Shen Yuan had probably sensed, in a vague, muddled way since childhood, that he was different from other kids. No adult ever taught him anything about physiology, and it wasn’t until middle school, when the topic finally appeared in textbooks, that he truly understood how he differed from ordinary people.
Fear. Panic. Shame.
Only then did he finally understand why the elders had always treated him with such disgust, keeping their distance; why his grandfather had been both pitiful toward him and yet so harsh. When his grandfather was still alive, he often said things like this to him:
“Shen Yuan, you have to stand on your own. You have to rely on yourself, or you won’t survive.”
“Don’t cower. Face it head-on. I’m raising you to be strong—to be a real boy, a little man.”
It wasn’t that Shen Yuan had never wallowed in self-pity. Back then, he was still a child; of course he’d been shaken and miserable for a few days. But what good did that do? He went online to look up information, searching for solutions. He learned that it would require an expensive surgery, and that the younger you were when you had corrective surgery, the better the outcome—though it wasn’t impossible even when you were older. He never once thought about relying on anyone else. He only wanted to keep the secret to himself, save up money on his own, and go through with the surgery when the time came. For that reason, he studied hard.
Later, when his mother returned to the country and remarried, their relationship began to improve because of this matter. One day, she sat him down and brought it up, telling him she’d already consulted several hospitals and was asking for his opinion. She’d even saved up the surgery costs for him.
Shen Yuan was shocked. He’d thought his mother didn’t care about him at all. He hadn’t expected that she’d been considering these things all along—she just hadn’t told him before everything was settled.
His mother said, “I know I failed you. Back then… I really couldn’t face it. I was barely holding myself together, willing but powerless. Now I finally have the time and the money to take you to see a doctor.”
He’d been full of hope then—only for the plan to be shelved once again when his mother died in a car accident.
Four years later.
Shen Yuan finally arrived at the hospital. He’d originally wanted to come alone, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t summon the courage. Now, with Qiao Hailou by his side, they sat in the waiting room hand in hand.
This was a high-end private hospital, with expensive equipment and attentive service. There weren’t many patients waiting by appointment, and they’d arrived twenty minutes early for their scheduled time.
Before, he hadn’t felt much. But now that the moment was actually here—or perhaps because Qiao Hailou was with him—Shen Yuan couldn’t help growing anxious. He sat stiffly, jaw clenched, not saying a word. He didn’t look like someone about to see a doctor; he looked like someone heading into battle.
Qiao Hailou never let go of his hand for even a second. Both their palms were damp with sweat as he soothed him. “Don’t be scared. Aren’t I right here? I’m with you. You’re too tense. Let’s talk for a bit.”
Already irritable, Shen Yuan found Qiao Hailou’s relaxed tone oddly infuriating. He snapped back, “How could I not be nervous? Don’t talk like it doesn’t hurt when you’re not the one standing here. Hearing you say that just makes me more annoyed—you don’t understand how I feel at all.”
Qiao Hailou took the jab without getting angry and said calmly, “That’s right. I’m not you. Of course I can’t understand how you feel.”
Shen Yuan froze. The anger in his chest fizzled out all at once. If Qiao Hailou had said something nice and comforting, he might’ve gotten even angrier. But hearing him speak so frankly actually made him feel much better.
Qiao Hailou said, “I can’t understand it. All I can do is stay with you. This is your matter—you make the decision. No matter what, as long as you don’t leave me a widower, I’ll support you.”
Shen Yuan snorted and laughed. “You’d be a widower? If I were gone, wouldn’t you just go find someone else?”
Qiao Hailou teased him. “Find someone else? Where am I supposed to find another Shen Yuan? If I dared to do that, wouldn’t you chop me up once we met again in the afterlife? Besides, marrying you already feels like it shaved ten years off my lifespan. I think I’ve used up all the patience I’ll ever have on you alone—there’s none left for anyone else.”
Shen Yuan’s face flushed. “Pfft. Smooth-talker. All lies to sweet-talk me.”
As they talked, Shen Yuan didn’t even notice himself slowly relaxing. He chatted absentmindedly until a nurse came over and interrupted them, calling Shen Yuan in for his consultation.
Qiao Hailou went with him.
This doctor was said to be an expert in this type of surgery. Though relatively young, he’d already handled twenty to thirty successful cases, including several adult corrective surgeries. That was why they’d ultimately chosen him.
When they entered the office, they saw the doctor. He wasn’t tall—if anything, he looked a bit frail, about the same height as Shen Yuan. He had brown curly hair, a round face, bright green eyes, freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks, and a sloppy, almost rustic way of dressing. At first glance, you’d never guess he was already thirty-five.
As soon as Shen Yuan walked in, the doctor smiled at him. His friendly manner was perfectly proportional to his exorbitant consultation fee—and he even blurted out a word of Chinese right away: “Hello.”
The accent was strange enough to make Shen Yuan laugh. “Hello.”
After that, the doctor switched to English. “I’m Eddie Haywood. You can just call me Eddie.”
Shen Yuan’s English was quite good, and he’d prepared to communicate directly with the doctor. But when it came to a few specialized medical terms, he got stuck, not quite understanding them, and asked what they meant.
The doctor explained, but Shen Yuan still didn’t quite get it.
At that moment, Qiao Hailou thought for a second and picked up the conversation. He suddenly started speaking English, which surprised Shen Yuan, and then explained the term to him in plain language.
Shen Yuan asked, “How did you know that? Your English is that good?”
Qiao Hailou said softly, “If you’re going to have surgery, of course I looked up papers and materials related to it. A lot of them were in English. After reading enough, you start to remember.”
He couldn’t become an expert, but at least he could understand a little—and he certainly wasn’t about to use that half-baked knowledge to question a professional.
Shen Yuan hadn’t expected that Qiao Hailou had done all this for him behind the scenes. He was deeply moved. Qiao Hailou’s idea of “being there” wasn’t just empty words—when it mattered, he was someone you could truly rely on.
That day, Shen Yuan behaved himself and didn’t cause any trouble. With Qiao Hailou accompanying him, he underwent a series of detailed examinations. By the time everything was done, it was already afternoon.
The reports would take some time, so they returned to the hotel and planned to come back the next day.
The following day, they returned to the hospital.
Dr. Haywood looked grave and hesitant as he spoke. “There’s something I need to confirm. I’d like to do another ultrasound. Please come with me.”
Shen Yuan’s heart sank instantly. Panic surged through him, his hands starting to shake. “O-okay.”
Seeing his pale face, Dr. Haywood realized he’d misunderstood. “Don’t be afraid. There’s no danger to your life.”
Shen Yuan asked painfully, “Does that mean… I can’t have the surgery?”
Dr. Haywood nodded. “It’s possible that surgery won’t be feasible for the time being. Come with me.”
Shen Yuan followed him into the ultrasound room and obediently lay down on the exam bed.
Dr. Haywood glanced at Qiao Hailou.
Shen Yuan thought he was being asked to leave. Qiao Hailou said, “No matter what it is, I want to face it with you.”
Shen Yuan told the doctor, “He’s my husband. Even if it’s bad news, we’ll bear it together. I don’t want to hide it from him.”
Dr. Haywood said, “All right. I was just checking whether he was your boyfriend. He should know about this anyway. I noticed you’re both wearing wedding rings—you’re already married.”
Shen Yuan nodded. “Yes. We got married last month.”
Dr. Haywood asked him to lift his shirt and expose his abdomen, applied the gel, and began the ultrasound.
Shen Yuan turned his head to look at the screen. He couldn’t make sense of the image. The doctor kept focusing on one particular spot. Shen Yuan tried to make it out and thought he saw a small object inside his abdomen that looked different from the surrounding tissue.
He thought, Don’t tell me I came in for a checkup and they found a tumor in my stomach? That would be way too unlucky.
After confirming it, Dr. Haywood’s expression grew even more complicated. He said to Shen Yuan, “Do you see this little thing that looks like a peanut? That’s an embryo.”
Shen Yuan trembled as he asked, “What embryo? Cancer cells?”
Qiao Hailou said sharply, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Dr. Haywood shook his head. “No. It’s a baby’s embryo—a small baby. It’s still too early to see clearly.”
Both Shen Yuan and Qiao Hailou thought they’d misheard. They were completely stunned.
A few seconds passed before it sank in.
Shen Yuan said, “What?”
Qiao Hailou said, “A baby?”
The doctor said seriously, “Yes. There’s a fetus in your abdomen. From the looks of it, you’ve been pregnant for about eight weeks.”
Shen Yuan asked in disbelief, unable to accept it, “Are you sure? Really?”
The doctor nodded firmly. “I’m sure. When I saw the test results yesterday, I wasn’t completely certain yet. Now I am. Your situation is quite unusual—this is the first time I’ve encountered it. So the surgery plan becomes complicated. It’ll depend on what the two of you decide.”
Eight weeks. Shen Yuan and Qiao Hailou did the math in their heads and immediately realized when the child must have been conceived—during that fight when they’d broken up. They’d argued themselves straight into creating a life.
Shen Yuan was mortified, his face burning red. He took a deep breath, turned his head, and shot Qiao Hailou a furious glare. “You old bastard—this is all your fault!!”
Qiao Hailou rubbed his nose, shrinking under the scolding, not daring to talk back at all. He gave an awkward laugh. “Heh… looks like my swimmers are pretty lively after all…”