“Brother~” The little one opened his arms wide. Shen Lin, who was closer, lifted him out of the car.
“What’s this?” Su Youli sat on Second Brother’s lap, pointing at the stack of papers in Shen Minyan’s hands.
“Youyou, are you hungry?” Shen Yan smiled, trying to change the subject.
The little one touched his tummy. He didn’t seem hungry, so he shook his head at his eldest brother. “Youyou’s not hungry.”
Shen Minyan, sitting on the other side, looked grave, his gaze fixed on the documents.
After Shen Lin took Youyou away to play, Shen Minyan placed the documents on the table, his tone still brooking no argument. “I still disagree.”
Shen Yan was silent for a moment. He didn’t really want to argue with Shen Minyan. He didn’t want to do this kids’ variety show for the money. Since Shen Minyan and Chu Ying divorced three years ago, Shen Yan had never really seen things from his father’s perspective. Both he and Shen Lin favored their mother. Toward their father, who worked all year round and rarely spent quality time with them, they felt indifferent, even resentful.
But during this time since moving back, Shen Yan had seen a different side of his father. He never forced Youyou to call him ‘Father.’ Knowing that Youyou was a bit afraid of him, he always kept a safe distance. Shen Yan remembered one time when Shen Minyan clearly wanted very much to hold Youyou. He rubbed his hands against his legs again and again, but still didn’t reach out to take the child.
He had arranged for Youyou’s two adoptive fathers to go abroad for treatment, quietly doing many things behind the scenes. Maybe he had really changed. He was trying to be a good father.
Shen Yan sighed. “Dad, I know you’re still haunted by what happened back then. But Youyou is back, isn’t he?”
Shen Minyan clenched his hand into a fist, coughing heavily against it. His expression was complex, a stiffness that came from having his thoughts seen through by his son.
“Dad, I won’t let anyone hurt Youyou or Mom again. You have my word.”
Shen Yan, usually cool and aloof on screen, now set aside his pride in front of his stern but soft-hearted father. He crouched in front of Shen Minyan, placing his hands on his father’s knees. Shen Minyan felt the warmth on his knees and stiffened. They remained locked in a stalemate for a long time. Shen Yan’s legs were going numb from crouching. Seeing his father unmoved, his body began to tremble, and he nearly collapsed to the side.
In the end, Shen Minyan’s heart softened at the sight of his son. He reached out and pulled Shen Yan up. “Your physique is terrible. You almost passed out from crouching for a moment. You have no stamina.”
After Shen Yan’s feigned weakness, Shen Minyan’s hardened heart had been largely swayed.
“We can hire more bodyguards. The show will be broadcast live, so we don’t have to worry about malicious editing.”
Shen Minyan looked at him coldly. “If Youyou doesn’t want to, forget it.”
Although Youyou was very well-behaved, he was timid around strangers. What if he felt wronged on the show… Shen Minyan pressed his hand to his forehead. Youyou had gone through something terrible back then. If not for Su Siwen and Qin Kun, the consequences would have been unimaginable. He absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen again.
Shen Yan understood his father’s stubbornness. When Youyou was stolen back then, his father had traveled to countless places, his hair turning significantly grayer in less than a month. But you couldn’t live in the past forever. You couldn’t stop eating for fear of choking. Since returning to Beicheng, Youyou had been confined by Shen Minyan to the villa complex. The only two times he had left were to go to the airport. The two of them left the choice to a three-year-old who didn’t even know what filming a variety show meant. Su Youli looked at his eldest brother with his big eyes, then at his father.
“Youyou wants to go on an adventure! Complete missions!” The little one’s eyes sparkled. He wanted to be a little adventurer and complete tasks!
“There will be many uncles and aunties with cameras filming Youyou. Will you be scared?”
Shen Yan patiently explained to the little one what a variety show was. Su Youli was very scared, but… being a little adventurer was every child’s dream.
The little one shrank into Tang Dou’s arms. “Brother will come with Youyou.”
Pretty clever. If he’s scared, he knows to ask for company.
Tang Dou patted his head. “Which brother does Youyou want to accompany him on the adventure?”
Su Youli thought about it carefully, mimicking a cartoon character by putting his little hand under his chin, then announced loudly, “I want Yang Yang gege to come~”
Tang Dou and Shen Yan exchanged confused glances.
Shen Lin explained, “He’s Youyou’s little friend from Nancheng. A chubby kid.”
Su Youli corrected him. “Yang Yang gege is not chubby.”
“Okay, okay, not, not, not. But Yang Yang is in Nancheng. He can’t come with you.”
Yang Yang gege wouldn’t work. His daddies had gone for treatment.
Su Youli clutched Tang Dou’s sleeve, tilting his face up, pleading. “I want Brother Xiao Tang.”
Both older brothers’ hearts broke. Losing to Youyou’s little friend was one thing, but being ranked behind Tang Dou was another.
Tang Dou smiled, pleased with the little one’s answer. He booped his little nose. “No matter where Youyou goes, I’ll be by your side.”
Su Youli hugged Tang Dou’s arm. “Mm, mm, mm.” Brother Xiao Tang is the best.
The decision to participate in the kids’ show was made. That very day, Shen Minyan sent out most of the household’s bodyguards, instructing them to coordinate with the production team to ensure Youyou’s safety at all costs. That night, Shen Lin finally secured the spot to sleep with Youyou. At nine o’clock, he followed the little one’s bedtime and went to sleep with him. In the third-floor study, the cool moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting a beam across the large black wooden desk.
“Since we’re taking Youyou on the show, we’ll use this opportunity to announce his identity to the public.”
Three years ago, Shen Yan hadn’t turned twenty yet. Shen Minyan wouldn’t have discussed such matters with him. Now, Shen Yan had grown up. Shen Minyan decided to tell him some things.
“Back then, all the hospital’s surveillance footage was destroyed. The people behind it were very professional.”
To recover the footage, Shen Minyan had even enlisted the help of the police, calling in favors from several high-ranking friends to have the nation’s top technicians work on it. The recovery was extremely difficult, and the person who took the child had still not been found. If even his father couldn’t find them, Shen Yan couldn’t imagine how powerful their background must be. He grew restless, repeatedly glancing at his father’s stern face, which looked like that of a judgmental deity in its seriousness.
“If you have something to say, say it!” Shen Minyan snapped.
“…Could it be that you, in the past, offended some powerful person?”
The Shen family did have many rivals in business, but none would go so far as to kidnap a child for revenge. Receiving a negative answer, Shen Yan sighed.
“I’ll be with Youyou, so you don’t have to worry. Tang Dou will be there too.”
Hearing the name of the nanny Xiao Tang, Shen Minyan finally felt reassured. At worst, he would invest more sponsorship money in the show to ensure they turned a blind eye. Without Xiao Tang’s help, bathing the little one would be a major problem.
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