Liu Changqing stood there, taking in the scene before him.
His gaze flickered between Zhou Shiyan’s expressionless face and Liu Zhiyue’s panicked one. The more he looked, the more sothing felt… off.
“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at the kids like that?”
Lan Yixian spoke up.
Standing beside him, she noticed the unusual look on his face and sensed that the atmosphere had taken an odd turn.
But to her, there was nothing inappropriate about the situation.
It was just two kids sitting on the bed. If they pulled a small table in front of them and laid out their workbooks, they could easily study together.
The house was small, with limited chairs. To Lan Yixian, this setup was completely normal.
She reached out and gently tugged at Liu Changqing’s arm, lowering her voice.
“Don’t look so scary, you’ll frighten them…”
Hearing her words, Liu Changqing fell silent.
He thought about it carefully.
Maybe he really was overthinking things.
They were just fifteen-year-olds. Unlike kids in his past world, who grew up exposed to all sorts of things on the internet, they wouldn’t understand that much.
It was his thoughts that were impure. He was the one looking at a simple friendship with suspicion.
With that realization, he slowly cald down.
Taking a deep breath, his expression returned to normal.
“On the way here, your Aunt Lan told you’ve been helping out a lot during the sumr,” Liu Changqing said, looking at his son. “I don’t have a problem with that. And I fully support you studying with Zhou Shiyan. But… you shouldn’t have kept it from .”
Hearing his father’s words, Liu Zhiyue let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Dad… I was wrong.”
“Next ti, don’t just run off without telling . When I saw you weren’t ho in this heavy rain, I was worried sick.”
With that, the matter was settled.
Liu Changqing’s attention shifted to Lan Yixian’s soaked clothes.
Realizing this, he turned to his son.
“Step outside with for a mont.”
Then, looking at Lan Yixian, he added, “Go change your clothes. Getting sick in the middle of sumr would be a real hassle.”
“Mm…”
Hearing her response, Liu Changqing gestured for his son to follow him and stepped out.
Liu Zhiyue obediently trailed behind.
With the father and son gone, only Lan Yixian and her daughter remained in the room.
Lan Yixian kept staring at the door.
Noticing this, Zhou Shiyan also glanced toward the doorway.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the bed.
Then, she slowly released her grip.
Lifting her head, she softly said, “Mom, you should change.”
“Oh… right.”
It wasn’t until her daughter spoke that Lan Yixian snapped out of her thoughts and began moving.
Outside, the rain had intensified.
Liu Changqing stood there, head tilted upward, watching the sky. The thick, gray clouds stretched endlessly above him, and the occasional clap of thunder rumbled in his ears.
He didn’t say anything at first.
After a mont of contemplation, he turned to look at his son.
Liu Zhiyue, seemingly imitating him, was also staring up at the sky.
A complex emotion flashed in Liu Changqing’s eyes.
Absentmindedly, he ran his tongue over his lips, gathering his thoughts.
“The rain’s really coming down.”
Liu Zhiyue, still looking at the sky, replied in a neutral tone, “Yeah, it’s heavy.”
His words caught Liu Changqing off guard.
For a mont, he forgot what he had planned to say.
After a short pause, he responded, “Yeah… Haven’t seen rain like this in a long ti. By the way, did you bring an umbrella when you left?”
“I did.”
“That’s good. At least you didn’t get soaked…”
Their conversation felt oddly disjointed, yet layered with aning.
Liu Zhiyue finally lowered his gaze from the sky and looked at his father.
“I’m already fifteen,” he said.
“Mm.”
“There are things I want to decide for myself.”
“But that doesn’t an your decisions will always be right, does it?”
Liu Changqing countered, then suddenly chuckled and patted his son’s shoulder.
The boy had grown fast.
In just a few months, he was no longer a little kid he could casually ruffle on the head.
It was proof that he was growing up.
Seeing the smile on his father’s face, Liu Zhiyue hesitated for a mont, wanting to say sothing. But before he could, Liu Changqing spoke again.
“But as your father… I support your decisions.”
“Sotis, paving the way for your children isn’t always beneficial for their growth. If you want to do sothing, go ahead. Just…”
Liu Changqing glanced at the door behind them.
Noticing no one was coming out, he took a few steps closer to his son.
Lowering his voice, he said, “Just be careful. You’re only in middle school. Don’t do anything too reckless. If I ever find out you—”
“Dad!”
Liu Zhiyue froze for a second before realizing what his father was implying.
His face instantly turned bright red.
Unbidden, certain images popped into his mind.
Teenagers were naturally curious.
Back in sixth grade, he had once visited a classmate’s house, where the boy had secretly shown him his father’s collection of DVDs.
At the ti, Liu Zhiyue didn’t understand what he was looking at. But as he got older, and after hearing the teacher’s lectures on human anatomy in biology class…
He had figured it out.
He wasn’t completely clueless—unlike his little sister, who still believed that babies were simply handed out at hospitals.
He knew how it really worked.
And because he understood, he imdiately grasped the implication behind his father’s words.
But… knowing was one thing. Having it bluntly pointed out was sothing else entirely.
An uncontrollable wave of panic rose in his chest.
He quickly glanced back at the door, making sure no one was coming, before lowering his head.
“I… I haven’t thought about anything like that,” he muttered.
“Good. Keep it that way until you’re older—”
“Dad! I’m only fifteen! Stop talking about this!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop. As long as you know where to draw the line.”
Liu Changqing couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic.
Kids these days were still so innocent.
Back in his old world, forget fifteen—eleven- or twelve-year-olds probably already knew everything.
Without the influence of the internet, children naturally remained purer.
With that thought, he withdrew his hand from his son’s shoulder.
Once again, silence settled between them.
Until the door behind them opened.
Lan Yixian called out, “I’m done changing. Co inside.”
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