PMWAIAAPM Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Do You Need a Shoulder to Lean On?

Xing Yang’s glands were fatigued, and he had a very light sleep, but his eyelids felt heavy. After tossing and turning restlessly, he woke up to find it was already past noon.

Before he could see anything, he first felt the thudding of his heart.

“Awake?” Tan Zhiyu tightened his embrace a bit more.

“I’ve been sleeping for a long time, haven’t I?” Xing Yang opened his eyes, his voice deep and hoarse, as if he hadn’t cried in a long time.

Tan Zhiyu didn’t reply, instead he kept staring at him.

They had only quarreled for less than 48 hours.

But it seemed like ages had passed. Tan Zhiyu had grown a stubble overnight; the red veins in his eyes hadn’t faded, but his gaze was bright, filled with uncontrollable excitement.

Xing Yang suddenly thought of a possibility and hesitantly pressed his palm to Tan Zhiyu’s forehead, “You haven’t been staring at me this whole time, have you?”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Tan Zhiyu replied languidly, unable to hide his smile.

“What are you going crazy for?” Xing Yang couldn’t help but frown.

He was exceptionally tired and closed his eyes; otherwise, he would never allow Tan Zhiyu to foolishly keep his eyes open beside him like this.

But the alpha’s energy and endurance far exceeded his expectations; even after a sleepless night, he didn’t care.

Instead, he seemed to be in high spirits: “I’ve never looked at you so closely.”

He always liked to say that Xing Yang wasn’t good-looking, and even felt disdain for his average appearance. But when he truly wanted to get close to someone, he realized that perhaps a beautiful exterior was the only thing he could compare with Xing Yang.

However, the beauty in the eyes of a lover held far more power than he imagined.

It felt like simply watching someone sleep beside him could bring immense happiness.

“Tan Zhiyu…” Xing Yang felt his heart fluttering along with the corners of his lips.

“What is it?”

“Are you a child?” Xing Yang pinched his earlobe.

The action was gentle.

To be honest, such scenes seemed like they only appeared in his dreams. He had once fantasized about how happy life would be with Tan Zhiyu, earning a lot of money for him, but one illness had been enough to block everything, causing him to shrink back in fear.

On the contrary, the weepy and childish Tan Zhiyu was braver than him.

If he were to die in the future, how sad would Tan Zhiyu be?

Xing Yang’s eyes lowered: “When can you grow up?”

Tan Zhiyu seemed to understand his thoughts. He gently sighed, leaned over, and softly kissed his cheek until his pheromones gradually enveloped Xing Yang, allowing him to relax a bit before whispering, “Why grow up? If I grow up, you’ll think about leaving me again, won’t you? Xing Yang, the world isn’t that great. If you dare to provoke me, you’ll have to pay the price. Do you know how uncomfortable I was yesterday?”

He had never told Xing Yang about his childhood.

Since he was young, he’d been the tool for his parents’ scripted persona, only to be abandoned when he was no longer needed.

The feeling of being abandoned was too painful, and he didn’t want that; he didn’t want that at all.

He just wanted Xing Yang.

He had long since said that Xing Yang loved him deeply.

Even if Xing Yang was resolute about parting ways, as long as he tugged on his corner of clothes, the man would completely collapse.

Sometimes, a man’s overly soft heart kneaded him into not achieving anything.

Xing Yang sighed deeply, feeling that he, the boss, had never been this useless before.

For a moment, it was hard to tell who was holding onto whom.

“Excuse me, but you two can’t kiss in the ward~~” The ward door was pushed open, and Zhou Jiaoyue stood at the entrance, smiling curiously at the two on the bed.

The entire ward was arranged in a way that felt like Xing Yang’s usual living place, with a large bed, and the only difference from a presidential suite was that outside the door was a hospital corridor.

Zhou Jiaoyue had rushed over from the country urgently after hearing the news.

She wasn’t as kind to Xing Yang as Tan Zhiyu had been, often rolling her eyes at him.

“It’s because of you that he’s not following medical advice! Now he’s suffering, and it serves him right!” Zhou Jiaoyue flicked the ampoule in her hand, drawing out nutrients.

Xing Yang smiled helplessly: “Don’t blame him. He sat on a plane for ten hours yesterday; he’s tired.”

“Xing Yang, how do you even make money?”

Zhou Jiaoyue really didn’t understand what could possibly be more important than life.

Xing Yang could tell her clearly—it was love.

Xing Yang’s current situation left him with only two choices: to save the big one or the small one.

If he saved the adult, there was no guarantee the child would be born a vegetable or disabled.

If he saved the small one, the mortality rate was as high as eighty percent.

This number was equivalent to a death sentence.

This wasn’t the first time Xing Yang had heard this choice. So he remained particularly calm; yesterday’s resolute decision to start the miscarriage shots already reflected his choice.

Zhou Jiaoyue furrowed her brow. She said, “You’re only twenty-eight.”

Even if he might become disabled in the future, isn’t life itself more important than anything else?

She wanted to advise Xing Yang to choose to lose the embryo.

As long as the pheromones could be used for his own body, perhaps he could live many more years.

Xing Yang shook his head.

He had long experienced the feeling of being disabled, watching his legs disobey him, collapsing forward due to weightlessness when he stood; rather than living a half-life as a person, the little life inside him seemed even more deserving of coming into this world.

Xing Yang had already lost his family and warmth, having come up from hardship without help, and his little buddy didn’t need to endure that.

With enough wealth, the best education, and a handsome father, the little one would be happy.

Tan Zhiyu was on a call outside, looking in through the window, his expression extremely impatient.

The domestic market had completely collapsed due to Tan Zhiyu’s acknowledgment of their relationship. Tan Yushen had initially set up several big deals and had invested a portion of his funds, planning to buy low during the collapse of the Yuan Yin real estate stocks. But with the release of two Weibo posts, it had miraculously reversed the situation, causing stock prices to rise again.

Not only were Tan Yushen’s funds trapped, but he might even lose a betting agreement, and he’d have to risk his entire fortune on investing in Yuan Yin real estate.

To outsiders, it looked like just capital flip-flopping, but in reality, Tan Yushen had a family outside, and power and desire no longer permitted him to bow to a self-made young man under thirty.

“Tan Zhiyu! Are you crazy? I’m your real father! Do you really think he sees you as anything? He’s playing you around like a marionette with the Jiang and Chi families. Do you really think that marrying him will trap him? I’m telling you, he’s just toyed with you! Good son, when have I ever lied to you? I’ve always done this for your own good!”

Indeed.

There were rumors that Tan Yushen and Tan mother were model parents, even loving their son dearly despite their divorce.

Even though they were high officials in capital, they would never think it embarrassing for Tan Zhiyu to act on screen but rather support his interests and be willing to invest; what great parents they were.

But when Tan Yushen treated his son’s endorsement as a bargaining chip, and Tan mother treated her son’s international fame as a stepping stone for her own political career, they were hardly considered good parents.

“Xing Yang is really impressive, making my son refute me like this. Zhiyu, you were never like this, were you? Did Xing Yang say something to threaten you?”

Tan Yushen was calling Tan Zhiyu by name, and Tan Zhiyu knew exactly their tactics in the business world. He countered, “Are you recording this?”

Tan Yushen was instantly speechless: “What nonsense are you talking about?”

He was guiding Tan Zhiyu to answer the questions the entire time.

Tan Zhiyu never dealt with business matters didn’t mean he was a fool; since he had the capabilities to release a Weibo post acknowledging their relationship, he was already prepared to face off against Tan Yushen.

“When is my birthday?” he suddenly asked.

The man stood by the window, his back regal yet lonely, and he still held out a sliver of hope, wanting to hear a definite answer that would at least make Tan Yushen’s earlier claims of loving him, caring for him sound a little less fake.

But the man who had been so certain and angry moments ago was suddenly full of confusion, quickly shifting topics: “At a time like this, you need to recognize the situation! How long have you known Xing Yang? How many people has he harmed in the capital, his reputation—you’ve seen it online—”

“You don’t even know my birthday,” Tan Zhiyu said softly, “He does.”

Even though they had only been married for a few months.

“Tan Zhiyu!” the other party gritted his teeth, nearly going crazy.

Tan Yushen had been in business for so many years, and he was the only one who played others. Even his biological son could be used as a stepping stone for him to reach the top. He never expected that he would be bitten back by his own son.

“Tan Yushen, you’re a businessman. You must bear the consequences of your bets.”

He didn’t wait for the other party’s rebuttal, hanging up the phone, and when he returned to the ward, Xing Yang had already finished his injection. The room was filled with a pleasant ebony fragrance, but it was much lighter than before.

Xing Yang had just tidied up his things when he noticed that Tan Zhiyu’s excited mood hadn’t calmed down, his lips slightly trembling.

He walked over: “I can lend you my shoulder.”

Tan Zhiyu frowned: “I’m a grown man, do I really need to lean on a shoulder?”

He sat sulkily on the sofa, not so much feeling angry, but rather sour; everything had escalated so much, and his mother had only sent him four words: cool it down.

Making such a huge fuss would affect her career, and as for his father, the instigator, he never thought about him. At this moment, Tan Zhiyu felt so pitiful; perhaps he really needed a shoulder to lean on.

He gazed at Xing Yang with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Why aren’t you coming over yet?’

Xing Yang set down the pile of clothes in his hand, walked over, and sat beside him, stroking his hair as gently as if it were a puppy: “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“When is my birthday?”

“May 29,” Xing Yang replied.

“How do you know I like sweets?”

“Reading faces.”

“Then how do you know I’m allergic to cat hair?”

“Little Bao told me.”

Xing Yang was indeed a jerk; even his words were so ridiculous.

Tan Zhiyu leaned against his shoulder, their fingers intertwined. Feeling a bit sad, he softly asked, “Boss Xing, can we… not have this child?”

He knew perhaps he was being a bit selfish, but he really… really couldn’t bear to see Xing Yang leave in the future. Even knowing they still had eight months of infatuation ahead, every day felt like a countdown, and it was simply killing him.

Xing Yang was bewildered. He caressed Tan Zhiyu’s face, where tears had already fallen: “I beg you…”

He wanted to say that even if Xing Yang could not walk in the future, could not leave bed, could become stupid and dazed, he could still take care of him; he had money, and together they could go many places.

“Will my Zhiyu make a good dad in the future?”

“I won’t. Once you’re dead, I’ll send him to boarding school, let him grow up without a father’s love, and you’ll regret having him, even crawling out of your grave just to hit me.”

Xing Yang couldn’t help but laugh at him. This person really wouldn’t grow up; could he really be a good father in the future? It didn’t seem very reliable at all.

The fetus was too small right now, and Xing Yang’s condition was temporarily stable; they needed to wait for the reproductive cavity to expand a little more before they could monitor the situation.

Zhou Jiaoyue was already the head of the gland department at the City Heart Hospital in the capital. They could follow up on the situation at any time.

Before leaving, Tan Zhiyu had privately asked Zhou Jiaoyue what other possibilities there were regarding Xing Yang’s condition.

Zhou Jiaoyue, who graduated from Germany’s gland department as an excellent student, thought for a moment and shook her head: “I’ve already considered every possible solution. Xing Yang’s glands can’t hold out much longer. Even if they are re-implanted, they probably won’t survive; at that time, internal blood clots will press against his brain, causing blood vessels to rupture, and no one could save him. Now, we can only buy time.”

“There was someone at our school who researched the relationship between brain nerve pressure and glands, but that person’s paper was clearly purchased. He had very poor grades, and his proposed methods were only theoretical, with no actual operational data; it was a struggle for him to graduate. So…”

“Do you have contact information for that person?” Tan Zhiyu thought, at least reaching out to find out who wrote the paper could bring some opportunities.

“He is the one with the worst grades among those who extended their studies at our school; his name is… Qiu Jing?”

Tan Zhiyu’s tone rose: “Who?”

“It seems to be that name. During the defense, he sat behind me, and because his paper lacked data support, it was clearly ghostwritten, yet he has extended his studies for three years. The professor managed to pass him in the end, but I advise you to find someone else to try; this person is not very reliable.”