Fake dating my enemy, The playboy billionaire

Yiren’s pov

I’m fine, but I have no idea how to make Jun believe it. Gone is the carefree man who was all about laughter and life, and all that’s left behind is a jittery one who doesn’t even want to chase his dreams anymore.

I know why he isn’t buying the company. Jason is still alive, and he thinks if he buys it, Jason might come after me again someday.

I want to be his strength, but he’s making me his weakness.

The tension is etched in his posture as he pretends to watch the movie, but his hand never left my thigh, as if needing assurance. I’m happy for the love and care this man showers me with, but I can’t see him like this.

Our family dinner last week was nothing like it used to be with Jun around. His conversations were short, and he only replied in curt answers. Everyone tried to bring him into the conversation, but he keeps drifting. Once the formalities were done, he brought me back home. His fleet of armed security follows us diligently.

Zian tried to get him to join boxing practice, but he made an excuse. A man who used to drag everyone out from their workplaces has now locked himself inside the house.It’s suffocating.

My nose stings. I want the old Jun back.

Seeing his condition, his brothers send the kids to stay with us for a week. We only see a flicker of his old jovial self when he’s with them.

A sound of something shattering comes from the kitchen, and we both run to see.

Hundreds of tiny glass shards litter the floor along with a pool of strawberry milkshake. The three little ones standing frozen, mouths open.

"Nobody moves. I’m coming to you, okay? STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE." Jun runs back to the bedroom and returns wearing shoes with thick soles.

I grab Bear before he can step on any piece.

Jun walks through the glass shards, picks Yuyu up, and carries her out. Then he does the same with Lan and Honey before calling the house staff to clean the kitchen.

"Sorry, Uncle," Yuyu chokes as Jun cleans her feet with a warm towel.

"It’s okay, sweetheart. No big deal."

I nod at Lan, who juts her lips out, eyes glimmering with tears. "I’ll never try to make milkshake again. Sorry, Uncle."

"Why not? That’s just broken glass. Not a murder. You’re just learning, and sometimes learning is messy." He pulls her into a hug. I nod at Honey, who’s ready to speak.

"What if we get hurt?"

Jun opens his arms for him to join the hug, and Honey walks into his embrace. "So what? That’s life, silly. It brings the good and the bad—smiles and scrapes, sunshine and storms. If we give up every time something goes wrong, we’ll never get to do the amazing things waiting for us."

Three pairs of eyes smile at Jun, and I bite down on my own smile. This is exactly where I want it to go. And Jun doesn’t disappoint me.

"Then why are you not buying D-Drolols’s company?"

"Uff, Yuyu, it’s Drills, not Drolols," Lan corrects with unmatchable confidence. "Uncle’s not buying it because he’s afraid to get hurt. Right, Uncle?"

"But that’s life. It brings the good and the bad—smiles and scrapes, sunshine and storms. If we give up every time something goes wrong, we’ll never get to do the amazing things waiting for us." Wow. I’m amazed by Honey’s memory, saying it word for word. And the assignment—these three understood. MUAH!

Jun looks back and forth between me and them, definitely not expecting a life lesson from three kids who don’t even reach his waist.

As if Yuyu is disappointed, she crosses her arms and pinches Jun’s chin to make him look into her eyes. "We are Fengs. We don’t think about ifs and buts."

"Your car was amazing. You are amazing. Go for it!" Lan says.

"Go for it!" Honey cheers.

Bear barks as if saying it in his own language before running back to the movie room.

"Go for it," I whisper, watching him blink at us, lost for words. He stands and pulls me close.

"So this was your idea, huh?"

I jab a hard finger at his chest. "It’s you who said the correct words and got trapped." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

A sad laugh slips from his lips as he shakes his head. "Definitely didn’t expect being hit this hard by three kids."

Sometimes you just need to hear the words from the mouths of kids to understand the depth. They teach you in the simplest of language because their world is small, and they are fearless, untainted, true.

"This is the thing I was most afraid of. You turning into a zombie. I haven’t even lost a shred of my memory or died—" I remove his palm from my lips, "—DIED. And here I can already see a glimpse of my Papa in you when Mom died."

I don’t want to cry. Not when the kids are watching me. But I’ve heard them talking in whispers, saying they miss the old Uncle Juju and want him back. Yesterday I overheard Honey asking his father over the phone if he has any medicine or injection to fix Jun. What should I say to them? That I’m the reason behind it?

"Your relationship with these kids and your family is sacred. You are like a heartbeat for them. And I want it to stay that way. Don’t sully it because of me. I thought I’d be your strength just like you are mine. But now it seems I’m silently killing you."

Honey pins Jun with the attitude that comes straight from Suyin. "The problem is Uncle has given up so—insert bad word—easily. It’s pathetic."

"What was the bad word you wanted to use, bro?" Yuyu turns to Honey but gets an eye glare from the other two little ones. "Okayyy... I’ll ask later."

Jun forces his shoulders straight. "I’m absolutely fine. Thank you very much."

Lan stomps on Jun’s foot. "Fine? That’s not how our Uncle Juju ever replies. He’d raise his brow, accept the challenge, drag us out in his expensive open-roof car, and do the things that our parents would never approve of. And we’d have fun and laugh until our tummies hurt, and then he’d bribe us with treats to keep our mouths shut."

"Five weeks... How many times have you played guitar for us? Or assembled a new Lego set with us? Or taken us on a long drive?" A tear drops from Yuyu’s eye at the end, breaking everyone’s heart, and Jun scoops her up tight.

"I’m sorry, princess... I’m so sorry."

I leave them alone... This is a moment between Jun and his kids. Jun’s brows furrow when he sees me leaving, so I just smile and point in the direction of his office.

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