Chapter 35

The soup simmered in the pot, steam rising in thick waves.

His expression was cold and stern, and An Xiang instinctively sensed something bad.

"Can we find somewhere quiet?"

The quietest place in the milk tea shop was the restroom. An Xiang had a feeling that he wanted to avoid An Zimo.

"Y-you can't say it here? I'm still cooking." The vegetables were only half chopped, the eggs hadn't even been cracked, and the table was a complete mess.

"I want to talk to you alone."

Pei Yizhou's gaze burned.

An Xiang couldn't avoid him. She casually dried her hands and led Pei Yizhou into the restroom.

He locked the door behind him, and the cramped space instantly became enclosed.

An Xiang felt a little panicked. She took several steps back, carefully putting some distance between them.

"What do you want to say? Hurry up, I still have beef bone soup simmering outside."

She was unusually stubborn about cooking, which left Pei Yizhou somewhat helpless.

He was not a man who liked to beat around the bush, nor did he want to hem and haw over this matter and waste time.

Pei Yizhou tugged at his collar and got straight to the point. "At the end of March, room 1409 at Imperial Splendor Hotel. Do you remember it?"

An Xiang's back stiffened. She forgot to blink, her pupils contracting in an instant.

Her heartbeat skipped, and countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

She remembered. She would never forget it for the rest of her life.

That night several years ago, the system had helped her sneak into the hotel and enter the room, all so she could give birth to the future male lead, An Zimo.

She also remembered those large hands roaming over her body, the overwhelming intimacy and pleasure. Even more, she remembered her sobbing breaths, and those ragged gasps.

She would never forget any of it.

But...

Why was he bringing it up?

An Xiang stared blankly at the man.

Under the lights, his face looked exceptionally pale. His brows were dark, his nose high, and his lips exquisitely shaped. The alluring beauty mark hidden beneath his eyelid was the finishing touch to his cool, detached air.

Pei Yizhou was far too handsome. The system had not lied to her.

An Xiang's breathing quickened. She hurriedly looked away in panic, her lips trembling for a long moment before she finally said beneath that blazing stare, "...I don't know."

The air fell silent, dead still.

Pei Yizhou's gaze did not shift in the slightest. The translucent color of her soul had been stained with melancholy blue from unease, mixed with obvious streaks of lying black.

Pei Yizhou did not expose her. Instead, he showed her a patience he had never displayed before.

"An Xiang, look up."

She turned her head away, her hands hanging at her sides clenched tightly together.

A moment later, An Xiang saw two sharp fangs slowly emerge in the mirror...

Terror, shock, blank disbelief.

Every emotion was conveyed through her widened eyes.

An Xiang hurriedly stumbled back several steps and fell onto the toilet, staring at his face with wide, disbelieving eyes.

She knew she had been carrying a vampire's child. Before coming to the hotel, the system had told her that the banquet was a private gathering of the Vampire Clan. It could not guarantee it completely, but at least eighty percent of the attendees were vampires.

The system had feared she would be harmed, which was why it had directly sent her into the room and onto the bed. She had not even seen the child's father's face.

"Y-you're not human?" An Xiang's little face turned pale, not from fright, but because she could not believe it.

She had always thought Pei Yizhou was just an ordinary human CEO. She had never imagined he was a vampire, especially since he did not possess even a trace of the hostility vampires were supposed to have.

Pei Yizhou's fangs were not frightening. Instead, they added a seductive, bewitching charm to his cold yet striking face, making him look like a vampire duke from a comic, mysterious nobility radiating from every inch of him.

He pondered for a moment. "Although what you said is true, I still feel offended."

An Xiang could not speak.

Pei Yizhou was a vampire, and apparently a pureblood at that. He was the child's father, and his family was very wealthy...

The more An Xiang thought about it, the heavier her heart became.

Pei Yizhou crouched halfway before her, his starry eyes blazing. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted you to know An Zimo's identity."

"..." She already knew without him telling her.

"Momo's temperament is not as simple and innocent as you think. Living with you for a long time will only create uncertain factors."

His words jolted An Xiang's mind.

"What do you mean?"

"I..."

"Mr. Pei, are you trying to take my son away?" Her voice trembled, and her eyes reddened as she spoke.

Pei Yizhou froze, clearly not expecting An Xiang to come up with such an idea.

"I knew it." An Xiang hastily wiped away the tears clinging to her lashes. "Before, the demolition office suddenly gave me extra money. Was that money yours too?"

His fingers curled. After a moment of silence, he gave a soft affirmative sound.

When it came to An Xiang, Pei Yizhou did not want to lie. In the end, he frowned slightly and said, "You don't want it?"

She could not describe how she felt. She just wanted to cry, and large tears rolled down uncontrollably.

"Don't cry." Pei Yizhou was flustered and helpless. "Do you need me to comfort you?"

She said nothing, crying with helpless grievance.

Her beautiful peach blossom eyes were covered in mist, and her fan-like lashes were soaked through with tears. She did not dare make a sound as she cried, biting her rosy lips hard with her snowy white teeth, yet faint sobs still escaped her.

Pei Yizhou knew he should not.

But when he saw her crying, that unforgettable night could not help surfacing in his mind.

—That day, she had cried like this beneath him too.

Pei Yizhou looked around, anxiously grabbed a pack from a box beside him, and said, "Wipe your tears."

An Xiang stared at the item in his hand, sniffled twice, and choked out even more tearfully, "...That's a panty liner."

Pei Yizhou fell silent. Embarrassed, he put it back, tore off a piece of toilet paper, and offered it to her instead.

An Xiang sniffled. "That's for wiping your butt."

Pei Yizhou held the paper awkwardly, at a complete loss. Finally, he pulled down his shirt sleeve. He wanted to get close but did not dare to. Yet when he saw her tear-streaked face, he still cautiously leaned forward and used his sleeve to wipe away her tears.

The cufflink set into his sleeve scraped An Xiang's skin painfully.

She let out a muffled whimper, covered her face, and dodged away. Hurt and angry, she said, "Don't touch me."

"Okay, okay, I won't touch you." Pei Yizhou stepped back. His tall body occupied only a small space by the door, somehow making him seem rather pitiful.

"An Xiang, I feel very sorry toward you and Zimo. That money was only an insignificant form of compensation." Pei Yizhou pressed his lips together. Afraid of startling her again, he spoke even more carefully. "Zimo needs special education and guidance in daily life. You are human. It may be fine for him to stay by your side for now, but what about in the long run? Have you thought about that?"

Humans' prejudice against vampires ran deep. An Zimo was different from ordinary people. He was so intelligent that one day, he would discover his own differences.

He needed an education, and he also needed to understand his identity.

An Xiang understood that too.

But—

She did not have a long run.

She would die.

Maybe in half a year. Maybe in a year.

An Xiang's world had never had familial love or a mother's love. She could not give her child eternity, but she wanted him to remember this brief moment. A hundred years from now, her son could still openly tell others, "My mother loved me."

She had once treated this child as a mission, but now she regarded him as her life.

She did not want anyone to take him away.

"I invite you to dinner, and you want to take my son away..."

She should have thought of it sooner.

No matter how wealthy the demolition office was, it would not give her so much extra money for no reason. Pei Yizhou was above all others, a king among vampires. He would not help her, take her home, and deliberately stay for dinner for no reason either.

An Xiang was also a vampire.

She knew the Vampire Clan was on the brink of extinction. The larger the family, the more they valued their descendants.

The Pei Family was a major family. They would never allow their bloodline to remain outside.

Purebloods had arrogance carved into their bones. A mere human like her naturally could not live with one, and she did not want to make do with Pei Yizhou for the child's sake either. She believed Pei Yizhou felt the same way.

So there was only one outcome before them.

The child would leave, while she would stay behind with the ten-million-yuan compensation.

The more An Xiang thought about it, the more helpless she felt.

So, without even realizing it, she had already stepped into someone else's trap.

"I'm not inviting you to dinner anymore. Go home."

"."

An Xiang's stubborn expression made Pei Yizhou sigh.

Naturally, they could not continue discussing things under these circumstances. He opened the door, and An Xiang darted out like a startled rabbit. Her panicked retreating figure made Pei Yizhou both helpless and amused.

An Xiang wiped away her tears and continued cooking, deliberately keeping her back to An Zimo so he would not see how heartbroken she was.

Pei Yizhou had not left. He followed her out again.

"What are you doing?" An Xiang gripped the kitchen knife tightly. Tear tracks still lingered at the corners of her eyes, and her gaze was full of wariness.

"I'll say one more thing, then I'll leave."

An Xiang furtively glanced at An Zimo behind her. Seeing that he had not noticed, she lowered her voice. "Then hurry up."

"I have no intention of taking the child away." He paused. "I only wanted to discuss it with you. Of course, I know you can't calm down right now. No matter what I say, you won't be able to hear it."

Pei Yizhou sighed softly, took a magnetic card from his pocket, and handed it to her. "This is the company access card. With it, you can pass internal security. After that, use this card to go directly to the top floor. I'll wait for you in my office."

The man's eyes burned as he emphasized, "No matter how late it is, I'll wait for you."

An Xiang looked at the thin card but did not take it.

Pei Yizhou grabbed her small palm and forcefully placed the card into it. "I believe that once you calm down, you'll carefully consider what I said before. When you've thought it over, we can sit down and talk again."

"An Xiang." He bent slightly, meeting her eyes. "That night was an accident, and the child was an accident too. But now that he exists, both you and I must take responsibility. I won't run away from it. I hope you won't either."

Pei Yizhou gave her one final look, then went to the entryway, changed his shoes, and left.

As the door shut, An Xiang's gaze darkened, and she slowly tightened her grip around the card.

"Why did he leave?"

An Xiang tucked the magnetic card into her apron pocket, turned back around, and continued chopping vegetables. "Mr. Pei had something to do, so he left first."

"Oh." An Zimo could not be bothered to ask further. After a while, he stood on tiptoe and clung to the bar counter, barely revealing his eyes. "My teeth itch."

They itched badly. He had only spoken to An Xiang because he could not endure it anymore.

An Xiang was not in a good mood. Silently, she lifted the lid. The beef bone soup had not absorbed much flavor yet, but the bones should be chewable.

An Xiang carefully scooped a scalding bone from the pot. After the steam had faded, she scraped the meat off with a knife, then placed the bare bone on a plate and handed it to him.

An Zimo stared blankly at the empty bone on the plate for a moment, then looked up. "I'm not a dog."

An Xiang said expressionlessly, "You are now."

An Zimo: "..."

An Zimo: "...???"

Momo: Mom, you've changed!! [shouting]

Did you all think I'd stop at the crucial moment or get interrupted? No, I wouldn't. Didn't expect that, did you? Hehehe.

Please don't scold Xiangxiang for crying and call her melodramatic. She's still a baby too, and her son is her only one. It's normal for her to cry, be afraid, and have so many thoughts. It's normal, QAQ.

And don't focus too much on blood relations. When An Xiang goes back, she definitely won't be blood-related to Momo, but my original intention in writing this story is that family affection has nothing to do with blood ties. Blood ties are indeed a bond of family affection, but they cannot completely represent family affection! (PS: I'm not saying blood-related family isn't family. Both are family; it's just that people shouldn't be too rigid about it. Everyone should love their parents properly. PS again: abusive fathers and mothers excluded.)

Momo's biological mother was blood-related to him, but didn't she still abuse him? In real life, there are plenty of biological fathers and mothers who abuse their children, while adoptive parents pour their hearts and souls into raising them. So blood relation is not the only standard for measuring family affection.

I just wanted to write about two souls from different worlds and different times, who suffered the same harm, meeting each other and finally finding true salvation and family. Isn't that beautiful?

You can't say that just because An Xiang will return, her son wasn't born to her and has nothing to do with her!! Xiangxiang feels wronged!! Most importantly, it'll make the future "chasing after mom at the crematorium" even more satisfying. (Not really.)

Two hundred red packet bonuses. I was chatty again today, but I know you all like it when I ramble so much!!!!!!!