Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Brother, Also Howl~

Chapter 16

Brother, waaah~

The New Year festivities concluded amidst much cheer. Lu Tingan, after only a few days at home, hurried back to the film set for shooting.

When Lu Zhiyu and Lu Zhishi awoke one morning to find Lu Tingan gone, they realized he had left without a word. Upset, they tearfully hugged Song Qinian.

In March, kindergarten resumed, and Lu Zhiyu returned to school. Song Qinian also went back to work. Lu Zhishi occasionally accompanied his father to the company or visited his grandparents.

Life was uneventful, and time passed quickly. After crawling came walking. Lu Zhishi tottered across the carpet daily, often falling, but gradually grew steadier.

At nine months, Lu Zhishi babbled "dada" indistinctly. Song Qinian, a grown man, suddenly found his eyes welling up. He hugged and kissed the child, his voice husky as he said, "My little one is growing up; he can say 'dada' now."

At eleven months, Lu Zhishi finally sprouted his first tooth—a tiny rice-grain tooth. Song Qinian, however, was overjoyed, taking numerous photos to preserve the moment and sending them to Lu Tingan.

His first birthday celebration was held at twelve months, perfectly timed. Lu Tingan had finished filming, and Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen had graduated from kindergarten.

The celebration was modest, with only close family and friends invited. Uncle from the Huo family also attended, bringing many gifts. Lu Zhishi once again saw the twin brothers.

During the *Zhuāzhōu* ceremony, he picked up a book. Surrounded by well wishes, Lu Zhishi celebrated his first birthday.

...

"Tubby, where are you off to?"

Hearing the commotion, Lu Tingan turned and asked.

Lu Zhishi, clutching a large bag of potato chips, waddled on his short legs towards the door, replying in a tiny, milky voice, "Brother's house..."

The "brother" he referred to was Chi Chen. Since "Brother Xiao Chen" was too difficult to pronounce, Lu Zhishi simply called him "brother."

Worried about his walking, Song Qinian followed him out. Seeing the little one lingering at the steps, he simply scooped him up and set him down.

Once steady, Lu Zhishi turned and sweetly chirped, "Thank you!"

Song Qinian was amused. "Will you be back for dinner?"

Lu Zhishi nodded. "Yep."

Watching him waddle through the small wooden gate into the Chi family’s yard, Song Qinian returned inside and asked Lu Tingan, who was reviewing documents in the living room, "Brother, what would you like for dinner?"

Lu Tingan, signing papers with his head bowed, replied without looking up, "Steamed pork ribs, steamed perch."

"No problem."

Song Qinian walked over, bent down, and kissed Lu Tingan on the cheek. "Just collecting a little reward."

Lu Tingan curved his lips, calling him a "sweet-talker."

After much effort, waddling through two large yards, Lu Zhishi was stopped by the steps at the Chi family’s house.

The small steps Uncle Chi had specially prepared for him were nowhere to be found, so Lu Zhishi had to try lifting his chubby little leg himself.

...He couldn't do it. His legs were too short.

Lu Zhishi took a deep breath and shouted in his milky voice, "Brother!"

Brother, help!

Footsteps approached, and Lu Zhiyu ran out first, followed by Chi Chen.

"Did you miss me?" Lu Zhiyu ruffled his little brother’s curly hair.

Lu Zhishi nodded, stretching out his arms for a hug. "Brother, up~"

Taking the large bag of potato chips from Lu Zhishi and handing it to Chi Chen, Lu Zhiyu picked up his brother, carried him up the steps, and led him inside.

Holding Lu Zhiyu’s hand, Lu Zhishi also grabbed Chi Chen’s clothes, smiling sweetly. "Brother."

Chi Chen held his chubby little hand, gently squeezing it, and softly responded, "Hmm."

The living room table was covered with several workbooks, alongside a plate of small cakes and two glasses of juice. Clearly, Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen had been doing homework.

Lu Zhishi didn’t cause any trouble after arriving. Once Lu Zhiyu placed him on the sofa, he sat quietly by himself, looking at a picture book.

Chi Chen went to the kitchen to get him a cup of warm milk and brought the small cakes over. "You can have some cake."

Lu Zhishi picked one up, looked up at Chi Chen, and grinned. "Thank you, brother."

Chi Chen waited for him to finish, then stood there, holding Lu Zhishi’s chin to make him open his mouth.

Lu Zhishi didn’t understand why but complied. "Ah~"

The little one was a year and a half old, with several baby teeth on both upper and lower gums. Chi Chen checked his gums and noticed a slightly whitish spot, indicating a new tooth would likely emerge in a few days.

Letting go, Chi Chen pulled a tissue to wipe Lu Zhishi’s drool and said to Lu Zhiyu, "He’s about to grow a new tooth. Keep him from licking it."

Lu Zhiyu also came over to look and nodded. "I'll watch out for that."

Lu Zhishi nodded along. "'Kay~"

Ruffling his hair, Lu Zhiyu returned to his homework spot, taking the plate of small cakes away from Lu Zhishi.

Lu Zhishi widened his eyes. "Brother?"

Lu Zhiyu: "You only get one small cake. Dinner is soon. If you eat too much cake, you won’t eat properly later."

Chi Chen had initially thought about giving Lu Zhishi a few more small cakes, but upon hearing this, he sat back down.

Lu Zhishi opened his mouth but couldn’t argue. He lowered his head and ate the small cake in his hand, then chugged half a cup of milk.

Yes, the milk went from a full cup to half—Chi Chen had just poured half of it out.

Brother Xiao Chen said flatly, "Dinner is soon. Don’t drink too much milk. Save room for dinner."

After finishing the cake and milk, Lu Zhishi paged through his storybook.

When the little one found something interesting, he would happily wiggle his chubby feet and giggle silently a couple of times.

Chi Chen finished his homework early, then sat beside Lu Zhishi, quietly watching his chubby, round face.

Coming across another funny story, Lu Zhishi grinned and squinted. When he looked up, he met Chi Chen’s gaze.

Lu Zhishi paused and hesitated, then put the storybook between them. "Brother."

Read with me, Brother Xiao Chen.

Chi Chen: "..." Chi Chen gently pinched his soft chubby cheek, looked away, picked up a classic book, and opened it. "You read it. I'm not going to."

Lu Zhiyu buried his head in his homework, "Once I finish my homework, I'll watch two episodes of Pineapple House with you."

They’d finish just in time to go home for dinner.

Lu Zhishi's eyes lit up, throwing both hands up in agreement: "Yay, brother!"

"Hee hee, wait, I'll be done soon." Lu Zhiyu sped up his writing.

Chi Chen grabbed the remote, turned on the TV, accurately switched to the Pineapple House channel, and played from where Lu Zhishi last left off.

After doing this, Chi Chen glanced down at Lu Zhishi without saying a word.

Lu Zhishi blinked, suddenly understanding his meaning, grinned, showing his tiny white teeth, clutched Chi Chen's arm with his chubby hands, and smiled sweetly: "You're the best too, brother!"

Chi Chen patted his curly hair, "Mm."

After happily watching two episodes of Pineapple House, Lu Zhiyu packed up his homework and led Lu Zhishi home for dinner.

Lu Zhiyu said, "We're leaving."

Chi Chen expressionlessly saw them off: "Mm."

Lifted down the steps by his brother, Lu Zhishi wobbled like a baby penguin on his short legs, following beside Lu Zhiyu. He stopped, turned back, and waved his little hand: "Bye!"

Chi Chen's eyes crinkled slightly, raised his hand and waved: "Bye-bye."

Lu Zhiyu raised an eyebrow: "Why the difference in treatment?"

Chi Chen asked coldly, "Are you one and a half too?"

"..." Stumped by his reply, Lu Zhiyu turned and led Lu Zhishi away.

Lu Zhishi giggled, wobbling as he held Lu Zhiyu's hand home, looking like a little round ball from afar.

Chi Chen watched them enter the house, then withdrew his gaze, went back inside, and closed the door.

When they got home, Song Qinian had just finished cooking, and Lu Tingan was still in the living room watching Financial News.

Lu Zhiyu took his brother’s hand and led him to the living room, handing his homework to Lu Tingan for inspection.

Lu Zhishi toddled over to Lu Tingan, skillfully climbing onto his knee. Lu Tingan reached out to steady him, and Tubby found a comfortable spot to nestle.

Lu Tingan looked over the homework carefully, pulled Lu Zhiyu to his side, and pointed to the words on the homework.

"All the answers are correct, but is the handwriting a little messy?"

Lu Zhishi leaned over to look; the writing was still quite nice, not exactly chicken scratch, but somewhat flamboyant and unrestrained.

Lu Zhiyu leaned on Lu Tingan's arm, also peeking, and rubbed his cheek sheepishly: "Seems like it is a bit."

Song Qinian brought out the food and scoffed, "Just a bit?"

Lu Zhiyu mumbled twice: "A little more, a bit more."

Lu Tingan gently tapped his little head: "Have you been skipping calligraphy practice for a long time?"

Lu Zhiyu hung his head, snuggling against his dad's shoulder: "It has been a little while since I practiced."

Song Qinian took off his apron, washed his hands, came over and picked up both little ones, taking them to the dining room to eat.

"Then from now on, add one page of calligraphy practice to your daily homework, okay?"

Lu Zhiyu: "Okay..."

Lu Zhishi sympathetically reached out a chubby hand to pat his shoulder, "Brother, awesome!"

Although the homework increased, the food was delicious, and Lu Zhiyu ate happily, quickly forgetting the pain of homework.

Before bedtime, Lu Tingan would tell them bedtime stories. Lu Zhishi, after bathing, nestled in the cozy blanket waiting for him.

Lu Zhiyu bathed later, dried his hair, and slipped under the covers, lying next to Lu Zhishi, waiting obediently.

"Let them sleep in the kids' room tonight..."

Lu Zhishi's ears perked up, he wriggled and sat up, pricking up his ears to listen carefully.

Lu Zhiyu also sat up, wide-eyed, looking towards the bathroom, listening to the muffled voices of their dads.

Only hearing Lu Tingan ask: "Why?"

Lu Zhishi nodded, yeah, why kick him and his brother out to the kids' room?

Didn't hear Song Qinian's voice, not sure if he said anything.

After a moment, Lu Tingan's helpless and flustered voice: "Tomorrow, we'll talk tomorrow, the kids are already in bed..."

Not sure what they discussed inside, but when Song Qinian came out, he looked like a well-fed big-tailed wolf, his peach-blossom eyes that could show affection even to a dog tinged with a faint blush.

Seeing the two big and little Tubbies staring intently at him, Song Qinian paused, walked over, picked up the storybook, and told them a bedtime story.

"Today, Dad will tell you a story. After listening, you'll go back to your own room to sleep tomorrow."

Lu Zhiyu: "..."

Lu Zhishi: "..."

We want to hear Dad Tingan tell the story.

Protest was ineffective. Lu Zhiyu and Lu Zhishi were forced to listen to Song Qinian's bedtime story and were taken to the kids' room to sleep the next night.