"I won!" Tommaso jumped up excitedly, nearly sending the game controller flying from his hand. "Three wins in a row. You all owe me a soda!"

"You cheated! That combo just now was totally unreasonable!" Luca protested indignantly.

"Hmph! I'm just better than you. A bet's a bet. Right, Andrea?" Tommaso leaned back smugly against the sofa.

Andrea analyzed with a serious expression, "Theoretically speaking, that combo does exist. It's just that the execution difficulty..."

"Alright, alright, I promise there's enough soda. Stop arguing over something so small." Dorian cut off their dispute and got up to walk to the snack cabinet.

It was a Saturday afternoon in July. Dorian's three closest classmates—Tommaso, Luca, and Andrea—were spending an enjoyable weekend in his "kingdom." The annex family room had comfortable sofas, a luxury sound system, a big-screen TV, a guitar perfect for looking cool, and the latest gaming console. It was practically the paradise every boy dreamed of.

"Your house always has such a complete selection of snacks. I looked them up, and a lot of them are super expensive premium stuff." Luca accepted the soda Dorian handed him and grabbed a bag of chips while he was at it.

"Help yourselves." Dorian sat back down on the carpet. "Papa restocks regularly anyway."

"Speaking of your papa, my mom asked me last time if the brown-haired one at your house was a model or a celebrity or something." Tommaso shifted position, looking even more languid than before. "I said no, but she didn't believe me."

"My dad asked something similar too. After he found out Mr. Lleuad is French, he said he'd never seen such a handsome Frenchman." Andrea chimed in.

"They're just ordinary people." Dorian rolled his eyes, not wanting to keep dwelling on the same topic or explain too much.

"'Ordinary people.'" Luca repeated the phrase, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Living in a luxurious mountain villa, with one parent who looks like he stepped off a magazine cover and another who's beautiful like an elf. 'Ordinary' parents."

"And those 'ordinary pets' in the yard. That snake coming down from the tree last time nearly scared me to death." Tommaso shuddered, rubbing his arms. The experience of almost having a cobra crawl onto his head had been truly terrifying.

"That's Cassandra. She's very gentle, as long as you don't step on her." Dorian said casually.

"A 'gentle' venomous snake. That's contradictory." Andrea remarked drily.

Just as they were talking, there was a gentle knock at the living room door.

"Little Milkshake? I made some treats. Would you like some?"

"Sure! Come in, Papa."

The door opened and Suolan entered carrying a large tray. Today he wore a white casual shirt and pink shorts, his long hair loosely gathered into a simple bun. He looked relaxed yet elegant.

"Hello, Mr. Suolan!" The three boys immediately stood up to greet him. Even though they had visited many times, they still unconsciously behaved more properly when facing Dorian's papa.

"Stay seated, no need to be so formal. Here, fresh from the oven: lemon tarts and bomboloni, plus some fruit." Suolan smiled as he set the tray on the coffee table. The sliced fruit platter was a colorful array, and the desserts were exquisite and tempting as always.

"Wow! Mr. Suolan, your skills are amazing!" Luca's grin stretched from ear to ear. Every visit to Dorian's house meant enjoying delicious treats. For that alone, they could overlook those pets in the garden.

Suolan's smile deepened. "Thank you. Take your time eating. There's more in the kitchen if you need it. By the way, what would you like for dinner? I can prepare something."

"They're not staying for dinner." Dorian hastily interjected. This was completely unexpected, and he didn't like surprises.

"Why not?" Suolan looked at the other three. "If you'd like to, you're of course welcome to stay."

Tommaso and Luca immediately turned pleading eyes toward Dorian. Andrea tried to maintain composure, but his gaze also betrayed anticipation. Dorian squirmed under their stares.

He sighed, still attempting to turn things around. "Papa, you don't have to go to the trouble—"

"Cooking for six is no different from cooking for three. Besides, your dad is in high spirits today. He was just asking if we should have a barbecue tonight." To Suolan, this was no trouble at all.

"Barbecue!" Luca nearly jumped up.

"Then it's settled. I'll go tell Lleuad to prepare more ingredients." Suolan cheerfully made the final decision. "You boys keep playing."

With that, he turned and left with an expression that suggested he might start humming at any moment, leaving four boys staring at each other.

What could Dorian do? He could only lie back and accept it. Though unexpected, upon reflection, he didn't find it hard to accept. His parents' executive decisions weren't unwelcome.

"Your papa is really too kind." Tommaso sighed, fishing an Italian filled doughnut from the plate and dramatically inhaling its sweet aroma.

Andrea nodded. "Yeah~ And you can't tell his age at all. If you didn't know, you'd think he was your brother."

Dorian shrugged. He was long accustomed to comments about his parents' ageless appearance. Things like "my old man is a balding beer belly midlifer, but your old man is a supermodel"—kids his age all said the same. He picked up a lemon tart and took a bite. The familiar sweet-and-sour flavor spread through his mouth.

"Oh right, when your dad played basketball with us last time, those three-pointers were dead accurate! Did he play professionally or something?" Luca chatted casually. Last time they had played a couple of games on the small basketball court in the west courtyard of Dorian's house.

"You'll get used to it eventually. He's good at every sport." Dorian said matter-of-factly. Hearing this, Luca recalled that father's muscular physique and thought it made sense.

"Plus he's super funny when he talks. I was dying laughing." Tommaso started chuckling again just talking about it.

"It's just that sometimes his jokes are a bit..." Andrea searched for the right word. "Mature?"

"That's French humor." Dorian replied, weary of the barrage of questions.