Chapter 22: Gaming Room

Two sons in one bath is a lot of water.

Su Yu knelt beside the tub in the shared bathroom with his sleeves up to the shoulder.

Su Lan, fourteen months old, sat in the shallows with a rubber duck and slapped the water with both palms.

Lu Feng, the furious newborn of four months ago, floated in his father's arm in solemn silence.

He watched his brother with a frown.

"Splash," Su Yu said, encouragingly. "Lan, splash. Show him. That's a very good splash."

A wave went over the edge and across the tiles.

"One point," said Lu Chen from the doorway, with a towel over his arm. "For the splash."

"He did that himself."

"For the example."

The other bathroom door swung open, the one with the broken lock.

The Chairman walked in.

He did not knock.

He had never knocked in this house, and it was the whole point.

"Dinner is in ten minutes," the Chairman said.

He looked at the water, the ducks and his grandsons.

He sat down on the closed lid of the toilet with great dignity.

"I will wait."

"Dad, we're bathing the kids."

"I am aware. I am supervising."

Su Lan threw a duck at him.

The Chairman caught it, one-handed, and put it carefully on his knee.

The dining room at seven had a new high chair at one end and a new bouncer at the other.

Mrs. Su stood in the middle serving soup.

She looked like a woman who had been planning something for a week.

Su Yu waited until everyone had a spoon.

"I have an announcement," he said.

"No," said Lu Chen.

"You don't know what it is."

"It starts with a controller."

Su Yu put down his spoon.

"The east room on the second floor," he said. "It's empty. It gets no sun. It's perfect. I'm going to build a gaming room."