Chapter 23

Chapter 23

After venting her frustrations, the woman took a deep breath.

She picked up the lipstick and powder compact that had fallen from her bag, touched up her makeup in the mirror, and then gave Xu Zhiming a charming smile.

"Never let me see you again, or I'll cut off your balls."

Xu Zhiming's eyelids twitched.

The woman no longer looked at him, leaving behind a mess as she elegantly departed.

Due to this sudden "incident," the banquet ended hastily.

Shen Tingzhou was still thinking about the remarkable woman on the way back, wondering if Xu Zhiming would cause her trouble.

Probably not, after all, even the toughest can be scared by someone who has nothing to lose.

Xu Xun suddenly made a sound akin to a light sigh. Shen Tingzhou glanced over, "Not feeling well?"

Xu Xun's eyes met Shen Tingzhou's, and he said softly, "A bit tired."

Shen Tingzhou was taken aback, "But... didn't you sit there for half a day?"

Xu Xun lowered his eyelashes, "Sitting got a bit tiring."

...Alright then.

Shen Tingzhou reached out to massage Xu Xun's lower back. At such a young age to have back problems, what will happen in the future?

Just as he was thinking this, the young man with back issues leaned closer and pointed at Shen Tingzhou's eyebrow, "There's a mole here."

Shen Tingzhou subconsciously touched it.

"No, it's here." Xu Xun held Shen Tingzhou's hand with his palm and guided his finger to a spot.

Meeting Xu Xun's dark, deep gaze, Shen Tingzhou's fingertips moved slightly, and he awkwardly withdrew his hand, saying "Oh," before turning away and continuing the massage.

Xu Xun's gaze softened as it fell on Shen Tingzhou's brow, "It's a brown mole. They say if you rub it hard, it turns red."

Shen Tingzhou raised an eyebrow: Who came up with such nonsense?

Xu Xun rubbed the mole on Shen Tingzhou's brow a few times and said, "It's red now."

Shen Tingzhou looked over sharply, impossible!

Xu Xun: "This patch of skin is red."

Shen Tingzhou: ...

Everyone seemed to master the art of dramatic pauses except him.

Shen Tingzhou said helplessly, "Stop rubbing it. Moles can't turn red from rubbing; you'll only rub off... dirt."

Finding the latter part amusing, Shen Tingzhou started laughing himself.

Xu Xun watched his trembling eyelashes and the laughter lines spreading around his eyes, and touched the corner of his eye.

Even if Shen Tingzhou was slow, he realized something was amiss and his heart skipped a beat, "Wh-what's wrong?"

Xu Xun didn't answer but asked instead, "Are your hands sore?"

Shen Tingzhou coughed, "No, it's my job."

Xu Xun frowned slightly, slowly pulling away from Shen Tingzhou, pushing his hand off his waist, and turning his head away.

Shen Tingzhou: ?

Shen Tingzhou: "Mr. Xu?"

Xu Xun turned back, his face expressionless, looking at him without any emotion.

Shen Tingzhou: ...Why did he turn into Zhenzi again?

-

Neither spoke for the rest of the journey.

When they got home, Shen Tingzhou finally understood why Xu Xun was upset.

Everything was fine until he said, "This is my job," which made Xu Xun suddenly become Xu Zhenzi.

Before, their relationship was purely professional, with Xu Xun treating him indifferently, and Shen Tingzhou doing his job for money.

Somewhere along the line, Xu Xun went from being the most uncooperative patient to the most cooperative one.

Lying on the bed, Shen Tingzhou held his phone, hesitating for a long time before sending a message to Xu Xun.

He sent a cat peeking emoji.

Xu Xun quickly replied with a "fierce dog unleashed" GIF.

Well, he was still angry.

Shen Tingzhou roughly understood why he was upset and seriously typed on the nine-key layout —

"Taking care of your health is my job, but given our friendship, I'd still care about you even if you didn't pay me."

His words in the car made Xu Xun uncomfortable because Xu Xun already considered him a friend.

Shen Tingzhou, thick-skinned, sent another cat face-pressing emoji.

This seemed to successfully calm Xu Xun down. A minute later, the emotionally stabilized Xu Zhenzi sent over a video of Xuxu and Shenshen sleeping.

Shen Tingzhou's eyes started to sparkle with hearts again: "So cute!"

In the next second, Xu Xun withdrew the previous video.

Shen Tingzhou: "?"

Xu Xun didn't reply. After seven or eight minutes, he sent another video.

It was a finger dance, only the index and middle fingers visible. Little eyes, noses, and mouths were drawn on the tips, making them look like two little figures kicking and dancing on a table.

The owner of the fingers should be Xu Xun, and the tabletop was from his bedroom desk.

Shen Tingzhou replied with a smile: "Cute too."

Xu Xun sent a voice message: "Good night."

Shen Tingzhou's ears twitched as he replied: "Good night."

After watching the finger dance one more time, Shen Tingzhou went to the bathroom to wash up.

-

On Monday, Shen Tingzhou took Su Yu to the hospital for a prenatal checkup.

Shen Tingzhou had already informed Qin Si in advance, so all the tests were done quickly, finishing by noon.

On their way back, Su Yu bit into a candied strawberry, his almond-shaped eyes sparkling.

"Doctor Shen, I'll treat you to dinner. Thank you for accompanying me today."

If it were before, Shen Tingzhou would have said it was part of his job, but after last night's events, he changed his response.

Shen Tingzhou smiled: "I'm the godfather of your child; it's my duty."

Su Yu was momentarily stunned, then his smile became even sweeter as he gently touched his slightly rounded belly, quite seriously: "Doctor Shen, you will definitely be a good father, a good father to my child."

Shen Tingzhou nearly choked at this.

Su Yu was great in every way, except for always saying things that could be misunderstood.

Shen Tingzhou corrected him: "A good godfather."

Su Yu shrugged it off: "Same thing."

How is it the same? It's completely different!

-

Yu Mingyan had work today and only came back with Yu Jurong in the afternoon.

As soon as Yu Mingyan entered the door, Su Yu excitedly ran over and recounted what Shen Tingzhou had said in the car earlier.

Yu Mingyan wrapped an arm around Su Yu's waist, stroking his belly while smiling warmly at Shen Tingzhou: "Thank you for being kind to this child."

The biological father not only wasn't angry but thanked him instead.

Shen Tingzhou managed to squeeze out: "You're welcome."

Beside them, Yu Jurong chuckled inexplicably.

Yu Mingyan turned to ask Yu Jurong: "Staying for dinner tonight?"

Yu Jurong curved his slender fingers and pushed his glasses, the lenses catching a glint as he said ambiguously: "No, I won't intrude on your family of three."

Yu Mingyan didn't insist.

Yu Jurong took a file and left without giving Su Yu a second glance.

Shen Tingzhou, who had been traumatized by his younger brother, sighed again: This is what a normal younger brother looks like!

Although Employer No. 3's family occasionally spoke strangely, they were loving and harmonious. The younger brother was just a younger brother, the older brother was just an older brother, and the sister-in-law was just a sister-in-law. There was no chance for any inappropriate situations to arise.

-

While Su Yu was in the kitchen making juice for Shen Tingzhou, Yu Mingyan walked over.

Yu Mingyan: "Doctor Shen, Xiao Yu is now four months pregnant."

Shen Tingzhou thought he was going to ask about the baby: "Don't worry, Mr. Su is in excellent health, and the baby is healthy too. In another month, we can do a 4D ultrasound to see the fetus moving."

This was their first child, and Su Yu was a man.

As the partner of a pregnant man and the father of the child, it was natural to be anxious, and Shen Tingzhou understood this well.

However, Yu Mingyan said, "No, I wanted to ask if it's okay to have sex now?"

Shen Tingzhou was momentarily stunned: "Uh, theoretically, yes."

He only knew the theory; obstetrics wasn't his specialty.

Yu Mingyan's lips curved, his peach blossom eyes looking affectionate under the sunlight: "Doctor Shen, would positions like xxxx and oooo be okay? They shouldn't affect the fetus, right?"

Shen Tingzhou's brain froze, his language and expression functions shutting down, leaving him utterly bewildered.

Such open preferences were unheard of to Shen Tingzhou.

Closing his nearly dropped jaw, Shen Tingzhou said, "...Sex is possible after four months, but it should be moderate."

Yu Mingyan spoke casually, destroying Shen Tingzhou's medical perspective: "But I heard it can help expand the birth canal."

Shen Tingzhou's pupils trembled: "Who told you that?"

This was far more outrageous than Xu Xun rubbing a brown mole until it turned red.

Yu Mingyan: "Everyone in our family who has had children says this."

Shen Tingzhou: "……"

Yu Mingyan seemed to think that just saying it wouldn't be enough to solve his problem. After some thought, he said, "How about this, Dr. Shen? I'll give you Jurong's contact information. Have him send you the forum address. There are some pregnancy guidelines on there that you can refer to."

Shen Tingzhou was impressed but confused, "Your family's forum?"

Yu Mingyan: "Yeah, only family members can access it. When the time comes, have Jurong apply for an account for you; he handles these things."

-

When he got home that evening, Shen Tingzhou received a call from Yu Jurong.

Yu Jurong sent over a tablet with the forum account and password already filled in, ready for direct login.

Shen Tingzhou didn't expect such thoughtfulness and felt a bit embarrassed, "You could have just given me the link; I have a tablet."

Yu Jurong replied casually, "The tablet is one of our family's own productions; ordinary tablets can't download that forum."

Shen Tingzhou: How mysterious.

Yu Jurong: "Dr. Shen, I want to give you a heads-up."

Shen Tingzhou: ?

Yu Jurong's voice was long and meaningful, "In our circle, there's a saying: never provoke Su Yu. Provoking my brother might just get you killed faster, but provoking Su Yu will make your life a living hell."

What?

Yu Jurong then changed the subject, "But you also shouldn't attract too much attention from Su Yu, as that can be troublesome too."

Shen Tingzhou felt uneasy, "Why?"

Yu Jurong didn't explain, merely saying, "If you have any issues with the forum, come to me; I'm the administrator."

He hung up, leaving Shen Tingzhou puzzled.

Can people in this world stop being so cryptic!

Either say everything or nothing at all; this halfway approach is driving me crazy.

Just as he was feeling troubled, Su Yu called.

Shen Tingzhou answered with mixed feelings, hearing him cheerfully say, "Dr. Shen, Ah Yan said we're taking a family photo tomorrow. You must come."

Shen Tingzhou: ...

Help, it seems like this family is also playing the tune of 'Suspension and Drowning.'

This couple couldn't possibly want him...