CHAPTER 341: EPISODE 32.2 AFRAID

"Tingfeng..." Shen Yuan called Bai Tingfeng after the family finished their dinner later that night.

Yanyan went ahead to their home theatre as they were about to watch a horror movie. With the boy not around them, Shen Yuan took this as an opportunity to ask a potentially sensitive question to his husband.

"I noticed something... off between Chairman Mao and Director Song earlier." He fumbled as he was searching for the correct word. It is a sensitive issue, which is why he thought he should be mincing his words. "Did they experience difficulties in having a child?"

"I mean, it’s been a while since I have known Chairman Mao, and yet, I still haven’t even met a single Mao Jr. who either looks like the chairman or the director." Shen Yuan awkwardly bit his lips. "Plus, what happened earlier. The two of them looked conflicted when they mentioned miscarriage."

Bai Tingfeng looks thoughtful when he pushes the chair towards the table.

"Well, Chairman Mao and Director Song indeed have a sad history involving pregnancy, but not a lot of people know about it." Bai Tingfeng then walked to Shen Yuan’s side and grasped the latter’s fair hand. He looked serious, but behind his gorgeous pair of eyes lies a slight playfulness. "Chairman Mao did his best to keep it hidden, so I need you to promise me that you will keep it between us."

"Aish!" Shen Yuan’s hormonal side seethed as he pinched his husband’s abs. "Of course, I will keep it secret! Who do you think I will share it with? My dog, Gu Jinpeng? People in my squad? They have no use for that information, so hell yeah, this will only be between us."

"Annoyed already?" Bai Tingfeng teased as he slipped an arm around Shen Yuan’s waist, his fingers moving in gentle circles. To avoid further angering his husband, he moved on to answer the pressing question. "Chairman Mao and Director Song went through so much trying to have a child. Their pheromones don’t naturally match, which already makes conceiving difficult. But even when they managed to get pregnant, Director Song’s body couldn’t handle it. No matter how careful they were, every pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. It’s been heartbreaking for both of them. That’s why it’s better to avoid reopening the past wound by not mentioning it."

Shen Yuan fell into deep thinking, "The miscarriage... is it because of the difference in their strength as awakeners?"

Bai Tingfeng nodded his head silently. "Studies say that couples with a huge disparity in awakened strength have very low chances of successful pregnancy. It is either the mother or the child who can’t handle the energy that has been passed to them."

He pulled Shen Yuan closer to him, "But that will not be the case for us. Both of us are S-class awakeners. We balance each other out, and that is what is important. Our child will be fine. He or she will be strong from conception to birth."

Shen Yuan can’t explain it, but nervousness suddenly came over him. He instinctively massaged his chest and licked his tingling lips. "But Bai Tingfeng, the current balance is not based on my ultimate state. I am a celestial fox spirit. I am infinitely stronger than you. What if our child can’t take it, too?"

"Yuan." Bai Tingfeng let go of his husband. "You are overthinking things—"

"— That is because I am wise and smart."

"—No, that is because you are nervous, and that is okay. Pregnancy is scary. Being responsible for the start of the life of an innocent child was supposed to be scary. But that doesn’t mean we should let it weigh us down. Instead of drowning in worry, let’s face the risks of this pregnancy with steady hearts and mindful care—cautious, but not fearful. How are we going to enjoy the experience of having a second baby if we are afraid?"

Shen Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Bai Tingfeng is correct. He is killing the joy of their situation by overthinking things. "Gosh! I am a mess, aren’t I?"

"You are my hot mess, Yuan." Bai Tingfeng affectionately pecked his worry-wart husband in the forehead. "Let us cool you down with a good, frightening, horror movie, yeah?"

Shen Yuan let himself be dragged by his husband into their home theatre. But deep inside, he just made a realization.

Only now did he realize how deeply the fear of losing the child had taken root in his heart. That is why... he made a firm decision. Chairman Mao will be either relieved or surprised once he hears it.

~~~

"Yanyan is now a big brother, so that leaves us with this problem: which horror movie is best for a big boy like him to watch first?" Bai Tingfeng’s cheerful voice echoed inside their home theatre.

Yanyan energetically gave his suggestion, jumping. "Ohh! I want a scary awoo-awoo ghost movie! Like, super creepy!"

Shen Yuan pulled the boy back to his seat while his eyes were glued to his phone. "There are top recommended movies on the internet like Yuna’s Baby, a story of a demon possessed newborn who goes around killing— I think I will pass on this one. This hits too close to home. I don’t want to suffocate due to anxiety."

He scrolled further and read the list out loud. "The Serial Ghoster Gets Ghosted Back, The Contouring- Beauty Gone Wrong, and wait— what the hell? Deep Throat? I don’t think the horror movies of this world are this bad! One with a questionable title, while the others have themes that Yanyan can’t connect with. I don’t think any of these movies will work."

"What?" Yanyan slumped down on the couch. "I want to see ghosts. I want to be spooked!"

Shen Yuan was at a loss, too. He was not familiar with the horror movies in this world, as he was more inclined to read or watch BL stories in his free time. Think about it. Do you think a demon spirit like him enjoys being spooked by a fellow demon? No.

Horror movies are as good as a comedy skit in his eyes.

"Tingfeng," He called his husband for help.

Bai Tingfeng confidently took strides towards his husband’s side. He pulled out the remote and started going through his existing movie collection. "I have foreseen this many years ago, and thankfully, I am mindful enough to buy a copy of this movie the moment it was released."

The proud head of the family flashed a cocky smile at Shen Yuan’s face before selecting the movie title, "Monster Academy. This is a 3D horror-mystery animated film about a young monster who aspires to be a detective. They set out to solve the growing cases of disappearances in their academy."

"Full of creepy jump scares and good emotional scenes, this is exactly what Yanyan wanted." Bai Tingfeng suggestively raised his eyebrows up and down.

Shen Yuan laughed at his husband’s triviality. "Fine! You did amazing! Now, come here. I need your handsome thighs. Let me use them as a pillow."

And so, their movie viewing started.

Deep in an untouched forest stood a hidden academy where young monsters trained to outmatch every other species—power meant survival. But Yonggi, a curious dragon child, believed wisdom and kindness were just as important. While others mocked his ideals, he clung to his dream of becoming a sagely or detective dragon, refusing even to train his powerful roar.

"Blah, blah! You’re a dragon cub, but too scared to roar! Pathetic!"

"Daddy, I don’t like that tiger cub," Yanyan huffed, fully immersed. "He keeps bullying Yonggi. The teachers should stop him—being mean isn’t allowed at school!"

Shen Yuan replied, "Calm down, Yanyan. Bullying happens, even at your school. That’s why you need to stand your ground. If someone pushes you, push back. Bullies only stop when they know you won’t back down."

"So, then Yonggi should hit Koji to make the bullying stop?"

Shen Yuan shook his head. "This is a horror story, so the villain would be the one to teach Koji a lesson. Bullies like him are always the first in the villain’s bye-bye list."

"Ahhhh!" On the screen, Koji, the demon tiger cub, let out an anguish-filled cry as he was swallowed by a massive, shadowy hand. The main character, Yonggi, saw it all, and he was shaking from his snout to tail.

Yanyan, too, was frightened.

"Papa... Daddy..." The boy crawled into the space between his parents.

"See? Bad guys always suffer in horror movies." Shen Yuan told his son, not minding that the scene shocked the boy to the core.

"Shhh!" Bai Tingfeng signalled for the sly fox to be silent. The two of them exchanged looks, and they tacitly agreed to watch their son’s reactions instead of the movie.

The movie was not bad. It has a good and beautiful animation, and the overall cinematography is atmospheric. It does great in keeping children like Yanyan immersed.

Whenever there is a jump scare, another little monster disappears into the grasp of the black hand. Yanyan was almost convulsing in fright. Was that normal? Shen Yuan doesn’t know, but he could see that Yanyan was enjoying it.

Because of that, all three of them ended up enjoying the night.

"Yuan," Bai Tingfeng whispered to him in the middle of the movie. "Months from now, there will be four of us watching movies."

He reminded his husband as if he hadn’t forgotten about their earlier discussion.