After returning to her room, Zhou Yu began her study plan for the morning.
After spending three or four straight hours reviewing high school textbooks, the system reminded her that there were only thirty minutes left before it was time to pick Lu Cheng up from school for lunch.
Upon hearing that, Zhou Yu frowned slightly. She immediately quickened her pace and rapidly finished solving the math problem she was working on before finally setting down her pen.
Afterward, she tidied up the high school textbooks, notebooks, stationery, and other items scattered across her desk, arranging everything neatly before getting up and leaving the bedroom for the living room.
“Let’s go pick up Lu Cheng.”
As soon as Zhou Yu stepped out of the room, she saw Ji Jing sitting on a chair in the middle of the living room.
The winter sunlight fell across his sharply defined features, making him so handsome that it was difficult to look away.
But the only thing echoing through Zhou Yu’s mind was whether there might be a more concise solution to the math problem she had just completed.
She had only casually glanced around the living room to confirm that he was still there before immediately shifting her attention elsewhere.
Perhaps another woman might have been attracted by Ji Jing’s appearance, physique, or family background.
But in Zhou Yu’s eyes, Ji Jing was simply a person.
To be more precise, he was merely a member of the human species from a biological standpoint.
On the way to Lu Cheng’s school, Zhou Yu and Ji Jing walked side by side.
Neither of them spoke much.
The distance wasn’t far, so they quickly arrived at the school gate. Quite a few parents were already waiting there to take their children home for lunch.
School hadn’t ended yet, however.
System 088 informed Zhou Yu that there were still a few minutes left before dismissal, so she and Ji Jing could only wait patiently outside the gate.
Sure enough, only a few minutes later, Zhou Yu heard the school bell ring.
Lu Cheng was the very first child to dash out of the school.
He ran straight toward Ji Jing without paying any attention to Zhou Yu standing nearby.
“Dad! You came to pick me up!”
Lu Cheng shouted happily as he threw his arms around Ji Jing’s leg.
Seeing that Lu Cheng seemed not to notice her at all, Zhou Yu merely raised an eyebrow.
Without saying anything, she walked past the crowd and entered the school.
After arriving at Lu Cheng’s teacher’s office, Zhou Yu briefly explained the situation and requested a half-day leave of absence for him that afternoon.
Then she went to Lu Cheng’s classroom, gathered his stationery and other belongings, packed everything into his schoolbag, and finally carried the bag out of the school.
When Zhou Yu returned to the school gate, she discovered that neither Lu Cheng nor Ji Jing had left.
They were apparently waiting for her.
Walking over, Zhou Yu said calmly, “Let’s go. We can talk after we get back.”
Although Lu Cheng was still immersed in the joy of seeing his father again, he nevertheless noticed that his stepmother seemed a little unhappy.
Confused, he hesitated for a moment.
Then, in the next instant, he took the initiative to reach out with his small hand and grab Zhou Yu’s.
When Zhou Yu looked at him, he smiled brightly and said, “Hold hands.”
Zhou Yu frowned, puzzled by what had gotten into Lu Cheng today.
Not only had the child taken the initiative to hold her hand, but he was smiling so happily too.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Zhou Yu ultimately couldn’t bring herself to shake off his little hand.
She had long since been worn down by Lu Cheng’s strange temperament and had no temper left to lose.
Forget it.
Who knew whether this child would even have another chance to hold her hand in the future? Since he wanted to hold it now, she would let him.
The three of them walked hand in hand all the way home.
Lu Cheng stood in the middle, with Zhou Yu on one side and Ji Jing on the other.
From a distance, they looked exactly like a happy family of three.
Both Lu Cheng and Ji Jing were quite pleased with that image.
Zhou Yu, however, didn’t notice it at all.
The only thing on her mind was getting Ji Jing and Lu Cheng settled as quickly as possible so she could devote the afternoon to studying.
The three soon returned to the courtyard.
Just before stepping inside, Zhou Yu stopped and thought for a moment before speaking to the two of them.
“I’ve already requested leave for Lu Cheng this afternoon. Why don’t you take him to see his grandparents? The three of you can have a proper family reunion over lunch and discuss things among yourselves. Then come back this evening and tell me your decision.”
Without waiting for either of them to respond, Zhou Yu strode into the courtyard.
Both Ji Jing and Lu Cheng seemed caught off guard.
After standing there blankly for a moment, Ji Jing awkwardly rubbed his nose and said to Lu Cheng, “Let’s go, then.”
Both of them had assumed that Zhou Yu would at least join them for lunch, chat with them for a while, or even accompany them to meet Ji Jing’s parents.
Neither had expected things to turn out this way.
The excitement that had filled Lu Cheng all morning instantly cooled.
He couldn’t understand why his stepmother seemed unhappy today.
With his head lowered, he allowed Ji Jing to lead him along as they walked slowly down the road.
Halfway there, Lu Cheng suddenly stopped.
Out of nowhere, he muttered, “I wonder if she’s going to set the kitchen on fire again.”
“What?” Ji Jing hadn’t understood what he meant.
Lu Cheng didn’t care whether he had understood or not.
The moment the words left his mouth, he shook off Ji Jing’s hand and took off running back the way they had come.
“Why are you back already?”
When Zhou Yu saw Lu Cheng come racing back, panting for breath, she looked at him in confusion.
Lu Cheng didn’t answer.
Instead, he hurried straight into the kitchen and ran behind the stove.
Only after confirming that the fire inside the stove was burning normally did he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Ji Jing, who had chased after him, arrived just in time to witness the scene.
For a moment, he had absolutely no idea what was going on.
When Zhou Yu saw the look of relief on Lu Cheng’s face, she immediately understood what had happened.
So the child had been worried that she wouldn’t be able to light the stove again, or that she would fill the kitchen with black smoke?
For someone so small, Lu Cheng certainly worried about a lot of things.
A barely noticeable smile tugged at the corner of Zhou Yu’s lips.
“Since you’re back anyway, stay and have lunch before you go,” Zhou Yu said to the two who had returned.
Fortunately, she had cooked quite a bit of rice for lunch.
Originally, she had planned to save half of it for dinner, but now that Lu Cheng and Ji Jing were staying, it would be just enough for two adults and one child. She only needed to stir-fry a couple more dishes.
“Okay.”
Lu Cheng nodded and continued sitting behind the stove, tending the fire.
Since Lu Cheng had already decided to stay for lunch, Ji Jing couldn’t very well leave by himself.
Besides, Zhou Yu didn’t seem to be chasing him away, and he certainly wasn’t going to volunteer to leave.
Watching the two busy figures in the kitchen, Ji Jing felt somewhat embarrassed just standing uselessly at the doorway.
So he asked whether either of them needed help.
Hearing his question, Zhou Yu looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.
Then she simply said there was no need for help and told him to wait in the living room because the meal would be ready soon.
The look of distrust in Zhou Yu’s eyes made Ji Jing feel a little uncomfortable.
Still, he couldn’t really argue with it.
He had hardly entered a kitchen more than a handful of times in his entire life. If he insisted on helping, he would probably only make things worse.
No wonder Zhou Yu looked at him that way.
However, although Zhou Yu had told him to wait in the living room, Ji Jing didn’t actually sit there like some honored guest.
Instead, he remained standing at the kitchen door, perceptive enough to know that once the food was ready, he could at least help carry the dishes.
Ji Jing himself didn’t realize it, but despite being someone who normally cared little about anything, he had somehow begun to care about what Zhou Yu thought of him.
About half an hour later, Zhou Yu finally finished preparing the meal: rice, three dishes, and a soup.
As she carried a plate past the kitchen doorway, Ji Jing immediately offered to help.
This time, Zhou Yu didn’t refuse.
She merely nodded, handed him the two dishes she was carrying, and turned around to serve the rice.
Over the past few days, Zhou Yu’s cooking skills had improved tremendously.
With System 088 providing detailed ingredient lists and instructions, it was actually difficult for her to cook something that tasted bad.
As a result, the three dishes and soup she prepared for lunch that day were all quite delicious.
The three of them quickly finished their meal.
Lu Cheng took the initiative to clear away the bowls and chopsticks.
Zhou Yu didn’t stop him.
She merely reminded him to be careful and not break anything before getting up and returning to her room, intending to take a half-hour nap.
After Lu Cheng and Ji Jing finished washing all the dishes together, Ji Jing finally spoke.
“Cheng’er, it seems like you and Zhou Yu get along pretty well?”
He couldn’t understand why Lu Cheng and Zhou Yu appeared to have such a good relationship now, or why the Lu Cheng of his previous life had hated Zhou Yu so intensely.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Cheng answered seriously, “Even though she treated me badly before, she’s become really good now. I like the way she is now.”
Ji Jing was puzzled by the answer.
However, remembering that his parents were probably anxiously waiting to meet their grandson, he immediately changed the subject.
“Let’s not talk about that for now. How about I take you to meet your real grandparents?”
“Okay.”
Lu Cheng was thinking about something else and didn’t notice the deeper meaning behind Ji Jing’s words.
Ji Jing was just about to go inside and let Zhou Yu know they were leaving when Lu Cheng grabbed the hem of his shirt.
“She’s probably taking a nap. Let’s just go.”
Lu Cheng knew his stepmother’s daily routine very well.
At this time of day, right after lunch, she was definitely already asleep.
And if someone woke her up, she would be unhappy.
“Alright.”
Hearing that, Ji Jing didn’t insist. He simply took Lu Cheng with him and headed toward the hotel where his parents were staying.
Before long, the two arrived at the hotel.
Ji Haoyuan and his wife had just finished lunch and were resting on a sofa in the hotel lobby.
The moment they saw their son approaching with a child, the couple excitedly rose to their feet.
“This is our grandson, isn’t he?” Ji Jing’s mother, Chu Xueyao, asked emotionally as she stepped forward.
Lu Cheng, however, was completely confused.
Weren’t his grandparents Lu Daqing and Li Chunfang?
Why were these two people suddenly claiming to be his grandparents?
Sensing his confusion, Ji Jing explained, “Cheng’er, I lost my memory before. During that time, I found my real biological parents. The Lu couple aren’t actually my biological parents…”
Ji Haoyuan and his wife had already learned of Lu Bin’s death while they were still in the capital.
The main purpose of this trip was to bring Lu Bin’s child back to the capital.
Earlier, Ji Jing had explained to his parents that Lu Cheng was still young and might have difficulty accepting the news of his father’s death.
Since he and his younger brother resembled each other so closely, he was willing to take Lu Bin’s place and raise Lu Cheng as if he were his own son.
Therefore, neither Ji Haoyuan nor Chu Xueyao contradicted the explanation Ji Jing had just given.
It was the story they had agreed upon beforehand.
After all, no matter what, Lu Cheng was still their biological grandson.
And now that Ji Jing was their only remaining son, there was nothing wrong with handling things this way.
“They’re really my grandparents?” Lu Cheng asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
After thinking about it, he felt that his former grandparents really hadn’t seemed like family at all.
They had never treated him well.
They even hit him.
All he hoped was that this middle-aged couple standing before him truly were his grandparents.
And that they would genuinely care about him.