Yang Shao glanced toward the bed, where Yang Tao was sound asleep. “Chen Qiusu, there’s something I’ve never told you.”
The alcohol dulled Chen Qiusu’s senses, and his entire body screamed with exhaustion. His consciousness was hazy, but the familiar voice made him relax. He heard Yang Shao speaking, but his mind couldn’t fully process the words. His response came purely from instinct.
“Hmm? Are you ready to tell me now?”
Chen Qiusu thought that Yang Shao’s initial reluctance had been due to a lack of trust. If he was willing to open up now, it meant he had earned that trust.
What could it be?
“It’s about Yang Tao.” Yang Shao hesitated. The existence of Yang Tao had made his relationship with Chen Qiusu more complex. He couldn’t articulate what he felt. He spoke haltingly, “What I said before was just out of anger. There is no so-called ex, and Yang Tao isn’t the child of me and someone else…”
The silence on the other end of the line was deafening. Was Chen Qiusu too shocked to respond?
Yang Shao stopped speaking and listened carefully for any sound. All he heard was the faint sound of Chen Qiusu’s breathing. He tentatively called out, “Chen Qiusu?”
The sound of fabric rustling came as a reply. Was he asleep?
Yang Shao let out a long breath. It had taken all his courage to confess about Yang Tao, and yet, this guy had fallen asleep!
He hung up the phone and set it on the nightstand, his thoughts a chaotic mess. Part of him was relieved that Chen Qiusu hadn’t heard anything, while another part was frustrated about how to broach the subject next time.
The father and son, carefree as ever, fell asleep quickly. Who knew when he’d be ready to say it again? If Chen Qiusu didn’t hear it this time, it wasn’t his fault.
….
During the Lunar New Year, visiting relatives was inevitable. For a family like Chen Qiusu’s, with its complex network of relations, socializing and exchanging gifts became routine.
Gift shop owners personally delivered goods for Chen’s mother to choose from—everything from jewelry and appliances to food and clothing. The options were endless.
Yang Tao wandered through the pile of gifts, touching and examining everything with curiosity. His grandmother didn’t stop him; anything he lingered on for a moment was kept.
Yang Shao wanted to speak up several times but held back. Clearly, Chen Qiusu’s indulgence of the child was inherited from his parents.
“Yang Shao, come here.”
Yang Shao weaved through the mountain of gifts and was about to ask what she needed when Chen’s mother grasped his wrist and placed a watch on it.
“Hmm, it fits perfectly.” She patted the back of his hand with satisfaction.
Yang Shao froze for a moment, then realized this was meant for him. He had never worn a watch before. “Mom, when have I ever worn a watch?”
To him, it was a waste to buy something unnecessary. He hadn’t even worn formal attire more than a handful of times, and a watch seemed completely superfluous.
Chen’s mother held his hand firmly, insisting that the watch was for him and not letting him take it off. “It’s okay if you don’t wear it. Just keep it. Someday you’ll need it. Treat it as a New Year’s gift from me.”
Ever since he came to Chen Qiusu’s home, Chen Quisu’s parents had given him numerous gifts under various pretexts. These ranged from shops to this watch, gifts given for holidays or just because.
What Yang Shao didn’t know was that the two shops given to him as a meeting gift were specifically chosen by Chen Qiusu. Knowing Yang Shao’s circumstances, Chen Qiusu had arranged for him to receive what he needed and wanted most at the time. If left to Chen’s mother to choose, she would never have thought of such practical gifts.
Yang Shao had raised Yang Tao by himself, which made him a great contributor to their family. Although “reward” sounded too materialistic, Chen’s mother was genuinely trying to compensate Yang Shao on behalf of Chen Qiusu.
Now that the watch was firmly on his wrist, Yang Shao knew he couldn’t refuse it. “Thank you, Mom.”
Yang Shao didn’t rush upstairs after that. He was gradually getting used to life in the Chen household. With no one showing him a bad attitude, sitting and chatting with the elders didn’t feel burdensome.
“Qiusu should be back soon, right?”
That night, Chen Qiusu had fallen asleep during their call. The next day, he called again in the evening, seemingly unaware of what Yang Shao had told him the night before or what he had missed. With Yang Tao keeping him company on the phone, Yang Shao didn’t bother worrying about how to broach the subject again.
As soon as Yang Tao heard Chen Qiusu’s name while playing in the yard, he reacted like a radar. “Uncle Chen is coming back the day after tomorrow!”
These days, Yang Shao felt awkward hearing Yang Tao call Chen Qiusu “Uncle Chen” in front of Chen’s parents. He could barely bring himself to meet Chen’s mother’s gaze.
……
That evening’s dinner was at a private club. A few shareholders, who were more than ten years older than Chen Qiusu, were in attendance. After a few rounds of drinks, their behavior loosened up. At a private club, hiring an omega for companionship was a simple matter.
Such arrangements were consensual—omegas willing and alphas paying—and Chen Qiusu rarely commented on them. He typically used this stage of the evening as an excuse to leave, and no one tried to stop him.
After several consecutive nights of drinking, Chen Qiusu was feeling worn out. Wanting to avoid appearing too haggard, he soaked in the tub to rejuvenate himself before making a call.
“Uncle Chen!”
Yang Tao’s childish voice refreshed Chen Qiusu like a spring breeze, instantly dispelling his fatigue. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I was going to sleep early because I’m going fishing with Grandpa tomorrow, but I stayed up to wait for your call.”
Chen Qiusu, wearing only a bath towel and with wet hair, planned to dry it after finishing the call. “Sorry, Uncle got to the hotel late today. Where’s your dad? What’s he doing tomorrow?”
“Daddy’s right here.” Yang Tao handed his smartwatch to his father, leaving him to answer for himself.
“I’ll be going back home,” Yang Shao said, holding an unlit cigarette between his lips as he walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window. After lighting it, he leaned out slightly to let the smoke drift outside. “It’s been a while since I’ve gone back. I need to check the water, electricity, and gas before the New Year. If I leave it too long, there might be mice in the house.”
Hearing this, Yang Tao grew restless. “Then I want to go home too!”
“You think I’m going home to have fun? I’m going to clean up the place. For all I know, the mice have already taken over your bed.”
With that, Yang Tao decided he’d rather skip seeing the mice and obediently stuck to his fishing plans with his grandpa.
“I can hire someone to clean for you,” Chen Qiusu suggested.
Typical young master behavior, accustomed to delegating. Yang Shao wasn’t so pampered. A few days of comfort didn’t mean he couldn’t tidy his own house. “No way. I wouldn’t feel at ease unless I checked it myself. It’s not like it’s hard work.”
Chen Qiusu didn’t press the matter. As long as Yang Shao was willing, he wouldn’t interfere with anything he wanted to do.
“You’re sure you’re coming back the day after tomorrow?” Yang Shao asked, holding his cigarette as he leaned out the window. “Mom was asking today, and Yang Tao is convinced you’re returning then.”
Chen Qiusu chuckled. “I’ll definitely be back the day after tomorrow.”
Earlier, at the club, even a brief exposure to the omegas’ pheromones had made him uncomfortable. Their intense mating signals had been hard to ignore, stirring his alpha’s instincts.
Now, over the phone, Chen Quisu could hear Yang Shao exhaling smoke. He remembered the faint scent of cigarettes on Yang Shao’s body. Other people smoked too, but the scent on Yang Shao was somehow different.
If time allowed, he’d want nothing more than to go home immediately—to see the person he missed and hold the person he longed for.
…..
The next morning, Yang Tao went fishing with his grandfather. After lunch, Yang Shao leisurely drove his small truck home.
The last time he’d been back was to register his marriage. The road home felt familiar yet a bit strange. It wasn’t until he parked the truck in the garage that the sense of being home settled in.
A house needs people to feel alive. When Yang Shao opened the door, he could almost feel the stale air in the living room. He quickly opened all the windows to let in fresh air.
Because the house had been sealed, there wasn’t much dust. However, as soon as he entered the kitchen, he saw he’d been right—there was a hole in the rice bucket lid, with a few mouse droppings scattered among the grains.
He walked around the kitchen, spotting a hole above the sink. Those mice were relentless. Winter had sent them scrambling for shelter, and despite the tightly shut windows, they’d found a way in through the pipes.
This wasn’t something a simple cleaning could fix. Yang Shao quickly contacted a repairman to seal the hole. Otherwise, the mice would take over again as soon as he left.
As he cleaned, he discovered unfinished snacks under Yang Tao’s mattress, now moldy. That kid sure knew how to hide things—and had surprising strength to lift a mattress. He also found Yang Tao’s long-lost shoe under the cabinet, a shoe that had made him late dropping Yang Tao off at school. Cleaning up, he scolded the boy under his breath.
Blocking the rat hole and cleaning up had taken up the entire afternoon. The washing machine was still running with a load of curtains, and the sky outside was dim and gray, signaling that it was getting late.
Yang Shao collapsed onto the sofa, thinking he’d leave after hanging up the curtains. However, before he realized it, he drifted off into a light sleep.
When he woke up, the house was pitch black. The washing machine had long stopped running, and the only light came from the faint glow of his vibrating phone in his pocket.
Stretching lazily, he fished the phone out and saw that it was a call from Chen Qiusu. “Hello? Why so early today?”
“Mr. Yang,” the voice on the other end wasn’t Chen Qiusu but his assistant. “This is Mr. Chen’s assistant. Could you come pick him up right now?”
“Huh?” Yang Shao sat up abruptly, completely puzzled. Wasn’t Chen Qiusu out of town?
The assistant’s tone was noticeably anxious. “I accidentally broke Mr. Chen’s suppressant.”
Apparently, the assistant had immediately contacted Chen Qiusu’s personal doctor to administer a new dose, but it hadn’t been effective.
This was unprecedented for Chen Qiusu. The assistant, flustered and incoherent, explained, “After finishing his meeting, Mr. Chen wanted to return early… I…”
Yang Shao was fully awake now. Ever since Chen Qiusu had a fever, his heat cycles seemed to have returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. So why this sudden flare-up?
“Where are you?”
