The reason for the argument was very simple.

Perhaps Lin Zhu’s expression was truly too awful. Yan Ruojun couldn’t even be bothered with packing luggage anymore; he stood up directly to face him, uncharacteristically losing the grace of an older man.

He stared into Lin Zhu’s eyes, his tone not very friendly, “If I really am pregnant, what do you want to do?”

Lin Zhu’s mind went blank for a moment, unable to speak.

The hand clutching that expired capsule clenched in a death grip. His untrimmed fingernails left several crescent-shaped marks in his palm, almost digging into his skin.

Calculating the time, this capsule fell under the bed in mid-to-late October, and it was now mid-February…

Nearly two months had passed in between.

And after Lin Zhu entered the winter break, the frequency of their nightlife visibly increased. The man hadn’t let him use barrier products even once, opting to take the medicine himself every single time.

Lin Zhu’s repeated objections were ineffective. The other party simply hid their entire stash at home and provoked him from the side… But even so, he had never suspected that Yan Ruojun would completely abandon contraception.

For no other reason than this:
Yan Ruojun’s attitude had always been very clear.

After they established the permanent mark, his stance was to wait until Lin Zhu graduated to get married, let alone have a child. Especially since his work was demanding, and it takes an Omega over a year to go from pregnancy to postpartum recovery. The Yan Corporation temporarily couldn’t function without him.

So…
When exactly did Yan Ruojun’s attitude change?

Just thinking about this made Lin Zhu feel like he couldn’t breathe. His heart ached so fiercely that he had to clench his jaw tight just to suppress the bone-deep agony.

—It was because of me.

It was because he had arbitrarily begged the other party to get their marriage certificate early in order to complete a key plot point. And the man had actually nodded and agreed casually, as if it were a joke.

But this was no joking matter after all.

Even without a public wedding ceremony, this was an undeniable de facto marriage. Whether from a legal or emotional perspective, the answer was the same.

As the sole son of a wealthy family and an enterprise executive, Lin Zhu frequently witnessed Yan Ruojun having video conferences or phone calls with business partners and subordinates.

The man was gentle and elegant, yet didn’t lack sharpness.

Every gesture and movement exuded the mature charm of someone in a position of power.

But when facing his young husband, all that posturing vanished. He would even lean in to whisper and joke right after hanging up the phone, “Puppy Lin, your eyes are glued straight ahead. Do you want to come to my office another day…”

He became passionate, uninhibited, and completely unrestrained.

Right here, right now.

Yan Ruojun stepped two paces closer, his tone becoming increasingly aggressive. “I’m asking you, if my belly really gets big, what do you want to do?!”

It seemed like he just wanted an answer.

Yet even such a simple answer, Lin Zhu was unable to give him. He merely took a step back, lowered his head and eyes, stared at his curled fists, and said silently:

“Ge, let’s go to the hospital and get a checkup first.”

The System hadn’t appeared for a very long time.

Lin Zhu didn’t know if the final key plot point would be triggered early if Yan Ruojun was diagnosed with a pregnancy… A sense of powerlessness crashed over him like a massive wave whipped up by a hurricane, and he was about to be submerged.

He only wished that day could come a little later.

Lin Zhu reached out his other hand to grip Yan Ruojun’s wrist. Hiding the hope deep in his eyes, he said softly, “It shouldn’t be that easy to get pregnant. Should we go get a checkup?”

The next second.

Yan Ruojun quickly shook off his hand.

The man’s words were unprecedentedly sharp as he asked:
“Then what if I am pregnant? Answer me!”
“…”

Ultimately, the man, failing to get an answer, chose to slam the door and leave. After the heavy door produced a massive bang, only Lin Zhu was left standing alone in the living room, silent and speechless.

The house was dead quiet.

Lin Zhu stared at the door. Every nerve screamed at him to chase after him, but his feet seemed rooted to the ground, completely unmoving.

Even if he chased after him, what could he say?

After pondering for a long while, he slowly sat down on the sofa, intending to put the clothes the man had half-packed into the wardrobe. But when he reached out his hand, he realized the capsule in his palm was stained with traces of scarlet.

The spaces between his fingers carried the same color.

Lin Zhu remained silent for a moment. He first threw the dirty capsule into the trash can, then pulled out a few tissues to carefully wipe the bloodstains from his palm. Expressionless, he muttered to himself in a low voice:
“…What right do you have to chase him.”

---

The sky gradually darkened.

Lin Zhu stood downstairs in his slippers, waiting until past 10 p.m. before finally seeing a red Ferrari pull into their designated parking spot—less than ten meters away from him.

Bang.

The person Lin Zhu had waited all night for got out of the driver’s seat, casually locked the car, and walked straight ahead without looking back.

Lin Zhu silently followed behind Yan Ruojun, rode the elevator up, and entered the apartment. Seeing the living room tidied up, the man couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
“Lin Zhu, you really are something. Your wife slams the door and leaves, and you’re still in the fucking mood to clean the house!”

This was Yan Ruojun cursing.

This was also the first time Lin Zhu felt unable to endure.

The man went straight into the bathroom to wash up, and upon coming out, lay down with his back to him, without saying a single word the entire time.

The taste of sharing the same bed but dreaming different dreams was like hundreds of thorns piercing Lin Zhu’s flesh one by one, deep into his marrow, yet he couldn’t pull them out no matter how hard he tried.

Yan Ruojun wasn’t asleep either.

After a long time, Lin Zhu said softly,
“Ge, I’m sorry, really.”

After saying it, feeling it sounded cheap, he immediately shut his mouth and said nothing more.

He didn’t know how much time passed.

Yan Ruojun suddenly sat up, slapped the switch for the bedside nightlight, and aggressively got out of bed. He fished a crumpled piece of paper out of the jacket he wore out today—

Smack!

He slammed the piece of paper against Lin Zhu’s chest.

Lin Zhu also sat up. He stared at the folded paper in his hand, a certain premonition suddenly rising in his heart… His breathing slowed, his heart hung high in his throat, and swallowing became difficult.

Yan Ruojun glared at him, still urging,
“Aren’t you going to look?”

Lin Zhu pursed his lips, and as if lifting the veil of destiny, he slowly unfolded the thin sheet of paper.

His gaze swept from the top of the page to the bottom. It was only when he saw the small line of text detailing the diagnosis that he let out a nearly inaudible breath.

The pregnancy test result was negative.

He was too nervous, and too relieved, to the point where his mind’s first reaction wasn’t to hide his abnormal emotions in front of Yan Ruojun, but to uncontrollably think,
…Thank goodness.

Right here, right now, was still not the time for their happiness to end.

Under the dim yellow light, Yan Ruojun smiled and said,
“Lin Zhu, I want it.”

They had stayed at the Mountain Ring Estate for nearly half a month over the New Year. With elders living upstairs and downstairs, they basically hadn’t done anything too out of line.

The man never intended to ask for permission.

He fished out a small square packet hidden for a long time in the crevice of the mattress and aggressively straddled Lin Zhu.

No matter what Lin Zhu said, he didn’t stop.

Halfway through.

Yan Ruojun stopped moving on his own. He suddenly buried his face in the crook of Lin Zhu’s neck, so quiet he seemed to have fallen asleep.

Before long, Lin Zhu felt a wave of wet, hot sensation against the side of his neck. In an instant, he felt every inch of his bones aching, a misery beyond words.

Yan Ruojun was crying.

Yan Ruojun only cried at times like this.

That was why he told Lin Zhu,
“I want it.”

And Lin Zhu finally realized what he had done wrong. His voice instantly became hoarse and ugly to hear, as if he had swallowed a handful of shattered razor blades, spitting blood froth with every word.

He said word by word:
“Ge, I want you to…”

“I want you to not love me this much.”