To Marry My Little Chestnut - Chapter 29

“Little Fish? Little Fish? What are you thinking about?” Xiang Qian waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Outside the flower shop, it was the blue hour just before heavy dark clouds descended. The Haicheng wind whistled piercingly through the street corners.

Yu Yan snapped out of his daze and replied, “It is nothing.”

Orange, the cat, suddenly jumped onto the counter. He flopped down with a soft thud, exposing his belly and meowing. His small paws hooked onto Yu Yan’s hand as if he were trying to keep him there.

“You were in the capital these past few days so you did not know, but my dad said Haoyang Group collapsed! It was terrifying. Such a massive enterprise, gone just like that. That Xiao Kai is one of the CEOs who handled the acquisition!”

“I heard he is not even an Alpha; he is just a Beta! He lived abroad for many years. He has no connection to your family at all, so how did he become your family’s legal representative?”

Yu Yan pursed his lips. He did not truly understand business matters. He looked down at his protruding abdomen, his heart feeling heavy. Was it because of the news that his father had died unexpectedly in a foreign land?

Legal representatives and bankruptcies were concepts he did not fully grasp, but the name Xiao Kai sounded familiar. He was a friend of Tingyang’s.

Xiang Qian intended to stay longer but had to leave for work. Before going, he bought a potted Money Tree, saying he wanted to cultivate some good luck for the coming year.

“Payment received: one hundred and thirty yuan.”

The mechanical voice of the transaction echoed through the flower shop as Xiang Qian departed. Yu Yan silently stroked his belly. His chest felt constricted, as if something were pressing down on it.

The legal representative had changed, yet no one had ever notified him. His father must truly be gone.

This realization brought a complexity of emotions that was difficult to endure. His father was dead. What did that mean for him? His father had never been a good man. Yu Yan looked back at his childhood. He had never met his mother; he was only kept in the Yu residence because his pheromones were of high quality. His hazy memories were pulled back by a giant dreamcatcher.

The Yu residence was grey. The solid wood furniture was polished to a mirror shine by the servants. As a young child, he would sit on the steps in overalls, playing with a pinwheel and waiting for his father to come home.

His father always returned flanked by bodyguards, leaning on a jewel-encrusted cane. He would walk straight past him without a glance. Little Yu Yan would stand obediently to the side, cautiously reaching out to tug at the corner of the man’s suit. “Papa, hug me.”

When his father was in a good mood, he would pat Yu Yan’s head. When he was not, he would order a servant to carry him back to his room. His father did not hug him and did not seem to like him much. The only time his father sat by his bedside was when he was sick, asking the doctor, “How is the gland development?”

The doctor would say, “The young master’s constitution is poor. If he is always sick, it will be bad for the development of his glands.”

His father would touch his small face lightly and say with a hint of tenderness, “Xiao Yan, you must get sick less often.”

“Papa, hug me.”

Was that the first time his father had hugged him? It was the faint scent of tobacco and a single second of cold warmth.

He was not his father’s only son. Much of the Yu family’s business was built on the exchange of influence and favors. His illegitimate sons and daughters were all sent away once they reached adulthood. The Yu family had grown powerful through his father’s ability to sell his children.

Since he was very young, everyone had called him the Young Master. As he grew, his memory of his father was one of sternness. He was punished and forbidden from leaving the house for making friends. He was made to stay home and learn how to be submissive from tutors, studying calligraphy and piano. By junior high, he was already performing for his father’s friends. At New Year’s banquets, he was required to write calligraphy for the guests.

Outsiders praised his father for having such a good son, a boy raised like a precious pearl. They would toast his father, telling him to keep Yu Yan well-guarded so that they could catch a scent of him once he came of age. This was how business was conducted.

Yu Yan felt somewhat numb. He did not know what his purpose was. Was he a commodity or a son? His life never allowed for his own choices. Where he went to school, who he befriended, and who his teachers were were all decided for him.

Young children always crave the love of a parent. Seeing other children run into their fathers’ arms after school, he had tried the same. His father told him he must not shout, as it lacked decorum.

He studied hard to become first in his class. His name was on the school honor roll. He liked studying; it was something where effort yielded a reward. During a parent-teacher meeting, he left a note for his father. He scrubbed his desk clean and placed his first-place report card on top, hoping his father would be happy. He wanted his father to know that, besides his glands and pheromones, he could make him proud in other ways.

But his father did not come. The report card was blown into the corner of the classroom by the wind and eventually thrown into the trash as scrap paper by a classmate. It turned out his father did not care at all. Whatever he did was futile. Without love, everything was in vain.

Occasionally, he would cry at night in a dark corner. His father never saw those unwilling tears. The servants pitied him, seeing him as a living ghost. The only person who had ever seen his tears was the one who fought for him and was criticized on the school bulletin board as a bad student: Zheng Tingyang.

Right next to the criticism was the announcement of Yu Yan’s first-place ranking. Their names were strangely placed together. Yu Yan would often daze out while looking at their names in the hallway, feeling as if he had somehow come to life. In the hallway, they would pass each other, and their shoulders would brush. It was a half-second where his heart would stop.

Was this love? He began to look forward to school the same way he used to look forward to his father coming home. He anticipated being bullied so that Zheng Tingyang would step in and save him. It turned out that even without knowing someone, there could be love and care. He was being valued.

How many study points were written in that notebook? It was like a love letter they sent back and forth for three years, over and over again. He sat in the first row and Zheng Tingyang sat in the last. The classroom was their sanctuary, hidden with their blatant secrets.

This continued until Zheng Tingyang’s foster father found the notebook and went to the Yu family to demand money. He threatened to spread rumors that Yu Yan was seducing his son, which would tank the young master’s value. His father handled the matter calmly. The foster father died, his body quietly floating in the cold waters of Haicheng.

His father stroked his head and asked, “Xiao Yan, are you being disobedient?” His father would do anything for profit. He had snuffed out a life just like that. This time it was the foster father; next time it would be Zheng Tingyang.

“Papa…”

His father slapped him. “You can handle your own affairs, right, my good son?”

Yu Yan nodded. He had known from the start it was impossible. Zheng Tingyang was just an ordinary person. Yu Yan could not let his father kill him too. At that moment, he realized his thoughts of coming to life were a delusion. He was a product with a clear price tag, and that price had long been inflated by his father. He had no control.

He felt he had ruined Zheng Tingyang. During their first conversation, he screamed at him and tore up the love letter. He still could not stop his tears because he saw his own future: being sold by his father to someone he did not like, being marked, and being possessed. That person would never be Zheng Tingyang.

Zheng Tingyang, Yu Yan likes you.

But he could not accept the love letter because it would cost Zheng Tingyang his life. His father was satisfied with his actions. During university, his father had already reached a deal with a boss in the capital. Five years later, he would be sent there.

Yu Yan became a living ghost again. His life was painful and grueling until one New Year’s Eve when it snowed for the first time. He received a call from abroad. The person did not speak. Perhaps it was a wrong number, but Yu Yan cried into the phone for a long time.

He said, “Save me. I do not want to marry. I do not want to be an Omega.” Tingyang, save me.

The person never made a sound and hung up after the clock struck midnight for the New Year. Later, his father became busier and more irritable. Within two months, the Yu family was bankrupt. People from the capital came to collect him, but his father hid him, attempting to trade him for more money. However, several bosses in Haicheng discovered his father was planning to flee. His father abandoned him and boarded a ship alone. Yu Yan thought he was going to die.

He had already decided that no matter who tried to mark him, he would cut his own glands and leave this world with dignity. But that person turned out to be Tingyang. Years ago, he owed Zheng Tingyang’s foster father a life. Now, using his own father to pay it back seemed only right. Even if Zheng Tingyang sought revenge, it was only right.

The meeting had just adjourned. Zheng Tingyang listened to his second secretary report the next day’s schedule. Several shareholders followed him out, cautiously wiping sweat from their brows. The meeting had been as nerve-wracking as a battlefield.

“If Zheng Tingyang is like this, will he turn on us in the future?”

“We are old. We should just listen to the young people. We definitely should not mess around. Pei Changji usually has a good eye for people, but how did he end up with someone so ruthless? Back then, Zheng Tingyang was just an assistant by his side, and now… tsk tsk.”

“Be careful. Caution is the parent of safety.”

Secretary Lin stood at the office door. “President Zheng.”

Zheng Tingyang pulled his phone from his pocket as he walked toward his office. “What is it? Who is here?”

Lately, many people had been seeking his help or begging for favors. The area downstairs had practically become a place for people to air their grievances. He found it tedious and usually left it to Secretary Lin.

He frowned at the red dot on his phone. The location was not the flower shop. He was about to call when Secretary Lin said, “I believe Mr. Yu is here. Shall I go down and bring him up?”

Zheng Tingyang frowned. “Heat something up. Have someone buy food—something light—and send it to the office. When did he arrive? Why was I not notified?”

Secretary Lin replied, “The front desk downstairs was not sure, so…”

Zheng Tingyang’s expression darkened. Because so many people were looking for him, the security and front desk had been very strict recently, often turning people away. Before Secretary Lin could finish, Zheng Tingyang had already strode toward the elevator.

The elevator doors opened. Several employees quickly made way. “President Zheng.”

The lobby was filled with reporters and managers from various companies waiting in vans for him to leave the building. Zheng Tingyang walked swiftly while making a call. After a few rings, a soft voice answered. “Tingyang?”

“Where are you?” Zheng Tingyang asked. He looked through the glass but could not see him.

“I am over here.” The small figure sitting on the lobby sofa stood up slowly.

Yu Yan was very well-behaved and bundled up tightly. His down jacket made his movements look somewhat like a cartoon character. Even as he hurried over, he looked like a soft white ball flying toward him.

Zheng Tingyang reached out to hug him, but Yu Yan’s belly hit him first. “Ugh.”

“Walk slowly. Slow down.” Zheng Tingyang pulled him into a full embrace, rubbing his head. “Did that hurt?”

Yu Yan blinked, his dazed eyes curving into crescents. “No.”

Zheng Tingyang’s gaze instinctively swept over the corners of Yu Yan’s eyes. He touched them with his fingertip. “Have you been crying?”

Yu Yan gave a muffled hum. “The wind was strong on the way here. It got in my eyes.”

“Liar.”

Zheng Tingyang led him upstairs by the hand, finally feeling at ease. “Did anyone give you a hard time?”

Yu Yan looked up with a bit of pride and showed him his phone. “I said I was here to pick you up from work. The brother at the door let me in. He said he saw my big belly and was afraid people outside would bump into me. The sister at the front desk even heated some milk for me, but I could not drink it. I did not want it to go to waste.”

Since his morning sickness started, he could not handle anything with a heavy smell. He did not want to just throw it away, so he had been holding it to keep his hands warm. It had grown a bit cold while he waited.

Zheng Tingyang took it and drank it. As they passed the front desk, he tapped on the counter. The receptionist’s heart jumped into her throat. “President Zheng, I did not know this gentleman was an acquaintance of yours, so I did not let him go up. You were in a meeting, so…”

“Go to HR and collect an extra year-end bonus.”

The receptionist was overjoyed and thanked him profusely. An extra bonus was more than twenty thousand yuan.

Yu Yan was brought into the office. The entire floor housed the executive offices and the planning department. People were used to Zheng Tingyang’s stern demeanor, but now they saw their boss leading an Omega out of the elevator, his eyes full of tenderness. It was as if he had been possessed.

Secretary Lin had arranged dinner on the desk according to their recent preferences. Yu Yan’s eyes were red and his voice was weak. Zheng Tingyang, worried, checked his forehead for a fever. “Are you feeling unwell?” He tentatively touched Yu Yan’s nape to see if his gland temperature had risen.

Yu Yan shook his head. He had not even taken off his coat. He simply wrapped his arms around the man’s waist and buried his face in his chest. Zheng Tingyang stood firm and let him hold him. “What is wrong?”

Yu Yan called out softly, “Tingyang, I missed you.”

Zheng Tingyang looked at him. His intuition told him something was wrong with Yu Yan, but he could not bring himself to ask directly. He patiently took off Yu Yan’s coat, warmed his cold hands, and sat him down on the sofa. “Is the baby bothering you?”

Yu Yan was due for another check-up soon. Their relationship had just begun to improve, and he did not want anything to break this intimacy.

Yu Yan’s nose was cold. He buried it in the man’s shoulder, curiously smelling the scent of his body wash. His belly was being stroked by Zheng Tingyang’s palm. He was as well-behaved as a sweet bean. “No, it is not that.”

Secretary Lin opened the door, saw the scene, and Zheng Tingyang waved him away.

“Xiang Qian came to chat with me today.”

Zheng Tingyang held him on his lap, his voice low as he leaned close to his ear, trying to feel if his pulse was racing from lying. “What did he say?”

“Nothing. I was wondering if I could go to his house for a few days. Is that okay?”

Zheng Tingyang’s phone lit up. Behind Yu Yan’s back, he opened a message: Yu Yan bought a plane ticket to Country P for the day after tomorrow at 12:00.

“Why the sudden desire to go to his house?” Zheng Tingyang asked while stroking Yu Yan’s back.

“I want to talk to him more. He is my friend. Just for two days, okay?” Yu Yan looked up at him cautiously, his heart thumping with nervous tension. Xiang Qian had given him the location for the change of legal representative and helped him find the address where his father’s death was registered. He felt he had to go see it.

“I can have Xiang Qian come over to the house to keep you company,” Zheng Tingyang said gently. His thumb grazed the skin of Yu Yan’s nape, causing him to shiver with guilt.

Yu Yan looked at him blankly. “But…”

He had not yet made up an excuse. He simply wanted to go see his father. He wanted his father to see him. He wanted to ask if his father was satisfied that he had married a wealthy man. His father had raised him for so many years; it was finally as he had wished.

He even felt a desire to show off during this final meeting: to let his father know that the son he had abandoned was now living a much more vibrant life. He wanted to know if his dead father felt any regret, even if a corpse could not speak.

“But I want to go.”

Zheng Tingyang stared at him, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “Okay. I will do as you say. Your happiness is the most important thing.”

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