CHAPTER 1 — “Mom, We Found A Husband”
The first thing Lu Zhenting felt was pain.
The kind of pain that doesn't feel ordinary, the kind that crawled beneath the skin and digdeep into bone.
His head throbbed violently, his ribs felt cracked.
Blood slid slowly down the side of his forehead.
Somewhere nearby, footsteps crunched against dry grass.
Then a child’s voice sounded dramatically:
“Hey, dead people don’t breathe, right?”
Another voice answered immediately:
“You i***t look at his chest.”
A third voice gasped softly.
“Whoaaaaa…”
“He’s handsome.”
Lu Zhenting’s brows twitched slightly.
His consciousness floated in darkness, unstable and blurry. The smell of damp soil filled his nose. Somewhere above him, sunlight filtered weakly through tree branches.
Another child spoke again, a boy this time.
“I guess this handsome uncle is alive.”
The second child suddenly sounded excited.
“Yay! I guess we can save him!”
“But Mom said we shouldn’t pick random things from the roadside.”
“Humph he’s not a thing,” the little girl argued immediately. “He’s a person.”
“A very handsome uncle.”
Something soft poked Lu Zhenting’s cheek.
A finger.
Then another poke.
“Uncle?”
“Can you hear us?”
“If you die, it’ll be troublesome.”
Lu Zhenting tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids are very heavy.
The last thing he remembered was fire, gunshots, and an exploding highway.
His instincts screamed instantly, danger.
But his body refused to cooperate.
He could hear the childish voices arguing distantly.
“How do we carry him?”
“We can just drag him.”
“Mom says dragging people is very rude.”
“Then just roll him?”
“That’s worse and very rude!”
The little girl sighed like a tired adult.
“Useless brothers.”
Lu Zhenting finally forced one eye open slightly.
Three tiny faces immediately appeared above him.
Two boys, one girl.
They were all staring at him, as if they can look into his soul.
“…?”
The girl blinked first.
Round eyes, soft cheeks and her tiny ponytail slightly crooked.
Then she smiled brightly.
“Hey Brothers!”
“The handsome uncle woke up!”
The louder boy immediately crouched beside him.
“Uncle, are you a gangster?”
The quieter boy adjusted his tiny backpack calmly.
“Based on his blood loss, expensive clothing, and the visible combat injuries…”
“The probability of him being a gangster is very high.”
Lu Zhenting stared at them silently, for the first time in many years, his brain stopped working.
Why were there children around him?
Why were they talking like this?
And why did the little girl keep staring at his face like she was shopping for furniture?
The louder boy suddenly leaned closer.
“Uncle, if enemies are chasing you, blink twice.”
Lu Zhenting: “…”
The child gasped dramatically.
“HE DIDN’T DENY IT!”
Whoaaaaaaa
The girl clapped excitedly.
“Waaah! Mommy’s life is becoming interesting!”
The quieter boy frowned slightly.
“He may die.”
The loud one instantly slapped Lu Zhenting’s shoulder.
“Uncle! Don’t die yet!”
Pain shot through his ribs.
Lu Zhenting’s eyes darkened dangerously.
The child froze.
Tiny instinct for survival activated immediately.
“…Sorry.”
The little girl tilted her head.
Then suddenly leaned close to Lu Zhenting’s ear and whispered silently:
“My second brother is stupid.”
“HEY!!!!!”
The boy exploded instantly.
“Do you think I can't hear that!”
Lu Zhenting almost laughed.
Meanwhile, the quieter child narrowed his eyes at him carefully.
“Your watch is custom-made.”
“Your suit fabric is Italian.”
“You are not ordinary"
Even injured, Lu Zhenting’s instincts sharpened immediately.
Who was this child?
The boy calmly finished:
“But since my sister likes your face…”
“You can make sure you survive.”
Lu Zhenting: “…”
What kind of children were these?
The loud one suddenly jumped up dramatically.
“Decision made!”
“Let’s take him home!”
The quieter boy looked disgusted.
“How?”
“He weighs more than you can ever carry.”
The girl crossed her tiny arms confidently.
“Humph, why are you so dumb, we will do it through teamwork.”
Five minutes later…
Lu Zhenting regretted surviving.
Because he was currently being dragged through bushes by three seven-year-olds.
The loud one grabbed one arm.
The quiet one held his shoulders.
The little girl pushed from behind while chanting:
“One-two-push!”
“One-two-push!”
Lu Zhenting’s head bumped against a rock.
His eye twitched violently.
The loud boy noticed immediately.
“He’s awake again!”
The girl crouched beside him instantly.
“Handsome Uncle, just endure a little, we’re almost there.”
Somehow her tiny voice was comforting.
Lu Zhenting closed his eyes briefly.
What exactly was happening?
Half an hour ago he was escaping a coordinated assassination attempt.
Now he was being kidn*pped by children.
The loud boy suddenly grinned.
“Uncle, don’t worry.”
“Our family might be poor, but we'll make sure you feel comfortable.
“HEY!”
The girl ignored them completely and stared at Lu Zhenting again.
“Uncle… do you have a wife?”
The two boys froze.
Lu Zhenting also opened his eyes slightly.
The girl looked absurdly serious.
“Because Mommy is very pretty and adorable.”
“And you are very handsome.”
“Genetics should not be wasted.”
The loud boy slapped his forehead.
The quiet one sighed like life had become exhausting.
For the first time in years…
Lu Zhenting genuinely did not know how to respond.
The girl continued confidently:
“Also Mommy works very hard.”
“So she definitely needs a husband.”
The loud boy nodded immediately.
“I want a rich husband.”
Lu Zhenting stared at the sky silently.
This had to be a hallucination caused by blood loss.
Suddenly the little girl gasped dramatically.
“WAIT!”
She pointed at Lu Zhenting’s face excitedly.
“Big Brother!”
“Doesn’t he look a little like you?”
The boys paused.
Then leaned closer together.
The loud one blinked.
“…Whoa.”
The quiet one narrowed his eyes carefully.
Lu Zhenting’s heartbeat paused slightly.
The girl looked delighted.
“See?!”
“Maybe fate delivered him to us!!!”
The loud boy immediately became emotional.
“This definitely looks like online dramas!”
The quiet one looked unimpressed.
“Your brain is full with too much dramas.”
But even he continued staring at Lu Zhenting’s face thoughtfully.
Especially the eyes.
Before they could continue their scrutiny, a distant female voice suddenly rang out.
“Jiang Chen!”
“Jiang Xiaoyu!”
“Jiang An!”
“What are you three doing now?!”
The triplets froze instantly.
The loud boy whispered urgently:
“Mom found us.”
The girl grabbed Lu Zhenting’s sleeve dramatically.
“Quick!”
“Pretend to be dead!”
Lu Zhenting: “…”
The quiet boy looked at him seriously.
“Honestly, your current condition is enough.”
Footsteps approached quickly.
Then she appeared.
Lu Zhenting’s blurry vision sharpened slightly.
A woman stood beneath the afternoon sunlight.
She was wearing a simple clothes, her hair tied to the back.
Yet she looks absurdly beautiful.
The kind that quietly steals the spotlight in a room.
She carried grocery bags in one hand, her face showing how tired she is.
The moment her eyes landed on the scene before her…
she froze.
Three muddy children standing beside one unconscious man covered with blood.
“…What.”
The triplets smiled nervously.
Jiang Chen pointed immediately.
“Mom.”
“We found you a handsome husband.”
The grocery bag slipped from Jiang Yuexin’s fingers.
Tomatoes rolled across the ground.
Lu Zhenting closed his eyes slowly.
For some unknown reasons, he suddenly felt that surviving the assassination attempt had been the easier part.