As soon as Shen Nanxing came out, he fell into a warm embrace. Standing nearby, Shen Chuanqiong’s face immediately fell, and he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, “Fu Zhiyuan, can’t you, a grown man, stop being so clingy!” He hadn’t even had a chance to hug his beloved little treasure before this dog had already stolen the chance.

This remark completely made Shen Nanxing’s face turn red. He struggled and pushed against Fu Zhiyuan’s chest, murmuring, “Let… let go.”

Fu Zhiyuan lowered his head slightly, capturing Shen Nanxing’s shy expression, reluctantly letting go of him. He placed both hands on Shen Nanxing’s shoulders and looked at him seriously, “Xingbao, what did you say to him?”

Shen Nanxing patted his back soothingly, “It’s nothing, just made him face the reality!” He certainly couldn’t tell them that Lin Bai wasn’t from this world at all, and that everyone here was a character from a novel. Even if he said it, no one would believe him. But his fate was in his own hands; no one should think they could manipulate his destiny. No matter how many times he came back, Shen Nanxing had confidence he would find the real him again.

Fu Zhiyuan saw that he didn’t want to talk about it, so he didn’t press further. As long as Shen Nanxing was always by his side, safe and healthy, that was enough for him. He lovingly rubbed Shen Nanxing’s head, “Leave the rest to me.”

Shen Nanxing nodded slightly.

The intimate interaction between the two, seemingly without a care for anyone else, made Shen Chuanqiong, who had been constantly overlooked, feel quite uncomfortable. He seriously suspected that these two were so involved in their romance that they’d forgotten about him.

Shen Chuanqiong deliberately cleared his throat loudly a few times, “Xingbao, since there’s nothing wrong, let’s head home!” After speaking, he forcefully pulled Shen Nanxing from Fu Zhiyuan’s arms, not forgetting to throw him a provocative glance before leaving.

Fu Zhiyuan muttered under his breath, “Childish!” His voice wasn’t too loud, but just loud enough to reach Shen Chuanqiong’s ears.

Shen Chuanqiong gritted his teeth in anger, almost wanting to pounce on him and strangle him. Fortunately, Shen Nanxing pulled him back in time, “Brother, weren’t we supposed to go home? Let’s go!”

After calming Shen Chuanqiong’s emotions, Shen Nanxing gave Fu Zhiyuan a warning look, signaling him to say less. Fu Zhiyuan immediately dropped his smile, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Shen Nanxing turned around just in time to meet his resentful gaze, feeling a lump in his throat. Why did he feel like Fu Zhiyuan was becoming more and more dramatic?

Seeing that Shen Nanxing was still on his side, Shen Chuanqiong felt much better. Under Shen Nanxing’s strong insistence, the two went back to the Shen family home.

Standing at the door of his house, Shen Nanxing had a strange sense of déjà vu. No wonder he had felt an inexplicable familiarity when he first thought he was in a book. Now he understood—this had always been his home. How could it not feel familiar? Memories might be erased, but the love from his family for him had never disappeared.

Seeing him standing still, Shen Chuanqiong, thinking he was worried about exposing the truth, gently reassured him, “Xingbao, don’t worry. Just do as I said, Mom and Dad will never doubt you.” He patted Shen Nanxing’s head reassuringly.

Earlier, in the car, Shen Chuanqiong had honestly explained that in the past couple of days when Shen Nanxing had been unconscious, he had lied to their parents, saying that Shen Nanxing had gone to a piano competition in a neighboring city for two days. Therefore, in order to avoid revealing the truth, they needed to coordinate their stories to prevent any slip-ups.

Shen Nanxing shook his head slightly, smiling with his eyes narrowed, “Don’t worry, Brother. I won’t slip up.”

As they entered the house, Jian Mei was lying on the sofa, watching a drama. When she heard the noise at the door, she stretched her neck and looked toward the entrance. Her expression visibly brightened with surprise.

“Xingbao, you’re finally back!” She stood up and walked toward him, affectionately pulling Shen Nanxing into her embrace.

Shen Nanxing silently felt the warmth in his mother’s embrace, and tears unknowingly streamed down his face. He had truly come home.

Jian Mei, very pleased, rubbed his head, “Xingbao, was the piano competition fun? Did you bring home a big trophy for mom?”

Shen Nanxing buried his face in her chest and murmured, “Mom,” his voice a bit choked.

Jian Mei immediately noticed something was wrong and looked at him with concern, “What’s wrong, Xingbao? It’s okay if you didn’t win the trophy, you’re the best in our hearts! Don’t be sad, okay? If you cry, Mom will be sad too.”

Shen Nanxing sniffled, his voice muffled, “Mom, I just missed you so much!”

Jian Mei looked at Shen Nanxing, who was still clinging to her, and cast a questioning glance at Shen Chuanqiong, “Xingbao, what’s going on?”

Shen Chuanqiong shook his head and shrugged helplessly. He hadn’t expected that the first thing Xingbao would do when he came home was cry! How was he supposed to comfort him? Fortunately, Shen Nanxing didn’t cry for too long and stopped after a while. He awkwardly pulled away from Jian Mei’s embrace and rubbed his nose, “Mom, where’s Dad? Is he not home today?”

Jian Mei, seeing that his mood had improved, breathed a sigh of relief. “Your dad is upstairs, probably in the study. Do you need to talk to him about something?”

“It’s just that I haven’t seen you guys for a few days and I missed you,” Shen Nanxing answered.

“It’s almost lunchtime. How about you go upstairs and call your dad down?” Jian Mei said, her smile never fading since Shen Nanxing returned.

“Okay.”

At lunch, the couple kept putting food into Shen Nanxing’s bowl. While serving him, they expressed their concern, “Xingbao, eat more, look, you’ve lost weight.”

Shen Nanxing usually didn’t eat much, but today he ate more than usual, feeling quite full. After the meal, Shen Nanxing hesitated for a moment, then decided to bring it up today. He walked toward the couple, who were on the sofa showing affection, and intentionally cleared his throat. With a serious expression, he looked at them, “Dad, Mom, I have something really important to tell you.”

“Xingbao, what is it?” The couple asked cheerfully.

Shen Nanxing spoke seriously, “I’m together with Fu Zhiyuan.”

The smiles on their faces froze in place, no longer playful.

Father Shen pondered for a moment, his expression becoming serious, “Xingbao, you can’t joke about something like this.” Xingbao and Fu Zhiyuan together? How should he address Fu Zhiyuan now? Wouldn’t that complicate things?

Shen Nanxing nervously rubbed his hands together, “Dad, we’re serious. It’s exactly what you think—it’s that kind of relationship. I like him.”

Jian Mei, shocked, pulled on his sleeve, “Xingbao, this… this is so sudden. Are you two just getting together?”

Shen Nanxing shook his head slightly, “Mom, we’ve been together for a while now.”

Father Shen was taken aback. He never expected that his usually obedient son would be more rebellious than his eldest son, who was already a troublemaker. He had done something so earth-shattering, silently starting a relationship. Could this be a delayed rebellious phase? Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to scold his precious son.

Father Shen took Jian Mei’s hand and gently patted it to comfort her. There was a flicker of light in his eyes as he said in a deep voice, “Xingbao, why don’t you go back to your room for now? Your mom and I will discuss this properly.”

Shen Nanxing’s eyes showed a trace of confusion, not understanding, “Dad, what do you mean by that…?”