Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

November arrived, and autumn in Hong Kong Island finally brought a touch of coolness. The plane trees in the kindergarten playground began to shed their leaves. When the wind blew, the withered yellow leaves swirled and fell onto the slide, into the sandpit, and onto the head of little Lu Qian, who was squatting in the corner studying ants moving house.

"Ring ring—"

Just then, the crisp lunch bell rang throughout the park, and the children playing outdoors immediately ran back to their classrooms like a flock of ducklings released from their cages.

At this moment, Xiao Luqian didn't care where the ants on the ground were moving to. He patted the dirt off his hands and rushed towards the classroom.

In the classroom, the teacher had already brought back lunch, and the air was filled with the tempting aroma of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and the rich, caramelized scent of sweet and sour pork ribs. Another teacher was distributing fresh fruit to each child.

Lu Qian sat by the window, holding a stainless steel plate, rhythmically bringing his spoon to his mouth, his cheeks bulging and his eyes narrowed into slits. He was having a very enjoyable meal today because it was his favorite dish, scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Moreover, the chef at the kindergarten seemed to have an extraordinary understanding with him, always perfectly matching the sweet and salty balance to his taste when making the dish.

Just as he was enjoying his meal, Jiajia came over with her plate. The little girl went around behind Lu Qian to his left, then carefully sat down and poked Lu Qian's arm with her spoon.

Lu Qian was licking a grain of rice stuck to the corner of his mouth with his tongue. When he turned his head, there was still a faint red mark of tomato juice on the corner of his mouth.

"What's wrong?" he asked indistinctly, a piece of scrambled egg still dangling from his spoon, not yet in his mouth.

Ever since he tripped Wang Jiahao last time, Jiajia has always liked to linger around him.

At first, she would just stand behind him when lining up for exercises; later, she would even drag him into the same group during game class; and then it got even more outrageous, when she changed the drawing theme assigned by the teacher in art class from "My Mom and Dad" to "Me and Brother Lu Qian".

The children in the class had already started gossiping, saying that Jiajia would be Lu Qian's bride when she grew up. Jiajia heard this but didn't deny it; she just hid her face in her scarf, secretly glancing at Lu Qian through the edge of the scarf.

Last week, when they were playing house, Jiajia insisted on being Lu Qian's bride and even put a plastic ring on her finger, saying it was a wedding ring given to her by her brother Lu Qian.

However, Lu Qian thought this kind of pretend play was too childish and turned around to play with Lego bricks. But Jiajia was not discouraged or disappointed at all. Instead, she happily followed Lu Qian with the ring in her hand and helped him build Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

At this moment, Jiajia sat beside him, her delicate, pretty face showing a solemn expression.

"Brother Lu Qian, this weekend is my birthday..." Today, Jiajia had two small braids in her hair, each with a pink butterfly hair clip attached. The butterfly hair clips swayed slightly as she spoke.

"My mom said she's going to have a birthday party in the garden, with strawberry cake, chocolate ice cream, balloons, and fairy lights—can you come?"

"Hmm..." Lu Qian put the scrambled eggs in his mouth, chewed them, and said, "I need to go back and ask my parents."

"Then tell me after you ask!" Jiajia nodded vigorously, then leaned closer and lowered her voice, "You have to come. I'll ask Mom to put extra strawberries on the cake, and save the biggest one for you."

"Great!" Lu Qian's eyes lit up after hearing that.

……

At four o'clock in the afternoon, kindergarten let out, and several cars were already parked on the playground to pick up the children. Lu Qian walked to the gate with his schoolbag on his back and immediately saw the black Rolls-Royce parked under the sycamore tree.

It wasn't just the car that was eye-catching; more importantly, a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist was standing next to the car door—Tian Yangyong. However, at this moment, in front of Lu Qian, a simple and honest smile was on that fleshy face.

"Uncle Yong!"

"Hey, young master!" Tian Yangyong squatted down, scooped Lu Qian up with his backpack and himself with one hand, and opened the back door with the other, gently placing him into the child seat.

"Uncle Yong, Uncle Yong," Lu Qian said, watching the street scene outside the window gradually change from the plane trees in front of the kindergarten to the office buildings in Central. Suddenly, he turned his head and craned his neck towards Tian Yangyong's direction. "I want to eat a hamburger."

"No, my wife said we're going home for dinner."

"Just one! Just the smallest one!" Xiao Luqian made a tiny circle with two fingers. "The last time I ate a hamburger was last month—no, the month before last. I won't tell my mom when I get home."

Tian Yangyong gripped the steering wheel, staring at the countdown timer at the traffic light ahead, and a twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He was the youngest of the seven sons and had the softest heart. He had never learned to refuse people, let alone refuse a four-year-old boy who was sitting in the back seat of the car, staring longingly at the back of his head with his big, wet eyes.

"Just one," Tian Yangyong muttered. "Don't tell your mom, don't tell your dad, and definitely don't tell your Uncle Sheng—"

"I won't tell, I won't tell, I won't tell!" Little Lu Qian raised three fingers and swore to the sky, his expression even more solemn than when his father signed the multi-billion dollar acquisition agreement.

"Okay... but I have a bad feeling about this."

As Tian Yangyong complained, he turned the steering wheel, and the Rolls-Royce turned onto the next street and drove into the KFC's pickup lane.

Afterwards, Tian Yangyong ordered a children's meal, handed the hamburger and fries to Lu Qian in the back row, and ate the remaining chicken wings himself.

Little Lu Qian held the hamburger with both hands, took a big bite, his mouth covered in salad dressing, and mumbled, "Uncle Yong is the best."

"You absolutely must keep this a secret," Tian Yangyong sighed. "You said it would be kept secret last time too, but your dad found out that very night."

"I absolutely won't tell this time! This is a secret between men!" Lu Qian nodded vigorously, sticking out his little finger. "Pinky promise."

Tian Yangyong smiled helplessly, stretched out his little finger, which was as thick as a carrot, and hooked it with the small hand that was only half the size of his finger joint.

……

7 PM, Lu Family Manor Restaurant.

Dinner was already set on the table. Ruan Mei had personally cooked tomato beef brisket today—the beef brisket had been stewing all afternoon, and it broke easily with chopsticks. The sweet and sour taste of the tomatoes permeated every piece of meat.

This is Xiao Luqian's favorite dish besides scrambled eggs with tomatoes. He can eat two bowls of rice every time he eats beef brisket.

But today he only ate a small bite, chewed for a long time before swallowing, and then stared blankly at the white rice in the bowl.

"What's wrong with you today? You're eating so little." Ruan Mei looked at her son and reached out to touch his forehead. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No." Little Lu Qian shook his head.

"Then why aren't you eating beef brisket? It's your favorite."

"It's just... I feel like I'm already full."

"Full?" Ruan Mei raised an eyebrow. She was full after only a small bite today?

Ruan Mei blinked in confusion, then suddenly remembered that Tian Yangyong was the one who was supposed to pick him up today.

Remembering how Tian Yangyong couldn't resist taking her to McDonald's for his birthday party last month and they were caught, Ruan Mei immediately understood and deliberately put on a stern face: "Did Uncle Yong take you out to sneak a bite?"

Lu Qian's chopsticks froze in mid-air, his little face stiffening, completely at a loss for words.

If he says no, then he's lying, and lying isn't good for a child. If he says yes, then he's betraying Uncle Yong. Uncle Yong has been so good to him; he can't let Uncle Yong get scolded.

His gaze darted back and forth between the plate and Ruan Mei several times, when suddenly an idea struck him.

"Mom! Jiajia from my class is having her birthday party this weekend, and she invited me to her house. Can I go?"

Ruan Mei was slightly taken aback when she heard the question.

Jiajia—she remembered this name. She had just heard Bawanghua mention it at the dinner table a few days ago. Her father was from Beijing and had a powerful background.

Ruan Mei thought for a moment, and since she hadn't heard Lu Chen refuse their relationship, she nodded and said, "...It's possible, but we'll have to wait for your father to come back and ask him."

"Okay~"

Xiao Luqian breathed a sigh of relief, not only because he heard that his mother didn't object, but more importantly, because he thought he had successfully changed the subject.

However, the next second, Ruan Mei smiled and wiped the sauce off his lips with a tissue, forcing his smile back before it could fully bloom: "Since you went out to sneak a bite with Uncle Yong today, there's no dessert tonight."

Lu Qian's smile instantly vanished, replaced by a bitter expression.

Seeing this, Ruan Mei held back her laughter and patted his little head:

"I'll wash my own dishes later and then I won't tell Dad about the hamburger."