No one can force him to do something he doesn’t want.

The two days passed quickly for Chi Yao, but for Fu Rong, every minute seemed to drag on.

He had already bought an apartment in the community. It wasn’t a villa; although a villa was available later, the location wasn’t suitable since he couldn’t see Chi Yao. The apartment he purchased was on a high floor, and from the balcony, he could see Chi Yao’s residence—though only the exterior, not the inside.

However, for Fu Rong, this was enough. He knew that when it came to dealing with Chi Yao, he couldn’t be too forceful. Chi Yao wasn’t someone who would easily soften, so he had to take a gentler approach.

Fu Rong had sent some gifts and even arranged for a maid to go over, and Chi Yao had kept her.

It wasn’t a coincidence. There aren’t that many coincidences in the world—it was all Fu Rong’s doing. The previous maid that Chi Yao hired was paid double by Fu Rong to go on vacation. The excuse of a family emergency was just a pretext. Who wouldn’t want to get paid and take a vacation at the same time? The maid left without any complaints after taking the money.

This freed up the spot for the maid Fu Rong had arranged.

The new maid, Aunt Lin, took excellent care of Chi Yan. When she saw Chi Yao suffering from morning sickness, she made special soups to help. Aunt Lin had extensive experience caring for pregnant women, and now, taking care of a pregnant man wasn’t an issue for her either.

Chi Yao’s morning sickness had eased to some extent, and his face had gained a bit of weight.

That day, he invited some people over for a barbecue at his house. Though the barbecue was in the afternoon, people started arriving early in the morning. These weren’t people with a lot of obligations; they didn’t work for others, so they could manage their time freely. Naturally, when Chi Yao invited them for a barbecue, they rushed over quickly.

Qu Liang initially thought he was the first to arrive, but when he got there, he saw someone already sitting in the living room.

As he walked into the living room and saw the man sitting on the sofa, Qu Liang was startled. For a moment, he thought it was someone who just looked similar, but no one in the world could look this much alike, especially with that heavy, brooding aura.

“Fu—Fu Rong?” Qu Liang exclaimed in surprise. Weren’t Fu Rong and Chi Yao supposed to not get along? They were practically rivals at one point. Even though neither of them was involved with Shen Ling now, Chi Yao had always been cold toward Fu Rong.

Why was Fu Rong sitting here? The way he carried himself, it almost felt like he was the owner of the house, not Chi Yao.

Fu Rong’s cold gaze fixed on this person who had shown up so early. Wasn’t the barbecue supposed to be in the afternoon?

Why come so early? What could he possibly have to talk about with Chi Yao?

Chi Yao had gotten up, but he was taking a bath. He knew Fu Rong had arrived and told him to sit in the living room and wait for a while. However, just a few minutes later, someone else showed up, and Fu Rong’s expression turned dark as he stared at the new arrival.

Qu Liang laughed nervously and asked one of the maids where Chi Yao was.

The maid said he was in the bathroom. Qu Liang, feeling a bit awkward, quickly made up an excuse, saying he was going to check out the flowers in the backyard, and slipped away. He didn’t want to stay near Fu Rong, who looked like he might throw him out at any moment.

Fu Rong did indeed have that thought—he wanted everyone else to leave so it could just be him and Chi Yao. Chi Yao wasn’t wearing much at home, just a thin piece of clothing, which made his belly more noticeable. Upon closer inspection, you could see that his stomach was starting to round out.

To others, including Xue Zhongming and the rest, Chi Yao had said that there was something growing in his stomach, and that come spring next year, he would get it removed. In the meantime, he was focusing on taking care of his health.

No one suspected a thing.

If Fu Rong hadn’t investigated thoroughly, he wouldn’t have suspected that Chi Yao was pregnant either.

Fu Rong turned to look upstairs. Chi Yao had been taking a bath for what seemed like half an hour and still hadn’t come down. Fu Rong could have just sat there and waited, but it felt like Chi Yao’s presence was everywhere in this house, and he had a strong urge to go upstairs and check on him.

He justified it by telling himself that since Chi Yao was pregnant, he should always have someone nearby.

And besides, Chi Yao had invited him over for a barbecue, so didn’t that make them friends?

Fu Rong knew deep down that wasn’t the case, but since he was already in the house, going upstairs shouldn’t be an issue.

Fu Rong got up and walked upstairs. There was an elevator, but he didn’t take it. He went straight to the second floor, knowing where Chi Yao’s bedroom was, and headed directly there.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door, but just then, the sound of a car horn outside drowned out the knocking. Fu Rong listened carefully but didn’t hear anything from inside—no water running, nothing. Had something happened to Chi Yao? Had he fallen?

Fu Rong quickly turned the doorknob and stepped inside. As the door opened, a faint sound came through, a somewhat unusual noise.

Fu Rong looked toward the center of the room and saw someone reclining against the headboard of the bed. The person’s head was slightly tilted back, and the curve of his jaw and neck formed an incredibly alluring line. From his slightly parted, flushed lips, a seductive moan was slipping out.

Fu Rong’s gaze slowly dropped to the slender, graceful hand of the person, and in an instant, his pupils contracted.

Before his mind could even process it, Fu Rong’s body had already moved, and he was standing in front of Chi Yao.

Chi Yao noticed someone had appeared and was immediately surprised. When he looked up and saw Fu Rong, he smirked. The expression on his face matched exactly the one Fu Rong had seen not long ago.

Fu Rong slowly leaned closer, his hand resting on the back of Chi Yao’s hand, his gaze sharp and filled with aggression.

“Need some help?” Fu Rong smiled.

Without waiting for a response, Fu Rong removed Chi Yao’s hand and immediately bent down.