young and full of desire, but because of the pregnancy, he couldn't help him with his needs.

This was clearly a duty he should fulfill as a spouse...

He didn't know when Li Xiujin had come out. Lin Ze woke up in the middle of the night to find him buried in his embrace, nuzzling against his chest, sleeping soundly.

"Xiu Jin..."

Lin Ze called to him softly, gently stroked his cheek, then held his head as if cradling a baby and fell asleep again.

*

Before going to school, Lin Ze saw the mother wolf's abdomen hanging low between her legs, as if she was about to give birth. After returning from school, he specifically went to the enclosure to visit her.

The six pups from the previous litter had grown into young adult wolves. Only two remained by her side; the rest had been released to live in a wider area.

From their first meeting, she hadn't been very wary of Lin Ze. Now, after sniffing his scent, she became even more affectionate, rubbing against his pant leg.

The two half-grown young wolves also ran happily around Lin Ze.

Lin Ze carefully crouched down. The mother wolf docilely lay at his feet, her pink, rounded abdomen rising and falling with her breath. Lin Ze reached out to touch it, and she showed no sign of attacking him.

The two young wolves seemed still attached to their mother, trying to nuzzle into her embrace to nurse. The mother wolf bared her teeth in warning.

A servant noticed Lin Ze interacting with the wolves and was startled, hurriedly ushering him away.

"Oh my god, the mother wolf is very aggressive right now. Please stay farther away. If anything happens to you, we'll be in big trouble."

Lin Ze nodded and followed her back to the living room. "When is she due?"

"Probably in the next couple of days. Don't worry, sir. The General has hired someone specifically to watch her. They definitely won't be in any danger."

Lin Ze's morning sickness had improved, but his drowsiness was getting worse and worse.

It seemed as if, because he hadn't slept enough before, he was trying to make up for it during the pregnancy. He clearly wanted to wait for Xiu Jin to come home, but when he opened his eyes, it was already the middle of the night.

His pajama top was undone, his snow-white abdomen exposed, and his pajama pants were halfway down.

The underwear that had originally been on him was now in Xiu Jin's hand, wrapped around his length.

"Xiu Jin..." Lin Ze's face slowly flushed. Although he could imagine what he would do, seeing it with his own eyes was still a different kind of impact.

Lin Ze covered his eyes, asking shyly, "Did you just get back?"

Li Xiujin's breathing was heavy. "Mhm."

"Why so late? Xiu Jin, are you hungry? Do you want me to make you some noodles..."

"This is enough to be full." Li Xiujin's veins bulged slightly.

"...Mhm." Lin Ze kept his eyes tightly covered, not daring to open them until he was finished.

The underwear was put back on Lin Ze. Li Xiujin straightened his clothes for him and buried his head in his embrace.

Lin Ze shyly stroked his hair, then gently patted his back. "Go to sleep now."

Li Xiujin had completely relaxed and was about to fall deeply asleep when he heard a piercing, mournful wolf howl from outside.

He abruptly opened his eyes, threw on his clothes, and got up.

The piercing cries continued one after another. Lin Ze recognized it as the mother wolf's voice. Had she started giving birth? Lin Ze also began to get dressed.

Seeing him like this, Li Xiujin said sternly, "Don't follow. It's too late."

Last time she gave birth, the mother wolf hadn't let out such agonized cries. Lin Ze finished putting on his shoes. "I'm really worried about her, Xiujin. Please, let me go with you?"

Finally, Li Xiujin draped a large coat over him and took him to the enclosure.

As the mother wolf's due date was approaching, Li Xiujin had hired two veterinarians to take shifts watching her. Now, the dark enclosure was lit up as bright as day. The mother wolf lay on a straw mat, with the two vets on either side, assisting with the delivery.

Seeing the blood beneath the mother wolf's belly, Li Xiujin demanded sharply, "What's going on?"

"Reporting, General. The mother wolf suddenly started giving birth about an hour ago. She delivered three, but then she had a difficult labor..."

"Enough talk, treat her immediately," Li Xiujin's face darkened.

"Yes, sir."

One vet went to prepare some glucose water and placed it in front of the mother wolf. She drank some with difficulty, which seemed to give her a bit of strength, making it easier for the vet to check on her.

Only after confirming that the remaining cubs were in the correct position did the vet dare to inject her with oxytocin.

Lin Ze and Li Xiujin couldn't help, so they could only watch with concern from the side.

However, even after the oxytocin injection, the mother wolf still let out low whimpers. The cubs were inside her, and she didn't have the strength to push them out.

The vet reported to Li Xiujin, "The longer the cubs stay inside, the more dangerous it becomes. We can only perform a cesarean section now."

"Use whatever method keeps them safe. You don't need my permission."

"Yes, sir."

The vet administered an anesthetic first. Just as they were preparing for surgery, Li Xiujin suddenly pulled Lin Ze into his arms, shielding him from the direct view of the bloody scene.

Lin Ze trembled slightly in his embrace.

Li Xiujin called a servant and had them take Lin Ze back to the room to rest. Knowing he couldn't help by staying, Lin Ze returned. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Li Xiujin must have deep feelings for the mother wolf and her cubs. If something really happened, he would surely be devastated. Lin Ze had also gradually developed affection for them and couldn't bear the thought of any accident befalling them.

Li Xiujin didn't return until dawn, pressing his tired face against Lin Ze's back.

"Xiujin, how are they?" Lin Ze asked worriedly.

"They're safe."

Lin Ze's anxious heart finally relaxed completely. But he soon noticed that Li Xiujin didn't seem particularly happy. Lin Ze turned over. "Are you still worried about them?"

"They're fine now, and the vets are taking care of them..."

Li Xiujin was silent for a long moment before saying, "I've only just realized now that giving birth is something that can endanger one's life."

*

Yang Yu arrived at the military headquarters early in the morning to report to Li Xiujin in his office.

"Su Wang has been busy lately with the restart of the Regeneration Plan and hasn't been in contact with any other suspicious individuals."

Li Xiujin flipped through the documents and gave a grunt of acknowledgment.

"General, is the mother wolf alright?"

Yang Yu had heard from Fu Zhi about the mother wolf's difficult labor last night and asked with concern.

"Actually, any species capable of giving birth, whether animal or human, is quite remarkable. There's always the risk of life-threatening danger. Fortunately, when my wife gave birth, it was smooth and without any complications..."

"If that's all, get out," Li Xiujin said.

After a busy day, Li Xiujin returned home. First, he went to see the mother wolf and the cubs. They had passed the critical period. Although they looked weak, their vital signs were normal. After checking on them, Li Xiujin returned to the room. Lin Ze was already asleep. He sat by the bed, staring at Lin Ze's abdomen.

Initially, saying he wanted a child was just an excuse to get Lin Ze to marry him. He never actually thought Lin Ze could get pregnant. Now, while he was happy, he also felt an overwhelming sense of heartache.

He couldn't accept Lin Ze going through a situation like the mother wolf's last night. Even if they got through it safely in the end, he couldn't tolerate the idea of Lin Ze teetering on the tightrope between life and death. Just the thought of it made his hair stand on end.

Lin Ze woke up and saw Li Xiujin staring at him with a somber expression. "Xiujin, what's wrong?"

Li Xiujin remained silent.

Thinking he was just pent up, Lin Ze said shyly, "Xiujin, if you're really uncomfortable, I can... help you like before..."

Li Xiujin felt a sudden chill run down his spine. After experiencing such a dangerous event yesterday, Lin Ze wasn't worried about himself but was still thinking about relieving *his* discomfort.

Li Xiujin held him tightly in his arms.

Lin Ze felt him trembling. "Xiujin, are you still scared from last night? It's okay, they're all safe now..."

"Let's terminate the pregnancy," Li Xiujin suddenly said.

The color slowly drained from Lin Ze's face.

*

"Colonel, we investigated the companies that had transactions with Li Tong. We found that Su Jingyuan originally wanted to start a methane hydrate company, seemingly planning to skim profits from the state."

"If he dared to do something like that, he must have had backing. We initially thought his backer was Su Wang. But if it really was him, forcing his own younger brother to commit suicide... that is truly horrifying," Lu Mo reported.

"We can't rule out that possibility. Anyone who reaches his position wouldn't be soft-hearted."

Lin Ze, who hadn't been in contact with Lu Mo for a long time, received a message from him and went to the secret base during his lunch break.

After answering him, Lin Ze walked to the window, gazing blankly outside.

Ji Ran was about to smoke. He offered one to Lu Mo and then one to Lin Ze.

Lin Ze smiled and waved his hand. "I don't smoke."

"Are you pregnant?" Ji Ran joked.

"Are you crazy? The Colonel never smokes or drinks," Lu Mo scolded him.

"Just kidding."

Lin Ze showed a brief smile, hesitating whether to tell them he was pregnant. But thinking of what Li Xiujin said last night, he still didn't tell them.

"Now the leads are pretty much all broken. We can only keep a close watch on Su Wang for now," Lin Ze instructed them before leaving.

"Yes, Colonel."

On the way home, Lin Ze stared blankly out the window.

Upon arriving home, Lin Ze didn't eat anything and went straight to his room.

Perhaps it was because he had seen the mother wolf in danger that he had said Lin Ze should get rid of the baby, but those words had deeply hurt him. He felt his eyes grow hot...

It was the first time he had suffered from insomnia since the pregnancy.

Hearing the door open, Lin Ze didn't know how to face him, so he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Then he felt Li Xiujin sit by the bed, his gaze resting on him for a long time before finally getting into bed and holding him, gently stroking his abdomen with his palm.

Lin Ze trembled slightly.

"You're awake," Li Xiujin said hoarsely.

Lin Ze remained silent.

"Why won't you look at your husband?"

Still, Lin Ze didn't answer.

Li Xiujin tried to turn him around but suddenly heard Lin Ze say softly, "I... I want to rest..."

Hearing the strain in Lin Ze's voice, Li Xiujin firmly turned him over and discovered that Lin Ze's eyes were red, with dried tear stains on his face.

Li Xiujin's eyes turned stormy. "Why are you crying? Did someone upset you?"

Lin Ze shamefully hid his face. "...No one. I have to get up early tomorrow. Please, just let me sleep."

"Is it because I told you to get rid of the baby that you're so upset?"

Li Xiujin moved his arm away from his face, staring intently at his expression. He quickly realized that this time, he was the one who ought to be slapped.