Fanfan clung to his big dad's arm, so Bai Zongyin picked his son up. Fanfan rested his head on his big dad's shoulder, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and felt like he'd shown enough favoritism toward his big dad—but he still couldn't help leaning over to give his dad a kiss too.
Qi Cheng leaned in, and his little goose gave him a peck.
"Okay, that's enough, you water-carrying little master."
[Water-carrying master (端水大师): a Chinese internet slang term for someone who skillfully maintains balance, fairness, or impartiality among multiple parties — often in fandoms, relationships, or group dynamics, keeping everyone happy without taking sides.]
"Daddy, what's a 'water-carrying little master'?"
"It means you gave Big Dad a kiss, and you gave Dad a kiss too."
The family of three headed out, chatting casually along the way. Fanfan understood and looked up at his big dad with bright, sparkling eyes. "Big Dad, water-carrying master!"
Bai Zongyin leaned down and kissed Fanfan on the cheek.
Fanfan waved his little hands happily.
Qi Cheng: ...So he's still holding onto that.
"We're taking the back exit. Fanfan, say bye-bye to Big Dad."
"Bye-bye, Big Dad~"
The driver was waiting by the car at the front gate, so Bai Zongyin set Fanfan down, waved goodbye, and said, "Drive safely on the road."
"Got it."
Qi Cheng couldn't carry their little goose for long, so the father and son headed to the garage in the back courtyard, took the rear route to the kindergarten, and didn't mind the longer drive. They arrived at the kindergarten at 7:40.
Fanfan had already eaten breakfast at home. Usually, once he got to kindergarten, he'd check out what was being served that morning—if he liked it, he'd have another bite; if not, he'd just tell the teacher he'd already eaten and wasn't hungry.
It was a public kindergarten, but given the neighborhood, every car dropping kids off in the morning was a luxury model. Qi Cheng's car didn't stand out too much—he hadn't taken the sports car.
He pulled into a temporary parking spot and turned around to see that his little goose had already unbuckled his own seatbelt in the back.
"Little backpack," his dad reminded him.
The kindergarten was also designed in an antique architectural style, though it was built later and wasn't considered a historical relic. The teachers were already at the gate greeting the children, wearing bright smiles and full of energy.
Qi Cheng handed his little goose off directly to the teacher.
"Bye-bye, Daddy~"
Fanfan waved goodbye to his dad.
After dropping Fanfan off at the kindergarten, Qi Cheng drove to see the doctor.
At the hospital.
Dr. Liu asked, "What's wrong? Any discomfort?"
"I think I might be pregnant again," Qi Cheng said, then quickly added, "Dr. Liu, could you please keep this confidential and not tell my husband?"
"You don't want it?"
"No, no, that's not it." Qi Cheng waved his hands hurriedly. There was no way he'd abort the second baby—he was counting on this one to carry him and Fanfan to greatness!
Dr. Liu said, "...Let's run some tests first. We do protect patient privacy."
"Okay."
After having his blood drawn and the tests done, Qi Cheng opened a carton of milk and drank it while waiting. The results came back quickly. Half an hour later, in Dr. Liu's office, the doctor looked at the lab report and said, "You are pregnant—about three months along. Have you had any symptoms this time?"
"No, everything's been fine. Just a bit sleepier than usual and craving sour foods," Qi Cheng said.
But with summer arriving and the weather heating up, he always felt a little drowsy this time of year. The courtyard mansion was very cool, though—hardly any need for air conditioning—so he'd been sleeping well.
Dr. Liu said, "You really should tell your husband about this. It'll make it easier to schedule your follow-up appointments and plan for delivery..."
"I know. I'll tell him later," Qi Cheng murmured quietly.
He still had to make a run for it while pregnant.
This was all about boosting the second baby's IQ!
Right after Qi Cheng left the hospital, Dr. Liu felt uneasy. He thought it over and decided to call Bai Zongyin. But since he'd promised Qi Cheng confidentiality, he didn't say it outright over the phone: "...Mr. Qi came in for a checkup earlier. Nothing's wrong with his health, but you should pay a bit more attention—everything's looking good."
Nothing wrong, and yet everything's looking good.
Bai Zongyin thought about how Qi Cheng hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, and how excited he'd looked last night while trying so hard not to tell him. It didn't take long to guess what it was. "How far along?"
"Three months," Dr. Liu said.
"Thank you. Also, book a surgery for me as well."
Dr. Liu knew exactly what kind of surgery—a vasectomy.
He'd been far too busy before and had completely forgotten about it. Normally he was careful with Qi Cheng and always used protection. As time went on and there was no pregnancy—
Counting back, it must have been during those few days after he'd returned from his overseas business trip.
After even a short separation, Qi Cheng would become very clingy and passionate, and sometimes in the heat of the moment, they'd forget. Bai Zongyin paused—that was his fault. Then he thought again: why was Qi Cheng keeping this from him?
It definitely wasn't because he didn't want the child. Bai Zongyin was sure of that.
Qi Cheng loved kids. He loved family.
Then it hit him—he remembered a conversation they'd had before: "Ah, our Fanfan is such a sweet, simple little guy—it must be because I didn't run away while pregnant, so he didn't turn into a seven-year-old hacking prodigy!"
Bai Zongyin found the reasoning both amusing and ridiculous, but it was exactly the kind of thing Qi Cheng would do.
Sometimes, the ordinary days became wonderfully entertaining because of his wild imagination. That's what Bai Zongyin thought.
So he decided he'd just pretend he didn't know anything.
Qi Cheng went straight to find Lu Yang. He remembered that Lu Yang only had one class this morning—around ten o'clock—so showing up now would probably be a little late. But that was fine; he could wait and have lunch together and talk about his "escape" plan. And he'd leave some clues for his husband too.
It wasn't like he was actually running away!
Qi Cheng didn't message Lu Yang in advance, figuring he'd just drive over and let him know when he got there. He parked at the entrance of the medical university at just past 9:40 and was about to pull out his phone to text Lu Yang when he saw a Jeep pull up hurriedly at the school gate.
Someone jumped out of the passenger seat—wearing long sleeves and jeans in the middle of summer, with a cap on.
That person looked a bit familiar—
Wait!
"L-Lu Yang?" Qi Cheng's fingers froze over his phone.
Did he stay at the studio last night? And did he even have classes yesterday afternoon?
Qi Cheng was still puzzling over it when he saw Lu Yang heading toward the school. The driver got out, called Lu Yang back, and handed him his backpack.
Qi Cheng recognized the driver in an instant—his former neighbor, Liu Sinian.
When did Xiao Lu become friends with Liu Sinian?
He watched Lu Yang take the backpack, his expression sour, and it looked like he even cursed, "You're crazy." And yet Liu Sinian didn't get upset at all—he just smiled good-naturedly at Lu Yang. From the movement of his lips, it seemed like he was saying something along the lines of "Slow down, you won't be late, no need to run."
Lu Yang was hot-tempered and snapped something back.
They exchanged a few words, then Lu Yang slung his backpack over his shoulder and entered the school. Liu Sinian waited a moment before driving off. That left Qi Cheng sitting alone in his car, holding his phone, staring at the WeChat screen, not sure what to say.
Xiao Lu and...
No way, right?
And Xiao Lu is so good at cursing people out—they are probably just friends, aren't they?
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