Chapter 24 SJC
Shen Jinnian quickly stepped in front of Gu Yan, shielding him from view. He frowned slightly and shot the nanny a glance, silently signaling her to take the child away.
Gu Yan instinctively reached out and grabbed Shen Jinnian’s arm. His whole demeanor was flustered and tense.
“I need to talk to you.”
“If it’s about last night, then let me formally thank you now.” Shen Jinnian pulled his arm away and stepped back behind the door. He bowed deeply.
“Thank you for saving my life… and my dignity.”
Behind the cover of his coat, Gu Yan’s fist clenched tightly. His voice trembled faintly.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Then we really have nothing left to discuss.” Shen Jinnian’s tone was flat as he grabbed two hundred yuan from the nearby cabinet and handed it over.
“Also, thank you for calling a car to take me home. This is your fare. Take care.”
Gu Yan didn’t take the money.
Shen Jinnian didn’t try to force it on him either. After putting the cash away, he moved to close the door.
Gu Yan reacted quickly and stretched out a hand to block the crack in the door, and hurriedly called him: “Jinnian, I just saw the child—”
“What child?”
Shen Jinnian received Gu Yan's favor, and he was mentally exhausted. Facing Gu Yan's obstruction, he did not lose his temper or get angry.
He only said weakly, “Gu Yan, I’m really tired today.”
Gu Yan looked at him with a sharp gaze. His face didn’t show much, but something about him felt… shattered.
That look made Shen Jinnian incredibly uncomfortable. It was as if Gu Yan could see right through him—right into the secrets he’d buried the deepest.
Shen Jinnian was just about to think up another excuse to send him away—
But Gu Yan didn’t push further. He simply withdrew his hand from the doorway and said in a low voice, “Get some rest.”
Shen Jinnian forced out a hollow smile.
Then shut the door on him without hesitation.
The nanny, who’d been hiding around the corner, only came out after hearing the door close. With one arm cradling the child, she used the other to steady Shen Jinnian as he returned to the living room.
She’d had a thousand questions the moment she saw Gu Yan earlier, but when she looked at Shen Jinnian’s pale face and drained expression, her mouth snapped shut.
Shen Jinnian collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh. “Auntie, is there breakfast?”
“Yes, I’ll go get it for you.”
“No need.” Shen Jinnian let out a breath and forced himself upright with difficulty. “I’ll get it myself.”
But his condition looked anything but reassuring. The nanny didn’t dare let him do it on his own. Moving quickly, she served up the warm millet porridge herself.
She even prepared a small bowl for the baby.
She placed the child’s high chair across from Shen Jinnian. As soon as Shen Jinnian looked up, he was greeted with a pair of wide eyes staring at him—eyes that looked just like his.
That invisible thread of connection tugged at something inside him.
The child, too, was feeling complicated. His lips were pressed together tight, stubbornly refusing to eat. The nanny tried feeding him several times, but he just wouldn’t open his mouth.
Shen Jinnian watched it all from the corner of his eye. Finally, he put down his spoon.
“Then let him be hungry.”
The cub’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. All the suppressed sadness exploded at once.
“PaPa…”
Shen Jinnian leaned on the chair with his arms folded, expressionless: "If crying can get you full, I won't have to buy you milk powder in the future."
The child immediately stopped crying.
He even cautiously wiped the corners of his eyes to make sure there were no tears left, then pointed a tiny finger toward the front door and softly reminded— “PaPa…”
“You miss your dad?” Shen Jinnian asked.
The baby’s eyes were red, but he nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.
Shen Jinnian murmured,
“…I miss you too.”
The flicker of hope on the child’s face slowly faded into sorrow.
He missed his daddy—a lot. Both of them.
But what he couldn’t understand was: Why couldn’t their family be together?
Daddy had come all the way to the door.
So why… couldn’t he come in and hold him?
The nanny noticed something off in the baby's expression and seized the opportunity to ask, “Could the person the child mentioned be… that gentleman from earlier?”
She had always assumed Shen Jinnian’s partner—the child's mother—was a female Omega. Clearly, she had guessed wrong.
No wonder the little one only knew how to say “Dad” and not “Mom.”
“It’s not him,” Shen Jinnian said without hesitation. “He’s an Alpha.”
Two Alphas could never produce a child together.
“I see…” the nanny muttered to herself. “But the baby really does look like him—like they were carved from the same mold. Even biological father and son don’t always look that alike…”
Shen Jinnian couldn’t stand hearing that.
Every time someone said it, his head hurt.
Chen Han had said they looked alike, the nanny said it too, and even Gu Yan had gotten a little emotional when he saw the child.
But two Alphas—it just wasn’t possible.
“Aunt Chen,” Shen Jinnian changed the subject before she could say more, “I hired some hourly help for cleaning and meal prep this morning. For the next couple of days, I’ll be counting on you to take extra care of the baby. I’m a bit tired and want to rest.”
The nanny agreed readily and told him to take it easy.
Shen Jinnian returned to the bedroom and casually tossed off his coat.
A small, colorful object tumbled out of the pocket and rolled to his feet with a light clatter.
He bent down and picked up the candy.
It was exactly the same as the one Gu Yan had given him when he had a hypoglycemic episode before—red, strawberry-flavored.
He picked up the coat again and felt around in the pockets.
Sure enough, there was a whole handful of colorful candies wrapped in glassy paper, with a small note tucked in among them.
Shen Jinnian pulled it out and opened it. It was a phone number.
Without a second thought, he tossed it straight into the trash.
But the candy in his hand—he unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.
The strawberry flavor was strong, but not stronger than the memories of the bathroom from the night before.
From the moment he’d opened his eyes that morning, most of his memories had come back.
He clearly remembered that Gu Yan had saved him—and also the overly clingy way he'd kept asking for hugs and kisses.
Shen Jinnian even checked his backside. Only when he confirmed there was no pain did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt.
He buried himself under the blankets, turned off his phone and computer, blocking out the world completely. His approach to problems: sleep through them.
If one day wasn’t enough, then two.
If two weren’t enough, then three.
By the third day, Chen Han grew too worried to stay away. Hecame knocking and personally dragged him out from under the covers.
Seeing Shen Jinnian’s flushed cheeks, glowing complexion, and radiant, peach-blossom-like face, he couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. “I thought you were sick.”
Shen Jinnian propped a pillow behind his waist. “What is it?”
Chen Han didn’t beat around the bush. “You’ve been on leave for three days, disappeared completely, phone off, no replies to messages—I came to check if you’re still alive.”
Suddenly remembering something, he quickly pulled a jar of ointment from his bag. “This is from Gu Yan. He asked me to give it to you.”
Shen Jinnian recognized it—it was for lip wounds.
Chen Han gave him a look, eyes filled with playful suspicion. “Did you two get together? Who else would give something like this?”
Her words hit like a cannonball.
“Chen Han, you jerk!” Shen Jinnian practically sat up in shock. “That’s disgusting. Don’t say things like that.”
Chen Han burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. After he laughed enough, he finally put on a serious expression. “I really thought you two were dating. What makes it worse is… Gu Yan’s been missing for a few days too. No one's home, his phone's off, and the school has started a quiet investigation.”
Shen Jinnian suddenly remembered those thugs from the other day—the one with the yellow hair and the pig-faced leader. A bad feeling rose in his gut.
Could Gu Yan have been targeted for revenge?
Those people were absolute scum. They didn’t care about A or B or O—once someone fell into their hands, nothing good ever came of it. They were numerous, ruthless, and despicable.
Gu Yan alone… he wouldn’t be able to fight them off.
Shen Jinnian could no longer sit still.
After making up some excuse to send Chen Han away, he immediately got down on the floor and retrieved the crumpled little note he’d thrown away days ago. Then, after changing his clothes, he rushed straight to Gu Yan’s house.
Gu Yan instinctively reached out and grabbed Shen Jinnian’s arm. His whole demeanor was flustered and tense.
“I need to talk to you.”
“If it’s about last night, then let me formally thank you now.” Shen Jinnian pulled his arm away and stepped back behind the door. He bowed deeply.
“Thank you for saving my life… and my dignity.”
Behind the cover of his coat, Gu Yan’s fist clenched tightly. His voice trembled faintly.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Then we really have nothing left to discuss.” Shen Jinnian’s tone was flat as he grabbed two hundred yuan from the nearby cabinet and handed it over.
“Also, thank you for calling a car to take me home. This is your fare. Take care.”
Gu Yan didn’t take the money.
Shen Jinnian didn’t try to force it on him either. After putting the cash away, he moved to close the door.
Gu Yan reacted quickly and stretched out a hand to block the crack in the door, and hurriedly called him: “Jinnian, I just saw the child—”
“What child?”
Shen Jinnian received Gu Yan's favor, and he was mentally exhausted. Facing Gu Yan's obstruction, he did not lose his temper or get angry.
He only said weakly, “Gu Yan, I’m really tired today.”
Gu Yan looked at him with a sharp gaze. His face didn’t show much, but something about him felt… shattered.
That look made Shen Jinnian incredibly uncomfortable. It was as if Gu Yan could see right through him—right into the secrets he’d buried the deepest.
Shen Jinnian was just about to think up another excuse to send him away—
But Gu Yan didn’t push further. He simply withdrew his hand from the doorway and said in a low voice, “Get some rest.”
Shen Jinnian forced out a hollow smile.
Then shut the door on him without hesitation.
The nanny, who’d been hiding around the corner, only came out after hearing the door close. With one arm cradling the child, she used the other to steady Shen Jinnian as he returned to the living room.
She’d had a thousand questions the moment she saw Gu Yan earlier, but when she looked at Shen Jinnian’s pale face and drained expression, her mouth snapped shut.
Shen Jinnian collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh. “Auntie, is there breakfast?”
“Yes, I’ll go get it for you.”
“No need.” Shen Jinnian let out a breath and forced himself upright with difficulty. “I’ll get it myself.”
But his condition looked anything but reassuring. The nanny didn’t dare let him do it on his own. Moving quickly, she served up the warm millet porridge herself.
She even prepared a small bowl for the baby.
She placed the child’s high chair across from Shen Jinnian. As soon as Shen Jinnian looked up, he was greeted with a pair of wide eyes staring at him—eyes that looked just like his.
That invisible thread of connection tugged at something inside him.
The child, too, was feeling complicated. His lips were pressed together tight, stubbornly refusing to eat. The nanny tried feeding him several times, but he just wouldn’t open his mouth.
Shen Jinnian watched it all from the corner of his eye. Finally, he put down his spoon.
“Then let him be hungry.”
The cub’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. All the suppressed sadness exploded at once.
“PaPa…”
Shen Jinnian leaned on the chair with his arms folded, expressionless: "If crying can get you full, I won't have to buy you milk powder in the future."
The child immediately stopped crying.
He even cautiously wiped the corners of his eyes to make sure there were no tears left, then pointed a tiny finger toward the front door and softly reminded— “PaPa…”
“You miss your dad?” Shen Jinnian asked.
The baby’s eyes were red, but he nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.
Shen Jinnian murmured,
“…I miss you too.”
The flicker of hope on the child’s face slowly faded into sorrow.
He missed his daddy—a lot. Both of them.
But what he couldn’t understand was: Why couldn’t their family be together?
Daddy had come all the way to the door.
So why… couldn’t he come in and hold him?
The nanny noticed something off in the baby's expression and seized the opportunity to ask, “Could the person the child mentioned be… that gentleman from earlier?”
She had always assumed Shen Jinnian’s partner—the child's mother—was a female Omega. Clearly, she had guessed wrong.
No wonder the little one only knew how to say “Dad” and not “Mom.”
“It’s not him,” Shen Jinnian said without hesitation. “He’s an Alpha.”
Two Alphas could never produce a child together.
“I see…” the nanny muttered to herself. “But the baby really does look like him—like they were carved from the same mold. Even biological father and son don’t always look that alike…”
Shen Jinnian couldn’t stand hearing that.
Every time someone said it, his head hurt.
Chen Han had said they looked alike, the nanny said it too, and even Gu Yan had gotten a little emotional when he saw the child.
But two Alphas—it just wasn’t possible.
“Aunt Chen,” Shen Jinnian changed the subject before she could say more, “I hired some hourly help for cleaning and meal prep this morning. For the next couple of days, I’ll be counting on you to take extra care of the baby. I’m a bit tired and want to rest.”
The nanny agreed readily and told him to take it easy.
Shen Jinnian returned to the bedroom and casually tossed off his coat.
A small, colorful object tumbled out of the pocket and rolled to his feet with a light clatter.
He bent down and picked up the candy.
It was exactly the same as the one Gu Yan had given him when he had a hypoglycemic episode before—red, strawberry-flavored.
He picked up the coat again and felt around in the pockets.
Sure enough, there was a whole handful of colorful candies wrapped in glassy paper, with a small note tucked in among them.
Shen Jinnian pulled it out and opened it. It was a phone number.
Without a second thought, he tossed it straight into the trash.
But the candy in his hand—he unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.
The strawberry flavor was strong, but not stronger than the memories of the bathroom from the night before.
From the moment he’d opened his eyes that morning, most of his memories had come back.
He clearly remembered that Gu Yan had saved him—and also the overly clingy way he'd kept asking for hugs and kisses.
Shen Jinnian even checked his backside. Only when he confirmed there was no pain did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt.
He buried himself under the blankets, turned off his phone and computer, blocking out the world completely. His approach to problems: sleep through them.
If one day wasn’t enough, then two.
If two weren’t enough, then three.
By the third day, Chen Han grew too worried to stay away. Hecame knocking and personally dragged him out from under the covers.
Seeing Shen Jinnian’s flushed cheeks, glowing complexion, and radiant, peach-blossom-like face, he couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. “I thought you were sick.”
Shen Jinnian propped a pillow behind his waist. “What is it?”
Chen Han didn’t beat around the bush. “You’ve been on leave for three days, disappeared completely, phone off, no replies to messages—I came to check if you’re still alive.”
Suddenly remembering something, he quickly pulled a jar of ointment from his bag. “This is from Gu Yan. He asked me to give it to you.”
Shen Jinnian recognized it—it was for lip wounds.
Chen Han gave him a look, eyes filled with playful suspicion. “Did you two get together? Who else would give something like this?”
Her words hit like a cannonball.
“Chen Han, you jerk!” Shen Jinnian practically sat up in shock. “That’s disgusting. Don’t say things like that.”
Chen Han burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. After he laughed enough, he finally put on a serious expression. “I really thought you two were dating. What makes it worse is… Gu Yan’s been missing for a few days too. No one's home, his phone's off, and the school has started a quiet investigation.”
Shen Jinnian suddenly remembered those thugs from the other day—the one with the yellow hair and the pig-faced leader. A bad feeling rose in his gut.
Could Gu Yan have been targeted for revenge?
Those people were absolute scum. They didn’t care about A or B or O—once someone fell into their hands, nothing good ever came of it. They were numerous, ruthless, and despicable.
Gu Yan alone… he wouldn’t be able to fight them off.
Shen Jinnian could no longer sit still.
After making up some excuse to send Chen Han away, he immediately got down on the floor and retrieved the crumpled little note he’d thrown away days ago. Then, after changing his clothes, he rushed straight to Gu Yan’s house.
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