Zhong Jue slept quietly beside them, completely unaware of what her older brother was discussing with an alpha he had only met for the second time.
Zhong Yu had never imagined that one day he would discuss such things right in front of his little sister.
His entire body stiffened pitifully. His fingers lifted uncertainly several times, but he had no idea what he wanted to say, so he could only widen his eyes and stare at Cheng Shenzhi.
His heart fluttered with unease. He guessed the other man might be about to make a request concerning his rut. Zhong Yu was not a little child. Of course he knew what married people were expected to do.
Holding hands, embracing, kissing, marking, even… He could accept all of it.
But…his sister was still here.
He bit his lip in difficulty and watched the alpha's long-fingered hand reach toward him. It came so close that Zhong Yu could even see the faint blue veins raised over the back of it.
He instinctively closed his eyes and tipped his head slightly backward.
Something warm seemed to brush his cheek. Or perhaps it was only his imagination.
He heard the alpha's voice, still very close. "Yuyuâmay I call you that?"
…That was all?
Zhong Yu opened his eyes a beat late and saw that Cheng Shenzhi had already stepped back again, now standing two paces away and watching him.
His throat inexplicably felt a little dry. He nodded, then suddenly realized something was wrong and hurriedly clarified, "It's not the Yu that means lush and flourishing. It's the Yu that means to meet."
Cheng Shenzhi smiled faintly and called him, "Yuyu."
They were two syllables Zhong Yu could not have known better, yet when they rolled from the alpha's mouth they somehow gained an intimate, ambiguous warmth.
It made Zhong Yu instinctively uneasy, but Cheng Shenzhi said, "I don't have any other requests."
…How could he do that?
Now Zhong Yu was the one who no longer knew what to do.
Cheng Shenzhi seemed to suddenly realize that his behavior just now had been inappropriate, so he added an explanation. "There was a strand of hair on your face. I took it off for you."
As he spoke, he even opened his palm toward Zhong Yu and showed him the stray hair.
Zhong Yu stared at it and gave a soft, awkward acknowledgment. Only a moment later did he remember to thank him.
"You're welcome, Yuyu."
Cheng Shenzhi said it lightly, then added at the end, "Your sister had a fever last night. I already gave her medicine before bringing her here. Someone will bring food and medicine on schedule later. Don't worry."
"If you need anything, just press the call button by the bed."
After saying that, he took one step back. "Then I won't disturb you. Rest first, Yuyu. We can discuss anything else later."
With that, he turned cleanly and walked out. As he pulled the door closed behind himself, he saw the beta sitting on the bed, absentmindedly raising one hand to touch his own cheek.
Cheng Shenzhi lowered his eyes to hide the smile in them. His fingertip seemed to retain the softness of that touch, and he rubbed it unconsciously before finally closing the door.
The hospital room returned to silence. Zhong Yu grabbed his phone and instinctively prepared to calculate how much money he and his sister currently had saved.
But the moment he lowered his head, he met a pair of round eyes.
"…"
Zhong Yu froze.
Children did not understand subtlety. Zhong Jue immediately asked, "Brother, are you going to marry Uncle Cheng?"
Zhong Yu: "…"
He tried to calm himself and reached out to touch his sister's forehead. Her temperature had already gone down.
He relaxed, took his sister's hand, and wrote: "Do you agree? The three of us would live together from now on."
Zhong Jue said nothing. She only looked at her brother with those enormous eyes. After several seconds, she suddenly opened her arms and threw herself hard into Zhong Yu's embrace.
"Is it because of me?" Zhong Jue's voice was muffled. She seemed to choke back a sob. "Brother can go wherever he wants."
She buried her face and whispered, "I don't have to follow you… Brother can leave me at…"
For a moment, she seemed unable to find a word for the place that had neither their mother nor her brother. After thinking for several seconds, she continued, "Mm. Leave me at home."
Zhong Yu felt his heart twist into a knot at his sister's words.
He hugged her just as tightly. "No. That's not it."
Terrified that his sister would misunderstand, he hurriedly wrote: "I won't leave you behind."
Writing was too slow. Zhong Yu anxiously grabbed his phone and typed an explanation.
[If Brother leaves, of course I'll take you with me. Brother is Mom's child, and you're Mom's child too. We're the closest people in the world. Brother can't leave you. Besides, Mom left enough money for both of us to live, so you don't need to be afraid.
Staying here and marrying Uncle Cheng is only because Brother still wants to continue studying at A University. I'm sorry. Brother is being a little selfish. But Uncle Cheng is a very good person. You know that too. He's good to both you and me. It will be all right.]
Zhong Jue tilted her face up and looked at him. After several seconds she whispered, "But Brother, I'm so scared."
She hugged Zhong Yu even tighter. "I don't know how Mom got married before, but I know she wasn't happy."
Zhong Yu had no words. He could only lower his head and hold his sister.
Zhong Jue kept her face lowered so Zhong Yu could not see her expression. She whispered, "If you're unhappy after you get married, you have to tell me."
"I'll grow up really, really fast… Don't die like Mom did…"
–
Zhong Jue's fever broke that very night, and she returned to her usual energetic self. Zhong Yu's readings, however, remained below normal, and the doctor kept him pinned to the hospital bed and forbade him from moving around.
But his mind was full of returning to class.
All his life, whatever Zhong Yu did, he did with everything he had.
Especially now, when the center of his life was studying.
Added to the fact that a teacher had already noticed his previous absence, Zhong Yu was deeply uneasy. That lasted until the next morning, when Cheng Shenzhi came to take Zhong Jue to school.
Although she got along very well with her classmates, the moment school was mentioned Zhong Jue still could not help letting her little face fall. She clung to Zhong Yu's arm and refused to let go.
Zhong Yu was amused into a faint smile. He stroked his sister's hair, pointed outside, then at the clock on the wall, urging her to go to school.
Zhong Jue had always listened to him. She could only reluctantly let go, turning her head back every few steps as she walked toward Cheng Shenzhi. "Uncle Cheng…"
Halfway through saying it, she suddenly remembered that her brother was going to marry Uncle Cheng. The title abruptly felt strange, and her brows nearly tied themselves into a knot from indecision.
Cheng Shenzhi first glanced at Zhong Yu. From Zhong Yu's tacit expression, he understood that Zhong Jue already knew everything. He bent down and, imitating Zhong Yu, stroked Zhong Jue's hair too.
"You can call me Big Brother. That's what my younger brothers call me."
He smiled faintly. "Of course, if you can't change the habit right away, you can keep calling me Uncle Cheng."
Zhong Jue frowned and thought seriously for two seconds before reluctantly nodding. "Brother Cheng."
With that problem solved, Cheng Shenzhi led Zhong Jue to the hospital-room door. After quietly exchanging a few words with someone outside, he sent Zhong Jue out.
Zhong Yu's eyes followed Cheng Shenzhi the entire time, making him look a little pitiful.
Cheng Shenzhi explained, "I asked the driver to take her to school."
Only then did Zhong Yu relax. Immediately afterward, he pointed anxiously at himself.
He had class that afternoon, and by unfortunate coincidence it was the same class where the teacher had caught him absent before.
Cheng Shenzhi flipped through the health report beside him, folded his hands together, and told him gently, "Not today."
"Tomorrow evening, I'll take you and your sister back." He said, "I've already spoken to your father. You don't need to worry that he'll make things difficult for either of you."
Zhong Yu tensed at the first half of the sentence. Only when he heard the second half did he relax.
He did not know whether Pan Wang would still be there waiting for him, but with Pan Youzhi watching, Pan Wang should at least restrain himself somewhat.
Zhong Yu lowered his eyes and nervously gripped the edge of the blanket. He was about to respond when Cheng Shenzhi suddenly said, "I'm sorry. I took the liberty of asking your school for leave on your behalf."
Cheng Shenzhi's voice was warm and apologetic. Zhong Yu instinctively shook his head. Two seconds later, he realized what the man had actually said.
He immediately looked up. But Mr. Cheng had done it out of concern for him. After pausing, Zhong Yu still nodded and pointed his fingertips downward in the gesture for thanks.
Cheng Shenzhi could of course see that Zhong Yu was not especially willing.
But on this matter, he had no intention of giving way.
The matter was already settled, yet Zhong Yu still felt vaguely that something was wrong. It was a feeling like the instinctive vigilance of a small animal before danger.
That instinct quickly disappeared completely under the gentle gaze of the person opposite him.
His body truly was not ready to return to school immediately.
Mr. Cheng was thinking of him.
With that thought, Zhong Yu decided he would apologize to his teacher and properly explain the recent situation once he returned to school.
Only one final matter remained.
Zhong Yu silently encouraged himself. Under Cheng Shenzhi's gaze, he raised both hands in front of his chest and made fists facing one another, then slowly bent his thumbs.
It was a perfectly standard sign meaning "marriage."
Clearly, after the small misunderstanding yesterday, Zhong Yu had spent the night urgently studying the relevant "professional" vocabulary.
The corner of Cheng Shenzhi's lips curved almost imperceptibly as he looked at the child sitting upright on the bed.
When Zhong Yu was nervous, he seemed to unconsciously tense his face very easily. Even his cheeks looked as though he were exerting effort. It was very…cute.
It also inspired a strong urge to take a bite.
But they were not married yet.
His gaze darkened, though the faint smile on his face did not change. He reached out and tucked the blanket around Zhong Yu.
"Yuyu, do you still want to discuss the details of the marriage with me?"
The instant the hand approached, Zhong Yu's entire body stiffened. Almost by instinct, he leaned backward, then forced himself to stop because he did not want to show fear. Even his breathing halted.
…Was there hair on his face again?
Zhong Yu wondered almost blankly.
Unexpectedly, this time the hand only adjusted his blanket before withdrawing with restraint.
He immediately felt as though he had come back to life and slowly released a breath.
Zhong Yu nodded with great reserve.
"All right. There are some things I want to discuss with you too."
As he spoke, Cheng Shenzhi glanced down at his watch and smiled apologetically. "But I still have some things to handle today. Can we have dinner together tomorrow night?"
Of course.
In fact, that option made Zhong Yu far more relaxed.
Although he had spent almost the entire night thinking it over again and again and believed he had made every possible preparation, when the man leaned close just now, Zhong Yu still felt…afraid.
Was he really going to marry Mr. Cheng?
The pale, slender young man sitting on the hospital bed watched the alpha slowly leave, lingering confusion and worry filling his eyes.
