Seeing the mothers hugging each other and crying, the grandparents also had tears in their eyes, standing aside and crying, but not from sadness, but from joy.

Where have you been all these years?

Feeling embarrassed to keep crying in front of her daughter, Mu Tong let go of Yu Shu's arms and said with a wronged expression, "I've been looking for you for so long..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, baby, I was wrong."

Yu Shu patted Mu Tong's back tenderly, "I'm back now, aren't I?"

Where did you go?

"I..." Yu Shu hesitated, wondering whether she should speak.

Wiping her face with a tissue, Mu Tong tapped her shoulder, his tone very serious: "Don't lie to me. I wouldn't allow you to go to the battlefield back then, and after giving birth, I received the news that you had died in battle. I even thought about leaving with you right then and there. If it weren't for... if it weren't for..."

She started to cry again as she spoke, "But... in the end, I didn't... I didn't protect her."

"Don't cry, don't cry, I was wrong," Yu Shu kissed her forehead tenderly. "I didn't die in battle. I was ambushed and secretly taken to the human laboratory."

Hearing this, Mu Tong touched Yu Shu all over her body, "Where did I touch you? Are you alright? Does it hurt a lot?"

Her voice was filled with unbearable heartache, and she looked at Yushu with eyes full of worry.

"It hurts, it hurts so much. They draw my blood every day and feed me medicine so I can't resist."

Yu Shu had intended to play the victim, but it only made Mu Tong feel more sorry for her. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she cried until her face turned slightly pale. Her voice trembled with guilt, "I'm sorry, I just..."

"It's okay, it's okay, it's not your fault." Mu Tong's heart ached slightly as she cried, and she gently coaxed her in a low voice, "You don't know any of this, don't be sad. I'm back now, aren't I? Besides, if it weren't for you, I would have died long ago. I've been able to get by all these years because of you, don't blame yourself."

"Waaah, Yu, you're finally back," Mu Tong cried, her head bowed, her voice low and sobbing, "but I couldn't protect our child..."

Standing by the door, Xia Shizhao rubbed his temples, sensing that the conversation was about to turn to him.

OMG, how am I supposed to write this? Xia Shizhao is at his wit's end.

I was originally wandering on a garbage planet, but was taken in and adopted by a kind couple.

Anyway, those non-existent parents no longer exist.

Xia Shizhao can just make something up; there shouldn't be any problems, right?

"Hmm? Child, you've raised your child very well. Strong and calm, kind and righteous, much better than me."

Yu Shu looked at Xia Shizhao at the door and then said with a hint of surprise, "But why does our child have the surname Xia?"

Shouldn't it be wood or a book?

Mu Tong looked at Xia Shizhao, who was smiling gently at him from the doorway, and explained haltingly, "Zhaozhao is my adopted child, our child... She was stolen along with my father the year he had the accident, and we still can't find any trace of her."

Yu Shu frowned slightly. It couldn't be. Merfolk are sensitive to their own bloodline; they couldn't possibly be wrong.

He looked at Xia Shizhao and asked, "How old are you?"

20.

Xia Shizhao said.

Yu Shu's eyes widened slightly. Something was wrong; she should be 26 by now. She subconsciously said, "How is that possible?"

"Why not?" Mu Tong was afraid that her tone would make Xia Shizhao uncomfortable, so she punched her hand and warned her to be gentler with her eyes.

"no."

Yu Shu glanced at Xia Shizhao, then took out a mirror and looked at her own face and her wife's face. A million questions popped into her head. "No? That can't be right!"

Seeing her dazed look, Mu Tong said, "What do you mean 'no' or 'wrong'? Why did you only say half of what you meant?"

"But she is our daughter!"

"What nonsense are you talking about??"

Mu Tong stood up and looked at her, slightly angry: "She is my adopted daughter. I really love her. She is not a substitute for our child!"

Yu Shu was hit on the head and turned to her parents to demand an explanation, only to find that they were also looking at her with disapproval.

“Although Zhao Zhao looks like you, you can’t just adopt any child. I’m going to cook with Tong Tong. You and Zhao Zhao should get along well and make her like you, you know?”

Grandma patted her head.

Grandpa Mu nodded in agreement and turned to go to the kitchen to help.

Yu Shu: ...? No, is there still a place for me in this family?

Then he looked at Xia Shizhao, who had his arms crossed and a gentle smile on his face, and asked, "You?"

Xia Shizhao sat down opposite her. "I didn't know I was adopted before."

"You were adopted?" Yu Shu's brain went blank.

"Yes, I used to be a wanderer on a tourist planet, selling flowers given to me to survive. I was sometimes full and sometimes hungry. My adoptive parents couldn't have children, and they took pity on me, so they adopted me. I don't know how old I was during my wandering days. I was very thin and looked severely malnourished. I guess I was only three or four years old. I was sick all over. They took care of me for a while before they sent me to school. That's when they started recording my age. I was six years old."

After speaking, Xia Shizhao took a sip of tea, his long eyelashes drooping slightly, as if he was unwilling to recall the past.

Yu Shu looked at Xia Shizhao with eyes full of affection and heartache.

It's amazing that a newborn child who was stolen and abandoned has survived.

Suddenly, the two, who had excellent hearing, heard a soft sobbing sound.

Mutong is crying again.

She was eavesdropping. The two exchanged a glance, silently shut their mouths, and walked towards the kitchen in unison, peering at Mu Tong from the doorway.

She stood by the sink, heartbroken and weeping, wiping away her tears as she washed the vegetables.

In their eyes, her shoulders were trembling slightly.

The thought of Zhao Zhao's miserable past, and the little dumpling who could barely walk yet had to carry a basket bigger than herself to sell flowers, made Mu Tong feel more and more heartbroken. Then she thought of her lover being locked in a cage every day, whipped and having his blood drawn, and she cried even harder, her shoulders trembling slightly, tears silently streaming down her cheeks.

Xia Shizhao sighed softly. She really had no memories before the age of six, and the real Xia Shizhao's life wasn't easy either, but it wasn't her experience after all. The flower-selling and other nonsense was all made up by her.

It even made her mother cry.

I'm so worried.

Xia Shizhao scratched his head.

Yu Shu walked over to Mu Tong's side, swallowed hard when she saw the cucumber that had been smashed to pieces, and realized that she was wrong after all; her wife was as strong as ever.

Mu Tong glared at Yu Shu with eyes full of rage, his tone grim: "I'm going to dig up the bones of the dead and whip their corpses! And kill all the ones who aren't dead!"

Xia Shizhao, leaning against the wall outside the door, shuddered. Was this her usually soft-spoken and gentle mother speaking?!

She leaned forward slightly, and Yu Shu, standing beside her, nodded in full support: "I'll pour the oil, I'll set it on fire! You just stand there and watch, don't get tired."

Her lips twitched slightly, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Mu Tong's mood improve considerably.

Looks like I'll have to get a paternity test done.

They might actually be their biological child.

In the past, when she went shopping with her mother, people would say that they looked alike, but neither of them thought much of it because good-looking people often have some similarities.

Furthermore, since the age reported to the outside world was incorrect, my mother and the others didn't think much of it.

By the way, do Mom and the others know that Yu-Shu is a merman?

They don't look like they know.

With his arms crossed, Xia Shizhao slumped on the sofa, deep in thought.

Yu Shu appeared above her like a ghost, "Shall we get a paternity test later?"

“Okay.” Xia Shizhao readily agreed.

Yu Shu sat next to her, looking at Xia Shizhao. She looked just like her own child. But when she thought about Xia Shizhao's childhood experiences, she felt a pang of heartache. Which of their royal merfolk children didn't live a life of luxury and be pampered? Yet, she was abandoned outside to fend for herself.

She doesn't deserve to be a mermaid if she doesn't expose those people.

There are also those who slandered her back then, causing her to be imprisoned for more than 20 years.

Yu Shu suppressed the coldness in her eyes and cracked her wrists.

They looked menacing.

Suddenly, Xia Shizhao nudged her, "Mom's calling you to eat, what are you sitting there like an idiot for?"

Yu Shu nodded, then put his arm around Xia Shizhao's shoulder like a good buddy, "Call me 'Mom' and let me hear it."

Xia Shizhao gave a soft snort and did not reply.

She thought she was still an orphan in this world, but she accidentally found her relatives, and she was still a little confused.

I was also incredulous.

During the meal, Xia Shizhao sat next to her mother, watching Yu Shu peel shrimp for her.

She seems carefree, but she's actually quite considerate of her mother's feelings.

As Xia Shizhao was thinking, a plump, white shrimp landed in her bowl. Mu Tong looked at her with a smile and said, "Eat more."

Yu Shu raised an eyebrow at her, "Eat up, why are you looking at me?"

Xia Shizhao smiled and lowered his head to eat silently.