After finishing his exams, Liang Yan didn’t rush home Ji Qiu still had a few more to take anyway.
Dean Liang didn’t press him either. No matter what had happened, Ji Qiu was still one of his most admired students. Even if the boy had lied to him in the end and even ended up dating his own son, he still understood the deep bond between an Alpha and an Omega.
Better to entrust his son to Ji Qiu than to some unknown Alpha.
That was how Dean Liang comforted himself.
Yin Tongguang’s family lived in another province, so he had already booked a ticket and gone home early.
That day, Liang Yan returned to the dorm to grab a few things. Thinking Ji Qiu’s exams were almost done, he didn’t go straight home but decided to take a walk and wait outside Ji Qiu’s classroom.
Since Yin Tongguang had left, no one else knew about his pregnancy. After that day, they’d carefully discussed their plans and had a general direction figured out.
Ji Qiu was already arranging for early clinical practice, planning to join the next-year group during the winter and summer breaks for hospital rotations. Once the semester began, he’d cram credits like crazy. As for Liang Yan, since he wasn’t showing yet, he could still attend classes normally. If they timed everything right, the due date would fall during vacation, so it shouldn’t be a big issue.
Well except for one small problem.
That day, Ji Qiu had been lying on Liang Yan’s lap, downloading all sorts of weird recipes on his phone while asking, “Yan Yan, what do we do when your belly gets bigger?”
Liang Yan: “?”
What do you mean, what do we do?
Ji Qiu elaborated earnestly, “I mean, when that happens, will people think I’m cheating, or that you’re cheating?”
“…”
Liang Yan bent his knee and tried to kick him off. “Get off me.”
Ji Qiu instantly clung to his leg like a koala. “Yan Yan, I was wrong! I was just kidding! I’ll take full responsibility for the public scandal when the time comes!”
Liang Yan ignored him.
He’d never cared much about what others thought anyway, words didn’t matter if they couldn’t touch him.
He glanced at Ji Qiu’s phone screen, where strange cooking videos were playing, and frowned. “…You really plan to learn how to cook?”
“Of course!” Ji Qiu said with determination. “I already bought all the kitchenware! I’m starting tomorrow!”
“…Do whatever you want.”
Seeing how excited Ji Qiu was, Liang Yan decided to swallow his sarcastic comment.
And now, he was waiting outside Ji Qiu’s classroom for him to finish his exam.
Ever since finding out the news, Ji Qiu had been overly concerned about his health always reminding him to dress warmly before going out. Liang Yan, impatient as always, wanted to swat him every time, but in the end, he’d still frown and pull on the extra layers.
Maybe his body had started to change, because even though Liang Yan used to hate the cold, he’d recently been feeling warm all the time. Wrapped in a thick scarf, he began to feel overheated after walking a while and loosened it to breathe.
He hadn’t made a sound, yet somehow, Ji Qiu perhaps by instinct looked up right after finishing a question. There he was, his Omega standing quietly by the door, head lowered as he scrolled through his phone.
With single-lidded eyes that were dark and glistening, he looked gentle when he wasn’t looking up. Standing not far away, the scarf half undone, a stretch of smooth, pale neck was revealed delicate as jade.
Ji Qiu’s heart instantly filled to the brim. He wanted to shout to everyone in the room: That’s my Omega! Mine!
The one who agreed to marry me!
But since he was still publicly pretending to be an Omega himself, he couldn’t exactly expose them.
Still… just keeping it to himself didn’t feel satisfying enough.
He had to show off just a little.
So Ji Qiu blazed through the rest of his exam, finishing every question in ten minutes, gathered his papers, and dashed out of the room. His speed was so unbelievable that everyone else stopped to stare.
Before they could even recover from the shock, they heard the so-called prodigy bursting out of the classroom, voice trailing dramatically down the hallway —
“Yaaaan—Yaaaan— I’m— cooomiiing—!”
…Damn it.
Everyone silently wailed in despair.
Hadn’t Class A already finished their exams? Why was Liang Yan still here?
Were they being punished? Why did they have to witness an OO romance scene on top of taking a brutal exam?
Unfair.
It was bad enough not being able to solve the questions and being crushed by that genius Omega but now they had to watch him flirt too?!
Truly miserable.
Why did taking an exam also mean being force-fed dog food?
And not even sweet dog food, this was pure bitter torture!
Liang Yan, unaware of Ji Qiu’s dramatic thoughts, only thought he’d been too loud. When Ji Qiu reached him, he merely said, “Keep it down.”
Ji Qiu just smiled brightly.
“Yan Yan, let’s go grocery shopping! I’m starting my cooking lessons today!” he said with full enthusiasm.
Ji Xiaoqiu had made up his mind — it was time to take a big new step in life.
He was going to learn how to cook!
After all, he’d promised yesterday.
Liang Yan replied calmly, “Now? To the supermarket?”
Ji Qiu nodded eagerly.
“Alright then,” Liang Yan said. “Let’s go together.”
But halfway there, Ji Qiu suddenly thought of something serious.
“Yan Yan! The fresh seafood section in the supermarket smells so strong what if it makes you nauseous?”
Liang Yan: “…I’m really not that fragile.”
Completely unnecessary concern. Truly.
But Ji Qiu wouldn’t back down resorting to every pleading, pouting, and playful trick he knew until Liang Yan finally relented.
Thirty minutes later—
Forced by Ji Qiu to stay in the mother-and-baby lounge, Liang Yan began to wonder just how he was going to die today.
As it turns out, even people with strong learning abilities have their limits.
For example, Ji Qiu would never learn how not to court death.
And apparently, he’d also never learn how to cook.
Ji Qiu had decided to start small—with beginner-friendly recipes like chicken soup and steamed fish. He picked up some pre-prepared ingredients and brought Liang Yan home.
After closing the kitchen door, Ji Qiu started his “cooking symphony.” It was so noisy that Liang Yan wanted to check several times, but every time he approached, Ji Qiu somehow sensed him and immediately shooed him out.
It wasn’t until the smell of burning hit his nose that Liang Yan forcibly entered the kitchen.
Ji Qiu looked helplessly at the fish skin burnt to a crisp.
“Yanyan QAQ…”
Liang Yan surveyed the disaster zone that was the kitchen. “Hm?”
“Why don’t we just order takeout today?” Ji Qiu suggested weakly. “We can try again next time…”
Liang Yan glanced over the rest of the dishes. In the end, he couldn’t bear to crush Ji Qiu’s confidence.
“Forget it. The food’s cooked anyway. Let’s just eat. It’s fine.”
After all, boiling chicken soup and skimming off the foam shouldn’t turn out too bad, right?
As for the fish… well, they could just avoid the burnt part.
Having eaten his mother’s cooking all his life without a single disaster, Liang Yan thought nothing could possibly go wrong.
Ji Qiu was still busy tidying up, so Liang Yan sighed and went to get himself a bowl.
“Wait, wait, wait, Yanyan! I haven’t tasted it yet!”
Ji Qiu tried to stop him, but by then Liang Yan had already picked up his chopsticks.
He waited nervously for feedback.
Liang Yan’s expression stayed calm. “It’s okay.”
Ji Qiu exhaled in relief. “Then go ahead! I’ll clean up the kitchen and join you later.”
By the time Ji Qiu finished tidying, Liang Yan had already eaten and was resting on the sofa.
Maybe it was the warmth from the air conditioner or maybe he was just tired lately but Liang Yan soon dozed off.
Ji Qiu tiptoed over, tucked the blanket around him, then noticed the empty bowl on the table.
Yanyan finished everything!
So… maybe he wasn’t a complete failure after all!
Feeling encouraged, Ji Qiu decided to bravely taste his own cooking.
One bite later, he almost spat it out.
The fish didn’t taste like fish. The chicken didn’t taste like chicken.
The fish was all burnt bitterness, and the chicken… salty, bitter, and dry as dust.
Ji Qiu put down his chopsticks.
It’s over.
This wasn’t a bowl of “warm and loving chicken soup.”
It was death in liquid form.
How on earth did Yanyan manage to finish it?!
Staring at the empty soup bowl Liang Yan had drained, Ji Qiu felt a swirl of emotion and, teary-eyed, gave his dish a name:
“Funeral Chicken.”
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