Stick and Patch

By the time Liu Muye finished piecing together Han Juyou's ruined notebook, it was already past 4 a.m. The sky had begun to lighten with the first hints of dawn, and in another half hour, the sun would rise.

"Whew—" Liu Muye exhaled deeply as he leaned back in his chair after a long night of work.

He had initially thought repairing the notebook would be a simple task, but it ended up taking him the entire night. The notebook was practically shredded. He painstakingly taped the torn pages back together, reattached the split cover, and then used glue to carefully reattach each page in its proper place.

To avoid mistakes, he even read through every single page to ensure the correct order before gluing them down.

In doing so, he had essentially read through all of Han Juyou’s novel drafts in one sitting.

Through her writing, Liu Muye caught glimpses of his own childhood, but he also discovered a side of Han Juyou that was entirely different from the person he thought he knew.

He wasn’t entirely sure why he had gone to such lengths to restore her notebook.

Perhaps it was because he remembered hiding in his room as a child, secretly reading novels, only to have his father discover and mercilessly tear them apart. That memory made him acutely understand the pain of losing something precious.

Or maybe it was just guilt—knowing that a single careless remark from him had led to the tragic turn her life had taken.

Staring at the patched-up notebook, Liu Muye muttered under his breath, "Han Juyou, I owe you one."

After carefully placing the notebook in a bag and storing it in a drawer, Liu Muye headed to the bathroom for a quick shower before collapsing into bed.

When he finally woke up, the sun was already setting.

He checked his phone—5:30 p.m. Damn, he’d slept the entire day, and no one had even bothered to wake him.

As he made his way downstairs, he found his father, Liu Chenghan, sipping coffee in the courtyard while reading a newspaper.

"Dad, where’s Mom?" Liu Muye asked as he approached.

"Your mother went out with her friends for a spa day," Liu Chenghan replied before suddenly realizing something was off. He turned to look at his son.

"Wait, you’re home?" Liu Chenghan blinked in surprise. "I thought you hadn’t come back last night."

"Seriously?" Liu Muye couldn’t help but laugh. "So you had no idea I was here?"

"Of course not. If I’d known, I would’ve had someone wake you up for lunch." His father stood up and gave him a once-over. "Don’t tell me you slept in till now?"

"Uh…"

Liu Muye rubbed his still-puffy eyes. "I stayed up pretty late last night."

"Ohhh—" Liu Chenghan’s lips curled into a knowing smirk. "Brought a girl home?"

Liu Muye’s face immediately flushed. "No! Dad, don’t just make stuff up!"

"If you weren’t with a girl, then what were you doing up all night?"

Liu Chenghan chuckled and settled back into his chair.

"Dad, come on," Liu Muye said, scratching his head awkwardly. "You’re the head of the Liu family. Shouldn’t you be a little more dignified?"

Liu Chenghan grinned. "Brat, since when do you lecture your old man?"

After a few more lighthearted exchanges, Liu Chenghan asked, "You hungry? Want me to have the kitchen whip something up for you?"

"Nah, I’m heading out. Won’t be eating at home tonight."

With that, Liu Muye went back upstairs, grabbed the bag containing Han Juyou’s notebook, and headed down to the garage.

After scanning the lineup of luxury cars, he sighed and returned to the courtyard.

Liu Chenghan raised an eyebrow. "Thought you were leaving. What’s the holdup?"

"Dad, don’t we have any… normal cars in the garage?"

"Define ‘normal.’"

"Like, something in the hundred-thousand range?"

"Nope. Our garage isn’t a junkyard. Why would we keep cars that cheap?" Liu Chenghan replied matter-of-factly, eyeing his son with confusion.

"Tch—"

A hundred-thousand-yuan car was junk?

Liu Muye was momentarily speechless at his father’s casually extravagant remark.

Liu Chenghan frowned. "Why do you need a cheap car anyway?"

"Just trying to keep a low profile. Driving a sports car is too flashy."

"Ah, I get it." Liu Chenghan smirked again, pointing at him. "You’re playing the broke guy to impress some girl, right? Then when she looks down on you, you’ll reveal your true wealth and blow her mind. That’s my boy—always keeping things interesting."

"Dad, your imagination is out of control!" Liu Muye groaned. "I told you to stop reading those ‘Dragon King’ web novels. Now your brain’s fried."

"Ahem." Liu Chenghan coughed awkwardly. "Well, we don’t have any cheap cars. Want me to give you money to buy one?"

"Forget it, I’ll just—"

Liu Muye’s gaze suddenly landed on a small delivery van parked near the gate. "Is that van ours?"

Liu Chenghan glanced over. "That’s the chef’s grocery-run vehicle. Why?"

"Tell him to take my Koenigsegg instead." Liu Muye tossed his sports car keys onto the table and strode toward the van.

Watching the van rumble away, Liu Chenghan shook his head with an amused chuckle. "That kid… just as mischievous as I was at his age."

——

"Sir, did we get robbed? The van’s gone!"

"Nope. Liu Muye took it."

"Ohhh, so the young master’s out joyriding? Then I’ll just call for grocery delivery today—"

"No need. Take this car instead."

"Huh? Wait—isn’t this the young master’s prized ride?"

"Just drive it. Less talking."

"Yes, sir."

——

"Son, let me know if you need more money."

"Got it, Dad."

Liu Muye smiled as he replied to Liu Chenghan’s message.

If this had happened during his childhood, he would’ve been overjoyed to have a father like Liu Chenghan—this kind of warm, easygoing family dynamic was all he had ever dreamed of back then.

The reason he wanted a cheaper car was simple: he was heading to the slums.

He had already called the hotel where Han Juyou stayed last night, only to learn she had checked out early that morning.

Liu Muye figured she must have gone home, so he’d have to look for her in the shantytown.

Driving a luxury car there would be… inappropriate.

Not that he was worried about flaunting wealth in a rough neighborhood—he just didn’t want the attention.

However, Han Juyou lived in the slums, and her father was notoriously a gambling addict. If he drove a luxury car to visit Han Juyou, she might end up facing unwanted consequences.

So it was better to play it safe—after all, it’s unwise to flaunt one’s wealth.

…