Give it a try

It was Sunday, after dinner.

Lu Yu, who hadn't seen his dad in a week, couldn't stand it anymore and wheedled Shen Zeyu into taking him to see him.

Unable to resist his pestering, Shen Zeyu reflected that he really hadn't seen Lu Cizhou for several days either.

He sent Lu Cizhou a message telling him to lie in bed and pretend to be asleep, then took Lu Yu upstairs.

As they climbed the stairs, he reminded him, "Your dad's doing a little better, but we'll just take a quick look and come back down, okay?"

"Okay," Lu Yu said obediently.

After they had been in the room for a little while, Lu Yu noticed that Shen Zeyu was standing nearby with nothing to do. Who knew what had gone through his little head?

He asked, "Daddy, shall we wipe Dad down? If we do it together, you won't have to work so hard."

He figured that Daddy always wiped Dad down, and now that he could help, Daddy wouldn't have to work as hard.

Could Shen Zeyu tell him he hadn't been the one doing it these past few days? Of course not.

"Yuyu, how are you so sweet?" Shen Zeyu said happily.

Now I'm not the one asking to wipe him down. Hahaha!

Lu Cizhou: ...

He had guarded against everything, only to be caught out by his own son.

Shen Zeyu quickly got everything ready and handed Lu Yu a small towel. "Yuyu, just wipe him down like you did before."

Lu Yu nodded.

Shen Zeyu's eyes followed Lu Yu's movements closely. When Lu Yu lifted Lu Cizhou's shirt, his firm abs came into view.

Looking at those enticing abs, Shen Zeyu felt both excited and a little sad.

Boohoo, who knows if I'll ever get another chance to touch them after this.

This was the first time Lu Cizhou had been fully conscious while Lu Yu and Shen Zeyu wiped him down together. The faint sense of embarrassment left him unable to look at either of them, and he could only silently turn his head away...

Noticing his movement, Shen Zeyu laughed soundlessly.

He's actually embarrassed! Hahaha, why is that kind of cute?

Lu Cizhou swore he would never give Shen Zeyu another opportunity like this.

The next day, Lu Yu went to the Kindergarten.

To prevent a repeat of the previous night, Lu Cizhou checked how his body felt and, finding no problems, slowly made his way downstairs.

Steward Zhang happened to be coming in from the yard. Hearing movement, he assumed it was Shen Zeyu and spoke before looking up. "Mr. Shen, you're up so early today..."

"Young master, you can walk on your own now? Wonderful! I must tell Madam right away," Steward Zhang said excitedly.

He knew the young master had already woken up, but during rehabilitation, the young master had only allowed Mr. Shen to accompany him. He had no idea how far along his recovery was, and hadn't expected him to come downstairs on his own this morning.

"No need. I've already called. Mom knows."

There was just too much to handle at the company. Knowing he was nearly recovered had put her mind at ease, so she wouldn't be coming over.

"That's good, that's good. Young master, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Wait a moment. I'll have someone make it right away." Before Lu Cizhou could react, he had already hurried off.

Only now that he was almost fully recovered did Lu Cizhou begin considering his relationship with Shen Zeyu.

Thinking of this, Lu Cizhou realized he hadn't seen Shen Zeyu since waking up that morning.

Just then, Steward Zhang returned to the living room, and Lu Cizhou asked, "Is Shen Zeyu still in bed?"

Steward Zhang answered honestly, "Yes, he is."

Shen Zeyu's sleeping schedule astonished Lu Cizhou every time.

As someone who went to bed early and rose early, he truly couldn't understand how anyone could sleep this late.

Fine. Lu Cizhou could only keep waiting.

It wasn't until an hour after Lu Cizhou had finished breakfast that Shen Zeyu finally came slowly downstairs.

In fact, Shen Zeyu had woken up a little after nine, but he hadn't wanted to get up, so he had stayed in bed playing on his phone for a while.

Only after coming downstairs did Shen Zeyu discover that Lu Cizhou had come down on his own today. He was sitting on the living room sofa, reading a magazine.

Shen Zeyu stood silently where he was and watched him. His nightly attempts to take advantage of Lu Cizhou were proof enough of just how handsome the man was.

He looked to be around six foot three, with sharply defined, sculpted features, alluring eyes with obsidian-dark irises, and a high, straight nose.

As Shen Zeyu watched, he became entranced again. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Lu Cizhou slowly lifted his head.

Seeing Shen Zeyu's expression, Lu Cizhou's eyes filled with amusement. "Like what you see?"

Shen Zeyu quickly came back to his senses. "What did you say? I zoned out."

I almost embarrassed myself again. Good thing I kept it together this time. I've already looked at him so many times. Why do I still have so little self-control?

Shen Zeyu scolded himself inwardly.

Seeing the innocent look on Shen Zeyu's face, Lu Cizhou didn't expose him.

He merely stood up from the sofa and walked over to him. "Shall we talk in the study?"

"Sure." With that, Shen Zeyu followed Lu Cizhou toward the study.

This arranged marriage had taken place without the other party's knowledge in the first place. Now that Lu Cizhou was almost recovered and no longer needed him, it was time to discuss what to do.

Lu Cizhou's study was spacious and filled with books on all kinds of subjects, enough to show how wide-ranging his interests were.

Once inside, Lu Cizhou sat on the sofa intended for resting, and Shen Zeyu took a seat on the sofa opposite him.

Lu Cizhou spoke first. "Is there anyone you like?"

What kind of question is that?

"No." Shen Zeyu was a little confused, but he still answered honestly.

Ignoring the voice in his head, Lu Cizhou continued, "Although neither of us chose this arranged marriage, since neither of us has someone we like, I think we could give it a try."

"Give what a try?" Shen Zeyu's mind didn't catch up right away.

Lu Cizhou could only make himself clearer. "Let's try being together. If we're compatible, you'll be the only one for me for the rest of my life. If we aren't, we can part on good terms."

That was exactly what Shen Zeyu had thought at the beginning, so he nodded in agreement without much hesitation.

"Okay."

Once their conversation ended, Shen Zeyu went downstairs first, while Lu Cizhou remained in the study.

Lu Cizhou pondered the voice that occasionally appeared in his mind. Over the past few days, he had realized his earlier guess about a split personality was wrong, but rehabilitation had kept him too busy to conduct an experiment.

The voice in his head sounded exactly like Shen Zeyu's normal speaking voice. Taking that together with Shen Zeyu's behavior after he heard it, he guessed it was Shen Zeyu's inner voice.

But could he only hear Shen Zeyu's thoughts, or could he hear everyone's?

To test this theory, Lu Cizhou found Steward Zhang and asked him to say something in his mind.

"Have you said it?" Lu Cizhou asked.

"Yes."

It seemed he could only hear Shen Zeyu's voice. Having figured that out, Lu Cizhou didn't dwell on it. In any case, it wouldn't affect him.

Thinking back on the thoughts he had heard these past few times, amusement filled Lu Cizhou's eyes.

During lunch.

Wow, this is so good! That's really good too!

Hearing the voice, Lu Cizhou looked up at Shen Zeyu, who was eating with a look of utter satisfaction.

"Is there anything you don't eat?" Shen Zeyu was concentrating on his meal when he heard Lu Cizhou speak.

It took Shen Zeyu a moment to understand what Lu Cizhou meant.

"No, I eat everything." Then Shen Zeyu asked him, "What about you? What don't you like eating?"

Lu Cizhou thought for a moment. "I don't eat ginger, and I don't like organ meats."

"Okay, I'll remember that." Shen Zeyu nodded.

After lunch, Lu Cizhou went to work in the study, while Shen Zeyu headed to the garden to bask in the sun as usual.

Time passed leisurely, and soon it was almost time for Lu Yu to get out of school.

Shen Zeyu, who had been sprawled on the sofa, stood up and headed for the door, only to hear a low voice. "Where are you going?" Lu Cizhou asked as he came downstairs. "Yuyu's getting out of school soon. I'm going to pick him up." Intent on heading outside, Shen Zeyu hadn't even noticed Lu Cizhou coming down.

"I'll come too. Xiao Yu still doesn't know I'm awake. Now that I'm nearly recovered, let's give him a surprise," Lu Cizhou said.

"Okay."

At the Kindergarten.

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, the teacher led the children outside. Lu Yu spotted his daddy from afar. After saying goodbye to his teacher and classmates at the gate, he rushed into Shen Zeyu's arms.

"Daddy," Lu Yu called sweetly.

Shen Zeyu picked him up and walked toward the car. "Did anything fun happen today?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Daddy, let me tell you..."

Lu Yu kept talking as Shen Zeyu carried him into the car. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice someone else was inside until a familiar voice sounded.

"Xiao Yu."

Hearing that familiar voice, Lu Yu immediately turned his head. Once he saw who it was, he said with a face full of delighted surprise, "Dad, you're awake!"

Lu Cizhou reached out and gathered Lu Yu into his arms. "Yes, Dad's awake."

"Dad, will you sleep for lots of days before waking up again?" What had happened lately had truly frightened Lu Yu.

"No. I promise," Lu Cizhou answered gently.

Reassured, Lu Yu was overjoyed. His chatter filled the car all the way home.

After the three of them finished dinner, the two men played with Lu Yu for a while. "Daddy, I'm a little sleepy," Lu Yu said softly.

"Let's have a bath first, okay? You can sleep afterward."

"Daddy, can I sleep with you both tonight?" Lu Yu pleaded.

"Do you want to sleep with Dad or Daddy?" Shen Zeyu asked.

"Daddy, don't you and Dad sleep together? Dad's better now!" Lu Yu asked in confusion.

"Other kids' dads and moms all sleep together," Lu Yu added.

Shen Zeyu looked awkwardly at Lu Cizhou. Their situation wasn't the same as other people's.

Only when Lu Yu brought it up did Lu Cizhou realize they were still sleeping in separate rooms. Seeing Shen Zeyu looking at him, he responded.

"I'm fine with it. How about you?" he said mildly. After all, they intended to give their relationship a serious try, so sleeping together was only natural.

"I'm fine with it too," Shen Zeyu said, assuming it was only to fulfill Lu Yu's request for tonight.

Although it would only be for one night, that didn't stop his mind from wandering.

Wow, we're going to share a bed? Doesn't that mean I might get a chance to see...

Lu Cizhou: I forgot my spouse has a bit of a dirty mind.

Lu Cizhou was somewhat traditional. He believed they had to develop feelings before taking the next step.

Lu Yu was delighted as he lay in bed. He hadn't slept with his dad in ages, and he hadn't expected to get to sleep with both his dads this time.

After Lu Yu had his bath and settled into bed, Shen Zeyu also showered and lay down.

Then he stared eagerly at Lu Cizhou.

Lu Cizhou picked up his clothes and went into the bathroom.

Shen Zeyu eagerly awaited Lu Cizhou's return after his shower. He hadn't noticed Lu Cizhou taking pajamas in with him, so he assumed he would come out wrapped in a bath towel.

Why is he taking so long?

Lu Cizhou, who knew exactly what Shen Zeyu was thinking: ...

Hearing the bathroom door handle turn, Shen Zeyu fixed an eager gaze on the door.

Then he saw Lu Cizhou step out in a set of black pajamas, covered from head to toe.

Where did those pajamas come from? Why didn't I see them earlier? Boohoo, I missed a chance to see his abs!

Hearing this, Lu Cizhou thought, As if you didn't touch them enough those few days?

Outwardly, however, he simply walked toward the bed, step by step. As Lu Cizhou drew closer, Shen Zeyu finally began to feel a little nervous.

But when he remembered there would be a child between them, making it little different from sleeping separately, his newfound nerves vanished again.

After switching off the light, Lu Cizhou lay down on the other side of Lu Yu and said in Shen Zeyu's direction, "Good night."

"Good night."

The family of three drifted off to sleep.