Chapter 49: High and Mighty Alpha Young Master

It was rare for Shen Yanzhi to coax the fool like this, and Zhou Wu listened obediently.

The two of them spent most of their time at home.

Shen Yanzhi wanted to hide his belly, while Zhou Wu only ventured out occasionally for treatment.

In this way, they enjoyed a rare stretch of the warmest, stickiest days imaginable.

In the mornings, Zhou Wu would wake up groggy and immediately bury his head in Shen Yanzhi’s arms to eat.

Shen Yanzhi would hold him close.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Wu suddenly lifted his head, feeling like something was off.

“Am I stealing the baby’s food like this?”

Shen Yanzhi’s ears flushed red. “He can’t eat solids yet anyway.”

Zhou Wu pondered this. “Then when the baby comes out, I won’t eat anymore.”

“There’ll be formula by then…”

Shen Yanzhi answered offhandedly, pressing Zhou Wu’s head back down.

“Eat up.”

A little while later, Zhou Wu began squirming in his arms amid the overwhelming scent, his face growing even redder.

“Shen Yanzhi, down there…”

Shen Yanzhi had been teasing him for ages and was already out of patience. “Then put it in.”

Zhou Wu nodded and shifted into position, hugging Shen Yanzhi from behind. He sighed contentedly.

“You’re so good to me.”

Shen Yanzhi covered his face, the back of his hand slowly turning red.

“Uh…” He bent at the waist, slow and deliberate.

“Faster…”

But Zhou Wu hesitated. “Won’t it scare the baby?”

“No, it won’t. Everything’s fine…”

Still, Zhou Wu dithered, unwilling to proceed.

What a tease.

Shen Yanzhi could only focus intently on the sensations, embarrassingly guiding himself along until Zhou Wu finally climaxed at a leisurely pace. Yet Zhou Wu kept going.

His face burning, Shen Yanzhi gasped, “No… I can’t anymore.”

Zhou Wu sounded aggrieved. “But I haven’t yet?”

“Shen Yanzhi, just now it got so tight and felt so good,” he whispered right in his ear.

“Can we go again?”

“…” Shen Yanzhi squeezed his eyes shut in mortification, but the sensations coursing through his body told a different story. He could.

After that, Shen Yanzhi fell silent, letting Zhou Wu have his way with him.

He had never been one for excessive desire before. Yet with Zhou Wu, he always found new pleasures—even, in his dazed moments, the faint hope that things could go on like this forever.

But after a while, it was Zhou Wu who grew busy instead.

The treatments were starting to show results, and his learning progress was surprisingly strong.

He was no longer content with basic cognitive training. Now he had a clear goal: enroll in remedial classes and earn his junior high and high school diplomas.

Shen Yanzhi had hoped he would stay home. He was more than willing to shell out for the best private tutors for one-on-one lessons.

But Zhou Wu had been cooped up for a whole month. He yearned to go out, to experience classes like any normal student—to listen to lectures and soak in the atmosphere.

So he pleaded with Shen Yanzhi to let him attend classes outside.

Shen Yanzhi agreed at first. But after a time…

He began to regret it.

Zhou Wu’s life now had its own rhythm, one independent of Shen Yanzhi’s.

He headed out first thing in the morning and didn’t return until dinner. He’d chatter excitedly about the remedial class, mentioning new classmates he’d met—and occasionally, his clothes would carry mingled scents from others.

This grated on Shen Yanzhi like nothing else.

Whenever he tried to leave his pheromones on Zhou Wu, the other man started dodging away, even muttering excuses. “My friends say… it’s kind of weird.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“Too strong. It’s scary and affects other people. They say normal folks don’t do that.”

“…”

Naturally, Shen Yanzhi never thought to examine his own behavior.

He only saw that Zhou Wu was growing more disobedient by the day.

Zhou Wu was starting to trust his teachers and classmates more. He had his own opinions now and wouldn’t blindly follow Shen Yanzhi’s every casual word.

Whenever Zhou Wu left for class, Shen Yanzhi’s displeasure mounted.

His foul mood made the baby in his belly kick.

Which only irritated him more.

Today, he simply got dressed and headed out with the driver to pick Zhou Wu up from class.

As soon as the car pulled up, he spotted Zhou Wu emerging—alongside someone else.

It was the young female teacher, fresh out of university, chatting and smiling with him.

She was young herself, after all, and couldn’t help but take a liking to this exceptionally handsome student with such a diligent attitude toward his studies.

She walked out with him, lingering to talk a bit longer, even asking if he’d like some milk tea.

Shen Yanzhi—Young Master Shen—saw the whole thing.

Zhou Wu spotted the familiar car right away and promptly said goodbye to the teacher.

Only once he was in the car did he notice Shen Yanzhi’s sour expression.

He looked utterly frigid, bundled head to toe in black clothes.

It was like the early days of their acquaintance all over again—distant, an unbridgeable gulf between them.

“You’ll take your lessons at home from now on.”

Zhou Wu blinked in surprise. “Why?”

“I didn’t send you to school to chat up omegas.”

Zhou Wu laughed at first, trying to tease and lighten the mood. “Are you jealous?”

But he quickly saw there was no hint of a joke in Shen Yanzhi’s face and grew serious. “She’s a teacher…”

“Not anymore.”

Zhou Wu froze. What did he mean? Was this some kind of joke?

“You can’t do that.”

Shen Yanzhi found it amusing. “I can’t?”

Was he giving orders now?

“Of course you can’t!”

“What?” Shen Yanzhi’s expression darkened further.

“Are you using your pheromones to pressure me?”

Zhou Wu finally noticed the heavy, ominous pheromones filling the car.

He clutched the back of his neck in a panic. “No—I mean, I’m just a little angry.”

Zhou Wu’s old self would have followed nothing but instinct. Shen Yanzhi’s scent was appealing, his touch comfortable, so he’d naturally been drawn in.

But he’d never truly grasped what kind of person Shen Yanzhi was.

So many things he’d overlooked before were coming into focus now—and once he reflected on them, nothing felt right.

“You can’t just casually, thoughtlessly ruin someone’s life.”

“Why not?”

Zhou Wu looked up in shock. Shen Yanzhi was even smiling, utterly unrepentant.

Ordinary people meant nothing to him.

Zhou Wu felt a pang of disappointment. No wonder this protagonist gong needed reforming—he clearly hadn’t succeeded after all.

“What do you mean, ‘why not’?”

“Not everything you have the power to do should be done.”

“I could make you uncomfortable right now if I wanted, but I’ve never done that, have I?”

“I’ve never held back my pheromones from you, or given you something you didn’t want.”

As he spoke, the pheromones emanating from Zhou Wu shifted. Shen Yanzhi’s face flushed crimson in an instant, as though he could scarcely draw breath, his body going limp.

“You…?”

“You’re doing this to me… because of someone else?”

He seized Zhou Wu by the collar. He desperately wanted to lash out, but the traitorous response of his own body made that impossible.

His heart hammered wildly, waves of desire crashing over him. Suddenly, a wet spot bloomed on his pants.

Shen Yanzhi’s face burned with embarrassment. He truly hadn’t realized just how potent an effect Zhou Wu had on him.

It made him feel practically like an omega—and that only fueled his anger all the more. He gritted his teeth.

“You think she talked to you for no reason?

Wasn’t it because you’re decked out in designer labels every day, with a luxury car picking you up for school? And who do you think gave you all that?”

He wanted to play it cool and keep talking tough, but in truth, his voice cracked, trembling as he slumped against Zhou Wu.

“Stop it… you bastard.”

He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Uh… Zhou Wu…”

The driver up front hurriedly steered into a deserted spot, raised the partition, and drove off.

Shen Yanzhi rubbed against Zhou Wu, then tensed up suddenly, legs clamping together as he came on his own.

Trembling, he reached for Zhou Wu’s hand.

Zhou Wu pressed his lips together. “You were joking earlier… You wouldn’t really get that teacher fired, would you?”

“You’re still thinking about someone else!”

Shen Yanzhi was on the verge of tears.

Zhou Wu didn’t have the heart to push it. In the end, he relented. “I’ll stay home. I won’t see anyone.”

He held Shen Yanzhi close, pleading softly in his ear. “Please don’t punish other people out of nowhere, okay?”

Shen Yanzhi was still furious, but he couldn’t bear to upset Zhou Wu at a time like this. He bit his lip, tears quivering on his lashes before spilling over. He could only brush it off.

But Zhou Wu could tell now—he was just placating him.

Lowering his gaze, Zhou Wu felt a pang of hurt and confusion.

“Go ahead and move on your own.”

Shen Yanzhi’s face burned even hotter. He could sense Zhou Wu’s half-heartedness, his lack of enthusiasm. Only he was lost in this haze of desire, utterly unable to pull himself out.

Fuming and mortified, especially since they were still in the car, he had no choice but to take the initiative, over and over, until he was utterly spent.

When he finally looked up, he saw that Zhou Wu had been turned away the whole time, keeping watch for anyone nearby. Seeing him stop, Zhou Wu sighed.

“Head home?”

“…” But Shen Yanzhi wanted more.

…

Shen Yanzhi had thought that as long as Zhou Wu stopped going to classes, things between them could go back to normal.

But Zhou Wu’s mind had truly healed.

He started reflecting, asking Shen Yanzhi questions—like why he’d once wanted to remove his glands.

What their relationship even was now.

And if Shen Yanzhi was going to be the “daddy” from here on out, what did that leave for him? He couldn’t exactly play mommy.

Shen Yanzhi struggled to give answers that would satisfy him.

He’d never planned to go public about the pregnancy anyway, or introduce Zhou Wu to family and friends.

Gradually, Zhou Wu stopped asking. Their day-to-day life seemed fine on the surface.

But Shen Yanzhi could feel Zhou Wu drifting further and further away.

It made him loath the very idea of letting Zhou Wu out of his sight.

Zhou Wu, however, seemed to want the exact opposite.

One crisp morning, Shen Yanzhi spotted Zhou Wu standing silently just inside the estate’s heavy iron gates, staring out through the bars for a long while.

At a loss for words, Shen Yanzhi approached, his voice icy. “What are you looking at?”

“Ah.” Zhou Wu startled as if from a trance, withdrawing his gaze with an awkward smile.

“…Isn’t Su Bai supposed to pick me up this afternoon for the exam?”

“It’s still morning.”

“I… I know.” Zhou Wu licked his lips.

Sensing Shen Yanzhi’s displeasure, he scrambled for an excuse. “I was just a little nervous. Needed some fresh air.”

But that afternoon, when Su Bai arrived right on time, Zhou Wu’s eyes lit up. He practically skipped out the door, not a trace of nerves in sight.

Su Bai had moved out by now, crashing in the dorms when he wasn’t busy.

He’d even bought a secondhand car.

As he drove off with Zhou Wu, he shot a glance at Shen Yanzhi, who stood glowering at the mansion’s entrance.

“He won’t even let you out the door anymore?”

Zhou Wu wanted to say no, but the truth was undeniable.

Even when Shen Yanzhi went out, he no longer brought Zhou Wu along.

Su Bai fumed.

“Zhou Wu, you don’t have to stay with him just because he’s carrying your baby.

If you don’t like him, you don’t like him.

Why should everything always go his way?”

Zhou Wu fell silent for a moment. Truth be told, he didn’t hate him—Shen Yanzhi just refused to change. The mission had to go on.

He forced a strained smile. “He’s not feeling well right now. Once the baby comes, things might get better.”

On this outing, not only did Zhou Wu ace his exam, but Su Bai also took him to tour the Research Institute where he interned.

Su Bai told him that a revered old botany professor there was hiring a hardworking, detail-oriented assistant for field recording work.

As Su Bai described it, and Zhou Wu took in the exquisite plant specimens and photos of rugged fieldwork in the lab, his eyes sparkled with a longing he’d never known.

Su Bai urged him on. “Professor Chen’s famous for valuing skills and passion over credentials. If you’re observant, meticulous with notes, and up for hauling gear through the wilds, you’ve got a real shot! I can put in a good word for you!”

Zhou Wu’s heart raced with excitement. He was on the verge of nodding when his phone buzzed.

Shen Yanzhi’s voice came through. “Why aren’t you back yet?”

Zhou Wu whispered, “You said it was okay for me to check out the Research Institute.

I want to stick around a bit longer. This place is fascinating.”

Silence on the line.

Zhou Wu checked the time. “It’s not even that late.”

Shen Yanzhi still wouldn’t hang up.

Zhou Wu couldn’t stand it. “I’ve been cooped up at home every day. This is my first time out in ages… I might be late getting back.”

He tested the waters.

“Heading off now?”

“Zhou Wu.”

“My stomach’s bothering me a little.”

Zhou Wu froze. Irritation vanished, replaced by worry.

He told Su Bai they had to cut it short, then assured Shen Yanzhi, “What’s wrong? Have you called the doctor? I’m coming right now.”

Su Bai started to say something but held back, driving him home instead.

Zhou Wu fretted the whole way, bursting through the door and rushing to Shen Yanzhi’s side, scanning him anxiously.

“Where does it hurt? Is it bad? Where’s the doctor?”

The concern and tension in his voice were genuine, impossible to fake.

Shen Yanzhi’s mood seemed to soften. He simply pulled Zhou Wu into his arms and murmured, “It’s much better now.”

Su Bai: “…”

He knew it—this guy had been lying through his teeth all along.

Only after confirming that everything was fine did Zhou Wu finally let out a sigh of relief.

Su Bai left. Yet Zhou Wu lingered on the outing, replaying every moment in his mind.

Cradling Shen Yanzhi in his arms, he hesitated for a moment before blurting out, “I… can I go back to the Research Institute tomorrow?”

“Why do you keep running off to that place?”

“I want…” Steeling his courage, Zhou Wu voiced his thoughts clearly. “I want to try working as a botanist’s assistant.”

Shen Yanzhi frowned. Wouldn’t that mean dashing around everywhere, constant business trips, and hardly ever being home?

“No.”

Zhou Wu froze. “But I…”

“You don’t need to work. You wouldn’t make much money anyway.”

“The yard at home is huge. Plant whatever you like there.”

“…That’s not the same.”

Zhou Wu tried to smile as he reasoned with him.

“Once the baby’s born, you’ll be busy too. I can’t just sit around the house every single day, can I?”

To his surprise, Shen Yanzhi fell silent.

Zhou Wu quieted as well. Slowly, he drew his hand back from Shen Yanzhi’s body.

“Were you really feeling sick to your stomach earlier?”

“What are you getting at?”

“I don’t get it. What have I done wrong? I’ve been doing everything I can to take care of you. I was only gone for one short trip today—it’s not even dark out yet—and you had to drag me back home?”

“I’ve looked it up. Even pregnant omegas don’t act like this!”

“Can’t you manage by yourself for just one night?”

Shen Yanzhi’s face flushed red in an instant.

He had never dreamed that he’d be compared to an omega—or accused of being overly clingy.