Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Muchen, who had been waiting in the car with Jai, was more than worried. It had already been nearly an hour since Yunfeng had gone out, yet he still hadn’t returned. Muchen gently caressed his slightly swollen stomach, feeling the baby move restlessly inside him. Perhaps the child could sense his anxiety because it began rolling around, occasionally pressing against his bladder and making him even more uncomfortable.

"It’s okay. Your father will be back," he whispered softly, trying to reassure the baby, though he couldn’t quite convince himself of the same thing. His uneasiness only continued to grow with every passing minute.

Finally, he opened the car door and stepped outside.

A moment later, the sound of an approaching vehicle reached his ears. The dirt road ahead of them stirred beneath the tires as a familiar car emerged from the trees and drove toward them.

Muchen immediately recognized it.

"Zei, something is wrong. Yunfeng went—"

He hadn’t even finished his sentence when the back door of the car opened and Jinju stepped out.

"Muchen!"

She hurried toward him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Oh, thank God you’re safe too!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with relief. "Yunfeng would have been so worried if something had happened to you."

She pulled back just enough to gently cup his cheeks, looking him over as though making certain he really was unharmed.

Muchen stared at her in complete shock.

"A-aunty... what are you doing here? I thought you were still in City S."

"I was so worried about the kids that I just came along with Shinju," she explained with an awkward smile. Then her expression quickly became concerned again as she glanced around. "Where are Yunfeng and Hana?"

Her eyes moved anxiously toward the car, as though expecting to see them inside.

Muchen hesitated for only a moment before forcing a reassuring smile.

"They... they went to pee. They’ll be back in a few minutes."

He gently guided her toward the back seat.

"Why don’t you wait here with Jai? I have something to talk to Zei about."

Before Jinju could question him further, Muchen hurried toward the other car.

Zei frowned slightly when he saw him approaching.

"Zei..." Muchen’s voice dropped as he rushed over. "They haven’t returned yet. Can you go and check, please?"

"Whoa, slow down." Zei climbed out of the driver’s seat and looked at him seriously. "What happened?"

"Hana went around for a walk, and suddenly she started screaming. Yunfeng and Shao went after her to see what happened, but they still haven’t come back." Muchen’s voice trembled with worry. He glanced over his shoulder toward Jinju, who was now waiting by the other car, completely unaware of what had happened.

"I’m worried something happened to them. Can you please go take a look?"

Zei’s expression immediately became serious.

He followed Muchen’s gaze toward Jinju, then looked back at him.

"How long have they been gone?"

"Almost an hour."

Muchen swallowed hard, his hands tightening anxiously at his sides.

"I don’t know what to do. I just... I have a really bad feeling about this."

"Okay, okay, calm down. I’ll go take a look," Zei assured him.

But before he could do anything, another car suddenly drove up behind them.

A middle-aged man stepped out from inside. He looked to be in his mid-forties, with a muscular frame and a stern, commanding face. His sharp eyes immediately swept over the group before settling on him with a slight frown, as though trying to figure out who he was.

"Oh my God! Dad!"

Jai’s excited voice suddenly rang out from the other car.

The little boy practically flew out of the vehicle and dashed toward the man.

The stern expression on the middle-aged man’s face softened instantly.

"My son!"

He opened his arms just in time to catch Jai, who rushed into him like a missile. The man pulled him tightly into his protective embrace, holding him as though he was afraid to let go.

"You little brat!" he scolded, his voice thick with emotion. "You nearly sent me to an early grave when you snuck away from home. What were you thinking? Do you realize how risky it was to leave your home like that?"

He pulled back slightly and cupped his son’s face in both hands. There were tears glistening in his eyes.

"I was so worried that something had happened to you."

"Dad..." Jai immediately hugged him even tighter.

"I’m fine!" he assured him cheerfully. "In fact, I’m actually awesome! You don’t know, I killed a lot of zombies, and I’m very powerful!"

He proudly flexed his arms, despite the fact that there was barely any muscle there to show off.

"If you say so," the man replied indulgently, a faint smile appearing on his face as he looked down at his son.

Muchen could only stare at them with interest.

So this was the general who had established a base before the apocalypse.

He certainly looked the part. Even while hugging his son, there was something imposing about him, a natural air of authority that made it obvious he was someone accustomed to giving orders and having people follow them.

As if sensing his gaze, the man looked over at Muchen.

Their eyes met for a moment before the man gave him a polite nod.

Muchen quickly nodded back.

By then, Zei had already gathered a few weapons and was preparing to head out to search for the others.

"You go and wait in the other car," Zei told Muchen. "Make sure Yunfeng’s mom doesn’t start panicking. The poor woman looks like she’s already been through a lot. We don’t want her getting another scare."

"Yeah..."

Muchen nodded and returned to their car.

As soon as he climbed inside, he met Jinju’s warm, smiling gaze.

"Aunty, how are you? How has life been?"

He felt slightly awkward asking.

He had only met her a handful of times in his life, so even though she was Yunfeng and Hana’s mother, they weren’t exactly close. Now, sitting across from her while carrying her grandchild inside his stomach, the situation felt even more uncomfortable.

"I’m doing great. What about you?" Jinju asked warmly.

Her gaze traveled over him, taking him in from head to toe.

"You look..."

Her eyes paused briefly on his slightly swollen belly.

"Healthy."

Muchen smiled awkwardly.

Healthy.

That was certainly one way of putting it.

He had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to explain that the slight swelling of his stomach wasn’t because he had gained weight or been eating too much. There was an actual baby inside him—her grandchild—currently rolling around inside his belly.

And, unfortunately, he was a man who was pregnant.

That wasn’t exactly something most people would consider natural or normal.

For all he knew, Jinju might look at him differently once she found out. She might even think there was something wrong with him.

She might think he was a monster.

Muchen swallowed quietly, forcing himself to maintain his smile as he looked at her.

How was he supposed to tell her?