That evening, a dust storm swept through City H.
Though the windows were shut tight and the balcony doors firmly closed, the howling of the wind outside still echoed through the room.
Xiao Shuqing held a book in his hand, leaning back lazily against the sofa.
Meanwhile, the Alpha sat at the dining table in the living room, buried in his laptop doing overtime. The rhythmic clacking of the keyboard and clicks of the mouse filled the quiet apartment.
Xiao Shuqing found himself remembering what the boy had softly said to him, looking straight into his eyes right after dinner tonight: “Before, you clearly weren’t like this.”
At the time, he hadn’t replied right away.
Because he hadn’t known what to say.
How could someone who had known him for less than a month have the audacity to claim, ‘You’ve changed from how you used to be’ huh?
And yet.
Right, there was an ‘and yet.’
The kid had spoken with such earnest sincerity, and by some blind stroke of luck, he had hit the nail right on the head.
Leaning halfway against the sofa, the man let his long hair fall loosely around him. He brushed aside a few stray strands by his temple, a helpless smile tugging at the corners of his lips, hidden behind the pages of his book.
Sudden, unexpected concern.
And from a kid, no less.
Tsk.
The next day, Saturday, April 22nd.
The “married” couple woke up early. First, they took Saisa out for a long run in the nearby park, then they dropped the large dog off at a pet boutique for grooming before driving together to the law firm to sign their agreement.
Since it was Saturday, the firm was quiet with few staff around. The young girl at the front desk was currently glued to a drama on her phone, but at the sound of the door opening, she hastily stood up to greet them.
“Welcome to Fahang Law Firm! Are you Mr. Xiao and Mr. Yu? The boss and his wi—cough, I mean, his husband, are currently in the office taking care of their baby. Please have a seat and wait for a moment!”
Then, with quick, light steps, she ran over and knocked on the main office door. “Boss! The clients you scheduled are here!”
Immediately from inside the office came the soft, babbling voice of a toddler: “Ba. Baba.”
Following that was a gentle, warm voice softly coaxing, “Daddy has some work to do and will be right back. Be a good girl, Miaomiao.”
“Woo. Baba.”
“Our Miaomiao just can’t bear to leave Daddy’s side, hm? Daddy is earning money for your formula. Does Miaomiao still want her milk-milk?”
The toddler chimed in with a milky voice, “milk, milk.”
“See?”
“Baba. wah.”
The baby’s soft wails began to rise.
The person inside coaxed her for quite a while, but the crying refused to stop. In the end, the family of three emerged together to greet them.
A tall, well-built man held documents in one hand and a plump, fair, and squishy baby in the other. He wore a helpless expression. “My apologies, the child refuses to be put down. Do you mind if my partner and baby stay in the room with us?”
This was the owner of the firm, Nie Zihang. An Omega, and the absolute elite among elites.
Standing right beside him was a clean-cut, handsome Alpha named Yu Jingxuan, who worked as a local police officer.
The Alpha smiled at them with an apologetic curl of his lips. “I’m so sorry. My partner has been incredibly busy lately, and the baby hasn’t gotten to play with her father in a long time. She’s being a bit clingy today, so we had to bring her along.”
Yu Siyuan quickly shook his head. “It’s completely fine, we don’t mind at all.”
Only after blurted it out did he realize he had spoken up too quickly. He hurriedly looked over at Xiao Shuqing next to him. “Professor Xiao, um, do you mind?”
Xiao Shuqing immediately waved his hand. “I don’t mind.”
With that, the two sat side by side on one side of the coffee table and picked up the prenuptial agreement, reading it thoroughly with somewhat solemn expressions.
Meanwhile, the couple opposite them held their baby, gently shaking a rattle. It was a picture-perfect display of marital bliss and domestic harmony.
The contrast couldn’t be more glaring.
Xiao Shuqing read through every single clause before flipping to the final page of the contract to sign his name.
When he laid his pen down and turned his head, he discovered that the little Alpha beside him had finished signing long ago. Right now, he was staring fixedly at the babbling baby across from them, completely entranced.
“Fallen in love with someone else’s baby?” he teased, raising an eyebrow.
Hearing his voice, the clean-cut Alpha across from them looked up.
Noticing Yu Siyuan’s longing gaze, he paused for a moment and asked with a smile, “Would you like to hold her?”
The little Alpha’s eyes widened as he leaned forward. “Eh? May I?”
Yu Jingxuan chuckled softly at his reaction and nodded. “Mhm, Miaomiao is very good and isn’t shy around strangers. It’s fine to hold her for a bit.”
Yu Siyuan hurriedly scrambled to his feet, vigorously rubbing his hands against his trousers as if trying to wipe them clean through sheer friction.
This display.
For some reason, Xiao Shuqing was reminded of the very first time the kid had come home with him and introduced himself to Saisa.
Unable to hold back, he let out a low laugh. “You can just go wash your hands. Rubbing them on your clothes only transfers more bacteria.”
“Ah, right. Okay, Professor Xiao!”
The realization dawned on the kid, and he dashed off to the restroom.
Anxious to hold the baby, Yu Siyuan washed his hands with lightning speed.
When he returned, he carried with him the sweet, clean scent of hand soap.
He carefully and delicately cradled the baby into his arms.
The baby was incredibly adorable, inheriting the best features of both her parents. Her skin was fair and tender, and she possessed a pair of large, grape-like eyes that looked exceptionally innocent when she stared at someone.
Yu Siyuan cautiously extended his index finger into the baby’s half-curled little fist. The baby looked over curiously, letting out a puzzled, “Eh?”
Yu Siyuan gasped softly, “So, so soft!”
Nie Zihang, who was currently organizing the documents into three identical sets, let out a low chuckle upon hearing this. “She’s not even six months old yet, of course she’s soft. Adorable, right? I gave birth to her for our family’s Alpha.”
As he spoke, he made a clicking sound with his tongue toward the baby.
He was currently dressed in a formal business suit, and his every movement carried the air of an elite who held the reins of power. Conversely, the Alpha sitting on the sofa playing with the baby alongside Yu Siyuan was clean-cut and handsome, radiating a gentle and soft demeanor.
Yu Siyuan looked from one to the other, seemingly entirely at a loss for how to respond to that statement.
After a long pause, he awkwardly squeezed out a single word: “Oh.”
And then, silence.
Nie Zihang’s phrasing was indeed peculiar.
He and Yu Jingxuan were clearly a deeply devoted couple, and the baby’s features closely resembled both of them. If the baby wasn’t carried by Nie Zihang, the Omega, could she possibly have been birthed by Yu Jingxuan, the Alpha?
But.
Xiao Shuqing’s gaze swept over to Yu Jingxuan and caught the Alpha stealthily shooting a glaring look at Nie Zihang.
Shifting his gaze lower, he noticed that the Alpha’s hand, hidden on the other side, was pinching Nie Zihang’s waist fiercely beneath his shirt fabric.
Yet, the Omega attorney smoothly slipped his fair, slender hand back, caught the pinching hand in his palm, and casually tickled it.
The Alpha visibly stiffened, hurriedly trying to yank his hand away.
His face flushed a highly suspicious shade of crimson.
Xiao Shuqing couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow. It seems, it feels like there’s a hidden story behind this baby.
But, was it just his imagination? Why did the little one he brought along suddenly look a bit unusual as well?
The kid’s eyes were shining brightly, looking exactly like someone who had just stumbled upon a juicy, extraordinary piece of gossip. However, the moment he noticed Xiao Shuqing looking over, he quickly pursed his lips and lowered his head.
As if terrified of being caught.
Oh?
Just holding a baby, and he’s actually this happy?
Xiao Shuqing and Yu Siyuan didn’t stay long at the law firm. Since the signed agreement still required notarization, they needed to make a trip to the administrative authorities.
Since Yu Jingxuan worked at the local police station, he gave them a brief rundown of the remaining procedures and saw them out.
Once the door to the law firm closed, Nie Zihang naturally wrapped an arm around his Alpha’s waist. “Speaking of which, those two are quite similar to us. Xiao Shuqing mentioned he has no interest in Alphas, so he’s likely an Omega-preferring Omega. Meanwhile, Yu Siyuan is an Alpha-preferring Alpha who has no interest in Omegas. The two of them hit it off and entered a lavender marriage.”
Cradling the baby, the Alpha kept his eyes lowered, lost in thought. “Yu Siyuan is an Alpha-preferring Alpha?”
“Most likely, that’s what Xiao Shuqing implied. Why, he doesn’t look like it?”
The Alpha fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. “He doesn’t. If Yu Siyuan were truly an Alpha-preferring Alpha, he would have picked up on our dynamic immediately. But when you claimed you gave birth to the child, his instinctive reaction was confusion. Not confusion regarding the content of your words, but confusion regarding your motivation for saying it. It’s as if he takes it for granted that because you’re the Omega, it’s only natural that you gave birth, so there was no need to explicitly point it out.”
Hearing this, Nie Zihang’s hand holding the rattle froze.
He glanced back at the rumpled cushions on the opposite sofa, a profound, meaningful glint appearing in his eyes.
“If that’s the case, then those two are going to be very interesting.”
An Omega who claims to have no interest in Alphas but clearly possesses a strong desire for control, paired with a beautiful Alpha who seems perfectly traditional in his perceptions.
A lavender marriage.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
The man let out a wicked smirk, pulling his Alpha a fraction closer into his embrace. “I should have just told the truth. The baby is cute, right? Our family’s Alpha gave birth to her for me.”
In response, he received a thoroughly unthreatening glare: “You just love watching the world burn.”
Nie Zihang leaned in directly, pressing a kiss against his partially exposed neck. “What do you mean ‘watching the world burn’? I call this fostering the beautiful things in life.”
“Mm, cut it out.”
“Tsk, are you spurning your own husband now?”
“I really miss the old Fatty Fish—so pure and adorable, I loved you to pieces.”
“Ahem, you get off me. Xixi is still out there.”
“She went to the restroom.”