"Uncle...I want to eat cake too." Lu Nan rubbed his sleepy eyes and stared intently at the desserts on the table.
"Your aunt is so thin, let your aunt eat!" Lu Jingyan tapped the table lightly with his fingers, ignoring Lu Nan's pitiful eyes.
"You too... why are you getting angry with a child? Nan Nan, be good, Auntie will now divide the pastries for you and your brother." Shi Wan rolled her eyes at Lu Jingyan, picked up the knife and carefully divided the pastries for the two drooling children.
In the quiet restaurant, only the soft piano music and the rustling of cutlery could be heard. Shi Wan carefully wiped Lu Nan and Lu Bei's faces, and pushed all the pastries on the table to the two little ones to eat.
"Ah Yan," Shi Wan said, her eyes softening and a smile playing on her lips. "Look how beautiful Nanbei is, she has perfectly inherited Chu Chu's beauty."
"Hmm?" Lu Jingyan looked up at Shi Wan, a faint smile playing on his lips, and teased her with interest, "I can also pass on my more perfect face to my next generation, if you're willing."
Lu Jingyan was playing with Shi Wan's fingertips when she pinched him hard in return.
"Can you please stop talking nonsense in front of the children?"
"That's right, bro, you look like a pervert right now." Lu Chuchu exited the photo editing app on her phone and glanced at Lu Jingyan with disdain.
"My sister-in-law looked beautiful and cool today, and she made the Lin family afraid to speak."
"Lin? Lin Yue?"
"Yes, and her cousin, what's her name, Lin Zhiyu."
"The two sisters were saying such awful things, the younger one was like a shrew and the older one was like a hypocrite. Luckily, my sister-in-law had one sentence that made her face turn green."
Lu Chuchu chuckled inwardly at the thought of the Lin sisters' sour faces.
Lu Jingyan looked at Shi Wan and saw that she looked calm and composed. Little Wanwan usually looked gentle and weak, but he didn't expect her to have such a cunning and sharp-tongued side.
He was inexplicably happy today, and conveniently forgot all about Chu Ningxuan's love strategy.
He had waited so many years for his precious daughter, how could he bear to quarrel with her? If she didn't love him, then he would shamelessly follow her.
"Hey! Hey! Isn't that Brother Ji Chu?" Lu Chuchu winked at Shi Wan, gesturing towards the direction behind her.
Ji Chu strode into the restaurant, his simple white shirt unbuttoned at the top two buttons, revealing his well-defined chest muscles. Wearing glasses, he exuded a gentle and refined air, causing several young women in the restaurant to frequently cast flirtatious glances at him.
Ji Chu ignored the woman beside him who kept throwing him flirtatious glances, strode to a table, and stared at the woman sitting on the sofa with a gloomy expression.
The woman in the seat was strikingly beautiful, with wavy hair, bright red lips, and alluring fox-like eyes. Although her figure was not clearly visible, her form-fitting red dress with a side slit suggested a voluptuous physique.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Brother Ji Chu usually looks so refined and gentle, but I never expected his girlfriend to be so hot. Handsome man and beautiful woman, perfect!" Lu Chuchu commented on the two people not far away with a gossipy look.
"Lu Chuchu! Stop meddling in other people's private lives. You have no manners, have you been raised to a dog?" Lu Jingyan frowned unhappily.
Lu Chuchu pursed her lips and ignored him, turning her head to serve food to Lu Nan and Lu Bei.
"Jing Yan, aren't you going over? I think Ji Chu seems quite... angry." Every time Shi Wan saw Ji Chu, he was always gentle and polite. Today, seeing him like this, she was a little worried for the girl.
Lu Jingyan glanced at the two of them and lowered his voice, "Their problem is probably not going to be resolved anytime soon; it's a legacy issue."
Zhou Yun ignored Ji Chu, who was suppressing his anger, and smiled, her eyes filled with boundless love. "Ah Chu, you're here. What would you like to drink? The usual?"
Ji Chu leaned down aggressively, grabbed Zhou Yun's chin, and demanded, his eyes bloodshot, "Why did you go back on your word?"
Thinking of Zhou Jin, who was still lying in the hospital bed, he couldn't help but increase the pressure on his hands.
Zhou Yun hissed as her chin was pinched so hard it hurt.
"Ah Chu, we haven't seen each other in so long, why don't you try this?" Zhou Yun didn't intend to answer Ji Chu's question, but instead gently pushed the dish in front of her towards Ji Chu in a conciliatory manner.
Ji Chu's eyes darkened, the coldness emanating from his dark pupils almost solidifying.
Zhou Yun gazed intently back at Ji Chu, her eyes overflowing with love. "Ah Chu, you said you liked my chicken wings. You haven't had them in a long time, have you? I wonder if this restaurant's chicken wings suit your taste. Why don't you give them a try?"
"How about I make it for you next time? If you don't like this today, we won't eat it."
"Zhou Yun," Ji Chu stared coldly at her, "Why are you so heartless?"
"I'm tired. I've had enough after all these years." Zhou Yun turned her head and broke free from Ji Chu's grasp.
“I am a worthless adopted daughter who no longer poses any threat to her,” Zhou Yun said with a hint of self-deprecation and helplessness.
"Ji Chu, if I were the one under the locust tree back then, would you have loved me?"
Ji Chu paused slightly, unwilling to answer her question, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the charming face before him. "Zhou Yun, you promised her that only your kidney is the most suitable for transplantation."
"Okay, I understand. You go back and stay with her. I'll go back to the hospital tomorrow." Suppressing the suffocating feeling in her chest, Zhou Yun's throat was terribly dry, and a salty, metallic taste rose in her throat.
Zhou Jin was diagnosed with kidney failure, and the Zhou family had been unable to find a suitable kidney donor. By chance, the Zhou family found Zhou Yun, a kidney donor who was a match for Zhou Jin, at the welfare home they sponsored.
From that time on, she was adopted by the Zhou family, and she was nothing more than an object for Zhou Jin to live for.
"Ah Chu, can you hug me again?" Zhou Yun called out softly to Ji Chu. He lowered his head and paused, but ultimately seemed not to hear her. Just as when he came, he left without any hesitation.
The light in Zhou Yun's eyes dimmed slightly, and her delicate face was filled with disappointment.
Ah Chu, it wasn't me standing under the locust tree back then, it was because I was standing behind you.
After Ji Chu left, Zhou Yun slowly wiped the heavy lipstick off her lips with a tissue, leaving her bright red lips pale and lifeless.
But her tears wouldn't listen and rolled down her pale face, dripping onto the table one by one. She stretched out her thin fingers and carefully wiped away the water stains on the table.
Shi Wan seemed to have stumbled upon some juicy gossip, and quickly tugged at Lu Jingyan's sleeve, giving him a meaningful look.
Lu Jingyan glanced coldly at Zhou Yun, then turned and pinched Shi Wan's face with both hands, turning it towards him. "Wanwan, can you pay more attention to your boyfriend? He's so pitiful."
“Ji Chu and the Zhou family’s adopted daughter dated for several years. He always thought she was the girl he met when he was a child. But not long ago, his biological daughter, who had been receiving long-term treatment abroad, returned to China.” Lu Jingyan’s usual coldness and aloofness.
"I heard that the Zhou family adopted this daughter so that she could provide a kidney for their biological daughter."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com