The Atypical Group Darling
Chapter 107: Bonus Chapter
Jun 5, 2026
⏱ 18 min read
Watching Third Brother lead Xueyan back to his room, Lu Xun finally turned around and went upstairs to his own room.
"Eldest Young Master, should this shirt be washed?"
He happened to run into Auntie Cheng leading people to tidy up clothes, which included the shirt Lu Xun had just changed out of.
"I will handle this one myself."
Lu Xun reached out and took the shirt.
Seeing this, Auntie Cheng smiled too.
Because this extremely well-textured formal shirt still had two round teardrops on it that hadn't completely dried.
"In the future, when Young Master Xueyan grows up and sees this shirt, he will probably be embarrassed."
Auntie Cheng added cheerfully.
To this, Lu Xun was noncommittal.
Stained with Xueyan's little teardrops, Lu Xun indeed felt it was quite commemorative, just like the kindergarten's first set of spring uniforms.
After all, from childhood to adulthood, it seemed he hadn't cried many times either. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] As he slowly grew up, it would probably be even harder for him to cry. Keeping it to look at was quite interesting.
And Xueyan, who was brought back to the room by Third Brother Lu Li, was currently looking around his brother's room.
Strictly speaking, this was actually Lu Li's first time putting him to sleep at home.
Before the trip to Brisbane, Lu Li always subconsciously avoided spending too much time alone with Xueyan, lest a problem occur.
And after coming of age, he didn't live in the room at home very often, generally preferring to live alone in that high-end downtown apartment that served as his music studio.
"Brother's room is very empty."
After looking around, Xueyan said softly.
Even though some things had been temporarily added, it still seemed to lack a sense of everyday life, just like Lu Li's past state in this home.
"Is it very empty?"
Upon hearing Xueyan say this, Lu Li also re-examined his own room, and found that it indeed seemed so.
Many things were even left over from childhood. The several suites connected to the bedroom also weren't decorated into various multi-functional rooms like Old Fourth and the others', but were in an idle state.
"Then next time I will bring some more things back, I will come back often in the future."
Lu Li lowered his eyes and said earnestly, as if making a promise.
"Mm!"
Xueyan responded with his eyes curving into crescents, inexplicably making Lu Li want to pack up that entire pile of things in the studio and move them home from this moment on.
And while Lu Li went to fetch Xueyan's pre-sleep hot milk, Xueyan, wearing his pajamas and sitting playfully in front of his brother's desk, quickly noticed the documents and several books on it.
Although he couldn't quite understand the specialized terminology on the documents, Xueyan also realized these seemed to be his brother's work files.
"Is Brother going to take pretty photos again?"
Xueyan stared at the figures on several magazine sample copies and looked up to ask.
"Mm, a new business deal just negotiated, but there is no official announcement yet."
Lu Li patiently picked one up, opened it, and showed Xueyan the pictures inside. Actually, as long as Xueyan didn't cry, Lu Li was willing to accompany the little guy to do anything.
"Then Brother will definitely take very nice photos."
Xueyan stared at the photos and said expectantly.
Because there will be super amazing photographers taking pictures for Brother, the kind that is much more amazing than me!
[Wow, I also think Third Brother's magazine shoot this time will look very good. The theme is actually black and white roses, eh, it seems quite suitable.]
System 444 nearby couldn't help but take a peek.
If Third Brother was the white rose, and Third Brother 2.0 was the black rose, it dared not imagine how eye-catching this set of photos would be.
Moreover, 444 subconsciously searched its database, and discovered that Third Brother's magazine shoot resources this time seemed much higher than in the original book during the same period.
Taking this "EW" magazine as an example, in the original book, Third Brother only landed the cover of the main issue of such a top-tier magazine several years later as a group.
This time, although it was an inner page of the main issue, and the gold content was lower than a cover, the speed was directly advanced by several years. The key was that it was a solo appearance! He didn't bring those teammates along.
It basically represented that once this trial run was over, his fashion resources were very likely to officially take off.
Could it be that because of my Host, Third Brother's career line has also started to preheat in advance?
However, just as Lu Li was about to open his mouth to respond, his gaze suddenly changed, spacing out for a moment.
"…Then does Xueyan want to go over and take a look together next week? It happens to be the weekend, and after the shoot, I can arrange for people to move some of the things from the studio back home."
The next second, Lu Li reopened his eyes, reached out with both hands to tightly hug Xueyan in his arms, leaned down close to the cub's ear, and asked.
"It tickles, Brother?"
Xueyan instantly laughed and covered his ear, turning his head to look at Third Brother.
Third Brother changed again!
"It is the Brother of the night."
Xueyan curiously stared at the brother he hadn't seen for a long time.
"…Is it that obvious?"
"Lu Li" froze subtly, not expecting to be recognized by Xueyan the very first second he came out.
[It simply couldn't be more obvious, okay!? Even if Lu Li wanted Xueyan to accompany him from the bottom of his heart, he would definitely hold back and not say it out loud, worrying that taking Xueyan along might result in another accident similar to this one.]
System 444 couldn't help but complain.
Although right after thinking this, 444 paused for a few seconds.
Then doesn't that mean Third Brother 2.0 truly still seems to be Third Brother? Just another suppressed thought of Third Brother's…
Emotionally, he wanted to be like Eldest Brother and the others, bringing Xueyan along to keep him company. Rationally, he worried his identity and the special nature of his profession would bring inconvenience to Xueyan, who was still young. And Xueyan smiled without speaking, simply stretching out both hands, mimicking his brother's action of hugging him just now, and tightly hugged the Great Forest Brother of the night in return.
Just like catching a limited-edition Brother.
"Lu Li's" body stiffened instantly, not expecting Xueyan to actually mimic his action and hug him. He actually just wanted to scare the little guy a bit.
Sitting so obediently in front of his brother, watching him made him want to reach out and "bully" him a bit. It was just that Xueyan let "Brother" hug him without a single struggle, and even tightly hugged him back.
"What if I am a bad person…?"
After a long while, Lu Li asked in a low voice.
Actually, this 'me', from the very beginning until now, seems to have done nothing good. I am quite a terrible brother.
"Brother is not a bad person. Brother wait for me a moment, okay?"
Xueyan softly denied it, turned around, hopped off the chair, and his two short legs ran towards the door.
Startling "Lu Li," who got up and wanted to follow and protect him from behind, only to find Xueyan merely went back to his own room and returned hugging a small toy.
What is this…?
"Brother, this is a little broken, that little baby cannot pop out."
What Xueyan held in his hands was impressively the prank music box that "Lu Li" had chosen back then.
Who knows if it was because the little guy had twisted the music box too many times on the airplane trip back, but it caused that Q-version bandaged little zombie to get stuck inside, unable to automatically pop out as the music played.
So, Xueyan had been waiting for the Brother of the night to come out, wanting to repair this broken little music box together with his brother.
"…Just throw this kind of thing away if it is broken, I will buy you a new one."
"Lu Li" held this small music box, feeling quite an anxious sense of holding his dark history.
He felt once again that he should have given Xueyan that carousel music box Lu Li had picked. This kind was clearly what should be given to a cub to hold and play with.
Wait, I bought both at the time, I should have brought them both back.
So, without waiting for Xueyan to speak, Lu Li turned around and searched for a long time, and sure enough, he pulled out the other exquisite, dreamy carousel music box.
"Give that broken one to Brother, take this pretty one to play with, okay?"
Lu Li said in a coaxing tone, wanting to reach out and swap the music boxes. Unexpectedly, Xueyan, whose intuition was quite sharp, hid the small music box in his arms behind his back.
"Brother is a little bad… wanting to throw it away."
Xueyan rarely stared at his brother puffing his cheeks.
"Lu Li," accused of being a little bad: ?
No, how long have I been out, and I've already become a bad brother!?
"This little baby is sick, you cannot throw him away. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Let's fix it, okay, Brother?"
And while Lu Li's eyes were full of shock, Xueyan softly negotiated with his brother, asking if they could not throw it away.
"Sick?"
Lu Li asked puzzledly, thinking to himself, How can a plastic little figure in a music box get sick?
Although he had indeed casually told Xueyan back then that several little friends who could play music were tied up inside the music box, which was why it made music.
But how could it get sick?
"Because he has bandages wrapped around his body."
Xueyan showed his brother the stuck Q-version little zombie.
Hearing this, Lu Li was silent for a long time, thinking to himself that someone wrapped in bandages wasn't necessarily a patient; they could also be a zombie.
It was just that a cub indeed probably had no chance to be exposed to horror movie elements like zombies, which was why he had mischievously chosen this dark-version music box.
"…Okay, then give it to Brother, we will just repair it together."
After saying this, Lu Li felt quite absurd.
No, I finally "came online" with great difficulty late at night, just to repair a broken, ugly music box here?
Although he thought this, Lu Li still fetched a screwdriver and other tools with a dark face, and devoted himself to repairing it.
Xueyan also stuck close to his brother's leg, his hands occasionally supporting his cheeks, occasionally resting on his brother's thigh, quietly and patiently watching his brother rescue the sick little friend in the small music box.
This caused Lu Li, as he was repairing, to be unable to resist unobtrusively shifting his gaze to Xueyan beside him. He felt as if a kitten was intently stuck to his leg, watching the toy in his hands, its tail even swaying back and forth, rubbing against his thigh from time to time.
Damn it, he is truly so cute.
Something's wrong, why have I been brainwashed too! It must be that guy's fault, it has nothing to do with me!
The moment this thought popped up, "Lu Li's" expression instantly turned stern. He forcibly withdrew his gaze and attention, and continued to repair the music box in his hands, as if to distract himself.
"Ding-ding-dong-dong…"
As the displaced spring at the bottom was flicked back into its proper position all at once, the music box instantly restored its former function, slowly rotating and playing music.
Finally, with a "pop—", that wobbly Q-version ugly-cute little zombie popped out from inside.
"Brother is so amazing, you really fixed the little friend!"
Xueyan instantly smiled and happily praised his brother, and the corners of Lu Li's mouth also subconsciously revealed a trace of a smug arc.
No, what is there to be smug about this!?
Subconsciously holding his forehead, "Lu Li" felt he was truly very abnormal tonight.
Actually, when he mentioned two-for-one or five-for-one earlier, he purely wanted to anger that 'himself'. Seeing the other party lose control and break their defenses every time was quite funny.
It was definitely not truly to act as a male-Alpha nanny putting him to sleep, okay!?
However, watching Xueyan enthusiastically holding the repaired small music box, Lu Li finally couldn't resist asking:
"What exactly is so good about this thing?"
Xueyan, holding the music box, looked at his brother with some confusion, as if not knowing why his brother would ask such a question:
"Because it is the first gift the Brother of the night gave me."
The cub's voice transmitted softly.
Hearing this answer, Lu Li sat blankly without a word for a long time, as if he had suddenly lost his soul.
How could I have not expected this broken thing to actually have such important significance!?
This made "Lu Li" suddenly want to go back to that night in Brisbane when he was picking gifts, punch himself awake, and reselect an even more gorgeous and expensive gift.
Instead of letting the first gift with such major significance be an ugly-as-sin music box!
"Does Brother not like him?"
Xueyan perceived that his brother's mood wasn't right, and asked softly.
"…Does Xueyan like it?"
Lu Li rarely asked in return with a deep tone.
"I like it! I think it is so cute!"
The next second, Xueyan held up the little zombie in his hand and said happily without thinking.
This made the corners of "Lu Li's" mouth stiffen, wanting to be happy but unable to.
I suspect that when he grows up and sees this ugly music box again, he will feel that my aesthetic taste as the Third Brother of the night has serious problems.
"Alright, aren't you going to sleep? What time is it."
Lu Li, driven to desperation, looked up at the time, and prepared to carry Xueyan to bed to sleep.
However, Xueyan, who had cried and released his emotions tonight, seemed somewhat exceptionally energetic.
Coupled with finally waiting for the Brother of the night, he wanted his brother to play with him a little longer, and didn't want to go to bed to sleep that quickly.
"The song Brother wrote before, you haven't played it for me to hear yet!"
So, Xueyan tugged at his brother's hem, wanting to hear that second song he hadn't heard yet.
"…"
And Lu Li actually didn't want to play that still-imperfect song for Xueyan to hear so quickly. Otherwise, what if Xueyan felt the first song sounded better!?
However, by the time Lu Li's reason returned, he was already sitting in front of the grand piano and started playing. The music flowed from his fingertips, making even the moonlight outside the window seem brighter.
Even during the performance, Lu Li instinctively adjusted and modified the original subtle flaws in the entire song, the melody gradually approaching perfection.
Xueyan, hugging the two small music boxes in his arms, sat quietly aside appreciating his brother's music.
I feel if I had a phone right now it would be great, I could record Brother playing the piano too…
When Lu Li finished playing a piece and turned to look at his side again, he found Xueyan had unknowingly fallen asleep beside him amidst the music.
Sure enough, he was still tired tonight.
Lu Li couldn't resist leaning in closer, staring at the sleeping Xueyan for a long time.
Should I pick Xueyan up and carry him back to the bedroom now?
Lu Li hesitated for a moment, then instinctively took off his coat and draped it over the cub before picking Xueyan up in his arms with both hands, preparing to return to the bedroom.
However, just as Lu Li was about to leave, he was startled by a figure in front of the stairs.
Lu Jing!?
It was impressively Second Sister Lu Jing, draping a coat over her shoulders, looking over here with a half-smile, not knowing how long she had been watching.
Because Xueyan was asleep, no one spoke at this moment.
Lu Jing simply walked to the piano, reached out and picked up those two music boxes of vastly different styles, and examined them for a long time.
Third, forgot to take your things?
Lu Jing raised an eyebrow and looked at Third, whose entire body was currently written with vigilance.
Lu Li nodded silently, freeing up a hand to take the two music boxes.
On the way back to his room, "Lu Li" always felt a gaze constantly staring at his back.
…Impossible. Besides Xueyan, no one else should have discovered my existence yet.
Only after Lu Li disappeared at the end of the corridor did Lu Jing curl her lips and look at Eldest Brother Lu Xun, who had similarly stepped out nearby.
Playing the piano in the atrium late at night instead of sleeping, the family naturally couldn't have not heard it.
It was just that seeing Xueyan was also listening nearby, they didn't make a sound.
"This guy Third, playing the piano to coax the sweet cub again?"
Even Dad appeared here with his hands behind his back, a subtle expression on his face.
The situation is a bit problematic.
Third can play the piano, then what can I, this Dad, do?!
Lu Ting, who had lived willfully and unscrupulously for so many years, felt a crisis and urgency of lacking ability for the first time in his life.
"Dad, do you want to perform a backflip?"
To this, Lu Jing teased with the corners of her mouth curled up.
"No, Second, what nonsense are you talking about, you silly child?"
This successfully made Dad glare over with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.
Could a backflip possibly be this useful, otherwise why would Third play the piano!
"Instead of doing this, you guys might as well think carefully about how to prevent people from nagging about this name when he goes to kindergarten tomorrow!"
Although the posts online were all deleted, the portion of people who had already seen it would inevitably run in front of the sweet cub and gossip.
Thinking of this, Lu Ting wished he could personally accompany the sweet cub to kindergarten for a day, and sequentially discipline those cubs who dared to joke around. While Lu Xun and the others heard this and exchanged a glance, but temporarily didn't speak. Because there were naturally many methods, it just depended on which method they were prepared to adopt to prevent it.
So early the next morning, Xueyan, who woke up and finished washing, found the atmosphere of the whole family up and down was a bit different.
"Come, sweet cub, come over, Papa is going to assign you a task."
Dad was the first to wave at Xueyan, who had changed clothes.
Xueyan: ?
Although Xueyan was a bit puzzled, he still obediently ran in front of his papa.
"Papa is going to train you today, what you should do if any brat in kindergarten dares to jeer."
Lu Ting said with a serious face.
This successfully made Xueyan's face tense up too, staring at his papa unblinking.
Everyone in the room also followed suit and looked over, wanting to know what kind of training method Dad had come up with after thinking for a whole night.
"The first step is you do this, just stare at them like this, use your eyes to make them realize our family's sweet cub is not to be trifled with."
After Lu Ting finished speaking, he performed a fierce glare on the spot. When the big villain in the book made such a ferocious expression, it truly possessed a fearsome aura.
"Then loudly tell them, our family's sweet cub is named Lu Xueyan! Not any other messy name!"
"Have you learned it!? Do it once for Papa to see! Remember to show your imposing man