Chapter 30: Chapter 30 “What Should I Give?”

Chapter 30 "What Should I Give?"

Lu Zhishi held up his phone, his eyes earnest: "Add me, please add me!"

The little boy's eyes were round, clear, and bright peach blossom eyes, his pupils reflecting Chi Chen's image.

Chi Chen reached out and pinched his soft little cheek, then took his own phone from the bedside.

After scanning the code, a fragrant, soft "Fat Cheese" appeared on the screen—even the username was "Cheese."

Chi Chen's lips curled slightly as he set the contact name as "Fat Cheese [Cheese]," a perfect fit.

Lu Zhishi looked at the profile picture: it seemed to be a large snow-covered pine tree, standing tall and solitary against a snowy backdrop.

He held up his phone to Chi Chen: "The absolute best Brother Xiao Chen in the world, I want this~"

Suddenly overwhelmed by the sweet words, Chi Chen was stunned for a moment before realizing this was the nickname Lu Zhishi had given him.

"Okay," Chi Chen asked casually, "What did you set as your brother's contact name?"

Lu Zhishi replied cheerfully, "The very, very best brother in the world!"

Nodding, Chi Chen lowered his eyes and typed.

Lu Zhishi took the phone, looked at the few pinned contacts at the top, and grinned.

From now on, he could share his happiness with them every day!

Tapping the little one’s head, Chi Chen lifted him onto the chair: "Class is starting."

Lu Zhishi set the phone aside, looked up, and smiled sweetly: "Okay, Teacher Chi~"

Chi Chen: "..."

The young man’s ears warmed slightly. He casually ruffled the little one’s curly hair and said softly, "Don’t call me that."

...

Far away in City W, Lu Tingan finished his script reading and returned to his room feeling tired.

His assistant had already packed his luggage. Lu Tingan set down the script, picked up his clothes, and went to wash up.

Only after coming out did he check his phone.

Aside from messages from his partner and child, there was also a friend request.

Lu Tingan frowned slightly—this was his private account, usually reserved for family and close friends.

He opened the request and saw a very noticeable piece of cheese.

Looking at the profile picture, Lu Tingan thought of his little one at home, his heart softening.

He accepted the request, but no message came through. Lu Tingan checked the time—it was already late.

Suspecting who it might be, Lu Tingan smiled and opened a voice message from Song Qinian.

Song Qinian’s voice was as gentle and smiling as ever:

"Darling, did you receive Fat Cheese’s friend request?"

"Fat Cheese has been waiting for you to accept the request, still murmuring about it before bed."

"The phone was Pang Xiaoyu’s idea, specifically for Fat Cheese to send messages. He misses you a lot and has been feeling down today."

"Darling..."

Song Qinian was quite a talker, sending a string of voice messages.

Lu Tingan listened and replied one by one, his voice calm and magnetic:

"I just finished reviewing the script and returned to my room. I received Fat Cheese’s request—the profile picture is a very cute piece of cheese."

"I miss Fat Cheese too. I’ll send him a voice message later; he’ll see it when he wakes up tomorrow."

"Things are good here. It rained in City W today. I bought a bouquet of fresh jasmine blossoms to give to you..."

One message after another, the screen was filled with green.

He glanced again at the pinned Fat Cheese and the little Pang Xiaoyu, his expression softening.

The next day, as soon as Lu Zhishi woke up, Song Qinian washed his face, applied his lotion, and dressed him before handing him the phone as he looked on expectantly.

"Little Daddy accepted your request last night after finishing work and sent you a message."

Lu Zhishi was overjoyed. With his short, chubby fingers, he tapped the screen, and a gentle voice said:

"Dear Fat Cheese, Daddy misses you too."

"I finished work very late last night. By the time I checked my phone in my room, you were already asleep."

"Your profile picture is as adorable as you are..."

Lu Zhishi listened to each message, then immediately pulled up the camera, held up the phone, and sent a selfie.

From that angle, his little face filled the whole screen—a soft, chubby little boy.

In a sweet, tender little voice: "Daddy~"

"Fat Cheese misses you~"

Song Qinian tried to take him downstairs, but the little one refused, wanting to be carried so he could have both hands free to use the phone and send voice messages to Little Daddy.

Song Qinian sighed helplessly, massaging his temples, then picked up the little rascal under his arms and carried him downstairs.

"No using it during school, or I’ll confiscate it."

Lu Zhishi nodded eagerly. "I won’t!"

On the way to school, Lu Zhishi took more photos, saying in his milky-sweet voice: "Daddy, I’m going to school~"

Song Qinian gave a soft chuckle.

At the school gate, he took another photo: "Daddy, I’ve arrived at school~"

Amused, he shook his head. Song Qinian took out his own phone and sent a message to Lu Tingan, saying he now had a clingy Fat Cheese.

Following Big Daddy’s instructions carefully, Lu Zhishi kept his phone put away in his backpack once at school.

At lunchtime, Zhao Xiaoxing found out that he too had a phone and immediately got teary-eyed.

As soon as he got home from school, he clutched his dad's leg, crying for a phone, sobbing as he said, "I... I miss Mama too..."

Lin Sheng was getting a headache from all the crying, and it took him a while to figure out what was going on.

He adjusted his glasses, squatted down to hug the little one, and said gently, "Can you promise not to use the phone in class? Fat Cheese has to give his phone to his dad at night."

As soon as Lin Sheng finished speaking, Zhao Xiaoxing nodded eagerly, wiping his tears: "Okay, I want it~"

Patting the little one's head and after getting Zhao Xiaoyun’s approval, Lin Sheng had someone bring him a smaller phone.

Zhao Xiaoxing took one look and started fussing again, whining and sniffling: "Want the same as Six Cheese..."

Lin Sheng: "..." Should’ve known.

After soothing the little crybaby, Lin Sheng called Song Qinian.

He called in the evening and got the phone later that evening after dinner. Zhao Xiaoyun set up his account and texted Lu Zhiyu to ask about his brother’s profile picture and username, insisting it had to match Fat Cheese’s!

Just after Lu Zhishi got out of the bath, he received a new friend request on his phone with a chubby star as the profile picture. He immediately guessed who it was.

Sure enough, as soon as he accepted the request, a voice message came through.

A young, cute, and soft voice said: "Six Cheese, it's me~"

Lu Zhishi grinned and hit send on a voice message back: "Chubby Xing, you got a phone now?"

Zhao Xiaoxing giggled: "Daddy got it for me~"

Now that the two little guys had phones, it would be easier for them to keep in touch.

With Lu Zhishi keeping him in check, Zhao Xiaoxing wouldn’t use his phone in class. Only when he saw something fun or cool would he pull it out of his backpack and snap pics to send to his grandparents, parents, big brother, and everyone.

Lu Zhishi was the same, only taking photos when he saw something he liked.

Kindergarten life was about what Lu Zhishi had expected. The children were still young, so aside from lessons, the rest was playtime.

Lu Zhishi loved drawing and music classes the most, and he was also looking forward to the autumn outing a month later.

What he disliked the most were the afternoon activity periods, like right now.

"Six Cheese, come here~"

A little girl with twin ponytails enthusiastically called over Lu Zhishi, who was daydreaming, asking him to play princes and princesses.

Lu Zhishi shook his head: "No."

The little girl tried to coax him: "You can be the little prince!"

Lu Zhishi was the spitting image of Lu Tingan—peachy skin, pink cheeks, rosebud mouth, white teeth, almond eyes with long lashes, and a head of slightly curly hair that made him look like a doll. He was the most beautiful kid in the kindergarten.

The little girls in class loved dragging him into their games of house, always making him the handsome little prince.

Lu Zhishi still shook his head: "No, you play."

Zhao Xiaoxing came back all sweaty, cocking his head to look at him before plopping down next to him, puffing, he asked: "What’s wrong?"

Handing him the water bottle, Lu Zhishi shook his head and said nothing, just bored.

Lu Zhishi wanted to go back to the classroom and read. "You play, I’m going back to read."

Zhao Xiaoxing liked being with Lu Zhishi, and now that he was leaving, he hesitated.

Kids will be kids—he wanted to both stay with his friend and join the fun.

Lu Zhishi patted his shoulder: "You play. Come find me when you’re done playing."

Zhao Xiaoxing thought about it—the classroom wasn’t far, he could play for a bit and then go back: "Okay~"

Leaving the water bottle behind, Lu Zhishi returned to the classroom and pulled a foreign language book from his backpack.

It was Lu Zhiyu’s. Lu Zhishi had asked for permission to borrow it.

His foreign language foundation was weak, so he needed to work extra hard.

He was so absorbed that he didn’t even notice when Teacher Lily arrived. It wasn’t until he spotted movement by the podium that he realized she was there.

Lu Zhishi closed the book, blushing as he greeted her: "Teacher Lily~"

Teacher Lily smiled: "Reading a foreign language book?"

"Yeah~"

"You’re more like Chi Chen. He didn’t like going out to play either—he preferred reading foreign language books in the classroom during activity time."

Teacher Lily recalled: "Your brother was the outgoing one. He liked going out to play soccer with the other kids."

It was the first time Lu Zhishi had heard a teacher talk about his two older brothers, and he looked at her curiously.

Seeing his interest, Teacher Lily smiled: "Those two were total opposites—one energetic, one calm. They usually stuck together, except during activity time when they’d split up."

Imagining the scene, Lu Zhishi couldn’t help but laugh.

The little one’s smile was especially adorable, and Teacher Lily smiled too: "Your brothers’ kindergarten photo albums probably have pictures. You can check them out when you get home."

Every child had their own kindergarten photo album, filled with personal photos taken by the teachers—a very meaningful keepsake.

Remembering this, Lu Zhishi asked his brother as soon as he got home, saying he wanted to see the albums.

Lu Zhiyu had already started school. The first thing he did after coming home every day was finish his homework, and then he had calligraphy practice to do.

Making time to take him to the study to find the albums, Lu Zhiyu brought his homework along.

Their family had a lot of photo albums—just Lu Zhiyu’s alone filled over ten volumes.

Finding the kindergarten albums by category, Lu Zhiyu pulled them out and opened them for him.

"Big brother needs to do homework. Take your time looking." Lu Zhiyu ruffled his little brother’s head and pointed to the albums nearby: "This one is yours, and those are Big Dad and Little Dad’s."

Lu Zhishi held the album, looking from one to another, his eyes shining.

So many albums!

He could look to his heart’s content.

Just as Teacher Lily had said, the kindergarten albums were filled with individual photos, from Lu Zhiyu’s first day of school all the way to his graduation. Big and small pictures filled the entire album.

Lu Zhishi sat on the thick, soft carpet, flipping through them one by one.

Aside from solo photos, there were group pictures too.

Most of Lu Zhiyu's photos were taken with Chi Chen, since they often spent time together.

Lu Zhiyu on his first day of school looked very much like how Lu Zhishi looks now, with soft, chubby cheeks and a little backpack.

Next to him was Chi Chen in the same uniform, pretty much the same as he is now—not one to smile much, but with a round, full face.

His brother in class, his brother playing soccer, his brother playing the violin, his brother on an autumn outing...

Looking through the album at Lu Zhiyu's three years of kindergarten, Lu Zhishi felt touched. Just as Teacher Lily had said, such albums were truly meaningful.

There were too many photo albums at home, so Lu Zhishi wasn’t in a rush to look through them all. He’d come back when he had more time.

After dinner, he went to the Chi family's home.

As usual, he finished his lessons first. After practicing the violin for a while, during a break, he mentioned the photo album to Chi Chen.

"It's in the study, I'll go get it."

It was also a thick album, but this time the main subject was Chi Chen.

Lu Zhishi plopped down on the carpet and flipped through it page by page. His Xiao Chen really was handsome even as a child!

Most of the photos together overlapped with Lu Zhiyu’s, but the solo photos were different.

Chi Chen in class, head bowed as he wrote, sunlight draping over him like a veil of light. The seats around him were empty—just him alone.

This must be what Teacher Lily meant—during activity periods, Xiao Chen liked to read in the classroom.

Flipping further.

Chi Chen in a white shirt performing on stage with his violin, Chi Chen taking photos by the lake during a spring outing, Chi Chen giving a speech on stage at the graduation ceremony...

Xiao Chen is so good-looking!

Feeling the intense stare, Chi Chen paused his writing and looked up, meeting a pair of dark, luminous clear eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Zhishi held up the album and said happily, "Xiao Chen is so good-looking!"

So direct and intense. Chi Chen unconsciously rubbed his burning ears and changed the subject awkwardly. "I made a new stuffed toy. You can take it home later."

Knowing he was embarrassed, Lu Zhishi grinned sweetly. "Thank you, Xiao Chen!"

"Mm."

Now with another big rabbit pillow for his collection, Lu Zhishi struggled to carry it home and placed it on his bed.

A cloud pillow, several rabbit plushies, a teddy bear—almost all of them were made by Chi Chen...

Though expressionless and cold on the outside, he could knit sweaters and sew dolls—Xiao Chen, cold-faced but warm-hearted!

Lu Zhishi thought about it—Xiao Chen had given him so much, but he had never given Xiao Chen anything in return.

He’d given him a bunch of snacks, but in the end, they ended up in his own stomach...

There was also a plushie that Big Dad won...

Several heads of cabbage, most of which he ended up eating himself...

After thinking it over, Lu Zhishi brought out his little treasure box, planning to use some money to buy something for Xiao Chen.

But when he opened it, there was no money—just a lot of things more valuable than money.

Lu Zhishi: "..."

Lu Zhishi closed the treasure box.

He went to ask his older brother what he should give.

Lu Zhiyu rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "Xiao Chen likes you a lot, he treats you like a real little brother. He’ll love anything you give him."

That was about as helpful as saying nothing. Lu Zhishi tugged at his collar impatiently and shook him. "Then what should I give?"

Lu Zhiyu said a bit jealously. "What about me?"

Lu Zhishi let go of his collar and smoothed out the wrinkles. "I’ll get you something too!"

Pinching his chubby little face, Lu Zhiyu said, "Xiao Chen doesn’t really need anything anyway."

For families like theirs, store-bought gifts weren’t that special. The thought mattered most.

"You kids in the junior class will definitely go to the Eastern Suburbs for your autumn outing next month. There’s a famous ancient temple there."

Lu Zhishi also rubbed his chin. He kind of remembered—grandparents often went there to pray for protective charms.

Sure enough, Lu Zhiyu’s next words were: "The teacher will take you inside for a visit. You can ask for one... a few protective charms. Xiao Chen’s birthday is coming up too."

Great idea!

Lu Zhishi had been wondering what to give Xiao Chen for his birthday this year. Perfect timing—he would go get blessed protective charms and an auspicious fortune stick!

Of course, he had to bring their friend Pang Xiaoxing along for something good.

"Let’s go together and get a few protective charms." Lu Zhishi patted his chest. "I’ll make sure you get an auspicious fortune stick!"

Zhao Xiaoxing clenched his little fist. "Okay, I’ll do whatever you say!"

Then he asked, "When are we going?"

Lu Zhishi counted on his fingers. "Twenty-three days from now."

His round head filled with questions, Zhao Xiaoxing blinked. "What’s that?"

Even though the little guy was learning arithmetic, he still didn’t quite understand days. He was still young.

"After you go to sleep twenty-three times, it’ll be here."

Counting on his little hand, Zhao Xiaoxing widened his eyes. "That's a lot of sleeps."

Lu Zhishi thought so too.

With this on his mind, time seemed to crawl by. But when the day of the autumn outing finally arrived, Lu Zhishi felt like time had flown by.

Song Qinian was packing his small backpack.

Tubby stood nearby holding a phone, taking photos from every direction—his little voice soft and cute. "Daddy, I’m going out to play~"

A short, chubby little figure squatting there, blocking the way. Song Qinian moved him aside to grab the round little water bottle—the one Chi Yuehang had given him.

"Don't eat random things outside, okay, little one?"

Lu Zhishi raised his hand to promise: "I won't, I'll be good~"

Song Qinian gave a short chuckle, "Who's good?"

Lu Zhishi confidently pointed at himself: "Me~"

"Oh~" Song Qinian took out the location bracelet to put on Fat Cheese tomorrow, saying:

"Then how come the ice cream from the freezer two days ago is gone?"

"Teacher Lily said you ate spicy sticks at school with Pang Xiaoxing~"

"And how many cheese sticks did you eat in a day?"

Fat Cheese silently lowered his head, scooted, and turned his back to him.

"Hmm? Fat Cheese, cat got your tongue?"

Song Qinian walked over to him, gently rubbing his round head.

"Alright, be good when you're out, or Dad will worry at home."

Lu Zhishi turned around and, as Song Qinian came back, reached out to hug his leg.

"I know, Dad~"

Such a clingy child, Song Qinian wanted to laugh, forced to drag a little limpet as he struggled back to the small backpack, putting the small umbrella inside.

Placing the backpack on the small sofa, he bent down to pick up the little one hanging on his leg, bouncing him gently a bit—he’s gotten heavier again.

Nuzzling the soft, fragrant chubby cheek, Song Qinian put him down, patted his little bottom, and told him: "Go, Fat Cheese, tell your brother to go to bed early."

"Okay~"

Tubby trotted off to the next room, knocked first, then tiptoed to open the door, peeked in.

"Brother, Dad says, go to bed early."

"Just a moment, almost done."

Lu Zhiyu turned around at the desk, meeting his blinking eyes, his heart melted.

"Want to sleep with brother tonight?"

The little one is going on the autumn outing tomorrow and might be too excited to sleep.

Dad is tired from work during the day, and since there’s no school tomorrow, Lu Zhiyu decided to let Fat Cheese sleep with him.

"Yes~" Lu Zhishi nodded, ran back to his room to get his pillow, small blanket, and the white rabbit he usually sleeps with.

He tossed them skillfully onto the bed, Lu Zhishi climbed up, found his spot, lay down, and pulled the small blanket over himself.

Lu Zhiyu lay down beside him, leaving only a small night light, pulling the warm little body close and gently patting his back: "Sleep."

At first, he was too excited to sleep, but the rhythmic patting on his back was especially hypnotic. Lu Zhishi closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

The night sky was clear, the moon gradually shifting.

At nine the next morning, Lu Zhishi was helped onto the kindergarten bus by Teacher Lily, sitting with Zhao Xiaoxing.

Since it was their first time going out with friends, the little ones from the Sun Class chattered excitedly from the moment they got on the bus.

"Teacher Lily…"

"Will there be fairies in the lake?"

"Teacher Lily! I want to sit with Six Cheese!"

Zhao Xiaoxing, who had been looking around, immediately perked up his ears, warily searching for whoever said that, and quickly grabbed Lu Zhishi's hand and didn't let go.

Lu Zhishi, who had been looking out the window, turned back. The surroundings were noisy, so he leaned over and asked: "What's wrong?"

Zhao Xiaoxing shook his head: "Nothing."

But he still didn’t let go of his hand, and Lu Zhishi let him be.

The city center was quite far from the suburbs, and with all the children on board, the driver drove slowly.

Not sure if Zhao Xiaoxing hadn’t slept well the night before, but he dozed off leaning against Lu Zhishi not long after the bus started.

Adjusting his sleeping position, Lu Zhishi picked up his phone and recorded a video of the scenery outside.

He sent it to both dads, four grandparents, and two brothers.

He couldn’t send voice messages because the other children were sleeping. After sending the video, he slept for a bit too.

Perhaps because sleeping on the bus was uncomfortable, he only napped briefly but had a nightmare, waking up startled and even startling Zhao Xiaoxing, who was sleeping against him.

Seeing him drenched in sweat, eyes wide with fear, Zhao Xiaoxing quickly called for Teacher Lily.

Teacher Lily took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, asking softly: "What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The children who heard the commotion chattered: "What’s wrong with Six Cheese?" "Six Cheese, sit with me, I’ll take care of you!" "Six Cheese…"

Lu Zhishi slowly gathered his thoughts, took the handkerchief, and thanked Teacher Lily: "Thank you, Teacher Lily, I had a nightmare…"

After asking carefully and confirming the little one was fine, Teacher Lily patted his cheek gently and said: "If you’re not feeling well, tell Teacher."

"Okay~"

After explaining to the other concerned children, Lu Zhishi leaned back in his seat to compose himself.

Perhaps scared by his earlier reaction, Zhao Xiaoxing was full of concern throughout the trip, frequently wiping his sweat and giving him water to drink.

He almost moved Lu Zhishi to tears, if not for Zhao Xiaoxing spilling water on his clothes…

Zhao Xiaoxing held the water bottle guiltily: "Six Cheese…"

Lu Zhishi closed his eyes: "It’s okay, I have more clothes."

Besides the kindergarten teachers, there were also kindergarten bodyguards along, including private bodyguards.

After all, the little ones in this kindergarten are treasured children of their families, and without supervision, the parents would always worry.

Even Lu Zhishi himself has had two bodyguard uncles with him since he was little.

The backpack was a bit heavy, so it was handed to Uncle Wu, one of the bodyguards, while Lu Zhishi went to change clothes.

After changing and returning to the group, they followed the teacher to the autumn outing destination.

The ground was covered with maple leaves tipped with red frost, and by the lake, there was a large, well-kept lawn.

Teacher Lily led the children from her class to the Sun Class's spot.

"Today is a picnic, kids! Share your food with your friends!"

"Okay~" came the unanimous, sweet little voices in reply.

The younger class had a picnic for their autumn outing, the middle class went fruit-picking at a farm, and only the older class got to go camping.

The teachers provided picnic blankets, and Lu Zhishi teamed up with Zhao Xiaoxing and the other kids they usually played with.

"My dad made sandwiches~"

The little girl with twin ponytails was their class monitor, named Xu Yuewei, a lively, cheerful girl.

Beside her was a quiet little girl named An Wanyun, who was shy and spoke softly, "My mom gave me some fruits..."

Xiao Lin touched his own bowl-cut hair and said sheepishly, "I brought cake."

Looking around, a slightly tanned boy took out a large box. Zhao Xiaoxing leaned over and asked, "What's that?"

"Chicken legs," Yang Xiaole opened the box, revealing a full container of warm chicken legs.

Glancing at Lu Zhishi, Zhao Xiaoxing proudly brought out his drinks, saying, "Six Cheese definitely brought food. I brought drinks!"

Lu Zhishi found it amusing and thanked him for the trust.

But Zhao Xiaoxing was right—Lu Zhishi had brought several small lunchboxes, so even if some kids in the group didn’t bring food, they wouldn’t go hungry.

Before eating, they took a few photos to send to their grandparents, dad, and brother.

Xu Yuewei sighed, her twin ponytails swaying as she said, "I wish I could take photos too, but my dad won’t let me."

Lu Zhishi was able to have a phone thanks to his brother’s support and his father’s trust.

The little one was precocious, so Song Qinian had no reason to worry.

As for Zhao Xiaoxing, his father trusted Lu Zhishi completely, believing Zhao Xiaoxing would listen to him and that Lu Zhishi would keep an eye on him.

Lu Zhishi put away his phone and comforted her, "You’ll get one someday."

Then, while urging them to eat, he changed the subject, "After we finish eating, Xingxing and I are going over there to get a peace charm. Do you guys want to come?"

Lu Zhishi pointed toward the ancient temple in the distance.

Xu Yuewei was the first to raise her hand, "I’ll go!"

She grabbed her friend’s hand and raised it too, "Yunyun will come too!"

An Wanyun nodded shyly.

The other two also said they wanted to go. Lu Zhishi distributed the food and said with a smile, "Then let’s all go together."

Nearby children who overheard them quickly turned around, tugging at Lu Zhishi’s clothes and asking, "Six Cheese, where are we going?!"

"What? Where are you all going?"

"I want to go too! Six Cheese! Pang Xiaoxing!"

"Me! Me!"

"Alright, alright, everyone can go," Lu Zhishi said, seeing that they were too excited to eat. "But finish your meal first. We’ll go afterward."

After enjoying a pleasant picnic, Teacher Lily let them rest for a while before leading them to the ancient temple amid their eager urging.

They set off in a lively group, only to be stopped by a seemingly endless flight of steps leading upward.

Lu Zhishi: "..."

Well, if they wanted to ask Buddha for a peace charm, they had to show sincerity.