Chapter 41: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man (Complete)

As winter drew near, the Federal Parliament underwent a complete overhaul.

Numerous powerful families suffered heavy blows in the shake-up, with the Li Family and Chen Family hit the hardest.

Unlike the Li Family’s internal conflicts in previous years or the Qi Family’s seizure of power, this round of changes rippled far and wide. The Li Family, once boasting countless scions who dominated the scene, withdrew entirely from the political stage. The Chen Family, though larger than a dead horse in its emaciated state, teetered on the brink of collapse.

Only the Qi Family emerged intact—even stronger, now the true puppet master behind the Upper Parliament.

Qi Yu, an omega, ascended to the role of Parliamentary Prime Minister amid boundless glory. Media outlets across the federation showered praise on his pro-citizen policies, efforts to bring machinery to the masses, and reforms to the Upper Parliament.

The era of hereditary nobles pulling strings from the shadows was over, replaced by lifetime nobles and elected nobles drawn from nonpartisan independents representing the people.

As a result, Qi Yu commanded near-universal support from the federation’s middle and lower classes.

Even when the old-guard nobles banded together to suppress him, they were powerless against the tide of the times.

The wooden desk and chairs gleamed under the soft lights of the photography panels, their hues simple, approachable, and rustic. The man seated there wore a stately black suit and overcoat, his beautiful, silk-smooth long hair neatly tied back. His features were mild, his lips curved in a gentle smile—even the faint white below his eyes held a warm, moist sheen. His poise was utterly natural, innate.

Every gesture betrayed the mark of a true powerholder.

Behind him, a towering bookshelf in warm mahogany tones held volumes like The Federal Constitution and Parliamentary Protocols, bathed in orange light that lent the space the quiet serenity of a study.

“So, Mr. Qi,” the female alpha host in a crisp white suit said, nervously smoothing the fabric over her knee while maintaining a composed, gentle expression. “We’re all well aware of your stellar achievements and can’t stop talking about them. But for today’s interview, we’d like to discuss your marriage and some personal matters. Would you be comfortable answering?”

Qi Yu paused for a fraction of a second, his smile blooming warmer, like a spring breeze.

The man inclined his head with refined poise and chuckled lightly. “Of course. My marriage isn’t any great secret.”

The host smiled back, cleared her throat, and racked her brain for the perfect phrasing, her face stiffening slightly as she spoke. “Mr. Qi, it’s said you’ve had two marriages. We all know about the first one—it ended almost amicably due to the Li Family Young Master’s health issues. So what sparked your second marriage? Rumor has it your second husband is a rather unassuming agronomy expert.”

Qi Yu smiled faintly, crossing his slender hands. “My husband has a wonderful temperament and is very tolerant of me. We…”

He pondered for a moment, then said with a low laugh, “Fell in love at first sight.”

The host teased, “You’ve been married to your husband for nearly five years now, and your passion is still so fresh and intense—like honey and glue. You could truly be called the federation’s model couple.”

Qi Yu chuckled. “Yes, he cares deeply for me. Sometimes he gets a bit jealous over nothing, but I love that about him.”

“However,” the man added with a laugh, “you’d better not keep bringing up my first husband. He might get quietly upset about it.”

A wave of good-natured laughter rippled through the room.

The interview proceeded smoothly. As it neared its close, Qi Yu suddenly felt his wrist communicator vibrate sharply. The moment he glanced at the popping notification, the long-haired man’s expression shifted subtly.

He kept his composure until the end, but the instant the cameras cut, his face turned icy. Without a backward glance, he hurried off to his car.

The little assistant beside the host asked in bewilderment, “Mr. Qi was like a different person off-camera. Rushing away like that—who knows, someone might think his husband was cheating…”

The host exhaled the breath she’d been holding and, after a long pause, murmured as if struck by a memory, “I have a relative who worked under Mr. Qi a few years back. They heard a bit of gossip.”

The little assistant perked up and leaned in eagerly. “What? Spill it!”

The host grabbed a tissue from nearby to dab the sweat beading on her forehead, then whispered, “They say Mr. Qi’s beta husband didn’t marry him willingly.”

“In fact, Mr. Qi sort of stole him away. That husband had a fiancé he loved deeply… But with Mr. Qi’s immense power, and then somehow getting pregnant on top of it, he successfully claimed his place.”

The little assistant gasped in shock. “What?! So what happened to that fiancé?”

The host let out a low sigh. “How could a mere commoner compete with the elite? That poor civilian fiancé is probably still lying in a hospital bed, barely conscious.”

The Little Assistant was so shocked he didn’t know what to say. After a long moment, he murmured in a daze, “Then Mr. Qi’s husband must have it really rough.”

The host patted his face. “We’d better not worry about how others are faring. No matter what, they’re doing way better than the likes of us, scraping by at the bottom.”

~~~

Qi Yu stumbled slightly as he stepped out of the car.

His face was ashen, his long hair, which had been tied back, now hanging loose. Thick, ink-black strands whipped up by the cold wind, impossible to look away from.

He glanced up at the red cross glowing above the hospital entrance, a flicker of gloom darkening his pitch-black eyes.

The winter night wind was bitterly cold, and snow had begun to flurry down. Qi Yu wore only a black windbreaker, his neck completely exposed. His exquisite, beautiful face was flushed red from the chill, tinged with a hint of blue. He took a deep breath to steady himself and stepped into the hospital.

The sharp click of his leather shoes echoed harshly through the quiet nighttime corridor.

Those footsteps finally came to a halt outside a VIP ward.

Qi Yu didn’t push the door open right away.

He simply stood there, gazing quietly through the glass at the scene inside.

The young man in the dark overcoat had let his hair grow out a bit longer. His honeyed skin and resolute profile evoked the sweet taste of honey melting on the tongue.

On the bed lay a beta sunk into deep slumber, his face so pale it was nearly translucent. He looked as if he were simply sleeping peacefully, like a delicate bouquet of fragrant flowers trembling on the brink.

Jiang Rang was gently moistening the young man’s lips with a cotton swab, his movements incredibly tender. After finishing, he soaked a towel in warm water and carefully wiped the other’s cheeks and neck.

At his side stood a tiny figure who lifted a cute, pretty face toward his tall beta father and whispered, “Daddy, when will Uncle Hang Liu wake up?”

Jiang Rang wrung out the towel, meticulously drying every drop of water, before bending down to gently ruffle Little Darling’s hair. In a hoarse voice, he replied, “Daddy doesn’t know.”

Little Darling’s full name was Jiang Le’an, chosen by Jiang Rang himself. For some reason, the omega’s attitude toward his son was oddly inconsistent. In Jiang Rang’s presence, Qi Yu always treated Little Darling with a mix of warmth and strictness, the picture of a model father.

But one time, when Jiang Rang had come home early, he’d caught Qi Yu wearing an expression of near disgust, while five-year-old Jiang Le’an reacted with instinctive wariness and distance—the kind a child might show a stranger, despite it being his own father.

Only when they noticed Jiang Rang did their faces change, and the family slipped back into their facade of harmonious bliss.

Jiang Rang wasn’t oblivious to the tension, but he felt powerless to fix it. When he’d questioned Qi Yu about it, the man had flatly denied everything. Of course he would deny it. He’d humbly bound the beta to him using their child—how could he ever admit his loathing for this alpha son?

As for Little Darling, Jiang Rang had gently coaxed answers out of him too. The boy was remarkably sharp for a five-year-old, sometimes too sharp. Faced with his father’s probing, he defaulted to coquettish pleading, burrowing into Jiang Rang’s arms, nuzzling his neck with his little head, and lisping in that milky voice, “Little Darling only likes Daddy. Little Darling just wants Daddy.”

In the end, Jiang Rang could only let it go.

Their family dynamic was like the thin ice on a frozen winter lake—fragile enough that the slightest pressure would shatter it completely.

Jiang Rang sighed and withdrew his hand.

But Little Darling caught hold of the young man’s slightly callused palm. Flashing an obedient smile, he said, “Daddy, you seem to really like Uncle Hang Liu.”

Jiang Rang pressed his lips together and gently clasped the small hand in return. In a low voice, he said, “Little Darling, you mustn’t say things like that. Your father would be upset if he heard.”

Jiang Le’an blinked innocently. “But Daddy, you do like Uncle Hang Liu more. We’ve snuck over to visit him so many times, but you’ve never once gone to see Father on your own.”

Just then, the sound of the door lock clicking open echoed from the entrance.

Jiang Rang’s expression shifted in alarm. He opened his mouth to speak, but in walked the omega with his long hair cascading loosely, his face etched with icy hostility. Qi Yu’s pale features carried a raw, biting chill. He didn’t glance at the beta first—instead, he fixed a cold stare on Little Darling and rasped, “Come here.”

Jiang Rang hurriedly stepped in front of Little Darling, who was visibly frightened and instinctively shrank behind the young man.

Qi Yu’s voice was rough with strain as he stared straight at the beta. Only after a long pause did he say, “I won’t do anything to him, Jiang Rang. Step aside.”

The air grew thick with tension, drawn taut like a bowstring.

Jiang Rang wasn’t the type to butt heads with people. He was an honest farmhand at heart, and now that he was married—even if he felt little emotional attachment to men—for Little Darling’s sake, he wanted to make things work.

In the end, the young man stepped aside slightly. He crouched down and ruffled Little Darling’s hair, gazing at the child’s reddened eyes with a pang of heartache and helplessness. In the end, he could only murmur softly, “It’s all right, Little Darling.”

Jiang Le’an blinked, tears spilling down one by one, but he obeyed Jiang Rang completely and shuffled slowly toward the man.

Qi Yu’s face was dark. He bent at the waist, seizing Little Darling’s wrist with one hand while smacking the child’s palm hard several times with the other.

Perhaps from the force of the blows, Little Darling immediately wailed loudly.

Qi Yu paid no heed. His eyes gradually filled with red: “Jiang Le’an, haven’t I taught you that some words can’t be spoken carelessly? Your dad and I are legally wed. Do you want to tear this family apart by saying things like that?”

Little Darling shook his head frantically amid his sobs but couldn’t wrench free. Finally, Jiang Rang scooped him up and carried him a short distance away. The moment Jiang Le’an touched Jiang Rang, he burrowed instinctively into the young man’s embrace, sobbing and hiccuping.

Qi Yu stood off to the side, a total stranger to this father and son.

The man struggled to rein in his emotions. Compared to a few years back, his temper had mellowed considerably.

Otherwise, he might have flown into a rage on the spot.

“Jiang Rang, let’s go home.”

The man fixed the young man with a cold stare and issued the command.

Jiang Rang pressed his lips tight. He cast a final glance at the oblivious Hang Liu on the hospital bed before slowly departing.

The hospital room door eased shut, sealing away what might have been a gateway to another world. The stark white space fell back into chilly silence.

Yet from the corner of the bedridden youth’s eye—who lay insensate and frail—a single tear slowly traced its way down.

It soaked into the pillow and vanished without a trace.

~~~

That evening, Jiang Rang emerged from the bathroom after his shower to find the long-haired man half-reclining on the bed in a sexy negligee.

The instant the man spotted the young man, a blush crept slowly across his cheeks.

It was like a blatant signal of seduction. After years of marriage, how could Jiang Rang miss Qi Yu’s intent?

But Jiang Rang had no interest. Wearily rubbing his head, he brushed away the man’s hand when it snaked around his waist.

“Qi Yu,” Jiang Rang said, “you can’t treat Little Darling like that. He’s just a kid. If you have to blame someone, blame me.”

Qi Yu’s expression stiffened momentarily. After a long pause, he replied airily, “Little Darling is our son—why would I blame him? It’s just that his words hurt me. Wife, I know you still care about Hang Liu, but after all these years, don’t you think it’s time to move on?”

The man took the young man’s hand in his own and pressed it gently to his chest. “Don’t you care about me at all?” he whispered.

Jiang Rang let out a low sigh and apologized at last. After a moment’s thought, he closed his eyes. “Qi Yu, I won’t go there anymore. We’ll make a real go of it. But you need to ease up on Little Darling too. He’s at that age when he needs guidance from his family. Even if he doesn’t say it, he feels the absence deep down.”

Qi Yu nestled softly into the beta’s arms. His powdered cheeks flushed prettily, his stunning features curving into a subtle smile. “All right,” he whispered. “I’ll do as you say.”

“But…” His voice turned husky. “We have all the time in the world, Wife. Let’s have another child—for Little Darling’s sake, so you’re not always held back. It wouldn’t do your career any good.”

A flush rose on Jiang Rang’s face as well. After a beat, he sighed softly. “All right. Whatever you say.”

Moonlight hazed the windows as the snow outside fell harder, fiercer—as if determined to bury the whole world.

Jiang Rang’s eyes drifted shut in exhaustion at last. Half-asleep, he caught a low, raspy murmur at his ear.

“Wife, I love you.”

His chest loosened. In his drowsy haze, he thought: Fine, then. Just like this.

Since escape was impossible and hiding futile, just like this.