From then on, it became their daily ritual: mornings together at the Chief’s Mansion, evenings homeward bound side by side. They neither disturbed nor strayed from each other. Wen Yan inhaled the alpha’s pheromones constantly, his nausea banished. Liang Shijing needed only glance right to see him there—always on his right, the omega sat.
At the three-month checkup, Wen Yan heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Joy lit his face as he stared at the dark blob on the monitor, then turned beaming to Liang Shijing. “Did you hear it?”
“Mm.” Amusement flickered in Liang Shijing’s eyes.
“I want to compose a piano score based on its rhythm.” Arm linked with the alpha’s, the omega ambled slowly toward the bedroom. “Tomorrow, don’t bring me to the Chief’s Mansion, okay? I’ll wait for you at home.”
The alpha fell silent.
“Why won’t you answer?”
“Can’t you write it at the Chief’s Mansion?” The Alpha Chief looked a bit displeased and spoke coldly. So the omega hugged him of his own accord for the first time. “I can, but your pheromones would make the other alphas uncomfortable if they caught the scent. You’d have to go to the conference room to meet them when they come to report on their work, and besides, I don’t feel like throwing up anymore.”
The reasons were sound and compelling, so the matter was settled.
Wen Yan began sleeping in until he woke naturally each day, then shutting himself away in the piano room to work on his score. Though his abdomen had begun to swell ever so slightly, his figure remained as slender and well-proportioned as ever. Sometimes he would spend an entire afternoon at it and manage only a few bars. He had discovered that Liang Shijing was a terribly clingy alpha, always sending him messages.
Things like, “What are you doing? Time to eat. Awake yet? A bit busy today.”
A few days later, Doctor Hu announced that his body had been nursed back to full health and that he could now take soak baths. That evening, Liang Shijing escorted him to the bathroom. Wen Yan promised over and over that he would be careful getting into the tub and wouldn’t slip again. He even demonstrated while fully clothed: one leg planted firmly on the bottom of the tub, then sitting steadily on the edge before swinging the other leg in. It all looked quite secure.
He loved soaking in the bath, loved the way the water enveloped his body in utter relaxation. Before long, he had dozed off in the tub. When Liang Shijing lifted him out, he realized he was completely naked. This was absurd—they hadn’t shared any lovers’ intimacy in the two months since, their greatest physical contact limited to hugs.
Wen Yan blushed furiously but said nothing. Liang Shijing blow-dried his hair for him, then carried him to bed. That was the first time Wen Yan sensed something different about a certain part of him…
The wall lamp cast a soft yellow glow, illuminating the snow-white pillow where they lay facing each other on their sides.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Liang Shijing’s arm draped lightly over the curve of his back. The alpha’s pupils were dark and clear, holding no trace of desire, yet they seemed to draw him in like a whirlpool.
“I’m about to.” Wen Yan quickly shut his eyes.
But once the discovery was made, it was like opening Pandora’s box—one time led to a second, then a third. Wen Yan, ever slow on the uptake, wondered if that night hadn’t been the first occurrence; perhaps it was simply the first time he’d noticed. Liang Shijing was a man deeply respected by others, and he never betrayed his desires in anything he did. Still, Wen Yan had uncovered many of his secrets.
For instance, Liang Shijing had a sweet tooth. Once, when Wen Yan was eating grapes, he fed him one; Liang Shijing chewed it twice and swallowed. He also seemed to be quitting smoking—one time during a state visit to another country, the alpha chief there offered him a cigarette, but Liang Shijing merely toyed with it between his fingers without taking a single puff. And every day, he secretly helped him clear levels in that hell-difficulty mobile mini-game.
The alpha wasn’t good at expressing himself, but he was thoughtful and kind at heart.
So when Wen Yan noticed the same situation that evening, he silently pushed himself up on the soft mattress, mustered his courage, and leaned close to Liang Shijing. “You’re feeling really uncomfortable, aren’t you?”
Liang Shijing coughed lightly. “Lie back down.”
Wen Yan obediently lay back.
“Do you remember what the doctor told you?” Liang Shijing asked.
“I do. Doctor Hu said my pheromones are special—no one can remove my neck ring, or they won’t be able to examine me if something goes wrong. Absolutely no kissing you, and… no unprotected intimacy…”
“Then why ask?”
“But every night it’s like this… won’t it…”
“Won’t what?”
“Don’t blame me for saying it.”
“I’ve never blamed you.”
“Fine, then. Actually, I’m worried that if it’s like that every night, it might… break down there?”
It was just so incredibly hard—the feel of it was impossible to ignore…
They lay awake all night. Liang Shijing rose early to shower in the bathroom. Wen Yan burrowed deep into the covers, sleeping like the dead. Pregnancy had made him especially sensitive to heat, so he kicked out one slender, pale leg for cool air. Liang Shijing emerged with his hair still damp from toweling and glanced over. Even in his dreams, the omega stirred, drawing him from the covers. Hot lips and tongue pressed to his neck, trailing upward across the corner of his mouth, the tip of his nose, his forehead, his brows.
Wen Yan blinked awake in a daze, then squeezed his eyes shut in fright.
Scorching, damp breath ghosted over his collarbone as the alpha’s teeth caught the thin skin there. Wen Yan pretended to still be asleep, but he trembled with embarrassment—even if the alpha was only rubbing that thing against his calf…
He never should have asked. Liang Shijing was such a hateful man…
For the next few days, Wen Yan barely wanted to speak to the alpha. He used to drop by the Chief’s Mansion when bored, but now whenever he saw him at Oak Bay, he wanted to burrow into a hole in the ground. He sternly warned himself never to become like that, even though Liang Shijing’s physique made him blush every single time he looked. But flags like that were made to be broken.
His pregnancy had reached five months, and he’d finished half the piano score. His belly was noticeably rounding now, making sleep uncomfortable—on his side, it felt heavy and pendulous; on his back, it felt crushed. To make falling asleep easier, Liang Shijing pulled him on top of himself.
The omega’s frame was so much smaller than the alpha’s that Wen Yan curled up entirely atop him. Liang Shijing’s warm palm stroked idly up and down his back. The pheromones that had once soothed him so completely now carried a different note, and Wen Yan felt his heart race. The alpha’s abs tensed beneath him, his fingertips seeming to hold some unspeakable magic.
“I want to sleep,” he said, crawling off and turning his back to the alpha. “Good night.”
“What’s wrong?” Liang Shijing asked sharply.
“I’m tired. Don’t talk.”
At first, Wen Yan simply avoided physical contact with the alpha. Gradually, he began sleeping with his back turned and at a distance. Eventually, he buried his face in the covers to escape the alpha pheromones he had once craved most.
“Recount everything that’s happened around him lately, from beginning to end—down to every single moment.” The main hall was packed with people. Liang Shijing swept a cold gaze over them, and under that piercing pressure, no one dared utter a lie.
They investigated the servants for half a day, had the servants reflect for half a day, and brought in a psychologist to analyze for half a day. Finally, Hu Li timidly raised his hand. “Chief, should we check Little Yan’s progesterone levels?”
Wen Yan had no idea why they suddenly needed to draw his blood. Liang Shijing stood behind him, gently pressing down on his shoulders to reassure him. “It’s fine. No need to be scared,” he murmured softly.
The test results soon revealed the truth—once pregnancy reached a certain stage, hormones went haywire, making the body unusually sensitive.
That night, as usual, Wen Yan kept his distance in bed. He and the alpha had fixed positions: Liang Shijing on the left, him on the right. But tonight, Liang Shijing inexplicably scooted over to the right side.
“What are you doing…” Wen Yan mumbled awkwardly.
“You’ve been uncomfortable for so long and haven’t said a word?” Liang Shijing pinched his cheek.
“What’s wrong with me?”
Liang Shijing pulled him onto his lap, gripping his waist and shoulders firmly. Wen Yan knew escape was impossible now. He quickly shut his eyes and pretended to sleep. But Liang Shijing—whether on purpose or not—kept toying with his palm, his shallow breaths brushing Wen Yan’s earlobe like a teasing puff of air as he spoke.
Half his body went numb, and he didn’t catch a single word.
“I’m really sleepy. I want to sleep…” Wen Yan bit his lip and lied. Liang Shijing hummed vaguely in response, his fingertips mischievously trailing down Wen Yan’s spine. Caught off guard, Wen Yan’s eyes flew wide open. Liang Shijing withdrew his damp fingers and rubbed them together under the bedside lamp. “Sleepy?”
Wen Yan flushed from head to toe.
“Don’t you like it a lot?” Liang Shijing gazed at him intently, smearing the wetness from his fingers across Wen Yan’s pale cheek, leaving two glistening trails. “You weren’t like this when you were sleepy before.”
Wen Yan clapped a hand over his mouth.
No need to say more. The alpha flashed a sly grin and lightly brushed that spot again with his fingers. The omega furrowed his brows in distress. Under the light, the wall lamp had drained most of the red from his cheeks, leaving only a faint pink. He tilted his head back, breathing in short, shallow gasps.
The hand clamped over the alpha’s mouth had loosened at some point, falling limply onto the sheets before clenching tightly into the bedding again.
That night, the voice-activated light strip under the bed flickered on and off unpredictably.
Deep winter had arrived. Liang Shijing postponed all diplomatic activities and returned home early every day. But Wen Yan immersed himself in the piano room, too lazy to move. He grew even sleepier, his tastes shifting bizarrely. He used to love potato chips but now couldn’t stand them; he once craved sour foods but now preferred sweets. His belly swelled larger by the day, and nights became harder to endure. On Liang Shijing’s body, he often woke after just a few hours—exhausted yet unable to sleep. Wen Yan knew Liang Shijing suffered more, though. The moment he opened his eyes, Liang Shijing woke instantly. If he didn’t sleep, neither would Liang Shijing… It broke Wen Yan’s heart. Liang Shijing was so incredibly busy, yet he’d lost weight staying up with him.
Eventually, whenever sleep evaded him, Wen Yan would make excuses to head to the piano room and compose. Liang Shijing usually left him alone for that. But over time, his days and nights flipped. Whether it was eight in the morning or six in the evening, Wen Yan slept when tired, then ate a bit, played around, or read upon waking. Liang Shijing grumbled at first, but as long as Wen Yan maintained good nutrition and spirits, it was fine.
Liang Shijing typically left for the Chief’s Mansion at eight a.m. and slept at eleven p.m. Wen Yan slept at noon and woke at eleven p.m…. They barely overlapped, managing only a shared breakfast now and then… Though Liang Shijing came home early, he remained swamped. Wen Yan would sneak in during his rest hours to nap beside him awhile—only to grow bored quickly. Liang Shijing wouldn’t let him leave, but Wen Yan always found plausible excuses to whisper in his ear.
“Hungry… Need the bathroom… Want to read.” And the like.
Once freed, he’d wander the vast, midnight mansion…
His inverted schedule and changing tastes meant he skimped on meals without Liang Shijing’s oversight. Only Consul Ji and Hu Li dared to comment; the other servants wouldn’t dream of advising their master.
So dropping five pounds in half a month was hardly surprising…
On this bright spring midday, Wen Yan rubbed his eyes, ready for bed. Liang Shijing returned, forbidding sleep until he ate.
“Eat after I wake up,” Wen Yan mumbled into the snowy white pillow, half-asleep.
“Didn’t you promise me last night? Starting today, we’re fixing your schedule. I’ll take you out shopping later.” Liang Shijing half-knelt on the bed, tickling his palm. Wen Yan played possum. Liang Shijing hauled him up forcibly. Annoyed, Wen Yan flopped limply onto his thigh. “Just a bit longer… Please…”
