Killing Marriage [ABO] - Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Neighbors
Over the weekend, Ren Zhong and Zhang Qingyuan went together to visit Shang Liwei’s home.
Aside from wanting to thank her for taking care of their house while Ren Zhong was hospitalized, they also hoped to take this chance to ask about the embryo implantation technique using the greater momentum.
To be honest, Ren Zhong still didn’t quite believe that a male Alpha would really be willing to get pregnant and give birth.
He wanted to find out if Zhang Qingyuan had just said it casually, or if he had seriously thought it through before making that kind of promise.
But…
Zhang Qingyuan couldn’t have looked more sincere.
He carried a gift bag overflowing with snacks, pastries, and wine in one hand, and a cake box tied with a ribbon in the other—looking like a delivery driver working eight simultaneous orders.
That’s some serious effort, huh? Ren Zhong silently thought to himself.
He casually asked, “Where’d you buy that purple cake?”
“You mean the Sea Salt Milk Foam Taro Boba Lava Cake?” Zhang Qingyuan replied with a smile tinged with pride. “I made it myself.”
Ren Zhong: “?”
“What sea what taro? You made that?!” Ren Zhong’s brain struggled to process all this bizarre information and temporarily stopped functioning.
Zhang Qingyuan gave him a once-over, scanning him from head to toe in the wheelchair, then nodded as if suddenly understanding: “Ah, right. Assuming all Omegas like sweets is also a stereotype.”
“…Yeah, I don’t really like sweets,” Ren Zhong admitted with a small nod.
The conversation came to an awkward halt, and silence suddenly filled the air.
Thankfully, Zhang Qingyuan quickly pivoted to a new topic, saving them from continuing the awkward stare-down.
He asked, “Captain, what kind of person is Ms. Shang?”
Ren Zhong lowered his gaze in thought. “She’s… a bit of an oddball. The kind who pulls off wild, unexpected things.”
“How odd?” Zhang Qingyuan pressed. “Can you give me something more specific?”
When it came to strange and unbelievable things happening around Shang Liwei, there was always another story—like a pig in a bra: completely unnecessary, but somehow there’s always more.
Ren Zhong picked the most representative anecdote to tell.
“She was separated from her biological parents as a child and sent to an orphanage. Later, she was adopted by a kind couple and lived a happy life. After getting into a top university’s gifted youth program, she reunited with her biological parents—only to find out they’d legally adopted another Alpha girl.”
Zhang Qingyuan responded, “Oh, I’ve seen this episode before—feels like a romance novel come to life. So how did she win that showdown?”
“She won—but there was no showdown. It was a win-win.”
Shang Liwei invited the adopted daughter out to eat alone. At the restaurant, she chowed down without an ounce of grace while laying all her cards on the table.
“Relax, I’m not here to steal your parents.”
“We’ve been apart for years. Bl00d ties don’t mean that much compared to the people who raised us. You don’t need to worry about my presence changing how they feel about you. I’m obviously closer to my adoptive parents, and they clearly prefer you too.”
“I just want them to help fund my overseas studies. You guys are loaded—this little bit of money won’t affect your life at all. I just want the money, not your mom.”
“Plus, think about it: send me overseas with a bit of cash, and I’ll be gone for years. In their eyes, it’ll be like you’re the only child.”
The adopted daughter turned out to be a very clear-headed Alpha too, and she quickly reached an agreement with Shang Liwei.
What started as a hostile dinner turned into a sisterhood shopping spree.
From then on, the two weren’t biological sisters—but better than biological sisters. And Shang Liwei began her life as someone adored by four parents.
And just like that, this extraordinary, beloved Alpha woman was about to open the door and greet them.
Ding-dong!
Instead, a stranger appeared at the door—an Omega woman.
“You must be Liwei-jie’s friends. Please, come in!”
This Omega gave off a gentle, warm vibe—like the kind of person who might have “virtuous wife and loving mother” embroidered on her apron.
She handed them each a pair of nice men’s slippers, then called into the house, “Liwei-jie, could you help me lift the wheelchair for our guest?”
“I’ll help too!” said a childish voice, accompanied by the thump-thump-thump of approaching feet.
A little girl came running over, hair braided with pearls and flowers, wearing a full-on princess dress. When she saw the cake in Zhang Qingyuan’s hands, she squealed with joy.
“Ah! It’s Sea Salt Milk Foam Taro Boba Lava Cake!”
That sugary little voice hit Ren Zhong like a witch’s curse in a fairytale—freezing him in place like he’d just been petrified.
Where did this brat come from?
Only then did Shang Liwei finally appear—arm around the Omega woman’s waist, hand on the child’s head, flashing the blissful smile of someone who’d won at life.
“Zhong-zhong, let me introduce you. This is my wife, Mi Tong, and this is my daughter, Mi Li.” She swayed slightly with her Omega and her kid, singing out in a cheerful, almost commercial jingle: “The three of us make one big happy family~”
Ren Zhong: “…”
He was almost sure this was some prank to celebrate his discharge from the hospital. Totally something Shang Liwei would do.
“Where’s the camera? Turn it off.”
Expression flat, Ren Zhong didn’t even bother to act surprised anymore. He was used to her antics.
“C’mon, I’m not messing with you.” Shang Liwei motioned for Zhang Qingyuan to help her lift Ren Zhong and his electric wheelchair over the threshold. “You ‘woof,’ I ‘woof,’ we all ‘woof’—we’re all married folks now!”
As she spoke, she held up her marriage certificate.
The date? The day after Ren Zhong was discharged from the hospital.
Ren Zhong had never felt this speechless in his life.
“Hello, Ms. Shang, I’m Zhang Qingyuan. Just a small gift—nothing much.”
“Aiya, no need to be so formal! You didn’t have to bring anything!”
Meanwhile, the princess-dressed child hugged the cake box and twirled away, singing something that sounded suspiciously like, “Laidi gou, laidi gou! (Let it go, Let it go!)”
The room was full of warmth and laughter—everyone getting along joyfully.
Everyone except Ren Zhong, who was in full existential crisis.
Shang Liwei’s Omega wife kindly wiped the wheels of Ren Zhong’s chair clean and rolled him into the dining room.
“Come, come! Just in time—us four adults are all newlyweds. Let’s toast! This time, let’s say ‘Happy marriage!’ One, two—”
“Happy marriage!”
Everyone clinked glasses.
Only Ren Zhong and the child drank milk—he was still recovering.
Also, only he had a completely deadpan expression.
“Aiya, don’t mind him! He’s just ‘allergic’ to kids,” Shang Liwei said as she pulled out her phone. “Here, let me show you something. One time, during a flood, he was helping evacuate an orphanage. He was so nervous carrying the kids, he made the news.”
Zhang Qingyuan leaned in, curious—and burst into laughter the moment he saw the photo.
“He doesn’t look like he’s holding a kid… more like he’s trying to carry a durian barehanded.”
Shang Liwei clapped her hands, delighted. “Exactly! Perfectly said! He was just that helpless and awkward.”
“He’s just like that—not into kids,” Zhang Qingyuan added in the casual tone of an old married couple, creating the illusion that he and Ren Zhong were deeply familiar with each other.
Naturally, Zhang Qingyuan used the child topic as a segue to mention the one-child-every-three-years policy, brought up the fact that Ren Zhong couldn’t—and didn’t want to—get pregnant, and eventually steered the conversation toward the topic of greater omentum embryo implantation for male Alphas.
The transition was so smooth, it was almost suspicious.
By the time Ren Zhong finally managed to collect himself and interrupt them, Shang Liwei had already begun scheduling their check-up and IVF consultation at the institute for next year.
“Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?”
For Ren Zhong, the official theme of tonight was—
Speechless.