Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The diaper felt heavy.

Qi Mo removed it, wiped the baby’s bottom clean with a wet wipe, and applied diaper rash cream.

He gave it a gentle pat—so soft—and let it air for a bit before fastening on a fresh diaper.

Sleep time…

The next morning at 6:10, Qi Mo woke to Yan Yan drooling on him.

The little one had already climbed onto his chest and was chewing on his face.

“Yan Yan, you’re biting Daddy again—are you teething again?” Qi Mo checked Yan Yan’s gums. Three little pearly teeth, white and tender—but still sharp enough to hurt.

He rubbed the baby’s head. “Must be the fourth one coming in. Daddy will fix your bottle, okay? Be good.”

His baby was usually very well-behaved, rarely fussed unless something was wrong.

A real angel.

Two of his classmates, nearly driven mad by their own kids, always said his baby was heaven-sent.

He mixed the formula with warm water (60°C), then ran the bottle under cool water to adjust the temperature. He shook it, checked the warmth on his wrist, and glanced at the temperature strip on the bottle—37°C, perfect.

He placed the bottle into Yan Yan’s mouth.

The little one, who had been lying on the bed playing with his own feet, immediately wrapped both arms around the bottle and began slurping hungrily.

Qi Mo went to the bathroom to wash up.

Once dressed, he changed Yan Yan into a matching daddy-and-me tee.

With a sun hat on, Qi Mo headed downstairs with him.

Aunt Zhang, busy setting out breakfast, saw them come down. “Master Qi, you’re an early bird today.”

“Yeah, it’s hot out. I want to take Yan Yan out while it’s still cool. What’s for breakfast, Aunt Zhang?” He rattled off the question—a habit from post-apocalypse days.

Aunt Zhang smiled brightly. “I made millet porridge, vegetable and lean meat congee, ba bao zhou (eight-treasure congee), shengjian bao, translucent dumplings… all your favorites.”

Qi Mo replied, “Can you pack up some millet porridge? I’ll feed Yan Yan later.”

“Of course! Shall I let Mr. Huo know you’re taking the little one out? Should I arrange a car or guards?” She quickly set the dishes on the table as she asked.

He had errands to run—having a driver tag along would complicate things.

He shook his head. “No need. Just running to a friend’s place. I’ll drive myself.”

“Aunt Zhang, can you prep the diaper bag with formula, water, diapers, and wipes?”

Taking Yan Yan out required so much preparation—forgetting even one thing was a disaster.

Aunt Zhang was a longtime servant of the Huo family, having previously cared for Huo Liangzhou, and was now dedicated to caring for Qi Mo and the young master.

"Alright, I'll go pack right away, won't forget anything. By the way, Master Qi, do you need baby sunscreen?" Aunt Zhang asked.

Qi Mo: "Yes."

A small bowl of eight-treasure porridge, a small bowl of vegetable and lean meat porridge, and a few bites of the veggie porridge for the little one.

Two shengjian bao, several shrimp crystal dumplings, a boiled egg, and half a glass of milk.

Once he'd eaten his fill, Qi Mo saw Aunt Zhang coming down with the backpack.

Picking up the backpack, Qi Mo said to the little one in his arms, who was sucking his fingers, "Yan Yan, tell Aunt Zhang bye-bye. Come on, wave bye-bye."

Aunt Zhang raised her hand first and waved...

Sure enough, the little one reluctantly let go of his fingers, freed his tiny hand, and waved at Aunt Zhang.

"Bye-bye, Yan Yan. Such a smart little one," Aunt Zhang smiled, her face crinkling.

Entering the garage, Qi Mo chose an unassuming black SUV, buckled the little one into the rear baby seat, and placed the backpack beside him.

"Be good, little one. Daddy's taking you on a massive shopping trip today. Hmm, spending your dad's money so those schemers have nothing left—all the money is ours," Qi Mo said as he started the car and left the villa.

The little one in the backseat, clutching his pacifier, babbled excitedly in agreement.

Ten minutes later, Qi Mo stopped at a gas station. While refueling, he went into the convenience store and asked the staff to load up twenty cases of bottled water for him.

One case contained twenty-four bottles, each 500 milliliters.

Ten cases meant 240 bottles, and twenty cases meant 480 bottles.

At two bottles per day, it would last over half a year.

Qi Mo narrowed his eyes, some tension leaving his body.

Once he'd paid, he pulled out of the gas station. He couldn't head to the wholesale market yet—it was fifty kilometers away, an hour's drive. He had to go to the suburban water tower factory first to place an order.

But the factory wouldn't be open so early in the morning.

With limited time, Qi Mo couldn't afford to waste it. He drove straight to the food market.

After parking, Qi Mo went to the backseat and stashed all the water bottles in his storage space.

Then he picked up the little one from the child seat and headed to the nearby dry goods store.

He took out the shopping list he had written the night before.

This was a modest list.

Two 50-kilo bags of rice, two 50-kilo bags of flour, two crates of dried wheat noodles, two crates of cooking oil, one case of salt, one bag of sugar, a case of liquor, a case of vinegar, a case of soy sauce, a case of chili sauce, and a case of preserved vegetables.

A large bag of soybeans, ten pounds of mung beans, ten pounds of red beans, ten pounds of kelp, and five pounds of seaweed.

Soon, the SUV's trunk was packed full.

Qi Mo paid the bill.

They drove away from the market.

It was 7:30 a.m.

Checking his stockpile, Qi Mo felt slightly reassured as he headed toward the suburbs.

He passed through a farmers' market along the way.

Pulling up to a bulk grocery store, he parked and bought 500 pounds of rice, then rice noodles, glass noodles, dried pickled mustard greens, and cured pork.

At a nearby fruit stand, he grabbed two boxes of apples, one box of watermelons, and one box of cantaloupes.

Once the SUV was packed, Qi Mo left.

A few minutes later, he pulled up to a supermarket at a shopping plaza.

He had the staff load ten boxes of Stage 2 baby formula into the trunk.

A dozen-plus diaper packs were stuffed into the front passenger seat.

By 8:30 a.m.,

Qi Mo arrived at a pharmacy, carrying the little one.

They were nearing the city limits, already in the suburbs.

Antibiotics, cold medicine, pain relievers, anti-diarrheal meds, vitamins, calcium tablets, personal care items...

Qi Mo filled the trunk to the brim.

Next stop: the suburban farmers' market.

He parked in front of a frozen goods shop.

He bought five boxes each of chicken and duck.

Ten each of prepped chickens, ducks, and geese.

One hundred pounds of pork, fifty pounds of beef.

A sack of radishes, one whole winter melon, a bag of potatoes, a box of tomatoes, and a box of cucumbers.

The trunk now crammed, Qi Mo took one look and drove off.

His next destination: the water tank factory.

Umbrella in hand, glasses on, toddler in arms, he approached the guard shack.

"I'm the one who contacted you last night about purchasing water tanks," Qi Mo said.

The guard eyed him—sportswear and a child in tow, not exactly businesslike.

But business was slow; any customer had to be welcomed.

Soon, the owner himself came out. Seeing the adorable child in Qi Mo’s arms, he confirmed once more if Qi Mo really wanted two hundred ten-ton tanks.

Qi Mo gave a firm nod.

"Your kid’s got rosy cheeks and bright eyes. He’s gonna be a heartbreaker when he grows up," the owner remarked.

Then he added, "We carry water tanks in all sorts of materials."

"The regular water tanks come in five-ton or ten-ton capacities, priced at around three hundred, five hundred, or a thousand, respectively. The food-safe models cost two thousand six hundred for the five-ton and five thousand for the ten-ton. Which one do you want? If it's for drinking water, I recommend the five-thousand one," the boss said.

Qi Mo didn’t even hesitate. What did Huo Liangzhou have? Money. Well, so did he.

*If I don’t spend it, who will? That little troublemaker?*

"I’ll take the five-thousand ten-ton ones. I need two hundred. Once you’ve prepared them, I’ll give you the delivery address. I’ll put down a deposit of ninety thousand first. After you deliver and unload, call me—I’ll settle the balance after inspection." Qi Mo spoke decisively.

He had already thought this through many times that morning.

The boss perked up at this. "No deliveries outside the city."

Freight costs would eat into the deposit otherwise.

"If you cancel, I’d still lose money on the ninety-thousand deposit just from freight."

Qi Mo replied, "It won’t be outside the city. I’ll rent a warehouse right away and call you with the details later."

"Good," the boss agreed.

Qi Mo searched online and quickly found an old warehouse. It was right by the national highway, about ten kilometers from his current location.

He headed straight there, where just an old gatekeeper stood watch.

The warehouse stood empty.

There were also several spacious cold rooms—ideal.

After explaining his intentions, the gatekeeper called the owner. Qi Mo said he wanted to rent it for a month.

The owner quoted a price and sent over an agreement banning chemicals, flammable materials, explosives, or other hazardous items.

Qi Mo signed it. It cost a hundred grand, but the place was huge and fully equipped—easily tens of thousands of square meters.

He immediately called the water tank factory owner, then told the gatekeeper to expect water tanks delivered that afternoon and to receive them.

He also asked the gatekeeper to turn on the cold storage units—he’d use them tomorrow.

Just as Qi Mo finished arranging everything and was about to leave for Delta Liang Province—

In the chairman’s office of the Huo Clan Consortium, a man sat—devastatingly handsome, icy in demeanor.

Zhou Jin slouched in his seat, all ease.

A secretary brought in coffee.

Zhou Jin glanced at Huo Liangzhou behind the desk. "You’ve got a wife and kid now—you’re not planning to take a break and spend time with them? Watch it, or your wife’ll bolt with the kid."

"He won’t run. Don’t you have anything better to do?" Huo Liangzhou didn’t even look up as he replied.

Zhou Jin was momentarily speechless. "Last time, I told you Qi Mo and Chen Feng were together, but you didn’t believe me."

"Have you found evidence?" This time, Huo Liangzhou finally raised his head.

Zhou Jin was left speechless and shook his head. "Nah, but your little guy's seriously adorable. I put a wiretap in his favorite ride."

"You know what I heard this morning?" Zhou Jin said, clearly entertained.

Huo Liangzhou remained expressionless. "Take off the bug."

"Why aren't you even curious? It was your better half talking." Zhou Jin thought Huo Liangzhou was such a drag—totally humorless.

Huo Liangzhou set the documents down and rubbed his temples in irritation. He really couldn’t stand Zhou Jin sometimes.

"What did he say?" Huo Liangzhou asked, just to shut Zhou Jin up before it turned into another endless rant.

Zhou Jin lit up. "He said he’s going on a shopping spree to spend all your money, so your side chick won’t have any left. When did you hook up with some fling?"

"Nope. Go take off the wiretap. And if you keep bugging Xiao Mo, or if you'd rather your nudes end up all over the internet," Huo Liangzhou said coldly before ignoring Zhou Jin's whining.

If it weren't for the fact that they'd been friends since they were kids, he would’ve thrown this loudmouth out already.

Zhou Jin shouted at Huo Liangzhou's heartless words: "Huo Liangzhou, do you even have a conscience? I'm trying to stop you from getting cuckolded! You're biting the hand that feeds you, ditching bros for hoes. We’re done!"

"Fine. We’re done. Just remember to remove the bug. I’ve got plenty of your incriminating pics—some are real gems." Huo Liangzhou threatened without looking up.

How many times had they “broken up” and still not followed through?

How long would this one last?

At noon, after finishing work,

Huo Liangzhou finally had time for his better half and pulled out his phone.

Before he could call, the phone vibrated.

A notification popped up—a million-yuan transaction.

He raised an eyebrow. Since moving in together, his guy rarely went out, didn’t spend much, and never cared about stuff.

If it were up to him, he’d rot in that villa forever, only taking the kiddo for walks in the garden nearby.

So today, actually spending money? About damn time. He tapped the voice message Zhou Jin had sent.

His frown softened.

His guy wanted to spend *his* money to leave his so-called side chick broke—how nice.

Wait… what side chick?

He’s jealous.

Very good.

Huo Liangzhou hit the intercom.

Special Assistant Wu Di arrived shortly. "Mr. Huo."

"Any tabloid rumors lately?" Huo Liangzhou asked.

Wu Di reported, "Nothing recent, but there was a grainy paparazzi shot floating around implying you had a romantic candlelit dinner with Qi Huai."

Huo Liangzhou wasn’t the least bit surprised upon hearing it: “Piggybacking off my clout.”

Of course—Special Assistant.

Ever since you tied the knot with Master Qi, Qi Huai’s been milking your fame nonstop.

“Alright, get out. And send up some lunch,” Huo Liangzhou ordered.

If this got his little wife jealous, their relationship had taken another step forward.

Last time, after accidentally drinking a bit too much, he’d scared the young master into hiding again in just one night. Rubbing his temples, he wondered—how could he win over his skittish wife?

His face showed no emotion, but inside, Huo Liangzhou was still a little anxious.