“Yes.” Ji Jing nodded, confirming Lu Cheng’s question.
After receiving his father’s confirmation, Lu Cheng finally raised his head and carefully looked at Ji Haoyuan and his wife. He felt that they genuinely seemed to like him very much. Lu Cheng quickly accepted this fact and immediately called them “Grandpa” and “Grandma.”
When Ji Haoyuan and his wife heard Lu Cheng address them, both of them were so emotional that tears filled their eyes. They stepped forward together, crouched down, and wrapped Lu Cheng in an embrace.
A few minutes later, when Ji Jing saw that his parents’ emotions had gradually settled down, he brought Lu Cheng and his parents back to their hotel suite.
Lu Cheng also had the habit of taking an afternoon nap. Not long after entering the room, he began nodding off and soon fell asleep. Taking advantage of the opportunity while Lu Cheng was asleep, Ji Jing brought his parents into the outer sitting room of the suite for a conversation.
Ji Jing told his parents about Zhou Yu, Lu Bin’s second wife. He also informed them that, by a remarkable coincidence, Lu Bin’s wife Zhou Yu and the Doctor Zhou who had previously saved his father’s life on the road were actually the same person.
According to the investigation conducted by Ji Jing and Ji Haoyuan’s family, all they had known was that Lu Bin’s first wife had died from difficult childbirth six years earlier. After Lu Bin’s death, he had only left behind one child, Lu Cheng. Their purpose in coming here this time had simply been to bring Lu Cheng back to the capital and raise him properly.
Neither Ji Haoyuan nor his wife had ever imagined that Lu Bin had remarried. They simply did not know why he had never registered the marriage.
Ji Jing was equally surprised by Zhou Yu’s existence. In his previous life, he had heard that Lu Bin had married a second wife named Zhou Yu. However, shortly after Lu Bin’s death, that Zhou Yu had run away with someone else, taking the compensation money with her and leaving Lu Cheng behind alone. As a result, when Ji Jing had gone to bring Lu Cheng back, everything had proceeded very smoothly.
The circumstances in this life were vastly different from those in the previous one. Not only had Zhou Yu continued raising Lu Cheng, but the relationship between the two of them also appeared to be quite good.
Ji Jing had no idea what exactly had happened, but he felt that the situation had become rather troublesome.
“From the sound of it, Doctor Zhou and our family seem to share quite a bit of fate,” Ji Haoyuan said, nodding thoughtfully. After a moment of contemplation, he continued, “Since Lu Bin had a second wife, and Zhou Yu is a doctor at that, hiding your true identity will be much more difficult.”
“Why not tell Zhou Yu the truth about who you are and ask whether she’d be willing to help keep the truth hidden? Then, when Lu Cheng is a little older, we can tell him.”
“I’m not sure whether Doctor Zhou will agree,” Ji Jing replied. “I’ll ask her when I bring Lu Cheng back this evening.”
He continued, “And we don’t know whether Doctor Zhou or Lu Cheng would be willing to return to the capital with us. From what I saw today, Lu Cheng and Doctor Zhou seem to get along quite well.”
“We won’t know until we’ve asked them,” Chu Xueyao, Ji Jing’s mother, said from the side. “Ah Jing, don’t wait until tonight. Go to Doctor Zhou’s place in a little while and invite her to join us for dinner.”
“The last time she came over, we already wanted to treat her to a meal, but we never had the opportunity. This time, we must properly thank Doctor Zhou. The medicine she prescribed for me has been quite effective as well…”
Ji Jing saw that his mother had rarely spoken so much at once. It was obvious that she genuinely liked Doctor Zhou. However, whenever he thought of Zhou Yu’s indifferent gaze, he immediately felt that the mission his mother had given him would be quite difficult. There was a good chance that Doctor Zhou would refuse.
Seeing his parents looking at him with hopeful expressions, Ji Jing could only brace himself and say, “I’ll go ask her later. I can’t guarantee she’ll agree.”
“Good. Once Cheng’er wakes up, ask whether he wants to come along. Your father and I will go reserve a private room at the nearby state-run restaurant. When you come back, you can head straight there,” Chu Xueyao instructed.
“Alright.” Seeing how happy his mother was, Ji Jing could only agree for the time being.
Lu Cheng did not nap for very long. He slept for only about an hour before waking up.
When he opened his eyes and saw Ji Jing, Ji Haoyuan, and Chu Xueyao gathered beside his bed, he was momentarily bewildered. But he quickly remembered that these people were his father, grandfather, and grandmother.
“Cheng’er, you’re awake. Dad is going to invite Doctor Zhou to have dinner with Grandpa and Grandma. Do you want to come with me?” Ji Jing asked after seeing that Lu Cheng was fully awake.
For a moment, Lu Cheng did not remember who Doctor Zhou was. Then he quickly recalled that his stepmother’s name was Zhou Yu, and that she had once saved someone’s life. Could the Doctor Zhou his father was talking about be his stepmother?
“It’s like this. Zhou Yu once saved your grandfather’s life, so we all call her Doctor Zhou,” Ji Jing explained briefly.
“Oh, I remember now. She saved someone on the street before. Was that Grandpa?” Lu Cheng had been standing at the entrance of the fabric store at the time, so he had never gotten a clear look at the person Zhou Yu was treating in the crowd some distance away.
“Yes.”
Ji Jing was puzzled. Had Lu Cheng been nearby that day as well? How had he failed to notice him? Otherwise, they might have reunited several days earlier.
Seeing that Grandpa and Grandma seemed to like his stepmother Zhou Yu as well, Lu Cheng lowered his little head and thought for a moment before saying, “Mm, then I’ll go with you and invite her to dinner.”
“Alright.”
After speaking, Ji Jing helped Lu Cheng put on his coat, shoes, and socks. Then, holding Lu Cheng’s small hand, he headed toward the courtyard where Zhou Yu lived.
“Dad, Mom is usually reading medical books in the afternoon. If we wait in the living room until around five o’clock, she’ll come out of her room,” Lu Cheng said as he walked along at an unhurried pace, looking up at Ji Jing.
This was the first time Lu Cheng had called Zhou Yu “Mom.” Unfortunately, Zhou Yu was not there at the moment and could not hear it. If Lu Cheng had called her that to her face, Zhou Yu might very well have been moved.
Ji Jing froze for two seconds before quickly realizing that the “Mom” Lu Cheng had just referred to was Zhou Yu. It seemed that the bond between Lu Cheng and Zhou Yu really was very deep. He nodded and replied, “Alright.”
When Lu Cheng and Ji Jing returned to Zhou Yu’s courtyard, it was only around three-thirty in the afternoon.
However, thanks to Lu Cheng’s reminder on the way over, Ji Jing did not knock on the door this time. Instead, he sat in the living room with Lu Cheng and waited quietly.
About an hour and a half later, just before five o’clock, the door to the room finally opened from the inside.
When Zhou Yu stepped out and saw Lu Cheng and Ji Jing, she was not surprised.
As early as the moment they had entered the courtyard, the system had already alerted her that someone was approaching. Zhou Yu had originally intended to withdraw her consciousness from the virtual space and go outside to take a look.
However, a short while later, the system informed her that Lu Cheng and Ji Jing were simply waiting in the living room. Upon hearing that, Zhou Yu merely curled her lips and continued studying, paying no further attention to the two people outside.
“Didn’t I tell you to come back tonight?” Zhou Yu asked flatly.
Then she felt that her tone sounded somewhat stiff. Since Ji Jing and Lu Cheng had not disturbed her studies, she changed tack and softened her tone slightly.
“Is something the matter?”
Ji Jing had been carefully observing the changes in Zhou Yu’s expression the entire time. He was relieved that he had brought Lu Cheng along and that they had not interrupted her studying. Under those circumstances, there was still a chance she would agree to dinner.
“It’s like this. After my parents learned that you’re my wife, they wanted to invite you to dinner. They’d also like to discuss Lu Cheng’s situation.”
With Lu Cheng standing right beside them, Ji Jing could not explain his true identity. He could only force himself to continue speaking as though he were Lu Bin. He would have to wait until they got to the restaurant and find an opportunity to explain things to Zhou Yu later.
At first, Zhou Yu had no intention of agreeing.
But when she caught sight of the hopeful look in Lu Cheng’s eyes from the corner of her vision, she let out a sigh and ultimately did not refuse.
“Alright then.”
The moment Ji Jing heard her answer, he breathed a sigh of relief. He could already imagine how delighted his mother would be when she saw Zhou Yu later.
As for Lu Cheng, the instant he heard his stepmother agree, he jumped down from his stool and ran over to Zhou Yu’s side. He grabbed hold of her hand, then did not forget to stretch out his other hand toward Ji Jing, signaling for him to take it as well.
Ji Jing was helpless against him.
He simply reached out and took Lu Cheng’s small hand. Yet inwardly, he felt that this version of little Lu Cheng was actually quite nice.
In his previous life, when he had gone to bring Lu Cheng home, the boy had already been twelve or thirteen years old. His personality had become increasingly gloomy and ruthless, and he would never have acted spoiled toward him like this.
Hand in hand, the three of them made their way to the entrance of the state-run restaurant.
Along the way, passersby would occasionally glance at them and remark that this family of three seemed exceptionally close.
At first, Zhou Yu had felt somewhat embarrassed whenever she heard comments like that.
But she quickly remembered that she was currently living as the original host’s wife, while Ji Jing was living under Lu Bin’s identity.
Looking at it that way, there was really nothing wrong with what the passersby were saying. As a result, Zhou Yu gradually stopped paying attention to other people’s remarks and continued holding Lu Cheng’s little hand without a second thought.
Ji Jing, on the other hand, wanted to ignore the gossip surrounding them, but for someone who had remained single throughout his entire previous life and had also been single for twenty-six years in this one, that was easier said than done.
As he listened to comments like “What a perfect match” and “Such a happy family of three” along the way, his ears gradually turned red, and his expression became increasingly unnatural.
Lu Cheng, however, happily accepted everyone’s remarks.
He felt that the passersby had excellent judgment and that everything they said was absolutely correct. The smile on his face never faded for the entire journey.
The three of them were each occupied with their own thoughts as they walked.
Because Lu Cheng’s steps were small and he had deliberately slowed his pace, it took them quite a while before they finally arrived at the entrance of the state-run restaurant.
This time, Ji Haoyuan and Chu Xueyao were not waiting for them in the restaurant lobby.
After all, it was dinner time, and the lobby was crowded with people. It would have looked rather odd for them to be standing there waiting.
However, the moment Zhou Yu and the others arrived at the entrance, a waitress came forward to greet them.
“Mr. Ji Jing and Ms. Zhou Yu, correct? Please follow me. The private room reserved by Mr. Ji and Madam Chu is this way.”
Lu Cheng already knew that his father now had a new name, so hearing the waitress address him as “Ji Jing” did not strike him as strange.
Following the waitress, the three of them soon arrived at the private room Ji Haoyuan and Chu Xueyao had reserved.
“Doctor Zhou, we meet again,” Chu Xueyao said happily as she rose to welcome her.
“Hello, Madam Chu. Hello, Mr. Ji,” Zhou Yu replied politely.
Ji Haoyuan and Chu Xueyao did not take offense at the distance implied by her form of address.
They understood that Doctor Zhou barely knew them at present, so it was perfectly normal for her to feel unfamiliar with them.
“Let’s eat first. Since we weren’t sure what dishes Doctor Zhou likes, we asked the restaurant’s head chef to recommend some of their signature specialties. If there’s anything else you’d like to eat, we can order more,” Ji Haoyuan said courteously, inviting Zhou Yu to take a seat while briefly introducing the dishes spread across the table.
“No need to be so formal. Anything is fine with me,” Zhou Yu replied as she found a seat and sat down.
The dinner was exceptionally lavish. Nearly every signature dish from the state-run restaurant had been placed on the table.
The happiest person at the meal was undoubtedly Lu Cheng. He had never eaten so many delicious dishes before.
Yet aside from Lu Cheng, no one else was paying much attention to the food.
Each of them had their own thoughts weighing on their minds.