What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 73

Chapter 73 – Babies are Here!

Duan Yi used Sheng Yunze as a support to slowly get to his feet.

Nan Yi muttered, “Didn’t you hate skating? Why come if you have no balance?”

Sheng Yunze turned to look at him, and Duan Yi’s survival instincts immediately kicked in. With righteous indignation, he declared, “I used to hate it, but can I still hate it now?”

Feeling awkward, Duan Yi tried to brush Nan Yi off. “What do you want? I’m busy. Talk to me later.”

Nan Yi retorted sarcastically, “Can’t I talk to you just because you’re busy?”

Hao Shanshan waved from nearby. “President Duan! Chicken cutlets are half-price at the rink today! Want one?”

Duan Yi’s attention snapped to the chicken cutlets. “Me! Me! Me!”

He grabbed Sheng Yunze’s arm. “Take me there.”

At his usual pace, it would probably take fifteen minutes to reach the chicken stand.

Jiang Wangshu skated over, shrugging. “Why bother? Are you here for the humiliation?”

Nan Yi crossed his arms, his face practically screaming “annoyed.” “I don’t believe those two will last!”

He suddenly grabbed Jiang Wangshu by the neck. Caught off guard, Jiang Wangshu was yanked to the ground.

Nan Yi at least had the decency to cushion Jiang Wangshu’s fall, preventing him from slamming directly onto the ice. Instead, Jiang Wangshu lay there, arching his back and groaning dramatically.

“Damn it! Are you trying to kill me?!” Nan Yi snapped.

“I’m your brother, and he’s your brother too,” Nan Yi grumbled. “How can you take his side like that?”

“Let go of me first, you idiot!” Jiang Wangshu retorted. “You’re the one who’s acting like a grandma!”

Nan Yi released his grip.

Jiang Wangshu sat on the ice, sucking in a sharp breath. He looked up at Nan Yi. “What if Duan Yi and Sheng Yunze actually last forever?”

Nan Yi chuckled. “I don’t believe it. Two Alphas lasting forever? You dare guarantee Duan Yi won’t fall for another Omega?”

Jiang Wangshu’s words caught in his throat. For a moment, he hesitated, wondering if he should reveal to Nan Yi that Duan Yi was actually an Omega. He feared the shock might be too much for him.

He stood up. “I’ll tell you later. You buy me fried chicken, and I’ll break the news gently.”

“You’re insane!” Nan Yi retorted.

He had no idea what Jiang Wangshu was hinting at, his mysterious act making him look like a fool.

Duan Yi had eaten half his chicken cutlet and was full. He handed the rest to Sheng Yunze, adding possessively, “You can have a bite if you want, but leave some for me.”

Sheng Yunze smirked silently at him.

Duan Yi’s face flushed slightly as he snatched back his chicken cutlet. “Fine, I’ll finish it right now!”

Having just downed two cups of milk tea and now devouring a chicken cutlet, he felt like a little pig.

Sheng Yunze mischievously slipped his icy hand under Duan Yi’s shirt. Duan Yi yelped, shivering violently. “I’m freezing!”

Sheng Yunze persisted, “Let me warm you up. I want to feel your stomach.”

Duan Yi grumbled, “Why do you always have to touch me? We’re in public! Show some restraint.”

“Why can’t I touch you?” Sheng Yunze pinched Duan Yi’s belly. “Hiding extra weight under winter clothes, huh?”

Duan Yi’s body slumped momentarily before he straightened up, gripping the railing. “I haven’t gained any weight!”

Sheng Yunze chuckled.

Hao Shanshan and the others glided over with hot sweet potatoes, offering one to Sheng Yunze. Earlier, Duan Yi had refused a sweet potato from Hao Shanshan, his mouth still sweet from the milk tea.

Now, seeing Sheng Yunze holding one, his chicken cutlet suddenly lost its appeal.

He sidled closer. “Let me have a bite. Just a taste.”

Duan Yi’s eyes practically glued themselves to the sweet potato. Sheng Yunze peeled it and held it to Duan Yi’s mouth. Without hesitation, Duan Yi took a bite.

Then he rolled around on the ground, his tongue burning.

Sheng Yunze wordlessly lifted him to his feet.

Hao Shanshan cupped her face, munching on her sweet potato as she spoke. “President Duan, how are you ever going to be a dad if you act like this?”

Duan Yi stuck out his tongue, staring longingly at the icy surface. If the ground weren’t so dirty, he’d have licked it.

“I want an ice pop,” Duan Yi hinted delicately.

Hao Shanshan immediately offered to buy him one, but Sheng Yunze stopped her. “Don’t indulge him.”

Then, with cold elegance, he warned Duan Yi, “Eating an ice pop in the dead of winter? Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Hao Shanshan instantly switched sides. “Exactly!”

Duan Yi: …

“You’re betraying me, Shanshan!”

Hao Shanshan replied modestly, “A true daughter of a strong person must have eyes like a hawk to see who really runs this family, and then choose the right side!”

Jiang Wangshu, still munching on his sweet potato, chimed in, “He’s always been like this. After eating spicy chips, he wants something sweet. After sweets, he wants something salty. After meat, he wants fruit. After fruit, he complains it’s too tart and demands cake. If you let him keep going, he’ll end up crawling out of the skating rink stuffed to bursting.”

Duan Yi’s ears flushed crimson. He leaped up, ready to fight Jiang Wangshu. “Who ate it! Who ate it like that!”

Sheng Yunze wrapped his arm around Duan Yi’s waist, restraining him.

Jiang Wangshu smugly twisted his body as Duan Yi lunged at him, claws outstretched. The attack failed.

Yu Yijing stood nearby. Her friend asked, “Why don’t you go over and chat?”

Yu Yijing hesitated, “Wouldn’t that be awkward? I don’t feel like I fit in.”

After two failed attempts to join the group, Yu Yijing had resigned herself to watching from afar.

Duan Yi stood at the center of attention, surrounded by a constellation of handsome men and beautiful women—boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, and friends like Jiang Wangshu and Jian Qiao.

Yu Yijing stared, speechless. “What kind of idol drama script is he living? The spunky high school girl? Duan Yi isn’t a looks-obsessed person, is he?”

Her friend burst out laughing. “Why don’t you try again? He’s an Alpha, after all. Sheng Yunze can’t stay with another Alpha forever. Relationships don’t last forever, you know.”

Yu Yijing was tempted. Her friend urged, “When it’s over, why don’t you add Sheng Yunze’s friend? Isn’t befriending his friends the first step in winning a guy over?”

“You make it sound so easy…” Yu Yijing muttered.

Meanwhile, Hao Shanshan and the others had moved on from discussing the National College Entrance Examination to marriage and children.

Duan Yi’s face flushed as he listened to Hao Shanshan’s passionate visions of the future. The conversation eventually circled back to him.

When asked how many children he wanted, Duan Yi chuckled evasively, “No idea…”

Then he couldn’t help adding, “Two, maybe.”

Sheng Yunze nodded.

Hao Shanshan: Can’t you two keep your early romance a little less conspicuous?

Pingtou, seemingly oblivious to the unspoken tension, asked innocently, “President Duan wants two kids? Why is Secretary Sheng nodding along?”

Hao Shanshan clamped her hand over his mouth. “This is what we call ‘parental authority’! Even I, as the ‘eldest daughter’ here, haven’t said a word. What right do you have to speak up?”

Xiaobang piped up curiously, “Is President Duan an only child?”

“No, I have an older brother,” Duan Yi replied.

Eager to steer the conversation away from himself, he threw Sheng Yunze under the bus. “Secretary Sheng isn’t an only child either. He’s a twin.”

The revelation that Sheng Yunze was a twin sent shockwaves through the class.

“Holy shit!” Qi Qi exclaimed, like a thunderclap in the calm.

Pingtou stared in disbelief. “One Secretary Sheng is already enough to keep us from getting girlfriends. What’s the deal with two? Damn it, this is a curse on our bloodline!”

Duan Yi chimed in, “Sheng Yunze has a younger sister.”

Abbot’s ears perked up. “A twin sister?”

This time, the male students exchanged strange, knowing glances.

Holy crap…

Secretary Sheng’s twin sister?

That’s basically a female version of him!

Damn it, she’s the real school beauty!

“She’s a female alpha,” Jian Qiao interjected, shattering the boys’ fantasies.

“Ah…” A collective groan of disappointment filled the room.

Nan Yi grumbled, “Damn it, now there are two of those annoying faces.”

Hao Shanshan leaned against the railing. “That means Secretary Sheng’s future sons have a high chance of being twins too.”

She couldn’t help but imagine two chibi versions of young Sheng Yunze.

Nan Yi shuddered, rubbing his arms in disgust. “Now there are three of those annoying faces!”

Duan Yi protested, “That’s not how it works.”

Duan Yi solemnly proposed, “If we lined up three Sheng Yunze faces, they’d disappear like in Happy Elimination!”

Sheng Yunze grabbed him by the back of the neck, his voice cold and merciless. “Delete Happy Elimination right now.”

Duan Yi had recently become obsessed with the game, seeing everything in terms of matching three to make it vanish.

Nan Yi wholeheartedly agreed with Duan Yi’s idea.

Jiang Wangshu said cryptically, “There must be some resemblance to his mother.”

Pingtou sighed, “His mother… I doubt Secretary Sheng will ever get married. Did you see that Bai Fumei earlier? She was practically shooting hearts at him, but did he even acknowledge her?”

Duan Yi muttered, “Look on the bright side—maybe Secretary Sheng already has someone?”

Nan Yi was about to retort when Jian Qiao dragged him away.

He wasn’t as quick as Jian Qiao and stubbornly clung to the railing.

Jian Qiao gently tugged his tie, waving to Jiang Wangshu with quiet satisfaction. “Remember to carve my name on the Monument to the People’s Heroes. Consider it my contribution to saving the masses.”

Nan Yi yelled, “You old hag, let go of me!”

Jian Qiao: “It’s a waste of your talents to just stand there like a third wheel. I’ve found you a better position where you can continue to shine for the people…”

“No way,” Pingtou interjected, picking up where Duan Yi left off. “Secretary Sheng having a girlfriend is as believable as me getting a 650 on my final exam.”

Sheng Yunze coolly replied, “Is that so?”

Pingtou brazenly declared, “Absolutely! Brother Sheng, you’re either in class or the dorm. When would you even have time for romance? After class, you only hang out with President Duan, right?”

Hao Shanshan patted him on the shoulder, sighing, “Being an idiot must be nice.”

After chatting for a while, Hao Shanshan and the others dispersed, returning to the ice rink.

Duan Yi refused to go wrestling—he’d been thoroughly beaten earlier, and his back still ached.

Meanwhile, Yu Yijing, undeterred, struck up another conversation with Jiang Wangshu and ordered a milk tea for Sheng Yunze. She’d noticed Duan Yi drinking Sheng Yunze’s earlier.

Knowing they were dating and still doing this felt a bit much to Duan Yi.

When Yu Yijing approached again, he casually remarked, “If you really want to get something for Sheng Yunze, you might as well buy him a washboard on Taobao.”

The girl paused, then Duan Yi said sincerely, “He’d probably kneel more comfortably.”

Sheng Yunze glanced at him. Duan Yi leaned against the railing and scolded him, “How do you attract so much attention? Tell me, what kind of washboard do you like? I’ll buy it for you.”

“You’d really make me kneel?” Sheng Yunze raised an eyebrow.

Duan Yi tilted his head back. “It’s a joke! Can’t I have a little fun? Would you rather I kneel for you?”

A hint of jealousy crept into Sheng Yunze’s voice. “Has Nan Yi ever knelt for you?”

Oh no, here it comes, Duan Yi thought.

“Why are you asking that? You’re not going to compete with him over this, are you? How old are you, Brother?”

He quickly added, “No, he hasn’t. Who even owns something like that? I was just joking.”

Sheng Yunze turned to face him. “Then… do you still like him?”

“No,” Duan Yi replied.

Sheng Yunze leaned closer. “Really?”

Seeing how serious Sheng Yunze was, Duan Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Really, really! A thousand times yes! I only like you now!”

“How much?” Sheng Yunze pressed.

“A lot! Especially a lot!” Duan Yi declared.

Sheng Yunze persisted, “Say it a few more times. I want to hear if you mean it.”

Duan Yi had no choice but to cup his hands around his mouth and repeat into Sheng Yunze’s ear, “Like, like, like, like, like…”

Sheng Yunze sensed his half-heartedness, and before long, the two were playfully bickering again.

The ice was slippery. Duan Yi retreated, shouting, “I’m going to fall! I’m going to fall!”

Sheng Yunze grabbed him. Once Duan Yi regained his balance, he gasped, “I’m done. I want to sleep.”

“Haven’t you had enough sleep?” Sheng Yunze noticed Duan Yi’s excessive winter hibernation.

Duan Yi clung to him like a koala. “I’m supposed to hibernate in winter.”

By seven o’clock, the ice rink was growing crowded.

Duan Yi lingered by Sheng Yunze’s side for a while before venturing out to skate on his own, gripping the railing.

Sheng Yunze leaned against the entrance, watching him and occasionally turning away people who approached for his phone number.

Duan Yi’s skating grew erratic, and with the crowd thickening, Sheng Yunze lost sight of him for a moment. The current of skaters swept Duan Yi away from the railing.

“Holy shit!” Duan Yi exclaimed. The moment he released the railing, he tumbled backward, landing flat on his back.

His head slammed against the ice, blurring his vision with pain. The world spun around him, and he lay motionless for a long moment.

Hao Shanshan, who happened to be passing by, grabbed his arm and asked urgently, “Damn, President Duan! I heard you fall from way over there. Does it hurt?”

Duan Yi clutched his head and retorted, “Does it hurt? Are you kidding? I think I’ve got a concussion!”

The fall taught Duan Yi a lesson. He clung to the railing, inching his way to the exit, and refused to skate any further after taking off his skates.

Sitting outside the rink in the rest area, his head still throbbed.

He felt for blood, but there was none. The impact had been awkward, right on the spot where his injuries from the car accident had been most severe. The intense pain made Duan Yi fear he had reopened the wound.

Sheng Yunze followed him out immediately, abandoning his skating as well.

Around 9:30 PM, the rink closed. People began to leave in droves.

Sheng Yunze drove Duan Yi home, and they parted at the entrance to his residential complex.

He told Duan Yi to text him when he got home and promised to visit him the next day.

Duan Yi nodded, lingering for a moment before Sheng Yunze, afraid his father, Duan Ji Huai, might return home if he stayed any longer. He hurried inside.

As he walked home, light snow began to fall.

Red lanterns hung throughout the complex. Only then did Duan Yi belatedly realize that Chinese New Year was approaching.

Second High School’s winter break extended until the Lantern Festival. Classes would resume immediately afterward.

As he walked, Duan Yi thought, “I forgot to ask Sheng Yunze where he’s spending the Lunar New Year.”

Will he stay in the south or return to the north?

He remembered Sheng Yunze mentioning that his hometown was Beijing. He had moved south with his father for work when he was young.

Duan Yi stretched lazily and opened the front door. “Xiaoduan Mom! I’m hungry!”

Whether he was hungry, cold, full, or sick, his first instinct was always to call for his mother.

If only his father was home, he would shout, “Dad! Where’s Mom?”

No matter what, he always looked for his mother—a primal instinct hardwired into every human child’s DNA.

After eating Xiaoduan Mom’s meal, Duan Yi felt a bit sleepy. He told her he was going to take a nap and headed up to the third floor.

His parents’ room was on the second floor, while he and his brother shared the third.

Duan Shaoheng, his brother, was constantly away filming movies and attending promotional events, practically never home. Now, the entire third floor belonged to Duan Yi.

His room was on the left side of the hallway—a three-room suite.

After entering the living room, the bedroom was to the right. Duan Yi hummed a tune as he turned on the TV and played games for a while before finally dumping his homework out of his backpack. The stack of white exam papers covered the desk—over a hundred sheets assigned for the Lantern Festival holiday. He’d be writing until he dropped.

But at least he had a boyfriend. If he couldn’t finish them all, he could always ask Sheng Yunze to help.

Duan Yi pulled out his phone, ready to call Sheng Yunze and ask if he had made it home yet.

He grabbed a bag of chips from the snack cabinet, tearing it open as he walked toward the bedroom.

Before opening the door, Duan Yi heard a faint noise inside, but dismissed it as the wind.

The moment he opened the door, he froze. Two children sat obediently on his bed, staring back at him with wide eyes.

The bag of chips slipped from Duan Yi’s hand, scattering across the floor. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed.

He slammed the door shut, bewildered. “Am I dreaming?”

Or was he hallucinating?

Could those two kids in his bedroom really be Sheng Ming and Sheng Xi?

Duan Yi yanked the door open again. They were still there, unchanged.

Duan Yi: =口=!

He opened and closed the door repeatedly, seven or eight times, the bangs echoing through the room.

Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit!

His entire worldview shattered.

Duan Yi tried to close the door again, desperately trying to convince himself it was an illusion. But Sheng Ming and Sheng Xi jumped off the bed and clung to his legs, giving him no chance.

Instinctively, Duan Yi loosened his grip on the door, afraid of pinching his sons. Then he froze, petrified.

What the hell is going on?

Duan Yi’s mind completely short-circuited.

Weren’t his two sons supposed to exist only in a parallel universe?

Hadn’t he already returned to the real world?

Duan Yi didn’t have time to think. Sheng Xi’s sobs jolted him awake.

He was a high school student himself, but he looked like Sheng Xi’s older brother. He quickly picked Sheng Xi up. “What’s wrong?”

Duan Yi’s mind was blank, but instinct made him ask, “Are you hungry? Did you miss a meal?”

Sheng Xi just kept crying. Duan Yi crouched down to ask the older brother, “You…”

But Sheng Ming was also crying, wiping his tears with a pitiful expression.

All the words caught in Duan Yi’s throat, his heart racing.

This was so uncomfortable.

He touched Sheng Ming’s face—warm. His son wasn’t a ghost; he was actually here, in his bedroom!

Help me…

He silently marveled to himself.

Duan Yi felt his materialistic worldview shatter into pieces.

“Wait here. Mingbao, have your brother sit down.”

Duan Yi drifted to the snack cabinet, rummaging for a while before finally finding two cans of Wangzai milk.

As he turned to float back, he noticed the brothers trailing closely behind him.

The younger one, rushing too fast, tripped on the carpet. He didn’t cry, but gritted his teeth, scrambled up, and threw himself into Duan Yi’s arms as if Duan Yi might vanish at any moment.

Compared to the pain of his fall, holding onto Duan Yi seemed to be the most important thing.

Duan Yi crouched down and opened the two cans of Wangzai milk.

The brothers each took one.

For a moment, Duan Yi was speechless, overwhelmed with questions he couldn’t voice. He sighed, “Let’s fill our stomachs first.”

The two boys, instead of drinking their milk, clung to Duan Yi and burst into tears. Terrified of waking Xiaoduan Mom, Duan Yi frantically shushed them. “Quiet! Quiet! Lower your voices!”

He took turns holding them, patting and soothing them for a full five minutes before they finally calmed down.

Tearfully, Duan Yi realized his child-soothing skills hadn’t faded at all.

Looking at his two sons, after the initial shock wore off, a wave of overwhelming joy washed over him. To be honest, Duan Yi had never imagined he’d see his brothers from that other world again.

Once Sheng Ming and Sheng Xi had cried their fill, they slowly began to sip from their milk cans.

Only then did Duan Yi notice their strange attire. Despite the winter weather outside, they were dressed in light, summery clothes. He remembered buying those exact outfits at Plaza 66 in Shanghai.

Duan Yi quickly turned on the air conditioner, scooped up the two children, and tossed them onto the bed. He then wrapped them tightly in the blanket, tucking it in securely.

Duan Yi let out a sigh of relief and sat up straight. “One.”

Using the same method he often used to focus Sheng Ming and Sheng Xi’s attention, he made them look at him.

“I’ll ask a question, and you answer,” Duan Yi said.

Sheng Ming spoke first. “Mom…”

Duan Yi’s eyebrow twitched. “Did your dad teach you to call me that? Call me Dad! How did I become Mom? You should call your dad ‘Mom,’ got it? Don’t listen to him next time.”

Realizing his mistake, he quickly added, “For now, you need to call me ‘Brother,’ understand?”

Sheng Ming stared intently at him, as if seeing Duan Yi for the first time. He reached out and touched Duan Yi’s face, looking puzzled.

“You look smaller,” Sheng Ming said.

Isn’t that obvious? Duan Yi thought. Your mom is still in high school!

Realizing he’d trapped himself, he mentally corrected himself: Ugh, I mean your dad!

Sheng Xi, his eyes rimmed with red, hesitated. “Brother, do you think Uncle He was lying to me?”

Sheng Ming: “But it’s true.”

Sheng Xi: “I think this ‘Mom’ looks weird. Is she fake?”

Duan Yi’s eyebrow twitched. I’m the one who suspects you two are fake!

Even through his tears, Sheng Xi couldn’t resist his sharp tongue. “Uncle He knows kids are easy to fool. How could he be so shameless?”

Duan Yi: Okay, no more doubts. He’s definitely Sheng Yunze’s son.

After the emotional moment passed, Duan Yi snapped back to reality.

Sheng Ming asked, “Mom, did Zhou Shuren write Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, or was it Lu Xun?”

Duan Yi paused. “…Lu Xun, I think.”

Sheng Ming nodded and turned to Sheng Xi. “See? It’s real!”

No one could be this clueless.

Duan Yi: …

What kind of image do my sons have of me?!

Sheng Xi’s eyes welled up again. He scrambled out from under the covers and threw himself into Duan Yi’s arms.

Duan Yi nearly fell off the bed as Sheng Xi sobbed, “I missed you so much…”