Chapter Text
“It’s positive,” Lele says, staring at the two, undeniable pink lines.
“Oh fuck.” Hua Sheng whispers.
Dinner at the Sheng household is always delicious, and tonight is no different. Numerous plates of dimsum sprawl across the table, some in bamboo steamers while others are left to cool on ornate porcelain plates.
“Hua Sheng! It’s dinnertime!” Shaoyou’s voice echoes through the penthouse.
Slowly, Hua Sheng emerges from his room, making a beeline for his seat whilst avoiding eye contact with both his fathers.
He should tell them.
“Sheng xiansheng, how was your day at work?” Hua Yong asks, taking a xiao long bao and placing it on Hua Sheng’s plate before moving on to serve Shaoyou.
“It was okay,” Shaoyou replies, launching them into a casual conversation which Hua Sheng does not pay attention to. He just pokes at the xiao long bao, his stomach tying itself into knots.
He really should tell them. But how? He only just got together with Lele—romantically at least—and Shaoyou has long been adamant about both of them graduating university with the highest honours.
“Hua Sheng?” Shaoyou asks, eliciting a yelp of surprise from his son. “What’s wrong? You haven't eaten a single thing since you sat down.”
“Is today’s food not to your liking?” Hua Yong chips in.
“No, not at all!” Hua Sheng exclaims. “I just uh… had a late lunch at school.”
It is a weak defence and they all know it. Hua Sheng can feel Hua Yong’s gaze rests sharply on him, head tilting ever so slightly like a predator stalking its prey. Hua Yong’s waiting for him. Shaoyou, on the other hand, is more direct.
"Something's bothering you,” his father states.
Hua Sheng, once again, pokes at his food like it is the most interesting thing in the universe.
“Out with it,” Shaoyou commands.
“N-Nothing’s wrong,” Hua Sheng says, in the most unconvincing tone possible.
Shit, he thinks. Usually, he had no problem lying but he could barely process the news, much less try to hide it. Clearing his throat, Hua Sheng forces himself to continue: “It’s just stress from exams. I’ll get over it.”
“No it’s not,” Hua Yong says, his words cutting across the dinner table like ice.
Hua Sheng bites down on his bottom lip.
“Baobei, you know you can tell us anything, right?” Shaoyou says, his tone going gentle. “We love you no matter what.”
“Lele’s pregnant,” Hua Sheng blurts before he can stop himself.
Silence slams in like a gun fired point-blank.
Hua Sheng sees Shaoyou’s eyes widen, shock seeping into his father’s expression as he freezes there, unmoving. Hua Yong just frowns ever so slightly - and that is all the more terrifying.
“I’m sorry,” Hua Sheng says, his voice rising an octave higher. “We didn’t mean to, I swear-”
“You got Lele pregnant?” Shaoyou questions, his voice dangerously low.
“I… yeah.”
“Oh my god,” Shaoyou mutters under his breath, pinching the space between his eyebrows with his index and thumb. “Hua Sheng, how?!”
Hua Sheng falters. “Well you know how,” he says, way too matter-of-factly. “Lele was in heat and I-”
“Not that how! I meant how could you?!” Shaoyou exclaims, tilting his head to the ceiling as if praying for patience. “You're one year from graduating university! How could this happen?!”
Hua Sheng quickly looks at Hua Yong, hoping his father would save him. Hua Yong, unfortunately, just shakes his head. “I agree with your dad. This shouldn’t have happened.”
“Well…” Hua Sheng voices, his mind scrambling for a defence. “Father knocked you up when he was one year older than me. If you think about it, this isn’t that different.”
Shaoyou’s jaw snaps shut.
Hua Yong stifles a laugh.
“It is different!” Shaoyou yells the second he regains his composure. “I was twenty seven! I was the head of Sheng Fang Biotech and by then Hua Yong was already CEO of X Holdings.”
“Yeah, because father didn’t have to spend four years of his life getting a degree.”
“Hua Sheng, you better choose your next words very carefully,” Shaoyou warns. “I will not have you dropping out of university.”
“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying I’m capable of taking responsibility and stuff. Look, I’m really serious about Lele, I won’t let anything bad happen to him or our baby.”
Hua Yong glances at Shaoyou, shrugging in a gesture of acceptance which Shaoyou returns with scepticism.
“Ever since I knew what it meant to love, I have loved Lele." Hua Sheng proclaims to both of them. “There is no one else I want to build a family with.”
Shaoyou sighs, nudging Hua Yong as he mutters: “That’s your son alright.”
Hua Yong’s lips curl into a smile. Hua Sheng sees him lace his fingers with Shaoyou’s beneath the glass table before both his parents' attention falls back on him.
“We’ll support whatever decision you make,” Hua Yong states as he picks up his chopsticks to resume dinner.
“Just make sure you’re ready. Having a baby is a big responsibility,” Shaoyou adds, caution still dripping from his tone.
“I know,” Hua Sheng says. “You didn’t even know you could get pregnant and I turned out fine, so I’m sure this would go well too.”
“You little-” Shaoyou cuts himself off with a sharp exhale. “Just eat your dinner.”
Beside him, Hua Yong’s flashes an amused smile. “I’m glad you inherited your dad’s confidence.”
“Me?!” Shaoyou gawks. “Oh no, this is all you, A’Yong.”
Hua Sheng slowly picks the xiao long bao and stuffs it in his mouth whilst his parents fall back into their sickeningly sweet banter.
Yeah, they were going to be just fine.
Lele is so fucking screwed.
Since finding out the news, he has avoided going home under the excuse of “staying back to do homework with Hua Sheng” but as the clock strikes eight, he knows he has no choice but to return. It only takes two knocks for Gao Tu to open the door, greeting him with the same, welcoming smile.
“How was school?” Gao Tu asks, ushering his son inside.
Lele already wants to cry.
“It’s… uh…” he stammers, gaze darting to the couch where Wenlang sits with his work computer on his lap. “Good, good. School was… good,” he finishes absentmindedly.
Gao Tu’s brows immediately pull into a frown. “Have you had dinner?”
Fixing his attention back on his mother, Lele straightens ever so slightly.
“Yes,” he says with his full chest before fully processing Gao Tu’s question and backtracking. “I mean, no. I did not… yeah no, I…”
A look of concern slowly dawns on Gao Tu’s countenance. Hearing their conversation, Wenlang, too, gets up to stand by Gao Tu’s side.
“I didn't have dinner!” Lele exclaims, fighting to sound coherent despite his scrambled thoughts.
“Lele, is everything alright?” Wenlang asks, mirroring Gao Tu’s concern.
“Yes whywouldInotbe!” Lele blurts before he tosses his bag aside and makes his way to the kitchen to scavenge the fridge for leftovers. “I’m sure you both had a tiring day so I’ll just go ahead and heat something up-”
A hand on his shoulder silences him entirely. Flinching away, Lele finds Gao Tu standing behind him, arms folding as he steps forward.
“Lele, you’re acting weird.”
“What! No! Weird? Me? Why would-”
The nervousness deep in his gut suddenly spikes into nausea, causing him to rush to the sink and throw up everything he had for lunch.
“Lele!”
Gao Tu is immediately by his side, placing a warm hand in between his shoulder blades as he continues to retch futilely into the sink. Wenlang, on the other hand, quickly fetches him a warm glass of water and passes it to him when he can finally breathe.
“Lele, talk to us,” Gao Tu encourages, pulling out a chair by the kitchen counter and gesturing for Lele to sit.
Lele reluctantly complies. He keeps his gaze locked on the floor, unable to face either of his parents.
“I um,” he voices, so soft it is barely audible. “I’m pregnant.”
“What?” Gao Tu and Wenlang say in unison.
“I said I’m pregnant!” Lele practically yells before slinking back his chair and placing his hands on his knees.
Gao Tu’s jaw falls open.
“I’m going to kill Hua Sheng,” Wenlang mutters, immediately stalking away, only for Gao Tu to grab him by the wrist.
“Let’s not make any rash decisions,” Gao Tu says, pulling Wenlang close before directing his attention back to Lele.
“Lele, are you absolutely sure about this?”
“I took a test and it was positive,” He mumbles, pausing for a moment before he adds: “And then I took ten more tests which were all positive.”
Gao Tu sighs. “And just to confirm, the father is…”
“Hua Sheng.”
In the corner of his vision, he sees Wenlang’s fingers curl into fists.
“He didn’t do anything to me-”
“He got you pregnant!” Wenlang exclaims.
“Consentually,” Lele adds, to both of his parents' growing exasperation.
“He still got you pregnant! Do you have any idea how serious this is?!”
Lele just stares at both his parents. Seconds pass, each one marked by a tick, tick, tick of their analogue clock. Lele's throat closes in. Maybe it’s the hormones but it’s like someone flicked a switch. Tears instantly spring to his eyes, spilling past his cheeks as he lets out a sob.
Gao Tu quickly surges forward to embrace him but that just makes him cry harder, his chest convulsing with each breath as he buries his face into his mother’s neck.
“I’m sorry,” Lele sobs. “I promise I’m still going to study and graduate.”
“Everything’s going to be okay, baobei,” Gao Tu assures, tracing circles on Lele’s back with his hand. “Isn’t that right, Wenlang?”
Wenlang sighs before he, too, rests a hand on Lele’s trembling frame. “Yeah. It’s going to be okay,” he assures. “But first, we’re paying them a visit.”
At exactly 11 pm, the doorbell rings through the Sheng household.
Shaoyou glances up from his work computer, rubbing the blearyness from his eyes before he answers the door and-
A punch greets him in the face.
“What the fuck?”
“How dare your son knock up my child?!” Wenlang shouts, already squaring up for round two.
Shaoyou’s hand clasps his swelling cheek for a single heartbeat before he whips around and throws a punch at Wenlang too, his fist colliding with Wenlang's face in a wet crunch.
“How dare you come to my house and attack me?” Shaoyou shoots back in disbelief.
Wenlang is ready to retaliate, but Gao Tu quickly wraps his arms around his husband’s waist to physically pull him away.
“Wenlang, we talked about this,” Gao Tu reprimands.
Behind Shaoyou, Hua Yong quickly marches up, ready to teach Wenlang a lesson, but Shaoyou stops him with a hand to his chest.
For the children’s sake, they should all be civil.
Just in time, Lele peers in from the doorway, his expression lighting up like fireworks when Hua Sheng runs forward to embrace him.
“I missed you,” Hua Sheng murmurs, pressing a kiss to Lele’s forehead.
“I missed you too,” Lele echoes, wrapping his arms tight around his lover. “It’s been so long.”
Shaoyou rolls his eyes. “It’s literally been five hours since you last saw each other.”
Hua Yong takes Shaoyou’s hand, pulling him further into the house to give the children some space. Shaoyou just lets him, gesturing for Gao Tu and Wenlang to follow suit. Ungodly hour or not, they might as well stay for some refreshments.
Tea is steeped, poured, and passed around the dinner table while Hua Sheng and Lele cuddle up on the couch. Gentle moonlight filters through their window, chased away only by the honeyed sepia of the lamp illuminating the house.
Gao Tu is the first to speak. “You know this makes us all grandparents, right?”
The entire group falls into stunned silence.
“I can’t be a grandparent, I’m not even forty five,” Hua Yong mutters under his breath.
“Then you should have thought twice about knocking me up so young,” Shaoyou scolds. “Now look at what an example that became for your son.”
“So we all agree this is Hua Yong’s fault,” Wenlang comments, taking a sip of his tea.
“No,” Gao Tu argues. “We agree this is an… unforeseen circumstance.”
Shaoyou scoffs. “Unforeseen circumstance is one way to put it.”
Their gazes drift to the children on the couch. Lele’s head lies on Hua Sheng’s shoulder as he leans against the broader man’s frame. Hua Sheng has both arms wrapped loosely around Lele’s waist, his hand resting on Lele’s abdomen as if already welcoming the new life blooming beneath.
“They’ll be fine,” Shaoyou mutters, his lips creasing into a fond smile.
“They will,” Gao Tu agrees. “I actually kind of miss having a baby around.”
“I don’t,” Hua Yong comments.
“Well too bad. Lele’s doing all the work for the next nine months so you better step up after that,” Wenlang demands, pouring Gao Tu a second cup of tea before he refills his own.
Just five meters away, Hua Sheng and Lele fall asleep to the rhythm of each other’s heartbeats.