Waking up

"Ah, Papa, really? Is Daddy going to wake up?" Lu Yu asked excitedly.

"He might, Yuyu. Stay here and watch Daddy. I'll get the doctor to check on him." With that, Shen Zeyu went out.

Lu Yu was left in the room alone, brimming with excitement.

Shen Zeyu went to the door and knocked. As soon as the doctor opened it, he said, "Doctor Li, Lu Cizhou's finger just moved."

After hearing this, Doctor Li hurried back to his room to grab his medical bag, then headed to Lu Cizhou's room with Shen Zeyu.

"Papa, Daddy's finger isn't moving anymore." Lu Yu felt a little down. He had thought his daddy would wake up right away.

Shen Zeyu stroked his head. "Let the doctor check first. Don't worry."

Lu Yu obediently nodded.

While the doctor examined Lu Cizhou, Shen Zeyu picked up his phone to call Lu Wan. Then, worried she might already be asleep, he sent a message instead.

To his surprise, Lu Wan called shortly after he sent it.

Her delighted voice came through the phone. "Zeyu, did Cizhou really respond?"

"Yes, Auntie Lu. Doctor Li is examining him now."

"Thank goodness." Lu Wan's voice choked up a little.

Shen Zeyu understood how she felt, so he quietly waited for Lu Wan to compose herself.

Once he sensed that she had calmed down, he continued, "Auntie Lu, it's very late tonight, so don't come over just yet. I'll let you know how things stand once the doctor finishes."

"Sorry for the trouble, Zeyu," Lu Wan said.

Not long after he hung up, the examination was finished.

A faint smile appeared on Doctor Li's face. "Mr. Shen, Mr. Lu's brain is gradually recovering. He may occasionally respond to external stimuli. He might wake up before long."

Doctor Li couldn't guarantee exactly when, though. That depended on the individual's physical condition.

"But Mr. Lu is in good physical condition. Otherwise, he wouldn't have responded to external stimuli this soon," Doctor Li added.

"Thank you. Sorry to bother you so late," Shen Zeyu said.

"Not at all, Mr. Shen. I was hired to look after Mr. Lu."

They talked for a little longer. Once he confirmed there were no other problems with Lu Cizhou, Doctor Li left.

Shen Zeyu took out his phone and sent Lu Wan a few messages.

"Papa, how much longer will it take for Daddy to wake up?" Lu Yu had held back his questions while Papa spoke to the doctor.

Only now that the doctor had left did he ask.

"Soon, very soon," Shen Zeyu answered gently. "Don't worry, Yuyu. Maybe Daddy is getting a surprise ready for you. One day, you might come home from school and find him awake."

Lu Yu obediently nodded and didn't ask for an exact time again.

Hearing the doctor say he should be able to wake up soon made Lu Cizhou happy, too.

"All right, it's getting late. Time for bed. Good thing tomorrow is the weekend and you don't have kindergarten, or you'd have a really hard time getting up."

"Papa, can I sleep with you? I don't want to sleep alone tonight," Lu Yu pleaded sweetly.

"Of course," Shen Zeyu replied.

After washing up, the two lay down in bed.

Having been both frightened and happy that day, Lu Yu clung to Shen Zeyu. "Papa, Papa, can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Sure. Let me think."

"Once upon a time, there was a very pretty little girl. Her grandmother made her a red hood, so everyone called her Little Red Riding Hood. One day..."

Before Shen Zeyu could finish, Lu Yu interrupted him. "Papa, I know this one! It's Little Red Riding Hood. Our teacher already told us."

"All right, then I'll tell you another one."

Lu Yu had heard the next one, too. Shen Zeyu didn't know many fairy tales.

"How about I sing to you?" Unable to think of another fairy tale, Shen Zeyu could only try something else.

"Okaaay," Lu Yu answered, drawing out the word.

Shen Zeyu's clear, beautiful singing filled Lu Yu's ears. As he drifted off, Lu Yu hazily thought how lovely Papa's voice was.

Seeing that Lu Yu had fallen asleep, Shen Zeyu stopped singing. He got up to turn off the light, then returned to bed and went to sleep.

The next morning.

Since he had gone to bed a little late the night before, Lu Yu woke up later than usual.

Once awake, he didn't disturb his papa, but played by himself in bed.

Shen Zeyu was delighted to sleep until he woke naturally. The moment he opened his eyes and saw Lu Yu playing alone in bed, his heart softened.

"Yuyu, when did you wake up?"

"Papa, I've been awake for ages, but I didn't disturb you!" Lu Yu said, as though asking for praise.

"What a good boy." Since he hadn't brushed his teeth yet, Shen Zeyu settled for reaching out to stroke his head.

After washing up, the two went downstairs.

Perhaps because Lu Yu hadn't come down yet, Steward Zhang had kept the breakfast warm, so the two could eat as soon as they got up.

Only after Shen Zeyu finished breakfast did Steward Zhang speak. "Mr. Shen, Madam already visited this morning."

"Aunt Lu was here?" Shen Zeyu asked in surprise. "It's my fault. I forgot to set an alarm."

He looked a little embarrassed. She had come over while he was still asleep.

Perhaps noticing his embarrassment, Steward Zhang added, "Madam knew you'd had a tiring night, so she told us not to wake you."

Shen Zeyu didn't say much more about it, only telling Steward Zhang to be sure to wake him if it happened again.

After lunch.

Shen Zeyu's lazy streak resurfaced. As usual, he headed to the garden to bask in the sun, and once again coaxed Lu Yu into playing there.

On Sunday, Shen Zeyu took Lu Yu shopping at the mall.

"Papa, I want that toy!" Lu Yu said loudly.

"No. You've already picked out three toys," Shen Zeyu refused.

"Can't I have just one more?" Lu Yu wheedled.

"No. We agreed on three toys. You can choose which three you want." Shen Zeyu insisted on limiting him to three.

"All right." Lu Yu still listened to his papa.

"Since I've been so good, can you take me to eat fried chicken later, Papa?" Lu Yu asked cutely.

Seeing how eager the child was, Shen Zeyu pretended to consider it. "All right. Since you've been so good, I'll take you, but you can't eat too much."

"Wow, thank you, Papa!" Lu Yu happily lowered his head and went back to choosing his three toys.

As Shen Zeyu quietly waited for Lu Yu, an irritating voice rang out.

"Well, isn't this my older brother? Oh, no, my mistake. You're not my brother anymore." Shen Mo walked toward Shen Zeyu as he spoke.

He had thought he was hearing things, but when he came out to look, it really was Shen Zeyu.

Shen Zeyu couldn't be bothered with him. Seeing that Lu Yu had finished choosing, he took his hand and prepared to leave.

But Shen Mo darted forward and blocked his path.

"What, are you pretending you don't know me now, dear brother?"

Glancing at the toys in Lu Yu's arms, he continued, "You even have to come out to buy toys yourself? Looks like life with the Lu Family isn't treating you very well."

Seeing Lu Yu about to speak, Shen Zeyu quickly patted his head reassuringly, signaling him to stay quiet. Lu Yu fell silent.

"Move." A hint of displeasure had crept into Shen Zeyu's voice.

Seeing how little regard Shen Zeyu had for him, Shen Mo immediately grew angry.

"Shen Zeyu, what do you have to be so smug about? You're nowhere near as good as me now."

"Let me tell you, Haoxuan said he's going to get engaged to me soon."

Only then did Shen Zeyu look up at Shen Mo. "Congratulations on getting what you wanted," he said perfunctorily.

Shen Mo was far too naive. With the Chen Family doing so well, how could they possibly consider the Shen Family good enough? He was only being strung along.

But that had nothing to do with Shen Zeyu.

Shen Mo thought those words meant Shen Zeyu envied him, and immediately brightened.

Just then, a young man in a black coat walked over. "Mo, what's wrong?"

Shen Mo instantly reined in his arrogance. "Nothing, Haoxuan. I ran into my brother and was saying hello."

Following Shen Mo's gaze, Chen Haoxuan finally took a proper look at Shen Zeyu.

His eyes lit up at the sight. The older brother was much better-looking than the younger one. If only I could...

Seeing Chen Haoxuan's reaction, Shen Mo shot Shen Zeyu a vicious glare and hurriedly tugged Chen Haoxuan's hand. "Haoxuan, let's go. My brother has things to do."

"Mo, aren't you going to invite your brother over to our place?"

Hearing Chen Haoxuan's words, Shen Mo forced down his anger. He couldn't argue with Chen Haoxuan in public and let Shen Zeyu laugh at him.

"My brother doesn't have time. He has a child to look after."

Only then did Chen Haoxuan notice the child beside him. "Your brother is married?"

Chen Haoxuan's interest immediately faded, but he still greeted him out of politeness. "Hello, I'm Mo's boyfriend."

Shen Zeyu hated the way Chen Haoxuan looked at him. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry." With that, he picked up Lu Yu and walked straight out.

Only once they were outside the mall did Lu Yu ask, "Papa, why wouldn't you let me speak? You're doing really well at our house."

Lu Yu was unhappy.

"I didn't want you talking to an idiot. I was afraid you'd turn into one, too."

"Ah, talking to him can make me stupid?" Lu Yu asked in astonishment.

Holding back a laugh, Shen Zeyu said, "Yes, so Yuyu, remember not to talk to him."

"Okay!" Lu Yu nodded emphatically.

"All right, I'll take you to eat fried chicken."

Lu Yu cheered up. "Fried chicken, fried chicken, here I come!"

That evening, Shen Zeyu wiped down Lu Cizhou's body as usual.

I ran into two idiots today. I'd better cop a few extra feels.

Lu Cizhou: ...

Then Shen Zeyu began his nightly routine of taking liberties.

This time, it went on far too long. Lu Cizhou couldn't stand it anymore and instinctively tried to open his eyes. To his surprise, they actually opened this time. He was awake.

Lu Cizhou immediately looked at the man still stroking his abs. "Do they feel good?"

Shen Zeyu was still engrossed in feeling those abs, completely unaware that their owner had woken up.

"Yes," he answered instinctively. Only after replying did he realize something was wrong. Who was speaking?

He looked up and met Lu Cizhou's faintly amused face.

Shen Zeyu: Help! How did he suddenly wake up?!