Chapter 111
When Fanfan woke up and saw his dad, he kicked his little feet happily. Qi Cheng casually gave him a pat — all soft, squishy baby chub. Fanfan was a clean little baby; his clothes smelled of sun-dried freshness mixed with the scent of milk, a smell that could melt anyone's heart.
He giggled happily every day, showing off his tiny little teeth.
Just watching him made Qi Cheng feel good. Fanfan was still in his "super clingy to Dad" phase. His chubby little arms wrapped around Qi Cheng's neck, and when Qi Cheng tried to put him in the stroller, the little guy flailed in his arms.
"You think you're a little goose?"
"I can't carry you for long, sweetie. Come on, let's ride in the cart." Qi Cheng tried to reason with his little goose.
Fanfan was almost one year old — solid and sturdy, all chub, a real little dumpling of a kid. He wasn't happy about it, babbling away, his round cheeks puffed up and his mouth pouting, as if to say he wasn't heavy at all and wanted his dad to hold him.
"Okay, okay, I'll hold you." Qi Cheng's heart softened.
Oh well, it's just a little while.
Bai Zongyin still needed his cane, and that morning he had pushed Fanfan upstairs. Fanfan was sitting in his baby stroller, and even in a new place, he wasn't shy at all. He stared around with big round eyes, curious about everything. When he saw people, he waved his little hands to say hello, flashing his tiny baby teeth.
Since they'd been there for two days, quite a few company executives had already seen him.
It was quite a sight — Chairman Bai holding and soothing a baby during meetings. But the company meetings were efficient and to the point, so they always finished early. The executives would then watch Chairman Bai, right after the meeting ended, holding the baby and even personally changing his diaper.
These past two days, everyone had been gossiping about this child.
No one expected Chairman Bai to be married so young.
Someone said, "Didn't you see the ring on Chairman Bai's hand? He's been telling us all along."
But these days, even single people wear rings—they're just accessories. And Chairman Bai was young and handsome; who would've guessed he'd be married so early, with a baby already? People sighed in amazement while also wondering who the mother was.
Sure enough, within a couple of days, Qi Cheng showed up at the office.
At first, no one connected Qi Cheng with being "Mrs. Bai" — mainly because the baby's mother had to be a woman. When a young man showed up, even though Assistant Xing personally escorted him and addressed him as "Mr. Qi," everyone just assumed he was Chairman Bai's younger brother or some other relative.
Later, while Qi Cheng was touring the company, some people whispered, "Why does Assistant Xing's attitude feel like he's treating the boss's wife?"
At the end of the day, someone saw Assistant Xing pushing the stroller in the back, with Chairman Bai's baby snuggled in the arms of that young man, looking very close, and even heard him say "Baba."
???
Wait — could this Mr. Qi actually be...?
Nobody dared to ask Chairman Bai directly, but some sharp-eyed people noticed that Mr. Qi also wore a ring on his finger — the same style as Chairman Bai's, just with a different colored gem.
...
Qi Cheng had no idea about the curiosity brewing among his husband's employees. When he got home with his husband and little goose, the moment he stepped through the door again, it felt like the home was finally complete.
"Oh, Fanfan sure is happy!" Uncle Quan laughed.
Qi Cheng said, "Oh right, I brought gifts!" As soon as he said "gifts," the little goose looked at him with an expectant "what is it?" expression.
Wait, no, I didn't go on any crazy adventure, there's no way Fanfan is that smart!
When he pulled out the colorful braided string bracelets, Fanfan got so excited he bounced around on the couch like a big goose, babbling in his baby voice: "Aba aba aba."
"It's 'Dad,' not 'aba aba.'" Qi Cheng corrected him.
When the little goose got too happy and talked too fast, his words got all jumbled. Sure enough — not the sharpest duck in the pond.
Uncle Quan watched with amusement.
Xiao Cheng is teasing Fanfan again.
"Oh, these bracelets are so pretty!" Auntie Zheng chimed in.
Fanfan stretched his chubby little arm toward his dad, going, "Ah fan, ah ba~"
"What a little goofball." Qi Cheng kissed his little goose, understanding that he wanted the bracelet put on.
Put it on, put it on!
Fanfan now had a colorful string bracelet on his wrist, and he was over the moon, touching it with his little fingers, then trying to gnaw on it with his mouth. Qi Cheng emphasized once that he couldn't eat it, and gave a live demonstration: licking the string, flopping limp on the couch, and playing dead.
A visual guide.
But Fanfan was a little goofball.
He thought his dad was playing a game. He chewed on his bracelet, sprayed some drool, and tried to flop his arms open like his dad — though his little arms were all chubby and wobbly. Then he threw himself backward, plopped down, and played dead.
"HAHAHAHAHA." From his own dad.
Uncle Quan and Auntie Zheng laughed too, but they thought Fanfan was smart and quick to copy. His real dad, Qi Cheng, was genuinely laughing at him — no filter — and was convinced Fanfan was truly a little goofball.
But no matter how silly, he was still his daddy's little goose.
Qi Cheng hugged his chubby little goose, gave him a big smooch on the cheek, and said, "Good job! You nailed it." Especially that final flopping on the couch with the tongue sticking out.
Hahahaha.
Fanfan was overjoyed that his dad praised him, happily waving his wrist around, delighted by the pretty bracelet.
Just a happy, silly little guy.
Qi Cheng and the little goose were having a blast together.
He'd been a lazy bum at home for another week, doing nothing but cuddling the little goose. The first couple of days, Fanfan was super clingy, and Qi Cheng felt really fulfilled — he carried the little guy everywhere, taking him along for shopping, bubble tea, and fried chicken (Qi Cheng ate; Fanfan just smelled it — no food for him).
Whenever they had nothing to do, the father-son duo would hole up in the playroom playing the ""Miracle Fanfan's World Tour" game.
All day long, they were stuck together like glue. Auntie Zheng felt so relaxed she was almost embarrassed. Then on the third day, Fanfan seemed to think, "This is too intense, too fast" — he started to miss his old, chill, lazy routine with Auntie Zheng.
"Come on, Dad will take you shopping — let's buy some candied hawthorns!" Qi Cheng coaxed his little goose.
Fanfan thought for a moment with his chubby face, then blew a "pfft" bubble of rejection, leaned his little body toward Auntie Zheng, reaching for a hug, and flapped his arms at his dad — as if to say, "You go ahead, Dad, I'll pass — it's too sunny out there, I wanna nap."
Qi Cheng: ...
What a great son!
Fine, I'll go by myself!
The house rhythm settled back into Big Lazy and Little Lazy. Fanfan would wake up, have his bottle, and Auntie Zheng would push him around the backyard to look at the flowers and plants. When they came back, Qi Cheng, after breakfast and some cuddle time with his husband, would sometimes play with the little goose.
After an hour or two, Fanfan would hit his limit — the little lazy one needed to lie flat on his play mat and do nothing.
Auntie Zheng would talk softly to him, and Fanfan would hold his bottle (filled with water) and gulp it down. Then came snack time, lunch, and naptime.
That was Qi Cheng's own time — catching up on novels, reading comics, gaming, wandering around, grabbing an afternoon snack. When the little goose woke up, it was playtime again!
In the evening, after dinner, Qi Cheng would push the stroller and take a walk with his husband and Fanfan.
Slow and easy — life was simply peaceful.
August also brought something good: Lu Yang's college admission letter arrived.
"I thought you applied to Capital Medical University?" Qi Cheng looked at the letter — it was from Mingcheng Medical University, Dentistry.
???
Lu Yang's answer was devastating: "Dentists make good money, it's low-stress, and you never hear about dental patients going on rampages."
Qi Cheng: ...
Strangely... that makes sense.
And Lu Yang's choice of major really fit his usual "practical worker" persona. Qi Cheng had thought maybe Lu Yang had reached some higher calling — saving lives, lofty ideals. But hearing his reason, it was still just Lu Yang.
Amazing.
"Whatever makes you happy." Qi Cheng patted his working-class friend on the shoulder.
Mingcheng had great educational resources — several 985 and 211 universities. Mingcheng Medical University was a prestigious 985 school, though its dentistry program had slightly lower admission requirements and wasn't among the most popular majors.
But Lu Yang didn't mind.
On the first day of school, Qi Cheng drove him there. He picked an older convertible — around 400,000 yuan, an older model — because the original owner had liked flashy cars.
"I'm keeping it low-key!" Qi Cheng said. "This one's black. You're definitely not getting in my bright red one at home, and there's also a yellow—"
Lu Yang said, "This one's fine."
He didn't need a ride, but he knew Qi Cheng was happier and more excited about him getting into college than he was.
So Qi Cheng drove this black convertible in a low-key manner to Lu Yang's university. The dorms were pretty nice — four to a room, beds above desks with closets, private bathroom and shower — pretty good. His roommates seemed friendly too.
He didn't stay long — he wanted to let Lu Yang get settled in.
Lu Yang walked him out to the car.
On the way back, Qi Cheng took a detour and passed by a very familiar university.
Saint Laurent University.
...Immediately turned the car around and hightailed it out of there!
Early September.
One day, his husband said that Old Master Zhou was coming to Mingcheng. Qi Cheng thought for a moment, "But Fanfan's first birthday isn't for a while, right?" September 22nd, still over half a month away.
"The company has business to discuss with Old Master Zhou's eldest son, Zhou Kaijun, so Old Master Zhou is coming along," Bai Zongyin said.
Qi Cheng had heard that Xiao Zhengtai's uncle was pretty impressive. The Zhou family in capital — Zhou Xianmin's family was purely business, while Old Master Zhou was retired from public service. His sons covered various fields, and the eldest was following in Old Master Zhou's footsteps.
"Our company works with the government?" Qi Cheng thought about it and was a bit surprised.
Bai Zongyin ruffled the young man's hair. "AI technology has a wide range of applications. Our company specializes in service-oriented, civilian-use versions." When this technology was unveiled, it shocked the entire world.
Private companies couldn't possibly monopolize it all. And nothing was safer than being backed by the state.
"Don't overthink it." Bai Zongyin kissed his dazed Chengcheng — he always called Fanfan silly, but clearly the apple didn't fall far from the tree. He added, "The cooperation is going smoothly, no worries. As for personal relationships, keep them as they've always been."
Qi Cheng relaxed and stopped worrying. He didn't understand much about the company anyway — he only knew about the AI tech but had no real grasp of it — so he trusted his husband to handle it.
September 3rd.
Old Master Zhou arrived in Mingcheng and stayed at a hotel. Qi Cheng met Xiao Zhengtai's eldest uncle — a very serious, upright man with an aura much like Old Master Zhou's when Qi Cheng first met him. Though after spending some time with him, Old Master Zhou, while still stern, now had a gentleness that came with age.
They all had a casual meal together. Nothing about business — just conversations about children and everyday life.
"...Fanfan has gotten so big. He's almost one now, right?" Old Master Zhou said with a smile. "Fanfan is a lucky baby — he's brought good fortune."
Fanfan sat in his dad's lap, his round face beaming with a smile, knowing he was being praised.
Fanfan was a miracle baby after all!
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar