Chapter 2: Wife? Baby? Lan Xue?

Chapter 2: Wife? Baby? Lanxue?

Shen Lanxue's eyes shot up.

Little Star was on his tiptoes, gripping the bed's edge, staring at him with those big, dark, shiny eyes.

The room went dead quiet.

Sunlight poured through the window, washing the room in a soft golden haze.

"..." Lu Hechi asked, totally lost, "...Did I say something wrong?"

Lu Hechi's fingers dug into the sheets, wishing the floor would swallow him up.

He'd lost his memory, so he had no clue what he normally called the guy.

Had he gotten it wrong?

He tested the waters. "Wife? Baby? Lanxue?"

The calm Shen Lanxue had kept since walking into the room completely evaporated, leaving behind a rare look of genuine confusion.

"...What's wrong with you?"

It was the first time the guy had spoken, and his voice was just as crisp and clean as he looked.

Lu Hechi's ears went numb for a second.

Wait... did I marry this guy back then because of his voice?

...Not entirely impossible.

He cracked a joke in his head, then quickly snapped back to focus.

He'd woken up with huge gaps in his memory, like a guy sitting on a treasure but having lost the key.

He was anxious and rattled, his mind spinning with guesses.

Lu Hechi hesitated, then explained, "Sorry, when I woke up, I had amnesia. I can only remember stuff from before I turned eighteen."

"I don't remember how we fell in love or how we ended up with a kid, but—"

His dark eyes fixed on Shen Lanxue, and he said with utmost sincerity, "I swear, until my memories come back, I'll do everything I can to be a good husband."

At eighteen, your sense of responsibility is through the roof, and since they already had a son together, he couldn't just bail on everything just because he lost his memory.

Shen Lanxue sat there thinking in silence for a full minute.

Their eyes met.

Finally, Shen Lanxue lowered his gaze and said softly, "Okay."

Lu Hechi finally grinned, that burst of excitement rushing right back.

"What do I normally call you? Do you have any pics of us on your phone? How did we meet and end up together? Did I chase after you?"

Shen Lanxue didn't answer right away, pausing for a beat. "You usually call me by my name. As for photos together..."

His eyelashes trembled. "I'm not really into taking pictures, so we don't have many. Once you're out of the hospital, I'll go home and dig some up for you."

"We met at a bar three years ago and eloped a month later. Nobody chased anybody. Since you've lost your memory, if calling me something intimate feels weird, you can just call me 'bro' for now."

Lu Hechi blinked, stunned.

Bro?

Aren't they married? Why would he call him "bro"?

But then he thought about it—right now, with his memory gone, the guy was basically a stranger.

If he had to use some lovey-dovey term, there's no way he'd be able to say it.

"Bro" felt just right.

Once Lu Hechi figured that out, his heart went soft.

He realized the guy was looking out for him—so thoughtful, so considerate.

"Okay." Lu Hechi smiled, eyes crinkling. "Then I'll call you 'bro' for now."

He paused, then looked at Shen Lanxue and said, "Bro."

Shen Lanxue's lashes fluttered, and the tips of his ears turned red.

He dropped his gaze and let out a quiet "mm."

Lu Hechi couldn't help but lift an eyebrow.

"Bro, bro, bro, bro, bro."

He rattled it off over and over, only stopping once Shen Lanxue's whole face was flushed red.

That reaction was way too cute.

He was suddenly starting to get why he'd married Shen Lanxue.

Shen Lanxue, flustered by the teasing, turned his head away, exposing the back of his neck—pale and fair.

He quickly fished his phone out of his pocket, tapped the screen a few times, and shoved it in Lu Hechi's face.

Lu Hechi, still lying in bed, looked up at the wedding photo.

In the photo, they were both in suits, shoulders pressed together.

Shen Lanxue's black hair was perfectly styled, a faint smile in his eyes.

As for Lu Hechi himself...

He frowned at it for a long time before it hit him where that insufferable vibe was coming from.

In the photo, his chin was up, lips twisted into a cocky smirk—peak smug, arrogant energy.

Lu Hechi: "?"

Was I really that full of myself back then?

Still, staring at that photo, he finally felt something real about this whole marriage.

This is all real, not a dream.

"Daddy, I'm hungry."

Little Star suddenly spoke up, his right cheek pressed against the edge of the bed, his big, dark eyes darting around.

One moment looking at Shen Lanxue, the next at Lu Hechi.

Shen Lanxue's expression softened. He bent down, kissed Little Star on the left cheek, and ruffled his hair as he asked:

"Little Star, what do you want to eat?"

Little Star thought for a moment, then said in a babyish voice: "I want shrimp and potato pancakes!"

Shen Lanxue nodded.

Then he looked up at Lu Hechi, who was still in bed. "You need to focus on recovering. I'll grab you some plain congee, okay?"

Lu Hechi nodded eagerly, "Okay, bro."

"Little Star, you stay in the hospital room with your dad for now. I'm going out to get food and I'll be back soon."

Shen Lanxue instructed, "And Daddy's hand is injured, so don't mess around, got it?"

Little Star hopped off the bed, stood at attention like a soldier, four fingers together, and saluted Shen Lanxue.

"Sir, yes, sir! Little Star promises to get the job done!"

Shen Lanxue finished instructing the little one, then turned to the big one in bed.

"You too. If anything comes up, press the service bell by the bed and find a nurse. Don't try to handle it on your own, got it?"

Lu Hechi nodded, imitating Little Star.

"Sir, yes, sir! Lu Hechi promises to get the job done!"

Shen Lanxue couldn't help but smile at the two of them goofing off.

He didn't say anything more. He turned and left the hospital room.

"……"

Shen Lanxue took the elevator down, walked out of the hospital, and headed straight for the parking lot.

A black Bentley sat parked nearby.

He took out his keys and pressed a button. The door opened, and he bent down to grab a piece of paper from the center console.

It was the divorce agreement.

At the bottom, he had already signed his name.

Shen Lanxue looked down, staring at the paper for a few seconds.

The words "Divorce Agreement" on the paper seemed to glare in the sunlight.

He slowly folded it in half, pressed down firmly, and tore it apart.

The scraps of paper fell into his palm, light as air.

Shen Lanxue clenched his fist, knuckles white.

Finally, he tossed it into the nearest trash can.

His phone rang just then.

Shen Lanxue glanced at the screen and answered.

"Hello?"

Zhou Fang's voice came through, lazy and casual. He asked, "Did Lu Hechi sign the divorce agreement yet?"

Shen Lanxue paused for a second. "Don't bring up divorce in front of him anymore."

Zhou Fang was taken aback by what he said.

"What do you mean? Wasn't he the one throwing a fit, demanding a divorce?"

"He changed his mind?"

Shen Lanxue looked for a nearby restaurant as he explained, "He was in a car accident and lost his memory. Now he only remembers things from before he turned eighteen."

Zhou Fang was silent for two seconds, then his voice got serious. "Don't tell me you're getting soft again."

"So what if he lost his memory? He's going to get it back eventually, right? What happens when he remembers and starts demanding a divorce again?"

This time, Shen Lanxue stayed quiet for a long time.

At the intersection outside the hospital, traffic, honking, and footsteps all blended together.

Loud but hollow.

Just when Zhou Fang thought he wasn't going to answer,

Shen Lanxue finally spoke.

"……Zhou Fang, he said he'd fulfill his duty as a husband."

He paused, his voice barely a whisper, like he was talking to himself.

"I want to know what that feels like."