Yan Yue had envisioned many scenarios in which he and Lu Lingxi would confess to Wang Shuxiu, but they had never included being caught by Wang Shuxiu on a secret date in the middle of the night.

It was after ten o’clock and the community was quiet. Most of the neighbours were asleep, with only the occasional light on. Yan Yue knew that Wang Shuxiu had a temper and was afraid that she would make a scene regardless. He didn’t mind, but he was concerned about Lu Lingxi’s situation. Before Wang Shuxiu could get mad, Yan Yue gave Lu Lingxi a gentle push and said in a low voice, “Let’s go back and talk.”

Lu Lingxi looked at Wang Shuxiu somewhat guitily and walked to Wang Shuxiu’s side with his head lowered and obedient eyes. Fortunately, Wang Shuxiu never thought about making trouble outside. She glared at Yan Yue fiercely over Lu Lingxi, turned around and went back inside first.

In the living room, Xiao Feng felt a bit helpless. He was counting on Yan Yue to endure for a few months but who could have thought he wouldn’t be able to endure even for a week. The two of them were caught on a date, not because Wang Shuxiu was watching Lu Lingxi, but because of the mother-son connection. Usually Wang Shuxiu was sleepy after nine o’clock and went to bed early, but tonight she was lying in bed tossing and turning and couldn’t sleep. When Xiao Feng asked her what was wrong, Wang Shuxiu couldn’t tell him, but she had a heavy feeling in her heart as if something was going to happen. The last time she had this feeling was when Lu Lingxi had an accident in the park. She had been tired after the night shift but she couldn’t sleep with something on her mind always bothering her. Then she got a call from Yi Hang that Lu Lingxi was taken to the hospital and they didn’t know what his situation was.

After Wang Shuxiu finished speaking, Xiao Feng didn’t take it seriously. They were all fine at home, what could happen? It was hard to coax Wang Shuxiu to sleep but then they heard Lingxi sneak out the door. Xiao Feng immediately realised something, and his mood at that time was really indescribable. Without waiting for him to think of an excuse for Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu reacted extremely quickly and followed out. As a result…

Lu Lingxi obediently followed Wang Shuxiu with a guilty look.

Yan Yue glanced apologetically at Xiao Feng and followed in with a straight face. He had no intention to keep hiding it.

Xiao Feng met Yan Yue’s eyes and quickly understood Yan Yue’s intentions. Although the timing was a bit off, it was already like this, so there was nothing anyone could do.

“Mom…” Helping Wang Shuxiu to sit on the sofa, Lu Lingxi called out in a small voice. His voice was soft and coquettish with a hint of ingratiation, and it broke the awkward silence in the room. Wang Shuxiu’s heart softened when she remembered how good he usually was, but when she turned her head and saw Yan Yue, her face immediately sank again and she ruthlessly refused to pay attention to Lu LIngxi.

Yan Yue, whose heart ached for Lu Lingxi, met Wang Shuxiu’s angry eyes with an open expression and said, “Auntie, I love Xiao Xi, and I hope you will agree to me and Xiao Xi being together.”

He said it so frankly that even Xiao Feng was taken aback, not expecting Yan Yue to be so direct right from the start.

Wang Shuxiu’s face immediately turned red, completely furious. Without even thinking about it, she blurted out, “I don’t agree.”

If she didn’t have a baby in her belly now, she would have gotten up and beat up Yan Yue. What do you mean you love Xiao Xi and want her to agree to the two of them being together? Can two men live together? Can they get married? Can they have children? If they can’t have anything, why should she agree to Xiao Xi being with him? Now Yan Yue seemed to be fine with Xiao Xi, but what about the future? There was no guarantee at all that they would live together, not for a day or two, but for the rest of their lives. Even if they stayed together, what would the neighbours think? What would people outside think? Can she let the little bastard live his whole life with people pointing fingers at him? The little bastard is only nineteen this year, what does he understand?

Her concerns were all normal parental worries, exactly the same as what Xiao Feng had said to Lu Lingxi the other day. When Yan Yue was about to say something, Lu Lingxi already said seriously, “Mom, I like Big Brother Yan and want to be with him. We are the same as everyone else, the same job, the same life. Except that we can’t get married or have children, there is no difference. I know Mom is worried that there will be people pointing fingers at us behind our backs, but they have nothing to do with me, so why should I care what they think? I’m an adult and know what I want, I trust Big Brother Yan and want to try and live my life with him.”

Since he had been discharged from hospital six months ago, Lu Lingxi had changed his rebellious nature and was all obedient in front of Wang Shuxiu. The only thing he had done against Wang Shuxiu’s will was to refuse to go to school and insist on going out to work. But even in this case, Lu Lingxi’s intention was to ease the family’s burden, not that he really didn’t want to go to school. Wang Shuxiu had already gotten used to Lu Lingxi’s well-behaved and sensible manner, and when she heard Lu Lingxi’s words, her first thought was that the disobedient little bastard was back. But when she turned her head to look at Lu Lingxi, the little bastard’s eyes were clear and his little face had an unusually serious expression, completely different from the rebellious and disobedient kid she remembered.

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Wang Shuxiu was a little speechless for a moment.

It wasn’t only Wang Shuxiu who was stunned by Lu Lingxi’s words, but also Yan Yue. He looked at Lu Lingxi tenderly and said solemnly, “I will treat Xiao Xi well for the rest of my life.”

Even though Yan Yue had many explanations for Wang Shuxiu’s concerns, after a thousand words had gone round and round in his mind, all he could say was this simple sentence.

Wang Shuxiu’s expression became complicated. She had been in society for most of her life, and she could distinguish between true feelings and falsehoods. The effect of Yan Yue’s words was much stronger than some of the nonsense he could have said. She didn’t know what she felt in her heart. The little bastard was standing next to her, saying he wanted to be with a man, with a serious expression she had never seen before. She couldn’t bear to scold the little bastard and wanted to scold Yan Yue some more, but her anger was inexplicably suppressed.

Xiao Feng peeped at Wang Shuxiu’s expression and immediately said, “It’s too late, let’s talk about it tomorrow. Xiaohua, you are pregnant now, so you should take care of your body.”

As soon as he said that, Yan Yue immediately said smoothly, “Xiao Xi has to go to the shop tomorrow, so it’s time to go to bed too.”

It seemed that because of the confession, Yan Yue didn’t hide his feelings for Lu Lingxi anymore and cared about Lu Lingxi openly. Wang Shuxiu’s anger suddenly surged again. She couldn’t find anything suitable to say, so she glared at Yan Yue fiercely and went back to her room angrily.

Xiao Feng nodded at Yan Yue with an odd expression, knowing that Yan Yue had done it on purpose and that he had caught Wang Shuxiu’s soft spot. The reason why Wang Shuxiu didn’t agree to the two of them being together was because she was worried that Lu Lingxi would have a bad life. When Yan Yue was concerned about Lu Lingxi in front of Wang Shuxiu, there was nothing she could do about him.

Once Wang Shuxiu left, Yan Yue couldn’t stay any longer. He smiled soothingly at Lu Lingxi and said softly, “Don’t think about anything, just sleep well.”

Lu Lingxi nodded hesitantly.

The matter looked like it had passed for the time being, and Yan Yue quickly went back next door. Hearing the sound of the door closing outside, Wang Shuxiu let out a sigh. To her, what had just happened was like a second shoe being dropped. The suspicions in her mind were confirmed. She lay in bed unable to sleep, unable to really understand how the little bastard could fall for a man.

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“How do you think Xiao Xi fell in love with Yan Yue?” Wang Shuxiu pulled Xiao Feng to talk.

Xiao Feng had actually thought about this; there were Yan Yue’s calculations on one hand and Lu Lingxi’s character on the other. He thought for a while and said carefully, “It might have something to do with Xiao Xi’s upbringing.”

In Xiao Feng’s view, Lu Lingxi’s upbringing wasn’t that of a normal child. Xiao Feng had been in society for many years, and the younger brothers under him were basically from families like Lu Lingxi’s. One, there was a father who was addicted to gambling. Second, there was a mother who was busy working to earn money to support the family. Lu Lingxi had been alone since he was young. All Lu Yishui cared about was whether his family had money for him to gamble and didn’t care about Lu Lingxi. Although Wang Shuxiu loved Lu Lingxi, she simply didn’t have enough time or energy to take care of him and could only make sure that Lu Lingxi was well fed and clothed, nothing else. When Lu Lingxi was growing up, the image of his parents was missing. When he later lost his memory, Yan Yue filled the void, appearing in front of him as a calm and reliable figure.

At first Lu Lingxi didn’t necessarily like Yan Yue, but simply relied on him and trusted him. But as time went on, Yan Yue was always by Lu Lingxi’s side, like a friend and a family member, and it was all too easy for Lu Lingxi to fall for him under Yan Yue’s conscious enticement.

Xiao Feng didn’t know that his guess happened to be true. Although the two Lu Lingxi grew up in different environments, their essence was the same. What he said was vague, but Wang Shuxiu understood it. It was still an evil caused by Lu Yishui. If it weren’t for Lu Yishui being unreliable, how could she leave the child at home alone and go out to work during the day and night to make money?…

Xiao Feng persuaded Wang Shuxiu: “Children and grandchildren have their own fate. You think it’s good, but Xiao Xi can’t help it if he doesn’t like it. Xiaohua, why have you worked hard for half your life? Isn’t it just for Xiao Xi to have a good life? He is very happy to be with Yan Yue now. If you have to force them to part, Xiao Xi will be upset. Do you want that? Besides, Xiao Xi is right, what is the difference between them and us? Except that they can’t have children, everything else is the same. You see, my elder brother and sister-in-law have no children, but they are still doing well! Xiao Xi is obedient now, Xiaohua, you can’t rely on Xiao Xi to be obedient and force him to do things he doesn’t like, right?”

Xiao Feng’s words of wisdom made sense to Wang Shuxiu at first, but the more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt. She looked at Xiao Feng suspiciously, “Did Yan Yue give you some benefits?”

Xiao Feng said calmly, “How is it possible?”

Wang Shuxiu snorted and calmed down. “I’ll think about it again.”

Xiao Feng let out a sigh of relief. The fact that Xiaohua could say this meant that she had already compromised in her heart, she just couldn’t turn around at once and needed time to slow down.

The next morning, Lu Lingxi woke up early and stood guard in the living room. Seeing Wang Shuxiu come out, he immediately pestered her, “Mom.” He hugged Wang Shuxiu’s arm affectionately, his eyes shining brightly, with a hint of cautious ingratiation.

Wang Shuxiu’s heart suddenly softened. Although the little bastard was very close to her after his memory loss, it seemed that he wasn’t very good at expressing his feelings and was rarely as close as other sons were to their mothers. And it was even rarer to see him pestering her like this. She glared at Lu Lingxi bitterly, reached out and poked a finger on his forehead, cursing, “Little bastard.”

Lu Lingxi knew Wang Shuxiu’s temperament. She would be fine once she had scolded someone like that, so he immediately curved his eyes and whispered, “I love you, Mom.”

“Little bastard! Just saying nice things.”