Looking at the clean and tidy room, filled with thoughtful touches, Lu Zhankai and Meng Yuan felt deeply moved.
Meng Yuan stepped forward and took Mother Huo's hand, saying, "Mom, we don’t lack anything. You’ve prepared everything so thoroughly—really!"
"That’s good, that’s good!" Mother Huo sighed in relief.
Gazing at her two grandchildren, whose eyelids were drooping with sleepiness, she said with tender affection, "The kids are tired, and you two must be exhausted after these past few days. Go take a hot bath and rest."
Before leaving, she added, "Sleep in tomorrow—no need to rush getting up."
"Understood, Mom."
After Mother Huo left, the room fell into quiet.
Lu Zhankai got up and fetched a basin of warm water from the bathroom, gently wiping the little ones’ faces and feet.
The children fell asleep almost the moment their heads touched the pillows, their cheeks soon flushed with slumber.
By the time the couple finished washing up and turned off the lights to rest, it was already past eleven at night.
Though exhausted, neither of them felt sleepy.
"Can’t sleep either?" Meng Yuan whispered after a long silence.
"Yeah," Lu Zhankai replied, his voice clear in the darkness—the room’s soundproofing was excellent. "Feels like a dream."
After a pause, he added, "Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma… they’ve all been so good to us."
Meng Yuan didn’t argue with that.
After a moment of quiet, she said, "Sometimes I think—you’ve had misfortune, but you’re also incredibly blessed."
The misfortune was that he had been switched at birth, growing up away from his biological parents.
That separation had cost him over thirty years with them.
Yet the blessing was that he had met his adoptive parents.
From the moment Lu Zhankai was adopted, Father Lu and Mother Lu had treated him as their own son, never letting him suffer even the slightest hardship.
Even after learning the truth about his origins, they hadn’t hidden it from him—instead, they laid everything out and let him make his own choice.
Similarly, his biological parents had given him complete respect, never forcing him to choose between them and his adoptive family.
In the darkness, Meng Yuan’s voice was soft.
As she finished speaking, she shifted closer to her husband.
"Parents this wonderful are rare—and you somehow ended up with two sets."
"Your brothers care for you deeply too. If that’s not good fortune, what is?"
Lu Zhankai stayed silent, listening quietly.
After a long while, he let out a deep, affirming hum.
On their first night in their new home, the couple stayed awake, talking idly into the night.
But they weren’t the only ones restless with sleeplessness.
Grandpa Huo and Grandma Huo were flipping through old photo albums, discussing plans to take a new family portrait soon.
Meanwhile, Mother Huo and Father Huo reminisced in their room about their children’s childhood antics.
While the adults’ behavior was understandable, even Suisui and Zhao Zhao were unusually awake.
Normally, they’d be sound asleep by now, snoring like little piglets—yet tonight, they were wide-eyed and energetic.
When Jiang Si returned to the room after her bath, the two little ones were happily gnawing on their tiny fists, making soft smacking sounds.
After a while, Zhao Zhao seemed to lose interest in her hand and turned her attention to her chubby little feet.
But her thick pajamas restricted her movement.
After several failed attempts to reach her toes, she settled for grabbing them and playing gleefully.
Watching the two sleepless troublemakers, Jiang Si was both amused and exasperated.
"It’s already eleven. If they don’t sleep soon, are they going to stay up all night?" she asked.
Huo Tingzhou sighed helplessly. "We’ve tried everything. Nothing’s working—they just won’t settle down."
"Probably too excited from meeting so many new faces today."
As he spoke, his gaze softened as he looked at Jiang Si.
"And it’s not just them. I doubt Mom, Dad, Grandpa, or Grandma will sleep a wink tonight either."
Jiang Si chuckled. "Honestly, I’m too keyed up to sleep too."
After a pause, she added, "I’ve never seen Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma this happy before. This might be the most joyful year they’ve had in decades."
Huo Tingzhou nodded.
A moment later, he pulled Jiang Si into his arms.
The couple sat quietly by the crib, watching their children.
After a long silence, he murmured, "This year… is the happiest one for me too."
His voice was filled with unprecedented gratitude and contentment.
"Me too," Jiang Si replied.
Then, with a sigh: "But if these two little tyrants don’t sleep soon, are we really going to indulge them all night?"
Huo Tingzhou wanted to say it wouldn’t come to that—but seeing their tiny feet kicking energetically, he wasn’t so sure.
Just as he was puzzling over how to lull them to sleep, he had no idea someone else was rolling around in bed, green with envy over his fatherhood.
That someone was Second Brother Huo.
Before today, he’d never given it much thought.
But after meeting his eldest brother’s sweet, soft-spoken niece Yaoyao, who called him "Uncle" in the most endearing voice, and his fourth brother’s adorable twins—especially little Zhao Zhao, who babbled and giggled—his heart had melted completely.
If he had a daughter, he’d braid her hair every day.
And buy her all the frilly dresses she could ever want.
Lost in his thoughts, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a warm hand slipped under his pajama shirt and gave his abs a teasing squeeze.
"What are you doing?!" he yelped, his voice cracking from shock.
Yang Meina laughed at his reaction. After a beat, she replied bluntly, "You."
The boldness of her answer left Second Brother Huo speechless.
This woman… really…
"What’s wrong? Not in the mood?" She leaned closer, her breath tickling his ear. "If not, I’ll just leave—"
Before she could finish, Second Brother Huo grabbed her mischievous hand.
His heart pounded wildly.
"It’s late. Where would you even go?"
"None of your business," Yang Meina teased. "Since someone isn’t interested—"
"Who said I’m not?!" he growled through gritted teeth.
Soon, the lights in their room went out.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the house…
Huo Tinghan had just finished showering and was about to climb into bed when he noticed his wife still seated at the desk.
He walked over and wrapped his arms around her.
"Sweetheart, it’s late. Don’t stress over those reports now. Leave them—I’ll help you sort them out later."
"Wait, Fourth."
Guan Xue turned to him, her expression unusually serious. "Sit down. There’s something I need to talk to you about."
Huo Tinghan blinked. "Right now?"
"Yes."
Seeing her solemn expression, he assumed she wanted to discuss work-related matters.
Unexpectedly, Guan Xue asked, "Sidai, do you like children?"
She had asked this question before.
It was the day before their wedding banquet.
At the time, Huo Tinghan had answered, "I do, but I don’t think now is the best time to have one."
Since childhood, no matter what he did, he had always preferred to follow a step-by-step approach.
Back then, he hadn’t yet learned how to be a good husband.
If they were to have a child so carelessly, he felt it would be unfair to his wife.
Coincidentally, his wife shared the same sentiment.
On top of that, their parents and grandparents were open-minded and had never pressured them about having children.
So even after nearly two years of marriage, they still hadn’t started a family.
Now that his wife had suddenly brought it up again, Huo Tinghan wasn’t sure what she was thinking.
Just as he hesitated, Guan Xue spoke again—
