Hiiragi Satoru slept peacefully beside him, completely unaware that her brother was discussing marriage with an alpha he had only met twice.
Hiiragi Yu had never imagined that he would one day be having a conversation like this in front of his little sister.
He froze, his fingertips twitching helplessly. Unsure of what to say, he could only stare wide eyed at Cheng Shenzhi.
An uneasy knot tightened in his chest. Was the alpha going to make demands regarding his impending fertile period? He wasn’t a child anymore, of course he knew what marriage entailed.
Holding hands, hugging, kissing, marking, even intimacy… he could accept it all.
But his sister was right here.
He bit his lip awkwardly, watching the alpha’s well-defined hand reach toward him. It was so close he could see the faint trace of veins along the back of the hand. Instinctively, Hiiragi Yu closed his eyes and tilted his head back, shrinking away.
Something warm brushed softly against his cheek or perhaps it was just his imagination.
“Yu Yu, may I call you that?”
The alpha’s voice sounded right beside his ear.
…Just that?
Hiiragi Yu opened his eyes a beat late. Cheng Shenzhi had already stepped back, standing two paces away and watching him calmly.
His throat felt inexplicably dry. He nodded, then quickly realized the ambiguity and added, “Not the ‘Yu’ of ‘lush and verdant,’ but the ‘Yu’ of ‘meeting.'”
Cheng Shenzhi smiled faintly. “Yu Yu.”
It was a familiar name, yet coming from the alpha’s lips, it held a trace of lingering warmth and quiet intimacy.
Hiiragi Yu felt an instinctive wave of unease, but Cheng Shenzhi quickly smoothed over the moment. “I don’t have any other requests.”
…Why? Hiiragi Yu felt completely out of his depth.
Noticing the boy’s confusion, Cheng Shenzhi offered a gentle explanation. “There was a stray hair on your face. I cleared it for you.” He opened his hand, displaying the thin strand lying across his palm.
Hiiragi Yu stared at it, mumbled a faint response, and remembered to thank him a moment too late.
“You’re welcome, Yu Yu,” Cheng Shenzhi replied softly. “My sister had a fever last night, but I gave her medicine before coming over. Someone will bring her meals on time, so you don’t need to worry. If you need anything, press the call button by the bed.”
He took another step back. “I’ll leave you to rest for now. We can discuss the details later.”
He turned and left without hesitation. As the door swung shut, he caught a glimpse of Hiiragi Yu sitting on the bed, absentmindedly touching his cheek where his fingers had grazed.
Closing the door, Cheng Shenzhi lowered his eyes to hide the deepening smile within them. The sensation of that soft, delicate touch still lingering on his fingertips, he unconsciously rubbed them together.
Silence returned to the ward. Hiiragi Yu picked up his phone, intending to calculate their savings, but looked down to find a pair of bright, round eyes staring up at him.
Hiiragi Satoru blurted out, “Is Brother going to marry Uncle Cheng?”
Hiiragi Yu froze. Trying to maintain his composure, he reached out to touch her forehead; her fever had finally broken.
Relieved, he gently took her hand and wrote in her palm. Do you agree? From now on, the three of us will live together.
Satoru didn’t answer right away. She stared at him with wide eyes, then suddenly threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.
“Is it because of me?” her voice came muffled and choked with tears. “Brother can go wherever he wants…”
She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, “You don’t have to take me… You can leave me at…” She hesitated, searching for a word for a place without her mother or brother, before settling on, “…at home.”
Hiiragi Yu’s heart tightly constricted.
He held her close, shaking his head. “No, it’s not like that.”
Fearful that she would feel abandoned, he hurriedly typed a long explanation on his phone:
If I ever leave, I will always take you with me. We are both Mom’s children. We are the closest family in the world, and I will never leave you behind. Besides, Mom left us enough money to live on, so you don’t need to be scared.
Staying and marrying Uncle Cheng is only because I want to finish my studies at A University. I’m sorry for being selfish. But Uncle Cheng is a good person, you know that. He treats us both very well, so everything will be okay.
Satoru looked up, her eyelashes damp. “But Brother… I’m scared.” She tightened her grip on his shirt. “I don’t know how Mom was when she was married, but I know she wasn’t happy.”
Hiiragi Yu remained silent, cradling her head against his chest.
“If you’re not happy after getting married, you have to tell me,” she whispered softly. “I’ll grow up very, very fast… Don’t die like Mommy did…”
By nightfall, Satoru’s fever was completely gone and her lively energy returned. Hiiragi Yu’s test results, however, remained critically low, prompting the doctor to order full bed rest.
Yet all Hiiragi Yu could think about was returning to his classes. He had always been meticulous about his studies, and the anxiety of missing class weighed heavily on him.
The next morning, Cheng Shenzhi arrived to take Satoru to school.
Though she usually liked her schoolmates, the thought of leaving her brother made Satoru cling tightly to his arm. Hiiragi Yu offered a faint, reassuring smile, patting her head before pointing to the door and then to the clock on the wall, gently nudging her to go.
Reluctantly, Satoru let go. She took a few steps toward Cheng Shenzhi, then paused, looking confused. “Uncle Cheng…” She hesitated, remembering what her brother had said. The title felt strange now.
Cheng Shenzhi exchanged a knowing glance with Hiiragi Yu, realizing Satoru knew about the marriage. He knelt down to her eye level and gently patted her hair, mimicking her brother’s gesture.
“You can call me Big Brother if you’d like, that’s what my younger brothers call me,” he said with a warm smile. “Or, if that feels too sudden, you can keep calling me Uncle Cheng.”
Satoru pondered this serious dilemma for two seconds before nodding reluctantly. “Brother Cheng.”
With that resolved, Cheng Shenzhi led her to the door, gave instructions to the driver outside, and sent her off safely.
Hiiragi Yu’s eyes followed him, looking somewhat forlorn.
“I had the driver take her directly to school,” Cheng Shenzhi explained, stepping back inside.
Hiiragi Yu breathed a sigh of relief, then anxiously pointed to himself. He had a crucial lecture that afternoon, the very one he had accidentally skipped earlier.
Cheng Shenzhi picked up the medical report from the nightstand, flipped through it, and said in a gentle yet firm voice, “Not today.”
“I’ll take you and your sister back tomorrow evening,” he added calmly. “I’ve already spoken to your father, so you don’t need to worry about him troubling you.”
The news brought a mix of relief and subtle dread. Hiiragi Yu wondered if Pan Wang would still pose a threat, though with Pan Youzhi involved, the man would likely be forced to keep his distance.
As Hiiragi Yu nervously clutched the corner of his blanket, Cheng Shenzhi spoke again. “I apologize… I took the liberty of requesting sick leave on your behalf at university.”
His tone was soft and apologetic.
Hiiragi Yu instinctively shook his head, taking a moment to process the news. Since Mr. Cheng was acting out of concern for his health, he nodded politely and tapped his fingertips together in silent gratitude.
Cheng Shenzhi noticed the slight hesitation in the boy’s eyes, but he had no intention of yielding on this matter.
Though the arrangements were settled, Hiiragi Yu couldn’t shake off a prickle of unease, an instinctive alert, like a small animal sensing an approaching predator.
Yet under the alpha’s warm, attentive gaze, that instinct dissolved. My body really isn’t ready to go back yet, he rationalized. Mr. Cheng is just looking out for me. He resolved to apologize personally to his professor once he returned.
Only one matter remained.
Hiiragi Yu built up his courage. Meeting Cheng Shenzhi’s gaze, he brought his hands together in front of his chest, forming two loose fists, and slowly bent his thumbs downward, a proper, standard sign for “marriage.”
After his blunder the day before, he had spent the night reviewing sign language vocabulary.
Cheng Shenzhi’s lips curved into a subtle smile as he looked at the tense youth on the bed. When nervous, Hiiragi Yu’s face stiffened, making his soft cheeks look endearing… almost tempting enough to bite.
Not yet, he reminded himself, his dark eyes dimming slightly.
Maintaining his gentle smile, Cheng Shenzhi reached out to lean over and tuck the blanket snugly around the boy’s shoulders. “Yu Yu, would you like to discuss the wedding details with me?”
The moment the alpha leaned close, Hiiragi Yu froze, his body instinctively pulling back before he forced himself to stay still, holding his breath.
Is there another hair on my face? he thought blankly.
Instead, the warm hand merely adjusted the blanket and promptly withdrew.
Hiiragi Yu exhaled slowly, feeling as though he had just escaped a tight grasp. He gave a cautious nod.
“I have a few things I’d like to ask as well,” Cheng Shenzhi said, checking his watch with a small, apologetic expression. “However, I have urgent matters to attend to today. Shall we discuss everything over dinner tomorrow evening?”
“Of course,” Hiiragi Yu gestured.
In truth, the delay was a relief. Though he had rehearsed the conversation all night, being near the alpha still evoked a faint sense of intimidation.
Am I really going to marry Mr. Cheng?
Sitting pale and delicate in his hospital bed, Hiiragi Yu watched the alpha slowly walk out, his eyes filled with quiet uncertainty and lingering sorrow.