After closing the courtyard gate, Zhou Yu found herself thinking about many things.
For some reason, the plot of the original novel had changed drastically.
Ji Jing and the others had actually learned of Lu Bin’s whereabouts this early?
Most likely, it wouldn’t be more than a few days before Ji Jing and the others came knocking on her door. When that time came, would Ji Jing take custody of Lu Cheng as Lu Bin, or as Lu Bin’s twin brother?
If he appeared as Lu Bin, should she cooperate and play along?
It was all far too complicated.
The plot of the original novel had become a complete mess.
Zhou Yu only felt increasingly irritated. Rubbing her aching brow, she could only tell herself to take things one step at a time and adapt as circumstances changed.
The scene she had witnessed that morning, with Ji Jing and his parents happily gathered together as a family of three, had left her feeling somewhat envious.
Before transmigrating into this book, Zhou Yu’s parents had both passed away from illness when she was still in her teens.
After that, she had always been alone.
She had originally thought that after death, she would be reunited with her parents.
Instead, she had somehow transmigrated into a novel.
It was truly absurd.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
Could the novel she had transmigrated into actually be a parallel world? Or perhaps a point somewhere in the past?
Could her parents also be living in the world depicted by this book?
If calculated according to the year 1986, her parents should both be eighteen years old right now, precisely the age for taking the National college entrance exam.
Zhou Yu remembered that both of her parents had graduated from medical university…
For a moment, countless thoughts tangled together in her mind. The original novel’s plot, her parents from the modern era, Lu Cheng, Ji Jing, and one matter after another surfaced and intertwined within her thoughts.
【Host, are you alright?】
【Host, calm down.】
System 088 detected that Zhou Yu’s emotions had become extremely unstable. Its mechanical voice sounded unexpectedly anxious.
The system’s voice suddenly echoed through her mind, and it felt as though all her thoughts were instantly wiped clean.
Gradually, she calmed down.
She merely let out a soft sigh and did not respond to the system’s concerned questions.
Inwardly, Zhou Yu made a decision.
She had to visit a medical university in the capital as soon as possible.
She needed to confirm whether her parents truly existed in this world, or whether this was merely an illusory world that existed only within the pages of a book.
To reach the capital, the best method was to take the National college entrance exam and gain admission to the University of Medical Sciences in the capital.
Before transmigrating into the book, Zhou Yu had been a top student.
When she took the National college entrance exam, she had entered medical university with exceptionally high scores.
Now that Zhou Yu had to take the National college entrance exam of the 1980s, she didn’t think it would be particularly difficult for her.
The very next day, she went to the bookstore in town and bought a set of high school textbooks, preparing to begin her review.
Zhou Yu arranged her daily study schedule quite reasonably. Part of her time was spent reviewing high school material, while another portion was devoted, as before, to studying the medical knowledge available within the system.
Of course, she didn’t forget to pick up and drop off Lu Cheng at school every day.
The house Zhou Yu rented wasn’t far from Lu Cheng’s primary school, only about a ten-minute walk away, so the daily commute didn’t take much time.
A few days later, one morning, Zhou Yu finished breakfast with Lu Cheng as usual and prepared to take him to school.
But when she opened the courtyard gate, she discovered someone standing outside.
Before Zhou Yu could speak, Lu Cheng, who was beside her, rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the man’s leg.
Ji Jing crouched down and carefully examined the little radish-head in front of him. Very quickly, he confirmed that this child was indeed Lu Cheng.
Although when Ji Jing had gone to pick up Lu Cheng in his previous life, Lu Cheng had already been twelve or thirteen years old, his facial features were still very similar to those of the six-year-old Lu Cheng before him.
“Dad!”
Lu Cheng threw himself into the man’s arms and cried out through tears, “Dad, it’s so great that you’re okay. I thought…”
Black lines practically appeared across Zhou Yu’s forehead.
When Lu Cheng was with her all day, he could barely squeeze out a few words. Yet in front of this so-called “dad,” he suddenly had so much to say?
Sure enough, being a stepmother was no easy job.
Standing beside the courtyard gate, Zhou Yu watched the “father and son” pair with an indifferent expression.
She was rather curious to see how Ji Jing planned to handle this situation.
“Cheng’er, don’t cry. Haven’t I come back?” Ji Jing comforted him while gently patting his back.
A few minutes later, after finally calming Lu Cheng down, Ji Jing stood up and spoke to Zhou Yu.
“Um… I know you’re probably very confused right now. Let’s take the child to school first. On the way back, I’ll explain everything properly.”
“Mhm.”
Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips.
She really wanted to see what kind of excuse Ji Jing could come up with.
Lu Cheng hadn’t seen his father for a very long time, so after finally meeting his “dad,” he kept holding tightly to Ji Jing’s hand and refused to let go.
Ji Jing didn’t object. Instead, he clasped Lu Cheng’s small hand in return and held it the entire way.
A nearly imperceptible smile tugged at Zhou Yu’s lips.
Throughout the journey, she didn’t say a word. She merely watched the two of them with cool detachment as they played out their heartwarming scene of fatherly affection and filial devotion.
“Dad, can I skip school today?” Lu Cheng asked as they reached the school gate, reluctant to go inside. Turning back, he spoke to Ji Jing in a spoiled tone. “I want to spend more time looking at you.”
“No, Cheng’er. You need to study hard.” Ji Jing gently coaxed him. “I’ll come pick you up at noon.”
After hearing that, Lu Cheng finally nodded obediently and entered the school.
Ji Jing spent quite a while coaxing Lu Cheng before the child finally walked into the school, looking back every few steps with obvious reluctance.
Zhou Yu watched the entire scene unfold without stepping forward to interrupt them.
Only after Lu Cheng’s small figure disappeared from their sight did the two come back to themselves and begin walking home together.
Neither of them spoke first along the way.
It wasn’t until they reached the courtyard gate and Ji Jing noticed that Zhou Yu seemed ready to head straight inside that he stepped forward and grabbed her hand, wanting to explain himself.
Zhou Yu was actually somewhat of a neat freak. She disliked being touched by others.
The instant Ji Jing’s hand made contact with hers, Zhou Yu shook off his grip.
“Zhou Yu, listen to my explanation,” Ji Jing said helplessly. He truly didn’t understand how things had ended up like this.
In his previous life, when he came to take Lu Cheng away, he had never even met Zhou Yu, nor did he know what kind of person she was.
The only thing he knew was that the Lu Cheng of his previous life had hated Zhou Yu, his stepmother, with a passion and had taken revenge on her in an exceptionally cruel manner.
“Mhm.”
Zhou Yu glanced at him indifferently, signaling for him to continue.
In truth, Zhou Yu had already lost interest in both the characters and the plot of the original novel.
The most important thing to her now was going to the capital and searching for her parents.
Still, she needed to settle the matter of Lu Cheng’s custody one last time.
After witnessing today’s display of “fatherly affection and filial devotion,” she couldn’t help feeling somewhat superfluous.
She had sincerely tried to care for Lu Cheng and guide him onto the right path, hoping he would study hard and avoid becoming the villain from the novel.
But perhaps that had only been her own wishful thinking.
Maybe all she had accomplished was making him uncomfortable.
Of course, she couldn’t blame Lu Cheng for that.
After all, she hadn’t been in this book for very long. The original host had mistreated Lu Cheng for such a long time that those memories could never be erased in a matter of days.
The best solution now was for Ji Jing to take Lu Cheng back and raise him himself.
That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about things that weren’t really her responsibility.
“While I was carrying out a mission in the army, I suffered a head injury and lost a lot of my memories. Recently, some of those memories returned, so I came back to find you two.”
Looking into Zhou Yu’s cold, detached eyes, Ji Jing found it difficult to continue.
But after a brief pause, he forced himself to go on.
“During the period after my injury, I found my biological parents. My original name was Ji Jing. After I was trafficked into this village, I was given the name Lu Bin.”
“Is that so?” Zhou Yu curled her lips into a faint smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
Seeing her reaction, panic briefly flashed through Ji Jing’s heart.
He wasn’t someone who was good at lying.
Moreover, he suddenly remembered that Zhou Yu was a doctor. If she asked to examine the injury on his head, his deception would be exposed immediately.
Ji Jing felt a twinge of regret.
Why hadn’t he come up with a more convincing explanation before appearing in front of Lu Cheng and Zhou Yu?
The excuse he had used in his previous life had been more than enough to fool Lu Cheng and the villagers.
But fooling Lu Bin’s wife?
That would probably be much more difficult.
And somehow, Ji Jing had the distinct feeling that Zhou Yu had known from the very beginning that he wasn’t Lu Bin.
When Zhou Yu saw him standing there in silence, she began to lose patience and went straight to the heart of the matter.
“What are you planning to do about Lu Cheng’s custody?”
“If possible, I’d like the two of us to raise Lu Cheng together,” Ji Jing replied after a moment of consideration.
“That depends on whether Lu Cheng wants that.”
Zhou Yu paused briefly and pursed her lips.
She didn’t immediately expose Ji Jing’s true identity. Instead, she continued, “Maybe all he needs is you as his father. Maybe my existence isn’t necessary at all.”
Hearing her words, Ji Jing found himself at a loss for what to say.
He could sense the loneliness hidden within her voice, yet he had no idea how to comfort her.
“Lu Cheng is still young and doesn’t understand many things. I’ll guide him properly in the future.”
Thinking of everything Lu Cheng had done in the previous life, Ji Jing couldn’t help feeling that there had been serious problems with the way he had raised him.
“Mhm. You can sit in the living room for now. When we go pick Lu Cheng up for lunch at noon, I’ll ask his teacher for leave on his behalf. You two can have a proper talk this afternoon.”
“Whether he ultimately decides to go to the capital with you directly or stay here and continue primary school, that’s fine.”
“After all, I’m just a stepmother.”
After saying those final words, Zhou Yu turned around and went back inside the house, resuming her study plan for the day.
As for whether Lu Cheng stayed or left, she might have cared a little before.
But now she only felt that there was no point wasting time on people who weren’t important to her.
Rather than spending time on such matters, she would be better off solving a few more practice questions.
Originally, after transmigrating into the novel, she had thought that becoming Lu Cheng’s stepmother was a kind of fate.
She had wanted to take good care of him for a few years and raise him properly.
But now it seemed that none of that was necessary.
Back in the modern world, Zhou Yu had already grown accustomed to living alone.
Now that she had transmigrated into this book, once Lu Cheng and Ji Jing left, she would simply continue living by herself.
And she didn’t think there was anything wrong with that.