“Nonsense, how could I possibly have such a grown son?”
“Yeah, if the person hadn’t shown up right in front of me, I wouldn’t have known you had such a grown son either.”
“Your dad is so handsome, how could I possibly betray him?”
“Yeah, my dad is so handsome, how could you betray him?”
“So what if he looks like me? Just because he looks like me, he’s my son now? I think he looks more like you!”
“Mom, I’m sixteen this year. That one turned eighteen today.”
“Not mine and not yours? Then it must be one of your grandpa’s romantic debts. Next time we burn paper offerings, I’ll have to ask him!”
“Heh.”
“Watch how you talk! What are you being so sarcastic for! Is this how your father taught you!”
“How am I not speaking properly? Dad taught me perfectly well, Madam Lu Mingzhu. You’re the one who’s not sincere.”
“Sincere, my grandpa!”
……
The brightly lit living room was thrown into complete chaos, mother and daughter wearing identical expressions of fury on their strikingly similar faces.
A family war erupted out of nowhere, yet the very source and center of the incident was shoved aside into a corner, quietly avoiding every bit of the storm.
Lu Ran clutched his hair and stared wide-eyed, struggling to understand the argument between the two elders, but all he felt was his mind dissolving into a muddled haze.
He recognized every word when taken apart, yet once they were strung together, they made no sense at all.
He vaguely sensed that something was off, but he could not grasp what it was.
“I’m drunk. It’s normal not to understand,” Lu Ran muttered to himself, persuading his own heart. “If I don’t understand, I shouldn’t try to mediate. The more I do, the messier it gets. Let them fight it out. They’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Dressed in pajamas and slippers, he headed upstairs with practiced ease, entered a bedroom near the garden, yanked the blanket over himself, and promptly passed out under it.
Ten minutes later, the mother and daughter who had been at each other’s throats in the living room finally noticed the absence of the central figure. They could only stare at each other, wide-eyed and awkward.
Early the next morning, Lu Ran was jolted awake by a faint pain at his fingertips.
Fighting off his drowsiness, he shot upright and saw a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat.
The man in the white lab coat held a blood collection lancet between his fingers. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and a rather serious expression.
Seeing that Lu Ran was awake, he put the lancet away into the collection tube and gave Lu Ran a small nod.
Lu Ran extended his hand. The tip of his right index finger was broken, a dot of bright red blood visible.
What was going on so early in the morning?
The man handed Lu Ran a ball of snow-white cotton.
Lu Ran accepted it without a word and pressed the cotton onto his right index finger.
The man nodded to him once more, placed the collection tube into a small medical kit nearby, closed the door, and turned to leave.
Lu Ran scratched his face and looked around. As expected, this was not a familiar environment.
Wallpaper, pale pink. Curtains, blush pink. Wooden bed, deep pink. Desk, light pink.
He shook the pink floral quilt draped over his body. Printed on it were rose-pink cartoon pigs shaped like hair dryers.
This type of hair-dryer-shaped cartoon pig image originated from a cartoon called Peppa Pig more than thirty years ago. It was wildly popular for a time and widely loved across all age groups, holding a steady place among popular cartoon imagery for more than a decade after its release. Lu Ran knew this only because his mother, Madam Lu Luoluo, who adhered to a “nostalgic” mindset, had once bought a Peppa Pig cartoon plush.
Lu Ran’s heart sank. Was this a kidnapping, a hostage situation, or something even more inconceivable?
Only fragments of yesterday’s memories lingered in his mind. He remembered having some alcohol, talking while holding the big orange cat at home, then inexplicably ending up at the gates of No. 1 High School. After that, he followed his mom home, and it seemed like his mom and his grandmother started arguing…
The sound of footsteps, scuffing along, came from far to near. For no clear reason, Lu Ran sensed three parts familiarity and seven parts reluctance in those steps.
Before he could think about where that three parts familiarity came from, the doorknob turned. A face he knew all too well looked down at him, casting an icy gaze.
The word “Mom” had not even left his mouth before it was forced back into his throat by that sharp look, swallowed down into his chest.
Lu Luoluo withdrew her gaze and said coldly, “Awake?”
Only then did Lu Ran realize that his mother’s state seemed to have changed. No, not just a little, but drastically. Her skin had returned to how it looked at sixteen or seventeen, and she was noticeably shorter as well.
No. The woman in front of him, no, the girl, should not be his mom. That was Lu Ran’s judgment.
No matter how advanced cosmetic medical technology was, it could not return someone’s skin from their thirties or forties to their mid-teens, let alone change their height.
Lu Ran grabbed at the blanket uneasily. “I’m awake.”
Could it be that his mom had secretly given him a younger sister without him knowing? Then how could he explain the familiarity rising from deep in his heart? Lu Ran forced himself to recall his memories and remembered what he had been muttering yesterday while holding the big orange cat at home.
He remembered saying to himself that if he could go back to his mom’s teenage years and stop her from getting together with that scumbag dad who had disappeared for more than a decade, it would be fine even if he no longer existed in this world. Then, it seemed that a warm, bright light came from where he was holding the big orange cat.
After that, he inexplicably ended up at the gate of No. 1 High School…
Could it be that the big orange cat was some kind of magical creature, like a domesticated little spirit, capable of granting wishes and actually sending him back to the past?
That did not make sense. Aside from being a bit smarter, bigger, fatter, and having especially smooth and beautiful fur, was the big orange cat any different from other cats? What was magical about it?
Lu Luoluo watched Lu Ran’s face shift as if a paint palette had been overturned, turning red one moment and pale the next, his expression constantly changing. It was rather amusing.
However, Lu Luoluo was not here to admire a paint palette, nor was she lacking paint.
She cleared her throat. “Since you’re awake, you can explain your background and your purpose now.”
Last night, the war between Lu Luoluo and Madam Lu Mingzhu came to a halt once they realized Lu Ran was missing. In the end, the mother and daughter each took a step back and proposed inviting a doctor to come early the next morning to draw blood for a paternity test, resolving the issue in a scientific way. On the surface, Lu Luoluo also restored her trust in her mother. The two temporarily reconciled and made reasonable assumptions regarding Lu Ran’s identity.
After making those reasonable assumptions, the mother and daughter turned their suspicions toward Madam Lu Mingzhu’s father, who was famous for his rigorous conduct, Lu Luoluo’s stern and unsmiling grandfather. However, given that the man was already deceased, from a materialist standpoint, burning offerings and questioning him at his grave would yield no answers. The contradiction naturally returned to Lu Ran himself.
Because of a trace of doubt that she absolutely could not suppress and could not reveal in front of her mother, Lu Luoluo came to see Lu Ran early in the morning to personally question his origins.
A paternity test could be faked. What if Madam Lu Mingzhu had bribed the doctor who conducted the test? Given the blood-and-tears history of being fooled since childhood, Lu Luoluo believed in Madam Lu Mingzhu’s love for her, yet harbored doubts about Madam Lu Mingzhu’s sincerity.
Moreover, when there were doubts, it was better to verify them promptly, and when there were misunderstandings, to clear them up in time. That was far better than leaving a knot in one’s heart and carrying resentment indefinitely.
Aside from questioning him, Lu Luoluo also planned to pull out a few more strands of Lu Ran’s hair and send them to several different hospitals for paternity tests.
Doctors in City A might be bribed, but surely those in City B and City C would not.
Lu Ran’s expression finally settled into a mix of green and red. After a moment, he took a deep breath and said, “I can answer your questions. Before that, may I ask your name and your mother’s name?”
Lu Luoluo shot a suspicious glance at the young man in front of her, thinking to herself that there was no way he did not know her name. What was he pretending for?
Still, in the end, she answered, “Lu Luoluo. Lu Mingzhu.”
Lu Ran confirmed the guess in his heart.
Lu Ran fell silent.
Lu Ran looked into Lu Luoluo’s eyes and spoke stiffly.
“What I’m about to say may be hard to accept, but please believe that my mental state is perfectly normal. I… do not belong to this era. I come from the future, the year 2045. I came back here without any particular purpose. My return itself was caused by some factors beyond the scope of understanding. I do not know whether I can go back, or when I might be able to. Do you… believe me?”
There was little expression on Lu Luoluo’s face. After a moment of silence, she asked, “Then can you tell me, by the year 2045, has China’s men’s national football team ever won the World Cup?”
Lu Ran fell silent for a few seconds, then shook his head. “No. China’s men’s football team… is still not very good.
“But you have a son.”
Lu Luoluo blinked and smiled. “The son you’re talking about wouldn’t happen to be standing right in front of me, would he?”
Lu Ran looked at Lu Luoluo and nodded, his gaze serious, with a hint of innocent anticipation.
Was there even the slightest possibility that his mom could sense the bond of blood and believe this seemingly absurd yet actually true account?
Lu Luoluo’s smile gradually faded.
A moment later, Lu Luoluo nodded solemnly. “I believe you.”
She slipped on her slippers, turned, and hurried out of the room.
Lu Ran heard her footsteps grow faster and faster, until in the end she seemed to break into a run.
Puzzled, Lu Ran put on his slippers and stepped out of the room, deciding to see what was going on.
Unexpectedly, just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, two burly men in bodyguard uniforms twisted his arms and restrained him.
Lu Luoluo stood to the side and reminded them, “This person has delusional disorder. It’s not certain whether he has aggressive tendencies, but his mental state is definitely abnormal. Be careful.”
The moment Lu Ran opened his mouth, she had already felt something was off. What kind of mentally ill person in the world would claim to be perfectly normal?
Spouting nonsense in broad daylight. If that was not delusional disorder, then what was it?
The two bodyguards restrained the young man with heightened vigilance.
Lu Ran: …
At that moment, Madam Lu Mingzhu heard the commotion and came downstairs to check. Seeing the scene, she was extremely confused. “What happened?”
Ten minutes later, under the airtight watch of four bodyguards, Lu Ran let out a sigh, picked up a tablet, and resigned himself to doing a thousand-question psychological assessment.
He should have known. Nothing in this world came that easily.