Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Little Gas Can.

Chapter 1: Little One.

Late summer was turning into early autumn, the weather had cooled slightly, with overcast skies and a chilly breeze.

Song Qinian glanced out the window and put an extra layer on the child.

“Ah, wu, wu…” The little one in the crib had just been woken up, mumbling something with his eyes closed, still half-asleep. His chubby, fair cheeks were flushed pink, and his curly hair was tousled.

“Okay, Daddy gets it.” Song Qinian quickly changed the diaper, ruffled the baby’s fine hair a couple of times, and gently picked him up to clean him up.

As the warm towel softly brushed his face, Lu Zhishi became more alert. He opened his dark, bright eyes and gazed blurrily at the handsome man in front of him, unconsciously opening his mouth to blow a drool bubble: “Da…”

Song Qinian chuckled, using the towel to gently wipe his mouth, and teased, “Little chatterbox.”

After washing up, he carried the baby out, dusted him with baby powder and rubbed on lotion, and laid him on the bed on his stomach for some tummy time while he went to change his own clothes.

Lu Zhishi struggled to lift his head, wobbling unsteadily, babbling “ah” over and over, drool dripping down his neck.

Song Qinian laughed and patted his little bottom and carried him out of the bedroom.

Just a few steps away was the children’s room next to the master bedroom.

Song Qinian freed a hand and lightly knocked on the door: “Sweetie, are you awake?”

Lu Zhishi also turned toward the door, waving his hand around randomly: “Ge-ge da ya…”

This room belonged to his older brother, who was five years his senior and also a little curly-haired toddler.

“Daddy, I’m up.” The door opened, and a child’s soft, childlike voice called out. The curly-haired little one peeked out with a damp face as if he had just finished washing.

Lu Zhishi stretched out his chubby hand to grab Song Qinian’s arm. “Ah…” Brother.

Song Qinian patted his plump little back, telling him to wait a moment.

Then, he took Lu Zhiyu’s hand and led him into the children’s room, changed his clothes, and put an extra jacket on him before carrying both children downstairs.

The family had never liked having strangers around, so there was no nanny. Breakfast was always prepared by Song Qinian.

He fixed a bottle of milk for Lu Zhishi to hold and drink, set out the ready breakfast for Lu Zhiyu to eat, and then went to the balcony to take a call.

Lying half-awake in his little bed, Lu Zhishi drank his milk half-heartedly, sneaking off mid-sip to listen in on his father’s phone call.

It wasn’t about the content; he just wanted to hear his father’s voice.

Unfamiliar yet familiar.

For a while, he had been sleepy and disoriented. Babies sleep a lot, and he was rarely awake, making Lu Zhishi think it was all a dream. His memories were fragmented, and he had quietly thought what a tiring dream this was.

It wasn’t until nearly three months later, when he was awake more often, that he realized this might not be a dream after all.

Coming back to the present, he took a few sips from his bottle and started daydreaming again.

He had been reborn, not time travel like he’d first assumed. Lu Zhishi was certain of this.

—Because he had been aware since birth, just too sleepy to tell it wasn’t a dream.

When he finally realized it some time ago, Lu Zhishi couldn’t help but cry.

He had just passed the exams with flying colors, gotten his acceptance letter from a top university, and before he could even enjoy it, he woke up to find himself reborn.

Twelve years of hard work, only to start over from scratch after one nap—who wouldn’t be upset about that?

After his moment of sadness, Lu Zhishi secretly checked out his new family.

He had two fathers, an older brother, and four grandparents.

The family seemed wealthy and happy, and it was clear his new family really cared about him.

Lu Zhishi felt both joy and unease.

Joy because he had found a loving family; unease because he was afraid he wouldn’t be loved.

In his previous life, he was from a broken home. His parents split when he was young, and though his father got custody but ignored him, leaving Lu Zhishi to grow up alone in the countryside.

He had few friends growing up. His parents remarried separately, and he felt like he didn’t fit in anywhere.

Looking back on his past eighteen years, Lu Zhishi felt like he had always been alone…

A soft, warm hand patted his forehead, snapping Lu Zhishi out of his thoughts. Without thinking, he took a few sips from his bottle, wiggled his chubby feet, and pretended to be well-behaved.

Lu Zhiyu smiled, touched the bottle—still warm—and leaned down to kiss his brother’s plump cheek. “Drink your milk nicely.”

“Da wu…” Lu Zhishi reached out, clumsily grabbing his hand, tilting his chubby face up to reveal a toothless grin.

Seeing his pink gums, Lu Zhiyu’s heart melted.

He glanced stealthily at Song Qinian, still on the phone, and whispered, “Daddy hasn’t finished his call yet. Drink your milk quickly, don’t let him catch you.”

Song Qinian had already noticed and even told Lu Tingan about it.

One was too distracted to drink his milk, the other too engrossed in watching his brother to eat. Both were later scolded by Song Qinian.

After packing up, Song Qinian buckled them into their car seats, made a quick trip to the neighbor’s house, and returned holding another child’s hand, securing him in a car seat as well.

Lu Zhishi knew him—the little brother from next door.

The two families were close. Their fathers were childhood friends who grew up together, and now their children were around the same age. They often carpooled for school drop-offs and pick-ups, depending on who was available.

Both Lu Zhiyu and Lu Zhishi took after their other father, Lu Tingan, in appearance.

But their eyes and hair resembled their older father, Song Qinian—smiling peach-blossom eyes and slightly curly hair.

The neighbor’s brother, Chi Chen, had monolids, deep-set eyes as dark as lacquer, long eyelashes, a straight nose, and thin lips. He was calm, reserved, and quiet, giving off a cool, mature older brother vibe.

Lu Zhishi remembered how Brother Chi Chen had held him once, silently gazing down at him for a long time.

Because they were so close, Lu Zhishi could clearly see his face. Just as he was observing, he heard the brother murmur almost inaudibly, as if lost in thought, “Round and chubby…”

Round and chubby…

He said he was chubby…

Knowing the baby couldn’t see clearly yet, but those big, dark eyes were fixed intently on him, Chi Chen couldn’t help but notice.

He looked away, reached into his backpack, and pulled out a clean, pretty little toy rabbit, placing it in Lu Zhishi’s arms.

“Ya ah ah ah…” Lu Zhishi was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. For me? Thank you!

Although he was actually eighteen years old, perhaps because he had never received much affection in his childhood, Lu Zhishi developed a strong fondness for many things.

The chubby baby grinned from ear to ear while hugging the plush bunny. Lu Zhiyu rummaged through his pocket for a moment and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his younger brother’s drool.

After cleaning him up, Lu Zhiyu turned to Chi Chen beside him and said, "So this bunny was for my brother after all. You didn’t say anything when I asked you earlier."

Chi Chen nodded. "Yeah, I just picked it up casually."

Lu Zhiyu didn’t believe him—it was clearly something he had carefully picked out at the store.

While the others were talking, Lu Zhishi played with the bunny and listened attentively. Song Qinian drove, occasionally glancing into the rearview mirror with a soft smile.

At the entrance of the private kindergarten, parents were dropping off their children.

Song Qinian got out of the car, cradled Tubby protectively in his arms, and led the two little ones inside.

Handing them over to the teacher in charge, the two little ones tilted their chubby faces upward, waved goodbye, and called out in their tiny voices, "Bye, Daddy! Bye, Uncle!"

They were absolutely adorable.

Song Qinian crouched down, waved Lu Zhishi’s chubby little hand for him. "Say goodbye to your brothers."

"Ah-da-da~" (Bye-bye!)

The chubby little munchkin grinned widely, drool dribbling all over his face.

Lu Zhiyu hugged his father, kissed his brother’s chubby cheek, then shouldered his backpack and entered the kindergarten with Chi Chen.

Song Qinian watched the children go inside, took out a handkerchief to wipe Tubby’s mouth, and then wiped his own face and neck.

After making polite small talk with a few parents who came over, Song Qinian carried the child back to the car.

"Alright, your brothers are at school now. It’s time for us to get going too."

Lu Zhishi lay in his car seat, lifting one plump little foot to rest on the side rail. He hugged the plush bunny, stroking and tugging at it, while sucking away on his pacifier and wondering where Daddy was off to.

It was time for vaccinations.

"Waaahh—!"

After getting two shots in his arm and chubby leg, Tubby leaned against Song Qinian’s chest, crying his eyes out with his eyes tightly shut. Tears streaked his chubby cheeks, and his small hands clutched tightly at Song Qinian’s dress shirt.

"You did so well, baby," Song Qinian said, both amused and feeling sorry for him. He cuddled the child close, standing up to gently comfort him. "Good baby…"

The sobbing little one buried his entire face in his father’s chest, crying in hiccupy sobs, as if he were both embarrassed and unable to stop.

Song Qinian patted his little head soothingly.

Since they were already there, after the vaccinations, Song Qinian took him for a check-up.

Having cried his heart out, Lu Zhishi had no energy left for the examination. He sucked on his pacifier, letting the doctor turn him over and check him thoroughly, his eyes half-closed and long, wet eyelashes clumped together.

As much as Song Qinian was amused, seeing the little one in such a state, he couldn’t help but frown. "Dr. Ren…"

The young doctor put away his stethoscope and waved a hand. "It’s fine. He’s just upset. He’ll perk up in a bit."

Song Qinian paused, his voice laced with laughter as he bent down to dress Tubby, then scooped him up into his arms and ruffled his little head. "Daddy’s sorry. Daddy should have told you earlier that we were getting vaccinations today."

"Wuu…"

Maybe it was better not to tell him in advance—short pain was better than long dread. His pain sensitivity had always been higher than most, and now that he was a child, it had definitely doubled.

Hearing the baby’s whimpers, Song Qinian lowered his head and whispered tenderly, "No more crying. We’re leaving now."

After leaving the hospital, Lu Zhishi peeked out from Song Qinian’s chest, his big, clear dark eyes looking around curiously even though he couldn’t see much.

As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Song Qinian sensed Lu Zhishi’s curiosity. He stopped, turned, and carried the child toward some greenery nearby, holding him up close to see.

"This is osmanthus. It’ll bloom in a little while," Song Qinian said softly, stroking the little one’s round head. "If you like it, we can plant a few at home."

Lu Zhishi peeked out for a few moments before nuzzling his face back into his father’s chest.

"Pfft pfft~" (Enough looking!) "Daddy, hurry to work."

After a while, realizing his son really didn’t want to look anymore, Song Qinian took him back to the car and headed to the office.

A baby almost three months old naturally needed a lot of sleep, and after crying, the little one grew drowsy shortly after arriving at the company. Song Qinian held him until he fell soundly asleep, then placed him on the large bed in the resting room.

The little one lay on his side, unconsciously kicking his plump foot, hugging his bunny as he drifted into deeper sleep.

Chubby and curled up like a little cashew.