Chapter 39 - Doubts

In his dream, Shen Shuyun vaguely felt someone wiping his face with a warm towel, and then a dampness on his lips—someone must have used a cotton swab to moisten his cracked lips.

It was as if he was trapped in a giant whirlpool, and it took a long time for him to break free. When he finally struggled to the surface, the blinding white light greeted him.

A gentle voice softly spoke, almost making Shen Shuyun tear up: "Xiaoyun, how are you? Does it hurt?"

Shen Shuyun opened his eyes with difficulty and turned his head to look at the source of the familiar voice. An Ruhu, his omega father, was sitting by his bedside, his eyes filled with anxiety and pain.

For a moment, Shen Shuyun was overwhelmed with emotions—only his father would stay by his side and be the first to ask if he was in pain after he had given birth to a child.

"I..." Shen Shuyun began to speak but realized his throat was completely hoarse, and it hurt like fire, "I'm fine."

"Fine, that's good. Don't worry. Is there anything else you want to say to your dad?" An Ruhu's brows furrowed, and his tone became more serious, "Xiaoyun, do you think you're grown up and can handle everything yourself? But you can talk to your family. No matter how old you are, in our eyes, you will always be our child. Don't keep everything inside... Sometimes, I really wish you could be a bit more willful and spoiled."

Shen Shuyun's eyes slightly narrowed. He looked at An Ruhu's eyes and sighed softly, "Dad, it's precisely because I didn't want to make you cry that I didn't say anything."

An Ruhu wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, his tone mixed with three parts reproach and seven parts heartache: "What happened between you and Ning Wan? How come you were smiling and saying Happy New Year last time, and now you're giving birth?"

"Because, Ning Wan and I... we've separated." Shen Shuyun blinked as if trying to appear relaxed, striving to make his tone sound less sad, "Now we all have our own lives. I think it's also quite good."

"Quite good?" An Ruhu looked at his son, piercingly insightful, "Then why didn't you stay in W City? Didn't you say you really moved on? Why are you even afraid to meet?"

Shen Shuyun's heart ached, and he shrank further into the blankets, pleadingly said, "My wound hurts. Can we not talk about this? Dad, is the baby a boy or a girl?"

This tactic worked very well. An Ruhu's expression immediately softened, and he spoke in a low voice, "It's a boy. He's in the incubator. They said he was a bit deprived of oxygen when he was delivered and needs to be observed in there for a few days before he can be held."

Shen Shuyun turned his head, buried it in the pillow, and didn't respond further, but An Ruhu clearly saw the hint of redness at the corners of his eyes, which made him feel even more distressed.

His son, after waking up, wasn't tormented by pain nor cried because the alpha wasn't around. He simply reddened his eyes silently upon hearing that the baby was placed in the incubator due to premature birth.

How could he, a father, not feel heartbroken?

An Ruhu stroked Shen Shuyun's head softly and said, "It's all over now. From now on, you have a baby. Don't let unhappy things bother you."

Shen Shuyun's head was buried in the pillow. After a while, he made a muffled sound, "Hmm."

——————————————

Ning Wan did not see Shen Shuyun again until the next day. Shen Mingjue had indeed shown no mercy, beating Ning Wan until he lay on the ground, unable to get up. It was Shen Mingjue who dragged him back to the hospital; otherwise, Ning Wan might have truly fainted in the middle of the street.

He took advantage of the nurse leaving to pull out the needle and limped his way to the outside of Shen Shuyun's ward, pressing his neck against the small glass on the door to peek inside. Shen Shuyun woke up early, or perhaps he hadn't slept at all after the anesthesia wore off because of the pain. He felt a chill on the back of his neck from being stared at and instinctively looked towards that intense gaze. Their eyes met in mid-air, and Shen Shuyun recognized those eyes. A shiver ran through him, and all his drowsiness vanished. He hurriedly averted his gaze and gasped for breath.

How could he not recognize them? Those eyes had once gazed at him with a full expression of affection and deep emotion under the starry sky, and they had also looked at him coldly, as if they didn't know him at all. Both expressions were unforgettable for Shen Shuyun.

Shen Shuyun instinctively chose to avoid him. He was extremely tired and in pain, and he couldn't focus on dealing with Ning Wan. So he closed his eyes, pretending not to see.

Ning Wan stood there for a while, and soon pain shot through his legs. He rubbed the calf that had almost been kicked broken the day before, grimacing as he collapsed at the door. A passing nurse wanted to help him up, but Ning Wan waved his hand and just sat at the door, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, cursing his leg inwardly for being so unreliable.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there when the door he was leaning against suddenly opened. Without the door to support him, Ning Wan stumbled backward, but a pair of hands caught him just in time. Ning Wan grasped the doorframe and slowly stood up, seeing An Ruhu's pale face. He dazedly called out, "Dad."

An Ruhu's face looked even worse. He pursed his lips, seeming to force down his curses, and after a while said, "Aren't you divorced from Xiao Yun? There's no need to call me Dad anymore."

Ning Wan's hand gripping the doorframe turned white. He said softly, "I'm sorry."

"Go in. Xiao Yun said he wants you to come in." An Ruhu was very distressed, and if Shen Shuyun hadn't kept begging him to let Ning Wan in to explain things, he wouldn't have let Ning Wan in at all. "You better hurry, Lao Shen is coming back soon. With his temper, seeing you here might make him break your legs."

With that, An Ruhu left and closed the door, leaving Ning Wan alone with Shen Shuyun in the ward.

Shen Shuyun's sharp chin was resting on the blanket, his face almost blending with the hospital's white bedding. He watched Ning Wan, who limped in and sat in a chair, his face bruised with a small patch of discoloration showing through his collar. Shen Shuyun's brows furrowed instinctively. He endured for a while but couldn't hold back his cheap concern: "What happened to you?"

Ning Wan naturally knew Shen Shuyun was asking about his injuries. He gave a dry laugh and casually said, "I accidentally fell while going out yesterday."

Shen Shuyun suddenly wanted to ask where exactly he had fallen to get hurt this badly. But then he thought, why should he care about that? He suppressed his curiosity and remained silent.

"You..."

"You..."

Both of them spoke at the same time.

Shen Shuyun was used to letting Ning Wan speak first. He exhaled and said, "Forget it, you go ahead."

Ning Wan moved a bit closer and asked, "Are you okay? Does it still hurt?"

Shen Shuyun was surrounded by the faint scent of Ning Wan's wine, which seemed to calm his irritated nerves. He looked at Ning Wan, unable to figure out what kind of game Ning Wan was playing this time.

"I've seen our child. He's a boy, and everything is fine. What do you want to name him?"

"What I want to name him has nothing to do with you," Shen Shuyun's words were like a knife, cutting through the thin veneer of calm. "We're divorced now, Ning Wan. You need to understand that. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. You don't have to take responsibility for this child. He was born from me and will be raised by me in the future. It has nothing to do with you. If you're here to take him away, I'm telling you, that's impossible... I will not yield on this matter!"

"No, no," Ning Wan's throat rolled, "I didn't come for the child. I came to find you! Of course, the child will stay with you. I don't mean to take him away!"

"Besides, we aren't divorced! I already tore up that divorce agreement! It doesn't count!"

Shen Shuyun was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Ning Wan with confusion, as if trying to find some reason for this action on his face.

"Then why are you here?" Shen Shuyun paused, struggling to say the next part, "Are you still not tired of my body? ...Do you want to continue having a relationship with me?"