Chapter 40: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man 40

Jiang Rang truly loved children.

He was a tiny bundle, white and soft like a little kitten. He had completely inherited his omega father’s snow-white skin, save for a light wheat-colored birthmark on his lotus-root-like little arms.

Little Darling was premature and had been living in the NICU ever since. Compared to the other babies, he was unusually quiet and fragile, and since no formal name had been chosen yet, Jiang Rang simply called him Little Darling.

Little Darling was adorably cute, with a pair of slightly round, drooping eyes that perfectly mirrored his father Jiang Rang’s. His vitality was weak, and he rarely fussed, but whenever Jiang Rang came to visit, those big, dark eyes would fixate on the young man without blinking.

The NICU was filled almost entirely with cold, gray instruments, and Little Darling’s tiny body was always hooked up to various monitoring lines. Sometimes the bruises from injections lingered and refused to fade.

Jiang Rang’s heart ached terribly at times, and he wished he could take the child’s suffering upon himself.

Thus, whenever visiting hours arrived, the young man couldn’t help softly calling out Little Darling’s name. Jiang Rang wasn’t the gentlest of people, but the moment his gaze fell on Little Darling, his voice would soften unconsciously by several degrees.

Little Darling clearly adored this beta who always crouched by his side, face pressed to the glass incubator. The beta would murmur on endlessly in a low voice—sometimes his eyes reddened, other times his gaunt features softened into an expression of impossible tenderness.

Little Darling seldom reacted to the world around him, but he always perked up when Jiang Rang called his name. An instinctive smile would bloom on that angelic little face, accompanied by a soft, giggly laugh so obedient it tugged at the heartstrings.

Jiang Rang visited diligently, to the point of somewhat neglecting the omega who had just given birth.

The moment the young man pushed open the wooden door to the rehab ward, a sharp crash echoed as a porcelain bowl shattered.

In the pallid ward, the rehab caregiver in his white coat stood frozen and helpless to one side. He had delicate, refined features, but in that instant, he seemed utterly stunned by the ferocious omega on the bed.

Seeing the long-haired man, wild-eyed and deranged, about to hurl the glass porcelain bowl at the innocent caregiver, Jiang Rang’s expression darkened. He rushed forward in a few strides and yanked the other aside to safety.

Jiang Rang frowned deeply as he regarded the omega half-propped up on the bed, his face deathly pale and twisted, chest heaving with ragged breaths. “What happened here?”

Qi Yu’s gaze locked instantly and ferociously onto the young man’s hand gripping the caregiver’s slender, pale wrist. A sickly greenish pallor crept over his ashen face, while a damp, oppressive moss scent flooded the room, thick enough to choke the air from one’s lungs.

“Jiang Rang, let him go.”

Jiang Rang drew a deep breath and murmured a quiet apology to the trembling caregiver beside him before releasing his grip.

But whether from fright or unsteady footing, the caregiver stumbled softly right into the young man’s arms.

Jiang Rang reacted on instinct, steadying the man’s slim waist.

In the next moment, however, a wave of murderous malice pinned him in place. A primal shudder ran through his body, scalp prickling with dread. He shoved the caregiver back several steps in panic.

Pale-faced, Jiang Rang turned to the man on the bed. Sure enough, the harsh overhead light cast the omega’s features in gloom—the upper half of his face shrouded in a hazy, damp shadow.

His slender form was draped in gauzy white garments, like a ghost bound by talismans.

In a flash, before anyone could react, Qi Yu went berserk and flung the steaming soup from the bedside at the caregiver. His eyes blazed crimson as he raised his head, gaunt cheeks twitching violently. He shrieked, “You slut! Who sent you to seduce him?!”

“Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!!!”

The caregiver’s arm was scalded over half its length by the boiling chicken soup, blisters rising instantly in clusters of translucent bubbles.

With things escalated this far, the caregiver had no intention of lingering. He shot a pale glance at Jiang Rang and fled the room in haste.

The instant he stepped out the door, the refined young man’s pitiful demeanor twisted into something else entirely. Frowning, he dialed a number. Once it connected, he spoke. “Boss Chen, I’ve finished what you asked.”

“It’s just…” He seemed to recall something unpleasant; his scalded hand shook badly as he swallowed hard. “That lunatic’s meltdown was terrifying. I…”

A calm, mild voice emanated from the phone. “I understand. I’ll set you up with a new identity—no need to worry about retaliation down the line. The payment’s already hitting your account.”

Only then did the refined caregiver exhale in relief and end the call.

He shifted his arm, his eyes flicking slightly as his gaze swept over the scene in the hospital room. He couldn’t help but shiver again.

There, the beta who had ignored all his seduction attempts over the past few days had somehow calmed the emotionally shattered omega. The man was half-sitting up on the bed, leaning gently against the youth’s shoulder. His eyelids fluttered lightly, and crystalline tears rolled down his cheeks the moment they welled up. He looked like someone who had finally found a safe harbor.

Perhaps the caregiver’s stare was too obvious. The man’s gaze slowly shifted to the glass panel on the door.

In that instant, a piercing alarm blared in the caregiver’s mind. Every hair on his body stood on end.

He watched as Mr. Qi slowly turned to him with a bizarre smile. The man’s damp lashes trembled softly, but his pale, ashen face twisted into something sickly. Silently, he parted his blood-red lips and mouthed, “I’ll kill you.”

The caregiver didn’t dare look any longer. He turned and fled as if his life depended on it.

Qi Yu slowly withdrew his gaze. He buried his face completely in the beta’s chest and drew in a deep breath, barely suppressing the stress tremors wracking his body.

The omega kept his eyes downcast, tears streaming down his face. He explained in a tone of wounded grievance, “Jiang Rang, it was him who had bad intentions toward you first. While you were gone, he deliberately provoked me, saying that most omegas who’ve given birth end up despised by their husbands. I—”

His voice caught, as if choked with sobs. He turned his head halfway, revealing eyes rimmed with deep red.

Jiang Rang wasn’t an unreasonable man. Since Qi Yu had taken the initiative to explain, there was room for reconciliation—especially since the omega had just given birth, and Little Darling was so adorable. Naturally, he couldn’t stay too cold toward him.

So the youth did as the man wanted. He gently wrapped an arm around the omega’s shoulder, his broad palm occasionally patting the other’s back to soothe his emotions.

For a moment, the hospital room felt warm and cozy.

Once Qi Yu’s mood had finally steadied, he seemed to remember something. In a mock complaint, he said, “Wife, did you go see Little Darling again? I went through hell to give birth to him, and you can’t even spare me a few more visits.”

Jiang Rang felt a flicker of helplessness. “Mr. Qi, you can’t call me that—it’s not right. Besides, I’m worried about Little Darling. He’s so tiny, left alone like that. I don’t want him to get scared.”

The man’s slender, bony fingers toyed gently with the beta’s soft black hair. In a soft voice, he said, “He’s too young to understand anything. Besides, we’ve already had a child together. We’ll get married eventually, right? Don’t you want to take responsibility?”

Jiang Rang frowned. “Mr. Qi, you’re already married into the Li Family.”

Qi Yu let out a light chuckle and eased himself back upright. His deep black eyes fixed intently on the youth. “That old fart in the Li Family is nothing to worry about. Things are going even smoother than I expected. Soon enough, someone else will be sitting in the Li Family Head’s seat.”

A faint shadow of disappointment crossed his furrowed brows. Softly, he added, “Or do you want Little Darling to grow up with everyone gossiping about his background, mocking him for not having a dad?”

The beta’s throat tightened. His brows knitted together, hesitation flickering across his face.

Qi Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and put on a troubled expression. “I know you’ve been hung up on that verbal engagement with Hang Liu, worrying about whether he’s alive or dead.”

“Jiang Rang.” The man’s gaze held a profound, bewitching darkness as he parted his lips. “But you didn’t agree to marry him out of love. Why tie yourself down for life over it? Little Darling’s here now. We should all move forward, don’t you think?”

The youth’s lashes fluttered like butterfly wings. Seeing that the beta still wasn’t fully convinced, Qi Yu tightened his grip on his fingertips and lowered his eyes. “Besides, I just got word from my side—they’ve found Hang Liu.”

Jiang Rang went rigid all over. Disbelief flooded his eyes, turning them red-rimmed in an instant. His voice hoarse, he whispered as if afraid to jinx it, “F-found… found him?”

Flustered, he stammered, “But Chen Jingxu said he fell off a cliff. He…”

Suddenly, Qi Yu pressed close. His lithe frame coiled around the youth like a seductive serpent flicking its tongue. Strands of his long hair draped over the beta’s sturdy, honey-toned arm, circling lazily in a way that oozed sensuality.

Softly, he murmured, “Wife, why believe just anyone? You know what Chen Jingxu is like. He did try to kill Hang Liu, but I have someone planted in the Chen Family who pulled him out at the last second.”

The omega gently licked the tears from the young man’s cheek, his lowered voice laced with a warped tenderness. “Wife, only I truly care about you. Even if I’m burning with jealousy, if I’m afraid you’ll be heartbroken, I’ll go save him for you. Wife… Wife… Love me…”

Tears welled in Jiang Rang’s eyes as he stared at him in a daze.

Qi Yu smiled faintly. A soft blush gradually spread across his cold, sinister cheeks, giving him the sweet glow of a newlywed youth.

He murmured softly, “Wife, once I’m out of the hospital, let’s go get our marriage certificate.”

The tears on the young man’s cheeks had already trickled down his sharp jawline. His vision blurred into a kaleidoscope of strange, fractured lights and shadows, yet Qi Yu’s beautiful features sharpened into perfect clarity.

In the end, Jiang Rang heard his own voice—soft and yielding, like a surrender. “Qi Yu, will you let me go see him?”

Qi Yu’s expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly nodded with a low chuckle. “Of course. As long as you put my mind at ease, Wife. Once we’ve got the certificate, you can visit him whenever you like.”

“We’ll have a grand wedding,” the man added with a smile.

“Wife, I’ll love you forever.”