Chapter 37: 37

“Whose child is it?”

Ji Xiaofeng blurted out, staring at Lu Ying.

Lu Ying hastily denied it: “It has nothing to do with me!”

Ji Xiaofeng sneered, “If you had that ability, I’d call you ‘Big Brother’! You are with Brother Yang every day, you must have noticed something?”

Lu Ying laughed dryly, “This… I haven’t seen Brother Yang’s lover…” Shocked, Lu Ying nervously looked at the pale Yang Sigu. In the past six months, he could be regarded as one of the people who had the most contact with Yang Sigu, but he really didn’t have any clues.

Ji Xiaofeng sighed helplessly: “Lao Hu, why is Brother Yang so weak when he is pregnant? Is he going to be okay?”

“Doctor Hu, is Brother Yang alright?” Lu Ying was worried. When he had a baby, he was confused and didn’t understand anything at all, and if Grandpa Lu hadn’t found out, he would have thought that he’d just gotten fat… He didn’t have any other symptoms, which was lucky if you thought about it.

Dr. Hu quickly dispensed the medicine and came over with a small cup, “Feed it to him.”

“I’ll do it, Brother Ji, help me hold him up a bit.” Together with Ji Xiaofeng, Lu Ying fed the steaming medicine into Yang Sigu’s mouth.

Yang Sigu lay down again. Perhaps because he had drunk the medicine, in a short while his face regained some blood. He looked less weak at last.

Dr. Hu checked his pulse again, and when he met Yang Sigu’s eyes, he smiled lightly: “Your situation is rather complicated. Let me put it this way, when Zaizai was expected, Lu Ying only needed to take a bowl of yuling grass soup once every three months. After Zaizai was born, he took one yuling pill every six months at first. Now that he is older, he will take ten, or at most twenty, pills a year. Because Zaizai’s other father is an ordinary human.”

Yang Sigu closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

“What does that mean? Brother Yang’s lover is not human?” Ji Xiaofeng asked hurriedly, “Then who exactly is he? Liu Dichuan? Impossible.”

“Ahem ahem…!” Yang Sigu suddenly choked and coughed, giving Ji Xiaofeng a fierce look.

Lu Ying smiled embarrassedly and tugged at Ji Xiaofeng, “Don’t talk nonsense, Brother Liu and Brother Yang are very innocent, and Brother Liu likes girls.”

“How do you know? Hasn’t he always been single?”

Lu Ying said bluntly, “Brother Liu told me, ah. He has a girl he likes, but she doesn’t like him.”

“…I’m going to sympathise with Lao Liu for a second…” Ji Xiaofeng held his forehead, “Then who else can it be? Those single dogs are basically gone from the beginning of the year, counting the months it doesn’t fit. Brother Yang, tell me, or I’ll lose sleep.”

Yang Sigu had recovered a lot and was in good spirits, so he finally had the strength to speak up for himself: “Why should I tell you? Your insomnia has nothing to do with me. Doctor Hu, I’m going to bother you next. You can charge for the medicine as much as you want, I’ve had some savings over the years and they’re finally coming in handy.”

“You’re so calm, Brother Yang… you didn’t panic at all.” Lu Ying looked at Yang Sigu with admiration. He had admired this man before, and now he did even more. Unlike when he first learned of his situation; he was so scared that he cried and didn’t sleep well for several days. He was happy to have a child, but he couldn’t stop fearing the unknown.

Yang Sigu half-sat up, smiled faintly and couldn’t help but reach out and put his hand on Lu Ying’s head, rubbing his hair: “I expected it, so I won’t panic. It’s thanks to the good luck from you that I have this result. Thank you.”

“…but I didn’t do anything.” Lu Ying dared not take credit for it and asked in a whisper, “So, Brother Yang… you wanted a child?”

“En. After Zaizai was born, I was a bit tempted. But at the time, I didn’t think much about it. Later… suddenly the thought deepened.” It was not so much an expected thing as the result of the calculation. Anyway, he got what he wanted.

Lu Ying sighed in relief and smiled brightly “Then congratulations to Brother Yang on becoming a father.” He was worried that Brother Yang would find it difficult to accept the news and was ready to comfort him.

Dr. Hu crossed his arms and said coolly, “Yang Sigu, I haven’t finished speaking yet. I have a limited reserve of the yuling grass. It is more than enough for Zaizai until he reaches adulthood, but your situation is serious and it is not just the matter of taking the medicine. Do you understand what I mean? I suggest you don’t have a child. Save yourself the worry.”

“…no way. There must be something you can do.” Yang Sigu was full of determination.

Lu Ying and Ji Xiaofeng both panicked and looked at Dr. Hu nervously.

Dr. Hu spread his hands: “Then the best way is for you to let him show up and serve you closely until the situation stabilises. But after the baby is born, you still have to rely on him to raise it. You can’t raise it well on milk powder.”

Yang Sigu was silent.

“You can think about it, I’ll go make the medicine first.” Dr. Hu waved his hand and went out.

Lu Ying didn’t dare to leave, worried and anxious for Yang Sigu.

“Brother Yang… you’d better listen to the doctor. Life is at stake, you must not be negligent.”

Yang Sigu smiled bitterly, “Go ahead and get busy, I want to be alone for a while. Lu Ying, I have to trouble you with the shop in the near future. I may have to live here for the time being. If something happens, you can call me.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Yang, I’ll keep an eye on the shop.” Lu Ying assured loudly.

Lu Ying and Ji Xiaofeng gently withdrew, leaving Yang Sigu, who was lying down, alone in the room. He looked at the ceiling in a daze and murmured after a long time, “What are you going to do…”

It was as if he was talking to himself, and as if he was talking to the air.

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“Lu Ying.”

In front of the moon gate, Qin Zhuopu quickly stepped forward when he saw Lu Ying appear.

Lu Ying tapped his head, “I almost forgot about you…”

“What’s going on?” Qin Zhuopu was anxious, “Is Boss Yang okay?”

“En, he’s fine… needs to recuperate for a while.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He…” Lu Ying couldn’t answer; that was Brother Yang’s secret.

Qin Zhuopu patted his head, “Forget it if it’s hard to say, I won’t force you.”

Lu Ying nodded: “Let’s go. Let’s go back to the shop first, it’s almost noon, don’t forget to pick up Zaizai.”

“How could I forget the kid? I’ll go shopping later, we’ll eat at home at noon, I’ll cook.”

“That’s better.” Lu Ying smiled brightly, “Zaizai must like your cooking, because I quite like it too. Especially the chicken wings you make, I just can’t get over them.”

Qin Zhuopu suddenly tightened his grip on Lu Ying’s hand, wanting to say something but finally not saying a word. He wanted to ask about the little fish on Lu Ying’s belly. Lu Zaizai’s childish words lingered in his head, as if he was possessed, and he desperately wanted a confirmation.

In the morning he had walked to the bakery unconsciously, his mind full of questions, but they were put aside the moment he saw Yu Yourong’s rudeness. Now Boss Yang’s health was in another unknown condition, and Lu Ying clearly didn’t want to tell him more.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lu Ying thought he was a bit strange. Qin Zhuopu was usually very willing to behave wildly behind closed doors but was very reserved and conservative when outside. It was rare to hold hands in broad daylight.

Qin Zhuopu shook his head: “It’s nothing. I don’t feel comfortable seeing you so nervous about Boss Yang.”

Lu Ying smiled speechlessly and rolled his eyes, “Brother Yang is an elder brother and has helped me a lot. You are also too jealous, one moment it’s Brother Ji and the next moment it’s Brother Yang. I have ten brothers and a sister, you should simply soak in the vinegar jar.”

Qin Zhuopu smiled faintly, “En, I’m jealous.”

Lu Ying hummed softly, “I haven’t settled the score with you yet, but you’re talking about me instead. What’s up with that guy surnamed Yu, is he still trying to have an affair with you? Why else is he always targeting me? If he hadn’t brought his friends here to cause trouble today, Brother Yang wouldn’t have gotten emotional.”

Qin Zhuopu’s eyes went cold as he sneered, “Don’t worry, he won’t have time to eat your bread anytime soon.” Some people couldn’t change their shit; even if you didn’t do anything, they would dig their own graves.

Lu Ying frowned slightly at his words, “You, you don’t want to do anything illegal, oh.”

“Heh.” Qin Zhuopu pinched his ear and teased the worried Lu Ying, “Anger me, and I’ll go through a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, not to mention breaking the law and committing a crime.”

Lu Ying slapped his hand away with a serious face: “If you do something bad, I don’t want you anymore. Discredit to the family reputation! What if Zaizai wants to take civil service exams in the future, ah, to be a policeman or something? Such a father will be dragging him down.”

Seeing how serious he said it, Qin Zhuopu didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh, “Am I that kind of bad man with no sense of responsibility?”

“Of course not, haha.” Lu Ying smiled, “You’re good at everything, okay?”

Qin Zhuopu couldn’t stop smiling.

The two of them went back to the bakery and Lu Ying continued to work. When Qin Zhuopu came out, he stood at the door for a long time, staring at the ground, his thoughts drifting who knows how far away. He smoked several cigarettes before he came back to his senses and went to the north entrance to pick up Lu Zaizai.

“Lu Zaizai, your father is here to pick you up, remember to come to class on time next time.” The dance teacher pointed to Qin Zhuopu who was walking outside the window, and Lu Zaizai shook his head and laughed happily, “Teacher, that’s my uncle, not my dad.”

“Zaizai.” Qin Zhuopu waved at him, hearing the child’s words with mixed emotions.

“Uncle, are we going home now?”

“Uncle will take you to buy food and will cook something delicious for lunch, then we’ll wait for Dad to come home.”

“Yes, yes.”

The two of them went to the supermarket to buy groceries and bought a lot of snacks for Lu Zaizai. After coming out of the supermarket, Qin Zhuopu crossed the street, holding the child’s hand, heading for the steps of the community.

Just as he stepped onto the steps, Lu Zaizai suddenly shook off Qin Zhuopu’s hand and darted towards the top of the steps, shouting, “Grandpa Lu! Grandpa Lu! Grandpa!”

“Zaizai!” Qin Zhuopu ran after him and saw that Lu Zaizai was chasing after a man’s back, shouting “Grandpa”, but the man was unresponsive. In the blink of an eye, the man had entered the community gate and disappeared.

Zaizai gasped and frowned angrily, “I clearly saw Grandpa Lu, but why is he gone again? It’s really strange, didn’t Grandpa hear me? Why is he ignoring me…”

Qin Zhuopu frowned, his heart thudding, “You shouldn’t have run away suddenly, Uncle was worried about you. You must have mistaken someone, your Grandpa Lu…” Passed away a long time ago. It must have been someone similarly looking. Besides, Qin Zhuopu had caught a glimpse of that back and the man looked young, not like any grandfather.

“Mistaken…” Lu Zaizai was depressed, “I miss Grandpa Lu.”

“…good boy, let’s go home and Uncle will make you something delicious. Help Uncle peel the beans later, okay?”

“Yes, I’m the best at peeling beans!”

When Lu Ying came home for his lunch break, Qin Zhuopu had already prepared a sumptuous meal. This kind of day when there was a hot meal waiting for you when you returned home was really the best.

“Wow, this eight treasure fish (a dish made of eight ingredients or sometimes stuffed with eight ingredients) is delicious.”

“I think the chicken wings are the best.”

“Eat more if it’s good.”

Qin Zhuopu was already full and smiled as he watched the father and son in front of him eat happily. The deep smile in his eyes was full of tenderness and affection.

“Dad, I saw a man who looked like Grandpa Lu when I went home, but unfortunately I was mistaken.” Lu Zaizai suddenly sighed sadly.

Lu Ying froze and said grimly, “Silly boy, Grandpa Lu, he… we can’t see him anymore.”

“I know…” Lu Zaizai said listlessly.

Qin Zhuopu stroked Lu Zaizai’s head and comforted him, “Uncle will take you out this afternoon, where do you want to go? Playground? A museum? Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?”

“Yes, yes! I want to go out and play!” Lu Zaizai clapped his hands happily, “Uncle, I want to go to the dinosaur museum, many children in our class have been there, but I have never been there, Dad is too busy.”

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In one sentence Lu Ying was made to feel guilty, “I’m sorry.”

Qin Zhuopu took a deep breath, “Lu Ying, it’s not your fault. Zaizai, tell Uncle where you want to go to play in the future, no matter where it is, Uncle will take you there.”

“That’s great, Uncle is amazing.”

“This afternoon, Uncle will take you to the dinosaur museum.” Qin Zhuopu made the final decision.

Lu Ying was happy to have someone to take the child out, “Then you guys have a good time, just keep an eye on the child. Be careful not to give him too many drinks, but let him drink plain water. It’s a bit hot today, I’ll pack two t-shirts for you to take with you, Zaizai is afraid of heat and sweats a lot.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the kid.”

Lu Ying nodded, not doubting Qin Zhuopu.

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After lunch, Lu Ying personally took Qin Zhuopu and his son to catch a bus, and continued with the afternoon’s work.

Throughout the afternoon, Qin Zhuopu kept having fun with Zaizai, took a lot of photos and reported to Lu Ying every once in a while.

Qin Zhuopu chose a few pictures of Lu Zaizai playing, taken from the back, and posted on Moments.

Qin Zhuopu: The first time I took my child out to play.

[Picture 1][Picture 2][Picture 3]

Many people liked the post, while others asked curiously.

When did you get to be a father?

Your son is actually this old?

You actually know how to bring up a child? Cool.

Is this your relative’s child, or your son?

Qin Zhuopu replied uniformly: My son.

Never mind the fuss in Moments, today’s Lu Zaizai was undoubtedly very happy, and today’s Qin Zhuopu also felt incredibly happy.

In the quiet of the night, he and his lover were cuddling closely, and as if unconsciously, Qin Zhuopu couldn’t help but stretch out his slightly rough palm to caress Lu Ying’s flat, firm belly, back and forth, over and over again. Lu Ying was so enthralled that he didn’t notice Qin Zhuopu’s inquisitive, contemplative eyes.

“Do you have your subway card with you?” The next morning, Lu Ying took Qin Zhuopu to the subway station. He packed a box of freshly baked meat floss puff pastries for Qin Zhuopu. He had made them himself and it was the most popular snack he had made since he had started his studies. Although he was sad to see Qin Zhuopu leave, they were all adults and had their own careers, not to mention the fact that Qin Zhuopu’s company was huge, so how could he really stay here every day and leave the old man in his eighties to fight at the office?

Really, how many billions would be lost if you delay for a day?

“The card you gave me, of course I carry it with me. You got me up before I was awake and had to ruthlessly kick me out, tsk.” Qin Zhuopu shook his head in displeasure and huffed, “Do you have any conscience, knowing how hard I worked last night?”

“You shut up.”

Lu Ying didn’t hesitate to send him away: “Don’t eat in the subway, eat when you leave the station. Send me a message and call when you arrive. Next time you come over, tell me one day in advance… Well, I’ll prepare more pig kidneys for you, pfft haha.” As soon as the words came out, Lu Ying couldn’t help laughing himself.

Qin Zhuopu looked helpless, “I don’t need that thing now.”

“Don’t you like it very much? Don’t be stubborn.” Lu Ying laughed.

Qin Zhuopu glared at him, “My mouth is still full of a filthy smell.”

“It’s because you’re slutty.” Lu Ying mocked him, what a rascal!

Qin Zhuopu suddenly laughed and hugged Lu Ying, pinching his buttocks and whispering, “You’re the sluttiest.” Before Little Piggy Lu exploded, he quickly let go and walked to the subway station, “Behave yourself while I’m away.”

“Same to you!” Lu Ying roared.

Qin Zhuopu laughed as he entered the station.

In Brother Yang’s absence, Lu Ying had become the shop manager and had to be responsible for more things every day, such as purchasing goods. He had originally done it a few times with Brother Yang and now he had to do everything by himself. Except for Lu Ying, Brother Yang didn’t trust anyone. He was never afraid of losing money due to high costs, but he was afraid of cutting corners and ruining his reputation.

After work, Lu Ying made a special trip to see Yang Sigu at Dr. Hu’s clinic.

“Brother Yang, how are you now? I’ve brought you your favourite bread.”

Yang Sigu was sitting in the courtyard pavilion, drinking tea. When he saw Lu Ying coming he couldn’t help but smile: “Don’t treat me like a patient, I’m fine. I’ll be able to go back to work tomorrow.”

“There’s no need to rush, Brother Yang’s health is the most important thing.” Lu Ying looked at Yang Sigu carefully and found that he was a far cry from his frail appearance that day. Not only did he look healthy, he looked incredibly good, and his whole body seemed to emanate a… do you call it a tart smell of love-making?

Lu Ying felt ashamed of his own sudden description, but…

“Brother Yang, is your lover with you now?”

“…ahem ahem.” Yang Sigu coughed dryly and refused to answer.

Lu Ying didn’t understand but was happy for Brother Yang: “It’s best if there is someone to take care of you. I was worried about what Brother Yang would do if he was alone. Back then I didn’t understand anything, I was so confused and scared, but I was lucky to have Grandpa Lu to comfort me and keep me company. Brother Yang, if you need any help, do let me know.”

“I will. Lu Ying, have you and Mr. Qin made up?”

Lu Ying blushed slightly and nodded, “Yes, we’ve made up. I’m not very good at resisting temptation…”

“Pfft…” Yang Sigu laughed shakily, “Okay, frank enough. I really don’t know how Mr. Qin tempted you.”

Lu Ying covered his face in embarrassment, “It’s not what you think… Anyway, I like him and he likes me. He comes and goes, it’s good. And he doesn’t know that Zaizai is his own son, but he still keeps trying to be good to Zaizai, really treating Zaizai as his own child. My instincts don’t lie to me, and Zaizai is particularly close to him.”

“So will you tell him?”

Lu Ying couldn’t help but look at Yang Sigu’s flat stomach, “I can’t hide it from him for the rest of my life, I will definitely tell him one day.” But not now, otherwise Qin Zhuopu would suspect something about Brother Yang.

How could Yang Sigu not understand what he meant? He patted Lu YIng on the head, “Little fool, if you trust him, you don’t have to worry about me. Xiaotu’s father knows everything, isn’t that fine? But this is your own business, you can talk about it if you want to, or not if you don’t want to.”

Lu Ying nodded, “Yes, that’s what I originally thought. Didn’t Dr. Hu say it for me before? It turned out that neither he nor his mother believed, and Mrs. Qin was even furious. Anyway, it’s pretty good now. When he doesn’t come, I have a family of two, and when he comes, I have a family of three.”

Yang Sigu looked at Lu Ying with considerable surprise, “You’ve changed a lot.”

“Have I?” Lu Ying looked confused.

Yang Sigu smiled and nodded, “It’s already very good. If your Grandpa saw it, he would be very relieved.”

Lu Ying was complimented and felt shy, and then felt sad again, “It’s a pity that Grandpa is no longer around…”

“Grandpa.”

After work, Qin Zhuopu came to the old mansion. The family was having a big gathering today, so it was impossible not to come. Even his mother had rushed back from the capital.

Tomorrow, it was the anniversary of his father’s death.

Time had washed away the grief of parting, and the relatives came mainly to eat, chat and get closer. His mother was no longer in a gloomy mood, entertaining the guests at home with a calm smile.

“Zhuopu, when will you bring your son and wife home?”

“Yeah, I heard that you have an illegitimate son living outside, why don’t you pick him up now?”

“Tomorrow is your father’s death day, so why haven’t you brought the child and the child’s mother to kowtow to Grandpa?”

“Zhuopu, you’ve always been a stable and disciplined person, but you didn’t do a good job with the child. It’s a waste of time to talk about it now. What did you do all those years? You only say you have a son when he is this old. Don’t you know what people are saying?”

“That’s right, a good biological son is called an illegitimate son. I’m so angry.”

“No matter what, at least Zhuopu has a son, so the old man can finally rest assured.”

One by one, Qin Zhuopu swept past the uncles and aunts who were asking questions. There were many relatives, and not everyone had a unified opinion. For example, if he had never had any child, many of his relatives would be happy. Now that he said he had a child, many people panicked.

“Uncles and aunts are more worried than I am, more worried than Grandpa.” Qin Zhuopu laughed in a low voice: “It doesn’t matter whether they kowtow or not, since he’s my son, my father’s spirit in heaven will naturally protect him. Mom, am I right?”

Mrs. Qin had her own dislike for these relatives, and had always been most protective of her son in front of the others.

“What Zhuopu said is right. The child is busy with his studies. When he is older, it is up to Zhuopu to arrange for him to come home. Old Master is in no hurry, and neither am I.”

Grandpa Qin thought to himself: I’m really in a bit of a hurry. But there was no point in being anxious. He could see that Lu Ying would not easily set foot in the Qin family’s house, and if Lu Ying himself refused to come, how could he be happy to let his child come. Who was to blame for this? He blamed his daughter-in-law for her extreme behaviour back then. It was also his fault that he hadn’t taken care of it by default back then. But he found it a bit strange that since his grandson liked Lu Ying so much, why did it take all these years before he went looking for him?

“Who is that child’s mother?”

“When is Zhuopu going to hold the wedding?”

“I thought Zhuopu really didn’t like women.”

“Zhuopu has always been the most handsome-looking in the family, that kid must look like him.”

Who didn’t know that the child’s real father was Lu Ying, an old lover whom Qin Zhuopu had been in love with for years? The child was most likely the result of a woman Lu Ying found, and was not even remotely related to Qin Zhuopu. Qin Zhuopu couldn’t have a child all these years, so he rushed to recognise a bastard. He was really out of his mind. Raising nieces and nephews at home was not good enough, was it better to bring a bastard from outside?

No matter what the relatives were thinking in their hearts, Qin Zhuopu was not affected at all. However, Mrs. Qin was so upset that she wanted to explode on the spot and throw out those bad-mouthed people.

The phone rang pleasantly and the caller ID made Qin Zhuopu’s hand tighten as he got up and walked to the balcony at a steady pace to answer it.

“Congratulations, Mr. Qin, the DNA identification results show that you are the biological father of the child.”

 ***

Mini-theatre:

Mr. Qin: You can’t even solve such a simple maths problem? You’re still watching TV, do you want me to beat you up? Do your homework!

Zaizai: Woo woo, Uncle doesn’t love me anymore! Uncle is mean to me!

Mr. Qin: Uncle loves you, but Father wants to beat you up!

Zaizai: Woo woo, since you became my dad, you don’t love me anymore!

Mr. Qin: Finished crying, are you? Do your homework!

Lu Ying: ╮(╯▽╰)╭ Like father, like son.

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