“Oh my God, Lu Cheng, you are amazing,” Lin Qingqing exclaimed happily.

She even brought over a stool to sit in front of the electric fan, letting the cool air blow through her hair, which made her feel refreshingly comfortable.

Using a handheld fan to dry her hair made her hands tired, but the electric fan was much better.

However, even with the electric fan, the drying speed wasn’t very fast.

She planned to get her hair cut to collarbone length and tie it up in a princess bun.

With her small face, a princess bun would look very nice.

Seeing her satisfied expression, Lu Cheng couldn’t help but smile, his mouth curving up and a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

Lu Haici also brought over a small stool and placed it next to his mother before sitting down to enjoy the cool air blowing through his hair.

He had washed his hair while showering, and with just a few stubborn strands left, it was already dry.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng wanted to kick his son away.

It was him who needed his hair dried, after all!

“By the way, Mom, I want to ask you a question,” Lu Haici said, looking at his mother as he remembered something.

Lin Qingqing asked, “What question?”

Lu Cheng sat on the bed, fanning himself, watching the mother and son in front of him.

“Mom, do you like me?” Lu Haici asked.

If it had been in the past, the little one wouldn’t have dared to ask this, but after spending the last few days together, he gradually felt more relaxed.

He could sense his mother’s affection for him; she had kissed him, hugged him, and even given him gifts.

She had done all the things a mother would do for her child, so Lu Haici knew that his mom liked him.

She also said that he was the cutest, most well-behaved baby in the world.

Just thinking of this made him feel a little shy.

“Of course I like you,” Lin Qingqing replied naturally.

Hearing his mother say she liked him made Lu Haici beam, and he asked again, “Then do you like Dad?”

Lin Qingqing paused, instinctively glancing at Lu Cheng.

How was she supposed to answer that?

If she said she didn’t like him, it would contradict the original owner’s feelings, but if she said she did, the words simply wouldn’t come out.

She had a good impression of Lu Cheng, but to say she liked him was a different matter.

She couldn’t say she liked a man she hadn’t developed feelings for.

Even if it meant lying, she found it hard to express.

Her character was somewhat stubborn, and she had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder, so there were things she just couldn’t bring herself to say.

While fanning himself, Lu Cheng heard his son’s question and couldn’t help but look at Lin Qingqing.

Their gazes met, and Lu Cheng instinctively felt a bit nervous.

He never expected his son to ask such a question; he seemed to sense what the little one would say next.

Thinking back to what he had said in the kitchen, even the usually composed Lu Cheng couldn’t help but change his expression.

If the little bunny said those words, he would never be able to hold his head high in front of Lin Qingqing again.

Just as Lu Cheng was about to…

In the past, when Lu Haici was being pulled up, he heard Lin Qingqing softly reply, “I don’t like it.”

Immediately, Lu Cheng’s embarrassed expression stiffened, then broke into surprise.

His desire to fetch his son was also stalled.

“Ah, Mommy doesn’t like Daddy.” Lu Haici was probably surprised too.

According to the little cub’s thinking, since Daddy and Mommy were married, they must like each other.

But when Mommy said she didn’t like Daddy, it left the little cub’s innocent mind confused.

Lin Qingqing explained to the little cub in a teasing tone: “Yes, because your daddy doesn’t like Mommy, that’s why Mommy doesn’t want to like him. Mommy just likes Haici, that’s enough. Now, go to sleep; otherwise, I won’t make you anything delicious tomorrow.”

This was what Lu Cheng heard: Lin Qingqing was angry at him because, after all, he had said before that he didn’t like her and had asked her not to cling to him.

So now, Lin Qingqing was saying such things.

Lu Cheng thought about it; regarding the previous matter, he wanted to explain, but in front of his son, he found it hard to do so.

“Alright, then I’ll go to sleep.” No matter whether Mommy liked Daddy or not, as long as Mommy liked him, that was enough.

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Lu Haici obediently went to bed.

The little cub climbed into bed very well and soon began to snore.

Once the little cub fell asleep, his voice disappeared from the room, making it even quieter.

However, Lin Qingqing and Lu Cheng felt even more awkward.

Lin Qingqing silently blew her hair; she didn’t know how to resolve the awkwardness and simply chose to remain silent.

Lu Cheng also felt a bit awkward, thinking about Lin Qingqing’s “angry words.”

He felt the need to talk to her.

Since he returned from his mission, they hadn’t had a proper conversation.

In fact, before their marriage, had they ever truly talked?

From her pursuing him, to his rejection, she used ginseng to negotiate with him, and he didn’t want to delay his aunt’s condition, so he agreed to her conditions, then married her and went on missions.

Throughout this time, they had never had a good talk.

Of course, there was also a reason: Lin Qingqing couldn’t accept his words; she stubbornly stuck to her views.

But Lu Cheng felt that after returning from this mission, she had changed a lot.

His aunt had told him before their marriage that Lin Qingqing was young and that he should give in to her; she said that girls would gradually become sensible after getting married, so he should give her time.

Lu Cheng believed that perhaps during the half-month he was on his mission, she had matured.

Or maybe after nearly dying from a fever, she had come to understand.

The sudden figure sitting down startled Lin Qingqing.

She instinctively tensed her body and involuntarily looked at him.

Lu Cheng said, “Anyway, your hair…”

“It’s not good to sleep with wet hair, so let’s talk, okay?” The tone sounded like a suggestion, but it carried an unavoidable reason for Lin Qingqing—her hair was still damp, and she couldn’t use sleep as an excuse to escape.

Though Lin Qingqing felt a bit flustered inside, she didn’t show it on her face. “Sure, what do you want to talk about?”

Actually, she had no idea what Lu Cheng wanted to discuss.

Lu Cheng organized his thoughts in his mind. “Just now, you told Haici that I don’t like you. In fact…”

“That was just a joke I made with him,” Lin Qingqing interrupted him, but the truth was, that was indeed how she felt.

“It doesn’t matter whether you were joking or not; I think there are some things we need to clarify.” Lu Cheng’s voice was low and steady, his tone plain yet gentle.

“A month and a half ago, we met at my cousin’s wedding, and you… you pursued me. It was a surprise for me, but I also genuinely didn’t like you at that time. You were just a stranger to me, and I had never thought about getting married before that.”

Lin Qingqing nodded. “I was blinded by your looks back then.”

However, at that time, she had no objections to Lu Cheng’s attitude.

There was no such thing as love at first sight in this world.

Lu Cheng couldn’t help but smile at her words. “Later on, you came to me to negotiate because your aunt needed ginseng. To be honest, I was a bit angry at that time.

I actually felt somewhat disgusted; no man likes to be threatened like that. But in front of Lin Qingqing back then, Lu Cheng couldn’t bring himself to say anything too harsh.

His upbringing and character didn’t allow him to express the word ‘disgust’ to a woman.

Moreover, facing the current Lin Qingqing, he chose to say he was ‘angry.’

But even though I was a bit angry, I’m still grateful to you for being willing to help when my aunt’s life was in danger.”

This friendship was enough for him to suppress all his disgust, leading him to treat her like royalty.

His aunt was the most important person to him in the world, second only to Lu Haici.

Lin Qingqing replied, “I understand your feelings; I was a bit impulsive back then.”

Lu Cheng continued, “Actually, there’s something I’ve never told you the truth about—Haici is not my biological son. I didn’t mention it before because I hoped you wouldn’t fall for him since he has a son. Now I’m telling you because he has feelings for you, and I want to be clear and straightforward about this.”

Lin Qingqing was taken aback; she was somewhat curious about what kind of woman could make Lu Cheng marry her, yet she never expected that Lu Haici wasn’t his biological son. “What…? Curiosity compelled her to ask, “How did this happen?”

Lu Cheng replied, “This story starts with my mother…”

“Speaking of that era.”

Lin Qingqing calculated that Lu Cheng was now 28 years old, and it was 1963, meaning he was born in 1936.

When Lin Qingqing was in school, her grades were poor, and her history knowledge was naturally lacking, but she still knew some historical events.

At that time, the resistance against the Japanese was very intense.

In other words, the national situation was very tense.

She had never considered that Lu Cheng was born in such a tumultuous era, during the Republic of China.

“My surname is Lu; I take my mother’s surname. The Lu family and the Zhang family have been family friends for generations, both being prominent families at that time. The Zhang family held a certain status in politics and business, while the Lu family was of scholarly lineage. My grandfather was involved in diplomacy, making the two families a good match. Because they were family friends and matched well, the two families arranged a betrothal for their children. My mother and that person.”

“That person” referred to Lu Cheng’s father, and Lin Qingqing could tell, but the way Lu Cheng referred to him as “that person” showed his rejection of him.

“My mother brought Qiu Yi, who had served her since childhood and grew up with her, to the Zhang family after she got married. Back then, things were different from now.

Qiu Yi was sold by her parents due to family difficulties; my grandmother bought her to serve my mother.

My mother had a great relationship with Qiu Yi; she was her companion, almost like a sister.

Later, when Qiu Yi’s sister came to live with her, my mother even arranged a job for her. But who would have thought that it was that woman who destroyed my mother’s family?

When I was six years old, that man, who rarely came home, suddenly returned and told my mother that he had fallen in love with someone else and wanted a divorce, and that person was Qiu Yi’s sister.

Even though my mother deeply loved that man, her pride wouldn’t allow her to cling to a man who loved another woman, so she agreed to his request for divorce. But there were two conditions: the first was that he must take me with him and I must keep the Lu surname.

The second was that she would take all his assets under his name.”

Lin Qingqing’s eyes widened; she had to admit that Lu Cheng’s mother was a clever woman.

Since love no longer existed, she had to take all the bread while the man felt guilty.

“But after Qiu Yi learned about this, she fell ill and never recovered. She believed it was her responsibility and even secretly drugged her sister, leaving a suicide note before hanging herself.”

Lin Qingqing covered her mouth in shock; she hadn’t expected such a turn of events.

Suddenly, a thought struck her, “Does Qiu Yi have a relationship with Haici?”