Shen Yuan had wanted to help with the baby, but he’d been too busy lately. Every day when he returned home, after finishing his homework and work, Qiao Hailou would naturally take the baby into another room so he wouldn’t be disturbed. Occasionally, Shen Yuan would hear the father and son laughing together, which made him anxious to finish his own tasks.
He did want to play with the baby, but by the time he finished studying or working, the little one was already asleep in Hailou’s arms. He couldn’t very well wake Little Peanut just to spend time together, so he had to resign himself to waiting.
Every night, once the baby was asleep, he would quietly watch him from the crib, never daring to touch him—just gently rocking the crib. Shen Yuan felt like an unfit father.
He remembered how, at first, he thought Hailou unreliable and doubted he could be a good parent, especially since he hadn’t wanted a child at first. Now, the roles had reversed—Hailou was far better at it than he ever could be.
In the quiet of the night, the two of them would sit together in the warm glow of the lamp, with Hailou showing Shen Yuan the day’s newly recorded vlog. It wasn’t all rosy; there were also the frustrations of parenting. Hailou had recorded the baby crying and laughing—it wasn’t easy taking care of a child.
In one clip, Hailou tried to change the baby’s diaper, but the baby had just peed everywhere—a chaotic, messy scene. Shen Yuan winced, but Hailou laughed heartily: “Look! He’s still laughing, hahahaha.”
In the video, the baby seemed oblivious to his mischief, staring at his dad with round, sparkling innocent eyes, giggling as if they were playing a fun game together. Shen Yuan had changed diapers only a handful of times and imagined the scene as daunting, yet Hailou laughed through it. Shen Yuan nudged him: “I think he’s got a mischievous streak—must have inherited it from you.”
The next day, Hailou added to the vlog: “My wife says our Little Peanut got his naughtiness from me. Hahaha.” The baby saw his father laughing and joined in, clapping his little hands. The father and son were a perfect little pair, laughing together.
Hailou had plans for more videos—not just diapers, but testing other baby products: bottles, powders, creams, strollers, wraps, car seats—you name it. His first diaper review gained thousands of followers, and it became his first video to surpass 200,000 views, as many new parents struggled to choose the right products despite forums and ads offering conflicting advice.
At the end of the video, Hailou asked viewers what they wanted reviewed next, and the comment section filled up with suggestions. He carefully noted them all.
Because Hailou had no prior connection to this niche, none of his friends noticed him branching out into this area.
He then produced two educational videos about child-rearing, proudly showing off his certifications to establish credibility. This time, the videos were more polished: he wore a shirt, vest, and suit trousers, styled his hair, and filmed in a Western-classical styled room. A casual viewer might not even realize it was a parenting video. With rich content, professional editing, voiceovers, and a cinematographer helping, the production value far exceeded his earlier, improvised vlogs.
Little Peanut appeared briefly in this video. Previously, Hailou had avoided showing his face; this time he blurred it slightly and playfully added cat whiskers and a red dot on the nose with lipstick borrowed from a nanny, disguising him. The baby didn’t realize he’d been transformed into a little cat. Curious and playful, he clapped along with his father, then returned to sucking his hand until Hailou gently rescued it.
Despite all the fuss of filming, the baby stayed happy and giggly. Hailou regularly shared these parenting videos online and in his friend circles, earning countless likes and comments for being a devoted, skilled father.
Yet, there was also some loneliness—Shen Yuan couldn’t join him most of the time.
One day, after class, a classmate from Country C stopped Shen Yuan: “Hey, we’re having a party tonight. Are you coming?”
Shen Yuan, still wearing his wedding ring at school, shook his head: “You know I’m married. I want to go home and be with my child.”
The classmate frowned: “Isn’t your wife at home taking care of the baby? Let her handle it. You rush home every day—so married, so daddy-focused. What about your social life? What’s the point of studying if that’s all you do?”
Shen Yuan realized it was true—he used to be a social butterfly, but now he only wanted to go home to Hailou and the baby. Though he’d made acquaintances at school, they hadn’t gone out together.
The classmate added: “Call your wife. If she says it’s okay, come with us. If not, we’ll let you go home.”
Shen Yuan could have refused, knowing networking was important, but Hailou and the baby clearly came first.
Still, images of daily life ran through his mind: returning home to be greeted by Hailou holding the baby, a glance at him, then back to the baby: “You’re home? Let’s eat.” Or dinner, where Hailou constantly checked if the baby was drinking properly, hardly noticing Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan knew Hailou’s parenting was exhausting; even families with grandparents taking turns found it tiring. But…
Encouraged by his classmates, Shen Yuan nervously called Hailou: “Old Qiao…” His heart raced.
“What’s up?” Hailou asked, oblivious, the baby babbling in the background. “Do you want me to come pick you up?”
Summoning courage, Shen Yuan said: “My classmates invited me to a party tonight… may I go?”
His classmate snickered: “Haha, Shen Yuan, you really are afraid of your wife!” His face turned red.
Hailou didn’t answer immediately but paused, then spoke calmly: “Go. You work so hard—you deserve a break. I’ll have dinner myself. Don’t worry about me or the baby. Take care of the baby. Remember to come back early, don’t drink too much, and call me if anything happens, okay?”
Shen Yuan hadn’t expected such a simple answer. Anxiously, he replied “Okay,” and his classmates took him away. He felt no enjoyment at all.
At the bar, he sipped a drink but lost interest immediately. He just wanted to go home… Why hadn’t Hailou refused? If Hailou had said no, he would’ve returned obediently.
Meanwhile, Hailou had finished dinner, fed the baby, who promptly fell asleep in the crib. A doorbell rang. Thinking it was a late delivery, Hailou went to check and was surprised to see a video call instead—an unexpected visitor.
Rui Xia appeared on the screen, breathless: “Xiao Hai, I need to talk to you about something.”
Hailou, puzzled, asked: “About what?”
Rui Xia bit her lip: “I… I took leave and caught the earliest flight to get here.”
Curious, Hailou opened the door. Rui Xia entered, looked around, and asked, “Where’s your… husband?”
Hailou replied, “He went out with classmates after school.”
Rui Xia froze, thinking: Shen Yuan is so careless, clearly unworthy of Hailou, who has sacrificed so much, even leaving work to take care of his studies and the baby. And he’s thinking about playing?
Hailou, noticing her hesitation, asked sharply, “How did you know where I live? Who told you?”
Rui Xia stammered, “…I…”
Hailou pressed, “Why did you come all the way here?”
Gritting her teeth, she blurted out: “I checked Shen Yuan’s background… I think he’s deceiving you. He’s not a good person!”
Hailou froze.
Before he could respond, a crash sounded nearby.
Shen Yuan was standing outside in the yard, throwing his backpack down, staring coldly at him.
At that moment, the baby suddenly began wailing from upstairs.