Qian Xiaoke only ate half full for this meal. He really didn’t dare to eat too much, fearing he would ruin his image in his parents’ hearts.
During that meal, Qian Xiaoke only ate until he was about half full. He really didn’t dare eat too much, afraid of ruining the image he had built in Jiang Tongyan’s parents’ minds.
He needed to create the image of a delicate, lovable little thing, not the kind of foodie who, once food was served, would ‘sweep through it like the autumn wind scattering fallen leaves’ and wishing he could lick the plates clean.
No, absolutely not.
Even though recently, both he and Jiang Tongyan had pretty much become the latter.
Jiang Tongyan asked him, “You’re done eating?”
“Mm, I’m full,” Qian Xiaoke said with a well-behaved smile. “It was really delicious. I’m stuffed.”
Jiang Tongyan hesitated, then suppressed a laugh and said, “Alright, then let’s leave it at that.”
Jiang Tongyan’s parents had no idea that Qian Xiaoke was putting on an act and said worriedly, “Xiaoke ate so little. Was it not to your taste, or is your stomach uncomfortable?”
“No, no,” Qian Xiaoke hurriedly waved his hands to explain. “I’ve always had a small appetite.”
Delicate little cuties like me live off dew, you know!
Jiang Tongyan, standing to the side, was holding back laughter so hard he was about to injure himself internally. In his head, he was ranting nonstop: Qian Xiaoke! That’s enough already! Don’t you dare cry from hunger in the middle of the night!
Qian Xiaoke actually still wanted to eat. He really loved today’s dishes. But since he had started acting, he had to carry it through to the end. He could only endure it.
After dinner, it was already quite late. The family of four sat in the living room chatting. Qian Xiaoke was wound tight with nerves, extremely well-behaved, and tried his best not to interrupt. Only when he was directly asked a question, did he answer seriously, like an elementary school student being called on by the teacher.
By the end of the evening, Qian Xiaoke was so exhausted that his head felt dizzy. He felt that meeting the parents didn’t just drain mental energy; it also drained physical energy. Right now, he was tired and hungry, and even felt like he had lost several pounds.
When it was time to rest, Jiang Tongyan took his parents next door to stay. His mother said a bit unhappily, “Can’t you tear down that wall in the middle? Otherwise it feels like a married couple living separately.”
As soon as Jiang Tongyan heard this, he knew his mother had clearly misunderstood. Whether that wall was torn down or not had long since stopped mattering, because from the very first day he and Qian Xiaoke confirmed their relationship, they had been sleeping in the same bed every night.
Well, that wasn’t entirely precise. It should be said that, except for when Jiang Tongyan was away on business trips, the two of them slept in the same bed the rest of the time. As for when Jiang Tongyan was on business trips, Qian Xiaoke wasn’t lonely either. Jiang Tongyan’s body was forced to leave, but his soul remained in his little boyfriend’s bed.
Two utterly hopeless people.
“This is a rented place. How can we just tear down a wall whenever we want? Please be rational,” Jiang Tongyan said.
“Then just buy it,” Jiang Tongyan’s mother said casually, clearly not short on money. “It’s just that this place is a bit small. If you two get married, it would be a little shabby as a marital home.”
When Jiang Tongyan heard this, he laughed to himself and thought that her words absolutely could not be heard by Qian Xiaoke. Otherwise, that guy would start feeling sad again and sigh about the vast gap between the rich and the poor in the world.
That kid was very sensitive.
Jiang Tongyan settled his parents in next door, chatted briefly, made plans to accompany them sightseeing the next day, and then jogged back to Qian Xiaoke’s place next door.
When Jiang Tongyan returned, he didn’t see Qian Xiaoke. He searched around and finally found the guy in the kitchen, sneaking food like a little mouse.
“Is this really necessary?” Jiang Tongyan laughed at him. “If you weren’t full, you could’ve just kept eating. Why pretend to have a bird’s appetite?”
“I just want to leave a good impression on your parents.” Qian Xiaoke said while eating. “I was afraid they would think I eat too much and start worrying that I would eat you into poverty.”
“You’re really overthinking it,” Jiang Tongyan laughed. “My family has plenty of money. Even ten of you couldn’t eat us poor.”
“Oh wow! Jiang Tongyan, you’re really imagining things nicely, huh!”
“What am I imagining?”
“Ten of me all revolving around you. Sounds great, doesn’t it?”
Jiang Tongyan pictured it in his head and nearly got a nosebleed.
One Qian Xiaoke pounding his back, one Qian Xiaoke massaging his shoulders, one Qian Xiaoke kneading his legs, one Qian Xiaoke fanning him. Of the remaining four, two were tucked under his arms on each side, and the last two stood to his left and right, praising him wildly. They wouldn’t even need to say much. Just calling him an unparalleled top would be enough.
Amazing.
Just thinking about it felt amazing.
Of course, the even better content wouldn’t pass censorship, so Jiang Tongyan kept it to himself.
After all, for him, shared joy was never as good as enjoying it alone.
Late at night, the two of them got clingy again in the kitchen. Qian Xiaoke, who had vowed to lose weight, ate and drank his fill, then rubbed his round belly. “Is this… not very good?”
Jiang Tongyan had originally wanted to tease him, but then he suddenly remembered how he had upset him at dinner because of this exact issue. Better not bring up a sore spot again.
He leaned over and touched Qian Xiaoke’s round, puffed-up belly, grinning as he said, “It’s fine. Totally normal. After all, you’re pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl.”
“Why are you so greedy?” Qian Xiaoke slapped his hand away. “Twins my ass. I’m only pregnant with one, and it’s a monkey!”
“Wukong?”
“The Six-Eared Macaque1Six-Eared Macaque is a major antagonist and one of the most powerful characters in Wu Cheng’en’s fantasy novel Journey to the West, best remembered for closely impersonating Sun Wukong!”
Jiang Tongyan was so amused he nearly laughed himself to death right there in the kitchen. He wrapped an arm around him and led him outward, gently rubbing his belly as he did. “I’m telling you, you really shouldn’t do this in the future.”
Qian Xiaoke shot him a sideways glance.
“I already told you, just be yourself. Whatever you’re like, we all like you,” Jiang Tongyan said. In truth, his heart ached for him.
Qian Xiaoke usually looked carefree and easygoing, but in reality, he was a very delicate-minded person. So delicate that ever since the two of them got together, whenever Jiang Tongyan went on a business trip, it was always Qian Xiaoke who packed his luggage, arranging everything neatly. And every single time, Qian Xiaoke would randomly slip a small note into the pocket of one piece of clothing. On it, he would write: Miss me!
Qian Xiaoke was exactly that kind of person, the kind people couldn’t help but dote on.
Although lately Qian Xiaoke no longer talked about differences between them or anything like that, Jiang Tongyan could still feel the pressure he was under.
At the company, colleagues wouldn’t say anything directly to him, but when interacting with Qian Xiaoke, there were definitely changes. They even stopped chatting and gossiping with him as much as before.
No one was deliberately isolating Qian Xiaoke, but after all, Qian Xiaoke was family with Jiang Tongyan. There was always a gap between ordinary employees and management, and being caught in the middle made things very hard for him.
And that was just the situation at work.
Qian Xiaoke never complained to him. He was cheerful every day, but the pressure he carried was definitely not small.
“Baby,” Jiang Tongyan said, “what do I have to do to make you feel at ease?”
Qian Xiaoke froze for a moment and turned to look at him. “Why are you saying that?”
Jiang Tongyan pulled him over to the sofa and sat down, letting Qian Xiaoke lie across his lap while he gently massaged his belly.
“I thought about it seriously,” Jiang Tongyan said. “The reason you’re so worried and so tense is nothing more than the fact that I haven’t given you enough security.”
“That’s not it…”
“It is,” Jiang Tongyan sighed. “I should’ve reflected on this a long time ago.”
Qian Xiaoke frowned and poked his chin. “Don’t be so serious. It’s not your problem, it’s mine.”
“It is my problem,” Jiang Tongyan said, grabbing his hand and kissing it. “If I could make you feel that no matter what happens, no matter what others say or think, I’ll always stand firmly by your side, then you wouldn’t have all these worries.”
It was rare for Jiang Tongyan to be this deeply emotional, to the point that Qian Xiaoke didn’t even know what expression he should be wearing.
Qian Xiaoke sat up, swung a leg over and straddled Jiang Tongyan’s lap, wrapped his arms around his neck, and said in a coaxing, clingy tone, “It really isn’t that. I’m just… I mean…”
He pressed his lips together, a little embarrassed to say it out loud.
“You’re my wife.”
“Hey! That’s not what I meant!” Qian Xiaoke laughed. “What I mean is, I really don’t doubt you at all. You’re already very good to me. I’m serious.”
Jiang Tongyan curled his lips. “Bullshit.”
Qian Xiaoke laughed and tugged at his face. “Who despises themselves like that?”
“Aren’t I standing up for you?”
“You don’t have to!” Qian Xiaoke hugged him and muttered softly. “Actually, my thinking is really simple. The reason I’m so nervous is that I don’t want to make things hard for you.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Hehe.” Qian Xiaoke laughed. “Of course I know you love me and that it has to be me. After all, I’m already pregnant with your twins.”
Jiang Tongyan laughed and gave his butt a light smack.
“You can’t abandon the three of us, or I’ll ruin your reputation, so that part I’m not worried about.”
He really made it sound convincing.
Jiang Tongyan couldn’t help laughing.
“And it’s not because I feel inferior. I’m not inferior at all. Someone as lovable as me is something you couldn’t find even with a lantern.”
“That’s right,” Jiang Tongyan agreed. “I think you’re absolutely right.”
Having been praised, Qian Xiaoke was delighted. With his ears tinged red, he burrowed into Jiang Tongyan’s arms.
“Then what is it, exactly?” Jiang Tongyan really couldn’t figure him out. Just now Qian Xiaoke said he didn’t want to make things hard for him, but what hardship was there for him?
“I’m worried that in this whole world, only you and I think I’m a rare and precious little darling, while your parents don’t think so. That after meeting me, they’ll feel we’re not suitable and ask us to break up,” Qian Xiaoke said seriously. “At that point, you definitely wouldn’t agree, and I wouldn’t just take the money and leave either. Between bread and love, I still want to choose love.”
Qian Xiaoke spoke from the heart, and Jiang Tongyan listened with his heart. Once they were both fully in it, they couldn’t help feeling a little moved.
“You would definitely end up arguing with your parents because of me,” Qian Xiaoke looked up at him. “That’s what I’m worried about. I don’t want you to have conflicts with your family, so I want to do my best to be good enough, hoping I can make them satisfied. That way, they won’t oppose us being together, and you won’t have to fight with them.”
Jiang Tongyan raised a hand and covered his face.
“What’s wrong?” Qian Xiaoke tilted his head and looked at him.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Qian Xiaoke was completely confused.
“My baby is beautiful and kind-hearted, not only loving me but also understanding me and considering me in everything. How did I end up with such good fortune…” Jiang Tongyan fake-cried dramatically. “I’m moved. I want to cry.”
Qian Xiaoke stared at him. After a few seconds, he started singing to him, “Men cry, cry, cry, it’s not a crime…” and then hiccupped.
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