My Two Dads

Chapter 1 - About High School Advancement 

Yang Han wrote her name out on the blackboard in a smooth, flowing manner before tossing the chalk steadily into the pencil case.

Knocking on the blackboard, she coolly said, “My name.”

On the first day of school, there would always be boys aiming to impress the pretty girls. One of them struck up a conversation with her, “Is your dad’s surname ‘Yang’, and your mom’s surname ‘Han’?”

“That’s not it,” Yang Han shook her head and corrected him, “I don’t have a mom.”

The whole class went silent for a while.

Perhaps the boy had never met someone who cursed at herself like that, so he choked on the rest of his words and shut his mouth tight upon realizing he might have accidentally poked at a sore spot of hers.

The homeroom teacher had quite a shock as well. He looked down at Yang Han’s student data in his hands. There were clearly the names and contact information of two parents written on it.

Basking in the wide-eyed stares from everyone, Yang Han walked back to her seat with light steps as the next student got on the stage to continue the self-introductions. Only then did the atmosphere in the classroom ease up a little.

Her deskmate nudged her elbow and carefully asked, “Are you okay?”

Yang Han thanked her for the concern and smiled, “Of course, I’m fine.”

Her deskmate’s name was Xu Jia, who had twintails and a pair of big, round frame glasses that covered almost half of her face.

Seeing as Yang Han wasn’t bothered by what happened, she let out a sigh of relief and asked excitedly, “Was it your brother who sent you to the dormitory today?”

Yang Han replied, “That was my dad.”

Xu Jia exclaimed in surprise, “Your dad’s so young!”

Yang Han didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Would you believe me if I said he’s almost forty?”

Just as Yang Han was estimating if Xu Jia’s mouth could be stuffed with a fist from her, Xu Jia sneakily took out a phone from her bag and whispered for her to come closer. The moment she unlocked the phone, the screen immediately lit up with a photo from the gallery.

It was a man in a white t-shirt, bending down to pick up some daily necessities. Yang Han –who was sitting at the corner of the bed while sipping on a drink – was captured in the photo as well.

Yang Han raised an eyebrow.

Xu Jia scrolled through a few more photos where all of them were taken from different angles, but none had a single flaw. Bathing under the sunlight filtering through the window, the man had a fair and clean look, almost resembling a young boy carrying a guitar from the music academy next door.

Xu Jia ultimately stopped on a close-up shot, unable to resist letting out a scream with a hand covering her mouth.

Yang Han said, “Calm down.”

The whole class erupted with a burst of applause after the student’s self-introduction, which successfully drowned out Xu Jia’s scream.

She waited until another student took the stage and attracted all the attention there before speaking again, “This mole is incredible, I tell you. It’s the one right here, below his eye…my god.”

She continued, “This photo has gone viral in the group chat with my close friends. They kept asking me where this young man came from. I told them it’s probably your brother. To think he’s your dad instead…What’s your parent’s contact information, by the way? I urgently need it.”

Yang Han was speechless for a bit.

I treated you like a friend but here you are, coveting my dad.

Xu Jia’s mouth twitched a little when she noticed the lack of response from her. With a smile, she said, “If you’re not telling me, I’ll go and check the student data!”

Yang Han thought to herself, ‘A brave soul like her who took out her phone during class, what is there to say that she wouldn’t dare to do that too?’

And so, she smiled back at her, “Alright then. But don’t spread it around.”

Yang Han peeled off a sticky note, writing a bunch of numbers on it as she said, “He’s quite a flirtatious guy, so don’t get deceived by him.”

Xu Jia: “……”

Yang Han didn’t live in the dormitory, so she drifted out of the school gate along with the bustling crowd near evening as she spotted a familiar car license plate number.

When she saw the side profile of the person in the driver’s seat, she smiled to herself and ran over, plunging right into the front passenger’s seat.

With one hand on the steering wheel, Yang Mo gave her a sideways glance and sighed, “You’re just like a monkey.”

Yang Han replied back with a cheeky smile, “Dad! Why are you so free today?”

Yang Mo started up the car engine, turning around a corner while looking at the rear-view mirror before answering, “I took a day off.”

Recalling what Xu Jia had said before, Yang Han stared at the mole under his eyes for a while. “A classmate asked for your phone number today.”

She laughed as Yang Mo gave her a look. “Don’t worry, I gave her Han Shi Yu’s phone number instead.”

Yang Mo: “Smart girl.”

The girl in the front passenger’s seat tilted her head up proudly, “Well, look at whose daughter you’re talking about here.”

The corners of Yang Mo’s mouth curved upwards a little. “By the way, we’re going to your grandmother’s house for dinner tonight.”

He then asked a few more questions about her day in school. Once he was reassured that everything went well, he said, “The lock on your closet isn’t working well. Send a report in to get it fixed.”

Yang Han, who hadn’t cleaned up in her dorm at all, answered, “Oh.”

“Your bedding there is a little damp so I put it under the sun to dry. Did you take it back in?”

Yang Han: “I forgot…”

“It’s alright. Don’t forget it again tomorrow. If you still can’t sleep comfortably, just give me a call and I’ll have someone send over a new bed.”

Yang Han: “Okay.”

“I left 4 towels with different colours there. Don’t get them mixed up.”

“As for sunscreen and the like, I placed them in the side pocket of your school bag so you can use it anytime. There are some Cephalosporin and Ibuprofen inside too – but it’d be best if you can avoid taking painkillers unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“I’ve topped up 400 yuan in your card. It should suffice for your meals in school. Remember to call me if it’s not enough.”

Yang Han was busy answering him with ‘oh’, ‘ah’, and ‘okay’s. Yang Mo had thought of almost everything for her. She dangled her legs up and down and interrupted him for a bit, “Dad.”

Yang Mo: “Hm?”

“How on earth did Han Shi Yu manage to pursue you,” Yang Han looked up at him, “With that brain of his, I really don’t know what else he could come up with that you hadn’t already thought of in the first place.”

Yang Mo: “……”

The second Yang Han entered the house, she was showered in ribbons and confetti.

She removed the biggest red ribbon from her face that was covering her eyes, already aware of who was behind this.

Han Shi Yu was also wearing a t-shirt, with a design that matched Yang Mo’s.

He cheered, “Congratulations to our Xiao1 Yang for advancing to high school!”

The corgi by his feet wagged his tail and barked.

Yang Han reached up irritably and grabbed the leftover confetti on her head, looking not at all surprised, “Why did you come home?”

Han Shi Yu clicked his tongue, “You brat, is this the tone you should be using towards your dad who came all the way back home just to celebrate you advancing to high school?”

In order to cheer him up, Yang Han switched out her expression to that of a surprised one and gave it another go, “Woah! You’re home!”

Han Shi Yu was satisfied, “Now this is more like it.”

Yang Han returned to her expressionless face.

After the short exchange, Han Shi Yu turned his gaze towards Yang Mo, who had retreated far away just now to avoid being showered with ribbons too. He was in the middle of changing his shoes by the entrance now.

In an attempt to ask for a kiss, Han Shi Yu went over and closed in on him. His actions greatly resembled the short-legged corgi behind him, who was wagging its tail up and down.

He smiled at him, “Your big baby has arrived, please sign to receive it.”

Yang Mo quickly dodged backwards, wanting to evade the person throwing himself at him, but unfortunately, his limbs were nothing like the corgi’s short legs. Lifting his long legs and spreading his arms like an octopus, Han Shi Yu trapped Yang Mo against the shoe cabinet.

Yang Mo looked coldly at his idiotic big baby’s silly act and said, “I’d like to return the product.”

Han Shi Yu shook his head, “It’s not refundable.”

The two of them were stuck in a stalemate for a bit, until the former let out a sigh and kissed him lightly on the lips. The octopus then peeled himself off the wall and instead clung to Yang Mo instead.

Yang Han turned a blind eye at the scene in front of him like she had long since gotten used to this and shouted towards the kitchen instead, “Grandma! I’m coming in!”

Han Shi Yu’s mother, whose surname is also ‘Han’, poked her head out and smiled, “Ah, Yang Yang is here.”

While working hard to remove Han Shi Yu from himself, Yang Mo greeted her as well, “Mom.”

Mother Han hummed back in response. Aware that everything regarding Yang Han’s enrolment today was handled by Yang Mo, she added on, “You’ve worked hard today, Mo Mo.

Han Shi Yu said, “Mom, don’t call him Mo Mo, he hates it.”

Yang Mo let out a ‘tsk’ as he completely peeled Han Shi Yu off from his shoulders.

Hugging the corgi and snacking on the fruits on the table, Yang Han dealt another blow to Han Shi Yu, “Dad doesn’t hate that nickname. The one he hates is you, don’t you get it yet?”

Yang Han received a light whooping from Han Shi Yu after that.

Yang Han’s personality was cheerful and straightforward. She was also a bit of an airhead.

Towards Yang Mo, she still retained her respect for him as her father, but when she hung around Han Shi Yu, she was like a kite that had lost its string – acting freely and completely unrestrained.

She called him ‘dad’ or ‘handsome guy’ when she was in a good mood. If not, she would address him directly with his name. Usually, it would just be ‘Old Han’.

They were having hot pot that night. Han Shi Yu knew just how much his daughter liked eating meat, so he bought almost an entire table of meat dishes for her. Han Shi Yu was very particular when it came to eating. He bought fresh mutton and cut it himself since he couldn’t trust pre-packaged meat.

Pleased with that, Yang Han went and called him ‘handsome’.

On the other hand, Yang Mo was filling up Mother Han and Yang Han’s bowls with slices of cooked meat while Yang Han picked out the ones with a fattier cut and transferred them to Han Shi Yu’s bowl.

While cutting the meat, Han Shi Yu told Yang Mo, “Let her cook her own meat, don’t spoil her.”

He stuffed a mouthful of vegetables in Yang Han’s bowl after saying that.

Yang Han pushed the patch of greens back to his bowl with discontent and stuck her tongue out at Han Shi Yu.

His bowl was then a jumbled mess of greens and whites, a sight that would cause people to lose appetite over it.

Yang Mo let out a sigh, “Yang Yang, stop putting those in his bowl.”

Only then did Yang Han listen. “Kay.”

She turned to the corgi who wagged his tail patiently by her feet the whole night and fed the vegetables to him instead.

Mother Han was a gentle and graceful woman. One could see a smile through her eyelines and the warmth she held in her eyes. She asked with concern, “How was school today?”

Yang Han’s mouth was stuffed with food, so she gave a vague reply, “Not bad. There were lots of interesting people in class.”

Swallowing the rest of the food in her mouth, she continued, “My dormmates and classmates kept praising my dad’s good looks and asked for his phone number.”

Pouring all the sliced meat into the hot pot, Han Shi Yu chimed in, “Tell them to give up on that thought.”

Yang Han looked at him, “The number I gave them is yours.”

Han Shi Yu’s expression immediately changed. He gave her a thumbs up and smiled, “Good job.”

Yang Han added on, “They also asked if my dad’s surname is ‘Yang’ and my mom’s surname is ‘Han’…I gave it some thought after that as well. Don’t you think you two were a little hasty when you named me?”

Han Shi Yu: “I’ll be honest with you. The name choices we had for you back then were ‘Yang Han’ and ‘Han Yang’. After a fierce contest, we chose the former.”

Yang Han wondered, “A fierce contest?”

“Drawing lots.” Han Shi Yu said, “We drew the lots for many times and in the end we finally managed to draw the same name. That’s how you were named as Yang Han.”

Xiao Yang, who was named after drawing lots, placed a piece of ginger in Han Shi Yu’s bowl as revenge.

Han Shi Yu continued asking, “How did you reply him then?”

Yang Han said indifferently, “I said he was wrong, since I don’t have a mom.”

Yang Mo’s actions faltered a little as his gaze fell on Yang Han for a long time. He grabbed the glass of water by his hand and took a sip.

Yang Han laughed, “The funniest thing was that my homeroom teacher called me over alone and told me very seriously that even if I had a conflict with my mom, I shouldn’t publicly say something like that.”

Her smile was contagious and it got to Mother Han as well. She said, “It’s a good thing if it made you laugh then.”

Yang Mo worked as a software programmer. Having dealt with computers and codes over half of his life, he developed a habit of being extremely meticulous with things.

Although he didn’t have work today, it just didn’t feel right to him to spend a day without switching his laptop on.

His eyes were glued to his laptop screen until Han Shi Yu returned from his bath and he set it aside.

Han Shi Yu couldn’t help but find it weird, “Usually, you wouldn’t put your laptop away unless I switched the lights off. Why is it the opposite today?”

He jumped into the bed with just a bathrobe on, resting his head on top of Yang Mo’s thigh even though his hair were still a little damp. He smiled, “As expected, you did miss me, huh?”

Yang Mo stared at him without saying anything.

Han Shi Yu: “I can only stay home for another two days before leaving for Beijing. The negotiations haven’t been settled yet for the project from last time, yet a problem arose for the other project I’m working on. “

Yang Mo asked, “You couldn’t close the deal for the livestream software?”

Han Shi Yu: “Yeah.”

“The livestream function among the social media apps created by Ji Xun are already pretty good. I don’t think there’s a need to create a separate, independent livestream app.” Yang Mo said, “But if you really want to move in this direction, it’s not hard to develop it either. I’ll be the chief programmer. Just give me a team and I’ll make one for you.”

Han Shi Yu smiled, “Wow, Ge2 sure spoils me a lot.”

Yang Mo frowned and pushed him off his thigh, “I’m talking about serious matters here.”

Han Shi Yu replied, “I’m mostly interested in the user traffic and loyalty it could bring, not whether or not it could be used for livestreams.”

He kissed the cheek of the person in front of him and said, “Let’s not talk about work anymore…Do you have anything to tell me?”

Yang Mo sighed, “Why didn’t you let Yang Han study abroad?”

During her high school entrance exams, Han Shi Yu wanted to let Yang Han study in a common high school within the country, preferably one with a dormitory.

But Yang Mo was worried that she couldn’t adapt well, so after they had a discussion over it, they ultimately decided that she could come home from school at night instead.

Han Shi Yu didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, “Wasn’t it you who worried that she couldn’t adapt to it? The difference in culture would be greater if she went abroad too.”

Yang Mo sighed, staring straight at him, “What I meant by that was her reaction…to the views of the classmates around her.”

They were a same-sex family and Yang Han was adopted.

These two points alone stood out like a sore thumb in the eyes of traditional families in China. Yang Mo had always been afraid that the discrimination from people around Yang Han would end up hurting her.

Letting her come home everyday was to ensure that they could pick up on any of her negative emotions in time.

Yang Mo wanted to protect Yang Han to the point where nothing would get to her. He desperately wished he could create a firewall program for her that no one could possibly break into.

Han Shi Yu said, “She’ll have to face it someday.”

“I want her to be happy too,” Han Shi Yu said with a serious look, “But even more so than that, I wish for her to live happily and freely without a care even in the midst of people’s sharp, critical gazes, instead of staying ignorant towards the outside world with a narrow-minded optimism.”

Yang Mo was silent for a while before he sighed, “She went through this in elementary and middle school too. She might not talk about it, but I’m worried that she’s mindful about it in her heart.”

“Well, she still has us, right?” Han Shi Yu’s biggest strength lies in being optimistic and Yang Han resembled him closely on this.

He inched closer to Yang Mo and whined, “Why do you only care about Xiao Yang, how about me?”

“……” Yang Mo said, “Get lost.”

Han Shi Yu grabbed his wrist and smiled, “Ge, I’ve abstained from meat for a month now.”

Yang Mo: “Haven’t you eaten enough of it today?”

Han Shi Yu: “Those couldn’t possibly compare to how refreshing and smooth you taste like, and the way you melt right in my mouth.”

Yang Mo: “……”

The chairman of the board of directors as well as president of the nationwide multimedia technology company, ‘Ji Xun’, turned out to be a childish three-year-old brat. Who would believe it if you told them?

Before Han Shi Yu latched onto him, Yang Mo already knew that he would have to take the morning off work tomorrow.

Footnotes

小 / Xiǎo = Small. A common way for older people to attach ‘Xiao’ when referring to someone younger. There’s no meaning to it but it’s used as a nickname among people who are close with each other, like a term of endearment.哥 / Gē = Elder brother (not necessarily blood-related). Used to address men who are older than the speaker.