Mr. Lu thought he might have misheard, so he picked at his ear, looked at Xing Zhaozhao, and asked, "What did he just call you?"
"Mom, what's wrong?" Xing Zhaozhao looked at Mr. Lu strangely, feeling that something was wrong with the old man. He was fine before, so why did his hearing suddenly stop working?
Mr. Lu was unaware that Xing Zhaozhao was thinking about him. Although he was almost seventy years old, he was still sharp of hearing and sight and had a quick mind. But right now, he felt that his mind was a little slow.
"Then isn't he your son?" Mr. Lu asked Xing Zhaozhao, pointing at Gao Hongfei.
Xing Zhaozhao followed Mr. Lu's finger and looked at Gao Hongfei, nodding naturally: "That's right."
Then, still puzzled, he looked at Mr. Lu and asked, "What's the problem?"
Mr. Lu: "..."
Old Mr. Lu's mind went blank for a moment, and his expression twisted: "How can there be no problem? There's a huge problem. How old are you? Where did you get such an old son?"
Xing Zhaozhao: "..."
Xing Zhaozhao didn't dare to say it, but according to their timeline, she was already an old lady in her eighties.
Xing Zhaozhao glanced at Gao Hongfei and hesitated for a moment. However, given the current situation, it was indeed not appropriate. It didn't matter if her husband was a little older, but if her son was too old, it wouldn't be in line with scientific principles.
Xing Zhaozhao thought for a moment, looked at Mr. Lu, and said, "The latter."
"After?" Mr. Lu was taken aback.
“Others are stepfathers and stepmothers, but I’m a stepson,” Xing Zhaozhao explained.
Mr. Lu then realized: "So it's his stepson."
He breathed a sigh of relief. That's more like it. How could a mother who's not even thirty give birth to a son who's fifty or sixty?
When Gao Hongfei heard Xing Zhaozhao call him "Empress," he felt as if struck by lightning, and the smile on his face instantly froze. How could his beloved son have become an empress?
"Mom?" Gao Hongfei looked at Xing Zhaozhao, his expression somewhat aggrieved.
Xing Zhaozhao winked at him. "It's nothing, they were just bluffing, don't worry about it."
Zhou Huaixi: "??!!" He saw it.
Gao Hongfei gave Mr. Lu and Zhou Huaixi a cold look. Although he was not happy about it, he couldn't explain it to them according to outsiders' thinking, so he had no choice but to reluctantly admit it for the time being.
Xing Zhaozhao pulled Gao Hongfei to sit down beside her.
Watching the interaction between the two, Mr. Lu couldn't help but exclaim, "You two have such a good relationship!" It's rare to see a stepmother and stepson with such a large age gap having such a good relationship.
"Of course," Xing Zhaozhao replied without hesitation. They're blood relatives; how could their relationship not be good?
Zhou Huaixi stared at Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Hongfei for a moment, frowned, and asked, "Your stepson is already so... grown up, how old is your husband?"
"She must be over eighty," Xing Zhaozhao said.
Mr. Lu glanced at Xing Zhaozhao with surprise. Although relationships between grandfathers and granddaughters are not uncommon nowadays, he truly hadn't expected Xing Zhaozhao to make such a choice. However, he wouldn't interfere too much in other people's marital lives.
Zhou Huaixi's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He only knew one person named Gao Mingcheng, who was over eighty years old, and coincidentally, he was from Lanyuan.
"Hongfei..." he murmured to himself, then suddenly looked up at Gao Hongfei as if remembering something. "You're Gao Hongfei? The chairman of Zhaohong Group?"
Gao Hongfei rarely appears in public, so he was surprised to be recognized and looked at Zhou Huaixi in astonishment: "You know me?"
“Even if I’m ignorant, I can’t possibly be unaware of the name of the chairman of Zhaohong Group. However, I would like to get to know your father more,” Zhou Huaixi said, looking intently at Gao Hongfei.
Old Mr. Lu glanced at Gao Hongfei, then at Zhou Huaixi, and finally realized what was happening. His face showed indescribable shock, and his finger trembled as he pointed at Xing Zhaozhao, saying, "You...he...could it be..."
The teahouse waiter, who had been secretly listening nearby, only realized then that he had stumbled upon a shocking scoop. Unable to contain himself, he secretly took out his phone, turned on the camera, and pointed it at the scene…
The screen suddenly went black.
She looked up and saw Fu Hong staring at her with a serious expression. Shaking her head, she reluctantly put her phone away.
When Gao Mingcheng arrived at Xunlan Teahouse, he was taken aback to see a "Temporarily Closed" sign hanging at the entrance. Why was it closed?
Just as he was about to call Xing Zhaozhao to ask about the situation, Fu Hong quickly came out from inside, opened the door for him, and said respectfully, "Hello, please come in."
Gao Mingcheng glanced at her in surprise and went inside.
There was only one table occupied in the shop, where Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Hongfei were sitting.
Gao Mingcheng walked straight over and asked, "Why did you book the whole place?"
When Xing Zhaozhao saw Gao Mingcheng, she got up to greet him. Hearing his words, she asked in surprise, "You booked the whole place? No, there wasn't anyone here to begin with."
Fu Hong: "..." That hurt, and I felt a little wronged. Her business had always been good. Oh well, I won't say anything more.
Gao Mingcheng glanced quickly at the somewhat resentful expression on Fu Hong's face, smiled, and still didn't correct Xing Zhaozhao. He figured he could just have his son make it up to her later.
When Gao Hongfei saw Gao Mingcheng, he looked displeased: "Why are you here?" It was a rare opportunity to spend some time alone with his mother... well, not exactly alone, but at least no one was competing with him for her time. It was different when his father came.
Gao Mingcheng gave him a cold look: "If you can come, why can't I?"
Gao Hongfei was speechless for a moment, and sat aside sulking.
The tea table they set up was for four people, but with Gao Mingcheng's arrival, it was clearly not enough, so Mr. Lu tactfully sat down on the side.
Zhou Huaixi shamelessly stayed there and refused to move.
Seeing this, Mr. Lu even tugged at him.
Zhou Huaixi kept his eyes down, pretending not to know anything.
Mr. Lu: "..."
Xing Zhaozhao glanced at the current seating arrangement. Zhou Huaixi and Gao Hongfei were sitting opposite each other, so she simply moved to the side with Zhou Huaixi, letting the father and son squeeze together.
Gao Hongfei's face immediately fell. He knew this would happen; the old man's arrival would definitely prevent him from getting close to his mother.
Gao Hongfei rolled his eyes at Gao Mingcheng with disdain and asked, "Did Mom call you too?"
"I called your mother," Gao Mingcheng said calmly.
Gao Hongfei was delighted: "My mom called me on her own initiative." Winning against Grandpa made him feel much better.
Zhou Huaixi looked at Gao Mingcheng, his emotions running high: "Hello, General Gao, I am Zhou Huaixi."
"Hello," Gao Mingcheng replied, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. Who was Zhou Huaixi? He didn't know him.
Zhou Huaixi noticed the confusion in Gao Mingcheng's eyes but didn't care. He smiled and said, "You're so busy that you might not know me, but you definitely know my father."
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