Scarf...

Night fell. Christmas Eve was hardly peaceful. You could tell just by looking at the decorated Christmas tree outside the hospital entrance, its lights slowly blinking.

Most people did not really care about the origins or stories behind holidays—especially holidays imported from abroad. They simply enjoyed spending time with friends, or using the break to savor some time alone after work or study.

The older one got, the less one wanted to be alone. Ye Shuang felt this very clearly. He rubbed his hands together and suddenly realized that, in the blink of an eye, he already had two children.

Would his younger self, sitting drunk on the street over a breakup, ever have imagined what the future would bring?

Ye Shuang did not know. These days, he could not even truly empathize with the version of himself who had once drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

The only feeling that remained familiar was perhaps the pain of losing his parents. Even after emerging from that darkness, Ye Shuang had kept the matter quietly buried in the deepest part of his heart.

If only he could go back and see them one more time.

But regrets were also a part of life, he supposed. For people, failure and regret were always woven throughout their lives.

Ye Shuang shook his head, tightened his coat, and walked into the private hospital.

When he arrived at Chen Qin’s hospital room, he found her snacking while watching a drama. The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up.

“Honey~”

She climbed out of bed and trotted over. Ye Shuang hurriedly said, “You haven’t been discharged yet. Don’t run like that.”

“It’s fine. I’ve recovered really well.” Chen Qin beamed and even cheekily raised two fingers in a V sign.

“Being done with pregnancy feels amazing.”

“You were the one who kept wanting a baby in the first place.” Ye Shuang reached out and pinched her cheek with a smile.

“I wanted to have your baby, honey. Should we have another one next year?”

“You want to?” Ye Shuang paused. He did not want Chen Qin to become pregnant again so soon. Giving birth had taken too much out of her, and she needed plenty of time to rest and recover.

“Mhm. I have such a hard time getting pregnant anyway. We might as well stop using protection.”

“We haven’t exactly used it before…”

They walked over to the crib together. Little Yi’an was already asleep. As a newborn, he spent most of his time sleeping, and since he was not even a month old yet, his skin still looked a little pink.

Seeing the sleeping baby, Ye Shuang lowered his voice. “Has he been a good boy today?”

“Very good. I’ve been teaching him to say ‘Daddy’ and ‘Mommy.’”

“His eyes aren’t even open, and you’re already teaching him?”

“That’s all right. He can get used to it ahead of time.” Chen Qin giggled. Then, linking her arm through Ye Shuang’s, she said, “Honey, look at this.”

“What is it?”

Chen Qin handed him a tablet. Ye Shuang glanced at it and saw a memo listing the things the baby was supposed to do each month.

The first few years were one thing, but later on, the list included something he was supposed to learn almost every year.

“Horseback riding, piano, and scuba diving starting in first grade…” After looking through it for a while, Ye Shuang asked, “Isn’t this a little too much?”

“Is it? Aren’t these interests basically just like playing?” Chen Qin asked in return.

“I think…”

“Honey, our son will have to take over the group in the future, so we can’t raise him with that ‘happy education’ approach.” Chen Qin spoke seriously. “We have to nurture him properly.”

“You can’t expect him to master all of these, can you?” Ye Shuang said. “I’m worried he’ll become someone who knows a little about everything but isn’t good at anything.”

“That’s fine. Learning these things is only meant to broaden his horizons. I’m not forcing him to achieve anything in any of these fields.” As she spoke, Chen Qin poked Ye Shuang with one finger. “When you raised Little Yuyou, you had her learn music and painting too, but you never said she had to excel in them, did you?”

“That’s true…” Ye Shuang did not argue. It seemed he had been worrying too much.

For a boy, broadening his horizons was not necessarily a bad thing. The experience he accumulated might come in handy someday in the future.

“Little Yi’an isn’t even grown yet, and we’re already discussing his future.” Ye Shuang could not help laughing.

In truth, he hoped his children could live freely, according to whatever lifestyle they preferred. But it seemed that kind of life would not be suitable for Little Yi’an.

It would be more suitable for Yezi.

“By the way, do you know what holiday it is today?” Ye Shuang suddenly asked.

“Hm? Of course I do,” Chen Qin replied.

“Merry Christmas.”

Ye Shuang took a jewelry box from his pocket. When he opened it, a sparkling ring lay inside. Set into its side was a green gemstone shaped like a Christmas tree.

Ye Shuang had prepared it in a hurry. After all, Bai Yuyou and An Shiyu had both reminded him about Christmas that afternoon. Naturally, he had come to see Chen Qin with a gift ready.

There had not been enough time for a custom-made piece, so he had bought a finished ring from a jewelry store as a Christmas present.

“It’s pretty. I like it.” Chen Qin picked up the ring and examined it, then smiled sweetly and had Ye Shuang put it on her finger.

Chen Qin was not short on jewelry. She even got tired of wearing certain pieces and gave them away, including many high-end custom designs. But to her, none of them compared to something Ye Shuang had given her.

Seeing how much Chen Qin adored the ring, Ye Shuang quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“Honey, I actually prepared a gift for you too.”

“What is it?”

“Here. I’m a little clumsy, but I worked really hard on it.” Chen Qin handed him a paper bag.

“A scarf…?” Ye Shuang hesitated before answering uncertainly.

“Wow, it really is a scarf. How did you know?” Chen Qin asked, surprised.

Ye Shuang fell silent.

He opened the paper bag and found a brown scarf inside. A pink heart had even been embroidered at one end. It was clearly made with great care and had a good texture, though the knitting itself was not particularly skillful—not as good as Bai Yuyou’s, let alone An Shiyu’s.

Even so, Ye Shuang could feel the warmth in it. After all, Chen Qin was a young lady who had never done this sort of thing growing up.

She had not even known how to cook before, yet she had somehow squeezed practice time out of her already busy work schedule.

Her employees had suffered greatly during that period.

After Ye Shuang wrapped the scarf around his neck, Chen Qin looked at him expectantly and asked, “Is it warm?”

“Mhm. Very warm.” Ye Shuang smiled.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“By the way, honey, did you prepare gifts for Little Yuyou and the others?”

That simple question left Ye Shuang frozen for several seconds. Chen Qin, however, did not notice and continued, “I’ll be discharged soon anyway. Why don’t we throw a party and invite everyone over to celebrate properly?”

“That works too…”

“Honey, will you wear my scarf?”

“Uh… I will…”