Chapter 30: Examination
Jiang Rong received He Siming’s brand-new “old phone.” The factory-installed protective film was still stuck to the screen.
Yao Shule said, “If your phone’s broken, you could just use mine. Why did Ding Yan go out of his way to bring you another one?”
Only then did Ding Yan react. “Yeah, right—using yours or using Old He’s is the same. Why did I even make this trip!”
Jiang Rong didn’t know how to explain whether He Siming might have had a bit of personal motive behind it.
He helped He Siming explain a little. “It’s He Siming’s phone. He probably didn’t think it through? You still need your phone for daily use—it wouldn’t be good for me to keep borrowing it for too long.”
Yao Shule said, “But honestly, this phone’s performance is way better than mine. It runs software faster too—perfect for you. Gaming on it must feel great.”
Ding Yan stared at Jiang Rong. “Hurry up and put your SIM card in. Just use this one.”
He knew very well that once He Siming gave something away, there was no taking it back. Besides, everyone knew Jiang Rong’s situation—they were afraid he might change his mind and refuse it out of pride. Otherwise, Ding Yan’s trip would’ve been for nothing.
Jiang Rong looked at the phone. Before he could even find where to insert the SIM card, Ding Yan had already snatched it away.
“I’ll do it. You’re too slow.”
Jiang Rong said, “That works.” He didn’t want to expose his lack of common knowledge.
He watched as Ding Yan took out the SIM card, inserted it, and activated the phone. Soon after, Ding Yan handed it back to him.
Then Ding Yan realized belatedly, “Fuck, I’m an idiot. You’re from the Computer Science department, and I still helped you insert the SIM card.”
Yao Shule laughed on the side. “I almost said something earlier—Jiang Rong’s not incapable.”
Jiang Rong said, “Thank you.” He really was incapable.
That made Ding Yan feel awkward instead.
“Don’t mention it. Go play with it.”
Yao Shule was a straightforward guy. Hearing Ding Yan’s tone made him uncomfortable, so he said directly, “I say, Ding Yan, can you change the way you talk? You make it sound like you’re doing Jiang Rong a favor. That’s clearly He-God’s phone.”
Ding Yan didn’t think so. “Did I? Wasn’t that normal?”
Yao Shule genuinely couldn’t stand how he spoke to Jiang Rong. “Want me to demonstrate for you? Don’t bully our Rong-rong!”
“Fine, fine, you do it!”
Yao Shule had some acting talent. In the blink of an eye, his expression changed. He handed an imaginary phone to Ding Yan, lifted his brows, and said disdainfully, “You’re welcome. Take it and play.”
Ding Yan said, “Am I really that ugly?”
“You were way uglier just now.”
Ding Yan’s confidence wavered. “I think you’re deliberately making me look bad.”
Yao Shule patted his shoulder. “Big spender, you’ve still got lots of room for improvement. Don’t always wear that ‘looking down on others’ expression.”
Ding Yan: “……”
Everyone knew about him spending money on a junior. Now he couldn’t stand hearing the words big spender!
No wonder Old He was always telling him to learn the art of speaking—he’d been too dumb to get what Old He meant!
Only then did Ding Yan say to Jiang Rong, “Jiang Rong, I didn’t mean to look down on you!”
In the end, Ding Yan fled in embarrassment.
“Shule, thanks,” Jiang Rong smiled. Yao Shule was someone with clear likes and dislikes, and he could be quite considerate at times. As for Ding Yan, Jiang Rong had thought from the start that his EQ was very low—he really didn’t know how to speak—and had never felt much fondness for him.
Yao Shule waved it off. “Hey, when dealing with someone sharp-tongued like him, you’ve gotta be even sharper. Don’t take his words to heart—Ding Yan just talks without thinking. Basically, he’s a spoiled kid. Anyway, don’t be so polite—that’s not like you.”
Jiang Rong: “……”
He really wasn’t that “Jiang Rong”—he was Jiang Rong from the ABO world.
Yao Shule grinned. “But this version of you is pretty nice too. From now on, Brother Le’s got your back!”
Jiang Rong felt warmed by that.
Between guys, overly sentimental stuff didn’t really fit. Yao Shule asked if he wanted to keep playing games.
Jiang Rong was already downloading the usual apps.
“Sure. I’m almost done downloading.”
He Siming also messaged him on WeChat asking if he’d downloaded the game yet.
Jiang Rong: Not yet, but almost. Shule said he wants to play too.
He Siming: Then let’s play together. Ask Li Yizhou if he wants to join.
Jiang Rong said to Yao Shule, “He Siming says let’s play together. How about it? Let’s call Li Yizhou too.”
Yao Shule loved lively scenes. “Sure! Pull one more in—five-man queue! Dorm 519 grand alliance, activate!”
In the end, they pulled in Ding Yan as well.
Yao Shule added him to the 519 group chat, and everyone opened WeChat voice chat.
“Dorm 519 honorary member, you online yet?”
“Coming, coming!”
Jiang Rong finished downloading the game and was pulled into the room by Yao Shule. Then He Siming joined, and finally Li Yizhou.
Li Yizhou said, “Huh? He-God’s here too.”
He Siming replied, “Mm.”
Li Yizhou noticed an unfamiliar ID and casually asked, “Wait—who’s ‘Otherworlder’?”
Jiang Rong spoke up. “That’s me.”
Li Yizhou exclaimed, “I’ve only been gone a day—what happened? Jiang Rong’s already playing games!”
Yao Shule bragged, “I taught him! Great teachers produce great students!”
Li Yizhou scoffed, “Give me a break. I carried you to King rank, and two days later you got knocked back down.”
Yao Shule argued, “That was my teammates’ fault!”
They queued up.
Jiang Rong asked, “What should I pick?”
He Siming said, “Can you play marksman?”
“I practiced Hou Yi a bit in the newbie area.”
“I’ll take support and go bot lane with you. Hou Yi or Luban—both are easy to learn.”
Ding Yan said, “Old He, don’t you always jungle? Since when do you like support?”
He Siming replied, “Yao Shule’s jungle is good. I’ll let him have it.”
Yao Shule was floating from the praise. “Li Yizhou, hear that? Even He-God says my jungle’s good!”
Ding Yan asked, “Then what do I play?”
Li Yizhou said, “I’ll go solo lane.”
“Then I’ll go mid.”
The game started.
Jiang Rong still wasn’t very clear on lane concepts.
He Siming called him proactively, “Jiang Rong, follow me.”
Jiang Rong obediently replied, “Okay.”
“I’ll teach you marksman.” He picked Zhuang Zhou—the fish.
“Sure. I haven’t fully grasped the skills yet.”
“Your first skill speeds you up when it hits. Stack three and you shoot three arrows. Try it later. My big fish can tank damage—hide behind me.”
“Got it. What about the second skill?” He was reading the skill descriptions, but He Siming’s explanations were more detailed.
“Stun effect. The third skill too—the farther the distance, the longer the stun if it hits. You can try it.”
Li Yizhou said, “No way—He-God, you’re teaching this carefully?”
Ding Yan chimed in, “Teach me too, I’m trash.”
He Siming said flatly, “If you’re trash, practice more.”
One sentence silenced everyone.
Only Jiang Rong laughed.
“He Siming,” he said, “I’m going in.”
Jiang Rong controlled Hou Yi and shot at the enemy Luban. “Mm!”
With He Siming blocking in front, he could attack freely. He Siming was amazing—using Zhuang Zhou’s first skill to control the enemy support and Luban. Jiang Rong’s positioning was smooth; Luban’s attacks didn’t hit him once.
“First Blood!”
Yao Shule cheered, “Nice!”
Li Yizhou exclaimed, “Awesome!”
Even Ding Yan, who rarely praised others, followed along. “Impressive?”
He Siming said, “Very good. Kill another.”
Riding the momentum, they took down the enemy support too.
“Double Kill!”
Li Yizhou said, “Talent!”
Ding Yan was stunned. “No—aren’t you a newbie? You just kill like that?”
Yao Shule laughed, “Guess I’ll fight you talented players to the end!”
Li Yizhou added, “Jungler, don’t get excited—you can do it too.”
Ding Yan: “……”
He Siming protected Jiang Rong as they quickly took down the enemy’s first tower, then rotated to support other lanes and picked up two more kills mid.
He Siming led Jiang Rong to take the dragon. “Come on, let’s kill the dragon.”
“OK!”
Yao Shule protested, “Isn’t dragon the jungler’s job?”
He Siming replied calmly, “Look at your gold—can you even start the dragon?”
Yao Shule: “……”
For the first time, he experienced He-God’s verbal damage.
They secured the dragon smoothly. He Siming continued leading Jiang Rong to push towers. Everything went smoothly, and Jiang Rong was well protected.
In under six minutes, they were three thousand gold ahead.
Then came team fights. The enemy jungler tried to catch Jiang Rong, who’d been hiding behind He Siming. This time, Jiang Rong didn’t dodge in time and got caught.
He Siming stepped up to tank the damage. “Run—if I die, it’s fine. It’ll just hurt a bit.”
Jiang Rong flashed away at top speed. “Does it hurt a lot?”
“They had four people hitting me. I came back to tower with a sliver of HP—what do you think?”
“Yeah, that does hurt. Then I’ll protect you next.”
“Sure. I’ll stick close to you.”
“Okay.”
Li Yizhou, Yao Shule, and Ding Yan: “……”
If you two keep talking like this, we’ll think we’ve run into a couple and won’t want to play with you.
With their economic lead, it was a smooth game. They quickly pushed into the enemy’s high ground.
Then it was Jiang Rong’s time to shine.
One kill. Two kills. Three kills. Four kills…
“Penta Kill!”
“Victory!”
Ding Yan stared at his own stats, full of doubt about his abilities. “Jiang Rong, aren’t you a newbie?”
Jiang Rong answered honestly, “Yeah. I just learned tonight.”
Ding Yan borrowed Yao Shule’s earlier words. “Then I’ll fight you talented players too!”
He Siming said, “You’re already very good for just learning.”
Jiang Rong replied, “It’s because He-God supported me well.”
He Siming chuckled—hearing Jiang Rong call him He-God felt different from when others did. “Next round I’ll jungle. You play mid?”
“Sure.”
The five queued again.
The other three felt vaguely like they’d been excluded.
The second game started.
Jiang Rong picked Daji again. He Siming chose Lanling Wang. Ding Yan went solo lane. Yao Shule and Li Yizhou took marksman and support.
Mid lane was dangerous—the enemy mid was good at ambushing in bushes. Jiang Rong almost got caught. He Siming, who was jungling nearby, came in and killed the half-HP Angela with two moves.
“Thanks, He-God.”
“You’re welcome.”
After that, whenever Jiang Rong damaged an enemy mid to half health, He Siming would instantly finish them off.
“Your jungle is amazing!”
“It’s okay.”
Meanwhile, Ding Yan on the side lane kept smashing the help signal, nearly breaking his screen, while He Siming was right nearby and still didn’t come to help.
[Requesting backup!]
[Requesting backup!]
[Requesting backup!]
“An ally has been slain!”
“Old He, save me, save me!”
“If you can’t win, hide under tower. Don’t be reckless.”
Ding Yan: “……”
Damn it!
Then it was He Siming’s performance time. Jiang Rong’s ears were filled with He Siming’s kill announcements.
One kill, two kills, three kills… five kills!
“So cool!” Jiang Rong praised.
“You’re not bad either.”
He Siming’s stats: 13-0-4
Jiang Rong’s stats: 5-0-6
The other three were dumbfounded.
Yao Shule said, “Wait—He-God, you’re this strong?”
Li Yizhou said, “666!”
Ding Yan asked, “You weren’t even serious when you played with me before, were you?”
He Siming replied casually, “I guess.”
Ding Yan: “……”
And he actually admitted it!
After two games, Jiang Rong yawned.
He Siming said, “Jiang Rong, it’s time to sleep.”
“Mm. I’ll stop. I’m sleepy. You guys keep playing.”
Ding Yan commented, “That schedule is really healthy.”
Jiang Rong exited the game and voice chat; He Siming exited too.
Yao Shule dragged Li Yizhou to keep playing. When Jiang Rong finished showering, he heard Yao Shule raging at teammates through his phone.
Back on his bed, Jiang Rong habitually picked up his old phone—only to find the screen black. Then he switched to He Siming’s new phone.
It felt like he’d taken advantage of He Siming again. This favor was getting harder and harder to repay.
Playing games with everyone was fun, but tomorrow he still had to face reality. He had a vague idea of what the old traditional doctor meant—his questions had been very pointed. Boyfriend and sex life… most likely pointing to pregnancy.
His symptoms were just too similar.
Help…
Buzz buzz buzz.
A WeChat message came in; the phone vibrated.
It was from He Siming.
He Siming: Asleep?
Jiang Rong: Not yet. How are things on your end?
He Siming: Still not sure. It’s a bit serious.
Jiang Rong: Do you need to work overtime?
He Siming: No. I’m just technical support, not their employee.
Jiang Rong: Where are you staying then?
He Siming: A hotel. The bed’s cold—not as warm as the one we slept in before.
Jiang Rong: I’m going to sleep!
He Siming: Go to sleep. Good night.
Jiang Rong: Good night.
Maybe because he’d heard He Siming’s voice tonight, Jiang Rong didn’t lie awake worrying about the examination.
The next morning, while Yao Shule was sleeping like the dead, Jiang Rong got up and went to the hospital.
Following the address the old doctor gave him, he arrived at City First Hospital and found Dr. Liu in the examination department.
Dr. Liu was a middle-aged woman with a gentle voice. “You’re a student from Qin University, right?”
“Yes.”
“Have you registered?”
“I registered with the examination department.”
“Alright. Come with me—Dr. Liu has already told me about your situation.”
“Ah? Is my condition serious?”
“We’ll know after the scan.”
She led Jiang Rong into the examination room, asked him to lift his clothes, and applied a cool, transparent gel to his abdomen.
Jiang Rong visibly shuddered.
“Don’t be nervous. We’ll wipe it off after.”
“Okay.”
Dr. Liu moved the probe over his lower abdomen.
Even with her experience, Dr. Liu froze when she saw the image on the monitor. Afraid she’d misread it, she scanned a few more times.
“You’re a boy, right?”
“Absolutely.”
Her expression wavered, but she congratulated him immediately. “Congratulations—you’re going to be a father.”
Jiang Rong sat up in shock. “I—I’m really pregnant?”
She gently pressed him back down and turned the screen toward him. “Look here—three weeks. It’s just formed.”
“It looks like a seed.”
Dr. Liu smiled. “Yes. The little seed in your belly is about to bloom and bear fruit.”
But her smile only lasted a moment.
Realizing the pregnant patient was a gentle-looking, beautiful boy, she continued carefully. “Male pregnancy isn’t common, but it does happen. Don’t worry. You may have been born with a uterus. However, your reproductive cavity is a bit different from ordinary people’s. Given the situation, you can discuss with friends or family whether you want to keep it or have surgery. If you choose surgery, you’ll need further examinations.”
“Thank you, doctor. I understand.”
Dr. Liu proactively gave him her WeChat. “This is my WeChat. If you have any questions, you can contact me. Dr. Liu—my father—can also help with any physical issues.”
Jiang Rong nodded. “Thank you.”
Dr. Liu printed out the examination and imaging reports and handed them to him. Seeing his stunned state, she knew he was young and inexperienced—and a college student at that. Anyone would be shocked by this; some might not even be able to accept it, so she offered a bit of comfort.
“The world is vast and full of wonders. You might not know—there are people who only discovered they were men after becoming grandmothers. Some are born with development different from ordinary people. There are even cases where girls dated boyfriends, went to the hospital later, and the doctor told them they were actually male—they asked the doctor what to do.”
So this world also had cases of ambiguous sex. Compared to that, he was just a special case—probably wouldn’t be dragged to a lab for dissection.
Understanding her kindness, Jiang Rong thanked her and asked, “Then… is it healthy?”
Dr. Liu smiled. “It’s very healthy.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Contact me anytime.”
Jiang Rong left the examination room with the reports.
In the elevator, seeing his reflection in the mirror, he didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad. He covered his gradually paling face with the report.
H-how did I end up pregnant…?
