Chapter 132: with translation of chapter title

Upon arriving in Sijiucheng, Xie Wantang bought Dongdong new clothes, found an hourly room, had him take a bath and change into the new clothes, and then took him to eat something delicious.

After eating and drinking his fill, Dongdong timidly asked Xie Wantang, "Auntie, where is my mom? Is she dead?"

Upon hearing that question, Xie Wantang felt a pang of sorrow.

"How did your mother tell you that?"

Dongdong is actually still young; likely he has been through too much, making him far more precocious than when Xie Wantang had seen him at the Lu family before.

He kept Xia Meng's words firmly in mind; when Xie Wantang asked, he quickly repeated, "Mom said, if Auntie comes to pick me up, that means she will never come back; if possible, she wants me to call Auntie Mom."

……

Xia Meng actually instructed Dongdong like that?

She is now a mother herself; what desperate circumstances would drive her to say such things to her own child?

The Lu family is gone; women associated with the Lu family have either died or left.

Now, Liu Shiyue has gone abroad.

Perhaps she could try contacting Liu Shiyue and maybe learn something about the Lu family's secrets from her.

Forget it; let the Lu family's secrets disappear along with everyone of the Lu family.

"Mom is Mom; you can keep calling me Auntie, or you can call me Godmother—whatever you prefer is fine with me."

"Mm, thank you, Auntie."

"When we go back, you still have to go to school; there are still younger brothers and sisters at home; later, when you have vacation, you can play with them, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good."

That same day, they returned from Sijiucheng to Haishi.

Seeing so many people from the Qin family, Dongdong was initially quite timid, always peeking from behind Xie Wantang.

"Dongdong, this is Grandfather Qin, Grandmother Xie, that's the eldest uncle, second uncle, third uncle, and Aunt Qiuqiu."

"Say their names." Xie Wantang patiently taught him.

"Grandfather Qin, Grandmother Xie, eldest uncle, second uncle, third uncle, Aunt Qiuqiu, hello everyone."

Dongdong not only obediently said their names, but also bowed to them.

"Alright, you must be tired; sit down and eat." Xie Ningmeng is always tolerant toward children.

Qin Lao San looked at this little kid, not very pleased, but in the end he didn't dare show his displeasure.

During the meal, Xie Ningmeng asked Xie Wantang, "He'll be going to kindergarten, right? What is his formal name? Do you have his household registration documents?"

"No, older brother; perhaps this matter will require you to help handle it."

"Mm, okay." Qin Muyang agreed, "Then what about the name? Are you planning to give him a new one?"

"Eldest uncle, my surname is Lu, and my given name is Lu Zhiyu—'Zhi' as in 'to know,' 'Yu' as in a sun plus the character for 'standing'; I know my name." Dongdong, now uninhibited, gave his full name.

"Impressive, being so young and already able to recognize your own name." Qin Lao Er praised.

"Mom taught me for a long time; she said I must not forget my roots."

"Mm, your mother did a good job teaching you in that regard." Qin Lao Er said.

"Thank you, second uncle."

After dinner, Xu Yanqiu went to Xie Wantang's room to chat a while, saying, "This is Xia Meng's son, you really……"

"This is not only Xia Meng's son, but also the son of Lu Chen's twin brother, Lu Yanshen; if Lu Chen were still alive, knowing that Lu Yanshen's son is being raised in our home would put him at ease."

If Lu Chen has died, then in spirit he would surely feel, seeing this, that at least Lu Chen did not love the wrong woman.

"You adopted that child just for Lu Chen? Treasure, aren't you being too foolish? Even loving the house and its crows isn't like you."

"No matter what, Lu Chen gave his life in exchange for mine and Treasure's; I owe him a debt that I should repay."

Xu Yanqiu couldn't understand her family's Treasure's reasoning: "What more is there to repay? You almost lost your life giving birth to his child; even if you owed him, you've already repaid it."

"It's not calculated like that. All right, will you stay overnight at my place tonight, or do you need to go back home?" Xie Wantang didn't want to discuss this matter.

Having brought the child back, there's no reason to send him away again.

"If you need my help, I'll stay; you already have two Treasures, and I'll soothe this Dongdong for you." Although Xu Yanqiu verbally disapproved of Xie Wantang adopting this child, her actions were actually supportive.

"Thank you, Qiuqiu."

"You're welcome."

After arranging Dongdong's care, Xie Wantang bid farewell to her family and went to Country A for two years of special training.

During these two years, there is one month of family visit leave each year.

Xie Wantang is the only person from Country Z.

……

Two years later.

On the day Xie Wantang returned from training, the Qin family and Xu Yanqiu all rushed to the airport to pick her up.

Each of them shone in their respective fields they loved; Qin Muyang, in the legal world, remained an undefeated war god, famous nationwide, with people from all over wanting to come to Haishi to sue him.

Over these two years, Qin Lao Er has published many papers in the medical field and has been promoted from director to vice president.

Qin Lao San's previous plan was to let the Lu Clan Group go bankrupt to avenge Tang Bao, but before he could act, the Lu family and the Lu Clan Group brought ruin upon themselves.

Qin Lao San continued to deepen his involvement; besides various profit-making projects, he also started investing in research companies, such as Lu Chen's LC Group, in which he now holds shares.

Currently, the LC Group is managed by Lu Chen's adoptive parents.

In the first year of Xie Wantang's time abroad, Professor Wu passed away due to health reasons, a happy demise, at the age of 89.

Xie Wantang also specially returned to attend Professor Wu's funeral.

However, at that time, Lu Chen still had no news whatsoever.

Because of Lu Chen's special circumstances, after he had been missing for a full year, the relevant authorities, based on the paperwork submitted by his adoptive parents, had already declared him dead.

In other words, this world no longer has Lu Chen.

Xu Yanqiu became a short-drama scriptwriter in her first year, shining brightly in that field; now she has switched from scriptwriting to directing short dramas.

She is also definitely a strong woman.

It's been two years since I last saw Dongdong; Dongdong is almost six years old and still in the senior kindergarten class.

His skin is still dark, but upon seeing Xie Wantang, he opened his mouth and called her, 'Godmother, I miss you.'

He also gave Xie Wantang a drawing he made himself, showing him with his two younger siblings, the person in the middle being Xie Wantang.

Xie Wantang really liked this painting.

"Thank you, Dongdong."

She handed her luggage to the three older brothers, then Xie Wantang took her son Xiao Chengzi from Qin Siyuan's arms, saying, 'Xiao Chengzi, do you miss Mom?'

"Yes." Xiao Chengzi nodded, hugging Xie Wantang's neck and kissing her.

Qianqian did not come.

Qianqian has still not spoken; child specialists initially suspected her language center was underdeveloped, but later discovered she has autism.

The kind that does not speak and does not communicate with the outside world.