Chapter 23: Parent-Child Activity

Chapter 23: Parent-Child Event

Lu Hechi's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice came out raspy.

"...Brother, I'm gonna kiss you."

Shen Lanxue opened his eyes, watching the outline of his face come down, their breathing slowly tangling together.

Lu Hechi... Lu Hechi's first kiss landed on his cheek.

He only realized something was wrong after pressing his lips there.

"Brother, where's your mouth?"

Shen Lanxue: "..."

A rustling sound filled the air.

Lu Hechi just pressed his thumb against Shen Lanxue's lips and kissed him—this time he got the spot right.

But he was stumped. How the hell do you actually kiss?

He remembered watching TV dramas, those actors shooting kissing scenes.

One, two, three—turn left.

One, two, three—turn right.

Lu Hechi counted silently, nuzzling back and forth like a puppy, lips pressed together, clueless about how to move.

Lu Hechi suddenly got shy, his face turning red as he said, "Brother, I don't know how. Can you show me how to kiss?"

Shen Lanxue's initial embarrassment completely vanished—he felt like he was dealing with a clueless kid.

He let out a sigh and kissed him, using only his own limited theoretical knowledge.

When his lips were pried open, Lu Hechi's eyes went wide.

...So this is what kissing's like?

He used to look down on couples in love, thinking—what's so great about swapping spit?

But now that he got to experience it himself,

he realized how full of himself he'd been.

Lu Hechi was guided to slowly savor Shen Lanxue's lips, even picking up the technique and applying it elsewhere.

Shen Lanxue grabbed his hand as it crept under his clothes and turned his face away. "That's enough."

His chest heaved, all the oxygen in his lungs robbed by the man.

Lu Hechi's body was on fire, like he'd been slipped an aphrodisiac, but he could see Shen Lanxue had hit his limit.

He pulled back abruptly, struggling to tamp down the desire coursing through him, and finally got out of bed, switching on the bedside lamp as he headed to the bathroom.

Warm yellow light spilled out.

It lit up the messy bed—half the blanket draped over the edge, half piled on the carpet, even the gray sheets all wrinkled and rumpled.

Shen Lanxue caught his breath, raised a hand to touch his lips, and looked toward the bathroom with complicated eyes.

...

Chengde Kindergarten.

11 a.m., bright and sunny.

The parent-child event was in full swing, with the parents being big shots from politics and business.

Lu Hechi even spotted people he'd seen on TV all the time.

Their family of three, all gorgeous, wearing matching pure black skull tees, stood out in the crowd like a sight to behold.

Shen Lanxue stood under the sun with a blank face, radiating a "stay the hell away" vibe from head to toe.

"Brother, you really look good in this." Lu Hechi held his hand, trying not to laugh.

Shen Lanxue shot him a look.

Lu Hechi immediately shut up. "Brother, I'm not saying it, I'm not saying it."

After signing in at the entrance, they headed inside.

As the biggest private kindergarten in the northern district, the whole building was a fairytale castle.

Inside, there wasn't just a playground, zoo, and pool, but also a massive outdoor sports area.

They followed the class teacher inside.

The playground was already set up—colorful little flags spaced out, picnic mats spread on the grass, and craft paper, scissors, and glue laid out nearby.

The kids scattered as soon as they got in, running and jumping, the lawn instantly coming alive.

Shen Yixing dropped both their hands and ran toward the little blonde girl not far away.

Yelling as he ran, "Baby, wait for me!"

Lu Hechi watched him run off and couldn't help laughing. "Brother, look at our kid."

Shen Lanxue watched the little rascal too, the corner of his mouth twitching up slightly.

This was the first time since Shen Yixing was born that both of them had come to a school event together.

In the past, Lu Hechi would come too, but he'd always find ways to avoid being there at the same time as Shen Lanxue, or they'd just agree to take turns.

Shen Lanxue tilted his head slightly, glancing at the young man in the same outfit—sharp features, deep-set eyes, the black tee looking both cool and stylish on him.

Shen Lanxue could even see plenty of women's eyes fixed on him.

It wasn't about attraction—just that people's eyes couldn't help drifting toward someone blessed by heaven.

"Brother, what's up?"

Lu Hechi was super sensitive to Shen Lanxue's gaze now—he could react the second he was being watched.

He pressed his lips together, his dark eyes scanning the crowd.

Finally, he leaned in close to Shen Lanxue's ear. "Brother, you thinking about kissing again?"

He hadn't gotten his fill of kisses last night, and this morning Shen Yixing had been trailing right behind the two of them, so there was no chance to make up for it.

He was itching for more.

The young man had just gotten a taste, fidgety and distracted, his mind completely on that one thing.

Shen Lanxue could hardly say what he was feeling.

He opened his mouth. "No."

Lu Hechi kicked a small stone at his feet, a bit unwilling to let it go. "Bro, you really don't want to?"

Shen Lanxue saw someone coming and cut himself off. Once the person had walked by, he spoke. "We're at a kindergarten. Don't talk like that."

"Mr. Shen?" Suddenly, a portly middle-aged man in a suit came over.

He walked closer, took a clear look at Shen Lanxue's face, and his eyes, squeezed into slits, were practically gleaming.

"What a coincidence, Mr. Shen. I thought I was mistaken, but it really is you."

He introduced himself as Li, the boss of a building materials company, reaching out both hands to shake Shen Lanxue's.

Lu Hechi instinctively stepped up and intercepted his hand, giving it a quick two-second shake before letting go.

"And who's this?" Li looked at Shen Lanxue in surprise.

Shen Lanxue replied calmly, "My husband, Lu."

Li was clearly caught off guard for a second, then put his smile back on. "So you're the famous President Lu. I've heard a lot about you, but never had the chance to meet you."

Lu Hechi didn't know how to handle this type, so he just smiled and said nothing.

Li was clearly a natural at small talk, cheerfully asking about the child. When he heard the kid was three and in the junior class, he quickly asked which one.

Shen Lanxue said, "Class 6."

Li clapped his hands, his plump frame jiggling, clearly excited. "What a coincidence! My little rascal is actually in the same class as Mr. Shen's child."

He then got to chatting with Shen Lanxue about the kids.

They managed to chat back and forth.

Before long, he smoothly steered the topic toward company projects, mentioning that he happened to have a batch of goods in cooperation with the Shen Group.

Shen Lanxue nodded.

He planned to have Li Wenrui look into it later; if there were no issues, he wouldn't mind a long-term partnership.

Once he felt the conversation had gone on long enough, Li figured it was time to get his WeChat and make a smooth exit.

Just as he started to speak, the sound of an argument broke out not far away.