Chapter 83: Slipping in Some Personal Goods
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Jiang Rong and He Siming had entered their senior year, and He Shenglin was already a fifteen-month-old baby.
Today was the day to take graduation photos. The school scheduled it on a weekend to make it easier for students who were already doing internships to return to campus.
There were requirements for the graduation photos. Their class needed to take two sets: one in white shirts with black suit pants, one in academic gowns, plus a few shots in casual clothes.
Neither Jiang Rong nor He Siming liked sleeping in. They usually got up early, and today was no exception.
He Shenglin was awake too. He was going to take part in his dads’ graduation photos as well.
The first thing he did after waking up was, of course, to drink milk, then eat some breakfast.
Although he was only fifteen months old, he could already feed himself.
The aunt tied his bib for him.
But he didn’t touch the food on the plate.
With clear, standard pronunciation, he asked Aunt Yang, “Where’s Daddy?”
Aunt Yang replied, “They’re changing clothes. They said you can eat first.”
He Shenglin had been taught very well by his two dads. “Wait… for Daddy.”
At that moment, inside the changing room, rich peach-scented pheromones and lime-scented pheromones were drifting through the air.
He Siming had Jiang Rong’s hands pinned against the wardrobe door. The two of them passionately exchanged peach juice and lime water, and just changing shirts almost turned into ending up on the bed.
Jiang Rong was breathing lightly. “He Siming, don’t… enough.”
A trace of displeasure appeared between He Siming’s brows as he said petulantly, “Then we won’t take graduation photos.”
In front of others, He Siming was cold and courteous, knowing exactly when to advance and retreat—a man who had held the title of Qin University’s campus heartthrob for four consecutive years.
But in front of Jiang Rong, He Siming always showed his many sides: strong, willful, steady, childish, sensitive, gentle, and domineering.
He was slowly becoming a partner with flesh and blood, with responsibility, someone more trustworthy and dependable—and a rookie dad just as outstanding as he was in his studies.
Jiang Rong smiled. “Stop messing around. Linlin is still waiting to go out and play.”
He Siming sighed and had no choice but to let go. He carefully finished tying the tie around Jiang Rong’s neck. There were still bite marks on the back of his neck from last night; the color had faded a little, not very noticeable unless one looked closely, but he still didn’t want others to see them, so he pulled Jiang Rong’s collar a bit higher.
Over the past few days, Jiang Rong’s pheromones had become a little stronger again. After more than a year of exploration, He Siming was very familiar with Jiang Rong’s pheromone patterns. When the scent grew stronger, it meant his heat would arrive in a few days. It didn’t always follow a strict thirty-day cycle—sometimes it came a few days early, sometimes a week late. Calculating the timing wasn’t accurate; smelling it never failed.
He had given Jiang Rong a temporary mark in advance last night, so the scent wasn’t as strong today.
Jiang Rong touched the back of his neck. “Is it still strong?”
He Siming sniffed. “Not anymore.”
He Shenglin was already one year and three months old, but his uncle and Old Liu still hadn’t found a truly suitable solution. They had tried acupuncture, but it still couldn’t control heat cycles. The injections his uncle’s side developed didn’t work either; they’d been tested on mice in heat, with little effect.
Heat cycles were Jiang Rong’s nature, an indispensable part of his body. Unless the glands were removed—but that was absolutely impossible. No one could guarantee there wouldn’t be complications afterward.
Fortunately, He Siming and Jiang Rong were quite compatible. He Siming was practically an invisible Alpha and could fully meet Jiang Rong’s needs during heat.
Jiang Rong’s third heat had returned to lasting three days. He guessed that the first one after giving birth had been prolonged by a day because of hormonal imbalance. He Siming felt extremely regretful about that.
After fooling around for a while, Jiang Rong and He Siming finally went to the dining room for breakfast.
He Shenglin stared eagerly at the breakfast, waiting for his dads.
Jiang Rong lowered his head and kissed his son, who was looking more and more like He Siming. When he didn’t smile, it was already obvious that he had inherited He Siming’s looks.
Jiang Rong asked him, “Linlin, why didn’t you eat first?”
He Shenglin said, “Wait… Daddy.”
Jiang Rong smiled. “Okay, then eat.”
He Siming answered a phone call. When he came over, he kissed He Shenglin on the right cheek.
In a negotiating tone, he asked, “Grandma and Grandpa will come later. Do you want to be with them, or with us?”
Holding his little spoon and scooping up a small dumpling, He Shenglin answered without hesitation, “With Daddy.”
It was an expected choice. The older the child grew, the more attached he became to Jiang Rong and He Siming. At night, he always slept in their room. If one dad was on a business trip, he would sleep with the other—usually, the one traveling was He Siming.
After breakfast, Jiang Rong took He Shenglin to choose what he wanted to wear. He gave a few suggestions, and in the end they picked a fresh, cute outfit: a bright yellow pure-cotton tank top inside, a white shirt with little animal prints outside, dark gray casual pants, and a cute pair of headphones as an accessory. Such good taste at such a young age.
After He Shenglin turned six months old, all his clothes were handled by Grandma, who sent over piles of clothes every few days. He now even had his own walk-in closet—something his dads could only envy.
They packed a lot of things before going out: food, drinks, sunscreen, and diaper pads. But He Shenglin now used the bathroom whenever he needed to, so the pads were basically unused. Besides, in this weather they were too hot and could cause rashes. He had a bit of a cleanliness streak and only used them at night—after all, he was still at an age where accidents could happen.
When it was time, they headed out.
He Siming picked up the heavy little He Shenglin, while Jiang Rong put a bucket hat on his head.
“Does it block your view?” Jiang Rong asked.
“No,” He Shenglin replied.
He Siming said, “Let’s go. If we’re missing anything, we’ll have the bodyguards come back for it.”
That’s right—Grandma handled the child’s daily clothes, while Grandpa handled travel and safety. Four bodyguards were assigned. Even a simple outing required quite a commotion. But to avoid raising the child with a “I’m a young master” mentality, the bodyguards never stayed too close, all disguised as passersby.
Jiang Rong knew the bodyguards and asked He Siming, “Did you have bodyguards around you as a kid too?”
He Siming paused slightly. “No. As far as I remember, there were only nannies and drivers. When I got a bit older, I moved around between relatives’ homes. I wasn’t much different from ordinary kids—except for having more pocket money.”
Jiang Rong laughed. “That’s doting across generations.”
He Siming nodded. “Yeah. I cared a bit when I was little. Now I don’t anymore.”
At the school gate, the atmosphere was clearly different. Today, both male and female students were all dressed up.
Each class took group photos at designated spots.
The aunt waited under the shade with He Shenglin.
Yao Shule put on light makeup and stood next to Li Yizhou, visibly three shades lighter.
When he saw Jiang Rong and He Siming, he asked, “Did I just see Linlin?!”
Jiang Rong nodded. “Yeah, he’s taking photos with us too.”
Yao Shule beamed. “That’s awesome!”
The class monitor started organizing everyone into lines. Without prompting, everyone left the spot next to He Siming for Jiang Rong.
Ever since Jiang Rong and He Siming had been forced into the spotlight by the livestream incident, they’d attracted plenty of attention.
Some people bet their relationship wouldn’t last long, especially after someone dug up Jiang Rong’s orphan background. Others disagreed—after all, both families approved. No matter what people thought, the two of them remained as close as ever.
People had seen them kissing under the trees by Lovers’ Lake, hugging in classrooms, or walking down campus paths whispering intimately. The way He, the campus heartthrob, looked at Jiang Rong was always focused and full of tenderness.
Of course, when they hadn’t been seen together for a while, some people speculated they’d broken up—but within days, those guesses would be slapped in the face. When it came to showing affection, He always had his own methods.
For example, the jacket He wore one week might appear on Jiang Rong the next.
In summer, it was even more obvious. They wore almost matching couple outfits, differing only in details. Even their backpacks were the same style in different colors, not to mention other small things.
All these details were the strongest rebuttal to any breakup rumors.
Some people said Jiang Rong didn’t look like an orphan at all. He was raised by He Siming like a pampered young master—fair, soft, with fingers like scallions, gentle and beautiful overall.
And indeed, Jiang Rong had achieved a lot over the past year. The project he worked on with Professor Wen had already borne fruit, and in the near future, that robot would be able to enter the market, with Professor Wen as its first user.
On top of the original design, Jiang Rong and Professor Wen had added many new functions, hoping to help more people with similar difficulties.
With achievements like theirs, others couldn’t catch up even if they tried. Gradually, the gossip died down.
The young couple grew together, each with their own charm.
The photographer called out, “Everyone look at the camera!”
He Siming quietly hooked Jiang Rong’s little finger with his own. Jiang Rong felt it and hooked back, a faint smile blooming at his lips.
Click—the moment was frozen, and a graduation photo was born.
The second set was in academic gowns. After several shots, the photographer arranged the cap-tossing segment.
When Jiang Rong threw his cap into the air, He Siming held his own cap and looked at him.
The image froze once more.
After the group photos, it was time for students to take photos on their own.
He Siming and Jiang Rong became a popular photo spot.
First came the 519 dorm group photo, then many girls lined up to take pictures with them.
Even Yao Yin, who once had some ill thoughts about Jiang Rong, came over to take a photo.
Before leaving, she quietly said to Jiang Rong, “I’m sorry.”
Jiang Rong was confused. “For what?”
“Nothing.” Yao Yin smiled and shook her head, then linked arms with her friends and left.
Jiang Rong didn’t really mind the small incident.
He Siming was surrounded by students from other classes and couldn’t get away at all. Jiang Rong witnessed his charm firsthand, but today would be the only day this lively—afterward, everyone would go their separate ways.
Jiang Rong looked toward Aunt Yang and saw her pushing the stroller over.
They had been there too long. After all, He Shenglin was still a little baby and couldn’t sit still. His little mouth was puckered, on the verge of crying.
Jiang Rong took off the loose, stuffy academic gown, crouched in front of the stroller, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “What’s wrong?”
He Shenglin reached out his hands. “Daddy, hold.”
“Okay.” Jiang Rong handed the gown to the aunt and picked him up. “Linlin, you’re amazing—waiting for Daddy the whole time.”
There were a lot of strangers around, and they’d been waiting in a very noticeable spot. Passing students kept praising how cute he was, asking whose baby he was.
“Mmm.” He Shenglin liked being praised by Daddy and wrapped his arms around Jiang Rong’s neck.
Suddenly, all the students who were taking photos nearby turned to look.
They’d just been guessing which teacher had brought a child, and now they saw Jiang Rong walk over and pick up that delicate baby.
They heard it—the baby called Jiang Rong “Daddy”!
What?
Jiang Rong’s child? Then what about He Siming?
Huh?
Their minds were in chaos.
Someone then remembered that summer before junior year, when He Siming had posted something on his Moments.
Everyone’s gaze shifted to He Siming, who had just finished taking photos. He quickly extricated himself from the crowd and walked toward Jiang Rong and He Shenglin.
Seeing He Siming, He Shenglin called out again, “Daddy!”
He called everyone “Daddy” without distinguishing, but he called Jiang Rong more softly and He Siming more forcefully. Jiang Rong and He Siming could tell who he meant.
He Siming took He Shenglin from Jiang Rong’s arms. “I’ll take him. Want some water?” He noticed Jiang Rong’s lips were dry.
Jiang Rong nodded. Linlin was a little chubby—holding him for too long really did make your arms sore.
Jiang Rong took out a thermos and also handed He Shenglin his water bottle, letting him hold it himself.
After he finished drinking, he passed the cup to He Siming.
This scene rendered the surrounding students and teachers speechless.
The counselor happened to be nearby and asked, “He Siming, this child is…?”
He Siming adjusted the hat slipping down on He Shenglin’s head and smiled. “This is my son.”
He spoke loudly enough for others to hear clearly.
Good grief. The campus heartthrob had a kid before even fully graduating!
Wait a second—the baby had first hugged Jiang Rong’s neck and called him Daddy. That meant the two of them had been together long enough to have a child?
Where did the child come from?
From a distance, no one could clearly see He Shenglin’s face, so they could only speculate.
Yao Shule and Li Yizhou had finished taking photos too and ran over to find Jiang Rong. Seeing the adorable He Shenglin, they wanted to pinch him.
Unfortunately, with He Siming there, no one was allowed to kiss He Shenglin.
Yao Shule compromised. “Linlin, want to take a photo with Uncle Lele?”
He Shenglin looked at his two dads. Jiang Rong said, “Then let’s go. Linlin came today to take photos.”
Only then did He Shenglin answer Yao Shule, “Okay.”
Yao Shule: “…What a little clever one.”
With He Shenglin joining in, the photos became even more fun.
He Zhixian and Xu Mingqin arrived in a hurry, bringing a whole car of fresh flowers. They gave bouquets to every student who didn’t have one yet, wishing them a happy graduation.
The couple now returned home more times in a month than they used to return to the capital in a whole year.
It couldn’t be helped—they had a little grandson to miss. One day without seeing him felt unbearable.
Aside from coming back once every one or two weeks, they video-called every one or two days.
Because of this, He Siming had also grown closer to his parents over the past year—after all, if they wanted to see their grandson, they had to look for either Jiang Rong or him.
He Shenglin’s mouth was sweet. “Grandma, Grandpa.”
Xu Mingqin immediately stepped forward to hug her precious grandson, but with her son holding him, she couldn’t snatch him away.
“Oh my, is it hot? Linlin, are you hungry? Grandma brought tasty food.”
He Shenglin replied, “Not hungry yet.”
He Zhixian asked, “Did Linlin miss Grandpa?”
“Yes,” He Shenglin answered.
He Zhixian smiled until his eyes narrowed. “That’s good.”
The couple appearing together on the day of He Siming and Jiang Rong’s graduation photos shot straight onto the trending list within half an hour—then was quickly taken down.
The graduation photos that day were taken to everyone’s satisfaction.
With the He family couple there to show support, no one mentioned any discord between He Siming and Jiang Rong anymore.
But the biggest bombshell of the day was still the fact that the campus heartthrob and Jiang Rong were jointly raising a child—becoming dads at such a young age!
The days that followed grew even busier.
Both Jiang Rong and He Siming had to prepare their graduation theses.
He Siming continued shuttling between company and school. Jiang Rong spent even more time in the lab—their product development had reached its final stage.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the thesis defense, then the graduation ceremony.
In mid-June the following year, at the graduation ceremony, He Siming, dressed in his academic gown, went on stage as the outstanding graduate representative. He was still handsome and refined, his demeanor steady, his speech concise and powerful.
Jiang Rong sat below the stage, holding his diploma, recalling the last time he’d run under the blazing sun to the sports field to watch He Siming give a speech to freshmen.
People said He Siming was cold, but to Jiang Rong, he was the warmest person he’d ever met.
He Siming concluded, “Finally, on behalf of all graduates, I wish all our teachers smooth paths in everything, and all graduating students a bright future—good health and family happiness.”
At that, everyone unconsciously looked in Jiang Rong’s direction.
Who didn’t know by now that He, the campus heartthrob, had slipped a bit of personal goods into his blessing?
Jiang Rong’s ears turned red. He quietly lifted his diploma to cover half his face.
They were definitely going to be happy for a very long time.
