On the narrow path threading through the lawn, the two of them stood side by side, their shadows overlapping beneath the moonlight. They remained silent for a long while.
Perhaps because the moon had grown brighter, its radiant glow fell upon Pei Jingyuan’s face, highlighting the uniquely clear and refined beauty of his features.
Nie Shenyuan was the first to speak. “Let’s go back first. Yuanbao is still waiting for us.”
His tone was calm, his attitude steady, as though he paid no attention at all to Pei Jingyuan’s instinctive and most genuine reaction just moments ago.
Pei Jingyuan racked his brain but still couldn’t understand how something so utterly absurd had even happened.
And yet, Yuanbao really did know his private preferences, liking to eat plump bananas and french fries.
“So… I need to do a DNA test with Yuanbao too, right?”
“I’ll arrange it.”
Nie Shenyuan’s gaze swept over his furrowed brows. “If you’re anxious, we can do it as soon as tomorrow.”
He lifted his chin slightly, signaling for him to head back.
“Wait!”
Pei Jingyuan quickly stopped him. When Nie Shenyuan turned his gaze lightly toward him, Pei Jingyuan asked politely, almost deferentially, “Do you think… when I see Yuanbao later, can I tell him what I know?”
After a pause, he hesitated before adding, “I think you understand Yuanbao better. Would telling him so suddenly scare him? Or should I wait a day? Until after the DNA test?”
Since this concerned little Yuanbao, no matter how eager he felt, he still needed to consider everything carefully.
He didn’t notice, however, that his manner of addressing Nie Shenyuan had once again reverted to “you,” respectful and distant.
From his words, Nie Shenyuan caught something subtle: whether or not the parent-child DNA test was done, the young man standing before him already believed that Yuanbao was his child.
As for himself…
If it were possible, he would probably prefer to do a kind of “DNA test” on the level of marriage with him instead.
The hand that Nie Shenyuan had casually slipped into his suit trousers pocket moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something. In the end, the words that left his mouth became, “Yuanbao won’t be afraid. It’s just that tonight, he might cling to you and you have a shot tomorrow morning.”
“I’m fine.”
Pei Jingyuan replied, “Even if I don’t sleep all night, it won’t be a problem. I can definitely adjust my state!”
For the moment, setting aside the fact that the man before him was his future ‘other half,’ he simply couldn’t suppress the upward curve of his lips, joy overflowing from him. “Yuanbao is my child. I… ”
Meeting Nie Shenyuan’s calm gaze, he suddenly quieted down. He asked tentatively, “So… I can go up now and acknowledge him, right?”
With the conversation already at this point, Nie Shenyuan naturally had no reason to stop him.
What’s more, he had no standing to play the villain.
Nie Shenyuan gave a slight nod. The young man before him shot off in a burst of speed.
He frowned and couldn’t help reminding him, “Watch your hand.”
Pei Jingyuan was grinning from ear to ear. Reflected in the elevator’s mirrored surface was his slightly foolish, dazed smile.
The little angel who had fallen from the sky was actually his baby~
1102.
Yuanbao had been waiting for his two dads for a long time.
He climbed up from the sofa bed, hugging the little kitty as he stood at the edge of the armrest.
The aunt who was tidying up in the dining area hurried over and asked, “Young master, what’s wrong? Do you need to go to the restroom?”
Yuanbao shook his head. One hand rested on the kitten’s back. “My big dad is gone.”
“The sir?” The aunt recalled that the sir had said he was stepping out to take a phone call. “He might have a lot to deal with and may take a while to come back. Young master, how about some fruit? I’ll cut some up for you, okay?”
Yuanbao quietly shook his head again and sat back down on the sofa.
His small feet pressed together, soles touching, while his milky-white little hands gently stroked the kitten. He looked deep in thought.
Mm… could it be that Big Dad and Little Dad, just like before, had quietly gone somewhere to hug each other?
Well then, I’ll wait until the dads are done hugging before they come play with Yuanbao.
The aunt still went to pick a chubby little millet banana, placed it on a small plate and set it on the armrest.
Just as she was about to speak, a sound came from the door lock.
“Big Dad!”
Yuanbao put down the kitten and lunged forward, supporting himself with his hands as he crawled along the sofa.
The moment the door opened, he asked in his crisp little voice, “Big Dad, where’s Little Dad?”
Behind Nie Shenyuan, Pei Jingyuan appeared, tilting his head as he teased the child. “Right here!”
For the first time, he felt that being called “Little Dad” from Yuanbao’s mouth was so adorable and endearing.
Yuanbao stretched his arms toward Little Dad, impatiently wanting to jump into his embrace.
Pei Jingyuan lowered himself, half-sitting on the floor beside the sofa.
He lifted his uninjured left hand and pressed his palm against the soft, plump baby fat on the little one’s cheek. “Little Yuanbao~”
In an instant, his heart was seized by an uncontrollable ache, sour and sharp.
“Hm?” Yuanbao looked down at Little Dad, greatly surprised.
Why had Little Dad’s eyes suddenly turned red?
Pei Jingyuan struggled to rein in his emotions.
Little Yuanbao was only three and a half years old. He had absolutely no way of dealing with an overly emotional him.
At this moment, Nie Shenyuan said, “Sister Xu, you should go back to 1103 and rest first.”
His consistently calm and steady tone, delivered at just the right time, helped Pei Jingyuan rein in his emotions.
“Hm?”
Little Yuanbao had no idea what was going on. He cupped Little Dad’s face with both small hands, puffed his cheeks and called out softly, mumbling, “Little Dad? What’s wrong? Did Big Dad secretly bully Little Dad?”
Pei Jingyuan froze for a second, then quickly stopped the little one’s imagination from running wild.
“No~”
After the aunt left,
Pei Jingyuan lifted his head and, under the little one’s puzzled gaze, planted a firm kiss on Yuanbao’s chubby cheek.
Wah! His baby!
“Oh?”
Before Yuanbao could even feel surprised, his fingertips had already brushed against the warm, damp tears at the corner of Little Dad’s eyes.
A sour, swelling feeling filled his chest. He didn’t really understand what was happening yet he was already affected by it, his eyes reddened and he began to choke up. “Little Dad? You’re not allowed to cry-cry~”
Pei Jingyuan simply couldn’t control the overwhelming flood of love in his heart. He shook his head hard.
Nie Shenyuan half-crouched in front of them and gently rubbed the little one’s head. “Yuanbao, I’ve already told your little dad about how you came from the future to find us.”
“Eh?” Yuanbao’s mouth opened slightly. “Really?”
Happiness came crashing down like a sudden tidal wave, leaving the little one instantly dazed.
Pei Jingyuan wrapped one arm around him and pressed a loud kiss onto his other chubby cheek as well. With tears shimmering in his eyes, he smiled and said, “Really!”
“Waaah~~~”
Yuanbao stretched out his arms and hugged Little Dad’s neck tightly, burrowing into his chest with all his might.
If Pei Jingyuan’s right hand weren’t injured, he would absolutely have lifted him up high.
Burying his face in Little Dad’s neck, Yuanbao asked in his soft, milky voice, “Little Dad also has to get his finger pricked? It hurts-hurts~”
“What finger pricking?”
Pei Jingyuan lowered his head and looked at him.
Nie Shenyuan explained it briefly.
Pei Jingyuan tapped Little Yuanbao’s nose lightly. “Even if we don’t test, it’s okay. Little Dad knows Yuanbao is Little Dad’s baby.”
“Mmm~~~~”
Yuanbao’s eyes curved with happiness as he hummed adorably, purring like a kitten.
Feeling that his emotions still weren’t expressed strongly enough, he cupped Little Dad’s face and planted several kisses, “mua! mua! mua!”
In a tiny voice, Yuanbao complained, “Big Dad didn’t believe Yuanbao and still wanted to poke my finger.”
Nie Shenyuan was just about to explain when he heard Pei Jingyuan speak softly, “That’s not it.”
Pei Jingyuan shook his head. “Yuanbao, don’t you remember? The very first time you came to find Little Dad, Little Dad didn’t believe you at all, right?”
“Hm?”
Only then did Yuanbao recall it. He nodded lightly, his milky voice carrying a hint of grievance. “Little Dad even sent Yuanbao to sit with a strange uncle. Later, the police took Yuanbao to find Big Dad.”
Pei Jingyuan’s lashes were soaked. He blinked hard and tears slid down. “I’m sorry.”
He had clearly been given the little one’s trust yet he had pushed him away with his own hands.
“So Yuanbao’s Big Dad did a great job. He immediately pricked his finger to confirm the relationship, took care of you the whole time and even brought you to find Little Dad. Isn’t that right?”
Yuanbao nodded. What Little Dad said was absolutely right.
Nie Shenyuan watched the tearful young man with a complicated expression.
He had originally thought that after Pei Jingyuan said, “You’re not my ideal type,” there would most likely be a clean, decisive separation. He hadn’t expected Pei Jingyuan to protect him so firmly in front of the child.
All of a sudden, Yuanbao voiced a small question. “Then… Can Yuanbao see the wedding of both dads?”
“Uh…”
Pei Jingyuan’s mind went completely blank for a moment. Instinctively, he turned to the man beside him for help. “This…”
Nie Shenyuan calmly caught the “distress signal.”
“Yuanbao, your little dad still has filming tomorrow. Let him go back and rest today.”
“Why?”
Yuanbao was instantly led onto another topic by Big Dad. “Isn’t Little Dad going to stay with Yuanbao all the time from now on?”
He turned his small body and pointed toward the bedroom. “We sleep-sleep together~”
“How about this then?” Pei Jingyuan spoke up first. “Mr. Nie, ”
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized that both Yuanbao and Mr. Nie were looking at him, their expressions slightly strange.
“Uh…”
Feeling awkward, Pei Jingyuan could only lower his voice and ask, “Yuanbao, do you know how Future Little Dad addresses your Big Dad?”
This was something Nie Shenyuan had never asked before.
He only knew that in the future, he himself called the other person “Jingyuan.”
So his curiosity was piqued as well.
Both adults looked at the little one at the same time.
Yuanbao blinked. “Husband.”
Pei Jingyuan’s face burned instantly. He nearly jumped up. “That’s impossible!”
By this point, Nie Shenyuan had discovered a pattern: anything Pei Jingyuan didn’t want to believe was immediately denied with those four words.
Thinking he might have remembered wrong, Yuanbao recalled carefully, then nodded to confirm. “That’s how it is~”
Pei Jingyuan closed his eyes in despair, then asked, “Then what does your Big Dad call me?”
Surely not…
Nie Shenyuan answered on Yuanbao’s behalf. “I asked him already. I call you Jingyuan.”
Pei Jingyuan looked at him with deep suspicion, as if silently saying:
Why do you call me so normally? How is that fair?
Nie Shenyuan said, “Do you want me to change how I address you?”
Pei Jingyuan replied immediately, “No, no, no!”
Unexpectedly, Nie Shenyuan suddenly realized that teasing Pei Jingyuan was far more interesting than teasing Yuanbao.
Pei Jingyuan rubbed Yuanbao’s cheek. “From now on, don’t call him that anymore. Just call him Yuanbao’s Big Dad, okay?”
Since he even added Yuanbao’s name so thoughtfully, there was no way the child would object.
Clearly, in this matter, Nie Shenyuan temporarily had no “veto power.”
Taking ten thousand steps back, at least tonight, he had barely managed to keep the title of “Yuanbao’s Big Dad.”
“Then, Yuanbao’s Big Dad,” Pei Jingyuan asked in a negotiating tone, “can I bring Yuanbao to sleep over at my place? I promise I’ll take good care of him.”
Yuanbao rubbed his face against Little Dad’s cheek and added in his soft, milky voice, “Yuanbao will also take care of Little Dad~”
On this matter, Nie Shenyuan was extremely calm.
“No. If Yuanbao turns over and presses on your hand, it will affect recovery.”
The doctor had estimated that it would take three months to fully heal.
“But we’ve already acknowledged each other.”
Pei Jingyuan looked at the little by, adorably soft Yuanbao, then at this judge-like family head. “Can you really bear to separate us?”
Yuanbao glanced at Big Dad’s solemn expression, then poked Little Dad’s cheek with a tiny finger.
“Hm?” Pei Jingyuan was confused.
Yuanbao leaned over and whispered softly into Little Dad’s ear, murmuring quietly.
Pei Jingyuan showed an expression of shock mixed with disbelief. “Really?”
Yuanbao nodded gently.
Pei Jingyuan thought it over. Circumstances were stronger than people.
He nodded firmly at Yuanbao in return, showing his agreement with the suggestion.
It wasn’t that Nie Shenyuan had no room to yield. He was just about to speak when he saw the father and son suddenly look at him together.
One big, one small.
Their eyes drooped at the same time.
Cheeks puffed, lips pouted.
In his entire life, Nie Shenyuan had never experienced a moment of being completely speechless, until now.
After half a minute of silence,
Pei Jingyuan poked the little one’s hand.
What’s going on?
Little Yuanbao, isn’t what you said working?
Yuanbao smoothly grabbed Little Dad’s long, slender finger and returned an unusually firm little gaze.
Little Dad, hold on. It works, okay~
Pei Jingyuan: ……
Another half minute passed.
After enjoying the sight enough, Nie Shenyuan finally spoke. “Stay in 1102. I’ll sleep on the sofa bed. If anything happens at night, it’ll be easier for me to look after things.”
Pei Jingyuan & Little Yuanbao: “Wow!!!!”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The chapter has ended. The coffee propaganda begins.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · YaunBao in wrong Time lineChapter 2 · Finding Big DaddyChapter 3 · DNA ProofChapter 4 · Hospital visitChapter 5 · New RoleChapter 6 · Meeting Daddy SoonChapter 7 · New NeighbourChapter 8 · Moving inChapter 9 · Meeting Little Daddy again!Chapter 10 · WhiteChapter 11 · Car for Little DaddyChapter 12 · Live StreamChapter 13 · KittyChapter 14 · Bonding Time~Chapter 15 · White CatChapter 16 · Yuanbao, your dad is terrifying!Chapter 17 · Will Dad blow up the kitchen?Chapter 18 Part 1 · Little Dad, let’s get New Big Dad!Chapter 18 Part 2 · Little Dad, let’s get new Big Dad!Chapter 19 · Yuanbao doesn’t have a loving big dadChapter 20 Part 1 · Dad never holds back Yuanbao~ No, no~Chapter 20 Part 2 · Dad never holds back Yuanbao~ No, no~Chapter 21 · Little Dad’s friendChapter 22 · Our Child from future!Chapter 23 · Little Daddy Knows!Chapter 24 · How did the two fathers meet?Chapter 25 · They really treat him like a gold ingot!Chapter 26 · Big Daddy really likes little daddyChapter 27 · Hehe, Yuanbao’s dad is such a humorous personChapter 28 · This name sounds like some kind of unspoken codeChapter 29 · Don’t you dare steal Yuanbao’s little dad!Chapter 30 · You’re so smart, it’s only natural that our child is clever too.Chapter 31 · That’s definitely a hickey!Chapter 32 · We simply can’t compete!Chapter 33 · Big Dad, you’re not allowed to bully Little DadChapter 34 · Amusement ParkChapter 35 · Big Dad, you have to protect Little DadChapter 36 · Go eat friesChapter 37 · These fries are so deliciousChapter 38 · Yuanbao imitated his dad’s tone: “No, no~”Chapter 39 · Did you hurt Daddy’s hand?Chapter 40 · Were the father and son plotting something behind my back?Chapter 41 · They really went a little too far in the future.Chapter 42 · Sudden feeling of being “needed”Chapter 43 · The little guy tells his dad everythingChapter 44 · Why was Dad secretly observing him?Chapter 45 · I’ll introduce you to these two adorable peopleChapter 46 · According to family hierarchyChapter 47 · Yuanbao is mine and Jingyuan’s childChapter 48 · Little Yuanbao, you sound just like your dad talking right now!Chapter 49 · Are you happy today?Chapter 50 · Waaah, how could Daddy say such bad things about Yuanbao to Little Daddy?!Chapter 51 · Dad, will Yuanbao have a younger brother or sister?Chapter 52 · Let him handle the whole “conquering” thing!Chapter 53 · Dad, do you miss dad?Chapter 54 · Yuanbao’s Dad, how about we start dating?Chapter 55 · Did the two fathers talk for two days before telling Yuanbao?Chapter 56 · I’d like a different birthday presentChapter 57 · I love playing like this with my two dadsChapter 58 · Dad, come home soonChapter 59 · Jingyuan, let me hold you for a whileChapter 60 · Big Dad and Little Dad are just like Yuanbao’s left and right feetChapter 61 · Yuanbao, how about letting your father sleep in the middle?Chapter 62 · Waiting for your goodnight kissChapter 63 · Philodendron, McDowellChapter 64 · Little Dad is so badChapter 65 · Yuanbao wants to stay home and play every dayChapter 66 · Where’s my little Yuanbao?Chapter 67 · He’s my childChapter 68 · Two fathers?Chapter 69 · Does French Fries taste the same?Chapter 70 · Teacher AnnieChapter 71 · You’re bullying meChapter 72 · Big Dad asked Little Dad to kiss you for himChapter 73 · I think what’s missing is a formal confessionChapter 74 · If the ingot is an inward square, thenChapter 75 · Little Potato Ball and Daddy PotatoChapter 76 · That must be some other silly kidChapter 77 · In the future, how about I help you pluck out your white hairs?Chapter 78 · Little Dad already tried his best to help you!Chapter 79 · You can only blame the prize for being too temptingChapter 80 · Little Dad will hold a personal art exhibition just for youChapter 81 · Shall I make it up to you?Chapter 82 · Little Dad, kiss kiss~ Help Yuanbao give Big Dad a kiss tooChapter 83 · You’ll just say he’s a relative’s childChapter 84 · #PeiJingyuanMalePregnancy#Chapter 85 · Family GatheringChapter 86 · Extra 1Chapter 86 · Yuanbao will work hard and make lots of money!Chapter 87 · Who’s he messaging?Chapter 87 · Extra 2Chapter 88 · Why are you blushing?Chapter 88 · Extra 3Chapter 89 · Let’s get marriedChapter 89 · Extra 4Chapter 90 · Hair CutChapter 90 · Extra 5Chapter 91 · They’re willing to accept you as part of the familyChapter 92 · A Family DinnerChapter 93 · This is Yuanbao’s… very, very tall Big Dad, Nie ShenyuanChapter 94 · The wedding