Chapter 29 Part 1

Two massive words flashed through his mind.

We’re screwed.

Though the makeup on his face had altered his facial contours, making him only vaguely resemble himself, that was Lu Quan!

He never should have stuck around for that five hundred bucks.

Now, there was no escaping.

Suddenly, Lu Quan glanced his way. Liang Zhixia shrank back behind the potted plant in fright. Luckily, the plant in the corner was large enough to conceal his tall, slender frame.

On the other side of the room, Xu Cheng surveyed the villa’s decorations with satisfaction, along with the waitstaff weaving through the crowd.

He turned to Lu Quan. “This crew is top-notch. Worth every penny I shelled out to cut in line.”

Lu Quan withdrew his gaze and gave the crowd ahead a cool glance. “You sure Qu Yizhou goes for girls like this?”

Xu Cheng let out a light tsk. He lifted a glass from a passing tray and flashed a smile at one of the attractive waitresses. Hearing his good buddy question his taste, he replied, “These girls are gorgeous, with killer figures to boot. Why wouldn’t Qu Yizhou like them?”

Lu Quan shot him a sidelong look. “Not everyone’s as shallow as you, judging solely by looks.”

Xu Cheng shook his head. “Nah, I check out the figure too.”

Lu Quan: “…”

He turned his head toward the potted plant in the corner. The server who’d been standing there a moment ago had vanished.

Must have been a trick of the eye.

Zhizhi was working at the coffee shop right now, anyway.

The Liang Zhixia whom Lu Quan had just been talking about was huddled in another corner, doing his best to stay out of sight. At least he wouldn’t cross paths with Lu Quan again.

Lu Quan really would recognize him!

With the birthday party about to kick off, Liang Zhixia followed Sister Ai’s instructions to the letter: approach only if a guest needed something, otherwise lurk in the corners—and keep switching spots.

From a distance, he spotted the man of the hour: Qu Yizhou, a friend of Lu Quan and Xu Cheng.

No wonder the entire waitstaff was female.

Had to be Senior Xu Cheng’s idea.

A towering multi-tiered cake dominated the center of the room as a group of young men and women clustered around, belting out a birthday song for the guest of honor. The villa rang with cheerful laughter.

After the song came the cake-cutting, followed by a slew of fun games and activities.

Liang Zhixia’s legs were starting to ache from standing when Sister Ai’s voice crackled through his earpiece. She said they could take a short break.

“It’s the host’s orders,” Sister Ai added.

Only then did the others start drifting to the corners to rest.

Liang Zhixia needed to hit the bathroom—he’d spilled a bit of wine on his hands while pouring.

He’d just rounded the corner when he overheard voices.

“Careful now.”

It was a familiar male voice, laced with gentle teasing.

The girl’s reply was too soft to make out, but Liang Zhixia caught Xu Cheng saying, “Here’s my contact info…”

He tuned out the rest.

Taking a different route to the restroom, he let cool water run over his slender white fingertips. He dried his hands on a paper towel, blinked at his reflection, and straightened his makeup.

Li Keke had taught him that over the phone just earlier.

Once his clothes were tidied, he tossed the towel in the trash and stepped out.

At the corner, he bumped into something pudgy.

It was soft yet firm.

Accompanied by a yelp.

Looking down, he saw an adorable little boy, no older than three or four, dressed in blue overalls with a pink hair clip in his hair. His lashes were thick and long, and his chubby baby face jiggled twice as he plopped onto the floor.

Liang Zhixia jumped in alarm. Everyone here was either rich or powerful. He crouched down to help the child up, only to hear the boy muttering to himself.

“Uh-oh!” came a clear, adorable childish voice. “Heave-ho! Manman’s a little man!”

Lu Manman clambered slowly to his feet, only to lose his balance and pitch forward into a sweet-smelling embrace.

Liang Zhixia quickly checked the child over and found no injuries. He let out a quiet sigh of relief.

About to speak, he remembered his outfit and pitched his voice a touch higher. “Sorry, did I hurt you? Big sis didn’t see you there.”

Lu Manman, nestled in Liang Zhixia’s arms, perked up his chubby little face at the sound from above and let out an excited “Whoa!”

“Pretty Sister! Are you here for Manman?”

…He clearly hadn’t caught a word of what he’d just said.

Liang Zhixia repeated himself.

Lu Manman clutched the strap across his chest with both tiny hands, his tone bubbling with excitement. “Sis, I’m Manman. You didn’t hurt me. Manman’s a tough little guy!”

Liang Zhixia smiled and ruffled his soft hair. “Manman’s super strong.”

He glanced around—no parents in sight, and this spot was pretty secluded.

“Manman, where are your parents? Did you come with your dad… or big brother or sister?”

Lost in admiration of Pretty Sister’s beauty, Lu Manman scratched his ear. Her voice was so nice, way gentler than his brother’s.

He shook his head slowly.

“Nope, Manman came all by himself.”

Liang Zhixia messaged Sister Ai on his phone, but she didn’t reply—probably hadn’t checked it.

He couldn’t just leave a kid this young alone.

So he asked softly, “Manman came by himself? How’d you get here?”

Lu Manman puffed out his chest proudly. “Manman walked.”

Walked?

“Does Manman live around here?”

Lu Manman pointed east with a babyish lilt. “Yup, in that big house over there.”

Liang Zhixia relaxed at once. Must be one of the villa owners’ kids—hand him off to security, and done.

After a pause, he asked, “Why’d Manman come here?”

Lu Manman balled up his little fist. “To find my brother.”

Just as he’d suspected.

“Who’s your brother? Sis will help you look.”

Lu Manman’s expression went blank. “My brother’s just… Brother.”

Looked like Manman didn’t know his brother’s name. No easy way to track the guy down, then.

Liang Zhixia checked the time on his phone. He’d been away from his post too long—time to head back.

He eyed the little bean in front of him uncertainly. “Wanna walk with sis? Sis has to get back to work.”

Lu Manman obligingly slipped his chubby hand into Pretty Sister’s and chattered as they walked. “Is sis working to make money?”

Liang Zhixia found the kid hilarious—not knowing his own brother’s name, but wise to the ways of work.

“Yeah, sis is earning some cash.”

Lu Manman rummaged in the pocket of his overalls and pulled out a bank card, holding it out to Liang Zhixia without a blink.

The pose was pure swagger, but his voice was all soft cuteness.

“Sis, here.”

Liang Zhixia glanced at it—a real bank card, with Manman’s name and an Ultraman sticker.

He tucked it back into Lu Manman’s pocket, serious now. “You can’t just give your bank card to strangers. That’s yours. What if sis turned out to be a bad guy?”

Lu Manman didn’t get it. In his babyish voice, he said, “But Dad gave his to Mom. Dad said if Manman meets a girl he likes, he can give her the card.”

“Manman likes sis.”

Liang Zhixia glanced down at his own chest, muttering inwardly that he wasn’t any sis.

Back at his post, the living room had emptied out. A nearby waitress explained, “They all headed to the courtyard to play. Hey, whose kid is this? Your little brother?”

Before Liang Zhixia could answer, Lu Manman nodded. “Yup, Manman’s sis’s little brother.”

The girl smiled. “He’s adorable.”

Liang Zhixia chuckled. “Thanks. So, what’s next? Stand around here?”

The girl said, “Sister Ai was just here. She told us to join the games.”

Liang Zhixia: “?”

The girl linked arms with him familiarly, all buddy-buddy. “Sister Ai said some guy named Xu Cheng invited us to play—that he’s the real boss.”

Liang Zhixia: “…”

Lu Manman eyed the interloper who’d taken his spot, huffed, and toddled around to grab Pretty Sister’s other hand.

“We gotta go?”

The girl replied, “Boss’s orders—gotta show face. With that crowd, no one’ll notice us.”

Out in the courtyard, the games were already underway.

Liang Zhixia kept his head down, terrified of spotting Lu Quan. As a guy passed by, he doubled back.

“Just got here? Game’s on—hide and seek. Go hide quick. Get caught, and it’s truth or dare.”

With that, the guy scurried off to conceal himself.

Lu Manman hadn’t followed a word except “hide and seek.”

He tugged at his sister’s hand, lisping cutely, “Sis, Manman wants to play hide and seek too! Manman’s the champion hider!”

Then Liang Zhixia heard Xu Cheng’s voice booming from a loudspeaker.

“Everyone hidden? Three minutes left.”

No time to worry about Lu Quan spotting him—Liang Zhixia scooped up Lu Manman and bolted for cover.

The courtyard was huge, but cover was scarce.

Every spot he eyed already had someone tucked away, and some hides were so obvious they’d be found in seconds.

Hugging the not-so-lightweight Lu Manman, Liang Zhixia finally found a hiding spot in the last ten seconds—behind a pile of wooden crates in the garden shed.

The maid dress was very short, so squatting down wouldn’t dirty the hem.

But to keep little Lu Manman from seeing anything he shouldn’t, Liang Zhixia placed the only small stool in front of them and had Lu Manman sit on it.

The stacked crates were tall enough to conceal both their bodies, but if the seeker was observant enough, they would surely notice.

Liang Zhixia silently prayed they wouldn’t be found.

He had no idea what kind of dare the person who got caught would have to do, but it certainly wouldn’t be convenient in his current cross-dressed state.

He raised a finger to his lips, and Lu Manman nodded obediently.

He knew what Pretty Sister meant: no talking from now on!

Besides hide-and-seek, he was best at staying quiet. Whenever his brother was home, he always spoke in the tiniest voice.

He was one awesome Baby.

After what felt like forever, the speaker outside blared to life.

“Three people left to find.”

Liang Zhixia wasn’t sure if Lu Manman counted among them. Five minutes later, the speaker crackled again.

“One person left to find.”

Just one?

Was it him?

He leaned close to Lu Manman’s ear and whispered, “Did they just say there’s only one person left?”

Lu Manman clapped a hand over his mouth and whispered back, “Yeah.”

“Found you!”

Liang Zhixia dazedly lifted his head and saw a boy standing in front of the crates, his gaze burning with intensity.

He had no choice but to pull Lu Manman to his feet. The boy frowned. “Eh? Two people? Didn’t they say just one?”