Five years without pregnancy means you're too weak; I remarried a powerful man and had triplets

Lu Zichuan's childhood?

Shen Zhiyi immediately thought of a serious-looking man wearing a suit and tie, holding a stack of books, who was not smiling. That must be his current version, right?

She stepped forward.

Bai Qinghua opened the photo album, where photos were neatly arranged in chronological order, some of the old photos even having the yellowish, grainy texture unique to that era.

"Look at this one." Bai Qinghua pointed to one of the pages, unable to suppress a smile. "Don't let Zichuan's mature and composed appearance fool you; he was quite mischievous when he was a child."

"Hey, while his parents were out, he cut a big hole in Ziyang's school uniform, saying he was going to make a ventilation hole for his older brother."

"It caused Ziyang to be laughed at at school every day for those few days, and the two brothers almost got into a fight."

In the photo, little Lu Zichuan is wearing overalls, holding a pair of children's scissors, standing in the middle of the living room, with a tattered school uniform jacket spread out in front of him.

There was no trace of panic on his face as if he had done something wrong; instead, he looked smug, as if he were showing off some masterpiece.

Looking at the adorable yet fierce-looking little boy in the photo, Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Was he this naughty when he was little?"

This was quite a contrast to the dignified person she had in mind.

"More than just mischievous." Bai Qinghua turned to the next page, "When he was seven, he insisted on climbing that thousand-year-old tree in their yard to steal birds' nests. He fell off the tree but didn't utter a sound. The next day, he went to climb it again, which made his parents so angry that they locked him in his room. Guess what happened?"

"What's wrong?"

"He climbed out of the window and then climbed up that tree," Bai Qinghua shook his head helplessly. "My father was so angry that his blood pressure went up, and he chased him around the yard three times before he caught up with him."

Looking at the photo of the little boy who was all sweaty, with his pants rolled up to his knees and a band-aid on his knee, yet still smiling brightly, Shen Zhiyi felt a gentle pang in her heart.

It's hard to connect the mischievous little boy in front of you with the calm, shrewd, and decisive Lu Zichuan in the business world.

"This one's even funnier." Bai Qinghua turned another page, pointing to a photo and laughing so hard he was shaking. "When he was ten, he secretly brewed all of his dad's collection of fine tea and invited all the bodyguards in the yard to drink it. When his dad came back and saw that all the tea worth hundreds of thousands of yuan had gone into other people's stomachs, he almost fainted."

In the photo, Lu Zichuan is holding a large teapot, surrounded by seven or eight bodyguards, each with a complicated expression, unsure whether to drink or not. The young master himself, on the other hand, has a proud look on his face that says, "I'm very generous, aren't I?"

Shen Zhiyi covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with laughter: "How could he be so cute when he was little?"

"Cute?" A deep voice came from the doorway.

Lu Zichuan was leaning against the study door frame at some point, arms crossed, looking at them expressionlessly. His gaze fell on the open photo album, and his temple twitched slightly.

"Sister-in-law, you're digging up my embarrassing past again."

Bai Qinghua calmly closed a corner of the photo album and said with a smile, "I'm helping Zhizhi understand your growth history, which will help your relationship develop."

"Otherwise, Zhizhi wouldn't like your mature appearance."

Lu Zichuan walked over and reached out to take the photo album: "There's nothing to see here. These are all stupid things I did when I was a kid and didn't know any better."

"She likes me just the way I am now."

Shen Zhiyi reacted quickly, pressing down on the photo album and looking up at him, her eyes still brimming with amusement: "I haven't finished looking at it yet!"

Their fingers almost touched through the album cover.

Lu Zichuan looked down at her. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. Her cheeks were still flushed from laughing so happily.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and instead of trying to snatch it again, he released his grip.

But then a thought suddenly struck me.

He just said that he likes her the way she is now, and she didn't argue with that.

"...Look at me as you please." He looked away, but his ears turned red for a moment.

Bai Qinghua watched this scene from the side, smiling meaningfully. He tactfully stood up and said, "It's getting late. I'll go and urge Hanhan to take a bath and go to bed. You two can continue watching."

She paused at the doorway and said, "Don't damage the photo album. It's a treasure I've kept for many years."

The study fell silent.

Shen Zhiyi sat down again to look through the photo album, and Lu Zichuan sat down next to her, their shoulders touching.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing to a page.

Lu Zichuan glanced down at it, looking somewhat awkward: "...Elementary school graduation photo."

"You're standing in the last row on the very edge, and you look so cool."

"..."

"What about this one? What are you doing? Your face is covered in cream."

"Birthday cake was smeared on my face."

It was all thanks to Lu Ziyang.

"This one..."

"Could you please stop asking about each photo one by one?" Lu Zichuan looked at his embarrassing childhood photos and finally couldn't help but cover the album with his hand and turn his head to look at her.

Shen Zhiyi blinked and looked at him innocently: "I was just curious... I didn't expect President Lu to be so lively when he was a child."

"Lively?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, more lively." Shen Zhiyi smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Much cuter than she is now."

Lu Zichuan stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly reached out and pinched her cheek: "Aren't you cute now?"

The heat from his fingertips startled Shen Zhiyi, who instinctively shrank back, but was firmly supported on the shoulder by his other hand.

The two were so close they could barely touch, their breaths mingling.

Shen Zhiyi could see her own reflection in his pupils.

Suddenly, the scene in the haunted house flashed through his mind; her lips gently brushed against his, cool and soft.

Her face flushed involuntarily, but she forced herself not to look away.

Lu Zichuan's gaze slowly slid down her face from her eyebrows and eyes, along the central axis, past the tip of her nose, her philtrum, and finally stopped at her lips.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"Uncle! Mom asked me to ask you..." Lu Han's voice came from the corridor, getting closer as he walked.

Lu Zichuan released his grip and leaned back in his chair as if nothing had happened.

Shen Zhiyi quickly lowered her head, pretending to continue flipping through the photo album, but her heart was beating incredibly fast.

Lu Han looked up as she entered, glancing at Lu Zichuan and then at Shen Zhiyi, blinking her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Look at the photos," Lu Zichuan said calmly without blinking.

"Oh." Lu Han ran in, leaned over the table, glanced at the child, and exclaimed, "Wow! Uncle, you were so ugly when you were little!"

"...Who's ugly?" Lu Zichuan narrowed his eyes.

"You!" Lu Han pointed at the little boy in the photo whose face was covered in cake. "Look at you, you look like a little kitten!"

Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but laugh again, her laughter echoing softly in the study.

Lu Zichuan looked at her and smiled, and his heart, which had been a little embarrassed, suddenly softened.

Outside the window, the night was deep.

And something unexpected brought the two of them closer together.