After Shen Yuzhi left, Qin Huai lay on the bed alone. His mind began to wander, filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts. He even started recalling stories about Ling Feng.
This prevented Qin Huai from closing his eyes. He sat up abruptly and leaned against the headboard, carefully observing the entire room. If he had to talk about that night he spent with Shen Yuzhi in this house, he already had no memory of it. All that remained were memories of their arguments and the times he had been imprisoned here.
For Qin Huai, these were not pleasant memories. He rested his head and closed his eyes in resignation. He did not know where Shen Yuzhi had gone, but now Qin Huai felt hungry. He did not know if it was due to his pregnancy or something else, but he frequently felt tired or hungry. He was either craving food or wanting to sleep. Even sitting in the office, he could fall asleep in no time, and it did not seem to help no matter how long he slept at night.
“So tired,” Qin Huai sighed. Just as he was about to lie down, there was a knock at the door.
“Mr. Qin, would you like some fruit? I have also prepared some cake.”
It was the housekeeper’s voice, and after a moment of consideration, Qin Huai agreed. He paused while holding a plate of blueberries. He had not expected that Shen Yuzhi would still remember what he liked to eat. The items placed on the small cart were all things Qin Huai enjoyed, from drinks to fruits, and even the cream on the cake was his favorite flavor. Once Qin Huai finished eating, he climbed back onto the bed. After being full, all he wanted to do was sleep.
He slept until the afternoon. After waking up leisurely in Shen Yuzhi’s bed, he walked into the living room, only to be met by a puzzled look from the housekeeper. Qin Huai observed that this housekeeper seemed different from the one who had brought the fruit earlier. He truly did not know why Shen Yuzhi needed so many housekeepers here alone. The expression on her face was so perplexed that it felt inexplicable to Qin Huai. It seemed Shen Yuzhi really had not brought anyone back to the villa.
Qin Huai sighed and curled up on the sofa with a smile. He loved this set of sofas that Shen Yuzhi had bought; it was both soft and comfortable. Curling up on it made him feel very happy. He stayed curled up until dinner time, yet he still did not see Shen Yuzhi return.
He truly did not know what this man was up to. Qin Huai pondered it hundreds of times in his head, but still could not figure out what Shen Yuzhi was doing. He could not help but stroke his belly, took out his phone, and sent a message to Song Zhe.
“I am not going home for dinner today.”
After that, he called Shen Yuzhi. After the phone rang and hung up, Qin Huai called back again, but Shen Yuzhi did not answer. This back and forth angered Qin Huai. He furrowed his brows tightly and sent a series of messages to Shen Yuzhi.
“Why have you not returned yet? What do you mean by leaving me alone in the villa? At the very least, you should come back to eat with me.”
“Why will you not answer my calls?”
“If you do not answer, I am leaving.”
In any case, there were no bodyguards watching the villa now, so if Qin Huai wanted to leave, it was just a matter of saying so. Shortly after that message, Shen Yuzhi appeared in the villa in less than ten minutes.
“Why have you not eaten yet?” he asked, immediately questioning Qin Huai upon arrival.
Qin Huai, curled up on the sofa, stared blankly at the pile of food packaging on the coffee table. He had already eaten plenty of snacks and treats here; he was not hungry at all. That cold pheromone scent wafted toward Qin Huai, leaving him slightly dazed. He blinked his eyes, looking at the man sitting beside him. His crisp suit accentuated the man’s handsomeness, and his chiseled features made Shen Yuzhi appear somewhat serious.
“Why have you not returned my calls or messages these past few days? Are you trying to play disappearing games with me?”
To his surprise, this was the second sentence Qin Huai heard, and he blinked in confusion.
“Me?” He even pointed a finger at himself, unable to believe what he was hearing. It turned out that Shen Yuzhi had no idea why he had been out of contact, why he had not answered his calls, or why he had been hiding from him.
“You guess why. Would I just disappear for no reason? Do you not know how much trouble that photo caused?”
Qin Huai felt it was truly inexplicable; he did not understand what Shen Yuzhi meant by asking him that. However, Shen Yuzhi remained indifferent, crossing his arms and looking down at him. That gaze, which made Qin Huai feel extremely uncomfortable, persisted, staring fixedly at Qin Huai’s face. Qin Huai could not help but turn his face away, staring at the pile of trash on the coffee table, and spoke quietly.
“It was you who wanted to imprison me in the villa, so I did not want to talk to you. It was you who went to flirt with that big star after I left. Stop using that same tactic to restrict me.”
Qin Huai’s words were particularly harsh, and he refused to look Shen Yuzhi in the eye.
“Flirting with a big star is a complete misunderstanding. He had only just returned from abroad. I did not mean anything else by it; we just drank together.”
Shen Yuzhi’s explanation felt incredibly weak and feeble to Qin Huai. After all, that incident had already become the talk of the town, and everyone knew about him being the young master of the Cheng family. That big star was not a simple person, either; Qin Huai did not even need to think to understand that. However, he simply did not like Shen Yuzhi’s attitude toward this matter.
“But why was he able to find you to drink the moment he returned? You are such a busy person, yet you had enough leisure time to drink with him.”
Once Qin Huai started talking about this, he was essentially furious. He did not care who was in front of him and vented his emotions recklessly. He sat huddled on the sofa, looking particularly pathetic and weak. Hearing this, Shen Yuzhi could not help but furrow his brows, his expression becoming exceptionally fierce.
“That was just a coincidence, Qin Huai. You do not believe me when I say that?”
Shen Yuzhi’s explanation lacked any credibility. There were so many hotels in the city, and that big star was not a fool; how could he expose himself like that?
“Do you think I would believe you? Do not always try to lie to me. I am not a fool, nor am I a child!”
This completely ignited Qin Huai’s anger. He sprang up from the sofa and pointed at Shen Yuzhi, scolding him.
“No matter what you intend to do, I will not interfere. Our relationship was not that deep to begin with.”
The moment those words were uttered, Shen Yuzhi’s face cooled down by several degrees, and his gaze toward Qin Huai turned icy, even laced with a hint of resentment.
“I do not even know if this child in my belly is yours, but I think it does not matter now. So what if it is yours? So what if it is not? What relationship do we even have?”
This was the most heartbreaking thing Qin Huai had ever said to Shen Yuzhi after all these years. They had once been inseparable, a god-tier couple envied by countless people, and they had even worked together; they were the closest of companions. Now, hearing Qin Huai say that they had no relationship left froze Shen Yuzhi to the bone. Shen Yuzhi clenched his fists tightly, wanting to explode in anger but finding himself unable to do so. These words were too harsh and too hurtful.
After hearing them, he flicked his sleeves and left in a rage. This was the angriest Shen Yuzhi had been in years. Qin Huai had been the one to abandon him before, and now, after returning, he was treating him with such cold words again. Why, after all these years, did he still choose not to believe him?
Shen Yuzhi’s mind was in turmoil, a chaotic mess; he had no idea how to explain it now. He sped all the way to the suburbs, calmed himself by the seaside for a long time, and finally chose to return to the company. In the company at night, only a few employees were working overtime. Shen Yuzhi returned to his office alone and stared blankly at the photo of Qin Huai he had saved on his phone.
Meanwhile, Qin Huai, left alone in the villa, sat on the sofa motionless. He did not know why he had said so many hurtful things. He had already hurt Shen Yuzhi once before; why did he have to say such heart-wrenching words again? Qin Huai knew in his heart that the child in his belly was clearly Shen Yuzhi’s, as he had not been with any other Alpha before this. That was his first time, after all.
Qin Huai sat curled up on the sofa for a long time, contemplating many things. However, Qin Huai realized that since he had already said those things, there was no way to take them back. In the end, Qin Huai chose to apologize to Shen Yuzhi via his phone. It was only three words: “I am sorry.”
Qin Huai understood how much he had hurt him with his words, but he also knew that if he did not do this, they would just go on arguing for no reason. Qin Huai sighed, stood up from the sofa, and returned to Shen Yuzhi’s bedroom. He covered himself completely with the quilt, greedily inhaling Shen Yuzhi’s scent. The lingering pheromones made Qin Huai’s body feel very comfortable, so much so that he began to miss the feeling of having Shen Yuzhi by his side.
A newly pregnant Qin Huai still needed the pheromones of an Alpha. These pheromones kept his emotions stable and his body healthy.
However, since he and Shen Yuzhi argued often, they spent too much time apart. The thought of this made Qin Huai’s head ache. He sighed repeatedly in resignation and even grabbed a pillow and punched it twice. Qin Huai did not manage to fall asleep that night, tossing and turning while thinking about how to speak to Shen Yuzhi tomorrow.