Chapter 005

Lu Jianxing slept for a long, long time.

When he woke up, sunlight filtered through the gap at the bottom of the curtains, and the light outside was bright. He stared at the ceiling for a while, feeling like he hadn’t slept this well in ages. He felt refreshed, his body feeling incredibly light.

His consciousness slowly returned, and the events from before he fell asleep surfaced in his mind. Besides that, he felt a warm little body pressed tightly against his side.

Lu Jianxing looked down and met a tender little face fast asleep. The child was hugging his arm, having found a comfortable position next to him. His little belly rose and fell with his breathing, and his chubby cheeks were squished against the mattress from lying on his side.

As soon as he moved his body slightly, the child woke up from his slumber. Before his eyes even opened, he sat up in a daze. After a long while, he let out a huge yawn and struggled to open his heavy eyelids. “Master…”

But there was no Master on the bed, only a handsome male star.

Qiao Man was stunned for a moment, then immediately became happy again. “Xingxing!”

Lu Jianxing gave a hum of acknowledgment. Seeing Qiao Man habitually hold out his arms, he cooperated by picking the child up and heading into the bathroom together. He squeezed toothpaste onto the child’s toothbrush. Qiao Man stood on a small stool, and the two of them raised their toothbrushes, gurgling and scrubbing their teeth together.

Seeing the pajamas with a little duckling pattern on the child’s chest through the mirror, Lu Jianxing finally realized something was different.

The child’s tattered Taoist Robe had vanished, replaced by soft, form-fitting children’s pajamas. He not only had his own toothbrush and a little step stool, but in just one night, even his hairstyle had changed.

Qiao Man’s hair had always been cut by his Master. This time, his Master had been away for a bit too long, so his hair had grown out, and his bangs were starting to cover his eyes. Last night, the assistant Maomao had taken him to buy new clothes and daily necessities, and had also taken him for a haircut. The neatly trimmed short black hair now rested softly against the child’s face, making his eyes look even larger and rounder, even cuter than before.

Lu Jianxing spat out the toothpaste foam and pulled a newly bought children’s towel from the rack, wetting it to wipe the child’s face.

Qiao Man obediently tilted his head back, not forgetting to make big promises. “Xingxing, when I grow up a bit more, I’ll take care of you like this too.”

Lu Jianxing wiped the toothpaste foam from the corner of his mouth and retorted, “I’m not a child like you.”

“But I…”

Before Qiao Man could finish, his face was covered by the towel.

Lu Jianxing said, “Alright, that’s enough.”

The door beeped twice, and Maomao swiped his key card to enter. Seeing that the two were already up, he first set down the breakfast he had packed from the downstairs restaurant and greeted Lu Jianxing. Then, he pulled a large tin from his backpack.

Maomao crouched down and shook the large tin at the child. “Baby, come look. Are these the cookies you like to eat?”

Qiao Man took a look. The familiar tin had a familiar pattern on it. He ran over joyfully and hugged the large cookie tin in his arms. “That’s right, this is it! Every time my Master came back from down the mountain, he would bring me these.”

Lu Jianxing glanced at it. It was a classic brand of cookies that he had also eaten when he was a child.

Maomao continued to pull things from his backpack: children’s milk, small cakes, cheese sticks, chocolate… they were all snacks that children would like. By the time the table was full, his backpack had deflated.

Maomao diligently poked a straw into the milk for him, then opened the breakfast bags. While peeling an eggshell, he said, “Baby, I didn’t know what you liked to eat, so I got a bit of everything for breakfast. Pick whatever you like. Just remember what you enjoy, and I’ll buy it for you again tomorrow.”

Qiao Man nodded while holding his milk. “I’m never a picky eater.”

“You’re so good!”

After peeling the egg and blowing on the porridge to cool it down, Maomao finally stood up once Qiao Man insisted he was already a big, independent boy who didn’t need looking after. He saw Lu Jianxing standing aside with his arms crossed, watching him with a cold gaze.

Maomao called out, “Brother Lu, don’t just stand there. Come eat breakfast, I bought plenty.”

Just after speaking, he immediately lowered his head and spoke in a high-pitched, cutesy voice, “Oh, baby, that pumpkin pancake just came out of the pan. It’s hot, don’t touch it. Wait for me to find something to wrap it in.”

Lu Jianxing: “…”

He had only slept for a night; what on earth had happened?

It wasn’t until they finished breakfast and Qiao Man held up his two little hands to let Maomao wipe the grease off his face and hands that Maomao finally had time to tell him what had occurred.

“Brother Lu, you don’t know because you were asleep, but yesterday was truly miraculous!”

Maomao said in an exaggerated tone, “After you fell asleep, Sister Yun received several more calls. All those original videos that couldn’t be found before have appeared. The company’s PR department worked through the night to clear several pieces of black material¹ for you. A lot of fans are cursing under the company’s official social media account right now.”

Lu Jianxing was stunned for a moment. “Cursing about what?”

“Sigh.” Maomao waved his hand. “Cursing the company for being heartless, for having evidence and not releasing it sooner.”

Lu Jianxing: “…”

“I thought it was all fantasy before, but who knew that Luck Borrowing was actually a real thing!”

Last night, while Lu Jianxing was asleep, Maomao hadn’t slept at all. He had been busy with Sister Yun for most of the night and had seen the entire process from start to finish. If he had initially thought Lu Jianxing was just playing house with a child, that Sleep-Aid Talisman that gave Lu Jianxing a good night’s rest had changed his worldview. After watching the restoration of the missing videos for half the night, his attentive attitude alone showed that he was now completely convinced. He believed in it from the bottom of his heart.

No matter how bizarre or fantastical it was, it had happened right before his eyes, and he had no choice but to believe.

Their Brother Lu had been slandered by fake black material for so long and had almost been forced to leave the industry. With a simple calculation on his tiny fingers, the Master had solved it without any effort at all.

So what if he was only five? The Master might be young, but he was a Master with real ability, practically a living immortal!

“I just don’t know who the person borrowing your luck is,” Maomao said, gritting his teeth. “I don’t know who it is, but to use such a vicious method; if Master Xiao Man hadn’t been here, Brother Lu, your career would have been nearly ruined.”

Lu Jianxing still hadn’t quite processed everything.

He had slept for a very long time and was completely unaware of what had happened while he was asleep. The only things he was clear on were the events from before he went to bed. Having not seen the changes firsthand yet, he could only repeat uncertainly, “Everything has been cleared up?”

“Yeah! Not only is it cleared up, but you’ve hit the trending searches several times, and it’s all good news.”

Maomao pulled out his phone to show him. Unlike before, everything Lu Jianxing saw now was positive. Many fans who had previously left were returning, posting apologies under his Weibo².

“So, the Luck Borrowing is real too?”

“If it wasn’t real, how could it be such a coincidence?” Maomao said, gesturing excitedly. “Besides, Brother Lu, did you forget? Master Xiao Man gave you a Sleep-Aid Talisman yesterday, and you fell asleep in seconds!”

“…” His sleep quality yesterday had indeed been excellent.

Qiao Man was currently looking down, drinking milk. Maomao had bought a brand of sweet children’s milk that was particularly popular with kids. One carton wasn’t enough; he was currently gulping down a second one. Hearing the doubt, he looked up and repeated, “I’ve never been wrong in my fortune-telling.”

Lu Jianxing: “…”

For some reason, he suddenly thought back to the first time the kid had told his fortune, where the very first thing he’d said was for Lu Jianxing to recognize him as his father.

His feelings suddenly became a bit complicated.

There was a knock at the door, and Sister Yun burst in like a whirlwind.

She and the company’s PR team had spent the whole night clearing Lu Jianxing’s name. She’d barely slept, but right now, she was in incredibly high spirits.

“Xingxing, you’ve got work!” Sister Yun said excitedly. “After the clarification video went out, several dramas and shows sent over invitations.”

They were only minor roles, incomparable to what he had before, but Lu Jianxing’s popularity wasn’t what it used to be either. Although the clarification video was out, the blow to his reputation had been real. While many fans were returning, the public’s perception of Lu Jianxing couldn’t be reversed overnight.

But it was a good sign!

One had to realize that before this, Lu Jianxing hadn’t received any new work for a long time.

Master Xiao Man had said that no one would be able to borrow his luck anymore. As long as they worked hard and stayed grounded, they might even return to their former heights.

In any case, it was better than being forced out of the industry by an Internet-wide Smear Campaign.

“Oh, and there’s this.” Sister Yun took a document out of her bag and handed it to him.

Lu Jianxing took it and asked casually, “What’s this?”

Sister Yun: “A paternity test.”

Lu Jianxing: “…”

The few thin pages in his hand suddenly felt a lot heavier.

Translator’s Notes