Chapter 90
Zhu Changan carefully inserted the key into the keyhole, then took a deep breath, turned it, opened the door, and cheered in one breath: "Grandpa, I'm back!"
"I brought you something good... Grandpa is not at home?" At this time, the house was dark and quiet, with no response.
Zhu Changan felt a little disappointed, but he quickly pulled himself together. Even though his grandfather wasn't home right now, it would still be a pleasant surprise if he suddenly showed up with a gift when he got back.
Zhu Changan thought so and turned on the light.
The incandescent light instantly illuminated the entire room. Zhu Chang'an subconsciously looked towards the living room and saw a familiar figure sitting on the sofa. The elderly man lowered his head. On the coffee table before him lay several A4 sheets of paper, densely printed with black text. However, from Zhu Chang'an's vantage point, he couldn't make out the contents.
Zhu Changan was startled, then reacted with a sudden sense of embarrassment, like someone who was trying to surprise someone but was caught by the real person. "Grandpa, why don't you turn on the lights at home? Oh, by the way, I bought you something on the way..."
"Chang'an." The old man finally raised his head, interrupting what Zhu Chang'an was about to say. He looked at Zhu Chang'an and said, "Come sit down. I have something to tell you."
"Okay." Zhu Changan instinctively felt that the atmosphere was a bit weird, but out of trust in his grandfather, he sat down obediently.
The papers were pushed in front of Zhu Changan, and only then could he finally see clearly what was written on them.
It was an adoption agreement from eighteen years ago. In the column for the adopted person's name, someone had neatly written Zhu Changan's name with a black marker.
Zhu Changan recognized his father's handwriting at a glance. His expression was blank for a moment, and he subconsciously raised his head to look at Zhu He.
"As you can see, you are not a child of the Zhu family. You are already eighteen years old, and I have no obligation to support you anymore." Zhu He's words were like a basin of cold water in the cold winter of December, pouring down on Zhu Chang'an, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in his heart.
"Grandpa, now...it's not April Fool's Day yet..." Zhu Changan forced a smile. How could it be possible? How could he not be his parents' biological child? Was Grandpa kidding him?
"Eighteen years ago, my son and daughter-in-law found you in the mountains. They brought you home and adopted you as their own." Zhu He ignored him and continued, "Although I felt it was inappropriate at the time, seeing how happy they were, I didn't interfere. This is the decision I regret most in my life."
"Your origins are unknown, and your aura always attracts all kinds of strange things. At first, they were just small fry, and your parents were able to handle it, keeping it a secret for you. Until you were twelve years old, you attracted a high-ranking one."
"grandfather……"
Zhu He's voice suddenly rose, no longer maintaining his final calm. "Don't call me grandpa. My child died protecting you, someone we have no blood relationship with, and yet you've been completely unharmed. In fact, you haven't caused any strange incidents in all the years since you killed them. Sometimes I really feel like you were sent by the heavens to bring disaster upon our family. My child died, and your purpose has been achieved."
This was perhaps the first time in all those years that the old man had looked at him with disgust. The pale light shone down on the old man's face, and that gloomy, hateful gaze froze Zhu Chang'an's blood. He instinctively wanted to speak out to defend himself, but details that had been overlooked in his past memories became incredibly clear at this moment.
Frequent moves since childhood, the tired smiles on my parents' faces, the new wounds that never go away...
Even after killing his parents, he shamelessly let his grandfather take care of him for so many years.
"I watched the video of your missions this semester." Zhu He and Zhu Chang'an met eyes. He looked into those eyes filled with pain and panic and slowly lowered his voice. "The missions assigned by the Supernatural Power Bureau are all carefully selected by the Nuwa system. It's impossible for you to skip missions multiple times in a row."
Zhu Changan almost immediately understood the implication in his words, and his face instantly lost all color.
"Is it... me who brought it here?" Zhu Changan was shaking all over.
"They were attracted by you. Who are you targeting this time?"
"I……"
"Go away, get out of this world, be an ordinary person from now on, don't try to set foot here again, and don't even think about getting involved in these things. Your existence will only kill those around you."
With a "clatter", the notice of severing the adoption relationship was thrown heavily at Zhu Changan's face.
Zhu Chang'an lowered his head, clutching the paper tightly. Zhu He didn't urge him. Under the pale light, the grandfather and grandson remained in a stalemate. Finally, Zhu Chang'an bit his lip hard and signed his name on the paper.
He carefully placed the beautifully wrapped birthday gift on the coffee table, then knelt on his knees, bent down, and kowtowed three times to the old man.
Zhu He closed his eyes and maintained that posture until Zhu Changan left.
After a long time, Zhu He took out his cell phone from his pocket with trembling hands and dialed a number he knew by heart.
…
As the wind chimes swayed, ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the tea.
Yu Heng blinked, his eyes, which had been a little hollow, gradually regaining their spirit. He looked up at the newcomer and asked with some surprise, "You Lin? How come you have time to come here today?"
Wanbaotang has been very busy recently, and You Lin has been very busy too. He has not been seen for several days. Yuheng thought that he would have to wait until after the New Year to see him again.
"The boss gave us annual leave." You Lin said as he placed the wooden boxes in his arms on the table one by one. "A colleague gave me some couplets. I didn't have anywhere to put them, so I brought them to you, sir."
Yu Heng was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Thank you, I actually forgot about this."
Only then did he remember that he seemed to have never prepared anything for the antique shop for the New Year. If You Lin hadn't brought the things over today, he probably wouldn't have remembered this until the Spring Festival was over.
You Lin took out a pair of couplets from the wooden box and spread them out on the table.
The size of this couplet is slightly larger than what we usually see, but it fits perfectly with the door of the antique shop, as if it were tailor-made.
Yuheng suddenly smiled, and his slender fingers gently traced over the writing. "The writing is flowing, with both strength and softness... It's a rare piece of calligraphy. I believe your colleague must be a very thoughtful person."
You Lin raised his hand and rubbed his nose: "As long as you like it, sir, I'll put it on." After saying that, he picked up the couplet and went out.
The door frame of the antique shop was quite high. Even though You Lin was not short, after trying several times, he still moved a stool to use as a footstool under Yuheng's gaze.
With the Spring Festival approaching, the streets outside have gradually become bustling. A newly opened shop has hung a string of firecrackers in front of its door, and the crackling sound has attracted the attention of passers-by.
Yuheng was holding a couplet that hadn't been pasted up yet, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar yellow. He turned around subconsciously, but the figure had disappeared silently into the crowd.
System: "What's wrong?"
"Is it an illusion? I just saw Chang'an."
The man was carrying a large travel backpack, and both his figure and clothing style looked a lot like Zhu Changan. But thinking about it carefully, he should have been at home celebrating his grandfather's birthday by now, so it was impossible for him to be here.
But what if that really is Chang'an?
After hesitating for a moment, Yuheng finally chose to follow.
Zhu Changan walked forward aimlessly.
He wandered for an unknown amount of time before he seemed to hear someone calling his name. The unfamiliar voice had a familiar ring to it, and Zhu Changan subconsciously turned around to find that the person who had just called out his name was actually the senior who had saved him before.
At this moment, the senior was looking at him gently, with a subtle worry in his phoenix eyes that were exactly the same as his friend's.
Zhu Changan forced a smile and said, "Senior, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to meet you here."
Although Zhu Changan was surprised that "the boss actually knew my name", he didn't think much about it. After all, if it was a senior, it was normal for him to know everything.
"Why are you here alone?" Yuheng still remembered when Zhu Changan said he wanted to go home to celebrate his grandfather's birthday during the holiday. But seeing how depressed and sad he looked now, it seemed likely that something serious had happened.
When this was mentioned, Zhu Changan immediately became like an eggplant hit by frost, lowering his head dejectedly: "I..."
Seeing Zhu Chang'an hesitant and unwilling to say more, Yuheng didn't want to ask any more questions, so he changed his approach: "I live nearby, why don't you come to my place to rest your feet and have a cup of tea before we talk."
Zhu Changan nodded: "Thank you, senior."
Yuheng took Zhu Chang'an back to the antique shop. You Lin, who had just put up the couplets and the Chinese character for "Fu", dusted off his hands and met Zhu Chang'an's eyes.
You Lin was stunned: "What is this?"
"A little friend with a destiny."
…
You Lin looked a little restless. He stood up for the fourth time and said, "The water is almost gone. I'll go boil some more."
"Okay." Yuheng looked at his hurriedly departing back, and an idea slowly popped up in his mind: Could it be that this guy is also a socially anxious person?
Zhu Changan finally relaxed after seeing the difficult person leave. He held the teacup in both hands, looking dejected. "Actually, my grandfather kicked me out."
"Chiu?" Liu Liu on the side perfectly expressed Yuheng's inner shock.
Zhu Changan has such a likable personality, how could anyone dislike him? Even though he is the grandson who has depended on him for so many years?
Mo Xuanji was completely baffled, even wondering if it was someone disguised as Chang'an's grandfather. However, Zhu Chang'an's next words left him completely stunned.
"I... I'm actually not my parents' biological child. They picked me up from outside, and there is no blood relationship between me and grandpa." Zhu Changan's fingers holding the teacup were pinched white, and he barely maintained his composure.
Zhu Changan had always been burdened with the thought of indirectly causing his parents' deaths. When he learned they weren't even related by blood, that knot quickly swelled, tearing him apart. Even if his grandfather hadn't said, "You're already eighteen, and I have no obligation to support you anymore," he wouldn't have been able to stay in his presence any longer.
His parents adopted him out of kindness, but he attracted enemies who killed him. His grandfather lost his son and daughter-in-law overnight, yet he still had to endure hatred for the culprit and raised him for so many years. He would rather his grandfather beat him to death after telling him the truth than let him off so easily like he was now.
He wanted to atone for his sins, but his enemies were long dead, and he couldn't even find a way to atone for his sins.
Yu Heng touched his friend's hair with a distressed look. Every family has its own problems, and as Mo Xuanji or Yu Heng, it was not appropriate for him to interfere in this matter.
"If you have nowhere else to go, stay with me for a few days."
"Thank you, senior. I will find a place to stay as soon as possible and will not disturb you for long." Zhu Changan's eyes lit up.
He was short on cash, so staying in a hotel was too much of a luxury. Even finding a cheaper rental would take time. Zhu Changan had originally planned to sleep under a bridge, but Yuheng's presence saved his day.
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