1122 - Chapter 7

Yan Nanchen met Jiang Yi’s icy gaze, feeling as though his blood had reversed its flow, a chill surging from the soles of his feet. Just the word ‘puppy’ and the name ‘Yan Nanchen’ had already laid everything bare.

In the past, he had desperately longed for Jiang Yi to stop calling him Chu Beiheng and instead call him Yan Nanchen but never under these circumstances, never with this tone.

He was finished.

He was about to lose Jiang Yi.

Struggling to control his breathing, he forced himself to stay calm and not panic. Then, he raised his hand to halt the meeting, looking at all the attendees, including Duan Yizhou. “My apologies, everyone. There’s an urgent matter I need to attend to. The meeting is adjourned for now, and we’ll reconvene at a later date.”

“No need for another day. I’ll just say a few words and leave,” Jiang Yi said, his eyes fixed on Yan Nanchen as he attempted to enter.

But the security personnel on either side stopped him, their grip so tight it hurt.

Seeing how roughly the security guards were handling Jiang Yi’s arms, Yan Nanchen remembered that Jiang Yi was now an Omega, how could he withstand being manhandled by two Alphas? His expression darkened instantly, his voice icy. “Let him go. Don’t touch him.”

Hearing Yan Nanchen’s order, the security personnel immediately released Jiang Yi.

Ignoring Director Duan’s watchful gaze, Jiang Yi walked around the conference table straight to Yan Nanchen. He grabbed Yan Nanchen by the collar, yanked him forward, and without a word, punched him square in the face, then followed up with a brutal knee to the abdomen.

The chair clattered loudly as it was knocked over, the sharp screech of metal against the floor piercing the air. Yan Nanchen staggered back from the blow, the punch landing squarely on his right cheek. As his head snapped to the side from the impact, Jiang Yi’s knee drove into his stomach, the sudden pain almost felt like a twisted kind of relief.

His side collided with the edge of the table, accidentally knocking over a stack of documents. In an instant, papers scattered across the floor.

The two loud impacts left everyone in the meeting room stunned.

Yan Nanchen ignored the pain, grabbing Jiang Yi’s wrist. “Yi Yi, listen to me.”

“Was it fun pretending to be your brother Chu Beiheng and deceiving someone’s feelings? Did you find it hilarious watching me pour my heart out to you with sweet nothings? Did it satisfy you to see me begging you to mark me?” Jiang Yi’s eyes burned with disgust as he shook off Yan Nanchen’s grip. His gaze was wet with unshed tears, his smile laced with bitter mockery. “You’re truly pathetic, Director Yan.”

The last words nearly choked in his throat, his voice breaking.

Yan Nanchen met Jiang Yi’s revulsion head-on, the crushing weight on his heart unbearable. “Don’t say that. It’s all my fault, I wronged you. But I swear, I truly!”

Before he could utter the words ‘love you,’ Jiang Yi’s cold, resolute expression silenced him, the words lodging in his throat like a knife.

“Yan Nanchen, do I need your vows?” Jiang Yi let out a hollow laugh, the report clenched in his hand seeming to mock him for his foolishness. “Director Yan, you’re the golden child. Your promises are as arrogant as your condescension. It’s disgusting. Let’s end this here.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

In that moment, it felt as though his heart had been torn in two.

He, Jiang Yi, a top graduate with a master’s degree from a prestigious university even if not the most brilliant, he had still managed to thrive and make his mark. His father passed away early, and his mother raised him through hardship, hoping even in her final moments that he would live well. He had vowed confidently that he would indeed live a good life.

But what now?

A tattoo, secondary differentiation into an Omega, being marked, getting pregnant and falling in love with the very person he despised most. The cruelest irony? The one he loved most was the one who had caused his secondary differentiation. How bitterly ironic.

Love truly could blind a person, strip them of reason and judgment. Had he gone mad?

Why had his mind been so clouded?

Recalling every sweet word he had whispered to Yan Nanchen, every kiss they had shared, every night they had slept in each other’s arms his stomach churned with nausea. He wanted to vomit.

But what could he do now? He was an adult, at least somewhat rational. In this farce, no matter how he spun it, he had been a willing participant. If he made a scene now, the only one left humiliated and pitiful would be himself.

What else could he do? He could only leave.

Remove the tattoo. Erase the mark. And terminate the pregnancy.

But he hadn’t expected Yan Nanchen to have no intention of letting him go.

With the advantage of an Alpha, Yan Nanchen quickly caught up to him from behind.

In the lobby of Galaxy Group, everyone was stunned by the scene their President Yan had been struck, and he hadn’t even fought back.

“Yi Yi, I admit I was wrong. Just give me a chance to explain, okay?”

Slap!

Jiang Yi couldn’t take it anymore. He stopped in his tracks and, right there in the company lobby, slapped Yan Nanchen in front of everyone.

The sound of the slap rang out sharply.

Yan Nanchen stood motionless, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Jiang Yi as if he hadn’t felt any pain at all. He took Jiang Yi’s hand, the one that had just struck him and said softly, “Hitting me hurts. Why use your own hand?”

Jiang Yi let out a cold laugh at Yan Nanchen’s act. Was he really that deep into his performance? “What’s there to explain? Stop pretending. Spare me the fake devotion. Did playing with me give you some kind of sick satisfaction, President Yan?”

With that, he crumpled the medical report in his hand and threw it at Yan Nanchen.

“Yan Nanchen, I will never forgive you.” His voice was icy with finality as he turned to leave.

Yan Nanchen didn’t even notice what had been thrown at him, accidentally stepping on it in his haste. He grabbed Jiang Yi’s arm to stop him. “I admit what I did?”

“Yan Nanchen!!”

Yan Nanchen froze. He saw tears suddenly streaming down Jiang Yi’s face, and his heart lurched in panic.

“Do you even know what you just stepped on?” Jiang Yi’s eyes reddened with fury as he watched Yan Nanchen trample over the report. He wrenched his arm free, bent down to pick up the crumpled paper, and his hands began to tremble.

No, he was going to be sick.

Seeing Jiang Yi’s reddened eyes, Yan Nanchen panicked. How was he supposed to know what that paper was? “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. What is this?”

A sharp, sinking pain tore through Jiang Yi’s abdomen. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then, with shaking hands, smoothed out the report and slapped it against Yan Nanchen’s chest. His eyes were wet, his lips trembling with rage as he glared at him.

“Yan Nanchen, I won’t be keeping this child.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Yan Nanchen’s mind went blank for a moment. He fumbled to catch the nearly dropped report again, staring in shock at Jiang Yi’s cold, resolute retreating figure. The next second, he immediately lowered his head to look at the report in his hand.

The crumpled report was a blood test result, with an hCG value exceeding 10,000.

His eyes flickered slightly, his hand trembling as he held the report: “What does this mean?”

Just as he looked up in confusion, he saw his elder brother Chu Beiheng had he actually returned? In that instant, he realized his lies and deceit had already collapsed on their own, with no excuses left to mend them.

“Jiang Yi is pregnant.”

Yan Nanchen stiffened at these words from Luo Songran beside him. The phrase “Jiang Yi is pregnant” nearly shattered him. What had he been doing all this time? Why couldn’t he muster the courage to admit his mistakes? Why did he have to push things to an irreparable point before regret overwhelmed him?

“I tried my best. I knew Jiang Yi was going to the airport to pick someone up, and my brother mentioned he’d just landed, so I thought maybe I could intercept them. I didn’t expect such a coincidence, but it happened.”

Yan Nanchen took a deep breath, his heart aching.

“I’m going after him.” He folded the report carefully, tucked it into his pocket, and ran out to chase Jiang Yi.

The afternoon sun was still blinding, making his vision blur.

Jiang Yi walked out of Galaxy Group’s main entrance. The mental fortress he had built crumbled the moment he stepped away. How could it all be fake? Months, five months. They had been together for five months.

Even raising a pet would foster affection, let alone his beloved puppy, who had loved him so deeply. How could it have all been a lie?

Why did he have to lie?

His mind remained numb, dulled by heartache.

His lips, slightly pale, pressed tightly together. Every step sent a sharp pain radiating through his lower abdomen. Just as he was heading toward the parking lot, his face suddenly paled, why did his stomach hurt so much?

“Yi Yi!”

Yan Nanchen saw Jiang Yi stop and immediately rushed forward, grabbing his arm. “Yi Yi, I know this is hard for you to accept right now. No matter how things end between us, please let me explain.”

The moment Jiang Yi felt Yan Nanchen’s grip on his arm, he suddenly remembered the incident at the airport mistaking someone else for him. His eyes welled up, and he let out a self-mocking laugh.

“You know what? Earlier, I thought I saw you at the airport. Chu Beiheng usually dresses more casually, but today he was wearing a white T-shirt, a brown shirt jacket, and white jeans. I was planning to surprise him tonight with the news of my pregnancy, but when I saw him, I couldn’t hold back, I ran up and hugged him.”

“But he said I had the wrong person. That I must have mistaken him for you. He said his name was Chu Beiheng.”

“But my puppy was supposed to be Chu Beiheng. My puppy has a mole on the tip of his nose, his pheromones are violet, he has my name tattooed on him. So why wasn’t it him?”

“But the real Chu Beiheng’s pheromones aren’t violet, he doesn’t have a tattoo, and even his voice is different.”

“Nothing like my puppy at all.”

Jiang Yi felt the increasing pain in his lower abdomen, a heavy, dragging sensation. He took a deep breath, suppressing the pain as he braced himself against the car door, his fingers clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

At this moment, he could no longer hold back his emotions, the overwhelming disbelief, the agony that felt like his insides were being torn apart. He couldn’t believe that the sweetness of the past five months had all been a lie.

From beginning to end, he hadn’t suspected a thing.

Why?

How was this possible?

Just then, Yan Nanchen embraced him from behind.

“Yi Yi, I admit it was wrong of me to use my brother’s identity to be with you, but I swear my love for you is real. Every word I said about loving you was true, and my wish to stay with you forever was genuine.”

Jiang Yi was pulled into the broad, warm embrace. He didn’t have the strength to break free anymore, he was just so tired. His gaze drifted blankly to the car roof, the sunlight refracting off the surface making his vision blur. His pupils lost focus, dazed.

“No. The one who was with me wasn’t Yan Nanchen. It was Chu Beiheng, it was Puppy. You’re not Puppy.”

Yan Nanchen listened to the soft-spoken young man in his arms, his voice weak as if crushed by unbearable grief. He could even feel Jiang Yi’s body going limp in his hold. He tightened his embrace, his eyes reddening. “Yi Yi, I am Puppy.”

“You’re NOT!!!” Jiang Yi took a sharp breath and mustered all his strength to shove Yan Nanchen away. The force of the push sent him stumbling backward, his arm hitting the car door hard. He nearly lost his balance, staggering a couple of steps before catching himself against the door.

That desperate, hysterical “You’re not” struck Yan Nanchen like a sledgehammer to the skull, the pain ringing in his ears. His hand, left hanging in the air, trembled uncontrollably, shaking as if he were having a seizure.

His very existence had been denied.

What could he do?

Jiang Yi instinctively pressed a hand to his abdomen, glaring at Yan Nanchen with eyes full of loathing. “I hate Yan Nanchen the most. You’re the one who made me differentiate into an Omega. You turned me into the version of myself I despise the most. An Omega’s muscle mass is only ten percent of an Alpha’s. Do you have any idea how much weaker my physique and stamina are now? No matter how much I train, I can never surpass an Alpha. That’s just the reality.”

“Yan Nanchen, I hate you.”

Yan Nanchen stared at Jiang Yi in shock.

But in the very next second, he saw Jiang Yi’s eyes close as his body crumpled forward. A bone-chilling dread surged from the soles of his feet, his pupils contracting sharply.

“YI YI!!!!”

Support