TMDP CH 25

Chapter 25: The Results Are Out

There were seven days before the paternity test results would be revealed.

During the day, Xia Ye took Xia Li out to have fun. At night, after Xia Li fell asleep, he would start tidying up the house and packing their belongings.

Once most of the packing was done, Xia Ye double-checked to make sure nothing was left behind. On top of the wardrobe, he found a large cardboard box. It seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite recall what was inside.

When he opened it, he regretted it instantly. He should never have opened it. Trash like this should’ve been thrown out immediately. No, he shouldn’t have kept it in the first place.

He glared at the box of scattered junk with frustration. Inside, there was a stack of ticket stubs: from cinemas, musicals, and amusement parks. There was the deflated balloon shaped like a cheerful Gray Wolf, a small rabbit lantern that no longer lit up, a Squidward kite with two long tails, and used birthday candles—one for his 19th birthday, one for his 20th, and another for his 21st.

There were countless photos—some of them group shots, some solo, some framed, and others less formally kept. There were even swimsuit photos… Why did he even bother printing those? What was so special about a swim? Xia Ye pouted, tossing the photos to one side of the box before continuing his inspection.

There were dozens of notebooks he had borrowed but never returned, a few casual tank tops and shorts… far too much to list.

At the bottom of the box, there was an old and thick business directory.

The directory was something that had been left behind by his landlord, Aunt Wang, when he first moved in. Xia Ye picked it up, puzzled as to why it had ended up in the box.

“Oh!” Upon opening it, he saw a pressed, dried rose.

A pink rose, the symbol of his first love.

But first loves were foolish, and the flower had long since withered. All of this should have been discarded.

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While Xia Ye was wrestling with the emotions brought on by this box of inexplicable junk, the back of his neck suddenly started to throb again.

Ever since that intense encounter with Han Mingxiu at the club, his long-dormant gland seemed to have stirred, like a dried-up sponge being revived by moisture, gradually swelling back to life. It was a very faint change, but Xia Ye noticed it immediately.

After all, he had once been so sensitive, so like dry tinder waiting for a spark. Even though his damaged gland was now barely functional, it instinctively struggled to grasp at the faintest hint of revival.

Last time, in the Han family’s nursery, the faint pheromones Han Mingxiu released had indeed soothed Xia Ye for a while. As he reached up to massage his gland, he couldn’t help recalling what Director Han had said about the consequences of refusing treatment: a potentially shortened lifespan. But even if treatment could extend his life, it might also mean living under someone else’s control.

What’s the point of extending your life just to become a caged bird?

The more he massaged the gland, the sorer it became. Xia Ye frowned, wondering why the discomfort had lasted so long this time. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Through the intercom, he saw that the visitor was Han Mingxiu—the very person responsible for his current state.

“What do you want?” Xia Ye asked coldly.

“The results are out,” Han Mingxiu said excitedly. “I brought the report.”

Xia Ye had thought he had seven days to prepare, but his final moments of peace were abruptly cut short. Frustrated, he sighed and hesitated for a few seconds before pressing the button to open the building’s entrance. He allowed Han Mingxiu to come up and into his apartment.

After inviting Han Mingxiu to sit on the sofa, Xia Ye walked to the cabinet to get something. Han Mingxiu looked around the apartment, searching for traces of their past. Unfortunately, there was nothing left to find. This was no longer the home of a gifted student; it was the home of a single father struggling to raise his child alone.

Many of the books had been packed away, replaced by Xia Li’s nutritional supplements and toys on the shelves.

Han Mingxiu’s eyes landed on a dark blue suitcase in the corner of the room. Alarmed, he blurted out, “Where are you planning to go?”

Xia Ye, standing by the cabinet, ignored him. He found what he was looking for and turned to face Han Mingxiu. In his hand were the pheromone isolation patches he had specifically asked Han Junzhou to prescribe when he was discharged from the hospital.

“Can you control your pheromones, or should I use the patch?” Xia Ye asked. He didn’t want his already-damaged gland to be further stirred by Han Mingxiu’s scent.

Han Mingxiu had always disliked Xia Ye using those isolation patches. They were meant for emergencies, not for regular use. However, the standard blockers available for daily use could block other people’s pheromones but were ineffective between the two of them.

Fortunately, once they started dating, they no longer needed to guard against each other’s scents or suppress their needs. Without the need for constant restraint, their hormones had balanced out, and the volatile reactions stopped. Xia Ye no longer needed the specialized isolation patches.

But now, seeing Xia Ye take them out again, Han Mingxiu felt a swirl of complex emotions.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t careful enough,” Han Mingxiu said, doing his best to suppress his pheromones. Still unconvinced, Xia Ye sprayed half a can of blocker on him before finally sitting down on the sofa.

“Didn’t you say the report would take seven days?” Xia Ye’s tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction. “Today’s only the fifth day.”

Han Mingxiu steadied himself, not daring to release his scent even subtly. He glanced cautiously at the suitcase again before responding, “I asked Uncle Junzhou to expedite it. I wanted to get the report as soon as possible.” He took the report out and handed it to Xia Ye.

“You rushed it like this—aren’t you afraid of errors in the report?” Xia Ye didn’t take it but asked flatly, “Did you already read it? Is Xia Li your child?”

“Of course, Xia Li is my child!” Han Mingxiu said, flipping to the final page of the report. “Look, the RCP value is above 99.99%, confirming the parent-child relationship. Both reports match. Xia Li is definitively our child.”

“I don’t need to see it. I know who has touched me.” Xia Ye gently pushed the report away, smiling faintly. “As long as I’m sure Xia Li wasn’t switched at birth, I can figure out who the other father is.”

“…Xia Ye, I—” Han Mingxiu lowered the hand holding the report, his voice filled with resignation. “I’m sorry.”

Xia Ye’s eyes reddened slightly, but his smile remained. “What do you want to do next?”

“Me?” Han Mingxiu was momentarily confused. Did Xia Ye mean he could decide? “I want… I want you both to come home with me,” he ventured cautiously.

Seeing that Xia Ye didn’t react—at least not with anger—Han Mingxiu gathered his courage and continued, “I want both of you back. Whether you want to return to the main house or for us to move out and live on our own, it’s up to you. We could—”

Xia Ye interrupted him. He didn’t want to hear about “us,” nor did he want to hear about what was “possible.” He wanted to shout: Nothing is possible.

But he didn’t.

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Xia Ye said, “You want Xia Li to return to the Han family? That’s not impossible. But I have conditions. Can you agree to them all?”

“Yes, yes, whatever it takes for you two to come back, I’ll agree to anything.” Han Mingxiu nodded fervently, his excitement barely contained. He couldn’t believe that, in just a few exchanges, Xia Ye had already agreed. “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Whatever you ask, I’ll do.”

“Let’s go, then.” Xia Ye said.

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• End of chapter –

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⸻⸻⸻✿⸻⸻⸻

– End of chapter –

NEW CHAPTER RELEASED/UNLOCKED EVERY MONDAY.

If you enjoy this translation, consider giving it a high rating on Novel Updates! 😉

Stay tuned, and happy reading! 📖✨