The wind sweeping across the Scottish Highlands carried a damp chill, rising in waves from the depths of the valley.
The morning mist had yet to disperse, shrouding the slopes blanketed in purple heather. In the distance, a herd of deer moved across the gray-green moorland, appearing and disappearing intermittently.
Hawthorne followed his father along the gravel path up the hillside.
The old Duke, Alastair Henry Cavendish, was in his fifties. His tall, burly frame was wrapped in a dark wool coat, his hair slightly tousled by the wind. In his hand, he held a bouquet of white roses freshly cut from the greenhouse.
On the hillside lay a small cemetery.
Hawthorne’s mother rested here.
The old Duke paused before the tombstone surrounded by flowers. Carved into it was a line of text, its edges softened by years of wind and rain:
“My Beloved Wife.”
That was all—no name, no dates of birth or death.
The old Duke slowly crouched down and gently placed the roses before the stone.
From afar came the low caw of ravens, while the valley wind blew in steady gusts.
Hawthorne stood silently nearby.
He remembered asking his father as a child why his mother’s name wasn’t on the tombstone.
His father had said it was because his mother never liked this place. His soul belonged to the distant East and should not be bound to this foreign hillside.
His father had also said that his mother died during childbirth.
For a man to give birth was a perilous ordeal, a matter of life and death. It was his mother’s determination, paid for with her life, that had brought him into this world.
His mother was the gentlest and most composed person in the world—gentle yet never weak, calm yet never indifferent.
Yet, because of the chasm that lay between him and the Cavendish family, such a person had not received the highest standard of medical care during childbirth and had died unexpectedly from complications.
Yet he was clearly a member of the International Medical Association, once a core member of the British royal medical team, one of the finest doctors in the world.
It was the Cavendish family that had destroyed him.
That was why, not long after Hawthorne’s birth, the old Duke had renounced his title and passed the entirety of the family’s wealth and trust funds to the only shared bloodline between him and his late wife. Apart from Hawthorne, he would never have another heir in his lifetime.
Hawthorne’s existence would forever be a thorn in the heart of that family.
Just as his mother’s death was forever etched into Alastair’s heart.
The old Duke reached out and brushed a withered leaf from the corner of the tombstone.
After a long while, he spoke softly, “Son, do you know what the cruelest thing about loving someone is?”
Hawthorne turned his head to look at him.
The old Duke kept his gaze fixed on the tombstone. The Highland wind stirred the hair at his temples, and in that moment, he seemed nothing like the naval veteran and formidable duke who had dominated half his life.
He said, “It’s the day you realize you’ve lived far too long without them.”
The wind suddenly grew stronger, and clouds churned over the distant ridge. The old Duke smiled faintly. “So much so that every time you encounter something interesting, you want to tell them, but you can never find them again.”
Hawthorne fell silent.
The old Duke extended his left hand, adorned with a wedding ring, and gently pressed it against the tombstone.
After a long pause, he said, “My dear, look at our son now—he’s found someone he cares for. If only you were still here…”
Shi Yuan took about a second to quickly digest and accept the fact that he was pregnant.
He looked up and said to He Jingchuan, “Uncle He, I want to have a baby.”
He Jingchuan glanced at him. “Are you really sure? For a man, the risks of childbirth are greater than for a woman. Even though I have experience, we still can’t take it lightly.”
Shi Yuan nodded firmly. “I’m sure.”
He quickly ran through the calculations in his mind.
His senior brother had high intelligence, good looks, and strong physical fitness—even the human sperm bank couldn’t find genes of such high quality. It would be a waste not to have his child.
Besides, he alone couldn’t compare to his senior brother, but with an extra person, wouldn’t the two of them together be able to outmatch him?
In just eight months, Huo Sang’s arrogant days would come to an end.
Shi Yuan was filled with ambition and determination.
He felt that carrying a child had already changed his mindset.
He Jingchuan gently patted Shi Yuan’s head, saying nothing.
If his own child were still alive, they would probably be at the age of marriage and parenthood now.
Back then, he had gone into premature labor unexpectedly and couldn’t make it to a better-equipped hospital in time. The baby had suffered mild asphyxia due to amniotic fluid contamination at birth, and the medical staff handling the case lacked experience, failing to transfer the baby to the neonatal intensive care unit in time, which ultimately led to the infant’s death.
Now that Shi Yuan was pregnant, it must be a gift from heaven, allowing him to make up for that lifelong regret.
He would definitely protect Shi Yuan and the child in his womb, ensuring they were brought safely into this world.
Suddenly, Shi Yuan thought of something and looked up to ask, “Uncle He, how long can I hide this belly?”
He Jingchuan snapped back to reality. “It depends on the individual. Generally, it becomes noticeable around four or five months.”
Shi Yuan counted on his fingers. “That means I still have three months. I can finish one more semester of classes.”
Kang University had three semesters a year, each lasting only three months. He could hold out until April, finish the semester, and then return.
He Jingchuan was taken aback, not expecting Shi Yuan to still be thinking about his studies at a time like this.
He nodded. “That’s fine. But after the next semester ends, you’ll need to come back and stay by my side so I can monitor your condition at all times. As for the university, you can apply for a leave of absence. I’ll personally write a medical certificate for you.”
Shi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
He just wondered if he could wait until Huo Sang graduated.
Doctoral programs were different from undergraduate ones—there was no fixed deadline for thesis submission. Shi Yuan remembered that Huo Sang had submitted his thesis not long ago. If all went well, he would defend it in two months, and after final revisions, he could officially graduate.
He Jingchuan looked at Shi Yuan’s flushed cheeks and distracted expression, his brow slightly furrowing.
He had been careless.
It probably wasn’t about studying, after all.
He asked Shi Yuan, “Who is the other father of the child?”
Shi Yuan was startled. His lips moved, but he hesitated and said nothing.
Not only did Huo Sang not remember that incident at all, but if he found out Shi Yuan was carrying his child, his first reaction would likely be to assume Shi Yuan was trying to blackmail him with such an outrageous excuse.
Besides, Shi Yuan had no intention of making Huo Sang take responsibility. He just wanted to quietly have the child himself and then amaze everyone.
When the time came, he could confidently one-up Huo Sang and ask him, “I can have a baby—can you?”
The thought alone made Shi Yuan’s eyes crinkle with delight. He sat on the examination bed, lost in his own happy thoughts for a moment.
He Jingchuan rubbed his temples. Seeing Shi Yuan so determined to protect the other person, he seemed even more lovestruck than he himself had been back in the day.
Shi Yuan vaguely remembered that He Jingchuan held a grudge against the British due to the loss of his only son. Seeing He’s expression darken, Shi quickly raised his hand to pledge his loyalty: “Uncle He, the child’s father is half Chinese—he’s mixed-race.”
If this continued, the baby in his belly would only have a quarter of foreign genes left. Pure enough.
Why did he sound so proud of it?
Shi Yuan was already looking forward to the arrival of this new life, and the more he thought about it, the more flawless his plan seemed.
He decided that when he returned to school next semester, aside from preparing a graduation gift for Hawthorne, he would also treat him to a meal.
After all, one who eats another’s food finds it hard to speak ill of them. Once Hawthorne ate this meal, he wouldn’t be able to scheme against his child in the future.