POTINS Extra 2

In the summer, there was frequent rain, and whenever the sky turned gloomy, Wen Zhongyi’s legs would start to ache.

Meng Chuan had long wanted to find a traditional Chinese doctor for him, but during pregnancy, acupuncture and physiotherapy weren’t allowed, so the matter had been delayed—until now, when they could finally treat it properly.

“Traditional Chinese medicine? Let me think,” Ji Ying said. As someone in the medical field, she knew more than Meng Chuan. After thinking for a while, she said, “I remember now, there’s a well-known TCM doctor at the affiliated hospital—he’s my friend’s younger brother. But he’s very popular, so appointments aren’t easy. I’ll ask for you.”

Not long after, Ji Ying called back. She had pulled some strings through the doctor’s sister and secured a slot for them the morning after next. They were told to get an X-ray first before the appointment.

The affiliated hospital had long queues for X-rays, so Meng Chuan took Wen Zhongyi to Ji Ying’s hospital instead.

On the way, Wen Zhongyi kept checking the time and asked, “Can we finish within an hour? I have class later.”

“No problem,” Meng Chuan said. “We definitely won’t make you late.”

One of the benefits of living close to campus was being able to go home anytime. Wen Zhongyi didn’t live in the dorms, rarely took part in class activities, and was solely focused on attending lectures. As a result, he didn’t interact with his classmates much—but he wasn’t invisible either.

According to Yang Jiaran, there were quite a few posts about Wen Zhongyi on the campus confession board. Some admired his looks, while others were fishing for his contact info.

Students who’d interacted with him up close would reply under those posts: He’s got a ring on his left ring finger—he’s taken, don’t bother.

Others, who had been rejected to their faces, left heartbreakingly honest comments: He’s not just taken. He has a kid.

At first, no one believed Wen Zhongyi had a child, assuming he was bluffing. That was until someone ran into him at a large shopping mall, where he was seen waiting outside a restroom with a stroller.

Soon after, the person he was waiting for came out—a tall, handsome man. The man leaned down, picked up the baby from the stroller, and smiled at Wen Zhongyi.

That photo set was posted to the confession board. Someone recognized the man as Meng Chuan from Huanyu Group. Others were gushing over how amazing the couple looked together.

Yang Jiaran forwarded the post to Wen Zhongyi. When he was browsing it, Meng Chuan happened to see and ended up reading the comments with him.

Meng Chuan wasn’t very pleased. “Even after all this, there are still people asking for your WeChat?”

“Maybe they genuinely just want to be friends,” Wen Zhongyi said, tilting his head to glance at Meng Chuan. Seeing his sulky expression, he smiled and added, “I didn’t add them.”

That night, for some reason, the confession board completely wiped all posts related to Wen Zhongyi and posted a special announcement: No more confessions regarding classmate Wen Zhongyi will be accepted.

Wen Zhongyi didn’t pay any attention to this. He still attended his classes on time every day and went home right after. He even asked Meng Chuan to help him enroll in a driving school—he wanted to get his license and drive himself.

On the day of their visit to the affiliated hospital, they left Liuyi with Zhou Lu. Liuyi was already over four months old, wearing a drool bib and grinning at everyone, saliva dripping down his chin.

Zhou Lu said this was a sign that teething was starting.

Before leaving, Wen Zhongyi pressed his face against Liuyi’s and ended up with his face covered in drool.

The little one didn’t cry even when he saw his two dads heading out. He blinked his big eyes in a daze and gave them a silly grin.

Wen Zhongyi glanced back and waved at him. “Be good at home. Daddy will bring you back a toy.”

At the hospital, the two of them waited outside the consultation room for a while. Only when all the patients ahead of them were done did Wen Zhongyi go in.

The doctor was quite young, wearing a mask. His features were somewhat stern, but his manner was gentle.

After reviewing Wen Zhongyi’s scans and asking a few questions, he said, “I’ll prescribe you a round of acupuncture, along with herbal hot compress packs. Pay the fee first, then come to the therapy room—I’ll do the acupuncture myself.”

“Alright,” Wen Zhongyi said. “Thank you, doctor.”

“No need to thank me.”

Meng Chuan didn’t let Wen Zhongyi run around. He went out and paid the fees himself, then picked up the herbal packs from the first floor.

The therapy room was next door. As soon as the door opened, a strong smell of mugwort filled the air.

There were only two other patients inside. The curtains were drawn around each bed, so no one could see each other.

Wen Zhongyi lay down on the innermost bed. Meng Chuan helped him roll up his pants to above the knees and comforted him, “Don’t be scared. It doesn’t hurt. I’ll be right here with you.”

Wen Zhongyi wasn’t actually afraid of pain—he just hadn’t experienced this kind of treatment before. Seeing the silver needles in the doctor’s hand, he felt a bit uncertain.

The doctor pressed on the acupuncture points and said, “You’ll feel some soreness, numbness, and swelling pain when the needle goes in. That’s normal. It won’t be very painful. Just relax.”

Wen Zhongyi followed his instructions and relaxed.

Aside from the brief sting as the needle pierced the skin, it wasn’t bad at all.

He slowly loosened his grip on Meng Chuan’s fingers and let out a quiet breath.

Meng Chuan stood by the head of the bed, watching as one silver needle after another was inserted into Wen Zhongyi’s legs. He couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

“Don’t move your legs. Lie still for half an hour.” The doctor finished inserting the needles, lifted the curtain, and left. A nurse soon wheeled in an infrared heat lamp and adjusted it to a comfortable temperature for Wen Zhongyi.

So he lay there motionless for half an hour. By the time the other patients had all left, he finally sat up.

“How do you feel now?” the doctor asked.

Wen Zhongyi stood up and moved his calves a little, surprised. “Much better.”

“Good,” said the doctor. “Before you leave, add my assistant’s WeChat. Next time, contact him to schedule an appointment before you come.”

It was already lunch break, and the corridor was quiet—most of the medical staff had gone to eat.

Wen Zhongyi added the assistant’s WeChat and left with Meng Chuan, heading toward the elevator.

Just as they reached it, the doors opened, and a man in a dress shirt and slacks walked out.

The man was handsome and refined, wearing half-rim glasses and holding a packed lunchbox. As he stepped out, he accidentally bumped into Wen Zhongyi’s shoulder. He stopped, smiled apologetically, and said, “Sorry.”

Wen Zhongyi didn’t mind and gave a small smile in return. “It’s okay.”

The man nodded slightly and walked past them.

Wen Zhongyi and Meng Chuan stepped into the elevator. Before the doors closed, Meng Chuan’s gaze was still following the man.

Wen Zhongyi glanced at him with a half-smile. “That good-looking?”

“No,” Meng Chuan said with a frown, letting out a small hiss. “I just think he looks familiar. Like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

“Is that so?” Wen Zhongyi raised his eyebrows slightly.

“I swear.” Meng Chuan smiled, taking his hand. “He looked familiar, so I stared a little longer—honest.”

Wen Zhongyi’s fingers were being played with and warmed up in Meng Chuan’s hands. He chuckled. “Alright, alright. You’ve warmed up my whole hand.”

Once they left the elevator, Meng Chuan finally remembered and said, “I got it. That’s Ji Fan’s homeroom teacher. I saw him once when I dropped Ji Fan off at school.”

“A teacher, huh.” Thinking back on that man’s refined looks and demeanor, Wen Zhongyi figured he was probably quite popular with students.

The acupuncture was a week-long treatment. Sometimes when Meng Chuan was busy with work, Wen Zhongyi came by himself.

He ran into that teacher more than once.

The man always came around lunchtime, carrying a lunchbox straight to the doctor’s office, clearly close with the doctor.

It rained on the last day of acupuncture. Wen Zhongyi’s knees no longer felt weak or sore like before—the discomfort had eased significantly.

Meng Chuan came to pick him up and asked whether he wanted to eat at home or outside.

Since Zhou Lu was watching Liuyi, they didn’t need to worry. Wen Zhongyi said, “Let’s eat out.”

Meng Chuan took him to a western restaurant. After the meal, they watched a movie, and by the time they returned home, the sky had already darkened.

Liuyi had been lying on the bed gnawing a teething stick. Upon hearing Wen Zhongyi’s voice, he paused, flipped over quickly, and started babbling while crawling toward the direction of the sound.

“Liuyi, did you miss Daddy?” Wen Zhongyi smiled, walked over, and scooped him up. The little one was soft and warm, smelling of milk, and grabbed his collar to smear drool all over his face.

Meng Chuan also came over to play with the baby. Liuyi was equally happy with both dads—whoever held him, he giggled.

Wen Zhongyi had even prepared a camera to document Liuyi’s growth.

Many photos had already been printed and placed in a photo album. Whenever they flipped through it during quiet moments, they’d marvel at how fast children grow.

When Liuyi turned seven months old, Wen Zhongyi started trying to wean him.

It wasn’t easy at first—Liuyi refused formula and cried every time he drank it. Night weaning was even harder; he’d cry terribly.

But gradually, Liuyi accepted the new feeding method. He no longer woke up crying in the middle of the night, and Wen Zhongyi and Meng Chuan finally got some proper sleep.

While temporarily staying in Sanka, Liuyi loved playing with Tuantuan.

The baby and the dog got along very well. Whenever Tuantuan tossed a yarn ball to the ground, Liuyi would gleefully crawl over to pick it up.

One day, Meng Chuan came downstairs and caught this scene. Liuyi had dropped his bottle and was crawling after it. Meng Chuan asked suspiciously, “Is this dog training my son?”

“Who knows?” Wen Zhongyi laughed. “They’re both enjoying it. Let them be.”

Liuyi had so much fun playing with Tuantuan that he refused to be picked up by Meng Chuan.

“Does he need a diaper change?” Meng Chuan asked.

Wen Zhongyi glanced at the time. “Yeah, probably.”

So Meng Chuan didn’t hesitate. He scooped up Liuyi and placed him on the crib.

Liuyi squirmed and flailed, uttering single syllables that sounded like “ba.” Wen Zhongyi responded, walked over to pat his face gently, and soothed, “Good boy, Liuyi. Let’s change your diaper first, then you can play.”

Meng Chuan grabbed a clean diaper. After removing the dirty one, Wen Zhongyi took it to the bathroom to throw it away.

“Alright, son, time for undies.” Meng Chuan flipped Liuyi over, stuck the new diaper under his spine and butt, then flipped him back.

He was already very good at changing diapers. While flattening the front of the diaper, suddenly—an unexpected stream shot out.

Meng Chuan couldn’t dodge in time and instinctively pinched him.

Liuyi: “……”

The baby froze for a moment, then burst into tears.

“My bad, my bad…” Meng Chuan quickly let go, only to be sprayed all over the next second.

Resigned, he went to shower and change clothes, while Wen Zhongyi held and comforted Liuyi. Just then, Father and Dad returned from a banquet and took over the baby.

Tuantuan, now without a playmate, barked on the floor.

Liuyi stopped crying as soon as he heard Tuantuan’s voice. His teary eyes searched downward and his little hand reached out toward the sound.

Liuyi loved animals and had boundless energy. Often, the dog was already exhausted while he remained full of life.

On his first birthday, Liuyi called out “Daddy” for the first time—clear and sweet. It melted Wen Zhongyi’s heart on the spot.

“Daddy, Daddy.”

Liuyi looked at Wen Zhongyi and repeated it a few more times, then squinted his eyes and smiled.

Wen Zhongyi hugged him close and pressed his cheek to the child’s, whispering, “Daddy’s here. Daddy loves you.”

Meng Chuan was beside them, holding up a phone to record the moment. Eagerly, he leaned in and said to Liuyi, “Call me Daddy too?”

Liuyi looked at him for two seconds, picked up on the key message, grabbed Meng Chuan’s finger, and chirped, “Daddy!”