Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Su Tinghe's expression was dead serious, not a hint of joking in it. Shang Huoyong was momentarily stunned, almost convinced he was some deadbeat who’d abandoned his wife and kid.

Seeing Su Tinghe’s flat stomach, Shang Huoyong snapped out of it and raised an eyebrow, asking, "How can you be so sure you’re pregnant?"

Su Tinghe stumbled over his words, unable to respond, but he lifted his head stubbornly and said, "Anyway, I’m carrying your child. If you don’t want it, I’ll raise it on my own."

Shang Huoyong pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking he shouldn’t have gotten Su Tinghe a biology tutor. What Su Tinghe really needed was a shrink.

"Who said I didn’t want it?" Shang Huoyong said with a calm smile, "If you can actually have it, I’ll own up to it."

"Come here, let me check your stomach," Shang Huoyong beckoned to Su Tinghe.

Su Tinghe eyed Shang Huoyong suspiciously for a moment, then obediently walked over, pulling up his shirt to show his smooth, pale stomach.

Shang Huoyong placed his hand on it. His stomach was completely flat, a clear sign Su Tinghe hadn’t eaten much today. He had no clue where Su Tinghe got the idea he could even be pregnant.

After a long while, Shang Huoyong’s hand still hadn’t moved from Su Tinghe’s stomach. Su Tinghe, finally catching on to how awkward this was, whispered, "Are you done yet?"

Shang Huoyong noticed the faint pink spreading across Su Tinghe’s cheeks. Just as he was about to remove his hand, a loud growl came from Su Tinghe’s stomach.

Shang Huoyong smirked at Su Tinghe, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips. Su Tinghe’s face turned beet red, and he quickly pulled his shirt down, explaining awkwardly, "Your kid’s hungry."

Shang Huoyong nodded, trying hard to keep a straight face, "Then you better eat up later."

Su Tinghe hadn’t expected Shang Huoyong to accept his pregnancy so easily. The weight in his chest suddenly lifted, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He took Shang Huoyong’s hand and led him out to eat.

No one expected Shang Huoyong to show up out of the blue. Seeing the two go into the room for a private conversation, they shot each other confused looks, unsure of what was happening.

Shen Shixi, who’d been rooming with Su Tinghe for a while, had a vague sense that Su Tinghe was in a cold war with Shang Huoyong, but he didn’t know the specifics since Su Tinghe refused to talk about it.

When they saw the two walking out hand in hand, they exchanged glances and quickly invited them to join the hotpot meal.

"All the dishes are ready, and the broth is boiling. Come sit down and eat."

Su Tinghe led Shang Huoyong to wash their hands first before sitting down at the table.

During the hotpot meal, Shang Huoyong took great care of Su Tinghe, constantly serving him food, passing him water, and handing him napkins.

As the steam rose, everyone started sweating. Shen Shixi went to the fridge and brought out some cold beer. Su Tinghe glanced at Shang Huoyong first, then shook his head and waved his hand, indicating he wouldn’t drink.

Ruan Xiting, thinking Su Tinghe was afraid of Shang Huoyong, opened a can of beer and placed it in front of Su Tinghe, saying, "Drink if you want. Why are you looking at him?"

Su Tinghe looked troubled, "It’s not about him. I just can’t drink."

Ruan Xiting was even more annoyed, "This beer has a low alcohol content. Why can’t you drink it?"

Su Tinghe didn’t know how to explain and repeated, "I really can’t drink."

The atmosphere became tense. Shang Huoyong sensed an inexplicable hostility from Ruan Xiting towards him. He glanced at Ruan Xiting and reached for the beer, but Ruan Xiting didn’t let go.

Shang Huoyong released his hand and sat back, lazily saying, "It’s not that I’m stopping him. The doctor advised against it. Are you trying to harm him?"

Ruan Xiting's eyes widened, his momentum instantly weakened, and all his words stuck in his throat.

Shen Shixi came out with a bottle of milk to defuse the situation, "Su Tinghe hasn’t been fond of cold drinks lately. He’s been drinking more milk."

"Oh," Ruan Xiting could only manage a single word, quietly focusing on his meal.

After finishing the hotpot meal, everyone helped clean up the mess. Shang Huoyong didn’t let Su Tinghe lift a finger; he and the others tidied up, washed the dishes, and put everything away.

This was the first time Su Tinghe saw Shang Huoyong doing housework. He was surprised to see Shang Huoyong so adept at it, nothing like the lazy, spoiled rich kid he had imagined.

After cleaning up, Shen Shixi brought out the fireworks he had bought earlier with Su Tinghe and called everyone to the yard to set them off.

Su Tinghe initially only dared to try sparklers, but later he even dared to hold and light a rapid-fire firework. As the fireworks soared into the sky, Su Tinghe glanced back at Shang Huoyong, who returned his smile.

After finishing his own fireworks, Su Tinghe ran over to Shang Huoyong’s side to watch the others continue. Su Tinghe looked up at the fireworks blooming in the sky, while Shang Huoyong gazed at Su Tinghe’s profile, suddenly hit by the idea that this Su Tinghe and the Su Tinghe from his previous life might not be the same person.

This idea caught Shang Huoyong off guard, but the more he pondered it, the more it seemed plausible. Otherwise, how could he explain Su Tinghe’s strange behaviors in this life?

Previously, he had suspected that Su Tinghe, like him, might have been reborn, but upon closer observation, it didn’t quite fit.

What if Su Tinghe’s essence had been replaced by someone else?

It wasn’t impossible.

Shang Huoyong gazed at Su Tinghe, lost in thought. As the final firework faded away, Su Tinghe turned to look at him, then ran over and took his hand. Shang Huoyong pinched Su Tinghe’s cheek, and the two smiled at each other.

Ruan Xiting happened to see this scene and suddenly regretted his earlier impulsiveness. The two seemed really close, and Shang Huoyong probably wouldn’t mistreat Su Tinghe.

With the fireworks gone, everyone was exhausted and ready to rest. The rooms in the rental house Shen Shixi had booked were limited. Meng Meng, as the only girl, naturally got her own room, and Shang Huoyong, having arrived, would obviously share a room with Su Tinghe. That left two rooms for the four guys to cram into.

Shang Huoyong hadn’t brought any luggage for this trip, while Su Tinghe had everything he needed. It felt more like settling down than a vacation; Shang Huoyong suspected that if he hadn’t come, Su Tinghe might have planned to settle down here.

After showering, Shang Huoyong, with just a towel around his waist, came out. Su Tinghe glanced at him, his cheeks flushing pink, and grabbed some of his own oversized clothes for Shang Huoyong.

Shang Huoyong tried them on but found them too small and uncomfortable.

“You can’t sleep naked later,” Su Tinghe said.

“You’ve seen it all before, so why the blush?” Shang Huoyong lay back on the bed, pulling Su Tinghe into his arms and pulling up Su Tinghe’s shirt.

Su Tinghe’s stomach had a small bulge. Shang Huoyong poked the soft flesh on Su Tinghe’s stomach and joked, “Is there really a baby in there?”

Su Tinghe’s eyes glistened with moisture, red at the edges, and he glared at Shang Huoyong with a flirtatious air. “Of course it’s real,” Su Tinghe said, placing his hand over Shang Huoyong’s. “This is our baby.”

Shang Huoyong frowned slightly, also serious. “I think this is the baby of you and all the beef, lamb, tripe, and shrimp paste we ate.”

Su Tinghe, embarrassed and annoyed, swatted Shang Huoyong’s hand away and pulled his shirt down. “It’s too soon to show,” he insisted.

Shang Huoyong went along with it. “Pregnancy is serious business. I think we should go to the hospital for a check-up. What do you think?”

Su Tinghe thought it made sense but had his own concerns. “But I’m a man. Going to the hospital to check for pregnancy would be weird, right?”

You do realize you’re a man, Shang Huoyong thought, but he offered a suggestion: “You could dress up as a woman and pretend to be one for the check-up.”

“Would that work?” Su Tinghe wasn’t entirely convinced.

Shang Huoyong was surprised that Su Tinghe’s first worry wasn’t about cross-dressing but whether the doctor could tell. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch Su Tinghe’s forehead, wondering if he had a fever.

Su Tinghe realized Shang Huoyong was teasing him and punched Shang Huoyong’s chest hard, glaring at him. “I’m being serious here, not joking around.”

Shang Huoyong rubbed his chest and put on a serious expression. “When we get back, I’ll find you a private doctor. He won’t dare to gossip. How does that sound?”

Su Tinghe nodded in satisfaction. Shang Huoyong then asked, “When do you plan to go back?”

Su Tinghe hesitated. He had promised Shen Shixi to stay with him until school started. “At least after the New Year’s holiday. Ruan Xiting’s band came specifically to celebrate New Year’s with us.”

Shang Huoyong assured him it was no problem and helped Su Tinghe schedule a doctor's appointment after the New Year's holiday. They decided to stay here together for the next few days, treating it like a New Year's getaway.

The next day, Su Tinghe volunteered to tell Shen Shixi that he would be returning after the New Year's holiday. Ever since Shang Huoyong had come looking for him, Shen Shixi had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Instead of having Su Tinghe stay here with him, Shen Shixi hoped that Su Tinghe and Shang Huoyong would make up.

Over the next two days of livestreaming, Su Tinghe asked Shang Huoyong if he wanted to appear on camera, but Shang Huoyong refused. However, Shang Huoyong would occasionally hand Su Tinghe water or grab things for him. Before long, viewers spotted the extra hand on screen.

Someone jokingly guessed, "That must be Shang Huoyong's hand, definitely!"

"He must have been so upset after being told he wasn’t important the other day that he came all this way just to prove his importance."

"Shang Huoyong, if that's your hand, can you hug Su Tinghe's waist?"

Then, the audience actually saw the extra hand wrap around Su Tinghe's waist.

The chat was instantly swamped with pink gift animations, and someone continued to tease:

"Shang Huoyong, if that's your hand, can you hold Su Tinghe's hand?"

"Shang Huoyong, if that's your hand, can you pinch Su Tinghe's cheek?"

Then, the audience saw the extra hand do exactly what was asked, and the chat exploded with even more excitement.

The audience's teasing became bolder: "Shang Huoyong, if that's your hand, can you kiss Su Tinghe's lips?"

Then, the audience saw Su Tinghe apologize and excuse himself to go to the bathroom. When he returned, the extra hand was nowhere to be seen.

The chat erupted with comments like, "He must have gone to give his husband a talking-to in private, hahaha."

After the New Year's holiday, everyone returned together. Shen Shixi was about to start school, so he left the homestay early and went back with everyone.

After returning, Shang Huoyong immediately took Su Tinghe to the hospital and booked him appointments in two departments: gynecology and neurology. Even the seasoned doctor couldn’t help but crack a smile.

After a series of examinations, it turned out that Su Tinghe's brain was fine, and there was nothing wrong with his body. Pregnancy was totally off the table.

Su Tinghe couldn't believe it and told the doctor, "But my lower abdomen is slightly bulging now."

The doctor pushed his glasses up with his index finger and told him, "That's because you've been eating too much and too indiscriminately these days, causing some bloating. I suggest you watch your diet and do some moderate exercise."

Su Tinghe was devastated. After leaving the hospital, he hugged Shang Huoyong, his eyes red, and said, "The baby is gone."

Shang Huoyong held back his laughter and said seriously to Su Tinghe, "You're a man. Men can't get pregnant or have babies."

Su Tinghe thought about the biology lessons he had recently received on human reproduction and development, hiding his face in shame.

In his previous world, he was a "ge'er," but in this world, he was just an ordinary man. He had been delusional, and it was embarrassing that Shang Huoyong had gone along with it.

After today's hospital visit, Su Tinghe felt more and more ashamed and didn't dare bring up the topic of pregnancy or babies again. If Shang Huoyong even mentioned a single word about it, Su Tinghe would immediately cover his mouth. If Shang Huoyong touched his lower abdomen, Su Tinghe would get upset with him.

Gradually, Su Tinghe fully accepted that he and Shang Huoyong could never have a child. He also stopped worrying about the increasingly red pregnancy mark on his collarbone.