Chapter 116.1

[Six Years Later]

Lin Lulu had just passed her interview and joined a new company not long ago.

The company had gone public at the start of the year, focusing mainly on artificial intelligence. She was hired as a secretary, responsible for assisting the president with daily coordination and keeping track of all sorts of random, messy tasks.

Before coming here, she’d always imagined that a president who could build a company to that scale in just a few years had to be a balding, pot-bellied middle-aged man. All those late nights and overtime? His hairline must’ve been fighting for its life. And the endless business dinners? A beer belly was practically guaranteed.

If the boss turned out to be even a little gentle and approachable at work, she figured she’d probably sigh from the bottom of her heart and say, “Sir, you really look just like my dad.”

But the moment she pushed open the president’s office door, accepted the first document he handed her, and finally saw his face clearly, Lin Lulu froze on the spot.

What bald, pot-bellied, middle-aged man?

Her president was ridiculously handsome!

Perfect build. Tall, long legs. The kind of polished elite you only see in magazines. Young, successful—drop-dead gorgeous.

His whole presence practically radiated overwhelming charm.

He was like the perfect president straight out of an anime or a novel.

No—

He was exactly that.

Getting to work under a president like this, with a high salary, amazing benefits, no pressure to work overtime, and even holiday greetings and gifts from the company… just looking at him made Lin Lulu feel like she was walking on air. She was fired up, ready to give it her all and help the company make even more money.

Yet before a month of that bliss could pass, Lin Lulu found herself with two new worries.

One was that she found out she was pregnant.

She and her husband had been married for two years and never planned on having kids so soon. They’d agreed to focus on their careers before turning thirty and enjoy their time together first.

But somehow, the baby came anyway—right when they were completely unprepared.

Her other worry?

She’d started to realize that the president seemed to have a bit of a crush on her.

—Or maybe it wasn’t exactly a crush. But he definitely seemed to care about her a little more than the others.

She wasn’t imagining things either. The president had been unusually attentive to her lately.

For example—though this was hardly the full list—he let her leave early every day. He often arranged extra meals for her. If she made a small mistake at work, he didn’t scold her. Instead, he’d gently ask if she hadn’t slept well the night before. Fruits and nuts were sent to her desk daily…

“What am I supposed to do? The more I think about it, the weirder it feels!” After wrapping up her tasks, Lin Lulu slipped into the hallway to slack off for a bit and sent her friend a voice message. “President Jiang got me an extra meal again today—black-bone chicken soup. I didn’t eat the nuts yesterday, and when I went in to grab a document, he even reminded me to eat them.”

Her friend’s reply came almost instantly as a voice message. “Wow, your president sounds kind of dreamy. Most bosses wish their employees would never get pregnant or have kids, but yours is way too nice!”

“But Lulu, you have to hold your ground! You’re married! And you’re pregnant! The president hasn’t said anything yet, so just act like normal. But if he does say something or even hints at it, you have to reject him immediately!”

Lin Lulu let out a long sigh. Just as she was about to press the button to reply with a voice message, a notification popped up.

It was from the president, asking her to come to his office after she finished her work.

Lin Lulu’s heart skipped. “The president wants me in his office. He’s not about to lay everything out, is he?! I’m so nervous! Even if he’s handsome, successful, and rich, I have to stay strong! I’m going in! If I’m not out in half an hour, call me!”

Her friend replied right away, “Okay! You’ve got this, Lulu!”

Lin Lulu stalled at her desk for a bit longer before finally bracing herself and heading into the president’s office.

The president was busy going through documents.

Lin Lulu: “!”

No matter what he might be thinking about her, he was honestly, truly, ridiculously handsome.

Just watching him focus on his work was a feast for the eyes from every angle.

Hearing her come in, Jiang Zhihuo looked up and smiled. “You’re here. The thing hasn’t arrived yet, let’s wait a moment.”

Lin Lulu: “!”

The thing?! What thing?!

What kind of thing did he need to give her while talking about work?!

On the outside, Lin Lulu kept her polite, professional smile. On the inside, she was panicking. She sat down on the side sofa, fingers twisting together nervously.

Just as she was desperately thinking about how to deal with the president, the office door suddenly opened. A tiny little ball of fluff came zooming in with a whoosh. He was small and soft-looking, barely taller than the desk, and he ran straight toward the president. Throwing his arms wide, he happily launched himself into his embrace and shouted, bright and clear, “Mama!”

Lin Lulu: “?”

Mama?

Right behind the little fluffball came another ridiculously handsome man.

He looked about the same age as the president, dressed casually, tall and well-built with a lean figure. It was just that his expression was a little too cold. Even in simple clothes, he carried such a stern presence that he seemed even more like a president than the actual president. Lin Lulu subconsciously straightened her back.

But the moment his gaze landed on Jiang Zhihuo, his eyes softened. He gave Lin Lulu a small nod, then walked over. Leaning in close, he gently rubbed his cheek against Jiang Zhihuo’s, who was still holding the little fluffball in his arms. The gesture was natural and intimate.

Jiang Zhihuo introduced them, “My husband, and my son.”

Lin Lulu: “?”

Husband? Son?!

How could two men have a child?

Lin Lulu’s expression went from blank… to stunned… to completely confused.

It was all written so clearly on her face that anyone could guess what she was thinking.

Jiang Zhihuo rubbed the back of his neck and took the initiative to explain, “I’m an omega.”

With how society had changed over the years, discrimination against second genders had become much rarer. Lin Lulu wasn’t the gossiping type to begin with. When she changed jobs, she’d only looked at the company’s strengths and benefits. She’d never gone out of her way to dig into the president’s background—let alone his second gender.

“Are you the pregnant jiejie?” The little fluffball wriggled out of Jiang Zhihuo’s arms, grabbed a box from Yan Mu, and pattered over to Lin Lulu with quick little steps. “This is crucian carp. Mama was going to bring it this morning, but he left in a rush and forgot. It’s for you.”

Lin Lulu still hadn’t processed anything. She stared at the little fluffball in disbelief, then slowly looked up at the president… and the president’s husband.

Lin Lulu: “Huh?”

The little fluffball went on seriously, “I know being pregnant is really tough. We have to be extra nice to pregnant people! You need to eat properly! The baby gets all its nutrition from what you eat!”

The little fluffball was just too adorable. No matter how confused she felt, Lin Lulu couldn’t bring herself to think about it anymore. She reached out to gently pat his soft hair and asked with a smile, “Who taught you that?”

“Papa and Mama,” the little fluffball replied obediently. “Papa said that when Mama was pregnant, it was really, really hard. He almost lost his life. He told me that if I ever want to throw a tantrum, I should do it with him, and I’m not allowed to argue with Mama.”

Lin Lulu rubbed his head again, then looked up—only to see her president and his husband standing close together, quietly whispering to each other, like they had their own little world.

So, the situation was completely clear now.

It had all been… her misunderstanding.

The president’s extra meals and all that extra concern were simply because he’d noticed she was pregnant.

He was sincerely worried about her health, worried about her as his employee.

Lin Lulu mentally smacked her overthinking self. Once she fully snapped out of it, a warm feeling spread through her chest.

The president was just too kind.

At other companies, people might frown the moment they hear an employee is pregnant. But here, she was met with gentle concern, thoughtful adjustments to her workload, and extra meals whenever she needed them.

Holding the crucian carp the president had thoughtfully prepared for her, Lin Lulu stepped out of the office, only to run into a senior employee on his way in to give a report.

This employee had been with the team since the very beginning. The company’s growth had his share of effort in it. When he noticed the gift box in Lin Lulu’s hands, he asked with a grin, “What did Senior give you?”

“Crucian carp,” Lin Lulu replied.

The senior employee sighed with feeling. “Senior really is such a good person.” His concern for pregnant employees wasn’t some sudden whim. He’d been through it himself, so he understood.

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something amusing and chuckled. “You joined later, so you wouldn’t know. Back then, it was honestly kind of wild. When Senior suddenly told us he was pregnant, we were all stunned. He’s just too capable—everyone had completely forgotten about his second gender.”

“For the first few months, he could still push through. But the last three? No way. He stayed home, and we ran everything through remote meetings.”

“There was this one time, he’d just finished a perfectly serious video conference and officially announced the meeting was over. The second it ended, he started wailing.”

It was so real. He had never seen Senior look that panicked before. 

In the video, Jiang Zhihuo leaned back with his face totally falling apart. “Holy shit, holy shit, I just got kicked! Oh my god—my stomach, there’s suddenly a little foot sticking out! What the hell, this looks like a horror movie! It hurts, it hurts! The skin’s so thin, it’s not going to get kicked through, right?!”

“When the baby was born, our whole team was waiting at the hospital. We were there for Senior… and to comfort his husband, who’d just gotten their marriage certificate not long before.”

Yan Mu is usually calm no matter what happens. But that day, he was completely restless. Tense all over, pacing back and forth. The moment the nurse opened the delivery room door, before she even said anything, he rushed over like a gust of wind.

The team had walked this road together. The company had grown step by step, and they’d watched that tiny newborn in the hospital turn into the little fluffball running around today.

Time really does fly.

After chatting briefly with Lin Lulu, the senior employee pushed open the president’s office door.

Inside, Yan Mu was sitting on the sofa with a laptop, working quietly. Meanwhile, Jiang Zhihuo was pinching his son’s cheek and lecturing him with complete seriousness. “Yan Xiaoxia, I’ve told you so many times. You should call me Papa.”

Yan Xiaoxia protested, “But if I call you Papa, I’ll get confused!”

Jiang Zhihuo replied firmly, “No, you won’t. You’re very smart.”

“Yes, I will. I’m a kid,” Yan Xiaoxia insisted.

Jiang Zhihuo thought for a moment and offered, “Then call one Daddy and the other Papa.”

Yan Xiaoxia said righteously, “But my teacher said the one who gave birth to me is Mama, so I should call you Mama.”

Jiang Zhihuo, equally childish, continued reasoning with him. “The one who gave birth to you is Mama, that’s right. But I’m a boy, just like you. So shouldn’t you call me Papa?”

“Yes,” Yan Xiaoxia nodded.

Jiang Zhihuo patiently led him on. “I can be both Papa and Mama. Doesn’t that mean you have both a Papa and a Mama—and even one more Papa than other kids? So what should you call me?”

…That actually sounded kind of convincing.

Yan Xiaoxia’s eyes lit up as if he’d reached enlightenment. No more confusion. “That’s right! Daddy!”

Yan Mu, sitting nearby, smiled silently.

Scenes like this played out almost every day. And every single time, Jiang Zhihuo somehow managed to talk his own kid in circles.