Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]-Chapter 274 - Want Qiu yue??

"To mate."

The word hung in the air like a dropped bomb.

Shao jerked like he’d been electrocuted. He sat up too quickly and stared at Yunfeng in horror. "No!" he gasped, his voice raw. "Don’t even—don’t say that!"

"I’m just being honest," Yunfeng said calmly. "It’s biology, not a choice. Mating resets the chemical imbalance. That’s the only guaranteed way to end the rut early."

Muchen looked back at his friend. Shao’s chest was heaving now. His hair clung to his damp forehead. His eyes were wide, glassy with panic and shame.

"I’m not an animal," Shao whispered. "I’m not going to mate with someone just to—just to fix myself. I can’t do that to him. I won’t."

Yunfeng looked at him gently. "No one’s asking you to."

Muchen leaned forward, touching Shao’s arm lightly. "Then you’ll go through it. But we’re not letting you do it alone."

Shao’s hand clutched the edge of the bed like a lifeline. He couldn’t even look up.

"I’m scared," he admitted. "It’s getting worse. Every hour... I’m scared I’ll do something stupid."

Muchen squeezed his arm.

"Then let us help you not do something stupid."

Inside the bathroom, Jai had heard everything.

He hadn’t meant to. At first, he was just rinsing his face, trying to cool off, trying to think. But then the voices had carried through the door, and he’d gone still.

Words like "pain," "rut," and "mate" hit him like a slap. He didn’t breathe. He didn’t move.

And then he heard Shao’s voice.

"I’m not an animal. I’m not going to mate with someone just to—just to fix myself. I can’t do that to him. I won’t."

It was like something inside Jai shattered and melted all at once.

So that’s what it was.

That stone lodged in his chest—the one that had made it hard to sleep, hard to think, hard to breathe whenever Shao looked at him and said nothing—was suddenly gone.

’So he was ignoring me... because of that...’

Jai stared at himself in the mirror above the sink.

His face had gone red. Not with anger. Not with shame. Something worse.

He was smiling.

Wide, bright, so stupidly relieved that he wanted to punch his own reflection.

As soon as he noticed, he dropped the smile instantly.

"What the hell," he muttered. "Why am I acting like a giddy teenager?"

He ran a hand through his hair roughly, pushing it back. His reflection didn’t answer. It just stared at him with that dumb face still tinged with joy.

"That ass dared to ignore me for that stupid reason, and I’m happy about it?" he growled, slapping water at his face. "No. No, I should be pissed."

He looked toward the closed bathroom door, eyes narrowing.

"I am pissed."

He pressed his ear to the wood, frowning hard as their conversation began to dip into quieter, hushed tones. Muchen’s voice was still distinguishable, but the words were barely there now. Only snippets reached him.

"...a new place... away from people..."

"...closed doors... just in case..."

Jai’s frown deepened. He leaned harder against the door, trying to catch every word. He couldn’t hear Yunfeng clearly anymore. Then Shao’s voice again, barely above a whisper—but he caught it.

"...Qiu Yue."

Jai froze.

His heart skipped, then stuttered, then picked up again—this time, in full rage.

Qiu Yue?

He took a slow breath, then another, but it did nothing. His fists clenched at his sides.

’What the hell?!’ His thoughts turned sharp and furious. ’He said he wouldn’t mate with anyone—and now he’s bringing Qiu Yue into this?!’

The pit in his stomach turned molten. All the softness from earlier was gone.

’That bastard...’ Jai’s jaw tightened. ’He played with me... got all close... kissed me like that... looked at me like that... and now he wants to play with him too?’

His breath came faster. The room felt too small.

’Fuck him.’

His fingers brushed the doorknob.

He was seconds away from storming out there and saying something—anything—but then he paused. Jaw tight, throat dry, heart pounding so hard it echoed in his ears.

He stepped back from the door slowly, barely breathing.

Because he knew—if he walked out now, he might not hold back.

Jai closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, trying to calm the tight ache twisting in his chest.

"He must’ve said Qiu Yue’s name because... he needs him to check something, maybe," he murmured to himself, trying to rationalize it. "Yeah... yeah, that guy’s a doctor. Probably some kind of specialist for this rut thing or whatever."

He nodded slightly, hands gripping the edge of the sink.

"That’s all it is. Just medical. Logical. Practical."

But the burn in his throat wasn’t going away.

Then, through the muffled wall, Shao’s voice cut in—clear, sharp, and loud enough that it couldn’t be mistaken.

"I need Qiu Yue. Only he can do it for me."

Jai’s heart stopped.

He stared at the bathroom door, frozen in place. The blood in his veins felt like it had turned cold, then immediately boiled over.

Only he can do it for me?

Only him?

"He said he wouldn’t mate anyone. He looked me in the eye and said that," Jai muttered, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from yelling. "Was that a lie too?"

He braced himself against the wall again, arms trembling slightly from the effort to hold everything in.

It wasn’t just anger. It was betrayal. Confusion. Hurt.

He hated how easily he let himself believe Shao cared. Hated how relieved he’d felt just a moment ago. How stupid he felt now for smiling like some idiot the second he heard Shao was struggling.

And now?

Now Shao was out there saying he needed someone else.

Not him.

Never him.

That was it. That was the last straw.

"Fuck it all," Jai hissed, his fingers curling into fists. His voice was shaking now—not from sadness, but rage. "Fuck that bastard. He’s unbelievable!"