Only then did Zhan greet the nanny and ask her about the trip and how Mommy was doing.
The nanny headed toward the kitchen to prepare warm bath water for the boys, but Zhan stopped her.
"I already prepared the water, Nanny. I'll take care of it."
He stood up and led the boys into his bedroom.
He bathed them carefully, washed their hair, and once they were done, he dressed them in clean clothes. Afterward, they sat together and ate the food he had served for them.
The nanny, who had gone to arrange her things in another bedroom, later came to the living room and found them there. She took the food Zhan had set aside for her.
Meanwhile, Rouxue and Roulan excitedly began telling Zhan about everything that had happened at school. Zhan rested his chin on his hand, watching the beautiful children with quiet interest.
After eating, the nanny went inside to rest, leaving them in the living room.
A few minutes before six, Roulan suddenly pouted.
"Uncle, we didn't eat noodles today."
Zhan laughed softly. He knew how much Roulan loved noodles. The boy had even said it in Chinese, something they rarely did.
Zhan stood up.
"Alright then, Prince. I'll make noodles for you. Should I fry the eggs or cook them with it?"
"Cook," Roulan replied.
"Okay."
But Rouxue quickly said,
"No, I prefer fried egg."
Zhan smiled.
"Alright. I'll make both for you."
He went into the kitchen, leaving them in the living room watching cartoons.
He had just finished cooking the noodles and was serving them onto plates when he happened to glance outside through the kitchen window.
He froze.
Roulan was standing on Yunxi's study table outside. Yunxi stood in front of him, smiling calmly as he watched the boy. Roulan was animatedly gesturing with his hands while talking to him.
Zhan's expression darkened instantly.
He stormed out of the kitchen and shouted sharply,
"What are you doing out here, Roulan? Who gave you permission to leave the house?"
The boy jumped in fright and quickly tried to climb down from the table.
Before he could fall, Yunxi lifted him down easily. Then he turned to Zhan and said calmly,
"With my permission, mister."
Zhan's expression hardened even more.
Roulan hurried toward him, looking as if he might cry.
"I'm sorry, Uncle."
Zhan pointed toward the kitchen door without softening his expression.
Roulan rushed inside immediately.
Yunxi rubbed his face lightly and muttered,
"Relax. They're just your little brothers… You should wait until you have children of your own."
Zhan didn't even look at him. He simply went back inside and closed the door.
He picked up the plates of noodles and carried them to the living room.
Roulan was clearly frightened. He had barely touched his food.
"Come here," Zhan said.
Roulan quickly stood up and walked toward him.
"I'm sorry, Uncle."
"Who told you to go outside?" Zhan asked.
Roulan shook his head nervously.
"I was looking for my ball."
Zhan frowned.
"Did you bring a ball with you?"
Roulan shook his head again.
Zhan's voice became stricter.
"Then what was that man saying to you?"
Roulan sniffed slightly.
"He was asking for my name and Rouxue's name… and which class we are in."
He looked like he was about to cry.
Zhan sighed, clearly frustrated.
"If you ever leave this house again without permission, I will punish you severely. Why can't you be like your brother Rouxue?"
From the couch, Rouxue spoke calmly,
"I told him not to go outside, but he refused. I don't know what's wrong with him."
Zhan looked at Roulan again.
"You heard what I said. If you go outside again, you'll see what happens."
Roulan nodded quickly.
Zhan handed him his plate of noodles and then gave Rouxue his own.
Around seven o'clock, after they finished talking to Mommy on the phone, Zhan took them back to the bedroom.
They brushed their teeth and climbed onto the bed, lying beside him while excitedly telling him more stories. Zhan listened quietly, responding here and there.
Eventually, sleep overtook them both.
Zhan smiled softly.
Only children could still be this energetic, he thought. Considering how much they had traveled since the evening, they should have fallen asleep long ago.
:
:
The next morning, after they woke up and brushed their teeth, they came into the living room still wearing their pajamas.
Around ten o'clock, Zhan turned on cartoons for them.
He was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when he suddenly heard both boys calling him loudly.
"Uncle! Uncle!"
Zhan hurried into the living room.
The moment he stepped out, he froze.
Dr. Luo Yunxi was standing there.
He had lifted Roulan, who was struggling in his arms and calling for Zhan, while Rouxue was trying to pull his brother down, even though he was too short to reach.
Roulan cried out,
"Uncle! Look, he's trying to take me away! I told him no!"
Zhan's face stiffened, but strangely, he couldn't say a word.
With his other hand, Yunxi easily picked up Rouxue as well, lifting him into the air. Then he turned and walked toward the door while both boys called out to Zhan.
The nanny also came out of her room, watching the strange scene in shock.
Even as Yunxi walked out with the twins, Zhan remained standing there silently.
The nanny smiled faintly and said,
"Well… It is by force to be with him if they don't want to.?"
Zhan was still standing there.
After a while, the house became quiet again.
Back in the kitchen, Zhan continued preparing breakfast, though the cheerful mood he had earlier was completely gone.
Zhan looked at the clock again. It had been almost two hours since Yunxi had taken the twins, and the house had been completely quiet. He hadn't even heard their voices.
Unable to sit still any longer, he stood up and walked outside.
Slowly, he turned the handle of Yunxi's living room door.
The sight that greeted him made him pause.
All three of them were in the living room. Yunxi sat in the middle with a laptop, playing a game.
Roulan was lying beside him, grinning from ear to ear while eating a burger and pointing at the screen, giving directions about which move Yunxi should make in the game.
Rouxue, on the other side, was calmly eating noodles and eggs while watching the game as well.
The moment they noticed Zhan, they all turned to look at him.
Roulan quickly stood up with a pout.
"Uncle… he refused to let us leave."
Rouxue shot him a quiet look.
"Stop lying, please, bro."
Roulan immediately kicked him.
"You're calling me a liar?"
Rouxue dropped his food and stood up, as if he had been waiting for that moment.
Yunxi quickly pulled Roulan away, but that didn't stop Rouxue from landing a punch on his brother's mouth.
Zhan rushed forward in panic and knelt between them.
"Are you two starting a fight now?"
Rouxue said tearfully,
"He started it first! Why did he kick me?"
Roulan also began crying.
"Why did he call me a liar?"
Zhan looked at Roulan, almost as if he might cry himself.
"Didn't you kick him first, Roulan?"
Throughout all this, Yunxi stood there holding Roulan, quietly watching Zhan.
Before he realized it, Yunxi had begun to smile.
He gently pulled Rouxue closer and said calmly,
"Alright, calm down. Both of you, stop crying."
Neither of them answered. They simply kept crying.
Yunxi sighed and wrapped his arms around them both.
"I don't want to hear either of you crying anymore."
Rouxue was the first to quiet down, followed by Roulan.
Yunxi looked at them.
"So, which one of you is the older brother?"
Rouxue pointed at Roulan.
"Good," Yunxi said. "Then apologize to him."
Rouxue said softly,
"I'm sorry, bro."
Yunxi looked at Roulan.
"Now you say it too."
Roulan puffed his cheeks.
"But he started it."
Yunxi frowned slightly.
"Apologize."
Reluctantly, Roulan muttered,
"Okay… I'm sorry, bro."
"Good," Yunxi said.
Then he looked at Zhan.
"You can't just walk into my apartment without notice. Especially when you don't like people entering yours, mister."
Zhan shot him a cold look, stood up, and walked out of the living room without saying a word.
Evening came, but the twins still hadn't returned.
Zhan kept watching the door, waiting, but the house remained silent.
Finally, he suggested the Nanny to go and bring them back so they could take their bath.
After a short while, the nanny returned.
"They said they already bathed."
Zhan said nothing. He didn't even know what to say.
Later, while he was in the kitchen preparing dinner, he noticed the boys outside in Yunxi's usual study spot. It seemed they had come out together earlier because Yunxi's textbooks and glasses were still lying on the table.
Suddenly he opened the door and stepped out. He gave the boys a look that clearly told them to go back inside.
They walked toward the house, and he followed them into the kitchen before locking the door behind them and glaring at them.
Roulan quietly pointed at the phone in his hand.
"Uncle, it's his."
Zhan snatched it from him.
"Both of you, go to the room. I don't want to see you in the living room."
Obediently, they went to the bedroom.
Zhan opened the door and stepped outside to return the phone.
At that exact moment, Yunxi came out.
Zhan quickly set the phone down and tried to leave, but Yunxi grabbed him.
Zhan's eyes widened when he suddenly found himself pulled against Yunxi's chest.
He quickly glanced toward the kitchen and whispered angrily,
"What do you think you're doing? Let go of me."
Yunxi said quietly,
"Why did you chase them inside?"
Zhan said nothing.
Yunxi turned him to face him.
Zhan avoided looking into his eyes. For some reason, he didn't like Yunxi's gaze at all.
He tried to pull away, but Yunxi pressed him gently against the wall, staring at him.
Zhan shoved him hard and rushed back into the kitchen, slamming the door shut.
Leaning against it, his heart pounded rapidly.
Inside his head, he muttered,
This man is really shameless.
Later, he left the kitchen and asked the nanny to finish cooking dinner.
Then he went to the bedroom and sat on the bed, watching the boys who were sitting on the carpet assembling a puzzle.
He watched them silently.
His mind slowly drifted into deep thoughts.
Before he realized it, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
Tears slipped down his cheeks.
He didn't even notice that the boys had seen them.
Both rushed toward him.
Roulan grabbed his hand with worry.
"Uncle, are you sick?"
Zhan quickly shook his head and wiped his eyes.
"No… my eyes just hurt."
Rouxue's eyes also filled with tears.
"But Uncle… why?"
Zhan pulled both boys into his arms as more tears threatened to fall.
"I'll be okay, soldiers. It will stop soon."
They stayed quiet.
After a while, Zhan gently released them and stood up.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
Inside the bathroom, he cried freely until his chest finally felt lighter.
When he came back out, the boys were staring at him again.
"Go play," he told them softly.
They obeyed.
That night they all went to bed early after eating the dinner the nanny had brought to the room.
The next day was Saturday.
Zhan woke up feeling surprisingly calm.
Before nine o'clock, they had already finished breakfast. He bathed Rouxue and Roulan and got dressed himself.
He planned to take them to Vanessa's house and then drive them around the city like he had promised the night before.
He was in the living room ironing his shirt when the door suddenly opened.
He looked up.
Yunxi stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, staring directly at him.
Zhan quickly looked away.
Realizing he was alone in the living room made him suddenly self-conscious. He was only wearing pants and a vest.
He glanced toward the kitchen, remembering the boys.
They had gone there earlier to put their cereal cups away and hadn't come back out.
The nanny was still in her room.
Yunxi slowly walked into the living room with his usual lazy steps.
Zhan quickly stood up and tried to head for the kitchen, but Yunxi blocked his path.
"What is this? Move aside," Zhan said coldly.
Yunxi stared at his lips with half-closed eyes.
"You've got cute lips."
Zhan's eyes widened.
Before he could pull away, Yunxi pulled him closer and said calmly,
"I came to take the twins out."
Zhan swallowed hard.
"Please stop this and let go of me. I'm not the only person in this house."
"So… can I take them?" Yunxi asked.
Zhan nodded, but Yunxi still didn't release him.
Zhan felt like his legs might give out.
Closing his eyes, he said in a trembling voice,
"I'm not a shameless person. Please, I beg you, stop doing things like this to me."
Yunxi slowly released him.
"I'm not shameless either. I just live freely. Have you ever seen me with another person intimate?"
Without waiting for an answer, he walked into the kitchen.
A moment later he came out with Roulan and Rouxue.
The boys didn't dare look at Zhan. Yunxi kept lightly hiding their heads as if warning them not to lock eyes with Zhan.
They clung to him quietly as they walked outside.
After they left and the door closed, Zhan couldn't help smiling despite his annoyance.
When he heard Yunxi's car leaving the compound, he clicked his tongue, picked up his shirt, and went back to his room to lie down.
⏭ ⏭
It was almost five in the evening when Yunxi returned with the boys.
They walked in carrying toys, both of them smiling from ear to ear. Anyone who saw them could easily tell they were incredibly happy.
Zhan set the handout he had been reading aside and looked at them. Without saying a word, he pointed toward the bedroom, signaling them to go inside.
They obeyed immediately.
Zhan stood up, walked to the door, locked it, and then followed them.
He found them standing stiffly in the room.
Crossing his arms, he looked at them sternly.
"Tell me something," he said. "When you went to put the cups in the kitchen earlier, what exactly were you doing there?"
Neither of them spoke. They simply stood there nervously.
"I asked you a question," he said firmly.
Rouxue glanced at Roulan, then finally spoke.
"Uncle… we saw Dr. Uncle outside. He came to the window and told us to come out. I said no, but Roulan said you might punish us."
He stopped speaking.
Zhan then looked strictly at Roulan.
"And what happened after that?"
Roulan looked like he was about to cry.
"He asked where you were. Rouxue told him you were in the living room."
He fell silent as well.
Zhan folded his arms and looked at Rouxue again.
"What happened next?"
Rouxue answered quietly.
"He told us to stay in the kitchen. He said he would come and get us… and then he came inside and took us with him."
Zhan studied both of them carefully before speaking.
"Good. Next time, you will not come here again. And I will tell Mommy everything you did, since you clearly don't listen."
Both boys immediately started crying and apologizing, but Zhan ignored them and walked out to the living room.
On Sunday morning, Zhan was in the kitchen preparing porridge for the boys just the way they liked it when the doorbell rang.
Almost at the same time, the nanny, who was washing clothes in the bathroom, came out as well.
When she saw Zhan out, she quietly turned around and went back inside.
Zhan walked to the door.
"Who is it?" he asked calmly.
"It's someone you know," Yunxi replied.
Zhan didn't open the door.
"How can I help you?"
Yunxi responded lazily,
"Or I could just open the door myself."
Zhan stayed silent for a few seconds before finally unlocking the door.
He quickly stepped aside when Yunxi entered. Yunxi didn't even bother avoiding him and brushed past him slightly as he walked in.
"Where are they?" He asked.
"They're having breakfast," Zhan replied stiffly.
At that moment, the twins walked out of the bedroom and stopped when they saw Yunxi.
Zhan stared at them in surprise.
Yunxi looked at them too and smiled.
"Good morning, boys."
Both of them smiled brightly.
"Good morning, Dr. Uncle!"
Yunxi nodded.
"We still have two more places to visit today, so..."
Roulan interrupted quietly.
"No… we won't be able to go."
Yunxi blinked.
"Why?"
Both boys looked at Zhan.
Yunxi turned to look at him as well.
"What about him?"
Rouxue spoke carefully.
"Uncle was angry with us yesterday. He said we're not allowed to come over anymore during holidays."
Zhan stared at them, shocked.
Yunxi looked at him.
"Oh? That's what you told them?"
Zhan frowned.
"That's not what I said. They misunderstood me."
"Then explain what you meant," Yunxi replied calmly.
Zhan looked at the boys.
"Go on. Follow him."
Roulan grabbed Zhan's hand.
"Really, Uncle?"
Zhan forced himself to stay calm.
"Yes."
Both boys hugged him excitedly.
"Thank you, Uncle!"
Yunxi held their hands and walked them outside with a small smile.
As soon as they left, Zhan slammed the door angrily.
The boys didn't return until late at night.
By then, Zhan had already gone to bed out of frustration. After all, they were supposed to return home the next day. This holiday clearly wasn't being spent with him at all.
The nanny entered the room carrying several shopping bags.
Zhan sat up immediately, staring at the piles of bags in confusion.
At that moment the boys rushed in and hugged him tightly, both trying to talk at the same time as they excitedly described everything that had happened during the day.
Then they jumped down and started opening the bags for him.
Zhan was stunned.
There were so many things inside...toys, clothes, and even school supplies.
He could only stare in disbelief at how much Yunxi had bought for them.
The nanny kept praising Yunxi and blessing him repeatedly.
Zhan remained silent, unable to say anything at all.
Eventually the nanny took the boys away to bathe them.
After dressing them in their pajamas, she offered them food, but they said they were already full.
Not long after lying down, both boys quickly fell asleep.
The nanny returned to her room.
Only then did Zhan finally gather the courage to climb down from the bed and look through the gifts.
He stared at the items in amazement, wondering how Yunxi had somehow known the boys would be leaving the next day.
💚💙❤🖤