After breakfast, Jiang Xu, as usual, went to work in the study. Ever since Shen Fangyu had moved in, Jiang Xu’s study and desk had been split into halves, turning it into an office for two.
But when he finally finished his work, Shen Fangyu still hadn’t shown up.
Jiang Xu glanced at the clock. It was already noon. He frowned slightly.
Shen Fangyu’s workaholic streak was no less than his own. If he was home, then except when asleep, he was never absent from the study for this long.
He pushed open the door to check what Shen Fangyu had been up to all morning and found a kitchen in utter chaos, with Shen Fangyu holding a plate of black, unidentifiable lumps.
Jiang Xu: “…”
He never would have guessed Shen Fangyu could be this persistent.
“You’re done working?” Shen Fangyu said. “Perfect timing, I was just about to call you.” He set down the plate and gestured at it proudly. “Fresh out of the pan. Look at my masterpiece.”
He handed Jiang Xu a pair of chopsticks, his face radiating pride, practically begging for praise.
Jiang Xu honestly didn’t know where Shen Fangyu got the confidence to shamelessly call that a masterpiece.
The other time, when Shen Fangyu said the words “Hell Bar” looked nice in color, Jiang Xu thought maybe his sense of aesthetics was just a little off. But now, he seriously doubted whether Shen Fangyu’s eyesight itself had a problem.
“What is this?” Jiang Xu finally couldn’t help asking. “A bomb?”
“Can’t you tell?” Shen Fangyu said. “It’s blistered green peppers.”
On a tiger’s coat, the stripes were black, but even an African tiger’s stripes weren’t this uniformly, completely black…
Jiang Xu drew in a deep breath and decided lunch would be takeout.
But Shen Fangyu had no awareness whatsoever that his cooking had been rejected. He picked up one piece of the “green pepper” and dropped it into Jiang Xu’s bowl. “I measured all the ingredients and water precisely, according to the recipe online, down to two decimal places. The flavor should be fine.”
But with fire control that poor, even measuring down to a hundred decimal places wouldn’t have saved it.
“Try it?” Shen Fangyu looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Jiang Xu eyed the black, lumpish thing in his bowl with deep suspicion, then carefully said, “You first.”
“Fine.”
Shen Fangyu popped a piece into his mouth, took a big bite, and pretended to taste it seriously. But then his smile slowly froze.
Jiang Xu watched as the confidence drained from his face, replaced by a trace of horror.
Good. His eyes might be faulty, but his taste buds weren’t.
Jiang Xu let out a small breath of relief.
“What is this?” Shen Fangyu stared incredulously at the half-eaten piece of pepper, repeating Jiang Xu’s earlier question.
“Blistered green peppers,” Jiang Xu said evenly after watching his expression. “You said it yourself.”
Shen Fangyu fell silent, spat the thing into a napkin, then dumped the piece from Jiang Xu’s bowl back onto the plate. Finally, he carried the entire plate of blackened matter to the trash.
“This is way too disgusting,” Shen Fangyu muttered, squatting in front of the trash can, looking unusually dejected. “It doesn’t make sense. I always got full marks in lab class.”
“Carbonization experiment with sulfuric acid?” Jiang Xu quipped offhandedly. But then he realized Shen Fangyu wasn’t replying. The man who’d just been brimming with confidence now sat in despair, staring blankly into the trash can as if struck by a crushing blow.
Jiang Xu suddenly felt a little guilty.
Had he been too harsh?
The sarcastic words on the tip of his tongue stalled, then he swallowed them back. He walked over, patted Shen Fangyu’s shoulder, and after racking his brain for something comforting, said hesitantly, “Actually…”
“Jiang Xu, wait for me.” Shen Fangyu suddenly shot up. “I’ll try again.”
“…?” Jiang Xu froze, taking a wary step back. “What did you say?”
“Just wait, I’ll do it over.” Shen Fangyu repeated, brow furrowing like he was back in the lab. “I think I know where the problem was.”
As expected, Shen Fangyu wasn’t worth pitying.
Jiang Xu glanced at the clock, then at his stomach, which wasn’t in the mood to wait. Whatever sympathy he’d just felt instantly evaporated. The sarcastic words he’d swallowed earlier flowed smoothly out at last: “I still want to live a few more years.”
“But—”
“Your daughter wants to live a few more years too.” Jiang Xu cut off his protest without a flicker of expression.
Shen Fangyu, “…”
Whether it was Jiang Xu’s words or his own self-awareness, Shen Fangyu finally let out a long sigh. “Fine. Let’s go out to eat.”
They went to a normal restaurant in the nearby mall. After quickly finishing their meal, Jiang Xu’s eyes and soul, both wounded by the blistered peppers, finally felt a little soothed.
“Good?” Shen Fangyu looked pitifully at the clean plate and bowl in front of Jiang Xu.
Jiang Xu was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Shen Fangyu instantly shot to his feet. Jiang Xu quickly grabbed him, wary. “Where are you going?”
“To apprentice in the kitchen.”
“…!” Jiang Xu immediately stood as well, dragging him firmly out of the restaurant. “Shen Fangyu, when you don’t have the talent for something, there’s no need to force it.”
Blowing up his kitchen was one thing. But if Shen Fangyu managed to blow up a restaurant kitchen… Jiang Xu really didn’t want to make the evening news.
“Jiang Xu,” Shen Fangyu said stubbornly, “do you believe me? One day, I’ll cook your favorite dish, the kind where just hearing its name will make you think of me.”
Jiang Xu pointed at the home goods store next door that was having a promotion. “I suggest you buy yourself a good pillow.”
In dreams, anything was possible.
Shen Fangyu followed the line of his hand, and then suddenly froze. After a moment, his eyes lit up. “Jiang Xu, look.” He pointed at the store beside the furniture shop, looking rather excited.
Jiang Xu turned his gaze, and to his surprise realized they had somehow ended up in front of a baby products store.
It looked new, floral baskets lined the entrance in celebration, sales attendants were bustling and calling out promotions. Through the glass window, rows of adorable toys and tiny, delicate clothes could be seen, like a miniature world for little people.
“Want to take a look?” Shen Fangyu asked.
Jiang Xu had never stepped into a shop like this before.
Logically, since they had already decided to have the child, browsing such a store wasn’t unreasonable. But somehow, he felt a subtle discomfort, especially with another person walking beside him.
Shen Fangyu, with his obliviously bold temperament, clearly didn’t notice Jiang Xu’s unease. Within moments, a lively saleswoman approached to give her pitch, and Shen Fangyu even began chatting with her about the store’s grand-opening discounts.
Jiang Xu glanced at him carrying on so freely, only for the saleswoman to pull him into the conversation too: “Are you two together?”
Shen Fangyu nodded.
“Perfect then, two of the same item is 12% off,” the saleswoman beamed. “Lots of moms come in pairs to shop for their kids, but this is my first time seeing two dads shopping together. If you both like something, you can each buy one. That way, when your kids play together, they won’t fight over toys.”
Naturally, she assumed Shen Fangyu and Jiang Xu were each shopping for their own children, just like the many mothers who came in pairs.
Shen Fangyu caught on as well, smiling as he clarified, “We’re buying for the same child.”
“Oh, I misunderstood,” the saleswoman quickly said. “So, who’s the lucky kid?” She looked them over, both young and polished. “A relative’s child? Younger sibling?” After the two- and three-child policy, it wasn’t unusual for families to have younger children even with grown ones.
“My daughter,” they both said in unison.
The saleswoman froze. Then realization struck, it all seemed rather fantastical. She just barely bit her tongue to stop herself blurting out, “Do you two mean the same daughter?”
She took another look at the two tall, refined men, clearly successful professionals, and suddenly thought of a Qiong Yao drama, where the heroine grasped two men’s hands and declared: “You are both the child’s father.” She fell silent for a beat.
What kind of woman could inspire two men like this to vie for the role of father?
Shen Fangyu, oblivious to her thoughts, focused entirely on Jiang Xu. The new “battlefield” had clearly lifted him from the gloom of his failed cooking attempt.
“If you won’t go in, then I’ll go in by myself,” Shen Fangyu declared, his eyes burning with fresh determination. “After all, I’m the dad who loves her most.”
Of course. Now it was a competition again.
Jiang Xu could already picture the scene, Shen Fangyu holding the child and asking, “Do you like this daddy more, or that daddy?”
Damn it.
Why did the child have to be his and Shen Fangyu’s?
Expressionless, Jiang Xu dropped a flat “No way,” then walked straight into the store, heading toward the most expensive stroller.
He was the dad who loved his daughter most. On that front, he absolutely refused to lose to Shen Fangyu.
The saleswoman, who had failed to coax Jiang Xu into the store with all her consumerist tricks, was left stunned to see him provoked into retaliatory shopping after just a few words from Shen Fangyu. She could only sigh helplessly.
Unlucky family, or lucky family twice over… who could say?
The two “dads-to-be” now competed to buy things, their spending power so aggressive the saleswoman barely had to do any work at all, just a bit of commentary here and there.
Perfect, she thought. As long as they were spending, it didn’t matter who wore the “green hat.” So long as they were happy.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xu and Shen Fangyu, frantically filling the shopping basket, had no idea what she was thinking. They were still caught up in their contest over who loved the child more.
Round one: Shen Fangyu lingered in front of the Barbie shelves, carefully selecting until he finally picked a finalist, tossing it whole into the cart. But when he turned, he saw Jiang Xu had already loaded half the cart with educational toys, blocks, ring puzzles, Rubik’s cubes, Kongming locks.
Round two: Shen Fangyu stuffed in a gorgeous princess castle playset, only to glance up and find Jiang Xu had grabbed an enormous jigsaw puzzle.
Round three: Before Shen Fangyu could even act, Jiang Xu was already hauling down an armful of early childhood education books.
At last, with his forehead lined in exasperation, Shen Fangyu couldn’t take it anymore. “Why are you buying so many books?”
“They stimulate intellectual development,” Jiang Xu said coolly. “So she doesn’t grow up like you.”
“What’s wrong with my intellect?” Shen Fangyu shot back. “I never read early childhood books, and I still became top of the class while learning through play.”
“And these puzzles too?” Shen Fangyu picked up the giant box, pointing at the bold label: 1000 pieces. “Are you trying to make our daughter cry with this?”
He dumped the books back on the shelf. “No kid likes this stuff. You never put yourself in the child’s shoes. I’m the one who truly loves her.”
Jiang Xu gave him a cold glance. “That’s called spoiling.” Without another word, he grabbed even more books and piled them into the cart.
By the time they finally snapped out of their frenzied competition, the shopping cart was overflowing with toys and books. Shen Fangyu had even added a ride-on electric car meant for five-year-olds, decked out with a mess of pink jingling bells.
…
There was a long silence.
Then, under Jiang Xu’s withering stare, Shen Fangyu wordlessly put the car back.
When they returned, Jiang Xu began sorting through the shopping basket, pulling out toys that looked potentially unsafe and shoving them back into Shen Fangyu’s hands. At first, Shen Fangyu tried to argue, but Jiang Xu always had thousands of reasons at the ready, tearing apart every toy choice until it seemed like if their daughter played with it today, she’d be reporting to the King of Hell tomorrow.
Eventually, Shen Fangyu even began doubting himself. Looking at those toys now gave him second thoughts, and with the way Jiang Xu spoke so knowledgeably, Shen Fangyu started to wonder if Jiang Xu wasn’t an obstetrician at all, but a pediatrician.
After finishing in the toy section, the two of them went to look at clothes.
Children’s clothes were tiny, neatly lined up on racks, looking especially cute. The styles were plentiful, no less varied than adult clothing stores, with every kind of design imaginable and cartoon prints everywhere.
Jiang Xu went straight to the plainest-colored section. Like analyzing an academic paper word for word, he studied each fabric composition label carefully while questioning the saleswoman beside him.
Serious and unsmiling, brows faintly furrowed, his meticulous attitude gave the saleswoman the uncanny illusion that she was back defending her thesis. By the time she finished nervously answering his questions, her back was damp with sweat.
Finally, Jiang Xu picked out a few sets of clothing with utterly safe fabrics and designs that wouldn’t press uncomfortably on a baby. Just as he was about to place them in the cart, Shen Fangyu suddenly tossed in a pile of brightly colored clothes, sparkling with gaudy decorations like a cartoon princess’s wardrobe.
He even commented seriously on Jiang Xu’s picks: “Don’t buy these. They’re so tacky, ugly as hell. Girls love beauty, don’t go dressing her up in a bunch of plain white onesies like some old grandpa.”
Jiang Xu frowned, pulled the little dresses back out of the cart, and shoved them into Shen Fangyu’s arms. “Safety hazard.”
Those pretty skirts had rhinestones, lace trims, baby skin was so delicate, one wrong move could cause allergies. Clothes that were overly colorful could bleed dye, and heavy dyes were harmful to skin.
“No toys, no pretty clothes,” Shen Fangyu muttered.
He pointed at the thick stack of early education books in the basket. “Not even born yet and you’ve already bought so many books. What’s next, three years old reading a thousand characters, four years old reciting Tang poetry, five years old doing calculus, six years old skipping grades to Tsinghua or Peking University?” He added, “If I were your daughter, I wouldn’t even want to be born.”
Jiang Xu’s stance on education was clear: never lose at the starting line. He had never lagged behind anyone in academics and naturally couldn’t accept his own child spending her days idling, being frivolous.
But though Shen Fangyu had also been the top science student of B City in their year, his attitude was completely opposite.
By conventional standards, he had already reached the pinnacle of academia, accepted into the most selective university in the country, earned a PhD.
Unlike many parents who pinned their unfulfilled dreams on their children, Shen Fangyu had already seen the view from the summit. And precisely because of that, he felt a child didn’t need to be that exceptional, better to live easily and happily.
Faced with this vast difference, Shen Fangyu suggested, “Why don’t we just buy separately, each of us gets what we want. Then later, we’ll see which one she likes more.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Jiang Xu caught the attitude behind Shen Fangyu’s words and said sternly, “I’m warning you, you’d better not plan on spoiling her endlessly.”
“Well, I’m the one raising her,” Shen Fangyu said. “You can’t control me.”
Jiang Xu gave him a complicated look. Then, softening his tone, he asked, “When did I ever say you’d be raising her alone?”