Chapter 26: Chapter 26 “Okay Okay, Not Tied Then Not Tied~”…

Chapter 26

"Alright, alright, no need to tie it then~"...

The shark-shaped boat creaked and swayed, surrounded by the cheerful, lively sounds of children's music and the tender, adorable laughter of little ones.

Lu Tingan stood just outside the ride area, silently watching the two little ones bouncing around in their shark boats, a faint, gentle smile playing beneath his mask.

"Toot toot—"

Lu Zhishi skillfully maneuvered, gripping the steering wheel, and drove his little boat straight toward Zhao Xiaoxing.

Ripples spread across the water in the wake of the boat.

"Watch me~"

The little boat, full of bravado, charged toward Zhao Xiaoxing's pink shark—

Well, "charged" might be an overstatement; the boat was moving rather slowly, actually bobbing and weaving its way over.

Zhao Xiaoxing's big eyes sparkled as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, exerting all his strength: "Here I come~"

"Vroom~ vroom~" The little rascal even provided his own sound effects.

Lu Tingan, recording a video nearby, covered his face, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Other visitors couldn't help but chuckle. "These chubby little munchkins are quite adorable."

"Charge~"

"Quack quack quack~"

"?"

"Charge~"

Lu Zhishi turned to look at the chubby little brother beside him. "Huh?"

Buddy, what's going on? Why are you quacking now?

Zhao Xiaoxing, basking in his big brother's approving gaze, puffed out his chest proudly and quacked even more enthusiastically.

Two minutes later.

"Charge~ quack—"

"Charge charge~ quack quack—"

Two round-faced, chubby little ones, driving blue and pink shark boats, bounced around everywhere, all while making tender, duckling-like sounds.

Lu Tingan could barely watch, his eyes flickering with a mix of helplessness and indulgence.

A visitor, amused, leaned over and asked, "Are those two little ducklings yours?"

"Yes, both of them," Lu Tingan coughed lightly, adjusting his face mask, his eyes crinkling with a smile.

"So adorable."

The shark rides were a big hit. Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing played for two hours before reluctantly disembarking. Lu Tingan then carried them to the rest area to wipe their sweat and give them water.

Lu Zhishi hugged his water bottle and gulped down water, utterly exhausted. He then plopped down onto Lu Tingan's foot.

"Tired~"

Zhao Xiaoxing was about to lie down on the ground but was quickly caught by Lu Tingan.

Seeing Lu Zhishi settled, he also shuffled onto Lu Tingan's foot, leaning comfortably against his calf, hugging his water bottle and gulping water.

After finishing, he let out a long, satisfied sigh: "Phew~"

Lu Tingan bent down, pulled out two more tissues, and gently dabbed their foreheads and necks to wipe away the sweat.

He reached into their chubby little backs—they were warm, with a thin layer of perspiration.

Carefully tending to the two exhausted little ones, Lu Tingan smoothed down their hair.

"Let's go get something to eat and rest a bit."

Hearing this, Lu Zhishi instantly brightened, clutching Lu Tingan's pant leg tightly: "Okay! Let's go!"

Lu Tingan chuckled helplessly: "Little foodie."

Zhao Xiaoxing scrambled up, hugging Lu Tingan's thigh, and pointed forward with one hand: "Su, go!"

"Looks like you're a little foodie too," Lu Tingan said, gently tapping his chubby head.

"Go, go—"

"Hurry—"

Pulled by each of them on one leg, Lu Tingan took tiny, shuffling steps, unable to fully extend his legs, feeling both helpless and amused.

There were many restaurants in the amusement park, but due to Lu Tingan's recognizable and famous face, they opted for one with a private room.

"No ice cream," Lu Tingan said after ordering, turning his head to firmly refuse the two little ones who were staring at him with hopeful eyes.

Lu Zhishi lay on the table, squishing his face into a triple chin and two round cheeks, pouting: "Okay~"

Zhao Xiaoxing, though small, let out a long, adult-like sigh: "Sighhh~~~"

Lu Tingan remained unmoved.

At home, they were always sneaking ice cream, then crying from stomach pains—these two little troublemakers never listened.

Children easily forget things. When the food arrived, the two forgot all about the ice cream.

Originally, the plan was to let them play all morning, have lunch, and then go home for a nap. Who would have thought they'd spend the entire morning just on the carousel and shark rides?

They had no choice—they ended up staying at the amusement park all afternoon too.

They saw beautiful princesses, explored charming flower streets, entered magnificent castles, and finally, went to play the claw crane game.

Lu Zhishi tugged at his dad's leg: "More, for brothers~" Get more to bring back for the brothers.

"Okay, we'll get a few more."

Zhao Xiaoxing pulled on Lu Tingan's clothes: "Su Su, want bunny~"

"Okay, we'll get a big white bunny." They started with high hopes but ended with poor results.

The eighth time, Lu Tingan stared silently at the cute plush toy inside the claw machine.

He looked down and met two pairs of sparkling big eyes.

He said, "I'm having some trouble."

Lu Tingan took out his phone. "Let's see if your Dad Song Qinian has gotten off work yet."

As he sent the message, he added, "He’s really good at the claw machine."

Half an hour later, Song Qinian, who was indeed very skilled at claw machines, hurried from the company to the amusement park and won a pile of adorable plush toys for the two eagerly waiting little ones.

Lu Zhishi hugged a plush bear bigger than himself and struggled to peek out to look at his two dads.

He saw Song Qinian draw Lu Tingan in, bending down to say in a low, comforting voice:

"...It’s just a lack of experience and technique, it doesn’t mean anything. We’ll get a couple of claw machines for home, and with a bit of practice, you’ll get the hang of it..."

Lu Tingan tugged at his mask, lowered his gaze without saying a word, then bent his elbow and gently jabbed Song Qinian’s side.

Hopefully, they weren't having a disagreement over the claw machine.

Worried, Lu Zhishi hurriedly squeezed between them with his big bear, looking up with an ingratiating smile.

"Dad~"

Lu Tingan bent down to pick up the child, then also picked up Zhao Xiaoxing from nearby. "You carry the stuff."

This was clearly directed at Song Qinian.

Song Qinian laughed lightly, picked up the two large bags of plush toys, and walked leisurely behind them. "At your service, it’s my pleasure."

"Hehehe~"

"Hehe~"

It was a relief they weren’t arguing—kids are always afraid when parents fight.

After strapping the two little ones into their car seats, Lu Tingan opened the passenger door and was greeted with a bouquet of champagne-colored tulips.

The silver Rolls-Royce drove away discreetly.

While the people and the car kept a low profile, fans had actually recognized them much earlier.

But like their idol, Lu Tingan’s fans are always composed—they didn’t disturb his family time and even helped cover for them.

Still, Lu Tingan must have known they were there; otherwise, who else could have provided the lunch and cold drinks at noon?

Not long after Lu Tingan left that evening, the fans even received some limited edition souvenirs and free tickets from the amusement park.

"Gonna absorb some of my brother's money luck!"

"Lu Tingan, bless me to get rich! I don’t need much, just 1% of your fortune will do!"

"Wait, I thought Lu-ge only had one two-year-old, Fat Cheese? Who’s the other little one?"

"Probably a friend’s child—such a chubby little one…"

"Song Longjing is so lucky—a beautiful wife and adorable little ones…"

"Another day, another reason to be jealous of him…"

…

Lu Zhishi got a fluffy plush bear, and Little Chubby Zhao also brought home two big white rabbits he’d been dreaming of. The rest of the toys were piled in Lu Zhishi’s small room.

Looking at all the plush toys, Lu Zhishi was a bit conflicted.

He wasn’t sure what to give to his two older brothers.

"Hmm…"

He petted the little bear in his arms, thought for a long time, then looked down at it.

He was holding a plump brown bear. Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen were his gege…

After dinner, Lu Zhishi eagerly called Lu Zhiyu on video.

As soon as the call connected, Lu Zhishi’s round face filled the screen as he exclaimed excitedly, "Gege! Look~~~"

"Gege sees, Fat Cheese has gotten rounder."

Lu Zhiyu also squeezed into the frame, gently touching the plump, soft little face on the screen through his phone.

This little one still had so much chubby cheeks.

Lu Zhishi pouted unhappily, protesting in his adorable baby voice, "Not true!"

He hadn’t gotten rounder! Dad even said he’d lost weight recently!

"Alright, alright, if you say not," Lu Zhiyu said, holding back a laugh.

Lu Zhishi grew even angrier—this bad gege was even copying how he talked.

His eyes welled up with tears; little kids can’t hold back their tears for long.

Tubby unhappily ducked his head, saying in a pitiful voice, "I... I want Brother Xiao Chen…"

"Alright, alright, you want Brother Xiao Chen, Brother Xiao Chen…" Realizing he’d made his little brother cry, Lu Zhiyu quickly got off the bed to find Chi Chen.

He knocked loudly on the bathroom door, "Chi Chen! Come quick, comfort the child!"

There was some rustling inside, and soon the door opened. Chi Chen, hair still wet, took the phone.

On the other end, the pitiful little one was drawing back—clearly, Lu Zhiyu had been up to his usual teasing again.

"You haven’t gotten rounder, you’re still the same as before."

Lu Zhishi shook his head and told Chi Chen, "Gege was copying how I talk…"

Saying this made Tubby even more upset.

Chi Chen lowered his eyelashes, a faint smile playing on his lips where the camera couldn't see, then looked up with a reliable big brother expression.

"I’ll tell him off for you in a bit."

Lu Zhishi paused, then instinctively shook his head. "Better... better not…"

Suddenly, muffled laughter could be heard from the other side of the video—Lu Zhishi knew right away it was his bad gege.

Lu Zhiyu stifled a laugh, whispered to Chi Chen, "Isn't he adorable?"

Chi Chen smirked briefly.

He went back to the bathroom to grab a dry towel to dry his hair, his tone light as he asked, "Did you eat properly today?"

"I did~ Hey, two bowls~"

Lu Zhishi temporarily forgave his annoying older brother, holding up his phone as he crawled closer to show them the cute fluffy little bear.

"Look~"

Chi Chen raised an eyebrow slightly. "Bought it, for me?"

Lu Zhishi shook his head, then nodded, his speech slightly halting: "C-claw machine, for brother..."

Lu Zhiyu popped into a corner of the screen. "What about mine?"

Lu Zhishi angled the phone again. "This one."

Chi Chen asked him, "Did you win it yourself?"

Lu Zhishi lifted his chin, looking incredibly proud, and said loudly, "It was me—"

Chi Chen looked slightly surprised, a look of pride appearing in his eyes as if thinking, *Our little brother's all grown up*.

Lu Zhiyu raised his brows, about to praise him.

But the little guy, as if paused for breath, slowly and softly finished his sentence: "Daddy w-won it."

Chi Chen: "..."

Lu Zhiyu: "..."