Chapter 24: Chapter 24 “…Please Don’t Do This, Fat Cheese….”

Chapter 24

"...Please don't do that, Fat Cheese..."

Lu Zhishi's small, chubby hands clenched slightly as his gaze slowly drifted to the side.

Tubby held a lollipop in each hand, blinking his big, bright, clear, and innocent eyes, licking one and then the other.

Lu Zhishi opened his mouth, hesitated, and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Seriously, dude, are you a T-Rex or what?

Meeting those innocent eyes, Lu Zhishi rubbed his face and sighed helplessly. Whatever, he thought—he was mentally eighteen, why bother arguing with a one-and-a-half-year-old kid?

Maybe because Lu Zhishi had been staring at the lollipop for too long, Tubby blinked, raised his hand, and tried to stuff the candy into Lu Zhishi's mouth, mumbling indistinctly, "Eat... eat..."

"No, no—"

Lu Zhishi waved his hand, politely declining.

Seeing that Lu Zhishi kept refusing, Tubby frowned, looking at him puzzled, as if hesitating. He put one of the lollipops aside, reached into his little pocket, and pulled out one lollipop after another.

"Eat~"

Lu Zhishi looked amusedly at his pocket, now filled with candies. This Tubby had taken his lollipop but generously given him many others in return.

He really was kinda cute.

His short, chubby fingers weren't nimble enough to unwrap the lollipops. Lu Zhishi could only look but not eat, so he turned back to watching his brother and the others play basketball.

During the break, Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen came back to drink water and rest. Noticing Lu Zhishi didn't have his lollipop and seeing Tubby holding two, Lu Zhiyu ruffled his brother's hair. "It's okay, let him have it. After the game, I'll take you to the supermarket to buy more candy."

Zhao Xiaoyun also noticed, his face flushing as he pinched his little brother's chubby cheek. "How could you take big brother's candy? Are you eating two all by yourself, you greedy little chubster?"

The other kids burst into laughter, while Tubby blinked in confusion.

Zhao Xiaoyun scratched his head, embarrassed, and explained to Lu Zhiyu and the others, "Usually, he eats my lollipops too. Maybe when he saw little Shi holding one, he thought it was his."

Lu Zhishi pulled out a handful of lollipops from his pocket. "Eat~"

His clothes had been put on by Lu Zhiyu, who knew exactly what was originally in the pocket. He could tell at a glance that little Xing had stuffed them in there.

Lu Zhiyu waved it off. "It's fine, they're just kids. Besides, little Xing has given my brother plenty of lollipops too."

Chi Chen unwrapped a lollipop and handed it to Lu Zhishi, who took a lick, his eyes curving into happy crescents.

Since the two little ones weren't fighting, Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen finished their break and went back to the court feeling reassured, leaving only Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing in the rest area.

Each eating their candy, Lu Zhishi watched the game, occasionally glancing at the actual toddler beside him.

He looked back again, his eyes settling on Zhao Xiaoxing's messy mouth. Unable to resist, Lu Zhishi took out a tissue and wiped it for him.

Tubby naturally puckered his lips, clearly used to someone cleaning his mouth. Afterward, he grinned at Lu Zhishi, revealing a few tiny milk teeth.

—Silly, fair, chubby, a little tubby.

That was Lu Zhishi's first impression of Zhao Xiaoxing.

As the sun set, they said their goodbyes and headed home for dinner.

Zhao Xiaoyun also carried his brother away. Tubby wasn't happy about leaving, frowning and babbling protests about not wanting to go home, almost following Lu Zhishi.

Lu Zhiyu finished a bottle of water, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sat on a chair to rest a bit.

Chi Chen sat on the other side, using a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. Even fresh off the court, his expression remained stoic, only his breathing slightly uneven.

Lu Zhishi slid off his seat, using his little hat to fan them back and forth, running around on his short legs until Chi Chen picked him up and pulled him into his arms to keep him still.

Once they'd rested enough, Lu Zhiyu got up, packed their things, put on his jacket, slung his small backpack over his shoulder, and handed Chi Chen his jacket.

"Let's go. We'll stop by the supermarket in the neighborhood and then head home."

"Mm."

Chi Chen put on his jacket and walked side by side with him, his gaze fixed on Lu Zhishi wobbling ahead like a little penguin.

"Are they the same age?"

"Who? Zhao Xiaoyun's brother?"

"Mm."

"Pang Xiaoxing and Fat Cheese are the same age."

Chi Chen quietly watched Tubby ahead. Same-age kids might end up going to school with Tubby Zhishi later.

As soon as they entered the supermarket, Lu Zhishi was like a little mouse in a rice barn, his eyes shining bright and dark, pulling Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen around everywhere, almost drooling with desire.

So many snacks, so many snacks, love it love it!

Potato chips—buy!

Seaweed—buy!

Jelly—buy!

Soda—buy!

Spicy strips—buy!

Spicy strips were a no-go. Lu Zhiyu put them back, picked up the grumbling little tubby, and walked off. "If you want to try Dad's feather duster, go ahead and buy them."

Even he didn't dare buy spicy strips, yet this little tubby had the nerve. Might as well skip dinner and have a spanking instead.

Mentioning the feather duster hanging on the wall at home made Lu Zhishi deflate. He obediently followed Lu Zhiyu away from the snack aisle.

Chi Chen silently put the soda back too, replacing it with three bottles of strawberry milk and placing them in the shopping cart.

The doctor said kids shouldn't drink too much soda—it's not good for their health.

After the supermarket trip, Lu Zhishi only got to keep one bottle of strawberry milk. All the other snacks were divided between Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen.

Lu Zhishi hugged his bottle of strawberry milk, looking up at Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen with big, intense eyes.

"Huh?" You stinky brothers, didn't you say you'd take me to buy delicious things?

Chi Chen didn't respond, coolly looked away and stood quietly to the side, holding a big bag of snacks.

Lu Zhiyu's eyes darted around, looking at the sky, the ground, the flowers, the grass—anywhere but his brother's clear, innocent big eyes.

"You're too young for snacks..." Lu Zhiyu stammered in explanation, "And Uncle Xiao Ji is around somewhere. If he sees me giving you snacks, he’ll report it to our dads, and I’ll get the feather duster."

Uncle Xiao Ji, he mentioned, was Lu Zhiyu’s personal bodyguard, who usually followed from a distance—but nothing ever escaped his notice. If Uncle Xiao Ji found out, it meant Song Qinian would find out.

Chi Chen gave a calm nod. "I’ll buy some for you when you’re older."

After Lu Zhishi took a few sips of his strawberry milk, he held Chi Chen’s hand and headed home. Alright, alright, he’d have snacks another day.

Facing the sunset, warmed by the breeze, the two older children and the little one walked slowly home.

As soon as they got home, the snacks they bought were confiscated and locked away in the snack cabinet.

"Your last checkup didn't meet the standards—no more snacks for you."

"I didn’t have much, just a little, a tiny bit." Lu Zhiyu pinched his thumb and finger together, trying to show Song Qinian how little it really was.

Song Qinian wasn’t convinced and snorted. "A little? More like a 'yi' [billion] little, right? The snacks in the cabinet keep disappearing—did a little mouse eat them?"

Lu Zhiyu blinked. "Maybe it really was."

Lu Tingan, reviewing documents in the living room, suddenly couldn’t hold back a laugh. Lu Zhishi also collapsed onto the sofa laughing, absolutely delighted.

Song Qinian was both annoyed and amused. "Is this little mouse named Lu Zhiyu, by any chance?"

"No, it’s named Lu Zhishi."

The childish laughter cut off abruptly. Tubby, who had been lying on the sofa, sat up and turned to look at them in confusion and disbelief.

Huh? Wait—why am I being blamed out of nowhere?

Song Qinian, half-irritated and half-laughing, pulled the little rascal into the living room. "Your brother doesn't even have all his teeth in yet—how could he eat the snacks?"

Lu Zhiyu, now being held up, replied, "He doesn’t eat them, but he moves them. He transports snacks to Xiao Chen’s house five or six times a day."

"Come to think of it, that might be true." Song Qinian rubbed his chin, recalling how there was always a short, round tubby carrying snacks toward the Chi house every day.

"So it really was you, Lu Zhishi."

Now it wasn’t just one person avoiding eye contact—it was two.

Looking left and right, Lu Zhishi locked onto his target and wiggled over on his bottom, burrowing into Lu Tingan’s arms. "Daddy~"

Song Qinian still confiscated the snacks, reasoning, "Even if your little brother moved half the snacks, you still ate the other half."

"Lu Zhiyu, since your checkup wasn’t up to standard, no snacks for you lately."

"Okay, Dad. When can I have some again?" Lu Zhiyu slumped onto the sofa, hugging his only remaining strawberry milk and drinking it dejectedly.

"When you pass next month’s checkup, you can have a little." Song Qinian washed his hands and went into the kitchen to bring out the dishes. "Alright, come have dinner."

With the snacks confiscated, Lu Zhiyu finished dinner and took his little brother over to the Chi house. Surely Chi Chen’s snacks hadn’t been confiscated too?

"My dad confiscated them. Said I'm not allowed to have them."

Chi Chen’s tone was flat, as if it didn't bother him much. He wasn’t really a snack lover to begin with.

Lu Zhiyu: "?"

Lu Zhiyu: "Mine was because I failed my checkup. What’s your reason?"

Chi Chen: "Dad said I’ve been losing weight lately because of snacking."

Could it be that he's just going through a growth spurt, and that’s why he’s thinner?

Lu Zhiyu sighed deeply. Looks like there won't be any snacks at Chi Chen’s house from now on either.

Chi Chen picked up Lu Zhishi and set him on a chair, and handed him a picture book. He asked Lu Zhiyu, "Did you finish your homework today?"

Lu Zhiyu: "...Why do you ask me every day if I’ve done my homework?"

Chi Chen said without expression, "Because I’m your deskmate. If you don’t do your homework, I get punished too by standing in the hallway."

"Alright, alright, I’ll go get my homework now," Lu Zhiyu raised his hands in defeat.

Lu Zhiyu went home to get his homework. Chi Chen finished the last problem, got down from his chair, and took out a small basket from the cabinet.

Inside were some sewing tools and fabric.

Lu Zhishi peeked over. The fabric and color resembled his little pillow.

Chi Chen sat on the carpet, a tablet in front of him, and continued sewing a pillowcase, stitch by stitch.

It looked like it might be for him, but Lu Zhishi wasn’t sure. He looked closely.

Lu Zhiyu returned quickly, sat down in the chair, opened his homework, and started writing. His eyes were on the paper, but he kept chatting with Chi Chen.

"You making a pillow for my brother?"

"Mm."

"What shape this time?"

"Cloud."

"Cloud shape is nice. Make it a little bigger—my brother is restless when he sleeps."

Chi Chen grabbed a cushion and threw it at his head. "Stop being so noisy. Hurry up and write."

Lu Zhiyu deftly dodged, his pen still moving, still talking nonstop. "If you don’t believe me, ask my brother."

Lu Zhishi looked up, reached out with a chubby hand, and pinched his brother’s chattering mouth. "Gege, no talk~" (Brother, don't be so noisy~)

Don’t say anymore, brother—Lu Zhiyu has his pride too.

With Lu Zhiyu quieted, the room fell into brief quiet.

After staying with his brother while he finished his homework, Lu Zhishi glanced over at Chi Chen sitting on the carpet, slid off his chair, and waddled over and squatted in front of him, watching.

Chi Chen looked up at the round head in front of him, patted the space next to him for Lu Zhishi to sit, and continued sewing.

"Brother Xiao Chen?"

"It'll be ready in a few days."

Lu Zhishi tilted his head, nuzzled his shoulder with a grin, his eyes crinkling into happy crescents.

He was almost two years old now, and his pillows and plushies were all made for him by Brother Xiao Chen. When he was small, they were made small; as he grew a bit bigger, they were made bigger—never complaining about the work or tiredness.

Brother Xiao Chen, stern on the outside, soft on the inside.

Lu Zhiyu, having rushed through today's homework, let out a long sigh of relief, energetically packed up his books and pens, and pulled out an illustrated encyclopedia of smart robots from Chi Chen's bookshelf.

Just as he sat cross-legged on the carpet ready to read, Chi Chen looked up at him and said matter-of-factly, "You haven't done your calligraphy yet."

Lu Zhiyu: "...How do you even know that?"

"Uncle Song told me." Chi Chen glanced at the bookshelf and said, "There are brush, ink, and paper on the shelf. Go do it."

Lu Zhiyu got up helplessly and began practicing his calligraphy with swift strokes.

Lu Zhishi unconsciously swallowed, suddenly reminded of his own handwriting. It had been so long since he last wrote, he wasn't sure if it had turned into chicken scratch. He wondered if he’d have to practice calligraphy in the future too...

They stayed at the Chi family's until 9 p.m., when Song Qinian came to call the two children home to get ready for bed. Lu Zhiyu was overjoyed, putting down his English worksheet, grabbing his stuff, and leading his brother away.

After walking around for half the day, Lu Zhishi fell asleep curled up under the covers not long after his bath, his round little belly rising and falling as he slept soundly through the night.

In the morning, he sleepily got up, ate breakfast, and then two unexpected little guests showed up at the house.

A pile of gifts was sitting at the door. Lu Zhishi looked at the round-faced Zhao Xiaoxing in front of him, then tilted his head up to see the thick-browed, big-eyed Zhao Xiaoyun beside him. "?"

Lu Zhiyu brought them inside, made a pot of tea to serve them, and asked, "Are you going to play ball today? I’m not going—I need to finish my homework with Chi Chen."

Zhao Xiaoyun scratched his head sheepishly. "No, my brother insisted on coming early to play with Xiao Shi, so we came over."

Zhao Xiaoxing beside him nodded, then pulled two large lollipops from the pocket on the front of his clothes, stretching his chubby little hand to offer them to Lu Zhishi.

"Here ya go~"

"Thank you~" Lu Zhishi took one lollipop and handed the other back. "You have one~"

The two Tubbies sat together sucking on their lollipops, their dark eyes fixed on the TV in front of them, giggling as they ate.

Zhao Xiaoyun scratched his head out of boredom, took out a homework book from his bag, and said to Lu Zhiyu, who was watching TV on the other side, "Lu Zhiyu, let's do homework together."

Lu Zhiyu: "..."

Lu Zhiyu: "From now on, I'm calling you Chi Chen Number Two."

Zhao Xiaoyun: "?"

Frustrated, Lu Zhiyu went upstairs to get his homework and took him to the Chi family's house to find Chi Chen Number One to do homework together.

—The misery of homework shouldn’t be his alone; he’d drag Chi Chen into it too.

Lu Zhishi turned his head to watch his brother trudging out dejectedly, licking the lollipop in his hand—sweet.

The misery of school could wait until next year; this year, Lu Zhishi was sweet.

With little guests over, Lu Tingan washed a plate of fruit and set it on the table for them to eat.

He also called to have some ingredients delivered; Song Qinian would cook at noon.

The two little ones curled up on the sofa, swinging their feet. Lu Tingan watched them quietly for a while, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

The gaze was too intense. Lu Zhishi, biting his lollipop, looked up and met his father’s gentle, loving eyes.

Lu Zhishi: "Huh?"

Lu Tingan said, "Dad is happy that our little Zhishi has made a friend too."

This child didn’t go out to play much; usually, he just followed his two older brothers around. He didn’t have friends his own age, and Lu Tingan and Song Qinian were worried the little one was too much of a homebody, making it hard for him to make friends later.

Now, seeing him get along well with the Zhao family's little one, they felt a bit relieved.

He continued, "Xiao Xing is around your age. You can go to school together in the future."

Lu Zhishi turned to look at the messy little jar beside him, drooling as he sucked his lollipop. "..."

He couldn’t help it—he pulled out a tissue to wipe the messy jar’s mouth, then used a wet wipe to clean it.

"Thank you~~~" The messy little jar turned around, grinning at Lu Zhishi and thanking him in a sweet, childish voice.

"...No problem."

After watching TV all morning and spending an hour and a half doing puzzles with Zhao Xiaoxing, Lu Zhishi lay on the carpet, spread out like a cheese flatbread.

Zhao Xiaoxing peeked at his little friend’s face, then imitated him, plopping down to lie with his round head resting on Lu Zhishi’s soft belly. After a moment, he hugged his own little belly and giggled.

Lu Zhishi: "..." Buddy, do you see me laughing?

Well, Lu Zhishi did laugh—out of exasperation.

Lu Tingan came out of the kitchen to take a look, nodded approvingly, and went back in.

The two little ones stayed sprawled out until Song Qinian returned at noon.

"Isn’t that the Zhao family’s child?" After washing his hands, Song Qinian crouched by the carpet and poked their little bellies one by one.

"Haha~"

"Giggle~"

The two chubby little ones suddenly burst into giggles.

Seeing that he was about to poke again, Lu Zhishi grabbed Song Qinian’s hand, opened his mouth, and shouted, "Dad!"

Lu Tingan came out of the kitchen: "What’s wrong?"

Song Qinian guiltily withdrew his hand, not daring to look up at Lu Tingan.

Lu Tingan knew him best—one look at his expression told him he’d been up to no good. Calmly, he walked over, took Song Qinian’s wrist, and pulled him into the kitchen to cook.

"Don’t pick on the children. Come in and cook."

With Chef Song in charge, lunch was plentiful, delicious, and fragrant. Lu Zhishi swallowed hard and simultaneously picked up a tissue to wipe the drool from Zhao Xiaoxing’s mouth beside him.

Song Qinian washed his hands and went to the Chi family’s to call them. He went alone but returned with five people.

Chi Yuehang skillfully went to help dish out the rice, then sat down: "Thank you, Brother Tingan and Chef Song, for your hospitality."

"You're welcome." Lu Tingan asked, "Is Fat Cheese working overtime? If he comes back in the evening, tell him to join us for dinner."

Chi Yuehang replied, "He's working overtime. We'll come over for dinner later after he gets back."

Chi Chen followed him in and calmly sat down next to his father. "Uncle Lu, Uncle Song, good afternoon."

Following him were Lu Zhiyu, who looked smug, and Zhao Xiaoyun, who seemed dizzy and seeing stars.

"How was it? Was it fun doing homework with Xiao Chen?" Lu Zhiyu draped an arm around his friend's shoulder, trying hard not to laugh.

Chi Chen glanced over calmly, and Zhao Xiaoyun forced himself to say, "It was okay, okay."

No wonder Lu Zhiyu had such a miserable look—doing homework with Chi Chen was too stressful. They had just finished one workbook, but Chi Chen was already on his third. Plus, Chi Chen insisted on supervising them until they finished their work properly before they could take a break.

No wonder Chi Chen was the top student from kindergarten through elementary school, with Lu Zhiyu always in second place. Zhao Xiaoyun felt that if he kept studying with them, he’d probably end up in third place.

After greeting Uncle Song and Uncle Lu, Zhao Xiaoyun finished his meal with his younger brother and went home.

So terrifying, so terrifying—Lu Zhiyu said that after their nap, he’d take Zhao Xiaoyun to Chi Chen’s house to do more homework.

Ever since Zhao Xiaoyun brought Zhao Xiaoxing over for a visit, the two brothers had started coming frequently.

Time crept by, and the weather gradually warmed up. Summer arrived, and with it came the summer vacation. Lu Zhishi had just turned two.

After studying with Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen for two months, by the end of the semester, Zhao Xiaoyun had climbed from the top 30 to third place in his grade.

The Zhao family was overjoyed and sent over a bunch of gifts to the Lu and Chi families. They also had Zhao Xiaoxing spend time at the Lu house to play with Lu Zhishi.

This summer, even with Zhao Xiaoxing around, Lu Zhishi still felt a bit bored.

Lu Zhiyu, Chi Chen, and Zhao Xiaoyun were all away—more accurately, all the children from the neighboring influential families were gone.

They had all gone abroad for a study tour, accompanied by specialized teachers, bodyguards, and nannies. They were learning while having fun, gaining knowledge and broadening their horizons, while also cultivating their interests and hobbies and picking up foreign languages.

"Want some?" Lu Zhishi took two boxes of ice cream from the mini-fridge.

"Pfft!"

Zhao Xiaoxing was so tempted that he drooled, quickly covering his mouth and grabbing two tissues to wipe it away.

Just as Lu Zhishi passed the ice cream to Zhao Xiaoxing and was about to start eating his own, the ice cream was confiscated.

Lu Tingan replaced them with two smaller boxes. "You can only have a little. No more than that."

The two chubby little ones held their smaller ice cream portions, looking up pitifully at Lu Tingan. Lu Zhishi whined, "Daddy, really not?"

"Not even if it's boiled."

"Okay~"

The two tubby kids were ushered to the living room, huddled together watching TV, scooping up tiny spoonfuls of ice cream.

Lu Tingan went upstairs to his study to get some documents, then sat on the opposite sofa, put on his glasses, and started working.

Lu Zhishi sneaked a glance at him, then pretended to casually turn his head away.

Zhao Xiaoxing, sitting beside him, copied the move—turning his round head to look at Lu Tingan, then turning back, looking again, then turning back...

Lu Zhishi quickly turned his head back. Chubby Xing, don’t be so obvious!!

Lu Tingan: "What mischief are you two planning now?"

Lu Zhishi shook his head guiltily. "Nothing, nothing~"

Zhao Xiaoxing nodded along. "Mhm, mhm."

"Don’t even think about sneaking more ice cream. If your dad comes back and finds out you’ve been eating more, he’ll really spank Guanguan."

Lu Tingan said it lightly, but his words scared the little ones.

Zhao Xiaoxing’s round body trembled, and he tugged at Lu Zhishi’s clothes.

Lu Zhishi patted his chubby back to comfort him silently, then nodded obediently at Lu Tingan. "We won’t eat anymore, Daddy~"

After finishing their ice cream, it was naptime. Lu Zhishi took Zhao Xiaoxing upstairs to sleep.

Since the little chubby often came over to play and stayed the whole day, two extra small rooms had been set up in the house for Zhao Xiaoyun and Zhao Xiaoxing.

Back in his own children’s room, Lu Zhishi skillfully kicked off his shoes, climbed into his crib, pulled up the blanket, and snuggled inside.

Hugging his big plush bunny, he lay face down on the big cloud-shaped pillow Chi Chen had recently made for him, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep.

Summer in City A was very hot, but since the children were still young, the air conditioning wasn’t turned on. Instead, the home’s temperature control system kept the room at a comfortable temperature.

Lu Zhishi liked to pull a small blanket over his stomach when he slept, but soon he felt too hot. Half-asleep, he kicked it off and felt much cooler.

Belatedly realizing something was wrong, Lu Zhishi drowsily opened his eyes, fumbled around, and pulled a corner of the blanket over his belly button.

Now he felt at ease.

Except for when Lu Tingan came in to tuck the little one in properly, Lu Zhishi slept until the afternoon.

At 4:30, the soundly sleeping Lu Zhishi was woken up by his dad to water the vegetables in the yard.

Standing in the yard with a cool breeze blowing, the sleepy Lu Zhishi held a small watering can, with an equally drowsy Zhao Xiaoxing beside him.

Lu Zhishi: "...Really?"

He was so, so sleepy. He really wanted to crawl back into bed and keep sleeping.

Lu Tingan crouched down to adjust his clothes and said softly, "If you sleep any more, you won’t be able to sleep tonight."

If the little one slept too much during the day and didn’t have something to do, he’d be full of energy at night and refuse to sleep.

"Okay~"

Taking his little buddy along, Lu Zhishi crouched in the small vegetable patch, huffing and puffing as he watered his cabbages.

Not satisfied with just that, Lu Zhishi went back inside, fetched two small shovels, and loosened the soil and pulled weeds around the vegetables.

He even caught a plump, green caterpillar.

"Daddy, look!!"

Lu Zhishi excitedly ran back to the villa to show his discovery to Lu Tingan, who was working in the small first-floor balcony.

Lu Tingan: "..."

Lu Tingan remained calm, pinched the little one’s wrist, and moved the fat caterpillar away. "Fat Cheese, you can put it aside for now and show it to your dad when he comes back."

"Alright~"

Realizing that Dad didn't like this plump, smooth green caterpillar, Lu Zhishi sighed, went back inside to get a box, and put the big fat caterpillar inside to show Song Qinian later.

Watching Fat Cheese go inside, Lu Tingan breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as he turned around, he saw a pair of big, dark eyes staring at him.

And in Zhao Xiaoxing's hands was a chubby, pale... large white caterpillar.

Zhao Xiaoxing blinked and held up the caterpillar for Lu Tingan to see: "Su Su, look~"

"...No thanks, Xiao Xing, Uncle doesn't want to see it." Lu Tingan declined the enthusiastic gesture and took Zhao Xiaoxing inside to find Lu Zhishi and get a box for the big white caterpillar.

It seemed there were quite a few worms in the home vegetable garden. Lu Tingan called someone to come and take care of the pests and also applied some nutrient solution to Lu Zhishi's cabbage.

In the afternoon, Song Qinian came home with bags of groceries. He put down a bouquet of flowers and put the ingredients in the kitchen.

Just after washing his hands, he saw his well-behaved kid waiting for him at the door, with his hands behind his back, a sweet smile on his chubby little face.

"What's up? Waiting for Dad?"

"Dad, look!!" Lu Zhishi brought out the small box he had been hiding behind his back, held it out to Song Qinian, looking up at him expectantly.

—Dad, you get me, right?

Seeing the big green caterpillar munching on a cabbage leaf inside the box, Song Qinian’s expression was one of complete horror.

"...Please, don't do this, Fat Cheese."

Lu Zhishi looked down at the caterpillar—it was actually pretty cute. He'd always wanted to have one when he was little.

"Give it to Gege~"

"Your brother might not like it either..."

"Brother Xiaochen?"

"Brother Xiaochen would like it even less. He'd cry if he saw that."

Song Qinian did his best to convince him to give up the idea. After dinner, he pulled out a pocket watch out of nowhere and swung it back and forth in front of Lu Zhishi.

Hypnotizing him—"You've forgotten all about that green worm... You've forgotten..."

Lu Zhishi: "...Dad."

Hesitantly, he took pictures and videos of the caterpillar eating cabbage leaves, planning to show them to his two older brothers when they got back, then gave the box to Song Qinian.

The big green caterpillar was confiscated. The little one was bummed for a bit, but the next day, when he went to water the garden, he looked down and saw another fat green caterpillar resting on a cabbage.

"Hey~" Chubby worm, we meet again!

Busily watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil, and weeding, Lu Zhishi finished his tasks as the sun was high in the sky.

Taking a final look at the big caterpillar, he covered it with a cabbage leaf to protect it from the sun, then grabbed his little shovel and watering can and headed home.

Zhao Xiaoxing arrived a bit late today, his chubby face looking sad and unhappy. He sat quietly beside Lu Zhishi, cupping his round cheeks in his hands.

Lu Zhishi patted him: "What's wrong?"

Zhao Xiaoxing gestured dejectedly, mumbling unclearly, but Lu Zhishi understood anyway.

Zhao Xiaoxing’s big white caterpillar had also been confiscated, and because the caterpillar scared his mom into crying, he even got yelled at by his dad.

The two kids sighed together. Oh well, no more caterpillars—they’d find something else to play with.

No time to lose, Lu Zhishi jumped up and hurried to the storage room on the first floor to get things ready, and changed into his little fisherman outfit.

After dressing himself, he pulled the confused Zhao Xiaoxing along and got him into a matching set.

Carrying his little bucket and shouldering his small fishing rod, Lu Zhishi tilted his chin up and called to Zhao Xiaoxing: "Let’s go~"

Hearing the commotion, Lu Tingan came out of the kitchen and saw the two little rascals happily trotting off with their fishing rods. He was stunned.

"You two can’t go fishing."

Lu Zhishi turned around, wide-eyed, his little voice full of confusion: "Huh?"

"What do you think?" Lu Tingan was both annoyed and amused. "Are you two going by yourselves?"

Lu Zhishi scratched his head: "There’s Uncle."

Just like Lu Zhiyu had a dedicated bodyguard uncle, Lu Zhishi had one too—he’d noticed long ago.

And besides him, Zhao Xiaoxing had one as well.

Two bodyguard uncles should be more than enough.

Lu Tingan shook his head: "Still not allowed."

He opened the door and pointed to the upper right: "Look over there, what do you see?"

Lu Zhishi looked up—clear blue sky, sun shining bright, but unfortunately, a large dark cloud was menacingly heading their way.

Lu Zhishi: "..." First time seeing such an intimidating cloud.

He was sure that if he and Zhao Xiaoxing went out now, they’d be turned into two little drowned rats by that cloud.

Their fishing plans were ruined. Lu Zhishi had no choice but to change back into his little bear pajamas and play boring educational blocks with Zhao Xiaoxing.

Just as Lu Tingan said, the clear sky had turned cloudy, with strong winds picking up.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Lu Tingan grabbed the remote to close all the windows and called Song Qinian.

"It’s raining heavily. Don’t come back at noon, stay at the office and don’t go out."

"..."

"Mm, remember to eat lunch."

"..."

Lu Tingan glanced back at the two children and lowered his voice: "...I love you too. Come home early for dinner."

After hanging up, seeing the two children still watching the weather by the window, Lu Tingan reminded them to be careful and went to the kitchen to make lunch.

Two round heads pressed against the glass, big eyes wide open, staring outside. The sky was dark under the clouds, but there was still no sign of rain.

"Will it rain?"

"Hopefully~"

Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing huddled together, still whispering about whether it would rain—rain was good for sleeping—when the phone on the living room table suddenly rang.

He dashed over, glancing at the caller ID — 'Xiao Xi'.

Oh, it was his Uncle Xi Xi!

He picked up; the phone beeped, and the screen showed a gentle, handsome face with soft eyes.

Lu Zhishi exclaimed excitedly, "Uncle!"

On the other end, seeing it was him, Ye Xi was surprised for a moment, then broke into a smile.

"Well if it isn’t our Fat Cheese! Long time no see, sweetie. Have you grown taller recently?"

"Yes~"

Lu Zhishi even held the phone back to show himself.

Although only his chubby face was visible, and Ye Xi couldn’t see how tall the little one had gotten, he still laughed.

"You can come visit me during summer break if you have time. Let your Aunt and Uncle see how much you and your brother have grown. Big Uncle and Little Uncle want to see you too."

Lu Zhishi’s eyes lit up. He had never been to S City before. He nodded with a bright smile. "'Kay, Uncle!"

After chatting with the little one for a while, Ye Xi asked, "Is your dad home? Uncle needs to talk to him."

"Yes~"

Clutching the phone, Lu Zhishi toddled into the kitchen, wiggled up to Lu Tingan’s leg, tugged his clothes, looked up, and said, "I’th... it’th Little Uncle~"

"Okay, Daddy’s just gonna wash his hands." Lu Tingan turned off the stove, washed and dried his hands, then took the phone. "Xiao Xi."

"Ting'an-ge," Ye Xi greeted him. "The film has been nominated for this year’s Golden Chess Awards. Next month, I’ll go to Country W for the ceremony..."

"That was fast!" Lu Tingan smiled. While talking on the phone, he handed a plate of washed grapes to the little guy at his feet, telling him to go share them with Xiao Xing.

Lu Zhishi hugged the grapes and toddled off.

Standing to eat was too tiring, so Lu Zhishi pulled two little chairs to the big window and sat with Zhao Xiaoxing to eat grapes.

Gazing at the drizzle outside, Lu Zhishi let out a long sigh, popped a grape into his mouth, and chewed. His chubby cheeks puffing out with gloom.

Zhao Xiaoxing patted his back. "What’s up?"

Lu Zhishi said, "Daddy... has to go to work~"

Next month, going abroad for the awards ceremony, his Dad would probably be away for about a week. With Lu Zhiyu also gone, only he and his Papa would be left at home.

Plus, he had seen his Dad reading scripts several nights recently.

After hearing this, Zhao Xiaoxing also scrunched up his little face, stuffed a grape into his mouth, and chewed gloomily. "My... my mommy too~"

His mommy was a busy working mom, often away for work, leaving only him and his professor dad at home.

Two round heads leaned together, sighing between chews, their expressions tinged with faint melancholy.

After the drizzle came a heavy rain. Raindrops tapped against the window, making a pitter-patter sound—perfect weather for sleeping.

After lunch, Lu Zhishi was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. Drowsily, he returned to bed and burrowed under the covers, falling asleep to the sound of the steady rain outside.

In the middle of his sleep, he heard someone shuffling nearby and was suddenly startled awake.

Meeting a pair of guilty-looking big eyes, Lu Zhishi: "..."

Lu Zhishi asked him, "What is it?"

Zhao Xiaoxing climbed onto the other side of the bed, lay down, fluffed his little pillow, and pulled Lu Zhishi’s small blanket over himself.

"I’m scared~"

Lu Zhishi, abruptly awakened from his drowsy state, was still half-asleep and instinctively asked what he was afraid of.

Just as Zhao Xiaoxing was about to speak, lightning flashed outside, followed by a boom of thunder.

Zhao Xiaoxing quickly ducked under the covers, his chubby body curled into a ball, covering his ears, afraid to hear the thunder.

Kids usually get scared of thunder. Lu Zhishi lay down and patted his back. "Don’t be afraid~"

Perhaps Lu Zhishi’s patting helped calm him. The previously frightened Zhao Xiaoxing gradually relaxed and slowly fell asleep under the rhythmic patting.

Lu Zhishi had been super tired for a while; his eyelids were so heavy he could barely keep them open. His last bit of effort made him remember to pull the blanket over himself.

Lu Tingan had been there earlier. Seeing that neither of them was crying, he stayed quiet and just turned on the sound machine at home.

After the two little ones fell asleep, Lu Tingan went over to pull up their blankets, gently stroking the little curls on his son’s forehead.

They were a bit long—he needs a haircut.

The weather in City A changed quickly. The storm blew over quickly.

At noon, there was thunder and heavy rain; by afternoon, the sky had cleared and the sun was out.

Lu Zhishi went to take a look at the vegetable garden but couldn’t find his big green caterpillar. Maybe it had gone somewhere to hide from the rain.

As soon as the weather cleared, Lu Zhishi began to get antsy again. He inched over to give Lu Tingan a leg massage, then squeezed his arms.

Lu Tingan, looking down at some documents, smiled, adjusted his glasses, and turned to look at the eager Tubby.

"What’s up?"

"Daddy~ want to go~"

"Go where?"

"Fish... fishing~"

Lu Zhishi massaged his legs even more eagerly, his big, dark eyes secretly glancing up to check Lu Tingan’s expression.

Seeing that his daddy was smiling but not speaking, he buried his head and worked hard massaging his daddy’s arm.

The little tail following behind Lu Zhishi also huffed and puffed around to the other side, massaging Lu Tingan’s arm, his small voice soft: "Su Su~"

Lu Tingan held both their hands and said helplessly, "Be back before dinner, okay?"

"Okay!" Lu Zhishi immediately agreed.

As if afraid Lu Tingan would change his mind, Lu Zhishi took Zhao Xiaoxing and hurried inside to pack their things. They grabbed their fishing rods and a small bucket and ran off.

Even as they ran, Lu Zhishi didn’t forget to promise Lu Tingan, his young, tender voice drifting back from afar: "Wait for me~ We’ll catch a big fish and make you soup, Daddy!"

It's quite an effort for the little tyke to say so much, even though he still struggles with many words.

Lu Tingan leaned against the doorframe, watching them leave, then took out his phone to share with Song Qinian: "Fat Cheese said he’s going to catch a big fish to make soup for us tonight."

Song Qinian, who was probably busy, replied ten minutes later: "Fat Cheese is coming along."

By the time the two little ones toddled to the fishing pond, it would likely be almost dark. Lu Tingan had the driver take them there and sent two bodyguards to stay close to them.

As soon as they got out of the car, Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing scampered to the edge of the pond, setting up their small fishing rods and little buckets.

Everything was ready, but they realized they had forgotten to bring small stools, so they had nowhere to sit.