Autumn sunlight streamed into the Lu residence in the early morning, quiet and warm.
Under the quiet, warm sunlight, Lu Ran sat on a small stool in front of the tea table, holding a tablet in one hand and checking off questions with the other.
Four bodyguards surrounded Lu Ran, maintaining their vigilance.
Lu Luoluo and Madam Lu Mingzhu sat farther out on the sofa, leaning back against it and keeping silent.
Lu Luoluo’s expression shifted from panic to calm. In her mind, she gradually sketched out a convoluted story with her maternal grandfather/mother as the protagonists, packed with keywords such as period romance, twists of fate, heredity, and mutation.
The authenticity of the story still required a paternity test result as proof, but judging from the situation so far, there did not seem to be any major issues with the logic.
But what if this kid really had something wrong with his brain? Send him to the hospital? Lu Luoluo started to worry.
As for Madam Lu Mingzhu, she remained somewhat bewildered the entire time.
The moment she heard the commotion and came downstairs, she saw two bodyguards restraining Lu Ran, while her precious daughter shouted that the young man who had appeared last night had… a delusional disorder?
This was no small matter. Afraid that two bodyguards might not be enough, Madam Lu Mingzhu hurriedly called for two more.
However… Madam Lu Mingzhu cast her gaze toward the young man in the center of the living room who was obediently doing problems. He really did not look like someone with any kind of mental illness.
Could it be that this young man had said something Lu Luoluo could not accept?
Madam Lu Mingzhu had a very clear understanding of how unreliable her own daughter could be. Setting everything else aside, last night she had actually suspected that she herself had an illegitimate child. That was downright having a hole in her head. Completely unreasonable. Impossible to talk sense into.
But then again, what situation could be more unacceptable than suddenly having an extra illegitimate older brother?
Lu Mingzhu could not imagine one.
As for Lu Ran’s identity, Madam Lu Mingzhu had her own guess.
There was nothing complicated about it. Lu Ran looked like her, she looked like her father. If that was the case, then if Lu Ran was not her father’s romantic debt, what else could he be?
Grandpa Lu had a rigid and dignified temperament and was famously disinterested in women. For Lu Mingzhu to accept the collapse of her father’s image was truly difficult.
She even spent five whole minutes building up her mental defenses.
Carefully examining Lu Ran’s facial features, Lu Mingzhu thought that, judging from the degree of resemblance, this young man was more likely her brother rather than her nephew.
After all, not everyone could be like Lu Luoluo, herself, and Grandpa Lu, still bearing such a high degree of resemblance across generations.
Grandma Lu passed away early. Lu Mingzhu was not completely unable to accept the idea of her father finding someone else afterward, but… an illegitimate child showing up at the door was a bit too outrageous, wasn’t it?
And his age was almost the same as Luoluo’s. He was just one step away from triggering a family war. Madam Lu Mingzhu grumbled in her heart about her long-deceased father.
“All done,” Lu Ran said, pushing the tablet forward. A bodyguard immediately took it and handed it to Madam Lu Mingzhu.
“The results are pretty normal.” Lu Mingzhu glanced at it and passed the tablet to Lu Luoluo.
“Impossible!” Lu Luoluo took the tablet, unable to believe it. “He was clearly talking nonsense just now, saying…”
Lu Luoluo could not quite bring herself to say it out loud. It was just too strange.
But… if this kid’s mental state was normal, then he must have been joking around, deliberately messing with her?
“I didn’t lie, and I wasn’t joking,” Lu Ran said helplessly as he looked at Lu Luoluo. “Why don’t you wait until the paternity test results come out and take a look at the report then? The doctor came to draw blood this morning for the test, right? The results will come out quickly.”
Under normal circumstances, a paternity test only took eight hours for the results to come out. At the Lu family’s private hospital, one could jump the queue, so it would be even faster.
Lu Luoluo snorted dismissively at this.
Madam Lu Mingzhu was even more puzzled.
What exactly was going on?
On the surface, the four bodyguards showed no expression at all, but inside, their gossip instincts were going wild. Secrets of a wealthy family. Juicy, scandalous secrets.
Ten minutes later, Lu Luoluo’s and Lu Mingzhu’s phones rang at the same time with the notification sound of an incoming email.
It was the electronic testing report for the paternity test. The paper document would be delivered later.
Lu Luoluo quickly opened the email and glanced at it.
She closed it, then opened it again.
Opened it again, then closed it again.
Opened it once more. The content was exactly the same, without the slightest change.
Lu Luoluo could not believe her own eyes.
The world shattered in front of her, reassembled, shattered again, and reassembled again. Colorful blocks flooded her mind, forming one massive question mark after another.
Madam Lu Mingzhu was still doing her mental preparation, silently mourning the collapse of her father Mr. Lu Zhengguo’s image. Seeing her daughter in a dazed state, she opened the email as well while asking, “What’s going on?”
Lu Luoluo snapped back to her senses at once. First, confidentiality. Confidentiality was the most important thing. Fortunately, the paternity test did not list any names, and aside from Lu Ran, no one else had handled the process of collecting the genetic samples.
Lu Luoluo took a deep breath and politely saw the four bodyguards off. “We’ve really troubled you. The danger has been resolved now, and there are some private matters we need to deal with, so we have to ask you to leave for the time being.”
The bodyguards said their goodbyes with regret at being unable to hear the gossip. Before the front door closed, the four of them heard Madam Lu Mingzhu’s puzzled voice. “How could it be like this?”
“How could it be like this?” Lu Luoluo echoed the same question as Lu Mingzhu.
The paternity test results were divided into three parts.
The kinship between genetic sample No. 1 and genetic sample No. 2 was: great-grandparent and great-grandchild.
The kinship between genetic sample No. 1 and genetic sample No. 3 was: grandparent and grandchild.
The kinship between genetic sample No. 1 and genetic sample No. 4 was: mother and son.
Genetic sample No. 1 came from the blood drawn from Lu Ran’s fingertip. Genetic sample No. 2 came from Grandpa Lu’s blood sample stored in the hospital freezer. Genetic samples No. 3 and No. 4 came from hair follicle samples taken from Lu Mingzhu and Lu Luoluo.
After the decision to conduct a paternity test was made last night, Lu Mingzhu’s view was that only a test between Grandpa Lu and Lu Ran was necessary. Lu Luoluo insisted that there should also be a test between Madam Lu Mingzhu and Lu Ran.
In the end, Lu Mingzhu acted out of pique and insisted that Lu Luoluo also undergo the test.
“I think he looks more like you! Why didn’t you suspect he’s your son!”
It was originally said out of spite. Who could have predicted the result?
“Could there have been a mistake…” Madam Lu Mingzhu widened her eyes. “This doesn’t make sense.”
Her daughter was only sixteen. How could she possibly have an eighteen-year-old son?
“It might be a mistake,” Lu Luoluo said in a voice where logic had completely collapsed. “Maybe my hair sample got mixed up with yours, Mom…”
Lu Luoluo could not continue.
Lu Mingzhu rejected all statements that slandered her innocence without discrimination and with firm resolve. “I’m his mother, and you’re his grandmother? I’m not your mother and you’re my mother? Lu Luoluo, have you grown bold enough to defy the heavens?”
Seeing that a family war was about to erupt, Lu Ran had no choice but to clear his throat lightly to assert his presence.
Sitting upright, Lu Ran looked at Lu Luoluo and Lu Mingzhu and said solemnly, “Mom. Grandma.”
“I might need blood pressure medication,” Madam Lu Mingzhu murmured, her right hand pressed to her forehead.
“Mom… you had a physical exam just last month. Your blood pressure was completely normal.”
“Then… heart disease?”
“Your heart is healthy too.”
“Asthma?”
“If it were that, you wouldn’t be holding your head.”
When someone finds reality hard to accept, and the people around them react even more strongly, the person whose resistance is comparatively lighter will be the first to regain clarity.
Lu Mingzhu and Lu Luoluo fit this situation perfectly.
“I might… actually have a son,” Lu Luoluo said. “He came from the future.”
Madam Lu Mingzhu took a deep breath for ten seconds. “Like this?”
Lu Ran nodded. “That’s right, Grandma.”
Madam Lu Mingzhu slowly lowered the right hand that had been covering her forehead, slowly walked up the stairs, and then slowly entered the bedroom.
“I think Grandma may need some time,” Lu Ran said as he looked at Lu Mingzhu’s retreating figure, “to accept and process the fact of my arrival.”
“I think I also need some time,” Lu Luoluo said, her gaze empty. “And in the end, I might not be able to accept or digest this at all.”
“It’s okay. I understand,” Lu Ran said.
If he had been given a little time, if he could have appeared in a less abrupt way, he might not have revealed his identity to his mother and grandmother. But reality gave him no buffer at all. The moment he woke up, he was already at the Lu residence. No, to be precise, he had appeared at his mother’s school in a drunken state.
His memories of last night were not very clear, but one thing was beyond doubt. His identity had already aroused his mother’s and grandmother’s suspicions. They suspected that he was an illegitimate child, they just were not sure whose. They also suspected his motives, which was only natural.
That was why a doctor had come early in the morning to draw blood for testing.
Lu Ran thought of what he had said to Da Ju (Big Orange) while drunk and reflected silently. He really had deceived his mother. He had told her that he had come to this era without any purpose, but in fact, he did have one.
He had come to prevent his mother from being with that father who had vanished without a trace.
The mother and son, reunited across time, sat at opposite ends of the sofa. Neither of them spoke again. Lu Luoluo was lost in confusion, while Lu Ran was deep in thought.
Ten minutes later.
Madam Lu Mingzhu came downstairs in small high heels.
It was hard to believe that in such a short amount of time, she had changed into a suit, put on light makeup, and even styled her hair into a neat bun.
Madam Lu Mingzhu took a seat on the sofa opposite the two of them, her waist and back straight, her presence fully unleashed. She gave Lu Ran a slight nod. “Lu Ran, hello. If there is no fallacy in what you’ve said, then I will accept this ‘Grandma.’ However, I ask for your understanding. Time travel is something very difficult for ordinary people like us to accept all at once. May I ask if you have any supporting evidence regarding this matter?”
Lu Luoluo widened her eyes. In that instant, Madam Lu Mingzhu’s previously unreliable image gradually faded away, replaced by something solid and dependable. Surprise, admiration, and respect slowly welled up from the bottom of Lu Luoluo’s heart.
Lu Luoluo stood up and sat down beside Lu Mingzhu.
At a critical moment like this, being next to her mother made her feel at ease.
Lu Ran’s lips moved as he prepared to speak.
There was plenty of evidence he could provide. He could casually mention a major event that would happen in the next few months. He still remembered several.
But at the very moment he was about to speak, an invisible force stopped Lu Ran. It was as if he had lost all ability to use language. No matter what he did, he could not get the words out.
Could this be the so-called temporal constraint? But when Lu Ran had told Lu Luoluo about the state of the Chinese men’s national football team, nothing like this had happened.
A moment later, realization dawned on Lu Ran. Perhaps the fact that the Chinese men’s football team was bad was something everyone knew and could see at a glance. It was not a secret at all and could not affect the flow of time.
“Just talk about something you know that outsiders wouldn’t, something about the family,” Lu Mingzhu said. Having read some theories related to time and space, and observing Lu Ran’s reaction, she was able to roughly infer his predicament.
Lu Ran thought carefully for a moment. “Grandma, the first time you met Grandpa, you tripped and fell flat on your face right in front of him. At the beginning, neither you nor Grandpa thought much of the other. Grandpa really likes braised pork, but he never showed it in front of others. Grandma thought he was putting on an act. Grandma…”
Lu Luoluo’s eyes widened. This was not the version she had heard at all.
Could it be that her parents were not a handsome man and a beautiful woman falling in love at first sight with mutual secret admiration?
Falling flat on her face? Not liking each other?
Her dad, Shen Jia, was such an ethereal, almost fairy-like person. How could he possibly love braised pork?
Wasn’t it always her mom, Madam Lu Mingzhu, who forced him to eat it?
“Stop. Change the topic,” Madam Lu Mingzhu interrupted Lu Ran with a stiff smile. “Something else.”
Lu Ran came back to his senses. At this time, Grandpa had only passed away a few years ago. Grandma was probably… still grieving.
He switched the subject with an apologetic tone. “Great-grandfather actually—” Lu Ran stopped himself quickly. This one had also passed away only a few years ago.
Then Lu Ran looked at Lu Luoluo. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Mom… Mom was very intelligent from a young age. At six years old, she could already solve a four-layer Rubik’s Cube. That cube, along with some other toys, was packed into a small box and buried at the center of the garden.” Lu Ran smiled a little awkwardly. “Later on, I accidentally dug that small box up. If you go dig there now, you should still be able to find it. Mom is very good at electronic competitive games. During high school, her game ID was ‘Qingshui Riverside,’ and at that time she ranked in the top ten of the entire server. Mom…”
Noticing the astonished and disapproving look from Madam Lu Mingzhu, Lu Ran realized something and hurried to smooth things over for his mother in front of her grandmother. “Although Mom is good at games, she never let it interfere with her studies. Her academic rankings were always near the top. Playing e-sports games was just a way to relax.”
Madam Lu Mingzhu was even more astonished.
She knew nothing about any small box buried in the garden. As for games, not long ago, in order to have common ground with her daughter, Madam Lu Mingzhu had tried them herself and even played several rounds with Lu Luoluo. She knew very clearly that her precious daughter’s skill level could only be described as terrible.
As for academic performance, her daughter had been near the bottom of the rankings since middle school. She had barely made it into a key high school by scraping past the self-funded admission cutoff. Where did this supposed top-ranking performance come from?
Lu Luoluo fell silent.
She remembered that Rubik’s Cube. At six years old, she could not solve it no matter what. In a fit of frustration, she took it apart and then put it back together. In the end, it was packed into a big box together with other toys categorized as “infuriating,” and quietly buried. No one ever discovered it.
Her gaming skills were terrible. “Qingshui Riverside” was indeed an ID ranked in the top ten of the entire server, but that ID belonged to Lu Qingjia, the genius student who sat behind her and carried her to higher ranks.
As for academic performance? If she had really been among the top students, Madam Lu Mingzhu would not have sighed over her report cards time and time again, lamenting how other people’s children were so outstanding.
Lu Luoluo believed that Lu Ran was her son, and she also believed that her son had truly been misled.
By her future self.
Who was she supposed to argue with about this?