The joy of making money

Lu Yu ran over and threw himself at Lu Cizhou. "Dad!" Lu Cizhou scooped him into his arms.

Shen Zeyu walked over slowly with his suitcase. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up." Lu Cizhou took the suitcase from him. He had set out when he saw that the livestream was nearly over.

"Then let's go," Shen Zeyu said.

"No rush." Lu Cizhou stopped him. "We can look around. You like it here, don't you?"

While watching the livestream, he had noticed how much Shen Zeyu liked the place.

Shen Zeyu hesitated. "But Yuyu has school tomorrow. We can't get home too late."

It was already past three, and the drive back would take over an hour. They would get home a little late as it was.

"It's fine. If necessary, we can send him home first. I brought some people with me. They can take Xiao Yu back."

Son, thank you for your sacrifice for your dad's happiness, Lu Cizhou thought.

Lu Yu stared at his dad in disbelief. "Dad, couldn't you ask whether I want to go home?"

Naturally, Lu Cizhou hoped he would go home instead of interrupting their time alone together.

But he certainly couldn't say that. Besides, he was afraid Lu Yu wouldn't be able to take it.

"All right, Xiao Yu. Do you want to go home or stay here and play for a while?" Lu Cizhou asked.

"I want to stay here and have fun with you too." He liked it here a lot as well. Besides, he felt that his dad just wanted to send him home first, so he was absolutely not going.

Lu Cizhou wasn't disappointed by his answer. He had expected this outcome.

"Then let's look around," Lu Cizhou said to Shen Zeyu again.

Seeing that Lu Yu agreed too, Shen Zeyu was all the more willing.

After putting away the suitcase, they began strolling through the village. They had been busy doing tasks before and hadn't had a chance to take a proper look around.

Shen Zeyu walked ahead, with Lu Cizhou and Lu Yu following behind. When they reached the other end of the village, Shen Zeyu discovered a view he had never seen before.

A huge banyan tree stood at the entrance, clearly quite old. Its straight brown branches were as thick as the mouth of a bowl, and the little leaves covering the tree were a lovely green. When the breeze blew, they seemed to wave cheerfully at passersby. Smooth stones lay beneath the tree, clearly meant for people passing through to rest on.

Shen Zeyu ran over and sat beneath the banyan tree. In the distance, mountains stretched in rolling succession. As the breeze brushed his cheeks, he closed his eyes slightly and savored it.

The sun sank in the west, its light filtering through the banyan leaves and falling over Shen Zeyu. He seemed to glow, his whole figure suffused with warmth.

The sky flushed red with dawn light, the green banyan tree, and the figure sitting beneath it formed a beautiful picture in Lu Cizhou's heart.

He took out his phone and quietly photographed the scene, preserving that moment on his phone.

"Dad, are you secretly taking pictures of Daddy?" Lu Yu suddenly asked beside him.

Lu Cizhou: I forgot there was someone else here.

"No. I'm taking them openly." He certainly wasn't going to admit he had been sneaking pictures.

Lu Yu thought for a moment, then called loudly to Shen Zeyu, "Daddy, Dad's taking pictures of you!"

Then he turned to Lu Cizhou and said, "Dad, now Daddy knows. This is what taking pictures openly means. You're welcome!"

Lu Cizhou: Gee, thanks.

It was rare for Lu Cizhou to be so flustered. After all, secretly taking someone's picture didn't sound very good.

Shen Zeyu paused when he heard Lu Yu, then smiled and walked over to Lu Cizhou. "Where's the photo?"

Lu Cizhou obediently handed over his phone and explained, "I... I just thought the scenery was beautiful."

It was unclear whether he meant the person or the surroundings.

Shen Zeyu studied the photo. Lu Cizhou was a good photographer, and the composition was excellent. The whole image radiated warmth.

Lu Cizhou was still quietly watching Shen Zeyu's expression, afraid that he would disapprove of what he had done.

Noticing his expression, Shen Zeyu smiled again and offered a compliment. "Nice shot."

Delighted, Lu Cizhou moved beside Shen Zeyu. "Right? I think so too. How about a few more? I'll take them for you, and you can post them on Moments when you get home."

Shen Zeyu had already smiled so many times today, but he smiled yet again. Lu Cizhou even knew about posting on Moments now.

"I think that's a good idea."

Lu Yu squeezed between them. "I want pictures too! Don't forget me."

Lu Cizhou: I really regret not sending him home. This was such a perfect chance to spend time together.

Shen Zeyu had no such thoughts. He picked Lu Yu up. "How could we possibly forget you?"

Lu Yu giggled. "I was afraid Dad would forget me."

Lu Cizhou, who very much wanted to forget him: ...

Afterward, they took some more photos in turn and only got ready to go home when it began growing late.

On the drive back, Lu Cizhou's lips curved as he watched the two in the back seat happily choosing photos. Spending the afternoon here had been a good decision.

After they got home and ate dinner, Lu Yu soon fell asleep. The past few days had been exhausting, and the drowsiness had hit him as soon as he was home.

The same went for Shen Zeyu. After showering and drying his hair, he climbed into bed. "Ah, our bed is still the most comfortable." The bed there had been nice too, but the one at home was softer.

Lu Cizhou lay beside him. "How about you stop going after this?" Someone who barely walked a few extra steps at home had to work hard at completing tasks out there.

Lu Cizhou hadn't noticed the change in his own thinking. Before, he would have been eager for Shen Zeyu to get more exercise.

"No. I've already signed the contract. I'd have to pay a penalty for breaking it. It's not worth it."

"If you don't want to go, the penalty isn't a problem." It wasn't as though he couldn't afford it.

"There's no need to waste money. Besides, the show is pretty meaningful." Most importantly, Lu Yu was happy on the show too.

[You might as well give all that money to me instead.]

Seeing that he thought it was fine, Lu Cizhou said nothing more. Then he picked up his phone and tapped away.

Shen Zeyu's phone chimed in his hand. Fifty million had arrived in his Alipay account.

Shen Zeyu checked the sender and asked Lu Cizhou in bewilderment, "Why did you suddenly transfer money to me?"

"Spending money," Lu Cizhou said calmly. "Tell me if you ever run out."

Once Shen Zeyu recovered, his face lit up with a delighted smile. Money! It was all money!

He thanked Lu Cizhou with utter sincerity. "Thank you."

[Lu Cizhou is so good to me. He knows everything I want.]

Shen Zeyu looked so adorable with his money-loving expression that Lu Cizhou felt he still hadn't given him enough. "That seems a little low. I'll send you some more."

Shen Zeyu stopped him. "It's not low at all. It's plenty. That's enough."

"Let's sleep, let's sleep. I'm going to hang out with Bai Yi tomorrow." With that, Shen Zeyu closed his eyes with a smile.

Lu Cizhou gave up. Looking at Shen Zeyu, who was happy even as he fell asleep, he felt he had discovered the joy of making money.