Chapter 52 Shi Zai’s Five Crimes

## Chapter 52: Shi Zai’s Five Transgressions

Upon hearing this, Shi Zai was utterly stunned! When had he ever smiled at Zheng Yuan?! No, wait, they were all friends—what’s wrong with a little smile during conversation?! Not everyone could be like Shu Yangkuo, capable of socializing with a poker face. Besides, wasn’t Zheng Yuan Shu Yangkuo’s friend?

On the master bedroom balcony, the two sat on a single chair. Shi Zai nestled sideways in the man’s arms, feeling himself held tightly, like a cherished pet. Shu Yangkuo rested his chin on Shi Zai’s head. Shi Zai looked up slightly, urging him to explain properly. Shu Yangkuo paused, then said:

“What friend? Just an acquaintance. It was my wife who insisted on befriending him.”

“…So it’s my fault now?”

“No. Zheng Yuan isn’t a suitable friend. My wife simply shouldn’t have smiled at Zheng Yuan.”

“…And your point is?”

“He was showing off.”

At once, Shi Zai burst into laughter. These two were absolutely ridiculous!

But it wasn’t that simple. Shi Zai asked for an example of a smile that had displeased Shu Yangkuo. It turned out that during a casual chat, Zheng Yuan had mentioned that Xiang Xiang was the one he carried. Everyone already knew this, but not wanting to let the conversation hang, Shi Zai had smiled and said, “Impressive!” Shu Yangkuo took the small hand of the person in his arms and guided it to his own face:

“That’s only natural. What’s there to praise? If you must praise someone… praise me.”

“Hahaha, alright! Next time we meet, I’ll give him a piece of my mind. At his age, not praising his own spouse but praising someone else’s, and then running to his good friend to blab—really… that’s just too much.”

“Mhm.”

Without even looking up, Shi Zai knew the man’s eyebrows were raised. What a character! Shi Zai’s shoulders shook with silent laughter—it was just too amusing.

The second matter: Why couldn’t he sit in the passenger seat? Why couldn’t he sit next to his spouse?

Hearing Shu Yangkuo’s utterly self-righteous questioning, Shi Zai twisted his body around with some effort and looked up at him:

“First, let’s be clear—if I say this, you better not pretend you’re not upset when you actually are.”

“…Mhm.”

“I know it’s still early in the pregnancy, so wearing a seatbelt in the front seat is fine. But… my driving isn’t as good as yours, so if something happens, you know…”

“If something happens, what do you mean, wife?”

Shi Zai was immediately speechless, stunned. Right, if something happened… the man would never go on living without him.

Wait, why was he even imagining such things? If his driving wasn’t good, he’d just drive very, very slowly.

Quickly, he cupped the man’s face and kissed him, coaxing:

“Darling, don’t overthink it. I was wrong. The passenger seat is still yours. From now on, I’ll drive slowly, and you can help me watch the road, okay?”

“Mhm. With me watching, it’s absolutely safe.”

Hearing the pride in his tone, Shi Zai couldn’t help but laugh again. His man was just too adorable.

Sigh, he really hadn’t thought of that. Every time he got in the car, he felt like Shu Yangkuo was unhappy in the back seat, but he’d misunderstood… Though he did ask once before getting in, “Should I sit in the front instead?” but by then the man was already seated and had said, “No need.”

Poor thing.

The third matter.

Shu Yangkuo seemed a bit embarrassed to bring it up, but since his wife had ordered him to explain, he had no choice:

“I don’t like sour fruits.”

“…If you don’t like them, just say so! How could you keep something this small bottled up until you’re angry?!”

He shouldn’t have brought it up. Shu Yangkuo kissed the big eyes that were laughing at him and added:

“Didn’t my wife say we needed to supplement vitamins for the baby?”

“…For the baby… Don’t exaggerate! I just said to supplement vitamins, not that it was specifically for the baby.”

“Why didn’t you have me supplement them before?”

“…”

Left speechless again, Shi Zai thought, “This guy’s gotten sharp, huh?” He chuckled, then reconsidered:

“When I was pregnant, didn’t you also make me eat a lot of sour fruits?”

“That’s because my wife liked them and wanted to eat them.”

“…”

Shi Zai cleared his throat, this time with an awkward laugh, and turned to wrap his arms around Shu Yangkuo’s neck:

“Darling, this is my fault too. But… you tell me, your situation is different now. I want to take good care of you, but how can I just ignore the baby? Subconsciously, I want you to eat well and keep your body healthy, but I always end up worrying about the baby too.”

Suddenly, Shi Zai understood. Right, he’d been so focused on supplementing nutrition, thinking that if Shu Yangkuo ate more nutritious food and stayed healthy, the baby would grow well too. He hadn’t realized that if Shu Yangkuo vomited everything and stayed unhappy all day, neither he nor the baby would be well.

More importantly, Shu Yangkuo—or anyone who’s pregnant—is first and foremost a person, and only then the one carrying the baby. The baby in the womb only needs adequate nutrition and doesn’t know what tastes good or bad. The pregnant person’s well-being should come first.

Shi Zai rubbed his forehead against the man’s chin and said softly:

“I get it now. From now on, we’ll go with what you want to eat. It’s my first time taking care of a pregnant person—I have no experience. But you’ve taken care of me before, so from now on, teach me more, okay? I’ll definitely take care of you and keep you happy.”

“…Mhm.”

“What else?”

“Physically, I’m really fine. My wife just needs to spend more time with me when you’re free.”

Shi Zai nodded and said, “Ah,” then listened as Shu Yangkuo began explaining the fourth matter.

He was very resentful about Xiang Xiang staying at their house for three nights and the four of them sharing a bed. In the man’s description, it wasn’t that he was too cold toward Xiang Xiang, nor that he would be cold toward their own child after it was born. He also felt very, very wronged by Shi Zai’s accusation that “you don’t want the baby.” The child in his belly was carried by his wife—after deciding to have it, he was overjoyed. How could he not want it? What would the child think if it heard such things? It’s just… right after returning from the hospital, when he really needed his wife, there were two extra people in bed, and he felt very lonely on his side. Besides, if you could neglect him like this over Xiang Xiang, who wasn’t even his own child, what would happen after their own was born?

Clearly, even recording the conversation didn’t help—you didn't keep your word.

It was the first time Shi Zai had heard the man say so much, enough to see how deeply resentful he was. After thinking for a moment, Shi Zai said:

“But I asked you at the time?”

“…I was already angry then.”

Immediately, Shi Zai secretly smiled. He didn’t repeat the tiresome question, “Why didn’t you say you were angry?” Instead, he reflected and admitted:

“Alright, this was also my lack of consideration. But I had two reasons—first, Yan Wei and Zheng Yuan have helped us a lot. Xiang Xiang had no one to look after him those few days, so we were just helping out. I couldn’t let him sleep alone at night, and if he slept with us, I thought of Yun Bao. He hasn’t slept with us since Fengwai Town. With an extra baby at home and Xiang Xiang too, the four of us slept together while he was alone in his bedroom. I felt a bit sorry for him, since we said we wouldn’t neglect him.”

“…Then should I also make two points?”

“Yes, please.”

“First, Xiang Xiang sleeps alone at home. Second, Yang Yun is the eldest in the family now and doesn't need that kind of coddling anymore.”

“But…”

“Has my wife ever thought, honey, when the baby is born, if you keep trying to balance things this way, what if both Wang Wang and Xiao Yun want to be held? Who do you hold? Do you feed and comfort them at the same time? Brother and Yang Yun understand your past... but the situation is different now. This isn't about favoritism. A one-year-old has the emotional needs of a one-year-old, and a seventeen-year-old has those of a seventeen-year-old. If you force balance by treating a seventeen-year-old like a one-year-old again, what does that say about Yang Yun's efforts now? He wants to become a responsible man who can protect his older and younger brothers, someone we can rely on—not some helpless little kid who stays in your arms and can't do anything. Otherwise, last June, he wouldn't have been so eager to grow up and made such a fuss. It's true that he's not as mentally mature as other kids his age, but he's come a long way. If you keep hinting that he's like a little child, how can he continue to grow?”

After hearing this, Shi Zai fell silent for a long time, working to process Shu Yangkuo's words.

It made a lot of sense. He actually understood it too and had been trying to help Yang Yun grow up faster. But emotionally... Shi Zai always kept thinking about those words: "mustn't show favoritism, mustn't neglect anyone." Only after Shu Yangkuo's explanation did he truly realize—Yang Yun isn't his past self. Yang Yun can feel and knows that Shi Zai loves him, while his past self... right, the situation is different.

Shi Zai had almost forgotten—back when he first talked to Yang Yun about him and Big Brother, he mentioned that their emotions were different. Shi Zai said he would give each of them unique love. Though the components might differ, the depth of emotion beneath the surface would be the same. Right, how could he have forgotten? In the future, Wang Wang and Yun Bao—one very young, the other seventeen or eighteen—ensuring Wang Wang grows up healthy and helping Yun Bao become more secure in his own path... that's what it means not to show favoritism. That's the best way to love them differently, rather than giving a seventeen-year-old Yun Bao a love that's merely about "staying healthy"—that would ruin his growth. It's like when a child becomes an adult and needs their parents' support, but the parents just say, "Eat more, wear more clothes." That kind of love is empty and useless. What Yun Bao wants is to stand side by side with his Big Brother and younger brother.

Nuzzling closer into Shu Yangkuo's chest, Shi Zai blinked:

"Brother, I get it now. Sharing a bed isn't love; walking the same path is."

"..."

"Hehe, I want to share a bed with you and walk the same path... I really understand now. I won't put Yun Bao in Wang Wang's position anymore."

"Mhm, the past has been made up for enough. You don't need to bring it up with him again."

"Okay, right, that's how it should be. Otherwise, he'll keep feeling affected by the past. Yun Bao is already very optimistic now."

Shu Yangkuo nodded. Meeting his partner's gaze, he still said what he didn't really want to say:

"The key point is, whenever the past is mentioned, he compares. And when he compares, he always feels like Brother had been unfair to him back then."

"Hahahaha..."

"Honestly, Brother treated him better than he treated himself. It's just that back then..."

"Hehe, I get it. I'll talk to him more about how good Big Brother is in the future."

"No need. He'll understand."

Hearing this, Shi Zai smiled without replying. This older and younger pair were destined to be this way. He also understood what Shu Yangkuo meant by "no need." After all, they had sixteen years of relying on each other. Even if there were issues, they both understood each other deep down. Deliberately talking about it would only create distance.

But Shi Zai really needed to be more careful from now on. Otherwise, he might either make Yun Bao put himself in Wang Wang's position or give him the illusion that he and Big Brother are the same. Thinking back to that night, Shi Zai didn't dare tell Shu Yangkuo—that silly little ball ended up hugging him in his sleep.

Now Yang Yun is even taller than him. In another year or two... ah, Shi Zai really needs to change himself.

The fifth matter.

All this talk about "Yan Wei," "Ji Qianxi," "Feng Lan"... made Shi Zai's head spin.

Yan Wei—why did it give Xiang Xiang the illusion that "Godfather wants to be with Daddy"?

Ji Qianxi—why would you ask Ji Qianxi for help instead of your husband first?

Feng Lan—why is there another person around you that I don't know about?

In response to Shi Zai's confident "They're all just friends, just friends," Shu Yangkuo had an even stronger argument:

"They're friends now, but if you keep clinging to all of them, won't potential numbers two, three, and four gradually become more important in your heart in the future?"