At the hospital.
Lü Rong looked at Chacha, who lay on the hospital bed with heatstroke and dehydration, and gently wiped his cheeks with a damp towel, his eyes overflowing with self-blame.
Chacha had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. His lips were pale, and his curled, upturned lashes looked like two tiny brushes, trembling faintly in unease.
Lü Rong closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Thinking back over everything that had happened these past two days, cracks appeared in the determined expression he had been forcing himself to maintain, and a trace of vulnerability showed in his pale face.
It was all his fault.
As if leaving Chacha home alone wasn't bad enough, he had unexpectedly run into Gu Huaizheng while job-hunting. The man hadn't even done anything, yet Lü Rong's composure had collapsed first, and he had thrown down his armor and fled in panic.
Not only had the job fallen through, but when he got home, he discovered he hadn't even taken proper care of Chacha.
His adoptive father had been right. He really was a failure who couldn't do anything properly…
Sunk in self-loathing, Lü Rong painfully tugged at his hair. The moment he opened his eyes, he abruptly met a pair of dark, profound eyes.
Lü Rong's heartbeat reacted before he did, suddenly pounding wildly.
His face went pale, his pupils trembling faintly. The name that had been sealed deep in his heart for four whole years now slipped from his lips—
“Gu Huaizheng…”
Gu Huaizheng stood backlit in the doorway of the ward. His heart hurt so badly it felt ready to shatter into pieces, but he still forced himself to appear indifferent, his tone extremely flat.
“Your son is sick?”
Lü Rong hadn't expected Gu Huaizheng to ask that. He froze for a moment before nodding somewhat blankly.
“Yes. Chacha has a little heatstroke and dehydration.”
Fortunately, it wasn't serious. The doctor had prescribed a bottle of glucose, and they could go home once the IV was finished.
Hearing Lü Rong personally confirm that the child in the hospital bed was his son—not a younger cousin, nephew, or neighbor's child—Gu Huaizheng's heart sank heavily into an abyss.
Gu Huaizheng lowered his eyes. His tone seemed coated in frost, sounding particularly cold and unfeeling.
“You certainly look the part of a father.”
The faintly mocking tone made Lü Rong's heart ache, a needling pain like being pricked with a pin.
Lü Rong clenched both fists tightly. As something occurred to him, he lowered his brows and shifted his body to block Chacha from view on the bed.
Now Chacha was the only person left at his side. He absolutely could not let Gu Huaizheng discover Chacha's identity!
No one could take Chacha away from him!
The two had not seen each other for more than four years, yet their mouths seemed welded shut. Neither was willing to say another word. They each stood stiffly in place and watched the atmosphere plunge to freezing point.
The awkward silence was stifling and suffocating. Lü Rong wanted to say something, but then he heard Chacha's mosquito-soft voice.
“Daddy.”
Chacha felt uncomfortable all over, and his cheeks were hot. Miserable, he wanted Daddy to hold him.
He stretched out his short little arms and wriggled several times across the bed, crawling toward Daddy like a baby silkworm.
All Lü Rong's attention was immediately drawn to sick Chacha. He hurriedly answered and could no longer spare any thought for anything else.
He gently gathered Chacha into his arms, patted his back, and soothed his unease.
“Don't be scared, don't be scared. Daddy is right here with Chacha.”
The warm and healing sight carved a bloody gash straight across Gu Huaizheng's heart.
Gu Huaizheng stood dazed in the doorway, watching Lü Rong comfort the child with a gentleness like warm winter sunlight. Just the trace of warmth radiating from him was enough to make Gu Huaizheng lose himself for a moment.
He had already seen with his own eyes that Lü Rong had a child, and yet Gu Huaizheng was still so hopeless. His heart would still tremble for Lü Rong.
Gu Huaizheng had to admit that he still craved the one-of-a-kind gentleness Lü Rong possessed.
He wanted Lü Rong's eyes to see only him, wanted Lü Rong to smile so softly only at him.
Gu Huaizheng's thoughts were in complete chaos. He wanted to speak to Lü Rong a little more, yet at the same time felt that the way he was behaving now was utterly pathetic.
Lü Rong already had a child. Why was he still eagerly running over like a dog?
Gu Huaizheng gave a self-mocking smile. As he turned to leave the ward, his gaze accidentally met that of the sick little cub in Lü Rong's arms.
The instant they saw each other's faces clearly, both of them froze.
Gu Huaizheng wondered in confusion: Why did this child look so familiar?
For some reason, he felt as though he owed the child something, leaving him inexplicably guilty?
The moment Chacha saw Gu Huaizheng, his moist eyes flew wide open, and he hurriedly buried his little head in Lü Rong's arms.
Oh no, oh no! The master of the tea plantation had come looking for Chacha!
Chacha was a little tea plant being raised by Daddy now. He couldn't go away with the plantation master.
Most importantly, Chacha didn't want to be overwatered into a dried-up little tea plant again and end up unable to grow leaves!
Seeing how shy and introverted the child was, Gu Huaizheng couldn't very well stay longer. He stiffly said, “I'm leaving,” then departed without the slightest confidence behind his words.
Before coming, Gu Huaizheng had been full of aggressive momentum, wanting to see exactly what kind of child could become Lü Rong's son and make Lü Rong betray the feelings they had shared for so many years.
After arriving, Gu Huaizheng was consumed by guilt, feeling as though he owed Chacha his life. The psychological pressure was through the roof.
He was practically breaking out in a cold sweat.
In the hospital ward.
Chacha peeked two pale tea-colored eyes out from Daddy's embrace and stole a glance toward the doorway. Once he saw that the plantation master was gone, he let out a tiny sigh of relief.
That was close, that was close. The plantation master had almost discovered him.
Leaning against Daddy's chest, Chacha asked softly and uneasily, his throat a little hoarse,
“Daddy, that uncle isn't coming back, is he?”
He was scary enough to frighten the tea right out of Chacha.
A thousand feelings churned in Lü Rong's heart. He rubbed Chacha's head, his voice gentle.
“Daddy doesn't know either.”
Chacha's body was truly exhausted, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. After only a couple of sentences, he fell asleep again.
***
Lü Rong's luck had been terrible lately—so terrible it had hit rock bottom.
He wanted to act, but his former company had him blacklisted. He wanted to find a job, but he kept running into Gu Huaizheng. Even Chacha, who had always been healthy, had been listless and lacking energy these past few days.
Life was an utter mess, but Lü Rong still gritted his teeth and kept going with strength and optimism.
He had finally found a small role through a former classmate, only to run into someone from his old company again, and the role that had been practically in his hands was snatched away once more.
Lü Rong's face looked awful. Seeing the smug, unrestrained expression on the actor from his former company, he had no choice but to forcibly swallow all his anger himself.
Tian An walked over to Lü Rong with a grin. At the sight of Lü Rong's exquisitely beautiful face, jealousy and resentment flashed through his eyes.
“What use is looking good? You're the number-one blacklisted person in the industry now. People really do have to believe in fate.”
After enduring the sarcastic taunts, Lü Rong did not argue back. He left in silence.
The moment Lü Rong stepped out of the production, Gu Huaizheng seized his wrist and forcefully pinned him against the wall of an alley.
“Are you made of cotton? Don't you have any temper at all? If he curses you, can't you open your mouth and curse him back?”
Gu Huaizheng gritted his teeth. He was obviously so distressed for Lü Rong that his face had gone livid with anger, yet his tone was harsh, as though he were the one attacking Lü Rong.
“It's none of your business.” Lü Rong didn't dare meet Gu Huaizheng's eyes and turned his head slightly to avoid that burning gaze.
He struggled once against the hand Gu Huaizheng had around his wrist, easily caught Gu Huaizheng's arm in return, and with a light flick, flung it aside.
A numb, prickling pain shot through Gu Huaizheng's arm. He couldn't help hissing and felt as if his arm had been dislocated…
They hadn't seen each other for years. How was Lü Rong still this strong?!
While Gu Huaizheng grimaced in pain, Lü Rong had already walked away quickly without looking back.
Whatever had existed between him and Gu Huaizheng had ended long ago. Excessive entanglement would do neither of them any good. It would be better to pretend they had never met.
But Gu Huaizheng's next sentence nailed Lü Rong to the spot, leaving him unable to move for a long while.
“Let's have a contractual marriage. We each get what we need. How about it?”
***
Today, Chacha ate a meat-sauce flatbread that Granny Zhang from next door had brought over, smearing the area around his mouth chocolate-brown.
Lü Rong had been absentminded since early morning. Normally, he would tease Chacha for eating like a little painted cat, making Chacha's ears turn red as he looked at Daddy shyly with damp, round eyes.
But today, not only did Lü Rong fail to notice the meat sauce around Chacha's mouth, when he accidentally dropped his chopsticks, he sat staring blankly for ages without picking them up.
Chacha finished his last bite of meat-sauce flatbread, shook Daddy's arm, and sighed. A tiny trace of helplessness showed on his face.
“Daddy-kid, what's your little head thinking about?”
Hearing Chacha imitate the way he usually spoke, sounding like a tiny adult and exaggerating the tone, Lü Rong couldn't help laughing and lightly tapped his head.
“Daddy was just distracted.”
After picking up the chopsticks, Lü Rong hesitated again and again before finally asking,
“Chacha, would you like to have another daddy?”
Chacha pulled out a tissue and obediently wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth. Hearing this, he lifted his head, confusion spilling into his eyes.
“Another daddy?”
Could Daddy also be a tea plant, and was he going to take a branch cutting, plant it in soil, and cultivate another Daddy for Chacha?
That would be… wonderful!
“Yes, yes~”
Chacha wanted two daddies!
When Chacha had been on the tea plantation, an old grandpa often came to trim branches from the tea plants and propagate the best ones by cuttings on the mountain.
But Chacha had only been a tiny seedling and didn't really understand what the old grandpa was doing. He only vaguely knew that one tea plant could be divided into two or three.
If Daddy could split into two, one of them could stay with Chacha all the time!
Hearing Chacha's answer, Lü Rong gave a light sigh and finally smiled and nodded.
“That works too.”
Lü Rong had originally thought that if Chacha disliked the idea, then no matter what, he would never agree to Gu Huaizheng's request.
The old grievances and entanglements between him and Gu Huaizheng were like a tightly knotted bundle of red thread, already impossible to untangle or explain.
It would be better for each of them to live in peace and leave the other with the last shred of dignity.
But Lü Rong had overlooked the fact that other children had one mother and one father at home. After new regulations on same-sex relationships were introduced, some families also had two mothers or two fathers.
Chacha had always been raised by Lü Rong alone. Like Lü Rong himself in childhood, perhaps Chacha also longed for a complete family.
The Gu family was a wealthy, influential household. Chacha would have to attend kindergarten and elementary school in the future; once he joined the Gu family, he could also have a better environment in which to grow up.
All these years, Chacha had followed Lü Rong from place to place without a fixed home and endured plenty of hardship. It was time to give Chacha a stable life.
After thinking it through, Lü Rong finally made his decision.
Early the next morning, he went to Gu Huaizheng, and the two went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register their marriage and collect their certificate—