Chapter 10

Chapter 10

In his teenage years, Lin Luochen was exceptionally proud. He bowed to no one in his family, and others genuinely feared him. His siblings would automatically steer clear of him, avoiding his sharp edge.

There was only one person in Lin Luochen’s life whom he had ever called “brother.”

“Brother.”

“Wei Ran, Brother Ran, I…”

“Riiiiing!!!”

Lin Luochen’s eyes snapped open, abruptly yanked from a half-languid dream by the blaring alarm. He sat bolt upright in bed.

It was 4:50 in the morning, his usual wake-up time.

After getting up, he drank a glass of water, performed a quick wash-up, and then began his workout. His exercise routine lasted anywhere from one hour to an hour and a half, combining both aerobic and anaerobic movements. Once finished, he showered, changed clothes, and then the housekeeper would bring him breakfast.

During the meal, Lin Luochen listened to world news.

This was the time of day when his mind was clearest, and many business ideas would flash through his thoughts.

As for what he ate, Lin Luochen usually had no memory of it. Nor did he pay much attention.

Due to the lingering effects of a car accident, he had lost most of his sense of taste and smell.

But Lin Luochen had never been someone who cared much about food and drink anyway, so this didn’t affect him greatly—at least, it had never stirred his emotions.

…

Except that, as his memories gradually unlocked, he began desperately wanting to know the taste of sunlight and the flavor of cake.

Wei Ran…

Lin Luochen unconsciously tightened his grip on the knife and fork.

On BBC, the news anchor, with a crisp British accent, reported the day’s events.

Lin Luochen glanced at the date. It had been three days since he last saw Wei Ran’s son at the café.

In those three days, there had been no word from Wei Ran’s side.

Not only that, but he also hadn’t seen Wei Dudu for three days straight.

Thanks to the presence of an adorable child handing out chestnuts, the line at the sweet potato stall grew longer each day.

However, according to reports from Lin Luochen’s subordinates, no one had seen Dudu near the sweet potato stall in the past three days.

At least on social media platforms like Weibo and Xiaohongshu, some people were lamenting about it. More than one person had tearfully complained that they had taken a train specifically to see Wei Ran’s adorable little fanboy, only to come up empty. The comments below also confirmed that no one had seen him.

…

So where had Wei Ran’s son gone?

Had they moved to another city?

Was Wei Ran avoiding him?…

…

That couldn’t be.

No sense of taste, no sense of smell, he’d completely lost his appetite.

Lin Luochen set down his knife and fork, stood up, and got ready to go to work.

“Sir, I’m terribly sorry, but I need to take the day off today. I might not be back until tomorrow noon.”

As Lin Luochen put on his coat and was about to leave, the housekeeper nervously spoke to him.

Lin Luochen didn’t like staying in hotels. This was one of his properties, and usually, a live-in housekeeper stayed here to oversee utilities and maintenance.

Now that Lin Luochen had moved in, the housekeeper’s workload had increased somewhat, but his salary had doubled accordingly. Besides, Lin Luochen rarely came back, so the extra work was minimal—just making breakfast in the morning and tidying his room.

In turn, Lin Luochen didn’t rely much on this housekeeper. Hearing the request for leave, he nodded without hesitation to show his agreement.

As he smoothly put on his leather shoes, the housekeeper across from him continued to wring his apron but smiled warmly. “Thank you, sir. My young granddaughter is sick. Her parents can’t get away from work, and my wife can’t handle it alone, so I’m going back to check on her…”

Lin Luochen paused mid-action and immediately looked up. “Your granddaughter? How old is she?”

“She’s four and a half this year.”

“She’s sick?”

“It’s probably nothing serious. Someone at her kindergarten was sick, and she might have caught it… Ah, sir, don’t worry, I’ll sanitize before I come back…”

“…Do children get sick easily?” Lin Luochen stared blankly, then frowned deeply.

“Yes.”

The elderly housekeeper wasn’t sure why the usually silent sir had suddenly started discussing this with him, but he replied, “Children at that age have weak immune systems. They catch colds and fevers easily, and with the change of seasons lately, the mycoplasma virus has been spreading fiercely. It’s contagious…”

As the housekeeper explained, Lin Luochen nodded to show he understood while pulling out his phone.

“Check whether Wei Ran’s son has been attending kindergarten these past few days.”

…

Lin Luochen soon received a report from his subordinate: Wei Ran’s son had been going to kindergarten every day recently.

“That kindergarten has good health protocols. Only a few children are sick and staying home, but Dudu has been attending classes on time every day.”

Hearing this, Lin Luochen felt the worry he felt subside.

“Good, I understand.”

“…Keep an eye on things these next few days. If there’s anything unusual, notify me immediately.”

“…Yes, Mr. Lin.”

Lin Luochen ended the call.

He had already arrived at his office. As for his particular concern for Wei Ran’s son, Lin Luochen didn’t find it strange.

After all, he knew of Dudu’s existence, and Dudu had called him “uncle.” They were acquainted.

It was perfectly normal to show appropriate concern for a child you knew—anyone would do the same.

Lin Luochen began his workday.

At 10:30 a.m., the intercom rang, and the secretary informed him that his young nephew was calling.

"...Who?"

Lin Luochen was intently focused on the report displayed on his screen, his tone sounding harsh.

The secretary instinctively flinched, her tone suddenly becoming very uncertain: "...He said he’s your little nephew? He said his name is Lin Yanghanhai."

"..."

Lin Luochen: "Put him through."

A young, childish voice immediately came through the phone, speaking slowly and hesitantly, with a hint of confusion and timidity: "Uncle~ Mom asked me to ask you, can you help Haihai find a kindergarten over there?..."

...

...

In the star's van, Wei Ran held a script in his hands. Next to him, Wu Baohong’s phone screen displayed his agent’s face on a video call. Ji Yangyun asked Wei Ran over the phone: "Have you read the scripts I sent you?"

Wei Ran momentarily looked confused, then squeezed the script in his hand and said, "I'm looking at them."

Ji Yangyun glanced at the worn-out script in Wei Ran’s hand: "...Not this one you’ve practically memorized from the current drama! I’m talking about what you want to take on next. Before, we couldn’t get good opportunities, but things are different now... Wei Ran, do you even realize how much things have changed? It’s time to plan for your next project!"

Wei Ran continued holding the script, nodding blankly to show he was listening but offering no further response.

"...You..." Ji Yangyun sighed: "Forget it, just take a good rest for now."

Yesterday, Wei Ran had attended a promotional event for a brand in City G, followed by a cocktail party that didn’t end until two or three in the morning. By the time he actually got to rest, it was almost dawn.

Early this morning, he hurried back to City S by car. In the afternoon, he had to report to set to work, as he had only taken a day and a half off from the filming schedule.

Ji Yangyun looked at Wei Ran’s pale, bloodless face through the screen and muttered to himself: "Don’t worry about those two scripts for now. I’ll see if I can find better collaborations. The promotional event with the brand went very successfully yesterday, and your market value is increasing every day. Those two scripts are decent, but they’re small productions and not suitable for your current situation."

Wei Ran continued nodding, looking like an obedient student, still somewhat dazed, before lowering his head to focus on the old script again.

He knew he should capitalize on the momentum to plan his next project, but with the current drama still in production, Wei Ran couldn’t spare the energy to think about the next one. He just wanted to give his all to finish this one first.

That was just Wei Ran’s nature.

When he was with his previous agency, his agent couldn’t stand this about him, saying that despite his generally cheerful and adaptable personality, he became stubborn when it came to work, unable to multitask like others. While many celebrities juggled multiple projects, Wei Ran insisted on focusing on one thing at a time, wasting opportunities.

Now that Ji Yangyun was managing him, Wei Ran had already changed a lot, often seeming confused and lacking his former sharpness.

But perhaps because of this, Wei Ran rarely got criticized for it. Or if he did, he had heard so much harsh criticism before that normal, constructive feedback didn’t bother him—he only cared about whether the criticism was valid, not the tone or attitude.

However, most of what Ji Yangyun said was right. This was something Wei Ran couldn’t ignore.

As a result, whenever he spoke with his agent, he would unconsciously straighten his back and occasionally adjust the glasses on his nose bridge.

Ji Yangyun, watching Wei Ran’s studious demeanor as he tried to study the script in the shaking vehicle, suddenly erupted in anger: "It's so bumpy in here! Do you even care about your eyesight?! Put it away and look at it after you get out!"

Wei Ran quickly put away the script, leaning back in his seat to indicate he would rest his eyes.

Ji Yangyun’s voice continued from the assistant’s phone: "Are you pulling a Wei Dudu now? Don’t think I don’t know—you’ll just start reading again after hanging up, won’t you?"

Wei Ran gestured frantically to Wu Baohong out of the agent’s line of sight, signaling to end the video call.

Just then, Wei Ran received a call from the kindergarten teacher, informing him that Dudu had gotten into a conflict with another child at school.

Hearing this, Wei Ran’s expression turned dazed, and then he suddenly panicked.

His slender frame jerked upright from the seat.

"...Wh-what did you say, teacher?? Is Dudu hurt?!"

"Don’t worry, Dudu’s dad, Dudu isn’t hurt. Well... to be precise, from what we understand, someone provoked Dudu, and then, um, another child stepped in and fought with the one who provoked him..."

Wei Ran: ?

His expression grew even more panicked and confused.

Teacher: "But the reason they fought was indeed because of Dudu. Anyway, Dudu’s dad, it would be best if you could come to the school in person..."

Wei Ran, of course, went straight to the school.

On the way, he reviewed the kindergarten’s surveillance footage to understand what had happened.

By the time Wei Ran arrived at the kindergarten, a child’s loud wailing could be heard from the teacher’s office, accompanied by a woman’s angry voice: "Don’t cry, son! Mom will definitely get justice for you! Where are Lu Zhu’s parents? Teacher, have you notified his mom and dad? How dare he hit my son—I’ll make sure they pay for this! They’ll regret it!"

"And where are Bai Ze’s parents?! Bai Ze was the one who instigated Lu Zhu! If their parents aren’t called here today, I’m calling the police!"

Wei Ran knocked on the door at that moment.

He was still wearing his usual thin white cotton jacket, paired today with plain black sweatpants and white sneakers. A baseball cap covered his head, and large-framed glasses sat on his nose bridge, making him look even more like a student.

"Are you..."

"Hello, teacher, I’m Bai Ze’s father."

"You’re Bai Ze’s dad??" Before the teacher could respond, the parent of the alleged victim, Xing Jianhao’s mother, couldn’t help but speak up.

She had heard that the child nicknamed Du Bao was quite good-looking. Xiao Hao had once told her that Dudu was the cutest, not only liked by the teachers but also popular among the children in the kindergarten.

But Ms. Gong believed her son was the cutest. Even if he wasn’t as fair and adorable as Dudu, what mattered wasn’t looks—it was about who learned more, knew more, and had more talent!

She’d heard that Dudu didn’t even attend extra classes, and kids who were cute when young often grew up less attractive. How could anyone be better than her son!

But the moment she saw Bai Ze’s father, Ms. Gong suddenly felt that "growing up less attractive" might not be likely...

Wei Ran instinctively lowered his cap brim and nodded earnestly: "I’m Dudu’s dad."

Xing Jianhao’s mother stopped overthinking. Seeing how gentle and earnest the other parent seemed, she wiped away nonexistent tears from the corners of her eyes, placed her hands on her hips, and raised her voice: "...Well, you’re just in time! Your son instigated someone to hit my son. What are you going to do about it?!"

Wei Ran had a general understanding of the situation before arriving and said, "Oh, about that—your Xiao Hao needs to apologize to our Dudu first."

"What did you say?" Xiao Hao’s mother was stunned. "...Your son hit someone, and you want my son to apologize to you?!"

Though Wei Ran was often confused, he hadn't lost his mind. He nodded seriously and said, "Yes, he must apologize."

"Your son provoked Dudu first."

After saying this, Wei Ran turned his gaze to Xing Jianhao.

Under his stare, Xing Jianhao burst into tears again, crying loudly, "I didn’t! I didn’t say anything about Bai Ze! Mom, I really didn’t!"

But Wei Ran spoke to the child with firm seriousness: "You mocked Du Bao in front of the other children. You should apologize to Dudu."

Xing Jianhao’s parents were both loud and assertive. He had never encountered someone who spoke so gently yet so authoritatively. Feeling guilty, he burst into loud sobs again: "I, I... Waaah!!"

"That's enough, Xiao Hao!"

Seeing the large bump on Xing Jianhao's forehead, Ms. Gong continued standing with her hands on her hips: "Isn't it normal for kids to joke around with each other? The problem now is that my son is injured! So what if my son teased yours a little? Our Xiao Hao is the one who got hurt!!"

Wei Ran said: "He got hurt because he tried to hit Dudu first. Lu Zhu was just defending Dudu."

"Nonsense!" Ms. Gong retorted: "So you're saying my son teased yours and then went to hit him too? What, is my Xiao Hao some kind of school bully?! Then does Dudu have any injuries? I'm asking you, does he have any injuries?!"

Faced with her twisting the truth, Wei Ran had no choice but to suggest that both parties watch the surveillance video together.

Ms. Gong had already seen the footage. It was true that Xing Jianhao had pushed Dudu first, but in her view, that hadn’t caused any harm to Bai Dudu—it was just kids playing around.

But then, Lu Zhu, who was a year older than them, suddenly jumped in, not only shoving Xiao Hao away but also banging his head against the wall!

Even though Xiao Hao was bigger than that Lu Zhu kid, Lu Zhu was already six years old! A whole year older than my son! What kind of decent child stays in kindergarten at six instead of moving on to elementary school?

Besides, everyone knew that Lu Zhu’s father had committed crimes abroad and served time in prison, and his mother had remarried a wealthy businessman before getting him into this kindergarten.

Thinking of this, Ms. Gong cooled down a bit. The one she really had it in for was that Lu Zhu. As for Bai Ze, even though he came from a single-parent family, at least he didn’t have a convict for a father—he was still okay for her son to be in class with...

Wei Ran had already signaled the teacher to play back the surveillance video.

In the video, the conflict began when Xing Jianhao was bragging about how his parents took him to the beach for vacation last weekend.

That in itself was harmless, but as Xing Jianhao spoke, he caught Bai Dudu looking at him and found himself saying: "Dudu, you only have one dad, right? That's so sad."

Bai Dudu blinked his pure, innocent eyes and immediately waggled his little hand in response: "Dudu only has Daddy, but Dudu's not pitiful."

Raised with Ms. Gong's attitudes, Xing Jianhao assumed that single-parent families were inherently broken, so he directly said: "But you only have one parent—isn’t that pitiful?"

Dudu continued to look with big eyes, his expression calm and firm: "Dudu just needs Daddy! That’s enough!"

But Xing Jianhao only pressed on: "No, no, it’s not enough! Your family is a broken family, so you’re a disabled baby!"

Dudu didn’t really get what "disabled baby" meant, but he had once seen an uncle with no legs begging on the street, and Grandma Wang had said that was a disabled person.

Dudu didn’t want to be without legs; he didn’t want to be a disabled baby. That got a reaction out of him.

Wei Dudu pouted his lips and continued shaking his hands in denial: "Dudu not disabled, oh!"

Seeing him finally react strongly, Xing Jianhao egged him on even more: "You only have one dad, you have no mom—isn’t that disabled?!"

"Oh?"

Dudu tilted his head. So that’s what disabled meant? Then it didn't matter.

Dudu said clearly, earnestly and fearlessly: "But Dudu only needs Daddy. Dudu doesn’t need another daddy."

Xing Jianhao started laughing, clutching his stomach: "Dummy! A normal family has one mom and one dad. You don’t even know that, hahaha..."

Dudu’s clear, dark eyes watched him, and he simply sighed, turning away silently as if deciding there was no point arguing further.

In the video, the tiny little human child somehow managed to convey a profound sense of "don’t argue with summer insects about ice" (meaning it's pointless to discuss certain things with those who lack the necessary understanding).

Somehow, this infuriated Xing Jianhao, who immediately reached out with his little chubby hand and gave Dudu a push!

Just as he touched Dudu’s back, Lu Zhu, who had been watching him for a while, rushed over and shoved him hard into the wall.

Xing Jianhao didn’t react at all. Because he was heavier and couldn’t catch himself, his forehead hit the wall first with a dull "thud."

Then came the loud, nonstop crying.

The crying was ear-piercing, and Ms. Gong quickly reached out to turn off the video.

"Dudu’s Dad, if you think about it carefully, it was Lu Zhu who hit my son. It has nothing to do with Dudu. I wasn't even going to call you in the first place. I won’t hold this against Dudu, but as for Lu Zhu—you should be careful about him being around your Dudu. He’s too violent, he..."

At that moment, the office door was pushed open. It was Dudu, who had been eavesdropping outside for a while.

Behind Dudu was a skinny boy—none other than Lu Zhu, the one from the video who had shoved Xing Jianhao away.

Dark-skinned and slender, Lu Zhu was actually a good head taller than Wei Dudu in front of him. The boy followed behind Dudu expressionlessly, his gaze sweeping over Xing Jianhao and his mother with clear contempt.

Dudu, who entered first, his eyes were red, a pouted mouth, and chubby cheeks all puffed out. He looked at his dad with a mix of guilt and timidity.

He felt guilty because he had caused trouble for his dad, making the teacher call his parent.

He was also scared because he had caused trouble for his dad... Dudu was worried that Daddy would be bullied by that auntie who wore strong, smelly perfume!

Dudu didn’t want Daddy to be bullied, and he especially didn’t want Daddy to be bullied because of him. So... waaah!

The moment he saw his dad, the otherwise calm little boy’s eyes reddened, and he started bawling!

This was the first time Dudu had cried in kindergarten.

The fair, delicate child suddenly was crying his eyes out, startling both the teacher and Lu Zhu behind him!

Lu Zhu’s expression became troubled and panicked, unsure what to do.

The teacher immediately went over to comfort him.

But even faster than her was Dudu’s dad.

Wei Ran strode over, crouched down in front of Dudu, and hugged his son tightly. He gently wiped the little teardrops from Dudu’s face and softly comforted him: "It’s okay, baby, baby don’t cry. Daddy isn’t mad at you. Daddy will never be mad at Dudu."

"Daddy, wu wu Daddy, ba-ba!~..." Dudu hugged his dad’s neck, too upset to speak properly.

But Wei Ran already understood.

He felt worse than anyone—if it weren’t for him, Dudu wouldn’t have been spoken to like that.

He simply picked Dudu up and whispered comfort into his son’s ear: "Dudu shouldn’t cry for Daddy’s sake either. Daddy will always love Dudu. It’s Daddy’s fault..."

"Not Daddy’s fault."

Pouting, Dudu shed two more golden teardrops but then forcefully held back his tears.

Because Dudu realized that if he cried, Daddy would be very sad too.

Daddy’s eyes, hidden under the shadow of his cap, were already red.

So Dudu had to try hard to hold it in!

His mouth pursed into a "∧" shape, and even his chin wrinkled with the effort of holding back!

But Dudu is a little man—Dudu’s mission is to protect Daddy!—

"Daddy, Dudu not crying anymore."

Wei Dudu said it himself.

"Dudu's done crying, so Daddy shouldn't cry either, alright?"

Dudu hugged his father's neck tightly and planted a loud kiss on it.

But his little tears still couldn't stop falling.

Wei Ran felt like his heart was being torn apart, yet he didn't dare show his sorrow or self-blame. Dudu was a sensitive child, and he couldn’t let Dudu sense his sadness.

Fortunately, Wei Ran was a skilled enough actor—the redness around his eyes faded fast.

"Ms. Gong, thank you for your reminder, but—"

Once Dudu had finally stopped crying, Wei Ran stood up tall, his presence and tone suddenly becoming resolute: "Your son, Xing Jianhao, must apologize to Dudu first."

"You!" Ms. Gong hadn’t expected the other to be so ungrateful and snapped, "If you’re this rigid, how will your Dudu ever have any friends?"

But under Wei Ran’s unwavering gaze, Ms. Gong’s nerve faltered.

Feeling she had lost face, she tried to save her dignity by muttering angrily, "If you’re so afraid of being talked about, then don’t come to school! And anyway, who mocked your child? My son was just stating a fact—Dudu is from a single-parent family—"

"Who said Dudu is from a single-parent family?"

The office door was opened once again, this time forcefully—violently kicked open.

A young man in a tailored suit stood outside the door, tall and broad-shouldered, his expression grim.