Chang Ying discovered that being a parent was actually a process of constant compromise. As he approached thirty, he finally understood what it meant to have one’s sharp edges smoothed away, yet he savored every moment of it.
*
A month after their wedding, on a Sunday, Tan Junzi—whose biological clock was usually precise—found herself sleeping in. Accustomed to rising early, she didn't wake until nearly noon, and even then, it was hunger that roused her.
Perhaps because she had woken so late, a sense of melancholy washed over her the moment she sat up. Seeing that Chang Ying wasn't beside her, the gloom coiled around her heart like silken threads. She felt an uncontrollable urge to cry.
Chang Ying walked into the room looking refreshed. He had been up for a while; he’d been surprised to find Junzi still asleep when he woke, but assuming she was exhausted from work, he hadn't disturbed her. Now, seeing her sitting there huddled in the duvet, looking dazed and on the verge of tears, he was startled.
Junzi looked at him with deep resentment, her emotions fluctuating wildly as a hot tear rolled down her cheek. "Why weren't you here next to me?"
Chang Ying sat on the edge of the bed and touched her face in disbelief, confirming that it was indeed a tear. "It’s noon, baby. I saw you weren't awake, so I went to the study to get some work done."
Junzi rubbed her eyes, startled by her own pettiness, but the more she rubbed, the more the tears flowed. "I'm so hungry, I want to cry... When I saw you weren't here, I felt like a discarded rag, just thrown away... *Waaaah*..."
Chang Ying was taken aback by this uncharacteristically sentimental version of Tan Junzi. At a loss, he could only cup her face, catching her tears in his palms. He felt a mix of novelty and bewilderment. "..."
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Junzi sobbed.
Chang Ying gave a helpless smile. "I've never seen you like this. My heart aches for you, but I also find it quite cute. The 'discarded rag' description is actually pretty funny."
Junzi blinked, and a few more tears welled up. Chang Ying couldn't help but lean in and kiss the corners of her eyes. "Look how aggrieved our Junzi is. If you're hungry, hurry up and get out of bed. I'll take you to eat."
As Chang Ying moved to stand, Junzi suddenly clung to his arm like a koala. "Hug me for a bit before I get up. You haven't hugged me yet this morning."
Chang Ying felt a stir in his heart at this sudden display of affection; Junzi was rarely this clingy. He gently stroked her hair with his free hand. "I did hug you. How could I not? But you were asleep then..."
...
...
...
Chang Ying was becoming quite carried away by her kisses when Junzi suddenly paused and sat up. "Wait, something’s not right... something’s definitely not right..." She scrambled out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
Pushed aside, Chang Ying fell back onto the large bed, his mind blank for a few seconds before he grabbed his trousers and followed her.
In the bathroom, Junzi was rummaging through the drawers for a pregnancy test. Knowing Chang Ying was watching, she spoke while searching, "It’s been almost three months. The wedding was so busy, I didn't even notice I’d missed my period..."
Chang Ying stood at the door for a moment to compose himself before coming over to help her search. They left the bathroom in a shambles. Finally, Chang Ying stopped, picked up the dazed, squatting Junzi, and carried her out. "Get dressed. We’re going to the hospital for a check-up."
On the way back from the hospital, Chang Ying’s hands were shaking as he drove. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands, just like a student taking a driving test, not even daring to hold Junzi’s hand with one. In a 60 km/h zone, he drove at exactly 52. People behind him flashed their fog lights, changed lanes to overtake him, and honked their horns. One person even gave him the middle finger as they sped past, but Chang Ying only nodded and smiled with a gentle, dim-witted glow of paternal harmony and love.
Tan Junzi was already three months pregnant. She must have conceived around the time Qianniu returned. It wasn't that her mental fortitude had failed her; it was simply her hormone levels shifting.
Thinking back, Chang Ying felt a lingering fear. Thank goodness they had talked that extraordinary woman out of performing somersaults at the wedding.
At the hospital, the doctor said everything was normal for now and told them not to worry. They were given a chart to strictly monitor weight changes. Modern prenatal care didn't follow the old trend of eating as much as possible to produce a "big, fat baby." The focus was on eating well, not eating a lot. Many women developed gestational diabetes in the later stages, so they had to be vigilant.
Much like her school days, the doctor’s words were now a divine decree to Tan Junzi.
Chang Ying was even more nervous than she was. He called the owner of the Mulan Shu Flower Shop (formerly the Mulan Flower Bookstore) and asked him to stock up on maternal and childcare books so he could start studying and taking notes. The owner was baffled; the shop primarily sold supplementary teaching materials for students. What middle schooler would read a parenting book? But since the shop belonged to Chang Ying now, whether it made a profit or a loss was no concern of the owner.
Chang Ying would summarize the key points of a book and read them to Junzi at bedtime. Usually, after a few sentences, Junzi would be fast asleep. Chang Ying would then end up talking to her belly, wondering if the little baby inside was also a "second-to-sleep" type like its mother.
Junzi weighed herself every week. They would take three measurements and calculate the average, then plot it on a curve chart stuck to the fridge.
One day after weighing herself, Junzi had a sudden whim. She stood straight and barefoot against the doorframe. "Chang Ying, measure my height while you're at it. A lot of people say you get shorter when you're pregnant."
Chang Ying placed his hand flat against the top of her head and made a light mark on the frame with a pen. The tape measure read 168.7 cm.
Junzi frowned. "I've only grown two centimeters in all these years? I remember being over 166 when I finished middle school. Is this ruler inaccurate?"
Chang Ying measured himself. He was 188.5 cm. "It’s accurate," he said.
Then he noticed Junzi was on the verge of tears again, thanks to her hormones. After a brief internal struggle, he coaxed her, "I misspoke. It was 168.7, but since you're my wife, let's just call it 170, okay?"
Junzi’s crumpled face immediately smoothed out. She nodded. "Being your wife is really worth it."
Chang Ying sighed inwardly. *It has to be worth it.*
*
Tan Junzi didn't stay home full-time until the final two weeks before her due date. Old Master Chang had interviewed over a dozen maternity matrons and eventually sent two: one to handle the cooking and one to look after the person.
Three days before the due date, Chang Ying stopped by the Mulan Shu Flower Shop after work to pick up some newly arrived preschool education books. The owner pulled three reserved books from under the counter and pushed them toward him, saying, "President Chang, I want a raise."
When Chang Ying bought the shop, he had given the original owner a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan, which wasn't low even by Tongcheng standards. Chang Ying frowned, about to say something, when the phone in his pocket rang.
He looked at the screen: Matron 1 (the cook). He answered, and her voice sounded anxious. Beside him, the owner was still droning on about how busy and tired he was and how he wanted a 2,000-yuan raise... Chang Ying pressed the phone to his ear and raised an index finger, signaling the owner to be quiet. He listened intently to the voice on the other end: "...her water broke. We're already on the way to the hospital..."
Chang Ying turned to leave immediately, but the owner grabbed his sleeve. "Hey, President Chang, what about the raise?"
Chang Ying couldn't process any more information; he just wanted to fly to the hospital. He yanked his sleeve free and hurried out the door. "Whatever you want, just take it."
*
Their daughter was named Chang Mulan, with the nickname Qianqian. Junzi had originally wanted to call her Tank, to be the younger sister of Submarine and Golden Arowana. But Chang Ying had kissed her into silence. "No, honey."
When Liu Kan’s son turned one, he picked up a jade "King" piece from a Shogi set during the *zhuazhou* ceremony, so he was named Liu Yi, with the nickname Jiangjiang.
Liu Yi was a year and a half older than Mulan. Unlike his dim-witted father, Liu Yi displayed every trait of a child prodigy from a young age: he was quiet, had a high learning capacity, and was incredibly sensitive to numbers and games. Later, Yuan Guo enrolled him in Shogi classes. The boy never lost a match, driving his classmates to the brink of depression.
In every aspect, Liu Yi took after neither of his parents.
In contrast, Mulan was exactly like Junzi. In every single way.
The little girl learned to roll before she could walk. At home, she was like a pangolin or a monkey from Mount Emei. Every day when Chang Ying came home, he had to let her sit on his shoulders for ten minutes.
When Mulan was four, Liu Kan gave her a children's makeup and nail kit. It was fake, essentially just washable paint pens. Chang Ying felt like Liu Kan was messing with him, so he retaliated by gifting Liu Kan’s son a suona.
But what truly concerned him wasn't Liu Kan; it was Liu Kan’s son, Liu Yi.
It takes a man to know a man, and Chang Ying felt that something was "off" about this five-and-a-half-year-old brat. That look in the boy's eyes was exactly the same as his own back in the day. It gave him cold sweats as he recalled his own past behavior.
History was repeating itself with startling consistency. His silly daughter, Mulan, was being led around by the nose by Liu Yi, yet she felt proud and triumphant, thinking Liu Yi was the one following her lead.
One day, the two children were at the house while Chang Ying was in the study.
After a while, Mulan came pitter-pattering over, clutching her makeup kit.
"Daddy, makeup," Mulan said, reaching up to be held.
Chang Ying pulled her onto his lap. "Alright." He took out a red pen. "How about a red dot in the middle of your forehead?"
Mulan shook her head. "Liu Yi said we’re both going to paint you." She grabbed a lock of hair from Chang Ying’s forehead. "Liu Yi said we should give you a braid first."
...
Chang Ying had once believed he would never wear a dress again in his life. Even now, he stubbornly maintained that a frilly little skirt pulled over one thigh didn't count as "wearing a dress." It didn't.
There really is nothing easy about adult life. Liu Kan certainly raised a "fine" son.
***
