novelraw Chapter 77: The Runaway Dad (2)
Chapter 77: The Runaway Dad (2)
The old lady’s stay over the past few days had been fairly peaceful. She neither made trouble nor nitpicked at her daughter-in-law, which made Yang Ting — who had just successfully quit her job — feel absolutely elated.
“Honey, have you finalized your new job yet?”
“Still waiting a bit.”
Qi Sheng had also resigned as quickly as possible. Since he didn’t have any ongoing projects, his handover process was even faster than Yang Ting’s.
During these days, he hadn’t been idle either — he refined all the projects the original host had worked on over the years, and even picked up some freelance work online, planning to complete a few projects to enhance his résumé.
The dense lines of code on his computer screen left Yang Ting, who had leaned over to look, completely bewildered. She couldn’t understand how such a magical kind of work existed.
“Honey, isn’t Mom leaving tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I already booked her high-speed rail ticket for tomorrow.”
Qi Sheng finished typing the last line of code on the screen, then turned his head to see his wife unable to hide the smile at the corners of her mouth.
“Didn’t you just say yesterday how good Mom’s cooking was? Why are you so happy now that she’s leaving?” “Hehe, I just want to take advantage of Mom leaving to improve my cooking skills. That way she won’t complain about my cooking later.”
Qi Sheng saw through her fib but didn’t call her out: “You can do whatever you like, but remember — call me if you need help with anything heavy. Don’t try to tough it out alone.”
“I know, I know, I’m not stupid!”
After speaking, she affectionately hugged Qi Sheng’s waist and leaned against him. Ever since she found out she was pregnant, she noticed her husband had become even more gentle and attentive — and more motivated too. He used to rarely work overtime voluntarily.
Habitually patting her belly, Yang Ting thought perhaps the arrival of their two little babies was truly perfect timing.
The next day, Qi Sheng took the old lady to the train station. Since they had shipped her luggage ahead of time, she was traveling light and alone.
Just before boarding, the old lady couldn’t help but repeatedly instruct: “After the next check-up, remember to let us know immediately. It’s your first pregnancy and twins at that — you have to be extra careful.”
“Tingzi, you’re not alone now. Absolutely no takeout food, you hear? You’re just sitting around anyway — might as well learn to cook properly. If you really can’t manage, come back home with me. I’ll cook for you. Or I can come back here after a while?”
Yang Ting: ……
Just for that last comment, even if she didn’t want to, she’d definitely force herself to learn!
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll cook myself once I get back.”
Seeing that her daughter-in-law was being obedient, the old lady turned to nag her son instead — reminding him to eat well, not to overwork, and not to push himself too hard — making Yang Ting roll her eyes silently.
Seriously, even when she was carrying two of her grandchildren, the old lady’s heart still revolved around her precious son.
After sending the old lady off, Qi Sheng saw his wife’s instantly wiped-off smile and chuckled: “You know what Mom’s like. No need to take it to heart.”
Yang Ting pouted and hugged his arm, pouting sweetly: “If I really minded, would I have come to see her off myself? How unfair to accuse me!”
“Alright, alright, you’re the best.”
Qi Sheng laughed and ruffled his wife’s hair, then prepared to hail a cab home.
“Honey, why are you calling a cab again? Isn’t that a waste of money? I’m only two months along, not made of glass — let’s just take the subway.”
It was understandable to cab it when sending off the old lady, but now going home too? Were they made of money?
“No worries. The project I finished a few days ago should pay about this much.”
As he spoke, Qi Sheng gestured a ten with his fingers, causing Yang Ting — who had just been worrying about expenses — to gape in shock.
Seriously, when her husband decided to get motivated, he practically took off like a rocket!
Over the next few days, Yang Ting truly lived what could only be described as the good life — waking up naturally without alarms, no work stress, no mother-in-law nagging nearby, and a husband who often brought her lovingly prepared meals. She even woke up smiling from her naps.
Unfortunately, such days didn’t last long.
“Ugh…”
She had just eaten, only to throw it all up again. Yang Ting was so miserable she wanted to die. Were the little devils in her belly reincarnated demons? Why was her morning sickness so terrible?!
When her best friend was pregnant, she could eat anything without a problem. Why did she have to be the odd one out?!
Staggering out of the bathroom, Yang Ting collapsed onto the sofa, almost crying from frustration. She grabbed her phone and called her husband to complain: “Honey, your kids are bullying me!”
“There, there. Rest for now. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll be home.”
Qi Sheng had gone out today to finalize his job situation. Although he could continue freelancing indefinitely, he needed to maintain his “character setting” for now — meaning he still needed to look like a regular office worker for a while.
Thinking about his wife’s worsening morning sickness, he realized they needed to move soon — to a bigger place, and preferably hire someone to help take care of her.
When he got home and saw his wife lying on the sofa looking utterly miserable, Qi Sheng’s heart ached. He went over and gently hugged her.
“Feeling any better?”
“No…”
Qi Sheng coaxed her into drinking some water, then went to the kitchen to cook a few light, easy-to-digest dishes.
After feeding her a bit, Qi Sheng said: “Tomorrow I’m going to look for a bigger place. That way, whether we hire a nanny or your mom comes to help, there’ll be space for them.”
“Do we have to move now? Maybe we should wait a bit, save a few months’ rent. We could use that money later for formula for the kids.”
Qi Sheng smiled helplessly and said: “I already told you — you don’t need to worry about money. I would never let you or the babies go without.”
“But rent is crazy expensive right now. Even though your salary’s gone up, we’ll have so many expenses later. We should save wherever we can.”
Seeing how obedient his wife was, Qi Sheng felt both moved and heartbroken. “It’s just a few months, it won’t cost that much. Worst case, I’ll take on another project at night. You don’t need to worry about money — taking good care of yourself and the babies is what’s important.”
“I can’t stay home with you all the time. Do you want my mom to come take care of you, or should we hire a nanny?” When Qi Sheng said “mom,” he meant the old lady they had just sent off. Yang Ting’s own mother was a public school teacher whose retirement had been postponed, so she still had to work.
Yang Ting frowned, looking troubled. “Do I really have to choose?”
Even though the old lady’s attitude had improved, Yang Ting still didn’t want to live with her. But hiring a nanny… that would cost quite a bit!
“You have to choose. I can’t leave you home alone. Besides, you can’t even cook now, and I won’t be around during the day to take care of you. Or do you want me to quit and stay home with you?”
Yang Ting pouted, thinking to herself, Of course I want you to stay! But if he quit now, how would they survive later? Fine, they’d hire a nanny — worst case, after her postpartum confinement period, she’d just hurry back to work and earn money herself.
Once they decided to move, Qi Sheng immediately contacted a real estate agent the next day. Yang Ting had wanted to go out and get some fresh air with him, but her morning sickness was too severe, so she had to stay home and watch TV.
With Qi Sheng making decisions on his own, he was very straightforward: he directly told the agent he wanted a good community, a top-rated hospital nearby, immediate move-in, and extremely good soundproofing.
The agent asked, “Mr. Qi, are you very sensitive to noise?”
No, he thought, I’m just afraid we’ll get a flood of neighbor complaints in the future…
The agent was professional — though the service fee was high, it was worth it to Qi Sheng, who valued his time more than money. In the end, he found a place he was satisfied with, moved everything within three days, hired a nanny, and brought his wife to their new home. Sure enough, the first thing he saw was Yang Ting’s distressed expression.
“Honey, why did you rent such a huge place?!”
Four bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms. When she arrived, she already noticed the neighborhood wasn’t ordinary. How much was the rent?! When a man had money, he really could go wild in a minute!
“No way, you need to hand over your salary card! I’ve never seen anyone spend money like you!”
Yang Ting was both heartbroken and furious, regretting that she hadn’t acted like a tough wife earlier and taken charge of his finances.
“How long did you sign for? We’ll move as soon as the lease is up!”
Qi Sheng answered, “Two years.”
Yang Ting gasped. How did I never realize before that my husband is so reckless with money?
Back when they were younger, both of them had been lazy about career advancement, earning little and spending carefully. Now that he was finally being ambitious, their expenses were skyrocketing. Is this the so-called “men inflate when they get rich”?
Qi Sheng comforted her, “When our parents come to visit, it’ll be convenient. Plus, with the babies, it’s better to have more space.”
Yang Ting was about to be driven mad — nearly 20,000 yuan in monthly rent! She didn’t know if she should pay the penalty fee to break the lease or just grit her teeth and stick it out.
Seeing her reaction, Qi Sheng quickly coaxed her again, “Don’t think about it too much, darling. You might hurt yourself. I can still take on freelance projects in the evenings and weekends. Supporting you and the babies won’t be a problem.”
Yang Ting knew he had spent the money for her sake, so she couldn’t keep getting angry. She stood up with his help and looked around. The new place was bright and clean, way more upscale than their old tiny apartment.
With the new house settled, Qi Sheng’s official start date at his new job arrived too. During the day, Yang Ting would walk around the community or lie on the balcony to sunbathe if her morning sickness got too bad.
The nanny they hired was a woman in her forties with years of experience, and she took excellent care of Yang Ting, making her feel truly pampered despite her severe pregnancy sickness.
Of course, Yang Ting would have preferred no morning sickness at all.
Unfortunately, her condition didn’t improve — it stayed bad.
Finally, at her next prenatal checkup, she found out why she was suffering so much.
“You said how many?!”
Yang Ting forgot all manners and shrieked at the doctor.
“Four,” the doctor replied, swallowing nervously. He wasn’t offended by her outburst — these days, having just one baby was considered great. Suddenly finding out there were four? That was enough to ruin a couple’s life.
“But… but didn’t they say there were just two?!”
The doctor explained, “It was too early before; the babies were too small to see clearly. Look — here, here, and here…”
He patiently pointed out the babies’ locations. Qi Sheng watched carefully and realized that indeed, there were four visible babies — though he also knew that hidden among them was an even smaller one that wouldn’t be discovered until delivery.
Yang Ting didn’t hear a word the doctor said. She was completely shell-shocked by the number four and couldn’t process it.
“Doctor, can we… is there a way to… reduce the number?”
Without discussing it with her husband, Yang Ting grabbed the doctor’s sleeve, asking anxiously.
The doctor hesitated, glanced at Qi Sheng, and replied, “Selective reduction surgery is possible, but it depends on the mother’s health. If you agree, you can come in for an examination first.”
“Let’s do it now!”
Only after she spoke did Yang Ting realize she hadn’t consulted her husband. She turned around, crying as she pleaded, “Honey, four is just too many — let’s reduce two, okay?”
Qi Sheng didn’t say anything, but he nodded, agreeing.
He knew how shocking this news must be to a young couple. In the original story, the previous Qi Sheng had reacted just like Yang Ting: they both had immediately wanted to reduce the number of fetuses.
Unfortunately, fate seemed determined to test them. Because of Yang Ting’s special physical condition, any reduction would not only harm the other babies but also cause irreversible damage to her own body.