On the day Shi Yuan returned to China, Hawthorne personally drove him to Heathrow Airport, bringing Cuihua along for the ride.
The spacious interior of the Land Rover provided a smooth journey, and Shi Yuan leaned back in his seat, feeling comfortable throughout the trip.
As the airport came into view, Shi Yuan pursed his lips and asked a question that had been on his mind for a long time: “Senior, did you grow up in China when you were young?”
Hawthorne’s expression faltered slightly.
Shi Yuan caught the subtle change and felt a pang of regret.
Oh no, maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
The brief moment of unease vanished almost instantly as Hawthorne quickly masked it, shaking his head. “I’ve never been to China.”
Shi Yuan was taken aback.
Never been to China? Then how is your Chinese so good, and how do you even know how to cook Chinese food?
As if sensing his confusion, Hawthorne paused before explaining, “My mother is Chinese, but I’ve never met her.”
Shi Yuan swallowed the rest of his words, regretting having asked the question.
Hawthorne now looked visibly sorrowful.
As someone who had also lost both parents at a young age, Shi Yuan understood this feeling all too well. He fell silent, gently patting Hawthorne’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort, and didn’t speak again until they arrived at the airport.
When they got out of the car, Hawthorne held Cuihua up to Shi Yuan. “Say goodbye to your godfather.”
Cuihua was ecstatic, eagerly squirming to leap into Shi Yuan’s arms, showing no attachment whatsoever to Hawthorne, who was fully responsible for her food, shelter, and care.
Truly an ungrateful dog.
Shi Yuan set down his luggage and happily caught Cuihua, immediately getting his face covered in wet dog licks. He laughed and pleaded, “Enough, enough! Why are you so affectionate, little sweetie?”
Hawthorne stood nearby, his eyes stinging.
Shi Yuan, ever observant, noticed Hawthorne’s troubled expression and quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.
Most likely, seeing Cuihua being so affectionate with him had made the dog’s actual father unhappy.
What a petty Brit.
Shi Yuan’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he held Cuihua up to Hawthorne. “Sister Hua, give your dad a kiss.”
The dog’s nose was pressed against Hawthorne’s face, and Cuihua let out a whimper, struggling desperately to burrow back into Shi Yuan’s arms.
Sometimes he really wondered if Cuihua was a gay dog, competing with him for affection.
Otherwise, why did she only like Shi Yuan and ignore her own father?
Shi Yuan rarely put on a stern face, but he spoke earnestly to Cuihua, “Sister Hua, you can’t do this. He’s your real dad.”
Cuihua didn’t understand human words, but she could sense the tone. Realizing Shi Yuan was a bit upset, she whimpered reluctantly and settled down.
Shi Yuan tried again to bring her closer to Hawthorne.
Just then, Hawthorne suddenly opened his arms and pulled both Shi Yuan and the dog into a tight embrace.
“Have a safe trip,” Hawthorne whispered into Shi Yuan’s ear.
Shi Yuan felt a bit breathless from the tight hold, and his ears instantly flushed red.
Wh-what’s going on… Why so suddenly intimate?
There are so many people around.
“…Thank you, Senior,” Shi Yuan mumbled softly.
Over ten hours later, the plane pierced through the clouds over the East China Sea and landed at Haishi Airport.
Shi Yuan dragged his luggage out of the airport and immediately spotted He Jingchuan in the crowd.
Amid the bustling throng of people waiting to greet arrivals, He Jingchuan stood out—tall, slender, and poised.
In his youth, he had been a classic beauty, and even now, with age, he retained an elegant grace, like an ink-wash painting softened by the passage of time.
If Shi Yuan was as bright and vibrant as spring, then He Jingchuan was the deep autumn—gentle, composed, and calm.
He Jingchuan stepped forward to take his luggage, his gaze discreetly sweeping downward.
Shi Yuan patted his stomach, a little sheepish. “I’ve gained a bit of weight these past few days.”
He Jingchuan said nothing.
As a clinician with thirty years of experience, a suspicion had already begun to form in his mind. But fearing he might alarm Shi Yuan, he kept his expression neutral and calmly said, “Let’s go to the hospital for a check-up first. I’ve already arranged everything.”
Shi Yuan followed him, noticing nothing unusual. Uncle He insisted on an annual physical exam every year, worried he might develop some illness. It had become a routine, something he was used to.
He Jingchuan’s private hospital was about an hour’s drive from the airport.
Upon arrival, a nurse efficiently drew several tubes of blood from Shi Yuan. Fortunately, Shi Yuan’s palate had been spoiled by Huo Sang recently, and he found the in-flight meal unappetizing, so he hadn’t eaten anything. Returning on an empty stomach made the tests more convenient.
After the blood draw, he felt drowsy again and leaned against He Jingchuan’s shoulder, soon falling into a deep nap.
He Jingchuan sat beside him, taking a silent, deep breath.
Based on the symptoms Shi Yuan had described recently, the best-case scenario would be ordinary gastritis or a gastrointestinal infection.
But there was always the fear of the worst…
He Jingchuan pressed his throbbing temples. The feeling he had experienced over twenty years ago when he lost his child was resurfacing, weighing heavily on his chest.
The nurse, after collecting the blood samples, glanced at Shi Yuan and whispered, “Director, just a routine blood test?”
He Jingchuan remained silent for a long time before shaking his head. “Run a biochemical panel as well, and… check the hCG levels.”
At the mention of hCG, the nurse froze for a moment.
Normal hCG levels are extremely low. In women, they rise sharply during pregnancy, but if a man’s hCG levels are abnormal…
It usually indicates a high likelihood of testicular tumors or certain types of cancer.
The nurse’s heart raced, and without delay, she hurried to the lab with the blood samples.
He Jingchuan sat back down by Shi Yuan’s bedside, gently patting his shoulder as if soothing a child to sleep.
This little one had grown up in the blink of an eye.
The first time he saw him, he was just a little bean covered in blood and grime. He cleaned his wounds, changed his dressings and bandages, and even when it hurt terribly, Shi Yuan never cried. He gritted his teeth, eyes red, and endured it all.
He Jingchuan’s heart softened then. Later, upon learning Shi Yuan had no other family, he took him in.
Over the past decade, Shi Yuan had become the only bright spot in the latter half of his life.
He prayed that fate would not be cruel to him this time.
Shi Yuan hadn’t slept well on the plane and ended up napping for nearly two hours before waking.
He Jingchuan personally cooked Shi Yuan’s favorite dishes. Shi Yuan happily finished his meal just as the test results came in.
He Jingchuan took the report from the nurse and immediately looked at the hCG value. His worst fear had come true.
His vision darkened, and he swayed, nearly losing his balance.
“Uncle He!” Shi Yuan pushed the dining table aside and rushed to support him. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” He Jingchuan forced himself to steady his nerves and waved a hand dismissively.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
An elevated hCG level in men doesn’t necessarily indicate a tumor or cancer. There’s another possibility, which might seem utterly absurd to others, but for He Jingchuan, it could very well be true.
He grabbed Shi Yuan’s wrist and asked directly, “Have you had any sexual activity recently?”
Shi Yuan was startled, his face flushing instantly. “W-why are you suddenly asking that?”
That expression practically screamed, “Yes, Uncle He, I’ve been fooling around in the UK and I’m back now.”
“Was it with a man?” He Jingchuan pressed.
Shi Yuan looked shocked. “You can even tell that from a blood test?!”
A few tubes of blood had stripped him bare. Had medical technology in the country advanced to this level already?
Countless complicated thoughts flashed through He Jingchuan’s mind in an instant.
But right now, he didn’t have time to dwell on which pig had dared to root up his precious cabbage. At this moment, the tightly wound string inside him loosened slightly.
No matter what, compared to Shi Yuan having a terminal illness, he could accept anything.
He Jingchuan made a swift decision, tucking away the test results. “We’ll skip the CT scan for now. Let’s do an ultrasound instead.”
Shi Yuan was dragged by He Jingchuan for checkups every year, but this was his first time having an ultrasound.
Even someone as slow as him should have caught on by now.
Could there be a tumor growing in my belly?
Shi Yuan sat up straight, his mind in chaos.
No way, he hadn’t even prepared a graduation gift for his senior yet. He couldn’t just die like this.
But when he glanced at He Jingchuan’s expression, he felt like that might not be the case.
If something were seriously wrong with him, Uncle He wouldn’t be this calm.
Uncle He was actually quite fragile deep down.
So Shi Yuan relaxed a little, though the thought that there might be something in his belly made him tense up again slightly.
He Jingchuan took Shi Yuan into the ultrasound room alone. Shi Yuan obediently lay down on the examination bed.
He Jingchuan took a deep breath, growing angrier the more he thought about it.
He cursed himself for ever letting Shi Yuan study abroad in the UK. Those Brits were nothing but trouble.
With a cold expression, he skillfully applied the ultrasound gel onto Shi Yuan’s pale belly and picked up the probe to begin the examination.
Black-and-white images appeared on the screen.
He Jingchuan suddenly froze.
He adjusted the angle and looked again.
The ultrasound room fell silent. Shi Yuan stared at He Jingchuan’s profile, inexplicably growing nervous. “Uncle He, what’s wrong?”
He Jingchuan closed his eyes.
Two months. There was already a fucking heartbeat.
In the dimly lit ultrasound room, Shi Yuan mistakenly thought He Jingchuan was crying. Flustered, he fished a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to him. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. It’s just a tumor, right? We can just cut it out. I’m tough—I’ll definitely survive this and stay by your side forever, right?”
Touched yet slightly amused, He Jingchuan held Shi Yuan’s hand to stop him. “Yuanyuan, you’re pregnant.”
Shi Yuan froze.
Pregnant with what?
What pregnant?
Who’s pregnant?
After a long moment, he finally snapped back to reality. He lowered his head and touched his slightly rounded belly, his expression horrified.
What was going on? Wasn’t he straight?!
He Jingchuan watched him quietly, countless questions stuck in his throat.
Although he desperately wanted to know who the other father of the child was—that little piece of trash—he was afraid asking would push Shi Yuan, already on the verge of a breakdown, over the edge.
In the end, he only asked Shi Yuan one question: “Do you want to keep this child?”
Shi Yuan took a moment to process it and remained silent.
After a long pause, he looked up and asked He Jingchuan: “Can men give birth too?”
To Shi Yuan’s surprise, He Jingchuan didn’t hesitate at all, nodding firmly: “Yes, they can.”
Before Shi Yuan could respond, He Jingchuan spoke again, his words like a massive rock thrown into still water, leaving Shi Yuan’s mind buzzing and unable to regain his composure for a long time.
He said: “I’ve given birth before.”