Chapter 57: Fifty-Seven: Yo, you two just got here, why are you carrying food?

When they got off the plane in the capital, Ji XiaoYu still hadn’t thought of what to say when he met Cheng YuTang’s parents.

In fact, he didn’t know if it was because he was too nervous or if his body had reacted poorly to flying, but he had been dizzy with motion sickness. It had been a little more serious than riding on the high-speed elevator, so he hadn’t had much energy to think it over.

Cheng PaoPao had also wilted, the little guy far worse than his dad. Because he was in his chick form, he couldn’t be directly taken on the plane, so Cheng YuTang could only use the pet check-in for his son. He had only known about his son existing in this world for two days, so the time was too short to find someone to make a quarantine certificate so Cheng PaoPao could be carried on with them.

So Cheng PaoPao was forced to separate from his daddies for the more than two hours of the flight. By the time the plane landed, he was stunned and his eyes were watery. Looking at the little thing, there were no words for how pathetic he looked.

Ji XiaoYu’s heart ached so much that he held his chick and kissed him over and over. Cheng YuTang naturally also felt bad. From the airport all the way to the household, he carefully soothed Cheng PaoPao in his hands and made up his mind to put the purchase of a private jet on his to-do list immediately.

He hadn’t bought one before not because he couldn’t afford it but because he just thought that this kind of thing wasn’t a necessity and he didn’t want to be too high-profile. But now it was necessary for the sake of his son.

Ji XiaoYu hadn’t yet recovered from the negative effects of airsickness when the car stopped on an old street in a quiet community. Cheng YuTang put Cheng PaoPao in his pocket and took the suitcase in hand. Leading a heavy-footed Ji XiaoYu, he walked to the front of an aged courtyard. He knocked a copper pull ring on the wooden door.

Footsteps sounded out quickly in the yard, then the courtyard door was opened. A woman who was a bit aged but with an air of elegance and beautiful eyes, looking like a grown, female version of Cheng YuTang about 60% similar in appearance to him.

Cheng YuTang pulled Ji XiaoYu in front of himself and got straight to the point, “Ma, I’m back. This is the XiaoYu who I told you about.”

Mother Cheng shifted her gaze until she saw the one with him was younger than she had imagined. The young man had a clear, crisp look and was surprisingly beautiful. She didn’t know what expression to wear for a moment, so she responded a bit astringently, “Oh, you’re Ji XiaoYu.”

Ji XiaoYu jerked his head in a nod. His head was a bit groggy still; if he got any more nervous, he’d pass out, so he just choked out two syllables after a long pause, “Mama!”

Mother Cheng: “……”

Although Mother Cheng knew her son’s sexual orientation and she had been given a heads-up, she was a bit angry that her son brought home a male daughter-in-law. If this male daughter-in-law was shrewd and powerful, or glamorous and flirty, she would be embarrassed, so she couldn’t have been expected to give them any face. However, against the pretty and innocent-looking Ji XiaoYu, she couldn’t look down on him. The kid appeared so lovely that a person couldn’t bear to look at him.

Cheng YuTang smiled. He was also worried that the little thing would encounter a psychological barrier, but he hadn’t expect him to call out to this person so directly. He was afraid that the shock to his mother wasn’t small.

Ji XiaoYu wanted to just cover up his face. It’s over, all over, how could I be so stupid? I screwed up as soon as I opened my mouth.

While he was embarrassed, there came another deep male voice into the courtyard, “What are you doing at the door? Why haven’t you come inside to talk?”

As if Mother Cheng has been woken from a dream, she quickly said, “Yes, yes, yes, it’s freezing cold outside, hurry into the house to warm up.”

Entering the house and dropping the suitcase, Cheng YuTang greeted the man who was sitting at the table drinking tea with a cold expression with “Father”. Father Cheng shifted his eyes slightly and remained motionless like a mountain. He snorted as his only response.

He hadn’t felt sorry for his son, it was just that if this male daughter-in-law that his son had brought to the door was seen by a neighbor, what would happen to his old face?

It was Ji XiaoYu’s turn. He realized he had been unsightly the first time, but was determined not to be any worse this second time. He simply smashed the cracked pot, bowed again, and shouted out loudly and brightly, “Daddy!”

Father Cheng: “……”

Father Cheng hadn’t heard just now what the mother and his son had said at the door. Although he had long been through the battlefield and even Mount Tai could collapse before him with no effect on his expression, he was suddenly shocked when hearing this voice and his arms shook. He fumbled and knocked over the purple () that he had been using for decades at this table.

With his fast hand-eye coordination, Ji XiaoYu fetched the moon from the seabed and, before it fell halfway, he caught the yixing teapot in his hands and then put it back on the table.

(t/n: Yixing wares: )

Father Cheng was a little surprised again. He looked this young man, who was as beautiful as a porcelain doll, up and down. With a calm expression on his face, he asked, “Good skills, you’ve practiced GongFu?”

Ji XiaoYu scratched his head and said humbly, “Mmm, I’ve practiced a little bit of my family’s ancestral GongFu.”

Cheng YuTang made a timely introduction to the little thing’s amazing achievements, “Dad, XiaoYu is very powerful. He once fought more than 20 gangsters and rescued an abducted child. His relatives have all passed away, so he’s been struggling alone in Ning Cheng. He has been working diligently since entering HongSheng for work. He has been promoted to be my bodyguard after working as the bottom of the security totem pole for half a year. When I was kidnapped last month, he saved my life with his own. He desperately threw himself in my way to take a fatal shot for me and took a bullet in the chest. He was just discharged from the hospital a few days ago. I can live well, with no worries at work, and was able to come home in health and wellness to stay with you and ma for the New Year all because he was by my side.”

Embarrassed, Ji XiaoYu blushed and tugged the man’s sleeve, whispering, “Don’t say that, exaggerating so much.”

This finally calmed Father Cheng down. He was a veteran of the army, an advocate of strength and blood, admired most in life a outstanding man with strong bone structure, and was most annoyed when he saw effeminate, flower-like, beautiful men. Although Ji XiaoYu’s external appearance was far from a tough guy’s, his eyebrows were neat and his eyes were clear and clever. The one move he had revealed just now had showed he had real martial arts skills, he wasn’t just a vain embroidered straw bag. It was rare for someone to be so humble, most would shout out at the top of their lungs with a megaphone, while wanting to let everyone under the sun know about it.

Although he had stepped down from HongSheng, he still had his own people there who had reported to him after the accident. The actual situation was a bit more dangerous than what his son had just said. When first seeing Ji XiaoYu just now, he still basically couldn’t believe it and had doubted whether his son had changed the story last minute. But now he could believe it.

Mother Cheng was suddenly moved to tears as she heard this. For the first time, she felt that it was beneficial to find this male daughter-in-law. Otherwise, if her son had suffered an accident, what even was the use of Cheng family’s wealth?

She was so excited that she couldn’t speak for a moment, she just patted Ji XiaoYu’s arm in relief and gratitude.

So Father Cheng took the initiative to extend his right hand and said to Ji XiaoYu solemnly, “My friend XiaoYu, thank you, you saved YuTang’s life.”

Ji XiaoYu was taken aback for a moment at the flattery and then reached out in return, “You are too polite, that’s how it should be, how it should be!”

Father Cheng had an impulse to test him again, so he secretly exerted a little more strength with his hand. Ji XiaoYu thought that this old man was especially moved, so he also used a little bit of force and shook his hand up and down enthusiastically.

Father Cheng: “……”

Seeing his father’s face go pale and his body tremble slightly, Cheng YuTang quickly pulled the little thing’s wrist, “Okay, let go.”

Ji XiaoYu realized that he might have used too much force and rushed to apologize, “Daddy, I’m sorry, are you hurt?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, my old bones can still hold up,” Father Cheng said it leisurely, but he was stunned and almost broke out in a cold sweat. He had been spared at a dangerous moment; his hand had almost been taken off.

What did this kid eat while growing up? He looks so pretty so how is his strength more than a cow’s?! My son finding this kind of male son-in-law can also be counted as lucky.

At this time, a few childish chirps came from Cheng YuTang’s pocket. Mother Cheng looked around in surprise, “Strange, where did a chicken come from?”

Ji XiaoYu suddenly got nervous again. He could explain away other things, but Cheng PaoPao was really difficult to talk about.

“Ma, over here.” Cheng YuTang pulled the chick from his pocket, placing him on the table.

Cheng PaoPao had been listless when they left the airport, but after this long time, he had completely recovered. He pedaled his feet and flapped his wings, moving his whole body energetically.

“Yo, you two just got here, why are you carrying food?” Mother Cheng’s eyes lit up. “But this chicken is too small, eh? Didn’t it hatch a few days ago? It’s not big enough to cook in a soup.”

Cheng YuTang: “……”

Ji XiaoYu: “……”

Cheng YuTang coughed and said, “Ma, this chick isn’t food, it’s……”

He was trying to be tactful, to avoid making his mother freak out. Mother Cheng just laughed, “I know, this is your pet, right? All you young ones are raising something this year. Your second uncle’s little girl, AnAn, also took a pig into her home lately, kissing and hugging it every day. She sleeps with it in her arms at night. Let’s not talk about that level of intimacy, just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.”

Ji XiaoYu was so embarrassed he was stunned. He wanted to explain, but was pinched by Cheng YuTang’s fingers. The other man said earnestly, “Yes, his name is PaoPao, a pet that I and XiaoYu have recently started raising. PaoPao isn’t an ordinary chicken, he’s a very rare breed of pheasant, especially clever and intelligent. Watch, if you don’t believe me.”

He called out “PaoPao” and spread his hand on the table. PaoPao trotted over and leaped into the palm of his hand, pecking him in the thumb very affectionately.

Cheng YuTang petted the chick’s head, then pointed towards his mother and said, “PaoPao, this is Grandma.”

Cheng PaoPao blinked his bright, black eyes. He didn’t actually understand what the term “grandma” meant, but the expression on his father’s face probably indicated that this was someone who was close and important, so he ran very cleverly to Mother Cheng. He rubbed his little fluffy head against the back of her hand.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Mother Cheng touched the chick with joy in her heart, “Aiyo, this little guy is so clever, just like a little smart child. He’s much smarter than AnAn’s pig.”

Cheng YuTang said with a coaxing tone, “So, do you like PaoPao?”

“I like him, I like him, but he’s a chick after all, not a human being,” Mother Cheng said with a little gloominess. Then she sighed, “Ay, I don’t know if anyone else will call me grandma in my lifetime…… ”

My son likes men, so it’s a no-brainer. I’ve acknowledged this for ten years. Now that she had seen Ji XiaoYu, she really couldn’t pick out anything wrong with him, but still, a male daughter-in-law couldn’t give birth to a child to pass on the Cheng family name. This was a real shame.

A woman her age, how could she be happy without grandchildren? She rarely gathered with her old friends now, because the others would just sit together and only talk about their grandson this or their granddaughter that. Every time, she couldn’t even join in and listening would make her envious and sour inside. She simply couldn’t get excited.

Cheng YuTang put a hand on his mother’s shoulder and said warmly, “Ma, there will be, you can rest assured.”

Mother and Father Cheng were both surprised. The old couple glanced at each other, then Mother Cheng furrowed her brow. Since it was difficult to say in front of Ji XiaoYu, she could only ask vaguely, “TangTang, you’ve discussed this with XiaoYu? He doesn’t mind?”

Was her son saying he intended to marry a woman and have a child on the side, while going behind Ji XiaoYu’s back and cheating? Though she was eagerly begging for a grandson, she felt this wasn’t really a proper thing to do.

Discuss what? Mind what? Ji XiaoYu didn’t understand these when he heard it, because his attention was completely caught by the word “TangTang.” He thought that name was too amusing, especially to his own sense of humor. If the Cheng family parents hadn’t been here, he would be calling PaoPao’s father the same thing.

Cheng YuTang immediately replied, “No, Ma, where did your thoughts go? I won’t be with anyone else but XiaoYu for the rest of my life, no matter if they’re a man or woman, no matter what form they have. But even if XiaoYu and I are men, we’ll still let you and Dad hold a grandson. It’s just not time yet, you two have to wait another month.”

Mother Cheng didn’t dare to believe him. Her voice quivered a little as she said, “Really, you’re not just coaxing your Mama, right? What did you two do, a test-tube baby or you found someone to be a surrogate?”

“Of course not. When have I ever lied to you?” Cheng YuTang said with a mysterious smile, “As for the specific way, don’t ask. Just rest assured and wait. In short, XiaoYu has worked hard and will definitely let you hug your big grandson.”

Shocked, Mother Cheng happily took up the hands of her son and male daughter-in-law and repeated a few times, “Good, good, good. Then Mama can wait!”

She knew that today’s technology was very advanced and that medical developments were advancing by the day. She had been listening to people gossip a while back, saying that some Western country was researching a male uterus, so that men could get pregnant like women or something. She had thought it was just a sensational rumor at the time. But since she had heard that, she now believed this just a little bit. No matter what the method was, as long as these two people could really have a child of their own, then there was nothing else she could ask for.

Father Cheng was also pretty excited, although there was no indication in his consistently frozen expression. He almost once again almost knocked his beloved yixing teapot to the ground.

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Footnotes:

1. Fetch the moon from the seabed (海底捞月): idiom, a hopeless illusion

2. Embroidered straw bag (绣花草包): beautiful on the outside, stupid on the inside