Chapter 50 Let the Godfather Leave

Chapter 50: Let Godfather Step Out

The topic of calling them "godfather" had been discussed between the two families long ago, but Xiang Xiang insisted that Shi Zai was his "brother" and Shu Yangkuo his "uncle." The adults saw no need to force the child, so they let him be. Now, with Shi Zai having been pregnant and Shu Yangkuo currently expecting, Xiang Xiang slowly came to understand and agreed to call them "Godfather." However, just yesterday, he innocently declared, "Oh, I originally wanted to marry Brother Zai and Brother Dumpling when I grew up, but now I can only marry Brother Dumpling," which sent everyone in the room into peals of laughter—except for one reserved individual. Yang Yun then added, "Xiang Xiang is more like my little brother’s child, both little emperors," sparking another round of laughter, though this time, two people remained unsmiling.

Xiang Xiang asked why they were called "little emperors," and Ji Qianxi, uncharacteristically, chimed in, "Because they have their pick of people." Amidst the increasingly uncontrollable laughter, Xiang Xiang went around hugging everyone present—except for his biological father, where he gave a "hmph," and his Godfather, where he did the same.

The little one knew exactly what he was doing; he wouldn't hug them. When everyone else was laughing, whoever wasn't laughing was the bad guy.

That night, Xiang Xiang was still buzzing with excitement. Compared to his own father and dad, he preferred playing with Brother Dumpling and Brother Zai, who, despite being called "Godfather," still felt like an older brother. These two brothers wouldn't coax him to go back to his small bedroom early like his father did.

It turned out that at his Godfather's house, the three of them slept together. How wonderful! Xiang Xiang looked left, then rolled right. Brother Dumpling slept against the wall on the innermost side, occasionally making funny faces at him, which made Xiang Xiang giggle. Rolling over again, his Godfather sang him nursery rhymes. His Godfather only knew one song, but Xiang Xiang, energized, lifted his little body and belted out "One Little Pug" and "Black Cat Sheriff" without hesitation.

Soon, the spacious bedroom felt cozy and alive. From left to right, sounds of high and low bird calls, cat meows, and dog barks echoed, and the three of them couldn't stop laughing. For the first time, Xiang Xiang played to his heart's content, acting as the real "Black Cat Sheriff," using his small hand as a gun. His Brother Dumpling and Brother Zai took turns falling down, making Xiang Xiang laugh so hard he tumbled over several times.

When he accidentally rolled into a very broad embrace, Xiang Xiang was picked up by Brother Zai and asked in surprise:

"Why is Godfather here?"

He had completely forgotten that they were a family of three. Hearing two snickers, Xiang Xiang secretly pouted his lips and whispered into Brother Dumpling’s ear, "Let Godfather step out..." Yang Yun couldn’t hold back and laughed under the covers with Xiang Xiang until their faces turned red.

He hugged the little one tightly to calm him down, otherwise the one on the outermost side would look pitiful. Yang Yun hadn’t planned to sleep with his big brother and little brother, but his little brother insisted, saying that since Xiang Xiang was sleeping with them tonight, he couldn’t leave himself out. Yang Yun was deeply touched but also thought his little brother was truly adorable. If it weren’t for his big brother occasionally acting up, there wouldn’t be enough beds in the house for all of his little brother’s friends, hehe.

Before bed, his little brother specifically told him to be accommodating to his big brother over the next few months—pregnant and sensitive, what if he got upset?

Yang Yun naturally agreed. He would love his big brother just as he loved his little brother.

Xiang Xiang was so excited that his hair was slightly damp with sweat. Yang Yun wiped it with a tissue and coaxed him to sleep, but Xiang Xiang, with bright round eyes, still wanted to play. Yang Yun scared him by saying, "Otherwise, I’ll have your father come pick you up." Xiang Xiang actually pouted and said, "Don’t mention him, okay?" making Yang Yun laugh again. He asked, "Don’t you like your father?" The little one didn’t answer directly: "If Dad, Godfather, and Brother Yun could all live together, that would be great." Yang Yun quickly pulled the covers tight, afraid that someone with sharp ears would really get angry.

Shi Zai was also excited that night. Seeing that Shu Yangkuo was truly asleep, he lay there bored for a while, then pulled Yang Yun’s covers aside and whispered, "Don’t smother Xiang Xiang." As soon as Xiang Xiang saw him, he lifted the covers he shared with Brother Dumpling and invited Shi Zai to sleep with them.

Only after returning home did Shi Zai clearly realize again that the baby in his belly had gone to his brother. Though he felt a little unaccustomed and reluctant, he was truly happy. Even if he couldn’t sleep at night, he didn’t have to worry about being tired the next day—he was full of energy.

Yan Wei wasn’t too keen on Xiang Xiang coming along, but Shi Zai thought it was perfect—it would help Yang Yun get used to the reality of having a much younger sibling at home, so he wouldn’t feel neglected or stressed later. That’s why they all slept together tonight.

From what he observed, Shi Zai felt it was going well and was reassured. Even he wanted to play with the little one, let alone Yun Bao, who's seventeen.

Xiang Xiang was well-behaved, adorable, and great at making them laugh. Once he started playing, he forgot everything. Shi Zai had originally worried about whether he and Shu Yangkuo could raise their baby well, but now it seemed easy—just laugh and play with them, simple as that.

The next morning, Yang Yun took Xiang Xiang to a pottery DIY studio. It was Winter Break, and the place was crowded, with the oldest being middle schoolers and the youngest around Xiang Xiang’s age. The little one went wild, running all over the place.

Meanwhile, Shi Zai went with Ji Qianxi to his advisor’s place. The family had some small, not very valuable collections—three bottles with cracked rims and damaged bases. They didn’t want to throw them away or pay to have them repaired, so Ji Qianxi mentioned Shi Zai to his advisor, who immediately decided to let the young man practice. It didn’t matter if he messed up. Shi Zai was thrilled. On their wedding day, Shu Yangkuo had not only given him a lavish wedding but also a complete, professional-grade restoration kit. He had been worried about not having good ceramics to practice on, and now here they were.

Repairing ceramics shouldn’t be done with cheap, low-value items; otherwise, you’d end up just doing household repairs.

After picking up the items, Shi Zai didn’t go home but went straight to his studio. He dropped off the items and ran next door—once again happily noting how great it was that the three shops were next to each other. Shu Yangkuo wasn’t idle at home either. He was adapting well, not showing much pregnancy yet, and had plenty of work to do at the antique business.

As soon as Shi Zai saw him, he wanted to drool—so handsome! Since the antique business opened, Shi Zai, aside from buying his man various expensive suits, also bought him some modern Chinese scholar robes, with an ornate pocket watch pinned to the chest. When he wore them, he looked like such a refined scoundrel!

Today, Shu Yangkuo was wearing a navy long gown. Because he felt hot, he had undone the top button and rolled up his sleeves. Today’s refined scoundrel had a rough, fierce vibe. When he lifted the large bronze tripod to examine it, the veins on the back of his hand stood out, and the muscles on his forearm slightly bulged. He suddenly hooked a nearby chair with his foot, sat down boldly, and no one could tell he was carrying a baby. He didn’t even bother sitting properly at the desk, just leaned casually to the side, one hand holding the heavy-looking bronze tripod, the other swiftly writing something with a brush. Tsk, so sexy.

After peeking in the doorway for a while, waiting for two employees to go busy themselves elsewhere, Shi Zai bounced in. Taking advantage of the moment, he darted into the man’s embrace and sat down, his eyes sparkling and curved. Shu Yangkuo was startled but quickly softened, lowering his head to kiss him.

Shi Zai opened his eyes again:

"Did you drink the nutrition shake?"

"...Yeah."

"Let me peel a kiwi for you..."

Before he could stand up, Shi Zai was tightly held with one arm. Shu Yangkuo said, "No need," but Shi Zai still wanted to peel it for him. "Eating more vitamins is good for the baby. Sour fruits might help with your discomfort." Then he was released.

He peeled the kiwi and handed it to the man, only to see Shu Yangkuo frown slightly and eat it in a few bites. Shi Zai scratched his chin:

"You don’t like sour things? Sour fruits have the most vitamins."

"...It’s not that I don’t like them."

"Hehe, okay. I’ll make pork noodle sauce for lunch and stew chicken soup for dinner. I’ll go busy myself for a bit now."

"...Okay, don’t overwork yourself."

Hearing this, Shi Zai "hehe" laughed and showed he wasn’t tired by half-running, half-skipping away. Since he no longer had to carry a baby in his belly, Shi Zai couldn’t help but want to run and jump—it felt so freeing.

Now it was his turn to take care of his brother. Starting yesterday afternoon, Shi Zai followed the nutrition guide Yan Wei gave him, and he and Yang Yun bought a cartload of groceries home. He planned to cook for Shu Yangkuo just as Shu Yangkuo had varied meals for him, to help him recover. Though his brother was tall and strong, if he didn’t build a good foundation now, it would be harder later when the pregnancy advanced—a larger build would make it harder.

Back in the studio, Shi Zai noticed five more bottles of various sizes on the floor. He paused, then ran back next door, only to find the man leaning against the desk with one hand, lost in thought, his eyes downcast and his expression troubled... Shi Zai suddenly worried:

"Brother, are you uncomfortable? Is something wrong?"

"...No, what’s up, Xiao Zai?"

Shu Yangkuo quickly adjusted his posture. He really wasn’t feeling unwell and smiled:

"See them?"

"...Yeah! Hehe, are those valuable? I don’t want to mess them up."

"Not valuable. Repair them confidently."

Hearing this, Shi Zai "Okay okay"ed and ran back. But upon closer look, they didn’t seem like inexpensive pieces. Whatever, Shi Zai would treat them as the most valuable items to repair—he wouldn’t repair poorly just because they were cheap, nor would he repair fearfully because they were too expensive.

There were nearly ten bottles in total, enough to keep him busy all Winter Break. Two were badly damaged and would need slow, careful repair.

By noon, they went together to pick up Yang Yun and Xiang Xiang from the back alley—Shi Zai drove. Starting this morning, he was the one driving. He loved being taken care of by his brother when he was pregnant, and now he loved taking care of his brother in every way. Glancing at Shu Yangkuo sitting quietly in the back through the rearview mirror, Shi Zai smiled at the person behind him. "Hold on tight, we’re setting off."

The person behind only responded with a quiet "Yeah."

Unable to guess or ask, Shi Zai could only care for him more attentively and try harder to cheer him up.

Like the night before last, when Yang Yun and Xiang Xiang were having so much fun, he really wanted to join but snuggled in the man’s arms, blinking and quietly telling him amusing things. Soon, Shu Yangkuo said he wanted to sleep. Shi Zai paused but didn’t press on. If he could sleep, let him sleep—otherwise, the fatigue the next day would be unpleasant. Shi Zai understood.

But he still felt that Shu Yangkuo was often distracted and unhappy. Ah, that’s how expectant fathers are. He’d just have to keep comforting and caring for him.

Xiang Xiang stayed at their house for three more days. When Yan Wei and Zheng Yuan came to take him home, he was very unwilling. Finally, as Zheng Yuan picked him up, he started crying, even kicking his little legs and shouting:

"I don’t want to go home, waa waa... I’m Dad and Godfather’s son... Dad should move in too..."

In the end, he was strapped into the car, his small hands gripping the window as he shouted, "Otherwise, Godfather and Brother should come to my house!"

Shi Zai and Yang Yun laughed fondly. They really liked Xiang Xiang and wanted him to stay longer, but Yan Wei and Zheng Yuan missed their child too.

After seeing Xiang Xiang off, Shi Zai turned and threw his arms around Shu Yangkuo’s neck:

"Brother, tomorrow we’re going to Ji Qianxi’s house for dinner."

"You all go. It’s not convenient for me to go out like this now."