MSFLC 14

Today’s weather was a little better than the past few days, so lots of residents came out to stroll around the supermarket.

They ran into quite a few familiar faces along the way. Song Qinian and Chi Yueheng greeted them politely and pushed the cart forward.

Lu Zhishi sat in the carrier on Song Qinian’s chest. The position was high with a great view, so he was busy looking left and right, wanting to eat this, wanting to eat that. He didn’t even have teeth, yet he was tempted by everything.

Song Qinian sighed, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped his drool.
“Didn’t you just eat before we came?”

“Hmph-hmph~”

After telling the two adults, Lu Zhiyu grabbed Chi Chen and ran ahead, straight to the snack aisle.

Even though he was short and couldn’t see much, he still bounced around trying to grab chips.

Lu Zhiyu ran back tugging Song Qinian’s sleeve.
“Dad, Dad, I can’t reach!”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Song Qinian pushed the cart after him in small steps.

Chi Yueheng followed a little slower, laughing as he walked. He picked up his own short, sturdy son.

“Which one do you want? Daddy will get it for you.”

Chi Chen glanced around, then shook his head, voice flat.
“None.”

Chi Yueheng ruffled his hair, said a quick word to Song Qinian, and carried him down another aisle.

“Then how about looking at Rubik’s cubes? We’ll buy two here to play with, and later Daddy will have two customized ones made for you.”

A faint smile appeared on Chi Chen’s face. He hugged Chi Yueheng’s neck and nodded.
“Mm.”

Song Qinian ruffled Lu Zhiyu’s head and lifted him with one arm.

“What do you want? Daddy will buy it.”

Lu Zhiyu started tossing bags of chips into the cart.

“Cucumber flavor, tomato flavor, original, barbecue…”

Listening to the little guy mutter seriously while selecting chips, Song Qinian’s lips curved into a smile, and he even added a few extra bags himself.

Then a short, chubby hand reached out and pinched the corner of a tomato-flavored chips bag, tugging it into a small embrace. Once it was in his arms, the little one hugged it and refused to move, quiet as a tiny “chips-hugging charm” hanging there.

Song Qinian: “?”

Song Qinian: “You want it too?”

The little charm tightened his hug around the chips.

Song Qinian pinched the bridge of his nose helplessly.
“But you can’t eat it.”

Lu Zhishi played dumb, pretending he didn’t understand. He kept hugging the chips. When Song Qinian tried to take it back, the baby hummed in protest.

“Puh…”

‘I can’t eat it, can’t I at least hug it?’

Lu Zhiyu defended his little brother immediately.
“It’s fine! Little brother can’t eat it, I’ll eat it for him!”

Song Qinian finally relented.

“Fine, we can take it home. But you can’t keep hugging it, what if the package scratches your face?”

Lu Zhishi’s little brows knitted. He lowered his head pitifully, looking utterly wronged.

With a face so similar to Lu Ting’an’s, Song Qinian instantly softened. He patted the baby’s little curls.

“Alright, alright. If you like it, hug it. Just don’t scratch your face.”

He wiped Lu Zhishi’s eyes and nose with a handkerchief, exasperated.
“Little crybaby.”

Lu Zhishi, who hadn’t shed a single tear: “?”

Buying chips wasn’t enough, Lu Zhiyu then demanded jelly cups and candy too.
“Buy!”

Song Qinian raised a brow, helping load jelly and candy into the cart.
“Aren’t we here to buy New Year goods?”

Lu Zhiyu puffed out his chest.
“Jelly and candy are New Year goods too!”

Song Qinian laughed.
“Kids’ New Year goods, huh?”

Lu Zhiyu smiled shyly, his soft chubby cheeks turning a little red. He rubbed his head against Song Qinian’s.
“Dad… buy.”

Song Qinian’s “old father” heart melted completely.
“Buy, buy, buy. We’ll buy everything. As much as you want.”

The moment Lu Zhishi heard that, his eyes brightened too.
“Ang-woo~”

Song Qinian pinched his cheek.
“You’re buying too, huh? Two little spoiled sweet-talkers.”

They’d said they were shopping for New Year goods, but the cart was packed to the brim with snacks.

Chi Yueheng’s side didn’t buy much, some Rubik’s cubes and various fruits, yet even that filled half a cart.

They hadn’t really bought New Year goods, but seeing the three kids so happy… the outing was still worth it.

They ate lunch outside, authentic old hotpot in A City. As usual, Lu Zhishi sat to the side drooling, and whenever he got too tempted, he took two sips of milk.

Poor little thing.

Before they even got home, Lu Zhishi got sleepy and nodded off with his head tilted to the side. When he woke up, he was already lying on the big bed at home.

Outside the window, the sky was gray; light snow drifted down.

The blanket was warm, and his dad and brother were beside him. Lu Zhishi squinted, closed his eyes, and fell back asleep.

“Little chubby baby, wake up, time for a bath.”

A soft, gentle voice brushed his ears. Lu Zhishi didn’t open his eyes, just lifted an arm, wriggled on the bed to stretch, and hummed a few sleepy sounds.

Song Qinian looked at him with gentle, smiling eyes.

He really looked like a little cashew, chubby and round.

Song Qinian smoothed the baby’s tousled curls, carried him around the room for a bit, patted his back to help him wake up, and only then took him into the bathroom.

After rubbing his head and washing his hair, Lu Zhishi sank comfortably into the bathtub. He didn’t even want to get out once he was done.

“Ah-woo~”

Dinner was fragrant steamed egg custard, silky and smooth. Lu Zhishi’s appetite exploded. He ate a whole bowl of thick noodles and drank an entire bottle of milk.

In the end, he was so full he lay spread out on the bed, belly round and motionless, letting out tiny burps now and then.

Song Qinian massaged his stomach for ages before he felt better.
“Little glutton. Next time I’m not letting you eat that much.”

“Burrrp~” Lu Zhishi patted his belly, lowered his head, he knew he was wrong.

They’d bought a ton of snacks, but Song Qinian was strict. Lu Zhiyu only got one bag of chips and a few jelly cups.

The tomato-flavored chips Lu Zhishi had insisted on hugging were set aside by Song Qinian, he planned to show them to Lu Ting’an when he came back.

“We didn’t buy New Year goods at the supermarket today,” Song Qinian said. “Let’s pick what we want online instead, okay?”

He pulled both kids close and brought out a tablet so they could choose together.

“Okay!”
“Hao-ang~”

Smiling, Song Qinian opened the shopping pages and let them pick while he watched.

Since fireworks and firecrackers were banned in the city, they only bought pretty spring couplets and paper-cut window decorations, plus lots of little lanterns. Hanging them up would still feel festive.

New Year hadn’t arrived yet, but Lu Zhishi was already looking forward to it.

Days passed. As it got close to New Year’s Eve, Song Qinian hired cleaners to scrub the villa inside and out. Then he and the two kids pasted up the couplets and window cutouts and hung the lanterns.

“Crooked, crooked, Dad, a little more left.”

“Like this?”

“Still a bit crooked, just a tiny bit more.”

Let me see how crooked it is.

Lu Zhishi pressed his face against the floor-to-ceiling window, squishing his chubby cheeks into a pancake just to watch Song Qinian and Lu Zhiyu put up the decorations outside.

It wasn’t snowing, but the air was freezing. Song Qinian wouldn’t let him go out, so he could only watch from the window.

After finishing the outdoor couplets and cutouts, Song Qinian brushed the snow off Lu Zhiyu and warmed him up.

Then he went over and picked up Lu Zhishi, who had been staring longingly from the window, and carried him to hang lanterns.

Lu Zhishi was thrilled. His short chubby hands clung tightly as Song Qinian guided him to hook the lantern up.

He hung half, Lu Zhiyu hung half. With couplets and lanterns up, the house instantly felt like New Year.

Song Qinian recorded a short video for Lu Ting’an, then patted the kids’ hair.
“Dad Ting’an will be back the day after tomorrow. Are you happy?”

Lu Zhiyu lifted both hands, bright eyes full of anticipation and longing.
“Happy! I miss Little Dad!”

Lu Zhishi pressed his lips together, eyes shining. He missed Dad too, he hadn’t seen Lu Ting’an in three months, only video calls.

That night, full of anticipation, Lu Zhishi slept sweetly.

Lu Ting’an arrived in A City before dawn. Avoiding reporters, he got into a car and went straight home.

All his exhaustion seemed to vanish the moment he saw eight snowmen in their yard.

Lu Ting’an smiled. He told his assistant to go rest, then took out his phone and snapped a photo.

Six big snowmen, one small, and one mini, each with a scarf and hat. One glance and you could tell who was who.

At 3:43 a.m., the famous Best Actor, who hadn’t posted in ages, suddenly uploaded a photo with a caption:

【Photo】: Six big, one small, one mini.

Within a minute it shot up the trending list. Likes and reposts broke ten thousand instantly, comments flooding in.

【You finally posted, gege. When’s the next update?】
Lu Ting’an replied: 【New Year’s Eve. Happy New Year in advance.】

【Wife wife wife wife wife…】

【Husband husband husband husband husband…】

【Gege, post more selfies pls~ hsss】

【Post more of your chubby Xiao Yu and chubby Zhishi too!! Want to see!!】

【Happiness again, gege ^V^】
…

Lu Ting’an replied to a few top comments, put down his phone, showered and changed in the first-floor guest room, then quietly went upstairs.

A small nightlight glowed in the bedroom. His tall lover lay on his side, still asleep. Beside him were two little cubs, snoring softly.

Lu Ting’an’s eyes softened. He walked over, tucked the babies in, and pulled the fat little feet back under the blanket.

Lu Zhishi scrunched his chubby face, pulled his foot in, wriggled a bit, rolled onto his side with his little belly sticking out… and kept sleeping.

Next to him, Lu Zhiyu, half-asleep, instinctively reached out to hug his brother, patted his back gently, and fell back asleep.

Lu Ting’an sat by the bed, heart melting into a puddle. He leaned down and kissed both their foreheads, very, very softly.

“Gege?” Song Qinian sat up, newly awake, voice still hoarse.

“Mm. Did I wake you?”

Lu Ting’an stood. Song Qinian wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed his forehead to Lu Ting’an’s stomach.

“Gege…”

“Mm.” Lu Ting’an rubbed his ear, the other hand stroking the back of Song Qinian’s head.

Song Qinian lifted his face, peach-blossom eyes staring at him without blinking. He grabbed Lu Ting’an’s wrist and pulled him down.

“Gege, I missed you. I missed you so, so much…”

“I missed you too, Qinian…”

Lu Zhishi blinked sleepily, like he’d just dreamed of his Dad Ting’an.

Still drowsy, he closed his eyes… and drifted back to sleep.