Wen Ya pushed him aside. “I’ll go change clothes. Hurry and have them prepare the car.”

Inside the car.

Old Cao had just heard Lu Chen’s instructions not to reveal anything, that everything had to be kept from Madam — yet in the blink of an eye, sir had exposed everything himself.

But then again, Madam was the only one who could keep him completely in line.

“Tell me… when my son sees me later, will he dislike that I’ve gotten old?” Wen Ya was both nervous and heartbroken. In the blink of an eye, her son had grown up, and she had become a middle-aged woman.

“He won’t. In my eyes, you’re the most beautiful.” Lu Chen was an expert at coaxing his wife; sweet words flowed effortlessly.

Wen Ya’s looks leaned toward bright, proud elegance, her features full of allure. With her careful upkeep, she didn’t look the slightest bit old — instead, she exuded even more mature femininity.

But Wen Ya’s mind was entirely on her son, so she had no interest in Lu Chen’s sweet talk.

Inside Lu Zhe’s residence.

He was accompanying Su Ci for a nap. The girl, her whole body soft, leaned against his chest, her rabbit ears repeatedly pinched, teased, and played with in his hands.

“Lu Zhe.” Su Ci’s dark eyes looked like they could spill water. She spoke pitifully, “I was wrong.”

Lu Zhe’s thin lips curved lightly, his fingers still pinching her pink-and-white, soft rabbit ears without letting go. “Are you done making trouble?”

The girl was getting bolder and loved teasing people.

“I wasn’t making trouble.” Su Ci blinked her shimmering eyes. “I licked you because I like your dimple.”

Lu Zhe’s pitch-black eyes darkened. The hand playing with her ears pinched a little harder, and the girl nearly melted into liquid. “Tuan Tuan, do you think I won’t do anything to you?”

That was what she thought.

But now, with her rabbit ears in the boy’s hand, she didn’t dare admit it out loud.

“Don’t pinch, I was wrong.” The usually mischievous, teasing Su Ci pleaded softly.

Her eyes were misty, her small face pale with a faint pink flush, and the tiny tear mole at the corner of her eye was impossibly alluring. How was this a little rabbit spirit? Right now she looked more like a fox spirit stealing souls.

If anyone else saw Su Ci like this — heard her yielding so obediently — they would have already lost their soul on the spot. But that did not include Lu Zhe.

The boy’s fingertips lightly swept across the girl’s rabbit ear, making it tremble again and again, fragile beyond words.

The next second, under the girl’s glistening gaze, he lowered his head and leaned close to her rabbit ear.

His thin lips parted slightly, and he took her ear tip into his mouth.

Su Ci stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Not only did her ears tremble, even her entire body began to shake.

Wuwu, she was going to die from this!

At that moment, the doorbell rang outside.

Lu Zhe released Su Ci’s ear. He looked at the stunned girl whose eyes carried a hint of seductive color at the corners. His lips curved faintly as he asked in a low voice, “Have you learned your lesson?”

This girl was too mischievous. She needed a little punishment before she would behave.

Su Ci nodded obediently.

Only then did Lu Zhe pat her head, stand up, and go to open the door.

Naturally, the ones standing outside were Lu Chen and Wen Ya.

Lu Chen had already seen Lu Zhe, but when Wen Ya saw the boy whose features resembled her husband’s, how could she possibly endure it?

She rushed forward and hugged Lu Zhe tightly. “My good son, Mom finally found you.”

The tears Wen Ya shed in her life were almost all for her son. Even when she wanted to divorce Lu Chen back then, her eyes hadn’t reddened at all.

“Yaya, we haven’t confirmed he—” Lu Chen, seeing his wife hugging Lu Zhe and crying, wanted to pull her away.

But Wen Ya held Lu Zhe tightly and refused to let go. “No need for a test. He is our son. There’s a small mole on his left ear.”

Lu Chen also had a small mole on his left ear. She had once told her mother that not only did her son look like Lu Chen, even the mole on his ear grew in the exact same place. She had even gotten jealous, saying the child was biased in who he resembled.

Lu Chen looked at the boy’s left ear, finally noticing the small mole on his earlobe.

In truth, when Lu Chen saw Lu Zhe at first glance, he already had suspicions. But he was cautious, and since this matter passed through Su Father’s hands, he had no choice but to confirm again and again.

Now it seemed that Lu Zhe really was his son.

Wen Ya’s bright, beautiful face was covered in tears. It was as if she were pouring out over ten years of longing for her child all at once.

Lu Zhe allowed her to hold him, his arms hanging weakly at his sides. His lowered eyes revealed nothing of his thoughts.

Across the hallway, Boss Fang — startled by the noise — opened his door and, seeing the scene before him, instantly understood.

It seemed Lu Zhe truly was a child of the Lu family. His biological parents had come.

“Papa, why is she hugging Brother Lu Zhe and crying?” Little Kuaile poked his head out by the door.

Boss Fang nudged his son back inside. “Because she’s happy.”

Wen Ya sobbed uncontrollably. Lu Chen couldn’t bear to see his wife this heartbroken. He hurried to support her. “Alright, alright. We’ve found our son. Let’s talk properly. Acting like this will only scare him.”

Only then did Wen Ya release Lu Zhe. Eyes still red, she explained to him, “Mom just missed you too much.”

Lu Zhe’s hands, hanging at his sides, had gone numb. He responded in a low voice, “Mm.”

In the living room.

Wen Ya had already composed herself. She had read through the information Lu Chen’s investigation uncovered and knew about her son’s situation in the orphanage. The moment she thought of how the precious child she once held in her palms had suffered so much, her nose stung and she nearly burst into tears again.

“Son, I’m sorry. Mom and Dad found you so late.” Wen Ya looked fixedly at Lu Zhe. In the blink of an eye, her son had grown so tall, so handsome — and she hadn’t been there to accompany him.

Lu Zhe’s throat tightened. He lifted his gaze to the couple before him. Even if he didn’t acknowledge it, the feeling between blood relatives was different.

“I know this is sudden for you, but you really are our son. We failed to protect you before and lost you. Mom truly owes you so much.” Before marrying Lu Chen, Wen Ya had been the heiress of the Wen family, proud by nature — no one could make her bow her head. Except, always, before her son.

“Can you call us… just once?” Wen Ya looked at him with longing.

Lu Zhe stood up. He glanced at Wen Ya and Lu Chen, then turned and walked back into the room.

Wen Ya, terrified, asked her husband, “Does he not want to acknowledge me?”

Lu Chen grasped her trembling hand tightly. “He just can’t accept it all at once.”

At that moment, Lu Zhe came back out. He sat down again and extended his hand.

In the center of his palm lay a small golden badge.

When Wen Ya saw the badge, she covered her mouth and broke down crying again.

In the room, Su Ci lay there completely weak. Her rabbit ears had been played with by Lu Zhe for so long that she had no strength left at all.

Her upright rabbit ears caught every word of the conversation outside with perfect clarity.

That man from morning was really Lu Zhe’s father? And now even his mother had come?

Hearing how heartbroken his mother sounded, it was clear Lu Zhe wasn’t a child they abandoned and didn’t want — there must have been some other reason.

Listening to their conversation, Su Ci felt that having two more people who loved Lu Zhe was a very good thing.

She didn’t know how long had passed when Lu Zhe came in, closing the door quickly behind him.

Su Ci blinked and looked at the boy approaching the bed.

“Can you get up?” Lu Zhe asked her.

Su Ci shook her head, glaring at him with a pitiful little look. “It’s all your fault!”

Lu Zhe’s lips curved, the coldness between his brows melting instantly, making his refined features appear even more striking.

“You heard our conversation?” he asked her.

“I heard.” Su Ci’s eyes curved with a spreading smile. “Lu Zhe, you have a mom and dad now.”

Lu Zhe replied softly, “I’m going back with them for a bit. I’ll return tonight.”

“Go ahead. I’ll wait for you obediently.” Su Ci was unusually thoughtful at this moment.

Lu Zhe laughed lightly. He reached out and pinched her rabbit ear tip again.

Su Ci almost cried. “Ah— Lu Zhe, you’re so annoying.”

By evening.

Su Ci noticed that her rabbit ears had retracted. She didn’t know if it was because she had sweated so much from Lu Zhe teasing her that afternoon, but her little cold had actually gotten better.

At that moment, Lu Zhe happened to return. She jumped down from the sofa and walked toward him. “Did you finish recognizing your family?”

“Mm.” Lu Zhe hadn’t planned on acknowledging them, but now that his biological parents had found him and knew of his existence, even if he refused one-sidedly, it would be meaningless.

“What kind of people are in your family? Are they good to you?” From Lu Zhe’s father’s clothing and bearing alone, Su Ci could tell he was far from an ordinary person. The Su family, despite being wealthy, had no schemes — only warmth. Such families were rare. She worried that if Lu Zhe returned home, his family might make things difficult for him.

“There’s my dad, my mom, my grandpa.” The Lu family’s household was simple. Seeing the concern in the girl’s eyes, he reassured her, “They treat me very well.”

He wasn’t just saying this to soothe her. When he went back to the Lu residence, everyone — even the old master — had reddened eyes and wiped away tears. Before dinner, when he said he wanted to come back here for a bit, the old master had almost refused to let him leave.

Only then did Su Ci relax. She wrapped her arms around Lu Zhe and hung on him lazily. “My ears have retracted. Later, I’ll go home. You should go home too.” Now that he had acknowledged his family, he belonged to a home.

“Mm.” Lu Zhe lifted her up, touched her bare feet — slightly cold — and set her on the sofa before turning to fetch her shoes. “Don’t walk barefoot on the floor.”

Su Ci nodded obediently.

Lu Zhe sighed softly. The girl always agreed in the moment, only to ignore everything afterward.

He held her overly slender ankle and helped her put on her shoes.

Around her snow-white ankle was still the red cord he had bought for the little rabbit back then. The jade-colored tiny gourd hanging from it was delicate and cute.

Unable to resist, he brushed it lightly with his fingertip and asked in a low voice, “Your birthday is coming up soon?”

The calluses on his fingertips tickled Su Ci’s skin. Her eyes curved with a smile as she declared confidently, “I lost my memory. I don’t remember.”

Lu Zhe didn’t press further.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

After Lu Zhe was acknowledged by the Lu family, Su Ci finally learned that this Lu family was the same Lu family that didn’t get along with Su Father.

She glanced at Su Father eating breakfast beside her and couldn’t help asking, “Dad, how bad is your relationship with the Lu family?”

Su Father looked at his daughter. “Why is Xiao Ci suddenly asking this?”

“I lost all my memories before. Yesterday, I accidentally saw some news online saying our family and the Lu family don’t get along.” Su Ci tested the waters. “I want to know how bad things are between the Su and Lu families.”

Facing his daughter’s curious gaze, Su Father cleared his throat and explained, “Actually, the Lu family and our Su family don’t have any real feud. It’s just that your dad and Lu Chen from the Lu family have some personal grudges.”

Su Ci let out a sigh of relief. “As long as it’s not some life-or-death hatred.”

Su Father chuckled. “How could it be? The relationship between me and Lu Chen is at most like water and oil — if one of us is around, the other isn’t.”

Su Ci: …

Su Father set down his newspaper and asked his daughter gently, “For your birthday banquet, who do you want as your dance partner?”

Su Ci immediately shook her head.

Other than Lu Zhe, who still couldn’t be publicly acknowledged, she wanted no one else.