Clutching a photograph of his son, Michael boarded a flight from Shanghai to Beijing for a tough conversation. After dinner with his parents, he solemnly called a meeting and admitted to a secret he had been keeping for years: He was gay. Then out spilled another: They had a grandchild. Despite having lived with his same-sex partner for eight years, Michael had never come out to his family. In 2013, after the couple was established at work and settled at home, they decided to have a child through surrogacy. For the first few months after their son was born, they made do with a nanny, but it soon became clear they were in over their heads. Finally, Michael, the child’s biological father, worked up the courage to have the talk with his parents — and ask them for help.