Chapter 5: A Sad Childhood

Because Su Sanxian’s body had the habit of taking a nap at noon, after everyone finished lunch, she played with The Three Cubs for a while before she began to feel sleepy.

Lin Shen and The Three Cubs worried about her health. Despite Su Sanxian’s request to play a little longer, they firmly insisted that she go upstairs to rest.

The Three Cubs also went for their nap.

Only Lin Shen remained in the living room, reading documents.

Because the poor President was not worthy of an afternoon nap. With his wife and children all back in their rooms resting, Lin Shen carried the files that needed to be read by the afternoon into the study.

By the time Su Sanxian woke up from her nap, three hours had already passed. The Three Cubs had long woken up and had been playing outside on the lawn for a while.

The afternoon sun remained dazzling. The Three Cubs were drenched in sweat, but that still could not deter their determination to have fun outside.

However, because of the afternoon lull, the mansion was very quiet.

As Su Sanxian came downstairs, Lin Shen happened to be drinking water in the living room.

This was a bit awkward. Su Sanxian instinctively held her breath and even thought of turning around and going back upstairs.

Lin Shen looked at the nervous Su Sanxian, who seemed ready to flee, and spoke softly. “Xiao Yusan.”

“Eh?” Su Sanxian responded instinctively, then froze in place. Eh? Wait a second, how did he know my nickname?

Could it be that the original owner’s nickname was also Xiao Yusan? It wasn’t certain; after all, the original novel never focused much on these two characters.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Lin Shen chuckled lightly when he saw Su Sanxian spacing out, still the same as before—always lost in thought.

“This big brother, if I tell you that after I woke up, I completely forgot everything from before… would you believe me?” Su Sanxian swallowed hard and looked at him pleadingly.

“Amnesia, huh…” A shadow briefly crossed Lin Shen’s eyes, but moments later, he softened his gaze and smiled at her gently. “Of course I believe you. But I’m your husband, so don’t avoid me, alright? Otherwise, how could I treat my wife well?”

Su Sanxian wrinkled her nose, forcing a dry smile at Lin Shen. “Ah…”

“Since you’ve lost your memory, let’s start over—date again, fall in love again. But you’re not allowed to avoid me, understand?” Lin Shen said in a tone that carried a subtle threat.

Su Sanxian, who had originally planned to keep avoiding Lin Shen: “…”

Alright, alright, you’re amazing, you’re the boss, you’re rich, you’re incredible. Boohoo.

The two of them walked side by side toward where The Three Cubs were playing. The air was filled with awkwardness—at least in Su Sanxian’s opinion. For a moment, everything around them felt extremely quiet.

And so, the voices behind the evergreen bushes sounded especially abrupt.

“Didn’t expect Madam to recover.”

“You think she won’t get triggered again and suddenly go crazy, right?”

“Who knows? But since their mom is a lunatic, do you think…” The voice lowered sneakily. “Do you think the three children might have inherited mental illness too?”

“No way! Don’t you remember Madam only went crazy because she gave birth to the three young masters? If she hadn’t had them, she might have stayed normal.”

There it was—Su Sanxian’s face darkened. In the original story, because the three children often overheard the servants gossiping that their mother’s mental illness was their fault, they were filled with guilt toward her.

Furthermore, because of other rumors, the three children grew up sensitive and fragile, embodying the tragic childhood trope common to every villain.

At that moment, Su Sanxian looked up at Lin Shen.

Even she, who had only been awake for four days, and Lin Shen, who was rarely at home, had overheard those words. What about The Three Cubs, who had lived in this house every day for four years?

Lin Shen’s face was equally grim. He had painstakingly selected the servants, even conducting background checks into their political leanings.

To ensure they could properly care for the three children, he paid them fifty percent higher than the market rate, and yet here they were, gossiping maliciously about Su Sanxian and the children.

“Are you working here just to gossip? Taking the salary I pay you to stand here and talk about your employers?” Lin Shen said sternly, dragging Su Sanxian along as he stepped behind the evergreen tree, his voice full of anger.

The four people—two women and two men—were stunned when they saw Lin Shen and Su Sanxian.

Because this wasn’t the first time they had gossiped. They just hadn’t expected to get caught by the masters of the house this time.

“Uncle Zhang, come to the evergreen tree on the northwest side of the lawn… I need you to fire four people.”

“As for you four.” Lin Shen said, not bothering to recall their names: “starting tomorrow—no, starting now—you no longer work in this house. And your misconduct will be truthfully reported to your agency.”

The four wanted to plead for mercy, but seeing Butler Zhang arrive, Lin Shen simply turned around and walked off, still holding Su Sanxian’s hand, ignoring the wails of despair behind him.

“I know that my four years of madness have led to a lot of unpleasant rumors, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad, even in our own home.” Su Sanxian said as she seized the chance to negotiate. “If it’s like this at home, I’m afraid things at their school will be worse. I think I should start picking them up and dropping them off tomorrow.”

Lin Shen thought about it for a moment. He had to admit Su Sanxian was right…but he was worried about her health. “Your body…”

“It’s completely fine. This is already my fourth day of being clear-headed. And besides, it’s just picking them up and dropping them off; it won’t be a problem.” Su Sanxian, seeing that he was wavering, immediately reassured him.

Lin Shen was still a little concerned. “Alright, but the driver will take you. You’ll pick them up and drop them off by car.”

Being driven around hardly counted as personally picking them up, but Su Sanxian already sensed this was Lin Shen’s bottom line, so she didn’t push further.

“Mom! Dad!” As soon as Su Sanxian and Lin Shen approached where The Three Cubs were playing, the children spotted them with their sharp eyes.

Then, in perfect unison, The Three Cubs ran toward them.

“Are you three hot? You’re all drenched in sweat.”

Seeing Su Sanxian wanting to wipe their sweat, Lin Shen reached into his shirt pocket and handed her a handkerchief.

With the movement, the subtle woody scent of the handkerchief, warmed by body heat, wafted over.

It was Lin Shen’s cologne.

It perfectly suited the refined style of an elegant President.

But Su Sanxian didn’t think too much of it. She casually accepted the handkerchief and wiped the glistening beads of sweat from The Three Cubs’ foreheads, shining under the sunlight.

The children cooperated obediently with their mother, entirely unbothered by her slightly rough movements.

“My darlings are so good. How about Mom picks you up and drops you off at school tomorrow, hmm?”

The Three Cubs’ first reaction was excitement; their three pairs of eyes lit up instantly. But they quickly dimmed again.

“But Mom, you just got better. Your body needs rest. You can’t tire yourself out.” Erzai said on behalf of his siblings, his clear, bright eyes full of worry.

Su Sanxian was touched. She gently ruffled each of their soft little heads, saying: “Thank you, my loves. Mom is fine now. And it’s just picking you up and dropping you off—it’s easy.”

Dazai pondered for a moment. “Alright then, but Uncle Driver has to drive. Mom has to sit in the car to pick us up and drop us off.”

Su Sanxian was surprised. Like father, like son—they really thought alike.

Lin Shen was surprised too, but his surprise soon turned into relief. The children knew how to think of their mother’s well-being; they were all good kids.

“Alright, alright, we’ll do as you say. Uncle Driver will drive.”

Su Sanxian’s smile softened, and The Three Cubs smiled with her.