The Cold Side Character from a Male-Lead Novel is Pregnant - Chapter 16

“Are you about to give birth?”

Hearing those words, Yan Yu did not know how to react for a moment. First of all, he was a man. Secondly, he was the ex-boyfriend of the man standing right in front of him. From any perspective, hearing the phrase “You are probably about to give birth” from Chen Kan’s mouth felt utterly absurd.

Yan Yu’s fingers were still frozen on his shirt button; his entire body stiffened abruptly. After a few seconds of silence, he asked in a low voice, “How do you know?”

“I asked a few friends over the last couple of days and got a general idea.” Chen Kan set the paper bag in his hand on the edge of the table, and the faint aroma of food wafted out. He pushed the box of soup dumplings, which were Yan Yu’s favorite, closer. His tone was as calm as if they were discussing the weather. “Once the bloodline on your chest reaches the center of your heart, it should be about time.”

In truth, Yan Yu knew better than Chen Kan. He carried a Transmigration System within him, and those cold, meticulous strings of text had already revealed everything clearly. A Blood Pregnancy was different from a typical pregnancy. The spirit fetus was condensed through a blood contract and grew by relying on the spiritual power of the heart’s vessels. When the spirit fetus matured, one had to pierce the left radial artery with a blade to draw out the blood from the heart. The blood would not hit the ground; instead, it would congeal in mid-air, and the spirit fetus would use this blood to manifest its physical form.

However, the form of the spirit cub was not fixed. It could be human, but it could also be a beast. According to the system’s “for reference only” calculation based on his and Chen Kan’s birth dates, the Yin Wood element fell precisely on their progeny position. Therefore, what Yan Yu was about to give birth to would likely be a small tiger. Of course, once the tiger grew up, it would have the chance to transform into a human. The entire process would consume approximately 40% of his total blood volume. It sounded bizarre, and the process would be excruciatingly painful.

Yan Yu felt Chen Kan’s gaze briefly sweep over his flat lower abdomen. That look made the tips of his ears burn and his head buzz. Since they were both men and had once been in an extremely intimate relationship, Yan Yu knew all too well when and with what kind of look Chen Kan used to love studying his stomach.

Yan Yu’s fingers curled involuntarily, and his knuckles turned slightly white. With a cold, stern expression, he said, “Can you stop looking?”

“Oh,” Chen Kan’s voice dropped as he looked away, “Who is looking?”

Yan Yu gave a brief hum of acknowledgment and turned his attention to the autopsy cross-section on his computer screen, putting on an air of preparing for work. He was just about to ask if there was anything else when he heard Chen Kan speak hesitantly, which was clearly a way to keep the conversation going.

“Why did you return the passbook to me?”

“I am clear-headed now. Why would I keep your passbook?”

Chen Kan was silent for a moment. “Wouldn’t having a bit more money make you feel more secure?”

“?” Yan Yu squinted. “Who told you that?”

Chen Kan lowered his eyes. “An inner demon is an inner demon because it represents something you care about.”

“Do not over-interpret it,” Yan Yu said. “Even when we were dating, I never wanted your money or expensive gifts. As for why ‘money’ became a limiting belief for me, you can just understand it as a corporate slave from an underprivileged family who does not want to work and desperately wants to retire.”

Chen Kan’s gaze fell back on his face, heavy and searching. “Then do you have any other ‘X-rated’ beliefs?” He paused. “Wait, what does ‘limiting’ belief mean?”

“It is limiting beliefs, not X-rated.”

“Is there a difference?”

“Forget it.” Yan Yu rolled his eyes, thinking to himself that he should have given up long ago on trying to save this man’s head from being filled with dirty thoughts. “No. Is there anything else?”

“Oh.” Sensing the dismissal, Chen Kan turned toward the door. As his hand gripped the handle, he paused. “If you feel any discomfort while at work, remember to message me.”

“Mm.”

Chen Kan stepped out.

On the way back to his office, Chen Kan felt both irritable and heartbroken. There was a reason an ex-boyfriend stayed an ex. To this day, he felt that interacting with Yan Yu’s personality for too long could easily drive someone to death by frustration. Yan Yu was cold, had extremely strong boundaries, never wavered once he made up his mind, and could cut ties with their relationship and with him with effortless ease.

Chen Kan did not actually like this side of Yan Yu’s personality, yet he could not control himself. His eyes were naturally drawn to Yan Yu, and his body instinctively wanted to move closer. But what was the point of wanting to be close? Yan Yu could truly live a perfectly good life on his own. Yan Yu did not need intimacy, did not need a group, and did not even need friends; a solitary life made Yan Yu more comfortable. Furthermore, given how thin-skinned Yan Yu was, to the point of trembling into intestinal spasms just by doing “it” in front of a mirror, now that he had regained consciousness and remembered everything that happened during his “Inner Demon” phase, it was almost inevitable that he would feel embarrassed and want to avoid contact.

With this understanding, Chen Kan went back to work with a frown. However, after thinking it over, he felt that during such a special period, it did not matter if he acted a bit thick-skinned. After all, the child was his doing. No matter how much Yan Yu resented him, he had a responsibility to accompany Yan Yu through the full pregnancy and understand his inner demons. So, over the following days, Chen Kan paid attention to Yan Yu, maintaining a level of concern that was supposedly about duty rather than romance. He was practically inseparable from him.

It annoyed Yan Yu to no end, and he nearly kicked him out of the room several times. Yan Yu’s pen tapped repeatedly on the logbook, but he had not written a single word in ages. In fact, he had finished his work for the day long ago. He just did not want to go home and face Chen Kan, so he stayed in the office with headphones on, listening to an audiobook titled Wealth is Finally Free, but the Money Ran Away.

Upon hearing the first chapter, Yan Yu understood why his inner demon had chosen this book. The protagonist in the book, like him, had a childhood where no one cared if he had dinner after school.

The only difference was that the protagonist grew up to be a “love-brain” who desperately chased affection with his life, whereas Yan Yu became a work machine who had severed all emotions and was fiercely independent.

In recent years, public opinion seemed to favor the latter over being a “love-brain.” But Yan Yu understood that someone with a personality like his was bad luck for anyone who got involved with him. He cared about survival, food, retirement, and comfort. Compared to sleeping in a lover’s arms, he cared more about the quality of his own sleep. If he deemed that the pros of a situation outweighed the cons, he would make a rational judgment and discard it decisively.

Thus, Yan Yu knew better than anyone that Chen Kan was the only person he had ever failed, and the one he was most unworthy of. This unworthiness had nothing to do with personal value; it was just that when their two hearts were placed side by side, his own love was only a tiny, selfish speck, while Chen Kan’s love, though silent, was passionate and sincere. This was a fact he only saw clearly after emerging from his inner demon phase. So, if he still had a conscience, he should not use this incident to make Chen Kan live in self-reproach for the rest of his life.

“Host, do you still want to use system tokens to pause the growth of the bloodline?” The Transmigration Administrator’s voice had lost its usual playfulness and become serious. “I must remind you that all the tokens you have saved up from daily tasks over nearly four years were exhausted yesterday. If you continue the pause today, you will face a token debt. Furthermore, in the final stage of a Blood Pregnancy, the spirit fetus will draw heavily on the mother’s spiritual power and blood essence. The physical burden will increase exponentially.”

But Yan Yu was waiting for the right moment. He was waiting for Chen Kan to let his guard down. This was a decision Yan Yu had made after weighing his options.

1. 1. The location: The birth required entering the Soul Realm. As a titan of the cultivation world, Chen Kan was clueless about how a spirit fetus was born, whereas Yan Yu understood every step thanks to the system. Having Chen Kan by his side would only tie his hands.

1. 1. Expertise: He was an experienced forensic doctor. After his assessment, he was confident he could complete the entire process required by the system independently.

1. 1. The Scene: That 40% of blood was a sight he did not really want Chen Kan to see.

Chen Kan was different from him. Although Chen Kan wore a mask of indifference, he actually cared about everyone, even the micro-expressions of a passerby. Therefore, compared to the pain and blood loss, Yan Yu was more afraid of leaving a mark of guilt on Chen Kan’s crystal-like heart. It was better if Chen Kan did not know the birthing process. As long as he could play it down afterward, Chen Kan would not suffer for long.

“Delay it for now,” Yan Yu said. “If I have to take a loan, I will take a loan.”

The Administrator had a breakdown: “What the heck? You have changed! You never used to borrow a single cent!”

“No modern person lives without debt. Just swipe the card,” Yan Yu said, annoyed by the fuss. “Add 12 hours first. Chen Kan has a meeting tomorrow he cannot skip. I plan to go then.”

The Administrator deducted a massive loan from his palm, sighing like a bank manager worried the loan would never be repaid. “Are you serious? You are really going alone? You are holding a ‘background character’ script and you have never even been to the Soul Realm. It is full of ghosts, souls, and dried corpses! Aren’t you scared?”

“What is there to fear? Did you forget my profession?” Yan Yu said expressionlessly.

The Administrator sighed again. “Well, that is true. The Soul Realm is safe enough, given that you carry Chen Kan’s Yang energy, but you might, maybe, perhaps, probably…” The Administrator hesitated, its voice dropping.

Yan Yu frowned, having a bad feeling. “Just say it.”

“Because you are a human about to produce a cub, although your spiritual pressure is low, in the sense of smell of those ghosts, you might become a Succubus-level Mommy.”

Yan Yu was silent for three seconds. “What does that mean? Be clear.”

“It means that to the ghosts of the Soul Realm, a living person in the birthing period, especially one on the verge of delivery, emits an extremely special aura.” The Administrator’s voice got smaller and smaller. “This aura is incredibly attractive to them. Not in an aggressive way, but similar to an attraction to maternity, to the source of life. You will become the object they instinctively want to approach, or even protect.”

Yan Yu massaged his temples. The Administrator gave a dry laugh. “The upside is they probably will not hurt you; they might even spontaneously surround you to form a protective circle. The downside is the scene might be a bit eerie.”

Yan Yu imagined the scene: himself lying in some corner of the Soul Realm, preparing to bleed and give birth, surrounded by a ring of grotesque ghosts with various causes of death, guarding him with hollow or longing eyes. Suddenly, he felt that letting Chen Kan see him bleed was not such a big deal after all. At least Chen Kan was human.

“Is there any other choice?” Yan Yu asked.

“Yes,” the Administrator replied quickly. “You can choose to give birth in the real world, but that would trigger a massive surge in spiritual power, which would definitely attract Chen Kan and might affect innocent bystanders. The Soul Realm is a gap space; the fluctuations will be contained inside.”

“Then help me plan the most discreet route to a relatively normal area of the Soul Realm.” Yan Yu shut down his computer and began packing his things. “Also, I need a detailed plan for hemostasis and spiritual replenishment to be executed immediately after I finish the birth.”

“Host, are you really sure you want to?”

“I am sure,” Yan Yu interrupted. “I will head over tomorrow while Chen Kan is in his meeting.”

Seeing his resolve, the Administrator finally stopped trying to dissuade him. A moment later, a translucent path indicator and text instructions appeared at the edge of Yan Yu’s vision. He put on his coat and picked up his small bag, containing necessary tools and emergency medicine exchanged from the system. As he reached the office door, he paused, looking back toward Chen Kan’s office. The light was still on, and a figure moved behind the frosted glass.

Yan Yu turned his head, opened the door, and stepped into the shadows of the hallway.

Half a day later, the Transmigration Administrator, who had witnessed the entire birthing process, recorded in their work notes with extreme excitement:

[A negligible background character has temporarily gone offline in the Transmigration World]

[But the Soul Realm has welcomed its]

[JERUSALEM] [!!!!]

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