President Lu held the child while looking at the report. With family in one hand and career in the other, he was truly a winner in life.
Pei Dundun was still thinking about the wonderful experience of riding a motorcycle. The wind blew on his face, and the view was completely different from a four-wheeled car. Daddy Lu was so amazing. He quietly stayed in Lu Qin's arms for an hour.
As the excitement of the motorcycle experience faded, Pei Dundun wriggled to get down. Lu Qin let go and allowed him to play freely.
After the conversation with Pei Rong yesterday, Lu Qin had a hunch that Pei Rong wouldn't want to take Dundun away anytime soon. He didn't know what Pei Rong was busy with, but since Pei Dundun only had to call and Pei Rong would appear, he seemed quite free.
The little kid could be left with him, the car could be left with him... On one hand, Lu Qin fantasized that Pei Rong trusted him; on the other hand, rationality told him that Pei Rong didn't care about material things. The items he gave Pei Rong under the pretense of cultural studies were never seen worn by Pei Rong. They were probably thrown in some drawer, forgotten completely.
Lu Qin sighed, took out his phone for the 101st time, unlocked it, and checked his contacts.
The WeChat friend request he sent to Pei Rong last night hadn't been accepted yet.
If it's not accepted soon, he would call!
Lu Qin's patience was at its limit, but Dundun was so easy to take care of that he couldn't even use excuses like "What to do if the child cries," "What to do if the child won't eat," or "What to do if the child won't sleep" to get close to Pei Rong.
Was this all part of big beauty Pei's plan?
Dundun was sensible and adaptable, which was why Pei Rong felt assured to leave him with Lu Qin.
Having such an understanding child was also a kind of trouble.
Lu Qin closed his eyes and reinforced his resolve to "cast a long line to catch a big fish." They had only met for one day; he couldn't rush things. The fish had swum into the net's range, and slowly closing the net was the best strategy.
Yesterday proved that the strategy of patience was correct. Pei Rong was willing to share his phone number.
The phone dinged, indicating that the friend request had been accepted, and now they could chat.
Lu Qin's heart raced as he stared at Pei Rong's profile picture—a photo of an orange—for three seconds.
He decided to wait ten more minutes before sending a message.
He didn't want to seem like he had been staring at his phone all the time.
Each second felt like a year to Lu Qin. Suddenly remembering something, he swiped his thumb and clicked into Pei Rong's Moments.
It was blank.
Lu Qin made up his mind and decided to send Pei Rong two cute photos of Dundun riding the motorcycle. But before he could, a message came through first.
[Take Dundun for his MMR vaccine tomorrow.]
[He doesn't like getting injections, so keep an eye on him. He might try to run away.]
[Okay.]
At this moment, Lu Qin was unaware of the seriousness of the situation. His mind was solely focused on teasing his wife. He sent a photo of Dundun, with himself inadvertently appearing in a corner of the picture.
Then he waited for a long time without getting a response.
Hmph.
Two bodyguards watched as Pei Dundun inspected from the 27th floor down to the 1st floor. Wherever he went, the work efficiency in that area dropped to zero. They couldn't help but glance at the precious son of their stern boss, President Lu.
He looked familiar somehow.
From afar, he was a small bundle, but up close, he was as delicate as carved jade. When he grew up, he would surely be captivating.
The last time they saw someone this striking was Pei Rong, who had already retired from the entertainment industry.
However, when Pei Rong visited the company, his stunning beauty and strong presence intimidated most people, making them too afraid to look directly at him. They could only steal glances at his profile.
The little child was different. He was so cute and harmless that people couldn't take their eyes off him.
Especially since he had the same eyebrows as the Lu family. When Lu Qin furrowed his brows, it spelled trouble, and everyone below him would be terrified. Who would dare to stare at President Lu?
But on the little child, those same eyebrows looked pure and pleasing, a delight to behold.
Not to mention, Dundun was interactive. Word had it that he had a good memory, so everyone couldn't help but come to show their faces.
Pei Dundun scratched his cheek and saw two familiar guys carrying things upstairs. He called out loudly, "Brother Zhang! Brother Yu!"
Others were astonished. Wow, he even remembered the names of the security guards. Truly the prince!
The two guys never imagined that Pei Ge was actually Lu Qin's son. But then they thought, a beauty was only meant for the strong, which made perfect sense.
As expected of their Brother Pei!
The more little Lu inspected, the lower the efficiency of the Lu Building dropped. That day, everyone ended up working overtime, while President Lu left early on his motorcycle, swiftly taking his son home.
After dinner, Lu Qin looked up some tips on taking kids for vaccinations—it was best to discuss it in advance, praise them for being brave, and then follow through with a reward.
"Dundun," Lu Qin said, holding the little child's hand, who was in turn holding Orange, as they walked in the garden, "Your Dad Pei Rong said that tomorrow I have to take you for a vaccination. The vaccine can protect Dundun from a painful illness."
Pei Dundun's little face turned green. Why did he have to get another shot?
Lu Qin: "Dundun is very brave, right? After the shot, Daddy will give you a remote control yacht to ride the waves. You can use it in the swimming pool."
Pei Xiaoge's eyes blinked, and he couldn't help but tear up. Covering his eyes with his chubby hands, he said pitifully, "Dundun hurts."
Lu Qin, feeling heartbroken, hugged Dundun: "Daddy will go with you, don't be afraid."
Pei Dundun buried his face in Lu Qin's chest, nodding while sobbing.
Orange the cat rubbed its head against Dundun's arm, comforting its little master.
Lu Qin thought that settled it.
But the next morning, after he woke up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, the little child was gone. His mind went blank.
The worst thing happened: losing the child while taking care of him.
Despite not wanting to be criticized by Pei Rong, Lu Qin had no choice. He asked the butler to check the surveillance footage while calling Pei Rong. It took a while before someone answered.
Pei Rong, groggy, picked up: "Hello?"
Lu Qin tried to explain in one sentence: "I told Dundun last night about getting a vaccine, and just now he disappeared from home. Have you heard from him?"
Pei Rong heard Orange meowing and calmly said: "Oh, look around the house. He wouldn't dare go outside. Anything else?"
Lu Qin: "..."
Nothing.
He hung up awkwardly, looking around. For the first time, he felt the house was too big. It would take forever to search all three floors.
The surveillance footage of the downstairs hall showed no sign of Dundun, so he was likely on the second or third floor.
Lu Qin searched through cabinets in over a dozen rooms, focusing on the closet and storage room, only finding a few of Orange's hairs.
Wherever he went, Orange followed, offering no clues, and even meowing to alert Pei Dundun, working in perfect coordination.
Standing with his hands on his hips, Lu Qin thought for a moment, then returned to the bedroom and opened the nightstand.
Nothing.
He opened the bathroom door, dug through the dirty laundry basket on top of his recently changed pajamas, and pulled out the little child.
"Next time we play hide and seek, we get the vaccine first."
Pei Dundun negotiated: "Let's go tomorrow. Dundun needs one more day to prepare."
Lu Qin: "If you don't want to go to the hospital, Daddy will call the doctor to our home."
Pei Dundun: "Let's go to the hospital."
They could visit Uncle Jiang's hospital and see him.
An hour later, President Lu experienced what it meant to let go only to have them run away at the first opportunity. He had to hold the little child in his arms.
Lu Qin's stamina was better than Pei Rong's; he could hold on without letting go. When he saw the nurse approaching with a syringe, Pei Dundun tilted his head and sweetly asked, "Sister, can you wait until I count to one hundred before giving me the shot?"
Lu Qin: "Counting to ten is enough. There are other kids waiting."
When the needle went into his arm, Pei Dundun cried loudly. He pulled open his dad's suit jacket, buried his face and half of his body inside, covering his face with one hand as he cried, tears streaming down his plump arms. His long eyelashes were clumped together, and with one hand, he clutched Lu Qin's suit tightly, hiding himself completely.
President Lu became the center of attention. Fortunately, he was wearing a mask and sunglasses. He took off his coat to cover his son, who inherited his other dad's idol-like good looks, and calmly walked out. Passersby frequently glanced at them, wondering if he was kidnapping a child.
No, he really is my son.
As they were leaving the hospital, a security guard stopped them. Lu Qin had to explain, coaxing Pei Dundun to call him "Daddy."
"Daddy..." Pei Dundun, exhausted from crying, called softly and fell asleep in Lu Qin's arms, his little face red and tear-stained.
The security guard was momentarily unsure if the child was calling the man in front of him "Daddy" or crying for his daddy.
Lu Qin showed the vaccination certificate: "I am his father. I brought him for his vaccine. He’s embarrassed and cried in my arms."
Coincidentally, a tall man in a trench coat passed by. Hearing this, he glanced at the child in Lu Qin's arms, his gaze deepening.
"Is he your biological child?"
Lu Qin: "Yes."
The man in the trench coat stepped closer and reached out, saying, "The child seems to be crying so hard he's short of breath. Let me take a look."
Lu Qin quickly checked his sleeping son, who was breathing steadily and had a regular heartbeat, even smacking his lips. Lu Qin discreetly protected Dundun's neck and turned to walk inside: "Thank you, I'll find a doctor myself."
He signaled his bodyguard, who blocked the man's path.
A kidnapping gang!
The man in the trench coat's expression changed slightly, and he made a phone call.
"Police! Don't move!"
The bodyguard was restrained by two plainclothes officers who rushed over after hearing the news. He wanted to put up a fight, but realizing the other party were police officers, he couldn't react in time.
What's going on?
"The child in your hands is not your son. Hand over the child," the man in the trench coat showed his police badge to Lu Qin. "Don't make unnecessary resistance."
Lu Qin: "…He is my son."
"The entire police station knows his father, surname Pei. How dare you still lie."
Lu Qin closed his eyes, guessing that Pei Rong might have taken Dundun to the police station when registering the household, so everyone knew him. It also happened that a diligent and responsible police officer ran into them at the hospital.
Or it might have something to do with Pei Rong's time in jail.
In any case, Lu Qin was like a mute eating yellow lotus, unable to explain the bitterness.
Surrounded by the crowd, Lu Qin couldn't explain clearly for a while and could only say, "It's a misunderstanding. Let's talk in the police car."
Jiang Yan dared not show up while his little nephew was getting vaccinated. Arriving late, he saw Lu Qin and the child being taken away.
He immediately informed Pei Rong: "Your kid has been taken in again, hurry up and bail him out."
What! Caught again!
Pei Rong tensed up for a moment, then relaxed, continuing to eat his bun with a calm demeanor. "Let Lu Qin bail him out."
One person gets caught once, very fair.
Jiang Yan: "Alright, you get Lu Qin out first."
Pei Rong: "?"
