PMWAIAAPM Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Is This Considered a New Marriage?

After spending countless days in the hospital, Tan Zhiyu could only see the baby through the glass after initially meeting him on the day of his birth, as the baby was in an incubator and could not be easily touched.

He rarely went upstairs to see the baby, because Xing Yang had woken up, but he was not in good shape. After lying in bed for a week, he had lost quite a bit of weight.

The wound on his abdomen had not healed due to his immune system being compromised from the gland removal surgery. Midway, when Xing Yang attempted to get out of bed, the wound opened up once, and this time the doctors finally administered anesthetic, which made Xing Yang feel little pain, but Tan Zhiyu, who insisted on staying by his side, could not bear it.

Just looking at Xing Yang’s wound made him too scared to look closely; it felt more like a wound stitched into his own heart.

In the end, after receiving the local anesthesia, Xing Yang felt nothing, while Tan Zhiyu’s palms were covered in sweat.

“Hey, how can a grown man still love to play the pity card?” Xing Yang freed a hand to rest Tan Zhiyu’s head on his shoulder, soothing him: “Alright, don’t look, don’t look; just pet my hair and you won’t be scared.”

“Am I so childish to be afraid of that?” Tan Zhiyu replied with a sense of misery.

“If you’re not scared, then why are you crying?”

Even the doctor beside them felt a bit speechless. Since Qiu Jing performed surgery on Xing Yang, he had not shown his face around, as he had been reassigned to Germany and wouldn’t return for several years.

Now the doctor was Chi Yanchuan’s sister, Chi Yanhuan, a long-haired female alpha who was temporarily assigned to take over Xing Yang’s case.

Her skillful hands quickly stitched up the wound; redoing stitches was a simple task. However, when she looked up and saw Tan Zhiyu’s tears streaming down without reservation, her eyelids couldn’t help but twitch. She hated seeing men display that kind of expression; if she remembered correctly, her brother had that same pitiful look when he pursued Jiang Ye, looking as if his brain wasn’t functioning properly.

But evidently, both Jiang Ye and Xing Yang were the same type of people, just preyed on by such tactics.

Moreover, Xing Yang’s condition was much more serious than Jiang Ye’s; he genuinely cherished Tan Zhiyu and couldn’t bear to see him shedding tears.

“It’s all my fault…” Tan Zhiyu said.

This world is truly unfair to omegas; they have to bear everything. As an alpha, all he could sense was the emotional difference from their pheromones, but now that Xing Yang had lost his gland, he still had to endure.

He had marked Xing Yang; he had made Xing Yang fall in love with him. Why did those knives have to fall upon him?

That was unfair to Xing Yang.

Chi Yanhuan listened to him express his emotional turmoil and expressionlessly finished stitching up the wound. She actually wanted to advise Tan Zhiyu to consult a psychologist.

This was the Nth time she had seen Tan Zhiyu start crying during a conversation.

Postpartum depression is not something only omegas can suffer from.

Feeling depressed and irritable were early signs of depression.

From what she could see, Tan Zhiyu was not in a good condition.

She recalled how Tan Zhiyu once mocked Chi Yanchuan for being an alpha searching for recipes and remedies for his wife’s health. He had scoffed loudly, calling Chi Yanchuan an idiot, saying he was embarrassing alphas. Yet now, the reality was that he was contacting various chefs, nutritionists, and babysitters.

After a week of nurturing, the baby could finally be brought to the ward.

They named the baby Tan Qiao. Initially, he thought that since Tan Zhiyu was so delicate, if they had a daughter, she would ideally be as delicate as him. It would be great if the girl was a bit spoiled, but since it wasn’t a girl, they removed the “女” from the name and became Tan Qiao.

The nickname was suggested by Tan Zhiyu, calling him Candy.

Tan Guo is Candy, the fruit of love.

Because of their love, they had Candy.

Xing Yang was not an inherently born omega but later had his gland transplanted, making his omega genes unstable, while Candy, having undergone genetic testing at birth, did not carry any alpha genes and could only grow up to be a beta or omega.

Should he become an omega, he might also face gland defects like Xing Yang.

He was truly a source of uncertainty for their baby, and thinking about this made him feel guilty towards Candy.

Fortunately, they had their own hospital and medical team at home, and regardless of what kind of child Candy would become, he believed he had the capability to provide for him.

From now on, they would be the most loving parents to Candy.

Both had not enjoyed paternal love during their childhood. However, Xing Yang seemed to have a natural ability to be a father; he always exhibited kindness towards adults and children alike, while Tan Zhiyu lacked some of that.

This was his first time being a father, but he couldn’t match up to Xing Yang.

One night, Xing Yang woke up to find Tan Zhiyu by Candy’s bedside gently rocking the crib, watching videos on changing diapers on his phone, but he had fallen asleep.

Tan Zhiyu was worried that Candy might cry out in hunger and disturb Xing Yang’s rest, so he stayed by the crib, keeping watch.

The new dad was indeed a bit awkward, but his love and tenderness were unmatched by anyone else.

He was so adorable.

Xing Yang couldn’t help but lean down to kiss his cheek, waking Tan Zhiyu from his daze. Instinctively moving closer to his lips, he groggily asked, “Why are you up? Did Candy wake you?”

“No,” Xing Yang replied, smiling as he lowered his head.

He had said long ago that he would hire a helper, but after Tan Zhiyu’s experience, he wanted to carry the baby himself and change diapers. He wanted to create more shared memories for their family of three, and this task didn’t feel so exhausting anymore.

As for Candy…

He truly inherited Tan Zhiyu’s looks, restoring more than seventy percent of his features. It was hard to distinguish between his childhood photos and Candy’s face. Yet his temperament was much like Xing Yang’s; during the cuddly crying age, a single embrace would make him beam with laughter, his chubby little face adorned with dimples; the doctor said he would likely have cute dimples when he grew up.

What kind of child would he become in the future?

Xing Yang could enjoy watching Candy grow up with Tan Zhiyu, which was wonderful.

–

After being discharged from the hospital, Xing Yang redecorated the proposal he had planned for Tan Zhiyu. He thought the first one in the hospital had been a bit rushed.

Tan Zhiyu’s life had been smooth, yet he lacked an abundance of love while growing up. Every day with Xing Yang, he was showered with love.

That day, what was supposed to be a halted live stream of a dating show suddenly launched a special episode.

Tan Zhiyu was attending a “dad study” class, going in around five in the afternoon, as usual, calling out into the bedroom: “Boss Xing—let’s go buy groceries? I’m so hungry! You won’t believe it; today the teacher said my baby-holding posture is spot on…”

He was mumbling while changing his shoes, and when he looked up, the living room was filled with roses.

Under the twinkling star lights, the living room, dim and empty, was unexpectedly warm.

At that moment, how could Tan Zhiyu not realize what was about to happen?

He initially thought that after getting engaged in the hospital, they would wait for an auspicious day to remarry, but he didn’t expect Xing Yang would redecorate all this.

All the roses, red roses.

Actually, later they planted a money tree at home, placed on the balcony, looking forward to the little sapling in the pot sprouting new buds next spring.

Under the lens of the live stream camera, Xing Yang formally approached in his suit from the shadows.

Out of the blue, Tan Zhiyu, who had been making baby puree in class that afternoon, was still dusted with flour on his shirt.

Their roles seemed to have reversed.

Xing Yang knelt on one knee, looking much more formal than the proposal in the hospital. The hair he had shaved off had grown back, and his buzz cut made him look more masculine, unlike someone meticulously planning such details.

He presented Tan Zhiyu with a beautifully re-designed large diamond ring.

Some say diamond rings are the world’s biggest scam; as a businessman, Xing Yang naturally believed that diamonds were just shiny stones inflated to exorbitant prices.

But he just wanted his dear Zhiyu to have everything others had.

Two proposals, and each time Tan Zhiyu became frantic because he never looked good enough; it was so annoying of Xing Yang.

Reluctantly, he extended his hand for Xing Yang to put the ring on him.

“Aren’t you supposed to say something?” Tan Zhiyu asked, confused.

Xing Yang blinked, distracted by making the atmosphere romantic, forgetting to prepare lines. The last speech seemed unusable; after a moment’s pause, sweet words crashed in his mind: “A hundred years of harmony?”

“Xing Yang, are you sick?”

“Don’t be angry.” Xing Yang pinched his ear and chuckled gently to coax him.

The two embraced in the living room, the warm yellow light illuminating the blue-white streetlights outside Butterfly Manor, resembling heaven in tranquil time.

The tender lips, Xing Yang could no longer taste the fragrance of his red roses. But it didn’t matter, as Tan Zhiyu kissed him eagerly and fiercely, as if his lips held candy.

The light refracted their entwined shadows on the floor, making everything dim.

“Does today count as a new marriage?” Tan Zhiyu asked.

Xing Yang replied, “It’s our second marriage.”

Tan Zhiyu cheerfully hugged him, and suddenly the background music began to play, a soft version of “Alice.”

“Did you also choose this music?” he asked.

Xing Yang shook his head, “No.”

Where did the music come from?

They turned to see in the dark corner; little Candy was sitting with her little butt raised, happily watching them, making unclear bubbling sounds.

So adorably excessive.

Little Candy loved to laugh and enjoyed playing with toy flowers and plants. Chances are he would likely evolve into an omega in the future.

After the proposal, Tan Zhiyu was trending on social media, as if someone had purchased public relations for him, overwhelming and intense.

This was because Xing Yang turned over all his assets, and Tan Zhiyu announced his withdrawal from the entertainment industry to be a stay-at-home dad. He also mentioned that if there were any father-son variety shows or husband-husband shows, he would still consider participating since recording moments with loved ones was a special memory.

In the spring of the following year, they attended Jiang Cheng’s funeral together.

They heard that Jiang Cheng’s father nearly had a heart attack due to the distress.

For several years, Xing Yang’s condition remained good, only occasionally forgetting things, but with a reminder, he could recall them repeatedly.

For instance, while cooking one day, Xing Yang suddenly asked: “Zhi Yu, why did we get married?”

At first, Tan Zhiyu would dutifully recount their past, but gradually, he began inventing stories: “After you fell in love with me at first sight, you forced me into retirement to care for the child at home. Oh, the sorrow of being a man—”

“Do you love me? Wouldn’t you be unhappy marrying me if you don’t?”

Tan Zhiyu replied: “I don’t love you, but marrying you feels okay; I guess it’s workable.”

At that moment, little Candy came running out from the living room, and landed his toy airplane on Tan Zhiyu’s waist: “Daddy! You can’t kiss Daddy! His face is all red! You might kiss him too much.”

After a while, Xing Yang remembered and tugged on Tan Zhiyu’s ear, taking him into the bedroom. Although Tan Zhiyu always liked to say ridiculous things when he lost his memory, he also couldn’t help but laugh, ultimately just holding his face and teasing him: “I’ve told you a thousand times. Don’t kiss me in front of Candy.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“He’s a baby.”

“So what? I’m the big baby here. In terms of seniority, he came after me. Xing Yang, as Candy grows up, you’re abandoning me; be careful or I’ll execute you.”

Xing Yang couldn’t be angry; he could only stifle his laughter: “He’s three.”

After they bickered in the bedroom, stepping out they encountered five-year-old Candy, who stared wide-eyed: “You two were having a secret conversation without me!”

“This time, we’ll take you along,” Tan Zhiyu said, picking up the little one, and the three of them headed to the supermarket as usual.

They bought a large assortment of things, and there was something quite strange: Tan Zhiyu loved sweets, while Candy, right from birth, hated sweetness; if milk had sugar, he wouldn’t drink it. How peculiar.

While Tan Zhiyu bought many snacks, Candy selected a lot of toys, while Xing Yang could only sigh and follow behind them to check out.

After leaving the supermarket, Candy insisted on playing on the rocking horse at the door for a while.

Tan Zhiyu pulled out some coins he had prepared from his pocket.

The sunset glowed, and listening to the childish music, Xing Yang turned with a smile and asked: “Why don’t you go play for a bit too?”

“Do you really think I’m three?”

“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

“My legs are too long; I can’t fit on it.” Otherwise, he would have played already.

Xing Yang found that so amusing and laughed softly; Tan Zhiyu was adorable. Tomorrow he would contact the factory to make a big one, a really big one, large enough that he could play with him too.

When Candy was tired from playing, Tan Zhiyu carried him, having originally walked in front, suddenly halted and turned around.

Xing Yang asked: “What’s wrong?”

“We haven’t kissed yet today; let’s kiss.”

Xing Yang leaned in, offering his face for a kiss.

Satisfied, Tan Zhiyu smiled, and Xing Yang took his hand: “Let’s go home now.”

“Home.”

Let’s go home, where there are loved little cats and dogs; they had a home.

The following summer, plants at Butterfly Manor began to sprout, blackwood intertwining with roses, growing beautifully together.

This was a newlywed gift that Xing Yang had secretly prepared for him at their wedding, and he finally received it.

—The End.