Married the Abandoned Puppy Alpha - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Dream Fireworks

He Xinglou didn’t sleep well the entire night.

His mind was a complete mess. First, he thought of Shi Qingze’s confession from earlier; then, after finally falling asleep, he dreamed of the time the two of them lived together three years ago.

At that time, he was busy with his studies and working part-time after school, so it was inevitable that he would be negligent in looking after the kid. It took a long while for him to realize that Shi Qingze hadn’t given up on the idea of working odd jobs, often sneaking out after He Xinglou left the house.

He was on his way home from school when he rubbed his eyes several times to confirm that the human-sized doll selling flowers at the amusement park entrance was indeed his own kid.

The moment their eyes met, the doll who had just taken off its headgear to catch some air immediately fled in a panic, losing its way.

He Xinglou was almost moved to a cold laugh. He tossed his backpack to Song Xiao and began to give chase. One person and one doll played out a brilliant pursuit scene for the tourists in the amusement park.

But after all, Shi Qingze was still wearing a heavy doll suit; he was quickly caught by He Xinglou, who embraced him from behind.

“No escaping!” He Xinglou came on with fierce momentum, pulling the doll’s body around to look at the youth’s sweaty face.

Because the two were extremely close, he realized late that the other had grown much taller than when he first arrived at his house; he already had to look up slightly.

“You’ve got some nerve, haven’t you? How long have you been sneaking out to work behind my back?” He Xinglou adopted the posture of an elder and scolded.

The youth, who was in the wrong, hung his head dejectedly. It took a long while before he squeezed out three words: “Half a month.”

He couldn’t help but try to excuse himself: “Brother works too hard, I also wanted to share some of the burden for you.”

“You’ve already helped me share a lot. Rather…” He Xinglou turned his face away, “If it weren’t for me, you might have lived more easily using your minor’s subsidy.”

“Xiao Ze, it’s I who dragged you down.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were out, the youth in front of him instantly became panicked: “Brother, don’t say that! I only want to live with Brother, I don’t want anything else! Don’t leave me!”

As early as then, he had already spoken his heart. He thought Xinglou in the dream suddenly.

At that time, he couldn’t foresee what would happen later; he was still ruffling the youth’s hair and comforting him: “I didn’t mean I was going to leave you. We are family.”

The youth was still unsatisfied and followed up in a small voice: “Then if Brother finds an Alpha in the future, will you go to form a new family?”

“Of course not!” He Xinglou heard himself say with certainty, “My first choice will only ever be you.”

As the evening lights came on, the carousel behind them began to sway to the music. Neon lights, joyful music, the scent of candy all the elements that could be defined as happiness existed there.

It made He Xinglou’s sentence sound like a confession.

“So, it was I who made the promise first.” He Xinglou clenched the lapels of his clothes over his chest tightly.

The young Shi Qingze finally smiled and stuffed all the remaining bouquets in his hands into He Xinglou’s arms.

“Brother, you have to be as good as your word.”

But the youth thought for a moment and added indulgently: “However, even if you forget, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I will always remember. No matter where Brother goes, I will catch up.”

Xinglou looked down at the bouquet in his arms; each flower was vivid and piercing to the eye, like clusters of flames burning against his chest.

Immediately afterward, a pair of slender hands took the bouquet from his arms. The scene before He Xinglou’s eyes shifted, returning to his original home before the transmigration.

A woman wearing a qipao was seriously arranging flowers, softly humming a popular song.

This was the first time since He Xinglou transmigrated that he had dreamed of his mother; it was truly rare, as if from another lifetime.

“Xinglou has also reached the age to fall in love. There will always be people coming to give you flowers.”

He Xinglou collapsed onto the sofa in a sprawling heap and said with total indifference: “Giving flowers is just a formality, it doesn’t represent anything. I don’t feel like those people like me that much.”

The woman looked at him with amusement: “Then what do you think counts as ‘liking’?”

He Xinglou thought long and hard, counting on his fingers: “First, at the very least, you have to go through thick and thin together. Don’t separate in times of trouble, and don’t change your heart for money or power.”

“Then, you have to stand the test of time. No matter how many years pass, you only have the other person in your heart and won’t fall in love with someone else midway.”

“Furthermore, you must have the resolve to sacrifice for the other person. Even if you can’t be with that person, even if you are in a difficult situation yourself, you still hope the other person can live better than you.”

After he finished speaking, he blinked slyly at his mother: “Are your son’s standards very harsh?”

The elegant woman laughed, the corners of her eyes spreading into gentle curves: “Harsh? I think these are just the most simple and basic requirements.”

He Xinglou got anxious, fearing she was going to urge him to date again, and hurriedly said: “This is basic? It was basic in your era! In today’s society, there are players everywhere. This kind of person can’t be found even if you look with a lantern.”

The woman shook her head: “That’s only because you haven’t met the person who makes your heart flutter yet.”

She embraced He Xinglou and gently stroked his hair: “Once our Xinglou meets someone he truly likes, he will naturally do these things.”

…

Xinglou climbed out of bed with two dark circles under his eyes.

The day on the island was already bright. Sunlight cascaded like a waterfall, making the sea surface shimmer with silver light, as if last night’s meteors were all resting in these waters.

He opened the bedroom door and saw Shi Qingze sitting upright at the desk, his hands busily tapping away at something.

The Alpha who was losing control and weeping last night had returned to his elite appearance. The blue light from the electronic screen hit his face, making his already expressionless face look even colder and more desolate.

The difference was too great, leaving He Xinglou not knowing how to start a conversation.

Fortunately, Shi Qingze soon noticed him and looked up toward him.

He Xinglou felt inexplicably nervous.

But Shi Qingze only smiled gently, as if everything that happened last night didn’t exist: “Shi Yu’s company has been found to have cases of bribery and massive tax evasion. He is currently in a frantic mess and shouldn’t have time to fight for the inheritance.”

He Xinglou didn’t expect him to bring this up first. After a moment of bewilderment, he nodded slowly.

“You did it?”

“I just happened to hold some of the evidence.” Shi Qingze chuckled lightly. “I am a law-abiding citizen; I don’t have that much power to throw mud.”

He then projected some documents into the void, signaling He Xinglou to look.

“The driverless car that was in the invisible orbit back then—the source manufacturer has been found. The criminal was very stupid; he actually swiped Shi Yaoran’s card.”

He Xinglou was stunned: “It was” Your father who did it?

But saying those words would be too cruel, so he stopped quickly.

Shi Qingze guessed his meaning and shook his head: “Shi Yaoran doesn’t have the guts to do such a thing. Furthermore, he’s still counting on me to support his whole family; he wouldn’t go as far as to resort to murder now.”

“It should be his assistant and that illegitimate son who can’t be shown in public,” he said coldly. “They also had a part in bribing the manor’s butler, thinking of using the butler as a channel to rightfully bring the illegitimate son into the Shi family. It’s just a pity Grandfather always refused; whenever Shi Yaoran and the butler brought it up, he would get angry.”

“I dealt with the butler in advance, so of course they were worried these things would be exposed. I didn’t expect them to act out of desperation and use such a move.”

Shi Qingze paused, looking up with an apologetic expression: “Brother, it’s I who dragged you into danger. I’m sorry.”

“I’m fine,” He Xinglou didn’t take it to heart at all and asked instead, “Then how do you plan to handle it?”

“Call the police and handle it according to the law. I don’t care about blood relations or whatever.”

He Xinglou nodded slowly again.

For the past few days, he had been urging Shi Qingze, hoping to assist him in quickly getting the inheritance. He didn’t expect his worries to be for nothing; Shi Qingze had cleared up this mess so quickly, he didn’t need his help at all.

Shi Qingze continued: “There’s no need to worry about Shi Zhao and Shi Qing. Both of them are people who understand the situation. As long as they are given their due share of the property, they actually don’t care who the head of the house is. These matters were all negotiated among the three of us in private.”

“So, Brother.”

He changed the subject, finally closing the electronic screen and standing up to walk toward He Xinglou.

“I have already obtained the inheritance. Our agreement can be terminated.”

He Xinglou hadn’t reacted yet. It took a long while before he found his voice: “You—what do you mean by this?”

“I thought about it last night. Although the contract marriage was an excuse I came up with in a moment of desperation, hoping to take the opportunity to keep Brother by my side, by doing so, I also gave Brother an excuse.”

Shi Qingze curled his lip: “As long as the agreement isn’t terminated, Brother will keep using the contract marriage as an excuse, refusing to accept my sincerity and refusing to tell me your own heart.”

“Now, the agreement is terminated. Brother can leave at any time. Just as you said, we can go our separate ways and never see each other again.”

Even if He Xinglou had thought about going their separate ways, it was meant to be in a year’s time, not after the two of them had reunited for such a short while like two lines that briefly intersect and then completely diverge.

He… hadn’t made that preparation yet.

He Xinglou suddenly felt a bit of willful grievance and couldn’t help but say: “Why are you always so self-assertive? You don’t tell me anything in advance and just notify me of these things at the last minute. I also need to think properly about what to do!”

“It’s my fault.” Shi Qingze lowered his eyes. “Whether it was using the contract marriage to deceive Brother or taking Brother to Planet Muxia without permission, I didn’t respect your opinion. So this time, the choice is in Brother’s hands.”

He placed a key-code card into He Xinglou’s palm.

“The starship is at the port. This is the start-up key for the starship. Brother can choose to go anywhere you want.”

Was this for real? Or another act? He Xinglou completely didn’t understand his thoughts anymore.

Shi Qingze noticed his gaze and said helplessly: “Perhaps in Brother’s eyes, this is again me doing whatever pops into my head.”

“But this is indeed the only solution I could think of.”

Shi Qingze took a few steps back, leaving a safe distance between himself and He Xinglou.

“My feelings for Brother were made very clear yesterday. As for Brother’s thoughts… only after there is no more concealment and no more excuses between us will Brother face his own heart.”

He Xinglou looked down at the key lying in his palm: “Then what if I truly choose to leave?”

Shi Qingze’s voice was somewhat strained: “That is Brother’s choice. I have no right to interfere.”

Is that so?

Xinglou gripped the key and turned to head out the door.

“Brother!” he heard Shi Qingze suddenly call out urgently.

He Xinglou pulled a smile with his back turned, then looked back expressionlessly: “Going to stop me?”

He could clearly see the struggle and pain in the depths of Shi Qingze’s eyes. Even though his fists were clenched so hard they turned white, he still didn’t take a single step forward.

This was also the first time He Xinglou realized so clearly that the one who had been getting carried away was actually himself.

Shi Qingze only said fruitlessly: “Tonight, there is another meteor shower.”

Xinglou nodded, indicating he knew, and then pushed the door open and left without hesitation.

…

Perhaps because the expenses on Planet Muxia were too high, there were hardly any people on the entire island.

The sunlight was strong, the ripples gentle. On the left was the azure, clear sea, and on the right was the brilliant golden beach. Xinglou walked alone along the boundary.

He walked for a long time before he saw the starship docked by the sea. Taking the key and walking into the cockpit, he indeed obtained full control of the starship with ease.

The artificial intelligence of this era was nearly perfect. As long as instructions were given, the starship would immediately take him away.

He Xinglou checked carefully again. Fuel was sufficient, food was sufficient, and there was even a complete hibernation chamber. He could even complete a light-year journey, and no one would be able to find him.

So, to leave?

He let out a long breath and leaned back into the pilot’s seat.

His mind wandered back to the dream last night, including the words his mother had said to him.

So he reviewed his past and present with Shi Qingze point by point, comparing the harsh conditions he had spoken of one by one. It was obvious that every single one of them matched.

When he made the promise to the young Shi Qingze, what exactly was he thinking? He Xinglou could no longer remember clearly. Instead, every time Shi Qingze cried in his memory was something he knew by heart.

So if he left this time, would Shi Qingze hide away and cry again?

As soon as this thought rose, He Xinglou shut down the starship as if possessed.

He turned and walked back all alone. The fine golden sand collapsed under his feet, making a subtle sound like an hourglass, giving him the sudden illusion that he was trekking through the long river of time.

He found Shi Qingze in the empty room, spacing out.

The sunlight outside was too strong, and the light pouring in almost diluted everything in the room. Shi Qingze sat there quietly like that; who knew how long it had been since he last moved.

Seeing He Xinglou push the door and enter, he hadn’t come back to his senses yet. His gaze was dazed, and his lips moved slightly, but he didn’t speak.

Xinglou sighed in his heart and asked: “Was this also planned by you from the beginning?”

Shi Qingze seemed not to understand his words: “Planned… what?”

Then it seems not. He Xinglou had an idea now.

He asked again: “If I left, would you still catch up?”

This time, Shi Qingze found his sanity and realized that He Xinglou had really come back again.

There was a glimmer of light flickering in the depths of his eyes as he asked softly: “Does Brother want to hear my true answer, or the answer you like?”

He Xinglou laughed: “Sincerity is more important, I suppose.”

So Shi Qingze’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and he said in a deep voice: “I would still go looking for you, no matter where you went.”

That’s right. After all, a long time ago, Shi Qingze had made such a promise.

He Xinglou let out a long sigh as if admitting defeat, walked to Shi Qingze’s side, and sat down.

Shi Qingze’s elite mask had long since failed to hold up, turning him back into the young lad fitting his age. He only looked at him with a helpless gaze, trying to reach out his hand, yet also a bit afraid.

He was quite bold last night, though. He Xinglou couldn’t help but criticize inwardly.

Forget it, forget it.

He sighed again and proactively reached out his hand, hooking his fingers around Shi Qingze’s.

“Didn’t you say there’s another meteor shower tonight?”