Chapter Text
Shen Wenlang looked up and saw Gao Lele in Gao Tu's arms. He was stunned. Then the bitterness on the tip of his tongue turned into sweetness, and the sour plum instantly turned into sweet apricot.
He smiled knowingly. —Gao Lele had a face that would make people discourage him from going for a paternity test with Shen Wenlang. He is almost a carbon copy of Shen Wenlang, they are just like each other! What kind of DNA test is this? It's just a waste of money!
The father-son relationship between them is so obvious to any idiot, unless they are blind!
Shen Wenlang wanted to pick up the little peanut and give him a couple of kisses. He really did love this little guy for a reason!
~~Ω~~
Huasheng lifted the mask to put it on, but the slight jolt of the car's movement made it fiddly. Gao Lele, a caring child by nature, reached out to help him. Lele's quiet timidness appeared to melt away when placed in a position of care and responsibility. Paired with Huasheng's openly social nature, the child bloomed for the first time outside the comfort circle of his family.
Shen Wenlang's attention, however, was locked onto Gao Tu with pinpoint focus. The smile on his face was almost unnerving. Especially compared to the guardedness in the others' expressions.
He didn't miss the subtle shift in Gao Tu's movements when the tiny face of their child was revealed. There was no hiding the truth. Not even if you struck Shen Wenlang over the head, gouged his eyes out, and claimed it was all an attack-induced hallucination!
Gao Tu, on the other hand, seemed to have his eyes glued downwards. Not daring to look at the alpha next to him. His hands carefully held the child in his lap. Uneasy, like a child caught red-handed stealing snacks from the kitchen, with no way to deny it, nor wanting to bear the consequences.
Shen Wenlang sobered, remembering what Gao Tu had said.
Please don't hurt my child.
"Gao Tu… I would never—"
"Home! We're home! This is our home!" Gao Lele announced, pointing out the window and looking back at Huasheng. Gao Tu's shoulders relaxed, like finding refuge from a thunderstorm. Meanwhile, Shen Wenlang felt a stab of panic shoot through his body.
Gao Tu reached for the handle of the door, like a rabbit about to bolt and disappear from Shen Wenlang's life all over again. Instinctively, a hand reached out to stop him, "Gao Tu wait—"
The vehicle behind them also stopped. Ma Heng, a pace quicker than Song Feifei, jumped out of the car at the same time Gao Tu stepped out.
Gao Tu held Gao Lele close to his chest once again and didn't even seem to pause to turn round. In a rush, Shen Wenlang handed Huasheng back over to the nanny and scrambled to get out of the car to chase after the omega.
"Gao Tu," three voices all said at once.
Two states of Gao Tu's mind collided at once.
The state of mind where he had long forced himself to be at peace with the past by just not thinking about it at all, and the state of mind that took him back to their school days, when liking Shen Wenlang was simpler and less painful. And a similar collision of silent determination and pride came over him.
Gao Lele's little neck was swivelling back and forth like a spectator at a tennis match, not understanding the situation but very much aware of the atmosphere between the adults.
"Ma Heng," Gao Tu finally spoke, "could you and Feifei take Lele inside?"
Shen Wenlang watched as Ma Heng peeled Lele out of Gao Tu's hands, the child reluctant to let go at first before conceding. It took Shen Wenlang a conscious effort not to let his instincts take over him and try stop them from taking their child away. Knowing that if he acted on such an impulse, it would only cause more stress to Gao Tu who he was already on shaky ground with. By another stroke of luck from that lunatic pair's child, Huasheng's head poked out the window, holding the mask that had been given to him.
"You forgot your mask!"
Song Feifei paused and looked to the others, not quite sure how to respond.
"We'll return it next time." Shen Wenlang concluded. Ma Heng's mouth opened to counter such an idea that they would return, but Huasheng was quicker.
"Mn! What is borrowed must always be returned!" He waved to Lele before obediently tucking his head back into the car.
Ma Heng looked at Gao Tu, and his lips tightened into a straight line as his brows wrinkled. Gao Tu hadn't refuted Shen Wenlang's words or shut them down. It left Ma Heng with an expression of concern and slight dissatisfaction, not at Gao Tu, but at the situation on hand. Song Feifei looked at Gao Tu, who gave her a slight nod. With this, she nudged Ma Heng to continue walking.
There was silence between the alpha and omega as the trio went into the house. The air felt thick and empty in equal measure.
"Gao Tu…" Shen Wenlang started again. Gao Tu turned and made his way to the door, and Shen Wenlang trailed after him. That fear bubbled up again.
The thought that the moment Gao Tu closed that door, that would be the last time he saw him. That those three years of dead-end searching would be three more years, if not more. Because at the core of it, he would always chase to find the only omega—no, the only person—who had wedged themselves so deep into his heart that it would be like ripping out part of his soul's existence if he tried to concede and let him go.
He almost discovered a newfound respect for Hua Yong's shameless and crazy pursuit of Sheng Shaoyou, all in the name of love.
When they reached the door, Gao Tu spun around just as Shen Wenlang was about to call his name again.
"Shen Wenlang," Gao Tu cut in and bowed his head, "I'm sorry for any trouble I have caused you in the past. Lying to you… wasn't something I took lightly or did to deceive you for ill intentions."
Shen Wenlang took a step forward, trying again. "Gao Tu…"
Gao Tu took a step back on instinct, eyes still lowered. There was no point in trying to convince Shen Wenlang that Gao Lele wasn't his child anymore. He continued, "I never had any intentions to blackmail you either. That day…was just as much an ambush for me as it was for you by my father."
Memories of that day clouded Gao Tu's senses. That was the first time he had genuinely felt a primal fear as an omega, one with a life growing inside them, and the last time he had seen his father ever since. He tried to steel himself. The past was the past.
"There is nothing I want from you. And I don't have much to offer in compensation, if that's what you're looking for. But then we can go our separate ways and continue our lives separately—"
His words were cut off by a body wrapping around him, arms locking him in place. For a moment, Gao Tu froze.
A sense of familiarity from that night washed over him. No matter how much Gao Tu had tried to suppress those memories, the feeling of Shen Wenlang's body was etched too deeply into his mind, like a coffee stain on wood.
"I'm sorry."
Gao Tu was stunned on the spot. In all the years he had known Shen Wenlang, the proud alpha had never been one to apologise, let alone so sincerely. He was a man of pride and stubbornness, and would never submit, even if a mountain were placed on his shoulders to force him to.
Shen Wenlang buried his face in his shoulder, arms tightening around Gao Tu as if his life depended on it, as if Gao Tu would vanish like smoke. If anyone had told Shen Wenlang his pride would abandon him in the face of true hopelessness, he would have sneered at them and mocked them as a result. He certainly had done so enough towards Hua Yong.
And yet, here he was. A deep-seated fear of loss, born from a sense of warped rejection that traced all the way back to his omega father. Damn it, omegas really were the root of his issues. But they were also the source of his desperate desire to love and be loved, as well as the disgust at what pain that love could bring.
It was that disgust that caused him to lose Gao Tu in the first place, because of cruel words said in the heat of the moment, more times than he could count. It was that disgust that caused Gao Tu years of endless pain and torment. He really was despicable. Desperate and despicable.
The scent of irises filled Gao Tu's nose, bringing a sense of ease and clarity amongst the chaos in his brain. Shen Wenlang's voice rose as he cried, all sense of decorum and rehearsed lines entirely gone out the window.
"I'm so sorry, Gao Tu. Please, I didn't know. I'm sorry."
I didn't know.
A pang of guilt came over Gao Tu, and with that guilt came back that fear again. He started to struggle to get out of the embrace he shouldn't like, couldn't want, and didn't have any right to.
"Sh-Shen Wenlang…" he tried to protest, but it was as if Shen Wenlang was truly consumed by fear and desperation to the point of madness. What he said next honestly threw any sense of comprehension to the wind for Gao Tu!
"I like you very much, Gao Tu!"
That struck Gao Tu like lightning, leaving him dumbstruck. It left him wondering if he had misheard. Shen Wenlang, thinking Gao Tu hadn't heard him clearly, repeated it with more clarity, and with even more panicked rambles of desperation.
"I love you. I love you so much! Please don't run away again! I'm sorry! I'll give you shares in the company. I'll marry you. I'll give you everything I have! I'll give it all up for you, just please give me another chance!"
Gao Tu didn't even have time to process all the declarations and pleas. Shen Wenlang's voice continued to rise, and Gao Tu realised the alpha was edging very close to being loud enough for their nosey neighbours' curiosities to be piqued.
He awkwardly patted Shen Wenlang's back, unsure how to comfort the alpha, whose pride in every sense of the word had completely left him. It was almost comical, really. If anyone saw Shen Wenlang like this, it would be a memory brought up even long after his funeral!
"Please give me another chance. Please don't run away again. Please don't leave me. I really do love you."
Gao Tu had since stopped trying to escape the hug. Every time he tried to pull away, Shen Wenlang would cling tighter.
"I'm sorry. Can you give me another chance?"
"Shh. Okay, Okay. I understand." Gao Tu tried to pacify and coax, "Okay, okay. Wenlang, keep your voice down. There's no need to be so loud."
Hearing his name spoken so familiarly by Gao Tu eased a little bit of fear in Shen Wenlang's heart. Gao Tu never spoke with a harsh tone, but he could cut a conversation dead with simply his tone. There wasn't a trace of rejection or finality. It was a small but fragile lifeline.
He finally pulled away, just enough to cup Gao Tu's face. Gao Tu, as a result, was forced to face Shen Wenlang straight on and very close.
"Gao Tu, I really do love you. Please give me another chance. I really didn't know. I'm sorry, please…Please."
Out of panicked embarrassment, Gao Tu pulled Shen Wenlang into a tight hug. He frantically patted his shoulder to comfort him, buried deep in the alpha's scent once again. Just so he could hide the rising colour on his face from being seen. Shen Wenlang continued to beg for another chance into Gao Tu's shoulder.
"Okay, okay, that's enough now," he said soothingly. It was no different to how he would calm Gao Lele down when he would panic around unfamiliar places. Still patting his back, he said, "Wenlang, okay, okay. I'll give you a chance, let's stop this now, okay?"
Gao Tu glanced ahead and saw two bright eyes peeking out from above the car's open window. Suddenly, he was very aware that nosey neighbours weren't the only ones who could take a great interest in what was happening on his doorstep. There were potentially three sets of eyes behind the front door that could also see and hear them.
With this thought in mind, and a motion too quick for Shen Wenlang to protest, Gao Tu pulled back and put an arm's length of distance between them. His hands gripped the alpha's forearms with impressive force, yet still gently, as he tried to swallow down the red tint in his face and failed miserably.
"Shen Wenlang, you should be heading off. Huasheng is in the car..."
His pride screamed out in his mind, but so far into the distance it was like a mosquito whizzing through his brain in the rain. If he had paid attention to it, the reality of his outburst being witnessed by someone directly connected to the two people he most definitely didn't want the story retold to would have made him want to dig a hole for himself, Gao Tu, and Lele, and hope they would outlive the alpha‑and‑enigma pair before resurfacing!
Then again, if that psychopath Hua Yong was born without any shape or sense of shame towards Sheng Shaoyou only, then he surely could throw his own sense of shame away for Gao Tu, and for Gao Tu only too!
"Gao Tu, you won't run away again, will you?" The words tumbled out hurriedly.
The omega shook his head equally hastily, but his eyes were resolute, which calmed Shen Wenlang further.
"I'm not running away. But you do need to go—"
"I'll be back tomorrow." Shen Wenlang cut in.
Gao Tu blinked rapidly, red flush turning white. "W-what? Why tomorrow?"
"So, we can talk properly." The alpha's hands were firm against Gao Tu's shoulder, firm but steady, as he leaned slightly towards Gao Tu's face. "Please?"
"Okay, yes, yes, tomorrow." He quickly agreed.
Shen Wenlang took in Gao Tu's face again, wanting to look at him after all this time, then pulled him into another hug. This one was not desperate, but gentle. His nose brushed ever so slightly against bare skin as he inhaled the scent of sage one more time, causing Gao Tu to shiver involuntarily and his shoulders to hitch at the sensation. "I'll see you tomorrow. Gao Tu."
Gao Tu didn't know where to put his hands this time. But before his brain could catch up, Shen Wenlang had already released him and got into the car. Out of the corner, Huasheng peeked up again and waved at Gao Tu, who waved back dumbly. Shen Wenlang looked back out at him from the open window, his eyes not leaving till the car had pulled away and Gao Tu's apartment vanished around a corner.
Huasheng returned to his seat in front of Shen Wenlang and stared at him, as if waiting to hear how his papa Wenlang was going to explain the situation away.
Wenlang reached forward and pinched Huasheng's cheeks, grinning like a madman in joy before schooling his face.
"Peanut, you're too young to understand, but don't breathe a word of what you saw to your parents."
Huasheng's eyes lit up, and a grin spread across his face.
"Is that the wife father keeps talking about?"
Especially after that day when he came home from the amusement park, the neighbour hugged his father, stood at the door and cried loudly, repeatedly saying "I'm sorry", "I like you very much" and "Can you give me another chance" to his father, Gao Tu's face would turn red every time he saw that neighbour.
~~EXTRA~~
Shen Wenlang had managed to dodge Huasheng's questions all the way back to the hotel, to the point that he began to ignore him outright. For someone whose attention span should've been measured in minutes, Huasheng had the tenacity of a seasoned interrogator.
Only when they had returned to the safety of the hotel did Shen Wenlang dismiss the bodyguards, not even giving Huasheng the grace to be appropriately carried, much to the nanny's dismay. Instead, he was tucked under Shen Wenlang's arm like a parcel at his hip. Still, Huasheng persisted, unaffected by the almost brutish hold.
"Dad said your wife is the only omega who would put up with you, so why didn't he tell you off for making so much noise? Daddy Wenlang, why didn't you tell me you had a friend for me to play with! Papa said you didn't get to say goodbye to your omega—are you seeing him again?"
Even in the elevator, Huasheng's questions hadn't ceased. Once in the room, Wenlang placed the talkative child on the counter. He used the only two words that ever got him to stop.
"I need to call your parents. Nanny will cook dinner for you."
His ears perked up. "Are you calling Dad or Papa?"
"Hua Yong," Wenlang replied as he pulled out his phone, opening the contact while he stepped toward the dining table where the laptop sat.
While waiting for Hua Yong to pick up, Shen Wenlang turned on the laptop, already moving appointments and meetings around and extending the hotel stay. Eventually, the familiar voice of the Enigma came through. It was husky, a clear giveaway that this wasn't the right moment to be calling.
"Wenlang, tell Peanut—"
"The business trip is being extended," he cut in.
~~Ω~~
Huasheng was dressed in a neatly pressed pair of blue pyjamas as he lay on his stomach on the bed. Shen Wenlang was in the other room, glued to his laptop, minding his own business. Grown-up work.
The day's events played over in little Peanut's mind. He'd never seen Daddy Wenlang so… embarrassingly tragic! Like a really, really sad soap opera!
Daddy Wenlang had finally found his runaway wife! All thanks to Peanut's fateful bump with that other boy! If Peanut hadn't insisted on going to Country V to go to the amusement park, Daddy Wenlang would have been a bachelor all his life!
Huasheng didn't know what a bachelor was, but when someone had called Daddy Wenlang that before, his face had turned red with anger, so it must have been a bad thing!
Nodding resolutely to himself, he climbed off the bed, his little feet barely able to reach the ground. Then he ran into the other room where Shen Wenlang was working. He needed to share the good news with his dad and papa!
"Daddy Wenlang, I want to ring Papa."
Stupidly, Shen Wenlang didn't even look away from the laptop screen as he reached over and handed the phone to him.
Clutching the phone tightly, he ran back into the bedroom and threw the phone onto the bed before hoisting himself up and crawling under the blanket. He unlocked the screen and searched for Hua Yong's number. The light illuminated his excited face.
Papa didn't seem to particularly care about Daddy Wenlang's tragic lovesickness. But his dad always liked to mention it when Daddy Wenlang was becoming annoying!
He hit the dial button and wiggled his feet under the blanket, practically vibrating with excitement. He had good news to share, and it was all thanks to him!