This Alpha Is So Devoted to His Wife - Chapter 88

Lu Xinghe had never seen Duan Yuluo cry like this.

His eyes were rimmed with red, his dual pupils veiled with a mist of water. It wasn’t the look of being wronged, but of intense insecurity. His hands clutched tightly and forcefully at the fabric over Lu Xinghe’s chest, and he could even feel the trembling in the grip.

When he finally looked up at Lu Xinghe, his face was already streaming with tears.

The unbearable ache of seeing Duan Yuluo cry tightened and suffocated Lu Xinghe’s heart.

“Bao Bao…” Duan Yuluo heard the sob in his own voice. He knew crying like this would startle Lu Xinghe, but he truly couldn’t hold back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry, I’m sorry…”

Hearing him apologize made Lu Xinghe feel even worse. He pulled him into his arms to comfort him. “Why are you apologizing? You heard, didn’t you? It’s okay. I’ll take you with me. We won’t separate.”

He naturally wanted to keep Duan Yuluo by his side.

Duan Yuluo’s tears stopped after hearing that. He looked up at Lu Xinghe with red-rimmed eyes. “Can I?”

“Of course I’ll take you; otherwise, I’ll be worried too.” Seeing him suddenly burst into tears, Lu Xinghe used the back of his hand to wipe away his tears. “Don’t cry anymore.”

Duan Yuluo pressed his face into Lu Xinghe’s chest, using his clothes to wipe away the tears, and then broke into a smile. “That’s good.”

Seeing him smile, though his eyelashes were still glistening with tears, Lu Xinghe was filled with tenderness and, even more, with heartache. His omega, due to pregnancy, had uncontrollable emotional fluctuations. In this situation, he genuinely didn’t want the family matters to affect Duan Yuluo.

The relationships within the Clemens family were simply too complicated.

But this time, there was no choice; he absolutely had to go back.

And he had to go back immediately.

“Xingxing, about that—”

Knock, knock, knock—

“Xinghe, is Zai Zai okay?”

Duan Yuluo was just about to ask Lu Xinghe about the debt when he heard a knock on the bathroom door and his father’s voice. He had no choice but to temporarily suppress all his questions and wait until that evening. He then answered his father outside the door, “I’m fine now. We’re coming out.”

Lu Xinghe noticed Duan Yuluo’s tone just now, but seeing that he didn’t say anything more, he also held back his questions for the moment.

Returning to the dining table, the redness around his eyes still drew the attention of the elders.

“Zai Zai, what flavor do you want to eat? How about having your Eldest Father make you something you’re craving?” Father Luo Songran saw his son’s eyes were red like that and thought it was because the vomiting had been too difficult. He naturally felt heartbroken and nudged his husband’s leg under the table.

Eldest Father Duan Yizhou received his wife’s instruction. “What do you want to eat? Eldest Father will make it for you right now.”

Duan Yuluo had no appetite for dinner now. Thinking of the phone call, he told his family, “Lu Xinghe and I have to go to Country D right now.”

“Now?”

Lu Xinghe gave a soft ‘hmm.’ “My grandmother is in critical condition. I have to go back immediately.”

Grand-Elder Chu put down his chopsticks. “I’ll arrange the plane right away, Xinghe, you can go back, but Zai Zai cannot go with you.”

This sentence froze the atmosphere in the dining room for a few seconds.

Duan Yuluo asked almost without thinking, “…Why?”

“Because of the uncertain factors,” Luo Yudan, who was nearby, said faintly. He looked at Lu Xinghe, his calm tone conveying a strong sense of pressure. Having been trained in the military for over a decade, just a single look could be intimidating. “Even if you don’t fight for the inheritance, as long as she wants you to stay, you can’t be sure whether or not the will includes you. Even if it doesn’t, there will likely be many matters that require your attention.”

Lu Xinghe gripped Duan Yuluo’s hand under the table, lowering his eyes. His gaze was unreadable, and his profile faintly revealed a cold sharpness.

“A colossal family involves the relationships of too many generations—harmony or discord, the entanglement of various interests. Not to mention the ancient Royal House of Clemens. The end of a Queen’s reign represents the shift of an era, and a shift is naturally accompanied by change. Handling these matters is bound to take some time.”

“The reason we won’t let Zai Zai go with you is not because you can’t protect him, but because you can’t guarantee what might happen, especially since he’s pregnant. Until you return, Zai Zai will stay under our care,” Grand-Elder Chu said.

The one thing Duan Yuluo least wanted to happen had still come to pass: having to separate from Lu Xinghe.

But…

He couldn’t let Lu Xinghe bear the stigma of being unfilial for not returning.

Being temperamental in a moment like this would truly be too self-indulgent.

“I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Lu Xinghe’s back stiffened slightly. He was somewhat surprised to hear Duan Yuluo say that. He turned his head to meet his slightly red, tear-filled eyes, the controlled emotion in them, and couldn’t help but think of his sudden tears in the washroom earlier.

His omega was pregnant, in the most emotionally unstable first three months. When he was by his side, he could be inseparable. Even the closest family members might not be able to provide the emotional response Duan Yuluo needed.

Yet now, no matter how reluctant he was, he had to hurry back.

Duan Yuluo saw his struggle and forced a smile to keep him from worrying. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine at home. Now is not the time for you to be unable to leave. You go and take care of things first.”

He couldn’t be willful about this, nor could he let Lu Xinghe leave with a heavy heart.

Because of the sudden nature of the event, they couldn’t even finish their dinner.

The private jet was already preparing on the airstrip at the estate. Fortunately, the Chu-Luo family had an exclusive private air route for both domestic and international travel, allowing for immediate takeoff.

“Go on up.”

The roar of the airplane engine sounded.

Duan Yuluo released Lu Xinghe’s hand, but the moment he did, he was pulled into Lu Xinghe’s embrace. A hug only made it easier to want to cry. He slightly lifted his eyelids and looked up, forcefully suppressing the sourness in his nose and controlling his emotions, determined not to worry Lu Xinghe before he left.

“I’ll come back as soon as I’ve handled things. I’ll video call you every day. If you don’t feel well, you absolutely must tell the family and not endure it by yourself, do you hear me?”

“Mhm, I know.”

Only then did Lu Xinghe let go of Duan Yuluo. Naturally, it wasn’t just Duan Yuluo who came to see him off, but also his elder brother-in-law. He looked at Luo Yudan beside him. “Big Brother, while I’m gone, I’ll entrust Zai Zai to you. Please take good care of him for me.”

He then handed the bottle of lemon flower oil from his pocket to Luo Yudan. “Give him a sniff of this when he feels nauseous or vomits.”

He gave dozens more instructions.

Luo Yudan’s head was starting to ache from listening. Why were there so many precautions? His little brother wasn’t that delicate! He stopped Lu Xinghe’s rambling before he could finish. “I know. Go on. It’s not like you’re leaving and never coming back. Finish up and come back soon.”

Lu Xinghe knew he couldn’t delay any longer. Before boarding the plane, he hugged Duan Yuluo one last time, lowered his head to kiss the top of his head, and gently said, “I’ll call you the moment I arrive. Wait for me to come back. I love you, Bao Bao.”

Duan Yuluo: “Okay, I love you too.”

Lu Xinghe walked up the steps.

The cabin door closed.

The car drove away from the apron and finally stopped at a spot where the apron was still visible. The apron lights were bright. The passenger window slowly rolled down, watching the direction the plane left the runway until it vanished into the night sky.

Luo Yudan held the steering wheel with one hand, seeing his brother still gazing in the direction the plane had gone. “Zai Zai, shall we go home?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Duan Yuluo’s tears fall.

Luo Yudan’s expression instantly changed. He reached out and grasped his brother’s arm. “What’s wrong?”

The Chief Operations Commander, who was notorious in the military, rarely showed panic on his face, even when encountering problems in command.

Duan Yuluo rested the back of his head on the headrest, his eyes red, gazing at the direction the plane had departed.

He gently rubbed his wedding ring with his hand, repeatedly stroking the ring with his fingertip, trying to alleviate the separation anxiety. A slight pressure from his fingertip left an imprint on his finger from the inner wall of the ring, but it was hard to control the emotions that were spreading.

Insecurity. Not wanting Lu Xinghe to leave.

He knew he was an adult and couldn’t be willful or selfish about certain things. He had tried so hard to contain his emotions and not cry in front of Lu Xinghe, not wanting to affect his mood before leaving, worried that it would cause him concern.

But with Lu Xinghe gone, it felt very difficult to reason with himself, and he couldn’t suppress his emotions.

Perhaps this was also due to the influence of pregnancy, but he simply couldn’t stop the uncontrolled, random thoughts.

He didn’t know how long Lu Xinghe would be gone.

He didn’t know what might happen to Lu Xinghe.

He didn’t know if Lu Xinghe would be bullied over there.

His mind was filled with I don’t knows.

The car was very quiet; there was not even the sound of crying, yet the passenger seat was filled with an extremely low pressure. This tear-filled face was the helpless despair hidden beneath the silence, the separation anxiety that surfaced after restraining himself from showing it to his loved one.

Yet, he was still trying his best to calm his emotions on his own.

“Ge.” (Big Brother)

Luo Yudan hadn’t dared to take a deep breath just now. Now that he heard his brother call him, he finally spoke. He pulled out a few tissues and handed them over, carefully replying, “What is it?”

“Tell me, can I see the stars now?”

The weather tonight was poor; the night sky was covered by clouds, making the stars completely invisible.

—Brother, do you think I can see the stars?

Hearing this sentence twenty years ago was on a bright, sunny afternoon.

Luo Yudan’s eyes flickered, listening to this incredibly familiar phrase. It was the question his brother had asked him twenty years ago when they went abroad to accompany their father for his studies. That was also the first time he had seen his brother cry so sadly.

It was precisely because they had to separate from Lu Xinghe.

Since childhood, he never understood why his twin brother got along so well with Lu Xinghe. He used to have a little possessiveness and didn’t really like Lu Xinghe clinging to his brother. He eventually realized it might be due to the 120% compatibility, and in a blink of an eye, twenty years had passed.

The two of them were married and had a child.

All the incomprehension seemed to be answered by the evidence of time.

Love is simply one of those things that defy reason.

It might be approaching each other because of pheromones, or discovering the high compatibility because of love.

He collected his wandering thoughts and looked at the passenger seat, seeing Duan Yuluo leaning against the seat back, his expression desolate, crying without even making a sound. As an elder brother, it was impossible not to feel heartbroken. “You can.”

Duan Yuluo froze for a second and looked at his brother.

“Then lie down.” Luo Yudan pressed a button, and the passenger seat slowly reclined backward.

Duan Yuluo didn’t know what his brother was going to do, but he obediently lay down. Then he saw Luo Yudan reaching to turn off the car lights, which startled him. He immediately grabbed his hand, his eyes instantly turning red. But it was in that exact moment that the car’s roof window slowly opened.

The starlight headliner instantly lit up, and the starlight spilled down onto him.

He stared at the car ceiling, his gaze fixed for a long time.

Countless stars gathered into a gentle galaxy, twinkling slowly. The tiny starlight points falling onto his palm felt like he could hold them with his hand. The illuminated starlight headliner brightened the dim environment inside the car.

They sat side by side, looking up at the starlight headliner above their heads.

“Is it pretty?” Luo Yudan sat with his long legs splayed, a relaxed posture, arms folded, looking up at the starlight headliner. “It’s very bright, isn’t it? Not dark.”

Duan Yuluo sniffled and laughed out loud.

Luo Yudan saw his brother smile and thought, This starlight headliner really works to comfort an omega. No wonder that man liked it so much. “Do you feel better now?”

“Mhm.” Duan Yuluo looked around at the starlight headliner, feeling a certain sense of comfort and healing he couldn’t quite name. He felt slightly less anxious. He looked at his brother. “Why did you get a starlight headliner in your car?”

Putting a starlight headliner in an off-road vehicle was like a rugged man wearing a bell. It completely went against his brother’s personality.

Something so romantic didn’t seem like something his brother would come up with.

Then, for the first time, he saw such an expression on his brother’s face—his brother, who had never liked to smile or join in on the fun since childhood. Who would have thought? Who could make a staunch, straight-laced Alpha show such a gentle look?

Luo Yudan didn’t speak. He thought of the cigarette that had been lit close to him under this starlight headliner, the smoke blown into his face, followed by the understatement, ‘It looks so-so.’ His deep gaze grew more intense. After a moment, he let out a laugh:

“The Commander liked it.”

Duan Yuluo was curious. “Which Commander?”

Luo Yudan turned his head, seeing his brother’s eyes were still red from crying. Just a second ago, he was asking if he could see the stars, and now he was curious about his affairs. This look on his brother’s face was one he had never seen before.

Completely different from the omega he knew.

He thought Duan Yuluo wouldn’t be very delicate, even as an omega, but in reality, it was just that one person who wasn’t delicate.

“You wouldn’t know him if I told you. Stop crying and let’s go home.” Luo Yudan ruffled his brother’s hair, put his hands back on the steering wheel, and drove home, completely unaware that the smile at the corner of his lips hadn’t faded.

Duan Yuluo saw his brother smiling like that. He wasn’t curious before, but now he was.