The days in Russia were unusually calm. The discussions between Feng Zhi and Ilya went smoothly, with Yang Huaijin not participating. He maintained a regular daily routine, taking walks by the lake in the mornings, enjoying local delicacies, and basking in the sun in the afternoons. A leisurely week passed, and he seemed to have gained a little weight.
However, there was an unexpected turn of events…
Fang Rui hadn’t seen Yang Huaijin for a long time, especially since Yang Huaijin brought a ‘good friend’ who was on their family’s blacklist this time, which made Fang Rui pay even more attention to his younger brother. Under this kind of attention, some things naturally couldn’t be concealed.
When Fang Rui asked for the third time, “A-jin, what’s wrong?” Yang Huaijin had no choice but to pull his brother aside for a private chat.
The two of them strolled out onto the balcony, and Yang Huaijin remained silent for a moment before saying, “San-ge, I’m pregnant.”
Fang Rui’s expression immediately turned cold. He had suspicions, but he couldn’t be certain. His gaze swept into the room like sharp blades, and Feng Zhi happened to be standing there looking their way. They locked eyes, and Fang Rui unabashedly exuded a hint of pressure, a gaze filled with intimidation, a confrontation between Alphas.
“San-ge!” Yang Huaijin spoke up.
Fang Rui withdrew his gaze, his face devoid of even the slightest hint of a smile, a complete departure from his usual demeanor.
After a long silence, Fang Rui said, “A-jin, you’re pregnant, and then you tell me that the person in the room is your ‘good friend’?”
Yang Huaijin felt uncomfortable under his gaze and turned his face away. “I didn’t intend to hide it from you, but I haven’t figured out how to say it… Anyway, it was an accident…”
“Accident? What kind of accident? With so many Alphas in the world, couldn’t you have an accident with anyone else? Why did it have to be hanging on the same tree!” Fang Rui’s words were blunt, and Yang Huaijin didn’t take kindly to them.
“It’s my own business, you don’t need to meddle,” he retorted.
“A-jin, when will you stop sacrificing yourself?” The two sentences almost overlapped, and Yang Huaijin paused. He looked at Fang Rui, whose voice was stern but whose face showed a mix of emotions. The slight displeasure in him dissipated instantly; he knew Fang Rui was only concerned about him.
He placed his hand on Fang Rui’s arm and explained, “San-ge, I’m really fine.” Yang Huaijin hesitated for a moment. “I just haven’t decided whether to enter into another relationship or not.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“…”
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Fang Rui smiled mischievously. “How about Sambo?”
“…”
“No worries, just handle it the way you’re good at.”
“?”
The ‘Sambo’ Fang Rui mentioned is a type of hand-to-hand combat originated from Russia. Compared to regular combat, the Sambo practiced in the military is more accurately described as ‘combat fighting technique’. It’s fierce, fast, and employs the most direct moves to swiftly incapacitate opponents in a very short time.
Feng Zhi didn’t react at all. One moment, he was concerned about Yang Huaijin, and the next moment, he was dragged away by Fang Rui to the combat arena for a ‘sparring session’.
Sparring? Why another sparring session? He hated sparring!
Then, he was mercilessly beaten by Fang Rui.
They had seven matches, and Feng Zhi lost five of them. Finally, when Ilya arrived upon hearing the news, Fang Rui’s antics came to an end.
Feng Zhi’s undeserved predicament successfully elicited sympathy from Yang Huaijin. After the match, Yang Huaijin pulled Feng Zhi aside to a place far from his brother.
Given Feng Zhi’s current status, there was hardly anything that required him to personally engage. These few matches had indeed been somewhat embarrassing for him.
“My San-ge is just being neurotic. Did you really have to fight with him? Did he hurt you anywhere?” Yang Huaijin asked with concern.
“I’m fine,” Feng Zhi replied, rubbing his sore arm. Then, he suddenly thought of something and said with a hint of bitterness, “I feel like I’ve been caught by the other’s parents while secretly dating.”
Yang Huaijin chuckled at his remark, shaking his head helplessly. “You don’t have to humor my San-ge. Maybe getting beaten up by someone will do him good.”
Feng Zhi’s mood was somewhat complicated. “No, really, I couldn’t beat him…”
Yang Huaijin chuckled, “How is that possible, it’s just my San-ge…”
Feng Zhi shook his head. “Do you really not understand your San-ge?”
“My San-ge…” Yang Huaijin hesitated. He had watched the entire fight between the two just now, but he thought Feng Zhi’s loss to Fang Rui must have been partly an act. But unexpectedly…
He wanted to say that Fang Rui had always been someone who loved comfort, someone who would run away if he couldn’t win, someone who would bow down in front of evil forces. Even though he was an Alpha, his combat effectiveness was definitely dragging behind among Alphas. Initially, it was because Fang Rui was afraid of hardship and tiredness that he chose to study. After all, their family’s academic genes made studying the easiest path. Fang Rui’s rule for the first twenty years of his life was just three words: take it easy.
Yang Huaijin looked not far away, where Fang Rui was talking to Ilya. The man who had just come down from the arena was wearing a tank top and camouflage pants. The muscles on his body were particularly defined after intense exercise, with sweat dripping down along those contours. Ilya stood next to Fang Rui, his figure tall and slender, making Fang Rui appear even taller by comparison. Fang Rui was rarely serious, speaking with a smile to the serious-faced Ilya, his eyes filled with indulgence and tenderness.
Feeling Yang Huaijin’s gaze, Fang Rui looked over and called out to Feng Zhi, “The last match doesn’t count as my loss. We’ll have another go next time!” Fang Rui emphasized that the last match didn’t count because Ilya suddenly appeared, affecting his judgment, so it couldn’t be considered, even though he had already won against Feng Zhi five times.
Feng Zhi waved his hand in refusal, pretending to hide behind Yang Huaijin, indicating that he was seeking protection. These two actually managed to improve their relationship because of this ‘spar.’
There were plenty of Alphas in the military camp, but there weren’t many who could match Fang Rui. Feng Zhi lost five matches, but Fang Rui also fought hard, silently admitting Ilya’s previous assessment of Feng Zhi—indeed, he had good skills.
Yang Huaijin didn’t expect his San-ge, who was afraid of hardship and tiredness, to become a skilled fighter. He remembered a question he had asked Fang Rui in private before.
“Is it worth it?”
Yang Huaijin pointed to Fang Rui, who had abandoned everything he had in China and came to Russia alone. Even to others, he seemed to be just Ilya’s follower.
Fang Rui faced this question very candidly. He said, “Since you’ve chosen to be in a relationship, you need to think clearly about what you can give. Ilya belongs to his family, his country, the forces behind him… although they’re all a bunch of nonsense, that’s who Ilya is. If he doesn’t belong to me, then I’ll just belong to him. There’s nothing worth or unworthy about it. Once you see yourself clearly in a relationship, everything becomes simple.”
Simple? Yang Huaijin wondered. Fang Rui must have undergone many complicated things to change so much, but Fang Rui didn’t care about any of that. He only focused on Ilya. He said: If he doesn’t belong to me, then I’ll just belong to him.
Yang Huaijin’s experience with relationships was too limited. He couldn’t see himself clearly, nor could he respond.
He turned to look at Feng Zhi, and then found himself locked in the gaze Feng Zhi had been directing at him all along.
Feng Zhi stepped forward and reached out to tousle Yang Huaijin’s hair: “Your hair seems to have grown quite a bit recently.”
“Ah, really?” Yang Huaijin hadn’t yet fully regained his thoughts.
“Yeah,” Feng Zhi’s voice carried a smile as he leaned in closer to Yang Huaijin’s ear, “It looks even better.”
Being too close, Yang Huaijin’s heart beat a little faster. He took a half step back, saying, “I hadn’t noticed, I’ll wait… until we return to the country to get it cut!”
Upon hearing this, Feng Zhi took out his phone and glanced at the date, saying meaningfully, “Right, it’s time to go back.”
Author’s Note:
Hmm, San-ge finally delivered his eager little punches.
By the way, let me explain why San-ge’s surname is Fang. It’s because they don’t have the same father!
Oh okay, I wasn wondering why they don’t have the same surname.
Anyw, i thought FZ should be a very strong alpha that no one can override his mark to YHJ, but he lost to FR and Ilya?