Work Text:
1: Nie Mingjue
When Nie Mingjue, who had just been chopping up a leg of beef for dinner, smells the undeniable scent of very pregnant omega from his little brother, the burly alpha sees red.
Blood, so much blood...Father, slumped against the dashboard of their car…His stepmother crying from the passenger seat, begging him to take Huaisang and run—!
“Dage?”
Nie Mingjue swings the butcher’s knife down hard, splitting the leg in half. “Tell me which bastard alpha I should chop up for getting you pregnant!”
“Preg—” Nie Huaisang’s eyebrows furrow. “But I haven’t gotten laid in months! You even use your police cameras to stalk me! It’s why I spent all day with Wei Yi—”
The omega cuts himself off. An awkward silence looms over them as metaphorical bulbs light up in their heads.
Nie Mingjue only grumbles, putting the butcher knife back down on the chopping board.
They never talk about it again.
2: Wen Ning
Wen Ning had known about Wei Ying’s pregnancy the moment the omega’s scent changed.
As a heavy-scented alpha, Wen Ning has always been far more sensitive to all kinds of scents. Now that he’s on blockers for himself , his sense of smell — unimpeded by his own scent — is so acute, he can even smell lies.
His sister had joked about bringing him to her clinic so she could tell if her patients were hiding things (as they often do), but she’s far too ethical for that — on good days, at least.
So when Wei Ying ambushes him just before the start of their shift, complaining about his nipples getting really sensitive and chafing so much and he just badly needs a drink! — and none of those are lies...
Wen Ning discovers his special talent for creating the most deceptive mocktails on the face of the earth.
Wei Ying doesn’t even notice a thing.
3: Jiang Cheng
Jiang Cheng swears he’s a good cook. His mother used to pat his head as she gulped down the food he’d made, down to the last half-smushed grain of rice.
He just hasn’t found the right people to grace with his cooking, just like he hasn’t found the right person to date. It’s not him. It’s them!
When his stupid foster brother — who’s suffering from another shitty pre-heat — begs for jie jie’s lotus pork rib soup, just when jie jie is in an overseas anniversary trip with the peacock…
Jiang Cheng tries to make it, and he’s absolutely sure it’s good because for once, his dogs aren't gagging at the smell of his cooking!
So when Wei Ying takes just one spoonful of it before promptly vomiting it back into the bowl, Jiang Cheng silently bemoans his wasted food as he helps the ingrate to the bathroom. When the last of the regurgitated food has come out of Wei Ying, the omega weakly cries and sniffles, “I’m so sorry Jiang Cheng. Just when your food is actually edible, it’s my body that can’t keep anything down…”
Well, how can Jiang Cheng fault him for that!?
Only while he’s calling his sister to ask for recipes for the sick idiot does Jiang Cheng realize why Wei Ying vomited into his soup.
And it’s definitely not because of his cooking!
4: Jin Zixuan
“Mm! Xuan-er!”
Riiiiiiiing—
“Ignore it, keep going—”
Riiiiiiiing—
“Don’t stop, please!”
Riiiiiiiing—
The businessman in Jin Zixuan couldn’t take it anymore. He gets up from between his wife’s legs, flashing her an apologetic look, before checking his phone. What he sees makes him raise a brow. “A-Li?”
Jiang Yanli, breathing heavily: “Who?”
“It’s Jiang Cheng. Again.”
She bites her lower lip. “Can you decline with a message, Xuan-er?”
Jin Zixuan shakes his head. “A-li, it’s a long-distance call.”
His wife thinks for a quick second, then smiles. “We’ll put him on speaker, but don’t stop, okay?”
Cheeks burning at the thought, Jin Zixuan hesitantly nods and gives her the phone. As she fiddles with it, he goes back down on her, pulling out a pleased moan from her before she answers the call. “Nhhh— A-Cheng?”
“Jie jie! The idiot got himself pregnant!”
It’s Jin Zixuan who screams first. “What!?”
5: Lan Huan
It’s just another weekly Lan family dinner.
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan sit at the far end of the table, picking on the chicken salad in front of them, while Lan Huan sits beside his uncle, who’s launching yet another tirade against ‘the absolute irreverence of omegas these days.’
Uncle always does that. It doesn’t help that the only omega he’d extensively interacted with was their late mother.
“Have you not found a better job yet? No self-respecting omega should work at a bar for the rest of their life! Then again, you are just like your mother. Too wild. Too free. And to marry into the Lan family, tarnishing our reputation—”
It’s not the first time they’ve heard this lecture before; Wei Ying usually just brushes it off or even bite back at Lan Qiren.
But for the first time in the history of Wei Ying’s attendance in their dinners, the omega actually cries .
It’s also the first time he’s seen his Uncle look so chastised.
Dinner utterly ruined, Lan Zhan leads his mate out, but not without looking back and sending a glare at Uncle. The pair leave soon after, sending the room into an uncomfortable silence until Lan Huan breaks it. “Uncle?”
Lan Qiren looks like he’d seen a ghost. “That…” Lan Qiren’s brow twitches. “...was the same look your father gave me when I insulted your mother the first time he brought her home.”
“Oh.” Lan Huan replies unhelpfully.
“She was three months pregnant with you.”
… “Oh. ”
+1: Wei Ying
By the time he and Lan Zhan arrive home and make a beeline to their couch for cuddles, Wei Ying’s already stopped crying. He isn’t even feeling crappy anymore. If anything, he’s just so confused. Why did he cry? It was nothing the cantankerous man hadn’t said before, so why did it make him feel like the worst omega in the world? Wei Ying’s even embarrassed about his overreaction now. “Lan Zhan, I’m sorry I made a scene at your uncle’s house…”
“Uncle understands,” Lan Zhan says, wiping Wei Ying’s tear-stricken cheeks with a handkerchief.
Wei Ying couldn’t help but laugh derisively. “Lan Qiren? Understanding? Nie Mingjue would let go of Huaisang’s chastity belt first! Why would he be understanding now?”
Instead of answering with words, Lan Zhan only pulls Wei Ying close. Large, calloused hands cup his belly, spanning its entire width before his husband lovingly massages the soft flesh there.
It’s...oddly comforting. But why ?
Then he glances down to where Lan Zhan is reverently massaging him. Just the slightest bit of pudge, maybe from all the mocktails Wen Ning is giving him with the impression that Wei Ying doesn’t know . And is it his fault if he can’t stop eating the chicken broth soup Jiang Cheng made in advance, with some guidance from their jie jie, because it’s the only food that doesn’t make him queasy these days?
Wait.
Mood swings? Chafing nipples? Non-alcoholic drinks? Intolerance for his favorite food...
Eyes wide with surprise, Wei Ying quickly turns to his husband. “Lan Zhan, am I pregnant!?”
The deliberately blank face his Lan Zhan makes is the only answer Wei Ying needs.