Chapter 81: Gains and Losses
During the height of the lingering autumn heat, He Shenglin also welcomed his hundred-day banquet.
The little guy took after He Siming in build. At just three months old, he already weighed twenty jin (about 10 kilograms), feeling solid and heavy when held.
He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin both worried that the baby might be overweight, so He Siming and Jiang Rong took some time to bring him to the hospital for a checkup. All indicators came back normal. The child’s physical condition was excellent—his grip strength was even stronger than that of other babies his age. At this weight, he couldn’t really be called fat; at most, he was just a bit sturdily built.
After returning home, Jiang Rong stared at the child thoughtfully and shared his guess with He Siming.
He suspected that He Shenglin might differentiate into an Alpha in the future.
That was… troubling.
But no matter what, today was the hundred-day banquet.
He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin had booked a banquet early at a five-star hotel and invited friends and relatives to attend.
Ding Yan and the others were invited as well.
After Ding Yan and Li Yizhou received He Siming’s invitation, they couldn’t even sleep properly.
Yao Shule showed no mercy at all, repeatedly posting in the group chat the video of Ding Yan’s grand declaration from last year—“I’ll livestream myself eating shit.”
Three days had passed, and Ding Yan still hadn’t recovered from the shock of “He Siming actually has a child.”
He went to school to pick up Yao Shule and Li Yizhou, and the three of them headed to the hotel listed on the invitation together.
After getting out of the car, Ding Yan handed the keys to the valet.
Today’s banquet was extremely important—the He family had booked the entire hotel.
Seeing several bodyguards in black suits standing at the entrance, Li Yizhou immediately grew nervous.
“What do we do? The people invited by He Siming’s family must all be big shots. We’re just ordinary students—can we even help Jiang Rong hold up the scene?”
Ding Yan patted his chest. “Isn’t that what I’m here for?”
Yao Shule said, “What’s there to be nervous about? Aren’t we close with Jiang Rong?”
Li Yizhou asked, “But isn’t the child He Siming’s? What does that have to do with Jiang Rong?”
Yao Shule rolled his eyes hard at them, too lazy to explain, and directly followed the waiter guiding them to the banquet hall.
Ding Yan suddenly had an idea. “Could it be that this child is Jiang Rong’s?”
Li Yizhou said, “Then wouldn’t He Siming be raising a child for Jiang Rong?”
Ding Yan immediately overturned his own theory. “No, that can’t be right. With Old He’s cleanliness obsession, he wouldn’t raise someone else’s kid. It can’t be that he gave birth himself, right?”
Li Yizhou said, “That’s way too ridiculous. Men can give birth?”
Ding Yan said, “If it’s surrogacy, that’s kind of unethical though.”
Li Yizhou said, “The He family is so rich—maybe it’s some kind of technological reproduction?”
Ding Yan said, “Bro, you’re smart. Old He has a spiritual cleanliness obsession—so it must be tech reproduction.”
Listening to their extremely confident analysis and their final “aha, we’ve figured it out” expressions, Yao Shule, who was walking ahead, truly couldn’t bear to look.
Couldn’t they just connect it to the surgery Jiang Rong had during the summer break? With even a little care, they could’ve figured it out. All the clues were right there, practically screaming in their faces that Jiang Rong had given birth to He Siming’s precious baby.
Sure enough, people really couldn’t be compared. Yao Shule, who had already helped Jiang Rong take care of the baby once, quietly hid his achievements and fame.
The banquet hall was decorated in a very childlike style, dominated by ocean colors. Some of He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin’s friends had brought their grandchildren, others their own children. There was even a children’s playground set up in the hall, making college students who were just the right age want to go play themselves.
The three of them were actually seated at the main table. At the neighboring table sat relatives from He Siming’s family.
Jiang Rong was an orphan, so naturally fewer people came on his side. Unexpectedly, Professor Wen was there as well.
He quietly took a seat.
He hadn’t brought an especially generous gift last time, so this time he had prepared another one.
Although socially anxious, he had already decided to recommend Jiang Rong for postgraduate admission. Until Jiang Rong officially came under his name, they would be both teacher and friend—there was no way he wouldn’t attend the child’s hundred-day banquet.
With that, there were four people seated at their table.
Before long, someone else Ding Yan recognized arrived. Tang Yucheng came with his parents and sat at the same table.
Ding Yan was relatively respectful toward Tang Yucheng. “Brother Cheng, why are you also…?”
They weren’t very familiar, but Tang Yucheng left a deep impression as a person.
Tang Yucheng replied, “It’s the same wherever I sit.”
A few minutes later, Xu Mingzhuo and his family of three sat down as well. At that point, the table was basically full.
He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin had already publicly expressed their support for He Siming and his same-sex partner on social media. Among the guests today, no one was rude enough to ask about the child’s biological mother.
As the banquet was about to begin, the two eldest elders of the He family were helped out by the younger generation. The elderly couple were glowing with health and smiling broadly.
They had just seen their great-grandson in the lounge, and gifts and red envelopes were practically showered onto both him and the child.
Many of the attendees were He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin’s business partners. Whether they cared about seeing the baby was one thing—the main point was that this was a perfect social occasion.
In the lounge.
He Siming’s grandparents came in to see them. The two elders were very gentle toward Jiang Rong and absolutely adored He Shenglin. If the banquet weren’t about to start, Grandpa He and Grandma He might have stayed longer to tease their great-grandson.
Growing up, Jiang Rong’s mother had placed great hopes on him, hoping that he would be cultivated well and someday marry into a wealthy Alpha family. That was what she said, but his parents were ordinary people—how could they truly understand high-society life? Jiang Rong himself hadn’t even graduated from college, so it was even more impossible for him to know.
Now, only Jiang Rong and He Siming were left in the lounge.
He Shenglin was tightly gripping Jiang Rong’s fingers, but his little hands were slightly cool.
He Zhixian, Xu Mingqin, and even He Siming had all asked Jiang Rong to carry the child out.
He was very nervous—he was about to meet so many people.
Seeing Jiang Rong lowering his eyes and spacing out while staring at their son, He Siming unwrapped a green-lime-flavored candy and held it to his lips.
“Have a candy. Don’t be nervous,” he comforted him.
Jiang Rong sucked on the sweet-and-sour candy and asked, “Aren’t you nervous?”
He Siming sat beside him. “Not nervous.”
Jiang Rong said, “Alright then. You’re more experienced than I am.”
He Siming shook his head. “No experience. I hardly ever attend banquets with my parents.”
Jiang Rong was curious. “Then why did you agree to host such a big hundred-day banquet this time?”
He Siming said, “Because you and Linlin are worth cherishing. I want everyone to know that you’re my lover and my family. From now on, no one will dare look down on you.”
At that moment, Jiang Rong felt as though what he was holding in his mouth wasn’t a candy, but a solid reassurance.
Jiang Rong leaned against his shoulder. “I understand.”
Since He Siming had done something he used to dislike for his sake, there was nothing for him to be nervous about.
Aunt Yang knocked on the door to remind them it was time to go out.
Jiang Rong held He Shenglin, who wasn’t sleepy yet. He seemed a bit heavier than a few days ago.
He lowered his head to look at He Shenglin. The little guy suddenly curled his mouth into a grin. “Ya~”
He Siming rested a hand on Jiang Rong’s waist. “Look, He Shenglin is smiling. He’s not nervous at all.”
Jiang Rong completely relaxed and smiled.
The family of three walked toward the door leading to the banquet hall.
With a creak, the doors opened.
All the guests turned to look at them.
All the lights in the room focused on them. Jiang Rong shyly leaned closer to He Siming, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders in a protective gesture.
Under everyone’s gaze, the two of them took their seats.
As an elder, He Zhixian gave a brief opening speech.
“I’m very happy that today is my grandson He Shenglin’s hundred-day banquet…”
“Please enjoy the food and drinks!”
There were too many people at the banquet. After making a brief appearance, He Shenglin was carried away by the nanny. The elders also sat for a while before following to go see their great-grandson.
With someone watching the child, Jiang Rong didn’t have to worry too much. He Shenglin had been quite well-behaved all day.
He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin were busy as well, occasionally drinking with guests and taking time to introduce He Siming and Jiang Rong.
Fortunately, everyone was restrained today—alcohol was just a tool for socializing.
Jiang Rong really wasn’t used to this kind of occasion. In his twenty years of life, he’d never been shaped by such an environment or gained experience from it. He didn’t have He Siming’s natural composure when facing big scenes, nor did he like chatting with strangers for the sake of appearances. If he could avoid it, he would.
After making one round, he hid at Yao Shule’s table.
He asked them, “Do you want to go see Linlin?”
Yao Shule was the first to respond. “Let’s go, let’s go!” Even though he was lively and outgoing, he couldn’t blend into a business-tinged occasion like this.
The three of them slipped into the lounge area.
The two elderly grandparents had already left ahead of time.
Two nannies were taking care of He Shenglin in the lounge, with two bodyguards standing at the door. When they saw it was Jiang Rong, they let them in.
Yao Shule and Li Yizhou, who had never seen anything like this, were both startled.
Yao Shule leaned over to Jiang Rong and whispered, “I’m only realizing now—you really gave birth to a golden treasure.”
Jiang Rong smiled.
As soon as they entered the lounge, He Shenglin made little babbling sounds. Jiang Rong took him into his arms, and the baby immediately settled down.
The nanny told him that while they were gone, Linlin had been a bit unhappy and had even cried earlier.
Jiang Rong told the nanny to go rest.
Looking at the soft, squishy little baby, Ding Yan and Li Yizhou fell silent.
Ding Yan, who usually spoke loudly and roughly, suddenly put on a soft voice. “Linlin, I’m Uncle Ding.”
Li Yizhou was more normal—he didn’t dare touch the fair, tender baby at all.
“My god, he looks so small and so soft. Is this really He Siming’s son?”
Jiang Rong looked at him speechlessly. “This is my and He Siming’s son.”
Ding Yan spoke bluntly. “Did He Siming give birth to him?”
Jiang Rong calmly applied the essence of He Siming’s former frankness. “I gave birth to him.”
Ding Yan thought he was joking and laughed without believing him at all.
Li Yizhou said, “As expected, Jiang Rong likes joking now too.”
Jiang Rong: “……”
He rarely told the truth on his own initiative.
Yao Shule rolled his eyes hard at the two idiots. “Ding Yan, you’d better go film your upside-down livestream of eating crap!”
Jiang Rong added, “You should keep your word.”
He was on He Siming’s side—whether Ding Yan and Li Yizhou believed the child was his didn’t matter. What mattered was that he also wanted to see the show.
Ding Yan: “……”
Outside, He Siming couldn’t find Jiang Rong. When he noticed that Yao Shule and the others were gone too, he came into the lounge at this moment.
The moment he entered and saw Ding Yan’s deflated expression, his mood instantly improved.
He sat down next to Jiang Rong, glanced at their son whose eyes were rolling around curiously, and asked, “What are you talking about?”
Ding Yan said with a bitter face, “They want me to film a video.”
He Siming said, “Go ahead. Let’s see if you dare talk nonsense again in the future. After filming, post it to your Moments as a warning to others.”
Ding Yan said, “Alright, alright, I’ll film it—for our adorable Linlin.”
Who told him to be so stupid!
After the hundred-day banquet.
Jiang Rong and He Siming began preparing to move into their new home. While the weather still wasn’t too cold, they moved in first.
The moving date had been set in advance, in late October.
Neither of them wanted too many people disturbing them, so they only invited Yao Shule and the others, as well as Tang Yucheng. As for He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin, both were busy out of town and didn’t come to bother the young couple.
When Jiang Rong moved out of his old place, he felt a bit reluctant to leave the apartment he’d lived in for nearly a year.
But all the furniture was still there—they could always come back to stay.
After moving into the new home, that bit of reluctance was quickly forgotten.
Life passed quickly and peacefully.
He Shenglin grew day by day, from a tiny newborn into a baby who could express emotions, his little arms becoming stronger and stronger.
Every morning, the first thing Jiang Rong did after waking up was look at his energetic son. Just one glance was enough to fill him with vitality for the whole day.
Professor Wen brought up the matter of postgraduate recommendation. Jiang Rong had no reason to refuse, but he had become even busier.
By the end of November, the paper they published caused a stir in the field. The always low-key Jiang Rong suddenly became a hot favorite in the School of Computer Science. Some professors even lamented that he was a pearl covered in dust, while Wen Chengxu was his mentor who discovered him.
Jiang Rong continued to absorb new knowledge like a sponge. The deeper he dug, the more he loved the field. This focus brought him a great sense of accomplishment. It was hard to imagine that just over a year ago, he had been a complete novice—after more than a year of effort, he had surpassed many others.
As his paper was published, he spent more and more time in the lab, sometimes not even going home for dinner, eating takeout with Wen Chengxu and several seniors. He was getting to know more and more people.
Another winter arrived. The weather grew colder, and the December night winds stung people’s faces.
Now, the roles had reversed between He Siming and Jiang Rong—He Siming was getting home earlier than Jiang Rong, spending his evenings waiting for him to return.
He had just discovered that He Shenglin was starting to grow teeth and could eat supplementary food. They no longer needed to wake up at night to feed him. The little guy could sleep straight through until morning, keeping the same schedule as his dads and not causing trouble.
He Siming had just sent Jiang Rong a message. Five minutes passed with no reply.
He was probably busy again and forgot the time.
He poked He Shenglin’s chubby little face and said to Aunt Yang, “Aunt Yang, I’m going out for a bit. Can you try to put him to sleep tonight?”
Aunt Yang replied, “Alright.”
In fact, He Shenglin was getting harder and harder to soothe. He liked sleeping in the same room as his dads. Sleeping in a crib was fine, but he preferred their big bed.
At this moment, Jiang Rong was discussing a newly encountered problem with Professor Wen.
After finishing the discussion, a senior female student smiled and called out to Jiang Rong.
“Jiang Rong, your boyfriend is here to pick you up.”
Their relationship was well-known throughout the school now, and people always smiled kindly when they saw them.
Jiang Rong was shy by nature. Every time he heard the words “boyfriend,” he would blush.
He smiled awkwardly. “Thank you, senior.”
The more bashful he looked, the more wildly the senior laughed. She’d known He Siming for longer.
Seeing He Siming, she laughed even more. “He Siming, why do you come to arrest him every day? Who are you not?? about?”
He Siming lifted the milk tea in his hand. “Senior, do you still want this milk tea or not?”
The senior said, “Ah, I’ll drink it, I’ll drink it. I’ll definitely help you keep an eye on Rongrong every day.”
Wen Chengxu also saw He Siming and clicked his tongue twice. “He Siming, you came at the right time. Come take a look at this problem.”
Suddenly recruited as free labor, He Siming: “……”
Jiang Rong smiled and gave up his chair. “You do it.”
As He Siming came closer, Jiang Rong quietly tugged at his finger, sweetness blooming in his heart.
With He Siming joining in, they found some direction for the problem.
Seeing it was getting late and knowing they had a little one at home, Wen Chengxu let them go.
On the way back, He Siming didn’t say a word. Jiang Rong felt that his mood didn’t seem very good today.
When Jiang Rong finished washing up and lay down on the bed, He Siming lay down with his back to him.
Jiang Rong pressed against his solid back. “What’s wrong with you today?”
He Siming said, “Nothing.”
It was obvious at a glance that he was sulking.
Jiang Rong said, “But you haven’t talked to me at all. Are you angry?”
He Siming said, “Not angry, busy man.”
Jiang Rong got up, straddled him, then slid to the other side so they were face to face.
He kissed He Siming’s lips. “You still say you’re not angry—you’re not even smiling.”
He Siming was unmoved by his affection. “Who smiles every day? I’m not a love-struck idiot.”
Jiang Rong traced his brow with his fingertips. “He Siming, don’t be angry, okay? You’ll get wrinkles.”
He Siming cracked instantly, pinning him to the bed and grinding his teeth as he listed his crimes.
“Tell me—how many dinners did you eat with me this week?”
Jiang Rong: “……” Before he could finish counting, He Siming’s second charge came.
“At night you come home and kiss He Shenglin, but you don’t kiss me.”
Jiang Rong: “……”
“And also, He Shenglin has grown two teeth.”
Jiang Rong laughed and kissed his lips. “I know that one.”
He Siming said, “See? You don’t care about me.”
Jiang Rong’s face heated as he looked at him. “It’s not that I don’t care about you. I—I’m about to enter my heat period. I wanted to finish things early, then ask Professor Wen for leave.”
He Siming happily returned the kiss. “I forgive you.”
Jiang Rong: “……” You forgave me way too fast.
Physical intimacy was the best way to strengthen feelings. After their pheromones mingled, they embraced and fell asleep.
Probably because Jiang Rong had been coming home late recently, He Siming felt a bit insecure. That night, he had a nightmare.
He dreamed that Jiang Rong left this world.
