At ten o’clock in the morning, the official account of The Daily Lives of Married Couples posted its first announcement.

This was Director Zhou Wensheng’s new variety show.

Unlike ordinary celebrity dating shows or family observation programmes, this one focused on married life after the wedding: daily routines, children, family conflicts, domestic habits, and the small truths that could not be hidden once cameras entered a home.

The programme team had been warming up the announcement for half a month.

The internet had already guessed half the entertainment circle.

Some people guessed award-winning actors.

Some guessed newly married idols.

Some guessed celebrity couples who had recently been surrounded by divorce rumours.

But when the official guest poster finally appeared, everyone froze.

The first few names were expected.

Tang Mianmian, a popular actress with twin daughters.

Wen Xuci, a film emperor who had temporarily taken custody of his niece.

Qin Zhao, a variety-show regular known for bringing his son everywhere.

Then, at the very bottom of the poster, there was one name that had not appeared in public discussion for nearly four years.

Shen Qingyu.

For three whole seconds, Weibo seemed to go silent.

Then the comments exploded.

【???】

【Wait, Shen Qingyu? Which Shen Qingyu?】

【Is there another Shen Qingyu in the entertainment circle?】

【Film Emperor Shen Qingyu? The one who married into the Lu family and disappeared?】

【Did the programme team make a mistake?】

【No way. Is he really coming back?】

【Why would Director Zhou invite him? Isn’t this supposed to be a married-life show, not a scandal-recycling show?】

【Married life? What married life? Didn’t everyone say his marriage was just a rich-family arrangement?】

【I thought Lu Jingheng locked him in a mansion after marriage.】

【Don’t spread rumours. But honestly, with Shen Qingyu’s temper, who could stand him for four years?】

【He was already vicious before. Now he has kids? Those kids must be miserable.】

【I feel bad for the children already. Having a mother like Shen Qingyu…】

The word mother appeared again.

In a quiet villa district on the outskirts of the capital, Shen Qingyu sat by the floor-to-ceiling window with a tablet in his hand.

The morning sunlight fell across his face, softening the coldness between his brows. His skin was pale under the light, almost porcelain-white, and his lips carried a natural red that made him look more delicate than he actually was.

But the moment he lowered his eyes, that fragile illusion broke.

His gaze was calm.

Too calm.

As though he had read worse words before, swallowed sharper knives before, and no longer felt surprised when strangers reached through a screen to judge his life.

On the tablet, one comment was pushed to the top because of its high engagement.

【A vicious omega can become a mother too? I hope the children don’t learn from him.】

Shen Qingyu’s finger paused.

A shadow moved behind him.

Before he could scroll away, a large hand reached over from behind and took the tablet.

The scent of cold cedar and snow pressed close, familiar and steady.

Shen Qingyu did not turn around. “Lu Jingheng.”

“Mm.”

The man behind him answered in a low voice.

Lu Jingheng was already dressed for work, but not in the suit jacket that usually made the financial news tremble. He wore a dark shirt with the cuffs folded to his forearms, and over it, an apron.

A black apron.

Perfectly ironed.

Tied with the same seriousness one might use to sign a billion-yuan contract.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the comment on the screen.

His expression did not change much.

Lu Jingheng had always been like this. Too tall, too quiet, and too difficult to ignore. Even standing in a kitchen apron, he carried the pressure of someone used to standing above storms. His features were cold, deeply cut, almost severe; his dark eyes rarely showed emotion to outsiders.

But Shen Qingyu knew him too well.

The colder Lu Jingheng’s face became, the worse his mood was.

Shen Qingyu leaned back slightly, resting against him. “Don’t delete it.”

Lu Jingheng looked down. “Why?”

“Because if you delete one, there will be ten thousand more.” Shen Qingyu smiled lightly. “Besides, the livestream starts tomorrow. Let them talk.”

Lu Jingheng’s hand tightened around the tablet.

After a moment, he said, “I can make them stop.”

Shen Qingyu finally looked up at him.

His eyes were beautiful, bright and clear, with a sharpness that made people forget his face was soft enough to invite pity. He raised a brow. “President Lu, are you planning to buy Weibo?”

Lu Jingheng considered it seriously.

Shen Qingyu’s smile faded.

“Don’t you dare.”

Lu Jingheng was silent for two seconds. “It would be efficient.”

“It would be ridiculous.”

“It would solve the problem.”

“It would create a bigger one.”

Lu Jingheng lowered his gaze, seemingly still calculating feasibility.

Shen Qingyu reached out and pinched the edge of his apron. “Lu Jingheng.”

That name, spoken in that tone, finally made the empire’s strongest SSS+ Enigma lower his head obediently.

Shen Qingyu said, “I’m going on the show to let them see the truth. Not to let you crush the entire internet before the cameras arrive.”

Lu Jingheng stared at him.

After a long pause, he said, “Then after the show?”

Shen Qingyu: “…”

He should have known this man had not given up.

Before he could answer, a small voice came from the carpet.

“Father, buying Weibo may not be cost-effective.”

Shen Qingyu turned his head.

Two little boys were sitting at the low table in the living room. They looked almost identical at first glance: fair faces, round cheeks, delicate features, and eyes so bright they looked like they had been washed clean by morning light.

They were only three years old, almost four, but they were sitting upright with the seriousness of tiny board members attending a shareholders’ meeting.

The one who had spoken was Lu Yiheng, Xiao Heng.

He held a children’s picture book in one hand and a small building block in the other. His expression was calm, his voice soft, and his logic terrifying.

“If Father buys Weibo, the public may think Dad used capital power to suppress criticism. This would strengthen the existing negative impression.”

Shen Qingyu slowly closed his eyes.

Lu Jingheng looked at his younger son.

A trace of approval appeared in his gaze. “Correct.”

Shen Qingyu opened his eyes. “Do not encourage him.”

Beside Xiao Heng, Lu Yinian, Xiao Nian, raised his hand obediently.

Shen Qingyu looked at him. “Xiao Nian, what do you want to say?”

Xiao Nian’s eyes were round and soft. Compared with his younger twin brother’s cool little face, he seemed gentler, more hesitant, and more emotionally sensitive.

He glanced at Shen Qingyu, then at Lu Jingheng.

“If people scold Dad because they don’t know Dad,” Xiao Nian said slowly, “then when they know Dad, will they stop?”

Shen Qingyu’s heart softened without warning.

It always happened like this.

The world could throw knives at him for years, and he could stand there without blinking. But when his child asked one careful question, all the old wounds seemed to ache at once.

He put the tablet aside, reached out, and beckoned.

Xiao Nian immediately abandoned his picture book and ran over on short legs.

Shen Qingyu bent down and picked him up.

Xiao Nian nestled against his neck, his small hands clutching the fabric of Shen Qingyu’s shirt. His scent was still faint, not yet developed, carrying only the clean, milky softness of a child.

Shen Qingyu kissed his hair. “They don’t need to know Dad.”

Xiao Nian looked up. “Why?”

“Because Dad doesn’t live for them.”

Xiao Nian frowned, thinking very hard.

Xiao Heng stood up too, walked over, and calmly added, “But public opinion affects professional opportunities and social evaluation. It may also affect us after we enter school.”

Shen Qingyu: “…”

Lu Jingheng: “Correct.”

Shen Qingyu turned his head expressionlessly. “Lu Jingheng.”

Lu Jingheng immediately stopped approving his son.

Xiao Heng looked between them, then asked, “Was my answer emotionally inappropriate?”

Shen Qingyu’s hand trembled slightly as he tried not to laugh.

Xiao Nian whispered to his brother, “I think Dad wants comfort first, analysis later.”

Xiao Heng nodded seriously. “Understood.”

Then he stepped forward, stretched out both little arms, and hugged Shen Qingyu’s leg.

His face was still calm.

His tone was still businesslike.

“Dad, don’t be sad. I love you.”

Shen Qingyu froze.

For a moment, the sunlight, the tablet, the noise on the internet, and the old memories all seemed to blur.

Then he lowered his head and gently touched Xiao Heng’s hair.

“Mm,” he said softly. “Dad knows.”

Lu Jingheng watched them from the side.

His gaze darkened, not with anger this time, but with something quieter.

Shen Qingyu had always been beautiful. When he first met him by the sea years ago, the boy had opened his eyes under the pale sky, his face still wet with seawater, and asked him to marry him with a calmness that did not match his age.

At that time, Lu Jingheng had thought Shen Qingyu was reckless.

Later, he realised Shen Qingyu had not been reckless.

He had simply been cornered by fate and still chosen the sharpest road out.

Now, four years later, the boy from that beach had become his omega, his legal partner, the person who slept beside him every night, the father of their children.

And yet the world still dared to call him vicious.

Lu Jingheng placed the tablet screen-down on the table.

Shen Qingyu glanced at him. “Don’t look like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re planning three acquisitions and one disappearance.”

Lu Jingheng paused.

Shen Qingyu narrowed his eyes. “You were?”

“One acquisition,” Lu Jingheng said.

Shen Qingyu: “…”

Xiao Heng raised his hand. “Father, from a legal standpoint—”

Shen Qingyu covered his mouth gently. “Baby, no.”

Xiao Nian looked worried. “Dad, is Father going to jail?”

Lu Jingheng: “No.”

Shen Qingyu: “Not if he listens.”

Lu Jingheng lowered his eyes, looked at Shen Qingyu’s hand still resting on Xiao Heng’s mouth, and after a few seconds, said, “I listen to you.”

The words were plain.

Almost stiff.

But Shen Qingyu’s fingertips curled slightly.

This was Lu Jingheng.

He rarely said beautiful things. He did not know how to coax people with sweet words, nor did he understand half the emotional detours ordinary people used to express love.

But he remembered what Shen Qingyu liked to eat.

He knew which side Shen Qingyu preferred to sleep on.

He could tell from one glance whether Shen Qingyu’s pheromones were unstable.

He would stand in the kitchen before dawn to make breakfast because Shen Qingyu had once casually said that food made by someone at home tasted different from food made by hired chefs.

He loved clumsily.

But he loved completely.

Shen Qingyu looked away first.

“Breakfast is burning.”

Lu Jingheng turned his head.

Two seconds later, the cold and untouchable head of the Lu family walked back to the kitchen in his black apron.

On Weibo, the noise had not stopped.

The programme team’s official account was almost paralysed.

Director Zhou’s phone rang nonstop.

His assistant stood beside him, sweating. “Director Zhou, Shen Qingyu’s topic has already climbed to number one.”

Zhou Wensheng was nearly fifty, with a calm face and the eyes of someone who had filmed too many celebrities pretending to be good people.

He looked at the trending list.

#ShenQingyuReturnsToVarietyShow#

#TheDailyLivesOfMarriedCouplesGuestList#

#ShenQingyuLuJinghengMarriage#

#ViciousOmegaMother#

The last topic made his brows furrow.

“Who bought that one?” he asked.

The assistant hesitated. “It rose too quickly. It doesn’t look organic.”

Zhou Wensheng took off his glasses and wiped them slowly.

After a while, he said, “Don’t suppress it.”

The assistant was shocked. “Director Zhou?”

“If someone wants to push him into the mud before the show even starts,” Zhou Wensheng said, putting his glasses back on, “then let the cameras show whether he belongs there.”

The assistant was silent.

Zhou Wensheng clicked open Shen Qingyu’s name on the guest list.

He had worked with Shen Qingyu once many years ago.

Back then, Shen Qingyu was still a teenager.

Beautiful, proud, sharp-edged, and impossible to ignore.

Everyone said he had a bad temper.

But Zhou Wensheng remembered something else.

That winter, during an outdoor scene, a young extra had slipped into the river. The staff had been too far away. Shen Qingyu had been the first to jump in.

Afterward, while wrapped in a blanket and shivering, Shen Qingyu had coldly scolded the entire production team for poor safety management.

By the next day, rumours had spread that Shen Qingyu had thrown a tantrum on set.

No one mentioned the child he had saved.

Zhou Wensheng closed the page.

“Prepare the livestream equipment carefully,” he said. “For Shen Qingyu’s house, use continuous filming. No malicious editing.”

The assistant nodded quickly. “Understood.”

At the same time, in another villa in the city, Shen Jianing also saw the trending topics.

Compared with Shen Qingyu’s cold, sharp beauty, Shen Jianing looked much softer. His features were delicate, his complexion slightly pale, and there was always a faint fragility in his expression, as if a louder voice could hurt him.

He sat on the sofa with one hand resting lightly on his still-flat abdomen.

The pregnancy announcement had been made not long ago.

The whole internet had blessed him.

He and Xie Linchuan had been called true love.

A beta who became a recessive omega for love.

An alpha who gave up an arranged engagement for the person he truly loved.

A fairytale.

That was how everyone described them.

But now, Shen Qingyu’s name had appeared again.

Shen Jianing lowered his eyes.

On the screen, netizens were scolding Shen Qingyu, but for some reason, he did not feel relieved.

Instead, he felt uneasy.

As if something that had already been buried was about to crawl back into the light.

Xie Linchuan walked over and noticed his expression. “What are you looking at?”

Shen Jianing instinctively turned off the screen.

Then he smiled gently. “Nothing. I just saw Qingyu’s name.”

Xie Linchuan’s face changed slightly.

Four years had passed, but whenever Shen Qingyu was mentioned, his expression still became complicated.

Shen Jianing saw it clearly.

His fingers tightened around the phone.

After a moment, he said softly, “It’s good that he’s willing to come back. Back then, because of us, he suffered a lot of criticism.”

Xie Linchuan frowned. “It wasn’t because of you.”

Shen Jianing lowered his head. “But if I hadn’t…”

“Jianing.” Xie Linchuan interrupted him, his tone softening. “Don’t think too much. Shen Qingyu never liked me. The engagement was arranged by the families. You know that.”

Shen Jianing smiled faintly.

Yes.

Everyone said that.

Shen Qingyu never loved Xie Linchuan.

So Shen Qingyu’s anger became unreasonable.

His pain became unnecessary.

His betrayal became something that did not need to be taken seriously.

Because he did not love him.

Because he was strong.