ACMS 45

Chapter 45: Night Talk

To Shen Hechuan, this child came as a complete surprise—an unexpected blessing.

He had thought that when Qiao Le asked him if he liked children, it was because Qiao Le was worried he wouldn’t want the child. He hadn’t imagined that it was actually Qiao Le who didn’t want it.Ever since he learned that Qiao Le was pregnant, it felt as if a delightful shock had dropped out of the sky and struck him right on the head. On the way to Yunjing University to see Qiao Le, he had even thought about which kindergarten the baby would attend.

But then Qiao Le said he didn’t plan on keeping it.

For a moment, Shen Hechuan’s expression went blank. He stared at Qiao Le, trying to confirm whether he was joking—but Qiao Le’s expression was serious.

Suddenly, Shen Hechuan realized something: maybe Qiao Le hadn’t intended to tell him at all.

“You don’t want the baby?” he asked softly.

Shen Hechuan’s reaction didn’t escape Qiao Le’s eyes. Coupled with what Shen Hechuan had just said, Qiao Le understood—he wanted this child.

But Qiao Le didn’t. His life had only just gotten back on track, and the timing of this pregnancy couldn’t be worse.

Besides, he still couldn’t quite accept the reality of being pregnant.

“I don’t want it.”

Those four words, which Qiao Le thought would be hard to say, turned out to be easier than expected once they left his lips.

Looking at Shen Hechuan, he said, “I’m sorry, I don’t want to keep it.”

Qiao Le didn’t know if he would feel differently if the child had come at a better time. But for now, he truly didn’t want it.

And he didn’t want to lie to Shen Hechuan. Even if he didn’t say it now, he’d have to say it eventually.

After he spoke, the two of them fell silent.

No matter how calm Shen Hechuan’s expression appeared, he couldn’t hide the flash of disappointment in his eyes. They were standing close, so Qiao Le caught it easily. Unable to bear meeting his gaze, he turned his head slightly to the side.

Seeing that, Shen Hechuan sighed softly. “Why are you still so quick to apologize? I never said I blamed you.”

His words reminded Qiao Le of all the times he had apologized to Shen Hechuan before. He reached out and took Shen Hechuan’s hand, asking, “How did you find out?”

Did he see the test results?

Qiao Le quickly ruled that out. He had stuffed the test report at the very bottom of a drawer—there was no reason for Shen Hechuan to go through his things.

Shen Hechuan said, “I picked up a friend today.”

“I know,” said Qiao Le, not following the sudden shift in topic. “And?”

“His wife is pregnant,” Shen Hechuan said. “Her symptoms were exactly the same as yours.”

Sleepiness. Dry heaving.

Qiao Le: “…”

“That’s it?” Qiao Le couldn’t believe it. “You guessed it just like that? Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions a bit fast?”

“That’s not all.”

Shen Hechuan had put together Qiao Le’s symptoms with the way he had been testing him about his feelings toward children—and what Judy mentioned about seeing Qiao Le at the hospital.

Some things really do line up like that. Seemingly unrelated details end up connecting perfectly.

Thinking about how Qiao Le went to the hospital with Fang Jiaxu for a check-up, and he—Shen Hechuan, the baby’s father—hadn’t even been told, made him feel undeniably jealous.

“Did you never intend to tell me about this?” he asked.

“Of course not.” Qiao Le was worried he’d misunderstand and quickly explained, “I just didn’t know how to bring it up. I mean, I’m a man—don’t you think it’s weird that I’m pregnant?”

If it had happened to someone else, Shen Hechuan might’ve thought it was strange.

But when it happened to the one he loved, he felt only joy—as though it were a gift from the heavens.

“No,” he said without hesitation. “The doctor said you’re not the first man to get pregnant. There’s nothing weird about you.”

Hearing him mention the doctor, Qiao Le was surprised. “You even asked the doctor?”

Shen Hechuan nodded. “You weren’t answering your phone. I had no way to confirm it with you, so I had to find out from the hospital.”

No wonder he had been calling so much.

“That explains it.” Qiao Le understood, but couldn’t help complaining a little, “How could the doctor tell you without my permission?”

He hadn’t even figured out how to bring it up to Shen Hechuan yet—and now the secret had been exposed. It had caught him completely off guard.

“Don’t blame the doctor,” Shen Hechuan said. “I told him you’re the person I love, and I was worried about a misdiagnosis, so I needed to double-check.”

The word love stirred something inside Qiao Le. Then he heard Shen Hechuan continue, “The doctor said the baby is developing very well. But since you didn’t go back after picking up the report, he told me to find time to bring you in again.”

The baby is developing very well.

That was exactly what the doctor at the city’s First People’s Hospital had said too.

They had said some other things as well, but at the time Qiao Le had been too rattled to really take it in.

“…But I really don’t plan on keeping it,” he said softly, emphasizing again.

Looking at him with his head lowered, fingers tugging unconsciously at the hem of his clothes, Shen Hechuan felt a pang of disappointment—but he couldn’t bring himself to blame him.

After all, Qiao Le was only nineteen. He was still a child himself. Asking him to carry and give birth to a baby was asking far too much.

“Even if you don’t want to keep it, you still need to go back for a proper check-up,” Shen Hechuan said. “If you’re going to have the procedure, at least do it knowing exactly how your body’s doing, and with the safest, most medically sound plan possible.”

Shen Hechuan made a valid point, and Qiao Le had also planned to go to the hospital with Fang Jiaxu after New Year’s Day.

“I know,” he said. “I already made an appointment with Brother Jiaxu. We’re going to the hospital after New Year.”

Fang Jiaxu?

Shen Hechuan frowned. It had made sense for Qiao Le to go to Fang Jiaxu behind his back when he didn’t know about the pregnancy. But now that he did know, was Qiao Le still planning to go with Fang Jiaxu for his follow-up?

Was he really that unworthy of Qiao Le’s trust?

That realization left Shen Hechuan vaguely frustrated. He reached up to loosen his tie and said to Qiao Le, “I’ll go with you.”

“Don’t you have to keep your friends company?” Qiao Le asked. He remembered that Shen Hechuan’s friends were staying in Yunjing for a week.

“They’re not children,” Shen Hechuan said. “I’ll have someone arrange the checkup. You don’t need to worry.”

Now that everything was out in the open, Qiao Le naturally wanted Shen Hechuan to go with him. That way, they could both know exactly how the examination went, and he wouldn’t have to relay anything afterward.

“Okay.”

Now that everything was clear, Shen Hechuan said, “Go take a shower first. You haven’t been sleeping well the past couple days. Go to bed early tonight.”

Qiao Le nodded. “Alright.”

After showering, Qiao Le sat cross-legged on the bed, scrolling on his phone, looking up pregnancy-related precautions.

But after a while, he put the phone down again. He wasn’t planning on keeping the child anyway—so why bother reading all this?

He glanced toward the bathroom, where the sound of running water continued. Shen Hechuan was still showering.

The conversation they’d had that night lingered in his mind. As he looked toward the bathroom, Qiao Le suddenly felt unsettled.

Was Shen Hechuan really so calm about him not wanting the baby? He hadn’t even said a single harsh word. He even offered to go to the doctor with him.

Didn’t he say he really wanted a child?

Shen Hechuan did really want a baby. Something this big—if he hadn’t been able to stay calm, he wouldn’t have been able to have a proper discussion with Qiao Le at all.

But he could understand Qiao Le’s decision. Qiao Le was only a first-year university student. A sudden pregnancy would completely disrupt his life.

To be fair, if it were him, he’d probably make the same choice.

But even if he understood, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

Warm water poured down over Shen Hechuan’s body from above, soaking him completely. He tilted his head back slightly and let the water stream down his face.

After a while, he turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to dry himself off.

When he came out of the bathroom, he saw Qiao Le still sitting cross-legged on the bed.

The heater was on. Qiao Le’s pajama sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing graceful arms—and a small bruise on one elbow.

Shen Hechuan walked over and gently lifted his arm. “How’d you hit it? Does it hurt?”

Qiao Le glanced at it and thought for a second. “I bumped into something when I was moving props this afternoon. It didn’t even hit that hard, I don’t know how it bruised like that.”

“I’ll go get some ointment.”

Shen Hechuan turned to leave, but a few steps later, he paused and looked back at Qiao Le, hesitation in his voice. “Can you even use ointment right now?”

That question caught Qiao Le off guard. His expression turned a little blank. “Huh? I can’t?”

Shen Hechuan: “……”

He’d been thrown off by the question himself. They were just two guys—neither of them knew the answer.

“I’ll ask,” Shen Hechuan said.

“Ask who?” Qiao Le asked curiously.

“A doctor friend.”

Shen Hechuan had originally planned to ask Wu Huilan—she had firsthand experience—but since Qiao Le wasn’t planning on keeping the baby, there was no way to bring it up without explanation.

His friend was a little puzzled about why he was asking something like this in the middle of the night, but still shared some precautions about medication during pregnancy.

There wasn’t any suitable ointment in the house, so Shen Hechuan simply brought a warm towel and began applying a hot compress to the bruise for Qiao Le.

Watching him work so gently, Qiao Le felt a quiet stir in his heart.

For someone like Shen Hechuan, who had been raised in privilege, it was no exaggeration to say he’d lived a pampered life. And yet, in this so-called marriage, it was Qiao Le who had always been the one being cared for.

“Shen Hechuan?”

Qiao Le spoke. “Aren’t you mad that I don’t want this baby?”

Shen Hechuan’s hands froze. He looked up at him.

Mad? It would be more accurate to say he was sad and disappointed.

“I respect your decision,” Shen Hechuan said. “The baby’s inside your body. You’re the one affected. Even if I’m the father, I don’t have the right to force you to keep it.”

Qiao Le fell silent. He didn’t know what to say to that.

Shen Hechuan also said nothing. Once the towel had cooled, he stood up and brought it back to the bathroom.

When he returned, Qiao Le had already lain down. Shen Hechuan got into bed next to him and wrapped an arm around him.

His hand rested gently on Qiao Le’s lower abdomen. It was still flat, but even just touching it through the fabric gave him a strange, complex feeling.

There was a baby in there.

A baby connected to his own blood, growing inside the person he loved.

Shen Hechuan leaned in and kissed the side of Qiao Le’s face. “Go to sleep.”

“Good night,” Qiao Le murmured, closing his eyes.

After clearing things up with Shen Hechuan, Qiao Le felt far more at ease and soon fell into a deep sleep once the lights were off.

—

The next morning, Qiao Le woke up naturally, feeling well-rested and refreshed. He stretched lazily and got out of bed.

He was alone in bed. Shen Hechuan had already gotten up.

After putting on his shoes and leaving the bedroom, he saw Qiao Man playing a game in the living room and called out, “Morning, Xiao Man baby.”

Lately, Qiao Le had been busy and coming home late, so he hadn’t had much time to play with Qiao Man. The moment Qiao Man saw him, he dropped his toy and came charging over like a cannonball. “Brother!!”

Just as he was about to launch himself into Qiao Le’s arms, Shen Hechuan rushed over even faster and scooped him up in one swift motion.

Caught off guard, Qiao Man looked confused as he dangled in Shen Hechuan’s arms.

Shen Hechuan let out a breath of relief.

Just because they didn’t want this baby didn’t mean they could go about things this recklessly.