Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Su Tinghe spent the night at the hotel and woke up early the next morning to find a message from Teacher Bai Hua:

"Someone has taken a liking to two of your calligraphy pieces exhibited and is willing to pay a substantial amount for them. Are you willing to sell?"

Su Tinghe was so excited that he immediately called to inquire. When he learned that the substantial amount referred to 500,000 yuan per piece, he was nearly jumping for joy.

"Sell, definitely sell!" Su Tinghe gave an affirmative answer without hesitation.

"You are indeed lucky. Someone really likes your calligraphy and is willing to pay a high price for it." To be honest, Su Tinghe's luck was so good that even Teacher Bai Hua suspected there might be something unusual, as the price was unusually high for an unknown newcomer like you. But for the wealthy, spending a fortune on something they like is understandable.

Su Tinghe was also surprised that someone was willing to pay such a high price for his calligraphy works. After calming down, he asked, "Could you help me contact the buyer? I'd like to meet them."

"Then I'll ask the buyer and help you set a time."

After hanging up, Su Tinghe immediately shared the good news with Shang Huoyong, who smiled and praised, "That's amazing!"

Su Tinghe sighed, "If the buyer liked me a bit more, I could write a few more pieces and sell them to him."

Shang Huoyong finished wiping Su Tinghe's face and lightly tapped his nose, "You're quite the greedy one."

Su Tinghe wrinkled his nose and sighed, "No choice, our child is about to be born, and there are so many expenses to cover."

Shang Huoyong asked, "So you don't blame me for not working and earning money?"

"No," Su Tinghe hugged Shang Huoyong and looked up at him, "I can take care of you."

Shang Huoyong couldn't help but laugh, "Then I should thank you for taking care of me."

Su Tinghe, with a hint of pride, leaned close to Shang Huoyong's ear and said, "Actually, I've bought a lot of gold before. I have a lot of money now."

"Okay, I know, little rich man. Now I'll take you to the set." Shang Huoyong wrapped a thick coat over Su Tinghe's pajamas and sent him back to the villa where the variety show was being recorded.

Su Tinghe appeared in the living room in front of the camera, as if he had never left the villa. Except for those who knew the inside story of the variety show, no one could tell anything unusual from the edited footage.

The show was filmed until lunch, and after gathering enough footage, the production team announced that everyone could leave.

As soon as the cameras stopped rolling, Bai Hua and Ruan Xiting, among others, gathered around Su Tinghe and asked where he had gone last night.

Su Tinghe told the truth, and everyone exclaimed 'Oh' repeatedly in an exaggerated manner. The sound of a nearby car horn caught Su Tinghe's attention, and he saw a familiar black car.

Seeing Su Tinghe's gaze, everyone instantly guessed who was in the car. Su Tinghe waved goodbye to everyone and then left in the car first.

After Su Tinghe went home with Shang Huoyong, he found that Teacher Bai Hua had helped him confirm the meeting time with the buyer, which was set for two days later.

The meeting place was an elegant and quiet teahouse. On the day of the meeting, Shang Huoyong personally took Su Tinghe there and waited in the teahouse's lobby.

Su Tinghe met the buyer in a private room of the teahouse. The buyer arrived earlier than Su Tinghe. Upon entering the room, Su Tinghe found that the buyer was a rather refined middle-aged man, which explained his interest in collecting calligraphy works.

The buyer lavished praise on Su Tinghe's calligraphy works, "Do you have any other calligraphy works? I have other friends who also like your calligraphy."

Su Tinghe was stunned for a moment, then quickly responded, "How many do you want?"

The buyer: "The more, the better. It's okay if you don't have any now. You can contact me anytime if you have good works in the future."

Su Tinghe nodded and curiously asked, "Besides collecting calligraphy works, do you and your friends collect anything else?"

The buyer didn't answer but instead thought and asked, "Since your calligraphy is so good, you must have other talents, right?"

"Besides calligraphy, I usually paint a bit as well, such as landscapes, flowers, birds, insects, and fish," Su Tinghe said.

The buyer looked pleasantly surprised and said, "That's wonderful! I also enjoy collecting traditional Chinese paintings. If you have any works, you can send them to me for a look. I can also recommend them to my friends, who like them too."

Su Tinghe was delighted to hear this and quickly exchanged contact information with the buyer, promising to contact him as soon as he had new pieces. The buyer, satisfied, finished his tea and left.

Both stood up and walked out of the private chamber. When they reached the lobby, the buyer gave Shang Huoyong a subtle glance before leaving.

After the buyer left, Su Tinghe couldn't hide his smile and said to Shang Huoyong, "I think I've met a soulmate."

"Really?" Shang Huoyong immediately understood Su Tinghe's meaning and congratulated him, "Looks like you're going to become a wealthy man."

Su Tinghe's eyes sparkled with joy, brighter than usual. Shang Huoyong, looking at Su Tinghe, felt much happier than usual.

After that, Su Tinghe stayed at the villa for a while, focusing on practicing calligraphy and painting. Whenever he had pieces he was happy with, he would send them to the previous buyer, who always praised them and bought them all.

Su Tinghe often found it strange; the buyer was too accommodating, and the standards for the collections didn't seem very high. He confided his doubts to Shang Huoyong, who reassured him, "Perhaps this collector simply admires your work. People's preferences are often based on feelings, not logic."

Su Tinghe found it reasonable and stopped worrying. Looking at his growing belly, Su Tinghe began to worry about another matter.

As a male, he could only father boys or other males. If it was a boy, it would be fine, but what if it was another male like him? How would that be?

Su Tinghe hadn't decided how to tell Shang Huoyong about this and wasn't sure how Shang Huoyong would react, so he felt anxious and uneasy.

One night, Su Tinghe buried himself under the blankets thinking about this and suddenly started crying quietly.

Shang Huoyong wrapped his arms around Su Tinghe from behind and whispered, "What's the matter?"

Su Tinghe refused to speak, continuing to cry.

Shang Huoyong tried to turn Su Tinghe's body towards him, but Su Tinghe resisted stubbornly.

Shang Huoyong turned on the light to see what was wrong, but Su Tinghe didn't want that either, pulling the blanket over his head, not letting Shang Huoyong turn on the light.

Shang Huoyong had noticed that Su Tinghe's mood had been off lately. As Su Tinghe's belly gradually showed, he had also warned everyone in the villa, dismissing anyone who spread inappropriate gossip without hesitation.

The kitchen prepared a variety of dishes for Su Tinghe every day. Although Su Tinghe couldn't eat much at one time, he sometimes got hungry and needed to eat, so the kitchen always kept a selection of snacks ready in case Su Tinghe wanted to eat suddenly.

Worried about the chaos outside, Shang Huoyong feared Su Tinghe might get hurt and kept him indoors, though he occasionally took him for a walk nearby in the evening.

At the same time, to make the villa environment more pleasant, Shang Huoyong had the garden planted with Su Tinghe's favorite plants and flowers.

But all this was to no avail; Su Tinghe's mood had been too tense recently. Shang Huoyong couldn't figure out what was wrong, and the doctor only said it might be prenatal depression.

Seeing Su Tinghe unwilling to come out from under the covers, Shang Huoyong turned off the light again, moved to the other side of Su Tinghe, coaxed him to open the blanket, and hugged him, gently patting his back.

Su Tinghe cried for a while, perhaps tired from crying, and whispered to Shang Huoyong, "I want to eat sugar-roasted chestnuts."

Shang Huoyong immediately called to ask where sugar-roasted chestnuts could be bought at this hour.

In the middle of the night, no shops were open outside, and nowhere sold chestnuts.

Su Tinghe's eyes were red and swollen, looking at Shang Huoyong with expectant, moist eyes. In the faint light from the phone, Shang Huoyong saw clearly, his heart skipping a beat, and continued to call to find a way to get a closed shop to open, offering extra money to have them roast chestnuts on the spot.

Later, they really found someone. The shopkeeper, hearing about the extra money, reluctantly got up to roast chestnuts, but it took time. Shang Huoyong thought about whether it would be better to go alone or take Su Tinghe with him.

As soon as Su Tinghe heard that Shang Huoyong might leave, tears immediately fell again, and he hugged Shang Huoyong, not letting him go.

Shang Huoyong had no choice and asked Su Tinghe, "Do you want to go out together? By the time we get there, the chestnuts should be ready."

Su Tinghe leaned close to Shang Huoyong's ear and whispered in a tearful voice, "Alright."

Shang Huoyong continued to coax him, "Let’s turn on the light and get dressed, alright?"

Su Tinghe whispered again, "Alright."

Shang Huoyong turned on the light, dampened a towel, and wiped Su Tinghe's tears. Then he helped him put on thick clothes, took Su Tinghe’s hand, and got into the car. He drove personally to the roasted chestnut stand.

At the stand, the owner yawned as he looked at the two of them, handing over the roasted chestnuts to Shang Huoyong. He asked casually, "What’s with the late-night chestnut craving? Someone called me at this hour, and it really startled me."

Shang Huoyong took the steaming chestnuts with one hand and held Su Tinghe’s hand with the other, saying, "My wife’s pregnant and got a sudden craving for these in the middle of the night. That’s why we had to trouble you."

Su Tinghe was wearing a rather unisex coat and a hat, with half his face hidden in the coat's collar, making it hard to tell his gender at first glance.

The owner didn’t doubt Shang Huoyong’s words, so he assumed Su Tinghe was a woman. He nodded sympathetically, "Pregnant women do get weird cravings. It’s hard to predict what they might suddenly want to eat. My wife was the same back then. You two must be newlyweds, huh? You seem really happy together."

Shang Huoyong said, "Thank you," and led Su Tinghe back to the car.

Su Tinghe lifted his face from the collar and whispered, "How could you say that in front of others just now?"

Shang Huoyong took a chestnut from the bag, peeled it, and handed the whole kernel to Su Tinghe’s mouth. Watching Su Tinghe eat it, he said, "He didn’t notice. Don’t worry, no one’s judging you."

Su Tinghe chewed the chestnut quietly, a slight frown on his face. Shang Huoyong peeled another chestnut and handed it to Su Tinghe, who ate it and then shook his head, saying, "I don’t want any more."

Shang Huoyong didn’t force Su Tinghe to eat more and popped the chestnut he had just peeled into his own mouth.

Su Tinghe swallowed the chestnut and, after biting his lip for a while, asked, "Do you think I’m being unreasonable right now?"

"Why would I? This is just how pregnancy works," Shang Huoyong replied. The car was warm, so Shang Huoyong unzipped Su Tinghe’s coat a bit and gently pinched his cheek to stop him from biting his lip. "Doesn’t that hurt?"

Su Tinghe obediently stopped biting his lip and looked at Shang Huoyong, asking, "Have you ever thought about what if the child I have can also have kids?"

Shang Huoyong thought for a moment and said, "That’d be amazing. Plenty of guys wish they could have kids but can’t. He’d get to choose whether or not to have kids."

"Do you really think that?" Su Tinghe asked.

Shang Huoyong had a hunch that Su Tinghe’s secret, to be revealed after the birth, was tied to his ability to have children and the chance of having a child like him.

As for this secret, Shang Huoyong couldn’t explain it, but he was ready to accept it.

Shang Huoyong pinched the soft flesh of Su Tinghe’s cheek and said, "I really think that way. Even if you had a raccoon, I’d still love it. Not only would I raise it well, but I’d find it a handsome male cat or a pretty female cat."

Su Tinghe laughed, "I’m not some monster, you know."

"Even if you were, I wouldn’t care," Shang Huoyong said. "Shall we go home?"

Su Tinghe replied, "Let’s go home."

After that night, Su Tinghe’s spirits lifted, and he wasn’t so down anymore.

Sticking Su Tinghe inside the villa every day was indeed depressing. One day, Shang Huoyong suddenly asked Su Tinghe, "Do you want to go out?"

Su Tinghe’s eyes lit up instantly, but after glancing at his belly, his expression quickly dimmed. "It’s not convenient for me to go out now."

Shang Huoyong asked, "Why isn’t it convenient?"

Su Tinghe looked at Shang Huoyong, his eyes saying, "You know why." Shang Huoyong quietly suggested, "You could wear women’s clothes."

Su Tinghe widened his eyes as if to say, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Shang Huoyong took Su Tinghe to the dressing room and found the clothes he had prepared in advance for Su Tinghe. The long coat was paired with a loose-fitting dress that nearly touched the ground, and underneath the dress, warm clothing could still be worn.

Su Tinghe looked at Shang Huoyong hesitantly, not really wanting to wear women's clothes.

Shang Huoyong then took out a hat and a mask, saying, "No one will be able to tell you're wearing this outfit. We can go to the mall together to look at baby items. Do you want to go?"

Faced with Shang Huoyong's temptation, Su Tinghe couldn't refuse at all and eventually changed into the clothes Shang Huoyong had prepared for him.

At the mall, Shang Huoyong took Su Tinghe straight to the baby products section. Strollers, cribs, baby bathtubs, rattles, comforting toys... Su Tinghe wanted to buy everything, going on a shopping spree.

The store staff, seeing such a generous couple, became even more attentive.

As the two were focused on picking out items, a familiar voice came from behind: "Brother."

They turned around to see Shang Yizhi looking at them in surprise. Shang Yizhi glanced at Su Tinghe, who quickly pulled his coat tighter, lowered his hat, and bowed his head.

Shang Yizhi's gaze returned to Shang Huoyong: "Brother, it's really you. When did you have a child? Does Su Tinghe know?"

Shang Huoyong, who had been busy taking care of Su Tinghe lately, had almost forgotten about Shang Yizhi and his uncle, who were still active in the company.

"He knows," Shang Huoyong replied lazily, holding Su Tinghe.

Shang Yizhi's eyes were filled with disbelief. He smiled and commented, "Big brother, you really have some tricks up your sleeve."

"Not as clever as you," Shang Huoyong shrugged. "You can go ahead if you have something to do. As you can see, we still have shopping to do."

Shang Yizhi's mouth twitched. "Then I won't disturb you. Take your time shopping."

After Shang Yizhi left, Shang Huoyong whispered in Su Tinghe's ear, "He didn't recognize you. He probably thinks I'm a jerk now."

Su Tinghe didn't say anything, just glared angrily at Shang Huoyong and then twisted his arm. Su Tinghe's strength didn't hurt at all, and Shang Huoyong even found his anger a bit cute.

That night, Shang Huoyong received a call from his mother, accusing him of having another woman outside and getting her pregnant.

Shang Huoyong didn't answer directly, instead saying, "Don't jump to conclusions. Come over to my place tomorrow with Dad, and you'll see. Su Tinghe hasn't seen you in a while and has missed you."

When Su Tinghe heard that Shang Huoyong's parents were coming, he became extremely nervous and couldn't sit still. Shang Huoyong held him in his arms, comforting him, "Don't worry. My parents like you so much. When they hear you're pregnant, they'll probably be thrilled."

Shang Huoyong's comfort didn't really ease Su Tinghe's anxiety. Even the next day, when Shang Huoyong's parents arrived, Su Tinghe was still on edge.

Shang Huoyong's mother, seeing Su Tinghe with a big belly, thought he had some serious illness. Shang Huoyong had his parents sit down and then announced, "He's not sick. He's expecting."

Shang Huoyong's parents couldn't process this news. His mother said, "I saw Su Tinghe when he was born. He's definitely a boy."

Seeing Su Tinghe nervously fidgeting with his fingers, Shang Huoyong held his hand and said to his parents, "He is indeed a boy, and he is indeed expecting. If you don't believe it, look."

Shang Huoyong showed his parents the doctor's diagnosis. They read it word by word for a long time, finally seeing the words "Confirmed Expectancy" at the end, and then went back to check that the patient's name was indeed Su Tinghe.

Shang Huoyong's mother was both shocked and angry, scolding him, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You don't know anything. Can you take proper care of him?" Then, she changed to a gentle expression, holding Su Tinghe's hand and speaking softly, "Good child, is pregnancy very difficult? Let me know if you're feeling unwell."

Su Tinghe didn't expect Shang Huoyong's mother to accept his pregnancy so easily. Her first concern wasn't that he was strange, but whether he was uncomfortable. Su Tinghe's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

Thinking Su Tinghe was feeling unwell, his mother became very worried, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick, or have you been wronged? Is he not treating you well? Tell me, and I'll take care of it."

As she spoke, she was about to hit Shang Huoyong, but Su Tinghe quickly stopped her, "No, he treats me very well."

Shang Huoyong's mother smiled, holding Su Tinghe in her arms, repeatedly saying, "Good child, you've been through a lot."

Seeing this, Shang Huoyong's father called him aside and asked some detailed questions, finally feeling reassured.

That day, both Shang Huoyong's father and mother stayed at the villa to take care of Su Tinghe, with Shang's mother volunteering to personally prepare nourishing soup for Su Tinghe.

The attentive demeanor of Shang Huoyong's father and mother put Su Tinghe's anxious heart at ease, and he slept soundly, nestled in Shang Huoyong's arms that night.

Su Tinghe was eagerly anticipating the arrival of their baby. Just as he thought Shang Huoyong would stay by his side until the birth, he was suddenly told that Shang Huoyong had to return to work.

Su Tinghe was extremely surprised, as he had been staying at the villa to rest during this time and was unaware of many things happening outside.

However, Su Tinghe's father called a few times, and from the conversations between Su Tinghe's father and Shang Huoyong, he gathered some information: Shang Huoyong's uncle had falsified revenues, and Shang Yizhi and Su Qingyue were involved in some related transactions, which ultimately caused company turmoil and a sharp drop in stock prices. Shang Huoyong returned to take control of the company, while Shang Yizhi and Su Qingyue ended up in prison.

Su Tinghe felt a pang of regret, but at the same time, Shang Huoyong became extremely busy, often coming home late.

Su Tinghe felt unhappy, but the first thing Shang Huoyong did when he came home each day was to hug him and kiss his cheek or belly, and he often made time during work to video call Su Tinghe. The little unhappiness in Su Tinghe's heart seemed to melt away.

Despite his busy schedule, Shang Huoyong specifically set aside two days near Su Tinghe's due date, but Su Tinghe went into labor a week early.

Su Tinghe accidentally fell, causing sharp abdominal pains, and was rushed to the hospital while Shang Huoyong was in a meeting.

Suddenly receiving a call from Shang's mother, Shang Huoyong's heart tightened. After hearing what she said, he immediately dashed out, only remembering to adjourn the meeting at the door, saying they would discuss any remaining issues later.

Driving at top speed all the way to the hospital, Shang Huoyong arrived just as a baby's cry was heard from the delivery room. The doctor emerged and said, "It's a boy."

Shang Huoyong grabbed the doctor's wrist and asked, "What about Su Tinghe?"

The doctor replied, "Both father and baby are safe."

Shang Huoyong breathed a sigh of relief. After Su Tinghe was wheeled to the ward, he only glanced at the red, wrinkled baby, frowning in distaste, and then kept his eyes on Su Tinghe, waiting for him to wake up from the anesthesia.

The first thing Su Tinghe saw upon waking was Shang Huoyong, and his first words were, "Where's the baby?"

Shang Huoyong frowned, wanting to say "not very good-looking," but afraid of hurting Su Tinghe's feelings, he didn't say it.

Su Tinghe looked at the baby and said to Shang Huoyong, "He's really beautiful."

Beautiful? Shang Huoyong thought the baby looked quite ugly, but he said, "He's quite beautiful."

Su Tinghe smiled, asking Shang Huoyong to bend down and whispered in his ear, "Shang Huoyong, I have a secret I haven't told you yet, do you want to hear it?"

Shang Huoyong's heart stirred, but since there were other people around, Su Tinghe didn't continue. It wasn't until they were alone that Su Tinghe slowly said, "Actually, I'm not the original Su Tinghe. I'm Su Tinghe from ancient times, I'm a Ge'er (a male with feminine traits in ancient times)."

Then, Su Tinghe spent quite some time explaining the whole story to Shang Huoyong, including what a Ge'er is.

"Did you understand?" Su Tinghe asked, his mouth dry from talking.

"I understand."

"What do you understand?"

"You are my beloved, Su Tinghe."

Shang Huoyong kissed Su Tinghe on the forehead.