Chapter 82
The girls were stunned for a moment before they quickly realized what had just happened. They awkwardly apologized and hurried off, almost like rabbits running away.
Shen Yan, noticing the scene from a distance, walked over with a teasing smile, “Mr. Su, you’re something else. Even at a meal, girls are coming to ask for your contact details?”
Who was really something else here? A meal, and girls asking for contact details, all while with a child, no less!
Su Yunzhe wanted to snap back at him with something childish but held back. He even swallowed the fact that the girls had actually been asking for Shen Yan’s contact details. For some reason, he didn’t want Shen Yan to know.
Su Yunzhe didn’t even realize how petty he was until now!
But to be honest, Shen Yan was very good-looking, especially with that teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of his eye. When he smiled, it was irresistibly charming. He must get hit on all the time.
Su Yunzhe couldn’t help but wonder how Shen Yan responded to those approaches—did he give out his number if the girl was pretty?
Shen Yan noticed Su Yunzhe’s strange behavior but didn’t press the issue. He could tell it wasn’t anything unpleasant, but rather a bit of curiosity or confusion.
Shen Yan found his reaction a bit amusing.
When he first returned, not knowing if he’d be able to see Su Yunzhe and his son again, he was miserable, feeling like nothing had meaning anymore. But now, seeing that Su Yunzhe and the little one were both here, though temporarily forgetting him, it seemed that Su Yunzhe was easily charmed by him. Shen Yan was starting to feel a little smug, finding his every reaction interesting and amusing, looking forward to seeing more.
Back when they first got together, it had been completely unexpected. Shen Yan didn’t even understand what had happened, and before he knew it, Su Yunzhe had thrown him onto the bed, and everything escalated from there. The next morning, when he was about to angrily accuse Su Yunzhe of taking advantage of him, he suddenly realized that, in truth, he didn’t mind at all. Somewhere along the way, his heart had been stolen.
Even though he had known for a while about Su Yunzhe’s feelings for him, back then, Shen Yan had felt guilty, and he wasn’t paying attention to Su Yunzhe’s reactions in a relationship—he was just focused on making sure Su Yunzhe didn’t discover that he was a man.
Now, the situation was different, and Shen Yan saw it as a rare opportunity to observe Su Yunzhe from a new angle.
After lunch, the little one pointed excitedly at the Ferris wheel, “Can we go now? Big Brother, Daddy, Hang Hang wants to ride that.”
Since they arrived, the little one had been eyeing the giant Ferris wheel from afar. Now that they had played on the other rides and eaten lunch, riding the Ferris wheel seemed like the perfect choice—it was less thrilling and just right for after a meal.
They were lucky enough that there weren’t many people around, so they didn’t have to wait in line and could get on immediately.
The little one leaned against the window, watching as they slowly rose higher, his joy so evident in his big, sparkling eyes. He kept chattering excitedly, his little mouth moving nonstop.
Shen Yan, still holding his phone, recorded videos of the moment.
He used to mock parents who loved to take photos and record videos of their kids when they went out, but after having a child himself, he completely understood the desire to capture every moment of their growth.
“Mm?”
At the highest point, the little one suddenly tilted his head, lost in thought, looking out the window.
“What’s wrong, Hang Hang?” Su Yunzhe gently patted his little head.
The little one turned back, blinking his big eyes in confusion as he looked at Su Yunzhe. “Daddy, I’ve been here before.”
“You’ve been here?” Su Yunzhe was puzzled. They had just returned to the country, and it hadn’t even been a week. When could the little one have visited here?
But the little one nodded seriously. “Yes, I’ve been here before, and I rode this. But…” He tilted his head in deep thought, “But… there was no Daddy. Hang Hang came with Big Brother.”
It seemed like the little one had finally sorted out his thoughts. He rushed over and hugged Shen Yan, looking up at him with a big smile, his eyes crinkling with joy. “Big Brother, right? Only Hang Hang came here with Big Brother. Big Brother helped Hang Hang take pictures, saying… we should keep them and show Daddy when we get home.”
“Hang Hang, don’t…” Su Yunzhe started to warn, but before he could finish, the little one interrupted, his words turning into a playful giggle.
In Su Yunzhe’s mind, such a thing was impossible. He was about to pull the little one back to scold him for lying, but before he could, Shen Yan spoke up, his voice trembling slightly.
“Hang Hang, do you… remember when it was?” Shen Yan was so excited that his voice cracked.
A few days before he returned to this world, he had indeed taken the little one to an amusement park—the same one from the world in the book, the one they were at now. The Ferris wheel, a defining feature of both parks, was exactly the same.
That day had been almost identical to today. The little one had been excited, leaning against the window, watching as they ascended. Shen Yan had recorded a video on his phone. The only difference was that Su Yunzhe wasn’t with them that day.
Su Yunzhe had been abroad, already gone for several days by then.
The little one missed him. At the highest point, he turned to Shen Yan, pouting, and asked, “Daddy, when is Daddy coming back? Hang Hang hasn’t seen him for so many days. Doesn’t he miss Hang Hang?”
Shen Yan quickly hugged him, soothing him, saying that he had recorded lots of videos to show his dad, and they could watch them together to see all the fun things they’d done.
Afterward, they never got the chance to watch the video together—before they could, Shen Yan had inexplicably returned to this world.
Why was the little one suddenly recalling that day? Had he remembered it?
The little one blinked and seemed lost in thought. After a while, he smiled brightly at Shen Yan. “Was it in a dream? I didn’t see Big Brother before, right?”
Shen Yan silently sighed and gently pinched the little one’s cheek. “Yes, it was in a dream. Big Brother also remembers coming here with Hang Hang in the dream, so when we met for the first time, I liked you a lot.”
“I like Big Brother too! I like him a lot!” The little one didn’t understand much, but was happy to have this little secret with someone he liked. He snuggled up in Shen Yan’s arms, rubbing his face, and soon fell asleep.
The little one’s biological clock was spot on—he went to bed early and woke up early, always needing a nap around noon.
Su Yunzhe reached out to take him, but Shen Yan shook his head. “I’ll hold him.”
His voice was soft as he looked down at the sleeping face of the little one. His bangs covered his eyes, making it hard to see his expression.
“Are you okay?” Su Yunzhe asked, his concern evident.
What the little one had said seemed like nonsense at first, but Shen Yan’s reaction had seemed full of hope, even surprise, only to fade into disappointment. Su Yunzhe had clearly seen that momentary flash of loss in Shen Yan’s eyes before it was replaced by a doting smile.
Shen Yan gently stroked the little one’s face and shook his head. “I’m fine.”
He paused, then looked up at Su Yunzhe. “Are you confused about a lot of things?”
Su Yunzhe instinctively prepared to nod but stopped himself.
Ever since he had met Shen Yan, his doubts had grown, but he had ignored them repeatedly. Yet, what had just happened was too strange.
His son had suddenly said he had been to this place with Shen Yan before, though he couldn’t remember when. For a four-year-old, his description was already quite detailed.
And from Shen Yan’s reaction, it seemed that event had really happened.
Wasn’t that incredible?
They had only met Shen Yan for the first time a few days ago.
However, considering the unusually close behavior of the little one since meeting Shen Yan, it seemed quite reasonable that they had visited the amusement park together before.
It felt as though, without Su Yunzhe’s knowledge, the little one and Shen Yan had shared many moments together, only the little one had forgotten them.
In fact, Su Yunzhe himself…
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sudden ringing of his phone. He glanced at the screen and saw it was from his mother.
As expected, when he answered the call, Su Yunzhe was immediately bombarded with his mother’s reprimands before she got to the point. “Hang Hang, bring my grandson back now! Are you not his father anymore, letting someone else take him around like this? Hurry up, bring my precious grandson home—this is an order!”
With that, she hung up.
Su Yunzhe rubbed his temples, a little headache forming.
Shen Yan, who had been thinking about how to explain the little one’s strange words and his own odd reaction, noticed that Su Yunzhe had been silent for a long time. Now, he still wasn’t speaking.
It was probably for the best. After all, Shen Yan wasn’t sure how much he should explain to Su Yunzhe. He hoped that Su Yunzhe would figure things out on his own.
From the little one’s reaction, it seemed they hadn’t truly forgotten.
“Let’s go. Since Hang Hang is asleep, you can take him home first.”
The Ferris wheel had just completed its round, and they made their way to the exit.
Su Yunzhe knew he needed to get the child home first. After all, they had just returned to the country and would soon be moving out. It was a good opportunity for his parents to spend some time with the little one.
But when they reached the parking lot, he saw Shen Yan reluctantly handing the little one over to him. Though Shen Yan said goodbye, his eyes remained fixed on the child’s face, and Su Yunzhe couldn’t help but feel reluctant as well.
“The house at Qing Shui Bay is almost ready. The sea view there is nice. Would you like to go see it?” Su Yunzhe blurted out.
Shen Yan’s eyes brightened. “Now?”
Su Yunzhe hesitated for a moment. “Is it inconvenient?”
“But didn’t you want to…”
“It’s fine. I was planning to move in this weekend anyway. Let’s go.”
It was only after Shen Yan got into the car that he realized Su Yunzhe didn’t actually want him to see the sea view at Qing Shui Bay. It was clear that Su Yunzhe had noticed his reluctance and was trying to keep him with the little one a bit longer.
He sat in the back seat, gently poking the little one’s face and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.
But Qing Shui Bay—he did want to see it, too.
He wondered if it was like the house from that other world.
From what had just happened with the little one remembering things on the Ferris wheel, in that very similar setting, perhaps these familiar scenes would help them, this “amnesiac” father and son, to recover their memories.
The amusement park was a bit far from Qing Shui Bay. Shen Yan hadn’t slept well last night and had gotten up early that morning. Now, as the car cruised smoothly, he felt his eyelids growing heavy. Soon, he fell asleep in the back seat.
When he woke up, he found himself being carried by Su Yunzhe into the familiar elevator.
For a moment, he was disoriented, not knowing which world he was in. He leaned against Su Yunzhe’s shoulder and softly called out, “Su Yunzhe…”
“Awake?” Su Yunzhe looked down at him, his voice full of warmth and tenderness.
Shen Yan gazed at him silently, those eyes as deep and gentle as he remembered.
Without thinking, Shen Yan reached out and wrapped his arms around Su Yunzhe’s neck, leaning in close…
“Big Brother is finally awake!”
The little one, who had been quietly holding onto Su Yunzhe’s shirt, happily stretched out his hands and waved at Shen Yan, pulling him completely back to reality.
Well, it seemed things hadn’t changed. Su Yunzhe still didn’t remember him.
“Mm, I’m awake. When did Hang Hang wake up?” Shen Yan asked as he spoke to the little one, gently nudging Su Yunzhe before jumping down from his arms.
“Hang Hang woke up a long time ago. Seeing Big Brother sleeping so soundly, Hang Hang didn’t want to disturb him,” the little one replied.
“Really? Hang Hang is so good! Then, should Big Brother give Hang Hang a reward?”
“Tonight, I’ll sleep with Hang Hang, and also with Daddy. The three of us will sleep together, okay, Big Brother?”
Uh…
Shen Yan hadn’t expected the little one’s train of thought to jump so much. From talking about rewards, it had suddenly shifted to sleeping together.
Well, he didn’t really mind, but… with their current relationship, wasn’t that a bit too soon?
He glanced back at Su Yunzhe, only to find him lowering his head and chuckling to himself, even sneaking a thumbs-up to the little one. Was he pretending not to see?
Fine, he’d act like he hadn’t seen it.
Shen Yan picked up the little one and kissed his cheek. “Alright, Big Brother promises to sleep with Hang Hang tonight…”
He paused for a moment before adding, “But Daddy’s an adult. Adults sleep on their own.”