Chapter 5: Marital Property
Have children?
Who was going to have them? Him?
What was he supposed to use to have them?
An Yi lay sunk into the big bed as if struck by lightning.
I’m a man—how am I supposed to give birth?!
It felt as though he had come into this world for the first time. Big cities really were too crazy.
If a grown young man got married back in the village, people would probably gossip about it for the rest of his life. But in the big city, apparently it was nothing strange at all.
And now they were even talking about having children.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Even if he wanted to, his body would not allow it.
Could it be… could it be that Thailand’s technology had already become that advanced?!
He did not want to go off to Thailand and start saying sawadee ka.
An Yi decided to treat it as the careless nonsense of a twenty-five-year-old child. He wanted to struggle up and have a proper talk with him, to explain that men simply could not give birth. Unfortunately, the big bed was too soft. He felt like he had sunk into cotton, and if he sank any deeper, he might never climb back out. The little frog flailed with all four limbs like he was rolling around in a muddy swamp, wriggling for ages before finally managing to raise half his body.
By relying on his own hard work, he escaped danger.
An Yi: This is exhausting.
Mainly because there was nowhere solid for his hands and feet to push against. Sitting up was harder than climbing a mountain to dig wild vegetables.
Yet before he had even managed to prop himself up for a full second, the next moment he was shoved flat again with a pa.
An Yi: …
I warn you, do not insult the fruits of my labor.
Huo Beixing leaned over him. He still had not changed his top, still wearing that invisible emperor’s new clothes of his, though his pants had been switched to gray sweatpants. He seemed to have just bathed, and there was a fresh woody scent on him. Looking at An Yi expectantly with those peach blossom eyes, he asked, “Will you give me a baby, please?”
It sounded as if he were asking for An Yi’s opinion, but really it was just the demanding tone of a child asking for something.
As if, if An Yi did not give him a baby today, he would go from being a frog at the bottom of a mountain well to a frog under a big-city bed, never to rise again.
Sure.
Sure your ass.
Was this something he could do just because he said yes?!
An Yi immediately wanted to refuse. But the moment he looked up and met Huo Beixing’s innocent, pure, almost childlike gaze, it was like being asked whether he could spare him a lollipop.
Except what the other man wanted was not a cheap handful of ten-yuan lollipops.
He wanted a screaming, wailing child.
Though An Yi felt a little reluctant, he still opened his mouth and refused. “I can’t give you a child.”
The moment the words left him, the room fell silent for several seconds.
Huo Beixing, who had been smiling just moments before, froze instantly. The smile on his face stiffened. He looked at An Yi with hurt, aggrieved peach blossom eyes, his mouth drooping, then immediately rolled off to one side and wrapped himself up in the blanket.
“If you won’t give me a baby, then I don’t want you anymore!”
As he said it, he even punched the bed hard to show his anger.
Bed: 🙂
This childish threat was not especially useful, because Butler Zhong had already told An Yi that a lawyer would come tomorrow to help the two of them draft a marriage agreement.
And he had also conveniently informed him that the Huo family gates were electrified at night.
The hidden meaning was clear: the whole “runaway bride, overbearing CEO chases after love” routine was not going to happen.
He really had no idea what Butler Zhong spent all day reading.
But there was another possibility. Judging from the things said online and what the Huo family had done for Huo Beixing, they spoiled him to an extreme degree. So if Huo Beixing truly refused to like him, there was every chance they would swap him out halfway through, because there were still two other people waiting with matching birth charts.
And then the An family would not get the money meant to guarantee them a lifetime of wealth and luxury.
After saying all that, Huo Beixing turned back with great authority and looked at An Yi. “So? Are you giving me a baby or not?”
An Yi replied blankly, “Can’t.”
Huo Beixing: !
How could this be?
In this household, there had never been anyone who refused him when he asked for something.
Let alone something as natural as his wife giving him a baby.
Huo Beixing sat up on the bed. “You don’t even like me at all! I don’t want to marry you anymore!”
An Yi was shocked. “How did you know?”
The two of them were getting married, yes, but it was also their first day meeting each other. There definitely was no romantic feeling between them.
But Huo Beixing, with the mind of a child only a few years old, clearly did not see it that way.
Huo Beixing stared at him in disbelief, full of shock.
An Yi hurried to patch things up. “No… no, listen to me while I make something up.”
Huo Beixing’s eyes reddened, like some tragic male lead in a melodrama. “Aaaahhh, you don’t even like me at all. This wife is no good, I don’t want him anymore, I’m going to throw you into the trash can!”
An Yi: …
Huo Beixing was big and covered in muscle. If he really wanted to throw him…
An Yi silently turned his head and glanced at the trash can not far away.
He could probably fit one foot in it.
Looking at the fake little crybaby in front of him, who had been whining for ages without squeezing out a single tear, An Yi reached out and patted his back.
Oh ho, not a bad feel.
In a soft voice, An Yi soothed him, “I do like you. I’m not saying I don’t like you.”
An Yi was good-looking, and that was the reason Huo Beixing had curiously run toward him at first sight. Now that he saw the other man comforting him, his childish little heart was soothed, and he asked, “Then why won’t you give me a baby?”
An Yi countered, “Are you sure babies are born? Aren’t they all picked up out of trash cans?”
Huo Beixing said, “My mom told me babies come out of stomachs, not out of trash cans.”
I know all about it, so don’t think you can fool me.
An Yi: !
Do rich kids really hear things this straightforward when they’re little?!
When he was young, his adoptive father had lied to him, saying he’d been picked up from a trash can, and An Yi had cried for ages.
Seeing that fooling children was not going to work, An Yi could only tell the truth. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s that I can’t.”
Huo Beixing replied, “Then that means you don’t love me!”
An Yi: ???
Huo Beixing sounded entirely confident in his logic. “Wives all have babies for the husbands they love.”
An Yi asked, “Who told you that?”
Huo Beixing answered, “A TV drama. Runaway Sweetheart, Where Are You Going?”
An Yi: …
Why was he watching this kind of nonsense?
Sure enough, everything his little cousin had said was true. Wives really were awful.
A few days ago, Huo Beixing had been brought back to the Huo family. A whole room full of elders had told him about the marriage that would be happening soon, saying marriage had lots of benefits, and that a wife could even play with him.
The moment he heard that, Huo Beixing had immediately agreed to get married.
But that night, right before bedtime, his younger cousin had come to tell him that having a wife was awful. A wife would definitely control him, would not let him climb trees or catch bugs, would interfere with everything, and he would have no freedom left at all.
Besides, once you got married, everything would count as marital property, so half of everything he liked to eat and play with would have to be given to his wife.
The second Huo Beixing heard that, he instantly no longer wanted one.
Not because he had to share his food and toys with his wife, but because she would control him, and he did not like feeling unfree.
Then the next day, he happened to watch an episode of Runaway Sweetheart, Where Are You Going? with his mother, and it said wives could have babies.
Immediately, Huo Beixing became interested again.
Once the baby was born, it would definitely be able to play with him.
How great would it be to have a child to play with?
But he had not forgotten that wives would also control him and stop him from climbing trees and catching bugs.
So when he saw An Yi this afternoon, he remembered that this person would control him, so he decided he did not want a wife.
Yet that night he remembered again that wives could have babies.
Actually, having a wife was fine too.
But now he had already agreed to get married, only to find out the other person was not willing to give him one.
Huo Beixing no longer wanted comforting. He thought this wife was rotten to the core, so he hoisted An Yi up in one move. “I’m throwing you into the trash can right now!”
The man was absurdly strong. Carrying An Yi was like carrying a little chick.
An Yi: …
I warn you, do not go too far.
Or else…
An Yi struggled with all his might, wanting to break free and teach him a lesson. He flailed with all four limbs for ages, but in the end he just hung limply on him like a noodle.
Hilarious. He could not get out at all.
Patting Huo Beixing on the back, he said, “It’s not that I don’t want to give you one. There’s a reason.”
Huo Beixing stopped in place. “What reason?”
An Yi wanted him to put him down first, but Huo Beixing clearly had no such intention.
Giving up on struggling, An Yi said, “Because I’m a man. There’s no way for me to have a child. Think about it—most people who become mothers are girls, right?”
Huo Beixing muttered, “Seems like that’s true.”
An Yi continued, “Boys can’t have babies. If I could, I’d definitely give you ten. I’d give you a whole litter.”
Huo Beixing’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
An Yi replied, “Of course!”
To have ten babies for him—that must mean liking him a lot!
“Then okay.”
And just like that, the little frog was tossed back onto the big bed again.
An Yi: peaceful.jpg
Luckily, ever since Huo Beixing had become foolish, his daily routine had become extremely regular. It was already almost ten o’clock, and Huo Beixing was getting sleepy. He did not keep fussing after that. He climbed into bed, wrapped himself in the blanket, and went to sleep.
Only then did An Yi let out a sigh of relief. He went to the bathroom to take a shower, then returned to the big bed and lay down.
Although Huo Beixing was tall and long-legged, the bed itself was huge too. It could sleep four people. Even with An Yi on it, it did not feel crowded.
Today’s emotions had gone up and down like a roller coaster, but with the other man’s mind only around five to eight years old, life for the next two years should at least be easier.
If he had not been foolish—if he were really the playboy everyone described—An Yi felt certain he would have no good days ahead of him.
Now that the man was silly, a few coaxing words would settle him down, just like earlier. Honestly, it was not that hard. He only had to move his lips a little.
Lying on the bed, An Yi felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. He adapted to new environments very easily. Even in a strange place, he would not suffer from insomnia, and soon he fell asleep.
When he woke the next morning, there was already no one beside him.
A knock came at the door, and a servant called from outside, “Young Master An Yi, please get up and come eat breakfast.”
An Yi rubbed his face. “Coming.”
Summer was hot, and since he was only at home, he dug out his own T-shirt and shorts from the wardrobe. All the gorgeous clothes Chen Lin had bought for him were useless here. Once dressed, An Yi went downstairs.
Huo Beixing was nowhere to be seen at the dining table. He had probably already eaten.
Butler Zhong placed a glass of freshly poured hot milk by An Yi’s hand. “After breakfast, Young Master An Yi, just go to the living room. A lawyer will come shortly to draft the agreement.”
An Yi nodded.
Breakfast was Western. Since childhood, An Yi had never been picky about food. There was nothing he particularly disliked. Chinese food, Western food—it was all the same to him.
There were two fruit sandwiches, though: one strawberry and one banana, each only half a serving.
Butler Zhong explained, “I heard Young Master An Yi likes strawberries, so I had the kitchen make a strawberry fruit sandwich. Young Master likes banana.”
An Yi asked in confusion, “Then why are they both half?”
Butler Zhong answered, “Young Master said these are all part of the couple’s shared property, so every sandwich is to be split in half.”
An Yi: …
He really did know quite a lot.
After breakfast, he headed to the living room. The Huo house was truly enormous, and the interior decor was all elegant and luxurious. When An Yi got there, he saw Huo Beixing sitting on the sofa watching TV.
He still was not wearing a shirt. Butler Zhong explained that Huo Beixing thought the weather was too hot, so as soon as summer started he had stopped wearing tops altogether.
The behavior was indeed quite childlike.
At that moment, a melodrama was playing on the television.
The male lead, all red-eyed anguish, declared, “I only want us to be together!”
The heroine shook her head wildly. “No, we can’t be together. There are too many impossible things in this world. Just like men can’t have babies, we can never be together either.”
The man swept his arm dramatically. “Impossible! As long as your heart desires it, anything is possible!”
The woman asked, “Really?”
The man said, “Of course. As long as your heart desires it, men can have babies, and we can be together too!”
The heroine murmured to herself, “As long as your heart desires it, anything is possible.”
Then the two of them embraced in a world-shaking, heaven-moving hug.
“Now that we’re together, there’s nothing in this world that can’t be done.”
An Yi watched with a face full of question marks. But the moment he turned his head, he saw Huo Beixing looking at him with deep resentment.
An Yi: …
He didn’t actually believe that, did he?
Huo Beixing repeated solemnly, “As long as your heart desires it, anything is possible.”
An Yi: …
Wonderful.
He believed it.
Just as the lawyer finished changing his shoes in the entryway, he heard a burst of commotion from farther inside. Smiling, he thought to himself that the first day of marriage really was lively.
Presumably, Huo Beixing quite liked his newly married wife.
The lawyer straightened his collar, smiling all the while, and headed toward the living room.
What met his eyes was utter chaos.
Huo Beixing was holding An Yi as if about to throw him. “Are you giving me a baby or not?!”
Endure for a moment and the winds will calm, step back and the sea will stretch wide.
An Yi took a deep breath.
To hell with your wide-open sea.
Have a baby?
Have your damn great-uncle’s baby!
An Yi wrapped his legs tightly around Huo Beixing’s waist and reached up to pinch that handsome face. “Not happening! Even if you beat me to death, I’m not giving you one!”
With his face pinched, Huo Beixing slurred, “If you won’t give me one, I’ll throw you into the trash can!”
“If you dare throw me into a trash can, I’m telling your mother!”
The lawyer, seeing the scene in the living room, silently backed out into the entryway.
Seriously.
He had gone to Yunnan yesterday and eaten some mushrooms—how had he still ended up hallucinating from food poisoning?
What he had just seen had to be wrong.
The lawyer put his smile back on, straightened his clothes again, and headed for the living room a second time.
Only to find that the two people who had just been wrestling on the sofa were gone.
The lawyer let out a breath of relief.
But when he got closer, he realized they had simply rolled behind the sofa and were still fighting there.
Lawyer: Do I need to go to the hospital?
It was not until a slipper came flying and smacked him on the head, and the pain made itself known, that he finally realized this was no hallucination.
He hurried forward to stop them—only to take an elbow from Huo Beixing.
Lawyer: …
Aaaahhhhhhh!
This is a workplace injury! This is a workplace injury!!!!
The lawyer adjusted his crooked glasses and flapped his arms while slapping his thigh. “Stop fighting, both of you, stop fighting!”
When he finally managed to separate them, An Yi was still holding a strand of Huo Beixing’s hair in his hand.
The lawyer was horrified. This was the second young master of the Huo family, the family’s heaven-blessed favorite! He quickly pried An Yi’s hand away from Huo Beixing’s head. “Y-you actually dared to yank our young master’s hair! I’m telling you, behavior like this is a crime!”
An Yi said, “He keeps insisting I give him a baby.”
After hearing that, the lawyer silently put An Yi’s hand back on Huo Beixing’s head.
Then go ahead and keep yanking.
An Yi: …
And so, on the very first day of marriage, the two of them had a huge fight over the subject of having children.
Not only had they used their hands—
The lawyer silently glanced at the ring of bite marks on Huo Beixing’s chest.
They had also used their mouths…
Now the two of them sat on opposite ends of the sofa, both huffing angrily and refusing to look at each other.
Huo Beixing picked up an apple and started eating it, turning grief into appetite.
After eating half of it, he angrily stood up, pushed open the floor-to-ceiling window, and went barefoot into the garden.
He left the half-eaten apple behind for An Yi.
This was their marital property.
Author’s Note:
Huo Dashan: He won’t have children for me; he doesn’t love me at all.
Huo Dashan is a man who, even when arguing with his wife, will still leave his share of the inheritance.
