BABHFD : Chapter 53 Scared

 

Sometimes life is strange like that. The harder you try to achieve something, the less likely you are to get it. Since the two of them stopped using contraception, almost half a year had passed without any news of Ren Zhouyuan getting pregnant. At first, he was excited and eagerly awaited the arrival of a second child. However, as time went on, he was left with only anxiety and disappointment.

 

Occasionally, he wondered if his previous reluctance to have a baby had scared away the child that was meant to come. Sometimes he even thought that maybe after having An An, he couldn’t conceive again, and perhaps An An would be their first and last child.

 

Because of this, he secretly went to see the doctor who had delivered An An, a friend he had grown up with in the orphanage. After the checkup, the friend told him that there was nothing wrong with his fertility. However, male pregnancy is rare, and perhaps because of this, his chances of conceiving were lower than that of an average woman.

 

Hearing this, Ren Zhouyuan thought that as long as there was hope, they just needed to try harder. So he diligently tried with Leonid every day, even making Leonid, as strong as he was, afraid of their activities.

 

Seeing how obsessed Ren Zhouyuan had become with having a child, Leonid couldn’t help but blame himself for putting too much pressure on him before.

 

Originally, before knowing Ren Zhouyuan could get pregnant, he had only seen him as an ordinary man and was prepared to come out to his family and spend his life with Ren Zhouyuan alone. Later, finding out about this unexpected gift, he became greedy.

 

He knew Ren Zhouyuan’s eagerness for a child was influenced by him. If a second child came as expected, it would be a happy ending for everyone. But if it didn’t, considering Ren Zhouyuan’s personality, he didn’t know to what extent he might push himself.

 

So, he tried various ways to help Ren Zhouyuan relax. They traveled abroad as a family, went on dates like ordinary couples, and did everything Leonid could think of, but no matter what they did, Ren Zhouyuan’s mind was still preoccupied with getting pregnant.

 

Leonid, at his wit’s end, had no choice but to call his family in another country for help.

 

Leonid didn’t hide anything from his family, explaining the whole situation, including their previous argument, hoping they could offer some advice. Upon hearing his explanation, his family berated him for neglecting Ren Zhouyuan’s health and doing such shameless things.

 

Leonid held the phone, his face turning gray from the scolding. After they finished, he patiently asked, “So what should I do now?”

 

Everyone suddenly became proactive, offering ideas, but most of the suggestions were things Leonid had already tried. Finally, Anna clapped her hands and said, “Have you thought about when to get married?”

 

Leonid was taken aback, and his eyes immediately lit up.

 

The family secretly made plans over the phone. Leonid noted down all their suggestions. After hanging up, he looked at the notebook, his mouth curling into a smile.

 

After that phone call, Anna and her group quickly packed their bags and, along with Igor and Alexander, came to China to visit them. A few days later, even Alexei’s family arrived, making the house lively.

 

During this time, Ren Zhouyuan was troubled by the second child issue and was also busy with the opening of the Maker Base, overwhelmed with work. Meanwhile, Leonid frequently went out, leaving Ren Zhouyuan unaware of his whereabouts. He was busy with work during the day and entertaining Leonid’s family at night, often so exhausted that he had no time to call Leonid. After bathing, he would fall asleep as soon as he touched the bed, which lasted for several days, giving him less time to think about having a child.

 

This time, Alexei brought Anatoly along. Since their first meeting, An An had started learning Russian to avoid being looked down upon by Leonid. Although he still stammered, the two children could finally communicate normally.

 

Alexei’s wife, Daria, was as beautiful and elegant as before, exuding the demeanor of a noble lady. But slowly, Ren Zhouyuan noticed something different about her.

 

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, but observing how Alexei and Anatoly treated her, Ren Zhouyuan felt something had changed. Alexei always doted on his wife, but even the mischievous Anatoly had started caring for his mother, which greatly surprised Ren Zhouyuan, as he used to always crash into her arms without a second thought.

 

Ren Zhouyuan wanted to ask but felt he wasn’t close enough to the family, especially to Daria, with whom he seldom spoke. But his curiosity got the better of him, and one day, he saw Daria touch her belly, finally understanding the sense of discord.

 

He seized an opportunity to sit next to Daria on the sofa while she watched Anatoly and An An playing on the carpet. After a few casual remarks, he tentatively asked, “Daria, I noticed Anatoly has been much better behaved lately. He used to be so reckless. Has something good happened recently?”

 

Daria smiled at him, her gaze seeming to see through his thoughts.

 

Ren Zhouyuan coughed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed by his impulsive question. Just as he was about to say something, Daria took his hand and raised an eyebrow at him.

 

Ren Zhouyuan’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked, “May I?”

 

Daria smiled and nodded, gently pulling his hand to her slightly rounded belly. There was no movement under the skin, but somehow, this simple act gave Ren Zhouyuan a different feeling.

 

Daria smiled and said, “I’m pregnant, a little over four months. Anatoly will soon have a little brother.”

 

Ren Zhouyuan looked at her in surprise, then nodded after a moment, retracting his hand. They sat quietly on the sofa, watching Anatoly and An An play on the carpet.

 

Pregnancy should be a beautiful process, and Ren Zhouyuan understood this from Daria’s expression.

 

He began to reflect on his behavior. Over the past few months, he had fallen into a trap, treating having a child as a task to be completed. Since deciding to have another child, he hadn’t seriously considered what the child’s arrival would mean or what they would face after the child was born. He had raised An An on his own before, but now, with Leonid and more family members, he had started to rely on them without knowing if An An would even like a future sibling.

 

He began to slow down, no longer impatient about the issue. But when he turned to share this with Leonid, he found that Leonid had been gone for over a week.

 

Although Ren Zhouyuan was busy with work during this time, he still kept in touch with Leonid every night. He knew Leonid was probably in some foreign city, but each day he seemed to be in a different place. Today in one country, tomorrow in another.

 

Ren Zhouyuan thought he was busy with work, but when he asked Ron, he found out there were no plans for trips recently. When he had some free time, Ren Zhouyuan began to wonder what Leonid was really up to.

 

However, Anna’s visit didn’t leave him much time to relax. Once the preparatory work for the Maker Base’s opening was almost done, Ren Zhouyuan finally had a day to relax, only to be dragged around by Anna, who wanted him to show them around.

 

Ren Zhouyuan couldn’t refuse their requests, but Anna seemed to have new plans every day, and those plans always included him. Having never experienced the warmth of family growing up, Anna’s constant introductions of him as her son left him feeling light-headed and floating on air, barely remembering who Leonid was.

 

With Leonid not at home, Ren Zhouyuan didn’t have to sleep alone in the big bed, so he returned to sleep with An An.

 

Remembering his earlier thoughts about An An’s opinion on siblings, he decided to broach the subject that night.

 

Recently, An An and Anatoly had grown closer, finding common topics and playing together much better than when they first met.

 

They spent all day playing with the models Leonid had bought for An An, which even Anatoly had never seen. Watching them play happily, Ren Zhouyuan thought An An might want a brother to play with, like Anatoly.

 

Holding An An, he asked, “An An, do you like Anatoly?”

 

An An nodded without hesitation. “He’s great at piloting the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft!”

 

Ren Zhouyuan assumed that was the name of one of the models and nodded. “What if you had a brother like Anatoly? Would you like that?”

 

An An tilted his head. “Isn’t Anatoly already a brother?”

 

Ren Zhouyuan pinched his nose. “I mean a real brother, one you can see and play with every day.”

 

An An thought for a moment, then frowned and hugged Ren Zhouyuan tightly. “Dad, are you and Big Dad planning to give An An a brother?”

 

Surprised that An An understood so quickly, Ren Zhouyuan nervously held him. “Yes, would you like a brother or a sister?”

 

An An suddenly clung to Ren Zhouyuan, crying, “I don’t want a brother or a sister! I just want to be alone! I don’t like Anatoly anymore! Please don’t give me a brother!”

 

Ren Zhouyuan was stunned, feeling the wetness of An An’s tears on his chest. Panicking, he gently soothed An An’s back.

 

Despite all their careful planning, they never anticipated that An An might not like the idea of a sibling.