After Being Deceived, I Married Someone Else and Had Children Chapter 52

“No abnormalities?”

Zuo Shihuan frowned deeply, lips pressed into a thin line. His light-brown eyes flickered with suspicion.

Assistant Zhong replied, “So far, we haven’t found any connection between your mother and Dr. Ji, nor any photos of the two together. But we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s been well hidden. Should I continue the investigation, Young Master Zuo?”

Zuo Shihuan touched his index finger to his lower lip, his eyes turning cool. “No need. They’re not important people.”

“Understood.”

They were just insignificant people now. Even if he learned they truly had some connection—what of it? Nothing would change. Reality would remain the same.

Zuo Shihuan’s gaze deepened, and then—oddly—he smiled faintly.

It seemed there was nothing left in the world that he truly cared about.

Time, in its cruelty and mercy, always dulled everything.

The days in the slums had become hazy memories. The pain of his genetic illness and the helpless loneliness that once consumed him seemed distant, almost forgotten. Even being abandoned by that woman—now he could say her name with calm indifference.

Maybe one day, if he happened to see that b*stard Gu Heng on the street—

He might not even recognize him. He might even greet him with a polite, unbothered smile.

Or perhaps—

Zuo Shihuan was already in the process of forgetting that b*stard altogether.

Turning him into just another person who didn’t matter.

***

Aboard the star-pirate ship.

Ji Shenwen lowered the communicator after finishing a call with Yu Lizhu, his eyes soft with warmth—then quickly regaining focus.

He had to complete the mission faster, so he could return to the Federation’s capital star and see Yu Lizhu sooner!

“Your Highness, next—”

Excited, Ji Shenwen turned to discuss the next steps of the mission with Crown Prince Gu Heng—only to see that the prince wasn’t there. The room was empty, save for a few cigarette butts still faintly smoking, proof that someone had been sitting there for a long time.

Perplexed, Ji Shenwen stepped out to look for him.

There was little resistance along the way—pirates hurried about, busy preparing for planetary landing.

As long as Ji Shenwen, disguised as a low-ranking pirate, didn’t wander into restricted zones, no one cared about him roaming the outer corridors, seemingly strolling while searching for someone.

After about ten minutes, he found what he was looking for—

Through one of the ship’s observation windows, a massive ochre-colored planet loomed closer and closer, visible even to the naked eye. The dark expanse of space seemed to peel back like a curtain sprinkled with stars, leaving behind a dim light that bathed the solitary figure standing before the enormous planet.

Lowering his gaze, Ji Shenwen spoke quietly, “Your Highness, the ship is about to land. Do you have any orders?”

Gu Heng didn’t turn his head. His noble, distant black eyes remained fixed forward. The firelight from the ship’s engines and the ochre glow of the planet cast uneven shadows across his face, his gaze burning faintly red at the edges—like embers dying out.

Before that vast planet, his figure seemed lonely.

Gu Heng spoke calmly, “Proceed as planned. You and I will blend in among the star pirates. Once the hostages are delivered to the buyer’s location, immediately notify the Federal Police to intervene and rescue them. I’ll stay behind to investigate further.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ji Shenwen’s tone was serious—but he couldn’t help noticing how hoarse Gu Heng’s voice sounded, and how dark the circles under his eyes were. Was he just exhausted from the long voyage?

Either way, Ji Shenwen focused on his mission. After confirming the operation details with the crown prince, he turned to leave and begin his undercover work.

But Gu Heng suddenly called out, “Ji Shenwen—after this mission, you’ll stay in the Federation’s main star in my place.”

Ji Shenwen froze, wide-eyed. “But—”

“You want to be with that Federation Omega, Yu Lizhu, don’t you? I’m giving you that chance. Stay there. I won’t interfere in your relationship.”

Ji Shenwen frowned tightly.

He couldn’t understand—just when they were about to uncover the trail of the imperial traitors, when they were this close to dragging those rats into the light—why would His Highness suddenly give up?

But the temptation to stay with Yu Lizhu was too strong.

And since the crown prince himself had given permission…

Ji Shenwen stood solemnly, his right hand pressed over his heart. “Yes, thank you, Your Highness. I will strictly follow your orders and march forward beneath the glory of the Empire.”

Gu Heng gave no reply. 

He merely lifted his head, gazing silently at the ochre-colored planet before him. His dark eyes were calm and dim, as though that massive planet meant nothing to him— but in the far distance, on a planet of the same size yet painted in blue, there existed an Alpha that even he feared to face.

An Alpha he dared not look at directly, yet couldn’t stop himself from yearning for— a stubborn, lowly, reckless desire that refused to die.

Even if it were only through someone else’s video call, Gu Heng would still hope that Zuo Shihuan might glance his way, instead of looking on like a cold, detached stranger, while Gu Heng’s heart burned, watching that familiar profile without rest.

He had stared too many times.

So many times that Zuo Shihuan’s face was carved deep into his memory— like a wound etched by a knife, a scar that would never fade, that still, somehow, hadn’t stopped bleeding.

So this was it. 

Even as the Crown Prince of the Empire, there were things he could not do, and even with the body of an S-rank Alpha, there were wounds he could not heal.

Just looking at that distant Alpha, on the Federation’s main star, made his heart ache unbearably.

Gu Heng admitted it. 

After being reckless and arrogant for so long, he had finally met his match. Before a single Federation Alpha, he was completely powerless— reduced to a coward fleeing from the capital star.

And it was all his own doing.

Gu Heng frowned, reaching for his cigarette case, then remembered it was already empty. He lowered his hand, lips curving into a bitter, self-mocking smile.

He really had brought this upon himself.

He had thought it was just a game— fooling around with a Federation Alpha, nothing more.

But he hadn’t expected Zuo Shihuan to be serious. And worse—he’d become serious, too.

This was no longer something that could be played at. Gu Heng found that he couldn’t afford to play anymore.

Just one lonely, disheartened look from Zuo Shihuan had been enough to make him willingly cross light-years to Baile Star, only to find an empty room when he arrived— his excitement and anticipation collapsing into nothing. Then, when Zuo Shihuan returned to the hotel room again, his heartbeat followed the rhythm of the other man’s footsteps.

Gu Heng had never thought that someone could hold his heart so easily in their hands— that his joy, anger, sorrow, and delight could all rise and fall with a single Federation Alpha.

No wonder espionage instructors always said infiltration was the hardest kind of mission. They would warn again and again: Never let real emotion mix into your role. 

When you wear a false identity, others may smile at you—and though you smile back in pretense, their smile still burns itself into your eyes.

Because the human heart cannot be controlled.

The mission itself was never the hardest part. The hardest part was the emotion that took root—and refused to let go.

Many spies defected for that very reason.

Gu Heng had believed himself immune— arrogant enough to ignore all those warnings.

He lied to Zuo Shihuan about being a Beta, but he couldn’t lie to himself that he had fallen for a Federation Alpha.

And in the end, he fell hard— so hard it knocked the sense out of him.

Only after bleeding from the fall did he wake up.

Gu Heng knew all too well that nothing could come from taking a Federation Alpha seriously. How could two Alphas possibly sustain a relationship?

Even the heat cycles of an Alpha were hard enough to control. No matter how many suppressants one took, one day, they would stop working— and only an Omega with high pheromone compatibility could soothe the loss of control.

Gu Heng couldn’t even promise himself that such a day would never come. And he had never once heard of two Alphas who lasted in the long run.

If things went on like this…

Just thinking about Zuo Shihuan standing beside a stranger someday— some Omega who would take his place, sharing the intimacy that used to belong to him—

Gu Heng’s eyes burned red. He wanted to kill someone.

Whether they wanted it or not, Zuo Shihuan belonged to one of the most powerful families in the Federation, and Gu Heng, as the Empire’s Crown Prince, would never be allowed to bring a Federation Alpha home.

If pain was inevitable, then it was better to end things early. 

That was the most rational, the most fitting choice.

Gu Heng understood that perfectly. Yet his fists clenched tight, and reason couldn’t stop the bitterness rising in his chest— nor the loathing he felt for his own restraint.

—If he ever truly saw Zuo Shihuan with someone else, he might lose his mind.

***

The star-pirate ship landed.

Pirates poured out like a swarm of fish.

Ji Shenwen prepared to follow, but noticed the Crown Prince still standing in place. He couldn’t help asking,

“Then, Your Highness, what are your plans after this?”

Was there another mission waiting?

Ji Shenwen assumed so— that perhaps His Highness had other urgent orders, and that was why he had handed over the Federation assignment.

But Gu Heng said coolly,

“Return to the Empire.”

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