Chapter 109: Back Off

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Back Off

"Don’t you dare talk about my mom!"

Nan Yi, furious and flustered, clenched his fists. His whole body bristled with sharp thorns, all pointed directly at Lu Shixu.

It was as if he might lunge forward and sink his teeth into Lu Shixu at any second!

Tao An was on edge.

Only Lu Shixu seemed completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

His tone was flat, but his words were terrifyingly sharp:

"You got angry and ran off because that little girl kept talking about your mom, and you couldn’t stand to hear it, didn’t you?"

Tao An froze. ’What is Mr. Lu wildly guessing at? How could anyone...’

But when he turned and saw Nan Yi’s reaction, he was stunned.

Because Nan Yi’s face had paled in an instant.

The look he gave Lu Shixu was no longer just disgust; it was now laced with fear and humiliation.

It was the helplessness of having his desperately hidden thoughts forcibly laid bare.

"I... I..."

Nan Yi wasn’t stupid.

His little brain was sharper and quicker than anyone’s.

That was why, no matter how much he wanted to ask the man, "How did you know?", he wouldn’t let the words escape his lips.

Because asking would be the same as admitting it.

He wasn’t that kind of awful kid!

He... wasn’t...

All the fighting spirit in Nan Yi’s body seemed to melt away in that instant.

He looked dejected, his head hung low, as silent as a shadow melting into the night.

Tao An wanted to speak several times but held his tongue. He couldn’t bear to watch the change in the boy.

He felt it would be better to see Nan Yi glaring at his boss like a little fighting cock, or even taking a bite or two... ah, that’s not what he meant.

Tao An shuddered, feeling his boss’s eyes on him, and quickly lowered his head.

Lu Shixu retracted his gaze and let it fall back on Nan Yi.

"Want to talk?"

He pointed to the 24-hour convenience store nearby.

Nan Yi let out a cold hmph.

But he didn’t refuse.

So, Lu Shixu instructed Tao An to report Nan Yi’s whereabouts.

To be precise, he was to inform Nan Zhi.

Tao An nodded hastily.

"And another thing."

Lu Shixu’s brow furrowed with a hint of impatience.

"Warn the production team to keep a better eye on the kids."

The ever-submissive Tao An looked up in surprise.

’Mr. Lu... actually cares about this stuff?’

"Is there a problem?"

"N-No!"

Tao An hastily agreed and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Nan Yi and Lu Shixu entered the convenience store, one after the other.

Although they were together, their auras were as incompatible as fire and water.

They even maintained a deliberate distance from each other as they walked.

...In the eyes of the convenience store clerk, they naturally looked like a father and son who had just had a fight.

Watching Nan Yi march sullenly inside, Lu Shixu followed nonchalantly, one hand in his pocket.

The clerk, trying to be helpful, asked with a smile:

"Hey little guy, we just got some new Ultraman toys. Do you want one?"

Nan Yi’s voice was muffled:

"No, thanks."

Lu Shixu’s voice was light and casual:

"No need."

The two spoke in unison.

The clerk didn’t know what to say.

Lu Shixu didn’t overthink it and said to Nan Yi:

"You can go pick out something to eat."

This time, Nan Yi didn’t refuse with bared fangs and claws, but instead shuffled slowly toward the shelves.

While Nan Yi wasn’t paying attention, the clerk tried again, offering the man some advice:

"Fathers should be more patient with their kids. Don’t get worked up over the little things."

The clerk deliberately lowered his voice.

The words reached Lu Shixu’s ears, and a strange expression crossed his face.

Lu Shixu hesitated.

"Are you talking to me?"

The clerk was a little intimidated but nodded anyway.

"Y-Yes."

Lu Shixu pursed his lips.

"You’ve misunderstood. He’s not..."

"He’s not my dad!"

Nan Yi shot over like a little cannonball!

He shot Lu Shixu a venomous glare, the four words "Stay away from me" practically written across his face.

Even Lu Shixu couldn’t help but feel a little strange.

After a moment to compose himself, Lu Shixu explained to the clerk:

"Right. We’re not father and son."

The clerk was so embarrassed his toes curled inside his shoes.

"Oh, oh! I’m so sorry, I had no idea. I just misunderstood, you two look so alike... I’m really, really sorry!"

Lu Shixu: ’We look alike?’

Nan Yi: ’Who looks like this guy? What bad luck!’

The two of them went to sit by the convenience store’s window.

Only then did Lu Shixu realize that Nan Yi had only picked out a bottle of mineral water.

No snacks, no ice cream, no soda... just a single bottle of water.

Lu Shixu raised an eyebrow.

"You don’t want anything else?"

Nan Yi’s soft cheeks were pulled tight, and his tone was even worse.

"Do you think I’m a three-year-old?"

Lu Shixu scoffed lightly.

"Oh, right. You’re four and a half."

The thorns that had drooped on Nan Yi’s body showed signs of bristling again.

"Who asked you to pay attention to us!"

Lu Shixu gave Nan Yi a rare, appreciative glance. ’This little guy is pretty sharp,’ he thought.

Nan Yi understood his look and stressed:

"I’m not an idiot!"

Lu Shixu replied simply,

"Oh."

They sat at the window counter, adjacent but silent, with two empty seats between them.

Lu Shixu’s legs were long enough to rest his feet comfortably on the floor.

Nan Yi, on the other hand, was a different story.

Just climbing onto the high stool was a struggle for him.

Once he was settled, his two little legs dangled in the air, unable to reach the ground, swinging back and forth.

Nan Yi glanced at the difference between them. ’Hmph!’

He tightened his little face, thinking that sooner or later, he’d grow up—much, much taller than the man beside him...

"You love your mom that much? So much that you don’t want anyone else getting close to her?"

Lu Shixu’s indifferent gaze was fixed on the empty space in front of him as he suddenly spoke.

Nan Yi’s small body went stiff.

"Y-You’re talking nonsense."

"Your tone now is far less confident than it was a moment ago."

Lu Shixu mercilessly punctured Nan Yi’s pretense.

And Nan Yi was like a balloon that had been pricked, all his flimsy pretenses deflating at once.

"So what if I am," Nan Yi said in a low voice.

He tried to twist open the cap of his water bottle to take a sip.

But his hands were too small, and he couldn’t open it at all.

Lu Shixu smoothly took it from him.

Then, he handed the opened bottle back.

Annoyed, Nan Yi didn’t want to take it.

"Not thirsty?"

Lu Shixu could see that Nan Yi’s lips were dry and chapped.

Nan Yi had a second thought.

’This guy paid for it, so why shouldn’t I drink it?’

So he took it and took a big gulp.

Lu Shixu said, "A single bottle of water isn’t going to bankrupt me. Remember to pick something more expensive next time."

Nan Yi didn’t like the arrogance in the man’s tone.

He pouted.

"Next time, I’ll buy out the whole convenience store!"

’So naive and childish,’ Lu Shixu thought.

"I can do more than just buy it out. If you want, I can buy you a hundred stores like this."

Lu Shixu said it so casually, as if he were talking about buying a hundred bottles of water, not a hundred convenience stores—a trivial matter.

A customer walking up behind them happened to overhear this exchange. ’How amusing,’ he thought. ’A father bragging to his kid like that? What if the kid takes him seriously later on? Wouldn’t that be... Hey, wait a minute. Could the watch this "dad" is wearing actually be real? Could it be that *he* was the real clown here?’

The customer’s face stiffened, and he automatically moved away.

Lu Shixu cast a faint glance behind him.