Shu Qingqing hadn't expected this to be the reason.
Lu Xun used to play very well with Feng Xiangdi's daughter, Xiao You, and later he liked Yinyin so much too. She just hadn't expected that after starting elementary school, Lu Xun would suddenly dislike playing with girls, even claiming they were troublesome and noisy.
And Sun Haoyang indeed didn't get along well with Lu Xun.
The reasoning sounded perfectly fine, but...
"Since you wanted to bribe them, why didn't you give your Ultraman to Wang Yaya and Xu Meng?"
Lu Xun wrinkled his nose. "I asked them. They both said they don't like Ultraman, and besides, my Ultraman is more expensive than a smartwatch."
Shu Qingqing laughed out of sheer exasperation. "Well, my Patek Philippe costs over three million!"
Lu Xun remained puzzled. "Mom, how much is over three million?"
Shu Qingqing: "Over three million is enough to buy a thousand of your Ultramans!"
"That is a bit expensive," Lu Xun nodded. "Then I guess I'll just give them something else."
Lu Xun walked a lap around his room, looking at one thing he couldn't bear to part with, then another he was even more reluctant to give up. Finally, he sighed, "Forget it, I've decided not to let Wang Yaya and Xu Meng be my sidekicks anymore. If they want to play with Sun Haoyang, let them. Girls are too much trouble anyway."
Shu Qingqing: ...
Shu Qingqing was a bit speechless, but in the end, she bought two identical StellaLous and gave them to Xu Meng and Wang Yaya.
Soon, it was the end of the semester.
With exams approaching, the teacher made them do practice tests every day, which annoyed Lu Xun to no end.
One day after class, his homeroom teacher called him into the office.
"Lu Xun, look at this test paper. You only scored eight points. I'm really puzzled. You're clearly a smart kid, so how could you get a grade like this?"
Lu Xun blinked innocently. "Teacher, I'm actually not smart. I'm very dumb."
The homeroom teacher looked at his handsome little face and sighed again. "Never mind, I can't get through to you. Have your mother come in tomorrow; I need to have a chat with her."
Lu Xun instinctively refused, "Teacher, my mom doesn't have time!"
Homeroom teacher: "Then having your dad come in is fine too."
Lu Xun: "My dad, he..."
Homeroom teacher: "Your dad doesn't have time either? Alright then, I'll make time to visit your home tomorrow."
That wouldn't do at all!
Lu Xun immediately said, "Teacher, my dad has time!"
Homeroom teacher: "Good, then have your dad come in tomorrow morning."
Lu Xun agreed, but as he walked out of the office, he found himself in a dilemma. Although his dad didn't care much about his grades, he had scored even lower this time than on his midterm. There was no guarantee his dad wouldn't spank him.
Lu Xun sighed heavily as he left the school. After getting into the car, he suddenly thought of something: "Uncle Xiao Liu, please take me to see my brother."
Uncle Xiao Liu immediately called Shu Qingqing, and only after she agreed did he take Lu Xun to Jingcheng University.
Lu Yu knew Lu Xun was coming to find him, so he waited at the school gate early.
The familiar car parked at the intersection, and the little figure wearing a backpack sprinted toward him: "Brother!"
Lu Yu smiled and took the backpack off him. "Are you hungry? Should I take you to get something to eat?"
Lu Xun nodded. "Let's eat with sister-in-law."
Lu Yu patted his head. "Your sister-in-law went to work her part-time job."
"Ah?" Lu Xun was instantly a bit disappointed. If his sister-in-law wasn't there, the chances of his brother agreeing to his request were slightly lower.
The two went to a porridge shop. As they were almost finished eating, Lu Xun suddenly asked, "Brother, do you love me?"
Lu Yu felt a bad premonition. He put down his spoon and said flatly, "I love you, but right now I love my girlfriend more. You're currently ranked second."
Even though Lu Xun had found out last time that he was now second in his brother's heart, hearing it again still made him a little sad.
But he quickly cheered up: "Being second is still pretty great. Brother, then you definitely wouldn't want to see your second most loved brother get hurt, right?"
Lu Yu: "That depends on the situation."
Lu Xun: ...
Boohoo, he realized his brother was getting meaner and meaner.
After feeling sad for a moment, Lu Xun decided to just say it. He opened his backpack, dug out his math test, placed it on the table, and slid it over.
The red number eight was exceptionally eye-catching.
Lu Yu froze.
He had already been surprised the last time he learned Lu Xun scored eighteen on his math test. He never expected it could go even lower!
Everyone in their family was great at studying; logically, Lu Xun shouldn't be like this.
Unable to figure it out, Lu Yu could only pinch the bridge of his nose. "So, you want...?"
Lu Xun: "I want you to be my dad."
Lu Yu almost fell out of his chair. "What did you say?!"
Lu Xun looked at him pitifully. "Brother, the teacher wants me to call my parents in, but I did so poorly this time. If Mom and Dad go, they'll definitely be angry. So... Brother, can you pretend to be my dad and go to my school?"
The main reason Lu Xun dared to have this idea was that his second-grade homeroom teacher was new and hadn't met Lu Bochuan yet.
Seeing Lu Yu purse his lips in silence, Lu Xun shamelessly ran over to massage his shoulders. "Brother, you are my dearest brother. You and sister-in-law will definitely grow old together, tie the knot forever, and live to a hundred. You surely don't want to see me get spanked by Mom again, right? Besides, it's bad for Mom's health to get angry so often."
Lu Yu's expression softened a bit, but he still didn't speak. Lu Xun had no choice but to up the stakes: "Brother, if you go to school instead of Dad this time, I promise I will definitely pass my final exams!"
Lu Yu frowned. "Are you sure?"
Lu Xun nodded frantically. "Mhm, mhm, mhm."
Lu Yu sighed. He really didn't want to see Shu Qingqing get angry, nor did he want Lu Xun to get spanked. If humoring him this once could actually make Lu Xun take his studies seriously, it wasn't entirely out of the question.
Lu Yu: "Fine, but just this once."
Lu Xun: "You're the best, Brother! Remember to dress a little older tomorrow!"
The next morning, Lu Yu wore a suit to Lu Xun's school and even purposely put on a pair of glasses, mimicking Lu Bochuan's look.
Although the homeroom teacher was puzzled as to why Lu Xun's father was so young, he didn't ask too many questions. He just kept telling him to pay more attention to Lu Xun's studies.
Regardless, Lu Yu managed to get through it.
Unexpectedly, when the final exams came around, Lu Xun actually passed all three subjects.
Shu Qingqing was, of course, overjoyed. She immediately decided to personally cook a big feast to reward Lu Xun.
Lu Yu happened to be home as well, so the mother and her two sons went to the supermarket together.
While they were shopping, they suddenly spotted Lu Xun's homeroom teacher, Mr. Chen.
Mr. Chen happened to look over at the same time.
"Lu Xun's mother, what a coincidence." Mr. Chen walked over, pushing his shopping cart.
Lu Xun grabbed Lu Yu, wanting to run away, but it was already too late.
"Mr. Chen," Shu Qingqing greeted him with a smile. "Lu Xun's progress this time is all thanks to his teachers."
Mr. Chen waved his hand. "You parents deserve a lot of credit too, especially Lu Xun's father. When he came to the school last time, I nagged him so much, but he listened very attentively the whole time. Speaking of which, you and your husband really make a perfect match..."
Shu Qingqing looked at Mr. Chen, then at Lu Yu, and finally pointed a finger at Lu Yu. "Are you saying... this is Lu Xun's father?"
