Chapter 81

After a restless night, Shen Yan still woke up early the next morning.

The little one was used to waking up early, and by 6 a.m., he was already awake.

Although the little one noticed that Shen Yan was still asleep and tried to be as quiet as possible, trying not to disturb him, he was just a four-year-old child. It was impossible for him to stay quiet for long. So, he would end up touching Shen Yan’s face or mumbling softly to himself, telling stories no one else could understand.

Shen Yan was not a morning person. Whenever the little one climbed into their bed on a weekend morning, Shen Yan, wanting to sleep, would find the child lying beside him, playing quietly by himself, trying not to make any noise.

At times like this, Shen Yan usually couldn’t fall back asleep, though he was still tired, so he would just close his eyes and rest, not paying much attention to the child.

After a long time, having switched identities and worlds, the familiar scene felt a little off to Shen Yan.

Actually, he had already woken up when the little one did. He just wanted to see if the child, who no longer remembered him, would still act the same toward him.

But the little one was still so considerate. It was clear that he was truly his son.

Unable to hold back, when the little one gently touched his face and softly called him “Brother,” Shen Yan immediately scooped him up and began kissing his face fiercely.

His son was just too adorable!

The little one laughed happily, hugging Shen Yan’s neck and sweetly saying, “Good morning, Brother!”

“Good morning, Hang Hang. Are you hungry? Let’s wash up and go downstairs for breakfast. Grandma made breakfast, and it’s really delicious.” Though Shen Yan hadn’t slept much, he still thought it was important to get the little one his breakfast on time.

Back home, it was always Su Yunzhe who took care of the little one’s breakfast on weekends. Thinking of Su Yunzhe, Shen Yan unexpectedly found himself looking forward to the awkward “meeting the in-laws” moment later.

I wonder if Su Yunzhe is up yet? He slept so late last night, and with all the meetings he had today, he probably wouldn’t be getting up this early.

As Shen Yan helped the little one get ready, his thoughts wandered.

When he carried the little one downstairs, he was still debating whether to knock on the guest room door to wake Su Yunzhe up. Though it seemed like he was eager to see Su Yunzhe nervous about meeting the family, Shen Yan didn’t really want the family to dislike Su Yunzhe.

After all, their first impression wasn’t great, and if Su Yunzhe was still being lazy and staying in bed when they all were up, it would make the impression even worse.

However, when they reached the guest room, it was already spotless, and there was no sign of Su Yunzhe.

“Brother, who are you looking for?”

The little one, having woken up early, didn’t know Su Yunzhe had come. Seeing Shen Yan peeking into the guest room with a confused expression, he asked curiously.

“Your dad.” Stepping out of the guest room, Shen Yan quickened his pace as he went downstairs.

“Dad? When did he come?” The little one was excited. “Where is he? Why haven’t I seen him?”

Though the little one never really felt homesick, he still missed his close family members, especially at this age.

Shen Yan pinched the little one’s cheek and reassured him, “How about we go find him?”

Actually, Shen Yan was also curious where Su Yunzhe had gone. Maybe he had gotten too nervous and, before anyone else was up, snuck out of the house. After all, he had been restless last night and couldn’t sleep.

If that was the case, Shen Yan thought he could laugh for the rest of his life.

“Haha… Is this for real? Was it like this when you were in college?”

Before Shen Yan could make fun of the situation, the sound of laughter from downstairs reached his ears. He couldn’t help but peek around the corner of the stairs to see what was going on in the dining room…

What the heck?!

Su Yunzhe was sitting with his family around the breakfast table, enjoying their meal together.

Judging by the slight softness on Father Shen’s usually stern face, it seemed like everyone was in a good mood.

Especially Shen Fei, who, after having whispered to Shen Yan about how bad Su Yunzhe was the day before, was now laughing joyfully at whatever Su Yunzhe had said. Shen Yan was afraid she would start laughing so hard she’d spit out her food.

Shen Mom, meanwhile, was gracefully cutting her eggs, but her eyes were fixed on Su Yunzhe. Shen Yan could almost see the glimmer of approval in her gaze, like a mother-in-law watching her son-in-law, growing fonder the more she looked at him.

What was going on here?

Wasn’t Su Yunzhe worried about not being able to sleep last night? How had he managed to charm everyone in the family so easily this morning?

“Dad!”

While Shen Yan was still in a daze, the little one spotted his father and happily shouted out, drawing the attention of everyone at the table.

Shen Yan had no choice but to carry the little one into the room, handing him over to Su Yunzhe, and casually said, “I haven’t introduced you, but I see you’ve already gotten to know each other?”

“Introduce me? It’s already too late for that. Tell me, when was the last time you came downstairs before ten o’clock at home? Little Su here is raising a kid alone abroad, managing to sleep early and wake up early, forming good habits. Who are you kidding, you’re just a night owl.” Shen Mom scolded Shen Yan playfully, before turning to Su Yunzhe, explaining, “This child of mine never listens, I can’t be bothered with him. Come on, Hang Hang, Grandma will feed you breakfast, okay?”

She turned her attention to the little one, her tone soft and gentle.

Meanwhile, Father Shen, seeing the little one downstairs, ate his food more quickly, finishing it in a few bites. He wiped his hands and said, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it. Let me hold him. Hang Hang, Grandpa will hold you and feed you.”

Shen Fei almost choked on her food, laughing, “Haha, ‘eat food’… Dad, you’ve totally lost your composure! Seeing Hang Hang, you’ve completely thrown your character out the window.”

Father Shen pretended not to hear, happily hugging the little one, while Shen Mom fed him breakfast, the two of them clearly forgetting about the other three adults in the room.

Shen Yan was already accustomed to the fact that his parents adored the little one, but Su Yunzhe was once again struck by shock.

When the little one first met Shen Yan, they were already incredibly close, but now, seeing Shen Yan’s parents interact with the child, it felt as if he were watching two generations of family—like a grandparent-grandchild bond. Shen Yan’s parents were so loving and indulgent toward the little one, and the child behaved so freely in front of them, laughing and playing without restraint. If there was something he didn’t like to eat, he would pout and shake his head, softly whining, “I don’t want this, Hang Hang doesn’t like it.” It really didn’t feel like they had only met the night before.

“Did you make this?” Su Yunzhe was lost in his thoughts when suddenly, Shen Yan leaned in and whispered in his ear.

The warm breath brushed his ear, causing a slight itch…

A sudden memory flashed in Su Yunzhe’s mind—last night, when Shen Yan was pressed under him on the couch, his pajamas were disheveled, and his lips were swollen and glistening. For a moment, not just his ear itched, but his heart as well.

“Mm, can you tell that I made breakfast?” Shen Yan, as if nothing had happened, tried to suppress the tingling sensation, adopting a composed appearance. But his eyes betrayed him, still drawn to Shen Yan’s lips.

The swelling had gone down, but there was still a little egg at the corner of his mouth. As Shen Yan ate, the egg moved around, making Su Yunzhe dizzy.

He hurriedly grabbed a napkin and handed it over, saying, “You’ve got something on the corner of your mouth.”

Shen Yan glanced at the napkin, then at him, and suddenly smiled mischievously.

Just when Su Yunzhe wondered if Shen Yan was about to make him wipe it himself, Shen Yan simply stuck out his tongue and gently licked the corner of his mouth, cleaning the egg off.

Su Yunzhe: “…”

Damn it! Was he flirting with him again? And in front of the entire table!

Why was it that a man in his thirties kept getting flirted with by a guy in his twenties?

And in this situation, he couldn’t exactly pin him down on the table and do something about it.

With a resigned sigh, Su Yunzhe shifted his gaze, trying to calm down and not ruin the good impression he had worked so hard to build in front of Shen Yan’s family. But just then, Shen Yan leaned over again and spoke.

“I can tell not only what you made, but also what you’re thinking right now…”

“Hey, hey, hey, there’s a living person sitting right here! Can you guys pay attention a little?”

Finally, Shen Fei couldn’t watch it anymore. The elderly family members could turn a blind eye, but she was sitting right there, and no one seemed to notice her?

Su Yunzhe, feeling guilty and wanting to make a good impression since it was his first time meeting Shen Yan’s family, instinctively tried to distance himself from Shen Yan. He leaned away slightly, but Shen Yan continued nonchalantly, “What should I pay attention to? I already told you, I like him, okay? Are you going to chase him or not?”

Uh…

Was he being this direct?

Su Yunzhe was caught off guard, but at the same time, he felt oddly pleased. Based on Shen Yan’s tone, it seemed like he had already come clean with his family about it.

This kid was a little impatient, huh?

“Uh…” Su Yunzhe was about to speak, but Shen Yan cut him off.

“Alright, alright, if you’re happy, then go ahead and chase him. We won’t stop you. Anyway, I’m full, so I’m leaving.”

Though Su Yunzhe felt pleased, he also thought he should clarify his stance in this situation. However, Shen Yan’s family seemed to not care at all. Shen Fei got up and casually waved goodbye, while the other two were too busy trying to feed the little one to even notice.

In the end, Su Yunzhe had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Shen Yan, however, was clearly enjoying this. His clear, smiling eyes had a mischievous glint, almost as if he were teasing him, yet there was also a hint of amusement.

Su Yunzhe felt like grabbing him and pinning him on his lap to teach him a lesson about manners. But for now, all he could do was sigh silently in his heart, vowing to get even when no one was around.

“Brother, today’s the weekend!”

Finally, after Father Shen and Shen Mom had managed to feed the little one his breakfast, the child eagerly jumped off Father Shen’s lap and squeezed between Shen Yan and Su Yunzhe. He said something that didn’t quite make sense to Su Yunzhe.

What was so exciting about the weekend?

Shen Yan, however, remembered clearly. He pulled the little one onto his lap and pinched his cheek. “Yeah, it’s the weekend. We promised, remember? We’re going to the amusement park today, right? I booked the tickets last night. We’ll go soon, okay?”

“Yay!” The little one clapped his hands in excitement and then turned to Su Yunzhe, asking, “Daddy, do you have to work today?”

Su Yunzhe finally remembered that Shen Yan had indeed mentioned it a couple of days ago. But with Yun Kong Entertainment going through such a turbulent time recently, he had a meeting to attend today.

“Do you have work?” Shen Yan, aware that Su Yunzhe had been busy until late last night, asked.

“On the weekend? What work could there be? Let’s go together,” Su Yunzhe hesitated for a moment, but when he met Shen Yan’s gaze and saw the concern and subtle expectation in his eyes, he immediately made up his mind.

“Great! Dad can come with us to the amusement park! Hang Hang has never gone to the amusement park with Daddy,” the little one cheered, jumping off Shen Yan’s lap and running excitedly around the house.

Shen Yan paused, suddenly realizing that Su Yunzhe had never gone to the amusement park with the little one.

It wasn’t that Su Yunzhe wasn’t a good father; in fact, Shen Yan sometimes thought Su Yunzhe was more dedicated to taking care of and educating the child than he was.

But due to time constraints, every time they went to the amusement park, it had always been Shen Yan who took the little one.

The little one always seemed to have a great time, but perhaps deep down, he was secretly longing for a trip to the amusement park with his dad as well?

After they got to the amusement park, Shen Yan took photos the whole time while Su Yunzhe accompanied the little one on rides. At first, Su Yunzhe felt awkward. He was a tall, grown man, and riding those tiny child-sized attractions felt uncomfortable and strange.

But gradually, he stopped resisting because it was futile—Shen Yan wouldn’t allow it, and besides, the little one was having so much fun. He could just hold him on the little train, and the child would wave at Shen Yan outside, even sticking his tongue out and making faces at him.

Su Yunzhe looked at Shen Yan standing outside with his phone, taking pictures of them. The joy and happiness in Shen Yan’s smile were unmistakable, as though everything in the world was captured in that moment.

That feeling began to infect Su Yunzhe as well. Even though the rides were cramped, they didn’t feel so uncomfortable anymore. Amusement parks, which he had lost interest in for many years, now seemed to have their charm.

After getting off the little train, it was time for lunch, so the three of them found a restaurant to eat.

While waiting for the food, the little one said he needed to go to the bathroom, so Shen Yan took him to the restroom. Su Yunzhe sat at the table, watching them walk through the crowd. His mind was full of the image of Shen Yan’s happy and contented look when he had seen them earlier. What had Shen Yan been thinking at that moment?

“Excuse me, sir, can I interrupt you for a moment?”

Su Yunzhe heard a voice and turned around. He saw two or three girls standing behind him. The one speaking was clearly nervous, while the other two had encouraging expressions on their faces.

“Um… I… I was sitting next to you on the carousel earlier,” the girl stammered, her voice growing quieter, and her face turning red.

Su Yunzhe didn’t remember her, so he looked at her expressionlessly, waiting for her to continue.

But she, flustered, turned around and walked away. The other two girls quickly blocked her path. One of them, looking frustrated, left her friend behind and stepped up to Su Yunzhe.

“Excuse me, sir, here’s the thing—my friend wanted to meet the handsome young man who was with you, the one who helped you and your son take pictures. She wanted to know if he’s single, and if he is, could you help us by giving us his contact info?”

Su Yunzhe had been approached by women countless times, so as soon as the girls started talking to him, he immediately understood their intentions. However, he didn’t want to interrupt them rudely, so he waited patiently for them to finish.

To his surprise, though, the one they were hitting on wasn’t him.

It was Shen Yan!

Hmm… Why did that make him feel so uncomfortable?

“He’s not single…” Su Yunzhe paused. Before the girls could react with excitement, he casually added, “But his boyfriend is right here.”

 

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