You Zhi livestreamed for three hours that night and ended the stream after midnight. Just as he was about to wash up, he heard rustling outside his door, followed immediately by a whistle.
You Zhi raised a brow slightly and instantly realized what it was. This kid had turned a simple visit into some kind of spy rendezvous.
You Zhi walked over and, the instant he opened the door, pulled a face.
Cub pulled a face too.
Both of them had tried to scare the other at the exact same time.
“Pretty in sync.” You Zhi laughed, quickly glanced both ways down the hall, then scooped Cub up and hauled him inside.
Cub giggled. “The nanny fell asleep! I secretly watched Papa’s livestream! The moment you ended it, I came over! I’m smart, right?”
You Zhi rubbed his little head. “You even know how to watch my livestream? How do you watch it?”
Cub held out his smartwatch.
You Zhi gave an impressed huh. Kids’ smartwatches in this world had developed to this point already? They could even watch livestreams.
“Smart.” You Zhi pinched his cheek.
Cub rolled around once while hugging the blanket. “Cub will wait for Papa. Papa, hurry! Let’s sleep together!”
You Zhi wrapped him in the blanket and rolled the little thing over once. “Okay.”
You Zhi brushed his teeth while looking at himself in the mirror, his pink hair tied up into a little apple-top ponytail.
He did not know whether acting like this with Cub was right or wrong. If Shen Zichen found out, they would probably argue again, and Shen Zichen would accuse him of still harboring ulterior motives.
But You Zhi simply could not help himself. Maybe it was because this was his biological son. Their glands were linked by pheromones.
If anyone else cried, You Zhi would only find them annoying. But if the one crying was Cub, all he could feel was heartache.
In the other world, You Zhi liked men. He had originally thought his life would just go on like that and that having children would never be possible for him.
Then he suddenly died from overwork—and ended up with a son.
You Zhi himself was still practically a kid…
Instinctively, he wanted to agree to everything Cub asked for. Even knowing the little guy was full of schemes, he was willing to play along with those schemes, spoil him, indulge him. As long as the little thing was happy, that was enough.
By the time You Zhi finished washing up and came out, Cub was already sleeping like the dead, hugging the blanket with his mouth open and breathing softly.
You Zhi pulled the blanket over him properly and rubbed his hair.
He genuinely could not understand Shen Zichen. Cub was a little kid, yet Shen Zichen dressed him in dark clothes every day. What child would like that?
In his sleep, Cub rubbed against You Zhi’s wrist.
You Zhi’s expression softened. The little thing really was pretty cute.
Early the next morning, You Zhi secretly carried the little thing back to his room, then stumbled sleepily back and went to bed again.
That night, the little thing came to his room again.
“Baby, aren’t you afraid your dad will catch you if you keep doing this?” You Zhi was still playing a game. He took a candy from the drawer and tossed it to the little thing.
Cub caught the lollipop and shook his head. “Daddy is busy training. He definitely won’t notice.”
“Hm?” You Zhi checked the time. It was almost one in the morning. “Your dad is still practicing at this hour?”
Cub nodded. He flopped onto the bed with the lollipop in his mouth and mumbled, “Actually, Daddy doesn’t need to do this…”
“Exactly. Who knows what screw came loose in your dad’s head.” You Zhi could not understand it either. “He’s an actor. He should just go act. Why insist on joining this tiny lousy variety show?”
“Daddy did it for me.” Cub pouted. “He came because I wanted to come. I was also the one who cried and made a fuss until Daddy agreed to stay.”
You Zhi’s hand paused on the mouse mid-game.
“Daddy really is super, super good,” Cub said. “Even though he’s always really, really, really busy, every time Cub asks for something, Daddy always agrees.”
“You mean your dad came here because of you?” You Zhi had been distracted just now and got burst down by the enemy. He was waiting to respawn.
Cub gave a quiet mm. “And Daddy only learned this game because Cub likes it. I know lots of people say Daddy isn’t good at it, but that’s okay. Just the fact that Daddy came is already really good.”
You Zhi stared at the respawn countdown and frowned slightly.
“Right, Papa?” Cub asked.
You Zhi came back to himself and gave an mm. Why did it suddenly sound like Shen Zichen was kind of pitiful…
After Cub fell asleep that night, You Zhi went downstairs to pour himself some water. Passing the stairwell, he noticed a faint light still glowing on the third floor.
You Zhi frowned. No way that man was still practicing.
He went upstairs.
At the station by the window, Shen Zichen wore a headset and calmly operated at the computer. The only sound in the entire training room was the clacking of his keyboard.
You Zhi sighed, walked over, and tapped his desk. “Film Emperor Shen, time to rest.”
Shen Zichen turned his head to glance at him, took off the headset, but kept operating. “Did I disturb you?”
“No, I came out for water.” You Zhi took a sip.
Shen Zichen was practicing ADC. His mechanics still were not there yet. Skills like these depended not only on familiarity, but also on game sense, and game sense was something you could only develop yourself by playing more.
“Go mid.” You Zhi leaned against the chair beside him and directed in a low voice. “Someone’s in the bush on the right. Go around.”
Shen Zichen reacted and circled around.
“Let me see your build.” You Zhi frowned slightly.
Shen Zichen opened his equipment panel.
You Zhi was silent for a few seconds. “Swap the attack-speed item for the blade. Your attack speed is enough; your damage isn’t.”
Shen Zichen changed his equipment.
“Take the river crab.”
Shen Zichen took the river crab.
“Team fight’s starting. Go through the jungle,” You Zhi said. “Don’t stand too far forward. Stay behind the tank. Their jungler is in the bush behind you on the left, so lean right. Their mid is about to stun—dodge the skill. Enemy is low, ult and finish them. Watch their movement, roll right, auto-attack and take out their support.”
Double Kill!
“Nice.” You Zhi smiled and casually rested a hand on Shen Zichen’s shoulder. “Seriously, your reactions are pretty fast and you pick things up quickly. You just never played before. If you went through systematic training, you definitely wouldn’t be worse than the others here.”
Shen Zichen lowered his eyes. “Your hand.”
You Zhi’s hand paused, then he withdrew it and muttered, “Seriously?”
“I’m an A, and you’re an O.” Shen Zichen kept operating as he spoke calmly. “You should have some awareness. It’s the same with other people. No matter how close you are as friends, you still need to keep an appropriate distance.”
You Zhi barely listened. “Hey! Enemy jungler’s coming! Bush!”
Shen Zichen flashed away. Yan Shan Ting.
You Zhi straightened lazily. “I lied.”
Shen Zichen’s fingers paused on the keyboard. He sighed. “Was that fun?”
“Yes.” You Zhi tilted his head, perfectly matter-of-fact. “Who told you to trust me?”
“Jungler. Jungler’s coming,” You Zhi said again.
This time Shen Zichen did not believe him, and the enemy jungler ganked and killed him.
“I told you he was coming,” You Zhi said.
While waiting to respawn, Shen Zichen simply pushed the keyboard away. His swivel chair turned until he was facing You Zhi directly. He calmly looked him up and down. “Three words are written all over you.”
You Zhi glanced down at himself. “What?”
“Asking for it,” Shen Zichen said blandly.
You Zhi chuckled. He dragged over a chair, sat cross-legged on it, leaned back, and tossed out, “Only if you can actually do something about it.”
Shen Zichen’s brow twitched.
“Come on. I’ll sit right here and watch you try.” You Zhi even scooted closer.
“No need. Go back and rest. I can practice by myself,” Shen Zichen said.
The distance in his attitude could not have been more obvious.
You Zhi raised a brow, tapped a finger on the desk, glanced at the camera across from them, and lowered his voice. “Shen Zichen, I know you hate me. If we weren’t filming, I wouldn’t care how much you hated me or how far away you wanted to stay. But we’re recording a variety show right now, and the three coaches are responsible for the substitute contestants too.”
You Zhi sounded perfectly righteous.
In truth, after what Cub had said that night, he simply felt it would be nice if he could help Shen Zichen. After all, this man was his son’s other father. There was no need for their relationship to be this tense.
Shen Zichen looked at him in silence for several seconds, then suddenly laughed. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”
“I’ll queue with you. I’ll carry you.” You Zhi turned on the computer beside Shen Zichen and waited for the game to load.
Shen Zichen gave an mm.
You Zhi asked, “You joined this variety show because of Cub?”
Shen Zichen’s current match had not ended yet. He was still typing on the keyboard. “Yes.”
You Zhi said, “Isn’t that a bit much?”
“I’ve been very busy these past two years and haven’t spent much time with him. It’s what I should do,” Shen Zichen said.
You Zhi went oh. “Even then, there’s no need to work this hard for a variety show, right? As long as you look passable on camera, that’s enough. This show is mainly here to promote esports players. You don’t have to push yourself this far.”
Shen Zichen shook his head. “Since I’m already here, I might as well do it properly. And I don’t want Cub or the fans to be disappointed. I can’t come last in every match.”
You Zhi nodded. Look at that attitude.
“Anyway, if you have any questions about the game, ask me.” While the game loaded, You Zhi spun his chair, winked at Shen Zichen, and smiled. “Whatever else, when it comes to mechanics, I’m definitely better than the other two coaches.”
Shen Zichen looked away and gave an mm.
You Zhi raked his fingers through his hair a few times and sat up straight.
He logged into the game and invited Shen Zichen into the lobby.
“You pick ADC,” You Zhi said. “I’ll support you.”
“You’re supporting me?” Shen Zichen confirmed again.
You Zhi gave an mm and directly locked in the support position. “I can play anything.”
Shen Zichen did not say anything more and selected a marksman.
“Honestly, you can brag about this when you go out today. It’s been centuries since I supported anyone.” You Zhi unconsciously crossed one leg over the other.
Shen Zichen lowered his eyes. “Put your leg down properly.”
“You’re managing me now?” You Zhi said that, but still put his leg down and changed positions.
Once the game started, You Zhi did not stop talking.
“Shen Zichen, stay behind me. Don’t dive in.” You Zhi sighed helplessly. “My biological father, what the hell did you build? Swap it. Get attack speed.”
“Film Emperor Shen, can you manage this? I already checked the bush. Someone’s here, someone’s here, someone’s here!”
“Jungler’s coming. Get under tower, under tower!”
“Don’t move, I’m healing you.” You Zhi chased after him trying to heal, exhausted. “Shen Zichen! Stop moving! I haven’t healed you yet!”
They both died.
Shen Zichen suddenly asked, “Am I difficult to teach?”
You Zhi blurted, “Yes…” Yan Shan Ting.
Shen Zichen’s eyes were half lowered, fingers tapping the keyboard. The curtain billowed in the breeze, fragments of lamplight falling across him, softening his usually cool and distant air.
You Zhi could also smell the faint scent of Shen Zichen’s pheromones in the air.
It really smelled good, with a vaguely soothing quality.
You Zhi realized it. “You released pheromones?”
“A little.” Shen Zichen said, “It won’t affect anyone else.”
“Bro, what about me? Am I not a person?” You Zhi pointed at himself.
Shen Zichen gave his gland an unreadable glance and raised a brow. “I thought you were in heat. If I released pheromones, you might feel a little better.”
You Zhi froze.
“You’ve looked uncomfortable these past few days. Isn’t it because of your heat?” Shen Zichen asked as calmly as if they were discussing what they had eaten that day.
You Zhi did not think anything was wrong either. He blinked. “I am in heat, but just now, after I came over and sat down, I suddenly didn’t feel as bad!”
Shen Zichen’s lips lifted slightly.
“Your pheromones are really useful. Better than whatever injection that was.” You Zhi touched his gland and smiled. “I really do feel better. It’s not as swollen either.”
“Then you can sit a little closer,” Shen Zichen said.
You Zhi nodded and really dragged his chair closer. “Sure.”
Shen Zichen lowered his gaze and withdrew his attention.
