Pei Rong looked at the little one, covered head to toe in dust, with only a pair of bright, gleaming eyes shining through—exuding pure, unbridled joy—and said with genuine sincerity, "Dundun, you're amazing."
What boy could resist an excavator?
President Lu had truly hit Pei Dundun’s sweet spot.
Pei Rong: "You just left him at the construction site for over ten days like that?"
Lu Qin: "It wasn’t over ten days—my mom would’ve kicked me out of the house if I did that."
"Only three days total. On the first day, he shared an excavator with the instructor. On the second day, he operated a kid-sized one himself. And today, he insisted on driving the big one, saying the small one didn’t have enough power…"
Talk about aiming high but lacking skill.
Pei Rong understood now—the big moves had to be saved for critical moments. Lu Qin had sent Dundun to play with excavators just to shake him off for their date. The little guy, small and not very strong, would exhaust himself from the excitement all day and collapse into sleep as soon as he hit the bed, too tired to go looking for his dad.
Pei Dundun reported his achievements in his tiny, milky voice: "Master said tomorrow he’ll teach me how to mix cement with the excavator."
Pei Rong pinched his cheek, his thumb coming away with a smudge of dust. "Go take a bath first."
Dundun set down his "work-exclusive" water bottle, carefully placing it upright by the bed. His milk bottle had been retired—a working kid needed a proper, large-capacity construction-site thermos.
Lu Qin carried Dundun off to bathe, casually handing Pei Rong a video of the little one’s "workday" with a meaningful look. "No password set."
"Alright, alright." Pei Rong leaned back against the pillow and clicked play.
The video showed two excavators—one large, one small—with a pile of sand dumped between them, being repeatedly scooped and shifted.
For a kid of Dundun’s size and strength, operating the big excavator was a struggle. He practically had to stand on the seat, leaning his whole body to reach the controls.
But his focus was unwavering. If he missed the sand, he just tried again and again.
A circle of bodyguards in black stood around, erupting into applause every time Dundun successfully scooped sand—positive reinforcement at its finest.
Dundun pressed his lips together, his flushed cheeks half-hidden behind a mask, radiating excitement.
The video lasted fifteen minutes. Just as Pei Rong finished watching, Lu Qin returned with the freshly bathed little one, setting him on the bed to blow-dry his hair.
Once done, Dundun immediately flopped across the blankets onto Pei Rong’s lap. "Dundun missed Daddy so much!"
Pei Rong winced slightly—his thighs were a little too vulnerable for that kind of impact.
Lu Qin pulled open a drawer, took out his wallet, and counted out eight hundred yuan. "Dundun’s wages for today."
"Mm! Thank you, Daddy!" Dundun scrambled off Pei Rong’s lap, took the hard-earned cash, counted it carefully, then pulled out a metal box from under the bed to stash his earnings inside.
Pei Rong quickly adjusted his position to avoid making things worse.
Lu Qin pulled out his phone, pulled up a video of a small forklift at a construction site, and plopped the little one onto the bed next to Pei Rong. "Dundun, look at the little forklift."
Pei Dundun’s attention was instantly captured. "Can Dundun drive this too?"
Lu Qin: "Of course. First, observe and learn from the video."
After the excavator came the forklift, and after the forklift came the cement mixer truck... In this dazzling world of machinery, who could resist?
Except for the crane—too risky, no touching—the little kid could play with every other vehicle before the construction site officially opened for the day, buying President Lu enough time to snuggle up to his wife.
The stunning beauty shot a cold glare at the scheming CEO, who had everything neatly arranged for the kid. His intentions were blatantly obvious.
Did he really think this would give him free rein?
Wishful thinking.
Lu Qin leaned close to his wife’s ear. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"
Pei Rong lifted his gaze. "Are your parents home?"
Lu Qin: "No, they went to an exhibition in the neighboring city today."
Every time Pei Rong visited, Lu Qin made sure his parents were elsewhere. Of course, he wanted the whole family to eat together—officially, as a proper meeting—but that had to wait for the right moment. Pei Rong absolutely refused to meet them in his current state.
Pei Rong hesitated. "Isn’t it a bit rude to make them leave every time I come?"
It felt a lot like the saying, "A son forgets his mother once he takes a wife."
Lu Qin: "How could it be? Dundun’s called them 'Grandpa' and 'Grandma' a million times. We’re all family, and family understands each other."
Pei Rong’s eyes flickered. "Family... Then when are they coming back? Let’s have a meal together."
He knew Lu Qin was waiting for him to be ready. But thinking about it, there wasn’t much to agonize over—Dundun was already close with them. Sooner or later, he’d have to meet the parents.
A grin tugged at Lu Qin’s lips. "How about tomorrow at noon?"
"Sure."
By eight o’clock, Pei Dundun was too exhausted to keep his eyes open. After a mumbled "Goodnight, Daddy," he was out like a light.
Thanks to President Lu’s brilliant planning, both father and son were utterly worn out—Pei Rong fell asleep right after.
Pei Rong slept until noon, and when he woke up, he felt a bit lightheaded. He spent a long time practicing walking in his room until he could move without any noticeable awkwardness, then calmly turned the doorknob and stepped out.
Downstairs, the Lu family parents had returned. Dundun, who had the day off work, was playing hide-and-seek with Orange and Pineapple.
Lu Jianye still remembered the first time he saw Pei Rong at a company luncheon. With his sharp eye, he had long realized that Lu Qin was the only one head over heels in this relationship—bound to suffer for it... Yet against all odds, things had taken an unexpected turn.
Pei Rong, too, recalled his days of slacking off in the Lu Corporation building—wearing tiger-patterned T-shirts and tiger-head shoes, standing out like a sore thumb among a crowd of suited elites.
Back then, he had thought: Once Old Man Lu sees me like this, surely he won’t let Lu Qin keep dragging a lazy actor into the headquarters to film on an entire floor of office space?
The Lu Corporation building was the group’s headquarters—its public face and core. With shareholders, executives, and business partners all watching, letting a controversial celebrity film there was absurd. It was like lighting a beacon to amuse a concubine, undermining confidence in Lu Qin’s decision-making.
If Lu Qin wanted to use him as the face of Lu Corporation, Pei Rong would do the exact opposite—even ignoring Lu Jianye outright.
What a disaster… The great beauty Pei couldn’t help but blush, sitting up a little straighter.
Meanwhile, Lu Jianye remembered how his wife had suffered severe morning sickness when she was pregnant with Lu Qin. Madame Jiang, a master negotiator who usually prized her image, had abandoned jewelry and elegant clothes during that time, living in slippers and the simplest outfits.
With Dundun being this lively now, were there already signs back then?
At the time, Lu Jianye had simply thought Pei Rong didn’t care about Lu Qin. But now it was clear—he’d just been too worn out by Dundun to keep up appearances.
And that clueless Lu Qin actually tried to drag him into signing a filming contract? No wonder the deal fell through.
