The senior executive awkwardly tried to duck under the table, his hand trembling as he held his phone.

“Next time, don’t use flash,” Fu Rong said in a deep voice.

The senior executive was stunned for a moment, before realizing—was this really his boss? Not an impersonator?^[1]a person who pretends to be someone else for entertainment or fraud. That was too surreal.

A colleague nearby leaned over and whispered, “Send me a copy of the photo later.”

The senior executive chuckled and nodded. He glanced toward Fu Rong, who was focused on feeding the baby. The way Fu Rong carried himself didn’t resemble a multi-billionaire CEO at all—just an ordinary person, a father.

Everything that had happened recently was hard to comprehend.

After the others left, Fu Rong continued to feed the baby in the meeting room. The baby had taken a liking to the conference table and insisted on playing on it. Fu Rong placed the baby on the table, and the little one started crawling across it.

From one end to the other, the baby crawled, with Fu Rong following closely behind, making sure the little one didn’t fall. After a lap, the baby seemed to think it was quite fun and giggled when Fu Rong tried to stop him. He even pushed Fu Rong’s hand away with a pout.

Fu Rong smiled helplessly—what else could he do? It was his own child, so he could only indulge him.

The baby eventually tired out after crawling around and sat up, lifting his arms, signaling Fu Rong to pick him up. As Fu Rong held him, he felt a warmth spread through his chest. He kissed the baby on the tip of his nose, and the little one happily waved his tiny hands.

That evening, Fu Rong had more work to do, so he plan to have the nanny take the baby home. However, as he worked, he heard familiar footsteps approaching. Surprised, he looked up and saw that it was indeed Chi Yao who had come.

The baby was playing with toys on the floor near the sofa. When Chi Yao arrived, the baby didn’t notice at first. Chi Yao crouched beside the baby and gently patted his tiny shoulder. The baby, not pleased, swatted Chi Yao’s hand away.

Chi Yao laughed softly. The baby continued playing, but suddenly paused, as if sensing something. He turned around and, upon seeing Chi Yao, excitedly leaped into his arms, his face full of joy.

Chi Yao caught him and hugged him, planting a kiss on his hair. Then, he placed the baby back down and sat on the floor with him, playing together.

Fu Rong watched the pair—a grown man and a little baby—seemingly in their own world, oblivious to everyone else.

---

Chi Yan – The Baby’s Name

---

Fu Rong still had work to do, so he didn’t accompany Chi Yao and the baby when they left. Although his heart seemed to leave with them, he stayed behind at his desk. As Chi Yao reached the door with the baby in his arms, he suddenly handed the baby to the nanny. The nanny looked a bit puzzled, and the baby stared curiously at his father with wide, dark eyes.

Chi Yao turned around and reentered the office. Fu Rong, who had been watching them, followed Chi Yao’s every movement with his gaze.

When Chi Yao stood before him, Fu Rong turned his chair to face him, lips parting slightly as if to ask what was going on, but the words stuck in his throat.

Chi Yao bent down and placed a kiss on Fu Rong’s lips. Standing back up, a playful smile flickered in his eyes.

Fu Rong was stunned for a moment. When it seemed like Chi Yao was about to leave, Fu Rong grabbed his hand, his voice trembling as he asked, “What does this mean?”

Chi Yao had never kissed him like this before—never given him a goodbye kiss when leaving.

Fu Rong couldn’t control his thoughts from spiraling out of that one kiss. Could there be more meaning behind it?

“A goodbye kiss,” Chi Yao replied with a smile.

Fu Rong didn’t believe him. He held onto Chi Yao’s hand tightly.

“Are we… together now?” Fu Rong asked.

Chi Yao didn’t respond.

“You agreed, didn’t you?” Fu Rong pressed, “You agreed to be with me, to let me take care of the baby, not just in practice, but officially as his other father.”

Chi Yao smiled and gently pried Fu Rong’s fingers off his hand.

“Don’t overthink it. I just saw how lonely you looked, as if you’d been abandoned, so I gave you a goodbye kiss.” Chi Yao tried to reassure him.

Fu Rong didn’t believe it. When Chi Yao had been in trouble that day, he had called Fu Rong first, not anyone else, which showed Fu Rong’s special place in his heart.

Fu Rong grabbed Chi Yao’s hand again, gripping it tightly, refusing to let him leave.

Chi Yao chuckled, hesitated for a moment, then placed his hand gently on Fu Rong’s face.

“Be good, focus on your work, and make lots of money.” Chi Yao didn’t finish his sentence, but Fu Rong was smart enough to guess the rest.

Fu Rong stood there stunned for a few seconds, then, as if snapping back to reality, he smiled warmly. “Okay, I’ll work even harder.”

Though Fu Rong’s wealth could last him several lifetimes, he still had to work. A person’s value wasn’t found in idleness, and Chi Yao clearly agreed with that.

So, he encouraged Fu Rong to work hard.

“You look pretty handsome when you’re working,” Chi Yao said with a grin as he walked away.

Fu Rong’s heart pounded rapidly. He barely held back the urge to run after Chi Yao, to pull him into his arms and kiss him passionately.

But he controlled himself—the baby was waiting for Chi Yao, and he couldn’t keep them waiting too long.

Chi Yao returned to the baby’s side, picked him up, and the little one wrapped his arms around Chi Yao’s neck, nuzzling into his father’s familiar, beloved scent.

Chi Yao and the baby leave, leaving Fu Rong behind in the office to continue working and earning more money.

On the way home, Chi Yao realizes something: he still hasn’t given the baby a name. The baby was born in a remote area, and since Chi Yao, a man, gave birth, registering the baby’s name would expose that he could have children. Chi Yao wasn’t afraid of that being revealed, but he didn’t want any unnecessary trouble for now.

Registering the baby was easy, but the more pressing issue was the name itself. Chi Yao had thought about it before but had dismissed his ideas at the time. Now that the baby was almost six months old, it was time to decide.

What name should he choose?

Chi Yao couldn’t decide for a while.

Chi…?

Naturally, the baby would take Chi Yao’s surname. That other person—Chi Yao knew—wouldn’t fight him over the child’s family last name right now, that person would listen to anything Chi Yao said.

Chi…what?

Sitting on the carpet, Chi Yao watched the baby play beside him. Occasionally, he handed toys to the baby, who was perfectly content playing on his own.

Chi Feng?

Feng?

It didn’t seem right. Chi Yao pressed his lips together, his thoughts muddled. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn’t come up with a suitable name.

Chi Yao sighed, deciding to leave the matter to Fu Rong. After all, Fu Rong was always fussing over the baby and him. Giving him something like this to do would keep him occupied.

That evening, Fu Rong didn’t come over, but he sent a text asking how the baby was. Chi Yao sent back a photo of the baby, just like Fu Rong had done before.

Fu Rong stared at the cute little figure sitting there, his lips curling into a smile without realizing it.

Usually, Chi Yao wouldn’t reply to Fu Rong’s texts, but this time he did: “I can’t think of a name for the baby. You come up with one.”

Fu Rong stared at that message for a long time, almost bursting into Chi Yao’s place to ask, Is it really okay? Can I really give the baby a name?

Laughing, Fu Rong stood by the balcony, from where he could see Chi Yao’s villa. The lights in the living room were off, but Chi Yao’s room was still lit, showing that Chi Yao hadn’t gone to bed yet. Fu Rong held his phone, his heart practically blooming with joy.

That night, Fu Rong barely slept, spending hours on his phone looking up the meanings of different names. By midnight, he had come up with two names. He whispered them softly to himself, as if he were calling out to the baby shared between him and Chi Yao.

That night, Fu Rong suddenly realized something that was still missing between him and Chi Yao—something so important that he couldn’t believe he had forgotten.

The next morning, after barely sleeping a few hours, Fu Rong woke up and called his assistant to run an errand. Skipping breakfast, he headed straight to Chi Yao’s house.

Lately, Fu Rong often ate breakfast at Chi Yao’s house, and the housekeeper always prepared enough food for one more person.

Chi Yao was eating, and the baby sat in his chair, not eating but watching Chi Yao eat. The baby was growing and curious about everything around him.

Fu Rong came in, sat at the table, and was served a bowl of porridge by the housekeeper.

He then told Chi Yao the two names he had thought of the night before: Chi Yan and Chi Bei. Fu Rong watched Chi Yao’s face, feeling anxious. They had seemed like good names last night, but now, after saying them out loud, they suddenly didn’t seem right.

After thinking all night, was this the best he could come up with? Just as Fu Rong was about to say he’d try again, Chi Yao put down his chopsticks.

“Chi Yan. Which Yan?”

“The Yan in ‘speech’.”

Fu Rong had never felt this nervous before.

“If the pronunciation sounds like Chi Yan, it could mean ‘late speech’, right?”

It didn’t seem ideal, but Chi Yao thought of another homophone: late banquet. In some sense, his baby had arrived in his second life. It was hard to deny that this baby wasn’t Chi Yao’s grand feast—his one and only feast in life.

“Chi Yan? Sure, let’s go with that name.”

Yan Yan? Little Yan? That sounds nice. Chi Yao smiled.

Leaning over to the baby sitting in the high chair, Chi Yao gently smiled and said, “Yan Yan, from now on, you’ll be called Chi Yan, okay?”

The baby didn’t understand what his father was saying but sensed that his father was happy, so he too smiled, his little baby teeth just starting to show.

Fu Rong’s heart swelled with joy. Chi Yao had accepted the name he had chosen for the baby. To Fu Rong, this meant a lot. Even though Chi Yao hadn’t explicitly said anything, Fu Rong felt certain that he had guessed correctly: Chi Yao had accepted him.

Accepted him to take care of both him and the baby.

When Fu Rong went to work, he took the baby along. The baby now loved going out and wouldn’t stay home for long without fussing. At Fu Rong’s office—once an empty place—it was now filled with baby toys, clothes, and other infant essentials.

Whenever someone unfamiliar with the company entered the office, they’d first think they were in the wrong place. Only when they saw Fu Rong in his suit behind the desk would they realize they were in the right place.

But no matter the situation, whether it was discussing business or having tea, there would always be interruptions—like Fu Rong stepping away to play with the baby or feed him formula. Fu Rong had truly become the quintessential^[2]representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class. doting father.