The crowd refers to not only the onlookers but also Lu's mother, who had just come to the school to pick up people from all over the country.
Hearing his son call Shi Wan "wife" filled him with joy; his good-natured son had finally come to his senses.
My son is getting on in years and still hasn't found a wife. I almost started to wonder if he has a problem with his sexual orientation.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Lu's mother disregarded the two toddlers licking lollipops and rushed over to pull her son away, then took Shi Wan's hand and showered her with concern.
"Wanwan, I knew it was you. This brat has finally found someone to take care of him."
"Come to Auntie's today, and Auntie will cook you something delicious."
Lu's mother usually presents a dignified and proper demeanor to outsiders, but at this moment she winked at Lu Jingyan playfully, as if praising her son for doing a good job and finding her a good daughter-in-law.
"Do you think I'd let your daughter-in-law go hungry? You should go home and make some love-filled bento boxes for your dad. He's been in a bad mood these past few days."
Lu's mother rolled her eyes at him, unable to contain herself. She had abandoned the company and even made her father, who had retired early, go back to take over. Didn't her conscience hurt?
"Do you still want a daughter-in-law?" Lu Jingyan whispered in his mother's ear.
"You! You'd better marry Wanwan as soon as possible, or you can forget about ever stepping foot in the Lu family!"
Then, looking down at the crowd who had just been watching the commotion, she spoke in a cold tone, "Our Lu family's current status does not need to be maintained by marriage alliances. Those young ladies who would do anything to get into our Lu family should think twice before they act."
The farce at the school gate ended badly after Lu's mother appeared, and the news that Lu's mysterious daughter-in-law was a teacher at Sophie Kindergarten spread throughout Kyoto.
On a weekend, inside an upscale coffee shop.
"Wanwan, I've asked you out lately, but you always say you don't have time. Is Lu Jingyan bothering you every day?" Ji Meng poked at the cheesecake on the table with a resentful look.
"After he picked me up from Sophie that day, he said he was going on a business trip for a while, and I haven't seen him for several days." Shi Wan thought with a smile, looking at her sexy and hot best friend in front of her.
"So, are you two dating? Or did Lu Jingyan propose?"
"Well, we're dating, but we don't plan to get married."
Although she had already issued a statement, she was considering her health condition and did not want to cause trouble for the Lu family and Lu Jingyan.
“Mengmeng, wealthy families value carrying on the family line, and now my body may not have the chance to be a mother again.”
"Moreover, Lu's mother is really good to me. I don't want to disappoint her, nor do I want to deprive Lu Jingyan of his right to be a father."
"It's all Feng Yunzhou's fault! He can't even sort out his own feelings and he came to provoke you. Is he sick in the head? What gives him the right to tell you to come back to the country? Who does he think he is!"
Ji Meng disliked Feng Yunzhou very much. She hadn't advised Wanwan in time before, but now she wouldn't let her best friend get stuck in the mire again.
“Mengmeng, once I find my maternal grandparents and uncle’s family and fulfill my mother’s wish, I will return to China.”
“Lu Jingyan can protect me now and doesn’t care about my past. But when our feelings fade in the future, he will eventually regret it.”
"He is indeed right about me now, but it's inevitable that his love will fade as time goes by." Shi Wan said knowingly, without much emotion.
“But Wanwan, I feel that Lu Jingyan isn’t just playing around with you. Look at my brother, he’s a good person, isn’t he? Someone who can get along with my brother, that big iceberg, must be pretty good.”
"Speaking of which, Mengmeng, shouldn't you talk things out with Zhao Zhilin? The problems between the Zhao family and the An family haven't been resolved yet, and now he's bothering you again."
“You can’t run away this time!” Shi Wan stared at Qiao Meng with a worried expression.
"Miss An's methods back then caused you so much suffering for so many years. If it weren't for Brother Ji coming back, you..."
Ji Mengchao blinked at Shi Wan, giving her a reassuring look.
"Don't worry, it was just a moment of carelessness back then. I still lost an arm or a leg, didn't I? Now that my brother is back, I have his protection."
When her brother was mentioned, Ji Meng suddenly seemed to remember something, and her face turned indignant.
Knowing she didn't want to talk to Zhao Zhilin anymore, she ignored him that night and let him take her home and even to her bed...
Two pretty girls were chatting and laughing quietly in the coffee shop, unaware of the stares from passersby.
It's rare to see two such beautiful girls in the store at the same time; even the staff couldn't bear to look at them for more than a few seconds.
Just then, her phone beeped. Shi Wan opened it and saw a message from Lu Jingyan. It was...
I just arrived in Kyoto and asked where Shi Wan is.
Shi Wan replied with a cute bunny emoji, saying that she and Ji Meng were checking in at the newly opened coffee shop, and sent the location.
Ten minutes later, Lu Jingyan arrived at the coffee shop entrance on time.
Shi Wan waved to Lu Jingyan, and Ji Meng also looked towards the door. Just as she was about to nod in acknowledgment, she saw Zhao Zhilin behind Lu Jingyan.
The corners of his mouth, which had just turned up, immediately drooped down, and his brows furrowed even more.
Lu Jingyan sat down next to Shi Wan and gently pinched her cheek. "You've lost weight again. Haven't you been eating properly lately?"
"No way...Aunt Lu's cooking is so delicious. She always calls to invite me back for dinner. I feel embarrassed after going so many times."
Shi Wan smiled sweetly and reached out to squeeze Lu Jingyan's hand.
Ji Meng kept looking out the window after Zhao Zhilin came in, ignoring the man beside her.
Ji Meng couldn't stand the two lovey-dovey people in front of her anymore. She didn't want to be fed dog food anymore, so she said goodbye to Shi Wan, grabbed her bag, and ran out as if her life depended on it.
Zhao Zhilin looked at the woman in front of him who was unwilling to talk to him, nodded to the remaining two, and strode out.
He grumbled inwardly, "This woman is avoiding me again. I'll tie her to the bed one day and she won't be able to run away."
As the two left, the restaurant returned to silence. Lu Jingyan kneaded Shi Wan's fingers, his gaze growing deeper; she had lost weight again.
Her voice was muffled, revealing her displeasure, "You don't eat properly when I'm not around. If you keep doing this, I'll just feed you from now on!"
Lu Jingyan was unhappy as always, while Shi Wan gave him ambiguous and perfunctory answers as always, her misty eyes looking at him pitifully.
Knowing that the little girl was deliberately playing the victim again, his initial annoyance subsided.
As always, he gently rubbed his nose against Shi Wan's temples, making Shi Wan squirm and ticklish. "Wanwan, be good. I brought you a gift from abroad."
As he spoke, he pushed the box in his hand in front of Shi Wan.
"Huh? What's this?" Shi Wan asked in surprise. "A gift for my business trip?"
"Yes." He received an affirmative answer.
Carefully opening the gift box revealed an old-fashioned photo album with a historically significant cover.
The old-fashioned cover cannot hide the exquisite craftsmanship. The entire cover is made of high-relief wood. Opening the marble-patterned divider reveals the main body inside. Each page is made of a different size and is edged with gold.
The old photo album was not made with Chinese craftsmanship. Curious, she looked up at Lu Jingyan with wide eyes. He nodded encouragingly, signaling her to open it and take a look.
Until you turn to the first page, what comes into view is a picture of her at one year old, with a butterfly hair tie in her hair, her chubby little face, being held in her father's arms, while her father's other hand gently embraces her mother.
The second page shows a photo of the mother intently recording experimental results in the laboratory.
The third page shows him standing on stage for the first time, holding a trophy, and happily talking to his parents.
Page four shows her first day after receiving her acceptance letter from the Royal Ballet.
There's also a fifth page, a sixth page...
These are all records of her parents spending time with her.
Shi Wan flipped through the photos of herself with her parents, a wave of sadness washing over her, followed by a surge of warmth. Countless thoughts swirled in her mind, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears.
She suddenly looked up at Lu Jingyan, her throat seemingly choked, unable to utter a sound. Finally, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did you get these?"
For a period of time after her parents passed away, she tried very hard to find photos of them when they were alive, but in the end, only a few photos were bound into an album.
Some of the photos in Lu Jingyan's album were taken before she even knew when they were taken, and she had never seen them before.
Lu Jingyan stared at his aunt with his dark eyes and said in a low voice, "Good girl, Wanwan, don't cry."
His long, slender fingers gently stroked the girl's reddened eyes, his gaze filled with heartache.
"You went on a business trip just to find these photos?"
"Um."
"Why?"
“Wanwan returned to China without bringing back any of her uncle and aunt’s belongings, and the person in charge there is Feng Yunzhou’s man. I know you don’t want to have anything to do with him, so I went back and found these photos from acquaintances and friends and bound them into a collection.”
How did you find out about them?
"Wanwan, there are many things you don't know. You'll find out in time."
Lu Jingyan didn't say much, so Shi Wan didn't ask any further questions. She secretly glanced at the tall and imposing man beside her and unconsciously leaned closer to him.
The man seemed to sense the girl's unintentional movement. His deep eyes revealed a hint of unseen desire, and his Adam's apple bobbed dryly.
A hint of crimson gradually appeared at the corners of his eyes, and his hand, which had been holding Shi Wan, slowly moved to her slender and soft waist and gently caressed it.
Shi Wan's ears burned from the man's sudden lust, and she shifted uncomfortably.
Lu Jingyan sensed the girl's discomfort, so he suppressed his inner passion and his voice became low and hoarse, "Wanwan, shall we go back to the apartment?"
Shi Wan rubbed her burning cheeks, then obediently nodded, creating some distance between herself and Lu Jingyan.
Unexpectedly, just as they had created some distance, Lu Jingyan reached out and pulled Shi Wan into his arms again. He lowered his head and rubbed his lips together a few times, the faint heat spreading across her lips, making her red lips seem to be on fire.
Seeing that Lu Jingyan's thin lips were stained with her own red color, and that he deliberately didn't wipe it off, she dared not look up at the other people in the restaurant.
Shi Wan's inner monologue: Isn't he shy?! I'm so embarrassed I can't face anyone!
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