Aftermath of Childbirth

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Fu Rong kissed Chi Yao for several minutes. When they parted, a silver thread lingered between their lips, silently breaking and falling onto Chi Yao’s chin.

Fu Rong gently brushed over the mark left behind, then leaned down to peck Chi Yao’s glossy lips.

“Such fun,” Fu Rong smiled.

Turning slightly, Fu Rong’s gaze met Feng Ming’s again. Feng Ming offered a faint smile, but the relaxed expression on his face vanished in that moment, leaving him looking solemn.

“Thank you all for always taking the time to accompany Chi Yao. Next time, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.”

Fu Rong’s gaze shifted to others before landing back on Chi Yao’s face.

“My son and I will head back first. We’ll be at the company. If you finish early, come over; if it’s late, then don’t bother.”

With that, Fu Rong took the baby and left. The baby lay on Fu Rong’s shoulder, looking at his dad and waving his little hand to say goodbye to Chi Yao.

Chi Yao waved back, saying he’d see him later.

After the car left, Chi Yao finally wiped his lips and sat in silence for a moment before shaking his head and laughing softly.

Once in the car, Chi Yao took out his phone and noticed a missed call from Fu Rong.

It was obvious that Fu Rong had called before arriving, but Chi Yao hadn’t answered. The call had come in not long ago.

How did Fu Rong know this place? Did someone here tell him?

Chi Yao felt it was unlikely and furrowed his brows slightly; the reason was no longer important.

What happened today would probably spread in their social circle.

Chi Yao didn’t mind at all; in fact, if everyone knew that the child came from his belly, he wouldn’t care.

In his previous life and this one, he never really cared about others’ opinions.

In this life, he aimed to be even more carefree than in his past.

The massage parlor he was heading to was one he frequented during this period, a place previously recommended by Xue Zhongming. Chi Yao often experienced foot pain during his pregnancy. After giving birth to Chi Yan, he wasn’t sure if it was a kind of aftermath of childbirth, but sometimes his feet felt uncomfortable. Now he had practically become a regular there.

He sent a message to his familiar massage therapist, who was available at that moment, informing him that he would be over soon.

The therapist replied that he would wait for Chi Yao.

Before Chi Yao arrived, some customers who specifically requested that therapist were turned away for various reasons; Chi Yao’s visit was more important.

Chi Yao had come with Feng Ming and others, but the rest of them weren’t frequent visitors to the massage parlor; they were more into bathing and full-body massages with some special services.

Chi Yao had little interest in that type of service, neither in the past nor now.

At home, Fu Rong was dedicated to serving him at all times, always available, and also good-looking, capable of providing more services. Chi Yao was quite satisfied with him.

Upon arriving outside the massage parlor, the group split into two; some went in, while others went next door to drink tea and play cards.

Chi Yao walked into the massage parlor and entered a larger room. Feng Ming was also inside, and another masseur was arranged for him, who began to massage Feng Ming’s feet.

Feng Ming took a sip of water but didn’t ask for tea, as the tea served in these places was usually quite terrible, and he didn’t enjoy it.

Setting the cup down, Feng Ming asked Chi Yao, “I heard you had a white moonlight^[1]Unrequited love from before, someone you liked for several years. How did you suddenly fixate on Fu Rong?”

They even held a wedding; at that time, Feng Ming hadn’t interacted much with Chi Yao, so he hadn’t attended.

Regarding the events of the wedding day, Feng Ming later heard some rumors. It was said that Fu Rong wore a wedding dress for women, while Chi Yao wore a groom’s outfit, and the two got married.

Someone at the scene had taken photos, but those photos never circulated.

Feng Ming wasn’t sure if this rumor was true or false.

“He’s not bad,” Chi Yao said.

Fu Rong was not just “not bad”; he was quite good—good-looking, skilled, always available, and particularly loyal and obedient.

Chi Yao thought about how earlier he had been kissed by a man on the street and considered that he might not be all that obedient.

As long as it was within Chi Yao’s comfort zone and did not cross his bottom line, everything was fine.

Being together was about making each other happy and comfortable. Chi Yao felt no unpleasantness being with Fu Rong.

In this marriage, which was based on reality, Chi Yao felt no regret at all.

If given another choice, he would still choose to be with Fu Rong.

Moreover, Fu Rong was Chi Yan’s father, sharing a blood relationship. Chi Yao did not think anyone else could love the baby more than Fu Rong did.

“He’s not bad, but no matter how you look at it, you two are different types of people. Maybe it’s fresh now, but there will definitely be conflicts in the future,” Feng Ming was not optimistic about Chi Yao and Fu Rong.

With Chi Yao’s personality, he and Fu Rong were like oil and water.

Feng Ming truly could not understand how someone as free-spirited as Chi Yao could be tied down by marriage and another person at such a young age.

“Isn’t it because he has something on you?” Feng Ming was quite the overthinker.

He had a way of making even the most far-fetched ideas sound somewhat plausible.

“Stop thinking so much! Are you so concerned about my life because you have feelings for me?” Chi Yao said with a teasing look.

“I might have a bit of interest. Are you planning to fall for someone else again?” Feng Ming actually admitted it.

But Chi Yao wasn’t blind; he could tell that Feng Ming’s “interest” didn’t mean he wanted to be with him.

Feng Ming was just a straightforward guy, and Chi Yao knew this.

“You? No way,” Chi Yao said, lowering his eyes.

Feng Ming did not take this well.

“You can say anything about me, but you can’t say I’m no good. Why don’t you give it a try?”

There were still two massage therapists in the room, but they quietly focused on their work, letting Chi Yao and Feng Ming’s conversation go in one ear and out the other.

“Sure, I’ll give it a try. I’ll kick you out,” Chi Yao smiled, but his eyes turned sharp.

Feng Ming immediately covered his precious area, fearing that if something really happened, his happy life would be over.

Chi Yao leaned back against the sofa, resting his eyes for a bit, while Feng Ming took out his phone, silenced it, and played a few rounds of games.

After more than half an hour of massage, Chi Yao’s feet felt a bit better.

After giving birth, Chi Yao took some time to recover, but certain changes, some subtle details, were irreversible.

A child coming out of his body was not just anything; it was a life that had been inside him for ten months.

After having his own child, Chi Yao realized how childbirth felt. It’s hard to empathize unless you’ve experienced it yourself.

He admired those who had multiple children, even those with twins or more.

For him, having just Chi Yan was enough.

He didn’t seem to have the courage to go for a second.

Carrying a heavy little watermelon in his belly was manageable at first, but towards the end, especially in the days leading up to delivery, Chi Yao barely slept well, feeling uncomfortable all over, even finding it hard to breathe.

With another reproductive organ inside him, Chi Yao had considered having it removed since it was no longer of any use to him.

But when he mentioned this to Fu Rong, the latter shook his head in disagreement.

The reason was that he didn’t want to see another scar on Chi Yao’s body.

Fu Rong had gone to the hospital to get a vasectomy, so there was no need to worry about getting Chi Yao pregnant again.

To ensure the effectiveness of the procedure, Fu Rong regularly went to the hospital for check-ups to avoid any accidents.

In addition to this measure, whenever they felt like it, Fu Rong would try to use protection, also for Chi Yao’s health; he was now more concerned about Chi Yao’s well-being than Chi Yao himself.

At home, there was a gym where Chi Yao occasionally went to run and exercise, which he was able to maintain.

It seemed that there were many little details in life that Chi Yao only realized later, understanding that Fu Rong had done so much for him without his knowledge.

Chi Yao felt a warmth in his heart.

After leaving the massage parlor, it was still early, so Chi Yao headed to the tea house, where someone made space for him upon his arrival.

Chi Yao didn’t play cards much, as he wasn’t particularly fond of them.

The stakes were not small; in just one round, they could lose thousands, but for them, it was just a meal or two.

Chi Yao sat down and played a couple of rounds. Today seemed lucky for him, as he was winning.

In fact, he won quite a bit, taking back the money from those he had previously won against, plus their stakes.

“Chi Yao, you… make it hard for people to want to play with you,” Feng Ming commented, having lost a little, but less than the others.

If Chi Yao kept winning like this, it would get boring.

Chi Yao smiled, stood up, and offered his spot.

Knowing that these people were joking and not really unable to afford to lose, it felt less meaningful for him to keep winning. As he came over, he noticed there seemed to be a backyard. The view from the backyard looked quite nice, so Chi Yao planned to take a walk there; if the environment was good, he’d bring Chi Yan next time.

He mentioned it to Feng Ming and the others, then left, telling them to call him if they needed anything.

The tea house’s backyard was not open to the public, and when Chi Yao arrived, the person at the entrance informed him that he could not enter.

Standing on the upper floor, it seemed nice, but now that he walked in, Chi Yao found the little paths inside particularly appealing. He liked it immediately, even more than the parks he had visited before.

But he couldn’t go in. Chi Yao was contemplating whether he should contact the owner of this place when a familiar voice came from behind him.

“Chi Yao?”

Clearly a bit surprised, Shen Zhong did not expect to encounter Chi Yao here, especially alone without Fu Rong or his child.

Shen Zhong was accompanied by others but directly ignored them, walking straight up to Chi Yao.

Noticing that Chi Yao was hesitating in front of the backyard, it was evident he felt much like Shen Zhong did when he first saw this place. Shen Zhong had also liked it at first sight and would come by to sit whenever he had time.

Today was indeed a coincidence to run into Chi Yao.

“What a coincidence!” Shen Zhong smiled lightly.