Pregnant with My Late Husband’s Child - Chapter 3

“Fiancé.” The word nearly made Li Yixing vomit the nutrient solution he had consumed the previous night.

This feeling of disgust and discomfort reached its peak when Feng Zhao himself appeared before him.

The young man, who had just graduated from the Dacles Military Academy, was handsome with a vague, roguish air about him. He wore a set of military green camouflage and boots laced up tight. He appeared before Li Yixing with a glaring smile. Nothing pleasant ever came out of his mouth; he wore a mask of intimacy that Li Yixing found utterly shameless and fraudulent.

He lowered his voice and said, “Yixing, it has been a long time. Did you miss me?”

Li Yixing: “…”

If he were not currently at his superior’s home, Li Yixing would have simply thrown his hands up and walked away.

Feng Zhao clearly failed to read anything from Li Yixing’s expression, which was as cold as liquid nitrogen, but he guessed that his poker-faced rival desperately wanted him to get lost. Thus, he raised his eyebrows with delight and sat down beside Li Yixing as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Li Yixing: “…”

Su Cheng’s coffee was ready by then. Thanks to their teacher, Audrey, Li Yixing and Feng Zhao were each served a cup of rich, dark chocolate coffee. As for Su Cheng, because he was pregnant, he could not drink coffee and instead kept a cup of banana fruit milk by his side.

Although he was the husband of the Administrator, he was obsessed with art and cared little for politics. He did not know about the feud between Li Yixing and Feng Zhao, only that they were alumni, and mistakenly believed they had the deep, affectionate relationship the media often reported.

“The wedding for Yixing and Xiaozhao is next month,” Su Cheng said, stroking his stomach. “I will be seven months along by then and won’t be able to attend, so I wish you both a happy marriage in advance.”

“Thank you, Administrator Su.”

For once, the two said the same thing simultaneously. After locking eyes, they looked away in mutual revulsion.

Su Cheng, however, assumed they were just shy and gave a knowing smile.

“When do you plan to have children after you get married?” Su Cheng looked at his wife, Audrey, with a face full of happiness. “Actually, you could have them sooner. Don’t be like your teacher and me, waiting over twenty years after marriage to welcome our first child.”

In the New Era, the average human lifespan had reached two hundred and ten years. Alliance labor laws stated that the earliest age to enter the workforce was 16, and the retirement age was 178. Humans did not start to age until after 185, meaning they enjoyed a prime period of over one hundred and sixty years. Under such circumstances, late marriage and late childbearing were very common, though waiting over twenty years, as Su Cheng and Audrey had, was rare.

Upon hearing this, Li Yixing lowered his eyes, appearing to ponder the matter earnestly for a moment before looking up and speaking calmly: “We will see. We will have children when the time is right.”

Feng Zhao abruptly turned his head to look at Li Yixing, stunned by his ability to tell such nonsense without batting an eye. But then, he remembered that Li Yixing had previously worked in high-risk intelligence, where the skill of speaking lies to people and ghosts alike had been mastered to perfection.

So, Feng Zhao’s gray eyes rolled, and he flashed an expectant and brilliant smile at Li Yixing, refusing to be outdone. “Yes, my thoughts are exactly the same as Yixing’s. However, I truly hope to have a child with Yixing as soon as possible. It would be the crystallization of our love.”

Li Yixing: “…”

The corner of his eye twitched. Finally, after enduring for a long while, he forced himself to suppress the urge to drag Feng Zhao out the door for a fight.

He thought it was a waste of talent for this guy to be a Major General. He should have gone to the Venus Academy of Fine Arts to study acting; he could have been a best actor the moment he graduated.

Yet, Feng Zhao acted as if he could not read the room, intensifying his efforts by adding: “Right, dear?”

Li Yixing looked at Su Cheng’s gentle face and then at his teacher Audrey’s hesitant expression. In the end, he cooperated by raising a smile and awkwardly replied: “Of course.”

Su Cheng stroked his belly with love, his tone very gentle. “Actually, I wanted to tell you that if circumstances permit, using Womb Sac Assisted Reproductive Technology is quite good.”

“Your teacher and I originally thought the Womb Sac was a hassle,” Su Cheng said. “But after using it, we realized that feeling the child growing slowly inside your own body and interacting with the child bit by bit is a truly wonderful experience. I feel that if I had used external cultivation, I might not have had such a profound connection.”

As his words fell, Li Yixing’s eyelid twitched, while Feng Zhao’s eyes flickered, as if he were contemplating something.

“Your advice is excellent,” after a moment, Feng Zhao hooked his lips into a smile. “Yixing and I will consider it carefully. Of course,”

Feng Zhao’s face remained handsome and profound under the glow of the overhead lights. “I am quite busy, and I never know when I might have to go to the battlefield. If we use a Womb Sac,”

He deliberately paused, and as expected, he saw Li Yixing’s increasingly frigid expression. Consequently, he smiled even more brilliantly, determined to carry the idea of disgusting Li Yixing even further.

“Yixing will just have to do the labor,” Feng Zhao leaned toward Li Yixing’s face with an intimate tone, saying delightedly, “My dear, I am looking for,”

Feng Zhao’s words suspiciously stopped short as a sharp, cold butterfly knife subtly pressed against his lower back.

Li Yixing looked at Feng Zhao, his expression unchanged. His dark eyes were filled with ice, and the corners of his mouth hooked into a cold smile.

“Ahem,” Feng Zhao quickly swerved. “However, external cultivation is still more suitable for us, since Yixing is also very busy.”

The group made small talk for about an hour. Li Yixing and Feng Zhao said their goodbyes to Audrey and Su Cheng together and stepped out the door side by side. From behind, they were of similar stature, both tall and powerful, appearing truly like a perfect couple.

However, the moment they were outside, they immediately put distance between themselves. Li Yixing watched Feng Zhao’s face, which had already lost its smile, as the butterfly knife in his hand spun at high speed before clicking shut and disappearing into his palm.

“Feng Zhao,” Li Yixing sneered, “so many years have passed, and you are still so good at being disgusting.”

Feng Zhao shrugged indifferently, making no effort to hide his aggressive aura. “If you are disgusted, then I am happy!”

Li Yixing scoffed, “This is just a political marriage. I will not have children with you.”

“I don’t want children with you either; it would affect the child’s IQ,” Feng Zhao said, spreading his hands as if stating a fact. “In the New Era, we do not care for that old Earth tradition where one must have children to continue the bloodline.”

Li Yixing: “…”

The two walked in opposite directions, looking at each other with mutual loathing, wishing they could be a hundred thousand miles apart.

But unfortunately, they were enemies forced to be partners. Furthermore, they were now a betrothed couple; it was impossible not to see each other. They still had to pick out wedding rings, take wedding photos, and go to the registry office to register their marriage. They even had to act affectionate in front of various media outlets to avoid headlines on the StarNet like: “Estranged: Alliance Major General and Security Department Minister in a Political Marriage,” or “Brawling! Relationship Crumbles After Wedding Date Announcement!” These reports seemed alarmist but were entirely realistic.

A week later, under the watchful eyes of the media and the general public, Li Yixing and Feng Zhao appeared at a jewelry store in the Yas district.

The Yas district was the wealthiest in the planet Nuwa, and jewelry stores were countless. Li Yixing and Feng Zhao did not care much for this political marriage, so they chose a quiet jewelry store with few customers, which actually made them seem very low-profile.

Li Yixing had rushed over from the Security Department building. If not for his foster father, Stan Davis, calling him, he might not have even remembered to pick out wedding rings today.

Feng Zhao had been waiting outside the store for a long time, bored, fiddling with his wrist-mounted computer. His friend, Wade, sent a friendly greeting over the communication channel: “Still not here? They are giving you a hard time before you’re even married!”

Wade had heard a little about their mutual hostility and now gloated: “Feng Zhao, if you marry him, won’t you be fighting every day?”

Feng Zhao clicked his tongue: “Then we will fight. As long as we fight at home where no one knows, it is fine.”

“But if we really fight,” Feng Zhao pondered for a while and laughed, “I am not certain I could actually beat him.”

At Dacles Military Academy, Feng Zhao was in the Command Department, while Li Yixing was in Special Operations. Although they were in different departments, their curricula overlapped due to training requirements, such as military combat and mecha simulation. Plus, being in the same class, they often had lessons together.

In the four years of military combat assessments, Li Yixing and Feng Zhao had taken turns being the top-ranked student in sixteen different evaluations.

Wade recalled with a blank face how, during their daily military combat training, Li Yixing and Feng Zhao were matched as opponents. They fought with the strength of people who wanted to knock each other’s teeth out, scaring the teaching assistant into sprinting over to separate them, terrified that someone would lose their life the next second!

A weak voice came over the communication channel: “Try not to tear the house down.”

“Shut up, he is here.”

Feng Zhao’s gaze landed on Li Yixing, who had just stepped off his aircraft. The latter was wearing a deep blue Alliance uniform and black military boots. His tall frame was perfectly outlined by the uniform, and his waist, cinched by the belt, looked incredibly firm and powerful.

Such an attractive waist made Feng Zhao unthinkingly recall the topic of pregnancy discussed at the Alliance Administrator’s house a few days prior.

He briefly connected the idea of pregnancy to Li Yixing’s waist, felt a wave of disgust, and got goosebumps all over, quickly driving the terrifying image—which felt like mental pollution—out of his mind.

This was even more terrifying than a military interrogation!

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Li Yixing walked to Feng Zhao’s side. He spoke, but did not even give Feng Zhao a proper glance, walking straight into the jewelry store with his eyes fixed ahead.

Feng Zhao chuckled indifferently and followed Li Yixing inside.

Inside the jewelry store, a robot clerk enthusiastically introduced the season’s new products. However, neither of them had any intention of shopping carefully. Li Yixing glanced around and randomly picked a simple ring.

His fingers were long, with clear tendons and rounded, neatly trimmed nails. The robot clerk carefully placed the simple ring onto Li Yixing’s ring finger. It fit perfectly, snug and tight.

Such a simple style, yet Li Yixing made it look luxurious.

The ring refracted a point of white light. Li Yixing’s gaze landed on it calmly, and then he took the ring off and threw it into a jewelry box.

“We will take this ring.”

Note: I saw comments asking if Yixing is “bed-weak.” Since the definition of “bed-weak” vs “bed-strong” can vary, by my own definition, I do not think Yixing is “bed-weak.” Readers who prefer “bed-weak” protagonists should be aware.

Supplement: Yixing is not a pile driver. He is a Seme, not an electric motor.

However, by my understanding, he is also not “bed-weak.” If readers cannot accept this, please avoid to prevent discomfort.

Further Supplement: It is a womb sac, with C-section delivery.

Final Note: I did not expect this trigger warning to spark such an intense discussion. I included it because I have encountered many issues with trigger warnings while writing in the past, and because some readers specifically asked me about it. This proved that a significant portion of my readers enjoy “weak Seme” archetypes.

However, in my setting and understanding, Yixing does not fall into the category of a “weak Seme,” nor is he “weak” in bed, so I felt obligated to state this separately to avoid offending readers later and causing them further distress.

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