“Ah Ze, now let’s talk about the child’s issue.”

Hearing Lu Youze’s words, Gu Xuanze’s smile immediately froze, and after the smile disappeared, his face returned to its usual expressionless state. When he is serious, his face usually shows no emotion, so he often appears indifferent. In fact, he had already thought of this—whether Lu Youze forgives him or not, the issue of the child had to be addressed.

It was obvious that Lu Youze did not want this child.

But despite that, Gu Xuanze selfishly hoped to keep the child, not only because it was his and Lu Youze’s child, but more importantly, he had previously conducted research and found that abortion would cause significant harm to an Omega’s body. Even the most skilled doctors could not guarantee that there wouldn’t be aftereffects.

This is also why the requirements for abortion are so strict—it must be agreed upon by both parties.

After Lu Youze said this, he did not speak again, seemingly waiting for Gu Xuanze to say something.

Actually, after Lu Youze first mentioned wanting to abort the child, Gu Xuanze had been thinking about how to solve this problem. After much consideration, he had come up with an idea. He had been hesitating about how to bring it up, but now was the perfect opportunity.

This time, he wouldn’t avoid it.

With that thought, Gu Xuanze’s expression turned even more serious as he looked at Lu Youze. “Youze, I want to keep this child.”

Gu Xuanze nervously looked at Lu Youze, afraid that he would get angry. Even if Lu Youze got angry and punched him, he would think it normal.

But nothing happened.

Lu Youze’s reaction was calm. He even smiled at Gu Xuanze as if encouraging him to continue.

Seeing Lu Youze like this, Gu Xuanze’s mood became even more complicated. He was a bit uneasy, but he wanted to make Lu Youze understand his thoughts. He didn’t want to hide anything from him anymore.

“Youze,” Gu Xuanze’s voice became lower than before, his eyes filled with many complicated emotions. The usually cold and distant CEO now looked somewhat pitiful, “I know the existence of this child will upset you, yet I still made such an unreasonable request.”

At this point, Gu Xuanze glanced at Lu Youze again but quickly shifted his gaze, as if afraid to make eye contact. “I don’t even have the courage to admit in front of you that I’m the father of the child. A coward like me, who avoids responsibility, truly doesn’t deserve to make this request to you, but I still have the nerve to hope that you’ll listen to my reasons.”

“Ah Ze, go ahead, I’m listening,” Lu Youze smiled and then spoke.

“Before that, can I ask Youze a question?” Gu Xuanze had managed to stay as calm as possible, but his eyes still showed some urgency, and his face had turned pale from the tension. After a brief pause, his voice became more pitiful, “Youze, is that okay?”

Compared to Gu Xuanze, Lu Youze seemed much more at ease.

As for the “child,” Lu Youze had already made a decision in his heart.

He deliberately didn’t show his emotions or thoughts, forcing Gu Xuanze to speak his mind.

Of course, this was also to give Gu Xuanze a little lesson, to make him realize the importance of honesty between lovers.

“What do you want to ask me, Ah Ze?”

Gu Xuanze became even more nervous. He almost bit his lips to the point of bleeding, but soon he calmed down. He looked at Lu Youze again, his eyes appearing a bit brighter than before, his expression becoming even more serious, as if this were his only chance in life, and if he missed it, he would lose his most important treasure.

“If I can ensure this child is born with everyone’s blessing, would you be willing to keep the child?”

Lu Youze froze for a moment, not because of Gu Xuanze’s words, but because of the way he was looking at him. He thought, no one could resist such a gaze, who could refuse a man as exceptional as him looking at them like that? Of course, at that moment, he also understood the deeper meaning behind Gu Xuanze’s words.

Although Lu Youze had similar plans and ideas… he soon realized that while their goals were the same, the methods might not be entirely the same.

Lu Youze’s gaze changed slightly, but he kept his composure. He adjusted his posture to feel more comfortable, retracting his long legs, and then looked up at Gu Xuanze. “Ah Ze, let me ask you a question. What do you plan to do? How will you ensure this child is born with everyone’s blessing?”

After speaking, he lowered his eyes to glance at his slightly protruding belly. Not long from now, he would have to stop the career that was just starting to recover, because it was hard to produce good work with a big belly.

Gu Xuanze seemed to have anticipated that Lu Youze would ask this, or rather, he had already thought about how to answer and was just waiting for Lu Youze to ask.

“Youze, I will publicly admit that I am the child’s father.” Gu Xuanze’s eyes showed no hesitation, as if he would do it immediately once Lu Youze agreed.

This idiot!

Lu Youze couldn’t help but curse silently. He clearly had the face of a smart person, and was a skilled CEO, yet he said such a foolish thing.

Lu Youze released Gu Xuanze, cupping his face with both hands and forcing him to meet his gaze. Then, with a smile, he spoke again. “Ah Ze, don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

Gu Xuanze was stunned, unable to react in that moment, only dumbly staring at Lu Youze.

This was the first time, other than Ah Hao, that someone had said they would protect him. Everyone always thought he was strong enough to not need anyone’s protection, even Ah Hao believed this. Except for the time when the brothers depended on each other when they were young, after he took control of the Gu family business, Ah Hao never said anything about protecting him again.

Everyone envied Gu Xuanze for his good background. The Gu family, as one of the prominent families in B City, held power and influence, and was the object of admiration and association. To outsiders, he seemed like a young master born with a golden key, enjoying a rich life and inheriting the family business. He could command respect in B City, like a dragon among men.

If things were truly like that, he wouldn’t have ended up like this. Except for Ah Hao and a few close people, no one believed him. But all that was in the past. Now he controlled everything in the Gu family, and no one could hurt him or Ah Hao anymore. Even that guy couldn’t return.

“Gu Xuanze, don’t think you’ve won,” that person’s voice suddenly echoed in his ear. “I’ll be back. I’ll take everyone important to you, and you’ll just wait in fear for my return.”

And standing across from him was the small, weak, useless boy, crying in the corner, locked in a dark room by chains—the version of himself from when he was young.

Lu Youze shook his head, forcing those thoughts out of his mind.

Earlier, Ye Xing’s phone call told him that Lu Youze had obtained the surveillance footage and warned him that the guy had returned, seemingly investigating Gu Xuanze. Was everything just a coincidence, or was it part of that guy’s deliberate plan?

Gu Xuanze clenched his fist, repeatedly reminding himself that he had won that past battle. That guy had no chance of returning, and he would protect Youze and Ah Hao. But the memories he had purposely forgotten suddenly rushed back, making his expression terrifying. His originally beautiful, slender eyes now looked as if they were covered by a layer of black mist, deep and bottomless… His body trembled slightly, and the wounds on his back that had healed long ago began to ache again. Gu Xuanze was a calm and disciplined man; unless it involved Lu Youze or Gu Xuanhao, he usually remained indifferent, rarely experiencing such emotional fluctuations. This also affected his pheromones, and the air seemed to carry the faint scent of hyacinth.

But this usual reassuring pheromone now gave off a fragile, delicate feeling.

Seeing Gu Xuanze like this, Lu Youze’s eyes turned sharp, realizing that the information he had uncovered was just the tip of the iceberg. To make Gu Xuanze show such an expression was not a small lesson; he would not let that guy get close to or hurt Gu Xuanze again.

“Ah Ze,” Lu Youze tightened his embrace around Gu Xuanze. He slowly released his own pheromones, calming his Alpha’s disturbed emotions. “It’s alright. Everything’s in the past now. I’m here. No one can hurt you. I’ll always be with you.”