Chapter 87

Since there are still some risks associated with childbirth for men, it’s generally safer to choose a cesarean section, which is what Ling Sicheng decided to do today.

Speaking of Ling Sicheng eventually ending up with Qin Mofeng, Shen Yan had completely not believed it would happen back then.

Although Qin Mofeng had already made up his mind to relentlessly pursue Ling Sicheng for a lifetime, was Ling Sicheng the kind of person who would give someone a chance just because they were persistent?

No, absolutely not!

If Ling Sicheng didn’t want it, no matter how hard Qin Mofeng tried, he wouldn’t have cared, and might even have ended up injuring him in a fit of anger.

In fact, for the first three years, Ling Sicheng completely ignored Qin Mofeng. Even though they had some professional interactions due to work, their relationship never softened, and it remained strictly formal, like that between an employer and a senior employee.

However, during a work trip abroad two years ago, something seemed to change. Afterward, Ling Sicheng’s attitude toward Qin Mofeng softened considerably.

From then on, Qin Mofeng intensified his efforts, and the two of them became closer and closer. Occasionally, Shen Yan would hear Ling Sicheng naturally complimenting Qin Mofeng in passing.

Qin Mofeng, ever the boastful one, would call Su Yunzhe to report their “relationship progress” (mainly to gloat), saying things like, “Today, Cheng Cheng praised me in front of everyone during a meeting,” or “Cheng Cheng went on a date with me last night,” and so on. Shen Yan would frequently hear these updates.

However, despite this progress, it still took more than a year before the two finally took things to the next level.

Just when Shen Yan was wondering if they would continue dragging things out for another two or three years, something miraculous happened during Shen Yan’s birthday celebration last year.

The little one went to bed promptly at 9 pm, and the four adults partied until late into the night. Qin Mofeng was drunk, and Ling Sicheng had also drunk quite a bit, so they both ended up staying over.

Shen Yan distinctly remembered that he and Su Yunzhe each sent them to different rooms, but by noon the next day, the two of them awkwardly emerged from the same door. To make things even more awkward, their clothes had been torn during their “excitement,” and the guest room only had one bathrobe, which Ling Sicheng wore, while Qin Mofeng had to wrap himself in a towel, which couldn’t even cover the scratches on his back.

That scene was extremely awkward!

Even Qin Mofeng, who usually had no shame, wanted to find a hole to hide in, while Ling Sicheng, blushing furiously, turned and slammed the door shut behind him.

Qin Mofeng tried to follow him, but the door had been locked from the inside, so he could only awkwardly turn back and pretend to be unfazed, glaring at Shen Yan and Su Yunzhe, saying, “What are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen someone in love?” Then, he quickly darted into the nearby guest room.

It wasn’t until then that Shen Yan and Su Yunzhe realized what had happened. They both burst out laughing uncontrollably, and Shen Yan was laughing so hard that he couldn’t stand up straight.

To this day, Ling Sicheng still feels incredibly embarrassed when this incident is brought up, but Qin Mofeng, with his usual shamelessness, is very proud of himself, thinking that he made a decisive move and “sealed the deal” that night.

And indeed, after that, the two of them finally stopped playing games and got together. Not long after, Qin Mofeng proposed, and they got married. Shortly thereafter, Ling Sicheng became pregnant.

When Shen Yan heard the news of Ling Sicheng’s pregnancy, he was completely stunned.

He had never expected it. After all, when the original owner had gotten pregnant and had a child, it had been completely unintentional. To be honest, Shen Yan had always had a strange feeling about it, which was why he never agreed to the little one’s request for a sister.

So, he never imagined that Ling Sicheng would go through with a pregnancy procedure.

But, as they say, everyone has their own thoughts and feelings.

Ling Sicheng said that he had never imagined he would have a child, even though he liked men. But when he saw little Su Zihan growing up day by day, turning into a clever little kid, and saw the happy family moments of Shen Yan and Su Yunzhe with their child, it made him feel a sense of happiness.

Moreover, Qin Mofeng really liked children. You could tell by the envious look he always had whenever he saw little Su Zihan.

In the end, Ling Sicheng decided to go through with the procedure to have a child and decided to have a little baby with Qin Mofeng.

Shen Yan still remembers how shocked he was when he first heard about Ling Sicheng’s pregnancy over half a year ago. Now, the baby was finally about to be born.

“What if Uncle Ling has a little brother? Would you still like him?” Shen Yan teased the little one, pinching his cheek.

The little one puffed up his cheeks, “Hmph! If it’s a little brother, I won’t let him play with my toys, and I won’t share my snacks with him.”

“How can you say that? You’re going to be a big brother, and big brothers have to take care of their little siblings, whether it’s a brother or a sister. And little brothers are cute too.”

“I don’t care!” The little one was insistent. “I want a little sister. If it’s a little sister, I’ll love her and share everything with her. I’ll take her to kindergarten and protect her if anyone bullies her. But if it’s a little brother, I won’t care about him, and he can play by himself.”

Shen Yan couldn’t help but laugh, “Why do you only like little sisters?”

The little one looked up at Shen Yan, seriously saying, “Because little sisters are definitely pretty, just like Uncle Ling. If you have a little sister, she’ll be pretty like you, Daddy. When you were little, you wore dresses and looked like a little princess.”

The little one’s thoughts were jumping all over the place, and somehow, the topic shifted to Shen Yan himself.

Su Yunzhe, who had been driving in the front, hadn’t said a word until now. He suddenly asked with interest, “Hmm? When did you see pictures of Daddy wearing dresses when he was little?”

The little one said, “In a dream. A very pretty auntie showed me lots of pictures of Dad when he was little. There were a few where he was wearing a dress, like… like Snow White. If Dad has a little sister, she’ll definitely be just as pretty as a little princess.”

Snow White?

Su Yunzhe glanced at Shen Yan through the rearview mirror, remaining silent, but Shen Yan could tell from his expression that he was regretting never having seen Su Yunzhe’s “black history” from his childhood.

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t think about it; you’ll never see it. But… I did see your black history when you were little. You hid it so carefully—were you really that afraid I would see it?”

Su Yunzhe frowned in confusion. “What black history?”

Shen Yan glanced over at him through the rearview mirror, noticing that Su Yunzhe wasn’t joking, and he was puzzled.

“Don’t you remember? The last page of your family photo album. You snatched it away from me and wouldn’t let me look. I thought it was some weird photo, but it was just a picture of you with some bruises on your face?”

The first time Shen Yan visited the Su family, he had looked through a photo album of Su Yunzhe’s childhood in his room. When he was almost done, Su Yunzhe suddenly snatched the album away and refused to let him look at the last page.

After that, Shen Yan didn’t have many chances to visit the Su family, but he was always curious, wondering what Su Yunzhe had hidden on that last page that was so private.

So when he and Su Yunzhe got together, Shen Yan took the opportunity to visit the Su family again. He sneaked into Su Yunzhe’s room and tried to find the album. However, Su Yunzhe had hidden it. Shen Yan even checked under the bed but couldn’t find it anywhere.

His curiosity grew, and he became convinced that the last page must contain something interesting. He kept searching for the album every time he visited, and even secretly asked Su Mubei, but still found nothing.

Just when he thought Su Yunzhe had destroyed it, he unexpectedly found the album in his own study one day. It was tucked in a corner of a bookshelf. But when he reached the last page, instead of a scandalous photo, it was just an image of Su Yunzhe as a teenager with bruises on his face.

From the timing, it seemed to align with what Qin Mofeng had said about Su Yunzhe missing school for a week after injuring his face.

In Shen Yan’s eyes, the photo wasn’t some dark secret. In fact, the youthful Su Yunzhe, with the bruises, still exuded the energy and charm of his age—he still looked handsome.

But because of those injuries, Su Yunzhe skipped school for a week, and even after being scolded by Su Mubei, he didn’t want to face anyone. Su Yunzhe was someone who valued his image above all else, so he didn’t want anyone to see him looking less than perfect.

When Shen Yan found the photo, he secretly laughed to himself but never brought it up with Su Yunzhe.

Now, it seemed that Su Yunzhe had completely forgotten about it. His nonchalant reaction was very different from how he had acted when he first hid the album, and Shen Yan found it a bit strange. He leaned in and poked Su Yunzhe’s face, teasing him. “Hey, why are you so calm about it? This isn’t like you!”

By now, they had arrived at the hospital. Su Yunzhe parked the car and turned to smile at him. “What’s the big deal? You’ve seen even worse embarrassing moments of mine.”

Then he got out of the car, took the little one from the back seat, and gave Shen Yan a playful pinch on the cheek, reminding him, “Hurry up, the baby’s probably already born.”

Shen Yan snapped back to reality, his lips curving into a smile as he got out of the car and followed Su Yunzhe, asking, “Then why didn’t you let me see it back then? Was I not allowed to see it?”

Su Yunzhe thought for a moment and said, “I guess I didn’t want you to see me in such an embarrassing state. I wanted to leave a good impression on you.”

“So, you mean, you don’t need to leave a good impression on me anymore?” Shen Yan said teasingly.

Su Yunzhe, holding the little one in his arms, reached over with one hand and pulled Shen Yan close, laughing. “Nonsense. I’m still trying every day to make a good impression on my wife!”

As they chatted, their tone turned lighthearted. Shen Yan gave him an elbow to the ribs, rolling his eyes. This guy had no shame, making jokes like that in front of their son.

Thankfully, the little one was focused solely on meeting his little sister and didn’t understand what the adults were saying.

Since Ling Sicheng had a cesarean section, everything went smoothly. After waiting for half an hour, they finally received the good news from the delivery room—both mother and daughter were safe!

It was a girl!

The little one was overjoyed, saying that from now on, he would share all his favorite foods and toys with his sister, and that when she went to kindergarten, if anyone bullied her, he would protect her.

However, Ling Sicheng and Qin Mofeng were a little worried.

It wasn’t that they valued boys over girls, as they hadn’t been concerned about the baby’s gender before the birth. Regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, they would love the child just the same.

But girls were more delicate, and both men felt awkward about taking care of a girl.

When Qin Mofeng found out they had a daughter, he was so nervous when he took the baby from the nurse that he didn’t dare to move, and Ling Sicheng was equally at a loss, afraid of hurting the baby with his strength.

But this was something only they could figure out for themselves. Luckily, there were doctors, nurses, and professional postpartum caregivers to help them along.

This time, Ling Sicheng’s joy wasn’t just felt by the little one. Duan Songtao, who had spent most of his life working hard, was now older and living with Ling Sicheng’s grandparents, feeling physically strong but mentally a bit down.

This time, Ling Sichen gave birth to a lovely baby, and it seemed as though the old man had suddenly become much younger. He spent his days holding a dictionary and discussing with Ling Sichen’s grandparents what kind of name they should give the child.

The three elderly people often argued passionately about it.

In addition, the head of the Qin family finally forgave Qin Mofeng for the sake of his granddaughter and accepted Ling Sichen.

Years ago, Qin Mofeng had declared that he wanted to be with a man. On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, the head of the Qin family had chased him out with a chicken feather duster, saying that if he dared to do so, he would sever their father-son relationship.

But Qin Mofeng dared to go ahead, and the old man really did intend to cut ties with him.

However, over the past two years, people had been mediating on his behalf, and Qin Mofeng had periodically gone to apologize, even though it was awkward for him. The key, however, was Ling Sichen—such a perfect person in every way—that the old man gradually began to accept him. The more he saw him, the more he liked him, and the resentment in his heart faded. It was just a matter of time before the situation was resolved.

This time, with the birth of their little granddaughter, the family was joyful, and the old grudge was naturally forgiven.

Of course, the happiest were still Ling Sichen and Qin Mofeng. After the initial nervousness and uncertainty, their deep love for the child came from the heart, more profound than anyone else’s.

At the baby’s full-month celebration, Qin Mofeng tearfully thanked Ling Sichen in front of everyone, repeatedly saying, “Thank you.”

Shen Yan was filled with emotion at that moment.

Because he had witnessed all their struggles along the way.

They had once had a simple and beautiful past. If things had gone smoothly, it should have blossomed into a pure and beautiful relationship. But, misunderstandings had piled up.

He recalled how, at the beginning, Qin Mofeng would call Ling Sichen “crazy” and “perverted,” how Qin Mofeng couldn’t face the truth about his feelings for men, and how he had even fought with Ling Sichen in public, driving him to despair and causing him to leave alone.

Now, looking at them together with their healthy, growing child, it truly felt like a dream.

And the one who felt it most deeply must have been Qin Mofeng.

Shen Yan fully understood why, at such a happy moment, Qin Mofeng would shed tears.

Because no one in this world had ever feared more than he did that he would spend his life missing out on Ling Sichen.

Luckily, fate had favored him, and Ling Sichen had not completely let go of him in his heart.

After leaving the full-month celebration, Shen Yan’s thoughts remained on the past. He almost replayed everything he had witnessed between Qin Mofeng and Ling Sichen and couldn’t help but laugh at himself for being nostalgic. “But, seeing them like this now… it’s really great!”

The little one had fallen asleep in the back, as it was his nap time. Even though he had just been grinning ear to ear at his little sister wrapped tightly in her swaddling, he was now fast asleep, undisturbed by anything.

Su Yunzhe reached out and gently ruffled Shen Yan’s hair, smiling, “What’s wrong with us? Your husband is so handsome, and won’t be as foolish as Qin Mofeng. Our son is so cute, isn’t that great?”

Shen Yan took his hand and held it, “Sure, if only you could…”

Before Shen Yan could finish his sentence, his phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Su Mubai.

It was strange, really. Ever since Shen Yan married Su Yunzhe, both Su Mubai and Su Yunzhe’s grandparents would always call Shen Yan whenever there was something important.

This time, it was to invite them to dinner, as Su Mubai said he hadn’t seen the little one in a while and missed him.

But there hadn’t really been a long time. The little one visited every week, and this week they had switched their usual Saturday visit to Sunday because of the full-month celebration.

However, Su Mubai and the little one shared a special bond, and the two of them always had long, happy conversations. Su Mubai, once a dominant figure in the business world, now spent his weekends playing games with his grandson.

“Let’s go, let’s change directions and head to your place. Grandpa misses his grandson, and besides, I’ve been wanting to eat the drunken crab he makes,” Shen Yan said as he hung up the phone and spoke to Su Yunzhe.

So, Su Yunzhe changed direction, heading toward Su family’s villa.

When they arrived, they found out that it wasn’t just Su Mubai missing his grandson—there was also an important guest at the Su family house.

Su Yingying had returned from abroad and had brought back her boyfriend.

Five years ago, Su Yingying had suddenly decided to study abroad. After quickly handling the paperwork, she left without much fanfare. In those five years, she had not returned once.

Her mother, who was also Su Yunzhe’s stepmother, had had a falling out with him years ago over inheritance issues. Because of this, Su Yunzhe had stopped going home for the New Year.

Ever since Su Yingying left for her studies, she had not only become estranged from Su Yunzhe but also had a falling out with Su Mubai. The year after, she divorced Su Mubai and followed Su Yingying abroad.

Su Yunzhe had never been in contact with Su Yingying, and after their parents’ divorce, they had become even more like strangers to each other. Over the years, Shen Yan had only occasionally heard a few pieces of news about Su Yingying from Su Mubai, like how she had gotten into a great university and had been excelling in various aspects of her life.

Oh, and come to think of it, just recently, while they were having dinner, Su Mubai had mentioned that Su Yingying called him to say she had a boyfriend and planned to bring him back sometime for him to meet.

Shen Yan hadn’t expected that she would bring him back so soon.

The boyfriend was of Chinese descent, looking just like Su Yingying—neat, sunny, and the kind of guy who was particularly popular with girls.

It was clear that he liked Su Yingying a lot—his eyes didn’t lie.

What surprised Shen Yan even more was the change in Su Yingying. Over the past five years, he didn’t know what the young lady had gone through abroad, but it seemed like she had completely transformed. She was no longer the girl who would bristle the moment she saw him; instead, she had become elegant, confident, and poised, whether she was facing Shen Yan or Su Yunzhe.

This transformation was something Shen Yan was happy to see—and even more so, Su Yunzhe was thrilled by it.

That evening, Shen Yan could sense that Su Yunzhe was in a particularly good mood, almost too energetic.

Unable to resist, Shen Yan bit his shoulder and said, “You jerk, just because you’re happy, you’re going to make things difficult for me?”

Su Yunzhe held him in his arms and kissed him in comfort. “Wronged! I just want my wife to be happy too.”

“Go away!”

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