Afraid of Alphas, but Pregnant with an Alpha’s Child - Chapter 14

Over the next half month, Lu Mingshen truly stayed away, confirming Jiang Cheng’s well-being only through video calls. His conversations with Jiang Qiu returned to their original, business-like tone. Jiang Qiu felt a bit unaccustomed to it at first, but after a couple of days, he gradually adapted.

Half a month later, Lu Mingshen successfully moved past his rut and moved back into the villa. However, he chose a room further away from Jiang Qiu’s.

With both “Uncle” and Daddy at home, Jiang Cheng went to school happily every day, a far cry from his awkwardness on the first day. Both “fathers” were greatly relieved.

However, the one suffering from “back-to-school syndrome” wasn’t the little one it was Jiang Qiu.

Standing in the warm May sunshine, Jiang Qiu looked at the university gates with a look of utter despair, feeling the urge to cut class for the first time in his life. Jiang Cheng had taken half a morning off to “see Daddy off to school.”

Jiang Qiu hugged the little one in the toddler seat, kissing him repeatedly until the boy giggled and collapsed into his arms. Finally, Lu Mingshen had to remind them that they were going to be late.

Jiang Cheng waved from the car window. “Study hard, Daddy!”

With twenty minutes until his 8:00 AM class, Jiang Qiu had no more excuses. He reluctantly said goodbye. “Bye baby, bye Mr. Lu.”

“I’ll leave once you’re inside,” Lu Mingshen replied.

A-University was strictly managed when it came to gender, especially regarding Alphas and Omegas. So, when class ended and his friends found out Jiang Qiu’s heat hadn’t arrived, they practically exploded.

Roommate A: “What?! You came back to school without finishing your heat??” Roommate B: “What if it starts suddenly? Holy crap!” Roommate C: “Aren’t we all Omegas? The isolation room is right next to the dorms, what’s the big deal?” Roommates A, B, & C: “…” True.

“But starting your heat in the middle of a lecture would be a disaster!” Roommate B added.

Jiang Qiu shook his head. “It won’t happen. I brought plenty of suppressants.” He opened his bag to reveal large vials of medicine. “Besides, my cycles are never on time. I mostly took leave for Chengcheng’s sake. Maybe the heat just isn’t coming this time.”

Roommate B looked grave. “You’re being too irresponsible with yourself.”

“I know,” Jiang Qiu sighed. “That’s why I’m planning to be a commuter student.”

“But what about us?” “The homework!” “The group presentations!”

“Wait,” Roommate A interrupted, finding the key point. “You have a kid and you’re living together. Why hasn’t he marked you yet?”

Three sets of eyes fixed on him. There’s a problem. Definitely a problem. “Is the Alpha… incapable?” “Maybe his illness isn’t fully cured?” “They’re living together; he should be fine by now.” “It’s gotta be that the Alpha is ‘dysfunctional’.” “Oh, maybe he just respects Xiao Jiang? Don’t worry, Xiao Jiang. Actually, I have some herbal recipes for ‘virility’…”

They chattered on, nearly convinced that Lu Mingshen had some “functional” issues. Jiang Qiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s not that. It’s my problem.”

Roommate B, the “big brother” of the group, was the first to hug him. “My poor, frigid third brother!” The four of them huddled together like a bunch of beetles.

Campus management was relatively loose; Jiang Qiu only needed to show up for lectures, and his roommates promised to save seats for him. He wasn’t too worried about his heat; he had trained himself to stay calm enough to inject suppressants immediately if needed.

Of course, the downside of not being marked showed up at the preschool. Since they weren’t marked or legally married, and Jiang Cheng had transferred in through Lu Mingshen’s connections, only Lu’s name was on the guardian files. The school always contacted him first.

On days when Jiang Qiu had a full schedule, he’d spend the whole day anxious about the boy, too shy to bother Lu Mingshen or Assistant Xu. Eventually, Lu Mingshen learned to automatically report on the boy’s status, forwarding every photo and video the teacher sent to the group chat.

Then, on a day when Jiang Qiu was stuck in class, the teacher called Lu Mingshen’s private line. Lu was in a meeting, so Assistant Xu took the call. Xu’s face paled, and he interrupted the meeting to hand the phone to the CEO.

The teacher sounded frantic. “Jiang Cheng says he’s not feeling well. His stomach hurts a lot. Could you please come pick him up?” Then, a tiny, piteous voice came through the phone: “Uncle, my tummy hurts so bad.”

Within seconds, Lu Mingshen grabbed his blazer and gave a slight bow to the attendees. “Apologies, I have an emergency. Meeting adjourned.” As he turned, his expression was grim. “Get the car,” he told Xu.

At the preschool, Lu found Jiang Cheng lying on a nap cot, whimpering softly.

“The school nurse looked at him; it seems like he just ate something bad,” Teacher Zhang said worriedly. “Is he sensitive to certain foods? No one else has a stomachache.”

Lu Mingshen recalled the info sheet Jiang Qiu had written. After checking the lunch menu, he said, “It’s probably not the food. I’ll take him to get checked out.”

Jiang Cheng tossed and turned, occasionally peeking at Lu with one eye. When Lu caught him, he quickly squeezed his eyes shut. Even after being buckled into his car seat, he held his stomach and let out tiny, theatrical whines.

Lu Mingshen patted his head. “Where does it hurt?”

“Here, here, and here.” Jiang Cheng pointed to three random spots on his belly.

“Is it better now?”

“It doesn’t seem to hurt as much as before.”

“We’re going to the hospital to get a blood test.”

“No!” Jiang Cheng grabbed Lu’s hand as he went to start the car, shaking his head like a rattle. “No, no, no!”

“Then go back to school.”

“Waaaaah mean Uncle! I want Daddy!” Seeing his trick wasn’t working, he started a full-blown wail.

Lu Mingshen was helpless against the boy’s “call for Daddy” tactic. He resignedly buckled his own seatbelt and warned the kid, “Just this once. Never again.”

“Oh yeah!”

Lu Mingshen didn’t mind his employees knowing he had a son. He took Jiang Cheng straight to the office. A steady stream of toys was delivered, so that when Jiang Qiu arrived after class, he stood dazed, watching his son play on a literal indoor slide. He criticized the extravagance: “You’re spoiling him too much.”

Lu Mingshen finished signing a document and replied indifferently, “I can afford to spoil him.”

Jiang Qiu: “…” Do you rich people have any humanity left?

He could only sit down and play with his son. By the fourth round of toy cars, Jiang Cheng leaned against Jiang Qiu, twisting the hem of his father’s shirt around his finger. “Daddy, let me tell you something.”

Jiang Qiu, focused on a Lego set, kissed the top of the boy’s head. “What is it, baby?”

“There’s an activity at school where daddies and mommies have to go together,” Jiang Cheng blinked. “But… baby doesn’t have a mommy, so I can’t go.”

Jiang Qiu froze. He had forgotten about this. How was he supposed to explain that Daddy was Mommy?

“But baby thought about it, and I have Uncle,” Jiang Cheng continued. “Can Uncle go?”

Jiang Qiu looked at Lu Mingshen awkwardly. Through the glass door, the man was focused on a document. Yet, a second later, he seemed to feel the gaze and looked up. Jiang Qiu immediately looked down and whispered to his son, “Probably not. Uncle Lu is very busy. Look at all the work he has.”

“But you haven’t even asked him yet.”

“Daddy, are you too shy to ask?” Jiang Cheng giggled, seeing through his father’s embarrassment. He leaned in, nose to nose with Jiang Qiu. “I’ll ask him then.”

At that moment, Lu Mingshen received a call. It was Teacher Zhang. “Hello, Mr. Lu. How is Jiang Cheng doing?”

Lu looked at the little guy rubbing noses with Jiang Qiu. “He’s fine now. Thank you for your concern.”

“That’s good. I’m calling because we have a family activity next week, and the sign-up deadline is tomorrow. Did Jiang Cheng tell you?”

Family activity? Lu Mingshen frowned; he hadn’t heard a word.

“All the other parents have signed up. Only Chengcheng is left. I wanted to see if there were any concerns? I asked him twice, but he didn’t answer.”

Hanging up, Lu pinched the bridge of his nose. He was scheduled for a business trip next week and wasn’t sure if he’d make it back in time. He pushed the door open to ask about the event, only to hear the little “traitor” whispering loudly into Jiang Qiu’s ear: “How about… how about we ask Uncle Xu to go?”

Jiang Cheng’s idea of a “whisper” was loud enough for Lu Mingshen to hear every single word.

The boy poked his father. “Go ask him!”

Jiang Qiu signaled back. Weren’t you going to ask?

Daddy, you’re a coward. You’re afraid to ask.

…

“Um, Mr. Lu, are you free next week?” Jiang Qiu asked from the floor mat, looking up at Lu as he buttoned his suit jacket. “There’s a family activity at Chengcheng’s school…”

Lu Mingshen pulled Jiang Qiu up with one hand and scooped up Jiang Cheng with the other. “I’m free.”

“Hooray!” Chengcheng hugged Lu’s neck and gave him a big, loud kiss on the cheek. “Uncle, I think I love you so much.”

Jiang Qiu found it funny. “What about me?”

Chengcheng’s love was distributed equally. “I love Daddy too, of course!”

“Then we’ll all go together,” Jiang Qiu said.

A chubby little hand extended a pinky. “Pinky swear!”

Lu Mingshen reached out first, hooked the little finger, then immediately let go. Jiang Cheng pouted, dissatisfied, but then he saw his uncle extend his pinky toward his father.

Jiang Qiu froze, but Lu Mingshen was looking at him with absolute seriousness. “Pinky swear.”

Jiang Qiu: “…”

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