Chapter 102: The Right to Be a Father

Although she didn’t like doing housework and was a bit lazy by nature, after all, this was their little home together. There were some things she could do, and she felt she should do them.

Especially since Sheng Zexi trained so hard and still came home to cook, it really was tough on him.

So she tried to share the load whenever she could.

Just as she finished up and was about to leave the kitchen, thinking Sheng Zexi should be back any minute, she saw a tall figure rush in.

Before she could even react, that figure was already in front of her, barely coming to a stop.

Maybe because he’d run so fast, he was still a bit out of breath.

Without even catching his breath, he shoved a report right in front of Gu Jianing’s face and pointed at it. “Ning, Ningning, look…”

Only then did Gu Jianing realize it was Sheng Zexi. She didn’t even look at the report and said, “Why did you run so fast? You’re out of breath and already talking. Take a moment and catch your breath first.”

But Sheng Zexi shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Ningning, look at this report. Do you see the results? It says you’re pregnant!”

“Ningning, you’re really pregnant!”

Gu Jianing glanced at the report. Sure enough, it showed she was pregnant—about a month along.

At this point, though, it hadn’t detected that there were two embryos, let alone that they were twins—a boy and a girl.

Gu Jianing wasn’t surprised at all by the result. She’d already gotten a definite answer from the system, and the system’s results couldn’t possibly be wrong.

“Yeah, I see it. It says I’m pregnant.”

She leaned in closer to him. “I told you before that I was pregnant, but you didn’t believe me. Hmph.”

Sheng Zexi couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. Now that he’d caught his breath, he said, “I… I really didn’t expect it.”

He thought it was impossible. They hadn’t been trying for long, so how could it happen so quickly? Especially since he’d had some issues before.

He really didn’t dare to hope.

So when Gu Jianing said it that day, he hadn’t taken it seriously. Even when he went with her to the hospital for a blood test, it was just because she wanted to go—so he went along.

He never expected the results would bring him such a huge surprise.

As he spoke, Sheng Zexi’s eyes turned red, and the emotions he’d been holding back finally spilled over.

“Ningning, do you know? There was a time when I thought I’d never have children in this life…”

He’d thought that way for two reasons. One was that he’d been injured on a mission, making it hard for him to have children.

The other was that his mother died young, his father remarried, and his biological father gradually became like a stepfather to him. This made him lose hope in his original family and in the relationship between father and child.

He never received fatherly love from his own father, so he was afraid—afraid that if he had a child, he wouldn’t know how to give them fatherly love.

He was afraid he wouldn’t be good enough.

So when he was injured and found it hard to have children, he actually felt relieved.

He thought, maybe I just won’t get married in this life. No marriage, no children—that’s fine too.

But fate had other plans. That year, he met Gu Jianing, and from then on, he fell hopelessly in love. Even though he had fertility issues, he still couldn’t bear to let her go.

Later, he married Ningning.

Although Ningning never said it, Sheng Zexi knew she liked children.

When he learned that Gu Jianing was skilled in medicine and wanted to treat him, he started to hope.

The Sheng Zexi who once didn’t want children and thought he couldn’t give them love began to look forward to having a child with the woman he loved.

He started to dream that if he and Ningning had a child—boy or girl—he would love them with all his heart and give them everything he could.

But even so, as he underwent treatment, he still didn’t dare to hope too much.

It wasn’t until later, when Ningning’s sister-in-law got pregnant—thanks to Ningning’s treatment—and he himself was cured, that Sheng Zexi finally began to hope.

At that time, he thought, as long as he and Ningning had a child within the next five years, he’d be satisfied.

So when Gu Jianing said she was pregnant on New Year’s Eve and went to the hospital for a checkup, he didn’t take it seriously. He just thought maybe her period was irregular or she wasn’t feeling well, and that he should find a doctor to help her get healthy.

He also thought he should comfort Ningning and tell her not to be so anxious about having a baby.

Who knew—he was the silly one.

And Ningning was right. Whether it was the treatment or the pregnancy, she was right about everything.

So, Ningning was always right.

“You’re crying!” Gu Jianing exclaimed in surprise.

Sheng Zexi snapped out of it and touched his face—sure enough, he felt a trace of moisture.

He was crying.

But Sheng Zexi didn’t think it was shameful for a man to cry.

“Ningning, I’m crying because I’m happy.”

“Ningning, I once thought I’d never have children, never even dared to hope. But you gave me hope, and you gave me the right to be a father.”

“Ningning, how can you be so wonderful?”

“Thank you.”

With that, Sheng Zexi gently hugged Gu Jianing, as if holding his whole world in his arms.

Gu Jianing tilted her head up proudly and said, “Well, you’d better thank me! And being pregnant is hard work, so you’ll have to treat me even better from now on.”

“I will, I will, I promise!” Sheng Zexi hurriedly assured her.

Just then, he suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead. “How could I forget!”

“What is it?”

Sheng Zexi said, a little annoyed, “I was so caught up in everything, I forgot to ask Dr. Hao what I should pay attention to when taking care of a pregnant woman. I need to go ask him.”

“No rush, you can ask him next time. Right now, you should probably get back to cooking. Xi-ge, your wife and baby are hungry…” Gu Jianing pouted playfully.

“That’s right, it’s lunchtime! Look at me, I almost forgot. Go sit on the heated bed, don’t get cold. I’ll go cook right now.”

“I’ll help you.”

“No way, you’re pregnant! You can’t be running around. Go rest on the bed.”

Gu Jianing couldn’t help but laugh and cry. In the end, she had no choice but to go back to the heated bed to warm up, waiting for Sheng Zexi to finish cooking and bring the food over so they could eat together.

Afterwards, Sheng Zexi insisted on doing the dishes, too.

Even before she got pregnant, Sheng Zexi wouldn’t let Gu Jianing wash dishes in the winter because the water was cold. Now that she was pregnant, he was even more adamant.

As Sheng Zexi put it: he was a man, with thick skin and strong muscles, young and full of energy, so he could handle the chores without any problem.

But Gu Jianing was a woman, delicate and tender-skinned. If she got cold, she’d get sick easily.

So, it was better for her to rest as much as possible.

While Sheng Zexi was washing the dishes, suddenly, Gu Jianing heard a rapid knocking at the door outside the courtyard…"