Lu Zhengfei noticed something strange about his body one morning.

Chen Qianqing’s health wasn’t great, so it was usually Lu Zhengfei who woke up first. However, this time was different. By the time Lu Zhengfei groggily opened his eyes, he was surprised to find that Chen Qianqing was already up.

Not only was Chen Qianqing up, but he had already washed up, eaten breakfast, and was now sitting on the couch with a book in hand.

Lu Zhengfei tried to turn over, only to realize his body felt unusually heavy. He didn’t even have the strength to sit up.

Seeing Lu Zhengfei awake, Chen Qianqing immediately put down the book, walked over, and said gently, “Baby, you’re awake? Have some water first. Sit in bed for a bit, and I’ll help you get ready to wash up…”

Baby? Chen Qianqing was calling him baby? Before Lu Zhengfei could revel in the sweetness of the moment, he realized something was off with his body. Slowly lowering his gaze, he stared at his bulging stomach. After a long silence, he muttered, “…Where are my abs?”

His once six-pack abs had turned into a beer belly, leaving Lu Zhengfei’s brain unable to process the situation.

Hearing his question, Chen Qianqing’s hand gently rested on Lu Zhengfei’s stomach as he said softly, “Silly, don’t worry. Once the baby’s born, your abs will come back.”

Chen Qianqing’s use of the word “silly” gave Lu Zhengfei goosebumps. His brain, like an outdated processor, struggled to make sense of Chen Qianqing’s words.

With an expression softer than ever before, Chen Qianqing caressed Lu Zhengfei’s stomach as he said, “Didn’t you say yesterday you wanted something sour? I specifically asked Aunt Zhao to make some congee and pickled radishes this morning.”

Lu Zhengfei glanced at Chen Qianqing, then at his stomach. Before he could say anything, Chen Qianqing scooped him up in a princess carry.

Lu Zhengfei was dumbfounded. He stared at Chen Qianqing in shock, speechless as he looked at the well-defined muscles on Chen Qianqing’s arms. When had Chen Qianqing managed to build that physique?

Seeing Lu Zhengfei’s stunned expression, Chen Qianqing leaned down and kissed him before carrying the now wooden-like Lu Zhengfei to the bathroom.

Chen Qianqing squeezed toothpaste for Lu Zhengfei, gently washed his face, and then smiled warmly, asking, “Baby, do you need to use the restroom?”

Lu Zhengfei: “…” Isn’t this something I should be saying instead?

Chen Qianqing encouraged him, “Don’t be shy.”

Lu Zhengfei mumbled an “Oh,” got up slowly, sat on the toilet, and blankly went about his business with Chen Qianqing watching.

Afterward, Chen Qianqing helped pull up his pants and carried him back to the bedroom.

If this were just a nightmare, it should have ended by now. But the strange developments didn’t stop there.

As soon as they were back in the bedroom, Lu Zhengfei’s mother, Huang Yuping, entered.

At first, Lu Zhengfei was merely confused about what was happening. But as soon as Huang Yuping started talking, he was completely stunned.

Huang Yuping smiled at Lu Zhengfei and said, “Zhengfei, how are you feeling? Only a few more weeks, right?”

Everything else Huang Yuping said blurred in Lu Zhengfei’s mind, drowned out by the word echoing endlessly: “Birth.”

Could someone explain to him what “birth” meant in this context?

Chen Qianqing didn’t seem to notice Lu Zhengfei’s shock. He replied with a smile, “Mom, don’t worry. We just had another checkup the other day, and the doctor said everything looks good.”

Huang Yuping nodded, smiling with relief. “Thank you for all your hard work.”

Lu Zhengfei, who had been silent for a long time, finally whispered weakly, “Am I dreaming?”

Chen Qianqing replied with a tender smile, “Baby, of course this isn’t a dream. Isn’t this what we’ve always dreamed of?”

As he spoke, he rested his face against Lu Zhengfei’s stomach, gently nuzzling it.

Lu Zhengfei: “…” Yep, definitely a dream. Please let me wake up now.

With an expression that screamed, I’m done with this nonsense, Lu Zhengfei decided to stop talking altogether.

Meanwhile, Huang Yuping chatted casually with Chen Qianqing about the Lu family’s business affairs. From their conversation, Lu Zhengfei realized in astonishment that Chen Qianqing was currently managing the family business during his supposed “pregnancy.”

Huang Yuping praised Chen Qianqing for handling everything so competently, even asking if he had prior experience in such matters.

Chen Qianqing laughed modestly and changed the topic.

After some more casual conversation, Huang Yuping said she wouldn’t disturb Lu Zhengfei’s rest and left.

Lu Zhengfei watched in a daze as Huang Yuping walked out of the room. He remained in a stupor until Chen Qianqing knelt slightly on the bed and gently kissed his earlobe, snapping him back to reality.

Lu Zhengfei stammered, “…What are you… doing?”

Chen Qianqing chuckled. “Baby, it’s been so long since we’ve done it. Could you give me a hand?”

Lu Zhengfei swore! He had said those exact same words to Chen Qianqing before, with the same expression and tone!

Seeing Lu Zhengfei’s horrified expression, Chen Qianqing sighed and said, “I know it’s hard for you to accept, but… I really love you.”

Lu Zhengfei replied, “Accept what? What’s hard to accept?” The string of bizarre events had left his thoughts completely disorganized.

Chen Qianqing smiled and said, “It’s hard to accept that I am you.”

Lu Zhengfei exclaimed, “What? What? What are you even saying?” He understood every word individually, but when put together, the sentence made no sense. What did “I am you” even mean?

Chen Qianqing reached out and touched Lu Zhengfei’s forehead. “…Baby, are you okay?”

Just as Lu Zhengfei was about to respond, his stomach was lightly kicked from within. He let out an “Ah!” and instinctively placed a hand on his rounded belly.

Chen Qianqing smiled and said, “Look, the baby is moving again.”

Lu Zhengfei: “…” There was nothing to be happy about.

Chen Qianqing’s face softened with tenderness, and his gaze was filled with unmistakable love. He said, “Once this baby is born, we won’t have any more.”

Lu Zhengfei: “So you’re saying… we’ve had more than one child already?”

Chen Qianqing laughed and said, “Silly, you don’t even remember how many kids you have? Maybe it’s time to bring Xiao San and the others back home.”

Lu Zhengfei wore an expression of utter defeat. Looking down, he muttered, “Which one is this?”

Chen Qianqing replied matter-of-factly, “The fifth.”

Lu Zhengfei: “Ha ha ha ha.” This world was too terrifying. Men could have babies, and the gentler Chen Qianqing’s gaze became, the more profoundly sad Lu Zhengfei felt.

After that, Chen Qianqing said something, but Lu Zhengfei didn’t catch a word of it. All his attention was focused on the sudden, faint pain in his stomach.

Before he knew it, he was being wheeled into an operating room. The most vivid memory etched in his mind was the overwhelming agony, which left him on the brink of despair. Yet, as the pain finally subsided, and Chen Qianqing held a wrinkled newborn before him, Lu Zhengfei felt an unprecedented sense of calm and peace.

Chen Qianqing said, “Zhengfei, touch him.”

Lu Zhengfei silently extended his hand, just about to touch the wrinkly baby, when suddenly everything went black.

In the end, Lu Zhengfei woke up to Chen Qianqing slapping him awake.

When Lu Zhengfei opened his eyes, disoriented, he saw Chen Qianqing sitting beside him, frowning. Without thinking, he lunged forward, wrapped his arms tightly around Chen Qianqing’s waist, and began to cry, “Qianqing, I don’t want to give birth anymore!”

A half-asleep Chen Qianqing had been startled awake by Lu Zhengfei’s heavy breathing. After waking him up, Chen Qianqing was caught off guard when Lu Zhengfei suddenly hugged him and tearfully declared he didn’t want to have children anymore.

Chen Qianqing snapped, “Lu Zhengfei, are you going to sleep or not?” It was only three in the morning, and Lu Zhengfei was causing a commotion over who-knows-what.

After venting his grievances, Lu Zhengfei finally realized he had just been dreaming. But the dream had felt so real that he was having trouble recovering.

Chen Qianqing noticed the cold sweat dripping from Lu Zhengfei’s face, and his initially annoyed expression softened a little. He asked, “What did you dream about?”

Lu Zhengfei answered in a defeated tone, “I dreamt that I gave birth to your child!”

Chen Qianqing: “…Daytime thoughts lead to nighttime dreams?”

Lu Zhengfei: “…” Not at all!

Chen Qianqing asked, “So, did you end up giving birth in the dream?”

Lu Zhengfei replied, “I did! And I had five kids!”

Chen Qianqing let out a low chuckle, which grew louder and louder. He said, “Lu Zhengfei, look how scared you are.”

Lu Zhengfei felt a little embarrassed and admitted, “I even dreamed that you said… you were me.”

Chen Qianqing’s smile froze for a moment before he sighed and asked, “What else did you dream about?”

After thinking for a moment, Lu Zhengfei said, “Not much. It seemed like we were pretty happy.” Except for the part where he had five kids.

Chen Qianqing gave a soft hum. “As long as we were happy. Are you going back to sleep?” His sleep quality had improved significantly, but he still couldn’t afford to disrupt his sleeping schedule. If his biological clock got messed up, it would take him a long time to recover.

Seeing Chen Qianqing’s pale face, Lu Zhengfei suddenly thought of the version of Chen Qianqing from the dream who had princess-carried him with ease. After some serious consideration, he thought, If it meant Chen Qianqing could be as healthy as he was in the dream, even at the cost of me having kids, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Chen Qianqing picked up a wet wipe from the bedside table and carefully wiped away Lu Zhengfei’s cold sweat. His expression remained calm, but his movements were incredibly gentle, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at Lu Zhengfei was filled with tenderness.

Leaning against Chen Qianqing, Lu Zhengfei quietly watched him for a long time before finally saying, “You can stop now. Let’s just sleep.”

Chen Qianqing nodded, tossed the wet wipe into the trash, yawned, and lay back down, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Looking at Chen Qianqing’s sleeping face, Lu Zhengfei couldn’t help but lean in and kiss Chen Qianqing’s rounded earlobe, just as the Chen Qianqing in his dream had done to him.