CHAPTER 4

A Seat at the Li Family Table

The long dining table of the Li mansion had always been grand.

But tonight—

it was alive.

Plates clinked.

Laughter overlapped.

Servants moved in and out with warm dishes.

And in the middle of it all—

family.

Power Couples vs Their Single Children

Li Tingxiao naturally pulled the chair for Song Yuxin.

Yuxin smiled at him — that soft, familiar smile that still carried the same love from twenty years ago.

“Eat properly,” Tingxiao murmured as he placed food in Yuxin’s bowl.

“I was about to,” Yuxin replied, eyes curved.

Across the table—

Zhou Lusi leaned toward Su Zai Zai and wiped a grain of rice from the corner of her lips.

“You’re messy.”

“And you married me anyway,” Zai Zai said sweetly.

Lusi smirked and kissed her hand.

Li Xiao Xin slammed his chopsticks down dramatically.

“CAN YOU ALL STOP BEING ROMANTIC FOR FIVE MINUTES?”

Yi Chen took a sip of water calmly.

“We’re used to it.”

Xiao Xin pointed at him.

“YOU ARE USED TO IT. I AM TRAUMATIZED.”

Lu Rang almost choked on his food trying not to laugh.

Yi Chen noticed immediately and pushed a glass of juice toward him.

“Drink slowly.”

Lu Rang’s fingers brushed his for a second.

He froze.

His ears turned red again.

Lusi’s Complaint

“Look at him,” Lusi suddenly said, pointing at her son.

“Still shy. Still quiet. Not savage at all.”

Zai Zai smiled.

“He takes after me.”

“Yes!” Lusi groaned. “Sweet, kind, polite — WHERE IS MY DOMINANT ENERGY?”

Lu Rang shrank in his seat.

Before he could say anything—

Yi Chen spoke.

“Aunty Lusi,” his voice calm but warm,

“you don’t need to worry.”

Everyone looked at him.

“We are here. His brothers.”

He glanced at Xiao Xin.

“We’ll protect him.”

Then back at Lu Rang — softer.

“Always.”

The entire table melted.

Lu Rang couldn’t even lift his head.Xiao Xin suddenly jumped in his seat.

“I HAVE AN IDEA!”

Everyone ignored him.

He stood up.

“WHY NOT LET LU RANG STAY HERE?”

Now everyone looked.

“We go to the same university,” he continued proudly.

“We’ll go together! Come back together! Study together!”

Lusi raised a brow.

“I need my wife’s permission.”

Yi Chen turned to Su Zai Zai.

“Aunty Zai Zai,” he said respectfully,

“I promise — in university Xiao Xin will take care of him.”

Then calmly—

“At home, I am here.”

That sentence alone carried the weight of absolute security.

Zai Zai’s eyes softened.

“I trust you.”

Li Tingxiao stood.

“Prepare the guest room. Lu Rang will stay with us.”

Then he added:

“And if you both want to stay too — you are always welcome.”

Lusi wrapped an arm around Zai Zai dramatically.

“No. We need quality time alone now.”

She lifted Zai Zai’s hand and kissed it.

Yuxin laughed.

“Lu Rang,” he called gently,

“you’re very quiet. Do you want to stay here?”Lu Rang’s heart was beating so loudly he was sure everyone could hear it.

Stay here?

With Xiao Xin.

With his uncles.

With—

Chen gege.

Every day.

Every morning.

Every night.

He imagined seeing him at breakfast…

hearing his voice from the stairs…

His face turned completely red.

“Lu Rang?” Yuxin called again.

He snapped out of it.

“I… I have no problem,” he said softly.

“We are family… and Xiao Xin and I go to the same university…”

His eyes lowered.

“I’m okay with it.”

Yi Chen’s gaze rested on him for a moment longer than usual.The Memory — Where It All Changed

Lu Rang had always called him Chen gege.

Since childhood.

Back when visits meant toys scattered across the floor and chasing Xiao Xin through the halls.

One afternoon—

everyone was inside.

But little Lu Rang had gone outside alone to play.

No one noticed.

Except someone else did.

Two men.

Watching.

Waiting.

A hand grabbed his arm.

He was too small to fight.

Too scared to scream.

Then—

“LET HIM GO.”

A teenage Yi Chen stood there in his school uniform, bag still on his shoulder, eyes colder than winter.

The men laughed.

Big mistake.

Yi Chen moved without hesitation.

He fought like a storm.

Protected like an alpha.

And pulled Lu Rang behind him.

By the time the guards arrived—

the traffickers were already on the ground.

Lu Rang had been trembling.

Yi Chen knelt in front of him.

“It’s okay,” he said, wiping his tears with his thumb.

“I’m here.”

That was the first time Lu Rang’s heart had beaten differently.

Not like fear.

Not like gratitude.

Something warm.

Something that stayed.

From that day—

he was no longer just Chen gege.

He was—

his hero.

And also the reason he became quieter… more careful… more shy.

Because the world had once been terrifying—

but Yi Chen had been safety.Back to the Present

At the table—

Lu Rang secretly looked at him.

The same person.

Stronger. Colder. Untouchable to the world.

But still—

his protector.

Yi Chen noticed the gaze.

Their eyes met.

Lu Rang immediately looked down.

Xiao Xin smirked.

“I SAW THAT.”

“XIAO XIN,” both Yi Chen and Lu Rang said at the same time.

The table exploded in laughter.Servants preparing a new room upstairs.

Lusi and Zai Zai leaving hand in hand.

Tingxiao and Yuxin walking together slowly.

Xiao Xin dragging Lu Rang to show him the house again.

And Yi Chen—

standing at the staircase…

watching them.

His expression soft.

Because without realizing—

his carefully controlled world

had just allowed someone

to enter it permanently.

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