Husband, Hungry, Eat! Chapter 124

Chapter 124

The entire press conference lasted about forty minutes. Qi Cheng spent most of it not fully understanding what was going on, but he was impressed. He watched the livestream viewership climb steadily from 160,000, with early comments flooding in like: "Here to see the handsome young guy." "Whoa, this isn't just any young guy—this is a total beauty." "I want to buy stock in this company." "This face is the kind I'd screenshot and send to my group chat asking where to get one." "Now I finally have a face to imagine for that novel's handsome CEO."

Qi Cheng wasn't upset about any of it—because the moment he remembered that this handsome man was his husband, he couldn't be upset, only happy. He watched the bullet comments scroll by, and about five minutes in, the viewer count shot up again.

At ten minutes, it jumped sharply.

By twenty minutes, the viewership had hit two million.

And the comments shifted from thirsting over his husband's face, "ahhhhhh," "I'm deceased," and the like, to: "WTF?!"

—Is this for real?

—No way, this has to be fake, right? Is it actually smart? Isn't it just pre-programmed?

—Holy crap, I think it might actually be real.

—Whoa, this feels like a sci-fi movie come to life.

—This is insane. I bow down.

—I just checked—the company's stock is already skyrocketing.

Mostly that kind of reaction. All Qi Cheng could think was that his Silly Goose had gotten smart—really, impressively smart. It could talk to his husband, interact with the audience, recite poetry, solve math problems, speak multiple languages—it absolutely blew Qi Cheng's mind.

Is this even the same Silly Goose that used to only sing "Daddy, Daddy, Good Daddy"?!

The first ten minutes of the conference were basically a showcase—Silly Goose interacting with the audience and answering questions. Then they rolled out Zongcheng Technology's latest innovation: artificial intelligence.

It came in the form of a chip.

Qi Cheng didn't understand the technical explanations, but he knew it was amazing. In his excitement, he sent a ton of virtual gifts in the livestream—supporting his husband!

Husband is the best!

When the livestream ended, the stage lights went out.

A lot of people were still processing what they'd just seen, Qi Cheng included. He hadn't had enough of his husband yet, so he checked Weibo—and sure enough, #ZongchengPressConference was trending at #1, with a little "Explosive" tag next to it. Tech fans flooded the comments with all kinds of opinions—some were excited and passionate, saying that if what Zongcheng Tech showed today was real, it would change an entire era.

Others were skeptical—people had been talking about AI since the early 2000s, but no one had ever actually pulled it off. Was this all a scam?

And, of course, there were the usual opportunists plugging their own products.

Qi Cheng reposted the official Zongcheng Tech account's conference video summary and wrote his support outright: "It's absolutely real! No scam! Believe it!" 

The domestic reaction to the conference was something Qi Cheng could only follow online, and it was huge. But his own daily life was still pretty dull and routine—just a salted fish in a new location. Except back home, being a salted fish hadn't felt this boring.

At home, he'd do nothing all day too—eat, drink, have fun, shop. Here it was basically the same, just... uninteresting. Qi Cheng sprawled on the sofa, pinched the little squishy arm of his little goose, and said, "I miss your big daddy."

"Big Dada!" Fanfan rubbed his cheek against his dad's arm. He missed his big dad too.

Seeing his little goose's mood drop, Qi Cheng cheered up, scooped him into his arms, and said, "Daddy will play cars with you. Let's race and see who rides faster."

He got himself a tricycle too—technically a kids' version, but one for older kids. Otherwise, riding a bicycle while his son rode a tiny tricycle would just be bullying a toddler.

Qi Cheng would never do something like that!

Fanfan's eyes lit up. He wiggled out of his dad's arms, pattered over, and climbed onto his little black tricycle. Qi Cheng snorted a laugh. "I'll let you get a ten-meter head start. I'll catch you in no time."

And so the father-son duo began their daily race.

Qi Cheng pedaled his big-kid tricycle with effort, chasing after his little goose. After they wore themselves out, Uncle Quan made noodles for lunch—braised beef noodles. Qi Cheng had two bowls; they were just too good.

Fanfan ate his noodles with a spoon, breaking them into little pieces, his chubby cheeks puffed out adorably.

Life went on like this for about half a month. The photo shoots for the studio were all wrapped up—by now they'd been away for nearly a month, and it was almost August, the end of July.

Qi Cheng missed his husband terribly. Every day, he'd ask the same question: Husband, when can I go home?

On the morning of early August, Qi Cheng woke up groggy. He patted the bed beside him.

Huh? Where is my little goose?

Fanfan had been sleeping with Qi Cheng every night. Not feeling him there, Qi Cheng cracked one sleepy eye open—and then—

"!!!"

He rubbed his eyes. This wasn't a dream!

"Husband!" It really was his husband. Overjoyed, Qi Cheng instinctively latched onto him with both arms and legs. Bai Zongyin supported the young man's bottom with one hand and leaned down to kiss him. "It's me."

"I missed you so much. How come you're here?"

And just like that, the clingy Chengcheng was back—completely wrapped around his husband.

Bai Zongyin looked into the young man's eyes and saw his own reflection there. He lowered his head, his gaze full of undisguised tenderness and love, and said, "I came to take Chengcheng home."

"We can go home!" Qi Cheng nuzzled against his husband like a little puppy, wanting nothing but kisses and cuddles. It was like he'd developed skin hunger—he had to be stuck to his husband at all times.

Bai Zongyin thoroughly enjoyed Qi Cheng's enthusiasm.

But that enthusiasm gradually shifted from sweet to something else. They ended up in bed once, then again in the shower afterward. After that, Qi Cheng and his husband lay under the covers, not wanting to go anywhere, just whispering to each other. Bai Zongyin tried to get the young man to eat breakfast, but Qi Cheng shook his head and said, "I'm not hungry. I just want to hold my husband."

"...Then let's hold each other a little longer." Bai Zongyin had missed Chengcheng just as much.

They ended up lazing around until past ten, when Bai Zongyin finally got the young man out of bed. They went downstairs to the dining room, and the moment Fanfan saw his big daddy, his round eyes went wide and sparkly—but then his little mouth puckered, and he burst into tears.

"Oh dear, why is Fanfan crying? It's your big daddy!" Uncle Quan said worriedly.

Qi Cheng knew exactly why his little goose was crying. He'd felt the same way when he first saw his husband—overwhelmed with emotion, and he'd secretly cried later, holding onto his husband's shoulders while they were together. His husband had kissed away his tears, and Qi Cheng had felt shy about it afterward.

Through sobs, he'd said, "I was just too happy."

Now, Qi Cheng stayed quiet. Bai Zongyin walked over, ruffled his son's hair, crouched down, and gave him a hug. Gently, he said, "Big Daddy is here to take you and Daddy home."

Fanfan's chubby little face was full of heartbreak, tears rolling down one by one. He wiped them with his tiny hands, trying to be brave, and through his blurry eyes, he said in his baby voice, "Weally?"

"Pfft!" His biological dad, Qi Cheng, cracked up laughing.

Fanfan's big eyes turned to look at his dad, his chubby face flushing with a hint of embarrassment. He buried his little head in his big daddy's chest, making little squeaky noises, not saying a word—just being clingy.

Uncle Quan sighed in relief, chuckled warmly, and headed to the kitchen to make something hot and tasty, leaving the family of three to their moment. Qi Cheng had already hogged his husband all morning—gone a round, then cuddled under the covers whispering for ages—so now he was feeling generous and let the little goose have quality time with his big daddy.

He stood by watching the show, occasionally throwing in commentary.

"Is our Fanfan feeling shy? It's okay—boys can cry too."

"Come on, let Daddy see. Want me to wipe those tears?"

Bai Zongyin couldn't hold back his laugh. "He's wiping them on my shoulder."

"Hahahahaha." 

Teased by both his dads, Fanfan flapped his little hands around like a little goose. Qi Cheng stopped laughing and said, "Daddy cried a bit too earlier, really. Those were happy tears—nothing to be embarrassed or shy about."

"Twuly?" Fanfan finally lifted his head from his big daddy's chest.

Qi Cheng took a look—his little goose's eyes were still wet, his little nose all red, adorably pitiful—and said, "For real."

Uncle Quan kept breakfast simple—he warmed up some milk and fried eggs, sausages, and bacon, that sort of thing. Qi Cheng was starving by now, especially after his morning workout, so he sat down to eat. Bai Zongyin went to the kitchen to make himself a coffee, and Fanfan pattered along behind his big daddy, following him everywhere.

Just like Qi Cheng had done that morning.

When Bai Zongyin finally sat down, Fanfan even gestured at the chair, meaning he wanted to sit next to his big daddy.

"Little clingy monster," Qi Cheng said.

Bai Zongyin glanced at Qi Cheng, and Qi Cheng met his husband's gaze, his face flushing slightly—because his husband was smiling at him, clearly implying that he'd been the clingy monster that morning too. A big clingy monster.

There wasn't much to pack. On August 2nd, they booked the tickets—time to go home!

The long flight didn't even feel tiring. Qi Cheng and his little goose were both in high spirits. When they landed in Mingcheng, cars drove right onto the runway to pick them up, with bodyguards trailing them—four cars in total, front and back. Something felt different.

But when he walked through the front door, it was still the same home, unchanged. Maybe nothing had really changed after all.

"Dad~"

As soon as they entered, a little voice called out. Qi Cheng looked down.

Isn't this my big goose? Silly Goose.

Silly Goose's electronic eyes blinked cheerfully. Its limbs clattered happily as it trotted over to Fanfan and gently nudged his leg with its head, like a real puppy asking for attention.

"Little brother," Silly Goose said happily.

Fanfan had always loved his big brother Silly Goose since he was little. He crouched down right there, hugged his brother, and rubbed his cheek against its.

Qi Cheng tilted his head and asked, "Husband, did I just hear... happiness? Enthusiasm? In Silly Goose's voice?"

Before, Silly Goose's voice was just flat electronic speech, totally devoid of emotion. But now, it felt so lively—and he wasn't even talking about the body. Silly Goose had always been a pricey toy with nimble limbs; it was just that the speech used to be stiff and robotic. Just an electronic toy.

Now, though, it seemed alive—full of vitality.

"He's happy to see us back home," Bai Zongyin said, patting Silly Goose's head.

Silly Goose's two little ears perked up happily, and it said cheerfully, "I'm so happy! Little brother, come with me—I'll take you to play."

Fanfan pattered along behind his big brother Silly Goose, who used its head to nudge the little black tricycle.

Abroad, Qi Cheng had bought his little goose a replacement, also in black—but Fanfan's absolute favorite was still this one at home, the one Uncle Jiang Zhi had given him. The moment he climbed on and his tiny hands touched the handlebars, the tricycle said, "Welcome home, little master Fanfan~"

"Wow!"

Fanfan's eyes went round and sparkly, and he rubbed his cheek against the tricycle.

Love you so much, Cece!