Chapter 32 SJC

Chapter 32 – You Want to Get Married

Shen Jinnian didn’t bother to hide the distress on his face. As if drawn by some invisible force, he turned his head to glance at Gu Yan beside him.

Unexpectedly, the man was also looking at him at that exact moment.

Their eyes met and sparked, and Shen Jinnian instinctively looked away in a flash.

The atmosphere between them grew even more awkward and silent, so stifling that even the air around their noses felt like it was about to solidify, making it hard to breathe.

“…Let’s eat first,” Shen Jinnian finally broke the deadlock.

He hadn’t yet figured out what expression or attitude he should adopt to face this situation, so the only thing he could do was use the excuse of eating to buy himself a bit of breathing room.

Clearly, Gu Yan felt the same.

As a result, what should’ve been a quick meal dragged on for a whole hour.

The baby’s internal clock began to tick.

At first, he was idly nestled in Shen Jinnian’s arms, playing with his fingers, but gradually his blinking slowed, and his gaze became increasingly dazed.

Three minutes later, still clutching Shen Jinnian’s shirt, he slipped into a deep sleep.

At the same time, the elderly master, fatigued by age, also headed off for a nap to replenish his energy.

Shen Jinnian and Gu Yan still had a few questions they wanted to ask, but they could only wait until the old man had rested.

The boy led them to the guest room next door for a short break.

Shen Jinnian took a quick look around. The tiled-roof room was extremely basic.

There was only one double bed and a chipped, worn-out chair. Naturally, he and the baby claimed the only bed.

Shen Jinnian covered himself with a small blanket, turned sideways and hugged the child in his arms, closed his eyes and lay for half an hour without any sleep.

His mind was in too much chaos to rest.

Eventually, he gave up and called softly, “Gu Yan.”

The man had been reading about parallel dimensions on his phone. When he heard Shen Jinnian call, he looked up immediately. “Hmm?”

Shen Jinnian looked more anxious than ever, his eyes flickering and unsure. He hesitated for a long time but couldn’t bring himself to speak right away.

That alone made it clear what he wanted to say was important—so important he didn’t know how to begin.

Gu Yan locked his phone and walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Is it something hard to say?”

Shen Jinnian studied Gu Yan’s face closely. In his mind, the baby’s face slowly surfaced.

Finally, he seemed to have made a decision. He sat up, facing Gu Yan directly.

“I need to be honest with you about something.”

Gu Yan’s amber eyes locked tightly onto Shen Jinnian’s face, intense. “What is it?”

Shen Jinnian felt a little guilty because of the man's sharp eyes.

It was as if he was facing an x-ray, which could instantly analyze all his thoughts and ideas.

Feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable, Shen Jinnian shuffled closer to the wall. When he could go no further and his back touched the cold surface, he curled his arms around his knees—a subconscious act of self-protection.

He began from the top. “You asked me two questions before. One was—whether this child is mine. Now you know the answer.”

“…The other was—whether I thought he looked like you.”

Gu Yan realized what Shen Jinnian was about to say and went stiff. His heartbeat spiked in an instant.

But his expression stayed calm and composed. He nodded. “I remember.”

Shen Jinnian clutched at his shirt, so tightly that thin veins stood out on the back of his hand. “Do you really think he looks like you?”

Gu Yan pretended to look at the child again, carefully studying his features.

Shen Jinnian urged him, “Well? Does he?”

“…A little,” Gu Yan leaned back in the chair, seemingly relaxed.

But in truth, there was more than just “a little.” In almost every feature of the baby’s face, he could see traces of himself.

So when he first saw the child, he was shocked—and despite the risk of making Shen Jinnian angry, he still wanted to ask clearly about the child’s background.

"Yes." Shen Jinnian nodded in agreement and spoke with a bit of vulnerability, as if reopening an old wound. "Chen Han also said he looked like you, but I couldn’t accept that at the time."

Gu Yan slowed his breathing, staring intently at Shen Jinnian.

He had called it a “fact.”

Which meant Shen Jinnian had accepted that the child resembled him.

Gu Yan silently cheered in his heart—it was like winning a battle with absolute certainty.

"And now? What do you think now?" Gu Yan’s expression didn’t change much, and his tone was just as calm.

"I’ve accepted it," Shen Jinnian said.

The child came from a parallel universe.

Something as absurd as that had already happened—so a child from a parallel universe resembling Gu Yan… could it really be more ridiculous than the concept of a parallel universe itself?

Shen Jinnian’s worldview had been completely shattered and rebuilt.

He was ready to believe in anything now.

Gu Yan nodded. “What will you do next?”

Shen Jinnian didn’t hesitate: “I have to ask the Master if there’s a way to send him back home.”

Who wouldn’t be worried if they lost a child?

Especially since the kid was the child of Shen Jinnian from a parallel universe.

He didn’t know how the version of himself in that world could’ve ended up married and had a kid, but according to his current personality, Shen Jinnian from another universe would definitely go crazy, worried, and unable to sleep or eat if he found out that he had lost his child.

So he had to figure out a way to send the child back.

Also, while worrying about the parents was one thing… on the other hand, he wasn’t exactly eager to raise such a mysteriously-originated child either.

After hearing Shen Jinnian’s thoughts, Gu Yan was silent for a moment. After careful consideration, he cruelly crushed his hopes: “Mister studies the Book of changes. I’m guessing… the Book of changes probably doesn’t include a method to tear open the fabric of space and time.”

"That’s why I have a second plan." Shen Jinnian held up two fingers in front of Gu Yan.

"Hmm?"

Shen Jinnian rubbed his aching temples, looking a little troubled, then glanced helplessly at the child. "Plan B is—I’ll raise him."

"You’re going to raise a child by yourself?" Gu Yan deliberately hinted, "He has another parent, you know. Two people raising him would be a lot easier than doing it alone."

Shen Jinnian turned his gaze meaningfully toward Gu Yan’s face.

Their eyes met again—and unexpectedly, neither of them looked away. The atmosphere in the quiet room slowly began to heat up.

The wheel of fate had turned, and now it was Gu Yan’s turn to struggle to breathe.

Shen Jinnian was the first to speak, seriously and cautiously: “Yes, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about today.”

Gu Yan understood instantly.

According to national law, to register a newborn’s identity, the parents’ marriage certificate was required. If Shen Jinnian wanted to raise the child, a marriage certificate was indispensable.

In other words, if he wanted to raise this child, he’d have to tie his future to someone else.

Plan B could very well be a devastating blow to Shen Jinnian’s free life. On top of that, he’d have to face pressure and interrogation from his parents and elder brother.

The fact that Shen Jinnian could make this decision—it made Gu Yan genuinely admire him.

“So…” Gu Yan swallowed, his Adam’s apple visibly bobbing with suppressed tension, “You want to find the child’s biological father… and get married?”

Shen Jinnian nodded without hesitation.

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T/N: The I Ching or Yijing, usually translated Book of Changes or Classic of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The I Ching was originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period. —source— wiki.

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 You can read upto chapter 42 on Patreon right now~ 43-45 will be posted tomorrow!

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