March in Ningchang was bursting with life; the grass was green, birds were chirping, and everything felt fresh. In the bright blue sky, fluffy white clouds drifted lazily.
Lin Wangye slept until he woke up on his own. Still half-asleep, he stretched under the blanket, lazy and slow, then, like always, rolled over with the blanket wrapped around him and reached out to hug the person beside him—but his arms caught nothing but air.
He cracked open his sleepy eyes and climbed out of bed, only to freeze on the spot. Lin Wangye was completely stunned.
The four walls were painted in bright colors, covered in all kinds of cute patterns and designs. The entire floor was laid with thick carpet, and there was even a huge swing and a slide in the room.
This wasn’t a familiar home, yet the unfamiliar surroundings somehow made him feel like he’d seen them before. After sitting there thinking for a long time, Lin Wangye felt the hairs on his body stand straight up.
Wasn’t this… my childhood bedroom in the Lin family villa?!
If he remembered right, his dad had sold this house years ago, hadn’t he?
Scratching the back of his head, Lin Wangye was utterly baffled. After a while, a possibility slowly came to him.
Could it be that Shi Yuan bought the house back, talked things over with my dad, and decorated the room just like it was when I was a kid—to surprise me?
That made sense. Way too much sense.
It was exactly the kind of thing Shi Yuan would do!
But how did he make such a big move, dragging me over from the other house, without waking me up at all?
Did he drug me with sleeping pills or something?
Even though he had questions, overall Lin Wangye was still really happy. No matter how long they’d been together, his lover always liked to go all out and put in so much thought for him.
Who wouldn’t be happy about that?
Feeling light and excited, Lin Wangye looked at the slide not far away, his inner kid suddenly waking up. He wanted to go play on it, but when he got out of bed, instead of stepping onto the floor like he expected, his foot suddenly missed—
and he fell flat on the ground without warning.
Luckily, the thick carpet broke his fall, so he wasn’t seriously hurt.
He had just twisted his ankle a bit. It hurt, but not too bad.
Lin Wangye felt confused. He had no idea why simply getting out of bed made him fall over. He rolled onto his back and reached down to rub his ankle, but when he lowered his head and saw the hands and feet in front of him—hands and feet that clearly belonged to a child—his mind went completely blank.
The whole world seemed to hit the pause button and freeze completely.
After a long while, a clear, young voice rang out in the room.
“Holy shit!”
Half an hour later, Lin Wangye sat in a baby chair, staring at the kid’s meal the nanny had carefully prepared. His entire mind was a mess.
What the hell?!
Why did I end up back in my five-year-old body again?!
I was living such a perfect, sweet life—what is this nonsense?! Is the heavens picking on me or what?!
This meal was torture for Lin Wangye. He had zero appetite, but he was starving and couldn’t just not eat. So he dragged it out, nibbling slowly until he finally filled his stomach, his face full of a world-weariness that no five-year-old should ever have.
The nanny found it strange. The kid who was usually lively and full of energy had suddenly gone quiet. Using a coaxing tone, she asked, “Xiao Lin, why do you look so unhappy? Is today’s breakfast not to your taste?”
Lin Wangye was still feeling awful inside. He had no idea what was happening in the other timeline, and he couldn’t stop worrying—would Shi Yuan panic if he realized he was gone? Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t answer the nanny at all.
Seeing him spacing out, the nanny didn’t press further.
After all, adults could never really understand a child’s inner world. Zoning out for no reason was pretty normal for kids.
After a long time, Lin Wangye finally accepted reality.
Accepting it or not didn’t change anything. Things were already like this—might as well roll with it.
Once he figured that out, Lin Wangye dug through his memories and started thinking things through. This timeline’s future was something he had to change. And compared to the last time he went back to high school, this might be even harder—because a lot of things had already happened by now.
The top priority was definitely keeping an eye on his dad’s health.
When he was five, his dad’s health shouldn’t have been too bad yet. As long as he cried, made a fuss, and threw tantrums to force his dad to eat properly and rest well, that would do the trick. That move would work on Old Lin at any age—no doubt about it.
After making sure of that, there was another problem: Shi Yuan was about to go abroad.
A full nineteen years old, right there. In this timeline, Uncle Shi was definitely going to be way harder to “conquer.” But Lin Wangye was super confident. If he could win him over once, there was no doubt he could do it a second time.
Difficulty only affected the process. It never affected the result.
And lastly…
How was he supposed to make Old Lin and Old Lu—two people who had gone their separate ways and turned into total strangers—let go of the past and reconcile?
One of them was stubborn. The other was slow as hell.
They hid their feelings in their hearts for so many years, held them in until they missed each other completely.
Wasn’t this basically bullying a five-year-old?
Luckily, Lin Wangye was sure of one thing—they loved each other deeply.
As long as that was true, there was hope. Big hope. It just meant, like last time, he’d have to work hard behind the scenes.
Whatever. I’m in.
If Miracle Lin could matchmake them once, then I could absolutely do it a second time!
Lin Wangye spent a bit more time sorting through his thoughts, and soon a rough plan started to take shape. He let out a sigh, old and wise beyond his years, then turned to look at the nanny. Copying a kid’s tone, he put on a pure, innocent smile.
“Auntie~ do I have my own phone~?”
The nanny didn’t think much of it and nodded right away. “You do! I’ll go get it for you.”
A moment later, a phone was handed to him.
Lin Wangye looked down at it. The screen was covered in cartoon stickers. It was a flip phone that played children’s songs when you opened it—a toy phone.
His breath caught in his throat, like he’d nearly choked on blood and couldn’t breathe.
He forced himself to calm down, puffed out his cheeks, and frowned.
“I want a phone that can make calls!”
“This one can make calls,” the nanny said cheerfully. She picked up another toy phone, pressed it to her ear, and coaxed him with a smile. “Auntie’s number is 6868. Just press the right numbers and you can call Auntie, okay?”
“….”
Pretending to be a five-year-old already made Lin Wangye feel stupid enough. He was completely speechless. To reach his goal in the fastest, most direct way—without exposing himself—he decided to just smash the pot and go all in, using the one special skill only kids had:
Throwing a tantrum.
He slammed the toy phone in his hand onto the floor, lifted his voice, and screamed without holding back, “I want Dad! I want to call Dad! I want Dad to answer the phone! I want Dad!”
Lin Wangye had always been an easy kid to take care of.
It wasn’t like he’d never thrown fits before, but it was rare. Seeing him suddenly act this unreasonable, confusion flashed across the nanny’s face. She quickly softened her voice and tried to coax him, saying things like “Dad is busy with work” and “If Xiao Lin has something to say, you can tell Auntie.”
But Lin Wangye didn’t buy it at all. Instead, he yelled even louder.
Chairman Lin being busy was true, but he’d told the nanny before that the child always came first, and if anything happened, she could call him anytime. So after failing to calm him down, the nanny finally gave in and dialed Lin Shen’s number as he wanted.
Lin Wangye, who had been fake-crying for ages without squeezing out a single tear, immediately shut up. He pricked up his ears and stared at the phone.
The call was picked up quickly. Lin Shen’s voice came through the receiver.
“What is it?”
“Sir, Xiao Lin wants to talk to you.”
“Did something happen?”
“No, he’s just suddenly insisting on finding his dad.”
“Try to calm him first. I’m in a meeting.”
Hearing that familiar, steady, low voice again, Lin Wangye felt a wave of emotion rush through him. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it—he was afraid Lin Shen would hang up the next second using work as an excuse.
What’s so great about this damn job anyway?!
You’re ruining your health just for that lousy money? What kind of meeting is worth this?! I’ll see how you keep working!
Before the call could end, Lin Wangye gathered all his strength, sucked in a deep breath, and wailed at the top of his lungs like a dying ghost, “Dad! I want Dad!!! Dad, come back! I want Dad!!! Waaah—”
This scream was even more heartbreaking than the one before.
Since Lin Wangye had never acted like this in his life, the nanny fell silent. Lin Shen on the other end of the phone also went quiet.
After a long pause, a sigh came through the line.
“Calm him down. I’m coming back now.”
The call ended. The nanny put the phone down and turned around, ready to pick Lin Wangye up and coax him—only to realize the kid wasn’t crying at all. Instead, his face was full of smug, satisfied pride.
That completely short-circuited the nanny. She stared at him, eyes full of disbelief.
A little over twenty minutes later, noises came from the front gate of the villa. Lin Wangye, who had been leaning on the sofa watching cartoons, lit up instantly. He jumped down, trotted over, and threw his arms around his dad’s leg.
“Dad!”
At this stage, Lin Shen was already used to being in a high position. Most of the time, his face barely changed. Only in front of his son did his expression soften a little. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he reached out and rubbed Lin Wangye’s head, his tone helpless yet endlessly indulgent.
“You little ancestor, what’s wrong now?”
Lin Wangye had only ever tried hard to act mature, like he’d already grown up, in front of Shi Yuan.
In front of Lin Shen, he’d never once treated himself like an adult.
So no matter what his mental age was, acting spoiled, playing cute, throwing a little attitude—he could do all of it without thinking.
That was the perk of growing up loved.
No matter when or where, he always had absolute confidence in one thing: he was loved.
Lin Wangye lifted his head and looked at his dad with wide, pleading eyes. “Dad, don’t go to work. Stay home with me.”
“If Dad doesn’t work, who’s going to earn money to buy you popsicles?”
Even a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. No matter how bad things got, the Lin family wouldn’t fall to the point of not affording popsicles. Lin Shen was obviously just humoring a kid. He took off his coat, handed it casually to the nanny, bent down, and picked his son up as he walked into the living room.
Childhood memories felt distant—once you grew up, most of them were hard to recall.
For Lin Wangye, being held by his father like this felt incredibly unfamiliar. The moment his body lifted off the ground, his first reaction was discomfort.
But Lin Shen’s movements were smooth and practiced. Lin Wangye sat sideways on his arm, his back firmly supported by the other hand, like he was sitting in a cradle suspended in midair. A strange yet wonderful sense of safety wrapped around him.
Growing up, both physically and emotionally, was a slow process of moving farther and farther away from your parents.
All these years, no matter how good his relationship with Lin Shen was, Lin Wangye had never been carried like this again. In his heart, there was the awkwardness and unfamiliarity of a mentally grown adult—mixed with a long-lost warmth.
He reached out and hooked his arms around Lin Shen’s neck, taking full advantage of being five years old. Acting obedient and clingy, he leaned in close, his clear little voice soft and sweet.
“Xiao Lin won’t eat popsicles anymore. When I grow up, I’ll make money and take care of Dad.”
Most people only truly understand the saying ‘parents who love their children plan far ahead for them’ after they become parents themselves. Hearing words like that from a child was already touching enough—let alone from a five-year-old.
A warm current spread through Lin Shen’s chest, and the exhaustion that had come from tossing and turning over work day and night eased a little.
“Who taught you to say something like that?” he asked. “Your Uncle Shi?”
“Nope,” Lin Wangye shook his head right away.
“That’s good,” Lin Shen said, carrying Lin Wangye upstairs to the study and ruffling his hair. “My Xiao Lin suddenly got amazing overnight.”
When Lin Shen set him down on the desk and casually turned on the computer, Lin Wangye knew it—his dad hadn’t actually put work aside. He’d just moved it from the office to home.
If this kept going, it would totally go against his goal of making Lin Shen take better care of himself. After thinking it over, Lin Wangye made a quick decision and went straight for the heart. He decided to tell Lin Shen about the regrets he had deeply felt as a child—things he had never been able to say back then because he didn’t have the words.
“I never get to see Dad. I really miss Dad.”
As soon as the words fell, Lin Shen paused mid-movement as he sat down, instantly reminded of his own childhood—of always growing up without his parents around.
Seeing his reaction, Lin Wangye pressed on, lowering his head and acting pitiful.
“Why do other kids always have their dads with them…”
No parent who truly loved their child could hear that and feel nothing.
Lin Shen suddenly remembered something Shi Yuan had said to him again and again.
How much money was ever enough?
Truth was, Lin Shen didn’t have a strong obsession with money at all. The reason he worked himself so hard was partly because the company was the foundation his parents had built back then. After Xie Ying passed away, Lin Bangcheng had made quite a few wrong choices as the times changed too fast.
Lin Shen had to find a way to fix things. He couldn’t let his parents’ life’s work fall apart in his hands.
And deeper down, there was always a kind of unwillingness he never spoke of.
He knew that one day, that person would climb so high, to a place where others would have to look up just to see them. And so he refused to blend into the crowd. He worked himself to the bone, desperate to prove his worth—to close that gap that had existed since birth.
As time went on, all that was left was that stubborn obsession—and the bit of pride still buried deep in his heart.
But family could melt any ice. And Lin Shen was never someone cold or heartless to begin with.
Faced with his son openly and honestly saying how much he needed his father’s love, Lin Shen started thinking about how rarely he came home, how little time he spent with his child. The guilt hit him all at once, heavy and unavoidable.
It really was time to slow down.
Missing the best business opportunities would be a big loss, sure—but chances would come again. He could wait. He could fight for them later.
A child’s childhood, though—once it was gone, there was no second chance.
He couldn’t keep telling himself there was plenty of time ahead and use money to make up for everything.
Once Lin Shen made up his mind about something, he decided fast. Many plans had already been set long ago, the direction fixed—there was no way to slam on the brakes.
But easing off a little? Slowing the pace bit by bit? That was still possible.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Shen took out his phone and messaged the company’s vice president to push back today’s work. Then he picked his son up, shut the computer, and walked out of the study without looking back.
“Where do you want to go play? Dad’ll take you.”
Lin Wangye’s eyes lit up. He clenched his fist in victory—plan successful—and said excitedly, “Call Auntie and Uncle Shi too! Let them come!”
“Auntie’s fine, but Uncle Shi can’t,” Lin Shen said while texting Lin Qianqian. “Did you forget, Xiao Lin? Uncle Shi already went abroad. Very, very far away.”
“Huh?”
Lin Wangye remembered that Shi Yuan had gone abroad when he was five, but he honestly couldn’t recall the exact timing.
Back then, he was too young—and way too clingy.
Shi Yuan had been afraid he’d cry and make a fuss, so there was never a proper goodbye. After staying with him nonstop for many days, twenty-four hours a day, he’d quietly left one morning without a sound.
At the time, Lin Wangye had just thought Uncle Shi went to work like usual, and that once he was done, he’d come back to spend time with him again. He never imagined that for many years to come, the only way they’d talk would be over the phone.
Thinking about missing that last stretch of time before they parted, Lin Wangye felt a dull ache of regret.
But Shi Yuan had his own life and his own dreams. This kind of parting was hard to change, no matter the timeline.
The future was still long. Thinking too much about it was pointless.
There were more urgent plans waiting right now, so Lin Wangye didn’t stay sad for long. He quickly pulled himself together and went with Lin Shen to pick up Lin Qianqian. The whole family spent a full day at the amusement park, laughing and having fun.
And Lin Wangye successfully talked his way into getting a smartphone of his very own.
Normally, he used a tablet more—either video-calling Shi Yuan or playing kids’ games. Lin Shen didn’t really understand why a kid who couldn’t even read yet suddenly wanted a phone so badly.
Maybe he just wanted to make calls more easily.
The real reason was way simpler.
Lin Wangye wanted a phone so he could look things up online—and figure out how to ‘hook’ Lu Chengxuan.
Yep. Hook Lu Chengxuan.
Earlier that day, he’d borrowed his dad’s phone, pretending to play, and secretly checked the contacts and WeChat list. There wasn’t a single trace of Lu Chengxuan anywhere.
These two were completely out of contact now.
But one thing was certain—they were definitely still thinking about each other in private.
If he wanted them to get back together, he had to find a way to connect them again. And based on what Lin Wangye knew about Lin Shen, there was no way his dad would ever lower his head and take the first step.
So he had to find a breakthrough from Lu Chengxuan’s side first.
That night, Lin Wangye lay on his small bed, tossing and turning until late. Finally, he came up with the most effective way to force his dad to go see Lu Chengxuan on his own.
The next day, Lin Shen went to the company to deal with work and promised he’d come home early. Lin Wangye behaved and stayed home all morning. During nap time, he quietly slipped out of his room, took advantage of the nanny being distracted, and successfully snuck out of the house.
Thanks to Lu Guoguo for the inspiration.
He could fake running away from home and go look for Lu Chengxuan. No matter what, Lin Shen would have to come get him.
The Lu family had businesses everywhere. Lu Chengxuan could be at any company under the Lu Group, so he wasn’t easy to track down. Lin Wangye could only gamble a bit. Since Shufeng was Lu Chengxuan’s main focus at this stage, he headed straight for the Shufeng Building.
But the moment the taxi drivers saw he was just a little kid, every single one of them refused to take him.
With no other choice, Lin Wangye followed the navigation, pretended to be another passenger’s kid, and squeezed onto a bus. He got off near the CBD, then walked an entire street on his short little legs before finally reaching his destination.
Even so, meeting Lu Chengxuan wasn’t going to be easy.
Just thinking about how Lu Guoguo—someone from the Lu family in another timeline—had struggled just to see Lu Chengxuan once made it obvious how hard this would be.
But Lin Wangye wasn’t nervous at all.
He had connections.
Standing at the entrance of Chengfeng Building with his little backpack on, Lin Wangye pulled out his phone and dialed a number he’d memorized from Lin Shen’s contact list.
‘Chengfeng Project Team — Fu Xuexue.’
A lot of the time, kids had special privileges adults didn’t.
If any random stranger had called Fu Xuexue, she probably wouldn’t have shown up at all. But on the other end of the line was the voice of a child.
And Lin Wangye knew Fu Xuexue. He also knew that with her kind nature, there was a high chance she wouldn’t refuse.
Sure enough, when Fu Xuexue answered the call, she was a little confused—but there was no way she could turn down a kid asking for help. Not long after, she came down from upstairs.
Lin Wangye wasn’t unfamiliar with her neat business outfit and mid-height heels at all. Wearing his little backpack, he ran over in quick, small steps, lifting his face into a bright smile and blinking his big round eyes at her.
“Xiao Lin?” Fu Xuexue looked genuinely shocked when she saw him.
This time, it was Lin Wangye’s turn to be surprised.
In his childhood memories, he had absolutely no recollection of Fu Xuexue at all—yet she clearly acted like she knew him.
His brain spun quickly, and he more or less figured it out.
Fu Xuexue had great grades and joined the Lu family’s company during her college internship—this never changed across timelines. And she and Lin Shen had been high school classmates, desk mates for three whole years. No matter what, they wouldn’t be complete strangers.
So it was totally normal that she’d seen him at some point.
He’d just been too young back then. Growing up, he forgot.
Either way, since Fu Xuexue knew who he was, things became much easier. Lin Wangye had been planning to make up an excuse, but now he decided to be straightforward.
“Auntie, I want to see Lu Chengxuan.”
“Huh?” Fu Xuexue thought for a few seconds, then asked carefully, “Did your dad ask him about something?”
“Nope. I need to talk to him.”
Lin Wangye straightened his back, puffed out his cheeks, and put on a stubborn little-kid face, looking completely confident and justified.
“I had a fight with my dad. He said he doesn’t want me anymore and told me to go be Lu Chengxuan’s son.”
Fu Xuexue was stunned. Completely stunned.
“Huh?!”
“Pretty Auntie, can you take me to see Lu Chengxuan?” Lin Wangye pushed while the iron was hot, pressing forward without pause.
“Uh… but…”
The amount of information hit her all at once, and Fu Xuexue honestly couldn’t process it that fast. She subconsciously glanced upstairs, hesitation all over her face.
“But President Lu is really busy. When he’s working, he usually doesn’t like being interrupted by personal stuff. And I… it’s kind of hard for me to bring you to see him during work hours…”
Lin Wangye knew this really was asking too much of Fu Xuexue as an employee. He didn’t force her. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled something out, handing it to her.
“You don’t have to take me upstairs. Auntie, you just need to help me show him this. He’ll see me.”
Fu Xuexue lowered her gaze and saw a small gold lock in his hand.
The carving on it was delicate and unique, with fine patterns—and engraved on it was the character ‘Lin.’
Honestly, since she’d already recognized Lin Wangye, the safest and easiest way to handle this would’ve been to call Lin Shen and have him come pick the kid up.
But the person Lin Wangye had chosen was Fu Xuexue.
She was thoughtful by nature. Back in high school, she’d studied with those two for three whole years. Even if no one ever said anything outright, she’d noticed something unspoken between them.
And most importantly—
Lin Wangye’s whole ‘switching dads’ line was way too loaded.
Thinking that showing this ‘token’ to Lu Chengxuan would only take a few seconds, Fu Xuexue finally decided to go along with it.
She took the small gold lock from Lin Wangye’s hand, then led him into the company lobby and handed him over to staff for supervision, passing the item to Lu Chengxuan’s assistant.
Just as expected.
Lu Chengxuan immediately paused all his work and sent his assistant downstairs to pick Lin Wangye up.
Mission accomplished, Fu Xuexue turned around and went back to her desk.
Lin Wangye followed the assistant into the elevator and rode it up to the floor where the CEO’s office was. When the door opened, he finally got what he wanted—
Lu Chengxuan, sitting calmly on the sofa.
Lu Chengxuan waved everyone else away. Left alone, he and Lin Wangye—still wearing his little backpack—stared at each other. He clearly didn’t know how to start either. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“Did your dad send you here?”
“No. I fought with him.”
Lin Wangye walked over and sat neatly on the sofa across from him, face calm, heart steady, and started making things up without blinking.
“Uncle Shi went abroad. Dad works all day and leaves me home alone. The relatives all say he likes competing and fighting with someone surnamed Lu, so I asked him if he could stop fighting and stay home with me instead. He said I didn’t understand him, then we argued. In the end, he said if I wasn’t happy with him, I could just go be surnamed Lu’s kid. So I came to find you.”
As soon as he finished, Lin Wangye noticed a slight change in Lu Chengxuan’s eyes and immediately dropped an even bigger bomb.
“He also said I’m actually your kid, that you two had me together, but then you split up. Is that true?”
Sure enough, Lu Chengxuan’s expression turned visibly complicated, dazed for a moment.
“That… was probably said in anger,” he muttered.
Lin Wangye fought hard not to laugh, keeping a straight face as he continued seriously, “My aunt told me two men can’t have kids.”
For the first time in his life, Lu Chengxuan completely lost both his logic and his ability to speak.
In front of a five-year-old.
Lin Wangye pulled out his final move. He lowered his head, put on a pitiful look, and lied with his eyes wide open.
“My dad doesn’t want me anymore…”
“He wouldn’t,” Lu Chengxuan said instinctively, defending Lin Shen.
“He just… said it out of anger.”
“Yeah,” Lin Wangye agreed smoothly. “That’s just how he is. He likes saying things out of anger.”
Lu Chengxuan felt torn. Doubting a five-year-old felt ridiculous—but at the same time, every word the kid said seemed loaded with hints.
The truth was, even now, he still couldn’t fully tell which of Lin Shen’s words came from the heart, and which were just said in anger.
Just like this.
Seeing Lu Chengxuan fall silent, looking like something had finally clicked, Lin Wangye leaned hard into the role of an innocent child and said bluntly,
“Uncle Lu, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have fought with my dad. Can you call him and ask him to come pick me up?”
Lu Chengxuan stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded.
“Okay.”
After saying that, Lu Chengxuan took out his phone and looked down at the screen.
Before he made the call, Lin Wangye caught a small detail—Lu Chengxuan didn’t open his contacts to look for Lin Shen’s number. Instead, he went straight to the keypad and tapped in an eleven-digit number, fast and familiar.
He hadn’t saved Lin Shen’s number.
But he remembered it perfectly. Even the order of the digits was second nature to him.
Maybe over the years, the two of them had both memorized each other’s phone numbers. Maybe they’d pressed those same digits countless times in countless moments—
only to stop in the end, never actually making the call. Never reaching out.
Lin Wangye’s appearance became that bridge between them, giving Lu Chengxuan a reason he couldn’t avoid—forcing him to make that call.
The phone connected quickly.
Lu Chengxuan didn’t turn on speaker. Lin Wangye couldn’t hear what Lin Shen said on the other end and could only guess from Lu Chengxuan’s replies.
But Lu Chengxuan barely said anything at all.
The entire call lasted only ten-some seconds, with just a few short lines.
“Lin Wangye came to my place.”
“Yes. In my office.”
“Okay.”
“Alright.”
Listening to that, Lin Wangye was completely speechless. No wonder these two had stayed single for so many years.
Still, not a big problem.
Lu Chengxuan was quick on the uptake. Once his dad arrived, the two of them would have to face each other. One exchange would lead to another, and sooner or later, things would spill out.
And even if they didn’t—
he’d find a way to make them talk.
With that thought, Lin Wangye immediately started drafting Plans A, B, C, and D in his head, silently swearing that he had to get these two together. No way he was letting all this precious time go to waste on some dramatic love-hate nonsense.
Lin Shen’s workplace was also in the CBD, so he arrived fast.
Before long, the office door was pushed open.
The moment the door opened, Lin Wangye saw it clearly—Lu Chengxuan visibly straightened his suit, tension flashing across his face.
Just as Lin Wangye was about to flash a ‘mission-accomplished’ smile and clench his fists, ready to complete today’s grand matchmaking plan—
the person who walked in wasn’t Lin Shen at all.
It was Wang Xiaoshuai.
Lu Chengxuan, who’d almost stood up from the sofa, slowly sat back down.
Lin Wangye’s vision went dark.
He was completely, utterly speechless.
Old Lin, what is wrong with you?!
I set up such a perfect chance for you and you don’t even show up?!
You’re a grown man—are you only good at running away? Hiding at home writing a will every day or what?!
You made me run this far and go through all this trouble. I’m seriously impressed!
Are you trying to screw over your own kid or what?!
Since Lin Shen had already sent Wang Xiaoshuai to pick him up, there was no way he’d appear himself. Wang Xiaoshuai was clearly nervous too. After a few polite words, he hurriedly took Lin Wangye away.
Lin Wangye went home helplessly and immediately spotted his dad sitting on the living room sofa.
He’d expected a full-on scolding.
But Lin Shen’s attitude was much gentler than he imagined. He didn’t seem angry so much as anxious and confused.
He clearly didn’t understand why Lin Wangye had done this. He opened his mouth and asked,
“Little ancestor, what were you even doing? The nanny thought you were playing hide-and-seek. She nearly went crazy looking for you.”
Lin Shen didn’t know any of the things Lin Wangye had made up in front of Lu Chengxuan. Even so, Lin Wangye didn’t dare lie—because once those two ever got a chance to talk, everything would come out.
So he confessed honestly.
He just polished the story a bit, saying that the argument was something he’d dreamed during his nap. He’d been confused for a moment, thought it was real, and that’s why he ran off to find Lu Chengxuan—causing all this chaos.
To an adult, the whole thing sounded ridiculous.
But happening to a five-year-old?
It actually made perfect sense.
Lin Shen accepted that explanation and didn’t say much more. He just told the nanny to keep a closer eye on the kid from now on, then went back to work.
Maybe, at the very beginning, Lu Chengxuan really had wanted to seize this chance and properly talk things through with Lin Shen.
But Lin Shen’s avoidance made his stance painfully clear.
Lu Chengxuan had never been a reckless person. Unable to read Lin Shen’s true thoughts, he naturally hesitated again.
The first battle ended in failure, and Lin Wangye’s confidence took a serious hit.
Now the house was watching him like a hawk. Pulling the ‘run away from home’ trick again was completely impossible.
After thinking it over for days, Lin Wangye finally said screw it and decided to unleash the strongest ultimate move in history.
That email.
To Lu Chengxuan, that email was an absolute killing blow. No matter what Lin Shen had written in it at this stage of his life, the moment Lu Chengxuan saw it, he’d realize just how important a place he held.
At that moment, every bit of saying-one-thing-meaning-another would fall apart on its own. No amount of stubborn denial would save it.
For his hardheaded dad, this move was fatal.
The only problem was that this email had definitely been hidden away by Lin Shen, sealed tight. Finding it wouldn’t be easy. Luckily, Lin Shen had zero defenses around Lin Wangye. The study was open to him anytime, and the phone was free for him to play with.
After a stretch of relentless effort, Lin Wangye finally succeeded. Using mobile games as cover, he dug through Lin Shen’s phone and found that hidden email account.
Lin Shen was working nearby with a laptop in his arms. Lin Wangye didn’t dare spend too long looking. He only skimmed through it once from top to bottom, and that was enough to know—this was solid.
This man was really stubborn. Even in a will, he refused to say the word “love.”
And also really stupid—because every single line was soaked through with love.
If Lu Chengxuan saw this, even if he were a total idiot, he’d wake up.
For years, Lin Shen had opened this email every few days to edit it again. The send time was always scheduled for five days later. Lin Wangye snuck a glance at his dad, didn’t hesitate for a second, and changed the send time to one minute later. Then he closed the app, acted like nothing happened, put the phone down, and went back to watching cartoons.
That night.
Late, deep into the night.
Lin Wangye was sound asleep when he was woken up by the urge to pee. Half-awake, he crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom, vaguely hearing some movement.
He wasn’t fully conscious yet. Like he was sleepwalking, he opened his bedroom door, stepped into the hallway, and at a glance saw that the door to the study was slightly open, leaving a thin crack.
Lin Wangye turned around and ran back to his room, firmly reminding himself ‘don’t look at things you shouldn’t see’.
…Except curiosity won anyway.
Barefoot and making no sound, he tiptoed back. Like a little thief, he peeked through the crack in the door—and instantly turned bright red on the spot, his face burning.
That night, he barely slept at all.
Because of that, Lin Wangye didn’t wake up until the next afternoon.
When he opened his eyes and stretched, his hand brushed against someone beside him.
He turned his head.
It was his dad.
Lin Shen was leaning against the side of his small bed, holding a copy of ‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales’. When he noticed Lin Wangye waking up, he lazily glanced over and closed the book, setting it aside.
At the same time, Lin Wangye heard the sound of keys clicking.
Following the noise, he looked over—
Lu Chengxuan was sitting in front of his little bookshelf, a laptop on the desk, clearly working.
Lin Shen’s voice was a bit hoarse, but his tone was serious.
“Son, there are some things you need to explain clearly.”
As soon as he spoke, Lu Chengxuan turned around too.
Lin Wangye knew exactly what those two had been up to last night. He just hadn’t expected the interrogation to come this early. The pressure hit him instantly.
Lin Shen lightly pinched his cheek.
“You’re this young—where did you even learn so many tricks? Be honest. Dad won’t hit you.”
How was Lin Wangye supposed to explain any of this?
He shrank back under the blanket, burying his head.
“I’m still just a kid! What tricks could I possibly have?!”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
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