Ice cream

"Hello, sir."

Shen Zeyu tightened his hold on Lu Yu, looking a little wary. "Can I help you?"

Seeing how nervous Shen Zeyu looked, the man hurriedly said, "Please don't worry, sir. My name is Wang Lei, and I'm a director at a talent and entertainment company." He then handed over his business card.

"Here's the thing. Our company is putting together a variety show called Go, Little Ones! I just saw you and your son, and I thought you'd be a great fit for our show."

Wang Lei was grasping at straws. The guests they had lined up had canceled at the last minute, so he had come to the amusement park to try his luck. He hadn't expected to actually find someone.

"Don't shows like that usually invite celebrities?" Shen Zeyu asked. He still didn't quite trust the man.

"That was the original plan," Wang Lei explained, "but our scheduled guests can't make it, so we thought we could invite some ordinary people instead."

"As long as you agree to participate, everything else is negotiable." Wang Lei sweetened the offer.

Wang Lei kept going, talking about how their show was sure to be good, while Lu Yu quietly peeked out.

"Thank you, but I'm not interested," Shen Zeyu declined.

"There'll be lots of other kids, and we can earn money too?" Lu Yu asked.

"That's right. As long as you participate, you'll get paid."

Lu Yu wanted to make some new friends and earn money, but his daddy didn't seem very interested.

Seeing Lu Yu's hopeful expression, Shen Zeyu relented a little. "We'll discuss it when we get home and let you know once we've decided."

"Of course, of course!" Delighted, Wang Lei hurried to exchange contact details with Shen Zeyu.

"I won't keep you any longer, then. Have a wonderful time."

Lu Cizhou returned not long after the man left.

Shen Zeyu didn't tell Lu Cizhou about it, planning to bring it up when they got home that evening. Since his daddy hadn't decided yet, Lu Yu said nothing either.

Afterward, they went on a few more rides and took some photo booth pictures. It was a struggle for Lu Cizhou, who didn't know how to make faces, and the other two gave him a hard time over it.

When they passed an ice cream stand, Shen Zeyu desperately wanted some, but Lu Yu was right beside him the whole time. After thinking it over, he sent Lu Cizhou a message.

Seeing that Lu Cizhou wasn't going to check his phone, he poked him and prompted him to read the message.

Lu Cizhou took out his phone, read it, and slowly curved his lips into a smile as he looked at Shen Zeyu.

Shen Zeyu discreetly pressed his palms together, looking as earnest as he possibly could.

The gesture still caught Lu Yu's attention. "Daddy, what are you doing?"

Shen Zeyu laughed. "Daddy needs to use the bathroom. How about Papa takes you to play? I'll come find you when I'm done."

"Then hurry up and go, Daddy."

Shen Zeyu turned and left without waiting for Lu Cizhou to agree.

Oblivious, Lu Yu said, "Does Daddy really need to go that badly? He's running so fast."

Lu Cizhou held back a laugh. "Maybe. Let's keep playing."

With that, he led Lu Yu off to one side. A long time passed without Shen Zeyu returning, and Lu Yu grew anxious. "Why isn't Daddy back yet? It's been ages."

"He'll be here soon. Don't worry," Lu Cizhou reassured him.

After another while, Lu Yu couldn't wait any longer and insisted on dragging Lu Cizhou to look for Shen Zeyu where he had left them.

Lu Cizhou figured he should have finished eating by now and let Lu Yu pull him along.

When they arrived, Lu Yu spotted Shen Zeyu standing with his back to them. Delighted, he flung himself at his legs. "Daddy, why didn't you come find us when you were done?"

Seeing Shen Zeyu stand completely still, Lu Cizhou had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, when Shen Zeyu didn't respond, Lu Yu went around in front of him and saw—

Saw Shen Zeyu holding a half-eaten ice cream bar.

It hit Lu Yu like a bolt from the blue. He had never imagined that his beloved daddy would sneak off to eat ice cream without him.

Shen Zeyu hadn't expected them to come looking for him so soon either. It was hot, and they had been playing for ages. One ice cream hadn't been enough, so he had bought another, and now he was on his third. He hadn't checked the time and thought only a little while had passed.

Who knew Lu Yu would suddenly show up? At a loss for how to face him, he could only freeze in place.

Seeing that Lu Yu was about to cry, he hurriedly said, "No, Daddy just wanted to see whether it tasted good. If it did, I was going to buy you one."

Lu Yu didn't believe him. Feeling wronged, he said, "You're lying, Daddy. You just wanted to eat it yourself. Otherwise, why did you freeze when I came to find you?"

He was already five and a half. He wasn't that easy to fool anymore.

Shen Zeyu hadn't really expected to fool Lu Yu, so he could only apologize sincerely. "All right, Daddy was wrong. Will you forgive me, Yuyu?"

It took a long time for Shen Zeyu to soothe Lu Yu, and he promised to buy him an ice cream bar too.

One ice cream bar wouldn't hurt a child, really. The main problem was that he couldn't guarantee he would stop at one himself, and he was afraid Lu Yu would insist on eating just as many as he did.

While Lu Yu happily ate his ice cream, Shen Zeyu shot Lu Cizhou a glare.

Lu Cizhou silently took out his phone and showed him the time. "Look how long it's been."

Ha, it really has been quite a while. Shen Zeyu gave up on taking Lu Cizhou to task.

Lu Cizhou hadn't expected Shen Zeyu to spend so long eating ice cream either.

Listening to their conversation, Lu Yu still hadn't realized that his papa was in on it with Shen Zeyu. "Exactly! You took too long, Daddy. That's why I dragged Papa over. Otherwise, Papa wanted to keep taking me on rides!"

Without realizing it, he had helped Lu Cizhou out.

Only after they got home and ate dinner did Shen Zeyu tell Lu Cizhou about Wang Lei's proposal.

Lu Yu listened eagerly as the two discussed it. "Do you want to go?" Lu Cizhou asked.

"I don't mind either way, but look." Shen Zeyu pointed at the hopeful Lu Yu.

"If you want to go, that's fine. This company's productions are quite good." Lu Cizhou left the decision to the two of them. He would ask for more detailed information afterward and look it over.

Shen Zeyu didn't want to go. Wasn't it better to stay home and relax during the holidays, instead of running around everywhere? But Lu Yu looked exceptionally eager.

Before he could decide, Shen Zeyu felt his stomach begin to hurt and hurriedly said, "Hang on. Let me use the bathroom first."

Not long after he came out, it started hurting again. Eventually, Shen Zeyu simply stayed in the bathroom.

A long time passed, until even Lu Yu and Lu Cizhou were growing impatient, before Shen Zeyu slowly emerged, his face deathly pale.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Lu Yu hurried over anxiously.

"I'm fine. Don't worry," Shen Zeyu said weakly.

Lu Cizhou frowned and asked sternly, "How many ice cream bars did you eat today?"

Shen Zeyu said nothing, so Lu Cizhou asked again.

Only then did Shen Zeyu stammer, "Th-three."