BTMDY Extra 13

When he came back, Xu Suinian caught a glimpse of Lin Shen from a distance. Lin Shen was crouched on the edge of the fountain, tugging at his son’s hat, while Lin Wangye was stretching out his tiny hands, trying to touch the water, teetering so far forward that it looked like he was about to topple right in.

Xu Suinian’s heart jumped. He quickened his pace and scooped the boy up before anything happened.

“Be careful! What if he fall in?” he scolded, a little shaken.

“I’m being careful. Even if I fell, he wouldn’t,” Lin Shen said, smiling warmly as he pulled his hand back. “Raising a kid isn’t just for fun—if it were, it’d be meaningless.”

“It’s so cold today. Either of you falling in would catch a cold,” Xu Suinian warned, still uneasy.

“I know,” Lin Shen replied calmly.

Then he jumped down from the fountain’s edge, straightened his clothes a bit, and said, “The weather’s turning bad. Looks like a storm’s coming. Let’s wrap up the party early—I’ll see the guests off. Xiao Lin likes you, so thanks for keeping an eye on him. Go ahead and wash your hands first.”

“Alright, don’t worry,” Xu Suinian said.

They’d known each other for years, from the days they couldn’t get along without a fight to now being close friends. Lin Shen knew Xu Suinian’s character well, so there was nothing to worry about. He pinched his son’s soft little cheek one last time and turned to leave.

As he watched his father walk away, Lin Wangye twisted around and hugged Xu Suinian’s neck, snuggling close.

“Uncle, water… play,” he said.

Of course, he was just a kid—soon he forgot how to say ‘fountain.’

Seeing the little boy’s eyes fixed on the fountain, Xu Suinian knew exactly what he was thinking. But the water that was splashing up near the center was too far from the edge—there was no way he could reach it.

Probably that’s why Lin Shen had let him feel the water from the edge earlier.

Although Lin Wangye’s illness was over, he was still delicate, his immune system fragile. Who knew how often the hotel fountain water was changed? Prolonged contact with germs was definitely bad for him.

This need for a clean, hygienic environment made Xu Suinian think of his sister, whether he liked it or not.

If only he had had enough power back then…

The thought barely surfaced before Xu Suinian pushed it aside. He didn’t let sadness take over. Cradling the boy, he walked toward the bathroom, speaking softly, “You’re too little to reach it. When you’re bigger, then you can play.”

Recalling how no matter how hard he had tried, he couldn’t reach the tall water jets just a few steps away, Lin Wangye gave up willingly and obediently looked elsewhere.

Xu Suinian took him into the bathroom, washed his hands clean from the fountain water, then carried him to the hand dryer to blow-dry his wet little hands. Watching him stick his neck out and blow with his mouth while rubbing his hands, cheeks puffed up, was utterly adorable.

Once the hands were dry, Xu Suinian carried him out.

“Uncle… Uncle,” Lin Wangye muttered.

He was thinking about the task his father had given him but didn’t know how to say it. Under Xu Suinian’s patient gaze, after wracking his little brain, he remembered the keyword: ‘hair.’ He reached up and tugged at his own hair.

Xu Suinian didn’t understand right away, thinking the boy was just thinking, so he waited patiently.

But little Lin Wangye had spent months in the hospital after he was born, mostly in a daze. Only after Lin Shen brought him home did he start experiencing the world like a normal kid.

It was already impressive that he could speak so quickly.

But with only a very basic language system, his vocabulary was tiny. Making himself understood was genuinely hard.

He’d only exchanged a glance with Lu Chengxuan before, and his father hadn’t carefully introduced him like he did with Xu Suinian—didn’t explain how he should address the person. So Lin Wangye had no clue how to let his uncle know who he was looking for. All he could do was peek around and point toward the direction of the banquet hall.

That was the same hallway Lin Shen had just left. Xu Suinian seemed to get the idea and stepped forward.

“Want to go find Dad? He’s busy right now,” he said.

Lin Wangye shook his head. He didn’t hide it—he pulled out the thing his father had slipped into his pocket earlier to show him.

Xu Suinian had been looking after Lin Wangye all day, and he remembered all the gifts and red envelopes from the guests. But this card was unfamiliar.

He looked closely and finally recognized it as a hotel room key.

“Oh? Where did this come from?” Xu Suinian asked, holding the boy in one arm and flipping the card over to check the room number. He realized the only person who could have given it to the kid without him knowing was Lin Shen. “Did Dad give you this?”

“Mm-hmm,” Lin Wangye said, nodding happily.

“Got it.” Xu Suinian put the key back in his pocket. As they neared the hallway, he suddenly took a turn. “I’ll take you there now.”

Lin Wangye’s eyes went wide. His little face fell, and he clutched Xu Suinian’s neck, pulling hard toward the other hallway like he was uprooting a carrot, shouting loudly:

“No, I don’t want to go!”

Xu Suinian stopped, completely stumped.

He cursed himself for not having mind-reading powers, unable to understand what the little boy wanted. Standing there, he took the room key out of the pocket again, trying to find a clue—but there was none.

Lin Wangye panicked, his tiny brain spinning madly. Finally, he remembered a keyword connected to his target.

“Salted crispy chicken!”

Xu Suinian finally understood. “Ah, you want salted crispy chicken, right?”

Lin Wangye’s hope sank. For a moment, it felt like nobody in the world understood him. He let go and pushed Xu Suinian’s chest lightly.

Realizing the boy wanted to get down, Xu Suinian bent over and set him on the floor.

Lin Wangye grabbed his hand and toddled off with short, wobbly steps in the right direction. When they reached the banquet hall doors, he stopped, panting, and lifted his head with arms open wide, ready to be picked up.

He didn’t fully understand what was happening, but Xu Suinian knew he had his own plan.

Kids’ thoughts were wild and unpredictable, almost impossible for adults to fully grasp.

So Xu Suinian decided to go along with him, bent down, picked him up, and stepped into the banquet hall.

After a lot of effort, they had finally completed half the plan. Lin Wangye, now held at adult eye level, scanned the enormous hall. His eyes quickly locked onto someone.

But seeing this person made him confused.

Dad had said to look for someone with a different hair color—but now he remembered he had seen ‘two’ people with different hair colors today.

The first one he met loved to smile and even gave him a candy.

The second one didn’t show much expression, but he was even better-looking.

Dad meant ‘that one’.

Lin Wangye’s little brain was spinning. His CPU, barely two years old, felt like it was overheating. He tried to look for his father again, but he wasn’t anywhere in the banquet hall.

He didn’t see the second person on the sofa earlier either.

Among the guests today was the youngest son of a wealthy businessman from Ningchang City, dyed blond hair, and a friend of Lin Shen. Noticing the little boy staring at him without blinking, Xu Suinian asked, “Looking for him?”

Lin Wangye first nodded, then quickly shook his head, looking completely distressed.

Xu Suinian suddenly had a flash of insight. He looked down at the room key, thought for a moment, and a solution quickly formed in his mind.

“Xiao Lin, did your dad want you to give this to someone? He didn’t tell you who it was, but he did tell you a feature—like the hair color.”

Lin Wangye’s face lit up with joy, nodding vigorously.

Eliminate all impossibilities. No matter how unlikely the final choice seemed, it had to be the truth.

That truth, however, left Xu Suinian both amused and a little exasperated.

That Lin guy—he wasn’t giving his son a mission. He was clearly ‘giving me a test’.

About Lu Chengxuan, Lin Shen had never mentioned a word, but back then, his ability to hide and disguise his feelings wasn’t as smooth and effortless as it was now. It was easy for his best friend to see through.

After Lu Chengxuan went abroad, Lin Shen practically wore all his emotions on his face. If his father hadn’t suddenly passed away and thrown everything into chaos, Xu Suinian wouldn’t have been surprised if Lin Shen had just bought a plane ticket to Northern Europe at any time to confront him.

“I should know who he wants to give it to,” Xu Suinian murmured to himself. Then he scanned the banquet hall, but he couldn’t find Lu Chengxuan anywhere. Asking others wasn’t convenient, so he walked over to a waiter near the sofa from earlier to inquire about Lu Chengxuan’s whereabouts.

The waiter said the guest had just left, barely two minutes ago.

Hearing that, Xu Suinian hurried straight downstairs.

In the elevator, he stared at the room key in his hand, feeling a mix of emotions, and couldn’t help but sigh: “You two really have the worst timing. This one’s down to luck.”

Lin Wangye had no idea what was happening.

When his curious eyes met the boy’s, Xu Suinian couldn’t help but smile. He patted his head and sighed softly, “Xiao Lin… when you grow up, try to be a little more honest than your dad, and a bit luckier too.”

Lin Wangye didn’t understand all the words, but after Xu Suinian finished, he blinked a few times, picking out what he could, and smiled with his eyes.

“Xiao Lin grow up,” he said.

Xu Suinian smiled gently, “Take your time growing up, okay?”

The words fell, and the elevator doors slowly opened.

Outside, the rain had indeed started pouring. At the hotel lobby entrance, private cars waited for guests, who were seated in the lounge area. Lin Wangye immediately spotted his target through the glass, pointing straight at him—blond hair was hard to miss.

Xu Suinian followed his gaze and saw Lu Chengxuan standing by the glass, staring out at the heavy rain.

He set Lin Wangye down and handed him the room key.

As soon as he hit the ground, Lin Wangye walked straight toward Lu Chengxuan.

Lu Chengxuan seemed lost in thought, drifting far away. He only realized someone was tugging at his sleeve after a few gentle pulls. Turning around, he saw Xu Suinian slowly approaching, then looked down at the little boy holding his sleeve.

Lin Wangye didn’t do anything extra—he simply raised the room key high above his head.

Lu Chengxuan took it, glanced down, and didn’t immediately understand.

He looked up at Xu Suinian, hoping for an explanation, but saw him shrug, shaking his head. “I don’t know anything. Lin Shen gave it to him. He’s determined to find you.”

At the mention of Lin Shen’s name, a flicker of emotion appeared in Lu Chengxuan’s eyes.

He examined the room key again, then looked back at the boy standing before him.

Lin Wangye, proud of completing his mission, looked up with a beaming little face at the man in front of him. But his language skills weren’t enough to fully say, ‘This is something my dad wants me to give you.’ His desire to communicate, however, was strong, so he boiled it down to the essential words:

“Dad… give you!”

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