Archive of Our Own

Wenlang let go of his hand. "You can have this." He could always buy another toy for little Peanut. That didn’t matter. 

Gao Tu stepped closer to reach for the box, and Wenlang’s heart skipped a beat.

Then that scent hit him—  that unmistakable omega pheromones.

Wenlang's body froze. He couldn’t be wrong. That smell— the one he had despised for years. The Omega who had trapped Gao Tu into taking responsibility for a child that wasn’t his. The thought clawed at his mind. A Beta knocking out an Omega was impossible, physically impossible, and yet Gao Tu carried a burden that should never have been his.

"That scheming son of a bitch omega!" He cursed silently. 

Many questions were running In his mind. 

'Are they still together?' '

Why did he leave him for that scheming omega?'

'Did he really love that omega even though that omega tricked him?'

How is he supposed to—  

"Is that for your child?" Wenlang, asked deliberately. 

Gao Tu stiffened. The question caught him off guard. He lowered his gaze, clutching the toy box tighter in his hands.

“Yes,” he answered quietly. “It’s for my son’s birthday.”

Shen Wenlang’s mind spun. The image of Gao Tu with that faceless Omega, living a happy little family life, sent a sharp pang through his chest.

Does he still have a chance?

But then he looked at him— how he carried himself now. He remembers the way he always took days off for her, the tired exhaustion in his eyes when he went to the office before after his leave. That scheming Omega hadn’t taken care of him.

He doesn’t deserve him.

"He deserves me. I’ll treat him better."

A moment of silence settled between them. Both of them searched for something to say, but the words refused to come.

Then a small shopping trolley rolled forward and bumped gently straight into Wenlang’s leg.

“Daddy Wenlang, did you already get the toy I asked for?”

Little Peanut looked up at his Daddy Wenlang with bright eyes. His miniature shopping trolley, obviously custom made and absurdly expensive, was filled with branded toys. Gao Tu swallowed hard. The difference struck him immediately.

“So this is how his child lives.”

Lele would never fill a trolley like that. Even one toy was already a big effort for him to give.

Little Peanut’s gaze drifted to the man beside his Daddy Wenlang. Then he pointed directly at the box in Gao Tu’s hands. Gao Tu felt his grip tighten unconsciously around the toy.

Gao Tu looked at the child, then at Wenlang. Something heavy twisted inside his chest.

“So he won over Mr. Sheng after all. He is the one Secretary Hua chose in the end.”

“The child looks exactly like Secretary Hua.”

“Congratulations, Mr. Shen.”

Without waiting for Wenlang to speak, Gao Tu turned away. He walked off quickly, before the ache in his chest could choke him completely.

“Daddy Wenlang, where’s the mouse toy I asked for?” Little Peanut tugged at his sleeve.

But Wenlang was still replaying everything that happened earlier, completely zoning out.

“That… that was your Daddy Wenlang’s wife,” he muttered without thinking.

Little Peanut blinked. “Your wife? But Hua Yong said he ran away from you because you had a shotgun in your mouth.”

He paused, seriously analyzing the strange tension he witnessed earlier. “Oh… so that's why.”

“Tsk. What kind of nonsense is your father teaching you?” Wenlang clicked his tongue.

“Let's go Peanut. We’re following him.”

This time, Wenlang promised to himself that he wouldn’t let them slip away again.