By the time the wedding was held, Shen Yuan’s belly already showed a slight curve, though it wasn’t obvious unless one looked closely. Once he put on a tailored men’s suit vest, it was easy enough to pass it off.
The couple stood beside the flower wall, greeting the guests. One was in the prime of youth, like the morning sun—young and vibrant. The other was calm and imposing, like a well-aged vintage—mature and rich in character. Viewed separately, both were handsome men, one older and one younger, each with his own appeal. But… if one were being honest, standing together, they didn’t really look that well matched in terms of appearance.
Even though Qiao Hailou had deliberately dressed himself younger, the age gap between them was still obvious. If you didn’t say father and son, then at least uncle and nephew.
Their social circles were from different generations and didn’t overlap. Qiao Hailou’s friends and Shen Yuan’s friends were completely different groups. There was even a father-and-son pair attending the wedding—the father was familiar with Qiao Hailou, while Shen Yuan was acquainted with the son.
Although it had already been three years since Qiao Hailou posted his marriage certificate, to be honest, there still wasn’t much of a sense that he was actually married. After all, his glorious reputation as a libertine for thirty-five or thirty-six years was far more widely known.
And because the couple lived abroad, people only occasionally saw videos online of Qiao Hailou taking care of the child. Given his long list of past misdeeds, those videos weren’t very convincing, and many remained highly skeptical.
It wasn’t until Qiao Hailou started that so-called maternal-and-infant products company that people finally relaxed a bit.
See? Old Dog Qiao was still Old Dog Qiao—unchanged. Of course. How could he possibly be some model stay-at-home dad?
Over the years, the couple Qiao Hailou and Shen Yuan had provided their social circle with plenty of gossip. At first it was the prodigal man being tamed; later it was Shen Yuan’s special physique—men giving birth was an unheard-of curiosity. Quite a few people also knew that Qiao Hailou was acquainted with Shen Yuan’s stepfather, and that Shen Yuan used to call him Uncle Qiao.
None of this spread online, but based on Shen Yuan’s meteoric rise, many people privately accepted a particular version of events: that Shen Yuan had been arranged by his stepfather to intern at Uncle Qiao’s company, then took the opportunity to latch onto Qiao Hailou and rise straight to the top.
No matter how talented he was, how many jewelry designers had just graduated and already opened their own studios, with promotion and advertising everywhere? Wasn’t it all because of Qiao Hailou? Of course, these things were only whispered behind backs. No one was clean. If you could rely on your father, your mother, or your spouse, why torture yourself starting from nothing?
Back when the two of them had been married for three years without holding a wedding, there had been plenty of rumors questioning their relationship. An old-young pairing with such a big age gap—had they already decided to divorce before even holding a wedding?
Now, after everyone boarded Qiao Hailou’s private jet and arrived on the island, seeing the lavish, money-burning setup of the wedding, no one doubted anymore.
Tsk tsk. The amount of money Qiao Hailou spent was enough to show just how much he loved Shen Yuan. Not only was the wedding itself extravagantly arranged, even the guest favors were top-tier. In addition to wedding candy and flower boxes, there were custom perfumes and jewelry pieces. One item alone would have been generous enough—but every one of the hundred-plus guests received the full set. That was real extravagance.
Shen Yuan truly admired his own psychological resilience. Li Lin actually came to serve as his best man, sticking close to him like a little tail, following step by step. Whoever Shen Yuan talked to, Li Lin stood there watching. When Shen Yuan wasn’t talking to guests, Li Lin just quietly stared at him and Qiao Hailou, making Shen Yuan deeply uncomfortable.
Shen Yuan and Qiao Hailou endured it, but Li Chen could not. Unable to stand it any longer, he walked over and physically dragged Li Lin away. “You said you wanted to be your brother’s best man. Helping out is one thing, but if you’re here to cause trouble, then don’t do it at all.”
“Your brother is getting married. Don’t make things difficult for him for no reason.”
Shen Yuan: “……”
At that moment, Shen Yuan suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He turned his head—and saw Wang Ziqin.
Wang Ziqin’s father, Wang Sui, had arrived earlier. They hadn’t come together.
On the phone, Shen Yuan had heard Wang Ziqin say he had a boyfriend, and he hadn’t quite believed it. Now, seeing Wang Ziqin walking over hand in hand with a man of similar build, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but freeze in surprise.
Wang Ziqin stopped in front of him, looked at him deeply, then said listlessly, “Shen Yuan, congratulations on your marriage. Wishing you a lifetime together. I… I brought you a gift.”
“Thank you,” Shen Yuan said, glancing at the man whose hand Wang Ziqin was holding. The other man was also studying him, his gaze unfriendly. Looking at their clasped hands, Shen Yuan felt it looked a bit forced, almost unnatural. “Um… your dad is already here. Does he know about… about you and your boyfriend? Are you sitting at the classmates’ table, or with your dad?”
Shen Yuan took a closer look at the man. His skin was extremely pale, pale as thin paper, with faint blue veins visible beneath. His features were cold and detached, his presence quiet like a paper effigy. Just standing there, he seemed to lower the surrounding temperature by several degrees.
Wang Ziqin froze, as if he had only just remembered this issue. He subconsciously tried to pull his hand away, but couldn’t shake it off; the other man only tightened his grip.
Wang Ziqin pretended nothing had happened, a faint flush creeping onto his face as he said nervously, “I’ll sit at the classmates’ table.”
Shen Yuan nodded, then asked with some doubt, “All right. Aren’t you going to introduce your boyfriend to me? So you really do have a boyfriend now? How did you meet?”
Wang Ziqin glanced at the person beside him and introduced him casually. “I met him after going abroad to study. He’s my classmate. We were assigned to the same group by our professor, often worked on assignments together, got familiar over time, and then… then we ended up together.”
Shen Yuan looked at Wang Ziqin, then at the man beside him, and smiled politely. “All right, then I wish you both a happy ending.”
After Wang Ziqin walked a short distance away, he let go of the man’s hand. The two were led by a waiter toward the classmates’ lounge.
Shen Yuan quietly said to Qiao Hailou, “I think Wang Ziqin is putting on an act.”
“It’s obviously an act,” Qiao Hailou said. “So if you know he’s acting, why did you still wish him a happy ending? You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow. “What was wrong with what I said? He insisted on coming. He insisted on saying he had a boyfriend. If I didn’t go along with it and instead exposed him, wouldn’t that be terribly ungentlemanly?”
Qiao Hailou shook his head. “You really are good at holding grudges.”
Shen Yuan snorted and emphasized, “Yes, I love holding grudges. Especially about someone’s ‘ten years.’”
Qiao Hailou put on a stern face and asked coldly, “Then what do you want to do about it?”
Shen Yuan pretended to be vicious. “Make you compensate me with the rest of your life.”
Qiao Hailou couldn’t hold back his laughter and leaned down to kiss Shen Yuan on the cheek.
Some guests noticed the interaction from afar and were utterly confused. Just moments ago, it looked like the two were about to argue, and suddenly they were inseparable again. Who knew whether that was good or bad.
After a busy stretch, all the guests took their seats.
At ten in the morning, the dew on the leaves had evaporated, and the air still carried a hint of freshness.
Since they were both men, neither walked toward the other. Instead, each was accompanied by a close family member, approaching from opposite sides. Qiao Hailou was accompanied by his older brother, Qiao Haixuan. Shen Yuan was accompanied by his stepfather, Li Chen. They walked toward each other, the priest’s platform set in the middle of the red carpet.
Little Peanut wore a tiny suit and even a beret with cat ears, absurdly adorable. He stood at the foot of the priest’s steps, holding a bamboo basket filled with flower petals, looking left, then right, confused. Should he go stand by Daddy? Without Daddy beside him, he felt a little scared. Even though the adults had just told him to stand here, he was still small—he had already forgotten.
Little Peanut scratched his head, lifted the basket, looked at Qiao Hailou, and trotted forward on his short legs. “Daddy!”
Qiao Hailou said, “Don’t come over. Go back.”
Little Peanut didn’t understand. He hesitated, took a couple of uncertain steps, then turned to look at Shen Yuan. If that Daddy didn’t want him, he’d go to the other Daddy!
He turned and toddled toward Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan said softly, “Baby, sit there. Don’t run.”
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Little Peanut tripped over his own feet and fell with a thump. The basket flew out of his hands, petals scattering everywhere. He was about to cry.
A low murmur of alarm rippled through the guests.
Of course—nothing ever felt right without some mishap. Shen Yuan hurried over, picked the little guy up, and saw his scrunched-up little face. It was unbearably cute. He held back a laugh and soothed him. “It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt.”
Little Peanut sniffled and nodded, wrapping his arms around Daddy’s neck. Shen Yuan carried him to the front. Seeing his precious baby fall, Qiao Hailou had also taken a few hurried steps forward and now joined them.
The two stood together, holding their child.
The priest proceeded solemnly. “Mr. Qiao Hailou, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded spouse, to love him and be faithful to him, whether in poverty, sickness, or disability, until death? Do you accept?”
Little Peanut had stopped crying. His teary eyes widened with curiosity as he stared at the priest and imitated in his baby voice, “…Do you accept?”
He couldn’t repeat the long part, only the last sentence.
Qiao Hailou pretended not to hear and said solemnly, “I do.”
Little Peanut echoed, “I do.”
The priest glanced at him calmly, then turned to Shen Yuan. “Shen Yuan, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded spouse, to love him and be faithful to him, whether in poverty, sickness, or disability, until death? Do you accept?”
Little Peanut chimed in again, babbling, “Marry… accept?”
Shen Yuan said, “I do.”
Little Peanut clapped his hands and laughed. “Accept! Hee hee.”
Qiao Hailou: “……”
Shen Yuan: “……”
The priest said, “Then please exchange the rings and the kiss that seal your vows.”
Holding Little Peanut, Shen Yuan couldn’t easily exchange rings. He hesitated, wanting to put the child down first. Little Peanut clung to him and refused to let go. “Daddy! Daddy hold!”
Qiao Hailou said helplessly, “Give me this parrot.”
The guests burst into laughter.
Qiao Hailou was strong. Holding the child in his right arm was effortless. With his left hand, he took out the ring box from his pocket, and Shen Yuan helped open it.
Shen Yuan extended his left hand, letting Qiao Hailou slide the wedding band onto his ring finger.
Then Qiao Hailou extended his own left hand, and Shen Yuan put the ring on him.
A faint ripple stirred in Shen Yuan’s heart—sweet, but not as intense or exhilarating as three years ago. They had already been married for three years. They had worn wedding rings for three years. The vows were merely a formality. Shen Yuan didn’t believe in light, floating promises, but he believed in everything Qiao Hailou had done for him.
He tilted his head slightly, looking up at Qiao Hailou, smiling, his eyes bright.
A breeze passed.
Amid cheers, Qiao Hailou bent down and kissed Shen Yuan on the lips.
When the kiss ended, Little Peanut wriggled in his arms and said enviously, “I want a kiss too.”
The two dads laughed, exchanged a look, and each kissed one side of the baby’s cheek.
Click.
The photographer captured the moment.
- End of Main Text ·