The white windmills slowly swayed through the summer, and the distant hills cut off the autumn in the estate.
At seven o’clock in the morning, the little bear alarm clock on the bedside went off, and a big hand quickly stretched out to stop it.
Qi Han raised his arm to block his eyes. The bridge of his nose was like a mountain, his thin lips pursed into a bone-cutting line, and when he turned around to hug the chilled person in his arms, Fu Ge’s arms contrasting with Qi Han’s wheat-coloured bulging muscles looked even more slender.
The little Beta nestled in his arms affectionately. His moist eyes were like clear pearls. He was so sleepy that he meowed like a kitten.
“Do I have another class today?…”
“Uh-huh.” Qi Han closed his eyes and smiled, buried his head in Fu Ge’s neck and kissed it: ”If you don’t want to get up, don’t go. I’ll go to school for you.”
Fu Ge woke up with a smile when he heard the words and rubbed his hot face against Qi Han’s palm: ”Big Brother, you are standing in the classroom like a telegraph pole. The teacher doesn’t need to call names to know that I’m not there.”
Qi Han also smiled; one hand slid down to pinch the soft flesh on Fu Ge’s waist, while the other rubbed his chest, teasing him in punishment, ”Disliking me when I’m ready to go to school for you?”
Fu Ge pretended to beg for mercy: ”Okay, okay, I dare not, don’t bully people.”
The Alpha was always full of energy, and within a few minutes he was completely awake, propping himself up on the bed and supporting his head with one hand.
The quilt slid down, revealing his strong, muscular body, sexy and lazy.
The little Beta hid in the quilt and peeked with a smile, unable to hold back from reaching out to touch his pectoral muscles: ”It’s so beautiful, especially when you move.”
Qi Han’s heart trembled when he was teased; he quickly grabbed the restless hand and kissed it, his voice raspy with the unique hoarseness of the morning: ”It’s so early, what are you teasing me for? And you don’t want to go to class anymore, do you?”
Fu Ge hurriedly put his little paw back into the quilt, ”If you don’t want to be touched, forget it.”
“Good baby, touch whatever you want at night.” Qi Han lowered his head and pecked between Fu Ge’s eyebrows, then nudged the tip of his nose: ”There is still time, go to sleep for a while.”
There was a small round bulge in the middle of the bed under the thick velvet quilt, and it was undulating like a caterpillar while breathing. Qi Han reached in, pulled out the little Ah Jue who was sleeping on all fours and cupped his chubby cheeks: “Wake up, son.”
The child was getting very independent very quickly. Since the two of them got married, he didn’t sleep with Fu Ge. He would hug his papa every day, rub against his face and then reluctantly carry his small pillow back to his room.
Only on Monday night as a welfare day would he be put in the master bedroom to spend time with his dads and listen to the German picture books that Qi Han read to Fu Ge.
Qi Chuan taught him not to knock on the doors of his dads after ten o’clock in the evening, otherwise Big Daddy would eat children if he got angry, making Ah Jue feel frightened and very fortunate: Oh, I haven’t been eaten today!
Qi Han casually put on a piece of clothes on himself, and then lifted Ah Jue’s little bottom to take him to the bathroom.
The child hadn’t woken up yet, sitting on his arm and sleeping like a little pig, and he didn’t even open his eyes when he was placed on a low stool. His curly head bobbed in the mirror as if he was paying respects. Qi Han didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh, so he flicked some water on his face, ”Wake up, Xiao Bao is waiting for you to go to school together.”
Xiao Jue woke up with a start, his eyes huge like copper bells, and he listened to Qi Han’s instructions like a little robot: ”Open your mouth. Put the toothbrush in your mouth, brush ten times up and down, left and right.”
Seeing that the child next to him had almost finished brushing his teeth, Qi Han spat out the water in his mouth and at the same time told him: ”Okay, rinse your mouth.”
Xiao Jue said vaguely with the toothbrush in his mouth: ”Wait, Big Dad, not ten times yet.”
“How many times?”
Xiao Jue suddenly stopped moving and was stunned: ”Oh no, I forgot…”
Qi Han: ”…Brother Jue is really amazing.”
He washed Ah Jue’s face with warm water and combed the little curls on the top of his head, then lifted him into the air and tossed him up a few times. ”Come on, let’s go get the outfit for our handsome little guy.”
The child was so excited to be tossed up that he praised Qi Han: ”Hehehe, so fierce!”
The cloakroom at home was particularly large, equivalent to two classrooms together, stretching between the master bedroom and the children’s room, with doors leading to each bedroom.
Half of the space in the cloakroom was used for clothes for the family of three, and the other half was used for shady cheongsams and swimwear, with the space allocated for Qi Han’s shoes and ties.
Since he put on a parent-child outfit on Fu Ge and Ah Jue on the first day at school, Qi Han acquired a hobby of dressing up the father and son, and specially found a designer to customise dozens of various styles of parent-child outfits, never tiring of matching them every day.
Standing in front of a wardrobe that was twice taller than him, Xiao Jue raised his head to take a look at the clothes, and then turned to take a look at his father, as if asking him what he wanted to match.
Qi Han glanced at him and asked him to choose for himself: ”What’s the matter, Brother Jue, do you want to go for the sweet boy style or the cool kid style today?”
The child was quite in difficulty, stood on tiptoe and said to him shyly: ”I want the style that can take Xiao Bao down at a glance.”
The ambition was neither too big nor too small, and Qi Han was very happy, ”Then I think this set will be perfectly fine.”
He took out a western cowboy outfit: dark jeans and a vintage leather jacket, as well as a matching striped silk scarf. Xiao Jue looked up at him with round eyes and let Qi Han dress him.
Finally, with the belt and the hat, he was a cute little cowboy who was robbing people for lollipops before his first birthday.
Xiao Jue posed several times in front of the mirror, asking, ”Am I handsome, Big Dad?”
Qi Han gave him a very appreciative whistle: ”Handsome like hell.”
The child laughed and kicked his legs, fell straight to the side and lay on the carpet, ”Fainted.”
Next to the mirror was the cheongsam cabinet, with a wide range of cheongsams of various colours displayed behind the glass, from lighter to darker colours, and increasingly complex styles.
Xiao Jue couldn’t distinguish between the exquisite styles and intricate patterns, but only knew that these were dresses worn by girls, and asked blankly, ”Daddy, whose are these pretty dresses?”
“You papa’s.”
“But isn’t papa a boy?”
Qi Han was buttoning his shirt, and when he heard the words, he casually replied: ”As long as you like it, boys and girls can wear dresses.”
The child didn’t understand: ”Why have I never seen papa wear it?”
“No way, it would be bad for you to see it, he can only wear them for me to see.”
Xiao Jue wasn’t happy: ”Why only show them to Big Dad!”
Qi Han raised his hand and knocked on his forehead: ”Because Dad’s happiness is beyond your imagination.”
Xiao Jue was very depressed, turned away and presented Qi Han with the back of his head: ”Hmph!”
*
Days that are too comfortable are always exhausting. People are sleepy in spring, sleepy in autumn, and napping in summer. Fu Ge had been staying in bed a lot since the autumn started, like a little lazy cat.
He couldn’t get enough sleep, and coupled with the body temperature and pheromones of the Alpha under the quilt warming him, it became more and more difficult to get up.
At eight o’clock in the morning, he would wait for Ah Jue to go to class and then run back to the bed to sleep, sometimes pestering Qi Han to accompany him.
The Alpha liked to see him coquettish, not to mention wanting to raise him to be a little wayward, so he was happy to spoil him. As long as it was an option, he would get him a leave from classes.
Parents didn’t spoil kindergarten children like that!
Qi Han packed up Ah Jue before going back to the bedroom to call Fu Ge, holding an enlarged version of the vintage denim outfit in his hand, and first put it on the heater to warm it up for a while, so that it wasn’t cold when Fu Ge put it on.
Today Xiao Jue was one step faster than him. He launched himself onto the bed with a whoop like a small cannonball, and asked proudly with his chin raised:
“Papa, look how handsome I am today! Big Dad said I look like a werewolf from the north!”
Fu Ge smiled immediately, ”I think you look like a piggy from the south.”
The child pretended to pout sadly: ”Papa!”
Qi Han also unkindly laughed at him, lifted the little piggy and blasted him out the door: ”Okay, stop making trouble, go have breakfast by yourself, pay attention to the time.”
“I know!” After speaking, Ah Jue ran out head over heels.
*
The busy morning finally reached a brief moment of peace and quiet, as Fu Ge lazily lay under the quilt, blatantly hugging Qi Han’s pyjamas and sniffing them.
A toe poked out of the quilt and stepped on Qi Han’s thigh.
Qi Han’s eyes darkened, and the hand that was holding the belt on the bedside cabinet suddenly stopped. He folded the black leather in two, clutched it in his palm and asked: ”Where are you stepping? Asking for trouble again?”
One of them was lying down, the other was standing, and the Alpha’s hands playing with the belt were extremely strong and tough, every muscle containing an explosive power that Fu Ge had tasted himself.
Even the simple movements looked oppressive.
The little Beta let out a non-committal ”hmm” and hid his blushing face, sulking in a sultry voice: ”But I don’t have time. Will you save it for tonight?”
Qi Han couldn’t resist and teased him, ”Aren’t you afraid I’ll whip you to pieces at night?”
Fu Ge couldn’t wait, but kept his face somewhat reserved: ”You’re not willing.”
“Yes, yes, don’t talk about it if you know I’m not willing.” Qi Han reached into the quilt and touched his ankle, ”I’m sorry, little princess, can I wake you up with a kiss?”
The little Beta’s eyes curled in a smile: ”Well… it’s not impossible.”
Qi Han was waiting for these words, and immediately pounced on him, cupping his chin and kissing him for a while, until Fu Ge was out of breath.
“Get up obediently, you’re going to be late for class.”
Fu Ge grunted a little and held out his hand reluctantly.
Qi Han pulled him into his arms, wrapped him in a quilt, slowly took off his pyjamas, then took the clothes from the heater and put them on him piece by piece. Finally, when he put woollen socks on Fu Ge’s feet, he lowered his head and kissed the thin white ankle.
It was much more meticulous than taking care of Ah Jue, and every move was full of doting.
“You are always like this, no wonder Ah Jue is sad.” Fu Ge whispered as he lay on his back.
“Sad about what?”
“Sad you aren’t as gentle with him as with me. He once secretly told me that you haven’t called him ‘baby’ since you knew he would differentiate into Alpha. He’s not a baby anymore, don’t you love him anymore?”
Qi Han didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry: ”If you’re already a little Alpha, you can’t be a little baby. Grandpa and you are too indulgent with him. If I’m not more strict, we’ll raise him too soft.”
Fu Ge understood what he meant, but he still couldn’t bear it: ”He’ll be disappointed. You can spoil him for another two years, otherwise he won’t be close to you.”
“That won’t happen.” Qi Han was very sure.
“So confident?”
“Uh-huh.” The Alpha thought of something, and his light smile went straight to the bottom of his eyes: ”He said I was his pride.”
Fu Ge looked at the little boyishness in his austere brow, and his heart was as soft as the melting ice cream. His cheeks flushed; he tilted his head and kissed Qi Han’s lips and nose, ”Not just Ah Jue’s pride.”
He whispered to Qi Han’s ear: ”You’re also my pride.”
The manic, brutal little wolf had changed so much; his fangs and claws had been tucked away, replaced by a romantic tenderness for his family
and a stiff shoulder for outsiders.
He was like a towering tree standing in the estate, with lush branches and leaves, using his trunk to build a shelter for them from the wind and rain.
No matter where Fu Ge and Ah Jue were, they could feel the love and security he always gave them.
When the loveless child grew up, he gave his family endless, long-lasting love.
*
The distance from the estate to the kindergarten was longer than to the Chamber of Commerce and the university, so Ah Jue had to set off first. The driver was ready and the bodyguard was waiting at the door. When he saw the little master coming out, he stepped forward to take his big school bag.
Xiao Jue dodged, ”No need, Uncle, I can do it myself.”
Qi Han looked particularly pleased, followed him to the gate of the estate, gave a few words of advice, and when he turned back, he cut off a fresh Juliet rose in the flower field.
He would give Fu Ge the most beautiful flowers in the estate every day, and the peach-pink double-petaled roses with dew would never go out of style. His little Beta couldn’t help but kiss him standing on tiptoe every time he received it.
He picked off the outer layer of petals and placed them in the glass fragrance vase by the door, tidied up the remaining delicate petals a little and cut off the excess stem and small thorns. The Juliet rose turned into a fine rose brooch in the blink of an eye, and Qi Han put it in Fu Ge’s chest pocket.
The vintage-style leather jacket, the rose brooch of an English gentleman, gangsterism and elegance were paradoxically combined in this outfit, with a kind of London street fog-like romance.
“Just lower your head and smell the rose when you miss me.” Qi Han hugged him from behind, and the two looked at each other quietly in the mirror in front of them.
The little Beta raised his hand and flicked the hand-made brooch in his pocket, turned his head and rubbed against the tip of Qi Han’s nose: ”Mr. Bear Cub’s ability to sell romance is never exhausted.”
Qi Han groaned, lowered his head and kissed the corners of his eyes: ”Because I am only giving it to you.”
You are my light, my wind and moon, my salvation and my love.
*
After a hasty breakfast, the two went out together. Qi Han drove Fu Ge to school first to go to the Chamber of Commerce after that.
Before Fu Ge got out of the car, he handed Qi Han a small paper bag with a lot of things in it. He rummaged through it to teach Qi Han how to use it.
“These two are scent blockers, spray ones, both bellflower and orange blossom, depending on which one you like. There is a pear soup in the thermos. I filtered out all the solids, it is not too sweet, so drink a little bit if your throat is uncomfortable. And these chocolates, Qi Chuan brought them from Dubai two days ago. If you feel a headache or irritability, just chew two of them.”
Qi Han was amused to see him stocking up like a little squirrel for the winter, and deliberately asked, ”Is there a filling in the chocolates?”
“There should be, I haven’t had the chance to eat it yet…” Fu Ge said, opening the box, peeling one and putting it in his mouth. The mellow sweetness of hazelnuts mixed with the slight bitterness immediately exploded in his mouth, and he squinted contentedly: ”It’s delicious.”
Qi Han knew when he looked at his little face that he was greedy again, and coaxed him to peel another one of another shape, ”Is there a filling in this one?”
“No, but it’s still delicious.”
“Try that duck one.”
“Okay, okay.”
As soon as he ate the chocolate that tasted good, he was easily addicted to it, and he couldn’t stop taking one bite at a time. Under Qi Han’s coaxing, he lowered his head and tasted the chocolates carefully.
When he looked into the box again, he was obviously stunned: ”I… why did I eat them all…”
Qi Han was holding back a smile and looked at him: ”If I don’t stop you, will you eat snacks until you’re full?”
Fu Ge touched his head in embarrassment. He was so old and was caught eating snacks. ”Then why didn’t you stop me just now?”
Qi Han squeezed the box and shook it, ”No more chocolate is allowed this week.”
It turned out it was a trap. The little Beta said ”oh” unhappily, and then added, ”Wait a minute, I’ll go down and buy you a box of sweets.”
“No, I don’t eat them when I work.”
He also wondered why Fu Ge suddenly wanted him to bring chocolate to work. He had never liked this thing.
The little Beta naturally said: ”Sweets can relieve mania.”
Qi Han was taken aback: ”Then am I manic every day in gege’s eyes?” He pretended to be particularly aggrieved.
“No, no!” Fu Ge hurriedly took his hand and coaxed him with a smile: ”Not manic at all, President Qi is very calm and reasonable.”
Qi Han didn’t believe it: ”Are you scolding me in another way?”
“What am I scolding you for, this is all said in the book!”
After being held in Qi Han’s arms that day and educated on the growing pains of Alpha, Fu Ge paid attention to this aspect seriously. After all, there were two Alphas in the family, one big and one small, you couldn’t afford being sloppy.
After reading the book carefully, he learnt that the growing pains of an Alpha who differentiated under external stimulation would last for a long time. In short cases, they lasted throughout adolescence, and in long cases they did not dissipate until the age of thirty-five.
In addition to the painful rut periods, the symptoms of growing pains varied from season to season.
In spring and winter, Alphas could be mildly allergic, have a high libido and crave the touch of a mate, while in summer and autumn they could be irritable and easily lose control, while at the same time being sensitive and inexplicably sad and depressed.
In addition to the specific symptoms, the book also contained the right remedies for the symptoms, and Fu Ge had prepared them for Qi Han exactly as it said in order to make him more or less comfortable during the onset of growing pains.
But Qi Han seemed to be completely unaware of it.
“Don’t you know anything about this?” Fu Ge asked, not quite sure, ”Or are your growing pains already cured because of the differentiation into E?”
Qi Han looked at him in a daze and reacted after a long time. ”I know, not cured, just…”
“Just what?” The little Beta blinked blankly.
Qi Han suddenly hugged him and said, ”It’s just a bit sudden, well… this was supposed to be something my parents should have done.”
Fu Ge moved his lips stiffly in understanding. The normal age of AO differentiation was 16-17 years old, and the growing pains would begin after differentiation. This was not a serious problem, but only a small affliction that adolescents were ashamed to declare. Most boys and girls didn’t know how to deal with it, so they could only be guided by their parents to slowly adjust.
Unfortunately, since Qi Han was fourteen years old, he was not able to get the help of his parents through his troubled adolescence.
The forced differentiation under the action of external forces caused his growing pains to be particularly long, starting at the age of fourteen and continuing to the present, and becoming more and more severe.
No one told him the cause of those strange physical reactions, and no one taught him how to make himself less uncomfortable when it hurt.
The manic irritability under the dual stimulation of psychological shadow and physical pain became more and more serious, and he completely lost control at the age of eighteen and did unforgivable things to his young lover.
But Qi Han never said a word about it to Fu Ge, he didn’t want to find any justification for his mistakes.
Now that Fu Ge naturally thought of this, his heart ached, and he said in a low voice: ”I didn’t think of anything else, I just suddenly read this in a book and wanted to help you relieve it. But I don’t know much more than that, so I have to keep learning.”
He blushed as he said that, and muttered, ”I know this is what your parents should do, but if Uncle and Aunt are not here, can’t I do it instead? It’s indeed a few years late, but it’s always better to adjust slowly…”
Qi Han was a little dumbfounded, and suddenly felt as if he, such a big person, was carefully held in his arms by Fu Ge, ”You… You will help me adjust? Gege, do you understand the nature of this matter…”
The tips of the little Beta’s ears blushed: ”I read and I understand.”
Helping an Alpha adjust to growing pains was similar to teaching a boy who had left traces on the sheets for the first time how to be an adult.
No one will let their mate do it, unless they find an older bride.
Fu Ge was embarrassed and Qi Han’s expression wasn’t quite natural, as if he was ashamed of soiling the sheets for the first time after a good dream.
“Actually, this is just a small problem, gege, don’t worry about it.” He said with a wooden face.
Fu Ge’s face was hot, but he still hung his head and retorted: ”But all the other Alphas are taken care of, and I want you to be taken care of too.”
He blurted it out, with a bit of waywardness in his gentle tone that he didn’t even realise.
But Qi Han realised it, and his heart suddenly softened into a cloud of candy floss. Looking at Fu Ge’s obedient expression, he didn’t even know how to love him.
“Just spoiling me like that?” He poked Fu Ge’s face, got it cheap and acted cute. ”Can’t see me suffer a little grievance?”
Fu Ge muttered sullenly, ”You know the answer, you are my husband, who shouldn’t I spoil…”
Qi Han was caught off guard by being called “husband” and impatiently grabbed the little Beta: ”Good baby, say it again.”
Fu Ge was so embarrassed that he was squirming like an ant and had nowhere to hide, ”Won’t say, you’re annoying, won’t help you then.”
“Help help help, I didn’t say no, I was afraid you’d be embarrassed!”
When he mentioned this, Fu Ge wanted to explode, ”What am I embarrassed about? If I was really that thin-skinned, I would have been shamed to death eight hundred times by you, shameless rascal!”
Qi Han felt wronged but didn’t dare to argue and could only mutter: ”Why do you suddenly scold me so endlessly…”
“I just want to scold you, can’t I?!”
“…Scold, scold, I don’t mind.”
Qi Han made a low bow, pulled out the book from his bag, pretending to read it, but in fact his eyes followed Fu Ge, ”So, gege, do you know how to help me adjust?”
When it came to this, Fu Ge’s anger immediately disappeared, and he said quietly: ”Just help you…”
“How exactly? Give an example.”
“Oh, okay.” The little Beta took a deep breath, ”Coax you when you feel uncomfortable, accompany you when you want, and use more pheromones for soothing. I don’t have pheromones, I can replace them with prolonged physical contact…”
Qi Han was so happy that he spoke his heart out directly: ”There is such a good thing?”
Fu Ge glanced at him askance: ”What?”
Qi Han quickly suppressed his smirk: ”I mean, is it that simple?”
“No really, I heard that medication can be used instead of physical contact. I’m learning about it.”
“Then don’t learn.”
“Hmm?”
In the next second, Qi Han lowered the seat and pressed him down on the passenger side. ”I don’t want medicine, I just want you to cure me.”
The car window glass was covered with anti-peep film, and Fu Ge was not afraid of being seen by his classmates, but he was talking nicely one second and the next second his shirt was taken off. He was really a little confused and unable to react.
“Ah, Ah Han… Wait a minute, why are you in heat anytime, anywhere…”
Qi Han held both of his hands above his head, kissed the skin behind his ear roughly and said confidently: ”Growing pains, strong sexual desire, didn’t the book say that?”
“But that’s a symptom of spring, it’s autumn now!” Fu Ge blushed and pushed Qi Han’s shoulder: ”You, don’t use illness to cheat, it’s not that I don’t understand anything…”
“You understand, you understand everything best.” Fu Ge was so good, Qi Han didn’t want to wait for a minute. There was a crazy energy in all his movements. ”But my symptoms are mixed all year round, not only strong but also sensitive. If you don’t say yes to me, I’ll be cranky and think you don’t love me.”
Fu Ge didn’t believe it but still hesitated: ”Really?”
Qi Han said righteously: ”Yes, I have been sick for so many years, of course I am in disorder.”
Fu Ge: ”……”
After being forcibly pressed to the seat for ten minutes, Fu Ge touched the bitten and swollen area on the back of his neck and asked in a daze, ”Ah Han, are we forgetting something? I somehow feel a chill on my back…”
Qi Han put a suppression sticker on him and said, ”It’s okay.”
As soon as the words were spoken, Fu Ge’s mobile phone rang, and the word ”Grandpa” flashed on the screen ominously. The little Beta woke up as if getting a blow in the head: ”Oh no, we’re here for class!”
“I’m three minutes late, Qi Han, you pay me back my credits!”
space in the cloakroom for a family of three = space for shady cheongsams and swimwear 🫣
Well, someone’s priorities are clear 😇😇