Chapter 89 - Morning after

Muchen silently glanced at Yunfeng, who sat beside him, unusually quiet as they drove along. Normally, Yunfeng couldn't stop talking, but ever since breakfast, he'd fallen silent. What changed? Muchen wondered, sneaking another quick look in his direction. Did he suddenly not want me to meet his family? But they already know we're together…

His mind buzzed with questions.

Yunfeng, on the other hand, was nervously biting his lip, his fingers trembling as he scrolled through a series of missed calls and unread messages from his family. It started innocently enough last night around 8 p.m. with a simple, "Where are you?" But by 10 p.m., things escalated:

"Yunfeng, you'd better be home by 10."

"It's 10:30! Where on earth are you?"

"Did Jia's family kidnap you?"

"Yunfeng, please call back! Are you okay?"

Initially, his mom seemed worried about his sudden disappearance, but her tone quickly changed.

"I called Jia's family. They said you left four hours ago. Where are you?!"

"Lin Yunfeng! Answer me!"

And finally, at 2 a.m., the last message appeared, simple but sharp: "Come home."

I'm so dead. Yunfeng's heart sank as he looked out the window in despair. Why didn't I just tell them? But now it felt too late to respond, and he was way too afraid to even try.

"Are you okay?" Muchen asked softly, glancing his way.

Yunfeng forced a smile. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine." Inwardly, he thought, Nope, I'm totally doomed. I'm not making it out of this alive.

The car stopped at a red light, and Yunfeng's eyes drifted outside. A pharmacy sign caught his attention. "Wait here a minute," he said quickly. "I'll be right back."

He dashed out of the car and into the pharmacy, grabbing some wound gel, bandages, and a tub of ice cream to console himself after what he imagined would be a brutal family encounter. As he passed by the prescription medication aisle, he froze, suddenly reminded of last night.

Oh god… His hand unconsciously went to his stomach. What if…what if I'm pregnant? The thought made his heart race.

He looked over to a baby care aisle, where a picture of a chubby-cheeked baby on a poster caught his eye. A baby... I... I don't think I'm ready for this.

Gathering himself, Yunfeng approached the pharmacist's counter. "Hi."

"Hello," the pharmacist greeted him. "Can I have your name and age, please?"

He was slightly puzzled by the question but answered anyway. "Uh, Yunfeng, 19."

"Alright, let me check my system for your prescription."

"Actually…" He stammered, his voice trailing off.

The pharmacist looked up with a friendly smile. "Sorry, I don't have you in the system. What can I help you with?"

Yunfeng fidgeted nervously. "Um… do you guys sell… uh… abortion pills?"

The pharmacist's expression turned serious for a moment. "Yes, we do. But you'll need a prescription for that. How far along is your girlfriend?"

His cheeks flushed as he awkwardly replied, "Uh… maybe a day… I mean, last night…"

The pharmacist blinked at him, trying to hold back a laugh. "Did you and your girlfriend have… relations last night?"

Blushing furiously, Yunfeng nodded with his head down. "It's possible we… well, created a baby last night."

She chuckled softly. "Honey, you don't need an abortion pill for that." She reached under the counter, retrieving a small packet. "This is a morning-after pill. She just needs to take two. If she's on any other medication, though, she should check with a doctor first."

Yunfeng's eyes widened. "Oh, no, no prescription meds! Does it… work well?"

"It's about 75% effective within the first day. If she still ends up pregnant, you'll need a prescription for an abortion pill, but that's a rare situation this early."

He nodded hurriedly. "Thank you. Really."

She smiled warmly. "One more thing." She handed him a handful of condoms. "These are on the house. Be responsible, young man. As a partner, it's on you to look out for your loved one, alright?"

Blushing even harder, Yunfeng nodded rapidly. "Got it."

"Have a nice day," she said with a kind smile.

Yunfeng quickly paid for everything, slipped the morning-after pill into his pocket, and rushed out with his bag of essentials.

Muchen was waiting by the car, eyebrows raised. "What's all that for?"

Yunfeng gave a faint smile, pulling out the bandages. "Just… precautions."

As the car neared Yunfeng's house, his nerves intensified. "You can stop here!" he blurted out, a bit too loudly.

Muchen raised a brow but gently hit the brakes, pulling over at the corner of the street. "What's the rush?"

"I'll get down here," Yunfeng said with a quick smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"But… your house is just up ahead."

Yunfeng shook his head a little too vigorously. "Nah, it's fine. I… I just need to stretch my legs a bit." He hopped out of the car in a flash, leaning back through the window. "You get home safe, okay? I'll call you later tonight." He forced a smile and added under his breath, "If I'm still alive…"

Muchen blinked, sensing something was off. "O-okay… See you."

"Bye." Yunfeng waved, signaling for him to drive off.

As Muchen's car disappeared around the corner, Yunfeng took a deep, shaky breath, steeling himself for what lay ahead. Every step closer to his front door made his heart pound harder, practically drowning out any rational thought.

"Alright… here goes nothing," he whispered, ringing the doorbell.

The door creaked open slowly, revealing his mom, her gaze piercing through him like a hawk. He swallowed hard, plastering on a shaky smile. "Hi, Mom. I'm here… Just, uh, crashed at a friend's place last night. Studied really late. You know… schoolwork."

His mother didn't say a word, her eyes narrowing, scrutinizing every inch of him before she silently stepped aside, letting him in.

Oh god. Should I just bolt now? he thought, his mind racing. But he squared his shoulders, bracing himself as he walked inside. The door slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing through the silent hallway, sending a chill down his spine.

From the staircase, his younger sister Hana bounded down, a mischievous grin plastered across her face. "Oh, you're in for it now," she sang, clearly relishing the tension in the air.

"I was just studying," Yunfeng muttered, shooting her a glare that he hoped would silence her.

"Studying, huh?" came a cold, familiar voice from behind him. "At a hotel, at night… with Muchen?"

Yunfeng froze, feeling his stomach drop. Okay… I'm definitely dead.