Tang Jianxi had been thinking about having a child recently. On this matter, she and Yun Chuji were particularly fortunate. With their compatibility rate, children should have been arriving as frequently as letters in an imperial superstar’s private mailbox. But Yun Chuji had always strictly adhered to the contraceptive plan she had found herself. She had also diligently studied the physiology of omegas and alphas, and with a humble willingness to learn, successfully leveraged the wisdom of S University’s professors. Using her reasonably clever mind, she had summarized an excellent method of contraception.
Meanwhile, the research institute that provided Tang Jianxi with contraceptive pills was further optimizing its drug formula. Spurred by the inspiration of Yun Chuji’s clandestine efforts to spread contraceptive knowledge, the institute’s director was also considering whether they could find a pretext to bring the drug to market.
If they succeeded, it would truly be a huge sum of money.
“Hey, I’m asking you, what are you hesitating for? Haven’t you always been short on cash?” Xie Xiaoxiao said out of the corner of her mouth, still taking large bites of strawberry ice cream. Across from her was Tang Jianxi, her big benefactor. Seated next to her was a prematurely balding beta. Xie Xiaoxiao’s words were directed at her.
Yes, her. Even though she was female, she could still go bald.
This person, who looked capable just from her appearance, was a university classmate of Xie Xiaoxiao and Yun Chuji. Of course, she didn’t just look capable. As a beta who understood omega physiology better than most omegas, the word “genius” was no longer sufficient to describe her current achievements. The AO contraceptive pill was merely a byproduct of her research; her main product was an artificial pheromone to help omegas get through their heats smoothly. Ah, yes, she had an omega husband, who was also a test subject for her research. Of course, she herself was a test subject as well. Much of her work was too cutting-edge; just letting others know about it would be enough to cause too much trouble.
Zhao Chenming replied with a pained expression, “Then would you dare to bring your own stuff out? Really, one misstep and this won’t be about making money or not. I could be drowned in the spit of the Empire’s citizens.”
Xie Xiaoxiao shot her an annoyed glare and took another large bite of ice cream. The coldness of it turned her perennially pale lips bright red, lessening much of her gloomy aura. “I’m not like you. I have a big benefactor. Look at how much of the inheritance your dad left you is left. I remember you were a top-tier rich kid at S University, but now you’re getting ready to sell your house. If you don’t take a gamble, are you going to have Aming live with you in the lab in the future?”
Xie Xiaoxiao was truly skilled at hitting people’s sore spots. Zhao Chenming immediately fell silent. The sparse patch in the middle of her short hair seemed to recede even further. She sighed heavily and looked at Tang Jianxi.
Tang Jianxi made a sound of acknowledgment. Sensing her old friend’s wavering, she immediately raised her hand to show her determination. “I have channels. I guarantee you’ll make money. But remember to lower the price later. A lot of omegas need this drug.”
Zhao Chenming’s expression grew even more pained. She tilted her head back and drained half a cup of cold coffee, then said hesitantly, “I’ll go home and ask Aming.”
Xie Xiaoxiao clicked her tongue in disdain.
Aming has long wanted you to stop burying your head in research! If you’d just gone out and talked to people more, you wouldn’t have gone bald so early!
Having solved her friend’s problem, Tang Jianxi now wanted to properly discuss her own. “What do you two think? Is it a good time for me to have a child now?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Tang Jianxi received two shocked faces from her friends as feedback for her proposal, so she also went, “Huh?”
“Wait, what do you mean? Is this so hard to imagine?”
“Yeah.” Zhao Chenming nodded honestly, then added even more honestly, “I even thought you’d come to me one day to ask about getting AO sterilization surgery.”
Tang Jianxi: “…”
“I seem to recall that Xiao Ji and I have a very good relationship, so what gave you the mistaken impression that I wouldn’t want a child who looks like her?”
“Hmm…” Xie Xiaoxiao pondered for a moment. “Perhaps because you’re the deputy leader of Spartacus?”
“Perhaps because not only are you the deputy leader of Spartacus, but you also spend every day arranging various contraceptive measures for omegas?” Professor Zhao added cautiously.
“And, you once said in university that you believed an omega who gets caught up in childbirth has completely fallen into that despicable madman’s trap?”
Tang Jianxi: “…”
She took a deep breath, then said calmly, “I now understand the difference between the right to childbirth and the function of childbirth. So can you please stop digging at me now?”
As soon as she finished speaking, her two old friends burst out laughing in unison. Xie Xiaoxiao shook her head and lamented, “Tang Jianxi, I never thought I’d see this day.”
Zhao Chenming also smiled and said, “It seems you really do like Yun Chuji a lot.”
Speaking of which, Tang Jianxi had plenty to say. She smiled, pressing her lips together in a way that was both proud and feigning modesty. Then, very deliberately, she took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and very deliberately displayed the pattern on it.
Hmm, it was the character for “Xi” and a small stream.
Tang Jianxi coughed, unfolded the handkerchief to reveal a poem inside, and then slowly introduced it. “This is a new handkerchief Xiao Ji embroidered for me. I have dozens of them. She always likes to embroider handkerchiefs for me when she has free time, and she makes little pieces of jewelry too. Ah, right, she also wrote the poem on it for me. I have countless poems like this. She writes one for me every day, to the point that I’m practically half a Great Liang scholar now. Hey, tell me, are all of you researchers, whether in science or humanities, this persistent?”
Xie Xiaoxiao: “…”
Zhao Chenming: “Tang Jianxi, you’ve changed.”
Xie Xiaoxiao: “You’ve become disgusting.”
Tang Jianxi let out a soft laugh, methodically folded the handkerchief, and placed it in her bag. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Xie Xiaoxiao, being single herself, had nothing to say, so she nudged Zhao Chenming beside her with her elbow. “Tell me, you and Aming aren’t this nauseating, are you?”
Zhao Chenming nodded solemnly, then added just as solemnly, “Of course, Aming and I love each other very much, but we’re definitely not as cloying as you, Jianxi.”
Zhao Chenming’s addition had an unintended effect. For instance, the expression of the person beside her darkened for a moment, and the person across from her suddenly cast a worried glance at her.
The three of them stayed a while longer at the café they had frequented since university. Then, Zhao Chenming had to go back to her research institute, leaving Xie Xiaoxiao and Tang Jianxi sitting in silence.
Tang Jianxi crossed her arms and leaned back. She was silent for a moment before finally saying, “You still like her?”
Xie Xiaoxiao had switched to a different ice cream—chocolate flavor. It was extremely sweet, so sweet that it made one inexplicably nostalgic for bitterness.
“I never said I stopped liking her.”
“But you know it’s hopeless.”
Xie Xiaoxiao scoffed, swallowed the ice cream in a few bites, and wiped her messy lips with a napkin. Then she said flatly, “I knew it was hopeless from the start, but I still like her. You and Yun Chuji have such a good relationship, you should be able to understand that love isn’t something swayed by a person’s will.”
Tang Jianxi looked helplessly at the thin omega across from her. She thought back to Xie Xiaoxiao’s project, the one that had nearly exhausted all her energy. Why had she encouraged her back then?
It was clearly a road with no end, and Xie Xiaoxiao had been walking it for nearly ten years.
“How’s your research project going?”
Xie Xiaoxiao tilted her head and smiled breezily. This topic was clearly more to her liking than the previous one. Her mood improved considerably, and she gave up the idea of ordering another ice cream.
“I’ve made some progress,” she said modestly.
However, before she could fully reveal the pride behind her modesty, she saw Tang Jianxi’s eyes light up. Xie Xiaoxiao’s heart skipped a beat. Following her gaze, she was met, as expected, with a pair of gentle, smiling eyes.
Sure enough, Tang Jianxi then said, “Xiao Ji and I have plans to play tennis today. It’s about time, so I’ll be going now.”
Before leaving, however, she patted Xie Xiaoxiao’s shoulder and said pointedly, “That investor I introduced you to last time, she wanted your private contact information. I gave it to her. I think you two would get along well.”
Xie Xiaoxiao glared at her and said through gritted teeth, “This is the ninth one.”
Tang Jianxi gathered her things, shrugged, and a bright smile already graced her face. “You have to keep trying.”
With that, she walked with eager steps toward her wife.
And Xie Xiaoxiao, left behind, ordered another serving of what looked to be the most unappetizing cherry blossom-flavored ice cream.
No one knew Xie Xiaoxiao’s exact mood, but the mood of the couple, who were stuck together the moment they met, was certainly joyous. Otherwise, most people wouldn’t hold hands in a way that looked like they wanted to twist their arms together.
The car was only a few steps away.
In the time it took to walk those few steps, Tang Jianxi announced a piece of news to Yun Chuji. “I think we can have a child now. Spartacus is on the right track, and things with A-Virtue have stabilized.”
Yun Chuji’s steps faltered. Her expression was somewhat complex, looking both happy and not so happy.
Her silence lasted long enough to catch Tang Jianxi’s attention.
“You don’t want a child?” Tang Jianxi asked.
Yun Chuji tightened her grip on Tang Jianxi’s hand, lowered her head slightly, and said earnestly, “I don’t think it’s a safe time yet. If something were to happen, I might not be able to take care of you and the child.”
Tang Jianxi was confused. “What could happen?”
What kind of danger could stop a loving couple from having a child of their own?
Tang Jianxi tested the waters with a joking tone, “Something big, like the Spartacus infighting or the A-Virtue bombing?”
Yun Chuji led her forward without explaining in detail, only replying, “It’s really just a premonition. I feel like the time has come.”
If he’s really going to do something, with Elder Brother’s patience, three years is the limit.
“Let’s wait a little longer. Besides, I prefer the days when it’s just you and me, Jianxi.”
Hmm, alright, Tang Jianxi thought. Now that she puts it that way, I don’t really want a child that much either.
