Part 2
Monday at work.
Bai He ran into Zhang Yao in the break room. He hadn’t seen Zhang Yao for a while. According to Qin Yao, Zhang Yao was participating in the development of the company’s latest game and had been away studying due to the difficulty of development.
It looked like he was back now.
“Long time no see.” Zhang Yao smiled at Bai He. “How have you been lately?”
“Pretty good.” Bai He nodded. “And you? Is that new project finalized?”
Zhang Yao leaned against the wall next to him and shrugged. “It’s very difficult. It’s moving forward slowly right now. When the technical aspects are confirmed to be problem-free, we’ll still need your planning team’s collaboration.”
“Then our team will wait for your good news.” Bai He continued making coffee. After thinking for a moment, he handed the coffee to Zhang Yao and took a cup of hot milk from the bar for himself.
“Thanks.” Zhang Yao held the coffee and forced another smile. “Actually, if President Qin wasn’t willing to support this project, we really might not have made it this far. You can tell, right? This game is quite similar to a certain game from our previous world.”
“Can I interpret that as you missing the past?” Bai He raised an eyebrow.
“Of course you can.” Zhang Yao lowered his eyes to look at the coffee in his hand, seemingly falling into memories. “You can also treat it as me fulfilling some lingering wishes.”
Bai He glanced at him and didn’t speak further.
He was just about to leave the break room with his hot milk when he suddenly remembered something and turned around. “Is Zhou Sheng still looking for you?”
Zhang Yao gave a nonchalant “En,” then let out an inexplicable cold snort. He leaned back, tilting his head to speak to Bai He at the door. “If that guy goes to bother you guys, tell him to come directly to me. I’ll take him on anytime.”
Bai He pondered, then nodded. “Understood.”
With that, he turned and left.
Behind him, Zhang Yao withdrew his gaze and continued staring at the cup of coffee in his hand. He stood still for a long time before lifting it to take a sip. Immediately, he frowned abruptly, moving the coffee away with a bitter expression. “How much sugar is in this…?”
Bai He hadn’t thought much when adding sugar. It was only after making the coffee that he remembered he was currently preparing for pregnancy. Just in case, he gave the coffee to Zhang Yao and drank milk himself.
It shouldn’t be that easy to conceive. Bai He had long prepared himself for a few more tries, but Qin Yao’s stamina was too vigorous; he had to rest for two days before continuing.
Thinking about this, he also mulled over Zhang Yao’s words from earlier.
Over the year, the relationship between Zhang Yao and Zhou Sheng had become increasingly stiff. Zhou Sheng had come to find Qin Yao many times, his mouth very tough, but both Bai He and Qin Yao could tell that guy had fallen deep. As for Zhang Yao, he might really be living up to his own words—that he was a straight man.
At least mentally straight; Bai He wasn’t sure about the rest. The current Zhang Yao evidently treated Zhou Sheng as a trouble. He had no problem facing him head-on; Zhang Yao wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, every time Zhou Sheng found Zhang Yao wanting to say something, what came out was insincere stubbornness.
Qin Yao even said, regarding that guy, the road is obstructed and long.
FREE was getting bigger and stronger, and Qin Yao was busy flying everywhere. The planning team was a relatively leisurely department in the company. In this past month or so, Qin Yao had flown out of town countless times. Whenever Bai He was free, he would go back to Nan Ge’s place to visit.
Perhaps because it was peak season, Uncle Qin was also busy. Nan Yu’s design studio didn’t have a heavy workload. That day, Bai He drove to help Nan Ge deliver a dress suit. He came back just in time for lunch. Qin Wei and Qin Yao were both on business trips, so there were four people eating lunch at home.
The cooking auntie had prepared the food. When Bai He entered the door, he saw Qin Dian Dian helping to serve the dishes.
“Bai He is back.” Nan Ge waved to Bai He. “Thanks for making the trip. Go wash your hands and eat.”
Bai He changed his shoes and entered the room. He went to the kitchen to wash his hands and smelled a sickeningly sweet scent. The movement of rubbing his fingers paused, and he frowned slightly to observe the kitchen.
The cooking auntie kept the kitchen very clean; there shouldn’t be any odors. But there was indeed a cloying sweet smell. It couldn’t be described as pleasant; it made Bai He feel a bit nauseous.
He didn’t think much of it and left the kitchen. Qin Dian Dian was already seated. “Brother Bai He, come quick! There’s dessert you like! It’s Auntie’s specialty, Tiramisu!”
Bai He sat down. Opposite him, Nan Yu handed a plate of Tiramisu to Bai He. “Here, I bet you’ll like this.”
“Thank you.” Bai He reached out to take it. That cloying sweet smell appeared again. This time the scent was extremely close. His stomach spasmed a few times, not even giving Bai He time to react. A wave of nausea instantly filled his stomach and surged violently upward. He put down the Tiramisu, covered his mouth with his hand, turned his head away, and dry heaved a few times with a grave expression.
This feeling wasn’t pleasant.
“What’s wrong?” Nan Ge stood up abruptly, his chair scraping across the floor making a noise. He quickly went around to pat Bai He’s back. “Not feeling well?”
Bai He shook his head. Waiting for the nausea to pass, he looked up and forced a smile. “I’m fine. Maybe I caught a cold; smelling something sweet made my stomach a bit uncomfortable.”
“…A cold?” Nan Yu was worried, touching Bai He’s forehead with his right hand. “No fever. I’ll call Dr. Zhang to come over.”
Beside them, Grandpa Qin put down his chopsticks. “Health is important. A doctor needs to see this. Just rest at home today.”
Qin Dian Dian also nodded. “Health is most important, Brother Bai He. I know, colds feel terrible!”
Bai He made an affirmative sound, then suddenly remembered something. He looked at Nan Yu in a daze, then looked at the plate of Tiramisu, whispering, “Maybe… it’s not a cold either.”
The three of them looked puzzled. Nan Ge reacted after a few seconds, realizing something first. His eyes lit up. “Nauseous from sweet smells? Then I’ll take these away. You like sweets, but you might not be able to eat them for a while. Nan Ge will make you desserts later. We’ll go to the hospital this afternoon.”
Bai He tugged at Nan Yu’s wrist, feeling a bit shy. “It’s only a maybe.”
“Then I’m happy too.” Nan Yu smiled, eyes crinkling. Beside them, Grandpa Qin finally caught on, touching his chin and nodding. “Let Auntie Liu make some stomach-soothing soup. You need to eat something light.”
Auntie Liu was the helper who cooked for the Qin family. She had packed up and was ready to leave, but Nan Yu stopped her and explained the situation. She looked at Bai He cheerfully. “I’m an expert at stomach-nourishing soup! I took care of Mr. Nan back then too. You can rest assured leaving it to me!”
Grandpa Qin couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “When is that brat Qin Yao coming?”
“His flight is tomorrow morning,” Bai He said. “Coming back today would be too rushed, so tomorrow was suitable.”
Grandpa Qin rubbed his chin. “That’s good too.”
Nan Yu sat back down and used the serving chopsticks to add meat to Bai He’s bowl. “Come, eat first.”
Bai He nodded and thanked him. The feeling of being surrounded by care still made him feel overwhelmed with favor. It had been over a year, and Nan Ge and the others were truly very good to him.
Everyone was very lively during this meal. After eating, accompanied by Nan Yu, Bai He went to the hospital and registered with Dr. Li Min.
The report came out quickly. Li Min held the check-up report: “It’s been about five weeks. We can’t see the fetal heartbeat or bud yet. You can come back for another check-up later.”
Really pregnant?
Bai He felt a bit dazed and found it somewhat unreal. He heard Nan Yu’s smiling voice. Dr. Li and Nan Ge were talking, discussing some precautions. After listening carefully, they came out of Li Min’s office together.
Nan Yu looked at the distracted Bai He and reached out to ruffle Bai He’s hair. “Don’t worry, we’re all with you.”
Bai He blinked rapidly a few times, looked up, and smiled. It was a very gentle smile. “Actually, I just feel it’s a bit unreal.”
Inside his body, there was now a little life.
It felt a bit magical.
He still went back to the apartment he shared with Qin Yao that night. According to Nan Yu, pregnancy required the Alpha’s pheromones. In the house where he lived with Qin Yao, the concentration of pheromones would be much higher.
After getting home, he lay down on the sofa, reached out to touch his stomach, and took out those check-up reports to look at again.
He still felt it was so magical.
A few years ago, how could he have imagined that he would have a day where he was pregnant?
He walked around the room a few times, ran to the bedroom to find Qin Yao’s clothes, and inhaled the Brandy pheromones. His body and mind seemed to relax a lot.
The house was empty. The TV in the living room was on, but Bai He felt unsatisfied. He held his phone, typing in the chat box with Qin Yao, deleting and rewriting, eventually sending nothing.
Qin Yao might be busy.
He’s coming back tomorrow; there’s no need to be so anxious…
He slid down to sit on the soft carpet, leaning against the edge of the bed. He looked up and softly called Qin Yao’s name, then buried his head, hiding his face in Qin Yao’s clothes.
He missed Qin Yao so much.
He didn’t know how long he sat on the carpet. The phone beside him started ringing urgently. He looked up and saw the words **Bad Cat** flashing on the screen.
Reaching out to slide the screen, he answered the call and put it on speaker. On the other end, Qin Yao’s voice was very urgent, as if he were running. “Xiao Bao! Are you home?”
“En.” Bai He rested his head on his knees, his fingers toying with the fluff on the carpet. “Qin Yao, I miss you.”
“……” Qin Yao’s breathing gradually calmed down, accompanied by the sound of the apartment’s passcode door opening.
Bai He’s eyes lit up. Immediately, the travel-worn Alpha appeared at the bedroom door.
Qin Yao had indeed run. There was a traffic jam outside, so he got out of the car and ran for a long time to rush back, his body still wrapped in heat.
“I’m back.” He walked over slowly, calming his breath, and reached out to hug Bai He, repeating, “I’m back…”
That large hand gently caressed Bai He’s abdomen, as if he had obtained a rare treasure.
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