IAAAChapter 7

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I am an alpha, yet a long time ago, I fell in love with another alpha.

It's an absurd thing, but somehow, it happened just like that.

How could two alphas possibly be together? It's like the mermaid princess and her prince, a love that would inevitably turn into sea foam.

“Du Tang…”

I dodged Shen Junshan’s hand and wiped my face carelessly. “Come on, you don’t need to say it. I know I’m an alpha. That was years ago. You already rejected me. I was just speaking casually—did you really take it seriously?”

“I just think that if your partner could hear you say this, they’d probably die without regrets.” I cleared my throat. “Are you hungry? We still have leftovers from last night. I’ll go heat them up.”

“Dad!! Papa!!”

Just as I stood up, I heard Shen Wenxin cry out and rush toward me.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Junshan asked, getting up.

“Gege! Gege is hurting!”

I didn’t have time to wipe the tears off his little face before rushing to Shen Wenshu’s bedroom.

He was curled up on the bed, his face flushed red, breathing rapidly. My heart clenched instantly.

“What did he eat?” Shen Junshan asked Shen Wenxin behind me.

“Cookies.” At this moment, Shen Wenxin was unusually calm, speaking concisely. “The packaging is in the trash.”

“Did you eat any?”

“I did. I ate more than Gege, but I feel fine.”

Shen Junshan immediately rummaged through the trash can. I picked up the child. “Does the ingredient list have peanuts?”

“There’s peanut butter.”

Hearing this, my heart sank and then hung in suspense. Shen Wenxin is allergic to peanuts. His small face was already beginning to swell, and cold sweat covered my back.

“We’re going to the hospital.” Shen Junshan grabbed the car keys, reaching to take him from me.

“Is going straight to the hospital okay?” My anxiety spiked. “What about the allergy medicine at home?”

“The last batch expired. There’s none left.”

“There is!” Without thinking, I opened the medicine cabinet. “I put a box in here.”

I remembered buying a box of allergy medicine last time—it shouldn’t have expired.

“This one.” I checked the expiration date and indications before giving it to Shen Wenshu.

“Let’s go!” I carried him and ran out the door.

Shen Junshan drove like the wind, but my heartbeat was even faster. Shen Wenshu’s breathing grew more labored. I was terrified his airway would close up. Over and over, I called his name: “Wanwan… Wanwan… Wanwan…”

“Papa…” he murmured weakly. His voice was barely audible.

“Mm, Papa is here. Don’t be scared, Wanwan.” I didn’t even know if I was comforting him or myself. “Papa is taking you to the hospital right now. It’ll be okay. Everything will be okay…”

“Gege will be okay.” Xin Xin clutched his brother’s hand, his big eyes red but stubbornly holding back tears. “Gege is the best.”

The moment I handed my child to the doctors, my entire body went weak.

The doors closed, and the red light turned on.

That red light made me feel suffocated. I pressed a hand to my forehead and collapsed into the cold, hard chair. As the sweat on my back cooled, I started trembling uncontrollably.

I closed my eyes and gasped for air, but then, a sweat-drenched body wrapped around me. Shen Junshan’s voice sounded in my ear: “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Papa, don’t be scared! Gege is the best!” Xin Xin, that little rascal, also climbed onto my lap, joining his father in comforting me.

I knew I had exposed myself.

But I couldn’t help holding them both tightly. Only with them close did I finally feel grounded.

I am an alpha—an alpha who lived as an omega for twelve years.

Fortunately, though Wanwan’s condition was serious, we got to the hospital in time, and he was out of danger.

He had a mild fever, so he soon fell asleep.

Watching his peaceful face at last, I held his small, cool hand, chilled from the IV drip.

A wave of fear surged through me. I had nearly… maybe… lost him.

“The situation is stable. Once the fever goes down, he’ll be fine.” Shen Junshan came back with a report, speaking to me.

That’s when I noticed he hadn’t even changed out of his pajamas, still wearing slippers.

For all his status as a high-and-mighty CEO, he was just a foolish father. But I suppose I was foolish too.

I looked down at my coat, realizing I’d buttoned it wrong.

Xin Xin, reassured that his brother was fine, let out a deep breath and curled up at the corner of the hospital bed, falling asleep.

Shen Junshan checked on the two little ones, then suddenly took my hand.

“Du Tang.”

His voice trembled slightly. Shen Junshan was exhausted, yet he stubbornly held on.

I sighed helplessly. “Just say what you want to say.”

He wouldn’t let go, gripping my hand firmly. “Are you… Tang Tang?”

“Where’s your proof?” I turned my face away, refusing to look at him.

“I have no proof.” He sat down beside me on the bedside cot, wrapping his arm around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder. “Just a feeling.”

“The way you protect Wanwan, the way you talk to me, the way you interact with the children… I know it sounds absurd, but every time you tell Xin Xin a story, even though I know you’re Du Tang, I feel like I’m hearing my Tang Tang. You don’t know—I secretly stood outside the door with Xin Xin, listening to you tell the story of the mermaid princess all night.” Shen Junshan whispered into my ear, “But I never dared to think too much about it. Until the doctor told me his body had been deteriorating for years, that maybe, twelve years ago, he shouldn’t have survived that car accident.”

My shoulder twitched slightly as he continued.

“In that accident, it was you and him who were injured. You fell into a coma, while he woke up. Now, he’s the one in crisis, and you’ve miraculously awakened. I didn’t dare to guess, but I couldn’t stop myself from wondering… could it be…”

I forced a cold expression. “Don’t be so sure. I’m an alpha!”

“I don’t know why you haven’t told me the truth. But whatever the reason, let me make this clear—whether you are Tang Tang or Du Tang, whether you’re an omega or an alpha, I only want one person in this lifetime. I only want my Tang Tang.”

My voice trembled as I spoke. “What if one day, you meet a new omega…”

“Then let’s see whether I grow old and die with you, this alpha, or whether some clueless omega dares to show up.” Shen Junshan chuckled against my shoulder. “Don’t worry, if I ever stray, I’ll surely be overthrown by these two little bodyguards and exiled to the borderlands.”

He held me like that, and exhaustion overtook me. Shen Junshan gently patted my back to soothe me, and I fell into a dream.

In the dream, the mermaid princess turned into a human princess and successfully married the prince.

Then one day, she revealed her mermaid tail again and ran away in fear—only to be found by the prince.

The prince told her he loved her, even if she had a mermaid’s tail.

I smiled, as if I could hear his voice.

“I love you.”

—The End—

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