Chapter 34 Our Child

Chapter 34: Our Child

On registration day for the new semester, the driver dropped him off at the dormitory and left. He didn’t want to take the crowded elevator, so with only a few things, he chose the stairs.

After finishing a phone call in the stairwell, he was about to leave when he heard footsteps. Shi Ciyan turned around and saw Yu Wei walking past him, head down looking at his phone, along with a faint Omega pheromone scent—a sweet smell that lifted his mood.

Ever since he had presented, he could smell pheromones but felt no emotional stir; Omega pheromones didn’t attract him, nor did Alpha pheromones repel him.

But Yu Wei was different. That evening of registration, Yu Wei’s pheromones triggered his rut, and he knew Yu Wei was special.

Later, he met Jiang Ruoyun, an Alpha with a crisp fir scent that made him irritable and violent, stirring his sadistic urges and making him unlike himself. Yet a voice deep inside told him this was his true self.

Shi Ciyan didn’t like losing control of his emotions, nor did he want Yu Wei to see his violent side, so he hated Jiang Ruoyun.

Thinking of Jiang Ruoyun, a hint of barely noticeable malice flickered in Shi Ciyan’s eyes. He said in a low voice, “Brother Yuwei, it’s too late. Let’s not talk about this. Sleep.”

He got up, held Yu Wei as he lay down, adjusted their position, and pulled up the blanket.

“Brother Yuwei, good night.”

“Alright, we won’t talk about you.” Yu Wei turned to face him. “Shi Ciyan, give me my phone. I need to make a call.”

Under the covers, Shi Ciyan gently touched the chain around Yu Wei’s ankle with his foot, and it clinked softly in the darkness. “Brother Yuwei, do you really think I’d let you call someone outside in this situation?”

Yu Wei said, “This is imprisonment. How long do you plan to keep me locked up?”

“I’m not imprisoning you. I’m just taking precautions so you don’t run off with another Alpha again.” Shi Ciyan closed his eyes, speaking nonchalantly. “At least a year and a half. Brother, you spent a year and a half with that Alpha Ling Heyu, and it drove me crazy with jealousy. I need to make up for it.”

“A year and a half? Dream on.”

Shi Ciyan: “Spending a year and a half alone with Brother, even if it’s a dream, it’s a sweet dream. I’ll make that dream come true.”

Yu Wei: “…”

Shi Ciyan was stubborn and determined to keep him locked up. Yu Wei stayed awake all night, staring at the ceiling until dawn.

The next day, with dark circles under his eyes, he sat on the bed. The chain was just long enough to let him go to the bathroom.

Yu Wei refused to eat or drink, and didn’t sleep—a silent protest.

He skipped breakfast, and Shi Ciyan, knowing his temper, didn’t force him. But when he also refused lunch and looked haggard from lack of sleep, Shi Ciyan spoke.

“Are you really not going to eat?”

Yu Wei glared at him. “I want to leave.”

Shi Ciyan didn’t answer. He sat on the edge of the bed, scooped up a spoonful of soup, and brought it to Yu Wei’s lips. “Open up.”

Yu Wei kept his mouth tightly shut, turning his head away stubbornly.

“If you really like me, let me go. Otherwise, I’ll starve myself to death.”

The room fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Yu Wei waited two minutes, but there was no movement. He couldn’t see Shi Ciyan’s face from where he was turned, so he stole a glance out of the corner of his eye, only to meet Shi Ciyan’s gaze.

Caught red-handed, Yu Wei huffed and turned away, leaving Shi Ciyan with his profile.

He had tried to threaten him, but Shi Ciyan remained unmoved and didn’t fall for it.

Suddenly, Shi Ciyan pinched his puffed cheek, forcing his head back. He stared at Yu Wei’s forced pout and smiled. “Are you threatening me?”

Now that he had said it, even if it was awkward, Yu Wei had to stand his ground. He braced himself and said, “Yeah, I’m threatening you. So does it work or not?”

Yu Wei’s eyes were wide, lips pouted, and his words were muffled.

Shi Ciyan leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, then sighed helplessly. “It works.”

Yu Wei’s eyes lit up. “Really? So you’ll let me go?”

Shi Ciyan’s eyes crinkled with a smile as he mimicked Yu Wei’s tone. “Of course not. I won’t let you go.”

Yu Wei: “…” Realizing he was being teased, Yu Wei rolled his eyes in exasperation, shook off Shi Ciyan’s hand, and said coldly, “Then why are you wasting your breath?”

Fierce and adorable, Shi Ciyan couldn’t help but pull him into his arms and kiss him a few more times. His voice was husky. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you starve. Before you starve to death, I’ll fuck you to death.”

Yu Wei’s face flushed bright red, his beautiful eyes wide like a startled fawn that had stumbled into a wolf’s embrace.

“Shi Ciyan, you pervert, shameless, despicable…”

“Heh—” Shi Ciyan wasn’t angry; he listened quietly to his curses.

Yu Wei was furious. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” Shi Ciyan quickly wiped the smile off his face. “I’m waiting to see what other words you’ll use to scold me.”

Yu Wei: “You’re sick.”

Shi Ciyan looked at him with interest. “Anything else?”

Yu Wei: “Lewd.”

Shi Ciyan chuckled. “How am I lewd?”

“How is this not lewd? You just said… said…” Yu Wei couldn’t bring himself to finish.

“Said what?” Shi Ciyan continued to tease him. “Why don’t you say it?”

Yu Wei finally realized Shi Ciyan was deliberately provoking him. With a huff, he wriggled out of his arms, kicked the man sitting on the bed, lay down, pulled the blanket over his head, and said sullenly, “I don’t want to talk to you.”

Shi Ciyan wasn’t angry. He stood beside the bed and looked at him. “If I give you your phone, will you eat?”

A few seconds later, Yu Wei pulled the blanket down a little, just enough to show his eyes. “Are you lying to me again?”

Shi Ciyan stared at him for a moment, then turned and left. A few minutes later, he returned with Yu Wei’s phone.

The moment Yu Wei saw the phone, he sat up abruptly and lunged for it, but Shi Ciyan dodged skillfully.

“Eat first. After you finish, I’ll give it to you.”

“If I eat and you don’t give it to me, what then?” Yu Wei stared at the phone. “I want to see it first.”

“Your phone is dead. Let it charge for a bit. You can eat during that time.” Shi Ciyan plugged in the phone and sat back down beside the bed, bringing the food to Yu Wei’s mouth. “Once you’re full, you can have the phone.”

Yu Wei kept his eyes on the phone and obediently ate.

Counting the time, he had been out of contact for sixteen hours. He wondered how An’an was doing.

Yu Wei thought Shi Ciyan was feeding him too slowly, so he took the bowl himself and shoveled the food into his mouth.

Shi Ciyan opened his mouth to tell him to eat slower, but afraid he'd stop eating, he kept quiet.

Eating too fast might just give him indigestion, but that was better than not eating at all.

Yu Wei wolfed down his food, then slammed the empty bowl down with a clatter, held out his hand and said, "I'm done. Give me my phone."

Shi Ciyan handed him the phone, and Yu Wei eagerly turned it on. Ling Heyu had already blown up his phone with 50 missed calls and 99+ WeChat messages. Yu Wei didn't have time to read the messages; he dialed Ling Heyu's number while Shi Ciyan was cleaning up the dishes and leaving the room.

Ling Heyu answered almost instantly, as if he had been waiting by the phone for his call.

"Ling Heyu, how is An'an?" Yu Wei cut to the chase and asked about Yu An first. Yu An had never been separated from him for this long; he wondered if he had been crying.

"He's been crying nonstop, had a low fever last night, and won't eat anything. He's in the hospital now. Where did you go? I couldn't find you at your place, and your phone was dead," Ling Heyu's voice sounded tired on the phone. "But don't worry about An'an too much; I've been with him the whole time. I'll keep you posted on any changes. If you're busy, take care of your stuff first and come later."

The moment Yu Wei heard Yu An had a fever, his mind went blank. He couldn't make out anything else. "I'll get there as soon as I can."

Yu Wei hung up and instinctively got up to head for the door, but the ankle chain on his foot stopped him. He crouched down, pulling hard at the chain. The silver shackle was caught on his heel, and no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't budge.

"What are you doing?" Shi Ciyan had finished cleaning up Yu Wei's dishes and put them in the kitchen. When he came back to the bedroom, he found Yu Wei sitting on the floor, his ankle already rubbed raw by the chain, but Yu Wei, seemingly oblivious to the pain, kept yanking at it.

The phone screen on his right hand was still lit. Shi Ciyan crouched down, grabbing Yu Wei's wrist to stop him, and glanced at the phone out of the corner of his eye.

At the top of the call log was Ling Heyu's name.

Shi Ciyan's face darkened, and he said in a low voice, "You blackmailed me for the phone just to call Ling Heyu?"

"Shi Ciyan, get this chain off me. I really have to go back. Let's go our separate ways from here on out. Don't do this."

"Brother Yuwei, you're pushing it. I gave you the phone just to get you to eat, not to see you looking so haggard." Shi Ciyan picked him up and placed him on the bed, his tone colder than before. "I don't care about your past year and a half, but from now on, the person by your side has to be me, and only me."

"Shi Ciyan, are you not letting me go today?" Yu Wei was now scarily calm.

"Yeah, don't even think about going back to that Ling Heyu."

Yu Wei closed his eyes, feeling exhausted too. Yu An wasn't even one yet; he was crying nonstop, refusing to eat, and had a low fever. Yu An had never been sick since birth, but now he was ill, and Yu Wei wasn't there.

No, he had to get there today.

Whether he was the main character or a side character, nothing was more important than his An'an.

"Shi Ciyan, do you dislike children?"

Shi Ciyan was taken aback, momentarily confused as to why the topic had suddenly shifted to children. But recalling their earlier unpleasantness, he nodded very cautiously.

If Yu Wei didn't like children, then he wouldn't either.

He never expected Yu Wei's next words to completely short-circuit his mind. A thousand flowers seemed to dance before his eyes, nearly making him lose his footing and fall with Yu Wei in his arms.

"I have a child, Shi Ciyan. Let me go. My child is sick, and I have to get there." Yu Wei was calm and composed. "Ling Heyu is watching him now. An'an can't be without me. Please, let me go, I'm begging you."

Shi Ciyan's hands, holding Yu Wei, trembled uncontrollably.

Yu Wei had a child? When did that happen?

When he was searching for Yu Wei, he hadn't dared to dig too deep, afraid of learning something he couldn't handle. He should have checked, prepared himself mentally—at least then he wouldn't be so utterly caught off guard now.

Trouble was unavoidable. Though when he found Yu Wei, he had considered the possibility that Yu Wei and Ling Heyu were together, without confirmation, he could still deceive himself. But today, without any warning, Yu Wei personally told him he had a child.

Was it Ling Heyu's? Or someone else's?

Just thinking about it drove him mad with jealousy. His own child, Yu Wei had cried and begged to abort, yet someone else's child had the right to be born safely.

Why!

Shi Ciyan's eyes reddened, and a voice in his heart kept telling him over and over: go kill Ling Heyu. If he disappeared forever, Yu Wei would belong to him alone...

"It's your child too, Shi Ciyan. No matter how much you hate children, let me go back for the sake of him being your son."

Author's note: Shameless plug for my ongoing serial "Why Aren't the Love Letters Sent Today?" Updates will stabilize starting next week~ Please add to your collection!