Chapter Text
"Is everything ok, A-Ling?" Jiang Cheng asked as his omega sat again next to him, he wanted to run to the bathroom with him, but Wei Ying told him it was better to give Jin Ling some space
"Yes, I feel better now" Jin Ling replied knowing he spent maybe a little longer than he should in the bathroom "So... what about the will?"
"Your parents asked me to keep this will in case something happened to them, but I never thought that day would come so fast," Wei Ying said "I tried contacting the Jins, but they never allowed me to see you. And also... I didn't have the face to ask A-Cheng for help"
"At the end of the day, it's destiny you could contact both your brother and your nephew, A-Niang." Lan Sizhui gently placed his hand over Wei Ying's to comfort him.
"That's right" the older omega smiled "I can finally tell A-Ling that his father left all the shares that belonged to him. However, he left Jin Guangyao as your legal guardian. I'm sure he must have a copy of the will"
Jin Ling frowned, now he knew why his shushu pressured him into marrying Xue Yang, Jin Guangyao never intended to give him his inheritance and planned to keep controlling his fortune through Xue Yang.
"You probably have a very complicated relationship with your paternal family and legal procedures are overwhelming, so I understand if you don't want to claim your inheritance, but it was my duty to let you know" Wei Ying finished.
"My brother has a law firm, he is more than willing to help us in case you need it, xiao-Ling" Lan Zhan assured him.
"I guess I can't run away forever" Jin Ling sighed "He'll keep sending my fiance to find me, and I don't want to endanger my friends and family... so I guess I must face him"
The motorcycle stopped a few blocks away from his former home. Yet, Jin Ling could already see the towering mansion peeping through all the other houses in the neighborhood.
"I'll be close in case you need help," Jiang Cheng said lovingly, he was worried about his omega, but in life sometimes one must face things on one's own
"Don't worry, after all... he is the man who raised me" Jin Ling gave his alpha a reassuring smile before walking into the fancy gate of the Jin residence.
"May I help you?" the voice of a familiar maid answered the intercom
"Is my shushu home?" Jin Ling asked
"Oh my...! Young master Jin, how much we missed you!" the maid was astonished to finally hear her master's voice after months "Please come in, he's in his studio"
The automatic gate opened itself for Jin Ling, who now felt like a stranger in this house yet remembered every detail of it, including which staircase and hall led to his shushu's studio.
As expected, Jin Guangyao was reading something meticulously on his computer. He was so focused that he almost didn't notice his nephew waiting by the door frame. The beta man took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes because he felt that his eyesight was deceiving him.
"A-Ling, you came back" Jin Guangyao smiled as he approached to hug his nephew "You cut your hair and grew so much, didn't you? You look so gorgeous"
"Hi shushu, so long no see you" Jin Ling replied still between Jin Guangyao's arms "I'm sorry for running away"
"It's fine, I know marriage is a bit scary for someone so young, but I knew you'd do the right thing and come back" Jin Guangyao gave his nephew a little pat on the back.
"I... wanted to talk about it," Jin Ling said nervously "I met the most wonderful alpha and now I'm mated to him"
Jin Guangyao finally broke from the hug and realized his nephew now had a prominent mating bite on his neck, since he's a beta he didn't notice by the scent. He was enraged, but didn't show it because he was afraid he could lose the goose that lays the golden eggs once again now that he finally came back.
"Don't worry, there's medicine for that, I'm sure Xue Yang won't mind" the beta tried to dismiss his nephew's carelessness.
"I can't marry him, not in my current state" Jin Ling summoned the courage to tell his uncle the biggest news of all "I'm pregnant with my mate's child"
After he threw all the delicious meal Lan xiansheng prepared for everyone, Jin Ling washed his mouth with the water of the sink and then he washed his face a little to get rid of the sweat running through his temple.
"May I come in?" Lan Zhan asked gently from behind the door
Jin Ling didn't answer and instead opened the door.
"Take this, it's traditional medicine aimed to relieve nausea" The older omega handled a small vial for his nephew-in-law.
"Ah, thank you" Jin Ling replied before drinking it.
"I've noticed xiao-Ling has been unwell lately. Reminds me of when Wei Ying was pregnant"
"W-What do you mean, Lan xiansheng?" Jin Ling froze at the implication
"The symptoms and the milky notes on your scent are similar to his" Lan Zhan commented "You should take a test later"
Without saying anything, both omegas returned to the dining room, but the thought didn't leave Jin Ling's head.
One afternoon Jiang Cheng was busy at work, so he ordered two pregnancies test from a delivery app —he couldn't risk his noisy neighbors noticing what he was buying— and he took both tests, which came up with a positive result. He really was pregnant. He didn't want to tell Jiang Cheng until all the inheritance matter was over or until it was quite obvious he was pregnant, whatever happened first.
Not even Jin Guangyao's fast and smart tongue knew how to react, Jin Ling took advantage of the moment of surprise to release the latest news.
"And I know about the inheritance, either we do this the easiest way possible or I'm ready to go to court"
Was this boy the same spoiled and faint-hearted Jin Ling he used to know? Jin Guangyao thought, living outside the golden cage really changed his character. He felt like all his plans collapsed in mere seconds despite knowing for months that he was on the verge of losing everything he had worked so hard for. However, there were limits he was not willing to cross, especially since the boy he raised for 19 years was pregnant, and a pregnant omega was almost a sacred thing, especially since his own wife was pregnant at the time.
"I won't go easy on you, A-Ling" Jin Guangyao replied defiantly although he knew his nephew had all the means to win the case.
And that is how it went.
Fortunately for Jin Ling, Lan Huan —Lan Xiansheng's brother— was ruthless on court yet a very nice man on every other aspect of his life. With a comforting smile, Lan Huan handed his client the documents that accredited him as the legitimate owner of the shares inherited from his family business and of the properties that belonged to his father. Jin Ling eyed the papers with amazement, the legal language was complicated and he didn't understand anything, but more complicated was the length of the whole trial, he didn't expect it to really take so long...
So long that Jiang Cheng ended up discovering his omega was pregnant on the fifth month, it was useless to keep hiding it anyway.
"Lan lushi, even if we pay as we agreed, there is no way I'd be able to pay everything you made for me in this lifetime" Jin Ling thanked his lawyer.
"Don't worry about that, you better focus on having a healthy baby" Lan Huan touched Jin Ling's belly —they grew close in the matter of 6 months—.
"Thank you, Lan lushi, and I must also thank our brothers" Jiang Cheng shook hands with the other alpha.
"Of course" Lan Huan replied "If you need something in the future, don't doubt to contact me"
After meeting with Lan lushi for lunch, Jin Ling was awfully quiet on the ride home —now that Jin Ling was in the 29th week of pregnancy, Jiang Cheng would not let his omega leave the house unless he rode a cab.
"What's the matter, A-Ling?" Jiang Cheng asked in concern
"Even if Lan lushi said that and Wen daifu also told me I should just think about my baby, I have plenty of things I am worried about!" the omega confessed
Jiang Cheng wanted to laugh. When he met Jin Ling, he was barely a young adult who didn't know how to take care of himself if it were not for the kind assistance of Ouyang Zizhen and his family, but now he had plenty of things he must take care of.
"For example, maybe we should move to the Jin residence? That way our baby can live comfortably" Jin Ling began spitting out words "And I'm technically the owner of the Jin company, but I don't know anything about business! I hardly finished high school! And there are plenty of things I wanna do!"
"What do you wanna do?" Jiang Cheng asked
"I want to be a good mom, and continue practicing archery" the omega sighed "And I would like to get married to you"
"The wedding must wait a little longer, A-Ling, you don't have the legal age yet" Jiang Cheng reminded him "We can have a honeymoon, though, after our baby turns 100 days old"
Jin Ling sulked a little, but then a mischievous smile appeared on his face.
"Now that I'm the one who has the money, I should spoil you" Jin Ling teased "Where does my alpha want to go~"?
Jiang Cheng blushed a little, but he genuinely thought about it "What about somewhere with a dreamy landscape? Like Canada or Norway"
"I like the idea, very romantic" Jin Ling approached to kiss his alpha a sweet peck on the lips.
"And about everything else, don't worry too much about it. You have plenty of uncles now—Wei Ying, Lan Zhan, Lan Huan... hell even the Wen siblings love you to death" Jiang Cheng reassured him "And you forget I have some knowledge in running a business, of course, my parent's company was not as massive as the Jin's, but I think we'll learn how to handle it"
"Lao Cheng, I love you so much!" Jin Ling held back his tears, the pregnancy hormones were bringing out the emotional and shameful side he always tried to hide
"I love you more" Jiang Cheng whispered "And I am dying to see you in a red wedding outfit... or in a Western-style white wedding suit, maybe wearing some sexy lingerie under it, huh?"
"You are a pervert" Jin Ling whispered back, mortified at the idea of the cab driver hearing them.
"You love me that way" Jiang Cheng teased back. He never thought he would be able to smile again like he was doing right now, and it was all thanks to this wonderful omega who loved him back. Sure, they both had their struggles, but it was wonderful how they were able to overcome them. Was this their happily ever after?