Da Wang’s bicycle was being ridden by Xiu Yao to the supply and marketing cooperative to pick up and deliver goods, so it wouldn’t be ready until around eight o’clock.

But right now it was only a little past seven, and Lu Hai Ci couldn’t wait, so he ran next door to show off.

“Ji Yang, Ji Yang…” Lu Haici didn’t actually go next door, he just shouted loudly by the wall.

The one-meter-high wall couldn’t stop him. At five years old, Lu Haici was already 108 centimeters tall.

Among children of the same age, he was considered tall, mainly because Lu Cheng’s aunt had taken good care of him.

Ji Yang had just gotten up because eight o’clock was meal time in the canteen, and Ji Yang had to go to the big canteen for breakfast, where Xu Huijuan was waiting for him.

When Ji Yang heard Lu Haici’s shout, he hurriedly ran out of the house: “Lu Haici…”

Ji Yang hadn’t yet reached the corner of the wall.

He wasn’t as tall as Lu Haici, but the difference wasn’t much. “Lu Haici, I’m going to the big canteen to find my mom to eat. Do you want to come?”

Lu Haici shouted loudly, “I’m not going. I’m going to the county with my mom and dad. I’m going to the zoo to see animals.”

There wasn’t a zoo back in his hometown, so Lu Haici had never seen any animals.

But like most kids, he had a natural imagination about zoos. “My mom said the zoo has monkeys. I’m going to see Sun Wukong!”

Lin Qingqing heard Lu Haici purposely raising his voice and couldn’t help but shake her head helplessly.

She turned to Lu Cheng and said, “What’s your son trying to do?”

Lu Cheng glanced at her and replied, “You spoil him.” If it were him, he would have already spanked him.

Lin Qingqing didn’t take him seriously.

Lu Haici was very bold in front of Lu Cheng, which showed how much Lu Cheng spoiled him.

But as a man, Lu Cheng still wanted to maintain his authority, and Lin Qingqing wasn’t going to let him lose face.

“We’ll go to the photo studio first,” Lu Cheng said. “Let’s take a family photo.”

Lin Qingqing was confused. “What do you want to do that for?”

Lu Cheng calmly replied, “Send it to Aunt, and also to the Lin family, so they can see you and Hai Ci. It’ll show them that you’re doing well.”

Lin Qingqing didn’t object once she heard that. “Alright then.”

Lu Cheng looked at her. In fact, that wasn’t the main reason.

The real reason was that he worried that three years from now, she might not be around, and the only thing left for him would be the photo.

Even if the person in the photo wasn’t her, he would still be able to recognize her by her expressions and gaze.

Lin Qingqing had no idea what he was thinking and didn’t know that, at that moment, he was staring at her in a daze, as though he wanted to imprint every word, every gesture, and every expression of hers into his mind.

Three years from now, no one knew what would happen.

For Lu Cheng, it was a dilemma.

He hoped that the girl he once knew would come back… but they didn’t want her to leave.

They all knew that this choice was in the hands of fate, something beyond their control.

Lu Cheng raised his head, staring at the boundless sky.

Was there really a heaven?

As a university graduate from a military academy in this era, he didn’t believe in superstitions.

But her sudden appearance couldn’t be explained through scientific knowledge.

So Lu Cheng thought… maybe it was just a natural phenomenon—something that current and future knowledge couldn’t yet explain.

Ji Yang, hearing that Lu Haici was going to the zoo, became envious. “Can I go with you?”

Lu Haici replied, “…No, you can’t.”

He wasn’t there to take his family along; he was there to show off. “You have to go with your mom and dad. I’m going with mine. Kids should go to the zoo with their parents.”

Then he patted his backpack. “I brought a notebook and a pen. I’ll draw the animals from the zoo and show them to you.”

That was probably the only thing he could share with Ji Yang.

Ji Yang’s eyes lit up. “Lu Haici, you’re so nice! You’re my best friend!”

Ji Yang was so touched that he almost ran over to hug Lu Haici.

Lu Haici smiled, feeling pleased.

He liked being praised, whether it was from his mom or others, he liked it.

Dinglingling…

The sound of a bicycle bell rang, and Yu Xiuyao appeared, pushing the bicycle. “Lu Cheng, Qingqing, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re just used to waking up early,” Lin Qingqing replied.

Lu Cheng nodded. “Thanks, Sister-in-law.”

“What are you thanking me for?” Yu Xiuyao didn’t mind at all. “It’s just that the bicycle still smells a little. Lu Cheng will have to bear with it.”

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Things that can be endured don’t need to be endured.”

Yu Xiuyao laughed at his response. “Lu Cheng, you can joke now too.”

She gave Lin Qingqing an approving glance, signaling that she thought Lin Qingqing had taught him well.

But Lin Qingqing didn’t understand her glance.

With Yu Xiuyao’s bicycle, the Lu family headed to the county town.

Lin Qingqing rode with Lu Haici while Lu Cheng followed behind, walking at a relaxed pace, watching over them and protecting them.

Ji Yang watched as Lu Haici’s figure grew farther away.

He suddenly felt a wave of envy.

But then, he grabbed his lunchbox and ran towards the big cafeteria.

He had parents too.

Soon he’d tell his mom he wanted to go to the county town and visit the zoo.

Around 8:30 AM, the Lu family arrived in the county town.

They parked their bicycle at the supply and marketing cooperative where Director Ma worked.

Since they were familiar with the area, they felt comfortable leaving the bicycle there.

After asking for directions to the photo studio, they went there.

The photo studio was a bit quiet, and there were several photos posted outside.

Just like modern photo studios, this one displayed customers’ photos as decoration to attract people.

“Are you here to take photos?” A middle-aged man came over to greet them. He was the photographer at the studio.

Lin Qingqing replied, “Yes, we’re here to take some photos.”

“Are you taking a family photo or…?” The photographer asked. “We have clothing available if you’d like to wear something different.”

“No need,” Lin Qingqing said.

She wasn’t comfortable wearing clothes someone else had already worn. “We just want a family photo, nothing special.”

“A family portrait and some individual photos,” Lu Cheng added.

Lin Qingqing looked at him, confused. “Individual photos too? What for?”

Lu Cheng replied as if it were obvious, “So Lu Haici can carry photos of us. If he gets lost in the future, it’ll be easier to find someone with our photos.”

Lu Cheng’s words made Lin Qingqing think of something amusing from the modern world.

For example, some people put tags on their pets’ collars saying, “Do not resell me, my parents have money and can redeem me.”

The tag would include the owner’s name and phone number.

So, if Lu Haici carried photos of them, it made her feel as if Lu Haici were like a pet.

She couldn’t help but smile. “Alright then,” she said.

She couldn’t think of a reason to argue against it.

So, they decided on three individual photos and one family photo.

“What background would you like?” The photographer showed them some background options.

Lin Qingqing wasn’t particularly interested in the backgrounds of this era, so she chose a background that resembled an ID photo—just a simple blue background.

Lu Cheng made the same choice as her, not because he lacked interest, but because he liked things to be simple and clean.

Lu Haici, on the other hand, chose a background with a panda eating bamboo, as most children would.

After selecting the backgrounds, the photographer asked, “Who will go first?”

“I’ll go first,” Lu Haici, the little one, was the most excited.

He proudly marched to the background, not waiting for the photographer to say anything, and immediately grinned with a silly smile.

Lin Qingqing said, “Do a pose.”

Lu Haici, confused, asked, “Mom, what kind of pose should I do?”

Lin Qingqing thought for a moment, then said, “Like this, put both hands over your heart, and make a heart shape, meaning ‘I love you.'”

She demonstrated the gesture for him.

Lu Cheng watched her as she demonstrated.

Lu Haici mimicked his mom’s gesture, opening his mouth and saying, “Mom, I love you!”

As soon as he spoke, the photographer captured this moment.

He couldn’t help but comment, “Your child is really well-behaved. Many kids don’t know how to pose for photos, but this little one is great with the camera.”

The photographer, who had been taking photos for many years, had never seen a child so lively and natural in front of the lens.

Lin Qingqing smiled, thinking to herself that it was because he didn’t know the old Lu Haici.

She remembered when she first arrived, the little rascal had been so jittery and startled.

After Lu Haici’s photo was taken, Lin Qingqing stepped forward to take her own photo.

The photographer adjusted the background.

Lin Qingqing also made the same gesture as Lu Haici and said, “Lu Haici, I love you!”

She was great with cameras too—she knew her angles well.

As a popular internet personality, she had studied her face in depth, knowing which angles made her look best.

After all, every woman loves to look beautiful in photos.

Lu Cheng watched her move with ease and felt a frown tug at his brow.

Her actions were so natural, as though she had done this a thousand times.

Did she… say things like this often in the future world?

“Lu Cheng, it’s your turn,” Lin Qingqing said, curious to see what he would do in front of the camera.

“Mm.” Lu Cheng walked up and stood at attention.

Lin Qingqing sighed inwardly.

As expected, he didn’t do anything fancy.

The photographer reminded him, “Comrade, smile a little.”

“Dad, say ‘I love you,’ like this… ‘I love you,'” Lu Haici instructed, showing him how to make the gesture.

Lu Cheng was starting to feel a headache with all the “I love you”s.

“No need, I’ll just stand here like this,” he replied.

He’d be crazy to do that kind of pose.

The photographer could only let it go.

However, despite not smiling, Lu Cheng was still handsome and had a good physique, so even with his serious expression, he still looked great.

After taking the family photo, the photographer asked, “How many copies of each photo do you want?”

Lin Qingqing thought for a moment. “Three copies of the family photo—one for us, one for your aunt, and one for my family. Does that sound good?” she asked Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng replied, “Five copies: one for my family, one for your aunt, and one for each of us three.”

“Okay. What about individual photos? I’ll get one for Haici and one for my family. That should be enough, right?” Lin Qingqing asked. She didn’t need one for herself, since she’d see herself every day. Keeping an extra solo picture didn’t make much sense to her.

Lu Cheng said, “Three pictures.”

“Ah? Why so many?” Lin Qingqing was confused.