"They always say girls take after their fathers, so the babies won't be affected by that, right?"
"Besides, what era is this? People still hold onto those old patriarchal ideas about favoring boys over girls."
"Don't you know girls are in the highest demand right now?"
"How many guys are well past thirty and still can't find a wife?"
"Uh..."
Zhang Hao gave an awkward laugh. "Don't overthink it. I was just asking about the gender so I could decide on some names."
With that, his gaze fell on the tiny, delicate bodies of Erbao and Sanbao.
Suddenly, Zhang Hao froze.
The two babies were wide awake, looking up at him with innocent, doe-like eyes.
Their chubby little faces were as white as milk.
Their tender skin looked as though a gentle pinch would make water well up.
Especially their tiny hands and feet—they weren't even half the size of a palm.
They were just too cute!
In an instant, Zhang Hao's heart completely melted.
"I've got it!"
A flash of inspiration struck Zhang Hao, and he thought of three perfect names.
"Since the three babies are so cute, let's call them Really Cute."
"Dabao is Zhang Zhen, Erbao is Zhang Ke, and Sanbao is Zhang Ai."
"Mmm~ It actually sounds pretty good."
Hearing these three names, Su Yuyan, standing nearby, immediately broke into a silent sweat.
*Really Cute?*
Only Zhang Hao could come up with something like that.
It was way too casual.
Though, when she thought about it carefully, it didn't sound half bad either.
Lost in thought, she sensed that Dabao had finished feeding and quietly pulled her clothes back into place.
Meanwhile, Zhang Hao wore a self-satisfied smile, looking thoroughly accomplished at having named his three precious little ones.
Yet the very next moment, the system's voice rang out.
"Ding: Task failed. The names chosen for the babies are far too simple."
"Failed?"
Zhang Hao couldn't help but be stunned.
The system hadn't even approved such a creative name.
It seemed that completing tasks and earning rewards wasn't going to be all that easy.
So, Zhang Hao began racking his brains once more.
"If it can't be too simple, it has to be profound."
"And it has to sound high-end and impressive."
"The moment you say the names, it needs to blow people away!"
"What kind of names would be good?"
"Since they're triplets..."
"I've got it!"
A sudden flash of inspiration hit Zhang Hao, and he immediately pulled out his phone to search online.
Before long, three perfect names were born.
"Dabao will be called Zhang Xin. The character *xin* symbolizes wealth."
"Erbao will be called Zhang Miao. The character *miao* signifies vastness like the sea embracing all rivers, and striving unceasingly."
"Sanbao will be called Zhang Jing. The character *jing* represents the crystallization of love, carrying a very precious meaning."
"The best part is that since they're triplets, all their names are made of three identical characters. You could say it's a remarkably fitting choice."
As the words left his mouth, the system's voice chimed in.
"Ding: Congratulations to the host for completing the task of naming the babies. Thirty thousand in prize money has been credited to your account."
*Master, master, you've got a text message.*
Hearing the notification sound, Zhang Hao beamed with joy.
He hurriedly pulled out his phone and opened the message.
*"Your card ending in 8888 has received a deposit of 30,000 yuan. Balance..."*
Thirty thousand bucks! In the bag again!
This system was seriously awesome!
Amidst his excitement, it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't asked for Su Yuyan's opinion yet.
After all, she was the babies' mother, and he needed her approval.
"What do you think of the names I picked for the babies? Are they alright?"
"They're great. Much better-sounding than *Really Cute*."
Su Yuyan smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
Names made of three identical characters suited the three babies wonderfully.
She hadn't expected Zhang Hao to have such a solid foundation in literature.
For a moment, the way she looked at Zhang Hao changed, carrying a trace of newfound approval.
*Tap, tap, tap...*
Suddenly, a WeChat call notification rang out.
The sound came straight from Zhang Hao's pocket.
Zhang Hao fished out his phone to take a look; it was a video call from his roommate and deskmate, Zhao Yong.
*Why is this idiot calling?*
Zhang Hao felt a pang of doubt.
He answered the video call, and a square face appeared on the screen.
"Haozi, class is about to start. Where did you run off to?"
Zhang Hao smiled. "I'm outside. Do me a favor and cover for me with a leave excuse."
"Take leave?"
Zhao Yong on the screen arched his brows and glared. "Next up is the homeroom teacher Miejue Shitai's class! You actually dare to ask for leave!"
"The last student who asked for leave got sentenced to scrubbing the toilets for a week straight."
"Don't tell me you want toilet duty too?"
Zhang Hao chuckled, and before he could reply, he watched as Zhao Yong continued in astonishment.
"Oh right, Haozi, I heard the Normal University's campus goddess came looking for you, and even said she gave birth to your babies. Is that true or false?"
"How do you know?"
Zhang Hao was slightly taken aback.
Because Zhao Yong was a down-to-earth guy who wasn't usually into gossip.
"Holy crap, the whole school is buzzing about it."
"Forget me—even the old gatekeeper knows."
"Quick, tell me, is this for real?!"
With that, Zhao Yong wore an expectant look, as if he wanted to crawl right through the phone screen.
Zhang Hao nodded with a completely serious expression.
"That's right, it's true."
After all, it wasn't anything shameful; he was overjoyed instead. What was there to hide?
Besides, he hadn't hidden it.
"Crap! I don't believe it!"
Zhao Yong on the screen wore a look of utter disdain.
Too lazy to waste breath on this fellow, Zhang Hao directly switched the phone to the rear camera.
At that moment, Su Yuyan was bending over to gently place Dabao back onto the bed.
Erbao and Sanbao were waving their little arms and legs about.
This exact scene was now displayed clearly on the phone screen.
Zhao Yong froze for a few seconds before letting out a shriek.
"Oh my god!"
"Everyone, come look! Haozi's scandal is real!"
"The Campus Goddess really had three babies for Haozi!"
"No way, there's three of them?!"
At that, Zhao Yong hoisted his phone high in the air inside the classroom, and the whole class swarmed around him.
"No way! It really is the goddess!"
"Are you kidding me? Three babies? Were they born in the Year of the Pig?"
"My 24k titanium alloy dog eyes have been utterly blinded!"
"Master Zhang, mighty! You are truly my role model!"
...
At that sight, Zhang Hao broke into a silent sweat.
Right at that moment, however, a baby's cry rang out.
*Waa~ Waa~*
Following the sound, Zhang Hao saw that Sanbao was crying, so he abruptly hung up the video call.
Seeing Sanbao clenching her tiny fists, eyes shut tight as she wailed at the top of her lungs, he felt a sharp pang of deep heartache.
At that, Su Yuyan hurriedly picked up Sanbao, gently rocking and humming softly to soothe her.
Zhang Hao asked, "Is the baby hungry?"
"Feed the baby some milk, I'll turn away."
With that, she turned and walked toward the door.
Just as she took a step, Su Yuyan's voice came from behind him.
"Wait a minute. Could you do me a favor and mix a bottle of formula?"
"Formula?"
Zhang Hao asked, confused. "Can't she just nurse directly?"
"No, because..."
Su Yuyan trailed off, looking as though she found it hard to speak of.
He saw her bite her lip, frowning as she explained, "Because there are three babies, my milk supply is nowhere near enough."
"Not enough?"
Zhang Hao was a bit puzzled, his gaze involuntarily dropping downward. *That looked plenty big to me...*
"Ding~"
Suddenly, the system's voice chimed in again.
"Ding: A new task has arrived! Feed Sanbao formula. Complete the task to receive a reward of 10,000 yuan."
Zhang Hao's expression shifted slightly.
He hadn't expected a task to pop up so soon, and an easy one at that.
At that moment, Su Yuyan, holding Sanbao, furrowed her delicate brows.
"Can you mix the formula for Sanbao first? Crying like this for too long is bad for her throat."
"Alright."
Zhang Hao smiled and nodded. Seeing the formula and a baby bottle sitting on the nearby table, he walked right over.
Su Yuyan called out a reminder, "There are instructions on the tin: one leveled scoop of formula to 30ml of warm water. Put in six scoops of formula."
"That thermos has hot water in it. Once you mix the formula, cool it down with cold water, otherwise it'll burn her mouth."
Zhang Hao nodded, committing the method firmly to memory.
Yet when he reached the table and opened the formula tin, he found the powder was already at the very bottom.
Forget six scoops—there weren't even three left.
"The formula's out. Is there another full tin?"
"No, that was the last one. I'll go buy some later."
"I'll go. Let's just mix what's left here so Sanbao can get a little something in her tummy."
Zhang Hao set about mixing the formula.
Since there were only three scoops left, he halved the amount of hot water as well.
Once mixed, feeling that the bottle was indeed scorching to the touch, he ran to the kitchen to cool it down under cold water.
"Let me feed Sanbao the formula."
Returning to the bedroom, Zhang Hao volunteered himself.
For one thing, he had to feed Sanbao personally to complete the task and claim his ten-thousand-yuan reward.
For another, he really wanted to hold Sanbao.
That tiny little body must feel amazing to cradle in his arms.
Just thinking about it got him a bit excited.
Yet right at that moment, Su Yuyan politely refused.
"Let me do it. You've never held a baby before, you don't know how."
"She's still too small, her bones are still developing. If you hold her uncomfortably, she'll just keep crying."
Zhang Hao's expression flickered. He hadn't expected something as simple as holding a baby to be so particular.
Even so, he still had a way to complete the task.
"How about you put Sanbao on the bed, and I'll feed her there?"
"No way, she'll cry even harder on the bed. Hand me the bottle."
Su Yuyan was starting to panic a little.
She reached her hand straight out in front of Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao dropped the matter and immediately handed the bottle over.
Because Sanbao really was crying harder now, even sobbing for breath, which was genuinely heartbreaking.
As for the task, it could take a backseat.
No matter how big the cash reward was, it wasn't as important as his precious daughter.
The very second Su Yuyan put the nipple into Sanbao's mouth, the baby instantly quieted down.
Her little mouth went *muh-muh-muh*, and she began drinking greedily.
And the half-bottle of milk vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Right, buy formula!"
Remembering they were out of milk, Zhang Hao hurriedly turned to leave.
If Dabao and Erbao got hungry, they'd start crying their eyes out too.
"I'll go instead."
Seeing Zhang Hao about to leave, Su Yuyan quickly spoke up.
Even though he was the babies' father, they had just met, after all, and she felt bad asking him to go buy formula.
"You go soothe the baby, I'll be right back."
Zhang Hao said without looking back.
Just as he stepped out of the bedroom, however, he saw the nanny standing outside the door with a smile on her face.
And by the looks of it, she had been standing there for quite a while.
So why hadn't she gone inside?
As for this nanny, it wasn't hard to guess she was the one Su Yuyan had hired to look after the babies.
Lost in thought, Zhang Hao smiled by way of greeting and hurried outside.
Though he was unfamiliar with the place, he remembered noticing a baby store not far from the entrance of the residential complex when he arrived—that's where they'd sell formula.
After walking a short while, Zhang Hao arrived at the baby store.
"Boss, give me a tin of Tianhe formula."
Zhang Hao clearly remembered that the formula the babies drank was this brand.
"Right away."
The store was run by a beautiful young woman. She took a tin of Tianhe formula off the shelf and placed it on the counter.
"How much?"
"358."
"Mmm."
Zhang Hao nodded and pulled out his phone to scan the QR code, but suddenly stopped his movement.
Since there were three babies, a single tin probably wouldn't even last a full day.
"Um... give me ten tins."
"Ten tins?"
The pretty shopkeeper froze for a second, then chuckled. "Handsome, you don't need to buy this many."
"I can tell you're a new dad with no experience taking care of babies."
"Just buy one tin first, and come back for more when they finish it."
Zhang Hao smiled and said something that left the pretty shopkeeper astonished.
"One tin isn't enough, because I've got three babies at home."
"Ah!"
The pretty shopkeeper's mouth fell open in surprise.
The next second, though, realization seemed to dawn on her.
"Handsome, are you Su Yuyan's husband?"
"Yeah."
Zhang Hao nodded with a smile, not too surprised.
Triplets were extremely rare, after all.
Probably nobody in the entire neighborhood didn't know Su Yuyan—or more accurately, nobody didn't know about the triplets.
"Oh~ that explains it. Who else would buy this much formula all at once?"
"Raising three babies isn't easy for you guys. I'll give you a discount on the price."
With that, the pretty shopkeeper emerged from the back room carrying two boxes of formula.
Each box contained six tins, and she pulled two out from one of the boxes.
"Ten tins come to 3,580, just give me 3,500."
"Thanks, I'll buy from you next time too."
Zhang Hao took out his phone and scanned the 3,580 directly.
Even though he'd gotten forty thousand in prize money thanks to the Super Dad System, he wouldn't take advantage of people even if he hadn't. That was a matter of principle.
Paying the bill, he hoisted the boxes of formula and walked out of the baby store.
*Vroom—vroom—*
Just as Zhang Hao was approaching the entrance of the residential complex, the roar of a sports car suddenly sounded from behind him.
And the sound was rapidly approaching.
Frowning, he looked back to see a red Lamborghini pull up right beside him.
The car window slowly rolled down, revealing a delicate face.
Though the young man was handsome, he had dyed his hair a flashy yellow and wore a disdainful look in his eyes.
In a sarcastic, affected tone, the youth sneered, "Oho~ Isn't this our famous Master Zhang?"
"What? Have you fallen so low you have to live in this kind of trashy neighborhood? Gotta walk just to pick up a delivery? Freaking hilarious~"
"Do you want me to spot you a few hundred bucks to buy a bicycle?"
"Heh~"
With that, he let out a mocking laugh, even covering his mouth with his hand.
Zhang Hao frowned, wearing a look of utter disgust.
He wasn't angry; he was just grossed out.
The youth's name was Su Hairou—truly a case of the name fitting the person.
Though he possessed a man's body, he had a woman's heart—a textbook sissy.
Back when he used to hang out with those young heirs, he had only crossed paths with this fellow a few times; they couldn't even be counted as drinking buddies.
"You dying sissy!"
Zhang Hao fired right back without the slightest politeness. "Whose pigsty collapsed and let you out?"
"Such a big grown man, acting all effeminate day in and day out."
Struck right where it hurt, Su Hairou flew into a fit of rage, his eyes bulging with intense fury.
Yet when he opened his mouth, out came a high-pitched, piercing squeak.
That voice sounded just like a palace eunuch.
"Who the hell are you calling a sissy?!"
"You're the sissy! Your whole damn family is full of sissies!"
Hearing that, Zhang Hao immediately got displeased.
Insulting him was one thing, but dragging his parents into it was crossing a line that could not be forgiven.
Just as he was about to set down the formula and teach this sissy a lesson, he suddenly remembered the babies howling for food back home.
*No, Sanbao is still waiting for her milk, I need to get back immediately.*
"I won't waste time with you today. We'll settle this next time, you dying sissy!"
With that, he picked up the formula and walked toward the gates of the complex.
As for Su Hairou, he stood there with his hands on his hips, glaring at Zhang Hao's retreating back with a venomous stare.
"Damn it, I'm going to murder him!"
***
*Waa~*
Sure enough, the moment Zhang Hao stepped back inside his home, he heard the baby crying from the bedroom.
It was the kind of heart-rending wail that shattered one's heart into a million pieces.
"Don't cry, baby, Daddy's back."
Zhang Hao hurriedly carried the formula into the bedroom.
Seeing him, Su Yuyan knitted her delicate brows. "What took you so long?"
She wasn't complaining; she was just anxious because the baby had been crying nonstop.
After all, what mother wouldn't feel the ache in her heart seeing her child cry?
"Don't ask. Ran into a sissy on the way back. If I wasn't in such a rush to get back, I would've beaten him up."
As he spoke, Zhang Hao immediately took out a tin of formula and started mixing it.
"A sissy?"
Su Yuyan's expression shifted, looking deep in thought.
"Yeah."
Zhang Hao grunted an acknowledgement, then asked, "I mixed three scoops earlier, so I should just do three scoops now, right?"
"Right."
Su Yuyan nodded. Seeing Zhang Hao buy so much formula all at once, she couldn't help a look of surprise.
"Why'd you buy so much formula at once?"
"I was worried we wouldn't have enough, so I bought ten tins. Besides, the shelf life is two years, it won't go bad."
"Oh~ How much was it? I'll transfer the money to you."
Su Yuyan took out her phone.
Hearing that, Zhang Hao furrowed his brows.
"What? Aren't these babies mine?"
"What do you mean? Didn't you already do a paternity test?"
"I'm buying milk for my own kids, why are you giving me money?"
"I..."
Su Yuyan trailed off, at a loss for words.
*He makes a solid point, I actually have nothing to say to that.*
Zhang Hao smiled and went back to mixing the formula.
Before long, the bottle was ready.
The moment Sanbao got her hands on the bottle, she instantly quieted down and began drinking greedily.
Perhaps exhausted from all the crying, she fell asleep with her eyes closed before she even finished the milk.
Su Yuyan used a tissue to wipe away a bit of milk from the corner of Sanbao's mouth, gently laid her back down on the bed, and patted her lightly.
Seeing this, Zhang Hao wore a gratified smile.
Although the wife and babies had appeared out of nowhere, right now they were wrapped in an atmosphere of warmth.
At that moment, the nanny spoke softly, "Xiao Su, it's already five o'clock, I should head off. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
"Okay."
Su Yuyan acknowledged her.
Then, a sudden thought crossed her mind, and she put on a troubled look.
"Auntie, today was supposed to be payday, but my salary hasn't come through yet. Could it wait a couple of days?"
"Of course it can."
The nanny smiled kindly. "I know it's not easy for you raising three triplets, we can talk about wages anytime. I'll be heading out then."
With that, she nodded and smiled at Zhang Hao, then turned and walked toward the door.
"Hold on."
Zhang Hao suddenly called out to the nanny.
"Auntie, how much is your monthly pay? I'll give it to you."
"No need, I'll pay her."
Su Yuyan hastily refused.
After all, Zhang Hao had already spent a lot of money on formula; how could she possibly let him pay the nanny's wages too?
Right at that moment, however, the nanny pulled out her phone and brought up her payment QR code.
"Young man, it's fifty-six hundred."
"Alright."