🍒Chapter 43: Secured

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Xie Chenzhou didn’t force Shen Shuyi. He expressed that he was willing to fully cooperate with him.

Shen Shuyi worried that the baby might have difficulty adjusting if they suddenly moved, so Xie Chenzhou allowed Shen Shuyi and the baby to stay in the rental home. He would come over in his free time to be with both of them.

In contrast, Shen Shuyi was much busier than Xie Chenzhou. His coursework was heavy, and he didn’t dare slack off, often studying late into the night. Meanwhile, Xie Chenzhou’s work wasn’t as demanding.

After shifting Xie Cheng’s overseas business focus to Country A, everything stabilized. As for domestic operations, Xie Chenzhou didn’t feel the need to manage them for the moment. Fortunately, Xie Cheng’s company at home was mature enough to operate smoothly without him.

Still, he couldn’t stay away for too long. Xie Chenzhou planned to return to his home country at regular intervals, though not immediately. Sometimes, when he wasn’t busy, he would bring the baby to his house in Country A to play and rest, helping him adjust early.

His Country A residence was already fully prepared, with a baby room and a large playroom filled with crawling mats, a huge ball pit, slides, and electric ride-on toys. The crawling mat was even the same type as in Shen Shuyi’s rental home.

The baby loved it and had no trouble adapting. Whenever Xie Chenzhou brought him there, he also brought the nanny and caregiver. The baby naturally felt close to Xie Chenzhou due to his pheromones, so he never resisted.

Xie Chenzhou was grateful for the blanket he had sent Shen Shuyi through the agency. Without it, getting close to the baby might not have been so smooth. He was learning, little by little, how to interact with the child.

Unfortunately, Xie Chenzhou had not yet developed deep feelings for the baby. But it was his and Shuyi’s child. Shuyi loved him, and that was enough. Xie Chenzhou would learn to love him too, pretend if necessary, and do whatever it took to care for him, ensuring he would never be harmed under his watch.

He even began to understand how Xie’s mother had once felt about him. His own obsession had made it impossible for him to tolerate anyone other than Shen Shuyi. But because the baby was Shuyi’s, his heart’s treasure, Xie Chenzhou would learn to love him. Just as Xie’s mother, despite her conflicts with Xie’s father, had quietly told young Xie Chenzhou, “Little Zhou, Mommy loves you.”

Years later, when Xie Chenzhou was mistreated in the welfare home, he remembered that scene, but his thoughts were bitter: love is so heavy, yet so cheap. Who would love him? No one would willingly give love to a monster, and a monster wouldn’t give love to anyone but himself.

Now, however, Xie Chenzhou had given his love to Shen Shuyi, leaving little for himself.

A week before the baby’s first birthday, having fully adjusted to Xie Chenzhou’s home in Country A, Shen Shuyi packed their belongings and moved in with the baby.

The new house was spacious and didn’t have as much surveillance as Xie’s original home. Cameras were installed only at the front door, the baby’s room, and the playroom, returning the monitoring to its original purpose.

Shen Shuhan, who had planned to come to Country A for the baby’s birthday, decided not to come. Instead, she sent Shen Shuyi a red envelope, asking him to buy good food, clothes, and toys for his little nephew.

The rest of the Shen family already knew Shen Shuyi had given birth abroad, though previously they had hidden the exact location. Now that Shen Shuyi and Xie Chenzhou had reunited, there was no need for secrecy.

Shen Shuyi received a call from his second sister, which surprised him because, aside from Shen Shuhan, she was the first to contact him. Yet it wasn’t entirely unexpected, as his relationship with the rest of the family was distant.

“I heard you’re in Country A and had a child with Xie Chenzhou,” she said in her usual cold tone. “Congratulations. My husband and I have nothing to give. Here’s a red envelope. Let Shen Shuhan give it to you. Buy something nice for the baby.”

Then came a call from his father, who immediately asked, “When will you return?”

Shen Shuyi didn’t answer. He knew his father’s real concern wasn’t him but whether Xie Chenzhou would return to manage Xie Cheng, which would determine how his father treated his son-in-law. Shen Shuyi’s relationship with his father had always been distant. Now, with a child, he cared even less. His focus was on taking care of the baby and, incidentally, on Xie Chenzhou.

Having handled the family, Shen Shuyi was ready to celebrate the baby’s first birthday with Xie Chenzhou.

Shen Shuyi planned to pursue a combined master’s and doctorate in Country A, if his studies went smoothly. He might need to stay at least five years and try to join a residency program. Realistically, he wouldn’t return home until the baby was at least six.

This wasn’t because he didn’t want to return. The field of gender psychology was more advanced in Country A, and the environment allowed more open-minded subjects, including voluntary participation in medical studies by Enigmas. It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Besides helping Xie Chenzhou, Shen Shuyi wanted to pursue his own goals and become a better psychologist. If the baby developed Enigma traits, he could protect him, preventing a repeat of Xie’s mother’s fate. He would help Xie Chenzhou and safeguard the baby.

The first birthday celebration was private. just Shen Shuyi, Xie Chenzhou, and the baby. The nanny and caregiver were off.

Xie Chenzhou’s life abroad was simple. His house had only a cleaner and a part-time chef. Unexpectedly, Xie Chenzhou had even learned to cook himself.

Although he hadn’t tasted his own dishes, he said, “I want Shuyi to try it first.” His obsessive-compulsive nature and desire for control extended even to cooking. He learned to cook but didn’t taste it himself, insisting Shuyi have the first bite.

Shen Shuyi was touched. Xie Chenzhou’s cooking followed recipes precisely, with accurate seasoning and proportions. He hadn’t expected Xie Chenzhou to have such talent.

However, when Shen Shuyi tried to have Xie Chenzhou prepare the baby’s formula proportionally, he noticed Xie Chenzhou wasn’t quite as precise. Shen Shuyi realized that his obsession and meticulousness were selective. He treated Shen Shuyi most carefully, the baby less so.

Dinner was ready, and Xie Chenzhou wore a stylish suit. Even the baby had a formal outfit with a bow tie. Shen Shuyi, just returning from school in a simple T-shirt and jeans, was struck by their appearance. He blushed as he picked up the baby, who reached out eagerly.

“Xie Chenzhou, why didn’t you tell me to dress up? I should have changed too,” Shen Shuyi said.

Xie Chenzhou smiled at the baby and said, “No need. I prepared this for you.”

The baby, grabbing something from his clothes, revealed a ring. Laughing, he tried to hand it to Shen Shuyi, but it slipped toward his mouth. Xie Chenzhou quickly retrieved it.

“This is a pair of rings we prepared during the wedding but never wore. I had a new pair made with our names engraved. Will you accept this one?” Xie Chenzhou asked.

Shen Shuyi was surprised. Xie Chenzhou had thought of this despite Enigmas typically not valuing rituals. Their obsession often made them disregard ceremony, not out of carelessness but because it was not part of their daily thought.

Shen Shuyi didn’t want to call himself “prey,” but in a way, he was. Xie Chenzhou had already secured him. So why the ceremony? Perhaps Xie Chenzhou sought additional reassurance.

Shen Shuyi snapped out of his thoughts and said, “Yes!” Holding the baby, he offered his left ring finger. “Chenzhou, can you put it on?”

Xie Chenzhou carefully placed the custom ring on Shen Shuyi’s finger. It gleamed beautifully. Shen Shuyi retrieved the matching ring for Xie Chenzhou and placed it on his finger.

Now they both wore the same wedding rings.

Secured. Xie Chenzhou thought. Watching TV dramas and movies had been useful after all. Shen Shuyi clearly enjoyed these small rituals.

He wouldn’t give Shen Shuyi any chance to leave. Using every method he had learned, replacing handcuffs and ropes with subtler forms of attachment, he would keep Shen Shuyi by his side.

Never letting go again.

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Nah these guys are crazy 😳

*Translator: thank you for reading 💋