He Changning had finally made it through the sweet yet torturous month of postpartum confinement. On the day of the twins’ one-month celebration, he finally got to enjoy a proper meal—and after stuffing himself, he lay in Shang Yushang’s arms like a lazy kitten, digesting contentedly.
Shang Yushang chuckled as he gently rubbed He Changning’s belly. “You’re a dad now, but still such a kid. Don’t eat so much next time. What if you end up hurting yourself?”
He Changning squinted lazily at him. “Yeah, yeah, got it. Nag, nag.” He burrowed in to find a cozier spot and started to doze off.
Shang Yushang shook his head, helpless and amused. This spoiled attitude… but really, who was the one who spoiled him like this in the first place?
Once he felt better, He Changning sat up, grabbed Shang Yushang by the hand, and tugged him toward the nursery. “They’re a month old now—I can finally take care of them myself. Come on, let’s go bond with our sons.”
Inside the nursery, Aunt Qin and Old Madam Shang were in the middle of changing diapers and feeding the babies, with Gu Cheng helping out on the side.
Old Madam Shang beamed. “Changning, you’ve only just finished your confinement. You’re not fully recovered yet. Let me and Xiao Qin keep taking care of the babies for now. Your dad’s helping out too—what’s there to worry about?” She smiled as she stole the babies right from under their noses, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He Changning’s mouth twitched. “Grandma, come on. They’re already a month old and I’ve barely even held them.”
Still smiling, she replied, “You’ll have plenty of time to hold them later. For now, your main job is to recover and get back in shape. Bai Mo said those stretch marks on your stomach are pretty deep. You’ll need to get rid of them—after all, you’re our beautiful Changning. How could you possibly live with that?”
Old Madam Shang really knew where to hit—it was a direct strike to Changning’s greatest weakness. Clearly, the older the ginger, the spicier.
Gu Cheng, meanwhile, smiled genuinely and waved at the couple with good-natured dismissal. “Go on, off you go.”
He Changning pouted, eyes full of grievance as he looked at Shang Yushang. Without a word, Shang Yushang scooped him up and brought him back to their room—for recovery and fitness training.
Not being able to hold his own sons was driving He Changning nuts. Those chubby little bundles of joy were so close and yet so far. He could look, but not touch, which made him want to scream. He even started glaring daggers at Shang Yushang.
“I want to hold my sons.”
Shang Yushang sighed. With his wife on one side, grandma on the other, and a shameless father-in-law in the mix, he was completely stuck. “Just hang in there. Grandma will head home once she gets tired.”
He Changning glanced at his trapped and helpless husband and didn’t reply. But in his heart, he was already planning: How can I get those three elders to willingly hand the babies over?
He crooked a finger at Shang Yushang, who quickly leaned in. After listening to Changning whisper his plan, Shang Yushang’s face twisted. “Are you sure about this?”
He Changning’s eyes narrowed. “I want to hold my sons.”
Shang Yushang gave in. “Okay, fine.”
Target number one: Gu Cheng.
In the study, the couple sat across from Gu Cheng, staring him down with solemn expressions. Gu Cheng coughed lightly. “Alright, out with it.”
Shang Yushang sighed inwardly. Father-in-law versus son-in-law—he was just the sacrificial pawn here. But if his wife wanted to hold their sons, then he had no choice but to go all in. “Mr. Gu—”
Gu Cheng waved a hand to stop him. “Call me Dad. Otherwise, this conversation is over.”
Shang Yushang gritted his teeth and forced the word out. “…Dad, don’t you think it’s a bit irresponsible to leave ZK hanging like this? That company was your life’s work.”
Gu Cheng shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Now my whole world revolves around my two grandsons. Everything else is irrelevant.”
“But ZK has tens of thousands of employees. Don’t you think you owe them some responsibility?”
Gu Cheng said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “Isn’t that what you two are for? Changning’s already out of confinement. It’s about time you got back to work, isn’t it? You can’t stay home with your wife forever. My grandsons are counting on their two dads to earn money for their formula.”
Shang Yushang and He Changning twitched at the corners of their mouths. Instead of getting rid of Gu Cheng, it now felt like he was dragging himself into the situation even deeper. Changning quickly stepped in, “Bai Mo said I still need time to recover, and I have to get some skincare done for the stretch marks on my stomach. I really don’t have time to manage ZK. You should just take care of it yourself.”
“Recovery and skincare? Where would you even find time to take care of the kids? Just leave them to me and your grandma. Aunt Qin will help out too. And your father-in-law just wrapped up his business—he’ll be moving into the villa in a couple of days to help with the babies too. That’s one more pair of hands. What are you two still worried about? Us old folks don’t have much left in life, but we love spending time with the kids. You can’t take even that little bit of joy away from us, can you? My only wish now is to enjoy my grandkids. Son, I’ve spent my whole life with no big dreams. I’ve avenged your mother—now all I want is a peaceful life spoiling my grandsons. Don’t make my old age a bitter one, alright?”
“But ZK is a massive corporation. It can’t just run on autopilot. You’ve got to at least check in once in a while.”
“I’ve already video-called the board and let them know. Two months from now, you’ll officially take over as ZK’s CEO. You’ll be in charge. I’m stepping away for good to focus on the kids.”
He Changning exploded. “Why am I the last to know I’m taking over as CEO?!”
Seeing his son lose it, Gu Cheng didn’t even flinch. “What’s the big deal? It was going to be yours eventually. We’re just moving up the timeline a bit. And if there’s anything you don’t know, ask your husband.”
“ZK has tens of thousands of employees. You really think it’s okay to hand them over to someone who doesn’t know the first thing about running a business? Aren’t you afraid I’ll run your life’s work into the ground?”
“Son, would you really let tens of thousands of people lose their jobs and end up homeless?”
He Changning was speechless. He’d lost this battle completely—and somehow managed to rope himself in even deeper.
Gu Cheng left the study humming a little tune, looking completely satisfied. Shang Yushang could only helplessly hold his furious and flustered wife, trying to soothe him.
Changning gritted his teeth. “Your dad hasn’t even been kicked out yet, and now my dad is moving in. Will I ever get to hold my sons?”
Shang Yushang kissed the corner of his lips. “Baby, just bear with it… please.”
Changning collapsed instantly, burying his face in Shang Yushang’s chest, nuzzling hard like a frustrated little animal. “I just wanna hold my babies.”
Shang Yushang was frustrated too. He hadn’t gotten to hold their sons much either. The real problem was—he couldn’t even get close to them. Just thinking about those chubby, soft little babies, blinking up at him with big bright eyes… his heart melted into a puddle. He wanted to kiss them, cuddle them, rock them to sleep in his arms—that’s what being a dad should feel like. But he hadn’t been allowed to do any of that.
The first hurdle? Grandma. The old lady treated the twins like her precious jewels. No one could even think about touching them. All Yushang could do was stand by the crib and get a glimpse. Getting the babies to grab his finger was already considered a huge privilege. And even then, Grandma was staring daggers at him the whole time, terrified he’d accidentally hurt them. If he held on a little too long, she’d bark at him to let go—said his fingers were too rough and the babies’ hands were too delicate.
So Shang Yushang just kept getting kicked out of the nursery.
These sons they’d worked so hard to have? He could look but not touch. Not even a proper hug. How could that possibly feel okay?
And now with another grandparent moving in, they were surrounded. Four old folks—and not one chance for the two dads to raise their kids themselves. Not a chance.
A month later, He Changning underwent a cosmetic procedure on his stomach, handled personally by Bai Mo.
Two weeks after that, the unsightly sagging skin stretched from the pregnancy and childbirth was gone. Aside from a few leftover soft spots, you could barely tell he’d been pregnant—let alone with twins.
Meanwhile, Grandma Shang, Shang Guozhang, and Gu Cheng were in full-on planning mode for the babies’ 100-day celebration.
Because of Changning’s physical condition, the babies’ one-month celebration had been kept simple. They got new clothes made and the family just had a nice meal together. Nothing fancy.
At the hundred-day celebration, Old Madam Shang was adamant about not letting the kids be slighted in any way. But there was more to it than just that. The elders had discussed it and decided to use the event as an official opportunity to introduce He Changning to the public. Although many had already learned about him during the wedding, this was a formal announcement—Shang family’s public recognition of He Changning. It was a clear signal to the world that his position within the Shang family was unshakable.
Gu Cheng also said that he would take this chance to formally acknowledge He Changning as his son and publicly name him as the next heir to ZK. He Changning would be taking over as the president of ZK, and the major shareholders at headquarters would all be invited to the event. It would be a good opportunity to introduce them to both He Changning and Shang Yushang, and help smooth the way for future management, since ZK would soon be under He Changning’s leadership.
He Changning felt both helpless and resentful. He was a writer. All he wanted was to write his novels in peace, take care of his children, and live a happy life with his man. But now, everything had been turned upside down.
He wasn’t a Yin or a He anymore—he was a Gu. Not only did he end up with a surprise dad, but that dad also dumped the responsibility of tens of thousands of employees into his lap and called it a gift. And now the man had the audacity to hold the baby He Changning had nearly died giving birth to… and just sit back and watch the show. What kind of messed-up situation was this?!
Shang Yushang looked at his miserable little sweetheart in his arms with both sympathy and affection. He gently stroked his back, trying to soothe him. “Babe, don’t be like this. You’ve got me.”
He Changning let out a long sigh. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I just want a quiet, simple life—how is that so wrong? Why does he have to shove such a huge company into my hands? I haven’t even gotten to hold my baby enough yet!!”
Shang Yushang kissed the top of his head. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. As long as I’m here, you won’t get overwhelmed. Managing a company doesn’t mean you have to be glued to it every day. I’ve already assembled the best management team for you. Shangshi will also have people involved, and A’Yin’s been by your dad’s side for years—he knows ZK inside and out. With him helping you, things will be much easier.”
After venting a bit, He Changning calmed down and stopped obsessing over it. He wasn’t the type to run away from responsibilities that were his to bear. “I’m not going to be useless. If this is mine to handle, I’ll step up. Teach me—I’ll take it seriously.”
“Of course. Whatever you want to learn, your husband will teach you everything he knows.”
“A’Yin’s going back to ZK headquarters, right? Let Xiao Wu go with him too. I’m not going to be the one to break up a couple.”
“Mhm, I was thinking the same thing. When you take over, I’ll go with you. Once everything’s running smoothly over there, we’ll come back. ZK and Shangshi—we’ll run them together. And when the kids turn fifteen, we’ll start teaching them how to manage and run a company. Once they’ve got a handle on things, we’ll pass it all on and go live out our two-person dream life.”
“Deal. It’s a plan.”
If their two little ones knew their dads were already plotting to put them to work before they even hit puberty, they might just cry their hearts out.
