The college entrance examination had just ended, and like every other student who had taken it, Pei Yumian secretly looked forward to university life.
Although Pei Yumian could not apply for the major he truly wanted, at least he would no longer have to live under the Pei family’s constant surveillance, unable even to make friends.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
“Yumian? Put on your formal clothes and come out with Mom and Dad for a while.”
Pei Yumian’s body, sprawled on the bed, stiffened for an instant. As an omega of the Pei family, there were hardly any formal occasions he needed to attend. There was only one thing that required formal clothes: a matchmaking meeting.
“Yumian? Are you asleep?”
The person outside received no answer, and the knocking grew louder.
Pei Yumian sat halfway up and forced a reply from his throat:
“I know, Mom.”
Pei Yumian knew he could not resist. He dug out the white formal outfit his mother had prepared for him a few days earlier and put it on piece by piece.
Pei Yumian stared at the young man in the mirror and felt as though he were looking at a stranger.
The cut of the formalwear concealed his slender frame. His features were delicate, but his eyes were filled with bewilderment and numbness.
Only when he was about to bite his lower lip hard enough to draw blood did Pei Yumian finally release it. A proper omega should not have little habits like this.
Even though Pei Yumian deliberately dawdled for a few minutes, he still could not escape his fate. With his face drawn tight, he got into the car with his visibly delighted parents.
As soon as the car started, Mother Pei put on an affectedly reserved air and instructed him:
“When you meet He Qingye later, make sure you behave well. This marriage is already almost certain, but if anything unexpected happens, we’ll still have to find a way to make amends to him.”
Pei Yumian had already guessed the purpose of this trip, so he was not surprised. But when he heard the name He Qingye, he still turned to his parents in disbelief and repeated:
“He Qingye?”
Mother Pei covered her mouth and laughed softly, her eyes full of smug satisfaction.
“It’s Mom’s fault for forgetting to tell you. On your eighteenth birthday, we already began arranging your marriage.”
“But I never expected an alpha as outstanding as He Qingye to take a liking to you.”
Pei Yumian could no longer hear what his mother said afterward. An uncontrollable sense of grievance surged up from his chest. He was only eighteen, and his parents were already in such a hurry to sell him for a good price.
Pei Yumian turned his head toward the car window. The rapidly passing scenery blurred into one indistinct smear.
By the time they got out of the car, Pei Yumian had already composed his expression. Under his parents’ urging, he pushed open the door to a private room in the club.
Right before going in, Pei Yumian still felt miserable. His parents had actually arranged the meeting in a private club. Were they really that desperate—so unscrupulous that they were even willing to cast aside the Pei family’s rules about an omega’s chastity?
But Pei Yumian had no way out. Fortunately, once he entered, the scene inside was completely different from what he had imagined.
The lavishly decorated private room was brightly lit, without the slightest hint of ambiguity or seduction. Pei Yumian had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the alpha sitting upright in the center of the sofa.
Under Pei Yumian’s bewildered gaze, the alpha walked toward him step by step.
Pei Yumian was completely swallowed by the shadow cast by the man’s tall figure. He even had to tilt his head back to meet his eyes.
The instant their gazes met, those black eyes seemed bottomless. Pei Yumian instinctively stepped backward, but the door was directly behind him. There was nowhere left to retreat.
“I’m He Qingye, your future husband.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, He Qingye forcefully took Pei Yumian’s hand. A cool diamond ring was pushed onto his ring finger.
Pei Yumian did not look at the ring. He lifted his head, wanting to ask He Qingye something, but all he could see was He Qingye’s lips opening and closing. He could not hear a single sound.
“Wife~”
“Wife—”
“Wife?”
“Wife?!—”
Pei Yumian jolted awake from his dream. He had dreamed again about the first time he met He Qingye.
Pei Yumian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and wanted to cover his ears to block out the calling from outside the door.
In truth, after marrying He Qingye, Pei Yumian’s life had not been as oppressive or painful as he had imagined.
Especially because only three days after they married, He Qingye was in a car accident and became vegetative.
During the three years He Qingye lay unconscious, Pei Yumian learned for the first time what happiness felt like.
He used He Qingye’s posthumous child to secure the He family’s protection, escaped his own family’s control, and chose a new university major for himself.
It had been a perfectly fair transaction. But now everything had changed.
Why did his husband from an arranged marriage have to wake up? Why couldn’t he have remained vegetative for the rest of his life?
That thought was terrible. Pei Yumian bit his lip in frustration, leaving a pale bite mark on the lower one. How could he think that way? He Qingye could be considered his “savior.” He ought to…
“Wife, why are you hiding in here?”
The door to the small study was suddenly pushed open, and a tall figure came into view. The man had clearly been smiling when he opened the door, but the moment he saw Pei Yumian looking aggrieved, his brows immediately drew together and he demanded with a grave expression:
“Who bullied you?”
At that instant, Pei Yumian’s heart began pounding uncontrollably. The He Qingye before him looked almost no different from the He Qingye who had married him—the man who had frightened him so badly he could barely speak.
He Qingye said sternly:
“Whoever dares bully you, I’ll beat him until he runs home crying for his mother.”
The somewhat childish threat made Pei Yumian feel a little relieved. The He Qingye in front of him was still the amnesiac He Qingye.
Pei Yumian hurriedly pushed away the jumble of thoughts in his mind, stood, took He Qingye by the wrist, and started walking out.
“It’s nothing. I just want ice cream.”
They had not even gone two steps when Pei Yumian felt He Qingye pull free of his grasp, only to lace their fingers together.
The softest skin between his fingers rubbed against He Qingye’s slightly rough skin. It definitely could not be called comfortable, and Pei Yumian bit his lower lip again.
Pei Yumian, who had never dated and barely had any friends, did not like this sort of intimate contact. He tried to pull his hand away, but He Qingye only tightened his grip.
Pei Yumian looked at He Qingye, intending to complain, but He Qingye looked as if he had suffered some enormous injustice and muttered resentfully:
“You won’t let me kiss you, you won’t let me hug you—now I can’t even hold your hand?”
The aftereffects of He Qingye’s car accident included not only amnesia, but damage to his gland.
The current He Qingye was no different from a beta, and was even more fragile than one. At least a beta simply could not perceive alpha or omega pheromones. He Qingye, on the other hand, could not even come into contact with them. He could only wait for his gland to recover.
For an alpha, damage to the gland and the inability to come into contact with pheromones was a blow no less devastating than becoming disabled. Yet when He Qingye learned of it, instead of collapsing as everyone expected, he immediately asked:
“Doctor, can I kiss my wife?”
As soon as He Qingye asked that, the solemn atmosphere in the bedroom instantly turned suggestive. Everyone present turned in unison to look at Pei Yumian beside him.
Pei Yumian’s face flushed red with anger and embarrassment. He could only say quietly to He Qingye:
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
The doctor had seen plenty and naturally understood an alpha’s desire for his omega. He laughed twice, then under He Qingye’s stare, delivered his verdict:
“At least for now, no. But Mr. He’s recovery ability is very strong. I believe it won’t be long before you get what you wish for.”
After the doctor finished speaking, Pei Yumian’s face grew even redder, while He Qingye frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
Seeing He Qingye’s expression, the doctor knew that if he did not make the seriousness clear, the alpha in front of him definitely would not take it seriously. So he jokingly threatened:
“Mr. He, don’t think about trying it. If your gland doesn’t recover properly, it may suffer permanent damage. You might never again be able to perceive Mr. Pei’s pheromones.”
At those words, He Qingye’s expression became grave. He could still tell the difference between a moment of pleasure and a lifetime of happiness.
And so Pei Yumian escaped disaster. He did not have to sleep with He Qingye, nor did he have to have intimate contact with him.
But ever since He Qingye became able to get out of bed and walk, he had grown increasingly dissatisfied.
At first, it was enough simply to eat and read together. Later, He Qingye demanded that Pei Yumian stay with him at all times except when sleeping.
To make He Qingye obediently cooperate with rehabilitation, Pei Yumian could only agree.
But once He Qingye got what he wanted, he became even more excessive. Merely looking was no longer enough; he started wanting to touch.
Pei Yumian could feel the desire in He Qingye’s eyes, just like now.
Pei Yumian avoided He Qingye’s gaze and explained solemnly:
“The doctor said your gland still hasn’t recovered.”
Even though he said that, Pei Yumian did not insist on pulling his hand free. He let He Qingye lead him to the refrigerator.
So when it came time to choose ice cream, He Qingye was exceptionally patient, carefully analyzing every flavor with Pei Yumian.
Perhaps because he had lost all his memories after age eighteen, He Qingye had become much livelier. Something like spending ten minutes standing in front of the refrigerator with Pei Yumian choosing ice cream would never have happened before.
They spent a little too long choosing. The cold air spilling out made Pei Yumian shiver involuntarily.
It really was nothing serious, but He Qingye reacted as if facing a great enemy. He immediately shut the refrigerator door, even forgetting about holding hands, and pressed the back of his hand to Pei Yumian’s forehead with concern written all over his face.
“What’s wrong? Did you catch a chill?”
Pei Yumian pulled He Qingye’s hand down from his forehead.
“I’m fine. I don’t want ice cream anymore.”
The worry on He Qingye’s face faded, replaced by a faint smile.
“Then let’s go watch a movie.”
Pei Yumian did not object. At He Qingye’s insistence, he sat shoulder to shoulder with him in front of the large screen in the game room and watched an old movie from more than ten years ago.
Pei Yumian had already seen this movie several times, so his attention easily wandered.
He turned to look at He Qingye beside him. Under the dim light, He Qingye’s jawline was sharply defined and specks of light shimmered in his eyes. He looked completely different from the frail man who had once lain in a hospital bed.
In fact, He Qingye’s waking at all was a miracle. After the accident, he had been issued three critical-condition notices and had even gone into cardiac arrest once.
At the time, Pei Yumian had only been married to He Qingye for three days and had barely seen the man himself more than a few times, yet he had already signed several surgical consent forms on his behalf.
In the end, He Qingye stubbornly survived, but became vegetative. Whether he would ever wake again depended entirely on luck.
After hearing the doctor’s diagnosis, He Qingye’s mother, Qin You, seemed to age ten years in an instant. She had lost her husband two years earlier, and now her son had become vegetative.
But she still could not collapse. Both the He family and He Qingye were waiting for her to take charge.
As for Pei Yumian, after signing the paperwork, he did not even know what he was supposed to do. He could only follow behind Qin You, occasionally wiping He Qingye’s face and hands.
Qin You was far too busy during that period to pay attention to the omega who had only just married into the family. It was not until three months later that she truly noticed Pei Yumian beside He Qingye’s hospital bed.
Qin You knew her son probably had some special feelings for Pei Yumian. But whatever those feelings were, they could not justify trapping such a young and tender omega beside a vegetative man.
So Qin You took the initiative and asked:
“Yumian, what do you plan to do from now on?”
Pei Yumian had not actually heard Qin You’s question clearly. At the time, sudden bouts of vomiting and drowsiness tormented him so badly he could not even attend classes. He stayed by He Qingye’s side only because it seemed to ease the symptoms a little.
By the time Qin You spoke to him, Pei Yumian was already half-conscious.
When Qin You received no answer, she thought her voice had been too soft, so she walked behind him and lightly patted his shoulder.
At that touch, Pei Yumian simply collapsed to the floor, frightening Qin You so badly she immediately called for doctors and nurses.
When Pei Yumian regained awareness, he saw Qin You standing beside the bed with a complicated expression. Trembling, Pei Yumian asked:
“Mom, what’s wrong with me?”
Qin You sighed softly and handed him the examination results.
Pei Yumian could not actually understand the jumble of figures on the report, but he could read the final conclusion:
“Three months pregnant. Fetal development is poor due to insufficient pheromones from the biological alpha father.”
Pei Yumian was completely stunned. He was only eighteen. The moment he came of age, he had been pushed into an arranged marriage, and immediately afterward his husband became vegetative.
And now he had discovered there was a child in his belly.
Pei Yumian’s first reaction was to abort the child. The child’s father was vegetative. How was he supposed to raise a baby?
At some point, Qin You had left. Pei Yumian knew that if she were there, she certainly would not agree to an abortion. This was the best opportunity.
So Pei Yumian hurriedly called a nurse and made an appointment for an abortion.
After arranging everything, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. In all eighteen years of his life, this was the boldest thing he had ever done.
No sooner had the appointment been made than Qin You returned carrying a folder.
For an instant, Pei Yumian’s face went pale. He thought Qin You had come to settle accounts with him.
Of course, Qin You had not come to punish him. She had come with sincerity to ask a favor.
She knew very well that with a child like Pei Yumian, forcing him would easily backfire, while appealing to emotion and reason would only seem unbearably hypocritical. Money was the most practical option.
Pei Yumian assumed the folder contained documents meant to threaten him, so he took it from Qin You with trembling hands. But when he opened it, he found several property deeds for homes in downtown districts, along with a bank card.
Qin You’s hoarse voice carried a trace of hope.
“Yumian, I know you and Qingye don’t have much affection for each other, so I want to use these things in exchange for you giving birth to the child. There are thirty million in the bank account. After the child is born, another thirty million will be deposited every year.”
“Once the child is born, whether you leave or stay, your treatment will not change.”
Although Pei Yumian had been born into wealth, he personally owned no assets and had no savings at all.
From childhood, he had been raised as a tool for an arranged marriage. What need did a marriage tool have for assets? He only needed to be suitable for marriage.
That was why Pei Yumian had not been allowed to choose the major he liked. He could only study an arts major considered suitable for a good spouse and parent—the sort of degree that would not even help him find a job after graduation.
As for whom he married, Pei Yumian had even less say. He had been selected by He Qingye as though in an imperial consort selection, then walked bewilderedly into marriage and numbly accepted every accident that followed.
Until now, when Pei Yumian suddenly realized he had the right to choose—to use the accidental child in his belly to buy himself “freedom.”
Probably no child would wish to be born in such a careless way, not because of love, but merely as part of a transaction.
Pei Yumian’s hand suddenly clenched around the folder. He did not dare lift his head, staring fixedly at the bank card inside as he said:
“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll give birth to the baby safely.”
==========Author’s Note:==========
Please leave comments and add this novel to your favorites~
Also, please check out my new novel: “After Tricking an Older Rich Man into Divorce”
[Old-fashioned older big-shot gong × shou working hard to build himself a false identity]
[Ten-year age gap + size difference]
One year into his arranged marriage, Meng Yu desperately wanted a divorce, but his husband, Ji Weizhen, was always overseas. His request to meet him had been scheduled three years into the future.
While Meng Yu was worrying about it, he attended a friend’s drinking party. One careless moment later, he crashed straight into the arms of Ji Weizhen, whom he had been unable to find for ages.
The other man wore a neat dark suit that looked completely out of place in the dazzling, noisy bar.
Meng Yu had just been about to introduce himself when Ji Weizhen wrapped him in his suit jacket and pulled him into a protective embrace.
“Picking on a waiter now? Feeling capable, are we?”
The noisy bar instantly fell silent. No one dared say a word.
Meng Yu narrowed his sky-blue eyes and realized that Ji Weizhen seemed to have mistaken him for a young male escort?
Faced with the trace of pity in Ji Weizhen’s gaze, Meng Yu remembered that ever since they married, the older man in front of him had never even looked him properly in the face.
So Meng Yu’s courage turned wicked. He decided to throw himself into the game and make the old man fall in love with him, the “little duck.”
He refused to believe that once Ji Weizhen fell in love with someone else, he would still refuse to divorce him.
——
Ji Weizhen lived methodically, with restraint and old-fashioned principles. Since taking control of the Ji family, he had always acted decisively and allowed no one to question his word. Yet when it came to marriage, his own grandfather had tricked him into marrying a boy ten years younger.
On the day they registered their marriage, the other person arrived with a bruised and swollen face that was impossible to recognize.
Ji Weizhen: …
He felt deeply that they were incompatible and flew abroad for work the very next day.
A year later, Ji Weizhen returned to the country and met the love of his life at a party.
That beautiful boy was called Vitaly. His sky-blue eyes shone like a river of stars, yet always carried a trace of sorrow.
So as not to betray Vitaly, Ji Weizhen resolved to end the marriage that never should have begun.
On the day he received the divorce certificate, the wife he was meeting for only the second time grinned wickedly and slapped the certificate onto his face.
“Thanks, ex-husband, for giving me back my freedom.”
After that day, Vitaly disappeared. Ji Weizhen suddenly understood: Meng Yu and Vitaly were the same person.
——
Ji Weizhen thought Meng Yu was young, physically delicate, picky about food, and emotionally sensitive, like a fragile sapphire.
In reality, Meng Yu smoked and drank, loved motorcycles, knew how to box, and was tougher than anyone.
So when Ji Weizhen began pursuing Meng Yu again, if Meng Yu went street racing, Ji Weizhen brought an ambulance and waited.
If Meng Yu boxed, Ji Weizhen put on full protective gear and let himself be hit.
If Meng Yu went to school, Ji Weizhen directly hired tutors for every subject and kept them on standby.
Ji Weizhen turned all his patience and love into a velvet cushion, asking Meng Yu, this precious gem, to land upon him.
P.S.:
Ten-year age gap.
Both are each other’s first in body and heart.
