Chapter 62: An Irreplaceable Gift
They had pitched their tent right by the river. A gust of wind whooshed over the top, twisting the balloons tied above into all kinds of shapes.
Ding Yan and Li Yizhou both sucked in a huge breath of cold air, mouths hanging open for quite a while before they finally closed them.
Ding Yan rubbed his eyes, pointed at them, and stared in disbelief.
“Old He, you—you—what’s going on here?!”
Li Yizhou didn’t look at the main character at all. Instead, he turned to Yao Shule, who was watching him and Ding Yan with a mocking expression.
“Yao Shule, you knew about this already, didn’t you?”
Yao Shule felt a bit smug.
“I didn’t know that early, but at least I noticed something was off. It was so obvious.”
Ding Yan was still completely confused. He suddenly jumped up.
“Old He, that’s not cool of you!”
He Siming raised an eyebrow.
“How am I not cool?”
Ding Yan said, “Why didn’t you just tell us directly?”
He Siming replied, “Wasn’t I obvious enough? I’ve been living with Jiang Rong for half a year now. You guys are slower than slow—I wanted you to notice, but it was hard. I even said on the forum that I had a partner, and you still didn’t connect the dots. Is that my fault? I never tried to hide it.”
He unfolded an outdoor folding chair and placed it behind Jiang Rong.
Ding Yan realized he really couldn’t argue with He Siming. It was true—He Siming had never hidden how much he cared about Jiang Rong. They even lived together. And looking at Jiang Rong now, he’d been pampered to the point of looking exquisitely well-kept.
Jiang Rong sat down without saying a word. There was nothing he needed to explain.
Li Yizhou also jumped up like Ding Yan.
“Wait—God He, you actually like guys?! Holy shit, Ding Yan likes guys too. So I’m the only straight one here?!”
He’d found the key point!
He had way too many questions for He Siming and Jiang Rong now!
Ding Yan blurted out, “Old He, when did you start liking men? How did I not know? And when exactly did you two get together?”
Li Yizhou was actually pretty accepting, and Yao Shule liked men too.
Oh my god—everyone around him was gay. What kind of heterosexual-repelling constitution was this?!
Yao Shule had already gotten the scoop from Jiang Rong.
“They got together last year.”
Ding Yan started replaying things in his head.
“No way—were you already together around New Year’s?”
He Siming nodded.
“Yeah.”
Ding Yan collapsed.
“You two are really good at hiding it.”
Jiang Rong wasn’t used to being surrounded and interrogated like this—it felt like a public trial.
“He Siming, maybe you should cut the cake first.”
He’d been craving it for a while.
Ding Yan gave Jiang Rong a thumbs-up.
“Awesome.”
He’d known He Siming since high school and had never seen him hold anyone in special regard. Flowers and grass never caught his eye or his heart—yet Jiang Rong had quietly won him over. How on earth did they hit it off?
Ding Yan couldn’t figure it out. And since he didn’t have the ability to figure it out, he decided not to. Things he couldn’t understand, he’d just let go—no need to trouble himself.
He Siming didn’t intend to explain either. This was between him and Jiang Rong. Besides, no matter how much he explained, Ding Yan wouldn’t understand.
He took the knife Jiang Rong handed him and cut the cake into five pieces—the smallest one was Jiang Rong’s.
Ding Yan laughed.
“Hey, Old He, you just called Jiang Rong your wife—so why does he get the smallest piece?”
He Siming replied, “He can’t eat too much.”
Yao Shule couldn’t help kicking Ding Yan.
“Jiang Rong’s sick—you know that. Your mouth really deserves a beating.”
Ding Yan immediately dropped to his knees in apology.
“Sorry, I forgot! It’s just—you look really healthy, even healthier than me!”
He stayed up late gaming all the time and pulled all-nighters on weekends. Naturally, his condition couldn’t compare to Jiang Rong, who went to bed early, woke up early, and was constantly nourished with supplements by He Siming.
Jiang Rong didn’t mind.
“I really am pretty healthy.”
He Siming, however, shot Ding Yan a cold look. Talking about the one thing he shouldn’t.
Jiang Rong started eating his fruit cake. Seeing He Siming seemingly worrying again about “production” matters, he speared a piece of yellow peach and held it to his lips.
“Help me eat it?”
He Siming opened his mouth and ate it. This was their usual habit—when Jiang Rong ate fruit, he’d casually feed He Siming a piece. Whenever he couldn’t finish or didn’t like something, he’d feed him even more.
In short, they both enjoyed the give-and-take of feeding each other.
Ding Yan and Li Yizhou hadn’t expected it—hadn’t expected their displays of affection to feel so natural. It was just like usual, but now that the truth was out, everything felt different.
Jiang Rong saw him chewing slowly.
“Is it not good?”
He Siming finished the peach.
“It’s pretty good.”
Now that their secret relationship was out in the open, He Siming’s care for Jiang Rong was also out in the open.
After cake, everyone started preparing the barbecue.
He Siming probably knew the others weren’t that reliable, so he’d prepared an extra set of smokeless charcoal and a grill.
With two grills going at once, efficiency was high. The two of them shared one grill; the other three grilled whatever they wanted.
He Siming prioritized Jiang Rong—every skewer he finished went straight to him.
Ding Yan hovered by their grill to mooch food.
“Old He, having a partner really changes you—you’re even grilling the meat yourself now.”
Before, whenever they went out together, he wouldn’t even touch the grill, complaining about everyone else’s saliva getting on the skewers.
Faced with Ding Yan’s teasing, He Siming didn’t bite.
“I’m grilling for my wife, willingly. You should find someone to grill for you too.”
Ding Yan choked.
“Damn, your attack power is way too high. I’m not looking for someone to control me.”
He Siming still remembered prenatal education.
“Don’t swear.”
Ding Yan: “…”
Jiang Rong listened to them chatting with a smile. Without realizing it, he’d been fed until he was full.
The midday sun was warm. Ding Yan and the other two sat on mats playing cards.
Jiang Rong dragged a lounge chair outside the tent to sunbathe. The warmth made him drowsy.
He Siming brought over a jacket and draped it over him.
“Don’t catch a chill.”
Jiang Rong yawned.
“I’m sunbathing—I won’t get cold.”
He Siming pulled up a folding chair and sat beside him, blocking the gentle breeze.
Spring air, pink peach blossoms drifting to the ground—what a peaceful, idyllic scene.
Jiang Rong didn’t even know when he’d fallen asleep. He was woken by the chatter of a group of children.
“Big brother, I want that pink pig!”
“Big brother, I want the frog!”
“Big brother, you’re so handsome—handsomer than the best-looking kid in our class. Can you be my boyfriend?”
Rubbing his eyes, Jiang Rong turned his head and saw He Siming untie balloons from the tent ropes, handing them out to the children one by one. Somehow, two or three dozen kids had appeared around their tent, all waiting to get balloons from them.
He even took time to answer the little girl.
“No, I already have a partner. I can’t be your boyfriend.”
The answer was unexpectedly serious.
The girl wasn’t disappointed at all. She even sounded very worldly.
“Then you can break up with him and be my boyfriend.”
Jiang Rong had never imagined that kids of four or five could be this mature. He was fully awake now.
He Siming said, “I won’t break up with him. Take your balloon and go play.”
He really didn’t like other people’s mischievous kids—boys or girls alike.
Jiang Rong could tell they were probably from a nearby kindergarten on a spring outing. Ding Yan had bought all the balloons in the peach orchard, and the kids simply couldn’t move once they saw them.
While they were handing them out, two kids on He Siming’s side started fighting over one balloon. One pushed the other, and the pushed one suddenly burst into tears.
He Siming felt his head splitting.
“Ding Yan, hurry up and comfort them!”
Ding Yan replied, “I don’t know how to comfort kids either!”
Jiang Rong got up, untied two balloons that were also tied to the chairs, and walked over.
Yao Shule and Li Yizhou were nowhere to be seen.
Jiang Rong handed a balloon to the crying child and squatted down, coaxing gently.
“Don’t cry. There are lots of balloons. Which one do you want?”
He Siming didn’t even want to try comforting them. These kids had nothing to do with him.
All his patience had already been spent on Jiang Rong and their future baby.
Kids were actually easy to comfort. Once they got balloons, they ran off to play.
Jiang Rong asked, “Where are Yao Shule and Li Yizhou?”
He Siming tilted his chin.
“Their teacher fainted just now. Yao Shule and Li Yizhou helped send her to a nearby clinic. Another teacher took the kids to the restroom and couldn’t handle them alone, so they asked us to watch them for a bit.”
Seeing his disgruntled expression, Jiang Rong guessed he’d been worn out by the kids and laughed.
“Then you should preview things in advance.”
He Siming: “…”
What could he do? He could only compromise. After all, he couldn’t give up his own baby.
Jiang Rong spoke gently and knew how to handle kids—they listened to him quite well.
Before long, the teacher who’d taken the kids to the restroom returned. Their kindergarten was nearby, and staff came to take the children back.
Their tent finally became quiet again. Yao Shule and Li Yizhou also returned after doing a good deed.
Their “children’s amusement park” birthday party site had been completely ransacked, leaving only the shell behind.
Yao Shule was stunned.
“God He, there’s not a single trace of your birthday party left!”
He Siming said calmly, “I’m not a child.”
They’d only let the kids take the balloons—not the food.
Everyone grilled the remaining ingredients. This time, Jiang Rong grilled corn himself.
Yao Shule pulled out his drone and started recording.
“Rongrong, wave at it!”
Holding a small brush, Jiang Rong waved at the camera.
“He Siming, happy birthday.”
He Siming replied, “I’m right next to you—you should say it to me.”
Jiang Rong turned and handed him the grilled corn.
“Here.”
Eating the corn Jiang Rong had grilled put He Siming in a great mood, wiping away all the irritation from earlier.
Jiang Rong could tell that He Siming was actually quite afraid of kids. When handing out balloons, he’d kept a full meter of distance and wore a clear “do not approach” expression.
After skillfully operating the drone, Yao Shule and Li Yizhou called out to them.
“Come take photos, come take photos! How can we not take pictures on God He’s birthday!”
He’d already taken quite a few with his phone; the drone was for panoramic shots.
They took lots of photos inside and outside the tent.
Yao Shule directed them.
“You two get closer. Ding Yan, you’re in the frame—move to the side!”
Ding Yan: “…”
Yao Shule snapped several satisfying shots and even reviewed them together with Jiang Rong.
Jiang Rong thought they all looked great. Yao Shule was really good at photography and composition. From the photos, he noticed how gentle He Siming’s gaze was when he looked at him—and that he was looking back at He Siming the same way.
How strange. So that’s how he looked at He Siming.
The day flew by. In the peach grove, once the sun was gone around three or four in the afternoon, the temperature began to drop.
They packed up and returned to campus.
Ding Yan, Yao Shule, and Li Yizhou rode in one car.
Before getting in, the three of them each gave He Siming a birthday gift. Regardless of value, it was the thought that counted.
He Siming handed all the gifts to Jiang Rong.
After they got home, He Siming placed all the gifts on the coffee table and said to Jiang Rong, who was resting on the sofa, “Help me open them.”
He knew Jiang Rong liked opening boxes—his eyes would light up when he saw what was inside.
Jiang Rong hesitated.
“But these are birthday gifts for you. It’s more appropriate for you to open them.”
He Siming replied, “Why divide yours and mine?”
Jiang Rong smiled.
“Then I’ll open them.”
They opened the gifts together. What the gifts were didn’t really matter—the process itself was joyful.
After opening the three gifts from the others, Jiang Rong finally took out the gift he’d kept in his backpack all day and hadn’t given yet.
He handed it to He Siming.
“Open this one.”
He Siming was squatting beside the coffee table. He looked up at Jiang Rong with a smile.
“I thought you’d already given me your gift.”
Jiang Rong covered his eyes, not letting him tease him.
“That wasn’t a gift. Who would give something like that as a gift to someone else?”
This was supposed to be a serious, tender moment—don’t bring up embarrassing things. He didn’t want to supplement pheromones outside either.
He Siming held his hand and kissed it lightly.
“But I really liked it. You and the baby are the best gifts heaven has given me.”
Jiang Rong said, “Fine. Then open the gift first.”
He Siming stopped teasing him. He loved seeing Jiang Rong’s earnest, shy expression—it always made him happy.
Jiang Rong knew He Siming’s birthday came late and that he lacked nothing materially. He’d racked his brains for two nights to think of this gift.
He was a bit too shy to watch him open it.
He Siming didn’t have high expectations for other gifts, but he was eager to open Jiang Rong’s—curious and full of anticipation.
The gift box wasn’t big. He couldn’t imagine what it was.
After opening the square outer box, he found a card on top, with a sentence Jiang Rong had written.
[You had me at hello]
He Siming knew—it was a movie line.
Before even opening the actual gift, he already wanted to kiss Jiang Rong.
Seeing him holding the card and not moving, Jiang Rong asked, puzzled, “Hm?”
He Siming said, “I want to kiss you.”
Jiang Rong stammered, “Y-you open it first.”
He Siming continued opening the box. Now he understood Jiang Rong’s excitement about opening boxes.
From the pale blue box, he took out a small transparent bottle. As soon as he opened it, he smelled a faint peach fragrance.
It was a bottle of perfume, very similar to Jiang Rong’s scent.
Jiang Rong blushed under his gaze.
He Siming roughly understood its meaning.
This felt like a secret only the two of them shared.
At this moment, He Siming’s sense of fulfillment, pride, and anticipation soared to an absolute peak. He’d never before wanted to express something so strongly—yet he found himself at a loss for words. This felt even more intimate than Jiang Rong offering himself to him.
Jiang Rong had said his pheromones smelled like peach. Then this…
He Siming held the small bottle tightly, suppressing the surging excitement and the uncontrollably rising corners of his mouth.
He thought of something.
“Tell me—does this have a special meaning?”
Jiang Rong nodded lightly, embarrassed.
In their world, when an Omega gave an Alpha something carrying their own pheromones, it meant liking them—a very romantic and intimate way of expressing love.
In this world, there was no institution that could extract pheromones. He could only find a perfume similar to his scent.
Jiang Rong said softly, “Yeah. I wanted to give you my pheromones, but I couldn’t. So I bought a similar perfume.”
He Siming asked, “What does giving pheromones represent?”
Jiang Rong couldn’t quite meet his eyes.
“It—it means an Omega wants to be with that Alpha. Pheromones are a very intimate scent.”
In their world, giving this scent made the meaning obvious. Explaining it out loud felt really embarrassing.
He Siming heard this explanation for the first time—so that was the meaning.
Was this Jiang Rong’s way of expressing love?
Jiang Rong fiddled with his fingers, embarrassed and a little nervous.
“I—I’m giving it for the first time. You…”
He Siming knelt on one knee in front of him and kissed him, deeply moved.
“I love it. This is the best, most irreplaceable gift I’ve ever received in my life.”
Jiang Rong believed every word.
“Really?”
He Siming kissed his cheek firmly and whispered by his ear,
“Yes. I want to smell your pheromones.”
Jiang Rong wrapped his arms around his neck. His whole body relaxed, and his pheromones gradually grew stronger, seeping into He Siming’s breath.
He Siming said, “Thank you for coming into my life.”
Jiang Rong buried his face in his neck. His eyes suddenly grew wet. In truth, he was the one who should be thankful—when he’d been at his most helpless, it was He Siming who had appeared.
His throat tightened.
“He Siming, I want pheromones. I want your pheromones.”
He Siming lifted him into his arms.
“Okay.”
Peach pheromones and lime pheromones entwined without restraint, enveloping each other.
After the passion faded, He Siming—who had received the most irreplaceable gift in this world—found himself unable to look away. He stared at the sleeping Jiang Rong, kissing him every so often, never enough. How could someone occupy his heart so completely?
In fact, his birthday wish wasn’t for Jiang Rong to kiss him once, but—
He wished that Jiang Rong’s appearance wasn’t a dream;
He wished Jiang Rong eternal health and happiness;
He wished Jiang Rong would stay with him forever, growing old together.
