After smoothly ending the conversation with Grandpa Huo, An Wuyang put away his overly sweet smile and glanced lightly at the man next to him, who was cold and aloof. He handed back the phone to him, saying, “Talk to Grandpa and cheer him up a bit.”
Having experienced the ups and downs of marriage and parenthood, the once straightforward youth now understood that relationships even within family required careful nurturing. He didn’t want to leave everything unspoken.
“Okay,” Huo Yunchuan murmured softly in response. He then walked past An Wuyang to wake up their son who had started crying.
This little guy could be mischievous at times and recognized people upon waking up.
Aunt Zhang couldn’t carry him; it had to be either Huo Yunchuan or An Wuyang.
“Don’t cry,” Huo Yunchuan said gently as he lifted his son, wiping the tears from his chubby face.
“Hic…” Dun Dun’s chubby face rested on his father’s shoulder, tears making his eyes red and watery, which only made him look exceptionally beautiful.
Possessing the best features of both dads, from nose to eyes, there was no doubt Dun Dun would grow up to be a heartbreaker.
An Wuyang glanced at them briefly but didn’t have time to join in the play.
He still had schoolwork to finish, so he moved a small chair to the oval-shaped low table in the living room.
The table used to be square, but Huo Yunchuan had changed it to oval-shaped. Any parent with a child would know why.
An Wuyang listened to English lessons and worked on assignments with the white headphone wires dangling around his slender neck.
School also had English classes, though not as in-depth as those taught by Huo Yunchuan.
Since receiving guidance from Huo Yunchuan, An Wuyang’s English had been steadily improving, albeit slowly.
Basic listening and dictation posed no problems, but speaking was still a challenge.
“Dun Dun, don’t cause trouble,” Huo Yunchuan said, sitting beside An Wuyang with Dun Dun in his arms, preventing the chubby little hand from reaching out for the headphone wires, yet again.
Finally, there was no choice but to hold it firmly.
Huo Yunchuan had a sullen look on his face.
“Give it back to him,” An Wuyang said.
“Wasn’t it you who blamed me yesterday for spoiling him too much?” Huo Yunchuan said helplessly.
“…”
After locking eyes with An Wuyang for a moment, his gaze slightly softened.
“Fine.” He let go of Dun Dun.
After behaving for a minute, Dun Dun repeated his antics, and hit the bullseye by grabbing An Wuyang’s earphone cord in his hand.
The earbud was torn out of An Wuyang’s ear.
“Damn.” This son was really too naughty.
Originally wanting Huo Yunchuan to let Dun Dun go far away, the silly meatball handed him the headphones, and seriously spoke gibberish.
Although the two fathers couldn’t understand a word, they couldn’t resist the expressiveness and lively body language of Dun Dun.
“Ah…”
“He said he’s giving it back to you.” Huo Yunchuan turned translator.
An Wuyang was speechless, and his heart felt that it was too cute.
“Behave, or you’ll stay in the room.” He took the headphones back and put them on, then turned back to continue learning.
A big computer was placed in front of the small, plump dad.
He held his baby with one hand and typed on the keyboard with the other, his movements so skilled they didn’t look like overnight results.
“Tomorrow Dun Dun will take a preventive shot,” Huo Yunchuan asked: “Do you have a morning class?”
“Let me see.” An Wuyang took out his phone to check the class schedule. Halfway through, he made a strange expression and calmly said, “You haven’t memorized my class schedule yet?”
Bluff.
“…” Huo Yunchuan, caught red-handed, showed no fear and decisively declared, “It’s not an important class. You can accompany Dun Dun to the appointment.”
Monday morning, at the vaccination center.
Even with a net worth in billions, Huo Yunchuan followed the rules at the vaccination center, patiently waiting in line like everyone else.
The place was crowded, filled with the constant cries of children, overlapping with scolding from parents.
Huo Yunchuan wore a mask and carried his son in front of him.
Dun Dun was sucking on a pacifier, looking unusually obedient amidst the noisy children.
A teenager sat nearby with a backpack on his knee, wearing a mask and a cap.
When his phone rang, he took it out and glanced at it.
It was a message from Xu Yuanhang: “Hey Xiao An, why are you skipping class again?” As a true academic overachiever who messed up during the college entrance exams, Xu initially thought Xiao An was a like-minded buddy.
But it turned out, Xiao An skipped class frequently without any signs of being a top student.
“…” An Wuyang glanced at Huo Yunchuan and little Dun dun next to him, thinking that his identity in the Huo family was probably fully exposed. Knowing that Huo Yunchuan had a son, there were probably quite a few people, and there was no need to hide it.
He replied, “Brother Xu, I had something this morning. I took my son for vaccination. It wasn’t intentional skipping.”
Xu Yuanhang: “???”
What? Xiao An, also an eighteen or nineteen-year-old young man, unexpectedly had a son?
Xu Yuanhang was a bit confused and stuttered as he told their mutual friend about this matter with Xiao An.
Wen Ling responded, “Mr. Huo indeed has a son.” As someone not particularly knowledgeable in this area, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I heard rumors that it might have been through surrogacy.”
Xu Yuanhang, both intelligent and emotionally astute, sighed upon hearing this. “In influential circles, having heirs is crucial.”
Wen Ling didn’t comment further; after all, it was An Wuyang’s own choice.
After accompanying Dun Dun for his vaccination, An Wuyang went to school in the afternoon for his specialized classes.
As soon as he sat down, he faced a strong reprimand from Xu Yuanhang, who couldn’t hold back, saying, “Xiao An, I know you come from a wealthy family, but this isn’t acceptable.”
An Wuyang smiled and replied, “I do study at home, you know.” Then he reached out to his studious buddy, “Can I borrow your notes from this morning’s class?”
Xu Yuanhang smirked, “Didn’t you just say you study on your own? What’s with borrowing notes?”
An Wuyang met his gaze for a moment before turning to pat Wen Ling’s arm. “Ling ge, can I borrow your notes?” Despite not being a top student type, Wen Ling’s notes were known for their clarity and elegant handwriting.
Wen Ling smiled and handed over his notes.
“Oh, come on. Didn’t we agree to give him a bit of education?” Xu Yuanhang lamented, watching Wen Ling’s betrayal.
“Is it really useful? Don’t worry about it,” Wen Ling said casually, playing on his phone and occasionally speaking between game sessions. “We have a long break the day after tomorrow. The tennis club is preparing to attend a friendly match at Q University during the break. Are you coming?”
An Wuyang considered for a moment. “Of course, I’m also a member of the tennis club.”
Before joining the tennis club outing to Q University, An Wuyang didn’t know that their team from Shang University was reputed as the nouveau riche squad among Beijing’s major universities.
This reputation stemmed from their third-year captain, Zhang, who was once a youth tennis champion known for his handsome looks, talent, wealth, and pride.
He set high standards for his team and invested considerable time, effort, and money into their activities.
Such a team, with both talent and financial backing, held a dominant position among university sports clubs and had gained some notoriety recently.
However, over the past year, Zhang, the second-in-command captain who was getting older, seemed to have moved past his phase of youthful arrogance and was now rarely initiating challenges or causing trouble.
The friendly matches at Q University were initiated by the other side, and despite Zhang’s attempts to decline a few times, he ultimately had to face them.
On the last day of training before the long break, at one corner of the court, two young men were either standing or sitting. “Zhang Er, is your hand better now?”
Zhang, ranked second, had left the simplicity of school environments. Strangers referred to him as Young Master Zhang Er, while familiar friends called him Zhang Er.
“It’s fine. Even if my hand isn’t fully recovered, I can still overturn them,” Zhang Er replied.
“Maybe we should find a recruit; you might lose if you go over there now,” a teammate suggested.
“We’ll see about that,” the sharp-eyed young man ended the conversation, his gaze shifting towards the court. “Am I getting old? Even those untalented rookies seem quite cute to me.”
Following his gaze, the teammate spotted the rookie that the captain had mentioned. “Um…”
Seeing how diligently he practiced, he did seem quite endearing.
“Captain! Senior!” An Wuyang, sweating profusely, chased after a bouncing tennis ball and arrived beside the two seniors, watching as the captain intercepted the ball in mid-air.
“Here,” the captain tossed the ball back to him.
“Thank you.” The young man who received the tennis ball smiled faintly, then turned and ran back to the court. His slender figure was subtly outlined under his well-fitted sports attire, with his waistline faintly visible.
After finishing the training, he stood at the edge of the court, took a water bottle from his backpack, and drank thirstily.
Around the court, students gathered to watch the handsome guys play, clearly enjoying every move they made.
“Tomorrow, gather at the school gate at 8 AM sharp. Remember not to be late,” Wen Ling passed by An Wuyang with damp hair, lifting his wristband-clad hand to pat his shoulder.
“Got it, see you tomorrow,” An Wuyang packed up his things and headed home.
Strangely, when he entered the house, it was unusually quiet. There was no aroma of Aunt Zhang’s cooking, nor the sound of Dun Dun crying.
An Wuyang dropped his backpack and found the man in the gym lifting weights. Leaning on the exercise equipment, he asked, “Yunchuan, where did Dun Dun and Aunt Zhang go?”
“They went home,” Huo Yunchuan replied.
“Oh.” An Wuyang got his answer but didn’t seem ready to leave.
Watching Huo Yunchuan’s muscular figure as he worked out made An Wuyang’s heart race, despite their frequent closeness.
“I’m going to take a shower,” An Wuyang said after glancing at him a couple more times.
Feeling too sweaty, he preferred to feel fresh and clean.
Later that night, the man who had clearly worked out all day pinned him down from the bathroom to the bedroom with vigorous energy, which was both thrilling and unsettling.
Pushing away the weight on top of him, An Wuyang said with a sense of purpose, “Get off, I have a friendly match at Q University tomorrow!”
“That impressive?” Huo Yunchuan expressed pride for a moment, then a hint of doubt. “Is there no one left in the University tennis club? Do they really need you to play?”
An Wuyang: “…”
Huo Yunchuan’s words deflated the little angel.
“Alright, consider my words unsaid,” Mr. Huo solemnly retracted his previous statement, adopting a silent and reserved demeanor as he continued to push the tennis-playing youth burdened with heavy responsibilities.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
