Chapter 1037: 697 Parents Who Can’t Shout Out Loud_2

"I didn’t expect your aunt and uncle to agree immediately, but they said they wanted to hear your opinion first."

After speaking, Liao Yuzhu looked at Du Heng expectantly, waiting for his response.

Liao Yuzhu didn’t specify who the aunt and uncle were, but Du Heng knew.

But such a question once again left Du Heng scratching his head. "Why are you asking me about this? If your aunt and uncle have the energy and feel their health can cope, then let them raise the child. It can help alleviate their loneliness. But there’s one thing: the child isn’t problematic, right?"

As soon as Liao Yuzhu heard Du Heng say this, she immediately started laughing and quickly chimed in, "No problem, definitely no problem. The biggest trouble now is that the child can’t find his father. But my good friend is absolutely fine, and the child has undergone a check-up and is very healthy. How about this: one day when you’re at work, I’ll bring the child and my friend to your workplace for you to give them both a check-up."

Du Heng shook his head. "Forget about the check-up. Can’t I trust you or something? But what’s this you’re saying about the child not being able to find their father? Did he run off and shirk responsibility, or did he get into trouble and get arrested, or perhaps he had a car accident?"

Liao Yuzhu shyly lowered her head. "Ah, didn’t I just say? My good friend was a bit wild, and... well... she doesn’t know who the father is."

"****!" Du Heng rolled his eyes without a care for his image and then turned to leave.

He had only taken a step when he suddenly turned back, hesitated a moment, then asked, "So... is there any news of him?"

Liao Yuzhu didn’t seem surprised by this. After looking at Du Heng, she quietly said, "When I went there last week, your father said he had called him. He’s teaching at a Confucius Institute in South Africa."

Du Heng let out a soft ’Oh.’ "It’s good that he’s in contact with his family. Did he mention when he plans to return?"

"He said in another two years."

Du Heng smiled at Liao Yuzhu. "Alright, I won’t chat with you anymore. I need to leave now; I’m dead tired."

Liao Yuzhu also started laughing. "Then you better go rest. I’ll leave as well."

「Over the next few days, Du Heng didn’t get to sleep in for a single day.」

The first day, he was pulled out of bed early in the morning by Wu Shengnan, and they went to his elder brother’s house. Although it was just going upstairs and downstairs, sleep was definitely out of the question after that.

After lunch, the couple quickly arranged to meet with Li Qin and Feng Su. These two had come all the way from out of town to Jinzhou to attend their wedding. If Du Heng and Wu Shengnan didn’t show some appreciation by treating them to a proper meal, it would be quite remiss.

After the meal, there was still no rest; they had to escort the two to catch their afternoon flight. The round trip took over four hours.

The second day, Du Heng still found no time to rest. He organized a get-together, taking Wei Kaida, Wu Buwei, and others out for a full day of meals and entertainment to thank them for their help during the wedding.

The third day was for the traditional visit to the bride’s family.

However, once he arrived at his father-in-law’s house, something happened that made Du Heng feel quite helpless. Most importantly, it was a problem of his own making.

During the wedding ceremony, the atmosphere was buzzing, and emotions were high. Du Heng had shouted the words "Dad, Mom" without a second thought.

But now, during this visit, he had to say "Dad" and "Mom" in a normal state of mind, and Du Heng found his tongue tied. He just couldn’t get the words out. It was as if every time he tried to say them, a hard-boiled egg would automatically appear in his throat, getting stuck there.

Aside from managing to mutter a barely audible "Dad, Mom" when he first walked in the door, Du Heng didn’t utter the words again for the rest of the visit. This led him to avoid speaking proactively as much as possible, only answering questions when necessary. This way, he could avoid addressing people directly.

Du Heng knew this wasn’t because he had an issue with Wu Shengnan or her parents. It was just that ever since he could remember, he had never called anyone "Mom" or "Dad." He was almost thirty, and now he was suddenly expected to call someone "Mom" and "Dad." This sudden change was tough for him to adapt to.

Even though he had been trying to mentally prepare himself for this shift since the day of their engagement, he still found it difficult to overcome this ’psychological barrier’ once his emotions settled back to normal.

Wu Shengnan was initially perplexed by Du Heng’s behavior that day, failing to understand why a usually confident man had suddenly become so awkward and standoffish after getting married and becoming one of the family.

After observing him for a while, she noticed that he would get especially nervous when facing her parents. However, he seemed perfectly fine when interacting with her grandfather and elder brother. Moreover, whenever he spoke to her grandfather and elder brother, he always used their titles, but he had never once used "Dad" or "Mom" when addressing her parents.

At first, she was puzzled. Then, after thinking about it more, she became annoyed, almost to the point of crying in frustration. However, seeing Du Heng act so respectfully when speaking to her parents only added to her confusion.

It didn’t take long for her to figure out the reason behind Du Heng’s peculiar behavior, relying on her instincts as a criminal police officer. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

When they got home, she didn’t confront him directly but chose to express herself in a way that Du Heng could handle better.

"Honey, I feel like Dad and Mom were particularly attentive towards you today. They barely paid any attention to me. Do you think they no longer like me?"

"Nonsense. What parents would prefer their son-in-law over their own daughter?"

Hearing Du Heng’s response, Wu Shengnan did not show disappointment but continued, "Alright, I’ll take your word for it for now. But let me ask you, who do you think likes you more—Dad or Mom?"

"They both like me equally."

"No way, you must choose one. Dad or Mom?"

Du Heng looked at Wu Shengnan somewhat puzzled, thinking such behavior, much like children vying for candies, was not typical of Wu Shengnan.

But it seemed Wu Shengnan didn’t realize that Du Heng’s problem wasn’t saying the words "Mom" and "Dad" per se, but rather addressing people who weren’t originally his parents with those titles.

Thus, the seemingly perfect solution Wu Shengnan had thought of ’miscarried.’

By the fifth day at home, Wu Shengnan’s rest plan went awry. The team at the precinct was really short-staffed, and word was that a certain case had reached its most critical stage. Consequently, Wu Shengnan had to cut her leave short.

Du Heng, as usual, woke up early to see Wu Shengnan off to work. However, when the time came for parting, he couldn’t help but fuss over her.

"Baby, try to avoid fieldwork as much as possible. Even if you must go, be careful. You have to remember, you’re not just one person anymore; you’re two people now. Especially in the first three months, you must be extra, extra cautious. Understand?"

Wu Shengnan, quite satisfied, waved at Du Heng, not the least bit annoyed by his fussing.

However, Du Heng seemed to be pushing his luck. He continued, "Also, I’ll pick you up after work. Absolutely no overtime or night shifts, okay? Remember, staying up all night is the most taxing thing on your body. It overdraws your physical reserves, even more so than smoking or drinking."

Wu Shengnan had originally been quite satisfied, happily enjoying Du Heng’s concern, but as he showed no sign of stopping, her smile slowly faded.

Luckily, Du Heng was perceptive enough. Seeing the situation change, he left with a quick "I’ll pick you up on time tonight," and sped off.

「After two days of relaxing at home alone, it was time for Du Heng to go back to work.」

This timing happened to coincide exactly with Du Heng’s outpatient service hours, which meant he went straight to the outpatient service upon returning to work.

Du Heng’s outpatient service, as always, had many old patients, but the speed of consultations was declining rather than improving.

The reason was simple: after getting to know these old men and women, they didn’t just come to Du Heng for treatment but also to chat with him.

Just as he had seen out one patient and was taking a breather before calling the next, he heard a commotion at the door.

"You’re the one who’s sick! Your whole family’s sick! Let go of me, right now! Hurry up! Do you hear me?"