8 Parents

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Lu Mi couldn’t quite recall when he had fallen asleep. When he woke up, he was almost rolling off the sofa, and the bedroom was filled with an annoying ringing sound. It was the phone on the bedside table. After hesitating for a moment, Lu Mi got up and answered the call.

“Hello, Mr. Lu Mi, dinner is ready. Are you available to come down now?” The voice on the other end was that of a middle-aged woman. This must be the internal line at the Shen family’s residence.

Lu Mi was momentarily stunned before he realized who it was. Before he could respond, the woman quickly added, probably fearing he would decline, “Mr. Shen instructed that your three meals a day must be served on time from now on.”

“I’ll come down now,” Lu Mi said, with no intention of refusing. Even if she hadn’t said it, he would have known this was Shen Tan’s arrangement. Besides, he was indeed hungry.

Lu Mi put on a jacket, and as he closed the wardrobe, his gaze lingered on the overcoat Shen Tan had hung on his side. He untied the already loose tie from his wrist and tied it around the right sleeve of that coat, making a very neat bow.

When Lu Mi reached the dining room, the table was already laid out with many dishes—common home-cooked meals, but in quite a variety.

“I wasn’t sure of your tastes, so I made extra in hopes you’ll find something you like,” Aunt Wang said kindly, smiling at the young man before her.

The young man wore a large sweater jacket over simple cotton pajamas. He looked slender and pale, giving off a fragile impression, yet he was undeniably handsome.

No wonder Mr. Shen brought him home to care for him.

Hearing this, Lu Mi looked up at the middle-aged woman standing beside the dining table. Seeing her warm smile, Lu Mi blinked and softly replied, “Thank you.”

He had barely interacted with women of this age before, so he felt somewhat awkward, but it was much easier than facing Shen Tan.

Moreover, he didn’t see any hint of scrutiny in her eyes. Unlike whenever he met his stepmother, who always looked at him with disdain and suspicion.

Lu Mi knew why: she was afraid Lu Nande might hand over money to him—even though Lu Nande would never do that.

After a brief pause, Lu Mi lowered his head and then glanced sideways at Aunt Wang, pressing his lips slightly, “...Thank you for the slippers.”

He was wearing a pair of soft, plush slippers that felt like stepping onto a bedroom carpet.

“Slippers?” Aunt Wang asked, a bit puzzled.

“The pair by the bedroom door,” Lu Mi explained.

When he came out of the bedroom, he saw the slippers by the door and instinctively thought Aunt Wang had placed them there. Judging by her reaction, it couldn’t have been Shen Tan.

Could Shen Tan have come back after leaving the bedroom?

Aunt Wang understood and chuckled, shaking her head, “Those were prepared by Mr. Shen. The second floor is a private area. We only go up during scheduled cleaning times. Otherwise, we need Mr. Shen’s and your permission.”

Lu Mi was stunned for a few seconds. “...My permission?”

Aunt Wang smiled more brightly, “Yes, Mr. Shen said you’re the second master of this house.”

The second master?

Lu Mi paused with his spoon in hand, then lowered his eyes.

But that was only a fleeting fancy.

Shen Tan wouldn’t treat him like this forever.

Shen Tan sat in the corner of the dining room opposite a woman with short hair, who was appraising him from head to toe. “You look like you just came from a lover’s embrace. No wonder I waited for you two hours here.”

Although Shen Tan wore his usual suit, today he looked less meticulous.

He wasn’t wearing a tie.

This was unlike Shen Tan, who was always impeccably dressed, wearing an expression as if everyone owed him millions.

“This has nothing to do with the business we’re here to discuss,” Shen Tan said, expression unchanged.

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Chen Xiu shrugged indifferently, but before she could say anything, Shen Tan took a sip of water and remarked casually, “Though I did just rush over from home.”

Coming from Shen Tan, it sounded no different from saying, “I just came from a lover’s embrace.”

Chen Xiu was silent for a moment. “My brother said you’re experiencing love for the first time. I told him, at your age, what first love is there?”

Chen Xiu was Chen Sheng’s elder sister.

Shen Tan lowered his head, flipping through documents without replying.

“When do we get to meet them?” Chen Xiu was curious. She wanted to know who could make someone like Shen Tan feel young at heart.

Shen Tan didn’t answer but instead turned to the page he was looking for and handed it to Chen Xiu. “I heard you invested in an esports club five years ago.”

The file showed that the club Chen Xiu invested in had since failed.

“What’s the matter? Is the Shen family finally entering the esports industry? Competition here has been fierce these past years. That’s not your style—you want to be the industry leader. Money can’t buy real champions,” Chen Xiu said, glancing at the glaring entry showing her team’s last-place finish in a recent tournament. It was obvious Shen Tan had deliberately flipped to that page.

Shen Tan was twisted to the core.

Whoever caught his attention was unlucky.

“Just looking casually. This isn’t the business we’re discussing today, but I will invite you to the wedding,” Shen Tan said calmly, even when mentioning the wedding.

Chen Xiu was speechless.

After a moment’s silence, she said, “A wedding? You’re getting married? My brother said that boy is only nineteen. Don’t you think you’re a bit old?”

And for someone like Shen Tan to marry? No one would believe it if it got out.

People like them mostly ended up in arranged marriages, with little genuine feeling. After the alliance, it was normal for each to live separately.

Although no elder dared to control Shen Tan, Chen Xiu had never seen him involved with anyone in all these years.

Suddenly talking about marriage sounded like a whim.

But Shen Tan wasn’t the type to act on whims; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone so long without a serious relationship.

Chen Xiu had only been teasing but now genuinely wanted to meet the boy.

“Good thing it’s not Chen Sheng inheriting your family fortune; otherwise, the Chen family would have been taken over already,” Shen Tan said, pushing another document to Chen Xiu.

“Two months ago, Lu’s company collaborated on a project with one of your subsidiaries.”

Chen Xiu was speechless, forced to give up gossiping for now. “I remember that project—it failed and lost quite a bit.”

“I need you to restart the project and continue cooperating with Lu’s company. I will cover your losses—of course, the bigger the loss, the better,” Shen Tan’s expression grew colder under the light.

Chen Xiu said, “I remember those losses were enough to make Lu’s company struggle financially. If you want to acquire it, you could strike directly now. Why would you be interested in such a small company?”

Shen Tan lifted his eyelids and glanced at Chen Xiu faintly. “Besides that, there’s a plot of land you wanted before.”

Chen Xiu fell silent, knowing she wouldn’t get anything further from Shen Tan.

He looked down at his phone, fingers moving as he typed, then asked, “I recall you have a clothing mall nearby?”

Chen Xiu’s intuition sensed trouble. “Why? Aren’t your clothes all custom-made?”

After a pause, she sighed, “The sky is falling.”

Shen Tan was actually going to personally pick out clothes for someone.

Without a word, Shen Tan sent the message and stood up.

Chen Xiu glared at her busy younger brother at the restaurant front desk, then resignedly followed Shen Tan.

It was obvious why Shen Tan came to her instead of Chen Sheng.

With Chen Sheng’s fashion sense, Shen Tan would surely mock him mercilessly.

Soon after dinner, Lu Mi’s phone buzzed beside him. He glanced at it—undoubtedly a message from Shen Tan.

For some reason, Lu Mi thought of the scent of women’s perfume on Shen Tan and the call Shen Tan had taken before leaving.

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Lu Mi lowered his eyes and opened the message.

Shen Tan: “Forgot to tell you, the computer room is opposite the bedroom. The bedroom has a security lock. Lights out at ten.”

The last sentence sounded like something a parent would say.

Though Lu Mi had never had such rules growing up.

Lu Mi pressed his lips, then turned to Aunt Wang, who was tidying up. After hesitating, he asked, “Aunt Wang, what time does Mr. Shen usually come back?”

He no longer believed Shen Tan’s claim that he wouldn’t return tonight.

According to Shen Tan’s usual arrival time, when Zhou Feng said Shen Tan wouldn’t be back tonight, Shen Tan was already nearly landing.

Every time he met Shen Tan, he had to prepare himself mentally.

Lu Mi couldn’t help but touch his lips.

Aunt Wang replied, “Sir rarely comes back. He usually stays at the company or is out of town. If he does come back, it’s before dark. He won’t be back today.”

Lu Mi blinked and relaxed, but didn’t reply to Shen Tan’s message.

He usually streamed until eleven or twelve at night, sometimes later when he had no classes the next day. Contracted streamers have minimum streaming hour requirements, and since he mainly streamed at night, he had to stream late to meet the quota.

But he didn’t know how to bring this up with Shen Tan.

Upstairs, Lu Mi didn’t return to the bedroom but went straight to the computer room.

The computer room was simply decorated, with soft carpeting like the bedroom. It had two computers and gaming chairs. Against the wall was a large shelf displaying gaming merchandise from his favorite games.

There was a figurine of the hero “The Wildman” that Lu Mi played.

He remembered this merchandise was already out of print and extremely expensive.

Shen Tan actually collected such things.

Did he like games too?

But he didn’t seem like that kind of person, nor did he have the time.

Lu Mi walked around the room, pondered for a moment, and took several photos of the computer room, especially the Wildman figurine on the shelf.

Opening the chat with Shen Tan, Lu Mi realized they were using SMS, which couldn’t send pictures.

Shen Tan probably used WeChat, right?

But maybe Shen Tan wouldn’t want to add him.

Exchanging WeChat felt like moving from their current kind of relationship to a more ordinary “friends first” relationship.

He could only give up sending the photos.

Building up his courage, Lu Mi replied, “I really like the computer room. Thank you, Mr. Shen.”

He tried to keep his tone as natural as possible, but he had never communicated like this before. Even with Lu Nande, he only made straightforward requests—in fact, only once, for a computer, and failed.

Shen Tan might be busy and didn’t reply.

“I can sleep at midnight? Otherwise, I won’t meet my streaming hours.”

Lu Mi deleted the message he was about to send, feeling a bit discouraged.

He didn’t dare ask.

He wasn’t entitled to make demands of Shen Tan.

He sat down in the gaming chair and turned on the computer. Within seconds, his phone rang.

It was a call from Shen Tan.