Chapter 7

Children’s emotions can be very volatile.

Upon hearing that Lu Yan had gone bankrupt and was in debt, the little one was already distressed enough. As she cried, she thought about her own situation after time-traveling, and a wave of sorrow washed over her, making her even more upset.

Lu Yan had never dealt with such a young girl before and found himself both amused and helpless.  

During the day, You You had seemed like an outgoing, cheerful child, but he hadn’t expected her crying to be so heartbreaking.  

Lu Yan gently patted the little bundle’s trembling back with his large hand. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. How could I ever sell you? That’s something that will never happen. Don’t worry, leave the grown-up matters to the grown-ups. Let me take you home first, okay?”  

Zhao Cheng, standing nearby, was utterly baffled.  

It was *them* who had gone bankrupt, yet *they* weren’t the ones crying—instead, this little milk bun was wailing away.  

Still, the kid was just too adorable.  

Her pitiful expression made the evil Master beside her want to ruffle her a little, just to make her cry even louder.  

Zhao Cheng had to exert all his self-control to suppress the urge to pinch the little bun’s cheeks…  

Under Lu Yan’s soothing, You You gradually calmed down.  

But she spent the whole evening pouting, her little face clouded with worry.  

Lu Yan coaxed the little bun into changing into the newly bought little shark onesie pajamas.  

He picked up the blue shark-clad bundle and pointed at the mirror. “Look, You You, now you and your best friend Dudu have matching pajamas. Can you cheer up a little?”  

Perhaps because this style had gone out of fashion six years later, this was You You’s first time wearing animal-themed onesies.  

She stared at herself in the mirror for a long time, admiring the outfit, before finally giggling and planting several big kisses on Dudu.  

“Dudu and I are twins now!”  

Lu Yan watched her, warmth gradually filling his eyes, his lips curving into a smile he didn’t even realize was there.  

…  

That night, Lu Yan handed You You a tablet to play with while he worked overtime.  

The startup he had poured almost everything into had collapsed overnight.  

To say he was in a good mood would be a lie.  

There were too many pressing issues at hand—the eight million owed to the bank, the monthly rent and utilities for the office, employee salaries, the wages of factory workers… So many places urgently needed money.  

In the past, if a project he had worked hard on for over half a year fell through,  

even if he wasn’t completely despairing, he would have been plunged into deep doubt, questioning whether he was truly going against the tide of the times, whether his product concept was simply too ahead of its time.  

But tonight, for some reason, Lu Yan only felt the fatigue of a long day’s work—none of the usual confusion.  

He vaguely sensed that this had something to do with the little bun sitting not far away, hugging Dudu while watching cartoons.  

It was as if her presence had subtly influenced him in some way.  

He closed his laptop and rubbed his sore neck.  

He had dealt with all the problems he could for now—the rest were temporarily unsolvable.  

That was enough for tonight. Time to clock out.  

His shoulders ached, and he should have just collapsed onto the bed to rest, but as if guided by some unseen force, he picked up the black-screened smartwatch that wouldn’t turn on again.  

Grabbing his tools, he pried open the back cover and carefully examined the chip inside—something he hadn’t had time to study in detail that morning…  

The more he looked, the deeper his frown became. Unable to resist, he called over You You, who was engrossed in watching *Peppa Pig*.  

“You You, can you tell me what the main functions of this watch are?”

You You rolled her eyes, using her kindergarten-level eloquence to describe as best she could: “You can go online, watch cartoons, buy things and pay for them, um… and also make phone calls. Usually when You You makes a call, Daddy or Mommy or big brothers would whoosh and appear right in front of You You!”

Lu Yan was utterly confused: “Do you mean teleportation or instant travel through space?”

You You shook her little head. She had seen a sci-fi movie her second brother made in the future about time travel and teleportation, but the era she lived in was far from having such advanced technology.

“It’s not teleportation. It’s a kind of… a kind of phone call that’s even better than video calls. It’s like the real person is there…”

You You struggled to explain, but her limited vocabulary as a child made it difficult. She forgot some of the key terms, and it took some time before Lu Yan finally understood.

He couldn’t help being shocked: “Are you talking about holographic calls? Where you live, have holographic 3D calls become commonplace?”

You You nodded, then shook her head: “Kind of common, but not completely common.”

Lu Yan was amused by her adorable explanation.

Maintaining his composure, he continued examining these extremely tiny chips.

The more he studied them, the more his imagination ran wild.

After asking You You a few more questions,

Lu Yan began to lean toward believing that this little girl truly lived in a slightly more advanced era than the present.

Although this really defied scientific common sense.

But wasn’t science all about exploring the unknown?

…

Lu Yan was utterly fascinated by this watch. Even after You You had fallen asleep hugging Dudu in the small bed of the rental apartment, he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

It wasn’t until dawn was breaking that he collapsed onto the desk in exhaustion. Half-asleep, a memory from many years ago suddenly surfaced in his mind.

That must have been… seven years ago.

Seven years ago, he was 13, and his younger brother Lu Fei was only 11.

By then, their parents had already been separated for three years. For those three years, they could only see their mother through video calls.

Being independent, introspective, and mature for his age, he had quickly accepted the reality that his parents wouldn’t continue living together.

But Xiao Fei, with his more stubborn personality, had kept hoping their mother would come home.

That day was Lu Fei’s 11th birthday. Their mother had called as usual, wishing him a happy birthday and good health through the video screen. She had sent gifts too—the Lego sets Lu Fei loved most at the time—but Lu Fei was still very unhappy.

The eleven-year-old boy mustered his courage to ask if their mother could come back to celebrate his birthday.

All he got in return was silence.

After the video call ended, Lu Fei burst into loud sobs.

Lu Yan knew his brother missed their mother terribly.

But at just thirteen years old, there was nothing he could do.

He comforted his brother for a long time—so long that his own eyes grew red.

He told his brother: “Xiao Fei, technology is advancing very quickly. In the future, video calls will be just like seeing the real person. Even if Mom is in Country Y, we’ll be able to see her.”

The eleven-year-old Lu Fei was still just a silly little boy. Hearing this from his brother, he sniffled and quickly believed it.

“Then I hope technology advances even faster!”

“Yeah.” Lu Yan thought to himself—even if no scientists were working on this technology, he would study it when he grew up. He would make happen what he had promised his brother.

That seemed to be the last time the two brothers cried in their memories.

Later, they entered adolescence and quickly grew up.

What Lu Fei didn’t know was that ever since his eleventh birthday night, his older brother Lu Yan had been persistently sketching design blueprints.

Starting with holographic phones, he later thought it would be more convenient if they could be made into watches, suitable for the elderly and children.

He had filled over two hundred pages with his designs.

He even considered incorporating DNA chip technology to create children’s watches, encoding each child’s unique DNA into a string of data locked within the watch. With this information-based positioning system, children would never go missing.

The reason he added this feature was because, even as a child, he vaguely understood why their parents had separated.

Although their mother had fallen ill after giving birth to their youngest brother, the atmosphere at home had been tense for years before she left.

But if their youngest brother hadn’t nearly… when he was two years old…

Their mother’s condition might not have worsened so drastically.

Holographic calls, DNA positioning systems…

These became the foundation of his smartwatch blueprint.

If this design could be realized, family members separated by oceans could see each other anytime, and no child would ever go missing again.

The next morning, Lu Yan sent the charging cradle design he had drawn overnight to the factory, asking the manager to attempt prototype production.

While holographic calls and DNA positioning technology were still far beyond his current capabilities, producing a compatible charging cradle shouldn’t be too difficult.

You You slept soundly in her little bed until past nine in the morning, when she woke up from the heat.

She opened her eyes, rubbed them with her tiny hands, wrinkled her little nose, and noticed the air was stifling hot, with mosquitoes buzzing around.

Seeing Lu Yan asleep at his desk, You You climbed down from bed herself and toddled off to find the air conditioner remote. After locating it, she pressed the buttons several times, but nothing happened.

Staring blankly at the yellowed old air conditioner, she helplessly spread her small hands and muttered worriedly, “Big brother just went bankrupt, and now the air conditioner is broken too. This is really adding insult to injury for our poor family.”

Before long, Lu Yan also woke up from the heat.

Still groggy, he nearly forgot there was now a child in his room.

Once fully awake, he quickly got up, stretched his stiff back from sleeping at the desk, and went to pour water for the little one.

You You gulped down a large cup of warm water before feeling like her little life had been restored.

Seeing her flushed cheeks from the heat and her soft hair sticking to her sweaty face and neck, Lu Yan’s heart ached. “The power’s out. Why didn’t you wake me?” he asked.

The little one replied in her childish voice, “You You saw big brother sleeping so soundly!”

Lu Yan checked online and confirmed the electricity bill hadn’t been paid. While rent in the urban village was cheap, the electricity rates were high, calculated as commercial use. He remembered paying it not long ago.

He topped up the electricity bill and turned the air conditioner back on.

The slightly aged unit rumbled to life—

You You’s big eyes sparkled with joy at the air conditioner: “Yay! So the air conditioner isn’t broken after all!”

Lu Yan carried the little one to the bathroom, wrung out a cool towel, and gently wiped her hands and face, noticing a light rash of heat bumps had appeared on her neck.

For the first time, the twenty-year-old young man truly understood the challenges of raising a child.

A child’s skin is so delicate—in such sweltering heat, it’s prone to rashes that turn red in large patches at the slightest scratch.

He helped You You dry her hair, his mind preoccupied with the thought that this couldn’t go on.  

Although he still had some money left, he needed to pay the workers soon.  

This tiny, run-down fifty-square-meter place was fine for him to live in alone, but You You was a little girl—she shouldn’t have to suffer like this.  

After much deliberation, there was only one solution.  

…  

In the afternoon, Lu Yan boarded the subway to Lu Fei’s place, carrying shopping bags from yesterday in his left hand and holding the little dumpling in his right.  

This time, he had learned his lesson. To avoid unnecessary attention, he wore a mask and dressed You You as plainly as possible.  

Still, a few young girls couldn’t resist approaching You You to chat, and some even tried to ask him for his WeChat…  

As they exited the station, You You spotted the same advertisement that hadn’t been taken down yet.  

She pointed at Lu Fei on the poster with her tiny finger. “Big brother, look! It’s Second Brother’s concert poster!”  

Lu Yan nodded.  

Unable to resist, You You proudly recounted her clever adventure to him.  

When Lu Yan heard how she had painstakingly tracked down the concert backstage using that poster, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of fear.  

At the same time, he found himself believing her time-travel story just a little more.  

When the siblings—one tall, one small—stepped into the spacious apartment, Lu Fei was sprawled lazily on the couch, playing a violent video game.  

Ever since the kid had been taken away by their eldest brother yesterday, Lu Fei had felt an odd emptiness inside.  

But he absolutely refused to admit that this void had anything to do with Lu You You. He told himself it was just because he hadn’t had a break in so long—suddenly having free time felt strange.  

Lu Yan cleared his throat awkwardly. “So, my startup has some urgent matters to deal with these days. A Jiu mentioned you’re on vacation, so I was hoping you could look after her for a few more days. Don’t worry—once the DNA test results come back from the center, I’ll have a legitimate reason to send her to Dad’s place.”  

Lu Fei had recently hit a breaking point with his company.  

A Jiu was beside himself with worry, afraid that Lu Fei might actually sever ties with the agency and end up owing a massive breach-of-contract fee.  

But Lu Fei was enjoying the peace. After two years of nonstop work as a trainee, he finally had time to rest, and his mental state had improved significantly in just these past couple of days.  

Besides, the capitalists still saw value in him, so they had reluctantly coaxed him, offering him a short vacation to “recalibrate his mindset.”  

What Lu Fei hadn’t expected, however, was this situation.  

After all, in his eyes, his eldest brother had always been invincible.  

Remembering how the little brat had walked away without a backward glance yesterday, he couldn’t help but snap, “Hey, kid, listen up. You can stay here, but on one condition—no noise, no trouble. If you ruin my vacation, you’re out. I’m only doing this as a favor to big bro.”  

You You was nothing if not adaptable.  

Her logic was simple.  

The Second Brother she had been closest to in the past didn’t want her, while the cold, distant Eldest Brother had taken her in.  

But right now, Eldest Brother was struggling—even in debt to the tune of eight million.  

So not only did she have to behave well at Second Brother’s place to ease Eldest Brother’s burden, but she also had to find a way to squeeze some benefits out of Second Brother for Eldest Brother’s sake!

You You looked sweet and obedient, flattering with a fawning tone, “Second Brother, I saw your concert poster on the subway again! So handsome! You must have earned a lot of money from your concert, right? Can you lend some to Big Brother? Big Brother owes the bank eight… mmmph!!!”

Before the little dumpling could finish, Lu Yan tightly covered her tiny mouth with his large hand.

“You You is just joking, Xiao Fei, don’t take it seriously.”

But Lu Fei paused his game, his expression turning serious. “How much does he owe the bank? Big Brother, is your business in trouble? Don’t hide it from me—do you see me as an outsider?”

Lu Yan didn’t want to say anything, but a child’s mouth, once opened, couldn’t be stopped.

Between Lu Yan’s evasiveness and You You’s exaggerated embellishments…

The Top Tier Star quickly pieced together the gist—Big Brother’s new project had fallen through. Not only was the funding chain broken, but he also owed the bank eight million!

Without hesitation, Lu Fei declared firmly, “It’s just eight million. I’ll cover it for you.”

Just as Lu Yan was about to politely refuse, his younger brother said solemnly, “Don’t refuse. You know I’ve made a lot this year. Brothers keep clear accounts—consider this a loan. I trust your ability; you’ll pay it back soon. Just treat it as emergency help.”

Hearing that Second Brother was so wealthy, You You’s eyes sparkled with golden stars as she gushed in admiration, “Wow, Second Brother, you’re so amazing! You have eight million! That’s enough to raise so many You Yous!!!”

Lu Fei leaned back on the sofa with his arms crossed, looking utterly at ease.

Honestly, this was the first time he’d ever felt the joy of financial freedom.

Back when he had stubbornly insisted on going to H Country to become a trainee, Lu Yu had firmly opposed it, leading to a complete fallout between father and son.

Big Brother Lu Yan hadn’t fully supported him dropping out of high school to enter the entertainment industry either, but at least he respected his choice.

Lu Fei never imagined that a slacker like him could actually help out a Tsinghua University prodigy!

He was practically swelling with pride.

But just as he was adamantly about to transfer eight million into Lu Yan’s account immediately—

He found that the transaction just wouldn’t go through.

After the fifth failed attempt…

Lu Fei’s expression darkened. “A Jiu, what’s going on? Is the mobile banking app glitching?”

A Jiu wasn’t sure either, so he called the account manager to inquire.

The manager’s reply left the room in stunned silence.

“Mr. Lu, hello. The issue is that this amount is part of the advance payment from your company. However, there seems to be a contractual problem, so the company headquarters requested a temporary freeze on these funds yesterday. Your money is currently frozen. We sincerely apologize and appreciate your understanding.”

Lu Fei was petrified.

A Jiu was equally shocked and quickly pulled up Lu Fei’s agency contract on his tablet.

It turned out there was a clause stating that all of Lu Fei’s earnings had to go through the company’s process, with a one-year holding period during which the company had the right to freeze his salary at any time.

This was meant to restrain artists whose careers might be affected by scandals.

Lu Fei cleared his throat, forcing composure in front of the older and younger siblings.

“I see… Well, then, can you check how much I actually have available in my account right now, excluding the frozen amount?”

After checking, A Jiu awkwardly glanced at Lu Yan, then back at his Top Tier Star, saying weakly, “There’s… twenty-five thousand left?”

Lu Fei: “…”

Lu Yan: “…”

You You blinked her big eyes, thinking innocently and adorably.

Well, did Second Brother’s act of showing off just go to waste?