PM Chapter 10

最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶

Chapter 10

　　Wind and snow whirled together by evening. Pileups continued on the Yuanjiang Expressway, and traffic officers began redirecting cars and closing off lanes one by one.

A perfectly round Volkswagen Beetle battled its way through the chaos. Using only driving skill, it sped through small streets and back alleys, passed more than half of Yuanjiang City, and stopped in front of He An’s building.

The car was going too fast. The car’s hood collided with the rear of the Maybach that was parked in front of it. Just the scraped paint alone cost Cheng Xiu two months’ salary.

He didn’t care about money. What he regretted was that the Beetle wasn’t made of diamond—otherwise it could’ve drilled straight through his boss’s car from front to back. He cursed under his breath, jumped out of the car like a flicked cigarette butt, landed neatly in the stairwell—and immediately stepped into a mess of smashed tofu and vegetable leaves because the light was too dim.

When he opened the door, the living room was a complete disaster.

Throw pillows are spread out all over the place, and none of them are where they should be. He An’s favorite mug had shattered into ceramic fragments scattered from one wall to the other—on the larger pieces, the coffee shop logo was still visible. A formal suit jacket had been thrown onto the couch, and a black bow tie was hanging off the side of a blanket.

Then, from the bedroom with the door halfway open, a faint cry of pain was heard.

Cheng Xiu’s head blew up.

He raced inside, stepping over the broken pieces.

He gasped when he saw what was going on inside.

Zheng Feiluan had stripped He An fully naked in the middle of a freezing cold apartment that barely had enough heat to begin with. He was curled up and folded over at the end of the bed. His bare legs were entangled in the sheets, covered in nothing but intense white and sharp red markings.

Bloodstains painted his thighs. A wide, alarming pool of red formed from between his legs. Blood was flowing down in streams, mixed with a lot of amniotic fluid, and making the pale gray bedsheets under him almost black.

He was cold and shaking all over, but the pain made him hot and sweaty. His whole body was wet and smooth, like a lotus root that had been in water for too long. He was in so much pain that he was biting the pillowcase at his cheek. His stomach hurt so much that his mouth was clenched tightly, making his usually gentle face look almost feral.

His hands were tightly restrained. After struggling, all he’d managed to do was tear the skin around his wrists—nicked by the rough leather.

When Cheng Xiu saw the belt, every hair on his back stood on end.

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　　The one who’d caused all this—Zheng Feiluan—had no idea what sin he’d committed.

He lay crowded onto the same bed with He An, holding him from behind, one hand resting on He An’s distended belly, stroking it gently, like a devoted husband cherishing his wife and child. Eyes closed, he nuzzled He An’s neck, expression intoxicated, lips wandering along the shoulder line, leaving a trail of light, broken kisses.

Sensing a stranger’s presence, Zheng Feiluan snapped his head up, gaze sharp as a blade.

A trace of beta scent had entered the room. The anger erupted in an instant as Zheng Feiluan’s alpha pheromones surged violently, reaching a peak within seconds and then blasting with a sickening rejection. Cheng Xiu’s legs were about to give out, and he almost fell to his knees.

“Leave.”

One word. Clear and simple.

At the same time, his biceps bulged, forming an unbreakable wall around the omega in his arms, like a ferocious dragon guarding its hoard.

Hearing the noise, He An’s wet lashes trembled. After a moment, he struggled to lift his eyelids.

“Cheng…”

His lips moved. He clearly wanted to say more, but no other sound came out. Cheng Xiu panicked and stepped closer.

That single step crossed an invisible boundary. Zheng Feiluan’s anger spiked again as he roared, “Leave!”

“Feiluan… be quiet.” He An coughed, voice hoarse. “That’s Cheng Xiu.”

His voice was barely there—but it worked like a sealing talisman slapped onto a demon’s forehead. Zheng Feiluan obediently shut his mouth. He didn’t speak again—though the glare he fixed on Cheng Xiu only grew more vicious, as if he meant to scare him off with pure killing intent.

Cheng Xiu sighed to himself.

He’d seen this strange state of Zheng Feiluan dozens of times. Usually, after letting his lust run wild, Zheng Feiluan would revert to his former self as a stupidly clingy giant dog, with a sharp nose and fur covered in industrial-strength glue. He followed He An everywhere, begging for attention and acting innocent. He looked so innocent that no one could bring themselves to yell at him.

Whenever Cheng Xiu came to pick him up, dragging him away by force was impossible. He An had to personally escort him into the car, coax him softly, and tuck an orange fleece blanket into his arms.

That blanket was He An’s—carrying a faint lily of the valley scent. Only after breathing it in would the stubborn beast finally close his eyes and sleep.

Every time Cheng Xiu saw Zheng Feiluan rubbing his face and neck against He An, drooling all over him until He An laughed in embarrassment, he felt like flipping the dashcam and secretly recording it—then threatening his boss with a raise. Maybe even get a lifetime’s worth of year-end bonuses as hush money before quitting gloriously.

In fact, he had recorded it.

He just never used it as leverage. Instead, he saved it on a hard drive, planning to gift it as wedding footage one day—when Zheng Feiluan, roses in hand, proposed to He An.

Back then, Cheng Xiu had smiled while filming, convinced everything would turn out fine.

A hundred percent compatibility. It was a destined match. How long could mate-seeking disorder really keep them apart?

Eventually, Zheng Feiluan would fall in love with He An, spoil him without limits, take him away from that cramped, dark rental apartment, and have a whole brood of chubby babies with him. Once the kids learned to walk, Zheng Feiluan would even bring them to the office, letting them tumble all over the carpet without batting an eye.

Cheng Xiu had even planned—privately—to arrange another meeting while Zheng Feiluan was lucid, to tie the severed red thread back together.

But before that chance ever came, disaster struck.

After half a year apart, He An was actually pregnant—and Zheng Feiluan was still the same cold-blooded wolf.

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　　Cheng Xiu pushed through Zheng Feiluan’s murderous stare and rushed to He An’s bedside, “How are you now? Can you hold on?” he asked urgently.

He An lowered his lashes and didn’t answer. After a moment, he slowly shook his head.

Those few words earlier had drained him completely. After a long while, he gathered what little strength he had and tugged weakly at Cheng Xiu’s sleeve, “Linglan… hasn’t moved… for a long time… take me… take me to the hospital… get her out…”

“Of course!” Cheng Xiu didn’t hesitate.

He pried Zheng Feiluan’s tangled limbs away, wrapped He An in a clean blanket, and lifted him sideways.

Seeing him taken away, Zheng Feiluan immediately blocked them, grabbing onto the blanket.

“Mine.”

“Let go—now!” Cheng Xiu was frantic. He yanked twice without success and nearly kicked him in the face, “If we don’t get to the hospital, Linglan will die! That’s your child—your own flesh and blood! Will you let go or not?!”

“No.” Zheng Feiluan was immovable, “He’s mine.”

Cheng Xiu was out of options.

With He An—and Linglan—in his arms, his arms were already shaking. There was no spare strength to deal with Zheng Feiluan. Even if his hands were free, this muscle-brained alpha could beat him into the ground.

Then He An endured another wave of piercing pain, rested his cheek against Cheng Xiu’s shoulder, and exhaled weakly.

“Feiluan… let go.” he whispered.

The raging alpha froze. His fingers loosened on their own.

Anything the omega asked—he couldn’t disobey.

Cheng Xiu retreated immediately, staying well out of reach. Deprived of comforting pheromones, Zheng Feiluan grew visibly restless, like an animal abandoned in an empty wilderness—unable to find the omega, yet afraid to leave.

He sat on the bed, staring at the small lock of black hair peeking from the blanket, and said urgently, “Come back soon.”

He An closed his eyes and didn’t answer.

After waiting a few seconds, Cheng Xiu bolted, carrying He An down the stairs and out of the building. A blast of freezing wind and heavy snow hit them head-on, stinging his dry face.

Somewhere in the wind, he caught a faint, nearly inaudible voice:

“No, Feiluan… I’m not coming back.”

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　　Cheng Xiu had called an ambulance on the way—but the ambulance ended up in a seven-car pileup on the expressway and turned back, packed with fresh casualties. Dispatch promised another one, but none arrived by the time Cheng Xiu reached the entrance.

Two cars sat there—his Beetle and Zheng Feiluan’s twelve-cylinder Maybach.

Without a second’s hesitation, Cheng Xiu laid He An across the Maybach’s back seat, buckled him in, jumped into the driver’s seat, floored the accelerator, and tore off toward the maternity hospital at 120 kilometers per hour.

On the way, He An’s condition worsened rapidly.

Alpha pheromones have strong analgesic and hemostatic effects on omegas in labor. Separated from their alpha, an omega becomes dangerously fragile. Normally, Cheng Xiu should’ve brought Zheng Feiluan along—but in his current state, taking him to a delivery room would’ve been like dragging a stubborn husky into a college entrance exam.

Cheng Xiu couldn’t handle both an emergency and a feral alpha. He took a chance on the hospital.

Fifteen minutes later, He An was rushed into the ER on a stretcher.

He was already unconscious, face white as porcelain. When the blanket was lifted, the thick, hot stench of blood filled the air.

Cheng Xiu went numb with terror and followed the stretcher at a dead run to the operating room. The red light came on. He stared at the glowing words “Surgery in Progress,” unable to tell whether the redness was light—or blood.

Panicked or not, things still had to be done.

With the alpha absent, everything fell on Cheng Xiu.

He paid emergency fees, equipment fees, medication, and hospitalization. He signed consent forms in Zheng Feiluan’s place, applied for artificial alpha pheromone emergency treatment—and when blood loss exceeded safe limits, he even rolled up his sleeves and donated a bag of blood.

After running himself into the ground, he returned to wait outside the OR. The red light was still on.

Near midnight, a beta female doctor woke him from the family seating area.

“The baby’s been born.” she said. “A lovely omega girl. She’s stable overall, just weak. Some amniotic fluid got into her lungs—she’ll need to stay in the incubator for a few days.”

Cheng Xiu jolted upright, “What about the father?”

“The father… is still unstable.” the doctor said gravely. “Severe blood loss, trauma from abuse, and the absence of an alpha have resulted in a very poor pheromone balance. Help is ongoing, but he’s not out of danger yet.”

Cheng Xiu swallowed hard, “Then… are the chances good?”

“We’ll do everything we can.” She patted his shoulder, then gestured toward the NICU¹Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a hospital ward or department equipped and supervised to deliver intensive care to critically ailing or premature newborn infants., “Go see the baby. Now that she’s here, the father won’t want to leave her by herself.”

Cheng Xiu glanced once more at the still-lit sign, rubbed his brow, and followed the nurse down the long corridor.

Through the glass of the NICU, he saw a dozen or so rosy-cheeked little babies.

The nurse pointed one out. Cheng Xiu opened his eyes wider. There was a little baby girl in a diaper inside the incubator. Her skin was red, her face was wrinkly, she was small and thin, and her head was round and a little too big. Her head was covered with short, wavy hair. As she kicked, the baby tags around her ankles and wrists shook with each kick. Her small tummy gently rose and fell, with a pink umbilical clamp secured at the severed cord.

It was Christmas. You came rushing into the world at the very last minute on December 25th, barely taking time to say hello before you did so. You just couldn’t wait.

Cheng Xiu’s nose stung. He didn’t know if he should laugh or cry.

He put his hand up and lightly tapped the glass.

“Hello, Linglan.”

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Translated and edited by janemoyu (09/10/25)

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  Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a hospital ward or department equipped and supervised to deliver intensive care to critically ailing or premature newborn infants.