Chapter 112 (Extra)
Chi Wang felt An An was just too “all-around,” updating himself to a new “version” so quickly that Chi Wang could hardly keep up.
He asked, “Who taught you that? Did Dad teach you?”
An An blinked his big eyes with an innocent expression. “No one taught me. It’s not that hard. Dad, you’re not telling me you respond to everyone who messages you, right? That’s so exhausting. If you save the time you’d spend replying to them, you can spend half an hour more playing with me.”
Chi Wang: “…”
(falls over.jpg)
He later told Xie Siheng about the incident. It turned out Xie Siheng was well aware and even approved. “That’s how it should be—you shouldn’t waste time on other people.”
At that, Chi Wang finally understood. An An took after him in some ways, but in this regard, he was definitely taking after Xie Siheng. So that’s what ‘not wasting time on other people’ means. No wonder Xie Siheng only had Zuo Qianxing as a friend.
Chi Wang decided not to meddle in An An’s social life anymore. The kid was still young, and maybe things would change once he started grade school.
He and Xie Siheng were in the middle of discussing which elementary school to send An An to. Even though it was a decision for next year, it couldn’t hurt to plan ahead. Then came another polite knock on the door—three light taps—followed by An An’s clear voice: “Dad, what are you hiding in there for again?”
Chi Wang: “…”
Raising a kid really does have its trials. If you’re out of their sight for even a moment, they’ll be searching for you. First thing when he wakes up in the morning, he calls for Dad, and only after confirming where we are—and that we answer—does he relax.
Still, Chi Wang could understand this clinginess stage. If An An were older, he probably wouldn’t be this attached. In a way, it was a sweet kind of trouble that he cherished.
He and Xie Siheng exchanged glances; then, Xie Siheng got up and opened the door. An An’s pretty little face instantly peeked in. His bright, alert eyes darted around, trying to spot any secrets they might be hiding from him.
When Xie Siheng went to pick him up, An An wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck. Then he bowed his head and, like a puppy, sniffed around Xie Siheng’s mouth and collar, as if searching for a food smell. Not finding anything, he frowned slightly and asked, “Dad, what are you hiding from me?”
Clearing his throat, Xie Siheng decided to change the subject. “Okay, let’s see if you can solve a math problem: 225 times 336. What’s the answer?”
An An rolled his eyes. Then, with perfect seriousness, he said, “I only accept challenges from the Party and the people, not from you.” With that, he wriggled free of Xie Siheng’s grasp and bolted off in an instant.
Chi Wang stood there, bewildered. “Where’d he get that line about only accepting challenges from the Party and the people? Does he even know what that means?”
He added, sounding puzzled, “…How can anyone hate math? I just don’t get it.”
Xie Siheng: “…”
He didn’t get it either.
Still, it was a small consolation that although An An disliked math, he was talented at it—he could already do multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction up to the thousands at his age.
Downstairs, Chi Wang saw that An An had taken a seat on Xie Yunting’s knee, getting fed. Even stern, meticulous Xie Yunting looked relaxed and was smiling as he peeled tangerines to feed An An.
Chi Wang thought: So this is what “grandparents spoil grandchildren” means. Never seen him be so kind with Xie Siheng—makes sense, though. Both of them are cold-faced people; they’d never find much to talk about face to face.
Chi Wang and Xie Siheng sat down, watching as An An finished his tangerine. Then he grabbed another one, peeled it himself, and fed pieces to Xie Yunting. The old man beamed from ear to ear.
Normally, Xie Siheng and Xie Yunting hardly spoke to each other, but with An An bridging the gap, they managed to chat.
Xie Yunting turned to his son. “I’m thinking of taking An An back to C City for a few days.”
“No,” said Xie Siheng firmly. “He’ll be back in class soon.”
“I’ll return him in time for classes,” argued Xie Yunting. Then he looked down at An An. “An An, how about going to Grandpa’s old home? There’s mountains and rivers over there—I could take you fishing for crayfish.”
Chu Qing also watched An An, waiting for his answer.
An An grinned but, looking slightly embarrassed, hugged Xie Yunting’s neck. In a bright, childish voice, he said, “No.” His voice was youthful, but his pronunciation was always remarkably clear—no soft, babyish lisp. Even though it was obviously a child’s voice, he never sounded clueless.
“Why not?” asked Xie Yunting. “You don’t like Grandpa?”
As aloof as he was, the old man couldn’t help saying something like that in front of An An. If anyone else had seen it, they’d probably be shocked beyond words.
An An immediately replied, “I do like you.” He lifted his face and glanced over at Chi Wang with a hint of forlornness in his eyes.
Chi Wang smirked to himself, not planning to rescue him right away.
So, instead, it was Xie Siheng who answered, “It’s too far from home. Best not.”
Xie Yunting wasn’t clueless—he understood An An just didn’t want to be away from home. He chuckled at the child. “So, An An, you really don’t want to visit Grandpa’s place?”
An An leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, then immediately pulled back and pressed his lips together, arms around his grandpa’s neck. “No,” he said in a soft, almost laughing tone.
Xie Yunting: “…”
Chi Wang: “…”
Everyone else fell silent. Xie Yunting gently touched his face; any trace of another plan vanished. His mouth curled into a broad grin. “All right, if you don’t want to, you don’t want to.”
Chu Qing felt a flash of envy and leaned over. “Hey now, An An, Grandma wants a kiss too!”
Only then did An An turn his head and give Chu Qing a peck on the cheek. She was so delighted she couldn’t stop gushing: “What a sweet little boy!”
Chi Wang turned and said quietly to Xie Siheng, “An An’s never been that affectionate with us, has he?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xie Siheng’s face appeared in front of him, and there was a cool little kiss on Chi Wang’s cheek. Pulling away as if nothing had happened, he said slowly, “Don’t worry. You have me.”
Chi Wang: “…”
An An and our parents are still here!
Chi Wang felt his cheeks heat up, but when he glanced around, no one was paying them any mind. Relieved, he gave a playful grin and leaned over to peck Xie Siheng on the lips in return. Then he quickly withdrew and started peeling a tangerine as though nothing had happened.
With a small smile, Xie Siheng lowered his gaze. Warm contentment flickered in his eyes.
That evening, An An got an invitation to sleep in the same room as his grandparents. He let out a little sigh—being a kid is tough. Everyone wanted his company. But after weighing it up, he decided it would be better to keep Grandpa and Grandma company, since they didn’t come around often. So he agreed.
Later, An An went to take a bath. At his age, he was no longer letting Dad help. He was capable of doing everything by himself. After washing, he scrubbed his own little underwear, clipping it up inside the bathroom so his dad could hang it outside to dry later on.
Despite being so active—forever climbing around and inevitably getting dirty—An An was fastidious about cleanliness. He sometimes took three baths a day and changed clothes three times.
He then headed to his grandparents’ room, carrying his little pillow. Grandma was at the dressing table putting on her night creams, while Grandpa sat on the sofa with his laptop. An An thought for a moment, then walked straight over to Grandpa, climbed up on his lap, and sat down.
Startled, Xie Yunting quickly moved the laptop aside and gathered An An into his arms. “An An, want to watch TV? We can watch together.”
It was still early, and he was willing to spend a bit of time with the boy before bed.
An An considered, then said, “I want to watch SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Smiling, Xie Yunting replied, “So An An likes SpongeBob SquarePants. All right, let Grandpa search it for you.” Picking up his laptop again, he pulled up the cartoon.
Although An An was only five, Xie Yunting could see his son’s personality traits in him: structured and self-disciplined. An An rarely touched his phone or played on game consoles and other electronics.
Chu Qing soon finished her skincare routine and came over. “Why don’t we watch it in bed, all three of us?”
They moved to the bed. Even though it was hot outside, the air conditioner kept the room pleasantly cool, so they didn’t bother with heavy blankets. Chu Qing set a small lap table on the bed for the laptop, and the three of them propped themselves up against the headboard to watch SpongeBob. They got through a few episodes before An An started yawning.
“Ready to sleep?” asked Xie Yunting.
An An nodded. So Grandpa turned off the computer, put the little table aside, and pulled up a light quilt to cover An An’s tummy.
An An held both their hands equally—giving them the same treatment—then seemed to remember something. He said to Chu Qing, “Grandma, I have a question.”
Chu Qing gently stroked his face. “What do you want to ask, sweetie?”
He looked a bit anxious. “Why do we have two dads in our family and no mom?”
It was a question that had been on his mind for a while. At kindergarten, he’d noticed everyone else had a mom and a dad, but he had two dads. He’d been wondering about it since last year. He observed for two whole years, discreetly chatting with other kids. As far as he could tell, nobody else had two dads. He hadn’t asked his own dads but chose to ask Grandma instead.
Chu Qing was caught off guard. She blinked. “Didn’t your dads tell you about this?”
An An, blinking back, said, “No.”
Another hint of worry appeared on his face. “They’re hiding secrets from me, always running off without me.”
Though he acted like he didn’t mind, clearly it bothered him.
Chu Qing still didn’t fully grasp it. “Why would they hide from you? Your dads love you so much—they wouldn’t do that.”
An An’s voice took on a childish pout. “They do hide from me. At night, once they think I’m asleep, they sneak off to their own bedroom. During the day, if they have a moment, they sneak off somewhere, leaving me behind.”
Chu Qing: “…”
Xie Yunting: “…”
The two of them exchanged awkward looks.
Chu Qing felt stumped. How on earth do I explain this?
She and her husband had never dealt with this issue—because Xie Siheng had never been clingy. By three years old, he’d stopped sleeping in their bed and never came looking for them, not caring what they were doing.
Xie Yunting promptly feigned obliviousness—he had no clue how to answer this, so he shoved the responsibility onto Chu Qing.
After pondering for a bit, Chu Qing spoke in a gentle tone. “Let’s start with why you have two dads, okay? An An, do you know who gave birth to you?”
An An said, “I know—Dad told me I was born from him.”
Chi Wang often bragged, “Who birthed this amazing, pretty, smart boy? Oh, me, of course! Aren’t I awesome for giving birth to such a wonderful An An?”
So An An knew he’d come from Chi Wang’s tummy. Chi Wang always looked so proud when he talked about it; in turn, that made An An proud to have such a great dad.
But being only five, An An didn’t fully grasp the concept of childbirth. No matter how smart he was, it’s not something kids his age can easily understand.
Chu Qing carefully chose her words. “Chi Wang is your dad, but he’s also your mom in a sense. He went through a lot to have you. Have you ever noticed the scar on his stomach? The doctor had to use a scalpel to cut it open and take you out from inside. That’s how you were born.”
An An was startled. “They… cut open his stomach?”
Chu Qing nodded. “Yes. Because Dad’s a boy, you couldn’t be born the normal way, so the doctors had to make an incision to get you out.”
An An: “Wouldn’t that hurt a lot?”
Chu Qing said, “Yes, it hurt a lot. Other families have a mom and a dad, but you have two dads—which really isn’t so different. Both dads love you just like any other mom and dad would love their child.”
An An said, “I know. I love Dad, too.”
Then he asked, “But can’t I call him Mom?”
Chu Qing rubbed her head awkwardly. “But your dad is a boy, so calling him Mom wouldn’t be right. ‘Mom’ is usually a word for a female parent, and your dad probably likes you calling him Dad. If you look at the Chinese character for ‘mom’—‘m?’—it has the ‘female’ radical in it, which doesn’t fit him.”
An An’s eyes lit up in sudden understanding. “Oh, I see.”
But his smile quickly vanished, and he asked, “So why do they still hide from me?”
Chu Qing: “…”
Some things just can’t be avoided. Bracing herself, she said, “They’re not hiding from you, An An… Um, have you ever seen one dad hitting the other?”
An An’s eyes went wide. “Hitting? Who’s hitting whom? Is Dad Xie hitting Dad Chi?”
Chu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. So he hadn’t seen anything. Makes sense—who wouldn’t lock the door when they’re… busy? Surely they wouldn’t be so careless.
The soundproofing in this villa was really good too. Probably nothing could be heard.
Feeling her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment, Chu Qing realized that at her age, she still had to explain such things to a child. “N-no, nobody’s hitting anyone. An An, you know your dads are married, right? They’re husbands to each other. So they need to keep up their relationship. Even you have to talk to your friends, right? It’s the same for your dads. They need to spend time together and nurture their bond. Otherwise, their feelings might fade over time. And, well… it’s not really appropriate for you to be around when they’re… expressing their affection.”
An An still looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
He felt like he didn’t understand a word she was saying.
All of a sudden, Xie Yunting piped up. “They’re making you a little brother or sister.”
An An’s pupils seemed to quake. “What? I’m getting a baby brother or sister?”
Chu Qing: “…”
She reached out and pinched Xie Yunting. “What nonsense are you spouting?”
Xie Yunting: “…”
He clammed up. Chu Qing wanted to clarify, but had no idea how to go about it. Actually, strictly speaking, what he said wasn’t impossible—except that Xie Siheng had gotten a vasectomy, so realistically there was no way they’d be having another baby.
Sensing An An’s rising excitement, Chu Qing paused before asking, “Do you want a younger sibling?”
An An nodded. He gave it some thought, then brightened. “I want a sister!”
Chu Qing: “ …Isn’t it nice just having you around?”
An An said, “I’m fine on my own, but if I had a sister, it would be even better.”
Chu Qing broke out in a sweat, thinking, That’s probably not going to happen.
But An An’s attention had already shifted. “When are Dad and Daddy going to make my baby brother or sister? Can we choose? Because I want a sister!”
Chu Qing said, “Why don’t you ask your dads about it tomorrow? Grandma’s not really sure.”
An An replied, “Okay, I’ll ask them tomorrow.”
With that, he no longer seemed upset about them “hiding” from him.
He must not have drunk much water before bed because he slept soundly through the night.
However, An An didn’t forget what Grandma had told him the night before. After breakfast, he hurried over to Chi Wang, arms outstretched for a hug. Chi Wang scooped him up so he could perch on his arm.
Even though An An was only five, he was already quite tall—1.15 meters. It was hard to believe. Back when Chi Wang was in junior high, it was unusual for the boys to be only 1.40 or 1.50 meters!
Not only was An An tall, he was also solidly built. His limbs and frame appeared slight, but his bone density was actually high, so he was surprisingly heavy. Chu Qing struggled to pick him up, but Chi Wang managed without a problem.
An An wrapped his arms around Chi Wang’s neck. “Dad, when will you have a baby sister for me?”
Chi Wang: “??”
He glanced down. “A sister? You want a sister?”
An An nodded, corners of his mouth curling in delight. “I do—” He stopped, the smile vanishing. “Never mind, I don’t want a sister anymore.”
Chi Wang chuckled. “Why the sudden change of heart? One minute you want one, the next you don’t. Who told you I was going to have a sister for you?”
An An said, “Grandma told me.”
He paused, then went on, “Grandma said you and Daddy have been hiding from me to make a baby brother or sister.”
Chi Wang: “…”
Cold sweat began to form on Chi Wang’s brow.
Just then, Xie Siheng walked in from outside. He saw the look on Chi Wang’s face and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chi Wang jerked his chin in An An’s direction. “Ask him.”
Xie Siheng turned to An An. “An An, what did you say to Daddy?”
An An replied, “I said Grandma told me you two have been hiding from me so you can make me a baby brother or sister.”
Xie Siheng: “…”
He exchanged a glance with Chi Wang, both newly aware of how awkward sex education could be.
Before the discomfort could drag on too long, An An spoke again. “I don’t want a baby brother or sister anymore. Dad was in so much pain having me—having another one would hurt all over again. I don’t want Dad to go through that.”
Chi Wang stood there silently for a moment, then laughed. “Well, well, An An’s so concerned about Dad!”
An An nodded. “I’m doing just fine on my own. Not having a baby brother or sister is okay—I only need my dads… plus brother Xiaomi.”
He trailed off as he looked down. Unbeknownst to them, Xiaomi, their dog, had padded over and was now sitting near their feet, tail wagging, tongue out, thrilled to hear himself included.
Chi Wang laughed and couldn’t help giving An An a kiss on the cheek. “Got it. Don’t worry, An An—Dad can’t have another baby anyway, and besides, I’m too scared of the pain.”
An An asked, “So if that’s the case, can you and Daddy stop hiding from me?”
Chi Wang: “…”
His smile faded. “An An, we’re not hiding. Uh… Dad and Daddy need our couple time. You know what that is? Actually, hang on—I’ll put on a video for you.”
Xie Siheng: “???”
He reached out to stop Chi Wang. “Wait, what are you going to show him?”
Chi Wang said matter-of-factly, “Just giving An An a bit of sex ed. You certainly won’t do it, so I might as well.”
Xie Siheng said tactfully, “He’s only five. Isn’t that a bit early?”
Chi Wang countered, “Not really. An An’s smart; I’m sure he’ll get it. It’s better to be upfront than keep him in the dark.”
“…” Xie Siheng paused. “Oh.”
Constantly dodging the question would solve nothing. Might as well handle it properly.
He wasn’t sure how Chi Wang was going to do it, but before long, An An emerged with a newly enlightened look on his face.
Quietly, Xie Siheng asked, “So, did he get it?”
Chi Wang grinned. “What’s not to get?”
“And you showed him what, exactly?”
Chi Wang ushered An An and Xiaomi out to play, then took Xie Siheng into the study. He opened the laptop to show him.
Glancing at the screen, Xie Siheng realized it was an online junior-high-level biology class.
“…That’s it?” he asked.
Chi Wang nodded. “Yep, that’s it.”
“And he understands that?”
Chi Wang shrugged. “Of course. An An’s very bright. He totally grasped our situation. He says from now on, he’ll give us time whenever we need it.”
At that, Chi Wang burst into a snicker. “He told me we have to ‘report in’ each day, say how long we plan to need, and then once time’s up, we should come hang out with him.”
Xie Siheng: “…”
Where does he even learn these phrases?
Oh well, as long as the issue was resolved.
Whether An An really grasped everything or not, at least after that he never came knocking when they were “busy.”
Xie Siheng mused that maybe they should have done sex education sooner.
*
Once Chu Qing and Xie Yunting left with An An safely back at home, Xiao Fu popped by to snatch the kid again.
Sometimes, Xie Siheng suspected they had a group chat to coordinate their visits so they could all spend time with An An.
When An An saw Xiao Fu, he was equally affectionate, calling him “Uncle” and saying he missed him, but secretly casting glances at Chi Wang and Xie Siheng as if gauging their reactions.
Xie Siheng: “…”
Chi Wang: “…”
Feeling a bit exasperated, Chi Wang slung an arm around Xiao Fu’s shoulder and teased, “Hey, big bro, why’re you so fixated on An An? I’m standing right in front of you—don’t you see me?”
Xiao Fu paused. “Not at work today?”
Chi Wang said, “There’s nothing urgent at the company, so I’m off.”
Xiao Fu’s face lit up. “Great. Come back with me, then. We’ll go fishing.”
Chi Wang: “Huh?”
Xiao Fu wrapped one arm around An An and grabbed Chi Wang with the other, turning to leave without another word.
Xie Siheng: “…”
He and Xiao Fu had been at odds since childhood, and this was exactly why.
Sighing, he followed them out.
