PM Chapter 11

最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶

Chapter 11

　　The day He An regained consciousness, it was already New Year’s Day—January 1st.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was a long, blurry strip of white stretching out on both sides. As his eyesight slowly got better, a bare fluorescent tube light above him came into view, hurting his eyes.

After a very long sleep, the sudden flash of bright light made his head spin. He didn’t know what day it was or where he was, but his first intuitive reaction was still the same.

He extended his arm and lightly touched his belly.

Flat.

No curvature. No weight.

Linglan?!

He was suddenly hit by panic. It felt like his body went right through the floor. His senses came completely awake, and his ears were abruptly filled with noise—people chatting, footsteps, cups clinking, babies crying—loud and chaotic, like a crowded wet market. Then the smells hit. There was milk, cooked food, a strong cleaner, and a gentle, subtle scent of omega pheromones below everything else.

Figures moved past his eyes. He couldn’t see well. He tried to sit up to figure out what was happening, but as soon as he used his core, a sharp, tearing pain went through his stomach.

“Ahh–!”

He let out a broken groan and then fell back onto the pillow.

“Oh, are you awake?” By his side, a voice sounded bright and energetic. “Don’t move yet—lie still. There’s a cut on your stomach from surgery. You don’t want it to split open.”

He An inhaled hard, sucking in air through his locked teeth until the pain went away.

He turned to where the voice was coming from and saw someone in the next bed in front of him, staring. It was an omega with chestnut-colored hair and a round face. On the other side of the omega was a broad-shouldered, buzz-cut alpha. The alpha wore pheromone-blocking clothes, with a breathable inhibitor patch stuck to the back of his neck. He gave off an intimidating air of roughness and force, yet he rocked a small baby in his arms like a steel sling as the baby slept.

He An finally saw the entire room when he looked past them.

It was a six-bed unit filled with male omegas who had recently given birth. The room was cramped, most likely due to its low cost. Seventeen or eighteen people were jammed in, including omegas, alphas, babies, and visiting relatives. The room was somewhere between lively and loud. There was never a real quiet moment.

Cheap wards didn’t care about privacy very much. There were three horizontal bars above each bed, and by drawing back the curtains, a makeshift cubicle could be built.

The omega with the round face had a baby cradle next to his bed. He An turned his head and saw one next to his own, padded with pale blue all around it.

Empty.

No Linglan.

His chest tightened. Anxiety shot up right away. He wanted to get a doctor and ask what happened—

At that very moment, Cheng Xiu casually walked in from outside, munching on some leafy greens while carrying a boxed lunch.

“He An?”

When he saw him awake, Cheng Xiu’s eyes went wide, “You’re awake?!”

The leafy green vanished rapidly, bite by bite. Cheng Xiu swallowed, wiped his mouth, and appeared at He An’s bedside in a flash, scanning him anxiously, “How do you feel? Dizzy? In pain? Should I call the doctor?”

Before He An could answer, Cheng Xiu had already slapped the call button.

All He An could think about was the baby. He grabbed the bed rail, trying to sit up, “Linglan—where is she?”

Cheng Xiu hurriedly pushed him back down and flashed an OK sign, “She’s fine. She’s in the neonatal unit. Gaining nearly six pounds just from eating and sleeping. While you were out, I went to see her about a hundred times. Now every nurse knows who I am. They swear she’s just as healthy as a full-term baby.”

Only then did He An relax, “Then… Linglan is…”

“A female omega.” Cheng Xiu said proudly, “She’s gorgeous just like you. Big eyes, black hair, tiny arms and legs, soft as hell. I’m obsessed.”

As Cheng Xiu spoke, He An pictured his daughter. A smile curved his lips, but his eyes filled with tears.

“As long as she’s okay… as long as she’s okay…”

He was so happy his shoulders shook with laughter. He accidentally tugged the incision, sucking in a sharp breath from the pain—yet he couldn’t stop smiling. His expression twisted back and forth between laughter and pain, panting softly, looking a little silly.

The round-faced omega in the next bed laughed, “Careful there—don’t get so excited you end up ripping yourself open and getting wheeled back into surgery before you even see your kid.”

⋮

　　The attending doctor arrived with a nurse and performed a full series of tests. He An looked very aware and clear-headed, and the doctor was shocked and impressed, clicking his tongue. He An barely looked like someone who’d been unconscious for six days. But looks can be deceiving. The results of the blood and urine tests were more discouraging, revealing anemia, acute malnutrition, a major pheromone imbalance, and slow wound healing. All of that barely got him a C-grade condition, so he would need to stay in the hospital for at least another half month.

“Your alpha isn’t with you, so your pheromone balance can only be restored with medication.” the doctor explained, tapping on a tablet. “We’ll start with injections for now. When things get better, I’ll give you a low-dose shot. You will need it until you are discharged.”

He An nodded, “I understand.”

“And your meals—don’t just eat whenever. Healthy meals will be prepared by the nurses. They won’t taste as good as food from outside, but you have to eat them. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

The doctor didn’t say anything about the baby. He An couldn’t take it any longer; his chest was on fire with urgency. He leaned forward a little and asked, “Can I see my baby first?”

The doctor paused and saw the empty cradle. He smiled right away and said, “Of course.”

He nudged the nurse with his elbow and said, “Bring the baby from Bed 208. This new dad has been waiting.”

⋮

　　While the nurse went to bring in Linglan, He An waited eagerly against the headboard. The round-faced omega stared at him while clutching a hot-water bottle, clearly wanting to say something.

He An noticed, “What’s wrong?”

The omega hesitated, “The doctor said… your alpha wasn’t here. You were alone. It must’ve hurt so badly when you gave birth. How did you manage?”

The burly alpha chuckled, face full of affection, and rubbed his omega’s head, “Mine here’s scared of pain more than anything. When he went into labor, I got stuck on the highway and was two hours late. He cursed me out in the delivery room for two straight hours. By the time I arrived, I was already famous in the entire obstetrics department.”

“I really was in pain!” the round-faced omega protested, shoving him and then turning to He An, aggrieved, “Alphas don’t give birth—they don’t understand!”

The alpha immediately bowed his head in apology.

He An liked them. He smiled and said, “I was okay. It hurt for an hour or two, then I passed out. After that, I didn’t really feel anything.”

“You passed out?!” The omega looked horrified and yanked the alpha’s sleeve, “See? I told you people can pass out! If you’d been a few minutes later, I might’ve passed out too!”

Then he turned back to He An, puzzled. “But your alpha didn’t come during the birth, and didn’t come afterward either… what was he doing?”

“He…” He An’s gaze dimmed for a moment at the thought of Zheng Feiluan.

Then he looked up and answered calmly, “He’s dead.”

“I-I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have asked!” The omega dropped his hot-water bottle in shock.

He An shook his head lightly, smiling faintly, “It’s fine. I’m not sad anymore.”

Someone pulled on his sleeve as he was talking. When he turned around, he saw Cheng Xiu staring at him, shocked, and then giving him a thumbs-up out of deep respect.

“Clean. Decisive. A textbook case of being a widow!”

He An laughed softly, “Linglan and I will live well from now on. We’ll just pretend that Zheng Feiluan never existed.”

⋮

　　The nurse returned with a bundled baby.

Linglan lay in the cotton swaddle, adorable beyond words. She gnawed on her tiny pink fist, a string of sticky drool stretching from her rosy lips as she babbled incomprehensibly. Her eyes were dark and bright—pure, clear, like two flawless black pearls reflecting the world.

He An’s heart trembled violently. He reached out, hands hovering awkwardly, unsure how to hold something so small without hurting her. The nurse guided him patiently. After several clumsy minutes, he finally managed to settle Linglan safely in his arms.

“Goo~”

The moment she was held, she made a soft, adorable little sound.

He An burst out laughing—then hissed as pain flared at the incision. Still, a child was the best anesthetic. What had moments ago left him sweating now felt bearable with just a furrowed brow.

He brushed her cheek with his thumb, “Linglan. Say “goo” again for Daddy?”

She rolled her eyes around, studied his face, puffed out her cheeks—and obediently blew a tiny spit bubble.

“Prrt.”

The bubble popped.

Not just He An, but the nurse, Cheng Xiu, and the round-faced omega all burst into laughter. The nurse smiled brightly, “See? A biological father really is different. Pheromone comfort works wonders. She cried a lot in the NICU—wailed at me constantly. One hug from you and she’s an entirely different baby.”

He An gazed down at Linglan, unable to get enough of her. His heart felt sweet and full. He rubbed her tiny hand, breathed in her milky scent, and felt as if the entire bright, gentle world had been condensed into this small bundle.

“Linglan?” he teased.

“Goo~”

“Linglan?”

“Goo~!”

Father and daughter played their silly call-and-response, absorbed in something utterly childish and blissful. After a while, He An looked up and noticed the nurse still standing there, hands in her coat pockets, clearly waiting for something.

“Um… is there anything else I should watch out for?”

The nurse bent down, smiling warmly, “New dad—are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Uncomfortable?”

He An didn’t understand at first.

The nurse’s smile was knowing, and her tone was confident, as if she already knew the answer.

He An focused inward for a moment—and then froze. He bit his lower lip, cheeks flushing deeper by the second. He glanced down at his chest, mortified.

“I… I feel a bit…”

“A bit what?” the nurse prompted.

“A bit… tight.” he muttered, barely audible, “Here. In my chest.”

The nurse beamed, “Do you know why?”

He An had been an omega for over twenty years. Of course he knew. His face burned red all the way down his neck.

The nurse patted his shoulder encouragingly, “First time, don’t be nervous. Take a moment to prepare. I’ll teach you.”

She stood and pulled down the curtains, creating a private space. Seeing Cheng Xiu still standing there with his lunch, she cleared her throat loudly, “Beta sir—shouldn’t you step out?”

“Huh?” Cheng Xiu chewed blankly. “Why?”

The nurse smiled, “Take a guess.”

He didn’t get it and tilted his neck toward He An, “Why?”

He An felt like he was about to combust, “You… just go out for a bit.”

Still confused, Cheng Xiu muttered and left, cola and lunch in hand.

He leaned against the wall, still chewing on his leafy greens, pricking up his ears now and then to catch whatever was happening behind the curtain. Unfortunately, the ward was way too noisy—voices, footsteps, crying babies completely drowning out the occasional rustling sounds from inside. After listening for ages and still having no clue what was going on, Cheng Xiu’s curiosity finally exploded.

He decided to ask for help from the alpha and omega couple in the next bed. Slipping over like a thief, he whispered, “What are they doing in there?”

The round-faced omega smiled mysteriously, lips pressed tight, clearly enjoying himself and refusing to answer.

The burly alpha dad, a kinder soul, leaned in close to Cheng Xiu’s ear and lowered his voice. He said just two words.

“Breastfeeding.”

Cheng Xiu never, in his wildest dreams, expected that answer. He froze on the spot; then, with a clack, the two chopsticks slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.

⋮

　　Omegas are capable of giving birth, so of course they should also be capable of breastfeeding—anything else would go against the basic laws of biological evolution.

It wasn’t that Cheng Xiu lacked common sense. It was just that, in his memory, He An had always been flat-chested. Other than his belly, nothing on him had ever looked even remotely swollen. He honestly didn’t look like someone who could breastfeed at all. Because of that, Cheng Xiu had run himself ragged stocking up on several bags of imported formula for Linglan. Looks like all that money has gone straight down the drain.

Cheng Xiu sneaked another glance at the round-faced omega’s chest—flat as a board, not even a hint of a bump. That could be used to feed a baby too?

He couldn’t help growing curious about omega physiology. If it weren’t for the huge, burly alpha sitting guard beside him—making it very much inappropriate to ask rude questions—he probably would have opened his mouth already.

Half an hour crawled by before the curtain was finally pulled open. The nurse walked out of the ward humming cheerfully. Little Linglan was already fast asleep in her cradle, smacking her lips unconsciously once or twice. He An was propped halfway up against the headboard, one hand clutching his hospital gown at the collar. His cheeks were flushed red, and there was a suspicious little milk stain on the chest of his gown.

When his eyes met Cheng Xiu’s, his expression inevitably stiffened with embarrassment.

Cheng Xiu immediately burst into a grin.

What was there to be shy about? You’ve already fed her—what omega in this room hasn’t? Look at you, all shy like some newlywed wife.

“Congratulations,” he said, propping his chin on the bed and openly teasing him. “Straight from the source—fresh, nutritious, top quality. Did Linglan give you five stars?”

He An shot him a sideways glare, “What the hell are you saying?”

Cheng Xiu laughed and rolled his eyes dramatically, pretending to die, then suddenly reached out toward He An’s chest, “Did you hit puberty again?”

“You’re the one hitting puberty again!” He An slapped his hand away, crossing his arms over his chest. He pinched his thumb and forefinger together to show a gap of about one centimeter, “It’s just a little. Not big. The nurse said it’ll go flat again once the breastfeeding period is over.”

“B-breastfeeding period… Hahaha!”

Cheng Xiu buried his face in the blanket and laughed so hard his shoulders shook until He An smacked him squarely on the back of the head.

When he finally finished laughing, Cheng Xiu lifted his head, eyes watery with tears from laughing too hard. Rubbing the sore spot, he asked seriously, “How do you feel? Linglan survived, you’re alive and well, and you can even feed her yourself. Doesn’t that make you happy as hell?”

He An nodded, “Yeah.”

“So let’s just treat everything before this like a nightmare,” Cheng Xiu said, “Right now everything’s fine. No point in being sad anymore, right?”

“Yeah. I’m not sad anymore.”

He An turned his gaze toward the cradle beside him. Tiny Linglan slept peacefully inside, small and sweet, safe and unharmed.

When she sucked with all her strength, the sensation in his chest had been itchy and warm, like a spring flower blooming in barren soil, like a summer tree taking root. Brilliant sunlight poured down onto fertile ground, melting years of ice and snow, warming even blood that had once frozen solid until it flowed again.

What he had now was too beautiful to look away from. Everything he had lost seemed insignificant in comparison, including the man who had once haunted his heart.

“I have you. That’s enough.” He An said softly, reaching out and resting his fingertips against the rail of the baby cradle, smiling gently at her, “Everything else… I don’t care about anymore.”

✕✕✕

Translated and edited by janemoyu (09/16/25)