The heartless beauty is addicted to being licked by a seemingly obedient and loyal dog.

The restaurant is not far from the hospital, just over ten minutes' drive away.

The storefront is unassuming, but once inside, it's a completely different world. The courtyard layout features blue bricks and gray tiles, and the corridor turns twice before you reach the private room.

Shen Chuanbin walked ahead and pushed open the door, turning back to tell Song Yunxi to be careful of the steps, while Shen Chonglu carefully supported his wife.

The private room was small, with a round table by the window. Outside the window was a small patch of well-maintained bamboo, and sunlight filtered through the bamboo leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on the table.

Shen Chonglu pulled out a chair for Song Yunqi to sit down, while he sat to his wife's right and picked up the menu to look through it.

His gaze swept back and forth between the several Hangzhou dishes, unable to make up his mind.

Before her pregnancy, Song Yunqi preferred light flavors, and she liked steamed fish, blanched bok choy, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables.

But my tastes have changed quite a bit in the last few months, and I've become a bit picky about food.

Especially lately, he keeps craving strong flavors. The other night, he even asked his aunt to stir-fry a plate of diced chicken with green peppers. He ate until he was sweating and still wanted more. Shen Chonglu watched from the side, handing him water and tissues, wanting to stop him but not daring to.

"Give me Longjing shrimp, Song Sao fish soup, and stir-fried asparagus."

Shen Chonglu named a few dishes, paused, and then added, "Also, one chopped chili fish head, medium spicy."

Shen Chuanbin was somewhat surprised and looked up at him: "Xiao Song can eat spicy food?"

"Yeah, he's been craving these lately. He needs to indulge a little bit, otherwise he gets angry easily."

After Shen Chonglu ordered the dishes, he added a few more dishes based on the two people's opinions. After confirming that there were no problems, he closed the menu and handed it to the waiter.

"I asked the doctors, and they said that pregnant men can eat it in moderation, mainly according to Yunqi's preferences."

The waiter left with the menu, and Shen Chuanbin poured himself a cup of tea, leaning back in his chair and sipping it slowly, his gaze occasionally shifting between the two men.

Even though they haven't gotten any official status, their interactions are like those of an old married couple—natural and intimate.

He's a restless person, so he took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Xiao Song, how old is your baby now?"

"It's been almost 24 weeks, nearly six months."

"That's great, I'll be able to see the baby soon."

Shen Chuanbin sighed, then turned to Shen Chonglu and instructed, "You should also pay more attention. It's one thing to neglect your work at the company, but you must take good care of your family."

"Don't worry, it's all taken care of."

Shen Chonglu poured Song Yunqi another half cup of tea and said with a smile, "I dare not slack off at all in order to bring your future daughter-in-law home as soon as possible."

"Work hard and keep going! I believe in you!"

The old man was very happy, and in a rare moment of emotion, he patted his son on the shoulder, giving him plenty of encouragement.

Shen Chonglu felt a little awkward and stopped responding to his motivational speech. Instead, he placed his palm on Song Yunqi's protruding belly, leaned closer, and said:

"Guoguo, you did a great job during today's checkup. You didn't cause Daddy any trouble. Daddy wants to give you a good praise."

After saying that, he remembered something and, afraid that the baby would think he was favoring one over the other, quickly added, "Zhuangzhuang too, both are good."

Shen Chuanbin was astonished and asked:

"You've already named the baby?"

"This is just a temporary nickname; I came up with it."

When the topic of his nickname came up, Shen Chonglu was clearly very proud. As he spoke, he picked up a piece of Longjing shrimp and put it into Song Yunqi's bowl.

"If it's a boy, we'll call him Zhuangzhuang; if it's a girl, we'll call her Guoguo. The gender hasn't been determined yet, so we're just calling her that."

"Zhuangzhuang, Guoguo."

Shen Chuanbin repeated the two names to himself, then nodded: "Pretty good, simple and down-to-earth. What about your formal name?"

"The name hasn't been decided yet. I've thought of a few, but I haven't had a chance to discuss them with Yunqi."

Shen Chonglu picked up a piece of food for himself and enthusiastically began to ramble on, "I prefer Song Mu Shen or Song Ai Shen. It's simple and straightforward, and you can tell at a glance that the parents have a good relationship."

"Song Mushen..."

Shen Chuanbin read it once, his chopsticks stopped in mid-air, and the smile on his face vanished.

He looked up at his son, then at his future daughter-in-law, and seeing that neither of them seemed unusual, he asked somewhat uncertainly:

"Is the baby's surname Song?"

Shen Chonglu nodded matter-of-factly: "That's right, Yun Qisheng's baby will definitely take Yun Qi's surname."

Shen Chuanbin was silent for a few seconds, then put down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

He put down the cup with a steady hand and no expression on his face, except for a slight furrow in his brow, which quickly relaxed.

"Let's eat first."

His tone was less relaxed, but he didn't show much abnormality.

The old man reached out and turned the round table, placing the chopped chili fish head in front of Song Yunqi: "Here, this is what little Song likes to eat, have more."

Song Yunqi quickly thanked him and picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks, putting it into her mouth.

The spiciness spread across his tongue, delicious and appetizing. Shen Chonglu handed him tissues and poured him water. Shen Chuanbin watched the two flirting with a smile, not mentioning names again, and instead started talking about work.

"I heard you've been working from home lately?"

"Yes, my limbs are starting to swell, and my belly is getting bigger and bigger. It will be inconvenient for me to go out and show my face in the future, so I want to hand over my work in advance."

"It must have been tough for you... It's unusual for a man to get pregnant, and it's certainly inconvenient in many ways."

"I love babies and have been looking forward to their birth, so I don't feel tired at all. On the contrary, I feel very happy."

The two chatted back and forth for a while, with Shen Chuanbin occasionally interjecting with his own opinions. Song Yunqi listened attentively, responding to what was appropriate and refuting what was appropriate. The meal was quite lively.

Shen Chonglu served food to Song Yunqi, but he didn't eat much himself. He was busy refilling Song Yunqi's bowl when it was empty and pouring water out when it was low.

After the meal, Shen Chuanbin escorted the two to the door and then got into his driver's car.

Just before closing the door, he patted Shen Chonglu on the shoulder, his smile no different from usual:

"I'm going home tonight, I need to talk to you about something."

Shen Chonglu nodded in agreement without much thought.

Song Yunqi glanced at Shen Chuanbin. The old man had a smile on his face, and nothing seemed amiss, but Song Yunqi knew that Shen Chonglu was in trouble.

The troubles surrounding the right to name a baby.

Around 8 p.m. that evening, Shen Chonglu drove back to the Shen family's old residence.

The living room was brightly lit. Shen Chuanbin sat on the sofa playing with Jinbao, but a rare look of worry appeared between his brows.

Shen Chonglu changed his shoes and entered the living room. He sat down on the sofa and picked up an orange from the table to peel it.

"What's wrong? You specifically called me back."

Shen Chuanbin didn't beat around the bush. He put down the parrot and asked directly, "What do you think about the baby's surname being Song?"

Shen Chonglu didn't think there was anything wrong. He stuffed a segment of orange into his mouth and chewed it with his cheeks puffed out.

"That's great. It's only natural that Yun Qisheng's child takes his surname."

"It's only natural?"

Shen Chuanbin repeated those four words, somewhat unhappy: "Alu, you are my son. The family business I built is called Shen's Group, and it will all be handed over to you in the future."

"You've gone too far, even giving up your child's surname."

Shen Chonglu placed the orange peel on the coffee table, took out a tissue to wipe his hands, and his expression became more serious: "Dad, let me tell you the truth."

"Yunqi has a strong and independent personality and refuses to talk about anything to outsiders. You can't see how much she suffered during her pregnancy, but I can."

"He's the one who suffers from morning sickness and vomits bile, he's the one whose limbs are swollen and he has difficulty moving, he's the one who has frequent urination and always gets up at night, and he's the one who has back pain and can't sleep all night."

"What did I do? I just put in a little effort and said some sweet words to make him happy. I didn't help with anything else."

"The child has all the power to make decisions, and I have no objection."

Shen Chuanbin leaned back on the sofa, panting heavily. He felt suffocated but had no way to vent his frustration. He couldn't help but light a cigarette and take a deep drag, remaining silent.

The living room was so quiet you could hear the clock ticking. After finishing his cigarette, he sighed and spoke, his voice lower than before: "Getting angry with me won't help. We really need to talk about this."

"Both of us are only children. Your grandfather only had me as his son and you as his grandson."

"Our Shen family has a single-lineage system, and the next generation, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, will be the sole heir."

"But if it were to bear the surname Song, how am I supposed to explain this to our ancestors?"

Shen Chonglu didn't understand. Aren't they all Shen family descendants? What's the difference? Why was his father reacting so strongly?

"You old codger, what are you up to? The child in Yunqi's belly is of the Shen family bloodline, it's not like the lineage is broken, isn't that enough?"

"What? You're denying it just because it doesn't have your surname, Shen?"