At first, Zhou Yu didn’t intend to pay any attention to it.
But the man behind her called out “Zhou Yu” several times in a row. Even if she wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard him, she couldn’t. Both Lu Cheng and Ji Jing beside her had heard it clearly as well.
Left with no choice, Zhou Yu stopped walking and turned around in confusion to look at the man who had called her name.
“It really is you, Zhou Yu!” The man’s tone was excited, but there was also a trace of hostility in his expression.
Zhou Yu frowned and carefully examined the man, who looked to be around thirty years old. Then she quickly searched through the original host’s memories for information about him.
Very soon, she remembered who he was.
Zhou Yong, the original host’s elder brother.
“Zhou Yu, how did you end up here? We’ve been looking for you for such a long time and couldn’t find you. Where have you been?” Zhou Yong demanded somewhat angrily.
But when his eyes landed on Ji Jing and Lu Cheng beside her, shock instantly filled his face, leaving him nearly speechless.
“Lu Bin? Weren’t you dead?”
At that moment, Zhou Yong’s mind was in complete disarray.
He couldn’t understand why someone who was supposed to be dead was standing here perfectly fine.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Your father is the one who’s dead!” Lu Cheng hadn’t understood what the man was saying at first, but the moment he heard him claim that his father was dead, he immediately exploded in anger.
Ji Jing had no idea who the man before him was. However, seeing that the man seemed to know both him and Zhou Yu, he chose not to respond.
For now, he decided it was better to observe the situation quietly rather than risk exposing a flaw.
“Yu’er, you moved away without saying a word. Father, Mother, and I have all been very worried about you.”
With Lu Bin standing nearby, Zhou Yong’s tone was no longer as aggressive as before. Instead, he appeared somewhat guilty.
“Weren’t you the ones who sold me to Lu Bin for one hundred yuan? What’s the point of putting on an act in front of me now?” Recalling the events from the original host’s memories, Zhou Yu immediately found herself unable to feel any goodwill toward the original host’s family.
“Little Sister, you can’t put it like that. That was the betrothal gift Lu Bin gave us. How can you call it selling you?” Zhou Yong hurriedly explained. “Back then, your younger brother urgently needed money to get married. We really didn’t have any other choice…”
“Enough. If you have something to say, say it directly. Stop beating around the bush. My patience is limited.”
Zhou Yu’s tone was far from friendly, and her eyes were exceptionally cold.
For a moment, Zhou Yong found this version of his younger sister strangely unfamiliar. But thinking about the situation at home, he still forced himself to continue.
“Little Sister, your sister-in-law and younger brother’s wife both recently gave birth. They need some nutritious supplements to recover. I was wondering if you could…”
“No.”
Zhou Yu cut him off immediately.
“Since you’ve already sold me off, then from now on, just pretend I’m dead. Don’t come and disturb my life again.”
After speaking, Zhou Yu didn’t wait for Zhou Yong to say anything else. She turned and prepared to leave.
She had no desire to continue entangling herself with the original host’s parents and siblings.
Zhou Yong had finally managed to find his sister. He had also heard recently that she had received a large compensation payment. There was no way he was going to let her leave so easily.
“Zhou Yu, now that you’ve got money, you’re pretending you don’t have parents or brothers anymore, is that it?” Zhou Yong shouted.
His voice was loud enough that the attention of everyone nearby immediately shifted to Zhou Yu and the others.
“So that’s it.”
At last, Zhou Yu understood.
The original host had been married into the Lu family for two or three years, and her family had never once shown any concern for her. Yet now they were rushing over so eagerly.
It turned out they had heard about the compensation payment.
“How can you even bring yourself to ask for that money? Forget the fact that there wasn’t that much to begin with. Even if there were, it would still be money that Lu Bin earned with his life. How do you have the nerve to set your sights on it?”
Zhou Yu turned around and spoke coldly.
The surrounding crowd immediately understood what was going on.
The looks they directed at Zhou Yong became openly disdainful.
Under the strange gazes of the onlookers, Zhou Yong felt uncomfortable all over. But he had no way out now.
The truth was, he hadn’t come for money to buy supplements at all.
He had accumulated a huge gambling debt, and his creditors had been hounding him relentlessly. Every day, he lived in constant fear.
“But Lu Bin isn’t dead, is he?” Zhou Yong persisted unwillingly. “Just lend all the money to your brother first. I’ll definitely pay you back later.”
“You’ll pay me back?”
A trace of ridicule appeared in Zhou Yu’s voice.
“During the two years Lu Bin and I were married, how much money did I send back to support all of you? And what was the result? Have you ever paid back a single fen?”
Her voice gradually turned colder.
“Last year, when my child and I were practically starving to death and I went to borrow just a few yuan from you, what kind of attitude did you have toward us? Have you forgotten already?”
For a brief moment, Zhou Yu seemed to be affected by the original host’s memories.
A profound sorrow and anger surfaced in her eyes.
Ji Jing had been paying close attention to Zhou Yu the entire time.
Naturally, he had also noticed the flash of sorrow in her eyes.
An uncomfortable heaviness immediately settled in his chest.
Still, he reached out and gently patted Zhou Yu’s shoulder in consolation before continuing along the lines of what she had said.
“Don’t let me see any of you again. Otherwise, every single yuan Zhou Yu ever gave your family, I’ll make you pay back with interest.”
The moment Zhou Yong heard that, he no longer dared continue pestering them.
He was afraid that if he pushed them too far, they might actually come after him for the money.
But leaving just like that felt humiliating.
So he gathered his courage, shot Zhou Yu and the others a vicious glare, and only then turned around and left.
For a brief moment, Ji Jing truly wanted to rush over and beat Zhou Yong up.
But Zhou Yu tugged lightly on the hem of his clothing and shook her head.
“There’s no need to argue with people like him. We’ll be leaving this place soon, and we may never see them again. Don’t cause trouble at a time like this,” Zhou Yu whispered near his ear.
Ji Jing understood the logic, but he still couldn’t let it go.
He had known that Zhou Yu’s life must have been difficult when she was raising a child alone, but he had never imagined the truth was like this.
No wonder Zhou Yu had already moved into Lu Bin’s home without even registering their marriage.
So she had really been sold to him by her family for one hundred yuan.
The more he thought about it, the less he could calm down.
He simply felt that Zhou Yu had been treated far too unfairly.
Zhou Yu, however, had no idea what Ji Jing was thinking.
She simply didn’t want any unexpected complications before they left.
For her, the most important thing now was to wait for her admission letter and then leave immediately for the capital to search for her biological parents.
As for the original host’s parents and relatives, although Zhou Yu felt angry about what they had done, she also felt they weren’t worth wasting any more energy on.
After Zhou Yong’s interruption, the mood for shopping had been completely ruined.
None of Zhou Yu, Ji Jing, or Lu Cheng felt much like continuing.
Having heard the exchange between Zhou Yu and Zhou Yong, Lu Cheng felt as though he finally understood a little why his mother had treated him poorly in the past.
But his mother now was wonderful.
He didn’t want Zhou Yong’s appearance to ruin her mood.
So he suggested, “Mom, you haven’t eaten at a restaurant in a long time, have you? Let’s have a big meal today and make Dad pay for it, okay?”
Seeing Lu Cheng grinning at her, Zhou Yu knew he was trying his best to cheer her up.
She couldn’t bear to disappoint the child’s good intentions, so she nodded in agreement.
“You little glutton. You’re the one craving good food, aren’t you?”
Lu Cheng smiled and didn’t deny it.
He really did want a good meal.
But more than that, he wanted his mother to be happy again.
Seeing that Lu Cheng wanted to treat Zhou Yu to a big meal using his money, Ji Jing found it somewhat amusing.
Still, he had no complaints whatsoever.
As long as Lu Cheng and Zhou Yu were happy, his own mood would improve as well.
The three of them soon found a nearby restaurant and walked in.
Since it wasn’t noon yet, there weren’t many customers inside.
Lu Cheng eagerly grabbed the menu and wanted to order, but he didn’t recognize many characters and couldn’t make sense of it at all. In the end, he puffed out his cheeks in frustration and handed the menu to Zhou Yu, asking her to order for him.
Suppressing a laugh, Zhou Yu ruffled Lu Cheng’s hair and ordered several dishes that he liked.
Only then did Lu Cheng become happy again.
Just as the waiter was about to leave, Lu Cheng suddenly asked whether they had minced pork with eggplant.
He remembered that his mother liked making that dish and always finished every last bite of it.
“We don’t have minced pork with eggplant, but we do have braised eggplant with pork. Would you like to order that instead?” The waiter found Lu Cheng adorable, so her tone unconsciously softened.
Tilting his head, Lu Cheng thought about it for a moment.
Minced pork with eggplant and braised eggplant with pork sounded similar enough.
So he nodded and said, “Okay. Thank you, Auntie.”
Although she had just been called “Auntie,” the waiter wasn’t upset at all.
She was already in her twenties, and Lu Cheng’s mother looked so young that being called Auntie was perfectly normal.
Smiling, she quickly jotted down the dish in her notebook before turning and leaving.
Since it wasn’t mealtime yet and there were few customers, their food was prepared and served very quickly.
Zhou Yu deliberately placed the plate of braised eggplant with pork that Lu Cheng had ordered in front of him.
The moment Lu Cheng looked at it, he frowned.
This dish looked nothing like the minced pork with eggplant his mother made at home.
The restaurant’s braised eggplant with pork appeared to contain a huge amount of chili peppers.
Neither he nor Zhou Yu ate much spicy food, so Zhou Yu definitely wouldn’t be able to enjoy it.
“Dad, I think you’d probably like this dish. I ordered it especially for you.”
With a sly grin, Lu Cheng pushed the plate from in front of himself over to Ji Jing.
Ji Jing noticed the mischievous smile tugging at the corners of Lu Cheng’s mouth, but he didn’t expose him. He simply smiled and nodded without saying anything.
Although Ji Jing wasn’t particularly fond of spicy food either, he knew that Lu Cheng and Zhou Yu practically didn’t eat spicy food at all.
Judging by the appearance of the dish, he was probably the only one who could deal with it.
The three of them soon finished their meal.
They had cleaned up most of the dishes quite thoroughly. The only exception was the braised eggplant with pork that Lu Cheng had ordered. Aside from the two bites Ji Jing had taken, nobody had touched it.
“Dad, why aren’t you eating it? I ordered it especially for you. Don’t you like it?” Lu Cheng’s smile was on the verge of breaking free completely.
At that moment, Ji Jing felt like giving the little rascal a good spanking.
Was there really a son who sabotaged his father this badly?
The dish was far spicier than Ji Jing had imagined.
After two bites, he had absolutely no desire to eat any more.
Knowing that Ji Jing couldn’t handle very spicy food, Zhou Yu immediately stepped in to smooth things over.
“Stop teasing your father. You didn’t eat any of it yourself, either. Alright, we’ve finished eating. Let’s rest for a bit and then head home.”
Now that he was full, Lu Cheng began to feel sleepy.
He no longer suggested continuing their shopping trip and simply nodded.
A few minutes later, he was already nodding off.
Squatting down in front of him, Ji Jing said, “Come on. I’ll carry you.”
Lu Cheng didn’t object and promptly climbed onto Ji Jing’s back.
After the three returned home, Zhou Yu and Ji Jing carefully settled the already sleeping Lu Cheng onto his little bed.
“You should go back to your own room and get some sleep too,” Zhou Yu said, remembering that Ji Jing hadn’t seemed to sleep well the previous night.
“Alright.”
Ji Jing truly was exhausted.
But when he thought about having to sleep in Lu Cheng’s tiny bed again that night, he felt as though life had lost all meaning.
“It’s pretty inconvenient for us to sleep in the same room. We should think of a way to get Lu Cheng to give up on the idea.”
Zhou Yu looked at him somewhat strangely.
She hadn’t even complained about it, yet Ji Jing, a grown man, was the one feeling awkward?
Still, she didn’t disagree.
Since Ji Jing felt uncomfortable, she certainly wasn’t going to force him.
“Alright. Let’s think of a solution together.”