Chapter 14: Preparing a Surprise for Shen Lanxue

Chapter 14: Preparing a Surprise for Shen Lanxue

Lu Hechi gave an awkward laugh. "How would I know?"

"I've never pursued anyone, so how could I be good at it? Haha!"

"Right, bro?"

The driver turned right at the intersection, and the car swayed slightly. Shen Lanxue quietly looked down. "I don't know."

Shen Yixing also pouted and continued crying.

The whole car fell into dead silence.

Lu Hechi had just kept digging himself into a hole.

He sat with one hand on his knee, staring straight ahead, not daring to move.

The tension didn't start to ease until they got home.

The long dining table was loaded with a spread of delicious food, and Shen Yixing made a point of sitting far away from Lu Hechi, with Butler Feng standing next to him to dish out food.

Shen Lanxue came over after washing his hands and saw that there might as well have been a river between father and son.

They both looked up at him at the same time, eyes burning with intensity.

"..."

Shen Lanxue paused mid-step. He'd faced contracts worth hundreds of millions without breaking a sweat, but this...

"Daddy." Shen Yixing spoke first, his eyes hopeful.

"Bro." Lu Hechi wasn't about to be outdone, his face pleading.

The moment he moved toward one side, the other would slump his shoulders in defeat.

Shen Lanxue stood there for three seconds, then made a decision that surprised them both.

He picked neither of them.

Pulling out the chair right in the middle, he sat down.

Both father and son were stunned.

"..." Lu Hechi looked at the middle chair, then at the gap between him and his son.

He saw Shen Lanxue sitting perfectly centered, leaning toward neither side.

"Bro, you're brutal." Lu Hechi said sincerely.

Shen Lanxue said nothing, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of spare rib, and lowered his head to eat.

Shen Yixing stopped crying too. He stared with big round eyes at his daddy, then at his father, let out a humph, and picked up his chopsticks to poke at his rice.

Lu Hechi sat alone at the other end of the long table, looking pitiful, with a whole spread of food in front of him that he could barely reach.

He looked at Shen Lanxue, then at Shen Yixing, grabbed his bowl, stood up, and scooted over next to Shen Lanxue.

Shen Yixing stopped mid-chew, little chopsticks in hand, and looked up at him.

Lu Hechi kept a straight face. "My arm hurts, so it's easier to reach the food from here."

Shen Yixing set down his chopsticks and was about to jump off his stool.

Butler Feng quickly caught him.

The three who had been so clearly divided moments ago were now happily huddled together.

Shen Lanxue kept his eyes lowered, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Without a word, he quietly pushed the stir-fried beef with onions and peppers that Lu Hechi couldn't reach over to him.

Lu Hechi happily picked up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth.

Then another. And another.

Shen Yixing pouted. "Daddy, you eat like a pig."

Lu Hechi almost choked, quickly gulped some water to wash it down. "...Son, weren't you just crying?"

Shen Yixing said, as if it were obvious, "I was crying, but I'm not now."

"Then why'd you stop?"

Shen Yixing thought for a moment, then pointed his little chopsticks at Shen Lanxue. "Because Daddy said that if you cry while eating, you'll hiccup, and hiccupping isn't cool."

Lu Hechi: "............"

He silently turned his head to look at Shen Lanxue, only to find him lowering his head to sip his soup, with a perfectly straight face, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Hechi was done.

During the weekdays that followed, Lu Hechi continued to have the driver take him to Qing University after Shen Lanxue and Shen Yixing had left for work and school.

Lu Wentang used to never see him, but now she was genuinely sick of him.

Someone had already posted on the forum saying she was dating a tall, rich, and handsome man, with flawless photos from every angle, showcasing Lu Hechi's good looks, making the whole school a bunch of spectators.

Overnight, Lu Wentang became a campus celebrity.

"Bro, can you take a break and stop coming for a few days?" Lu Wentang still ordered a coconut latte, sipping at the latte art on top.

Lu Hechi said, dead serious, "I'm making up for all the years I wasn't there for you."

Lu Wentang's eye twitched, unable to figure out his angle.

"I don't need it." Lu Wentang said seriously, "Bro, if you have time, you should spend more time with Brother Lanxue. Since you two got married, you've been so busy with work that you barely have time for him."

Lu Hechi was taken aback.

"It's true." Lu Wentang continued, "It's always Brother Lanxue who comes to see me alone. Even on his birthday, you were out of town and couldn't make it back."

Lu Hechi realized that every time he came to see Lu Wentang, he learned something that hit him hard.

With the weekend approaching, on his way back from Qing University today, Lu Hechi made a point of having the driver take him to the mall.

At three in the afternoon, the mall was empty.

Lu Hechi was planning to pick out a few outfits for Shen Lanxue and Little Star. Ever since his amnesia, he had no idea about his own finances—even the card he used to pay was one Shen Lanxue had given him.

So, as he went from store to store buying clothes...

Shen Lanxue's phone wouldn't stop vibrating during a meeting.

The deputy director giving the report stumbled for a moment.

Shen Lanxue picked up his phone and glanced at it—bank transaction alerts.

"XX Bank" A supplementary card (ending in 6666) under your main card (ending in 8888) spent 10,000.00 yuan at XX Shopping Mall at 15:16.

"XX Bank" A supplementary card (ending in 6666) under your main card (ending in 8888) spent 5,000.00 yuan at XX Shopping Mall at 15:20.

"XX Bank" A supplementary card (ending in 6666) under your main card (ending in 8888) spent 60,000.00 yuan at XX Shopping Mall at 15:28.

Shen Lanxue switched apps and opened his chat thread with Lu Hechi, wanting to ask who he was at the mall with.

He had just typed two characters when his finger paused, then he deleted them with a blank face.

He looked at the deputy director and said calmly, "Continue."

"..."

Lu Hechi bought so many clothes that the mall arranged to have them delivered to his home. As he was about to leave, he spotted a jewelry store.

The sales associate's eyes lit up, and she stepped forward with a smile:

"Sir, can I help you find something? Are you shopping for yourself or for a girlfriend?"

He glanced around the store, and his steps stopped at the bracelet section. He tapped the glass display case with his finger. "Show me this matching couple's bracelet."

The sales associate acknowledged and brought it out on a tray, smiling. "Sir, you have great taste. This diamond bracelet is from a lesser-known German brand."

Lu Hechi didn't catch what she said—his mind was full of how Shen Lanxue would look wearing the bracelet.

A black cord around his wrist, against his pale, cool-toned skin—cold and composed, with a hint of forbidden allure.

"I'll take these two. Wrap them up for me."

The sales associate lit up—she was a new intern and hadn't expected to make a sale on her first day.

After quickly wrapping them up, she handed them to Lu Hechi.

After swiping his card, Lu Hechi walked out of the store, fished out his phone to unlock it, and sent a message to Shen Lanxue.

"Bro, I've got a surprise for you when you get off work today!"

He was looking forward to Shen Lanxue's reaction when, at that moment, a surprised male voice came from behind him.

"Boss Lu, what are you doing here too?"