Led by a waiter, the two arrived outside the private room. The waiter had no idea Wang Cheng needed time to mentally prepare himself, so after knocking, he opened the door and invited them in. The room was bright, with a dining table directly inside. Zheng Jingen and the other three were facing the entrance, so the moment Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng stepped in, all four looked over.
Before Wang Cheng could speak, he realized three pairs of eyes had landed on him. Surprise, excitement, shock, and other complicated emotions were all there. The strongest reaction came from the woman sitting in the middle. She stared at him blankly, and tears began falling the very next second.
Wang Cheng’s heart gave a slight ache. Blood ties really could be strange.
There was no need for Zheng Jingen to explain what this meal was about anymore. The moment Mother Zheng and Zheng Jingxue saw Wang Cheng, they understood. Mother Zheng lost control of her emotions for a while, and the room became slightly chaotic. After suddenly seeing the younger son she had missed for so many years, it was only natural. The two grown men had to calm her first. Zheng Jingxue, on the other hand, simply stared at Wang Cheng with open curiosity.
She had known from a very young age that she had another older brother, but that brother had disappeared. Her parents and eldest brother told her a bad person had taken him away. She had often imagined what he might be like and whether he would dote on her the way Eldest Brother did. As she grew older and gradually understood her parents’ feelings, she too began hoping that one day her missing second brother would come home.
Now that she was suddenly seeing him, Zheng Jingxue’s first reaction was to freeze because he was much more handsome than she had imagined and more striking than most men she had ever seen.
Wang Cheng had long noticed the girl’s overly enthusiastic gaze. He remembered Zheng Jingen mentioning a younger sister, so this should be her. Had she hit her head or something? She suddenly started giggling to herself.
The girl was quite pretty, though in a different way from Wang Ziyu. Each had her own charm, and it was hard to say who was prettier. She looked like the obedient, adorable type, though her eyes were larger than Little Rain’s, making her seem a little livelier and more mischievous. Thinking that, Wang Cheng smiled.
“I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to stare at me like that, do you?”
Zheng Jingxue was startled and immediately looked away.
The room fell silent because of Wang Cheng’s comment. Everyone looked at him, then at Zheng Jingxue’s slightly flushed cheeks. Mother Zheng’s sadness vanished at once and she immediately became serious. Catching his mother’s meaningful look, Zheng Jingen cleared his throat and broke the silence.
“Dad, Mom, Jingxue, let me introduce him. This is Wang Cheng. He’s from Shanhai City. The man beside him is his friend, Mr. Chu.” Only then did Father and Mother Zheng notice Chu Yifeng. A member of the Chu family? The thought flashed through their minds, but their attention quickly returned to Wang Cheng, especially Mother Zheng’s.
Zheng Jingen took a document from his briefcase and handed it to Mother Zheng. “Mom, look at this. Once you read it, you’ll understand why I arranged today’s meeting.”
Mother Zheng stared at the document for a long time without taking it. She knew that accepting it would answer all her questions, yet she was afraid of being disappointed. It was an irrational fear. If the answer had been negative, Zheng Jingen would never have brought out the report, much less arranged this meeting. The document was a DNA test result, and the tested parties were Mother Zheng and Wang Cheng. When she finally opened it, the first line caught her attention immediately.
Skipping over the irrelevant wording, she reached the final conclusion. Her mind went blank at once: Ms. Zhou Hui and Mr. Wang Cheng were confirmed to have a mother-son relationship.
Zheng Jingxue leaned over and saw the same line. She immediately covered her mouth in shock. He really was the second brother who had been missing for twenty-five years?
“You… you really are my son?” Mother Zheng looked at Wang Cheng through streaming tears.
“If the report isn’t wrong, then I suppose I am.” Wang Cheng felt a little awkward. He could act spoiled with Mama Wang without the slightest pressure, but facing someone he had only just met, even knowing she was his biological mother, he could not do the same.
Mother Zheng suddenly burst into sobs. A heavy, stifling emotion filled the private room, but no one spoke. She truly needed to release it. Twenty-five years of longing could not simply disappear.
“All right, all right. You found your son. You should be happy. If you cry like this, you’ll scare him away,” Father Zheng comforted her.
Wang Cheng wanted to say he was not that easily frightened…
Mother Zheng immediately stopped crying.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t cry. My son has finally been found, so I should be happy.” As she spoke, tears began falling again. “…But I can’t stop. I’m so happy I almost think I’m dreaming. What if I wake up and discover it really was only a dream? Why don’t you let me pinch you? If it hurts, then I’ll know I’m awake.”
Wang Cheng: “…”
Mother Zheng remained emotional for more than half an hour before finally calming down, but by then an hour had already passed. Zheng Jingen worried everyone would be hungry, so he ordered a full table of dishes. He did not know Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng had prepared for this in advance.
Before leaving the villa, the two had already eaten a bowl of noodles. Chu Yifeng had suggested it, and Wang Cheng later admitted it made sense. Relatives separated for twenty-five years were bound to have a great deal to say when they reunited, and acknowledging one another might not be something they could finish quickly.
During the meal, Mother Zheng switched places with Zheng Jingen so she could sit beside Wang Cheng. She kept talking to him throughout. Her emotions rose quickly but settled almost as quickly, and now there was little sign she had been crying. Her still-elegant face was covered in a smile that came straight from the heart. Father Zheng had not seen her smile this happily in a very long time and could not help feeling emotional. Eating together as a complete family had always been one of his dreams.
Thinking that way, Father Zheng had clearly forgotten Chu Yifeng was sitting there too. Strictly speaking, though, he could not exactly be considered outside the family forever. That was only a matter of time, and when the day came, the Zhengs would not necessarily get a choice.
Wang Cheng found Mother Zheng’s enthusiasm a little overwhelming, but he did not interrupt her. There was even a trace of indulgence in the way he let her talk. He was beginning to understand how she felt. If anyone in his own family went missing, he would feel miserable too. Parents wanted nothing more than to see their children grow up safe and happy. Yet across the country, in places unseen, there were still many broken families. For him to find his biological parents after growing up was already extraordinarily fortunate.
The woman in front of him lacked neither food nor clothing. She possessed status and wealth that many people could only dream of. Yet like countless mothers everywhere, she was simply a mother who had missed her child.
Zheng Jingen and Father Zheng noticed Wang Cheng lowering his head slightly, a faint smile remaining on his face. There was nothing false in that expression. Both men were moved, especially Father Zheng, who quietly wiped at his eyes. It seemed Wang Cheng’s adoptive parents had raised his child very well. If there was a chance, he absolutely had to thank them properly. After the meal, Wang Cheng went with Father and Mother Zheng to speak privately in a corner, while Chu Yifeng remained outside with Zheng Jingen and Zheng Jingxue.
Zheng Jingxue secretly looked at Chu Yifeng several times. She did not know him personally, but that did not stop her from hearing plenty about him. He was around the same age as her eldest brother, yet there was one enormous difference between them.
Everyone in the capital knew the Chu family. It was a major clan spanning the military, political, and business worlds, with dazzling achievements in every field. Their military and political influence barely needed mentioning. Men and women alike in the Chu family were outstanding. What people discussed most, however, was the family’s success in business, and the representative figure there was Chu Yifeng.
He was the eldest of the Chu family’s younger generation.
Yet the path he chose ran completely opposite to what everyone expected. He entered neither politics nor the military, choosing business instead. Few people knew the details of his journey. By the time the public realized the Chu family had produced such a formidable figure, his personal fortune had already reached a level ordinary people could barely imagine. Now this almost legendary man was standing in front of Zheng Jingxue. After hesitating, she finally could not resist asking, “Mr. Chu, are you really my second brother’s friend?”
“Jingxue,” Zheng Jingen warned quietly.
Zheng Jingxue stuck her tongue out at him, ignored the warning, and kept looking at Chu Yifeng. “You’re so impressive. Does that mean my second brother is impressive too?”
“He is very impressive.” Otherwise, how could he have captured Chu Yifeng’s heart?
Zheng Jingxue became excited when he actually answered her and hurried to seize the opportunity. “Then what kind of person is my second brother? Can you tell me about him?”
Chu Yifeng had previously worried that Wang Cheng recognizing the Zheng family might not be a good thing. Looking at them now, that concern seemed unnecessary. He did not mind answering her. “He has very thick skin.”
Zheng Jingxue froze, then found herself agreeing. Only afterward did she realize her second brother had just teased her earlier. His skin really was thick. He was undeniably handsome, but very few people would say so about themselves so casually. Besides thick-skinned, he was also a little narcissistic.
More than an hour later, Wang Cheng returned with Father and Mother Zheng. They had talked for a long time. Mother Zheng’s eyes were red. Although her younger son had not given her an immediate answer, she was already satisfied with this result. Some things had to happen slowly. She understood that asking him to accept them all at once would be difficult.
When they parted outside the restaurant, Mother Zheng was reluctant to leave. She insisted on watching Wang Cheng go first. Her hand tightly gripped the phone she normally used, except now that phone held one new number: her younger son’s.