Chapter 115

Yan Mu caught what he meant. His hand trailed down along his cheek, brushing over his chin and the line of his throat, and then he bent down slowly.

They knew each other well—knew exactly what would make the other shiver, what would draw out that quiet pleasure.

Afterward, Jiang Zhihuo couldn’t be bothered to move. Yan Mu scooped him up and carried him to the bathroom, taking his time to clean him up, without a word, thoroughly.

“You’ve lost a lot of weight recently. You haven’t been eating properly,” Yan Mu said.

“I have been eating, but I don’t have much of an appetite.” Jiang Zhihuo rested his arms on the edge of the bathtub, too tired to open his eyes. He felt like he could fall asleep right there in the tub.

The next day, Yan Mu woke up earlier than Jiang Zhihuo. He had cooked millet porridge, fried an egg, and prepared a simple dish of tofu with scallions.

The breakfast was light, but Jiang Zhihuo put down his chopsticks after only a couple of bites. “I’m full.”

With half an egg and half a bowl of porridge left, Yan Mu frowned slightly and pointed out, “You barely ate anything, Xiao Zhou.”

Jiang Zhihuo yawned. He had been feeling drowsy all the time recently. He lazily flopped onto the table again and closed his eyes. “But I can’t eat anymore.”

Yan Mu wouldn’t let him get away with it. “Finish the porridge. I’m off today, so I’ll come have lunch with you.”

Jiang Zhihuo tilted his head up, struggling to sit straight. He rubbed his face a couple of times to wake himself up, then picked up the remaining half bowl of porridge and replied, “Okay.”

At home, Jiang Zhihuo could barely be bothered to move—he even needed his boyfriend to coax him through half a bowl of porridge. But the moment he stepped into the office, he switched gears completely. All business. Focused, composed, and unwilling to tolerate the slightest mistake.

The project had been intense lately. With the industry conference coming up next month, they were expected to present their latest results, but a few teams had run into trouble. Sections of the program had been rewritten again and again, and the bugs still wouldn’t go away.

By the time the meeting ended, it was already one in the afternoon. Everyone was starving. Jiang Zhihuo ordered takeout from a nearby hotel so they could eat well, and extended the lunch break by an hour.

Maybe he’d gone too long without eating. As Jiang Zhihuo stepped out of the conference room, his knees suddenly buckled. He lurched forward, but someone behind him reacted in time and grabbed him before he could hit the floor.

He turned to see it was Li Muhe who had supported him.

“Xiao Huo, are you okay?” Li Muhe asked.

“I’m fine.” Jiang Zhihuo pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and steadied himself. “Just been worn out lately.”

When he walked out of the conference room, Yan Mu was already waiting in his office. The moment he saw Yan-ge, all his listlessness vanished. Jiang Zhihuo hugged Yan Mu intimately, rubbing his cheek against his.

In front of others, Jiang Zhihuo was steady and reliable, every bit the serious professional. But when it came to him, he was no different from when they had first started dating—still clingy, still openly affectionate.

Yan Mu raised a hand to embrace Jiang Zhihuo and nodded at Li Muhe as a greeting.

After lunch, Yan Mu got a message from the lab. There was a problem with someone’s data, and no one else could sort it out. They were asking if he could come over and take a look.

Yan Mu glanced at Jiang Zhihuo and only agreed after getting his consent.

Both of them had been busy recently, with very little free time. They finally made it to the industry conference. Yan Mu also had things to do that day and might not be able to make it to the venue on time.

Yan Mu said, “I’ll head over as soon as I’m done. Hopefully, I can make it.”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Zhihuo snuggled under the covers. The air conditioning might have been too low; he felt cold and shivered. “Didn’t I already do a rehearsal for you?”

While waiting backstage, Jiang Zhihuo was not in good shape. He kept feeling cold, and the breakfast he had casually bought near the venue that morning might not have been fresh, as he was now feeling a bit nauseous.

The makeup artist, touching up his makeup before he went on stage, saw his complexion and said with concern, “You don’t look very well.”

“Probably from pulling too many all-nighters.” Jiang Zhihuo leaned back on the sofa and found himself a blanket. “My wish after this conference is to sleep for three days straight.”

The makeup artist laughed.

The entire conference proceeded very smoothly. If there were people who had doubted Jiang Zhihuo and his newly formed young team at the beginning, all those doubts vanished when he presented his results.

There were countless industries that computer science could extend into, and Jiang Zhihuo had chosen the most difficult yet most promising one—Artificial intelligence.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on the young man speaking on stage. His achievements and concepts were undoubtedly at the forefront of the industry.

Vehicles couldn’t enter the venue directly. After getting out of the car, Yan Mu jogged all the way. He was late and had missed the most exciting part—the presentation of the results, but he had made it for the conclusion.

The young man on stage wore a smile of effortless confidence. The lights fell on him, and the entire hall erupted in applause for him. His self-assurance, like the results he displayed, stunned everyone present.

The conference lasted for two days. The first day was for presenting results, and the second was a cocktail party-style event.

Jiang Zhihuo had always been good with people. Years ago, when he’d helped Li Hao on a case and taken those psychology classes along the way, he’d picked up more than he realized. Even though he was easily the youngest person in the room, he navigated the circle of industry heavyweights without the slightest hint of awkwardness, calm and self-assured the whole time.

But the moment the cocktail party ended, that poised and polished Jiang Zhihuo seemed to unravel. His steps turned unsteady, almost weightless. He barely made it out before he threw up everything he’d eaten and drunk. The color drained from his face, leaving him ghostly pale. Not long after, he lost consciousness in the car. His colleagues panicked and rushed him straight to the hospital.

The moment Yan Mu got the call, he left the meeting without a second thought and hurried to the hospital. By the time he arrived, Jiang Zhihuo was already awake, propped up against the headboard. Catching sight of Yan Mu, the colleague standing nearby quickly filled him in. “It’s nothing major; he just hasn’t been getting enough rest, and he had a few drinks earlier. And…”

He couldn’t continue. He glanced at Jiang Zhihuo; this was something Jiang Zhihuo had to say himself.

“You can head back first. Thank you for tonight,” Jiang Zhihuo said.

The colleague left the hospital room.

“What exactly is wrong?” Yan Mu couldn’t stay calm at all. His colleague’s strange pause and Jiang Zhihuo’s silence filled him with countless bad premonitions.

Jiang Zhihuo lowered his gaze, his brow furrowed. It was a simple matter, yet he didn’t know how to tell Yan-ge.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it.

The way he trailed off made Yan Mu’s chest tighten. His heartbeat spiked, pounding in his ears. He didn’t press for an explanation. Instead, he reached straight for the medical chart hanging at the foot of the bed and pulled it down to read.

As he read the words on it, every cell in his body, along with his blood, froze—

Patient Name: Jiang Zhihuo.

Age: 24.

Second Gender: Omega.

Condition: Early-stage pregnancy, duration forty-five days.

Yan Mu: “?”

Jiang Zhihuo heaved a long sigh, slowly lowering his head and burying his face in the soft hospital blanket.

Other than the pregnancy, there were no other major health issues. He could be discharged after finishing one IV drip.

On the drive back, Jiang Zhihuo stayed quiet the whole time. He rested his head against the window, lashes casting faint shadows on his cheeks, eyes half-lidded as if he might drift off at any moment.

Yan Mu could understand the meaning behind Jiang Zhihuo’s long sigh in the hospital and his current silence.

This child’s arrival was too unexpected, unplanned, and ill-timed.

Jiang Zhihuo’s startup was still in its early days. He’d just started to gain recognition at the industry conference, which only meant he’d have to push even harder from here on out. Yan Mu, on the other hand, was planning to further his studies and take his career a step forward. As things stood, neither of them was in a position to truly raise a child.

Money was not a main issue for them.

But neither of them came from a complete family.

The things they had experienced in the past made them hesitant.

Without being sure they were truly ready, could they step into the role of parents when the time came?

Neither Yan Mu nor Jiang Zhihuo had confidence in themselves.

Beyond the car window, dusk bled into the outline of distant mountains, the sinking sun spilling brilliant light across the horizon.

As they were about to reach their apartment, Jiang Zhihuo, who had been silent the whole way, finally spoke. “Yan-ge, the fridge is empty. Should we go to the supermarket to buy some things?”

The supermarket was packed at this hour. Jiang Zhihuo didn’t say a word. He pulled a cart free and started dropping things into it as he walked. Whatever his hand landed on, it went in. At one point, he even tossed in two packs of sanitary pads without noticing. He wasn’t looking at the signs overhead or checking which aisle he was in. He just kept moving, grabbing, throwing, over and over.

This was Jiang Zhihuo’s habit when he was thinking.

When deep in thought, he always liked to go to a supermarket or some other bustling place and lose himself in his own world.

The last time he had been in this state was when his project had hit a bottleneck.

The pregnancy had clearly hit him with a greater impact than any project bottleneck.

A long line had formed at the supermarket entrance. The self-checkout machines were malfunctioning, so everyone had to queue at the manned counters.

“Ah, it’s so packed today,” the cashier sighed, making small talk with the coworker bagging groceries beside her.

“Seriously. When are we ever getting off?” The bagging lady glanced down the long line, and right at the very end, she spotted two incredibly handsome men.

“Hey, look at the back of the line!” she nudged the cashier quickly.

The cashier kept scanning the item in her hand, but she subtly leaned forward to sneak a look. “They’re so handsome! Grocery shopping together, too? What do you think they are? Brothers? Or a couple?”

“A couple, I guess? AO? Though they kind of look like they just fought.”

“Maybe?”

As the two of them stepped forward with the line, the two girls were about to keep guessing when Jiang Zhihuo suddenly looked like he’d figured something out. He lifted his hand and slapped it hard against Yan Mu’s arm.

A crisp smack rang out, and a red mark instantly bloomed on his skin.

Jiang Zhihuo said seriously, “Yan Mu. I’ll say this one last time.”

Yan Mu: “?”

He had no idea what kind of act Jiang Zhihuo was trying to put on, but judging from that expression, it was clear he’d already thought it through and made up his mind.

Jiang Zhihuo’s voice turned heavy, carrying a clear warning. “Break up with your girlfriend.”

Yan Mu smoothly picked up on the cue and played along. “Why? We’re doing perfectly fine right now.”

They weren’t speaking loudly, but the line was so tightly packed that every word carried clearly to the people around them.

Jiang Zhihuo shot the scumbag a fierce glare, fingers curling tightly into his palm. “Because I’m pregnant with your child, and I’ve already decided I’m keeping the child!”

After all, this wasn’t something he could decide on his own. He just wanted to tell Yan Mu in a way that didn’t feel so heavy.

The statement hit like a bomb. The cashier was so shocked her hand slipped, and a frozen chicken leg dropped onto the counter with a solid thud.

Yan Mu laced his fingers through Jiang Zhihuo’s and held on tight. The corner of his lips curved up in a faint, handsome smile. “Okay. I’ll break up with her. I’ll do it as soon as we get back.”

Just like that, with a few simple lines, they both understood the choice the other had made.

Well then—before the baby arrived, there was still one extremely important thing left to settle.

Jiang Zhihuo said, “Then let’s talk about getting married in the car later? We haven’t registered yet, but you still have to propose first.”

“Okay.” A soft warmth filled Yan Mu’s eyes as he replied gently, “I love you, baby.”

…Huh?

How did this jump to marriage? Since when did it turn into “I love you, baby”?

The surrounding crowd, who had somehow been force-fed a chaotic love triangle drama for no reason at all: “???????”