UNCLTRD chapter 56

The curtains in the bedroom blocked out the light perfectly, not allowing a single ray to seep through. It was impossible to tell the time by the sky, so Chen Qiusu woke up first, relying on his biological clock.

Yang Shao was sleeping with his back to him. Chen Qiusu reached his arm over Yang Shao’s waist and pulled him into his embrace. “Time to wake up.”

They usually left for work around the same time, but lately, Yang Shao had been particularly lazy, often sleeping in, or more frequently, not wanting to go to the shop at all. He would just ask Chen Qiusu to make a phone call for him.

The scent of pheromones and the solid chest of an alpha made Yang Shao, who was already lacking energy, even more sluggish. His forehead rested against Chen Qiusu’s chest, his consciousness drifting, and he mumbled incoherently in response to Chen Qiusu.

The sound of fabric rubbing against itself drowned out Yang Shao’s words. Chen Qiusu didn’t catch what he said and leaned down closer to Yang Shao’s lips. “What?”

“Mm…” Yang Shao hummed softly, struggling to hold onto the last bit of wakefulness. “I’m not going today. Can you call for me?”

He was so sleepy, the kind of exhaustion that felt like being under some spell, as though he couldn’t ever get enough sleep. He had no energy for anything. Indeed, it’s easy to slip into luxury once you get used to comfort—he couldn’t even endure the small hardship of waking up early. How pathetic!

As Yang Shao silently cursed himself, he buried his head in Chen Qiusu’s chest and fell into a deep sleep.

Chen Qiusu pushed aside the hair on Yang Shao’s forehead and gently stroked his eyes. Lately, Yang Shao only went to the shop in the afternoons. Chen Qiusu would pick him up after work, and in the evenings, after they had dinner and washed up, Yang Shao liked to curl up on the sofa, falling asleep before they could even say more than a couple of words.

It was probably because there were too many things happening at the shop, and it was exhausting.

Chen Qiusu lowered his head and kissed Yang Shao’s lips. “Mm, you sleep some more.”

After getting dressed and washing up, Chen Qiusu, still not at ease, walked over to the bed to check on Yang Shao. Yang Shao had shifted over to the side where Chen Qiusu normally slept. Chen Qiusu bent down to say goodbye to him. “I’m leaving.”

“Hmm…” Yang Shao could hear Chen Qiusu speaking, but he couldn’t open his mouth to reply, as if something was pressing down on him. He was so sleepy, it felt like he was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Taking advantage of Yang Shao’s silence, Chen Qiusu continued to stick close, planting a kiss on his forehead. “I’m leaving.”

Yang Shao furrowed his brows, forcing himself to respond to Chen Qiusu. “I heard you. Hurry up and go.”

Chen Qiusu, getting his wish, left the room quietly, tiptoeing out.

The elderly in the house woke up early. Yang Tao had started getting up early and going to bed early, matching his grandparents’ routine. Even though he didn’t have to go to school, he would get up early for breakfast.

That morning, Chen Qiusu came downstairs alone again. His mother couldn’t help but ask, “Hasn’t Yang Shao gotten up yet?”

It had been several days now, and Yang Shao hadn’t seemed very energetic. The elders couldn’t help but worry.

“Mm, I’ll have the aunt go call him later.”

Grandma joined in, “Is he feeling unwell? If he’s unwell, he needs to go to the doctor early. He can’t just let it drag on.”

“Daddy’s been sleeping in lately,” Yang Tao said. He hadn’t seen his father get up early in a long time. Before, when things weren’t so busy, his daddy would sleep in, but not like this, for so long.

“I’ve noticed he hasn’t had much of an appetite lately. He barely ate anything last night, not even his favorite dish, and his face doesn’t look so good…”

The more Grandma spoke, the more she felt something was wrong with Yang Shao. She exchanged a look with Chen’s mother, and both paused, their expressions thoughtful. Then, they turned to Chen Qiusu in unison and asked, “Is Yang Shao pregnant?”

Chen Qiusu stared blankly, his mouth slightly open. “Huh? I… I don’t know…”

“How can you not know? Didn’t you and Yang Shao plan that before? Haven’t you been to the hospital? Shouldn’t you know better than anyone else?”

Grandma’s eyes lit up. “Are you keeping it a secret to surprise the family?”

The family didn’t know that Yang Tao was the result of a natural conception with Yang Shao. They had previously urged Chen Qiusu to take Yang Shao to the hospital for a second child, but he had refused.

The doctor had also mentioned that the chances of natural conception were slim, and Chen Qiusu thought it was unbelievable that such a low-probability event had occurred once. It couldn’t possibly happen again…

“Get a doctor to check,” his mother quickly changed her mind. “No, no, that’s too much trouble. Just have someone go get a pregnancy test.”

“What’s going on?” Yang Tao, still confused, couldn’t even focus on his breakfast due to curiosity.

Grandma held Yang Tao back. “Yang Tao, would you like a little brother or sister?”

“Yeah!”

Seeing the excited expressions on his family’s faces, Chen Qiusu was a bit dazed. First of all, he didn’t think Yang Shao could be pregnant; he feared everyone was getting their hopes up for nothing. Secondly, he wasn’t prepared for a second child.

As Chen Qiusu walked upstairs, his steps felt heavier. He hesitated at the door for a while before pushing it open. The room was very quiet, and Yang Shao was still asleep.

“Yang Shao,” Chen Qiusu sat by the bed and gently called his name to wake him.

Yang Shao groaned a couple of times, then opened his eyes. When he saw Chen Qiusu, he thought he was dreaming. Didn’t Chen Qiusu already leave for work?

“Aren’t you going to work?”

Seeing that Yang Shao was still groggy, Chen Qiusu leaned closer, supporting Yang Shao’s head with his hand to help him wake up a little. “You should take the test first, then you can sleep again.”

It took Yang Shao a few seconds to focus his eyes. When he finally saw the pregnancy test in Chen Qiusu’s hand, he froze for a moment, then jumped out of bed, grabbed the test stick, and rushed into the bathroom.

At first, Chen Qiusu had been doubtful, like the rest of the family, but Yang Shao’s reaction made his heart drop. No one knew better than Yang Shao himself. He looked toward the bathroom’s frosted glass and could see Yang Shao’s blurry silhouette.

After a long while, a heart-wrenching yell came from the bathroom. “Chen Qiusu!”

Chen Qiusu was startled and quickly stood up to check. Yang Shao was sitting on the toilet, looking exhausted, still holding the pregnancy test. When he saw Chen Qiusu, his gaze finally wavered. He raised his hand to show Chen Qiusu the result.

Yang Shao was pregnant.

“You must have a problem!” Yang Shao said firmly. “This isn’t a rare gift or anything. You should go to the hospital and check again.”

The family, who had been anxiously waiting, heard his shout and rushed upstairs. Chen Qiusu’s father stood outside the door, while his mother, grandmother, and Yang Tao blocked the bathroom door. “What’s going on?”

Chen Qiusu didn’t speak, and neither did Yang Shao.

When Grandmother saw the pregnancy test, her face lit up, and she grabbed Yang Tao, pulling him out of the room. “Thank the ancestors! Come, Yang Tao, go with Great-Grandma to offer incense to Great-Grandpa.”

His mother, wanting Yang Shao to rest but also wanting Chen Qiusu to stay with him, said, “Qiusu, stay with Yang Shao. I’ll call the doctor. It’s safer to go to the hospital just in case.”

Once everyone left, the two most confused people were left behind. Yang Shao looked at Chen Qiusu, and Chen Qiusu looked back at him, both silently asking, “What do we do now?”

If Chen Qiusu had just used a condom, none of this would have happened. This was all his fault.

“What do we do?” Yang Shao asked first, the hardest part being that their family already knew.

Chen Qiusu’s mood was complicated, filled with both reverence for life and a sense of unpreparedness for a new one.

“Hey, what are you thinking?” Yang Shao noticed Chen Qiusu was distracted. “Mom’s right, we need to get it checked. I smoked before, you know.”

Although it wasn’t much, he had smoked when he was unaware of being pregnant with Yang Tao, but now that he knew there was something growing inside him, it made him worry.

Yang Shao started to change clothes, but when he saw Chen Qiusu still unmoving, he suddenly remembered that Chen Qiusu had once said he didn’t want a second child.

“Do you not want this child?”

Only then did Chen Qiusu snap back to reality, trying to recall what Yang Shao had said earlier. How had they gotten to the topic of not wanting a child? “I… I didn’t mean…”

“Don’t think that way,” Yang Shao said, patting the edge of the bed to invite Chen Qiusu to sit beside him. “If it knows that its alpha dad doesn’t want it, it will be so heartbroken.”

Yang Shao knew that Chen Qiusu wasn’t opposed to having a second child; he just made sacrifices for Yang Tao.

“A child’s relationship with its parents is a matter of fate. If there’s no fate, the child won’t come into your life. You worry it will distract you from Yang Tao, that it will take away Yang Tao’s love. But the bond between siblings is special, not something parents can give. Why don’t you ask Yang Tao what he thinks?”

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Yang Tao entered, carrying a bowl of warm congee. “Daddy, Grandma asked me to bring this to you.”

Yang Tao placed the porridge on the nightstand, eager to crawl onto the bed, his curiosity shining through as he looked around. “Where’s my little brother or sister?”

“Still just a tiny embryo,” Yang Shao replied, pressing Yang Tao’s excited little hand down.

“Do you want a little brother or sister?”

“Mm!” Yang Tao nodded without hesitation. “Wan Zhe has a sister, everyone has little brothers and sisters, but I don’t have one. I can ride my little pony with my brother or sister, and they can play with my toys too.”

Rather than owning, Yang Tao preferred sharing, because sharing was another way of being with someone.

“Well, that won’t work. Your little brother or sister will need new things, not your leftovers.”

Yang Tao thought for a moment, then smiled. “Well, I can buy new things with my pocket money, and then I can let them play with my old toys.”

Yang Shao raised his eyebrows at Chen Qiusu. “See? Yang Tao is generous, he understands everything, don’t underestimate him.”

Chen Qiusu let out a small laugh. Dwelling on past guilt was an act of cowardice. He would forever be grateful to Yang Shao and Yang Tao. If he was afraid of being burdened, that would only make him work harder to love them.