Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen
“Your Grace, may I ask you to excuse us for a moment? I have something to discuss with the Duchess,” Shen Yanxia said, prompting a puzzled expression from Tang Qing.
Xie Qingzhi glanced at the young and handsome Alpha, Shen Yanxia.
Shen Yanxia, Tang Qing’s first fiancé, whom he had known since they were 16. They had spent two days together and even dated a few times, almost getting married.
But this person didn’t know how to cherish Tang Qing, and it was too late for regrets now.
Xie Qingzhi reminded himself that his relationship with Tang Qing was merely a marriage alliance, and he didn’t care about Tang Qing’s past relationships. He wasn’t the type of Alpha to get jealous easily.
“No,” Xie Qingzhi blurted out.
He was momentarily surprised by his own subconscious response and then casually added, “What are you? He is my wife, and we have no secrets between us.”
Tang Qing nodded at this and said, “General Shen, if you have something to say, feel free to say it here. There’s nothing I wouldn’t want the Duke to hear.”
Shen Yanxia was taken aback.
He knew Tang Qing was usually considerate and thoughtful, always thinking of others. Now, however, he had unhesitatingly refused him.
Feeling a bit awkward seeing the couple’s united front, he impatiently asked Tang Qing, “Tangtang, do you know if Tang Xiaobai has ever been to Nameizi Star?”
After a moment of thought, Tang Qing replied, “Yes. When we were kids, our whole family went there for a vacation, and Father also took Lady Luo Xuanling and them along.”
Shen Yanxia continued, “Did you visit the Robert Manor?”
Tang Qing nodded, “Yes, we stayed at the Robert Manor. The gardens there were beautiful.”
It seemed to match up with what Tang Xiaobai had said.
So, when his vision was blurred, and he was recovering in the Robert Manor’s garden, feeling disheartened and almost contemplating suicide, the gentle encouragement from the boy should have been from Tang Xiaobai.
Shen Yanxia couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart. On one hand, he was relieved that he hadn’t mistaken the person, but on the other hand, he felt a tinge of loss.
After spending these days with Tang Xiaobai, he realized that Tang Xiaobai wasn’t the gentle, strong, indifferent to fame and fortune person he had imagined.
On the contrary, compared to Tang Qing, who was generous and composed, Tang Xiaobai’s character had a bit more of the suspicion and pettiness typical of illegitimate children.
Tang Xiaobai even privately inquired if he could help him get into the Imperial Academy.
He was somewhat surprised that the person who had once encouraged him with such warm words could now be someone seeking to repay a debt of gratitude, trying to participate in the Imperial Star unified exam through devious means.
In his desperate moments, the boy who had redeemed him like a ray of light, the one he had yearned for over the years like a white moonlight, turned out to be someone like this.
At times, he felt that Tang Qing’s gentle and strong demeanor was more akin to the white moonlight he had imagined.
Thinking this, he felt a glimmer of hope and approached Tang Qing eagerly, asking, “Tangtang, when you were on Nameizi Star, did you visit a garden inside the Robert Manor called the Rose Garden?”
“I think…” Tang Qing began, but was interrupted.
“Don’t call him ‘Tangtang,’ it’s cheesy,” Xie Qingzhi sneered, full of disdain.
Growing impatient with their reminiscing about the past, he interrupted, “If you don’t want to address Tang Qing as ‘Duchess,’ you can refer to him by generation. I am your uncle. Therefore, my good nephew,”
“You can call him ‘Uncle-in-law.'”
Tang Qing was dumbfounded.
While Xie Qingzhi’s point was correct in terms of generation, his previous partner had now become his junior. But in the reality he lived in, without ABO dynamics, men didn’t marry men, so he couldn’t fathom it at all.
That one day, he would be called “Uncle-in-law” by his former partner, whom he had spent time with, was beyond his imagination.
Sensing Xie Qingzhi’s cold gaze, snake-like fixated on him, Shen Yanxia felt the sharp scent of cedar pheromones in the air.
The Alpha, who had just pretended to be indifferent and unbothered, was now subtly emitting pheromones to subdue him.
Although Shen Yanxia was already an SS-class Alpha, he still found it hard to catch his breath under Xie Qingzhi’s powerful mental pressure.
“Shen Family’s mining operations on Leviel Star…” Xie Qingzhi suddenly brought up the Shen Family’s murky past industry.
As if with a few more words, Xie Qingzhi would make the Shen Family disappear from the Imperial Star just like Zheng Nian.
Shen Yanxia opened his mouth, but ultimately said, “Apologies for the interruption, Your Grace, Duchess. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”
Watching Shen Yanxia abruptly ask a half-question and then hurriedly leave, Tang Qing, who couldn’t sense pheromones, was unsure of what had actually transpired and found it all a bit puzzling.
“Why do I feel like General Shen is getting stranger?” Tang Qing couldn’t help but mutter.
Xie Qingzhi snorted impatiently and said, “He is indeed strange, dragging his uncle-in-law around to reminisce about the past.”
Noticing his impatience, Tang Qing softly said, “Your Grace, don’t stoop to his level. Perhaps he just wanted to ask about Tang Xiaobai.”
Xie Qingzhi scoffed, “What’s the issue? Can’t he ask his fiancé directly? Why does he have to inquire about his ex who’s already married? Strange.”
Tang Qing also expressed his confusion, “It is indeed strange. Why can’t he just ask Tang Xiaobai directly? What’s so special about Nameizi Star that he suddenly wants to ask about it?”
Xie Qingzhi didn’t continue the topic but silently noted it down.
He remembered that his nephew, Shen Yanxia, had suffered a severe eye injury a few years ago due to a plot involving an illegitimate child in a family feud. His eyesight had deteriorated to the point of near blindness, and he had recuperated at the Robert Manor.
Xie Qingzhi had thought Shen Yanxia might be finished at that point, but surprisingly, he had recovered unexpectedly. After a year of recovery, he unexpectedly evolved into an S-class Alpha. Not only did his eyes gradually improve, but he also returned to the Shen Family, reclaimed the family’s power based on his military achievements.
At that time, Xie Qingzhi had considered that the Shen Family finally produced someone he could respect.
Now, Shen Yanxia seemed foolish and stupid, giving up someone as beautiful as Tang Qing for the sake of Tang Qing’s ambitious half-brother.
No wonder his name was “Yanxia”, truly blind.
He decided to have the steward Li investigate what Shen Yanxia was up to, to ensure it wouldn’t affect Tang Qing.
…
Back at the Duke’s residence, Tang Qing looked at the manuscript he had retrieved and returned to the drawing room to continue designing mecha illustrations.
School was starting in a few days, and his design was nearly complete.
In addition to the combat-ready exterior of the mecha, Tang Qing had designed a second form. In this alternate form, the mecha transformed into a large cat-like shape, with a forward-leaning body to lower its center of gravity, allowing for swift and agile movements.
The appearance of the large cat-like mecha was covered in dense fur, impenetrable by blades or guns. Radar detection devices were housed inside its two large ears, while its cute fluffy tail concealed sharp, deadly needles that could deliver a fatal blow to approaching enemies.
In his imagination, the mecha operator would be around 1.9 meters tall, with long and powerful arms. The seat would be designed slightly elevated, allowing the operator to comfortably stretch their legs. He filled in the detailed data of the mecha design to make it more perfect…
Setting the design draft aside, Tang Qing coughed a few times, covering his mouth.
Perhaps due to sitting at his desk for too long, Tang Qing felt a bit dizzy, his cheeks slightly flushed.
Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, with a splitting headache and hot breath, Tang Qing closed the window and crawled under the covers to rest.
In the evening, Xie Qingzhi returned to the Duke’s residence.
“Where is the Duchess? Has he eaten?”
“Your Grace, the Duchess has been in the drawing room all afternoon and didn’t have dinner. He’s resting in the room now.” The steward Li watched the Duke, whose complexion didn’t look great, with some trepidation.
Glancing at the time, which was already nine o’clock, Xie Qingzhi quickly walked to the master bedroom.
Upon opening the door, a strong scent of orchids filled the room.
“Duchess?”
No response.
Xie Qingzhi was puzzled, as Tang Qing usually wouldn’t rest at this hour.
Approaching the figure under the blanket, he recognized the familiar person sleeping there.
“Duchess, are you feeling unwell?”
As Xie Qingzhi got closer to Tang Qing, he noticed the overwhelmingly strong scent of orchids, almost permeating his senses.
So fragrant.
“Your Grace, I… I think I have a fever…”
Tang Qing, in a daze, opened his eyes. His fair and delicate face was flushed, his beautiful amber eyes shining with moisture, looking pitiful.
Xie Qingzhi reached out to feel Tang Qing’s forehead, confirming that it was indeed very hot.
“How are you taking care of yourself? I’ve told you to rest, yet you spent the whole afternoon in the drawing room,” the Duke’s voice was full of reproach.
“Your Grace, but school is starting in a few days,” Tang Qing said guiltily, lowering his head.
“Your Grace, don’t get too close to me, in case I pass it on to you…” Tang Qing’s voice was nasal and adorable, albeit a bit muffled.
“What’s wrong with my body?” Xie Qingzhi scoffed, sitting next to Tang Qing without a care, patting his back to comfort him.
He smelled the scent emanating from Tang Qing’s body and found it strange.
Why did someone’s body become even more fragrant after falling ill?
Unable to resist, he leaned in to sniff carefully. The intense orchid scent from the nape of Tang Qing’s neck seemed to be continuously emanating.
“What’s going on with you? Are you turning into an orchid spirit?” Xie Qingzhi couldn’t help but remark.
“Your Grace, what are you talking about?” Tang Qing was still unaware of his own fragrance, looking at Xie Qingzhi with a puzzled expression.
Seeing his dazed little spouse, Xie Qingzhi found him both cute and endearing.
He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Picking up the communicator, he described Tang Qing’s condition to the top medical team on the Imperial Star.
After hearing Xie Qingzhi’s description, the person on the other end asked, “Is his neck slightly red? Has his scent become stronger?”
Xie Qingzhi urgently confirmed, “Yes, yes, yes.”
The other person murmured, “The Duchess is already eighteen. Unless he’s going to differentiate into an SS-class Omega, but that’s impossible…”
Impatiently, Xie Qingzhi interrupted, “What are you trying to say?”
The person incredulously said, “Your Grace, the symptoms your spouse is showing resemble pre-heat symptoms before a Beta’s secondary differentiation.”
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1 thought on “Chapter 113 – Tangtang’s false heat”
la la people are gonna regret also damn its exciting I cant wait for the next chapter, also if it werent for the ml the first fiance and our baby tangtang would have been like the tragic oh im gonna marry my savior kinda trashy romance novels good heavens it isnt like that and our ml is good to our baby tangtang. Thanks for the chapter ChuRen jiejie.