Before the Qiao couple had come over, they'd also heard some of the "fantastic stories" circulating around the upper circles of the capital. They'd just not wanted to believe that with the Cheng family ident.i.ty and background, this kind of shocking and unconventional thing could be allowed to happen, thinking that people were just jealous and hateful to be talking about them behind their backs. So they had come to celebrate the New Year with their pair of children today, pretending to know nothing.

But looking at the situation right now, the rumors didn't seem to be groundless?

Qiao YaGe's face went a bit pale and, in annoyance, she picked at the bow on her sleeve cuff.

She had told herself she wouldn't come, but her parents had to ask her to do so. How great, she would lose face, no, she would completely lose face!

However, she hadn't thought that it would last this long between YuTang-gege and this little bodyguard. Now it seemed that the relations.h.i.+p between the two was ten times better than a few months ago! And this little bodyguard actually came running to Cheng family household for the Spring Festival and Auntie Cheng was actually so nice to him, treating him better than her own son. How could this be? This wasn't logical at all!

This kid isn't actually a human after all, he must be an evil spirit!

Mother Cheng personally went to the kitchen and served a bowl of cinnamon lotus seed porridge to Ji XiaoYu. The man ate to the bottom of the bowl vigorously with loud slurping sounds and ended up with traces of porridge around his mouth.

Cheng YuTang took a handkerchief out of his pocket and carefully wiped him clean, and then he asked softly, “Do you want to have a little more?”

Ji XiaoYu waved his hand, “No, I'm full.”

Mother Qiao and her husband looked at each other, feeling strong surprise in their hearts, and she said warmly, “Yo, which of YuTang's cousins is this kid? He's so handsome.”

“He's not a cousin,” Cheng YuTang smiled, intimately and gently holding the shoulders of the little thing, “Auntie Qiao, Uncle Qiao, let me introduce you: this is my spouse, Ji XiaoYu. YaGe met him when she was in Ning City to perform, didn't she tell you?”

That's when Ji XiaoYu saw Qiao YaGe and he immediately grabbed Cheng YuTang's hand in reflex, why did this woman come over again?!

Although he was now very certain that PaoPao's father wouldn't betray him and fall in love with someone else, he had to show off how deserving he was.

This man is mine, no one else should even think about it!

“……” The Qiao couple's eyes twitched as they turned their heads to look at their daughter.

“Sorry, I-I forgot.” Qiao YaGe was so embarra.s.sed she wanted to hide her face and run away.

How could she forget? She just didn't want to talk about it or have to admit that her charm wasn't comparable to a kid bodyguard's. How could she say that kind of thing?!

Mother Cheng said with a smile, “It's alright, it's alright, it's not too late to formally meet. XiaoYu is a very good child, pure and kind, with strong feelings and a strong sense of justice. Now that our family's YuTang has met him and can be with him, his father and I can finally rest a.s.sured.”

Mother Qiao's face flashed through several expressions in the blink of an eye. After a while, she finally managed to say reluctantly, "Yes, what a rare occurrence. But right now, our country doesn't recognize same-s.e.x marriage, so I'm afraid there will be a lot of gossip about the two of them together. Aren't you worried at all?”

Mother Cheng said with subtlety, “What is there to worry about? Although the state doesn't recognize it, they don't say it's illegal for two men to be together. As for what other people want to say, let them say it. Anyway, it won't hurt anything. Their days are their own to live, so their happiness is their own as well. Wouldn't you say that's true?”

If the Qiao family hadn't been there, Ji XiaoYu would have clapped and cheered.

Since he came to this house, Mother Cheng has been very kind to him, but she seemed particularly kind today, defending him on every level in front of outsiders, even at the expense of her family friend's pride. This love really moved his heart.

Mother Qiao squeezed out a stiff smile, “Yes, it's true. Times are different now. It's really no big deal for two men to be together, well, that is except that they can't have children. That's somewhat of a shame.”

In the past, Mother Cheng would have been a little sad after hearing such words, but now, she wasn't afraid of that at all. Just as she was about to reveal her joyful news, from the corner of the living room, suddenly came the sound of a child crying "ouch".

The Cheng and Qiao families followed the sound and saw that Qiao JingXuan was crouching in the corner, holding his hand. Standing before him was a little chick with fluffed out feathers and flapping wings.

Mother Qiao, who couldn't bear arguing with Mother Cheng anymore, quickly went forward, saying, “JingXuan, what happened? Did the chick peck you in the hand?”

Qiao JingXuan quickly put his hand behind his back, pretending to be relaxed, “No, I'm having fun with the chick.”

The adults had been talking just now, all about things he couldn't understand, so he had been bored to death. He had seen a shelf in the corner of the living room with some knickknacks, new things he had never seen before, so he had run over there to play. While playing, he had found a little chick squished in under the shelf. It was really fluffy and fat and particularly cute. So he had moved towards it with his little hips twisting mischievously. He had just wanted to reach out and touch it, who could have known he would be unceremoniously pecked by that chick.

This little chick didn't look like much, but its strength wasn't low, so the peck actually hurt him a bit. However, although he wasn't very old, he knew that he needed to save face, so he didn't want to tell his mother the truth or else he might be laughed at by the adults.

“Take your hand out and let your mama see if there's any broken skin. The chick is dirty, who knows how many germs it has. If you were hurt, you may have to go to the hospital to get a rabies vaccine immediately.” Mother Qiao was a little anxious, so, despite her son's protests, she caught the hand he had been hiding behind his back and brought it in front of her. She saw a little red dot on the back of his tender, pale hand and she suddenly felt distressed. She raised her hand to catch the chick, “Strange, shouldn't this kind of thing be kept in a cage before eating it, how come it's running around in the living room……”

In union, the old and young couples of the Cheng family shouted, “Stop!”

Mother Qiao was so startled that she pulled her hand back.

Ji XiaoYu trotted forward and picked Cheng PaoPao up from the floor. Despite the dust on his son's head, he pressed two large kisses there, doting on him and saying nothing else.

The Qiao Couple: “……”

This kid looked pretty smart, but is his brain damaged?

Cheng YuTang took Cheng PaoPao and gently smoothed down his feathers, and then shot a glare towards the Qiao family, “Auntie Qiao, this chick has no germs, he's usually very clean. If you aren't at ease, take JingXuan to the hospital for a check-up. I'll cover all the expenses.”

Mother Qiao said in embarra.s.sment, “If that's the case, then forget it.”

Cheng YuTang crouched down again next to Qiao JingXuan, “JingXuan, I'm sorry, he's still young and thought you were going to hurt him. That's why he pecked you. I apologize to you on his behalf.”

“It-it doesn't matter, I wasn't hurt anyway.” Qiao JingXuan was a little embarra.s.sed. He looked at the extremely loveable and docile chick nesting in Cheng YuTang's hands and couldn't help but ask, “YuTang-dagege, can you lend him to me to play?”

Using a mild tone, Cheng YuTang didn't hesitate to refuse firmly, “Sorry, but no, you can't. He's part of our family, not a toy.”

The Qiao couple and Qiao YaGe: “……”

Is the brain damage contagious?

Mother Cheng could see that the Qiao family members were wearing bad expressions. She immediately spoke up to mediate, "JingXuan, except for this chick, Auntie will give you anything else you like, okay?"

“Thank you, Auntie, but no, I don't want anything else.” Qiao JingXuan shook his head, his face full of disappointment.

Mother Qiao felt angry inside, putting the blame on the Cheng family for being too stingy and making her son upset. She tried to coax him, “JingXuan, if you like chicks, your mama will go to the market and buy you a bunch.”

Qiao JingXuan frowned and said ungratefully, “I don't want that. I want to play with this chick!”

Mother Qiao was both angry and annoyed. If not for the timing being bad, she would probably have started scolding him.

Over time, the gathering of these two families had evolved into a mess, so Father Qiao said with a bad-looking expression, "It's late, we should head back."

Father Cheng also didn't hold them back, straight up sending the guests off, “Then we'll get together again some other time. Take care.”

So the Qiao couple took off with their stiff older daughter and their little son, who reluctantly looked back over and over.

A little worried, Mother Cheng said, “I'm afraid we've offended their whole family.”

Father Cheng picked up a cup of tea and sipped it, saying in an indifferent tone, "Afraid of what? We don't owe their family anything. The relations.h.i.+p is just from being forced together by mutual circ.u.mstances, so it's normal to break it off one day."

Ji XiaoYu gave Father Cheng a thumbs up, Daddy is mighty!

From his father's hands, Cheng PaoPao cried out in an echo, “Cheep cheep!”

Father Cheng immediately put down the cup and reached out for the chick, “PaoPao, come give Grandpa hug!”

Cheng PaoPao was unhesitant, flapping his little wings and jumping directly from his father's hands to his grandpa's. Father Cheng was so happy a huge smile blossomed on his face.

When it was time for bed that night, Ji XiaoYu was lying on the bed, his pajama s.h.i.+rt pulled up to his chest and his pajama pants pulled down to his hip bones, revealing his fair, s.h.i.+ning belly. Cheng YuTang stroked back and forth there with one large hand for a while and, for a bit, bowed down and kissed it with his lips. Then he turned his head to the side and listened for movements inside. This made Ji XiaoYu itchy inside and he got aroused, a certain part of his body reacting out of his control.

Ji XiaoYu reached down and pushed a certain someone's head, trying to pull his pants up to cover that unspeakable part, and he said with a slight gasp, “My child's father, don't, it's still early, I'm afraid it's not even as big as a bean yet.”

“I'm saying h.e.l.lo to our second treasure (ErBao), it must have heard it,” his child's father turned him down and took up the hand he had pushed down. He chuckled lowly and then kissed him down there again and directed a question towards a certain place, “So, do you want it here?"

Ji XiaoYu instantly gave up his defense, unable to bear it as his two legs rubbed against each other impatiently, “I want it, so hurry up……”

“Here I come……”

……

These happy and calm days pa.s.sed quickly and, in a flash, the Lantern Festival was over and it was the end of February.

On the 28th, scenes of springtime shone bright, the weather was good and the willows on the old street quietly sprouted little buds. Many birds flew overhead, chirping from the branches, and children ran around on the street, chasing each other and frolicking. It all sounded very lively.

Over the course of the past two weeks, the excessively energetic Cheng PaoPao had already crossed every inch of the Cheng Family courtyard countless times. Today, he finally couldn't hold himself back. In the morning, Father Cheng came in and didn't completely close the courtyard door, so he pushed the door open a crack, crossed the threshold, and ran outside. Fortunately, Father Cheng saw him from the kitchen window and quickly went out to catch him, otherwise it could have been trouble.

Cheng PaoPao was still in the form of a fluffy chick, just now he had two slightly longer tail feathers on his b.u.t.t. His body size was several times larger than when he first hatched and he was fat like a ball, so he was now actually a bit heavy in someone's hand.

Mother Cheng patted the fat little chick gently on the b.u.t.t and said angrily, “So naughty, take care that you don't run out without saying something, what if you get lost?”

Cheng PaoPao rubbed his head against her hand to appease her, “Cheep cheep!”

After the young couple got up, Mother Cheng told them about this. Ji XiaoYu tapped his finger on his son's head a bit, threatening, "Cheng PaoPao, there are many bad people outside. If you run around as a pheasant, you'll be caught by someone and made into chicken mushroom stew!”

Cheng PaoPao trembled, then jumped up from the table defiantly and pecked his dad in the forehead.

“Hey, you bad little egg, doing something wrong and not reflecting and then actually daring to talk back to me, your dad!” Ji XiaoYu rolled up his sleeves, breathless, and a red dot appeared between his eyebrows, like he was suddenly growing a cinnabar mole. It looked very pretty.

Cheng PaoPao read the meaning in his eyes, so he flapped his wings and leaped into Mother Cheng's arms to seek refuge. His dad was so angry he could only gawk at him.

Cheng YuTang laughed and smoothed down the puffed out hair of his little wife, “Darling, don't scare PaoPao. He's just suffocating at home, he wants to go out and play.”

Since the last time when Father Cheng took Cheng PaoPao for a stroll in the park and they experienced the feral cat thriller episode, scaring the whole family, the poor little chick hadn't gone outside again.

“Isn't that right?” Mother Cheng also laughed and echoed, “The weather is very nice today. Why don't we take PaoPao out on the street and, along the way, we can buy some clothes or something.”

PaoPao immediately screamed out in excitement.

“Alright, we'll go shopping!” Ji XiaoYu had actually been suffocating like his son for a long time too, so he was happy to immediately respond, “But you don't have to buy clothes or anything, you've bought enough and filled the big wardrobe. PaoPao can't even wear them all in three months, so it's too wasteful.”

This wasn't at all exaggeration. Mother Cheng had gone out shopping whenever she had time this past month, but not to buy clothes or bags for herself, but to buy baby products for her big grandson who was about to transform. Because of that, Father Cheng had specially cleaned out a room to use as a storeroom.

As of today, the storeroom was almost filled with all kinds of baby products, including one hundred cans of Big Baby brand newborn baby formula, 100-packs of diapers, a full wardrobe of baby clothes, and a variety of baby toys, medicine, etc. It was really impressive.

Mother Cheng said angrily, “What waste? They are all things that can be used. Besides, even if PaoPao can't wear them, isn't there ErBao? In the future, there could even be a third treasure (SanBao) and a fourth treasure (SiBao). So it really isn't that much at all.”

Father Cheng waved a large hand and hammered on the table, "Buy buy buy!"

Ji XiaoYu's objections were made invalid, so he could only give in while blus.h.i.+ng.

Then Father Cheng put the fat little chick in the birdcage and Cheng YuTang drove the whole family together to go shopping.

When they arrived at a comprehensive baby products store, the whole family moved as a group through the store. Cheng YuTang pushed a shopping cart, Mother Cheng put all kinds of goods into the cart, Father Cheng carried Cheng PaoPao, and Ji XiaoYu was responsible for holding the wallet.

This combination caught the eye of many people, especially when children saw the novelty of the fat little chick in a cage. Many of them came up to ask if it was real or where they bought it or if they could touch it, overwhelming the family.

After they pa.s.sed a bouncy castle, the manager of the store rushed over, eagerly greeting with the Cheng family. He thought it was strange that Father Cheng was carrying a chick in his hand, but he didn't ask about it. He only said he would give them 20% off everything they were buying today, then bowed down and held out his hand for a shake.

Although the Cheng family didn't know this manager and didn't care about the discount, they went along with his actions and each shook his hand.

When it was Father Cheng's turn to shake, he placed the birdcage at his feet, but after just a short ten seconds, when he finished and picked up it to look, the birdcage was empty and the fat little chick was gone!

The Cheng family members were collectively struck dumb.

—

dun dun dun…..