CHAPTER 78 — A Father Learning His Children
Morning came too early.
Sunlight spilled through the sheer curtains of the Mu estate, warm and golden, touching everything with softness. Birds chirped outside the wide windows, and the entire house smelled faintly of jasmine and fresh linen.
Shi Yunxi woke slowly — not because she was exhausted, but because her mind had spent half the night replaying the same scenes:
Lingchen kneeling in front of the children.
Lingchen tucking in each of the triplets.
Lingchen's voice, raw and honest:
"Thank you for trusting me."
It was too much.
Too real.
Too close to everything she had once wished for.
She forced herself out of bed, washed, and tied her hair up before stepping out into the hallway.
And that was when she heard it.
Chaos.
Small chaos.
"Daddy! Daddy, that's not how you braid hair!"
"You're hurting my scalp!"
"No, Daddy, you need to hold the hair lightly! LIGHTLY!"
"I can't do it lightly if you keep turning your head!"
A thump.
A squeak.
A groan of defeat.
Yunxi blinked in confusion at the door to the triplets' room… before quietly stepping into the doorway.
And there he was.
Mu Lingchen.
The cold-faced, feared CEO.
Trying.
Desperately trying.
To braid Shi Qing'er's hair.
Her daughter sat on a small pink chair, arms crossed, pouting accusingly at him.
Shi Yichen was rolling on the floor laughing so hard he was crying.
Mu Rui was sitting on his bed, hugging a pillow, looking more anxious than amused — torn between wanting to help and not daring to interrupt.
Yunxi covered her mouth.
She almost burst out laughing.
Lingchen looked like a man fighting a war with three strands of hair. His brows were knitted together, and his usually perfect composure had been reduced to helpless frustration.
"I watched a tutorial," he muttered under his breath, "it didn't look this difficult."
"Because you're doing it wrong!" Qing'er huffed. "Mommy's hands are gentle. You're pulling like you're fighting an enemy!"
"I am not fighting—" Lingchen paused, exhaled deeply, and attempted again.
Qing'er yelped dramatically.
"OW! Daddy, that's my head, not rope!"
Now Yunxi couldn't hold it anymore.
She laughed.
Out loud.
The entire room froze.
Lingchen's head snapped up — eyes widening just a fraction.
Shi Qing'er whipped around and shrieked, "Mommy, save me!! Daddy is attacking my hair!!"
Yichen rolled harder on the floor.
Mu Rui looked relieved.
Lingchen looked betrayed by the universe.
Yunxi leaned against the doorframe, still smiling.
"I didn't know you were… talented."
Lingchen cleared his throat, straightening his back instantly like a soldier caught slacking off.
"The video made it look easy," he muttered defensively.
"It is easy," she said, walking into the room. "If you don't strangle the hair."
Qing'er practically leapt into Yunxi's arms.
"Mommy, fix it! Daddy almost ripped my scalp out!"
"I did not—" Lingchen stopped. Then sighed. "Fine. I might have… pulled slightly."
"Slightly?" Yichen wheezed.
Mu Rui slowly raised his hand. "Daddy… your hands are… very strong."
Lingchen looked away.
Yunxi knelt, undoing the disastrous attempt at a braid, and within minutes she neatly wove Qing'er's hair into two adorable, soft pigtail braids.
Lingchen watched her hands intently — memorizing every movement with focus sharper than when he reviewed billion-dollar contracts.
"There," Yunxi said gently. "Finished."
Qing'er hopped up, twirling happily. "Pretty!"
Yichen nodded. "Mommy is the best."
Mu Rui whispered, "Mommy always makes it look easy."
Then the three of them turned toward Lingchen — who stood there with arms folded, pretending he didn't care, but there was a faint red tint on his ears.
Yunxi's lips curved.
"You don't have to be perfect," she said quietly so only he could hear.
"No one learns to be a father in one day."
Something warm flickered in his eyes.
"And yet," he said, voice low, "I want to learn."
She looked away quickly — because her heart was too weak for this man when he spoke like that.
Breakfast was another battlefield.
Lingchen attempted to cut pancakes into perfect squares for the children.
Shi Yichen hated squares and demanded triangles.
Shi Qing'er insisted on heart-shapes.
Mu Rui didn't want them cut at all.
"How do you three eat differently from each other?" Lingchen muttered.
"They're individuals," Yunxi said, sipping tea, amused.
"Individuals trying to destroy me," he corrected seriously.
By the end of breakfast:
Shi Yichen had syrup on his shirt.
Shi Qing'er had syrup in her hair.
Mu Rui had syrup on his cheek.
Lingchen had syrup on his sleeve and a look of utter disbelief.
Yunxi cleaned the triplets quickly, efficient as ever, while Lingchen watched the process like he was observing an ancient, sacred art.
"How do you stay calm?" he asked.
"I don't," she replied. "I'm just used to it."
He looked almost impressed.
Almost.
After breakfast, something unexpected happened.
The triplets pulled Lingchen to the garden.
Literally pulled.
Shi Yichen grabbed his hand with determination.
Shi Qing'er pushed from behind.
Mu Rui clung to his sleeve.
"You promised to play with us today!" Yichen declared.
"When did I—"
"You nodded!" Qing'er insisted.
"I nodded because you were asking too fast—"
"A promise is a promise," Mu Rui said softly.
Lingchen stopped.
Looked at his three children.
And his resistance melted in an instant.
"…Fine. One hour."
"Two hours!" Qing'er countered.
"One."
"Two!"
Lingchen crossed his arms. "One and a half."
The triplets exchanged looks, then nodded in unison.
"DEAL!"
Yunxi watched from the porch… and what she saw made her throat tighten.
Lingchen — the man who was always cold, composed, terrifyingly in control — was now chasing three small children around the garden like an exhausted big dog trying to keep up with three extremely excited puppies.
Shi Yichen climbed a tree.
Shi Qing'er tried to braid leaves.
Mu Rui sat on the grass, making tiny flower circles.
Lingchen tried to keep up with all three at once and nearly tripped over a watering can.
Yunxi laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach.
Lingchen scowled at her from across the garden.
"This is harder than running a company!" he yelled.
"That's parenting!" she yelled back.
"Why did no one warn me?!"
"We tried!" Yichen shouted.
Lingchen sighed dramatically and flopped onto the grass beside the children, completely defeated.
The triplets piled on top of him instantly.
And despite his complaints…
He didn't push them away.
Not even a little.
Yunxi slowed her steps as she walked toward them.
And for the first time…
For the very first time…
This looked like a real family.
Not broken.
Not hurting.
Not fighting ghosts.
But simply being.
Together.
She exhaled softly.
Maybe…
Just maybe…
She could trust this man.
A little more.