The livestream room was silent for less than three seconds before the bullet comments poured across the screen like a broken dam.

【No, wait, I need to restart my brain.】

【That's Lu Jingheng, right? That is really Lu Jingheng, right?】

【The same Lu Jingheng who made three listed companies collapse in one afternoon?】

【He's frying eggs.】

【He is frying eggs for Shen Qingyu.】

【I suddenly feel that the world is fake.】

【Why does he look more serious frying eggs than my boss looks signing contracts?】

【This apron has seen things.】

The camera had been arranged in advance by the programme team. Because it was the first day of home filming, the production crew would not enter the private areas without permission, and the main livestream camera covered only the living room, dining area, and kitchen. The Lu family villa was nothing like the rumours — no cold marble halls, no rigid wealthy-family servants standing in rows, no gloomy curtains blocking the light. The living room was spacious, clean, and warm. Children's books were stacked on a low shelf, and a small whiteboard near the sofa was covered in colourful drawings and several lines of neat but childish handwriting. Beside it, a half-finished building-block castle occupied almost half the carpet. It looked less like a cage for a wealthy marriage and more like a home where children had been allowed to leave evidence of their existence everywhere.

Shen Qingyu sat on the sofa with a fairy-tale book in one hand. The morning light fell on him from the side, tracing the cold, delicate line of his brow, the length of his lashes when he looked down, the natural red of his lips. His beauty was the kind that made people instinctively describe him as fragile — until he opened his mouth.

"Xiao Heng," Shen Qingyu said, his tone calm, "what did Dad say yesterday about applying criminal law to every fairy tale?"

Lu Yiheng stood beside the sofa, his small face perfectly serious. "Not every fairy tale requires legal analysis."

"And?"

"But some fairy tales clearly contain legal risks."

Shen Qingyu: "…"

From the kitchen, Lu Jingheng placed the fried eggs onto a white plate without looking back. "Objectively correct."

"Lu Jingheng."

The moment Shen Qingyu said his full name, Lu Jingheng paused. The bullet comments immediately became excited.

【Hahahahaha President Lu froze.】

【He is scared! He is scared!】

【No, that is not fear. That is survival instinct.】

【So even an SSS+ Enigma has natural predators.】

【Shen Qingyu: Lu Jingheng. President Lu: system shutdown.】

Lu Jingheng turned off the stove and carried the plates over, his movements steady and practised. He placed Shen Qingyu's breakfast down first — soft-boiled egg, toast cut into neat triangles, a small bowl of fruit, and warm milk — then set the twins' breakfast on the children's side of the table, and finally his own. The order was so natural it did not look staged.

Shen Qingyu glanced at the warm milk. "I said coffee."

"You slept late," Lu Jingheng said, pulling out the chair beside him.

"I slept late because someone insisted on reading the show contract until midnight."

"That was necessary."

"You read the contract three times."

"There were hidden liability clauses."

"You made the legal department read it too."

"They missed one."

Shen Qingyu held his gaze for two seconds, then gave up arguing. The bullet comments slowed as viewers absorbed what they were actually seeing. Some had come purely to watch Shen Qingyu embarrass himself; some had wanted confirmation that the Lu family marriage was as cold and suffocating as rumour claimed. But nothing in front of them matched the story they had believed for years. Lu Jingheng did not look like a husband who ignored Shen Qingyu, and Shen Qingyu did not look like someone desperately performing at being loved. The way they spoke was too familiar, too natural — no exaggerated affection for the camera, no forced sweetness, no careful staging of a perfect marriage. Shen Qingyu complained without restraint. Lu Jingheng accepted it without impatience. It was the kind of intimacy that did not need to prove itself.

At the dining table, Xiao Nian climbed into his chair. He was softer than his twin brother, his face still carrying baby fat, his eyes bright and trusting when he looked at Shen Qingyu.

Lu Jingheng placed a small cup beside him. "Drink slowly."

"Thank you, Father," Xiao Nian said.

Xiao Heng sat down by himself, posture upright, expression solemn, and received his cup with the same quiet courtesy. Then he looked at Shen Qingyu.

"Dad. May I ask a question?"

"Ask."

Xiao Heng pointed at the fairy-tale book on the sofa. "In Sleeping Beauty, the princess slept for a hundred years. If her family did not preserve her muscles through medical intervention, would she still be able to walk after waking up?"

Shen Qingyu's fork stopped in mid-air. Xiao Nian blinked. Lu Jingheng thought for half a second.

"Likely not," he said.

Shen Qingyu closed his eyes.

【HAHAHAHAHAHAHA】

【Why is this baby like this?】

【I thought he was going to ask something cute.】

【This is cute! Just in a way that makes adults feel academically attacked.】

【Xiao Heng, auntie begs you, please let fairy tales stay magical.】

【President Lu actually answered him seriously.】

【I suddenly understand why Shen Qingyu looks so tired.】

【This family has two high-IQ disasters and one omega trying to protect fairy tales.】

"Then the princess would be sad," Xiao Nian said, looking worried.

"She may also require rehabilitation," Xiao Heng added.

Shen Qingyu put down his fork and pressed his fingertips against his brow. "Xiao Heng."

"Yes, Dad."

"From today onward, fairy tales are for emotional learning only."

Xiao Heng frowned slightly. "But emotional logic must be based on realistic conditions."

"Baby," Shen Qingyu said gently, "eat your egg."

Xiao Heng obediently lowered his head — and then added, in a small voice, "The egg is a realistic condition."

Shen Qingyu: "…"

Lu Jingheng's lips moved slightly. It was almost imperceptible, but the camera caught it, and the bullet comments went wild.

【Did Lu Jingheng just smile?】

【Replay! Replay! I saw it!】

【President Lu smiled because his son traumatised his wife with fairy-tale medical analysis.】

【Wasn't Shen Qingyu supposed to be arrogant and abusive? Why does he look like a tired kindergarten teacher?】

【A very beautiful tired kindergarten teacher.】

Shen Qingyu did not see the comments. If he had, he would probably have turned off the livestream himself. He picked up the warm milk Lu Jingheng had prepared and took a sip — the temperature exactly right, not hot enough to burn him and not cold enough to be unpleasant, the sweetness light and barely there, precisely the way he liked it.

He paused.

"Too sweet?" Lu Jingheng asked from across the table.

"No."

"Too cold?"

"No."

"Then?"

Shen Qingyu gave him a sideways look. "President Lu, do you need a satisfaction survey for milk?"

"If necessary," Lu Jingheng said seriously.

Shen Qingyu was silent. Then Xiao Nian raised his little hand.

"Dad, I think Father wants praise."

Lu Jingheng: "…"

Shen Qingyu slowly looked at Xiao Nian, whose cheeks were round and perfectly innocent. "Teacher said when people ask many questions," Xiao Nian explained, "sometimes they want to know if they did well."

The dining table fell quiet. Xiao Heng thought for a moment. "Brother's interpretation is emotionally plausible."

【Xiao Nian, baby, you are so emotionally intelligent!】

【Lu Jingheng really is learning.】

【Wait, why does that make me feel soft?】

【Because this is not a cold marriage. This is an awkward husband trying to care for his wife.】

Shen Qingyu's eyelashes lowered. The room was full of morning light, the twins eating breakfast, Lu Jingheng sitting beside him with his fingers resting very still against the edge of his cup. Shen Qingyu found himself thinking, without meaning to, of the Shen family dining table — how it had always been too long, long enough that even when everyone sat together each person seemed separated by invisible distance. Back then, if he did not eat breakfast no one noticed. If he looked pale someone would say he was being dramatic. If Shen Jianing coughed once, the entire table would stop. He had never thought of himself as someone who needed to be cared for. Later, he understood that people had not failed to notice him because he needed nothing — they had failed to notice because they had already decided someone else needed everything more.

A warm fingertip brushed the back of his hand.

Shen Qingyu looked down. Lu Jingheng had not openly taken his hand in front of the camera; he had only moved his fingers slightly, touching him once beneath the edge of the table where the lens could barely reach. A silent question: are you alright?

Shen Qingyu did not answer. He only turned his hand over and lightly hooked Lu Jingheng's finger.

Lu Jingheng's gaze deepened. The contact lasted no more than two seconds before Shen Qingyu let go and lifted his cup again — but viewers with sharp eyes had already caught it.

【Wait. Under the table. Did anyone see that?】

【I saw it! Lu Jingheng touched his hand!】

【Shen Qingyu's expression changed for a second.】

【Why did I suddenly feel sad?】

【Didn't people say the Shen family spoiled him too much? Why does he look like someone unused to being cared for?】

The first crack appeared quietly — not in the protagonist halo, not yet, but in public opinion. Small and uncertain, but visible.

After breakfast, the programme team sent the first task card. A staff member entered only as far as the doorway and handed the envelope to Lu Jingheng with visibly trembling hands, which was understandable — not everyone could remain calm when a 6.5-foot SSS+ Enigma opened the door wearing an apron and looked down at them with expressionless eyes.

"President Lu, Teacher Shen," the staff member managed, "this is today's family task."

"Thank you," Lu Jingheng said.

The staff member nearly bowed, then fled.

【Staff: I survived.】

【Why did he run like he delivered a bomb?】

【But he said thank you. He is polite. Terrifying, but polite.】

Lu Jingheng returned to the dining table and handed the card to Shen Qingyu, who opened it and read: Today's family task: each family must prepare one handmade lunchbox together. The lunchbox will be brought to tomorrow's village recording site. Children must participate. Parents may guide but cannot complete the task alone.

Xiao Nian's eyes lit up immediately. Xiao Heng frowned.

"What's wrong?" Shen Qingyu asked.

"If children must participate," Xiao Heng said, "efficiency will decrease."

Shen Qingyu: "…"

Lu Jingheng nodded. "Correct." Then, catching Shen Qingyu's expression, he added, "But participation is emotionally meaningful."

Xiao Heng studied his father for three full seconds. "Father, your correction speed has improved."

Shen Qingyu nearly laughed.

【Xiao Heng is evaluating his father's emotional-growth progress.】

【President Lu: I have adapted to the emotional environment.】

【I came to hate-watch. Why am I staying?】

Shen Qingyu stood and walked toward the kitchen, the camera following as he moved — his figure slender beneath the soft sweater he wore at home, his posture relaxed but carrying that natural coolness that made him look expensive even barefoot on a kitchen floor. Lu Jingheng followed behind him without being asked.

【Lu Jingheng follows him so naturally.】

【Like a large silent wolf.】

【A wolf in an apron.】

Shen Qingyu opened the refrigerator and assessed the ingredients. "Xiao Nian wants sweet corn. Xiao Heng wants shrimp. Lu Jingheng, you prepare the rice."

"Mm."

"Dad, I can wash vegetables," Xiao Nian announced, raising his hand.

"Good."

"I can calculate portion control," Xiao Heng offered.

"You can also wash vegetables."

Xiao Heng looked as though he had been assigned significantly below his ability level.

【Xiao Heng: My talents are wasted.】

【He wanted data analysis and got vegetable washing.】

【Baby, welcome to life.】

【Shen Qingyu's parenting style is so stable. He doesn't spoil them blindly, but he's gentle.】

【Who said he was a bad parent?】

That comment lingered on screen for a moment before disappearing beneath the flood — but some people saw it, and once doubt appeared it did not vanish easily.

In another part of the city, Shen Jianing sat in front of his tablet. He had opened Shen Qingyu's livestream without fully realising it. At first he had only wanted to see how badly Shen Qingyu would be mocked — the internet remembered him only through old scandals and carefully preserved impressions: bad-tempered, vicious, jealous, unloved. Those words should have been enough. But the livestream was not going the way Shen Jianing had expected. Lu Jingheng did not appear indifferent. The twins did not appear pitiful. And Shen Qingyu did not look like someone trapped in a miserable marriage. He looked calm. Beautiful. Loved.

Shen Jianing's fingers tightened around the tablet as a soft light flickered faintly around him. A new wave of comments appeared.

【Is everyone forgetting what Shen Qingyu did before?】

【A few minutes of acting and you're all fooled? Rich families are best at performing.】

【Don't whitewash a vicious omega just because he has a pretty face.】

【Remember how badly he treated Jianing?】

The rhythm was familiar. Too familiar.