My baby is two and a half years old. Daddy, hurry up and make some milk!

After the parent-teacher meeting, Shen Wanning gave the father and son some time alone so they could have a proper talk.

Shen An walked ahead, kicking at the pebbles under his feet. Shen Xizhou followed silently behind him.

With a "ding," Shen An received a message on his phone from his aunt, Shen Wanning.

"Xiao'an, I just found out that your dad stayed up all night to finish his work and flew back early this morning without closing his eyes. What's wrong? You two should have a good talk."

Shen An turned off his phone and sat down in the stands on the playground.

Shen Xizhou pulled out a bottle of water from somewhere; it was Shen An's favorite energy drink.

"Thanks."

Taking the water, Shen An said thank you somewhat awkwardly.

Shen Xizhou sat down next to him and looked at the students playing football on the playground.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

After a long silence, Shen Xizhou was the first to break it.

"Son, do you think I'm a failure?"

Shen An glanced at him, said nothing, and turned back to look at the playground.

"Actually, I also feel like a failure. I haven't fulfilled my responsibilities as a husband, father, son, or brother."

I never imagined I would get married, let alone have a son. At that time, all I could think about was work and finding your aunt; I didn't even consider anything else.

Later, I married your mother. Even though it wasn't the marriage I had hoped for, I thought that since your grandmother wanted me to get married, it didn't matter who I married. At least your mother was someone I knew, and we were together again...

Even after getting married, I didn't realize that my identity had changed. I still worked as hard as before.

It wasn't until your mother's health deteriorated that I realized what was happening. I searched the world for doctors, but I couldn't save her, and I didn't even get to see her one last time.

Shen An then realized that he had gone out to find a doctor for his mother during that time. He thought that Shen An was being indifferent and deliberately avoiding his mother by not going home.

Shen Xizhou continued:

"After your mother passed away, I wanted to be a good father and get close to you, but whenever I approached you, the way you looked at me made me hesitate. Over time, all that remained between us, father and son, was arguing."

Your aunt is right. I'm an awkward person. I miss you so much, but I just can't bring myself to say it, which has led to our current situation.

After a pause, Shen Xizhou asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time: "I... do I still have a chance?"

Shen An was deeply moved by Shen Xizhou's words, as he had heard from others about his maternal grandfather's schemes against his parents.

He just hadn't expected his father to be so sincere in sharing his innermost thoughts with him today. It turned out his father did have his own feelings for him.

Shen An's personality was just like Shen Xizhou's; both were stubborn and unwilling to back down. But today, Shen Xizhou bowed down first. Just as Shen Wanning said, there's no such thing as who bows down first between father and son; it's about who loves whom more.

Therefore, Shen Xizhou became the one who loved more.

The water bottle in his hand was squeezed out of shape. Shen An was in a state of confusion and didn't know how to respond.

"Shen An, let's go play ball."

Just then, his classmates, carrying basketballs, saw him sitting there.

"You go back first, I'm going to play ball with my classmates."

Shen An fled the scene; he was unable to answer his question at this moment.

Watching his son leave, Shen Xizhou lowered his head in disappointment. It seemed his son still wasn't willing to forgive him.

Shen Wanning, who was waiting at the school gate, saw her older brother come out, went up to him, took his arm, and looked at him questioningly.

Shen Xizhou shook his head, looking dejected.

"It's alright, brother. Take your time. Xiao'an is a smart kid; he'll figure it out."

Shen Wanning took her older brother's arm and walked towards their car, letting Shen Xizhou's driver drive back by himself, as they were going to pick up Le Bao from kindergarten.

Lu Chenyue watched as his wife took his older brother's arm and walked towards the back seat. He pursed his lips, then wisely went to the front to drive.

Let's give him a break today, since he's in a bad mood.

Meanwhile, at kindergarten, little Le Bao is arguing with a classmate over a man—or rather, a boy.

"Brother Mu Chen, let's play together?"

Xin Xin, a little girl in the same class, ran up to Yu Muchen with a doll in her hand and invited him to play with her.

Xin Xin noticed this handsome boy a long time ago; he was the best-looking boy in the whole class.

But he always followed behind Lu Anle and didn't play with anyone else.

"Want to play Forest Magic together?"

Before Yu Muchen could speak, Le Bao, who was playing with Rou Rou, chimed in, saying she wanted to play too.

"I called him Brother Mu Chen, not you."

Xin Xin has always been treated like a princess at home. She has two older brothers and is the youngest sister. The whole family dotes on her and indulges her. As a result, she has a somewhat spoiled and domineering personality.

She hated Le Bao, the girl who was even prettier than her. She heard the boys in her class say that Le Bao was the prettiest girl in the class, and she was unconvinced. She was clearly the prettiest one.

"We can play together."

Despite being targeted, Le Bao didn't feel disliked at all and cheerfully said that they could play together.

"How can you be so shameless? I already told you I don't want to play with you, I only want to play with Brother Mu Chen."

As she spoke, she reached out to take Yu Muchen's hand, but he dodged her.

Le Bao finally understood. This uninvited guy not only disliked her, but also wanted to steal her Mu Chen brother. How could she tolerate this?

"This is like my brother, he doesn't play with you."

The chubby boy also lost his temper, grabbed Yu Muchen, and looked at Xin Xin defiantly.

"Lu Anle, Brother Mu Chen isn't yours, so why won't you let him play with me?"

Xin Xin was furious and reached out to hit Le Bao.

Yu Muchen shoved her hand away, and Xin Xin took a step back, lost her balance, and fell to the ground.

He was stunned for a moment, looked at Yu Muchen's cold eyes, and then burst into tears.

She, who has always gotten whatever she wanted, has never suffered such injustice before.

Her cries attracted the teacher. The teacher quickly came forward, picked her up, and asked her what was wrong.

"Waaaaah, teacher, Le Bao hit me!"

Le Bao: ? ? ? ?

Rou Rou, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore.

"You're lying. You were the one who tried to hit Le Bao first. Yu Muchen stopped you, and you fell down on your own."

They'll never frame her sisters.

"You're talking nonsense, I don't care, it was Le Bao who pushed me."

Xin Xin threw a tantrum and rolled around on the ground.

The teacher was unsure who to believe. She noticed Lele sitting quietly in the back.

"Lele, did you see that? Can you tell the teacher who started it?"

The little ones all looked at Lele. Lele was a little scared, and after a moment of silence, she bravely told the truth.

"Xin Xin hit Le Bao first, Yu Muchen blocked it, and Xin Xin fell down."

When Xin Xin was exposed, she glared fiercely at Lele, who shrank back and didn't dare to look at her.

The teacher, observing Xin Xin's behavior, also had some reservations. This child was so young, yet she was lying and threatening. It seemed she needed to have a serious talk with her parents.

When school was over, Xin Xin ran over again and said some harsh words to Le Bao:

"I'll get my brother to avenge me. I'll have him beat you up tomorrow."

After making those harsh remarks, she ran away.

"Le Bao, don't be afraid. We can just tell the teacher."

She gently comforted her.

"I'm not afraid."

Le Bao: You want to compete with your brother? Okay, okay, let's see whose brother is better tomorrow.