A shrill scream pierced the sky.
“Ah—who are you people?!” Standing on the spring bed was a fair-skinned, stunningly beautiful young man. His peach-blossom eyes, like two drops of crystalline glass, were fixed wide open on the spot where he had just been lying.
On the left and right sides of that spot lay two identical bodies. Most importantly, both faces were an exact replica of his husband—the one who had been practically dead to him for the past three years. The two men, just waking from sleep, were both startled by her scream and opened their eyes in unison.
Shi Yuxing then took a closer look. One appeared slightly younger and more immature, while the other was clearly more mature, with fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. The ring on his ring finger was exactly the medium that had reflected the light just moments ago.
“Who are you people?!” Shi Yuxing had a vague guess in his mind, but he prayed it wasn’t some kind of scam—like an enemy who’d hired someone who looked exactly like Gu Lingzhou to blackmail him. If he were caught cheating during their marriage, not only would he get nothing in the divorce, but everyone would despise him.
He could already imagine what the trending topics would say: not only cheating, but cheating with two men at once… identical ones at that. Everyone would think he’d lost his mind. Goosebumps instantly covered his entire body. Shi Yuxing wrapped his arms around himself, his gaze wary.
The man with the ring was the first to react, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Yuxing?” After speaking, he rubbed his slightly swollen eyes, as if trying to wipe away some blurry grime from them. Meanwhile, the other man on the opposite side looked utterly embarrassed, a deep blush spreading across his entire face, extending to his ears and neck, and even his hands—which were trying to shield his view—were bright red. He looked no different from a boiled shrimp.
“You… why aren’t you wearing pants?” The fully flushed “shrimp” pointed one finger at Shi Yuxing’s exposed legs, while his other hand tried to cover his eyes but failed completely. A trickle of blood slowly wound its way down from his nose.
“It really is you.” Burning hot skin touched his thigh. The alpha kneeling at his feet let out a sob. “Am I dead?”
Crying? He’s crying?! What’s going on?
His hand rested on the alpha’s head—it was prickly. He pushed harder, but the grip only tightened, and the other’s head burrowed in even further.
Shi Yuxing’s cheeks burned. He barked angrily, “Hey! You sure know how to reward yourself, you pervert!”
·
Looking down at the two dark, damp stains on his pajamas, Shi Yuxing regretted not having hit him a few more times—now he had bacteria from the alpha on him.
On the small sofa, the two alphas sat—one fidgeting nervously, gripping his knees and sneaking glances at him instead of looking directly; the other, needless to say, stared unblinkingly at him, his eyes brimming with an unnerving intensity of affection, as if ready to pounce at any moment.
Shi Yuxing sat on the long sofa, looking at the two Gu Lingzhous on his left and right. His eyes were thoroughly pleased. “What are your names?”
“Gu… Gu Lingzhou. Ling as in ‘fierce,’ Zhou as in ‘lonely boat.’ This is my student ID. I didn’t bring my identity card. I swear, I’m absolutely not a pervert—I don’t know why I’m here either.” Shi Yuxing felt a jolt of surprise but kept his composure as he took the ID.
A student ID from the Imperial Military Academy—he’d never seen one but had heard of them. The material was top-notch, impervious even to artillery fire, designed so that a person could be identified even if reduced to mud.
Shi Yuxing flipped it over, unable to tell much, and wasn’t sure if it really was bomb-proof.
“It’s real. His name is Gu Lingzhou.” A mature voice spoke up, answering his unspoken question. “I’m also called Gu Lingzhou.”
Two people suddenly appearing in the room, both with the same name and face as her husband—no matter how you looked at it, it was too bizarre. Shi Yuxing laughed. “You’re called Gu Lingzhou, he’s called Gu Lingzhou—might as well call me Gu Lingzhou too.”
“You’re Shi Yuxing.” Gu Lingzhou frowned in correction, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening.
Shi Yuxing obviously knew his own name. “Tell me which organization you’re from. Impersonating the Empire’s Supreme Commander is a serious crime.”
Cutting straight to the chase—plainly put, he didn’t believe any of this. It had to be someone deliberately disguised as Gu Lingzhou—maybe an enemy, or maybe it was his actual husband, the one who’d been sneaking around with mistresses. If it were the latter, Gu Lingzhou was truly devious.
“You mean the Imperial Legion?” the younger Gu Lingzhou asked, gradually cooling down and answering Shi Yuxing’s question with earnest seriousness.
Shi Yuxing sighed and lowered his head to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“Yuxing, maybe I know what’s going on.” He looked up and met a pair of infatuated eyes.
A few minutes later—
“You’re saying we’ve both entered a parallel world? You’re the future me, and I’m the past you?” The handsome young alpha stood up and paced back and forth, unable to believe it.
The man sitting beside Shi Yuxing let out an “mm” of confirmation. “I’m you at 32, and you’re me at 18, just having gotten into the military academy—no mistake about it. As for what caused us to cross over, I don’t know.”
Shi Yuxing was quick-witted and grasped it after one explanation. He looked at the alpha beside him, his gaze sharpening as he scooted a butt’s distance away. “Tch, who said you could sit so close to me?”
“Wife.” The voice was deep and magnetic, like aged fine wine—one sip could intoxicate. Shi Yuxing broke out in goosebumps. Gu Lingzhou had never called him that before.
“What did you call him?!” The young alpha, standing, spoke up before Shi Yuxing could. “He’s your wife?”
The older alpha showed no restraint and even flashed the ring on his finger. “Mm, Yuxing is my wife.”
“He’s your wife, which means…” The young alpha gestured, pointing at himself, his face turning red again. “He’s my wife too?”
Gu Lingzhou on the sofa let out a scoffing laugh. “Of course not. The 18-year-old you hasn’t married Yuxing yet.”
“How is that not the same? We’re going to get married anyway.” The young, brash alpha shuffled closer hesitantly. He sat down on Shi Yuxing’s other side, then looped his arm around his future wife’s, and timidly called out, “W-wife… is that okay?”
“Not okay.” The older alpha cut in, also wrapping his arms around Shi Yuxing’s other arm and nuzzling against him. Two streams of identical pheromones faintly permeated the air.
Shi Yuxing was stunned by the sudden turn of events for a few seconds, then abruptly stood up. Both alphas’ gazes followed him simultaneously. “You’re overthinking it. I’m nobody’s wife, because I’m divorcing Gu Lingzhou today.”
The moment the words left his mouth, both forearms were gripped tightly.
“No!” they said in unison.
The 32-year-old Gu Lingzhou’s eyes were rimmed red. “Don’t divorce me. I love you. I can’t live without you.”
The 18-year-old Gu Lingzhou, having just learned he had such a beautiful wife only to hear she was about to divorce him, grew even more frantic. “I’ll earn money to support you—scholarships, living expenses, all of it. Is it because he treated you badly? Don’t worry, I’ll treat you well. I liked you the moment I saw you.”
There was chaos on both sides, and his heart was pounding too. It wasn’t that he felt nothing for Gu Lingzhou—at the very least, he loved that face, and his body was genuinely good. Divorcing without even getting a taste would be a huge loss.
Two pairs of pitiful eyes looked up at him, begging for another chance. Shi Yuxing pressed his lips together silently, but inside he was oddly excited, as if his blood itself was boiling. His hand reached out to touch the young alpha’s cheek, and an idea sprang to mind.
If their DNA was identical, it wouldn’t count as cheating, would it?
“You want me not to get divorced?”
Two heads nodded.
“But my husband isn’t you, is he? He’s 24.”
“I am your husband.”
“Even though we didn’t marry at 18, I’m still your husband.”
The two alphas—one big, one small—argued with conviction, desperate to make Shi Yuxing drop the divorce idea.
Shi Yuxing’s inner drama queen surfaced. This was the first time since marrying Gu Lingzhou that he’d felt so triumphant—what he enjoyed most was being begged. “Oh, really? Then if you’re my husband, let me touch your abs.” The air went still. Shi Yuxing raised an eyebrow. “Not willing? If you can’t even agree to that, then let’s just divorce—no point going on.”
With that, he made a show of heading toward the door.
“Touch!”
He didn’t know which Gu Lingzhou had spoken, but either way, Shi Yuxing felt satisfied.
“You can touch.” The younger alpha shyly lifted half of his shirt.
The other one simply stripped his top off without hesitation. A silver chain rose and fell on his chest, with a ring threaded onto it. “Wife, come touch. You can touch anywhere.”
Shi Yuxing glanced at the ring on his ring finger—one on his hand and another hanging from his neck? Could it be that this guy regretted it after their divorce, but by then I’d already married someone else? That sounded like something he’d do. Shi Yuxing found it plausible—it wasn’t like he was bound to Gu Lingzhou forever.
But soon his gaze shifted elsewhere. The mouthwatering set of eight-pack abs had him drooling for ages. He didn’t even care whose to touch first. There was a reason humans were born with two hands—one for each, since they were both his. To his surprise, the 32-year-old Gu Lingzhou had maintained his physique just as well as the 18-year-old. Shi Yuxing was thoroughly pleased and gave them a couple of pats. “Alright, I’ll reluctantly agree—no divorce today.”
The alphas: !!!
“What do you mean ‘no divorce today’? Are you divorcing tomorrow too?”
“Wife, don’t divorce me—you can touch tomorrow too.”
Shi Yuxing shot a glance at these two obedient dogs, then looked at the clock on the wall, changing the subject: “I have to go to work. Don’t go outside—if anyone finds out, all three of us will end up drowned in a pig cage.” The Gu Lingzhous seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation too—they’d overlooked the original Gu Lingzhou on this world’s timeline.
If they were discovered, it would be a huge mess.
“Alright, just don’t go out casually… Oh, I need to figure out what to call you. If I call you both Gu Lingzhou, it’ll cause trouble.”
Shi Yuxing’s gaze landed on the young alpha. “Xiao Gu?” Then he looked at the older alpha—he couldn’t exactly call him Lao Gu either. As if reading his mind, the older alpha curled his lips. “You can call me ‘husband’ too.”
Shi Yuxing ignored his suggestion—no way. If anyone overheard, his chances of getting drowned in a pig cage would skyrocket.
“You’re Xiao Zhou, and you’re Da Ling.”
“Hmph, no way! Why does he get to be ‘Darling’?” The younger one was indignant.
Da Ling, however, was quite pleased, displaying the composure and magnanimity of an elder. “Fine, don’t mind him—he’s just being childish.”
“It should be ‘Da Ling’ as in ‘old,’” the younger one retorted. “Old man.”
Afraid that the two Gu Lingzhous would be exposed, Shi Yuxing told the housekeeper to take a week off and assigned the cleaning duties to the two of them. “I’ll check when I get back.”
With one press on the accelerator, his starship had barely landed when a nurse came rushing over in a panic. “Dr. Shi, you’re finally here! Do you know what happened during the hour you were gone?”
“What happened?” Shi Yuxing glanced around.
The nurse lowered her voice and leaned in close to his ear: “Gu Lingzhou is here.”
Shi Yuxing’s pupils contracted sharply. The nurse thought he was too stunned to speak. “He and his deputy seem to be injured too.”
Little did she know, Shi Yuxing was panicking—how was he supposed to deal with three Gu Lingzhous popping up in front of him all at once?
“Mm, I got it.”
Why would Gu Lingzhou be here? Shi Yuxing hurried to his office, where several patients were already waiting outside. When they saw him arrive, they all stood up and filed in behind him.
“One at a time. Give me your forms.”
He worked with ease, diagnosing each patient swiftly and decisively. His keyboard clattered furiously, and the printer hummed nonstop without any sign of letting up.
One batch left, another arrived. He was so busy that he completely forgot about Gu Lingzhou. It wasn’t until the last patient thanked him and left that Shi Yuxing realized he’d missed lunch and could only take a half-hour break.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
Tch—weren’t there no more patients?
Shi Yuxing looked up from his arms, squinting, and saw a figure in military uniform at the door. His gaze traveled upward to a face he’d already seen that morning, and he jolted in surprise.
“Got a moment?” Gu Lingzhou was watching him—no deep affection in his eyes, no innocent naivety either. This wasn’t the 18-year-old Gu Lingzhou, nor the 32-year-old one. This was the real deal—his actual husband. Shi Yuxing licked his lips, then began to fuss over tidying his desk.
The door closed. Shi Yuxing’s nerves were taut as he caught sight of Gu Lingzhou approaching step by step, stopping about a meter away.
“I want to explain what happened last night.”
Shi Yuxing pouted. “Mm.”
“I was drunk. I saw the message Wen Lan sent you—I’ve punished him.”
Ugh~ “I was drunk”~ He’d heard that line in countless melodramas. A scumbag was a scumbag—nothing but an animal that couldn’t control his lower half. “Mm, I’m still busy.” He didn’t want to deal with this 24-year-old general.
Gu Lingzhou caught the distance in his tone—his wife was trying to get rid of him. Loneliness flickered in his eyes. Though they’d barely seen each other over the past three years, he’d always sent Shi Yuxing holiday greetings. Usually, Shi Yuxing wouldn’t reply, but if he did, Gu Lingzhou made sure never to leave him hanging.
“You haven’t had lunch. I brought you something.” Gu Lingzhou produced a lunchbox from somewhere, still warm.
Shi Yuxing nodded slightly, still organizing papers beneath his hands. “Thank you, General Gu.”
Before leaving, Gu Lingzhou dropped one last line: “Remember to stay away from Wen Lan.”
Oh wow—was that a threat?
Shi Yuxing stared at the closed door, gritting his teeth as he opened the lunchbox. No matter what, he wasn’t about to starve himself.
The hands of the clock circled countless times. Shi Yuxing stretched lazily, ready to clock out.
Passing the front desk, the nurse stopped him again, grinning. “Dr. Shi, you got flowers again today. Guess who sent them?”
Shi Yuxing pinched the bridge of his nose. “They’re yours.” He hurried off while she was bending down to pick them up, not giving her a second to say another word. By the time the nurse stood back up to look for him, he was long gone. She glanced at the wilting bouquet in her arms. “General Gu sent these… what am I supposed to do with them…”
Shi Yuxing walked into the negative third floor and heard familiar voices from afar—still as sharp-tongued as ever.
“Today, Gu Lingzhou spent a long time in Wen Lan’s room, but at our Dr. Shi’s—barely three minutes. Looks like the Gu family’s mistress is about to change hands.”
“Keep your voice down—shut the door, we’re out in public.”
A mocking smile curled at the corner of Shi Yuxing’s lips. The sound of his leather shoes clicked sharply. “If you want him, I can send you Gu Lingzhou’s contact info. But I doubt he’d even look at a useless gossip-monger like you. Some people spend all their time obsessing over other people’s husbands instead of actually paying attention to the patients who come to see them for treatment—am I right, Dr. Fan?” Shi Yuxing tossed out the remark as he passed by.
Fan Jianren quickly covered his mouth. Shi Yuxing’s voice drifted back: “And you too, Dr. Yao. You two might as well just tie the knot and have a kid—it’d actually boost the OB-GYN department’s numbers. Beta and beta couples—I’m all for it.”
Yao Jiaqi, called out by name, threw caution to the wind. “You bitch—you dare eavesdrop on us?!”
Shi Yuxing stopped, turned his head, and let out a mocking laugh. “Speaking of ‘bitches,’ isn’t there literally a ‘Jianren’ [meaning ‘scumbag’ in Chinese] right beside you, Dr. Yao? Wishing you two a happy 99!”
“Your husband doesn’t love you. He’s going to divorce you soon. Let’s see if you can still laugh then.”
Shi Yuxing ignored her, but someone else spoke up in denial.
“Our relationship is great. We’re not getting divorced.”
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