BTMDY Extra 5

As the saying goes, it’s better to be lucky than early.

 

This trip, Xu Suihe and Lu Guoguo happened to hit the sweet spot for some good food.

 

The roujiamo was almost done—just the final step left. The crispy buns, already prepped, went straight into the oven. The smell of braised meat drifted through the air, and the two kids, tempted, sat watching TV, their mouths watering.

 

After returning from abroad for months, it was natural to bring gifts to satisfy the family’s expectations.

 

With the home setup they had, there was hardly anything in China they couldn’t manage to get, but Lin Wangye still prepared some handmade chocolates.

 

Lin Shen, Lu Chengxuan, and Xu Suihe all got their share.

 

The extra two boxes were for Lin Qianqian and Vivian.

 

Watching Lu Guoguo stare longingly at Xu Suihe as he opened his box, Lin Wangye felt a little awkward. When he made the chocolates, he had only planned for the important people in his heart, never thinking to make extras—and certainly didn’t expect this little guy to be there.

 

Luckily, Lin Shen saved the day. Seeing his son freeze up, he gave Lu Chengxuan’s portion to Lu Guoguo.

 

“One is enough for me and Lu Chengxuan. He never really liked these things anyway.”

 

Chocolate wasn’t anything special for Lu Guoguo, but kids are kids. With his rose-colored view of Lin Wangye and Lin Shen, he was over the moon when he got the box, holding it like a treasure and practically glowing: “Thank you!”

 

Meanwhile, Xu Suihe was already digging in.

 

But Lu Guoguo didn’t eat his—he turned and carefully put it into his little suitcase.

 

Kids had the right to their own ideas, and everyone else just went about their business without asking. About twenty minutes later, Shi Yuan came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of steaming roujiamo.

 

Lin Wangye, who had been waiting impatiently, jumped off the sofa and grabbed one, biting in hungrily, his eyes lighting up.

 

“Delicious! Even better than what you get outside!”

 

There were just enough for everyone, one each. When it was Lin Shen’s turn, Shi Yuan spun the plate to make sure a specific one landed in his hand.

 

“This one’s without green peppers. Lu Chengxuan made it especially for you.”

 

Lin Shen took it and smiled at him. “Thanks for the effort.”

 

Once the buns were handed out, Shi Yuan carried the empty plate back to the kitchen to help Lu Chengxuan clean up.

 

Tomorrow was Lin Qianqian’s birthday, and Lin Wangye and Shi Yuan had taken the chance to come back today while they were free. But now Lin Qianqian was a fairly well-known singer in China, talented on her own and backed by Lin Shen’s money, her popularity skyrocketing.

 

Once a star rises, gigs come one after another, even busier than running a business. Meeting her wasn’t exactly easy.

 

She was currently appearing as a guest on a popular talent show, which took up a lot of her time. And, as luck would have it, her birthday fell on the night of a live debut show.

 

Even Lin Shen and Lu Chengxuan, each worth over a hundred million, had to adjust two days off to celebrate her birthday. In the end, they had no choice but to patiently wait for her schedule to wrap up.

 

As a little fan, Xu Suihe had full control of the remote, and the whole family gathered in the living room to watch the replay of Lin Qianqian’s talent show.

 

Originally, Xu Suihe called most of the older guys ‘brother.’

 

But ever since Lin Wangye started calling him ‘dad,’ the family hierarchy had completely gone haywire. Lin Shen was really unhappy with being called ‘brother,’ feeling like he had been bumped down a generation.

 

So not only was Lin Wangye forced to change what he called him, even Xu Suihe had to switch from calling Lu Chengxuan ‘brother’ to ‘uncle.’

 

Xu Suihe didn’t understand adults’ weird little games, and she certainly couldn’t follow Lin Shen’s thought process.

 

But since Lin Shen insisted so strongly, she just went along with it.

 

Because they were watching through a video browser, the unfiltered comments scrolled right across the screen.

 

[Can’t wait for the group night next week, love all the guests!]

[The suspense is real, every guest group is strong!]

[I didn’t even know Lin Qianqian was such a powerhouse, how did Group 1 lose?]

[The live scoring can go either way.]

[Honestly, the dance groups have more advantage—the live performance of dance hits harder than vocals.]

[Group 2’s guest is Shi Shi!]

[Shi Shi comes from Korea’s top girl group, the talent is obvious.]

[The group just disbanded, probably Shi Shi is back in China to develop her career.]

[Domestically, Shi Shi’s popularity can’t match Lin Qianqian’s.]

[Stop arguing! Who wins or loses doesn’t matter! I just wanna see pretty girls singing and dancing!]

…

 

“Hey, Old Lin,” Xu Suihe shifted her gaze from the TV to Lin Shen, pointing at someone on screen. “My bestie really likes her. Can we ask Sister Qianqian for her autograph?”

 

Having already watched this episode and now bored, looking down at his phone, Lin Shen glanced at the screen. When he realized Xu Suihe was pointing at Shi Shi, he couldn’t help but smirk.

 

“You want her autograph? Why go through my sister? Just ask me.”

 

Xu Suihe froze, speechless.

 

Seeing the little girl’s expression screaming “How dare you!” Lin Shen, sprawled on the sofa with no care for posture, straightened up and sat properly.

 

“She’s my high school classmate, didn’t your brother ever tell you?”

 

Xu Suihe didn’t follow the foreign entertainment scene and wasn’t a Shi Shi fan, so she had never heard of this.

 

The only high school classmates she’d come into contact with were Fu Xuexue from the Shengtian project team and Zhao Youyou from Lin Hong.

 

She immediately looked to Shi Yuan for confirmation.

 

“Really, brother?!”

 

Shi Yuan, who had been whispering with little Lin, lifted his head and replied, “Yeah, it’s true.”

 

“Wow!” Xu Suihe’s eyes widened. “Why has no one ever told me such a big deal?”

 

Shi Yuan and Lin Wangye exchanged a glance and replied matter-of-factly:

 

“We’re not really close. You never asked before, so there wasn’t much to say.”

 

At this age, girls naturally feel a little drawn to people shining on stage, especially a gorgeous celebrity like Shi Shi.

 

Hearing about this connection, Xu Suihe immediately couldn’t sit still.

 

“Then can you get me her autograph? The one with her name on it!”

 

“Hey, wait a sec.” Lin Shen, who loved attention more than anything, immediately got flustered. “You’re coming to me! I said it first!”

 

Xu Suihe looked confused. “Aren’t you all in the same class? What’s the difference?”

 

Lin Shen crossed his arms, suddenly radiating mysterious confidence.

 

“Then ask them three who has Shi Shi’s WeChat.”

 

At his words, Xu Suihe immediately turned her gaze to the other three.

 

Lin Wangye and Shi Yuan raised their hands in perfect sync: none of them had it.

 

Lu Chengxuan shook his head too.

 

“See? I was right.”

 

Grinning proudly, Lin Shen was about to boast about his connections when Lu Guoguo, who had been quietly munching on buns beside him, suddenly raised his phone and, as if claiming credit, showed Xu Suihe his contacts list.

 

“Sister, I have it too!”

 

Completely caught off guard by being upstaged, Lin Shen blinked, dropped his phone, and grabbed Lu Guoguo, marching straight to the balcony.

 

“I’m throwing you off right now.”

 

“Brother Shen! I was wrong, Brother Shen!”

 

After some playful scolding and laughter, the family sat together watching the show, and before they knew it, it was noon. Xu Suihe had plans to watch a movie with her friends, so she left after lunch.

 

With nothing else to do, Lin Shen and Lin Wangye grabbed Lu Guoguo and started playing console games. Lu Chengxuan and Shi Yuan sat nearby—one as a loyal audience, the other providing live commentary and timely quips.

 

Since there were only two controllers, the three had to take turns, with the less skilled naturally giving up their spot.

 

Before long, Lin Shen, stuck on the sidelines, started getting impatient and frustrated, itching to flip the table.

 

With no choice, Lin Wangye let him play a bit longer to ease his temper.

 

Unnoticed, evening crept in, and the sky darkened. Lin Wangye and Shi Yuan needed to go home to see their grandparents, so they didn’t stay long and left before dinner.

 

Once they were gone, the house instantly felt quieter.

 

After finishing their games, Lu Chengxuan made a simple dinner.

 

With full stomachs and satisfied appetites, Lin Shen started nudging Lu Guoguo to work on his weekend homework.

 

Lu Guoguo always thought doing homework when he already knew all the answers was a completely pointless task.

 

But even Lin Shen, who had indulged him all afternoon, kept insisting. Reluctantly, he obeyed, taking his workbook quietly to the study and focusing on it.

 

Kids really are naturally smart—once they willingly put their mind to studying, homework required no help and was done efficiently, just like Lu Chengxuan back in the day.

 

With the last person to play with gone, Lin Shen got bored again.

 

He sprawled on the sofa, flipping channels endlessly with the remote, but nothing caught his interest. Finally, out of sheer boredom, he glanced over at Lu Chengxuan, who was focused on his laptop, and leaned his head against him.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Looking at the quarterly report… last month—”

 

“Don’t say it.” Lin Shen cut him off, lazily closing his eyes and stretching out his words: “I don’t want to hear it. No work talk at home.”

 

Lu Chengxuan went quiet, understanding that he was just bored. He closed his laptop, set it aside, and focused entirely on Lin Shen, casually handing him the controller.

 

“Don’t want to play.”

 

Lin Shen had played all afternoon and was already tired of it. He pushed the controller aside and reached over, tugging at Lu Chengxuan’s hair a few times.

 

“I want a vacation when I’m at work, but when I’m on vacation, being at home feels boring. Xiao Lin says there’s something wrong with me… I don’t actually have a problem, do I?”

 

“Not your fault. I’m just too boring,” Lu Chengxuan replied.

 

At that, Lin Shen’s fingers paused for a moment, playing with the strands of golden hair. He sat up, faced Lu Chengxuan, and with a motion that was somewhere between a slap and a caress, tapped his cheek.

 

“Just know that.”

 

He leaned back, eyes closing again, murmuring: “Make do, what else can you do?”

 

Soon after, Lu Guoguo finished his homework and came out.

 

Lin Shen didn’t let him idle either. When the boy ran over excitedly to grab the controller, Lin Shen patted the back of his head and pointed toward the kitchen:

 

“Even kids have to do chores within their ability. Go wash the dishes in the sink.”

 

“Huh?” Lu Guoguo pointed at himself in disbelief. “Me?”

 

“Yes, you. Your uncle left them for you on purpose. This is a basic life skill—you need to learn it.”

 

Lu Guoguo, spoiled from a young age, could not comprehend this at all.

 

“Why do I have to wash dishes? Isn’t there a maid?”

 

“The maid can’t be here all the time,” Lin Shen said seriously. “If one day you live with someone you love, wouldn’t it be annoying to have a maid hovering over you 24/7? Just like I’m annoying you now.”

 

After thinking it over, Lu Guoguo realized he had a point. He nodded firmly, as if entrusted with a serious mission, and trudged to the kitchen, standing on tiptoe to turn on the water.

 

His first time washing dishes was predictably messy. Half his sleeves were soaked, the sink looked chaotic, the plates—though clean—looked like a dog had already licked them, and he even accidentally broke one bowl.

 

Of course, Lu Chengxuan silently cleaned up the mess.

 

Homework done, dishes reluctantly washed—rewards were naturally due.

 

Lin Shen stayed to play games with the kids while Lu Chengxuan returned to the study to handle work.

 

Time passed quietly, and two hours went by before Lu Chengxuan noticed the living room had gone silent. Checking the room, he found the game on the screen had auto-paused from inactivity. Both big and small figures were wrapped in blankets, asleep on the sofa.

 

This scene was nothing new. Lu Chengxuan picked up Lu Guoguo and carried him back to his bed, removing his shoes and clothes and covering him with a blanket. He returned to the living room, turned off the TV and lights, then bent down carefully and lifted Lin Shen off the sofa.

 

Adults don’t sleep as deeply as kids. The moment Lin Shen was suspended in the air, he woke up.

 

He didn’t struggle to get down but stared quietly at Lu Chengxuan’s face. As he was set onto the mattress, he looped an arm around his neck, pulling them closer.

 

Breaths mingled. Lin Shen cast a glance at his lips, then relaxed his hands.

 

Lu Chengxuan immediately understood the familiar signal. After freeing himself, he didn’t pull away but leaned down and kissed Lin Shen’s palm.

 

Lin Shen’s eyes lit up with a triumphant glint, covering his mouth and pushing him back.

 

“My son taught me a little trick: you can’t kiss just because you want to. Think of a way to make me happy first. Only when I’m surprised and pleased can you kiss me—and then go to bed.”

 

*

 

Lu Chengxuan: Lin Wangye, you’re seriously something else.

Lin Wangye: I swear, what I meant was mutual effort and creating surprises together—not leaving you to be the only one suffering.

 

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