His physiological preference

One evening, the bedroom lights were dimmed, casting a warm yellow hue, like a thin veil covering the two of them.

Qin Yuzheng kissed Yang Zhiyan, his palm on her waist, holding her slender waist, and slowly moved upwards. Yang Zhiyan closed her eyes, her fingers running through his hair.

When their feelings reached their peak, Yang Zhiyan felt there were no barriers between them.

Her body tensed, she opened her eyes and looked at him, tentatively asking, "Why didn't you wear a condom?"

His breath brushed against her ear, and instead of answering, he asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Yang Zhiyan blushed, and after a moment she nodded gently, "Mm."

Qin Yuzheng looked up at her, his gaze serious, and his voice lowered: "Then let's do this from now on."

Yang Zhiyan pushed him away. "No, you'll get pregnant. Do you want a second child?"

Qin Yuzheng shook his head, "No."

Yang Zhiyan frowned slightly. "So you mean you want me to take birth control pills or get an IUD? Don't you know how harmful those two things are to my body?"

Qin Yuzheng was not affected by her angry tone. He simply held her hand and said, "Sweetie, calm down and listen to me."

After having Qin Zhiheng, Yang Zhiyan always felt ashamed when she heard the word "baby".

Despite Yang Zhiyan's strong opposition, Qin Yuzheng changed to an even more ambiguous form of address: "Guaiguai" (乖乖).

Yang Zhiyan glared at Qin Yuzheng, "Let's see what kind of nonsense you can come up with."

Qin Yuzheng placed his palm on the back of her neck, his thumb gently rubbing against the side of her neck. "I've had a tubal ligation. You won't get pregnant."

Yang Zhiyan's mouth slowly opened. "When?"

"Don't worry about it," Qin Yuzheng lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "It's already done anyway."

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice, "Goodness, let me try to see if I'm still as vigorous as I am after getting a vasectomy."

Before Yang Zhiyan could answer, he had already pulled her back into that familiar rhythm.

That night, Yang Zhiyan experienced firsthand what it meant to feel both alive and dead.

Her fingers gripped the bed sheet, creating deep wrinkles. Her back ached, her legs were weak, and she pleaded for mercy in broken voices.

Qin Yuzheng wouldn't stop. His forehead pressed against hers, his breath rapid and hot. "Call me husband."

"Husband..." Her voice trembled uncontrollably.

He continued, "Call me brother."

Yang Zhiyan buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled, "Brother..."

Qin Yuzheng's breathing became heavier. "Good boy, so good."

Yang Zhiyan went limp and collapsed, too weak to even beg for mercy.

Time flies, and three years have passed.

Qin Zhiheng is three years old. He can run, jump, and talk. Every day, he opens his round eyes and chases Qin Yuzheng around the house, calling "Daddy, hug me."

He was very attached to Qin Yuzheng.

Every day when Qin Yuzheng comes home from get off work, he can see a small figure running towards him from the other end of the living room as soon as he enters the door, its two short legs moving very quickly.

"dad……"

Qin Yuzheng bent down, scooped him up, and held him in his arms. "Have you been good today?"

Qin Zhiheng nodded vigorously, "Good boy!"

The family went back to their old house in Beijing for dinner over the weekend.

When Qin Yuzheng and Yang Zhiyan arrived with Qin Zhiheng, Qin Yushang had already arrived.

He was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea, wearing a light gray sweater, looking relaxed.

As soon as Qin Zhiheng entered the room, he let go of Yang Zhiyan's hand and ran over, "Uncle!"

Qin Yushang put down his teacup and scooped him up. "Hengheng has grown taller again."

Qin Zhiheng squirmed in his arms, "I'm taller than you!"

Qin Yushang lifted him up. "And now?"

Qin Zhiheng was lifted into the air and giggled.

Grandma Qin sat in the main room, watching the scene in the courtyard, feeling very happy. Qin Guobing sat beside her, holding a cup of tea, his gaze fixed on the family.

Halfway through the meal, Qin Guobing put down his chopsticks, his gaze lingering between Qin Yuzheng and Yang Zhiyan for a moment before he spoke casually, "Hengheng is three years old now, have you considered having another one?"

Qin Yuzheng was wiping the grease from Qin Zhiheng's mouth when he heard this. He paused, looked up at his father, and said, "You can't just target me."

He said, "Go urge Qin Yu Shang to come. He's over thirty and still all alone. How pitiful."

Qin Yushang was picking up food with his chopsticks when they stopped mid-air. "Isn't today's topic about encouraging childbirth? What does this have to do with me?"

He put down his chopsticks, looked at Qin Yuzheng, and said, "When you were my age, you were also all alone. My destiny hasn't arrived yet. When it does, I'll definitely have three or five kids."

Qin Yuzheng said without changing his expression: "Did you hear that? He wants three or five children. Finding him a wife is the most important thing."

Then he added, "I've had my tubal ligation done, so you can't force me to have children."

The main room fell silent for a moment.

Grandma Qin's hand stopped on the teacup, Qin Guobing's eyebrows rose slightly, and Shen Yu stopped picking up food.

"Brother," Qin Yushang put down his chopsticks, "when are you?"

"About two years ago," Qin Yuzheng said, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

He picked up his chopsticks again. "Let's eat."

Qin Yushang was overjoyed to have a life of going on blind dates every day. From then on, Qin Yushang was arranged to go on blind dates at least twice a week.

Qin Yuyan would sometimes message him, asking how his blind dates went, and he would reply with "not bad." But when she asked again, it would become...

"Could I stay at your research institute tonight? I really don't want to go home."

Qin Yuyan gloated.

Grandma Qin called Qin Yuzheng to the yard alone. The osmanthus tree had no flowers left, but the leaves were still green.

Grandma Qin didn't look at him; her gaze was fixed on the distance. "When did you do that?"

Qin Yuzheng stood beside her, "After Hengheng's full moon."

Grandma Qin was silent for a while, then she turned around, looked into Qin Yuzheng's eyes, and said, "You are a loving father-in-law, just like your grandfather."

Qin Yuzheng looked at her, "Grandpa too..."

Grandma Qin nodded. "When I was pregnant with your father, I suffered a lot. He didn't tell me anything and just went ahead with the procedure without a word."

She misses her old man very much.

Yang Zhiyan was always worried that her family would blame her after they found out that Qin Yuzheng had undergone sterilization.

After all, in most people's minds, the continuation of a family is a woman's responsibility.

But the Qin family's reaction to this matter was much calmer than she had expected.

That works too. As long as you have someone backing you up, others will treat you politely.

Grandma Qin was still as good to her as ever. Although Qin Guobing was disappointed, he did not bring up the matter of urging her to have a child again.

Only Shen Yu. Shen Yu would say sarcastically, "You're so lucky. A-Zheng has gone to such lengths for you."

Before Yang Zhiyan could speak, Qin Yuzheng retorted, "Of course she's lucky. If you think you're unlucky, you brought it on yourself."

Shen Yu blushed slightly, opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Qin Yuzheng walked over to Yang Zhiyan, sat down next to her, and took her hand.

Qin Yuzheng looked down at Yang Zhiyan and said, "Don't worry about what she says."

Yang Zhiyan leaned on his shoulder. "I didn't mind." She buried her face in his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Qin Zhiheng stood up from the carpet, ran over, climbed onto the sofa, and squeezed between the two of them. "Daddy hugs Mommy, and Hengheng wants to hug her too."

Qin Yuzheng bent down and pulled him into his arms, one arm around Yang Zhiyan and the other around Qin Zhiheng.

The autumn sun shone warmly through the French windows, falling on the three people and casting bright shadows on the carpet.