“Aunt doesn’t need to worry. If we weren’t certain, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have brought him back to the Zheng family. The DNA test has already been done. I handled it personally, and Grandpa knows about it too. But Aunt, how did you know the Wang family is from the countryside? I don’t remember Mom or Dad mentioning that.” Zheng Jingen asked calmly.
The moment Zheng Ru heard him bring up the old man, she no longer dared continue questioning the matter. If she kept doubting it, would that not imply the old man had also failed to recognize the truth? Since Old Master Zheng had agreed to Wang Cheng formally returning, it meant he acknowledged him. But Zheng Jingen’s last question made Zheng Ru’s expression stiffen. In her rush to speak, she had forgotten her son had already clashed with Wang Cheng. Bringing that up now would do her no good.
“That’s because…”
“Why don’t I explain?” The moment Wang Cheng spoke, everyone’s attention shifted to him. His gaze met Wei Wei’s, who was glaring at him with clenched teeth.
Everyone else also noticed Wei Wei’s strange expression.
“Chengcheng, you know Wei Wei?” Mother Zheng asked.
Wang Cheng smiled. “Of course I do. When I first came to the capital, he gave me quite a surprise.”
“Oh? What kind of surprise?”
Zheng Ru did not want her son humiliated in front of the entire Zheng family, so she quickly interrupted. “It was nothing. His younger sister studies at Jing University too, and coincidentally Wei Wei was pursuing her. That’s how they met.”
“Is that so?” Mother Zheng was not easily fooled. She knew Zheng Ru well enough to understand that her words often needed to be heavily discounted.
Wang Cheng gave Zheng Ru an amused look, then turned back to Wei Wei, who was still glaring at him as though he did not care whether the truth came out. His mother was trying so hard to protect him, but the son himself was giving her no help. Wang Cheng therefore had no reason to conceal anything and briefly recounted what happened at the university.
Before anyone else could speak, Wei Wei glared at Wang Cheng as though fire might burst from his eyes. “Now that it’s clear you and Wang Ziyu aren’t biologically related, who knows whether the two of you are improperly close in private…”
“Wei Wei!” Zheng Ru cut him off sharply. That was not the kind of accusation he could make casually.
Mother Zheng’s face darkened.
Wang Cheng gently patted her hand. Mother Zheng froze, then looked up and saw the reassuring look in her younger son’s eyes. Her mood immediately improved. After calming her, Wang Cheng looked at Wei Wei. “I heard you have a younger sister too. I wonder what kind of feelings you have for your own sister?”
“What did you say?” Wei Wei understood exactly what he meant and shot to his feet.
“Wasn’t my question straightforward enough? What did you think I meant?” Wang Cheng shrugged helplessly. If Wei Wei insisted on twisting it, that was his problem.
“You!” Wei Wei was so furious he could not find a proper response. Wang Cheng had technically said nothing improper, yet everyone understood the implication. That was what made it so maddening.
Everyone looked at Wang Cheng in surprise. Was this really someone raised in the countryside? That move had been anything but crude. He had entered the Zheng family and immediately made Zheng Ru and her son suffer. He was almost like a second Zheng Jingen, except this one had a special talent for driving people mad without breaking a sweat.
“Second Brother, look at the fine son you brought back. Listen to the things he’s saying…”
Zheng Ru was displeased to see her son lose the exchange and immediately began complaining.
“Enough!” Old Master Zheng suddenly spoke, startling everyone. His expression was cold and stern as he looked at Zheng Ru. “You married into the Wei family. If there’s nothing important, stop coming back to the Zheng residence so often.”
“Dad.” Zheng Ru stared at him in disbelief. Wei Wei finally realized he had caused trouble and immediately fell silent.
Once the old man spoke like this, everyone knew he was serious. Most of the family had long been tired of Zheng Ru constantly appearing at the residence. They did not show it openly, but inwardly quite a few were enjoying the sight.
Wang Cheng stayed for lunch. Aside from the few people who had business elsewhere and left early, everyone else remained. Zheng Ru did not leave immediately despite being rebuked. After the matter ended, she dragged Wei Wei into the courtyard to lecture him. When they came back, Wei Wei kept trying to make himself visible in front of Old Master Zheng, clearly hoping the old man would soften. If Wei Wei had been as capable as Zheng Jingen, perhaps it might have worked. But the old man had little reason to favor an idle rich boy, especially one who did not even carry the Zheng surname.
Old Master Zheng seemed to like Wang Cheng quite a bit. During lunch, he had Wang Cheng sit beside him and asked him questions from time to time. His words never openly expressed great affection, but everyone at the table could see he was satisfied with this grandson.
After lunch, everyone moved to the living room.
Mother Zheng desperately wanted to know about Wang Cheng’s childhood, so she held his hand and kept asking questions. Wang Cheng skipped over the difficult parts and only told her the amusing stories, especially those from after he became the old monk’s disciple. Quite a few funny things had happened then.
He had been restless even as a child. The old monk did not allow him to go down the mountain, but Wang Cheng had always found ways to entertain himself. Once he and the old monk became familiar, he even learned to play little tricks on him. Overall, Wang Cheng considered his childhood a happy one.
“Good child. You suffered so much.” Mother Zheng’s eyes turned red as she listened.
Wang Cheng: “…”
In Mother Zheng’s eyes, if he had not been taken away as a baby, he could have grown up with far more comfort. Parents always felt their children had suffered whenever life had been less than ideal.
“Would you stay here tonight? Just one night, all right?” Mother Zheng asked hopefully.
Looking into her eyes, Wang Cheng suddenly found it difficult to refuse. Before he knew it, he had nodded.
Mother Zheng squeezed his hand excitedly. “Good child. Mom will take you to your room. We kept one for you all these years. I had the servants clean it this morning. See whether you like it. If you don’t, Mom can have it changed.”
Unable to interrupt her enthusiasm, Wang Cheng simply followed her upstairs. Zheng Jingxue came too, while the others stayed in the living room talking.
The room had been kept for Wang Cheng since the day he was born. It had originally been his nursery and was later converted into a normal bedroom. The space was fairly generous. Father Zheng had once wanted to turn it into a storage room or study because he feared the sight of it would make his wife grieve too much, but Mother Zheng refused. No one had imagined that one day the room would truly welcome its owner back. The decor was gentle, with soft, pale colors, exactly the sort Wang Cheng liked.
Mother Zheng opened a cabinet. Inside were many little objects she had bought over the years. Every birthday Wang Cheng had, she purchased one gift and placed it there. There were twenty-five in total, one for each birthday. The wardrobe held many clothes as well. Aside from the baby clothes from his infancy, the rest had been bought only in the last few days. The entire wardrobe was filled with things for him.
Wang Cheng thought that if Chu Yifeng saw this, he would probably be delighted. At last Wang Cheng had an entire wardrobe of his own. He checked the sizes and discovered most were exactly what he normally wore.
“Second Brother, Mom treats you so well. Ever since we came back from the restaurant that day, she asked Eldest Brother for your clothing sizes and dragged me shopping. I’ve never seen Mom so excited about shopping before. She simply couldn’t stop. Anything that looked suitable for you, she bought. And these are only some of the clothes. There are customized pieces that haven’t even arrived yet,” Zheng Jingxue said enviously.
Wang Cheng had nothing to say. Still, he felt touched. After several shopping trips with Chu Yifeng, he could roughly recognize that all these clothes were branded and expensive. Filling an entire wardrobe must have cost a great deal.
Seeing the helpless expression on her younger son’s face, Mother Zheng became a little embarrassed. “Mom was just too happy. Once I thought about finally finding you, I couldn’t stop myself from buying so much.”
“I know you did it for me, Mom, but don’t spend money so casually in the future. I really can’t wear this many clothes by myself,” Wang Cheng reminded her.
Mother Zheng nodded rapidly, then suddenly froze halfway through. Her eyes widened at Wang Cheng. “What did you just call me?”
Zheng Jingxue realized it too and immediately lit up. She grabbed Mother Zheng’s arm and shouted excitedly, “Mom, Second Brother just called you Mom!”
Mother Zheng smacked her hand lightly. “Quiet. I’m asking your second brother.”
Zheng Jingxue stuck out her tongue.
Wang Cheng suddenly felt as though another pair of lively troublemakers had been added to his life. He already had one mother and one younger sister, but these two were still different in their own way.
More than an hour later, Wang Cheng finally managed to escape. When no one was paying attention, he called Chu Yifeng and told him he would not be returning to the villa that night. Chu Yifeng did not sound surprised at all. Wang Cheng promised he would stay only one night. If he began living at the Zheng residence long-term, Chu Yifeng would not be the only one worried. Papa and Mama Wang would be too. Afterward, Wang Cheng also called Wang Ning’an to let him know he was safe.
A luxury sedan drove into the Zhou family residence. An elderly servant waiting nearby immediately stepped forward. When the doors opened, Zhou Lin and her husband Zhao Jiansheng got out together. Seeing another car parked in the courtyard, Zhou Lin asked, “Has Father come home?”
“Second Miss, Master has not gone out this afternoon,” the old servant replied respectfully.
Zhou Lin nodded. After the servant withdrew, husband and wife headed toward the house. Her phone suddenly rang inside her bag. The moment she saw the caller’s name, she frowned. Zhao Jiansheng glanced at it. “Take the call. I’ll go inside and see Dad.”
Zhou Lin walked to a corner of the courtyard and looked around before answering. The first thing she said was, “Why are you calling me all of a sudden? Didn’t we agree that unless something happened, you weren’t to call my phone casually?”
“If nothing had happened, I wouldn’t be calling. This time something serious really did happen.”
“What happened?” Zhou Lin asked, suppressing her irritation.
“He’s back.”
“He?”
“That’s right. Your nephew who disappeared twenty-five years ago. He’s back. Yesterday Zheng Jingen brought him into the Zheng family, and Old Master Zheng has already acknowledged him as a Zheng descendant. I don’t think it’ll be long before your father finds out. You’d better decide what you’re going to do.”
Zhou Lin stood there in stunned silence. “Are you telling the truth?”
Her voice had risen enough that several servants nearby turned to look.
“Absolutely. One more warning: this nephew of yours is not easy to deal with.” The caller hung up immediately after saying that.
Gritting her teeth, Zhou Lin shoved the phone back into her bag and turned toward the main house. If this was true, she needed to discuss it with her husband, Zhao Jiansheng, and prepare properly.