Mother Su walked over and sat beside her husband. “Yes, but I couldn’t think of who he resembled.” She always felt she had seen that look somewhere.

Father Su asked, “Does he look like Lu Chen?”

Mother Su froze for a moment. Hearing her husband mention it suddenly, she instantly remembered—weren’t Lu Zhe’s brows and features similar to Lu Chen’s?

No wonder she kept thinking he looked familiar. It turned out he resembled the head of the Lu family, Lu Chen.

Except their temperaments were completely different. The young Lu Zhe was cold and quiet, while the Lu family head was moody and unpredictable. Because of this, she had never connected the two of them.

But her husband was different. Since childhood, her husband and Lu Chen had been mortal enemies who perpetually found each other unbearable.

The saying “your enemy knows you best” was not without reason. Since her husband knew Lu Chen inside and out, he could see the resemblance in Lu Zhe at a glance.

“Lu Zhe is an orphan, and Lu Chen’s son was lost early. Could Lu Zhe actually be Lu Chen’s child?” Mother Su looked shocked. How could it be such a coincidence?

Father Su nodded. “The possibility is very high.”

Even if he sent people to investigate, it would be difficult. After all, Lu Chen had sent countless people searching for his lost child and still never found him.

“I intend to find out whether Lu Zhe is Lu Chen’s child,” Father Su told his wife. “The day after tomorrow, Elder Qin is hosting a banquet. That guy Lu Chen has already accepted the invitation. I plan to attend as well.”

Even if an investigation produced nothing, it didn’t matter. As long as he obtained a strand of Lu Chen’s hair at the banquet, he could run a paternity test. The result would be clear as day.

For Elder Qin’s seventieth birthday banquet, many members of major families had been invited. But what people cared about most were the appearances of the Lu family’s Lu Chen and the Su family’s Su Shengguo. Both were top-tier family heads, and since the two couldn’t stand each other, if gods clashed, the juniors might get to watch a good show.

Father Su attended the banquet with Mother Su. After so many years, their appearances were still well maintained, their presence even more refined than in the past.

Even though the Su family was famous for their overwhelmingly good looks, many guests still looked at Father Su and Mother Su with envy. Not only were the man handsome and the woman beautiful, even after so many years, the couple was still this affectionate.

In contrast, the Lu family’s Lu Chen attended the banquet alone.

All these years, not only had Father Su and Mother Su aged gracefully—even Lu Chen had maintained himself well.

Time had been unusually kind to this man, leaving no trace on his face. His handsome features were striking, and he possessed a pair of alluring peach-blossom eyes. Whether in his youth or now, whenever people mentioned the most dangerously charming man in B City, they would always think of Lu Chen. Back then, the number of women who had thrown themselves at him was countless.

Now, Lu Chen lifted a brow, his peach-blossom eyes curved with a smile as he looked at Father Su. He directly let out a mocking laugh. “I heard you almost died in that fire. I thought you’d still be lying in the hospital unable to move. Didn’t expect you to show up today.”

Father Su did not back down in the slightest. “I was born with a strong life.”

Lu Chen tugged at the corner of his lips. “True. Scourges live for a thousand years. You’re not that easy to kill.”

Father Su chuckled. “Speaking of which, I have to thank the person who saved me. I think you might be interested in meeting this lifesaver of mine.”

“No fire burned your brain, did it? Why would I be interested in meeting the person who saved you?” Lu Chen’s expression was lazy, and he let out a cold laugh. “If I see him, I’ll just scold him for meddling—saving a scourge like you.”

Father Su said, “Even if you wanted to meet him, I might not let you.”

Lu Chen raised a brow. “Who cares?”

“Flower-fox, you’re awfully irritable tonight. Don’t tell me you’re jealous that I have my wife with me, and you’re all alone?” Father Su knew exactly where Lu Chen’s sore spot lay and stepped on it without hesitation.

Back then, after Lu Chen’s son went missing, his wife Wen Ya had fallen out with him.

Lu Chen was thick-skinned, but even so, that scene of him kneeling in the rain and begging his wife not to divorce him had shaken the entire city of B.

The two did not divorce, but ever since their son’s disappearance, Wen Ya had been distant and cold toward him. No matter how much Lu Chen lowered his pride to pursue his wife, he could not get a pleasant expression from her.

Every time Father Su attacked Lu Chen like this, he won without fail.

Sure enough, Lu Chen’s face darkened. He gave a heavy snort and brushed past Father Su, deliberately slamming into him as they passed.

“Shengguo, are you alright?” Mother Su quickly steadied her husband. She found these childish confrontations—where the two men would argue every time they met, sometimes even looking ready to fight—utterly exasperating.

Father Su watched Lu Chen walking away smugly and straightened up. “I’m fine.”

He held out his hand to his wife. In his palm lay a single strand of hair.

“Got it,” he said with a smile.

“Whose hair?” Mother Su didn’t react immediately.

“That flower-fox Lu Chen’s.” Just moments earlier, he had been thinking of how to get close enough to Lu Chen to pluck a strand. Unexpectedly, Lu Chen had bumped into him on his own, and his suit sleeve happened to catch one of Lu Chen’s hairs.

He knew Lu Chen well. Lu Chen had a severe cleanliness obsession. Aside from his wife, no one could get close enough to touch him. So this short strand could only be Lu Chen’s.

Upon hearing her husband’s words, Mother Su quickly understood. “You want to compare Lu Chen’s hair with Lu Zhe’s for a paternity test?”

Father Su rubbed her head. “Xin Xin is still so smart.”

Mother Su shot him a glare. “There are so many people watching.”

Father Su laughed. “Who dares look?”

A single strand of Lu Chen’s hair wasn’t quite enough, but he had already arranged people at the venue to watch Lu Chen. They would collect the cigarette butts Lu Chen discarded. Next, he only needed to obtain a strand of Lu Zhe’s hair, and they could proceed with the paternity test.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Over the next two days, Lu Zhe and Boss Fang split up their tasks. Lu Zhe was responsible for finding a place to live, while Boss Fang was in charge of finding an office space.

The efficiency was high. In the end, Lu Zhe settled on a neighborhood near the outskirts. Although it was a bit far from the city center, the environment was good, and the greenery inside the community was excellent.

Lu Zhe rented a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment. Boss Fang rented the unit across from him, also with two bedrooms and one living room. Both apartments belonged to the same landlord and had been fully renovated and left vacant for some time.

The furniture was complete; they only needed to move in with their suitcases.

Lu Zhe and Boss Fang were in a hurry to move in. The landlord was straightforward as well. After receiving the deposit and rent, the landlord handed them the keys immediately.

The apartment had two rooms. One of them had excellent lighting and ventilation.

Lu Zhe dragged his two large suitcases into the well-lit room. He wiped down the wardrobe, then opened the suitcases.

Previously, Boss Fang had mistakenly thought that Lu Zhe had packed all his belongings into these two suitcases, but in fact, they were filled to the brim with pretty clothes belonging to a girl.

Lu Zhe picked up one of the lightweight and soft dresses and hung it carefully in the wardrobe.

When only the undergarments were left, the tips of Lu Zhe’s ears turned red. He pressed his lips together and folded the girl’s underwear neatly, placing them into the wardrobe drawer.

The fingertips that brushed against the soft fabric burned hot.

That night, Su Ci video-called Lu Zhe. She knew he had already moved into his rented apartment.

“I want to go see your place,” Su Ci said, lying on her bed. After the last incident, she didn’t deliberately wear a low-neck dress to tease Lu Zhe this time.

“Come after I finish tidying up.” The room wasn’t organized yet and was still a bit messy.

Su Ci’s eyes lit up. “Then I’ll come the day after tomorrow?”

Lu Zhe’s lips curved. “Mm.”

Just then, someone knocked on Su Ci’s door.

“Wait, I’ll get the door.” Holding her phone, Su Ci lazily climbed off the bed.

Opening the door, she saw two little radish heads standing there.

“Big sister, this is for you.” Little Su Ning held a plate of sliced peaches.

“Ningning is so good, thank you.” Su Ci patted his head.

Beside him, Little Tiancai was also holding something—washed cherries. “Sister Ci, for you.”

“Thank you, Little Tiancai.” Su Ci also patted his round little head.

After the two little ones eagerly placed the fruit inside her room, Su Ci crouched down with her phone, holding the screen toward them. “Come on, say hi to your brother-in-law.”

Now that Father Su and Mother Su weren’t around, Su Ci could be as mischievous as she wanted.

Little Tiancai and Little Su Ning stared curiously at Lu Zhe on the screen. Little Tiancai instinctively called out, “Hello, Lu Zhe gege.”

Little Su Ning reminded him in a milky voice, “Sister said he’s brother-in-law.”

“Right, right, Ningning’s memory is so good.” Su Ci’s eyes curved with a smile as she pinched her little brother’s chubby cheek.

So reliable!

Little Tiancai immediately corrected himself, loudly calling out, “Hello, brother-in-law!”

Su Ci smiled until her eyes narrowed to slits. She turned the screen to herself. “Lu Zhe, they’re calling you brother-in-law. Don’t you have anything to say?”

On the other side of the phone, Lu Zhe’s dark eyes were filled with a smile he couldn’t hide. He helplessly said, “Tuan Tuan.”

Su Ci, valuing her lover over her brothers, shooed the two little radish heads away, then flopped back onto her bed to continue chatting with Lu Zhe.

Mother Su was downstairs watching a drama. Seeing Little Su Ning and Little Tiancai come down after completing their task, she asked with a smile, “Did you give your sister the fruit?”

“Gave it, gave it!” Little Su Ning puffed out his small chest proudly.

Little Tiancai nodded as well.

“What is your sister doing?” Mother Su let the two children sit beside her.

Little Su Ning answered immediately, “Sister is talking to brother-in-law.”

Beside him, Little Tiancai suddenly reacted and whispered to Little Su Ning, “We’re not supposed to tell people that Lu Zhe gege is brother-in-law. That’s our secret with sister.”

Hearing the two children’s soft, innocent words, Mother Su froze, then her heart sank again. She knew—she couldn’t allow this to continue.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

The afternoon sun was harsh, its scorching glare enough to irritate anyone’s mood.

Lu Zhe stood straight beneath a tree. A white luxury car stopped in front of him. The window rolled down, revealing a woman’s well-maintained face.

The driver opened the door for Lu Zhe.

“Auntie Su.” Lu Zhe got into the car and greeted her politely.

Mother Su nodded. “The specialist has arrived. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Lu Zhe said, “Thank you for the trouble.”

The car drove steadily. Before long, they arrived at the best hospital in the city.

Mother Su got out; Lu Zhe followed beside her.

“Before the examination, I want to take you somewhere first,” Mother Su said. “Do you mind?”

Lu Zhe’s dark eyes deepened slightly. He shook his head and didn’t ask where—he simply followed her.

Soon, under the guidance of the bodyguards, Mother Su and Lu Zhe entered the inpatient wing.

They went up to the fifth floor. Seeing the sign in the hallway marked “ALS Ward,” Lu Zhe pressed his thin lips together.

Everyone living on this floor was an ALS patient. Some could only sit in wheelchairs, their bodies atrophied, movement difficult. Some could no longer walk; even breathing and eating were hard. They lay in bed, sustained only by nutritional infusions.

Lu Zhe followed quietly behind Mother Su, passing one patient room after another.

Then Mother Su spoke. “Lu Zhe, Cici told me she likes you.”

She turned to look at the silent teenager behind her. A trace of compassion showed on her face, but she still asked, “Do you like my daughter?”