Born Nezha

“So you’ve made up? That’s really a happy occasion. Actually, Aunt Xian hasn’t had it easy herself—her own biological daughter was kidnapped and sold, and the adopted daughter she poured her heart into turned out to be the child of her romantic rival.”

“Well, as long as Aunt Xian can get past it in her own mind, that’s what matters. After all, no one’s really at fault—they just made different choices.”

At the Chen family estate, Ye Shuang was now using a nail clipper to trim Chen Qin’s toenails while they chatted about recent events and the upcoming concert.

“Playing music is such a joy. After the school anniversary performance, I’ll be performing at the concert,” Chen Qin said as she lay on the sofa. Perhaps because she was pregnant, Chen Qin had gained a bit of weight, but since her figure had been so good to begin with, there was no sign of it going out of shape.

“Must be nice. I’d love to go see the concert too—I’m stuck at home every day and bored to death.” Chen Qin touched her belly. Back then, she had fought desperately to get pregnant, but now that she was carrying a little one, she couldn’t do anything.

“There are too many people there—it’s not safe,” said Ye Shuang. After all, a concert was packed with crowds, and if there was even one small accident, it could be a big problem.

“Can you just bear with it?”

Chen Qin suddenly closed her eyes and said, “Honey, I feel the baby kicking me.”

Ye Shuang glanced at her. “You’re less than three months along—there’s no fetal movement yet. Maybe you’re just hungry.”

“Forget it, then. My mom keeps making all those tonics every day—I’ve already gained weight.” Chen Qin put on a pitiful expression.

“You still need to get enough nutrition. Didn’t we hire two nutritionists to prepare meals specially? Did Mom prepare something extra for you?”

“Not really—I just don’t have much of an appetite,” Chen Qin said.

Ye Shuang stood up, moved behind Chen Qin, and gently massaged her shoulders. “Sweetheart, just hang in there a little longer.”

“If you give me a kiss, I’ll last another month.” Chen Qin tilted her chin up and blinked her pretty eyes.

So Ye Shuang bent down and kissed her a dozen or so times.

“Alright, alright—if you keep kissing, she’s going to end up giving birth to Nezha.” A voice came from nearby. Ye Shuang and Chen Qin turned to look and found that Uncle Chen had walked in at some point. Seeing their affectionate scene, he cleared his throat and said,

“There are a lot of people coming and going through the living room—you’d better be more careful.”

“Dad, you’re back,” Ye Shuang greeted him. Chen Qin, meanwhile, flushed bright red, stuck out her tongue, and turned away.

“Just got back from playing chess. Those old guys are no match for me,” Chen’s Father said cheerfully. He wasn’t much for games like golf; instead, he had a particular fondness for fishing and chess, and recently he’d even been taking the yacht out for deep-sea fishing.

“By the way, Shuangzai, I’ve picked up a few new antiques—take a look for me.”

It seemed Chen’s Father had noticed that Ye Shuang had some knowledge of antiques. Although a lot of the information wasn’t complete, Ye Shuang could almost always tell whether something was genuine at a glance, even better than many professional appraisers.

“Dad, did you buy something new?”

“Nah, a friend gave them to me. Come take a look.” Chen’s Father tugged at him, about to head upstairs.

“Daddy, my husband rarely gets a break. He should be spending time with me. Those antiques of yours aren’t that important,” Chen Qin protested.

“Always ‘hubby this, hubby that’—now that you’ve got a husband, you don’t care about your dad. I’m just borrowing him—it’s not like I won’t send him back,” said Chen’s Father, huffing like a playful old man.

“Fine, fine.”

Chen Qin could only watch helplessly as Ye Shuang followed Chen’s Father upstairs.

She thought about going along too, but figured she’d just be in the way, so she dropped the idea.

Turning on the monitor, she snacked on fruit and started binge-watching a show—until the sound of a car outside caught her attention. A familiar vehicle pulled up past the floor-to-ceiling windows, and Chen Qin took a closer look.

“Where’s my old man?” The person getting out of the car was Chen Hai. Without even coming inside, he asked Chen Qin through the window.

“Upstairs, looking at his treasures,” Chen Qin replied in Cantonese.

Chen Hai leaned closer. “What? I can’t hear you.”

“I said your dad is me!” Chen Qin raised her voice.

“Damn it, trying to pull one over on me.” Chen Hai strode briskly into the living room. First, he glanced around to be sure his old man was at home, then asked the maid who was wiping the table, “Where’s my dad?”

“Young Master Chen, he’s upstairs with the antiques.”

“Got it.”

Chen Hai took the elevator to the room where Chen’s Father usually kept his antique collection and, as expected, found Ye Shuang and Chen’s Father sitting at a table.

“Dad, going by my experience, these are all genuine,” Ye Shuang said at that moment.

“Really? I knew it—I didn’t pick wrong.” Chen’s Father was still peering through a magnifying glass. Having Ye Shuang’s confirmation put his mind at ease.

Soon, he noticed Chen Hai walking in and said simply, “You’re back.”

Then Chen’s Father went back to talking with Ye Shuang.

Seeing how dismissive his father was, Chen Hai pouted. “I’m your son, you know.”

Chen’s Father chuckled. “If I had a choice, I’d definitely pick Shuangzai as my son.”

“That’s just too much!”

“Alright, what made you rush back in such a hurry?” Chen’s Father asked. It wasn’t like Chen Hai to come home at this hour—he should still be at the office during work time. He must have had a reason for running over like this.

“Feng Shan’s belly is getting big too, and I want to take some time off from the company to stay with her,” Chen Hai said.

After all, Chen Hai’s wife was pregnant with their second child much earlier than Chen Qin. Compared to Chen Qin’s slightly rounding belly, Feng Shan’s was already quite large, though she was resting elsewhere for the pregnancy.

“Does your wife need you to keep her company just for that?” asked Chen’s Father.

Like Chen Qin, Feng Shan also had two nutritionists and a full staff assigned for her daily care.

“Wow, having your husband around is totally different from not having him around. Who knows—maybe we’ll get lucky and have twins,” Chen Hai said quickly. “Her mood will be better if I’m at home.”

“Don’t ask me. Shuangzai is the one running the company now. If he thinks there’s no problem with it, I won’t say much,” Chen’s Father said, patting Ye Shuang on the shoulder.

“So, how about it? Give me a six-month paternity leave,” Chen Hai said to Ye Shuang.

“That shouldn’t be an issue. But are you really going to stay with Feng Shan?” Ye Shuang asked, a little suspicious. Given Chen Hai’s temperament, it wasn’t that he didn’t like Feng Shan, but he’d never been able to put up with her personality for long.

“Trust me!” Chen Hai patted his chest, as if saying, “That’s what brothers are for.”

“In that case, I’ll arrange it. As for your position…” Ye Shuang thought it over, and several capable candidates immediately came to mind. “Alright, I’ll find someone to take over.”

“Shouldn’t you find a temporary replacement?” Chen Hai asked. Surely he wouldn’t come back and find his position gone.

“I’ll take care of these details,” Ye Shuang said.

After all, Chen Hai’s current role was quite important—having it left vacant at a moment’s notice would create some minor headaches.