Chapter 65: Sixty-Five: The days flowed by like running water.

On the first day home, they took a vacation day. On the second day, Cheng YuTang drove himself to the company to work.

He and Ji XiaoYu discussed whether to hire a babysitter for help and Ji XiaoYu had thought about it and then given up. Cheng PaoPao wasn’t stable enough right now. Hiring someone for housekeeping or cooking or some short-term babysitting would be okay, but there might be a problem if he had close contact with an outsider for an extended period of time. If he one day accidentally changed forms, it would be troublesome.

Maybe it was because he had inherited excellent genes plus his nutrition was sufficient, but although Cheng PaoPao was young, his ability to keep his form was very good. It was only when he was greatly stimulated that he would change form into fat little chick. It had already been almost half a month since he had transformed in the store that day and he had only changed back twice.

The first time was the day of the Lantern Festival. In the middle of the night, someone on the old street outside had, despite the ban on fireworks, secretly set of firecrackers, the 10,000 bang type, which woke up the entire street. The two husbands had also been woken up and, in the dark, they had heard a cry of “cheep cheep cheep” in the room.

Cheng YuTang had immediately turned on the bedside lamp and seen that the fat baby in the crib was gone. Instead, there had been a fat little chick, head buried in the quilt, his little butt stuck outside, the chick’s entire body shivering.

Later, the two husbands had taken turns holding the frightened fat little chick and it had taken a good amount of time to soothe him before Cheng PaoPao changed back to human form.

The second time was halfway back on a private jet yesterday. When the plane had left the ground and risen straight into the sky, Cheng PaoPao had been sticking to the window in excitement, yelling “wow,” and when he transformed, the sound had changed instead into “cheep cheep cheep.”

Fortunately, there had only been the family of three in the cabin, the two flight attendants had been preparing lunch in the kitchen and hadn’t seen this sight.

Although the probability of Cheng PaoPao suddenly transforming was small, it wasn’t completely impossible. To be on the safe side, the two husbands didn’t hire a nanny.

Without hiring someone, then he would be taking care of Cheng PaoPao alone. Fortunately, in the capital, he had practiced for nearly half a month, so Ji XiaoYu had figured it out, feeding milk powder, changing diapers, bathing, whatever. Also, although Cheng PaoPao was naughty, he was a strong, upbeat, healthy boy and he was pretty self-reliant. Just by giving him a bunch of toys, he would play on his own for a long time and didn’t need to be watched constantly, so even though Ji XiaoYu had ErBao, he could handle it alone.

A few days later in the afternoon, Cheng YuTang was holding a very important meeting in one of HongSheng’s large conference rooms.

One party for the meeting was HongSheng, the other was the new Far East Regional Executive Director of a Fortune 500 company in the United States, a 30-year-old mixed-race beauty named Lin Anna, who was a quarter of Chinese. She was cool and capable, single, and was more fluent in Mandarin than many Chinese.

Previously, high-level representatives from the two sides had held several consultations and negotiations and finally today, the big BOSS had finally come forward to reach a consensus and finalize the rules for cooperation.

At the end of the meeting, Lin Anna didn’t immediately get up and leave. She took a gentle sip of coffee, and then, in a change from her savvy decisiveness from the meeting, brushed back the hair on the side of her face with a seductive sigh as she smiled and said, “I’ve heard of HongSheng’s Cheng Zong is refined and elegant on the outside, but that your methods are actually strong and terrifying. This is, as they say, seeing is believing. I haven’t met such a suitable opponent in years.”

Cheng YuTang said without emotion, “Miss Lin is flattering me, the same applies to you.”

Lin Anna checked her watch and immediately smiled, “You can call me Anna – it’s past six o’clock, how about we have dinner together?”

Cheng YuTang spun the simple, unadorned platinum ring on the ring finger of his left hand, saying, “Sorry, I have to go home and have dinner with my spouse and child.”

Lin Anna casually glanced at the ring and didn’t show any surprise on her face at the phrase “spouse and child.” Obviously, she had known something about the fact that he was married in advance, but she just shrugged it off, saying playfully, “Are you married to a grain husk wife? I didn’t imagine that Cheng Zong was a henpecked husband.”

Cheng YuTang answered steadily, “To be managed by him is a certain Cheng’s pleasure.”

Lin Anna raised an eyebrow slightly and was about to speak, but she was interrupted by a baby’s cry of “wuaaaaaah.”

She looked up and saw there was a beautiful young man with a handsome facial features standing at the door of the conference room, holding a snow-white, tender little baby in his arms.

Instantly, Cheng Zong’s whole demeanor changed and he got up and rushed to the entrance. He first kissed the baby’s head and then exchanged a practiced kiss with the young man. He asked, “Baby, what are you doing here?”

“I came to pick you up from work,” the young man answered matter-of-factly, then he winked at him with playful slyness. “What do you think, are you shocked? Are you surprised?”

“Of course.” Cheng YuTang took the little baby into his arms and hugged him, his tone as he answered unusually gentle.

When the HongSheng executives saw the two husbands in an intimate conversation, regardless of how their hearts fluctuated, they kept their expressions as calm as their own president’s and they cleaned up the documents at their seats unflappably. At the same time, they secretly sympathized for a moment for Miss Lin Anna, who had obviously been attracted by Cheng Zong’s charm.

For many years, Cheng Zong had worn a pinky ring that symbolized celibacy on his little finger. After returning from this Spring Festival holiday, the pinky ring was gone, replaced by the wedding ring on his ring finger. The wedding ring wasn’t inlaid with gold or diamonds, it was simple with no style at all. The surface was covered with a few crooked patterns, like a crude, shoddy product. However, HongSheng’s employees didn’t dare to look down on it. Because they had heard through the grapevine that Cheng Zong’s wedding ring had been designed by his bodyguard spouse. After working in his office for a period of time, Cheng Zong would bow his head and kiss it, and then dedicate himself to the next stage of his work. He clearly was loyal to his cherished marriage.

Of course, no one knew if the source of this rumor was reliable. However, the grand banquet that Cheng family had held at the HongJing Hotel in the capital ten days ago had been undeniably conclusive.

The shocking wedding banquet and the baby celebration had been reported on by ten media outlets in the capital. The photos of the two husbands kissing and then kissing their son together, as well as a big close-up of the pigeon egg diamond has spread across the public social media platforms, triggering a huge climax in the national discussion. It had taken a week for the heat to slowly fade away. When HongSheng’s employees had learned that Cheng Zong had fallen in love with his own male personal bodyguard a while back, they had felt like they couldn’t raise their heads proudly. But now they were well-adapted to it and even tolerant of it.

The love between the president and his husband was more solid than gold. Not even talking about how the destruction of someone’s marriage was immoral, looking down upon the so-called “outdated conventions and bad customs” and also just weighing up his skills to see if he had the ability – Cheng Zong’s wife was the one who had single-handedly knocked out more than 20 gangsters. Whoever wanted to take down Cheng Zong had to go through him first.

Lin Anna had just flown from the United States to Ning City yesterday. She had only heard that Cheng YuTang was married with a child, she hadn’t learned any of the specifics yet and hadn’t asked about the details because she had always had full confidence in herself. Suddenly seeing this scene in front of her just now, she couldn’t keep her red lips from twitching. She didn’t say anything for a long time.

Cheng YuTang, holding his son in one hand and holding Ji XiaoYu in the other, smiled at her, “Miss Lin, let introduce you, this is my grain husk wife.”

Lin Anna: “……”

Ji XiaoYu: “???”

The family of three saw off Lin Anna, who looked embarrassed but was smiling, and left to go home. Ji XiaoYu got in the driver’s seat without saying a word. A little worried, Cheng YuTang said, “Baby, I can do it, right now you’re preg-……”

“Stop, don’t say anything else!” Ji XiaoYu glanced at him with a little bit of annoyance. That was the most taboo word right now. “Although I am you-know-what, so I’m a little more sleepy than usual and my appetite is a little worse, my skills haven’t been affected. If you don’t believe me, let’s do a comparison!”

Fortunately, he was a pheasant spirit so he was only carrying a little egg. If he had to carry a human in his belly, he’d really rather be dead.

“No need for that, your husband gracefully concedes defeat,” Cheng YuTang said sincerely, then he got into the back seat to put Cheng PaoPao in the baby seat.

Ji XiaoYu proudly curled his lip and skillfully started the car.

After a while, he remembered what had happened in HongSheng just now, so, a little insecure, Ji XiaoYu asked, “My child’s father, did that woman just now have bad intentions towards you?”

Cheng YuTang smiled and, while teasing Cheng PaoPao, said lightly, “Did she? I didn’t pay attention.”

This answer sounded pretty good to Ji XiaoYu, so he just grunted and didn’t pursue it anymore.

However, PaoPao’s father was just like a popular person (delicious smelling pastry). Countless people coveted him every day. In order to prevent hidden dangers, it was still better to act on his own and keep as close an eye on him as possible, by continuing to serve at his post as Cheng Zong’s personal bodyguard and driver.

Anyway, he and his son were always bored at home, so it was nice to go out for a drive sometimes. Cheng PaoPao could be with him and he was especially interested in all kinds of vehicles, staring at the traffic on the road through the windows as soon as they started driving. He always waved his hands and cheered “whoa whoa,” a total car fanatic.

The days flowed by like running water, and in the twinkling of an eye, spring changed to summer and on came July.

Summer just so happened to be scorching at night. Ji XiaoYu had carried ErBao for five months, but nothing showed from his shape. It’s just that the guy got more and more lazy. If he could get by with lying down instead of sitting, he would. If he could sit, he wouldn’t stand. He had to turn over his work to the security captain Yang YiPeng.

Also, Cheng PaoPao had grown a lot and had evolved from crawling to walking upright, so his range of activities had greatly increased. Contrary to his dad, Cheng PaoPao had energy in excess, though he wasn’t very stable and would fall over if he didn’t pay attention. But the fat little baby was very, very naughty. He wasn’t afraid of falling; if he fell, he would climb back up. So he continued to run around pedaling his two little legs and, if Ji XiaoYu didn’t pay attention, he would run out of sight, without leaving a hint of his shadow.

By this time, there was only half a month until ErBao would be laid, so Cheng YuTang wasn’t at ease. Ji XiaoYu couldn’t be energetic in this situation and there were repeated requests from the parents, so they picked up the older couple on a weekend to help take care of the never-idle Cheng PaoPao.

On Thursday, July 18th, an ordinary working day, it was almost 11am when Ji XiaoYu woke up in his big bed, later than usual. As usual, there was no one around, but there was a post-it note on the pillow next to him, which read, “Baby, even if you get up late, you still have to eat breakfast. If you have a bad appetite, you can eat less at lunch. Wait for me to come back tonight and I’ll make you some good food. Kiss.”

He kissed the sticky note and then hugged the pillow and inhaled the man’s scent. After a few minutes, he slowly got up.

He went down to the living room on the first floor. The breeze was gently opening through the wide open windows, not too hot. The villa community’s greenery incorporation was very good, so the temperature was a few degrees lower than in the city and summer wasn’t too difficult.

From the backyard, a toddler’s rattling giggle and an old man’s laugh rang out. Ji XiaoYu, while eating breakfast, stood by the window and watched Father Cheng playing around with a soccer ball with Cheng PaoPao on the plastic mat of the playground.

Cheng PaoPao himself looked like a little ball, kicking the ball and losing his balance so, from time to time, he fell down on his butt on the ground, making the older couple run back and forth. Ji XiaoYu touched his still-flat abdomen and couldn’t keep from laughing.

As he laughed, there was a faint pain in his stomach. Ji XiaoYu sucked in a breath, no way, did I eat something bad just now? But it was just a slice of bread and half a cup of milk.

After it ached for a bit, he felt fine so he didn’t take it seriously. He perked himself up and went out to the playground to play with the old couple and the kid.

In the afternoon, when Father and Mother Cheng were accompanying their grandson to play in the bathtub, Yang DongCheng, the manager of Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn, led the two chefs in with a basket of ingredients. It seemed that they were going to put on a big show.

Ji XiaoYu thought this was strange and asked about it. Yang DongCheng replied with a smile, “Mr. Ji, today is Cheng Zong’s birthday, please let me make a birthday dinner to express the feelings in my heart.”

Oh, so that was it. On the post-it note, Cheng Zong had written that he would come back tonight and make him a good meal, so Ji XiaoYu was afraid that he was so busy that he’d forgotten his own birthday today.

A birthday means he’s another year old, so PaoPao’s father is 34 years old.

Ji XiaoYu suddenly felt a little sour in his heart and his stomach followed along and soured with pain again.

Seeing that his expression was poor, Yang DongCheng quickly asked, “Mr. Ji, what’s wrong with you?”

After Ji XiaoYu endured for a while, he felt okay, so he shook her head. He thought it over and decided he wanted to do something to surprise PaoPao’s father. After all, human birthdays were to be celebrated. However, his natural fear of fire was a really difficult problem to overcome. After brainstorming for a bit, he came up with an idea, but he didn’t know if it was feasible so he asked humbly, “Manager Yang, can a cake be made without eggs?”

Yang DongCheng himself was a famous chef who had studied both Chinese and Western culture, so he answered knowledgeably, “Of course, some people are allergic to eggs and can only eat egg-free cakes, so some other ingredients can be added and the taste won’t be worse than a cake with eggs.”

Ji XiaoYu clapped his hands together, then I’ll do this, I won’t have to deal with open fire and can express my feelings! Isn’t that suitable?

Yang DongCheng had originally planned to work on his own, but now he was happy to coach Ji XiaoYu.

Nearly two hours later, after throwing out a few mistakes, Ji XiaoYu finally made a somewhat-satisfactory cake. A layer of buttercream covered the surface and he drew on a heart with red jam and wrote a few crooked words around it: TangTang, Happy Birthday.

Although it was much worse than what was in a cake shop, Ji XiaoYu was still pretty smug. This was the first time he had personally cooked something in his lifetime. Would his child’s father like it?

If he doesn’t like it……hmph, I definitely won’t allow that!

The two chefs also finished the dishes, placing the delicious dishes all around the cake Ji XiaoYu made. Yang DongCheng led the successful people away.

“Aiyo, that’s nice, XiaoYu really has a heart.”

Mother Cheng then came to the living room with sleepy Cheng PaoPao in her arms and she couldn’t help but boast after seeing the cake on the table.

A little embarrassed, Ji XiaoYu said, “Thank you, Mama, I have more to learn from you in the future.”

When he saw it, Cheng PaoPao stretched out his hands to grab the cake. Ji XiaoYu quickly blocked his chubby little claws, “Bad little egg, don’t touch it. This is for your father. Daddy worked hard to make it!”

Cheng PaoPao unhappily chewed on his own finger, greedily drooling.

Father Cheng smiled and looked at the clock on the wall. Then he frowned. “It’s almost seven o’clock. Why hasn’t TangTang come back yet? Didn’t he say he would leave work an hour early today?”

Mother Cheng followed up, “That’s right. Did he forget his own birthday and work overtime at the company again? XiaoYu, you have to call and remind him to hurry home.”

Ji XiaoYu agreed, but just as he was about to dial, a call came in, with Yang YiPeng as the caller.

He didn’t know why but all of a sudden, he felt a dim sense of panic. He fumbled his finger several times before he touched the screen, “Hey, Captain……”

Not waiting for him to finish, Yang YiPeng said urgently, “XiaoYu, Cheng Zong suddenly fainted when he was leaving the office. I took him straight to the hospital. After the initial examination, the doctor said that the situation is not optimistic. Do you want to come to the hospital to see him?”

Ji XiaoYu’s heart cramped and there was a twitch in his abdomen, and he almost collapsed.

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Footnotes:

1. Grain husk wife (糟糠之妻): a faithful wife who has shared her husband’s tough times; idiom, a wife who has shared her husband’s hard lot must never be cast aside

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(not to ruin the serious, sad cliffhanger, but let’s talk about how CYT had been wearing a celibacy ring, like maybe….he was a virgin? ??)