The drive to the airport felt unusually long, with nothing but a heavy silence inside the car.
In the confined space, barely any distance separated them.
They could feel each other's presence and even faintly catch the rhythm of each other's breathing.
Yuan Chen leaned back in the rear seat, his posture seemingly relaxed, though a heavy stillness hung around him.
Shen Yi, meanwhile, was wound tight, keeping his pheromones locked inside his body without daring to let the slightest trace escape.
He had no idea what expression to wear around Yuan Chen, much less how to speak to him.
His thoughts were a tangled mess, and an unspoken discomfort quietly spread through the cramped space.
In six years, he had never felt so besieged from within and without, so utterly unsettled.
Besides, hadn't Yuan Chen acted perfectly normal the day after his heat period ended?
Just as he was trying to calm himself, staring at the streets rushing past outside the window, a low voice suddenly came from beside him:
"Emergency contraception is effective if taken within three days afterward."
Shen Yi turned his head in a slight panic.
He hadn't expected Yuan Chen to have been thinking about this all along.
"I'll take it... besides, I might not get pregnant at all."
A direct gaze landed on him, as though asking what he meant.
Forcing himself to stay calm, Shen Yi admitted what he had been hiding:
"Professor Hu said... my chances of conceiving are extremely low. The relevant organs... aren't fully developed."
"Then why..." did he look so regretful? Yuan Chen's eyes were searching, his expression almost stern. "Was it your first time?"
"It was my first time."
Shen Yi's voice dropped until it was barely audible.
At that moment, even maintaining a semblance of dignity felt