Chapter 67: I Love You
The capital had already entered the scorching summer.
Going outside for even a short while left people drenched in sweat.
Staying indoors, Jiang Rong was doing fairly well—the temperature was comfortable, neither humid nor dry.
He was young, and his recovery was actually quite fast. But since the surgery involved cutting directly into the abdominal cavity, some damage was inevitable. Now he had to wear an abdominal binder every day to help his abdominal wall recover.
They were currently living in a villa that He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin had bought many years ago. The house had four floors, so Jiang Rong actually had plenty of space to move around.
As long as he didn’t catch a draft, walking around inside the house was no problem.
He was now also learning from the maternity nanny how to prepare formula for the little one, though things like bathing the baby were still too complicated for him.
After lying down for most of the day, Jiang Rong really couldn’t stand it anymore. He sat up and went to the window to bask in the sunlight.
The little one was asleep.
Grandpa and Grandma had recently been worrying about naming the baby.
They brought up to He Siming and Jiang Rong the idea of informing the elders in the family about the baby’s birth. In recent years, the younger generation in the family had become increasingly avant-garde, and it had been a long time since there was any new life to liven things up. Of course, that was just an excuse—the main reason was that He Zhixian wanted to show off his grandson.
This was something He Zhixian took the initiative to call and tell the elders himself.
During the New Year, one of the elders liked peace and quiet, while the other had been hospitalized, so the holiday hadn’t gone well at all. When they heard that He Siming had added a great-grandson to the family, the two elders took turns video-calling He Siming, insisting on seeing the baby.
They even said they wanted to fly to the capital in person to attend the baby’s one-month celebration. However, He Siming declined for the time being. First, the weather was too hot, and it wouldn’t be good for the elders to travel. Second, the baby was too young, and they didn’t feel safe letting him interact with too many people. After discussing it with Jiang Rong, they decided to just celebrate the full month at home and hold a hundred-day banquet later, when the weather would be cooler and the elders could travel more easily.
Most importantly, Jiang Rong hadn’t fully recovered yet. There was no rush, and it would also give the elders some time to get used to having a grandson-in-law.
After watching the nanny feed the baby milk and waiting until he hummed himself back to sleep, Jiang Rong went to find He Siming.
He Siming had moved his computer back home. Recently, to keep Jiang Rong company, he’d been working in the living room on the second floor, where the family of three lived.
There was a large space separating the living room and the bedroom, so it didn’t affect Jiang Rong’s or the baby’s rest.
Jiang Rong sat down in his usual seat, careful not to exert himself too much. The weather was a bit hot, so he’d taken off the abdominal binder.
He Siming’s gaze shifted from the computer screen to Jiang Rong’s face.
“Not wearing the binder?”
“It’s too hot,” Jiang Rong said. “And it’s uncomfortable to sit with it on.”
He Siming rubbed his neck. These days, their conversations often revolved around the baby, though not exclusively.
He asked, “Does the incision still itch?”
Jiang Rong nodded. “Yeah. It’s the recovery phase—of course it’ll itch. Oh, right, I forgot to ask about something after the surgery. Did Dr. Liu preserve the membrane of the reproductive cavity for us?”
“Yes,” He Siming replied. “It’s been preserved.”
That membrane had actually covered the fetus. When the baby was taken out, it was still attached to him—equivalent to a modern placenta. It served as a form of protection for the child. After all, they didn’t know yet whether the child would develop secondary gender traits, and Jiang Rong couldn’t be certain either.
In fact, on the day of Jiang Rong’s surgery, He Siming had gone to ask Dr. Liu about the procedure. As long as Jiang Rong was safe, he could accept everything else.
Dr. Liu had told him that because they weren’t familiar with Jiang Rong’s body structure, the surgery took longer. When removing the fetus, they had to carefully peel away the membrane covering him bit by bit, then clean out the nutrient fluid and blood in the reproductive cavity, not daring to make the slightest mistake. The surgery went very smoothly, and they gained a deeper understanding of Jiang Rong’s body.
Only then did Jiang Rong finally feel at ease.
He Siming walked over to Jiang Rong, about to lower his head and kiss him. They hadn’t been intimate for a long time—usually they could only get by on kissing. Since being with Jiang Rong, he’d never lived such an ascetic life.
“Can we kiss a little longer today?” he asked. Afraid of reopening the wound, he didn’t dare touch Jiang Rong too much. In the first couple of days after returning, they’d even slept separately. Later, Jiang Rong said he wasn’t used to sleeping apart, so they shared a bed again—but they were extremely careful, not even daring to turn over too much for fear of tugging at his wound.
“Mm.” Jiang Rong lifted his chin slightly.
Just as their lips were about to meet, the living room door was pushed open.
“He Siming, your grandparents have come up with three names for the baby. Come choose one.”
He Zhixian was still a bit superstitious. He’d had a master calculate what the baby lacked based on his birth time, and only then did he discuss names with the elders every day.
Their family didn’t have the tradition of nicknames, because they believed a name represented a person’s fortune. Chinese characters have form and spirit; a name represents a child’s aura and embodies the family’s good wishes.
He Siming was a bit unhappy that his father interrupted his moment with Jiang Rong.
He felt speechless that his father, usually so immersed in work, would do this—at the very least, he could have knocked.
It was just a name; discussing it later would’ve been fine.
Jiang Rong, however, just smiled and tugged at He Siming, signaling him not to be annoyed.
“Uncle, what new names are there today?” Jiang Rong adapted well. For all he knew, today’s choice might be scrapped tomorrow. He no longer had many opinions about what his son should be called—he even thought “Bao’er” sounded fine.
Indeed, He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin had been discussing the baby’s name for nearly a week without reaching a conclusion.
After informing the grandparents, neither of them tried to claim naming rights anymore. They simply chose names they liked, still without results.
In the end, they handed the decision over to Jiang Rong and He Siming.
He Siming glanced at the paper with three names on it, then handed it to Jiang Rong.
“You choose. I’m fine with any.”
Uncle He had someone calculate that the child lacked the water element. Jiang Rong didn’t really understand that, so he picked the one that rolled off the tongue best among the three: He Shenglin.
Seeing that his son had handed over the decision, He Zhixian didn’t even ask further and made the call directly.
“Alright, then he’ll be called He Shenglin. Where’s our little Shenglin?”
“Asleep,” He Siming replied.
“When he wakes up, let me know. I’m going on a business trip tomorrow—won’t see the baby for several days.”
He Siming: “……”
According to his mother, when He Siming was born, this father of his only held him twice in the first month. Now, he held He Shenglin twice a day.
Jiang Rong asked, “Where’s Auntie?”
“Chatting with her girlfriends about her grandson.”
He Siming: “……” What a sight—his mother had stopped focusing on her career and switched to showing off her grandson.
Jiang Rong, on the other hand, felt that the He family atmosphere was actually quite nice. It was the kind of family life he’d always yearned for.
With the baby’s name settled, another issue arose—where they would live after the semester started.
Both of them had classes, so during the day they’d definitely need a nanny to look after the baby, and they only had one master bedroom in use.
That evening, after dinner, once Jiang Rong had finished his postnatal meal, He’s parents brought up a new concern.
“There’s still a month and a half before school starts,” He Zhixian said. “What are your plans after that? You’ll both be in class during the day and busy with work. What about the baby?”
Jiang Rong would be out of confinement by then and able to return to school. Xu Mingqin said, “I’m thinking of using these days to buy you another place and hire a couple more nannies.”
“But time is tight,” He Siming said. “A new place would need renovations. I was thinking we should stay in our original apartment.”
They’d already discussed this before the baby was born.
“But you only have two rooms there,” Xu Mingqin pointed out. “One of them is your gym. Where would the nanny sleep?”
“The nanny will take care of the baby during the day,” He Siming replied. “At night, we’ll do it ourselves. We’ll rent another place in the same building for the nanny.”
He didn’t want anyone interfering with his life with Jiang Rong.
Xu Mingqin was worried. “The baby will need feeding at night. Are you sure? Can you manage studying and childcare?”
“It’s okay,” Jiang Rong said. “We’ll try first. If it doesn’t work, we can move and live with the nanny.” He understood what He Siming wanted. After knowing Ding Yan for so long, He Siming never even let him come over—clearly, he had some issues with personal space.
“For now, we’ll stay there,” He Siming said. “We’ll buy another place, renovate it, let it sit for half a year, and then move.”
“That works,” He Zhixian said. “When we have time, we’ll come back and help share the load.”
“I was raised by nannies too,” He Siming said. “What’s there to be afraid of?”
“That’s different!” He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin said in unison.
He Siming: “……” Sons are weeds; grandsons are treasures, huh.
Jiang Rong added, “Uncle, Auntie, we’ll be fine. I’m not as busy as He Siming. We can hire two nannies—one for cooking and cleaning, one for the baby. We’ll also come home at noon. We won’t be apart from the baby for long.”
“Alright, that’s settled,” He Siming said. “I’ll buy another place.”
Ideally, he didn’t even want a nanny, but reality made it impossible. Neither he nor Jiang Rong had the time to balance childcare and academics on their own.
Jiang Rong had his own ambitions. Having a career would make him more confident, and He Siming wanted to see him confident and happy. He couldn’t let family become a shackle on Jiang Rong’s academic and career growth.
“I think Aunt Sun is quite good,” Xu Mingqin said. “She used to help my friend take care of a child and got great reviews. Let her go with you to school.”
Neither He Siming nor Jiang Rong objected. After interacting with Aunt Sun, they found her sharp, reliable, and recommended by someone they trusted.
Jiang Rong didn’t wander around much. He stayed mostly on the third floor. When he was well-rested, he’d calmly read, watch the baby, and watch He Siming.
Life was happy and fulfilling—something he’d never dared to imagine when he first came to this world. Even in his original world, he’d never imagined that within a single year, he’d go from differentiating as an Omega to starting a family.
He Siming was very decisive. The next day, he had someone compile information on several properties, and the two of them sat in front of the computer doing AR house tours.
“This one has too few rooms,” He Siming said.
“Yeah,” Jiang Rong agreed.
“This one’s not spacious enough. When He Shenglin learns to walk and run, it’ll be inconvenient.”
“True.”
“This one’s too far from school.”
“Mm, that’s right.”
“How about we keep looking?”
“Okay.”
Jiang Rong didn’t have many opinions—every place looked beautiful to him.
“Do you have a preferred style?” He Siming asked.
Jiang Rong had lived in a four-person dorm and grown up in an eighty-square-meter apartment with his parents. He didn’t really have ideas about mansions hundreds of square meters large.
But since He Siming wanted his opinion, he gave it some thought.
“I used to think just having a place of my own would be enough—even a studio. My dream was a house with a small garden, lots of sunlight, and a glass room where I could grow flowers and plants, bask in the sun in winter. That would be really beautiful.”
“I got it,” He Siming said, nodding.
Just as they were about to continue looking at houses, Tang Yucheng suddenly sent He Siming several screenshots of chat logs on WeChat.
Screenshot 1:
[Ms. Liang: Cheng’er, does Siming already have a child?]
[Tang Yucheng: Nonsense. Impossible.]
[Ms. Liang: How is it impossible? Look at these pictures—your Aunt Xu posted them on her Moments! Can’t you bring your mom a legitimate biological child to play with too?]
[Tang Yucheng: Aunt Xu must’ve had her account hacked. Isn’t she flying around every day?]
[Ms. Liang: It wasn’t hacked. I asked her personally! Could it be she and He Zhixian have another son?]
[Tang Yucheng: ……]
Screenshot 2:
[Tang Yucheng: Congratulations, Brother Siyu, on your newborn son!]
[Brother Siyu: What terrifying nonsense are you talking about?]
[Tang Yucheng: Didn’t you have a kid?]
[Brother Siyu: Was my account hacked or did you message the wrong person? You’re the one who had a kid—I can’t!]
[Tang Yucheng: Aunt Xu became a grandma?]
[Brother Siyu: Go ask that brat He Siming! If it weren’t for him, I’d still be living carefree! Absolutely unforgivable! ???]
Tang Yucheng knew that He Siming’s partner was a guy.
Tang Yucheng: Why did your family add a new member without a sound? Or did you suddenly acknowledge a long-lost older brother? ?
Tang Yucheng: Or did you secretly hire a surrogate?
Tang Yucheng: Does your little boyfriend know you had a child with someone else?
He Siming’s WeChat was connected to the computer, so when he opened it, Jiang Rong saw everything too.
He burst out laughing.
He Siming pinched his lips into a pout and kissed him hard.
“What are you laughing at?”
Jiang Rong swatted his hand away. “Mm—recognizing a long-lost older brother, what a melodramatic plot.”
“That actually happened in Tang Yucheng’s family,” He Siming said. “It was his uncle’s side—pretty dramatic.”
It was Jiang Rong’s first time hearing He Siming talk about wealthy family drama.
“I want to hear—tell me.”
He Siming told him the story of the real-and-fake young masters in Tang Yucheng’s uncle’s family. The uncle and aunt couldn’t bear to part with the child they’d raised, treated their biological son poorly, despising him for having been raised by a nanny they’d once fired. Eventually, Tang Yucheng’s parents couldn’t stand it anymore and transferred the child to their household registration.
“That’s still a happy ending,” Jiang Rong said.
“His uncle and aunt were really muddled and did a lot of bad things,” He Siming said. “But that younger brother turned out alright, so it’s a relatively happy ending.”
As for the ugly details, he didn’t go into them—no need to dirty Jiang Rong’s ears.
Jiang Rong leaned against He Siming as he listened, loving the feeling. Hearing a heartbeat in sync with his own made him feel incredibly calm.
“Tired?” He Siming asked.
“No,” Jiang Rong said.
He was thinking about something.
Uncle and Aunt were constantly posting photos of the baby on their Moments, but He Siming had never mentioned doing so himself. After being together for so long, Jiang Rong understood his personality fairly well.
He Siming had made compromises for him, but Jiang Rong wanted him to be happier.
Seeing Jiang Rong hugging him silently, He Siming grew a bit worried.
“Why did you suddenly stop talking?”
Jiang Rong asked, “Do you want to make the baby public?”
He Siming’s hand, which had been stroking the back of Jiang Rong’s neck, stopped instantly. Without a second’s hesitation, he answered, “Yes. I want everyone to know I have a wife and a child.”
He just wanted to keep his wife hidden—so no one else would covet someone so wonderful.
Jiang Rong lifted his head and kissed his Adam’s apple.
“Then—then go ahead. I’m fine with it.” He really liked He Siming’s Adam’s apple—especially when it moved up and down.
He Siming’s body stiffened slightly. God knew how much he craved Jiang Rong right now.
“Jiang Rongrong, don’t tease me.”
Jiang Rong laughed softly. “Oh.” He only dared to tease He Siming at times like this.
He Siming sighed and gently bit his earlobe.
“When you’re better, you’re done for.”
Jiang Rong had been pampered into being even fairer and softer during his confinement. One bite left a shallow teeth mark, satisfying one of He Siming’s little quirks.
Jiang Rong shrank his neck. “He Siming, don’t—don’t bite…”
“Can I eat tonight?” He Siming asked. Lately, there wasn’t much else he could do.
A blush crept up Jiang Rong’s ears. “N-no.”
“I’m just teasing you. Let’s see if you dare again.”
Teasing only to be teased back, Jiang Rong didn’t dare move at all now. In a small, aggrieved voice, he begged, “I won’t anymore, husband.”
He Siming felt overheated all over. “……” Completely defeated by a natural-born talent.
At eight in the evening, Jiang Rong fell asleep early.
At that moment, among the summer vacation Moments filled with crowded travel, exhausting work, and late-night gaming grinds, a refreshingly out-of-place post suddenly appeared—utterly mismatched with everyone else’s life trajectory.
Posted by: He Siming (Campus Heartthrob) (God He) (Engineering Department Big Shot) (Outstanding Student) (Genius)
He Siming:
Thank you for coming to my world from a world billions of light-years away. I love you.
[A photo of three hands stacked together]
