Chapter 31: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man 31 Part 1

In the dimly lit hospital corridor, a young man in a black coat sat with his head slightly bowed on one of the silver chairs in the waiting area.

The beta was hunched over, his powerful arms pressed firmly against his thighs, his slightly rough fingers interlaced. The silver ring on his right middle finger gleamed faintly in the dim light and shadows.

He resembled a silent statue—heavy, plain, sorrowful, devoid of any luster—as if a stone hammer might shatter him at any moment, his surrounding shadows dissolving into the earth along with the debris.

“Click.”

With the soft sound of a door lock turning, the young man finally stirred. Like a marionette pulled by invisible strings, he raised his mechanical, hollow gaze toward the noise.

A young doctor emerged from the examination room, mask covering his face. His eyes met the weary youth on the chair, and he paused before saying, “The pregnant husband’s family member can come in now.”

The beta clearly struggled to adjust to the odd term “pregnant husband’s family member.” His eyelids fluttered open, and he froze for a long moment. Only after the doctor’s second reminder and urging did he stand and enter the examination room.

The room was crammed with medical instruments of varying heights, clustered against the gray-white walls. Black electronic screens flickered with writhing, distorted lines—like monsters parasitizing and thrashing within.

The omega with raven hair and porcelain skin lay sprawled under their eerie scrutiny. His deep blue shirt was pulled up to his chest, revealing a beautifully curved abdomen plastered with colorful, tentacle-like suction cups and wires.

It was a bizarre, shrouded, grotesque scene, as if the omega were a parasitized host, his thin, pale belly—flushed faintly red—concealing a brood of restless ghosts poised to bare fangs and claws.

Yet the man’s pale face held an extraordinary gentleness and calm. A fold of his deep blue shirt nestled against his cheek like a shroud of dark, warm liquid. His soft gaze fixed on the tiny shadow displayed on the screen, and his lips curved into an unconscious, tender smile.

At the sound of the door, Qi Yu’s deep black eyes finally tore away from the black-and-white ultrasound image. He looked toward the beta approaching from the doorway, his voice light and rippling like gentle tides.

“Jiang Rang,” he said, “this is our baby. Look, it’s still so small.”

As he spoke, the man instinctively caressed his still-flat belly. The light fell across his eyelids like clear, cold moonlight in the night.

His cheeks flushed red, his long, thick lashes trembling like lush, uneven blades of grass. The scent of moss gradually rose in the air as Qi Yu’s watery eyes, soft as rain, settled on the young man. “Jiang Rang, touch our child.”

“He’ll like you a lot.”

Jiang Rang didn’t move. He stood in silence, his face drained of expression, as if he’d lost all capacity for it. He tried to resist, but his feet felt mired in thick mud, each step heavy and oppressive, suffocating him.

For the first time, the beta didn’t dare approach. He didn’t dare listen. He didn’t dare think.

Just that morning, he’d desperately wished the Male Master would conceive soon—to grant him his freedom.

But now, the young man felt only suffocation and pity.

He was pitiable, having sold himself for money and family. Qi Yu was pitiable too, having sold himself for power and schemes.

Each harbored a ghost fetus, yet they’d brought an innocent child—doomed from birth to know no love—into the world.

In its infancy, it might not understand why it never received attention. It would suffer, cry out, exhaust every trick to win its parents’ affection.

As it grew older, it might come to realize it was merely a tool in its father’s power plays. It would retreat quietly to the corner, enduring harsh discipline and rigid rules like some merciless official’s edicts—clutching its aching heart, craving love but never daring to voice it.

When it became an adult, it might follow the same cycle, turning into another cold, foreboding figure looming high above—like the Male Master himself.

That was probably for the best, Jiang Rang thought. It would never know it had a cowardly, spineless, laughable servant for a father.

“What are you thinking?”

The gentle, warm voice drifted from beside his ear. The man on the bed had propped himself halfway up. A chill from his fingertips traveled to the youth’s wrist. Jiang Rang stared blankly downward, watching in silence as his hand was guided to rest on a patch of warm, supple flesh.

The sensation was utterly strange.

Beneath the warm texture rose a soft undulation with each breath. In his daze, he could almost sense another faint heartbeat.

For the first time, Jiang Rang truly felt like a father.

The young doctor standing nearby noticed the atmosphere softening. He held a clipboard, jotting down notes as he addressed the two men by the bed. “Gentlemen, the test results are in. Mr. Qi is two weeks pregnant, and everything looks good so far. Still, you’ll need to come back for regular check-ups down the line.”

Qi Yu’s complexion was poor, but his dark eyes gleamed with unusual brightness. A faint, superficial smile played on his pallid face as he spoke in a voice tinged with tension. “Doctor, what do we need to watch out for right now?”

As he said this, his pale wrist gently nudged the young man’s broad shoulder in an intimate, familiar gesture.

Jiang Rang’s throat tightened. He focused intently, as if determined to absorb every word from the doctor straight into his lungs.

Smiling, the doctor replied, “There’s not much to be overly cautious about. Mr. Qi’s pregnancy is stable. He can engage in moderate exercise daily, but he should avoid anything too strenuous.”

The young doctor had no ulterior motive, but the omega and the beta both betrayed unease and embarrassment in unison. Clearly, they were both thinking back to their recent days of unrestrained indulgence.

Thankfully, the doctor didn’t dwell on it and continued. “In the early stages of pregnancy, a pregnant husband’s sense of smell becomes especially acute, and his emotions can fluctuate. His partner will need to provide comfort. When it’s an omega paired with an alpha, pheromones make soothing much easier and more effective. But since Mr. Jiang is a beta, I recommend that in these initial weeks, no matter how busy you are, you stay close to each other so you can offer reassurance whenever needed.”

“Of course, some moderate intimate activities can also benefit the baby’s growth and development.”

~~~

By the time they emerged from the examination room, both men’s faces were flushed. Jiang Rang clutched the stack of test reports, his hand still trembling faintly.

Truth be told, Jiang Rang had no real grasp of the pregnancy check-up process, but he couldn’t help wondering: Were doctors these days so thorough that they even offered advice on bedroom matters?

“Jiang Rang…”

The flush on the Male Master’s face lingered, his deep, dark eyes shimmering with flecks of shy embarrassment. He pursed his lips. “Let’s do exactly as the doctor said. Starting tonight, we won’t sleep in separate rooms.”

The weather had turned pleasantly mild. A cool breeze pressed the Male Master’s deep blue jacket against the sharp line of his waist. Qi Yu was pale, tall, and slender; now that he was pregnant, he appeared slightly fuller, no longer quite so gaunt and ghostly thin.

For a moment, Jiang Rang couldn’t tear his gaze away. Only after a long pause did the young man lick his lips hesitantly. “Since… since that’s what the doctor recommends, for the sake of the child, sure.”

Qi Yu’s eyes curved in a smile. He let out a soft hum of agreement, then slipped his palm naturally into Jiang Rang’s wrist, their fingers interlocking tightly. Pursing his lips, he said, “Good. Then let’s go buy some supplies for Baobao right now. I’m a pregnant husband these days—some of my old clothes won’t fit anymore.”

Jiang Rang clearly didn’t follow, frowning as he said, “Mr., isn’t it a bit early for that? Besides, don’t you have designers who make your clothes specially…”

His words were logical enough, but painfully blunt—enough to convey a hint of indifference and dismissal.

The smile on the man’s face froze at once. His deathly pale complexion seemed like a mask of pretense, slapped raw by the young man’s words until a chill settled over it.

Qi Yu half-lowered his eyelids. His lips were vividly red, as if scalded by boiling oil—the pink flesh glistening with underlying blood, making them all the more striking.

He forced down his rising frustration, pretending not to notice the young man’s attitude, and said in a calm, gently chiding tone, “Jiang Rang, can’t you just take a little stroll around the shops with me?”

Jiang Rang fell silent. He had never been the type to pick up on romantic nuances, especially since the two of them weren’t lovers or spouses. How was he supposed to read an omega’s mind?

In the end, they headed to the upscale mall at the city center.

This was the playground of the elite, home to exclusive clubs, fine dining spots, and more—all accessible only to those with power and wealth. The Qi Family, Chen Family, and Li Family all held shares in the ventures here.

Qi Yu had framed it as shopping for baby supplies with Jiang Rang’s company, but in truth, from the moment they stepped inside, the man’s eyes—and thoughts—were fixed solely on the young man.

By the time they’d barely made it through two floors, Jiang Rang had already tried on several sets of exquisite cufflinks and bespoke suits.

Nearly every piece he tried, Qi Yu bought on the spot. The sales staff eyed them like visiting deities of fortune.

At first, Jiang Rang didn’t dare accept such expensive items. But Qi Yu told him that he was the child’s father too, and prenatal education was their shared responsibility. Naturally, the young man needed to refresh his look as well.

The Beta didn’t entirely buy this reasoning. On the contrary, Qi Yu’s actions stirred an uncomfortable feeling in the young man—like he was being kept as a sugar baby.

They did have that kind of arrangement, but Jiang Rang had always consciously avoided dwelling on it. For someone so conservative at heart, even after things had gone this far, it was still hard to stomach deep down.

Jiang Rang tried his best to redirect his attention and rein in the Male Master’s sudden shopping frenzy. After a long moment, he spotted a set of deep red, loose-fitting men’s knitwear. Without even examining it closely, he pointed casually and murmured softly, “That set looks like it would suit you, Mister.”

The man froze every movement in an instant. His pale face, almost bluish in its pallor, suddenly lit up as if beautiful mercury had been injected into it, radiating a dazzling, vibrant glow.

“You like me in that color?” the man asked, his voice gentle, as if afraid to disturb the moonlight hanging in the sky.

Jiang Rang hesitated for a second, then nodded.

Qi Yu pursed his lips, his focus easily diverted just like that.

He stopped insisting that the young man try anything on. Instead, he began unconsciously altering his own style, all in an attempt to please him.

The honest young man wasn’t deliberately leading him on, but his instinctive reactions and expressions were like signposts guiding the man forward.

For instance, the moment Qi Yu emerged from the fitting room in that deep red deep-V knit, which bared half his collarbone and chest, Jiang Rang’s gaze locked onto him and never wavered.

That look was less outright admiration and more like a spur to the man. It subtly morphed into the patterned Venomous Snake of temptation from the Garden of Eden, as if it could speak aloud to tell Qi Yu:

If you want his love, then please him.