Copping a feel

As Shen Zeyu's hands roamed more and more, Lu Cizhou's face slowly reddened.

Still reluctant to stop, Shen Zeyu finished wiping Lu Cizhou down. When he looked up, he noticed that Lu Cizhou's face was unusually flushed.

Shen Zeyu startled. Was he running a fever? He hurriedly raised a hand to feel Lu Cizhou's forehead. "Thank goodness, no fever. The air conditioning must be set too high."

With that, he picked up the remote on the nightstand and lowered the temperature by two degrees.

Lu Cizhou: ...

Having successfully felt Lu Cizhou's abs, Shen Zeyu was thoroughly satisfied. Even his retreating figure radiated excitement.

After Shen Zeyu left, Lu Cizhou finally felt at ease, though he couldn't understand why he was a little cold.

Shen Zeyu slept especially well that night.

Early the next morning.

In his sleep, Shen Zeyu felt a weight on his chest, as though a stone were pressing down on him, leaving him unable to breathe. He opened his eyes and discovered that Lu Yu was sprawled on top of him.

Seeing that his little dad was awake, Lu Yu said sweetly, "Little Dad, you're awake?"

"You're about to squash your little dad to death," Shen Zeyu said helplessly.

"No way. I'm not heavy at all." He even wriggled around a few times as he spoke.

Son, do you have any self-awareness at all? Shen Zeyu thought.

Although Lu Yu didn't look chubby, now that Shen Zeyu could feel his weight, he realized that appearances were deceiving. The kid was solid.

Unable to take it any longer, Shen Zeyu hurriedly asked, "Yuyu, have you washed up?"

"Little Dad, I got up ages ago. I've already washed up, too," Lu Yu said.

"Well, aren't you a good boy?" With that, he had Lu Yu climb off him.

"Little Dad, you're so lazy. You got up even later than me," Lu Yu said as he climbed down.

Shen Zeyu pinched his little cheek. "That's because you don't know the joy of sleeping in. All right, sit on the bed for a bit. I'll go wash up first."

"Okay, go ahead, Little Dad," Lu Yu replied.

After breakfast.

Already lying on the couch, Lu Yu grew restless.

"Little Dad, are we just going to lie here?"

"What's wrong with lying here? It's so relaxing," Shen Zeyu drawled.

This was the life he had always dreamed of.

"But lying here all the time is so boring," Lu Yu replied.

Shen Zeyu thought for a moment. Children really did have energy to spare.

"How about this? Go find a fairly small ball, and we'll play a game."

"Okay, Little Dad, wait here. I'll go find one." With that, he went to his playroom.

A little while later, Shen Zeyu saw Lu Yu running out with a medium-sized ball in his arms.

He handed it to Shen Zeyu with an excited expression. "Here, Little Dad."

Seeing Lu Yu's excitement and thinking of the game they were about to play, Shen Zeyu felt a strange twinge of guilt.

Kids were there to be fooled. With that thought, his guilt immediately vanished.

"Here's how the game works. I'll throw the ball, and the moment I throw it, you start running. Then we'll see whether you catch it first or it hits the ground first."

Lu Yu felt that something was off about this game. He seemed to have seen people playing something very similar with puppies before.

He voiced his thoughts. "Little Dad, when I saw people playing with puppies before, it looked like..."

Before Lu Yu could finish, Shen Zeyu hurriedly interrupted him. "How is that the same? Think about it. They only throw it forward, but I'll throw it in all sorts of directions. You won't just need speed. You'll need judgment, too."

"Judgment?"

"Exactly. Think about it. If you can tell which way I'm going to throw it beforehand, won't you be one step ahead of me?" Shen Zeyu coaxed.

"Oh, right! Little Dad, you're amazing." Lu Yu looked at him with admiration.

Shen Zeyu rubbed his nose guiltily and coughed. "All right, watch carefully, Yuyu. Here it comes."

With that, he threw the ball, and Lu Yu darted off at the same time.

Shen Zeyu, meanwhile, lay back down on the couch. The morning passed with Lu Yu fetching the ball countless times and Shen Zeyu occasionally moving his hand.

"Little Dad, I'm tired," Lu Yu said sluggishly.

Shen Zeyu had figured he would be tired by now. He handed him the warm water he had prepared on the table. "Drink some water and rest. It'll be lunchtime soon."

"Okay," Lu Yu said in his little voice.

After lunch, the sunshine was just right.

Shen Zeyu found a spot where the sunlight wasn't too strong and took Lu Yu there to bask in it.

"Daddy, lying in the sun is so warm. It feels so nice," Lu Yu said in his sweet little voice.

Lying beside him, Shen Zeyu replied, "See? Daddy didn't lie to you. A little sunshine is good for you, but you can't stay out too long."

More than half a month passed like this. Every day, Shen Zeyu either played with Lu Yu or stayed in his room playing video games. His only extra exercise was wiping Lu Cizhou down each day.

As for Lu Cizhou, he had gone from utter despair to calmly accepting it.

Friday evening.

After picking Lu Yu up from kindergarten, Shen Zeyu took him for a walk near their residential complex.

Suddenly, a strange man rushed out, grabbed him, and tried to pull him along.

Coming to his senses, Shen Zeyu shook off the man's hand and immediately ran back to scoop up Lu Yu, who had frozen in place.

"Little Dad, I'm scared," Lu Yu said fearfully.

Shen Zeyu gently patted him. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm here."

Only after Lu Yu slowly calmed down did Shen Zeyu look up at the stranger who had rushed out.

His gaze hostile, Shen Zeyu asked, "Who are you?"

The man put on a wounded expression. "Zeyu, have you forgotten me already? Was everything you said to me before a lie?"

Hearing those words, which made him sound like some heartless bastard, Shen Zeyu finally realized who the man was.

The original owner's boyfriend, Liu Hang.

Liu Hang really was a scumbag. He only ever came looking for the original owner when he was short on money. A few casual words were enough to leave the original owner utterly besotted. Only the original owner would have believed him.

Fortunately, while the original owner had believed him, he hadn't gone so far as to give him all his money. Even so, the money he had given him added up to a considerable sum.

"I hadn't even come looking for you yet, and here you are, delivering yourself to me."

"Zeyu, what are you talking about?" Liu Hang asked sorrowfully.

"I know you don't like Lu Cizhou and that you had no choice but to be with him. That's why I came looking for you as soon as I heard. Let's leave. We'll go somewhere no one knows us and live the life we want," Liu Hang said, his eyes full of affection.

"Stop being disgusting. Who told you I'm with Lu Cizhou against my will? Besides, this isn't somewhere you can just walk into," Shen Zeyu retorted.

Embarrassment flashed across Liu Hang's face. Of course he couldn't get into a place like this. If he hadn't happened to run into the Shen Family's young master and his boyfriend, how could he possibly have gotten in?

He was short on money again these days. Having finally made it inside, how could he give up his only chance to see Shen Zeyu?

"Zeyu, you've changed. You're nothing like the Zeyu I fell in love with," Liu Hang continued.

"Drop that lovesick act. As of today, we're officially broken up. And return all the money I gave you and everything I bought you while we were together." Shen Zeyu looked thoroughly disgusted.

At that, Liu Hang panicked.

"Zeyu, I know this can't be what you really want. Was it the Lu Family? Did the Lu Family force you?"

"That's final. Pay back all the money, and we're even. Oh, and turn the gifts into cash. Otherwise, I don't mind taking this to court." Losing patience, Shen Zeyu turned to leave.

To his surprise, Liu Hang still refused to give up. "What's so great about Lu Cizhou? He's in a coma. Who knows if he'll ever wake up? What's so great about him?"

Shen Zeyu was furious. Lu Yu was right there. "Liu Hang, don't make me hit you."

Liu Hang didn't believe Shen Zeyu would actually do it and kept talking.

Shen Zeyu couldn't take it anymore. He carried Lu Yu a little farther ahead and set him down, then said gently, "Be good and stay right here, Yuyu. I'll be back in a moment."

Lu Yu obediently nodded.

As Shen Zeyu approached Liu Hang, he said, "I told you not to provoke me. Since you wouldn't listen, don't blame me for getting rough." If he hadn't left his phone at home, he would have called security long ago instead of having to handle this himself.

Only as Shen Zeyu drew closer did Liu Hang start to panic. He hurriedly said, "Zeyu, you..."

Thud! Before Liu Hang could finish, Shen Zeyu kicked him to the ground.

Shen Zeyu slowly lowered his raised foot. "You wouldn't listen when I asked nicely. You just had to make me hit you. Get the money together and transfer it to my account as soon as possible."

With that, he picked up Lu Yu and left, leaving Liu Hang lying on the ground alone. Liu Hang hadn't expected Shen Zeyu to actually hit him.

As for the money, he didn't believe Shen Zeyu would really take him to court. He only regretted that he could no longer get money out of him.

"Little Dad, you were so cool just now! That was my first time seeing a fight," Lu Yu said excitedly.

"You mustn't copy that and start fighting. If you have a disagreement with someone and can't resolve it, ask a grown-up for help."

Seeing that Lu Yu showed no sadness at the mention of Lu Cizhou, Shen Zeyu finally felt reassured.

What had angered him most was Liu Hang saying that Lu Cizhou might never wake up right in front of Lu Yu.

Now it seemed that Lu Yu probably hadn't heard clearly.

"I know, Little Dad. Daddy taught me that," Lu Yu replied.

"Good, then. Let's go home for dinner!" With that, he suddenly lifted Lu Yu over his head.

Lu Yu burst into giggles. "Little Dad, I'm so high up! This is so fun!"

"Then I'll lift you up again." With that, he raised him once more, and Lu Yu laughed again. The father and son's happy voices filled the journey home.

After dinner.

"Yuyu, aren't you sleepy yet tonight?"

"Mm-hmm, Little Dad. I can't sleep," Lu Yu said softly.

Shen Zeyu guessed that the scumbag really had frightened him after all. He had gone too easy on him.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Zeyu said, "Then shall we wipe Daddy down together?"

"Okay!" Lu Yu said happily. He hadn't talked to Daddy for several days, either. He wanted to tell him about the bad man they had met today.

Once they were in the room, Shen Zeyu gave Lu Yu a small towel. "Yuyu, take this towel, wet it a little, and wipe Daddy's face, okay?"

"Okay, got it!" Lu Yu looked solemn, as though he were about to undertake something momentous.

Once Lu Yu felt he had wiped enough, he began recounting what had happened that day.

Meanwhile, Shen Zeyu was still busy copping a feel.

"Daddy, listen. Today, when Little Dad and I were out walking, a weird man suddenly rushed out... In the end, Little Dad knocked that bad man down with one kick. He was so cool!"

As Lu Yu talked, his voice grew quieter. "Daddy, why aren't you awake yet? You've been asleep for so long."

With that, he placed his little hand on Lu Cizhou's large one.

Hearing this, Shen Zeyu hurriedly comforted Lu Yu. "Your daddy will wake up soon. Don't worry, Yuyu."

Lu Yu obediently nodded. Just as he was about to pull his hand away from Lu Cizhou's, he suddenly felt someone lightly touch it.

Lu Yu looked down, then suddenly shouted, "Little Dad! Little Dad! Daddy's fingers moved!"

Realizing he had been too loud, he hurriedly lowered his voice. "Little Dad, look."

Shen Zeyu looked over at his voice and saw Lu Cizhou's hand gently touching Lu Yu's little one.