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

Shen Chuanbin stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and his hand remained there, resting on the edge of the coffee table with his shoulders slumped.

He looked up at Shen Chonglu, all the liveliness on his face gone, his lips downturned, and the lines around his eyes gathered together, making him look completely different from the usual jovial old man.

"It's not that I don't acknowledge it."

"How could I not acknowledge the Shen family's offspring? I'd accept it even if you were someone else's sucker, but I just don't feel comfortable with it."

Shen Chonglu leaned back on the sofa, looking at his father's appearance, and didn't say anything more.

The macaw named Jinbao flew to the perch to doze off, its claws tucked under its belly, occasionally letting out a muffled murmur.

Shen Chuanbin tapped his fingers lightly on his knees, as if he was considering something. After a long while, he spoke again: "Alu, I've worked my butt off to build up Shen's over the years. It hasn't been easy."

"When your grandfather handed the factory over to me, it was just a small workshop. I've built it up step by step into the scale it is today, and it will eventually be handed over to you."

"I'm over fifty, how many more years can I work? I should retire soon and enjoy my retirement."

She paused, then turned to look at her son: "...Will you two have a second child?"

Shen Chonglu put the last segment of orange in his mouth and chewed it. Under his father's hopeful gaze, he didn't speak for a long time. After he finished chewing, he said, "It shouldn't be like that, right?"

"Good prenatal and postnatal care is great; one child is enough to worry about."

"Besides, the decision about having a second child isn't up to me; it depends on Yunqi's opinion. If he wants to have another child, then he can; if he doesn't, I won't bring it up."

Shen Chuanbin's face immediately fell.

He slumped on the sofa, his hands resting on the armrests, staring at the family photo hanging on the opposite wall for a long time.

The photo was taken during the Spring Festival two years ago. He and his wife are standing on either side, and Shen Chonglu is standing in the middle. All three of them are smiling happily. The background is the Shen Group headquarters in North America.

"Alright."

The old man sighed, finally accepting reality, but still tried to resist: "Then, about the baby taking the surname Shen, why don't you discuss it with Xiao Song again?"

"No discussion."

Shen Chonglu crumpled the tissue he had used to wipe his hands into a ball and threw it into the trash can, his tone calm: "Dad, don't make a fuss about this. We don't have a throne to inherit, why do we have to make the child take the Shen surname?"

Shen Chuanbin was displeased upon hearing this. He suddenly jumped up from the sofa and started banging on his dog's head, his face full of disappointment.

"We have a throne to inherit! We have one!"

Jinbao was startled by the shout and flapped its wings, squawking wildly as it fluttered back and forth on the shelf.

Shen Chuanbin quickly turned around to coax it, took the parrot off the shelf and carried it on his shoulder, stroking its back feathers with his thumb.

Jinbao curled up on his shoulder, staring at Shen Chonglu with his round eyes, and muttering in dissatisfaction.

Shen Chuanbin sighed while holding the parrot, muttering to himself, "My Jinbao still has the surname Shen."

Shen Chonglu was almost amused by his father's aggrieved expression, but he held back and turned his head away to cough.

He stood up, walked to the window, pulled back the curtain a little, and looked out. It was already late, and the branches of the old locust tree in the yard were swaying gently in the wind.

"Alright, alright, stop clinging to the bird and playing the victim."

He turned around, walked to the sofa, sat down, and patted his father on the shoulder: "I remember, wasn't Great-Great-Grandma's surname Song?"

Shen Chuanbin looked up, his eyes brimming with tears, unsure of what the other person wanted to say.

"If all else fails, I'll take my great-great-grandmother's surname. That way, your eldest grandson will take my surname, and you won't have to argue with me anymore."

Shen Chuanbin was stunned for two seconds before realizing what he meant, and he almost fainted.

He grabbed Jinbao with one hand and raised the other hand, pointing it at Shen Chonglu's nose. His finger trembled twice, and his lips moved for a long time, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Jinbao was being held quite tightly by him, so it flapped its wings and broke free from his palm, flying back to the perch.

"You...you..."

Shen Chuanbin finally regained his voice, but he hadn't lowered his hand from his son's.

"You changed your surname to Song? You piece of shit! I should have strangled you when you were born."

"You wouldn't bear to pinch me."

Shen Chonglu leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and looked very relaxed: "Your daughter-in-law's surname is Song, your son's surname is Song, and your grandson's surname is also Song. The whole family is complete."

"Then why don't you just let me have the surname Song too!"

Shen Chuanbin cursed, his voice rising again. Jinbao flailed on the shelf again, and he quickly lowered his voice, but the urgency in his tone remained undiminished: "I've raised you for over twenty years, and you turn around and throw my name away?"

"I'm telling you, Shen Chonglu, if you dare to change your surname, I'll kick you out of the Shen family tomorrow."

"You kick it, and after you're done, I'll stay home with Yunqi while she prepares for childbirth." Shen Chonglu wasn't flustered at all; in fact, he was even a little expectant.

Shen Chuanbin was speechless, standing in the space between the sofa and coffee table, one hand on his hip and the other on his forehead, pacing back and forth twice.

"Alright, stop wandering around, it's making me dizzy."

Shen Chonglu stood up, walked over to his father, put his hands on the old man's shoulders, and pressed him back onto the sofa: "Dad, I have something to tell you."

"I really can't decide what the child's surname is; it depends on Yunqi's approval. But I assure you, no matter what happens in the future, I will still take care of you as much as I should."

"He has no relatives in Yunqi and has always longed for family. After we get married, we will be his closest family. He will probably feel a stronger sense of belonging to the Shen family than I do."

"In the end, the family business all ends up in the hands of our own family, so there's really no difference, isn't there?"

Shen Chuanbin sat on the sofa, his son pressing his shoulders as he looked up at him.

Shen Chonglu's face appeared more composed than usual under the lights. His eyebrows and eyes still showed traces of his younger self, but his temperament was completely different now.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Little Song, do you know why I asked you to come back tonight?"

"I don't know, and there's no need for me to know."

Shen Chonglu picked up the car keys from the coffee table, twirled them in his hand, and prepared to go home.

"He's already had a hard time getting pregnant, I can handle these things, don't bother him, okay?"

The old man looked at him, suddenly smiled, and shook his head: "You rascal, you've really fallen for him completely."

"I'd like to." Shen Chonglu smiled and turned to walk towards the door.

As I was changing my shoes in the entryway, I heard Shen Chuanbin's voice behind me: "Drive carefully on the road."

"Know."

He opened the door, and the night breeze blew in, carrying the sweet fragrance of the osmanthus trees in the courtyard.

Shen Chonglu got into the car and sat for a while. He took out his phone and glanced at it. On the screen was a message from Song Yunxi sent twenty minutes ago, containing only four words:

"Are you back?"

He stared at the line of text for two seconds, then typed a few words on the screen and replied: "Coming soon, leave the door open for me."