The three of them hoped it wasn't true.

If it's true, their family will fall apart sooner or later.

——

Yunping, who was drawing water from the well in the yard, heard several familiar footsteps and looked up to see her three tall and handsome sons appear at the yard gate.

Overjoyed, she dropped the bucket of water and rushed over.

"Oh, you're back, Jingxing, Chunhe, Jingming, that's great. Zhili, Yanshu, your brother is home."

She called out to Lu Zhili, who was playing in the mud in the corner, and Lu Yanshu, who was collecting clothes, as they went to greet their three older brothers as they returned home.

"Mom, we're back." Lu Jingxing strode in, but because he was carrying a luggage bag and a schoolbag, he didn't hug Yunping.

But he nodded and smiled at her, showing his mother the utmost respect.

"Mom, I'm back! I missed you so much!" Lu Chunhe threw down his basketball and schoolbag and hugged Yunping tightly.

He is only sixteen years old this year, and he is still very attached to his mother.

Lu Jingming was rather introverted and gloomy; he only called out "Mom" once and then made no other move.

But the corners of his mouth turned up, and his eyes held a smile.

"It's good that you're back. Mom will cook you something delicious tonight to help you recover. You've both lost a bit of weight. Don't skimp on food; eat whatever you want, okay?"

Yunping touched Lu Chunhe's face and felt that the child had lost a little weight.

"Okay! Mom, I really want to eat your cooking. The food in the cafeteria is awful. But we haven't skimped on food, so don't worry. I can eat a lot. I've only lost a little weight recently because I play basketball."

Lu Chunhe enjoyed the embrace and pampering his mother gave him.

He is outgoing and enthusiastic, has a sweet tongue, and loves to act cute.

Unlike Lu Jingxing, who is mature and steady, he is a quiet and reserved person.

Unlike Lu Jingming, who was gloomy, sullen, and clumsy with words.

"Second brother, I want to play your basketball, let me play!" Lu Zhili's eyes lit up when he saw the basketball, and he picked up the basketball that had rolled to a distance.

"I want to play too, second brother! Let us play now!"

Lu Yanshu couldn't resist playing basketball. It was his first time touching a basketball, and he felt that it should be a lot of fun.

His family was poor, and he never had any decent toys.

"Here, take it and play with it! I brought it home especially for you guys to play with, but don't let anyone take it away." Lu Chunhe brought the basketball back for his younger brothers to play with.

"Yes, second brother, we'll protect the basketball. Hehehe—"

"We have a ball to play with! We have a ball to play with! Hahaha—"

Lu Yanshu and Lu Zhili jumped up excitedly, grabbed their basketballs, and went to play with them.

"Mom, let's go inside and talk." Lu Jingxing's mood was somewhat gloomy as he thought about his parents adopting an abandoned child.

Seeing that her eldest son's expression wasn't very good, Yunping guessed that they might have overheard the gossip of the group of long-tongued women at the village entrance on their way back.

In the past few days, news of her adopting a girl has spread throughout the entire village, and even the two neighboring villages know about it.

Without saying anything more, she followed him into the house.

Lu Chunhe and Lu Jingming went inside and closed the living room door.

But seeing the signs of damage and repair on the gate, they knew that Old Lady Lu must have been causing trouble at home these past few days.

This biased grandmother has only favored the eldest and youngest uncles' families for decades, and now she even bullies the second branch of the family.

They demanded that their father give Old Lady Lu a dozen or so yuan a month for her retirement, but they also demanded food and other things, and would come over from time to time to rob her.

What's even worse is their mother, who frequently beats and verbally abuses them.

As sons, they were unable to protect their mother because they were studying away from home.

Yunping pulled Lu Jingxing to sit down on a chair. Instead of sitting down immediately, she brought three glasses and poured three cups of hot water for them to drink.

"Mom, what's going on? We heard from others that you found a child in the mountains, and that you and Dad are going to adopt her, is that true?"

Lu Chunhe, who had been waiting impatiently, was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

Yunping took a deep breath and looked at her second son, Lu Chunhe, with a solemn expression.