What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 82

Chapter 82 – Time Travel?

Duan Ji Huai’s mind raced: Impossible! He’s calling me “Dad” before even marrying Duan Yi?

Then, a wave of anxiety washed over him: What if he actually does? Should I accept it or not?

His internal turmoil rivaled Duan Yi’s own.

Eventually, Qin Chu stepped in to diffuse the awkward tension. He told the kids to go play while the adults discussed “grown-up matters.”

“When my dad says he needs to talk about ‘grown-up matters,’ it usually means nothing important,” Qin Shu blurted out, betraying his father without hesitation. “He’s probably still at home watching Digimon.”

Duan Yi slumped into his seat, looking utterly defeated. “I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead…”

Qin Shu turned to Sheng Yunxi, genuinely curious. “Why did you call him ‘Sister-in-law’? Duan Yi’s a guy, right? Are you ‘mud-sculpting’ him?”

Sheng Yunxi looked puzzled. “What’s ‘mud-sculpting’?”

Qin Shu, whose mother was a celebrity, had picked up some fan culture slang through osmosis. “It’s when you treat a guy like a girl. Like, even though he’s male, you act like he’s female. That’s ‘mud-sculpting.'”

Sheng Yunxi suddenly realized her mistake and retorted earnestly, “I didn’t! Xiaoduan and my brother are dating. What else should I call him but ‘Sister-in-law’?”

Qin Shu nearly choked on his water.

His gaze shifted between Duan Yi and Sheng Yunze, finally understanding the awkward atmosphere. It was a meeting of the parents!

Duan Yi snapped back to reality. “I’m doomed. I’ll be lucky to escape with my life tonight.”

Sheng Yunze frowned. “Why didn’t you mention you were coming to meet my dad?”

Duan Yi covered his face. “Damn it! My dad didn’t tell me either! Where are Mingbao and the others?”

“They’re with my mom,” Sheng Yunze replied, glancing sideways at Qin Shu.

A flicker of irritation crossed his mind: Why are there so many Alphas around Duan Yi?

His irritation deepened when he looked at Qin Shu’s face. The school beauty, who had lived for seventeen years, had probably never encountered a face that could rival her own.

Oblivious to Sheng Yunze’s thoughts, Duan Yi turned to him. “You can sit here for a bit. Qin Shiwu and I have urgent business to discuss!”

Sheng Yunze hooked his foot around Duan Yi’s leg. “What’s so important that you can’t say it in front of everyone?”

Duan Yi: …

Of course, it’s about the parallel universe!

Whenever Sheng Yunze said something like that, it meant he wasn’t going anywhere.

Qin Shu glanced at his phone, completely ignoring Duan Yi’s pleading look. He made a glorious exit, waving. “My aunt’s here. I’m going to pick up my sister. See you later.”

Duan Yi: “Hey…”

No! Don’t leave me, Brother!

Didn’t you hear me say I need to discuss something important with you?!

Watching Qin Shu’s retreating figure, Duan Yi felt a pang of anxiety.

Soon, he sensed a resentful gaze from behind.

He turned to find Sheng Yunze’s eyes burning with a “Do you want to start a fight?” intensity.

Duan Yi straightened up stiffly. “Absolutely not!”

Sheng Yunze: “Hmph.”

Duan Yi: “Qin Shu and I have known each other since first-year. Our unbreakable bond was forged through pure exam cheating. We copied each other’s answers—he ended up second-to-last, and I was dead last…”

Sheng Yunze chuckled.

Seeing there was no seat for her and having already greeted her father’s relatives, Sheng Yunxi was about to slip away.

But Duan Yi suddenly asked, “Hey, let me ask you two something.”

Sheng Yunxi sat back down, while Sheng Yunze propped his chin up, pretending to listen casually.

After a moment of hesitation, Duan Yi spoke in a normal, conversational tone, “Do you think parallel universes really exist?”

Sheng Yunxi showed little reaction, but Sheng Yunze suddenly straightened up.

Duan Yi, focused on analyzing his own words, didn’t notice Sheng Yunze’s unusual behavior.

Sheng Yunxi replied, “That’s hard to say. Some people believe in them, others don’t. What do you think?”

Duan Yi answered, “I used to think they did, then I didn’t, and now I’m back to thinking they do!”

Sheng Yunxi: – –

“Sister-in-law, you’re so indecisive.”

Duan Yi leaned back on the sofa, carefully considering his recent interactions with Sheng Ming and Sheng Xi.

He avoided looking at Sheng Yunze, secretly suspecting that Sheng Yunze might have figured something out.

Duan Yi knew Sheng Yunze was intelligent and had an excellent memory. He regretted blabbing about Sheng Ming and Sheng Xi to Sheng Yunze when they first met. If he had known they would appear in this world, he would never have said a word.

But Duan Yi couldn’t tell how much Sheng Yunze had pieced together.

“You think…” Duan Yi struggled to speak, sitting on the sofa. “Is it possible… for someone to transmigrate to a parallel universe and then return?”

The hotel’s study was quite spacious. Duan Ji Huai and the others sat at one end, while Duan Yi and his group occupied a small sofa at the other.

He couldn’t hear what they were saying. The room was so quiet he could hear a pin drop.

“Is it possible,” he continued, “for someone to transmigrate to a parallel universe and then return?”

Sheng Yunze replied, “Theoretically possible, practically impossible.”

Sheng Yunxi nodded. “Lao Sheng is right. If transmigration were real, the energy required would be greater than a thousand atomic bombs exploding simultaneously. Moreover, the rate of time’s passage is inversely proportional to an object’s speed. You’d need to exceed the speed of light to achieve transmigration. While the theory holds, we haven’t found any evidence. I classify transmigration as metaphysics—difficult to explain.”

She paused. “Or maybe it did happen, but we just don’t know about it.”

Duan Yi’s mind wandered. Qin Shiwu always claims he transmigrated. What a chuunibyou.

Still unconvinced, he pressed on. “But what if it’s real? Like, falling into water, jumping off a building, or a collision…”

Duan Yi had almost said “car accident,” but fearing he’d make it too obvious, he rephrased, “What if some kind of energy is generated, and then they transmigrate?”

Sheng Yunxi shook her head. “That’s even less likely. Let’s assume the most severe collision possible—say, a multi-car pileup.”

Duan Yi’s heart skipped a beat. Holy crap, no wonder she’s Sheng Yunze’s sister! She’s too sharp!

But then he reconsidered. If transmigration was impossible, how could Sheng Ming and Sheng Xi exist in the real world?

Sheng Yunxi picked up a pen and an eraser. “Imagine these are two cars. The energy from their collision compared to the energy needed for transmigration is like the force of a pen hitting an eraser compared to the energy of an atomic bomb explosion. The difference is that vast.”

Duan Yi was puzzled. “But he really did transmigrate to a parallel world after the car accident and gained those memories. Are you saying they’re fake?”

Sheng Yunxi replied, “A car accident can only lead to two possibilities: death or a coma.”

She paused, raising an eyebrow. “How can you be sure the memories he has are from transmigrating? Consider this: what if they’re just residual memories from his coma?”

Duan Yi felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, but he quickly recovered. “Impossible!”

He had been seventeen—during the summer between his second and third years of high school—when the accident occurred. How could he suddenly have over a decade’s worth of memories out of nowhere?

Stammering, Duan Yi explained, “If he was only twenty when the accident happened, but the added memories cover his life after twenty, and he lived them firsthand—he even has a child! How could those be residual memories?”

Sheng Yunxi paused, resting her chin on her hand. “Then how can he be certain he was twenty when the accident happened? What if the world he woke up in is the fake one, and the parallel world he believes in is the real one?”

Speaking of this, Sheng Yunxi mentioned another thing, “When I was studying abroad, a senior told me his advisor was researching something similar. It was related to computer science, but I thought it sounded ridiculous. Their approach was to upload a monkey’s consciousness into a computer to create artificial intelligence for holographic games.”

She laughed, finding the idea absurd. “It’s like saying if you put a monkey in front of a computer for four hundred years, it’ll eventually type out the complete works of Shakespeare. Utter nonsense! My senior even tried to recruit me for the project, but I couldn’t be bothered.”

Duan Yi’s face suddenly drained of all color.

He vaguely remembered that Sheng Yunxi had ultimately specialized in genetic engineering.

Sheng Yunxi had just been making casual conversation, never expecting Duan Yi to react so strongly.

After her brother glared at her, Sheng Yunxi quickly backtracked. “Sister-in-law, I was just joking! Don’t take it seriously! We were just discussing hypotheticals…”

Duan Yi poured himself a cup of tea, held it for a moment without drinking, then set it back down—a clear sign of distraction. His lips trembled slightly. “It’s fine. I was just asking out of curiosity.”

Seeing the situation was going south, Sheng Yunxi seized the opportunity to slip away. She clasped her hands together in apology to her brother, “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t realize Sister-in-law was so easily startled.”

Sheng Yunze made a throat-slitting gesture, and Sheng Yunxi vanished like a greased pig.

Duan Yi was feeling unwell and the room felt stifling. His vision was blurry, so he stood up abruptly. “I want to take a walk in the garden.”

Sheng Yunze said nothing, merely nodding to Father Sheng and Duan Ji Huai. Under Father Sheng’s knowing, ambiguous gaze and Duan Ji Huai’s death glare—a silent warning that Sheng Yunze would pay dearly if he dared lay a hand on his son—he left the study.

The hotel adjoined a church where wedding preparations were in full swing. Journalists and media personnel bustled across the red carpet.

Duan Yi and Sheng Yunze followed a cobblestone path, parting the bamboo thicket. Their footsteps crunched through the snow as they found a small garden.

Northern snow fell in thick, feathery flakes, unlike the sleet of the south. Though the paths had been cleared, the bluestone slabs remained slippery.

Duan Yi settled onto a sheltered bench, though “settled” might be too strong a word for his restless posture.

Sheng Yunze suddenly wrapped his arms around Duan Yi’s waist, startling him.

Before Duan Yi could react, Sheng Yunze had pulled him into a hug. “What’s wrong? Why are you upset?”

What could I possibly be upset about? Duan Yi thought.

Then he wondered, Does Sheng Yunze already know everything?

The thought left him feeling deflated.

His body went limp, and he asked listlessly, “Sheng Yunze, do you remember what I said to you at the beginning of the semester?”

Sheng Yunze’s back stiffened. “Uh…”

“I don’t think you need to play dumb or lie to me,” Duan Yi continued. “Do you know something?”

Sheng Yunze countered, “What do you think?”

“I think this whole situation is too surreal,” Duan Yi replied. “I don’t even understand it myself, and I don’t know how to explain it to you.”

Duan Yi removed Sheng Yunze’s hand from his waist and sat down beside him.

Finding this position insufficiently formal—and wanting to avoid any extreme reactions from Sheng Yunze—Duan Yi moved to the stool opposite him. This way, if Sheng Yunze suddenly jumped up to punch him, he could bolt far enough to escape pursuit.

Then, Duan Yi announced something they both already knew, “Would you believe me if I said those twins are your sons?”

Sheng Yunze: ……

Silence descended abruptly.

Duan Yi rubbed his nose. “Why aren’t you giving me any reaction?”

Sheng Yunze: “What do you want? Listen to yourself. Does that sound like you’re saying the rice you ate for lunch was cooked in a rice cooker? Or do you think my IQ is as low as yours—seventy?”

Duan Yi: ……

“Is it really that obvious? Don’t you think this whole thing sounds like some absurd fantasy drama?”

After a moment’s thought, Duan Yi suggested, “Just to be safe, why don’t you get a paternity test?”

Sheng Yunze retorted venomously, “And then wait for the police to come arrest me? On charges of getting an Omega pregnant when I was twelve?”

Duan Yi exclaimed, “Holy crap!” He unconsciously realized that Sheng Yunze had lightened the mood somewhat. Feeling a flicker of gratitude, he took the offered lifeline, “Then we’ll just wait for Shuangshuang to rot in jail.”

After he said this, another silence fell between them.

“You just…”

“What about him?”

They spoke simultaneously.

Duan Yi froze, while Sheng Yunze pressed his lips into a thin line. Duan Yi, feeling guilty, asked, “Who?”

Sheng Yunze thought: Playing coy and pretending to be deaf and dumb!

He gritted his teeth. “That Sheng Yunze?”

Duan Yi: =口=!

Oh crap—he’s finally here!

This was Duan Yi’s worst fear come true. He practically wanted to dig a hole right there and bury himself.

That Sheng Yunze… that Sheng Yunze…

Duan Yi tried desperately to recall something, anything, but his mind was a complete blank, likely from sheer terror. He couldn’t remember a single thing.

Sheng Yunze stood aloof, arms crossed, glaring at him with icy disdain. “He bit you to mark you for life, didn’t he?”

Duan Yi turned away, scratching the wall, leaving behind a guilty silhouette.

Sheng Yunze chuckled coldly, about to unleash a scathing remark to soothe his bubbling jealousy.

Then Sheng Xi’s clear, childish voice rang out, “Daddy! Daddy!”

Around the corner, Sheng Xi, dressed in a tiny suit, wobbled toward Sheng Yunze. “I picked a flower!”

It was a fake flower from the banquet hall. Sheng Yunze’s heart softened slightly as he temporarily abandoned his confrontation with Duan Yi. Sheng Xi carefully placed the flower on Sheng Yunze’s tie. “For you.”

Seeing Sheng Xi, Duan Yi felt a wave of relief. “Where’s your brother?” he blurted out.

“Brother’s with Grandma,” Sheng Xi replied.

Duan Yi quickly stood up. “I’ll go find your brother. You stay here with your dad. I’ll be right back.”

Then he hurried off, not running too fast.

Sheng Yunze let out a cold snort. Sheng Xi noticed and wiggled his chubby body, trying to climb onto Sheng Yunze’s lap.

Sheng Yunze couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He lifted his son into his arms. Sheng Xi looked up with his small face. “Why is Daddy angry?”

Sheng Yunze replied coldly, “I’m not.”

Sheng Xi persisted, “Then why are you making that face?”

The child then mischievously imitated Sheng Yunze’s stern expression. He already looked remarkably like his father, but now, deliberately mimicking him, he resembled a chibi version of the school beauty.

Amused by his son’s antics, Sheng Yunze said, “I told you, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are! Daddy, hold me tighter! I’m going to fall!”

Sheng Yunze shifted him closer, a mischievous thought suddenly striking him. “If you call me ‘Daddy,’ what about your other daddy?”

Sheng Xi looked at him strangely. “I only have one daddy.”

Sheng Yunze teased, “What about the place you came from? What about that daddy?”

Sheng Xi didn’t quite understand, so he answered honestly, “There’s only me and Brother at home. No other daddy.”

Sheng Yunze found the situation odd and couldn’t help but ask again, “Is it just you and your brother at home?”

Sheng Xi’s response struck like a thunderclap from a clear sky, “Mommy’s in the hospital. You went to see him, but you haven’t come back in a long time. My brother and I waited and waited. Uncle He said we could come find you, but we have to go back soon. He said my brother and I are too little to stay asleep for too long—we’ll get sick.”

As Sheng Xi spoke, tears welled up in his eyes. Children often struggle to control their emotions, and his tears came without warning. “I don’t want to go back… I want to stay with you…”

He wiped his tears, still hiccuping softly, and sobbed, “Uncle He said going back is like falling asleep. If we fall asleep, we’ll never see you again. But I don’t want to sleep…”

Without warning, he grabbed Sheng Yunze’s shirt and burst into tears, his sobs punctuated by hiccups. Only then did Sheng Yunze snap out of his daze, unaware that his hands were trembling slightly. He pressed a hand on Sheng Xi’s shoulder and gently patted his back with the other. “Xibao, tell me again. Tell me clearly.”

When Duan Yi arrived with Sheng Ming, he saw Sheng Xi crying uncontrollably in Sheng Yunze’s arms, which startled him.

“What happened? Did you make him cry?” Duan Yi asked, turning to look at Sheng Yunze. Seeing his grim expression, Duan Yi knew he wasn’t good at comforting children. He took Sheng Xi into his arms and told a few playful jokes, making the boy giggle.

Duan Yi leaned in conspiratorially. “What did you say to Xibao? I was only gone for a moment, and he’s crying like this?”

Sheng Yunze snapped out of his daze and avoided the question. “Nothing.”

He then reminded Duan Yi, “Do you know when they’re going back?”

Duan Yi hadn’t considered this at all and froze. A wave of intense reluctance and fear washed over him, threatening to drown his emotions.

The very thing he had been deliberately avoiding was now staring him in the face. The pain felt like having a part of himself torn away. Duan Yi forced a dry laugh. “What do you mean?”

Sheng Yunze explained, “Duan Yi, the children need to return. The longer they stay here, the worse it will be for their health.”

Duan Yi didn’t want to hear it. For the first time, he snapped back at Sheng Yunze with a hint of defiance in his voice. “That’s nonsense! How could their health suffer? If they get sick, we’ll just take them to the hospital.”

He clutched Sheng Ming’s clothes, hugging him tighter and tighter, his voice tinged with panic. “But how are we going to get back? Your sister said transmigration is impossible. I can provide for you just fine. Isn’t it good here?”

Sheng Yunze watched him impassively. Duan Yi pursed his lips after speaking, refusing to meet his gaze.

He knew Duan Yi was sulking. Sheng Ming seemed to sense it too, remaining still and obedient in Duan Yi’s arms.

I shouldn’t have let them meet, Sheng Yunze thought. He’ll never want to let go.

At the same time, a strange sense of familiarity washed over him. Sheng Yunze felt as if this thought had once crossed his mind before, the déjà vu so strong he could almost recall the emotions he’d felt at the time.

Author’s Note:

School Beauty: “Actually, you should send the babies away first…”

Xiaoduan: “No.”

School Beauty: “Or…”

Xiaoduan: “No.”

School Beauty: “I mean…”

Xiaoduan: “No.”

He hoards all the babies, hugging them tightly and refusing to let go. No one can take them away!

School Beauty: “…Headache”

The Story of Piggy and His Piglets (Not Really)