Early morning, Yunshui Town awakens to the sound of roosters crowing and dogs barking. The quaint architecture is arranged in an orderly fashion, with white-walled, black-tiled houses lining the stone-paved alleys. A young man with sharp, handsome features opens the second-floor window, and sunlight immediately rushes in, falling on two figures, one large and one small, lying on the bed.
The man quickly puts on his clothes, finishes washing up, and returns to the bedside. On the bed, a tender little child lies with his bottom in the air, his fair, soft cheeks puffed out. Qin Kun is amused by his son’s unrestrained sleeping posture. He reaches out, scoops him up into the crook of his arm, then leans over to kiss his beloved Su Siwen’s cheek.
Su Siwen doesn’t move a muscle, breathing steadily, sound asleep. Qin Kun pats Su Youli’s soft little bottom to wake him up. Su Youli is placed on a low stool, standing unsteadily before the sink. His plump, lotus-root-like little hands rub his eyes as he mumbles and yawns. Seeing that he’s awake, Qin Kun skillfully wrings out a towel and wipes his face.
Forced to ‘boot up,’ Su Youli mumbles, reaching out for a hug: “Kun Kun.”
Su Youli doesn’t have morning grumpiness, but his dad’s strength is simply too much. The towel rubs his little cheeks until they sting, making him huff in frustration. He obediently brushes his teeth himself, then shows his clean, white baby teeth to Qin Kun.
“Wow, Youyou’s teeth are so pretty!” Qin Kun certainly doesn’t skimp on praise, immediately planting a big kiss on Su Youli’s soft, plump cheek. Su Youli’s face is nudged by his dad’s tall nose, and he quickly extends both hands to push his dad’s face away. Qin Kun deliberately nuzzles against his tender cheek, making Su Youli giggle.
The father and son play in the bathroom for a while before Qin Kun carries him out. The person on the bed is still asleep, a lump under the quilt. Su Youli covers his mouth, suppressing a laugh, and whispers in Qin Kun’s ear, “Kun Kun, Little Daddy is a little lazy pig.”
He’s already up, but Little Daddy isn’t. Qin Kun gently taps his little nose, shushing him: “Let your Little Daddy sleep a bit more.”
Su Youli sits on the bed. His pajamas have been taken off by Qin Kun, and now, bare-bottomed, he rests his chin on his hands, watching his Little Dad sleep. Their home is a two-story house. In front of the attic is a courtyard filled with flowers and green plants. Sitting on a low stool in the courtyard is a little one wearing a navy blue vest and frilly shorts.
“Youyou, eat your breakfast by yourself. I’m going upstairs to wake your Little Dad!” Qin Kun sets the child and stool together by the table, instructing the little guy.
Su Youli holds a cup with both hands, busily gulping down milk. Hearing this, he waves a hand at his dad, his gaze fixed on the milk before him. The low stool was hand-made for him by his Little Dad, Su Siwen. The little toddler sits in it very steadily. Su Youli finishes half the cup of milk and, not very skillfully, picks up chopsticks to start eating the potato pancake.
Actually, the little guy is best at using a spoon, but recently his dads have been teaching him to use chopsticks. The shredded potatoes are mixed with a bit of potato starch and diced ham. Su Youli eats, shaking his head happily, grabbing one with each hand, enjoying it immensely. He’s a toddler who gives his parents little trouble.
In the second-floor bedroom.
Sunlight slips into the quiet room. Qin Kun tiptoes to the bedside, sits down, and gazes at his beloved’s sleeping face. The man on the bed has delicate features, fair skin, with dark eyebrows, eyes, and hair.
“Siwen, time to get up.” Qin Kun leans down, gently waking him.
The man in his sleep seems to sense something and slowly opens his eyes. Su Siwen smiles as soon as he sees him, reaching out both arms to hug him. Qin Kun wraps an arm around his waist, smiling as he whispers in his ear, “Youyou also reached out for a hug as soon as he woke up. He learned it from you.”
The man’s voice is deep and pleasant. Su Siwen buries his face in the crook of his neck and lets out a soft laugh. “Where’s the baby?”
Qin Kun slides his arm under his elbows, picks him up, and carries him to the window, gesturing with his chin for him to look down. “See.”
Su Siwen looks down. Su Youli’s round back of the head faces him. The little chopsticks have long been tossed aside. His two small, short hands grip the golden-brown potato pancake, his round cheeks puffed out like little buns.
Seeing his son obediently eating breakfast by himself, a bright smile instantly spreads across Su Siwen’s face. He turns to look at Qin Kun with a chiding expression. “How could you let the baby eat breakfast alone? There must be mosquitoes in the courtyard now.”
Qin Kun bends down and kisses him. “I put mosquito-repellent patches on him. Don’t worry.”
Su Siwen slightly raises his head, rubbing his face against the stubble on Qin Kun’s chin. “Put me down and go check on the baby,” he says.
Qin Kun tightens his arms, shamelessly bringing his face closer. “No. You haven’t kissed me this morning yet!”
Su Siwen teases him for being childish, then, contrary to his words, cups Qin Kun’s face and plants a kiss on his lips.
“Daddies have no shame, shame, shame~”
A milky voice drifts up from below. The two look down. Su Youli sits in the low stool, extending one index finger, drawing it across his own cheek, giggling happily.
“Youyou, play by yourself in the courtyard after breakfast!” Qin Kun calls out loudly. Su Youli nods, wiping his hands on the front of his clothes. “Got it!”
The two upstairs withdraw their gaze. Qin Kun places Su Siwen into the wheelchair and crouches in front of him. “How are you feeling today?”
Su Siwen’s skin carries a pallor reminiscent of someone who rarely sees the sun. Facing his lover’s concerned expression, he smiles. “Feeling alright.”
After they both finish washing up, they go downstairs and sit in the courtyard to have breakfast. A three-year-old child is at the age of exploring the world. Su Youli is accompanied by a local Song dog with a pink nose. The toddler and the dog are crawling around in the flower bed. Qin Kun finishes eating, grabs the car keys, and heads out to work.
“It’s been over a month. Still no news?” Su Siwen wheels himself to the door to see him off. After a pause, he decides to ask. Qin Kun stops, his gaze lingering on Su Siwen’s face for a moment, then falling on Youyou in the courtyard. The little toddler sits on the ground hugging the pink-nosed Song dog, beaming with joy.
“Siwen, if Youyou’s biological family really comes looking… could you bear to let him go?” Qin Kun’s tone is uncharacteristically serious.
Su Siwen bites his lip, his eyes slightly red, fingers digging into his own knees. After a long while, he says, “…I could bear it.”
Qin Kun crouches in front of him, places a hand on his knee, closes his eyes briefly, then opens them. “I know you can’t bear to part with him. Don’t be stubborn.”
His lips are bitten slightly red, and his throat feels clogged with cotton. Su Siwen’s long eyelashes tremble. The sound of Su Youli’s innocent, childish laughter fills his ears. His heart feels as if sliced by a knife, his eyes turning completely red.
In the deep winter three years ago, Su Siwen and Qin Kun found Su Youli discarded in a trash bin on a street in Beicheng’s urban village.
The newborn human infant was completely red, wearing only a thin onesie, his cries as faint as a newborn kitten’s—a picture of critical condition. Su Siwen and Qin Kun were only in their mid-twenties then and were immediately terrified and at a loss. They took the child out of the trash bin. Qin Kun wrapped the baby in his own coat and hurriedly took him to the police station.
It was a police station in a central district. The officer on duty wasn’t very responsible, merely glancing at the little bundle in the coat and telling them to take the child to the hospital first. The child was severely chilled. Upon entering the hospital, he was immediately placed in an incubator. Qin Kun and Su Siwen were not in good financial shape then. They had to work the next day, so after waiting at the hospital room door for a few hours, they had to leave.
The police informed them that if no one came for the child, he would be sent to a local orphanage. The child’s destination was settled; thereafter, life or death would be up to fate. Qin Kun took Su Siwen and left the hospital. The winter wind felt like scraping blades. People in the hospital hurried past, brushing shoulders with the dazed Su Siwen. Su Siwen’s shoulder was knocked hard by someone.
“Sorry, my son had a high fever in the middle of the night…” The man apologized while rushing inside, holding a child and shouting for a doctor. Qin Kun wrapped an arm around Su Siwen’s shoulder and shook his head at the man, but his gaze fell on the man’s slippers and his sweat-drenched clothes.
The child, with flushed cheeks, was protectively cradled in his arms. Qin Kun pressed his lips together, silent. Suddenly, he thought of the child still in the incubator and sighed, reflecting on how fate differs. Such a tiny child, discarded in a foul-smelling trash bin, yet still managed to survive.
As they walked out of the hospital entrance, Su Siwen suddenly turned to look back at the seemingly endless hospital corridor. The faint, critical cries of the infant seemed to still echo in his ears. After a long moment, he tugged at Qin Kun’s sleeve, his voice choked with sobs: “Kun Kun, that child… he just… held my hand.”
New series, yayy!!
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