Zhao Jiusi is five years old.

Because Zheng Yixu and Zhao Louqin often engage in some unspeakable “play,” they need various costumes. While shopping for clothes online, they always see the “parent-child outfits” label flashing by.

Zhao Louqin thought about it and, since money wasn’t an issue, decided to buy them all at once—for the whole family!

On this particular day, Zhao Jiusi was wearing a little black hat, a sailor suit with black stripes on a white background, and with his golden hair and bright green eyes, he looked just like an adorable boy straight out of a manga!

“My little Jiu~, were you good at school today?” Zhao Louqin’s heart melted as he saw his adorable son. He wanted nothing more than to pick him up and give him a few kisses. Unfortunately, Zhao Jiusi, having been showered with kisses all his life, was already tired of it by the age of five and had learned to say “no” to his dad!

**P.S.:** Five-year-old Zhao Jiusi calls both Zheng Yixu and Zhao Louqin “dad,” but with different tones. One is sweet and syrupy, the other soft and tender. After his voice changes, Zhao Jiusi refuses to use the cute tone to call them “dad” anymore. Instead, he formally distinguishes between “father” and “dad,” leaving Zheng Yixu and Zhao Louqin feeling a bit forlorn for a long time.

“Dad, today the teacher told us the story of the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood.” Zhao Jiusi, holding a storybook that was almost as big as his belly, said seriously.

Oh, he couldn’t be any cuter!

“Oh, that’s great!” Zhao Louqin praised. “So, was little Jiu scared of the Big Bad Wolf?”

“I’m not scared. I have my little black hat,” Zhao Jiusi said, pointing to the hat on his head.

“Have you ever seen a Big Bad Wolf, Dad?” Zhao Jiusi asked as he sat on the sofa with his storybook. “The teacher said the Big Bad Wolf would eat the people we care about the most. Have you ever had someone eaten by the Big Bad Wolf?”

Zhao Jiusi thought that if someone had been eaten, he could be like the hunter and cut open the wolf’s belly to save the person inside. Then, everyone would definitely make him the king.

“I have!” Zhao Louqin, suddenly remembering something, quickly brought out a laptop, typed a few words, and pulled up a picture. “This is the Big Bad Wolf. If you see him, you must avoid him! He’s the most wicked one, Lin, the Big Bad Wolf!”

Zhao Jiusi tilted his head and looked at the picture for a long time, feeling that this Big Bad Wolf didn’t quite match the one his teacher had talked about!

Zhao Jiusi woke up from his dream, holding his head. He looked at the clock and realized he could sleep for another hour.

Last night, the things his friends had talked about really bothered him, but he didn’t expect to dream about his childhood. And it was a scene where his father was teasing him!

Thinking about how he had foolishly believed that person was the Big Bad Wolf and even argued with his teacher that the Big Bad Wolf was prettier than the teacher made him feel really embarrassed!

_(:з」∠)_

Fortunately, those things are in the past. Now, he’s no longer at the age where he believes whatever people say.

Zhao Jiusi pinched the ear of a stuffed animal as he thought this.

After finishing his evening self-study, Zhao Jiusi returned home to find Zheng Yixu asleep on the sofa, with an open economics magazine beside him. On the cover was the refined face of Lin Ninghua.

Zhao Jiusi froze for a moment, picked up the magazine, and carefully examined the cover again, thinking that what you dream about really does show up in real life!

Zhao Jiusi felt the malicious intent of the god of dreams.

The person on the cover—wasn’t he the one his father once tricked him into believing was the Big Bad Wolf, Lin Ninghua? Lin, the Big Bad Wolf!

The name Lin Ninghua was anything but unfamiliar to Zhao Jiusi! He could never forget the constipated look on his father’s face every time he mentioned this person.

“The Big Bad Wolf looks like this. If you ever meet him, don’t eat anything he gives you, or you’ll be eaten!” After scaring his son, Zhao Louqin would always put on a nervous expression and say, “Don’t tell your dad~, and don’t bring up anything about the Big Bad Wolf. Let’s pinky promise!”

How incredibly childish!

Although Zhao Jiusi knew that Lin Ninghua’s relationship with his father wasn’t very good, he didn’t know the specifics. According to Zhao Louqin, it was not something children should be aware of.

What surprised him was that his dad would find and look at a magazine about Lin Ninghua even after losing his memory. The coincidence seemed too unlikely, especially since his father wasn’t someone who liked to read economic magazines, whether before or after his memory loss.

Zhao Jiusi thought about it but couldn’t make sense of it. He closed the magazine, placed it face down on the coffee table, and gently nudged Zheng Yixu. “Dad, you should go back to sleep.”

He usually gets home around 10:30 PM, so there’s no need for his dad to wait up for him.

“Jiu Si, you’re back?” Zheng Yixu yawned and stretched. “I’ll make you some milk. Economic magazines are like sleeping pills; they make me so sleepy.”

“Dad isn’t back yet?” Zhao Jiusi asked, puzzled. By this time, his father should have already been home.

“It seems like the car broke down earlier and is being repaired. He should be home soon,” Zheng Yixu said, preparing the milk for Zhao Jiusi with practiced ease.

“Your birthday is coming up soon. Have you thought about how you want to celebrate it?” Zheng Yixu tilted his head and asked.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Zhao Jiusi shook his head honestly. Celebrating his birthday every year and having to plan how to spend the night was a bit of a hassle. Just having a meal together would be fine; he couldn’t go to the amusement park with the whole family like when he was younger!

Thinking about the amusement park, Zhao Jiusi’s expression soured.

That year happened to be when Zhao Louqin won the Best Actor award, and there were a lot of overzealous fans. Zhao Jiusi’s memory was stuck on Zheng Yixu carrying him, dodging reporters as they turned this way and that. The park was already crowded, but once Zhao Louqin’s identity was discovered, the crowd surged like a tidal wave, coming from all directions.

This made Zhao Jiusi have a lasting negative impression of amusement parks.

“Eh? Are you talking about the birthday?” Zhao Louqin came in and said, “I’ve already thought about it. According to Jiu Si’s uncle, we should have a banquet to celebrate that Jiu Si is almost an adult. It’s also time for Jiu Si to meet some new people.”

Zhao Louqin felt quite helpless about it. After all, Zhao Jiusi was the only child of the Zhao family’s second generation. His elder brother was still a staunch believer in remaining single and insisted on the principle of repaying family debts with one’s own efforts. Zhao Louqin himself had left behind family matters to make a name in the entertainment industry, and later had to deal with Lin Ninghua while planning to marry Zheng Yixu, which had a lot of input from his elder brother. Now, Zhao Louqin felt he had no grounds to argue against it.

Zhao Louqin thought that in the future, Jiu Si might have to manage both the Xu Cheng Group and the Zhao family…

It was truly unfortunate.

While other heirs are groomed from a young age, he had secured sixteen years of freedom for Zhao Jiusi, and now the rest would have to be handled by Jiu Si himself.

As a father who had put his son in such a position, Zhao Louqin felt a deep sense of guilt!

Zheng Yixu quickly understood Zhao Louqin’s feelings.

Thinking about the company that would eventually be handed over to Zhao Jiusi, Zheng Yixu figured that if needed, they could hire more people and earn a bit less. Plus, there were the Zheng family members Zhao Jiusi had met before…

Zheng Yixu furrowed his brow but chose to remain silent.

“Oh, I understand,” Zhao Jiusi replied, clearly having anticipated this and showing no sign of resistance.

Since Zhao Jiusi was still growing, he always felt hungry after evening classes. As a result, Zheng Yixu and Zhao Louqin had developed the habit of having late-night snacks. They figured that since they exercised every day, eating a bit more wasn’t a problem.

Typically, Zheng Yixu and Zhao Jiusi would have various meat and vegetable dishes, rice noodles, noodles, steamed buns, or congee for their late-night snacks. In contrast, Zhao Louqin’s late-night snacks consisted of various vegetable and fruit salads…

The only time Zhao Louqin could eat meat was during meals at a restaurant.

Breakfast, dinner, and afternoon tea didn’t include any meat.

This wasn’t because Zheng Yixu was being strict; it was Zhao Louqin’s own health regimen. Enduring hardship is part of becoming exceptional. Not eating meat wasn’t a big deal, but not being able to have sweet treats and pastries was the real hardship!

Fortunately, Zhao Louqin had managed to make Zheng Yixu like him【a conclusion that seemed to come out of nowhere?】. With a bit more time, things would soon take a turn for the better!

Zhao Louqin thought fiercely while munching on a pear.

While Zhao Louqin was in the shower, Zheng Yixu secretly checked Zhao Louqin’s phone and successfully found a text message from Lin Ninghua.

Zheng Yixu noted the time and location and planned to find an opportunity and excuse to have Zhao Jiusi take a day off from school. He intended to take his son along to catch Lin Ninghua in the act!

Hmm…

But his son’s birthday was coming up soon—how could he let it affect the celebration?

Zheng Yixu was quite troubled by this.

Maybe he should record everything with his phone and show it to Jiu Si after the birthday. Sixteen is such a special age, and adding trouble to his son’s birthday wasn’t something a considerate father should do.

Ah, raising a son is hard, and raising a handsome teenage son is even harder!

Zheng Yixu put the phone back in its place and shook his head as he walked into his bedroom. He still needed to figure out what to get his son as a gift.

He rolled around on the bed for a long time and even asked for advice from Xiao Neinei. However, Xiao Neinei’s suggestions were too inappropriate, so he immediately passed on them!

Gifting something like romantic or adult films was too inappropriate. His son, Jiu Si, was still a pure child!

Although Zheng Yixu had celebrated Zhao Jiusi’s birthday more than a dozen times before, it was his first time planning a birthday gift himself. He needed to choose something that Jiu Si would love and be deeply moved by!

However, he didn’t know enough. He wanted to give a life-sized stuffed animal, but he didn’t have the contact information for custom makers. The online options available were unsatisfactory in quality…

It would be best to ask Zhao Louqin for advice.

But visiting Zhao Louqin’s bedroom at night was risky… However, if he didn’t go, he’d be preoccupied with it and wouldn’t be able to sleep!

For his son, he was determined to do it.

Zheng Yixu would never admit that he had a small bit of anticipation in his heart.

Ahem, he was just a normal man!

It was already impressive enough that he didn’t pounce on every beautiful person he met. Occasionally indulging a bit or being indulged wasn’t his fault~~~~~~. Plus, he could also use it as an opportunity to gather some information—knowing oneself and one’s enemy leads to victory in a hundred battles.

With such a conflicted and tangled state of mind, Zheng Yixu still knocked on Zhao Louqin’s bedroom door.