Afraid of Alphas, but Pregnant with an Alpha’s Child - Chapter 5

The next day. Lu Mingshen had a cross-border video conference and had to leave early in the morning.

He had been working non-stop recently, moving from one meeting to a business trip to another. This period was supposed to be a rare lull, but today was an exception; he even had more meetings scheduled for the afternoon.

As he prepared to head out, little Jiang Cheng was busy nibbling on a fried egg, while Jiang Qiu was in the kitchen warming up some milk.

The soy sauce on the egg had clearly been poured too generously—a bit of scorched egg white stained with dark sauce was stuck to the corner of the boy’s mouth. The little guy’s eyes crinkled into crescents as he waved his fork. “Bye-bye, Uncle.”

“Mm.”

Lu Mingshen gave a succinct nod. He had just put on his shoes when something felt off; he turned back and reached out to wipe the soy sauce stain from the corner of the boy’s mouth.

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips, skewered a small grape from his plate, and ate it. His dark eyes darted around before he held out the remaining half of his egg yolk to Lu Mingshen’s lips. “Uncle, say ‘ah’.”

Lu Mingshen, somewhat distracted, ended up eating his son’s unwanted leftovers.

Jiang Cheng: “Bye-bye, Uncle!”

“Alright.”

Lu Mingshen turned to leave, then turned back again to ruffle the boy’s hair. Jiang Cheng cooperatively squinted his eyes, rubbing the top of his fluffy head against Lu Mingshen’s palm.

Lu Mingshen glanced at the silhouette still busy in the kitchen and pushed open the front door.

Jiang Cheng dragged out his voice in a soft, milky tone: “Un-cle—bye—bye—”

“Mr. Lu?”

A gentle, clear voice chimed in at just the right moment. Lu Mingshen’s hand froze on the door handle, his long, slender fingers tightening.

For the n-th time, he turned back to look at the newcomer.

Jiang Qiu was wearing an apron, holding a glass of milk in one hand and a spatula in the other. He had a stray tuft of hair sticking up, exactly like Jiang Cheng’s, and faint dark circles under his eyes, clearly showing he hadn’t slept well. His slightly oversized blue-and-white checkered lounge pants trailed on the floor, one corner pinned under his slipper.

Jiang Qiu asked, “Have you had breakfast?”

Lu Mingshen withdrew his gaze. “…No.”

Jiang Cheng, who had woken up before five to use the bathroom and happened to see Lu Mingshen brewing coffee (and even shared a hard-boiled egg with him), blinked and locked eyes with Lu Mingshen.

The latter very slowly winked back at him.

Jiang Cheng blinked rapidly in return, his lashes fluttering like the tiny wings of a butterfly.

Message received!

Looking at Lu Mingshen’s full suit and tie, Jiang Qiu said hesitantly, “Are you running late? Why don’t you head to the office first, Mr. Lu? I can bring some breakfast to you later.”

Lu Mingshen: “Actually…”

I’m actually quite free. We could eat together.

“Oh, Mr. Lu, please wait a second.”

Jiang Qiu hurriedly interrupted him, untying his apron as he rushed toward the bedroom, not forgetting to give Jiang Cheng’s head a quick pat on the way.

Jiang Cheng tilted his head back and began chugging his milk, his cheeks puffing in and out with rhythmic “glug-glug-glugs.”

“Mr. Lu, I wrote this last night. Please take a look when you have a moment.”

Jiang Qiu handed him a small envelope. The seal was smooth and neat; one could feel the crisp, precisely folded edges of the paper inside.

As Lu Mingshen reached out to take it, his fingertips accidentally brushed against Jiang Qiu’s warm skin. Jiang Qiu’s movement jerked to a halt. His mind immediately overrode his instinct. He didn’t pull his curling fingers away, but instead remained frozen and stiff.

Lu Mingshen saw everything.

He tucked the letter away, watched the other man drop his hand and slowly regulate his breathing, and said calmly, “I’ll read it. I’m leaving now.”

Jiang Qiu: “I’ll see you out.”

Lu Mingshen: “No need.”

Jiang Qiu: “…”

A man as perceptive as Lu Mingshen couldn’t have missed his reaction. Living under the man’s roof yet recoiling from his touch… Jiang Qiu felt he was being somewhat ungrateful.

“I will cooperate with you on any matter,” Lu Mingshen said, his back to Jiang Qiu, his voice steady. “There’s no need to force yourself out of a sense of apology. If you are comfortable, Cheng will be happy. All of this is for the sake of his healthy growth.”

Jiang Qiu: “…Okay.”

He watched Lu Mingshen open the door, where Assistant Xu was already waiting.

As the door clicked shut, he let out a soft sigh. The sound of “patter-patter” footsteps followed, and Jiang Cheng hugged him from behind. The boy’s soft cheek pressed against his lean back, rubbing firmly. “Papa, I finished breakfast. Will you help me build LEGOs?”

Jiang Qiu picked up the sensible little guy, his heart softening into a cloud. “Of course.”

*****

Time was tight. There was less than half an hour until the video conference began.

In the back of the car, Lu Mingshen rested with his eyes closed, but his chest felt a bit warm. The letter Jiang Qiu had written was in his inner suit pocket, resting right against his heartbeat. It had a very strong presence.

Lu Mingshen slowly opened his eyes. He leaned back into the seat, his black blazer neatly placed beside him and his tie loosened. His chin was slightly raised as the dappled light and shadows from the window danced across his face, making his already cold, hard profile look even sharper.

Seeing him open his eyes, Assistant Xu reminded him, “President Lu, we’ve arrived.”

Lu Mingshen took the VIP elevator upstairs. The meeting room was empty, and the video equipment was already set up. A few minutes later, the balding CEO of the foreign company appeared on the screen, greeting him with a smile: “Ni hao, Lu.”

Since most of the details had been settled previously, the meeting went exceptionally smoothly, lasting only forty minutes. As it ended, Assistant Xu arranged for the equipment to be disconnected while Lu Mingshen leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed.

There was a knock at the door.

Someone whispered something to Assistant Xu and handed him an object.

Assistant Xu walked over with a cheerful grin. It was a lunch box, covered in crooked stickers of various cartoon characters squeezed together. A sticky note was pasted in the center, with “For Uncle” written in wobbly handwriting, surrounded by several heavily scribbled-out attempts at the word “Uncle.”

Lu Mingshen asked immediately, “Where is he?”

Assistant Xu: “Xiao Zhang said Mr. Jiang left right after dropping off the lunch box.”

Unscrewing the insulated lid, Lu Mingshen found a bottle of warm milk, a sandwich, and a hard-boiled egg.

He could almost see Jiang Qiu holding Jiang Cheng’s small hand, teaching him to write stroke by stroke. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his curved finger hiding a helpless trace of a smile between his brows.

But the smile didn’t last long.

He finally opened the letter Jiang Qiu had given him.

The rows of uniform formulas made him doubt his own eyes. He reached for his glasses in shock.

The paper clearly listed the current market monthly rent for Lu Mingshen’s luxury villa, multiplied by the total number of months until Jiang Cheng reached adulthood, then divided by two. Finally, it included a precise calculation of his share based on currency inflation rates and loan interest.

Below that was a list of enrollment policies and fee standards for major kindergartens in the city, with a very earnest statement that he would pay half the tuition. It noted that primary and middle schools were part of compulsory education, but if they chose private schools, those fees would be calculated then.

The annotations were also dense: the data didn’t include unpredictable expenses like school supplies, extracurricular classes, or meals, but he promised to keep honest accounts. He added that out of gratitude for Lu Mingshen’s hospitality, he wouldn’t charge for the “landlord’s” portion of the household chores. At the very end, he had even attached yesterday’s grocery receipt, with the amount accurate to the cent.

Assistant Xu watched in terror as his boss’s expression went from sunny to cloudy to dark, and finally to a full-blown thunderstorm.

Lu Mingshen took a deep breath and folded the paper. Just as he was about to call and demand an explanation, his phone vibrated. It was a message from Jiang Qiu:

Hello, Mr. Lu. Assistant Xu told me your meeting is over. I hope I’m not disturbing you? I was wondering, am I allowed to enter the study? I’d like to use the computer to look up some information. Thank you.

Lu Mingshen: “………………………………”

The CEO adjusted his glasses, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl as he began to type furiously.

What is he researching? Currency depreciation rates? Annual loan interest? Monthly rent for the villa? Or maybe the specific tuition fees for kindergartens in Hangzhou?

He finished a sentence and deleted it: That’s fine.

He typed again and deleted: Fine. But if you’re going to calculate things so clearly, don’t bother using the computer.

Delete. Fine… you don’t need to calculate the electricity.

Additional thought: Or the internet.

I’m not short on cash!

…Delete, delete, delete, delete!

Lu Mingshen set his phone down and closed his eyes, nursing a growing headache. On the screen, the two simple words “Fine.” had already been successfully sent.

Jiang Qiu: Thank you, Mr. Lu!

Jiang Qiu: 💛💛💛💛💛💛 x20 🍰🍔🍦😜🎉

Terrified that the man might misunderstand, Jiang Qiu had specifically chosen yellow hearts instead of red ones, and then spammed a bunch of food emojis to bury the implication.

Lu Mingshen stared at the screen, lost in thought. Is he getting hungry again as he types?

He pondered for a moment before speaking in a deep voice, “Assistant Xu.”

Assistant Xu, who had no idea why the CEO was in such a foul mood, snapped to attention. “Yes, President Lu!” His voice went slightly out of tune from the sheer tension.

Lu Mingshen handed him a credit card. “I need you to do something for me.”

….

On the other side of the screen, Jiang Qiu was frantically long-pressing the heart emojis, trying to unsend them, only to realize the time limit had passed. He turned to his son in a panic. “Cheng! You can’t just press things randomly!”

Jiang Cheng blinked his big, innocent eyes. He rolled around on the floor, chest to the ground, cheek to the ground, having no clue what the fuss was about. “The hearts are pretty.”

Of all the colors! Blue, green, black, anything would have been fine! Why did it have to be yellow?! And why so many?!

Jiang Cheng grabbed his own feet and rocked back and forth like a rocking horse. “The burger looks yummy, and the ice cream too.”

Jiang Qiu rubbed his temples. “I’ll buy you some later, but don’t bother Uncle, okay?”

At the mention of food, Jiang Cheng cheered up instantly. He let go of his feet and lunged into his father’s arms. “Long live Papa!”

“But you have to eat your lunch properly first,” Jiang Qiu reminded him.

Jiang Cheng nodded so hard his head became a blur. “Will that lady from yesterday come back? Her veggies were so yummy!”

Jiang Qiu froze. He had indeed forgotten about that. If she was a regular cook, he’d have to add her wages to his meticulous “repayment” ledger.

“Let me ask,” Jiang Qiu said, stroking the boy’s head.

Jiang Cheng poked his head out from under his father’s arm, staring intently as Jiang Qiu typed. Before he could see anything, a hand was pressed against his forehead, gently pushing him back. “Don’t get too close to the screen.”

Jiang Cheng reached out and poked Jiang Qiu’s cheek. “Papa, send the cloud one. It’s pretty.”

Jiang Qiu smiled helplessly, only to notice that the top of the chat window now showed “Typing…”

He stopped typing to wait, but the notification vanished.

He waited patiently for a few more seconds while holding Jiang Cheng. Still no reply. Finally, he sent: Hello Mr. Lu, sorry to bother you. Will the cook from yesterday be coming back? I need to plan what Cheng is having for lunch. Thank you.

Again, the “Typing…” appeared and then disappeared. After about two minutes, Lu Mingshen replied: She has other work; she only comes occasionally.

Jiang Qiu began typing: Okay, thank you Mr. L—

Before he could finish, the doorbell rang.

Jiang Cheng jumped up so suddenly his head nearly collided with Jiang Qiu’s chin. “Uncle is back!”

Without even putting on his slippers properly, he sprinted toward the door. Ignoring Jiang Qiu’s shouts of “Put your shoes on!”, he yanked the door open…

Assistant Xu stood in the doorway, drenched in sweat despite the biting spring chill, clutching a mountain of bags in both hands. Jiang Cheng, having mistaken his identity, was already latched onto the assistant’s leg like a koala.

Assistant Xu didn’t dare lift his hands or his leg, terrified the boy might slip. He squeezed out a cramped, awkward smile at the bewildered Jiang Qiu.

“Mrs. Lu— I mean, Mr. Jiang. Hello.”

Jiang Qiu’s hand, which had been reaching for Jiang Cheng’s collar, froze in mid-air. He looked at the various takeout bags adorned with burger and ice cream logos in Assistant Xu’s hands and fell into a profound silence.

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