ACBAM 18: Consideration

Su Shijin initially thought Gu Weiyang was joking when he said that, but seeing the genuinely regretful look on his face, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Mr. Gu, are you really in a hurry to get the certificate?” Su Shijin asked.

Gu Weiyang didn’t know how to answer that question.

Because he really was in a hurry.

Especially after waiting all these years—now that they had actually gotten to this point, Gu Weiyang couldn’t shake the fear that something might go wrong during the wait.

“Forget it, let’s wait until your foot heals first.” Gu Weiyang realized he was being too impatient. No matter what, Su Shijin’s injury had to come first.

“How did you twist it, exactly? It’s so swollen.” Gu Weiyang crouched in front of Su Shijin’s wheelchair. His heart aching at the sight of the swollen ankle exposed beneath the rolled-up pants.

Su Shijin was too embarrassed to admit he got scared by a dog while feeding it, so he mumbled vaguely, “Just… wasn’t being careful…”

He couldn’t stand Gu Weiyang staring at his ankle any longer and quickly changed the subject. “Actually, getting the certificate tomorrow is fine. I was going to work tomorrow anyway.”

“Mm?” As expected, Gu Weiyang was distracted by that sentence. His gaze shifted from Su Shijin’s ankle to his face but the part he fixated on wasn’t quite what Su Shijin had expected.

“You’re still planning to go to work tomorrow?” Gu Weiyang’s brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly.

Su Shijin: “…Huh.”

Wasn’t the important part that he agreed to get the certificate tomorrow?

Why was this guy always catching the wrong point?

“I can work sitting down, the injury doesn’t affect that,” Su Shijin explained.

He didn’t have any surgeries scheduled for tomorrow—just regular consultations—so sitting the whole day would be fine. If something came up that required standing, he could ask his assistant for help.

Taking time off work just for a twisted ankle felt completely unnecessary to him.

Gu Weiyang clearly didn’t understand his way of thinking. He said in a disapproving tone, “You should really rest for a couple of days. You live alone, right?”

Su Shijin nodded. “Yeah.”

Gu Weiyang asked, “Do you have any friends who can stay with you for a couple of days? You’re having trouble even standing right now—if you slip while going to the bathroom or brushing your teeth or something, you could easily hurt yourself again.”

Su Shijin’s lips moved slightly as he murmured, “I probably won’t be that unlucky, right?”

Twisting it once was already bad enough—it shouldn’t happen a second time…

“Better safe than sorry.” Gu Weiyang stood up, brushed off his clothes, and said, “It’s best to have a friend stay with you for a few days—at least until that injured foot can bear some weight.”

Seeing the troubled look on Su Shijin’s face, he asked considerately, “None of your friends live around here?”

Su Shijin gave a quiet “Mm.”

He hadn’t thought a twisted ankle was something that needed someone to take care of him, but Gu Weiyang seemed to have a talent for making the situation sound more serious. The moment Su Shijin imagined possibly falling again at home, the pain in his injured foot seemed to flare up even more intensely.

“How about this,” Gu Weiyang finally revealed his real intention, “My place isn’t far from yours. Why don’t you stay with me for this week?”

The conversation had suddenly taken a dramatic turn, and Su Shijin’s mind nearly stalled. “Huh?”

Su Shijin realized he really couldn’t keep up with Gu Weiyang’s train of thought.

“No need, that’s too much trouble for you,” he instinctively refused.

Gu Weiyang didn’t think it was a big deal. “We’re going to be living together after we get the certificate anyway. You can stay at my place for a week to get used to it. If you’re not comfortable there, I can move to your place instead.”

Su Shijin’s lips moved, but he stopped short of speaking.

Wasn’t this basically saying that no matter what, the two of them were going to live together?

Although he had thought about living together after getting the certificate, Su Shijin figured they would at least spend ten days or half a month getting more familiar with each other before considering moving in.

He really hadn’t expected it to happen this fast!

The key was, everything Gu Weiyang said was clearly with him in mind—caring about his injury, worrying about him being alone at home, even bringing up the need to adjust to living together in the future.

If Su Shijin were a little more indifferent, he could’ve easily brushed off Gu Weiyang’s concerns and turned him down outright.

Despite his cold and distant appearance, Su Shijin was actually someone who softened easily. Gu Weiyang had spent the whole day running around with him, and even though their marriage was only a verbal agreement for now, he had already done more than most alphas would after marriage. No matter how he looked at it, Su Shijin just couldn’t bring himself to say no.

“But it really would be a lot of trouble for you.” After holding it in for a long while, that was all Su Shijin could manage to say.

Seeing that Su Shijin didn’t outright reject him, Gu Weiyang knew there was a chance. He also understood that with Su Shijin’s personality, he wasn’t the type to feel comfortable moving into someone else’s home and being taken care of. If he pushed too hard, it might backfire and make him even more uneasy.

So Gu Weiyang came up with a reason Su Shijin wouldn’t be able to refuse, “Actually, I came to the hospital today for a follow-up on my gland.”

The topic shifted abruptly again, but luckily, Su Shijin had more or less gotten used to Gu Weiyang’s way of speaking. Upon hearing that, he simply showed a hint of concern.

For both omegas and alphas, glands were considered a rather private part of the body—after all, in a way, they were essentially their “sexual organs.”

For an alpha, damage to the gland was akin to being unable to perform in bed.

That was why, when news first broke about Gu Weiyang’s damaged gland, so many people gloated, thinking that even if he returned to the Gu family, he would be nothing but a useless man.

Seeing Gu Weiyang bring up the topic on his own, Su Shijin felt he shouldn’t pry but he still couldn’t help showing a bit of concern.

Seeing his reaction, Gu Weiyang continued, “The follow-up results weren’t great. There’s been no sign of improvement. In fact, my body’s become even more resistant to omega pheromones. Not only does my gland throb with pain, but I also get a sharp stinging sensation throughout my body.”

Su Shijin’s eyes widened slightly—he hadn’t expected that outcome at all.

When they had run into each other at the hospital entrance earlier, Gu Weiyang had seemed to be in a perfectly good mood…

Gu Weiyang took in every nuance of his expression, holding back the urge to let a smile creep onto his lips, and said, “But there’s also some good news.”

“Mm?” Su Shijin couldn’t help but sit up straighter, a look of focused attention on his face.

“I showed the doctor the report on our pheromone compatibility rate,” Gu Weiyang said seriously. “He was shocked that I had actually found a fated omega. With you, there’s a significant chance my gland might improve.”

And on this point, Gu Weiyang wasn’t lying.

A near-perfect compatibility rate was, for Gu Weiyang, truly the only remaining hope for treating his gland.

He was lucky—lucky to have found that hope, and lucky to have held onto it.

When Su Shijin heard the phrase “fated omega,” his ears grew a little warm. It felt like those words had somehow tied him and Gu Weiyang together.

By the time he got to the last part, Su Shijin’s focus had shifted again, and he asked, “You need my help with the treatment?”

“Mm. Starting with the desensitization therapy I mentioned before.” Gu Weiyang lowered his gaze to look at him, speaking softly, “If you’re not used to being taken care of by me, then let’s make it an equal exchange—you help me with the desensitization treatment.”

Su Shijin thought to himself—how was this an equal exchange? Helping with his treatment was already written into the agreement. Once they signed it, it would take effect. Even if his foot wasn’t injured and didn’t need Gu Weiyang’s care, he would still be obligated to provide his pheromones as agreed.

But after thinking it through, he realized Gu Weiyang was just giving him a way to save face, hoping he wouldn’t take it too seriously.

So Su Shijin didn’t reject the gesture. Instead, he accepted it with grace. “In that case, Mr. Gu, I’ll be in your care for a while.”

Gu Weiyang clasped his hands behind his back, fists clenched to suppress the excitement bubbling up inside him. With a perfectly serious expression, he said, “It’s no trouble—we’re just meeting each other’s needs. No need to overthink it.”

Even so, Su Shijin still offered a quiet word of thanks.

—

Gu Weiyang pushed Su Shijin’s wheelchair to a quieter corner, where they waited for about half an hour. His lawyer then came rushing over with a briefcase in hand, looking slightly out of breath.

Though the location for signing the agreement was definitely something to complain about, the lawyer remained highly professional and made no comment. He simply handed each of them a copy of the contract and asked them to carefully review the terms.

And so, in this rather informal setting, the two of them officially signed the marriage agreement with full formality.

Two hours later, when the MRI results came out, Gu Weiyang pushed Su Shijin to the doctor’s office to go over the diagnosis. Once it was confirmed that it was just a severe-looking sprain and that a week of proper rest would be enough, he finally felt relieved.

On the way back, Su Shijin asked Gu Weiyang to return the rented wheelchair and firmly insisted on not being carried on his back.

“It’s just a sprain. I’ll walk slowly, it’s fine.” Su Shijin really didn’t want to be carried out by him again. The way passersby stared made him too embarrassed to even lift his head. It was just too awkward.

Seeing how insistent he was this time, Gu Weiyang had no choice but to give up the idea of carrying him to the parking lot. He reached out his hand and said, “Then let me support you. That should be acceptable, right?”

Su Shijin felt it wasn’t right to keep refusing his kindness again and again. It was just a bit of support, after all—so he nodded.

Then Gu Weiyang bent down slightly, took Su Shijin’s hand, draped it around his own neck and onto his opposite shoulder, then wrapped his other arm firmly around Su Shijin’s waist. Supporting him like that, they took a few steps forward as he asked in a low voice, “Is this okay? Try not to put weight on the injured foot.”

Hearing the alpha’s voice right by his ear, and feeling the burning heat of that palm firmly pressed to his waist, Su Shijin felt his whole body go numb.

This position… was even worse than being carried!

Su Shijin had originally wanted to say, just holding his arm would’ve been enough.

Gu Weiyang didn’t give him a chance to speak. With a slight tightening of his grip around Su Shijin’s waist, he guided him forward.

The moment his injured ankle touched the ground, a sharp, stabbing pain shot up his leg, forcing Su Shijin to abandon whatever he had wanted to say. His right hand gripped Gu Weiyang’s shoulder a little tighter, and with his help, he slowly made his way to the roadside by the hospital entrance.

The parking lot was a bit of a walk from there, and Gu Weiyang couldn’t bear to make him go any farther. So he had him wait by the roadside while he went to get the car. Then, he carefully helped Su Shijin into the front passenger seat.

It was only once he sat down that Su Shijin realized the seat had already been adjusted in advance—there was plenty of space in front of him, just enough for his injured foot to stretch out comfortably.

Su Shijin couldn’t help glancing at Gu Weiyang, who had just gotten into the driver’s seat, once again struck by his attention to detail and quiet thoughtfulness.

“What is it?” Gu Weiyang, unsure why he was being stared at, touched his own face. “Is there something on my face?”

Su Shijin shook his head. “No.”

“Oh.” Gu Weiyang’s gaze lingered on the space in front of him for a moment, then suddenly leaned in toward Su Shijin. The distance between them closed in an instant, making Su Shijin instinctively press back against the seat.

The alpha’s overwhelming presence enveloped Su Shijin, and just as he thought Gu Weiyang was about to do something—so much so that he forgot to even blink in his panic—there was a soft click. Gu Weiyang had simply buckled his seatbelt, then returned to his own seat.

“Want to swing by your place to grab a change of clothes before we head to mine?” Gu Weiyang asked casually, as if nothing had happened while fastening his own seatbelt and driving off. While waiting in line to exit the hospital, he turned slightly to glance at Su Shijin.

Su Shijin quickly turned his head away, facing the window with his back to Gu Weiyang. The back of his hand brushed against his slightly heated cheek as he replied, “Okay.”

It wasn’t until Gu Weiyang drove past the barrier and merged into the main road traffic that the warmth on Su Shijin’s face finally began to fade a little.

It was just him helping with the seatbelt.

What had he been thinking just now, actually imagining that Mr. Gu was going to… kiss him.