The cafe sat quietly in one of the most bustling districts of the capital. Despite the noise of the streets outside, it remained a pocket of calm, filled with the warm, rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
Maurice Evans sat by the window, sunlight spilling over his blond hair and blue eyes. His dark green military uniform was impeccably pressed, the insignia on his shoulders gleaming faintly in the light, marking him as a lieutenant colonel of the Alliance Army.
Today was supposed to be his day off. He could have easily chosen to go out in casual clothes. Yet he came here dressed in full uniform for the person sitting across from him.
The Omega before him was a vision of cold, poised beauty. His features were sharp and refined, his expression calm to the point of indifference.
His slender frame was wrapped neatly in a pure black suit, posture composed, gaze steady. Even sitting quietly, he was so beautiful it made Maurice’s chest tighten involuntarily.
Maurice knew well, this man had once had a thing for uniforms. Maybe, just maybe, his military attire could bring him a little bit of luck today.
“Jiang Yun,” he finally spoke after nearly three minutes of heavy silence. His voice was steady enough, but the hands resting on his knees were clenched into tight fists. “We’ve known each other for seventeen years now.”
Jiang Yun lowered his gaze, stirring the steaming coffee in front of him with absent-minded grace. A quiet “Mm” was the only response he gave.
He didn’t look at me, Maurice thought, but at least he answered. That’s not a bad start.
Clinging to that fragile optimism, Maurice gathered his courage and continued, “All these years, I’ve watched you balance work and family, raise your two children, and step by step reach where you are today. I know it hasn’t been easy.”
Jiang Yun said nothing, neither agreeing nor denying, his face unreadable.
Maurice took a deep breath and pressed on, his heart pounding. “So, please… from now on, allow me to take care of you and the children.”
He spoke the words solemnly, lowering his head in earnest, as though he were submitting a heartfelt petition to a superior officer.
He didn’t dare breathe. Didn’t dare look up. His eyes stayed fixed on his own hands as he waited, nervously, painfully, for Jiang Yun’s verdict.
It felt like an eternity before he finally heard the Omega’s voice.
“Are you confessing to me,” Jiang Yun asked calmly, “or proposing?”
Maurice’s head snapped up, startled, “I…”
He had prepared for this meeting for weeks, rehearsing countless versions of how it might go, how Jiang Yun would react to his confession, how he himself would respond. But now that it was really happening, his mind went completely blank.
He knew he wasn’t qualified to propose. He knew it was far too soon. But still, he hadn’t been able to resist secretly bringing along a ring.
His eyes flicked unconsciously to the Omega’s left hand. The ring finger was bare, smooth, unmarked, as if no ring had ever been worn there.
“I’m confessing to you,” Maurice blurted, his courage burning bright and reckless,
“But if you want marriage, if you want that…. I’m ready to marry you right now! I’ll give you the grandest wedding, I’ll treat your children as my own, and if you never want more children, I’ll respect that completely!”
Jiang Yun was silent for a long moment. Then, for the first time that day, he truly looked at Maurice, eyes sweeping over him from head to toe, calm and assessing.
There was no denying that the blond Alpha was handsome. His features were sharp, his blue eyes striking, and the aura he carried from years in the military made him stand out wherever he went.
But still, not enough.
“Lieutenant Colonel Evans,” Jiang Yun said at last, his tone polite but cool, “I understand your feelings. But I’m sorry.”
It was an answer Maurice had expected, yet the moment it came, it hit like a bucket of ice water poured over his head. Every muscle in his body went rigid. He forced himself not to lose composure, though his throat had gone dry.
“May I at least ask why?” His voice came out hoarse, barely steady.
Jiang Yun didn’t believe one owed explanations for rejection. Still, Maurice’s gaze, too earnest, too burning, made it impossible to ignore. He had long known the Alpha harbored feelings for him.
The reason he had never cut contact completely was partly due to work…and partly because
“Is it because of Lu Huai?” Maurice interrupted before he could finish, grasping at the thought like a lifeline. “You still can’t forget him, can you?”
Jiang Yun said nothing.
“I can’t forget him either,” Maurice continued, voice trembling now. “Lu Huai was my best friend. My brother-in-arms. My superior. That’s exactly why I want to take care of you and the boys, for his sake! Seventeen years, Jiang Yun! He’s been gone seventeen years! How long will you keep mourning him?”
“Lieutenant Colonel Evans,” Jiang Yun interrupted quietly but firmly. “You seem to have misunderstood.”
Maurice blinked. “Misunderstood?”
“My marriage with Colonel Lu,” Jiang Yun said evenly, “Was purely a matter of family interests. We met on an arranged introduction, saw each other three times, and got married. Two months later, he went to the front lines and never came back. Tell me, do you really think that in just three short months, I fell hopelessly in love with him?”
The Alpha froze, confused. “Then… if you didn’t love him, why haven’t you remarried all these years?”
Jiang Yun placed the coffee cup back on the table. His long, pale fingers intertwined gracefully. “It’s not that I don’t want to remarry,” he said. “If I meet someone who meets my standards, I would be perfectly happy to start a new relationship.”
Hope flared instantly in Maurice’s eyes. “Then… may I ask what your standards are?”
Jiang Yun’s lips curved faintly, the first trace of a smile softening his flawless, pale face. “It’s simple,” he said. “He just has to be more handsome than Lu Huai.”
Maurice froze, stunned. The hope drained from his eyes, replaced by quiet despair and a deep, hollow sense of inadequacy he hadn’t felt in years.
The tall, striking Alpha slowly lowered his head. Silence spread between them, heavy and suffocating, neither speaking another word.
After a long while, Maurice finally let out a low, bitter laugh. “But Jiang Yun,” he murmured, “Who in this world could ever be more handsome than Colonel Lu Huai at twenty-four?”
The rejection hit hard. He wouldn’t recover quickly. But Jiang Yun had neither the time nor the inclination to console a heartbroken Alpha.
Citing unfinished work, he paid the bill and left the café early, leaving Morris alone with his sorrow.
Outside, the diplomatic service car was already waiting. The security officer opened the door for him respectfully. Jiang Yun bent slightly, his long legs folding neatly as he stepped into the back seat of the sleek vehicle.
That half hour of coffee had been nothing but a waste of his time.
Unless Maurice could somehow broadcast his so-called “marriage standard” across the entire military and diplomatic corps, saving him from further unwanted attention from self-important Alphas, the meeting had served no purpose at all.
“Have a pleasant holiday, Mr. Jiang,” came the polite voice of the car’s onboard AI. “Where to next?”
“The Diplomatic Building.”
He lifted a hand and lightly tapped his ear. At once, a series of holographic work interfaces unfolded in front of his eyes, neat and orderly, soft blue lights tracking the subtle movement of his black pupils.
Just as he was about to open a document marked “Urgency Level: B,” a private communication request flashed across his display. It was from Maggie, the caretaker responsible for his two sons.
If Maggie was calling at this hour, it could only be about the twins.
Jiang Yun accepted the request. Her flustered voice came through at once. “Mr. Jiang!”
“What happened?” Jiang Yun asked calmly. “Take your time.”
Something in his steady tone always seemed to ground people. Maggie’s breathing eased a little before she continued, “The school just contacted me. They said the boys, Chao and Mu, have committed a serious violation and need their guardian to come immediately!”
“A serious violation?” Jiang Yun’s refined, impassive features darkened slightly. “What did they do?”
Maggie hesitated, then blurted out, “They… they assaulted their instructor.”
Today was a public holiday in the capital; the twins were supposed to have the day off.
But recently they had been attending a special physical training course organized by the school. It seemed the person they had “assaulted” was their instructor from that program.
Maggie’s voice trembled. “Chao I can understand, but Mu? He’s always so well-behaved! How could he get mixed up in this?”
“Don’t make assumptions,” Jiang Yun said quietly. “I trust they had a reason.”
“But no matter what, they can’t just attack a teacher!”
“Calm down,” Jiang Yun said decisively. “I’ll go to the school right away.”
Among the tens of thousands of elite academies in the capital, Simon Academy was one of the most prestigious and the most mysterious.
It was known for its understated luxury and its student body drawn entirely from the upper echelons of society.
Every child there came from power and privilege: parents who were either high-ranking officials or titans of industry.
Some students’ guardians worked in confidential government sectors or held identities too sensitive to reveal. Their files contained little more than an emergency contact number.
Jiang Mu and Lu Chao were two of those students.
The head of Simon Academy’s high school division stared at the two boys standing silently in the corner, a dull pain throbbing in his temples.
Just one look at them, at their faces, their bearing was enough to know their parents were anything but ordinary. If this incident hadn’t been so outrageous, he would never have dared to summon their guardian in person.
Lu Chao was infamous throughout the school. At just sixteen, he was already nearly one meter eighty-five, his grades perpetually scraping the bottom of the rankings.
Arrogant, headstrong, quick to start trouble but far too handsome for anyone to truly hate him. Somehow, despite everything, he remained oddly popular.
It wasn’t hard to imagine why he might have punched a training instructor. But Jiang Mu… why on earth had he gotten involved too?
Jiang Mu was the model student, beautiful, gentle, consistently ranking first in his year.
Every time the head of discipline found himself on the verge of losing patience with Lu Chao, a polite greeting and serene smile from Jiang Mu was enough to cool his temper.
A student like that, fighting a teacher? Impossible.
With a sigh, the head pulled up their digital files again. Parental information was still largely redacted, no help there. But then something caught his eye.
Their birthdays. The exact same day.
Before he could make sense of that, his AI assistant chimed, “Sir, the guardian of Jiang Mu and Lu Chao has arrived.”
The two boys exchanged a silent look of dread. Disaster had arrived, and they both knew it.
“Quick, let him in,” the head said, rising to his feet.
The door opened.
A man stepped in, dressed in a black suit that fit him with effortless elegance. His presence filled the room instantly, refined yet commanding, beautiful in a way that made one’s heart pound and their throat go dry.
The head of discipline froze. He’d just seen this face on the news not long ago. For a second, his brain refused to process what he was seeing. “You’re…?”
The man’s gaze flicked briefly toward the corner. The two boys lowered their heads at once, as if wishing they could sink through the floor, not daring to meet his eyes.
“The father of Jiang Mu and Lu Chao,” the man said evenly. He extended a hand in polite greeting, his voice cool and measured. “Jiang Yun.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
A wild translator appears! Their weakness: coffee. ☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
Next →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Who can compare to Colonel Lu?Chapter 2 · He should be deadChapter 3 · How were we born?Chapter 4 · That’s where Colonel died..Chapter 5 · No one knows my pheromone than Colonel LuChapter 6 · Colonel Lu’s remainsChapter 7 · Heat is approachingChapter 8 · CheckmateChapter 9 · A dream liked married lifeChapter 10 · What might be his pregnancy be like?Chapter 11 · He thought he would be the father of two childrenChapter 12 · So we just hang Colonel Lu on the wall?Chapter 13 · Finally, I have something to say to my wifeChapter 14 · Why doesn’t Colonel Lu understandChapter 15 · He doesn’t Love MeChapter 16 · You’ll see him soonChapter 17 · So casual, so carelessChapter 18 Part 1 · He.. He’s looking at meChapter 18 Part 2 · He..He’s looking at meChapter 19 · Lu Huai is still aliveChapter 20 · Wait until I bring back your zombie Alpha dadChapter 21 · Long time no see, Jiang YunChapter 22 · I still have that qualificationChapter 23 · It still tastes sweet when you kiss itChapter 24 · He seems to have forgotten how to act cuteChapter 25 · The two unfortunate children were completely terrifiedChapter 26 · Please make yourself at home.Chapter 27 · Hello, UncleChapter 28 · Am I not your deceased husband?Chapter 29 · Don’t you love me anymore?Chapter 30 · Our home is No. 5, Qianshui RoadChapter 31 · Is he… here to keep him company?Chapter 32 · What exactly did Alpha bring me?Chapter 33 · Thanks a lot, brothers!Chapter 34 · Hi?Chapter 35 · I only let you take care of the child for one dayChapter 36 · Did you have thoughts when you ‘died’?Chapter 37 · Put a double bed in your homeChapter 38 · They both suffered heavy lossesChapter 39 · Welcome back to the Alphas’ arena.Chapter 40 · Why should I lower myself?Chapter 41 · I have learned that Colonel Lu Huai is still aliveChapter 42 · They are sensitive and vulnerableChapter 43 · He would also feel regret.Chapter 44 · When a child is quiet, they’re definitely up to somethingChapter 45 · Dad, you have such a good eye for choosing a husband!Chapter 46 · Who made it wear a colonel’s uniform?Chapter 47 · I love him very muchChapter 48 · Okay, I believe youChapter 49 · I remember you went pretty hard on him at the end.Chapter 50 · Colonel Lu, don’t be too fierceChapter 51 · To…make up for the regretChapter 52 · A perfect match!Chapter 53 · Colonel Lu, let’s get married!Chapter 54 · When will you finally learn to stop talking nonsense?Chapter 55 · My darlings, we’re homeChapter 56 · Babies, please stopChapter 57 · I’m about to enter my heat cycle, not my due dateChapter 58 · Is he complaining to his wife?Chapter 59 · The only lieChapter 60 · Colonel Lu, the babies are all crying.Chapter 61 · Dad, Colonel Lu bullied me.Chapter 62 · A large number of foreign ministersChapter 63 · Jiang Mu definitely likes handsome guys tooChapter 64 · First time bringing a partner to a major diplomatic occasionChapter 65 · You’re still as handsome as you were back thenChapter 66 · Bedtime Strategic PartnerChapter 67 · How can you be so good at threatening people?Chapter 68 · I’m waiting for youChapter 69 · I’ll stay by your side, from beginning to endChapter 70 · Can you handle Lu Chao’s… educational session for me?Chapter 71 · The First SpringChapter 72 · Extra 1Chapter 73 · Extra 2Chapter 74 · Extra 3Chapter 75 · Extra 4Chapter 76 · Extra 5Chapter 77 · Extra 6Chapter 78 · Extra 7Chapter 79 · Extra 8Chapter 80 · Extra 9