Work Text:
Sheng Shaoyou had a plan.
It was a good plan, a sensible plan, a carefully thought-out plan, even written down in his calendar between follow-up appointments, ShengFeng Bio board meetings, and one absurdly long document Hua Yong had sent him one evening titled Things Hua Sheng Will Need During the First Six Months of His Life, which, upon opening, turned out to be forty-seven pages long, contain six comparison tables, and have an entire separate section devoted to the materials baby bibs should be made of.
Shaoyou had not read all of it.
He had read thirty-nine pages.
The only reason he had not read the remaining eight was because he discovered that Hua Yong had devoted two of them to comparing teething toys, even though their child still had four months before he was due to enter the world and, something Shaoyou considered rather important, did not have teeth yet.
The plan was simple.
Shaoyou intended to work for as long as the pregnancy allowed him to. Then he would give birth, spend an appropriate amount of time at home, recover, get used to the presence of a new human being who, according to Hua Yong, was going to be the most beautiful child in the world and who, according to Shaoyou, looked a little like a bean in his first ultrasound pictures, and then return to work.
Not immediately.
He wasn't insane.
He intended to take leave.
Just not three years of it.
Three years of leave had been Hua Yong's idea.
Hua Yong informed him of this over dinner, sometime around the sixth month of Shaoyou's pregnancy, with the same calmness he might have used to announce that he was planning to take Friday off.
“I took three years.”
Shaoyou stopped chewing.
“What?”
“Leave.”
Shaoyou looked at him.
Then at his bowl.
Then back at him.
“Three days?”
“Three years.”
“Hua Yong.”
“Mm?”
“You can't take three years off.”
“I already did.”
“You run a company.”
“I have people.”
“You have X Holdings.”
“X Holdings has a board.”
“You're the president.”
“So are you.”
Shaoyou narrowed his eyes.
Hua Yong smiled at him and then, taking advantage of his momentary distraction, transferred another piece of fish into his bowl.
“Eat.”
Shaoyou ate.
Mostly because he was hungry.
Partly because Peanut had just kicked him under the ribs.
And, to a small and absolutely insignificant degree, because the knowledge that Hua Yong had rearranged the next three years of his life around their child without the slightest hesitation made something soft and warm spread beneath Shaoyou's breastbone, so for a moment he had to focus very intensely on his fish to avoid saying anything embarrassing.
Back then, everything had seemed perfectly simple.
Hua Yong would stay home.
Peanut would stay with Hua Yong.
Shaoyou would go back to work.
Shaoyou genuinely did not understand at what precise moment this exceptionally logical plan had fallen apart.
+++
Perhaps the first problem was that Peanut was born small.
Not dangerously small. The doctors assured them repeatedly that everything was fine, all his test results were good, his lungs were healthy, his heart beat strongly, and his voice was certainly powerful enough to inform the entire maternity ward that he absolutely did not appreciate being removed from the warm, safe place he had occupied for the past several months.
But he was small.
Shaoyou knew newborns were small.
Of course he knew.
He wasn't an idiot.
He hadn't expected Hua Yong to pull a five-foot baby out of him.
Still, no one had prepared him for this.
For the tiny fingers.
For nails so small they looked almost translucent.
For the wrinkled little face, the soft hair stuck to his head, and the clenched fists, as though Peanut had entered the world already furious over some personal insult.
Or for the fact that when the nurse placed him on Shaoyou's chest, everything else suddenly ceased to exist.
Shaoyou remembered the warmth.
The weight.
The impossibly light weight.
He remembered Hua Yong beside him and his hand on his shoulder. He remembered someone saying something. He remembered the lights overhead, his own exhaustion, the pain, sweat sticking his hair to his temples.
But most of all, he remembered Hua Sheng.
His son made a quiet, offended little sound, shifted his head, and settled when his cheek touched Shaoyou's skin.
And that was it.
Sheng Shaoyou, president of ShengFeng Bio, S-class Alpha, a man capable of looking investors directly in the eye during multimillion-dollar negotiations and making them reconsider the terms of a contract with a single raised eyebrow, was completely defeated by a human being weighing barely over three kilograms.
Hua Yong noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
“Shaoyou.”
“Quiet.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You just said my name.”
“I only wanted to—”
“Quiet. He's sleeping.”
Peanut was not sleeping.
He was staring somewhere around Shaoyou's collarbone with the expression of a man who had absolutely no idea where he was.
Hua Yong pressed his lips together.
Shaoyou gave him a warning look.
“If you laugh, you can leave us here and go home by yourself.”
Hua Yong did not laugh.
Instead, he leaned down and kissed Shaoyou's temple.
Then he kissed Peanut's head.
And Shaoyou, who only a few hours earlier had been absolutely certain that he would remain a reasonable human being after the birth of his child, thought with deadly seriousness that perhaps he would allow Hua Yong to keep those forty-seven pages of information. Actually... he should probably read the whole document again, just to make sure they had prepared the right things for their child.
Their son.
How beautiful that sounded...
+++
The second problem was feeding.
Shaoyou had decided during the pregnancy that he would breastfeed Peanut, provided his body cooperated. He attached no grand ideology to the decision. If he could—good. If he couldn't—they would find another solution.
His body cooperated.
So did Peanut.
A little too enthusiastically.
Within a few weeks, Shaoyou discovered that his son had three primary interests: sleeping on Shaoyou, eating from Shaoyou, and protesting whenever anyone attempted to take Shaoyou away from him.
That someone was usually Hua Yong.
“Give him to me.”
“Why?”
“So you can eat.”
“I am eating.”
“With one hand.”
“I have two.”
“One is holding Peanut.”
“That's precisely why I have the other one.”
“Shaoyou.”
“Hua Yong.”
They stared at each other.
Peanut slept between them with his cheek pressed against Shaoyou's chest, completely unaware of the parental custody war unfolding over his head.
Hua Yong held out his arms.
Shaoyou sighed.
He handed him the baby.
Seven seconds passed.
Peanut opened his eyes.
Another three passed.
His lower lip trembled.
“No.”
Hua Yong looked at him.
“Peanut.”
Peanut drew in a breath.
“Don't you dare.”
Peanut began to cry.
Shaoyou immediately put down his chopsticks.
“Give him to me.”
“Shaoyou...”
“He's crying.”
“Babies cry sometimes.”
“My baby is crying.”
“He's my baby too.”
“Then you should be more concerned.”
Hua Yong stared at him for several seconds before silently handing their son back.
Peanut was in Shaoyou's arms.
The crying stopped almost immediately.
Shaoyou adjusted the blanket beneath his head.
“There, there. Mama's here.”
Silence.
Shaoyou froze.
Slowly, he looked up.
Hua Yong was staring at him.
“Not a word.”
Hua Yong smiled.
“Not. One. Word.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“Your face is talking.”
“What is my face saying?”
“That you don't want to live long enough to see your son's first birthday.”
Hua Yong's smile widened.
Shaoyou kicked him under the table.
+++
He wasn't entirely sure when he had started calling himself Mama.
No one had suggested it to him.
Hua Yong always called him “Dad” when talking to Peanut about him, and whenever they spoke to doctors or family, Shaoyou was simply one of Peanut's parents.
“Mama” had appeared on its own.
Quietly.
Privately.
He had probably said the word for the first time in the middle of the night, too tired to think about what it meant, when Peanut woke up hungry and Shaoyou lifted him from his crib, pressed him against his chest, and whispered:
“Mama's here.”
Then he said it again the next day.
And the day after that.
“Mama will change you.”
“Mama knows you're hungry.”
“Don't look at Mama like that, you can't eat all day.”
“Peanut, Mama really needs to go to the bathroom.”
“No. Don't cry. Mama isn't going anywhere.”
The word belonged to them.
To closed bedroom doors. To three in the morning. To the quiet little sounds Peanut made while feeding. To a tiny hand closing around Shaoyou's finger. To those moments when ShengFeng Bio did not exist, when the Sheng name, investors, social standing, and all the expectations attached to who Sheng Shaoyou was supposed to be did not exist.
There was only Mama.
And Peanut.
Hua Yong heard it sometimes.
He never laughed.
That was probably why Shaoyou allowed him to remain alive and keep listening.
+++
The third problem was going back to work.
Shaoyou lasted two months at home.
Then he started reading reports.
Hua Yong caught him doing it at two in the morning.
“What are you doing?”
Shaoyou immediately locked his phone.
“Nothing.”
“You're reading the quarterly report.”
“No.”
“I saw the chart.”
“It could have been any chart.”
“Peanut is asleep on your stomach.”
Shaoyou looked down.
Peanut was, indeed, asleep on his stomach.
“And?”
“And you're reading the quarterly report over his head.”
“Multitasking.”
Hua Yong sighed.
A week later, Shaoyou announced that he was going back to work.
Not full-time.
Not yet.
A few hours a day. Two, maybe three days a week. The most important meetings, signatures, decisions that required his presence. He could still do the rest from home.
It was reasonable.
Hua Yong had three years of leave.
Peanut had Hua Yong.
Shaoyou had his company.
Everything was returning to the plan.
On his first day back, Shaoyou put on a suit for the first time since giving birth.
He stood in front of the mirror a little longer than he had intended.
His body looked different.
Of course it did.
He hadn't expected pregnancy and childbirth to disappear without a trace, but knowing something and seeing it were two entirely different things.
His shirt sat differently across his chest.
His trousers were tighter around his hips.
Pale lines remained across his stomach.
Shaoyou ran a finger over one of them.
He didn't hate them.
That was perhaps the most surprising part.
Once, he had regarded his body primarily as a tool. It was supposed to be healthy, strong, well maintained, and look appropriate beneath a suit. Now he looked at the soft skin of his stomach and thought about Peanut's foot pressing against him from the inside in that exact spot.
Hua Yong appeared behind him.
He said nothing.
He wrapped his arms around Shaoyou's waist.
Shaoyou looked at their reflection.
“I look different.”
“Yes.”
Shaoyou frowned.
“You were supposed to say no.”
“Why would I lie?”
“Because you're my husband.”
“You look different.” Hua Yong kissed the back of his neck. “You look like you. Except now you've given birth to our child.”
Shaoyou looked away.
“That sounds horribly sentimental.”
“I know.”
“I don't like it.”
“I know.”
Shaoyou rested his hands on Hua Yong's arms.
For a moment, they simply stood there.
Then crying came from the next room.
Shaoyou turned so quickly he nearly elbowed Hua Yong.
“Peanut.”
“I'll go.”
“I'll go.”
“You'll be late.”
Shaoyou stopped.
Peanut was crying.
He looked at the clock.
Then at the door.
Then at Hua Yong.
“Go,” Hua Yong said gently. “I've got him.”
Shaoyou knew.
Of course he knew.
Hua Yong was his father. He loved Peanut probably just as absurdly as Shaoyou did. He could feed him expressed milk, change him, bathe him, soothe him, put him to sleep. Peanut loved falling asleep on his chest with his fingers curled into the fabric of Hua Yong's shirt.
There was no reason to worry.
Shaoyou kissed Peanut before leaving.
Then a second time.
Then a third, because Peanut did something with his mouth.
“All right. Mama's going to work.”
Peanut stared at him.
“I'll be back this afternoon.”
Peanut blinked.
“Be good for Daddy.”
Hua Yong leaned against the doorframe.
“We'll be fine.”
Shaoyou narrowed his eyes.
“I didn't say you wouldn't.”
“Of course.”
“Hua Yong.”
“Go to work, Shaoyou.”
He went.
He came back two hours and seventeen minutes later.
+++
“He missed me.”
“He slept most of the time,” Hua Yong replied calmly.
“So he missed me in his sleep.”
“He ate.”
“How much?”
Hua Yong handed him the bottle.
Shaoyou looked at the markings.
“Only this much?”
“That's all he wanted.”
“He usually eats more.”
“Shaoyou.”
“I'm just saying.”
“Do you want to hold him?”
Shaoyou was already reaching out.
Peanut woke the moment he caught his scent.
His face scrunched up.
His little mouth opened.
Shaoyou felt the familiar tightness in his breasts and sighed.
“Ah. So you are hungry after all.”
Peanut made a sound that very clearly meant yes, and where were you when I was hungry?
“Mama was working.”
Another offended sound.
“I know.”
Shaoyou sat on the sofa and unbuttoned his shirt.
“I know, sweetheart. Mama is terrible.”
Hua Yong sat beside him.
“Don't tell him that.”
“He's too young to understand.”
“You understand.”
Shaoyou looked at him.
Hua Yong adjusted the pillow beneath his elbow.
“You're not terrible.”
Shaoyou wanted to answer with something cutting.
He didn't.
Peanut found his breast and immediately lost all interest in the rest of the world.
Shaoyou watched him for a long time.
“Maybe a few more weeks.”
Hua Yong didn't ask what he meant.
“You can.”
“The company needs me.”
“The company existed before Peanut.”
“That's not an argument.”
“It'll still exist in a few weeks.”
Shaoyou stroked his thumb over his son's soft cheek.
“I don't want to stop working.”
“I know.”
“But I don't want to...”
He didn't finish.
Hua Yong placed a hand on his knee.
Shaoyou didn't need to.
+++
For the next two weeks, they tried.
Shaoyou left.
Shaoyou came back.
Peanut drank from the bottle, but less.
He slept with Hua Yong, but for shorter stretches.
He didn't cry constantly, he wasn't unhappy, nothing dramatic happened.
That was probably what made the entire situation so irritating.
There was no problem Shaoyou could solve.
There was only a tiny baby who apparently preferred his presence.
And Shaoyou, who discovered to his own horror that he preferred Peanut's presence just as much.
The solution appeared on Wednesday.
Shaoyou had an important meeting.
Peanut was having a bad day.
He had been fussy since morning, refused to sleep, wanted to eat more often than usual, and every time Shaoyou tried to put him down, his face immediately began to take on that particular expression that promised catastrophe.
Shaoyou stood in the living room in his suit.
Peanut hung over his shoulder.
Hua Yong stood opposite him.
“I'm not leaving him,” Shaoyou sighed quietly, rocking the baby in his arms.
“Can you reschedule?”
“No.”
“Then go.”
“I can't leave him like this.”
“Shaoyou, I really can handle him.”
Peanut whimpered.
Shaoyou automatically began rocking on his heels.
“I know.”
“So?”
Shaoyou looked at the baby.
Then at Hua Yong.
Then his gaze drifted toward the baby carrier lying on the armchair.
Silence.
Hua Yong followed his gaze.
“No.”
Shaoyou looked at him.
“Why not?”
“I didn't say you couldn't. I said no because I just saw exactly what entered your head.”
“I have a private office.”
“I know.”
“A private elevator.”
“I know.”
“Peanut likes the carrier.”
“I know.”
“So?”
Hua Yong stared at him.
Shaoyou raised an eyebrow.
Fifteen minutes later, Sheng Shaoyou left the house wearing a tailored suit, a watch worth more than most of his employees' first cars, and a black ergonomic baby carrier with Peanut strapped to his chest.
Hua Yong took a picture.
Shaoyou threatened divorce.
+++
The ShengFeng Bio receptionist deserved a raise.
Shaoyou decided this immediately.
She looked at him.
She looked at Peanut.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Good morning, Mr. Sheng.”
“Good morning.”
And that was it.
No question.
No comment.
Shaoyou stepped into the elevator with the reassuring sense that he was still in control of the situation.
Peanut slept.
The first meeting lasted forty minutes.
Peanut slept.
The second lasted twenty-five.
Peanut continued sleeping.
During the third, he woke up but contented himself with observing the world over the edge of the carrier while Shaoyou discussed the schedule for the next quarter.
No one dared say anything.
One of the directors looked at Peanut for one second too long.
Shaoyou looked at him.
The director immediately returned his attention to the presentation.
Perfect.
At eleven thirty, Peanut began to squirm.
At eleven thirty-two, he started making quiet noises.
At eleven thirty-three, Shaoyou ended the meeting fifteen minutes early.
“Email me the rest.”
The door closed behind the last person.
Shaoyou immediately locked it.
He closed the blinds.
“There, there.”
Peanut fussed.
“I know, Mama talked for too long.”
Shaoyou took off his jacket.
“It wasn't my fault. They don't know how to present information in fewer than thirty slides.”
He sat down on the sofa in the private section of his office and took Peanut out of the carrier.
“Hungry?”
Peanut began rooting.
“Stupid question.”
He unbuttoned his shirt.
A moment later, Peanut was feeding while Sheng Shaoyou sat in his own office, his laptop open on the table, documents worth millions displayed on the screen, and an infant at his breast.
He looked down at him.
Peanut's eyes were closed.
One hand rested against Shaoyou's chest.
“Comfortable?”
Smack.
“Wonderful.”
Shaoyou opened a message.
He read two sentences.
Peanut moved his fingers.
Shaoyou stopped reading.
“Don't distract Mama.”
Peanut continued eating.
“Mama is working.”
Silence.
“It's very important.”
Peanut did not appear convinced.
Shaoyou kissed the top of his head.
“You know perfectly well you're more important. Don't take advantage of it.”
+++
Hua Yong arrived at one.
Security had clear instructions, so he entered without knocking.
He stopped just inside the door.
Shaoyou sat at his desk.
His jacket hung over the back of the chair.
His shirt was buttoned again.
Peanut slept in the carrier against his chest.
Shaoyou typed with one hand.
The other rested on the baby's back.
“No.”
Hua Yong closed the door.
“I didn't say anything.”
“I know that face.”
“What face?”
“The one you make when you're unbearably pleased with life.”
Hua Yong came closer.
He looked at Peanut.
Then at Shaoyou.
“How was it?”
“Fine.”
“Did he eat?”
“Yes.”
Hua Yong looked at his shirt.
Shaoyou looked at him.
“The blinds were closed.”
“I didn't ask.”
“The door was locked.”
“Shaoyou.”
“No one came in.”
Hua Yong leaned down and kissed him.
Briefly.
Tenderly.
“I know.”
Shaoyou sighed.
“He ate a lot.”
“That's good.”
“Then he spit up on my tie.”
Hua Yong looked at him.
Only then did he notice that Shaoyou wasn't wearing one.
“Where is it?”
“In the trash.”
“The navy one?”
“Yes.”
“I liked that one.”
“So did your son.”
Hua Yong snorted with laughter.
Peanut stirred.
They both froze.
Peanut sighed in his sleep.
Shaoyou looked at Hua Yong with murderous seriousness.
“You wake him up and you die.”
“He's my son too.”
“Then you should be happy. You'll die, but your bloodline won't die with you.”
Hua Yong said nothing more.
+++
That was how the new plan came into existence.
Shaoyou worked shorter hours.
Sometimes Peanut stayed with Hua Yong.
Sometimes he went with Shaoyou.
A portable crib appeared in his office.
Then a play mat.
Then a drawer full of diapers.
Then a bottle warmer.
Then a basket of clothes.
After a month, the private section of the ShengFeng Bio president's office looked as though a baby store were slowly staging a corporate takeover.
Shaoyou saw no problem with this.
Peanut had his own blanket on the sofa.
His own pillow.
Three toys.
Five bibs.
A supply of diapers.
Two changes of clothes.
Hua Yong brought in a sixth bib.
“What for?”
“The others are dirty.”
“Two of them are dirty.”
“Which leaves four.”
“Hua Yong, he does not need six bibs in the office.”
Peanut spit up milk on Shaoyou's shirt.
Silence.
Hua Yong handed him the sixth bib.
Shaoyou took it without a word.
+++
There were bad days too.
Days when Shaoyou was tired.
Days when Peanut woke five times during the night and Shaoyou had a video conference at eight in the morning and felt as though his brain had been replaced with cotton.
Days when his breasts hurt, when his whole body ached, when Peanut wanted to feed endlessly and Shaoyou began to feel as though his body once again no longer belonged entirely to him.
Once, he locked himself in the bathroom.
Only for five minutes.
Peanut cried on the other side of the door.
Hua Yong was holding him.
Shaoyou sat on the closed toilet lid, pressed his hands to his face, and thought that he was a terrible parent because, for five minutes, he didn't want anyone to touch him.
Then Hua Yong knocked.
“Shaoyou?”
“I'm fine.”
“I know.”
It was the worst thing he could have said.
Shaoyou lowered his hands.
“Then why are you asking?”
“I'm not asking if you're all right.”
Peanut's crying grew quieter.
“I'm asking if you want me to sit here.”
Shaoyou remained silent.
“On the other side of the door,” Hua Yong added. “I won't come in.”
Silence.
“You can.”
Hua Yong sat down on the floor outside.
Shaoyou knew because he heard the rustle of clothing.
Peanut whimpered.
“Is he hungry?”
“A little.”
Shaoyou closed his eyes.
“I should—”
“No.”
“Hua Yong.”
“There's milk in the fridge.”
“But—”
“He has a father.”
Shaoyou curled his fingers.
“And he has a mama,” Hua Yong said softly. “Who is allowed to close the door for five minutes.”
Shaoyou sat in silence.
Five minutes passed.
Then seven.
After ten, he opened the door.
Hua Yong really was sitting on the floor.
Peanut rested against his shoulder.
Shaoyou looked at them.
Hua Yong didn't say I told you so.
He didn't ask whether Shaoyou felt better.
He simply held out his free hand.
Shaoyou took it.
+++
Peanut was four months old when he truly laughed for the first time.
It wasn't a random sound.
Not a smile in his sleep.
A laugh.
Shaoyou was trying to put a sock on him.
Peanut kicked.
The sock fell off.
“Peanut.”
Peanut smiled.
Shaoyou put the sock back on.
Kick.
The sock fell off.
“No.”
Smile.
“Don't do that.”
Shaoyou put it on a third time.
Peanut kicked.
The sock flew halfway across the sofa.
And Peanut laughed.
Shaoyou froze.
Hua Yong, who was sitting beside them with his laptop, immediately looked up.
“Did he do it?”
“Quiet.”
“But—”
“Peanut.”
Shaoyou leaned over him.
“Do it again.”
Peanut stared at him.
“Come on.”
Nothing.
Shaoyou picked up the sock.
Put it on.
Peanut kicked.
The sock fell off.
Shaoyou made the most offended expression he could manage.
Peanut squealed with laughter.
Hua Yong managed to record the next thirty seconds.
Shaoyou found out that evening.
He threatened divorce for the second time.
The video remained in Hua Yong's favorites.
+++
A few weeks later, Shaoyou sat in his office after his final meeting of the day.
Peanut was feeding.
Behind a locked door.
With the blinds closed.
As always.
Shaoyou leaned back against the sofa, supporting him with one arm while slowly running the other hand over his back.
“You were very good today.”
Peanut sucked.
“Mama is proud of you.”
A tiny hand closed around his shirt.
“Although you could have avoided pooping exactly five minutes before my meeting.”
Peanut did not look remorseful.
“Mr. Liu had to wait seven minutes.”
Silence.
“He's an important man.”
Smack.
“You're right. Not that important.”
The door opened.
Shaoyou didn't even look up.
Only one person could enter.
Hua Yong closed it behind himself.
He walked over to the sofa and sat beside him.
Peanut continued eating, completely uninterested in the arrival of his other parent.
“Traitor,” Hua Yong said.
Shaoyou looked at him.
“He's busy.”
“I can see that.”
Hua Yong adjusted the soft blanket covering Peanut's lower body.
For a while, they sat in silence.
“Do you remember your plan?” he finally asked.
Shaoyou narrowed his eyes.
“Which one?”
“The one from before he was born.”
“I had many plans.”
“You were going to go back to work, and I was going to take care of the baby.”
Shaoyou looked at Peanut.
Then at his unbuttoned shirt.
Then at the carrier lying beside the laptop.
Then at the crib standing in the corner.
“Technically, I did go back to work.”
Hua Yong smiled.
“Technically.”
“And you take care of the baby.”
“When you let me.”
Shaoyou lightly kicked his ankle.
Peanut stopped eating.
He sighed.
His mouth remained slightly open, his cheek resting against Shaoyou's breast.
He fell asleep.
Shaoyou looked at him.
Everything in his expression softened instantly.
Hua Yong watched them both.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“I'm allowed to look at my husband.”
“You're looking at me strangely.”
“I'm thinking.”
“Dangerous.”
Hua Yong smiled.
Then he leaned over and very carefully kissed Peanut's head.
Then Shaoyou's cheek.
“You're a good mama.”
Shaoyou went still.
It was absurd.
Completely absurd.
He had survived pregnancy, childbirth, weeks of sleep deprivation, crying, three-in-the-morning feedings, spit-up milk on suits, diapers whose contents he never wanted to analyze again, and four months of a life rearranged around a tiny human being who, for the first few weeks, couldn't even hold up his own head.
And yet those four words struck somewhere he had left unguarded.
Shaoyou lowered his gaze.
Peanut slept.
“The best,” he corrected quietly.
Hua Yong blinked.
Shaoyou raised his head.
“I said I'm the best mama.”
Slowly, a smile appeared on Hua Yong's face.
“Of course.”
“Don't laugh.”
“I'm not laughing.”
“Your eyes are laughing.”
“I'm proud.”
“That's even worse.”
Hua Yong wrapped an arm around him.
Shaoyou allowed it.
For a while, they sat together on the sofa in the ShengFeng Bio president's office, surrounded by reports, toys, diapers, expensive furniture, a baby blanket, and one lonely bib lying on top of documents Shaoyou was supposed to sign before the end of the day.
Peanut slept against his chest.
Hua Yong held his hand.
Shaoyou thought about his first plan.
About going back to normal.
Back then, he hadn't yet understood that after Peanut was born, there would be no going back to how things were.
Not because he had lost his old life.
He hadn't.
He was still Sheng Shaoyou.
He still ran a company. He still negotiated contracts. He could still make grown men nervously adjust their ties with a single look. He still liked expensive cars, good wine, orderly paperwork, and silence while he worked.
It was simply that now there was a crib in his office.
Diapers lay in the drawer beside his contracts.
Feedings appeared in his calendar between meetings.
And when Peanut woke in the middle of the night, Shaoyou lifted him from his crib, pressed him against his chest, kissed his soft little head, and whispered:
“Mama's here.”
And perhaps this was simply his normal now.
Shaoyou looked at his sleeping son.
“Tomorrow you're staying with Daddy.”
Hua Yong raised an eyebrow.
“Really?”
“I have three meetings.”
“I understand.”
“I can't take him to all of them.”
“Of course.”
“And you need to spend time with him.”
“That's true.”
“You did take three years of leave.”
“Exactly.”
Shaoyou nodded.
The decision was made.
Peanut shifted in his sleep and nestled his face more firmly against his chest.
Shaoyou looked down.
Silence.
Hua Yong waited.
“Maybe the day after tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
“Shut up.”
Hua Yong kissed his temple.
Peanut slept.
And Sheng Shaoyou, the best mama in the world, opened his laptop with one hand and went back to work.
He didn't even try to free the other.
It was busy holding his child.
And there were things more important than efficiency.
After all, his father was rich too. If Sheng Shaoyou couldn't make quite as much money as he used to... Hua Yong would simply have to pay for everything.
Shaoyou had absolutely no objection to emptying a few of his bank accounts on toys and clothes for their baby.