While Hawthorne was anxiously pacing in the garden, clutching the wooden statue, Princess Della cautiously approached and gently tugged at her cousin’s sleeve.
She had never seen Hawthorne so distraught before, and this time, she feared she had caused a major disaster.
Della took the initiative to apologize, “You can hit me, brother.”
Hawthorne wasn’t one to blame others. He waved his hand dismissively, “It’s not your fault.”
He only blamed himself for not confessing to Shi Yuan sooner—whether it was about his identity or the feelings he had kept hidden for too long.
Della’s voice trembled with tears, “But if I hadn’t sneaked over, sister-in-law wouldn’t have misunderstood. If she hadn’t misunderstood, she wouldn’t have left without a word.”
Hawthorne, however, thought deeper than Della. Shi Yuan’s sudden departure might not have been entirely due to the misunderstanding.
If it were just a sudden return to her home country, perhaps there was some urgent matter that required her attention.
But she had also withdrawn from school.
That raised serious concerns.
Hawthorne recalled the details of his interactions with Shi Yuan over the past few months. On the surface, nothing seemed unusual.
However…
Had Shi Yuan’s stomach grown slightly larger?
The last time he accidentally touched it, it hadn’t felt very soft.
Hawthorne’s eyes froze, and a cold sweat began to seep from his pores. Leaving so abruptly without a word was almost certainly due to a health issue!
What if Shi Yuan had contracted some serious illness…
He didn’t dare to think further. He couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose Shi Yuan —he couldn’t bear it.
Hawthorne immediately asked someone to obtain Lu Jiahao’s contact information from the school, then managed to find the address of the private hospital that had sponsored Shi Yuan’s education. He hastily booked the earliest available flight and set foot on Chinese soil for the first time.
Meanwhile, Shi Yuan was sitting by He Jingchuan’s hospital bed, attentively keeping him company.
As the secretary had said, He Jingchuan was indeed not in serious condition, but he could no longer continue working so tirelessly.
Shi Yuan had thought it would be difficult to persuade Uncle He, but to his surprise, He Jingchuan took the initiative to speak up, saying he planned to take a six-month break and entrust the hospital to his secretary and students.
He Jingchuan gently patted the back of Shi Yuan’s hand, reassuringly saying, “I’m fine. I can’t afford to fall ill. I need to rest well so that in six months, I’ll be in the best condition to perform your surgery.”
Shi Yuan’s eyes grew warm with emotion. He leaned his head against He Jingchuan’s hand, nestling gently beside him.
He Jingchuan stroked his head and said, “I bought a villa halfway up the mountain in the suburbs. It’s surrounded by mountains and water, very peaceful. Tomorrow, you’ll move there with me.”
Shi Yuan’s pregnancy had to be kept secret. Staying cooped up at home or in the hospital all day wouldn’t be good for his peace of mind. Moving to a place where no one would disturb him was better.
As for medical conditions, He Jingchuan had already made arrangements. Over the past three months, he had specially renovated a delivery room in the villa, equipped with a trusted team on standby around the clock.
Just as He Jingchuan and Shi Yuan drove away from the hospital, Hawthorne arrived at its entrance.
The hospital had recently received many foreign patients and was no longer surprised by such visits. They simply asked Hawthorne to follow the standard procedures.
Hawthorne’s heart raced wildly.
The closer he got to Shi Yuan, the more afraid he became of hearing bad news. Switching to fluent Chinese, he walked up to the information desk and said, “I’d like to speak with your hospital director.”
The staff at the information desk paused for a moment, looking up to give him a second glance.
If not for his appearance, his accent alone would have made him sound like a native Chinese.
The information desk replied, “I’m sorry, the director is unwell and is currently on leave.”
Hawthorne said, “I’ll wait for him to return from his leave.”
The reception desk hadn’t expected this person to be so stubborn and had no choice but to tell him the truth: “The dean will be on leave for at least a year. Please come back in a year.”
Hawthorne’s heart skipped a beat.
Judging by the receptionist’s expression, it didn’t seem like a lie.
If the dean’s health was truly so poor that he needed a full year of rest, it made perfect sense for Shi Yuan, given his nature, to take a leave of absence from school specifically to come back and care for him.
Hawthorne walked out of the hospital, and suddenly a fierce wind began to howl outside, with heavy rain pelting down on him.
He looked up at the overcast, cloud-filled sky, thinking of his Shi Yuan, wondering if he was getting caught in the rain at that moment.
He had left so quietly.
Yet, Hawthorne couldn’t bring himself to be angry—after all, it was his Shi Yuan.
Shi Yuan and He Jingchuan moved together into a villa in the suburbs.
Outside the door were green mountains, with clear, babbling streams flowing through them. Shi Yuan ‘s pregnancy happened to coincide with the hottest part of summer, and the mountain breeze and streams here saved him a lot of discomfort.
He enjoyed taking watermelons and other fruits to the stream to chill them, then setting up a small table nearby to practice his cooking skills in his spare time.
The meals he made, he didn’t eat himself, Uncle He didn’t eat them either, and all the doctors and nurses in the house kept a respectful distance.
Shi Yuan felt quite defeated.
If only Cuihua were here—Cuihua wasn’t picky and would definitely eat it.
Thinking of Cuihua, Shi Yuan ‘s eyes curved into a smile, and his hand unconsciously rested on his pregnant belly, his expression softening: “Little one, you have an older dog sister above you. Dog sister was the firstborn, so you’re the second.”
“Your dog sister is called Cuihua, so maybe I’ll call you Suancai,” he thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Suancai wouldn’t do—his father smelled so nice, not sour at all.
Shiyuan changed his mind: “Let’s call you Caitou. Caitou sounds cute.”
In August, Caitou was born.
He Jingchuan carried Caitou to the bedside for Shi Yuan to see: “Your son looks like you.”
He didn’t let Shi Yuan hold the baby, afraid it might strain the C-section incision on his abdomen.
“Even after the wound heals, you shouldn’t hold him for too long—it could easily lead to tendonitis.”
Shi Yuan had no choice but to look at the little one in the swaddling clothes from a distance.
He Jingchuan had never met Hawthorne. If he had, he wouldn’t have said that.
At first glance, Caitou looked exactly like a carbon copy of Hawthorne. His eyes hadn’t opened yet, but if he inherited those green eyes, it would be hard to tell who was who.
Shi Yuan was quite indignant.
Was his presence in Caitou really that insignificant?!
He stared intently at Caitou’s wrinkled little face, searching desperately for traces of his own genes.
The skin tone was still like his—as white as a snowball. The eyelashes were like his too—long, curled, and distinct. The lips were especially pretty, like a small rosebud. He was just a soft, milky little ball.
After looking for a while, Shi Yuan finally felt relieved.
Caitou looked like Hawthorne, but also like himself.
Upon closer inspection, he even resembled Uncle He a little.
Little one, why do you look like a whole crowd of people?
He Jingchuan was usually a calm and restrained person, but today he couldn’t hide his emotions, his fondness for Caitou evident in his gaze.
Shi Yuan said, “Uncle He, let Caitou recognize you as his grandfather.”
He Jingchuan stiffened slightly.
He turned away, silent for a long while, then gently nodded while holding the little one, his voice slightly choked: “…Alright. From now on, Caitou is my grandson, and I am Caitou’s grandfather.”
Caitou grew day by day, rarely crying or fussing, lying quietly in his crib and observing everything around him with those eyes of his.
He was born with a pair of emerald green eyes. When sunlight streamed in, they resembled a layer of pale green rising from the depths of the sea, shimmering with a magnificent glow.
Shi Yuan stared at him for a long time.
Even at such a young age, Caitou had a bit of a domineering CEO aura.