SFBF CH58

After casually answering President Gu’s question, Shen Qing snapped back to reality and suddenly smelled the premium woody fragrance on Gu Huaiyu’s body.

He realized they were very close, embracing each other.
Shen Qing’s face was almost buried in Gu Huaiyu’s shoulder.

And it was also at this moment that Shen Qing remembered they were in a washroom…
Embracing?
??

At such close proximity, he could feel the other’s breathing, and even the beating of the heart in the other’s chest.
…Aside from that morning previously, he had never been this close to Gu Huaiyu.

And after realizing this, Shen Qing also felt slightly out of breath.

—He could probably somewhat understand Duoduo and Aozai’s mentality of always feeling too embarrassed to get close to their big dad.

It was as if an existence that was originally aloof, situated high up in the cold clouds, fundamentally transcending ordinary human beings, was suddenly so close to you, and even casually touching and embracing you…
Uh.
It would give people a feeling of being overwhelmed by an unexpected favor, making them not know what to do.

Shen Qing subconsciously shifted, but didn’t dare to let go of Gu Huaiyu.
He was afraid that the big boss would fall the moment he let go.
Even though the other party was standing straight at the moment, seemingly without any difficulty standing…

Alright, alright, I know you’re very tall!
In terms of posture, is it really necessary to be this upright every single moment?

Hearing Shen Qing mention gravity, Gu Huaiyu furrowed his brows slightly and asked, “What gravity?”

“…Nothing.”
Shen Qing: “Just meaning that you’re tall.”
“…”

Shen Qing: “In this case, at least Duoduo and Aozai probably really won’t be too short when they grow up.”

Gu Huaiyu: “…You’re still worried about this?”

Shen Qing: “Of course, after all, they’re both little beans right now… By the way, big boss, didn’t you need to use the toilet? Can you still hold it?”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Shen Qing didn’t let go, but this time it was Gu Huaiyu who actively let go of him.

Supporting himself on Shen Qing’s shoulder with one hand, he grasped the handrail beside him with the other, completely letting go of Shen Qing.

Gu Huaiyu said: “You can go out now.”

Shen Qing: “?”
Why could he go out now?

“Big boss, can you manage on your own again?”
Gu Huaiyu: “…Get out.”
Shen Qing: “…”

Out I go then, what’s with the fierceness?
Much of the time, Shen Qing had no idea what the other party was thinking.
Clearly, this time was no exception.

Leaving the washroom and stepping outside, the waiter who had lingered at the door to wait for him told Shen Qing: “Those two gentlemen took the two young masters out just now. Hearing that you two came in here, they went to the children’s play area on the other side.”

“Okay.”
With Tian Yi and Li Hong following the cubs, Shen Qing felt quite reassured.

Another feature of this restaurant was that it had a separate and massive children’s play area. Inside, there were many play facilities that children loved, such as small slides and a toy castle. They were all open for free and managed by dedicated service staff.
Parents who brought their kids to dine could be temporarily liberated, which was indeed a huge selling point.

Shen Qing planned to go over there and find the cubs after President Gu came out.

“Has your husband not come out yet?”
Seeing only Shen Qing come out alone, the waiter grew curious again.

In a situation where one party was taking care of the other with limited mobility, how come the one with normal mobility came out first? What exactly were they taking care of?

Shen Qing also found it baffling.
Just now, it was clearly the big boss who actively asked him to help, and then kicked him out later…
But he didn’t know how to explain this to the waiter either, so he just said: “Yeah, he can manage on his own.”

“You two must be very deeply in love,” the waiter, who was enthusiastically shipping the couple in his mind, immediately said—originally he could have managed on his own, but still wanted the other to accompany him, just to spend a little more time together or something.

Big boss, don’t love too hard!

“Ha.”
Hearing this, Shen Qing laughed—he and Gu Huaiyu, deeply in love? …
Shen Qing himself almost forgot that his relationship with the big boss was one tied by a marriage certificate…

Shen Qing smiled again: “You could tell we’re a couple?”

“Of course!” the waiter thought, just based on the way the big boss looks at you, how could you not be a couple!
Besides, you already have kids together, why are you still asking me this question!?

But out of worldly wisdom when chatting with a guest, he still said: “Though I really didn’t see that the two of you were already married at first. After all, you both feel very young; I only knew after hearing the young masters call you ‘Dad’.”

Shen Qing nodded continuously as he listened—that made sense too.
He and Gu Huaiyu were already raising two cubs together, who wouldn’t know they were a couple.

At this time, Gu Huaiyu, who seemed to have finished his business, came out.

Skillfully maneuvering the wheelchair, Gu Huaiyu came directly between Shen Qing and the waiter, his voice cold: “Let’s go.”

“Okay.”
Shen Qing naturally followed, suddenly calling out: “Hubby~”

Gu Huaiyu: “?”
He whipped his head around to look at him.

It was nothing, Shen Qing just remembered that if he didn’t call him that anymore, he would really start defaulting to treating himself and the big boss as good bros!

Facing the big boss’s scrutinizing gaze, Shen Qing was already used to it. He immediately said with a face full of smiles: “The cubs are in the play area, do you want to come take a look with me, Hubby?”

Gu Huaiyu: …
Eyes full of suspicion, his expression darkened slightly.

A moment later, he tacitly accepted the youth’s form of address. Gu Huaiyu nodded: “Mm.”

Perhaps to ensure a quiet dining atmosphere, the children’s play area was a bit far from where they were dining.

The play area was surrounded by soundproof glass. By the time Shen Qing and the others arrived, they realized this place was really unusually large—after all, it contained a children’s slide and an inflatable bouncy castle. Outside, there were also areas for children to go “fishing” and play with sand, as well as a whole row of small electric kiddie rides.
Basically, anything babies could or loved to play with was here.

It could be said that the merchants really knew how to do business.

Since it was dinner time, there were quite a few children in the play area.
Looking from a distance, there were many figures of children running around inside the glass, with adults following behind them.

When Shen Qing and Gu Huaiyu arrived at the periphery, they hadn’t expected to be able to spot Duoduo and Aozai right away.
They directly looked for the relatively tall Li Hong and Tian Yi.

When they finally spotted those two in the far distance, Shen Qing felt something was wrong… Why did the two cubs they were looking after seem to be talking with other children?

…Rather than talking, it looked more like they were arguing.
A child opposite them suddenly gave Gu Duo a shove!

Both Shen Qing and Gu Huaiyu had good eyesight, and both noticed this almost simultaneously. They couldn’t help but exchange a glance, then rushed over there with tacit understanding.

Parents with children nearby heard the commotion and knew kids were fighting. They all held onto their own cubs to avoid getting involved and accidentally injured.
Children who were playing happily also stopped, being held by their parents, looking over there in confusion.

But nobody left; there were many people watching the drama.

When Shen Qing finally managed to get close, the two pushing and shoving groups had already been separated by Tian Yi. Now, Li Hong was protecting their two cubs, while Tian Yi was holding back the few kids opposite them.

The children on the other side seemed to be slightly older than Gu Duo, three of them in total. However, there were no parents around.

Shen Qing had seen clearly on his way over that it was those kids who struck first.
One of the kids shoved Gu Duo very unexpectedly. Afterward, Aozai, who was beside Duoduo, wasn’t having it. He charged forward directly like a little cannonball and knocked down the person who pushed his brother.

The boy, who looked about the same age as Duoduo, was knocked onto his butt and was stunned on the spot. The kids around him all went to help him up.
The floor here was covered in soft plastic flooring, so judging by the kid’s appearance, his butt probably didn’t hurt from the fall.

But his stomach must have hurt quite a bit from being headbutted by Aozai. Most importantly, he lost face, which made him instantly furious. He didn’t cry, but immediately ordered the other two kids to hit Aozai.

Gu Duo could originally tolerate it, but he couldn’t allow anyone to hurt his brother, so the two sides directly got into a dispute like this.

When kids fight, it’s very difficult for adults to intervene. You can’t let the other side hurt your child, but hurting the other side is no good either.
Therefore, the tactic Tian Yi adopted was to promptly pull the people on both sides apart.

Li Hong, on the other hand, immediately pulled Duoduo and Aozai far away, not letting the two of them be touched.

By the time Shen Qing was halfway there, things had already evolved into: those kids, who had been separated by Tian Yi and couldn’t advance a single step, went completely mad with anger. They punched and kicked at Tian Yi, but Tian Yi didn’t yield. They were small and few in number, and fundamentally couldn’t bypass the professionally trained Tian Yi.

Among them, the kid who pushed Duoduo first was swearing: “Do you know who I am?! Get out of my way right now, or watch out, I’ll have my dad kill you!”

“Gu Duo! You motherless, fatherless bastard, what are you being so arrogant for?! Who gave you the confidence to act tough in front of me?! Ahhh! Come out here right now and fight me to the death!”

He was shouting so loudly that Shen Qing heard it from far away.
But because of the echoes around and the crying of other children, he didn’t hear it clearly at first.

When he ran closer and heard it clearly, Shen Qing immediately shouted loudly: “Shut up!”

As he shouted, he exerted more force and directly dashed to the front.
Seeing that the kid who was swearing the loudest was about to bite someone because he really couldn’t bypass Tian Yi, Shen Qing went straight over. Without standing on ceremony, he grabbed the kid by the back collar, yanked him back two steps, and then tossed him aside.

Initially, Shen Qing had thought about controlling his temper and strength, intending to just lightly toss him aside to avoid causing the other party any serious injury.

But as soon as he grabbed this kid, he realized he had overthought it.
…Even though this child only reached his ribs in height…
He was fat.

Like a little meaty block, it was already a miracle that Shen Qing could yank him at all.
Sure enough, one shouldn’t overestimate oneself too much.

Shen Qing admitted that he had indeed been somewhat slack with his fitness recently.
Day in and day out, all he did was play games.

Despite this sadness, Shen Qing still couldn’t hide his anger, glaring furiously at the kid he had tossed aside: “Little fatty, what the hell are you saying?!”

The little fatty hadn’t expected another adult to pop out to protect Gu Duo. The original two adults had already driven him crazy enough. Now that he had been thrown to the ground, he simply stopped trying to get up. He just sat on the ground, kicking and screaming: “This is mutiny! How dare you hit me! Dad, I want my dad! I’m going to tell my dad you hit me!”

Of the two boys accompanying the little fatty, one had a similar build to him, both being short and chubby. The other was tall and thin, the tallest child among them.
But it could be seen that both of their statuses seemed inferior to that of the little fatty.

The little fatty was the fiercest troublemaker.
The little fatty even hit and scolded the two of them—he directly pushed away the tall and thin kid who came over to help him up, knocking him onto his butt too, and said indignantly: “Why aren’t you going to get my dad?! Tell my dad to teach them a lesson, they all have to die!”

The tall and thin child who got pushed down didn’t even dare to talk back. He got up and ran, probably going to “call for backup”.

After ordering the tall and thin one to go get backup, that domineering little fatty turned his head to look at Shen Qing.
His eyes actually weren’t small, but because of the excess flesh on his face, they were squeezed into slits.

Right now, those eyes held a resentment that simply shouldn’t belong to a child of this age. His mouth repeatedly muttered things like ‘if you dare mess with me, you’re finished’.

Shen Qing hadn’t expected this kid to have such heavy hostility.
He still remembered what this kid had called Duoduo just now.

He originally had no feelings towards kids, and hated bratty kids. Now, Shen Qing always showed zero tolerance towards uncultured kids like this.
His voice was clear, loud, and distinct: “They didn’t hit you; you were the one who hit and bit people first. Everyone here can testify to that.”

“So why are you swearing and hitting people? And what did you just call Gu Duo? Get up right now and apologize to him!”

Among the onlookers nearby, some couldn’t help but nod in agreement long ago. After all, the hostility shown by that little fatty was truly intense, and he really was the one who started swearing and got physical first. Many people had seen it.

Compared to the little fatty glaring fiercely and grunting like a cow, the two children opposite him, protected by adults, were a hundred times better just in terms of appearance and demeanor!

While the little fatty cursed continuously, the two cubs opposite him were practically the model of good upbringing and good quality.
—After being pulled away by the adults, the older child stood steadily from beginning to end, his expression unchanging, just looking at those troublemaking kids opposite him with a serious and gloomy face.
He said nothing, yet there was an air of intimidation.

And the younger one surprisingly wasn’t frightened into crying and fussing either. He even allowed himself to be carried obediently all along, without struggling.
This little cub just kept looking at the opposite side with his eyes. His big, round eyes were filled with childlike innocence and blatant dissatisfaction. Occasionally, he would argue back with the continuously cursing little fatty. Sometimes he’d spout a foreign language, and other times he’d speak slow but clearly articulated Chinese.

For instance, when that troublemaking little fatty said his brother was detestable, the fair and tender cub held in the adult’s arms would say: “My brother, is not detestable at all!”

For instance, when that little fatty said they had no dad and no mom.
The fair, tender, chubby cub: “Who said dat, we have big dad!”

…It was just that his pronunciation was too slow and a bit non-standard, fundamentally unable to keep up with the speed of the other side’s insults.

Moreover, that little fatty, maddened with anger, wasn’t listening to him at all.
—That little fatty was clearly not a reasonable child.

Seeing that the fair and tender cub actually dared to “talk back” to him, he kept spouting those words: “You’re finished”, “Do you know who I am?”, “I’ll have my dad kill you”.

As he repeatedly cursed like this, the fair and tender cub, tightly protected by the adults, stopped speaking, merely glaring at the opposite little fatty with big, round eyes.

Everyone assumed the fair and tender cub was frightened.
It already made people’s hearts ache terribly.

Now, seeing another young man appear and completely take control of the situation, the little fatty’s gang finally stopped screaming about hitting people. The discussions among the bystanders became clearer:
“Yeah, whose kid is this, so impolite? And why are there no adults watching them?”
“Why are kids nowadays so terrifying? He looks like he’s only in elementary school, why is he always talking about death?”
“I was scared myself, look at the look in that kid’s eyes… Thankfully the two kids opposite have adults with them, otherwise being so small and skinny, they’d definitely be at a disadvantage.”
“Whose kid is it, do the adults not care at all? What a lack of manners! Screaming in a public place!”

Originally, the little fatty Lu Xinghao hadn’t paid any attention to the people around him. He kept cursing verbally, but in reality, he was emboldening himself, single-mindedly thinking about waiting for his “reinforcements” to arrive.

He firmly believed that as long as his dad arrived, Gu Duo, including those adults protecting him, would really be dead.
Scare them all to death!

But as more and more people around began criticizing him, even with his thick skin, he was ultimately only eight years old, and he couldn’t quite bear it anymore.
He only felt his cheeks burning intensely, and his heart felt guilty.

But his mouth still let out “muffled” cries, as if he was incredibly angry but couldn’t retort.

As for his remaining accomplice, the little little fatty, he had long been so scared he shrank to his side and started crying directly.

Annoyed by his accomplice’s howling, Lu Xinghao shoved the little little fatty next to him and shouted loudly: “What the heck are you afraid of! When my dad comes later, they’ll all have to d!…”

Before he could fully finish his sentence, Lu Xinghao, for some reason even unknown to himself, cut off his voice.

—A fourth adult had appeared on the opposite side.

Lu Xinghao was glanced at by that person. With just one glance, his voice felt as if it got stuck.

Gu Huaiyu maneuvered his wheelchair to come close, his gaze sweeping down, directly giving the little fatty on the ground a cold look.

The surroundings seemed to suddenly quiet down.
The people discussing subconsciously lowered their voices, and that little fatty who had been constantly cursing seemed to have finally lost his strength, not daring to curse anymore.

Gu Huaiyu’s gaze swept across the circle of people around, and he asked coldly: “What happened?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was extremely influential.

He merely took one look at that little fatty, then turned back to look over Duoduo and Aozai, checking their state, as well as Shen Qing’s.

Shen Qing had only arrived slightly earlier than Gu Huaiyu and didn’t know what had happened either.
But he had indeed clashed with that foul-mouthed kid.
The other party still hadn’t apologized yet!

“His mouth isn’t clean, and he shoved Duoduo first.” President Gu had also seen the part about pushing Duoduo, so Shen Qing felt he didn’t need to describe it again.
As for how the fight started and who this kid was, they still had to ask Tian Yi and the others.

“This, we don’t know who he is either. At first, he said he was Young Master Duoduo’s classmate,” Li Hong began to narrate.
Now that President Gu and Madam were here, he set Young Master Ao down.

Once his feet touched the ground, Aozai automatically went looking for his brother. The two brothers hugged together, just like before.

Shen Qing was stung by this posture of the two brothers—when he first transmigrated over, Duoduo and Aozai had also been hugging together like this.
At that time, the original host was fighting with them, and they had also been pushed down and injured. Then the two cubs hugged together like this, warming each other.

Shen Qing hated bratty kids, but his heart would ache for well-behaved, obedient, and pitiful kids. Duoduo and Aozai obviously fell into the latter category.
He hurried over to comfort the two cubs.

Gu Duo couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Lu Xinghao on the opposite side anymore. Now that the adults were here, knowing he and his brother were safe, he began to focus on comforting Aozai.

Because Aozai generally wouldn’t cry. When he was scared or had little emotions, he would just hide in his brother’s arms. Sometimes his little face would puff up, looking incredibly aggrieved, but he just wouldn’t cry.

When Shen Qing went over now, what he saw was Aozai still keeping his big eyes wide open, forcibly holding it in. His eyes were watery, but he just didn’t cry out, his little expression incredibly stubborn.

Beside Aozai, Duoduo kept holding his brother firmly. He spoke in a low voice, using a hoarse tone that almost didn’t fit a young child: “It’s brother’s fault, I dragged you down.”

But Aozai shook his head, pointed a finger at the little fatty opposite, and said in a sharp, crisp voice: “He is bad, he bwullied bwother!”

Seeing Shen Qing come over, Aozai never lowered his raised little arm: “He, bullied brother!”

“Mm-hmm, Dad saw it all, it was him who bullied brother.” Shen Qing went over and simply wrapped his arms around both cubs, hugging them firmly together.

They were both tiny, bean-sized kids, soft and tender, carrying a milky scent on them.
It wasn’t strenuous for Shen Qing to encircle them at the same time.

He subconsciously lowered his head, pressing his face against the tops of Duoduo and Aozai’s heads, and then nuzzled the cubs’ chubby cheeks with his face.
Shen Qing said: “Aozai, don’t be afraid. No one can bully brother. Duoduo did great too. He didn’t manage to hit you, right?”

Gu Duo shook his head, his thin back standing ramrod straight, looking somewhat stubborn.
Gu Ao’s long eyelashes, however, were stained with quite a few water droplets. He blinked his eyes, the bean-sized teardrops moistening the corners of his eyes, but Aozai didn’t want to cry anymore now.

He also didn’t mind his little dad using his face to rub him this time. As soon as Shen Qing hugged him, he naturally leaned into Shen Qing’s embrace. His little body went limp, seemingly tired.

Only his little hands were still clinging to his brother. Aozai secretly complained to Shen Qing: “That bad guy said he wants to kill us… Does kill mean to die? Are Aozai and brother going to die?”

“Of course not.”
Hugging the two cubs, Shen Qing rubbed his chin against Duoduo’s head again. Gu Duo remained silent and didn’t move.
Aozai, leaning in Shen Qing’s arms, kept his little head tilted up, looking at Shen Qing and whispering secrets to his little dad in a low voice.

Meanwhile, Li Hong had finished describing the general course of events.

The process was that they had originally brought the young masters here to play, and they were playing quite happily. Suddenly, that little fatty opposite brought two people over looking for Young Master Duo, and could even directly call out Young Master Duo’s name.
Then, Young Master Duo clearly didn’t want to pay attention to these three people. He only said a few words before pulling Aozai to another area.

But that little fatty wouldn’t let it go, bringing his people over to follow them, and then an argument broke out.
To be precise, the little fatty started unilaterally throwing vicious words.

In this situation, Li Hong and Tian Yi couldn’t just ignore it. But there were no adults around that little fatty, and it seemed no one could control him either. Tian Yi had no choice but to be a bit fierce with him, telling him he wasn’t allowed to speak to Young Master Duo like that.

Unexpectedly, the little fatty got angry at this, directly mocking Young Master Duo: “Just a guy with no dad and no mom, do you really think you’re a young master?”

But perhaps Gu Duo had long recognized the fact that they had no dad and no mom, or perhaps his inner strength was greater than kids his age.
Even being yelled at like this, he could remain calm.
Calm emotionally, but he wouldn’t let himself suffer a loss.

Gu Duo said: “Having no dad and no mom is better than having a dad and a mom but nobody paying attention to you… Are you pestering me because you’re jealous of me? You must feel very bitter inside.”

When Gu Duo calmly finished saying these things, the little fatty got angry.
Gu Duo had remained composed throughout, making the little fatty opposite feel like he was a clown.

But he truly only knew how to get angry. When he got angry, his mind went blank, entirely unsure of how to retort. In the end, he could only rage: “Keep giving me that stinking face, and watch out, I’ll have Gu Hao beat you to death later!”

Accompanying the explosive roar with his hands, he gave Gu Duo a shove. Then Aozai, who had been standing to the side all along, wouldn’t have it, knocking the little fatty down, and the two sides started pushing and shoving like this.

Shen Qing understood the sequence of events.
And Gu Hao was the child of Gu Duo’s eldest uncle, and also the oldest among the third generation of the Gu family.
In the past, when Duoduo and Aozai were at the Gu family mansion, they had always been bullied by others, led by that ten-year-old Gu Hao.

And for this little fatty to so blatantly provoke Duoduo, find Duoduo displeasing to the eye, and even know that Duoduo and his brother were orphans, it probably had something to do with that Gu Hao.

…Birds of a feather really do flock together.
That Gu Hao usually led the way in bullying his younger cousins, so this little fatty who had a good relationship with him wasn’t any good either.

But what surprised Shen Qing was that although Gu Duo usually didn’t speak much, when he really argued, he could hit the nail on the head—what’s the use of the little fatty having a good family background? Being so young yet having such a violent temper, talking about death all the time, he clearly wasn’t a child raised in a normal, loving family.

“How long have you known him? Has he always been provoking you?” Shen Qing asked Duoduo.
There was no blame in his tone, only a desire to understand the situation.

Although it seemed only Aozai was frightened, and Duoduo had been guiltily comforting his brother all along, Shen Qing hadn’t forgotten that little Duoduo was also just a child.

Maintaining his posture of holding the two cubs in his arms, Shen Qing couldn’t resist kissing Gu Duo’s cheek again. His voice was uncharacteristically deep, yet held extreme gentleness: “Tell little dad, did they bully you in the past too, hmm?”

Gu Duo: “…”

From the moment Shen Qing kissed his cheek, Gu Duo froze completely.
Not to mention the other party had deliberately lowered his voice, speaking very softly, using such a serious and solemn, yet patient tone…
It was as if he was earnestly treating a fragile treasure.

…

In this instant, Gu Duo, who originally didn’t feel he had been hurt and was only worried about his brother being traumatized, suddenly felt his eyes sting.

Gu Duo quickly adjusted his posture, changing to face Shen Qing’s shoulder directly.
The fresh, pleasant scent of strawberries drilled straight into his nasal cavity. Gu Duo didn’t dare to speak, afraid that he would start crying the moment he made a sound.

He just quietly buried his head in Shen Qing’s shoulder.
Shen Qing raised his hand, gently patting his back.

Knowing this cub had suffered a lot of grievances, too many, to the point where the cub himself didn’t remember them all, Shen Qing’s heart also ached.
But he also knew Duoduo always demanded himself to be strong and wouldn’t cry.

He just patted the cub’s back. At this time, Gu Huaiyu also came over, raised his hand, and gently stroked the young cub’s head.

Gu Duo felt it, and was startled again.

Beside them, Shen Qing and Gu Huaiyu exchanged a glance. He placed Duoduo and Aozai next to Gu Huaiyu, then slowly stood up himself, hands on his hips. Then he said in a very loud voice: “Who says they have no dad and no mom? Am I not their dad?”

He said this very loudly. The little fatty opposite was clearly stunned by his words: “Dad? …You’re Gu Duo’s dad?”

He was still wondering, when did Gu Duo get a dad? …

Then he heard the young man wearing a baseball cap opposite him directly admit: “That’s right, I am Gu Duo’s dad. Who are you, and why are you bullying my Duoduo? Wait, where are your parents? I don’t talk to bratty kids, get your parents here to talk to me.”

“I am Lu Xinghao!”

The little fatty opposite clearly couldn’t tolerate being ignored either. With an expression of ‘you actually don’t even know me’, he also put his hands on his hips and said: “Saying it out loud will scare you to death, my dad is Lu Jing!”

“Who is Lu Jing?” Shen Qing asked Gu Huaiyu beside him.

When he turned his head, he saw President Gu was standing sideways, holding Aozai’s small palm with one hand, while his other hand rested on Duoduo’s shoulder, talking to him in a low voice.

…
The scene was actually quite loving.

Gu Duo still had his head down, but was listening very seriously, occasionally tightening his little face and nodding.
Aozai was mostly fine now. He wasn’t afraid, angry, or confused anymore. His small hand was completely held by his big dad, and he was also listening seriously beside them with a solemn face.

Seeing President Gu able to talk to the cubs so calmly, with the one adult and two kids interacting naturally, Shen Qing knew without listening that Gu Huaiyu was instructing the cubs, which was why he could talk so incessantly.

…In fact, President Gu was indeed telling Duoduo what to do if he encountered a similar situation in the future.

Now hearing Shen Qing’s question, the one adult and two kids all reacted and looked at him simultaneously.

Shen Qing: “…You guys carry on.”

Actually, without saying it, he could roughly guess who Lu Jing was. —In the original novel, the top protagonist Lu Jingyi was the real young master of the Lu family who had been switched at birth.
Since this little fatty knew Gu Hao, it meant his family had at least some background. Therefore, his dad Lu Jing was very likely from that Lu family.

The Lu family, which the top protagonist later completely controlled, becoming the number one family in the entire book…
That Lu Jing wouldn’t melodramatically happen to be the fake young master who was switched with Lu Jingyi, would he? …
Shen Qing suddenly let his imagination run wild.

But then he felt it wasn’t right. Lu Jingyi should be about the same age as President Gu, so that fake young master would be twenty-six or twenty-seven at most this year. He couldn’t possibly have a kid this big already…

Just as Shen Qing denied his own thought, Li Hong beside him had already actively answered: “The Lu family has a total of three sons and four daughters in this generation. Lu Jing is the eldest young master of the Lu family. …Ahem, but the eldest young master Lu has only been married for a little over five years, and I heard his child is only three years old this year. If it’s this one, then he… grew up way too fast, didn’t he?”

Li Hong pretended to say the latter part cryptically, but actually didn’t lower his volume.
Upon hearing this, the quick-witted people in the surroundings immediately revealed expressions of eating melons. Some looked excited, while others looked secretive.

Because really, this was a massive piece of gossip!

The Lu family had made its fortune in the coal mining business in its early years, and could be considered famous in Hua City.
Many among the onlookers knew of the Lu family, and also knew of the eldest young master, Lu Jing.
But not everyone knew that Lu Jing’s child was only three years old this year.

Now, hearing someone say it, everyone suddenly realized: This kid looked to be at least seven or eight years old, and he kept claiming his dad was Lu Jing, but Lu Jing’s child was only three…

This was delicate.
Either this kid was lying.
Or else…

“An illegitimate child?” someone in the crowd immediately started whispering.

“Only three years old?”
Hearing this, Shen Qing looked directly at the little fatty opposite: “The Lu family’s young master is only three years old… Are you sure Lu Jing is your dad?”

Lu Xinghao: “…”

Upon hearing this, the little fatty became violent again.
To the point of wishing he could run wild right then and there.

But this time, rarely, he didn’t yell or scream, but merely let out that “muffled” cow-like sound again. His eyes, nearly squeezed shut by the fat on his face, also stared dead at Shen Qing.

Shen Qing directly ignored Lu Xinghao’s furious appearance.
He wouldn’t poke at someone’s sore spots, unless that person was asking for it.
Even if the other party was just a child, it was clear from his appearance that this wasn’t his first time bullying Duoduo. He absolutely could not tolerate this.

Shen Qing deliberately said loudly: “So you’re lying? Your dad isn’t Lu Jing at all? Or perhaps you don’t even have a dad, and that’s why you bullied our Duoduo out of jealousy? …It’s bad enough you were impolite and bullied my cub, why are you still lying.”

“Who’s lying! I do have a dad!”
Lu Xinghao finally couldn’t take it anymore, instantly exploding into a roar: “My dad is exactly…”

Before he could say exactly what, the parent on the little fatty’s side finally arrived.
But the person who came wasn’t his dad.
It was a man in his thirties, wearing a suit and tie, with glasses, and looking somewhat shifty-eyed.

This person directly interrupted what Lu Xinghao was about to say, calling out to him: “Young Master Hao!”
Then he jogged over to the little fatty’s side.

He was followed by a young man, also wearing a suit, and holding a briefcase in his hand.
Beside them was the little fatty’s friend, that thin and tall kid.
He followed running over, pointed at Tian Yi and Li Hong, and then pointed at Shen Qing: “It’s them who bullied Lu Xinghao!”

Hearing that their young master had been bullied, the shifty-eyed man in the suit didn’t offer much comfort. He just ran to the little fatty’s side, pressed down on the little fatty’s shoulders, and whispered: “Young Master Hao, you mustn’t speak carelessly here, have you forgotten?”

The little fatty, who had been very arrogant just now, suddenly fell silent, and his eyes even showed some guilt.
But quickly, he raised his voice again in dissatisfaction: “Where’s my dad? Why didn’t my dad come over?!”

“Your dad is talking to some important big shots right now, it’s not like you don’t know that. How come you got bullied just after coming out to play for a little while? …Here, hearing that someone was bullying you, Lu… your dad immediately sent me over to check on it,” the suited man said softly.

Reminded by the bespectacled suited man, the little fatty finally remembered who the “enemies” were, and couldn’t help pointing the spearhead and anger at the opposite side again: “They ganged up to bully me, tell me what to do!”

The suited man stood up directly, looked at Shen Qing and the others opposite, adjusted his glasses, and stepped forward: “Excuse me sir, there are many people here, may I ask if we can talk privately?”

Shen Qing also sized him up, answering directly: “No.”

The bespectacled suited man: “…”

Shen Qing: “Your child cursed my baby first, and also pushed my baby. I demand he apologize to my baby right now, right here, immediately.”

Upon hearing this, the suited man sneered. Without arguing about who bullied who, he directly raised his hand towards the young suited man following him.
The other party handed the briefcase over to him.

The suited man said to Shen Qing: “How about this, you directly say how much compensation you want, and I’ll compensate you on behalf of our young master.”
Saying that, he directly zipped open the briefcase in his hand.

Shen Qing did him the honor of taking a look inside, and saw a layer of red bills.

“But sorry, our family isn’t short of money either. Your child frightened my baby, and an apology for this is mandatory. Oh right, he also injured our assistant. The examination and medical fees are what you should be compensating.”

“Don’t blow things out of proportion.”
The bespectacled man immediately dropped his face: “Do you know who this child’s father is?”

“Ah, speaking of which, we were just discussing this.”
Shen Qing revealed an expression identical to the surrounding melon-eating crowd: “This little fatty said his dad is Lu Jing, but isn’t Lu Jing’s legitimate child only three years old? Then who is he? And you, you are Lu Jing’s subordinate?”

“You!…” The bespectacled man hadn’t expected Young Master Hao to have already blurted out who his dad was, and looked at Shen Qing with even more astonishment: “How dare you directly call President Lu by his name!”
And even dare to publicly mention the matter of the legitimate child!

He felt this young man wasn’t afraid of President Lu, and didn’t seem to be acting. He couldn’t help but feel a bit hesitant.
But on the way here, he had heard the tall and thin child explain the situation, saying that the ones fighting with Young Master Hao were two kids from the Gu family with no status, named Gu Duo and Gu Ao.

As for the Gu family’s young masters, the suited man had only ever heard of Gu Hao and Gu Ming.
He had never heard of any Gu Duo or Gu Ao.
Moreover, Young Master Hao played well with Young Master Gu Hao, so he was even clearer on the Gu family’s affairs, and he figured he couldn’t be wrong…

Thinking of this, the bespectacled man concluded that this family could only be a side branch of the Gu family, and the youth in front of him was just bluffing. So he threatened again: “I advise you not to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. President Gu Huairong of your Gu family is good brothers with our President Lu. If you keep relentlessly pestering, later on I’ll make sure your whole family suffers the consequences!”

Shen Qing: “…”

Now I finally know how bratty kids are created.
Perhaps not every child is 100% an angel when they are born.
But behind every bratty kid, there’s definitely a group of bratty parents with twisted values, that’s for sure.

Seeing the little fatty beside the suited man acting bossy again, and even smugly wiggling his body at him…
The completely uncute kind. Shen Qing…
Chose to directly take out his phone.

“Don’t say so much useless stuff, do you not understand my words?”
He said: “I want that little fatty to apologize to my babies right now, right here, immediately, otherwise I’ll call the police.”

Speaking up to here, he smiled, a deliberately shown mischievous smile, his lips red and teeth white: “Have Lu Jing, or Madam Lu, go to the police station to pick up this little fatty!”

“You dare!” The suited man also knew that calling the police would blow the matter up.
Although Young Master Hao was just a child, hitting and cursing people, ultimately nothing would happen to him.
But if they really had to go to the station to pick him up, then President Lu would be finished!

The suited man expressed that he had a huge headache.
He was nothing more than a cousin of Young Master Hao’s mother.
He had only been following President Lu for a short time.
Furthermore, President Lu had a child born to Madam Lu at home, already three years old, and supposedly bright and clever.

Over the past two years, President Lu had been paying less and less attention to Little Hao and his mother, and was even more resistant to him, the cousin-uncle of this Young Master Hao.
President Lu originally thought he was sent by Little Hao’s mother, his mistress, to spy on him, and had only given him a job as an ordinary clerk in the company.

If today wasn’t one of the two days a month that Young Master Hao could see President Lu, and he didn’t happen to have business to report to President Lu, he wouldn’t even be here.
And Young Master Hao’s wish was for his dad to accompany him, and treat his little friends to a meal here.

But unexpectedly, Young Master Hao’s wish was only half-fulfilled—halfway through, they actually ran into a major client who had also brought kids to eat at this restaurant. President Lu immediately began entertaining the other party, having no time to care for Young Master Hao. Young Master Hao then brought his little friends out to play in a fit of pique.
And then this thin boy ran back, saying someone was bullying Young Master Hao.

And President Lu was still chatting with the major client right now, unable to step away, or rather, fundamentally not wanting to care.
So wasn’t that why he sent him here.

The suited man was okay at doing business, but truly wasn’t adept at handling these issues.
Hearing Shen Qing say he was going to call the police, he panicked, but with so many people watching nearby, plus surveillance cameras, he couldn’t say any more excessive words.

After thinking about it, it was best to take this family to a place with no people, settling it privately would be best.
The suited man shot a look at the young suited man behind him, wanting him to go call people.

But the young suited man had just received the instruction and hadn’t even had time to move, when suddenly several tall, robust men in suits swarmed over, passing right through them, running to the opposite side, and then uniformly stood in front of them blocking the way.

“President Gu, Madam.”

The suited man: ???

He looked to the opposite side in shock. Someone who could hire so many bodyguards all at once…
Was it President Gu, or Madam?
Wait, what President Gu?

The Gu family was, after all, an illustrious prominent family in Hua City; just hearing the surname made one have to take it seriously.
But wasn’t this kid called Gu Duo? Then it was normal for his parent to be surnamed Gu.
Originally he shouldn’t have been too nervous.
It’s just, why were there so many bodyguards…

The suited man’s brain was a bit scrambled. His gaze shifted to the side, and only then did he discover that because the youth in front of him had been constantly arguing with Young Master Hao just now, to the point where he had been negotiating with this child’s parent all along, he hadn’t even taken a single look at that child named Gu Duo…
Now looking in the direction of the two children, not looking didn’t matter, but once he looked he was startled… He saw that beside the two little boys, there was also an adult sitting in a wheelchair.

Wheel, chair?!
The suited man had followed President Lu for over two years, and had also heard that the Gu family had a person who absolutely could not be provoked… It was said he hadn’t gone out for years, and used a wheelchair.

The suited man: ???

He wiped the sweat off his face directly, subconsciously crying out: “P-President Gu?!”

The little fatty beside him, seeing so many tall, strong bodyguards all at once, all standing with their backs to Gu Duo and facing him, each one looking ferocious, was also a bit stunned.

Upon hearing the suited man’s hoarse, fear-filled cry, Lu Xinghao couldn’t help but look again at Gu Duo, who was protected by so many people.
Before his younger brother was born, he had also been very favored by his dad, which was how he came to know Gu Hao.
But even beside Gu Hao, having witnessed Gu Hao fight with others, he had never seen such a huge formation.

At this time, having finished speaking with Duoduo and Aozai, Gu Huaiyu finally slowly raised his eyes.

Shen Qing turned back to look over.
He hadn’t paid attention to what President Gu said to the cubs just now either. He only knew that right now, the teardrops on Aozai’s eyelashes had completely disappeared, returning to his happy, carefree appearance. When he was happy, he even leaned on his big dad’s legs a bit, reverting to being a happy cub.

Regarding Aozai’s actions, Gu Huaiyu wasn’t angry and didn’t move.
He only raised his hand to adjust Duoduo’s hairstyle again, and finally said a very brief sentence. Shen Qing saw Duoduo nod slowly.
When he looked up again, this cub’s eyes had recovered their past composure.
Seeming even more determined.

Afterward, Gu Huaiyu finally looked sideways at that shifty-eyed suited man.
And it was only just one look.

He was consistently a man of few words, and originally, not just anyone could speak with him. To the crowd, he only said one sentence: “Tell your President Lu to come see me right now.”

“D-Don’t do that, President Gu…”
The suited man was so nervous his eyes were staring straight. His knees went soft, almost kneeling down to the people opposite: “It was me who had eyes but couldn’t recognize Mount Tai, I hadn’t heard of the young masters…”

“You hadn’t heard of Gu Duo and Gu Ao?” Shen Qing once again raised his voice to interrupt him.
“…Then you better remember it from now on.”

Setting aside the fact that Duoduo and Aozai were now cubs with a dad backing them up, thinking about the blood and chaos Duoduo and Aozai would stir up in Hua City in the future… honestly, the Lu family without Lu Jingyi’s protagonist halo fundamentally wouldn’t be enough to look at in front of these two brothers.

Although Shen Qing felt that kind of blood and chaos shouldn’t happen under his wise guidance.
It didn’t mean that Duozai and Aozai didn’t have the skills and ability to stir up trouble.

So Shen Qing sincerely advised the bespectacled man, as well as the little fatty beside him: “You must remember them. Because regarding these two, neither of you can afford to offend them.”

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