Happiness is a thing of one’s own.

Yet, happiness is also born from comparison.

Back when Xiang Zhen was missing, Zhou Sicheng was delivering goods to the construction site. The moment he laid eyes on Shen Ku, he couldn’t help thinking: Why is it that when we’re both pretending to be poor, Shen Ku gets off scot-free, comfortably living as a construction site couple with Dou Manning while using me to pave the way through the minefield?

Zhou Sicheng didn’t expose him—first, out of sheer moral high-mindedness, and second, out of fear that Dou Manning would bolt too, wiping out his only remaining leads.

Now that his own wife was back, Zhou Sicheng was no longer worried about his brother-in-law breaking up with Shen Ku.

Right now, he just wanted to sit back and watch the malicious drama unfold. No wonder Fan Hao loved watching him get into trouble so much, coming over to “visit” his house at the slightest hint of drama.

Zhou Sicheng peeled a purple grape and held it to his wife’s lips.

Xiang Zhen swallowed the grape and said to Dou Manning, “The most important thing for us proletarians is to keep a strict eye on our husbands.”

Zhou Sicheng kept his gaze lowered, continuing to peel grapes. “I willingly accept your supervision.”

Dou Manning said from the bottom of his heart, “Zhenzhen, you’re supervising him very well.”

Zhou Sicheng certainly looked much more well-behaved now than when they first met.

All of the above was conversational content fit for public consumption. Xiang Zhen then recounted the knowledge he had gathered from Professor Xu: “Professor Xu gives such wonderful lectures. It would be amazing if I could listen to them more often.”

Xiang Zhen still had some private words for Dou Manning: “Manning, come to my bedroom. I have something to discuss with you.”

Zhou Sicheng and Shen Ku spoke in unison: “No way.”

Zhou Sicheng had learned his lesson the hard way. He would never again let Xiang Zhen and Dou Manning—two illiterate dreamers—discuss big plans in private. It was practically a threat to social stability.

Shen Ku, on the other hand, had a guilty conscience. Some things were better confessed by his own mouth than exposed by others; he wasn’t sure if Xiang Zhen was deliberately dropping hints about him today.

Xiang Zhen and Dou Manning looked at the two of them strangely, remaining silent.

In the silence, their true domestic hierarchy gradually came to light.

Shen Ku turned out to be far more henpecked than Zhou Sicheng had imagined: “Go ahead.”

Zhou Sicheng refused to fall behind when it came to giving his wife face: “The bedroom is a place for sleeping. If you’re discussing business, go to the study.”

Last time, he had only let Dou Manning into the bedroom to keep Xiang Zhen company because Xiang Zhen wasn’t feeling well. In principle, only he and his wife were allowed inside their bedroom.

Xiang Zhen nodded. “Okay.”

Only two people were left in the living room. Coincidentally, they had things to discuss as well.

Faced with the stubborn, illiterate coalition formed by Li Guihua, Xiang Zhen, and Dou Manning, the two sons-in-law—who were incapable of obtaining legal marriage certificates—had no choice but to form an anti-illiteracy alliance.

Shen Ku asked, “How much did you pay Professor Xu?”

Zhou Sicheng gave a light smile, wiping the grape juice off his trousers. “You want to hire him too? I can give you his contact info.”

Shen Ku: “Thanks.”

Zhou Sicheng: “I plan to send Xiang Zhen to school. What about you?”

Shen Ku: “I have the exact same idea.” Dou Manning loved reading physical books. Whenever business was slow at the coffee shop, he would flip open a book and read regardless of the genre. When Shen Ku asked if he could understand it, Dou Manning said that after staring at it long enough, he could figure out a few tricks.

It pained Shen Ku to see him love reading so much, with such a strong capacity for learning, yet lacking even a primary school education. But with the mountain of a capitalist pressing down on his head, Shen Ku had no choice but to take his wife to live on the construction site and buy books for him there.

As long as Dou Manning didn’t resist capitalists, Shen Ku could pull some strings to send him to school.

Zhou Sicheng said, “Do you know that their family holds a lot of secrets?”

Shen Ku listened attentively, all ears.

Zhou Sicheng sneered. “You think I’m just going to tell you?”

Shen Ku: “…”

Zhou Sicheng: “I exerted every ounce of effort before my wife finally told me. Has your wife not mentioned a single word to you? Seems your relationship is only so-so.”

Shen Ku replied, “Reverse psychology won’t work on me. If Manning didn’t tell me, it just means he thinks it has nothing to do with me.”

Leaning back against the sofa, Zhou Sicheng let out a cold laugh. “Your wife can get pregnant. Does that have nothing to do with you either?”

Shen Ku’s mind went completely blank, every muscle under his black T-shirt tensing up. “What did you say?”

“That’s their family secret. Zhenzhen told me.” Zhou Sicheng patted his shoulder. “I’ve told you this much, so as payment, it’s your turn to figure out the mechanism behind this pregnancy. Don’t disappoint me.”

Zhou Sicheng didn’t know if Dou Manning would spill the beans easier than Xiang Zhen, but in any case, he couldn’t be the only one digging into this secret. Why should Shen Ku get to sit back and reap the benefits forever?

Zhou Sicheng picked up a plate of small cakes from the table and walked briskly toward the study to eavesdrop.

Inside the study.

Xiang Zhen rested his chin in his hands, looking troubled. “Hubby keeps asking me about the pregnancy, and I never know how to answer. Getting pregnant is a big deal; Zhou Sicheng is definitely going to dig to the bottom of it.”

Dou Manning’s expression was equally solemn. “Do you want to tell him that you’re a spirit?”

An important tip in The Guide to Adulthood stated: Never reveal your spirit identity to humans. Fragile humans will faint on the spot from terror and hire monks to perform rituals to capture you.

Xiang Zhen: “I don’t think my hubby would be like that. I just don’t want him to worry all the time.”

Zhou Sicheng had a high tolerance for the unexpected. He could be a corporate president or a truck driver; his mind was adaptable, and he wasn’t someone who just blindly followed books.

The problem was, if he told his husband he was a spirit, Dou Manning would be dragged into suspicion too.

Human household registration was a trap specifically designed for spirits—pulling up one meant pulling up the whole cluster.

“What about you? What will you do if you get pregnant?”

Dou Manning pondered this. Shen Ku was very capable, so why hadn’t he gotten pregnant yet?

“If I get pregnant, I’ll tell Shen Ku.”

Xiang Zhen’s eyes curved as they hit it off instantly. “Then we’ll tell them together once you’re pregnant! I’ll keep pretending to be human for a bit longer.”

If Dou Manning didn’t need to expose his identity, Xiang Zhen certainly couldn’t reveal his either.

If Dou Manning didn’t have a baby, what if Shen Ku turned ruthless and turned his back on him? But with a baby, Shen Ku would be legally bound to take responsibility.

Xiang Zhen’s gaze swept toward the door. Sensing his husband’s presence approaching, he ran over and pulled the door open. “Hubby!”

Zhou Sicheng had just pressed his ear against the door when his eavesdropping plan was blown wide open. He said with composure, “What are you two discussing? Brainwork makes you hungry easily, so I brought you some cake.”

Xiang Zhen picked up a guava-flavored cake, took a bite, and looked at his husband. “Hubby, once Manning gets pregnant too, I’ll tell you a huge secret!”

Zhou Sicheng: ???

What kind of logic is that?

Xiang Zhen linked arms with Zhou Sicheng. “It’s twelve o’clock, time to eat.”

The four of them went to the dining room and took their seats. Next to them stood a large three-tiered cake with a pattern Xiang Zhen had piped himself: a sunflower, a sun, and sunflower seeds.

The moment Zhou Sicheng saw it, he was reminded of Xiang Zhen’s handwriting practice book back in the countryside. Had he really never learned how to draw? What on earth was this comma-like black blob?

Xiang Zhen inserted the candles. “Little Sunflower, sing the Happy Birthday song for Zhou Sicheng.”

Little Sunflower hovered around the round table, playing “Happy Birthday.” It even turned on all the speakers in the house, flooding the room with surround sound.

“Hubby, happy birthday! Me and the baby will celebrate your birthday with you every single year from now on.”

Zhou Sicheng lowered his head and kissed the corner of Xiang Zhen’s mouth without taking it further. “Thank you.”

Little Sunflower: “Master, I am still a baby too!”

Xiang Zhen: “Oh, Little Sunflower, I’m talking about the baby in my tummy.”

Shen Ku and Little Sunflower both displayed loading icons on their faces simultaneously.

Little Sunflower: “Baby Xiang Zhen, aren’t you a boy? Boys can’t get pregnant! Do you need me to provide you with a physiological structure analysis report for males and females?”

Xiang Zhen: “Little Sunflower, you should read more books.”

The sunflower on Little Sunflower’s head wobbled. “Understood. The booklist for [Danmei / Fringe Romance / Mpreg / ABO] novels has been loaded for you. Please check your phone.”

Xiang Zhen received a pile of recommended booklists sent by Little Sunflower on WeChat. He picked through them, intending to forward them to Zhou Sicheng.

Zhou Sicheng’s birthday banquet was lavish, featuring an endless supply of cake. Xiang Zhen packed a slice into a box for Dou Manning: “Take this for a midnight snack.”

Every time he slept with Zhou Sicheng, there had to be cake in the fridge. Because he would end up exhausted and starving, Xiang Zhen knew Zhou Sicheng wasn’t finished until he got to eat cake.

Eating the cake in advance was no good either, because Zhou Sicheng would start wasting food to play games.

Xiang Zhen resolutely boycotted such capitalist behavior.

Dou Manning gladly accepted it. No spirit could resist human sweets.

Zhou Sicheng and his wife walked the guests out together. Shen Ku’s ride was an off-road SUV, its surface splattered with mud spots from frequent trips to construction sites. Shen Ku didn’t bother washing it, likely afraid that once cleaned, its hefty price tag would be exposed.

Dou Manning took the passenger seat, and Shen Ku shut the door for him.

Standing a meter away, Zhou Sicheng said with utmost sincerity, “Engineer Shen, how about I introduce you to a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor?”

The TCM doctor who had given Xiang Zhen acupuncture last time seemed quite skilled at treating infertility as well.

All his research hadn’t gone to waste.

Shen Ku completely ignored him, finding it utterly bizarre.

After seeing off the guests, Zhou Sicheng nagged Xiang Zhen again: “Can’t you tell me in advance? Why does our business have to depend on someone else getting pregnant?”

Xiang Zhen: “No way. Don’t rush, Manning will get pregnant very soon.”

Zhou Sicheng: “That’s not a given. With so much heavy labor at the construction site, does Shen Ku even have any energy left at night?”

Xiang Zhen froze.

Zhou Sicheng: “Fine, setting everyone else aside, you’re coming to the hospital with me this afternoon for a proper scientific prenatal checkup. Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything. The doctors and nurses are tight-lipped.”

How could Zhou Sicheng pin his hopes on a tight-lipped engineer? A prenatal checkup was far more reliable.

Before Xiang Zhen ran away from home, Zhou Sicheng used to kiss and stroke his wife’s body every night before giving his stamp of approval. He remembered clearly that during that period, Xiang Zhen’s lower abdomen was completely flat—in fact, slightly sunken on both sides due to vomiting.

Yet in just one month, the fetus in his belly had developed to the point where it could be felt. How could Zhou Sicheng possibly remain calm?

Unable to win the argument against his husband, Xiang Zhen had no choice but to follow him to the hospital for the exam.

Zhou Sicheng had reserved an entire floor of a private hospital. He gripped his wife’s hand tightly. “Don’t be afraid. Today is just an ultrasound scan. If you’re scared of needles, we won’t draw blood for now.”

Xiang Zhen noticed that his husband’s palms were drenched in sweat. It was glaringly obvious who was actually more nervous.

The obstetrician performing the ultrasound was highly professional. Without batting an eye, she accurately located the fetus inside a reproductive cavity completely distinct from a standard uterus.

“12 to 15 weeks pregnant. The fetal gender characteristics have already differentiated.”

The doctor glanced at the family member, only to find him wearing a strange expression, not picking up on the gender topic at all—clearly not caring about it in the slightest.

“No birth canal was found. A C-section is recommended when the time comes.”

Zhou Sicheng asked calmly, “At least 12 weeks?”

Doctor: “Yes. The fetus is developing normally. It might even be older—around 15 weeks.”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

Had they even slept together 12 weeks ago?

Xiang Zhen hooked his finger around his husband’s, saying with pride, “Hubby, our baby grows so fast! In two months, it grew three or four months’ worth of a normal baby!”

Zhou Sicheng suppressed the upheaval restructuring his worldview. “Yes, our baby is amazing.”

“…” A hint of bewilderment flashed in the doctor’s eyes as she typed the label “Cognitively High-Risk Pregnancy” onto the ultrasound report.