“Waaa—my little nephew! I’m going to send the author knife emojis! Give me back my little nephew!”

As Lu Chen opened the door to his home, his younger sister’s wailing greeted him.

He frowned. “Stop calling him that.”

Lu Yan instantly scrambled off the sofa, clapping her hands together dramatically as if in prayer. “Oh great deity of transmigration, bless my brother with a cute, lovable little demon king of a son! Waaa, even if my nephew claims my brother as his dad, that works too!”

Lu Chen gave her a silent smack on the head before walking past her into his room.

Ever since Lu Yan started reading some novel, she had gone from being a reliable and competent lawyer outside to turning into this… obsessed maniac. A few days ago, she’d been muttering about the “laws of transmigration” and had shoved the book into her older brother’s hands, claiming it was fate since the background character in the story had the exact same name as him.

Lu Chen, who didn’t understand a single thing, had skimmed through the book out of respect for her. But if he could turn back time, he would’ve abandoned that respect the moment Lu Yan uttered the words “Oh great deity of transmigration” and let her taste the cruelty of the world.

This thought came to him as he woke up on a four-million-dollar mattress.

Sitting up in bed, the soft black blanket slid down to his waist, revealing perfectly sculpted abs. The thick curtains of the room automatically opened, letting the gentle morning light stream into the monochromatic, luxurious space.

Having accepted the reality of his situation, Lu Chen’s expression quickly returned to calm indifference.

Although he’d only skimmed the novel, his sharp ability to process information allowed him to piece things together accurately.

He had transmigrated.

And not just anywhere—he had transmigrated into the novel Exploding Popularity on Parenting Reality Shows, becoming the background husband of a minor cannon-fodder character: a workaholic CEO.

While the wife and child participated in the reality show, the CEO worked.

When the wife and child were slandered online, the CEO worked.

When the child’s life hung by a thread, the CEO was still working.

As expected, during the recent plotline where “the little nephew passed away,” the CEO was undoubtedly working.

Aside from this…

First, men could have children in this novel.

Second, the CEO’s wife, Ji Miandeng, was a triple-award-winning actor who had married into the wealthy family after giving birth to their child. He had since retired from the entertainment industry but remained a never-ending source of gossip: “Abandoned Husband of the Rich,” “Son Doesn’t Love Him,” and “Respect the Tragic Fate of the Actor” were frequent headlines. The internet relentlessly mocked him as a pitiful clinging vine.

Lastly, the novel began when Ji Miandeng and their son joined a parenting reality show. The family was written purely as props to bring traffic to the show and serve as a contrast to the protagonists. Worse still, in the latest chapters, the son, Lu Tuan, had been accidentally killed by toxic fans of the protagonist’s child.

Pure cannon fodder tools.

Perhaps Lu Yan’s unreliable prayers had worked. Since he had now taken over this role and knew the plotline, Lu Chen decided he wouldn’t let Ji Miandeng and the child face the same tragic fate.

The solution was simple: don’t join the parenting show.

That would end everything before it began.

Coincidentally, today was the day Ji Miandeng was supposed to sign the contract.

Having made his decision, Lu Chen quickly washed up and stepped out of his room.

As a workaholic CEO, the family lived in a sprawling, luxury penthouse in the city center, conveniently close to his office. On weekends, he would return to their larger estate, complete with staff and a housekeeper.

It was 7:30 a.m. Breakfast had already been set on the table: his portion in its usual spot, and across from him, a child’s meal. The child, seated in a raised chair, turned his head at the sound of footsteps, holding up a tiny spoon in his chubby hand. “Good morning, Daddy!”

The two-year-old in front of him was round everywhere—round cheeks, round hands, round little feet. His nose and chin were delicate, resembling his “Little Daddy,” but overall, his features were about 70% similar to Lu Chen’s. His large, bright eyes were filled with soft reliance, the kind that could melt anyone’s heart.

This morning scene was a memory deeply ingrained in Lu Chen, so he wasn’t surprised. The child’s soft, sweet voice even brought a smile to his lips. “Good morning.”

Lu Tuan’s mouth formed a perfect O, and his little body suddenly began wriggling excitedly. He abandoned his meal, focusing all his attention on his daddy, happily kicking his short legs.

Lu Chen took a sip of his coffee, letting the flavor linger on his tongue for a moment before swallowing. Looking up, he saw the child’s wide, pure black eyes fixed on him, full of longing. Placing the cup down, he said firmly, “You can’t have coffee. Eat your breakfast like a good boy.”

Lu Tuan obediently picked up his little spoon, scooped a big spoonful of fish porridge, and stuffed it into his mouth with a proud “Ahhh~.” Then he turned to his daddy with a wide smile, his expression seeming to say, “Look, I’m being such a good boy!”

Lu Chen was being stared at by the child and felt like he ought to say something. Instinctively, he learned to give praise, saying, “Lu Tuan is amazing.”

The simple four words made Lu Tuan even more excited, and he ate with renewed enthusiasm. Normally, it would take until 8 o’clock for him to finish eating, but today, he put his chopsticks down around the same time as his big dad.

The nanny who usually looked after Lu Tuan stayed in the kitchen, mindful of Lu Chen’s presence, but after the meal, she needed to attend to Lu Tuan promptly.

Lu Chen and Lu Tuan exchanged glances for a moment. Awkwardly, he removed the child’s bib and picked him up—not gently, but literally lifting him. Lu Tuan, dressed in yellow overalls, was hoisted up by the strap on his back and a pinch of shirt fabric.

The little one thought his big dad was playing with him and gleefully flailed his short arms and legs, shouting, “Flying~!”

Lu Chen washed his face and hands. Despite being as gentle as possible, Lu Tuan’s face turned visibly red after being dried, but when the towel was removed, the child greeted him with a beaming smile.

“Does it hurt?” Lu Chen asked hesitantly.

“It doesn’t hurt!” Lu Tuan shook his head, his chubby little arms wrapping around his big dad’s neck. With a loud smack, he planted a kiss and declared, “Love big dad!”

The soft sensation vanished quickly, leaving Lu Chen momentarily stunned. The faint scent of milk lingered as if it had brushed his cheek.

“Good boy,” Lu Chen said softly, tapping Lu Tuan on the nose. A hint of surprise stirred in his heart—was there some gene in their family for loving kids, or was it that little Lu Tuan was just too charming?

Such a well-behaved little dumpling deserved to grow up safe and sound.

Lu Chen originally planned to wait at home until Ji Mianlan woke up so they could discuss appearing on a variety show together. However, starting from 8 o’clock, his phone kept ringing with calls. Finally, he answered one with such panicked urgency on the other end that it sounded like the company was about to go bankrupt.

After hanging up, Lu Chen noticed Lu Tuan looking at him pitifully, his small fingers twisting together in grievance.

Lu Chen had just promised to draw with him, but it seemed even the domineering CEO couldn’t decide his own schedule. He genuinely wondered, Is everyone at the company useless except for me?

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

Though Lu Chen had never raised a child before, he understood the importance of keeping promises—even to a two-year-old who likely wouldn’t remember much.

He picked up Lu Tuan from the ground and quickly learned the proper way to hold a child. Seeing that the little one looked more comfortable, he asked, “Want to go to work with me?”

“Yes!” Lu Tuan’s big eyes lit up like stars.

In the original story, Ji Mianlan agreed to appear on the parenting variety show because a friend, who happened to be the casting director, came over for a visit and was charmed by Lu Tuan. Bringing the child along would lower the chances of such a scenario happening now.

After some thought, Lu Chen instructed the nanny to have Ji Mianlan call his private number upon waking, then carried his son off to work.

The company, though lacking the strength of a true corporate giant, seemed to have all the problems of one.

Efficiency was low, and besides the CEO, no one seemed capable of making strong decisions. However, news of the big boss bringing a human toddler to work quickly spread across the company’s internal network.

Looking at the packed schedule, Lu Chen finally understood how workaholics were made.

Having started his entrepreneurial journey by flipping pancakes, he had since achieved success as a new-money elite. Although he had quickly adapted to the domineering CEO identity after transmigrating into the novel, he couldn’t bring himself to embrace the workaholic mindset.

“Cancel the 10 a.m. meeting and have the marketing department send me the best proposal. I only want one. Liu Jing can handle the Chenghu project negotiations, and progress reports should be emailed to me by Friday. Cancel tonight’s dinner appointment, and in the future, let Kang You handle such matters…” Lu Chen mentally assigned tasks to the appropriate people, all of whom were highly paid underlings of the CEO. If they weren’t given responsibilities, they’d become useless.

The assistant stood frozen with a strange expression, her lips twitching.

Sudden behavioral changes aside, as long as he was strong enough, there was no need to explain.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Lu Chen’s cold and deep eyes pressed down, adding to the gravity of his words.

Hearing the frosty tone, the assistant shook her head repeatedly, certain that hesitation would result in her being fired.

“Leave the files on my desk and get out,” Lu Chen instructed.

After dismissing the assistant, he carried a sleeping Lu Tuan to the guest sofa and gently laid him down, pulling a corner of the blanket over the small body.

The assistant, glancing back before leaving the room, caught a glimpse of the boss kneeling beside the sofa, softly patting the child to help him sleep more soundly. For a moment, she was awestruck.

He’s gotten gentler, yet somehow scarier. The boss has evolved!

Lu Chen wasn’t the type to let work pile up. After efficiently handling the day’s tasks, he waited for Lu Tuan to wake up and spent time drawing strange portraits with him.

Energized, Lu Tuan pointed his little finger at a red blur and proudly announced, “Little dad!”

The image of a gentle, beautiful figure automatically flashed through Lu Chen’s mind. He paused for a moment, then shamelessly said, “It really looks like him.”

With happiness radiating from his chubby face, Lu Tuan confidently pointed to another black scribble. “Big dad!”

“…Lu Tuan, your drawing is amazing,” Lu Chen replied.

Lu Tuan was a mature little treasure who knew how to ask for rewards himself. He patted his round belly and said, “Strawberries!”

“Wait a moment,” rookie dad Lu Chen said, temporarily giving instructions before hanging up the intercom. He then placed his hand on the child’s round belly. Hmm, the texture was even more interesting than he had imagined.

Lu Tuan tried to pry away the big hand with his tiny hands. As he struggled, his attention shifted. His ten chubby little fingers spread out like a fan, and he carefully compared them to the big hand. Lu Chen, too, was drawn to the adorable little fingers. But his focus was on something else—though the bone structure seemed long and slender, wasn’t this… a little too chubby?

A box of prepared strawberries and a box of mixed fruit were delivered together. Lu Chen let Lu Tuan eat the strawberries on his own while leaving the other box unopened for now.

The CEO didn’t really care about his son, so he naturally had no memory of whether Lu Tuan had any food allergies. Lu Chen was just about to make a call to check when, as if on cue, he received a call from Lu Tuan’s other dad.

Lu Chen subconsciously glanced at the time. It was 10:37.

He answered the call, and a warm voice traveled through the line: “Mr. Lu, is there something you need?”

In the original CEO’s memory, Ji Miandeng had shown up one day claiming to be pregnant with his child. Although the CEO had no recollection of ever sleeping with Ji Miandeng, the paternity test didn’t lie—the child was undeniably his. So, they got married.

The CEO wasn’t interested in relationships and was content with having a ready-made wife and child. Moreover, this wife seemed to have married him solely for the luxury and wealth. He kept to himself most of the time, and there were days when they wouldn’t even see each other. As a result, the CEO was very generous toward him.

Their relationship was genuinely one of mutual respect but emotional distance.

This was also why Lu Chen didn’t feel much guilt about taking over someone else’s role as a husband and father.

Adopting the original CEO’s usual straightforward approach, Lu Chen said, “I don’t agree with you taking Lu Heng on that show.”

The next second, he seemed to hear a faint, mocking laugh.