BABHFD : Chapter 55 Softening

 

Ren Zhouyuan spent an entire afternoon talking with An An. He could sense An An’s attitude softening, but when he asked An An again if he wanted a little brother or sister, An An thought for a moment and still said, “No.”

 

Ren Zhouyuan felt a headache coming on. This time, he was really at his wit’s end with An An.

 

After a moment of silence, An An, nestled in Ren Zhouyuan’s arms, gently tugged at his shirt and asked in a soft voice, “Daddy, do you want a little brother?”

 

Ren Zhouyuan’s heart stirred. He carefully chose his words and replied, “Daddy wants to have a little brother or sister to grow up with An An.”

 

An An’s face scrunched up, clearly conflicted. This time, Ren Zhouyuan didn’t rush to persuade him, allowing An An to process it on his own. He held An An, gently patting his back, soothing him as he did when he was a child.

 

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, and as Ren Zhouyuan hummed softly, An An soon drifted off to sleep in the lazy atmosphere.

 

Ren Zhouyuan carefully laid him on the bed, tucked him in, kissed his forehead, and quietly left the room.

 

Standing outside the door, he let out a weary sigh, patted his face to perk himself up, and then walked out.

 

Upon hearing that Leonid had returned, Ren Zhouyuan quickly made his way to their bedroom. The moment he saw Leonid’s face, all the negative emotions he had been suppressing surged up, almost overwhelming him. It was then he realized just how much he had missed him.

 

They embraced and exchanged a kiss, Leonid giving his lips a lingering peck before reluctantly letting go. “You’ve worked hard,” Leonid said in a low voice.

 

Ren Zhouyuan shook his head, and they held each other for a while longer before Leonid led them to sit on the edge of the bed.

 

Ren Zhouyuan recounted his recent conversations with An An, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and fatigue, but he showed no sign of giving up, seriously contemplating how to make An An accept the idea.

 

Leonid listened quietly, forming his own thoughts but keeping them to himself. He made a mental note of the issue at hand.

 

After Ren Zhouyuan finished speaking, he remembered that Leonid had been away frequently. It had been days since he last saw him at home. Taking advantage of this moment, he asked about Leonid’s whereabouts during this time.

 

To his surprise, Leonid, usually forthright, now seemed hesitant and evasive. Ren Zhouyuan sat up from his embrace, stared at him for a while, and just as Leonid was about to spill everything, Ren Zhouyuan waved it off. “It’s fine. If you want to tell me, do so. If not… that’s okay too. Just don’t bring any trouble back.”

 

For some reason, although a bit displeased that Leonid was hiding something, Ren Zhouyuan instinctively felt that Leonid wouldn’t do anything to betray him. They had both been exhausted by the matter of a second child, and Ren Zhouyuan could see that Leonid had been trying various ways to cheer him up. He figured Leonid was probably planning something to surprise him again.

 

Just imagining such a scene made him smile and shake his head. He found a comfortable position in Leonid’s arms again, enjoying a moment of afternoon tranquility.

 

Leonid hadn’t told him about the wedding he was planning. He had been traveling between countries, arranging suits, selecting rings, and scouting venues, all to give Ren Zhouyuan the perfect wedding.

 

He had enlisted everyone to keep it a secret from Ren Zhouyuan, intending to give him a surprise. He hadn’t expected that during his absence, An An would start causing a small stir.

 

After listening to Ren Zhouyuan, Leonid quickly understood the problem. One day, when Ren Zhouyuan was busy with his tasks, Leonid secretly sought out An An for a man-to-man talk.

 

Leonid began directly, “Son, do you like your daddy?”

 

An An immediately knew what he wanted to discuss. Over the past few days, Ren Zhouyuan had been working on his mindset, and he had started to soften. But with Leonid stepping in, he quickly reverted. “I love Daddy, but I don’t like the idea of a baby brother.”

 

Leonid nodded, then said, “I don’t like the idea of a baby brother either.”

 

An An hadn’t expected Leonid to take this approach. He thought his dads were united in wanting another child. Now, it seemed Leonid was his ally!

 

Dropping his toy, An An’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Leonid. “So you don’t want Daddy to have a baby either?”

 

Leonid nodded and sighed, patting An An’s shoulder. “I’m afraid that if Daddy has a baby, he’ll only care about the baby and won’t look at me anymore.”

 

An An instantly felt a connection, nodding vigorously and looking at Leonid with wide, expectant eyes. “But Daddy really wants a baby. What should we do?”

 

Leonid put on a troubled expression, lifted An An onto his lap, and said, “I love Daddy very much, so I’m scared that if he has a baby, he won’t love me anymore. But,” he looked into An An’s eyes seriously, “I’m more afraid that Daddy will be unhappy. If having a baby makes him happy, I’d rather he ignores me than see him sad.”

 

An An frowned deeply, feeling upset.

 

He leaned against Leonid, pondering his words. He didn’t want his daddy to be unhappy. Although he had been protesting the idea of a baby, deep down, he felt uneasy, sensing that he might be hurting his father’s feelings.

 

He didn’t dislike babies; he was just afraid that a baby would take away all his daddy’s attention. Despite Ren Zhouyuan’s constant reassurances, An An had started to waver.

 

Leonid let him think quietly for a few minutes before speaking again. “I might not like babies much, but thinking about a baby who looks like An An or like your daddy makes me feel better about it.”

 

An An looked up, eyes wide with curiosity. “Will the baby look like me?”

 

“Of course,” Leonid said. “An An is Daddy and Papa’s child, and the baby will be our child too, so they’ll look like you.”

 

“But the baby might also look like Daddy?” An An was conflicted. He had always wished he looked like Ren Zhouyuan, but he had inherited more of Leonid’s features. If the baby looked like Daddy, he might feel sad.

 

Leonid tapped An An’s nose. “Having a baby who looks like Daddy, and loves you just as much as Daddy does, wouldn’t that be nice?”

 

An An leaned against Leonid, imagining the scenario. Sometimes he pictured a baby chasing after him, sometimes he envisioned Daddy and a baby who looked like him holding his hands on a walk, and he suddenly giggled.

 

Leonid continued addressing An An’s concerns from his perspective, discussing various aspects of having a baby. Gradually, An An’s initial resistance turned into curiosity and even a bit of excitement.

 

He asked Leonid many questions about babies, and Leonid answered them all. To Leonid’s surprise, An An eventually asked, “So when will Daddy have the baby?”

 

An An seemed to believe that the baby was already in Ren Zhouyuan’s tummy and that they just needed to accept it.

 

Leonid, despite his eloquence, was at a loss for words.

 

Ren Zhouyuan, having finished his work, came over to chat with An An. Seeing Leonid and An An talking in the room, he stood by the door, listening for a while. He heard their conversation, including An An’s last question.

 

Pushing open the door, he walked in and, under Leonid’s surprised gaze, sat down beside them, kissed each of them, and took An An’s hand. “Daddy doesn’t know when the baby will come, but let’s look forward to it together, okay?”

 

Both adults watched An An anxiously. After a moment, An An nodded enthusiastically, and they both sighed in relief.

 

Ren Zhouyuan and Leonid exchanged a glance and smiled, hugging each other and An An. At that moment, they all shared the same thought.