Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Pei Qingji almost immediately stepped forward, knocking on the door hurriedly, asking with a worried tone: "What's wrong?"

Cheng Yuan hemmed and hawed, not knowing how to phrase it, and only spoke when the person outside was on the verge of breaking the door down, his tone full of embarrassment.

"Uh... I can't reach my own back."

His voice was barely audible, feeling both awkward and a little irritated.

Cheng Yuan was annoyed that being pregnant meant he couldn't reach it himself, having to ask him for help.

He kind of hated how awkward he was being, and his voice turned a little testy.

Pei Qingji froze for a second, not quite catching on.

"Wh... what can't you reach?"

Cheng Yuan's voice went cold despite himself, and he was forced to speak up a bit, but still feeling awkward about it: "I... I can't reach my back. Can you wipe it for me?"

Oh, it was just his back. He'd thought something was wrong...

Pei Qingji's heart finally settled back down.

He looked at Cheng Yuan as he was now, his eyes couldn't help but land on his belly.

Yeah, his belly was too big, and his back was hard to reach even at the best of times.

When it clicked, the tips of Pei Qingji's ears went red.

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"I'm coming in, then."

Cheng Yuan kept his head lowered and gave a small nod.

"Mm."

The door creaked open, and their gazes locked.

At the sight, Pei Qingji looked away, feeling awkward.

He was basically just wearing a towel around his waist, with nothing on top.

Even if he'd worn something, it would've gotten in the way of wiping his back. Besides, he'd just showered, and only his back was left to dry.

Feeling awkward, Cheng Yuan pulled the towel tighter around himself, keeping his eyes down and pressing his lips into a thin line.

What now?

Pei Qingji was at a loss for a moment, his eyes blank, not knowing what to do.

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Cheng Yuan shot him a weird look: "You don't know how to wash someone's back?"

"That's not it." Pei Qingji was quick to say.

He didn't want Cheng Yuan to think he couldn't even wash a back.

There was no way he didn't know how to wash a back. Even the housekeeper would never have him wipe her back.

The thing was, in their three years of marriage, they'd never been in this situation.

Even though they'd been intimate before, this was the first time he'd ever wiped someone down.

The two of them just stared at each other, awkward as hell.

Finally, Pei Qingji made the first move.

He grabbed the green towel with the little crocodile print from the rack and walked over.

Pei Qingji lifted his eyes to the reflection in the mirror.

Cheng Yuan's eyes were soft at the corners, with a hint of red at the edges—his eyes weren't narrow but round and wide.

He'd always known his lashes were long and dark, as beautiful as a butterfly's wings in flight, and he used to kiss him there after every time they were together.

At the thought, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

Cheng Yuan glanced at Pei Qingji, who'd been standing behind him frozen for ages.

He called out softly, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"...Pei Qingji?"

Only then did Pei Qingji snap out of it. He carefully wiped his back a few times with the towel, but his movements were super stiff.

The towel was so thin it might as well have been his bare hand against Cheng Yuan's back.

He was a mess, his heart thumping nonstop and his ears burning red.

He knew Cheng Yuan's current attitude was all an act—only because he'd saved him, so he wasn't being cold to him.

At that thought, Pei Qingji suddenly cooled off, and his voice unconsciously softened.

"Is it here?"

Cheng Yuan nodded awkwardly.

He had his back to Pei Qingji, but could see his expression as he wiped his body in the mirror.

Very serious.

Cheng Yuan could even feel their skin brushing against each other, enduring the discomfort as he kept his gaze lowered.

The temperature in the bathroom was high, condensation forming on the walls, the steam flushing their faces red.

Pei Qingji wiped his back once, then found a basin, filled it with hot water, rinsed the towel, wrung it out, and wiped again.

This time, the two weren't as awkward as before.

Cheng Yuan's belly was now about the size of a small watermelon, round and full.

His skin was especially smooth and fair, making his protruding belly look even rounder and cuter.

Perhaps due to the pregnancy, he radiated a faint maternal glow all over.

Cheng Yuan's jet-black, glossy hair covered his brows, making his eyes appear even rounder and brighter.

Even his toes were round and cute, with a faint pink tint.

Pei Qingji's gaze froze, and he swallowed hard, his throat bobbing, feeling like the air was thick with a sweet peach scent.

The tips of his ears quietly turned red. He stared at his back, lost in thought, and his movements slowed without him realizing it.

He didn't snap out of it until Cheng Yuan turned to look at him.

Then a flicker of embarrassment flashed in Pei Qingji's eyes. He rubbed his nose and quickly ducked his head to finish drying his back.

Once he was done, Cheng Yuan started shooing him out.

"You can leave now."

Pei Qingji clutched the towel, froze for a second, then snapped out of it, washed the towel, and hung it up.

He lingered at the door for a bit and only left when Cheng Yuan urged him again.

Pei Qingji stopped at the door and glanced back one more time.

A maid walked over with a basin, sounding worried.

"Sir, why's your face so red? You're not getting a fever again, are you?"

Pei Qingji snapped out of it and touched his cheek.

It was burning hot.

He quickly found a mirror and realized his face had turned red at some point without him noticing.

Pei Qingji felt the heat spreading through him getting stronger and stronger. He unbuttoned the top of his shirt and splashed water on his face.

Only then did the faint peach scent start to fade.

After his shower, when Cheng Yuan was about to get dressed, he suddenly noticed his clothes had fallen on the floor and gotten wet.

He couldn't wear them, but he'd only brought the one pair of pajamas.

Cheng Yuan pressed his lips together, feeling embarrassed and annoyed.

Just then, someone knocked at the door.

"Ma'am, it's me. Do you need anything?"

Relieved to hear someone, Cheng Yuan said, "Um, my clothes are gone. Can you grab me another set?"

But then he remembered his pajamas were a bit small because of his growing belly. He'd planned to buy new ones last week, but with everything that happened, he forgot.

He was a bit worried the clothes would be too tight and squeeze the baby.

But if he asked someone to go buy new ones now, he'd freeze waiting in the bathroom, which wasn't realistic either.

Maybe because he'd been quiet for so long, there was another knock—but this time it wasn't a maid, it was Pei Qingji.

"What's wrong?"

"My pajamas are too small now—they'll press on the baby."

Pei Qingji said, "I have another set I've only worn a few times. Want to wear mine for now?"

He'd barely been okay with wearing his coat before; now, wearing something so intimate like pajamas was even harder to accept.

Cheng Yuan didn't want to. "No thanks, I'll just wear my normal clothes then."

Pei Qingji added, "You need my pheromones right now anyway—it'll help a bit."

Cheng Yuan had no choice but to agree reluctantly.

He was small-framed, and even pregnant, Pei Qingji's clothes hung loose on him, the hem trailing down to his upper thighs.

Not to mention, Cheng Yuan would sometimes instinctively hold his lower back, putting his other hand on his belly.

Seeing him in his clothes, an inexplicably intense feeling welled up in Pei Qingji's chest.

That Alpha possessiveness surged up, and a protective instinct he'd never felt so strongly overwhelmed him.

That was his omega.

He swallowed hard, his eyes unblinking as he stared at him.

God... he was going crazy.

Pei Qingji didn't know what was wrong with him—he just found it so cute. Especially when Cheng Yuan looked at him with those dark, round eyes, even with no emotion in them, he thought it was adorable.

Cheng Yuan frowned. "You have a nosebleed?"

Pei Qingji snapped out of it, touched his nose, and sure enough, felt something warm and wet.

His face turned bright red in an instant, and he stammered, "The turtle soup the auntie made was too nourishing—I had too much, so that's why I'm bleeding. It's not because of anything else..."

Pei Qingji quickly grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and wiped his nose, cursing himself inside.

To do something like this in front of the person he liked—how embarrassing. And it was because he'd been staring, so transfixed he made himself bleed.

The atmosphere got awkward for a moment.

"Has the baby been giving you trouble these past few days?"

Not knowing what to say, Pei Qingji asked awkwardly, his words coming out a bit jumbled.

They both sat on the edge of the bed.

Cheng Yuan picked up a book from the nightstand—it was his nightly habit.

Hearing this, he just replied flatly, "It's fine. Not too restless."

Pei Qingji asked carefully, "Can I still look at the baby tonight?"

Cheng Yuan's hand paused mid-page turn as he looked up, pressing his lips together. "Didn't you just check yesterday?"

"The doctor said the baby needs its father's pheromones to grow up healthily."

Although this statement did harbor some selfish motives, the doctor had indeed said so.

Moreover, he noticed Cheng Yuan occasionally touching the back of his neck, his expression seeming somewhat uncomfortable.

The pheromones on his clothes alone definitely weren't enough.

Why didn't he tell me when he was uncomfortable...

Pei Qingji's brows furrowed tightly.

Upon hearing these words, Cheng Yuan felt a slight softening in his heart and eventually nodded in agreement.

When he saw him interacting with the baby, his face was full of a smile he couldn't hide, and the baby seemed happy too.

He dropped his eyes and went quiet.

They turned off the lights and went to bed not long after.

Cheng Yuan's belly was big, so he could only sleep on his side a little or flat on his back.

In the early hours of the morning, he suddenly felt his leg twitch, and a sour, tingly numbness spread right away.

It really hurt.

A light sweat broke out on Cheng Yuan's forehead.

He instinctively went to reach for the lamp on the nightstand, but the next second, the light in the room turned on.

Pei Qingji had turned on the light and, seeing the sweat on his forehead, asked urgently and worriedly.

"Is your stomach hurting?"

Cheng Yuan was in too much pain to talk, his lips going pale, and he barely managed to whisper.

"I... my leg is cramping."

Author's note:

None