Shen Yuan held the ultrasound image in his hands, his face dark as he stared at it for a long time.
So infuriating—yet he couldn’t exactly beat up Qiao Hailou in public.
Professor Haywood said, “Congratulations. You’re expecting your second child.”
Shen Yuan replied, “Thank you… but… but let’s do a more detailed and comprehensive set of examinations first.”
This time, discovering he was pregnant left Shen Yuan far calmer than the last time. Maybe it really was true that once you’d gone through it once, the second time felt easier. The previous pregnancy had genuinely left him panicked and unsettled, but at least he had already lived through it once.
And his state of mind now was different as well.
Since it had already happened, he would accept it as it came.
This time, Shen Yuan didn’t hesitate at all. If the child was healthy, he would give birth. The studio was thrown into chaos by his sudden absence and called him nonstop. Shen Yuan calmly and methodically assigned tasks over the phone. He didn’t even have time to scold Qiao Hailou. After completing a whole series of tests, only the genetic screening remained, with results due in a day or two.
After the examinations, the two of them got into the car. Shen Yuan told the driver to head back and said they would drive themselves.
Qiao Hailou’s heart skipped. Shen Yuan had sent everyone away—was he about to get yelled at? He climbed into the car nervously and, sure enough, got a full verbal dressing-down… All right. Uncle Qiao was finally at ease now.
Shen Yuan was furious. “My studio has only been running for half a year! Is this the time to be having a baby?”
“This is great—just great. We were supposed to have the wedding. Have it my ass! Once the clothes are finished, I won’t even be able to wear them in two months.”
“If we hold the wedding half a year later, am I supposed to show up visibly pregnant in front of everyone? Do I have no shame at all?”
“You old bastard—this is all your fault!”
Qiao Hailou obediently took the scolding. He was even more frightened than Shen Yuan. “All right, all right, my fault, all my fault. Don’t be angry anymore. Sigh.”
He really was shaken. They had never planned for a second child. He had absolutely not wanted Shen Yuan to have another baby. The last time had scared him half to death. After giving birth, Shen Yuan had been sickly and weak for a long time before he recovered. Qiao Hailou had always been careful, doing his best to prevent another pregnancy. Shen Yuan was already over two months along now. Thinking back, it must have been that banquet two months earlier—Shen Yuan had drunk too much, been in high spirits, pushed him down in the car. That one time they hadn’t used protection, and who would have thought he’d get pregnant again.
Qiao Hailou didn’t dare blame Shen Yuan. It was his own fault for not making sure Shen Yuan took his medication. Now this mess—another baby on the way.
They had finally raised Little Peanut to the point where he could run and jump and be sent to kindergarten, and now it was happening all over again. He would have to revise all his plans. Well, that settled it—there was no going back to work. He’d continue being a stay-at-home spouse.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Shen Yuan frowned. “Why do you look so miserable? I’m the one who should be worried. You don’t want this child, do you?”
Qiao Hailou said, “It’s not that I don’t want it. I’m scared. When I think about how you looked lying in the hospital bed back then, I get scared.”
Shen Yuan, forgetting the pain once the wound had healed, said, “I’m not afraid. What are you afraid of?”
After a moment, his voice weakened. “…I wasn’t afraid originally. Now you’ve made me a little scared again. This is all your fault.”
Qiao Hailou muttered, baffled, “I’m already forty. How am I still this accurate?”
Shen Yuan shot him a glare. “You’re proud of that?”
Shen Yuan felt a little regretful now. Maybe he should have just had the procedure done back then. But he had always felt that doing so would mean admitting defeat, so he hadn’t wanted to. And now here he was, belly growing all over again.
Qiao Hailou said quickly, “No, no, how could I be proud? I’ll go get a procedure done myself.”
Shen Yuan asked, “What procedure?”
Qiao Hailou sighed. “What procedure? A vasectomy.”
Shen Yuan had been about to curse him again, but hearing that, he suddenly couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
From the test results, the baby appeared healthy—a girl. The two of them discussed whether to keep the child.
They even asked the child seriously, “Little Peanut, do you want a little sister?”
Little Peanut was still too young to fully understand. Now that he was attending early education classes, he saw other children with older brothers and sisters and felt especially envious. Hearing his dads ask that question, his eyes lit up instantly, and he bounced excitedly. “Am I going to have a little sister?”
Qiao Hailou patted his fluffy little head. “Yes, you’re going to have a little sister.”
Little Peanut asked eagerly, “When is my sister coming?”
Qiao Hailou said, “In another seven or eight months. You’ll have to wait until next year.”
Little Peanut was instantly disappointed. “That’s so long! She’s so slow.”
To a child barely over two years old, a year felt like the next lifetime. He went around boasting to his classmates about how he was going to have a little sister. After bragging for several days and repeating himself until he got tired, he tossed the matter aside.
His new game was learning to swim with John. It was so much fun.
Having a baby wasn’t just about having a baby. Both of their work schedules needed to be arranged, and whether the wedding should be delayed or moved up was another issue.
Shen Yuan felt that he was being greedy. He wanted a child, but he didn’t want to give up his career either. “I’ll keep working—at least until I feel like I really can’t handle it anymore.”
And things were different from three years ago. Back then, he had genuinely felt lost, unsure of the future, anxious every day. Now, he felt confident that he could arrange everything properly. Taking two or three months off to give birth wouldn’t be a big problem.
Shen Yuan had it all planned out. “When I really can’t manage anymore, you’ll take over the studio for me.”
Qiao Hailou asked, “What about the wedding?”
That was the tricky part.
If they waited until the baby was born to hold the wedding, it would be delayed again and again—at least another two or three years. Adding in the delay caused by Little Peanut, that meant five or six years total. Who waits that long to have a wedding after already getting the marriage certificate?
They had already been married for three years without a wedding, and there had been plenty of gossip outside—mostly criticizing Qiao Hailou. People said that if he were truly sincere, why would he only get the certificate and not even hold a wedding? Qiao Hailou was suffering in silence. It was clearly because his spouse was too busy—first with studies, then with work—and didn’t want to waste time on a wedding. Their schedules never lined up.
He had waited so long, and now it looked like it might fall through again.
Qiao Hailou held the hand wearing the wedding ring and said seriously, “Let’s move it up. Most of the preparations are already done. It was originally scheduled for six months later to wait for your availability… If we delay any longer, you’ll start showing. At the latest, let’s do it in a month and a half.”
In short—
Mr. Qiao would not be able to make a dramatic return to the world and dominate the scene for the time being.
Shen Yuan handed full responsibility for the wedding over to Qiao Hailou and focused on his studio. He needed to quickly promote and train a few people who could really shoulder responsibility. Otherwise, when he went off to have the baby, wouldn’t everything fall into chaos?
They had to hurry up and prepare for the wedding.
Fortunately, Qiao Hailou had already envisioned it all over the past few years. He had personally planned it himself. The very next day, he wrote up a proposal and respectfully brought it to President Shen for review, letting President Shen make the final decision. Whatever Shen Yuan wanted changed, he would change. But there wasn’t much time to be picky now, and Shen Yuan himself wasn’t a picky person. He had previously attended Qiao Jun’s wedding, which had been extremely lavish, but he hadn’t envied it. Maybe because he was a man, he didn’t have many dreamy fantasies.
Just go through the motions.
Shen Yuan was shocked when he saw Qiao Hailou’s proposal. “I didn’t realize you had such a girlish heart, Old Qiao.”
Qiao Hailou’s old face reddened. “I just thought you young people would like these flashy things.”
Qiao Hailou booked an entire island and threw money at a wedding planning team to decorate it. It should have taken more time, but there was nothing money couldn’t accomplish—and if there was, then it just meant not enough money had been thrown at it.
The invitations were rushed out by designers working overtime, printed, and mailed to friends and family. Shen Yuan personally wrote the names of everyone he was close to, regardless of wealth or status. When the time came, domestic friends and relatives would all fly over on Qiao Hailou’s private jet. Lodging and food would be fully covered by the couple.
The guest list was a bit tricky. Shen Yuan couldn’t decide whether to invite Li Lin. If he did, wouldn’t that be like stabbing a knife into the kid’s heart? If he didn’t, that was his brother—it didn’t sit right either.
Shen Yuan hesitated. He had already sent invitations to friends and classmates, but still hadn’t decided whether to send one to Li Lin. He hadn’t hidden the fact that he was holding a wedding, though. Li Lin heard about it from others and angrily ran over to confront him. “Do you think I’m so immature that I’d go cause trouble at your wedding, so you’re not even planning to invite me?”
Shen Yuan smiled awkwardly. “Of course not… I was definitely planning to send you an invitation.”
Li Lin said resentfully, “Have you chosen your best man yet? If not, let me be your best man.”
Shen Yuan took a deep breath and said awkwardly, “About that…”
Li Lin spoke with a sob in his voice. “I know I don’t have any hope in this lifetime. I really don’t plan on doing anything. Just let me be your best man. I’m your brother—isn’t it only right that I be your best man? If I do that, I’ll stop thinking about you completely from then on. Just give me this one chance, so I can finally put an end to it.”
Shen Yuan felt cruel. After a moment of silence, he said, “I’ll ask my husband. If he agrees, then I’ll agree.”
Li Lin couldn’t even cry anymore. “…”
What would Qiao Hailou have to disagree about? He wasn’t afraid at all and immediately agreed. “Let him come. I’ll even cover his best man’s outfit.”
Shen Yuan laughed in exasperation. “Can you stop bullying the kid?”
Qiao Hailou said shamelessly, “He’s an adult, not a kid. I didn’t go easy on him when he wasn’t an adult either. Anyway, I’m not a good person. I don’t respect the elderly or dote on the young.”
Li Lin aside, Wang Ziqin somehow found out about the wedding and contacted Shen Yuan through roundabout means, asking if he could attend.
Li Lin was one thing. Shen Yuan really didn’t want Wang Ziqin there and was just about to refuse.
Wang Ziqin hurriedly said, “I know you’re about to reject me—wait, don’t reject me yet! I—I’m not planning to pester you. I have a boyfriend now! Really! We… we’ve known each other for so many years. Just give me an invitation, okay? I’ll bring my boyfriend with me.”