CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 343: I HAVE ONE MORE PIECE THAN OTHERS

He was about to become a dad.

These past few days, Qin Guanglin walked with his head held high, exuded confidence, and found everything pleasing to the eye.

He too had this day.

"Is she pregnant?"

Qin’s Mom’s lips trembled with excitement, ignoring Qin Guanglin’s smug expression. She turned to He Fang to confirm, "Is she pregnant?"

"Mm, just found out yesterday." He Fang didn’t carry herself with the same air as Qin Guanglin, but rather glanced down shyly, her hand gently touching her belly as she responded.

"Good, good..."

Qin’s Mom rubbed her hands on her thighs, at first only able to utter ’good’ repeatedly. After a moment of silence, she suddenly slapped Qin Guanglin’s back, "Go cook! Waiting for He Fang to do it?"

"We can do it; it’s not so critical this early on..."

"Let him do it! You just sit and relax. Now that you’re pregnant, you need to be careful, and he’s cooking quite well these days anyway." Qin’s Mom urged Qin Guanglin off to make dinner and reassured He Fang to sit down comfortably, adding after a pause, "You watch TV for a bit, I’ll be right back."

She paced back to the bedroom with small quick steps, unable to wait to share the news with the portrait of Qin Dad on the table.

"Fang is expecting..."

In the kitchen, Qin Guanglin washed and chopped vegetables, frequently turning to sneak peeks at He Fang in the living room, giggling foolishly to himself.

His status in the family had always been at rock bottom; now it hit -∞.

But he was willing.

He was overjoyed for himself and both were happy to have a child, yet all the hardships during this process would fall on He Fang.

There was nothing to say; he’d just dote on her, and that was that.

"Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow for another check, see what needs supplementing... and what you should eat more of regularly, whether or not you should exercise, how to exercise, when to start prenatal care... You might as well just quit your job."

During the meal, Qin Guanglin kept picking dishes for He Fang; there was no concern over preferences — the entire table was filled with her favorites.

"No need to be so nervous; it’s only the beginning."

He Fang was pleasantly overwhelmed; her last pregnancy was well cared for, too, but never with such enthusiasm, and she was a bit frightened.

"Checking it out can never be wrong. Having a baby is a big deal, so we need to be cautious." Qin’s Mom listened and nodded in agreement, adding her two cents.

Releasing life really worked; now they were married and going to have a child. They should release more next time.

All three had dinner, which had an air of everyone doting on He Fang.

...

...

During the first three months of pregnancy, nothing showed. Qin Guanglin was anxious, observing He Fang’s belly that hardly changed, insisting on listening to it every day.

He bought a cookbook for pregnant women and, relying on his cooking skills honed over the years, managed to make dishes that not only looked the part but tasted quite decent after a couple of tries, preparing well in advance for He Fang.

"My belly isn’t even showing yet; you really don’t have to do this." He Fang watched him bustling about weakly; whenever she thought to get up, he urged her back down onto the sofa.

Qin Guanglin paid her no mind. If he didn’t pamper her a bit, he wouldn’t be comfortable. Seeing her bored, he handed her his phone and said, "I bought several hundred thousand beans for you. Lose them all, hopefully by the time I’m done cooking."

"...You think you can fob me off with a few bucks?"

"No, it’s more than ten bucks. See if you can buy this many beans for a few bucks?"

"Get lost, get lost, get lost. I’m watching TV."

He Fang couldn’t be bothered to argue with him; he’d never understand the joy of living off welfare or the pleasure of losing the beans he won.

It was no fun with real money involved.

"From the moment you got pregnant, you’re not alone anymore... You’re two people. Just take it easy." Qin Guanglin chuckled when he saw her obediently sitting on the sofa watching TV. Then he ducked into the kitchen to prepare shrimp.

Now every morning before work, he had to walk He Fang to school and then walk back to drive to work. Though it seemed unnecessary, it settled his mind.

As a soon-to-be dad, his only sense of involvement had been those six days in bed, indescribable.

"Did you calculate the dates for our last pregnancy so precisely?"

During dinner, Qin Guanglin held his bowl and wondered aloud, noting the timing. By the time the belly starts to show, it will just be the summer vacation, and it seems that the birth will coincidentally be around the winter break. Quite serendipitous.

Eating her meal in small bites, He Fang glanced up at him and remarked, "It’s because you got annoyed by my mom’s nagging and dragged me into bed to vigorously make a mess for a few days, and just by chance, I got pregnant."

"Ah... this time, it should be considered you making a mess of me."

"Who?"

"Me... you."

Qin Guanglin then rubbed his waist again, thinking it would be just right to take a year off... On reflection, a slow and steady pace is better. He disliked being too tired and wasn’t happy with too much rest either.

Men are truly hard to deal with.

Women are just as difficult.

After the novelty of the first two months wore off, Qin Guanglin gradually got used to the days of taking care of someone. Although he felt tired, the thought of someone soon calling him "Dad" instantly filled him with motivation. As soon as it was time to finish work each day, he would rush home, cuddle with He Fang tenderly, and then show off his culinary skills.

There was never a shortage of fruit in the house. He would haul box after box home. What He Fang couldn’t finish, he would deal with or take some to share with Qin’s Mom. On weekends, he would take the fish Qin’s Mom gave him to Luo River for releasing. One fish down, and three people earned merit—it was something Qin’s Mom had carefully calculated.

At the end of June.

The weather was already hot, the sun as if intending to scorch people alive, smugly suspended in the sky. It wasn’t even the dog days yet, but it felt worse than that.

"After I wrap up these three comics, I want to be lazy for a while."

Sitting in the air-conditioned office, Qin Guanglin didn’t feel too hot, but his heart was ablaze with excitement as he discussed his work with Chen Rui.

Since "My Wife is Too Cute" concluded, he had shifted his focus to the other comics he was responsible for before. Despite being weekly updates, one was the main attraction, while the other two were niche story-driven works—a painter like him could just stay at home and focus on "Wife," involving less hassle but yielding higher returns. But from being relatively unknown to his current status, just quitting after one hit did not align with his style.

Moreover, there was a long-term contract here, which was part of Chen Rui’s grand plan. Even if he left, his comic works for the next few years would be published on this platform. It made more sense to earn a supervisor’s salary and punch in every day as he continued this job.

The most important point, unknown to Chen Rui but clear to Qin Guanglin himself, was that he wasn’t an original comic artist. The success of "Wife" was just down to good luck—by chance, he wanted to create a memento for himself and He Fang, and it happened to catch on, leading to this popular comic. Without the popularity from "Wife," he was just a talented and experienced painter.

Without the company’s scripts, apart from "Wife," it would be difficult for him to produce a second quality and reliable comic. His talent was in drawing, not storytelling—even with a sequel like "My daughter is so cute!", he wouldn’t be able to live off just these two comics forever.

Chen Rui was not yet aware of his family situation and initially, not catching on to the pregnancy, he teased, thinking back to Qin Guanglin’s mention of retirement two months prior: "Earned enough and thinking about retirement?"

"No, my wife’s pregnant." Qin Guanglin raised his eyebrows proudly and gestured over his stomach, "She’s already showing these two months."

Chen Rui finally got it, "No wonder you’ve been rushing home as soon as work ends." He squinted and pointed at Qin Guanglin, "How many months?"

"Over two months, approaching four. She’s going to be noticeably pregnant soon and will need someone to look after her."

Qin Guanglin shrugged, "She’s too clingy; she doesn’t want a nurse when the time comes, insisting on sticking with me."

In his previous life, he was a painter, always by her side. He Fang had brought up quitting his job again a few days ago, which he did not agree to, but he pondered over it.

Pregnant women experience significant emotional swings. They must be well taken care of in all aspects of life, including their psychological needs.

"Wait a second..." Chen Rui gestured with his hand, "I have this feeling... it seems like you’re hinting at quitting?"

"I can’t feed my family if I quit, can I?" Qin Guanglin joked with a smile.

"With your current status, if you quit and stayed at home for a year or so, and then came back, not to mention anything else, just relying on ’Wife’ alone, you could easily find a good job."

Chen Rui had an uncanny premonition that his employee was getting carried away by his woman.

"Are you considering giving me a raise... Never mind, I just mentioned wanting to be lazy and now I’m thinking about a raise; what am I even thinking."

Qin Guanglin laughed and shook his head, "No joke, how about this? I promise, even if I quit—I’m just a lousy artist, what else could I do? At most, I’d draw a sequel to ’Daughter.’ If one day I really quit, I’ll stay at home and draw, and the ’Daughter’ series would also be exclusively released on your platform."

"It’s not just about the daughter, all future works that come from your pen," Chen Rui raised an eyebrow, "No matter what conditions other companies offer, I’ll outbid them by one dollar."

Creation shouldn’t feel like labor; this is what Chen Rui told Qin Guanglin when he joined the company.

As much as he would miss him, if Qin Guanglin decided to give up company resources and hole up at home to create original works, Chen Rui supported him at heart—this was precisely why he founded the company in the first place. Those who loved comics could freely utilize their talents, and talented artists could come to the company which offered stories and all other forms of assistance. Those capable of independent creation could stay home and publish their work on the platform, which would only deduct maintenance and operational costs from the revenue.

He was not only a creator but a reader too, and he wanted to revitalize the industry by ensuring creators could make a living.

"I’m still here, why are we talking about other companies?" Qin Guanglin said in disbelief.

Is this what they call a boss’s self-cultivation?

"Let’s not digress; just tell me if you’re okay with it or not."

"Okay, I agree."