1122 - Chapter 12

However, not being able to find Jiang Yi wasn’t what devastated him the most, it was the medical record now lying before him. It was an abortion record.

Patient: Jiang Yi

Gender: Secondary Differentiation Omega

Number of Pregnancies: 1

Number of Deliveries: 0

Number of Abortions: 1

Date of Abortion: December 18

In the CEO’s office of Galaxy Group, Yan Nanchen leaned back in his chair expressionlessly, his gaze lowered as he held the medical record in his hand. His eyes showed no emotion, but his trembling fingers betrayed his current state.

“The child is gone.”

“Fake.” Yan Nanchen placed the record back on the desk and coldly raised his eyes to look at his father, Chu Guzhi, sitting across from him. “We have no right to access a patient’s medical records. Obtaining them privately is illegal.”

“Jiang Yi gave it to me.” Chu Guzhi noticed his son’s still-pale complexion. “Have you been taking your medicine on time?”

Suddenly, the CEO chair was shoved back, crashing into the wall behind it with a loud screech of wheels against the floor.

With a sharp smack, Yan Nanchen slammed both hands on the desk, his eyes bloodshot as he clenched his jaw and glared at his father, his emotions visibly unstable. “Why would Jiang Yi give it to you? Did you make Jiang Yi leave?”

“You must take your medicine on time.” Chu Guzhi stood up, calmly glancing at his son’s leg. “And take care of your leg. I’m going back to the orchestra to practice.”

“Dad!!!” Yan Nanchen finally couldn’t hold back and shouted.

Chu Guzhi, who had turned his back to Yan Nanchen, paused mid-step. He turned slightly, meeting his son’s nearly pleading gaze. “What is it?”

“Please tell me where Jiang Yi is.” Yan Nanchen made as if to step forward, but just as his cast-bound foot was about to bear weight, a hand steadied him.

Chu Guzhi quickly moved to his son’s side, pushing the chair back behind Yan Nanchen and pressing him down onto it by the shoulders. Then, looking down at him, he said, “Even if you knew where Jiang Yi was, do you really think the state you’re in right now wouldn’t scare him?”

Yan Nanchen’s expression froze.

“Do you know what you look like right now?” Chu Guzhi said sternly. “Yan Nanchen, do you know how many people are eyeing the position you’re sitting in? What did you tell Uncle Youpan back then? That once you took this seat, you would shoulder the responsibility that you would do it. But now? How dare you even mention Jiang Yi? Don’t you know exactly how this child was lost?”

“You should be grateful that Ranran wasn’t harmed in that kidnapping case. If something had happened to Ranran too, I wouldn’t even know how to face Uncle Youpan and Uncle Gu.”

“And now you’ve made another farce using your brother’s identity to date your younger brother’s husband’s assistant? Because of your mismanagement, a suspect stole the Secondary Differentiation Special Medicine, causing Jiang Yi to unexpectedly differentiate into an Omega, and then you took advantage of the situation to mark him and get him pregnant?! Yan Nanchen, tell me, what kind of love is this? Who taught you this? Is there any Alpha in our family who’s this irresponsible?”

“You should really be thankful that our ancestors might have accumulated some virtue. If Jiang Yi weren’t a latent Secondary Differentiation patient but just an ordinary Alpha, today you’d be standing in front of his grave repenting!”

His father’s merciless criticism struck like a hammer, the severity of his words leaving no room for denial.

Yan Nanchen froze, heavily sinking back into his chair. He leaned weakly against the backrest, his eyes red as he let out a self-mocking laugh, his gaze dull like a puppet without a shell: “Right, I should be grateful. Jiang Yi is unharmed.”

As he spoke, he bent over as if unable to bear the weight, burying his face in his hands. His shoulders trembled, and his heart was filled with endless self-loathing, why had he succumbed to temptation? Why had he taken advantage of Jiang Yi at his weakest, marked him, and even gotten him pregnant? Was that a decision a sane person would make?

Shouldn’t he just be relieved that Jiang Yi was still alive?

Perhaps he had gone mad.

Madly in love with Jiang Yi.

“So Jiang Yi leaving you was the right choice. Whether this child stays or goes is his right you have no authority to interfere. Put another way, even if Jiang Yi appeared before you now, how would you earn his forgiveness? With the wretched state you’re in?”

Yan Nanchen pressed his lips together. He lifted his head from his hands to look at his father, his face already streaked with tears: “But I can’t live without him.”

“He can live without you.”

“That’s impossible.”

“How is it impossible? Jiang Yi has already left. The one saying ‘impossible’ is you, the one crying is you, the one breaking down is you. From start to finish, you’re the only one suffering.” Chu Guzhi turned his phone camera to selfie mode and aimed it at his son’s face. “Look at yourself, Yan Nanchen. The way you look right now is pathetic.”

Yan Nanchen’s heart ached from his father’s relentless words. Staring at his own disheveled and haggard reflection on the screen, he felt fresh tears welling up.

“Still crying? If I were Jiang Yi, I wouldn’t want you either.”

Yan Nanchen silently pressed his lips together, forcing back the tears in his eyes. But in the end, he couldn’t hold back and looked at his father, pleading: “Dad, I really want him. Please help me find him.”

Chu Guzhi rarely saw his usually mature younger son display such helplessness. Truthfully, he didn’t understand as a child, Yan Nanchen had been so lively, yet the older he grew, the more stubborn he became. Though he was undeniably intelligent.

But now, it seemed his actions weren’t so smart after all. One could say his cleverness had backfired.

It was impossible not to feel heartache. After all, this was his own flesh and blood especially when he’d seen his son’s leg broken by his own grandfather. The pain had been excruciating. But wrong was wrong. In their family, an Alpha should never have done such a thing.

Naturally, he had been criticized by his father for his parenting.

He had raised his son the same way he’d been raised to be responsible, to have integrity. So why had Yan Nanchen.

Made such a reckless mistake?

“Dad, please.” Yan Nanchen reached out and grabbed his father’s sleeve. The insomnia from his depression had left his eyes bloodshot, and his trembling hand tugged weakly as he begged, “I need Jiang Yi, I really can’t find him.”

“Would you die without him?” Chu Guzhi didn’t shake off his son’s hand but instead looked down at him.

“I would.”

“Then would you live for him?”

Yan Nanchen felt as if something was choking his throat. His pupils contracted slightly as he mustered all his strength to expel the suffocating weight pressing against his chest. Along with this difficulty in breathing, he felt pain all over his body from his back to his abdomen and no matter how many deep breaths he took, he couldn’t alleviate the discomfort in his torso.

These physical symptoms would flare up whenever he was in extreme emotional distress, bringing waves of pain he could hardly control.

They rarely occurred during the day, usually only surfacing at night when he was alone.

But right now, he couldn’t hold himself together.

“I—”

Seeing this, Chu Guzhi bent down and pulled his son into his arms, gently patting his back to soothe him. “There, there. Take slow, deep breaths. No rush. I’ll stay and listen until you finish.”

Yan Nanchen rested his head on his father’s shoulder, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face as he struggled to steady his breathing.

“Yes, that’s it. Just like that slow breaths. You’re doing so well, my dear.”

Yan Nanchen parted his lips, his eyes red-rimmed. After dozens of attempts, he finally managed to exhale the suffocating weight in his chest. The moment he did, countless memories of Jiang Yi flashed through his mind vivid and relentless.

Tender moments, sweet ones, wild ones and finally.

The image of Jiang Yi smashing their little house, the one filled with all their cherished memories, to pieces.

Tears poured down his face as he finally broke down, clutching his father’s waist and sobbing uncontrollably, his cries bordering on hysteria.

A proud, stubborn Alpha had completely shed all dignity, bowing his head in utter devastation.

“I can’t find Jiang Yi, Dad. I really can’t find him. I’ve looked everywhere.”

Jiang Yi.

He needed Jiang Yi.

“Dad knows you can’t find him. Dad knows you miss him terribly, that you want his forgiveness. But tell me this, you can’t live without Jiang Yi, but will you live for Jiang Yi?”

You can’t live without him, but will you live for Jiang Yi?

The answer was obvious.

He couldn’t lose Jiang Yi. He wanted to see him, to beg for his forgiveness, to win him back, to be with him again.

This conviction was like a greedy demon, growing stronger the more it lingered in his mind.

“I will.” Yan Nanchen choked out, clinging to his father. “I’ll live for Jiang Yi. I’ll take my medicine and get better for him. I’ll wait for him to come back.”

Hearing this, Chu Guzhi’s eyes reddened as well. He held his son’s head tenderly, pressing a kiss to his hair. “My dear, you must understand making mistakes isn’t what’s frightening. What’s frightening is being too afraid to admit them. Being sick isn’t scary either. What’s scary is refusing to get treated. So as long as we admit our wrongs and focus on healing, everything will be alright. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Can you promise Dad you’ll take care of yourself?”

“I can.”

Chu Guzhi held out his hand to his son.

Yan Nanchen sniffled and grasped it. At this moment, he bore no resemblance to the unapproachable CEO he usually was just a pitiful, abandoned puppy. Then, as if struck by another thought, he started crying again. ” I was supposed to be First Dad.”

Chu Guzhi hesitated, wanting to say something, but in the end, he chose silence.

“I could have taken good care of Jiang Yi, taken care of our child, and been a proper First Dad.” Yan Nanchen lowered his head with a tearful, bitter laugh, his face streaked with tears like a madman. He fished out Jiang Yi’s pregnancy report from his pocket, the paper was badly creased but still treated as a priceless treasure. His trembling hands unfolded it: “Six weeks. Would it have been a little sprout by now?”

Chu Guzhi couldn’t bear to watch. Suppressing the ache in his nose, he turned away. “Alright, Nanchen, don’t drown yourself in grief. Try to pull yourself together take your medicine properly and focus on getting better.”

“I’ll take my medicine. I’ll get better. But I also need to remember that all of this, the harm I caused Jiang Yi, this suffering was brought upon myself. I can’t forget the wrongs I’ve done.”

Yan Nanchen picked up the abortion notice on the table as well. Stacking the two documents together, he wept, slowly bowing his head before pressing a kiss onto them with tearful devotion.

The tears on his cheeks soaked through a corner of the reports.

“Yiyi, I’m sorry.”

“Baby, First Dad is sorry.”

Finally, he clutched both papers to his chest and broke into loud, wrenching sobs.

He would live. He would fight with everything he had to keep living.

As long as Jiang Yi might still come back.

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