DREB CHAPTER 67

Lu Lianning found Li Yan remarkable in certain ways.

Li Yan never outright said he didn’t care about Lu Lianning, but everything he said managed to imply just that.

For example, when Lu Lianning threatened to make him sleep under the bed while he and Song Ruan slept on top, Li Yan’s biggest concern wasn’t the fact that Lu Lianning would be sharing a bed with someone else.

The next day, Lu Lianning skipped the office and took Li Yan for a medical check-up instead.

During the ride, Li Yan fidgeted like he was sitting on pins and needles. Finally, unable to hold back, he leaned toward Lu Lianning and asked, “Didn’t we already have a check-up this year? Why are we doing it again?”

Lu Lianning scrolled through his phone without paying attention to the screen and remarked casually, “I think your brain hasn’t fully recovered. We need to check.”

At Zheng Zhi’s office, Lu Lianning leaned against the desk and looked up to ask, “How is it?”

“Not bad, nothing too concerning.” Zheng Zhi flipped through the examination report, feeling a bit puzzled. “Why the sudden check-up?”

After a brief pause, Lu Lianning said, “We’re planning to have a child.”

Zheng Zhi’s mouth twitched. “You two?”

Under Zheng Zhi’s gaze, Lu Lianning shifted awkwardly to his other leg and corrected himself, “I’m planning to have a child with Li Yan.”

Zheng Zhi said, “I know. Didn’t I suggest earlier this year that you wait a couple more years?” Noticing the seriousness in Lu Lianning’s expression, he glanced at the report again and furrowed his brows. “You announced breaking off the engagement pretty early. Are you not planning to wait anymore?”

Lu Lianning had to admit he was being a bit impatient. He changed the subject. “It’ll take a few months after he starts the catalyst injections, right? I’m just moving the timeline up by half a year. You said his recovery was going well.”

Zheng Zhi found it amusing how Lu Lianning had clearly made up his mind but was still pretending to seek advice. He reminded him, “Do you really think the hardest part is whether his body can handle pregnancy? When he got scratched by a cat and needed vaccines, you saw how badly that went. This catalyst is designed for Omegas. He’s an adult Beta, and you know how long it’ll take for his atrophied cavity to develop again?”

Lu Lianning sighed deeply. “How long, at least?”

Zheng Zhi replied, “One shot a week for three months. If that doesn’t work, he’ll need to keep going…”

Even Lu Lianning felt troubled as soon as the words were out. His brows furrowed tightly. “And if he does get pregnant, giving birth…?”

“He’ll need a C-section. I’m confident it’ll be successful, but from what I can tell, he doesn’t seem to know yet,” Zheng Zhi said, eyeing Lu Lianning.

Lu Lianning’s expression didn’t change. “It’s not the right time for him to know.”

Zheng Zhi silently thought: You’re just fooling yourself. Who knows if he’s even willing to have a child with you.

On the way back, Lu Lianning’s expression remained serious, making Li Yan feel increasingly uneasy.

His glances were so obvious that even Lu Lianning noticed. Meeting Li Yan’s gaze, his expression stayed ugly, but his tone was unusually gentle. “What’s wrong?”

Li Yan hesitated before asking, “Are my test results bad?”

Without missing a beat, Lu Lianning responded, “Of course not! You’re perfectly fine!”

He didn’t even realize how odd his behavior was. Li Yan felt no reassurance from his words.

On Monday, Lu Lianning left for a business trip. Before leaving, he kept Li Yan in bed until dawn, only letting him go after that.

He always did this before a business trip—staying up all night and then catching up on sleep on the plane. As he left the house, he didn’t forget to instruct the butler not to disturb Li Yan, who had just fallen asleep.

The butler’s eyelids twitched. The very person responsible for disrupting Li Yan’s rest was now giving strict orders to ensure it.

It took Li Yan two full days to recover at home. Noticing that several pieces of clothing were missing from the closet, he figured that Lu Lianning would be away for at least a week.

He hadn’t been out in a while and felt too embarrassed to see Lin Sheng, so he decided to head out and find Lao Yue instead.

As night fell, while he was rushing back, a car suddenly pulled up in front of him.

The window rolled down, revealing Qi Zhen’s annoying grin. Every time Qi Zhen smiled at him, Li Yan felt a chill run down his spine.

Seeing the car blocking his path, Li Yan tried to act nonchalant and walked around it.

Qi Zhen noticed his attempt to ignore him and called out, “Li Yan!” Taking off his sunglasses, which had covered half his face, he added, “What a coincidence! How far are you walking? Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”

Li Yan hurriedly waved his hand, declining, “No, no need…”

But Qi Zhen was persistent and determined to be helpful to Li Yan, honking loudly as he leisurely followed behind him. “Hey, isn’t it tiring to walk like that? If Ah Ning finds out I ran into you and acted like I didn’t see you, he’ll be upset.”

His words clearly jabbed at Li Yan, who had been pretending not to see him. Li Yan had no way to deal with someone like Qi Zhen, and by this point, passersby had begun to glance in their direction.

Left with no other choice, Li Yan got into Qi Zhen’s car and said, “Alright, just drop me off at the corner near the house.” He added a polite, “Thank you.”

For some reason, Qi Zhen found this “thank you” amusing and laughed. He winked and replied, “You’re welcome.”

After about ten minutes of driving, Li Yan began to sense something was wrong. Trying to stay calm, he pointed out, “This isn’t the right way.”

Qi Zhen ignored him, continuing down a road that led in the opposite direction of Lu Lianning’s house, even speeding up.

At this point, if Li Yan still didn’t realize this wasn’t a coincidence, he’d truly be a fool. Qi Zhen, who behaved like a madman, had clearly been targeting him from the start.

Li Yan tensed and glanced sideways at Qi Zhen, demanding, “Where exactly are you taking me!?”