reignition

Lu Bozhou said in a low voice, "Why are you so surprised? Otherwise, why do you think I would give you to her? You raise a child for a thousand days, only to use him for one. Dad is counting on you."

Lu Bozhou found his son's expression amusing and said that.

I was trying to tease him a little.

The family was broken when the child was so young. No matter what difficulties Lu Bozhou had, his guilt towards his wife and child was undeniable.

It's impossible to say that you don't feel any love or pity for your son.

That's why I wanted to tease him like that.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Chaochi nodded very seriously, "Don't worry, Dad! I will definitely work hard!"

The child's seriousness made Lu Bozhou's heart tighten.

Despite his young age, Lu Chaochi had a serious expression and even sighed.

“Dad, I can help you, but please don’t make Mianmian sad anymore, okay? I don’t want to see Mianmian sad,” Lu Chaochi said.

Lu Bozhou paused, then asked, "Why is she sad?"

"What do you think?" Lu Chaochi glanced at him, the resentment in his eyes was not hard to see even through the phone screen. "When the news of your engagement to that aunt came out, even I was sad for a while."

Lu Bozhou's breath hitched.

"Although Mianmian didn't say anything and seemed to behave no differently during those days, I knew she was sad."

Lu Chaochi thought about his mother's condition those days. "The colors in her paintings were much darker, and she would often space out for a short while, I don't know what she was thinking. Although she didn't say anything, and it wasn't clear from her emotions, I felt that she was sad."

Lu Bozhou remained silent for a moment, then understood the meaning behind the child's words, as if he had known all along that his affair with Xu Yawei was insignificant.

Somewhat surprised.

"Judging from your tone... Lu Chaochi, aren't you worried that I'll really marry her and find you a stepmother?"

“You won’t,” Lu Chaochi said. “Dad, I can tell.”

"What did you see?" Lu Bozhou raised an eyebrow.

"The more Dad cares about someone, the further he pushes them away. The ones you truly keep by your side are just for deceiving others." Lu Chaochi didn't know why either...

It was probably after Lu Bozhou had Jiang Mian take him away that Lu Chaochi gradually began to understand his father's heart.

Lu Bozhou was speechless for a moment.

Lu Chaochi continued, "Dad, please don't do this again. Even if it's for my own good, I don't like it. Mianmian definitely doesn't like it either."

Lu Bozhou remained silent for a long time, then said in a low, hoarse voice, "Yes, I understand."

After ending the call, Lu Chaochi ran out of the room with his phone in hand, nestled between his grandparents, and sat down, hugging his knees and eating the fruit his grandmother fed him.

"Are you done talking?" Jiang Mian asked.

"Mm." Lu Chaochi nodded, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

Jiang Mian looked at his eyes and felt that something was amiss, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

When it was time to put him to sleep that night, Lu Chaochi gently put his arm around Jiang Mian's neck.

She said to her in a soft voice, "Mianmian, please don't like anyone else yet, okay?"

Jiang Mian was taken aback. "Where did you hear that?"

"No, I just feel... Dad is quite pitiful, he's injured and has to stay alone."

Lu Chaochi glanced cautiously at Jiang Mian, "Are you unwilling to give him another chance?"

Jiang Mian smiled. "What if I don't want to give him another chance?"

Lu Chaochi pursed his lips and thought for a moment, "Then you shouldn't like anyone else yet, wait until he gets through this period, okay?"

Jiang Mian understood the meaning behind the child's words; he probably hoped that she wouldn't make things worse.

Jiang Mian neither confirmed nor denied this, only feeling that the child's worries were really unfounded.

When did she fall in love with someone else?

Having lived two lifetimes, Lu Bozhou alone had exhausted all her emotions.

I can no longer invest that kind of emotion in anyone else, not even the same amount of emotion.

"Okay, go to sleep now." Jiang Mian kissed his little face. "You're so young, yet you have so many things to worry about. I've already spent so much time and energy just taking care of you, spending time with your grandparents, and helping you with your studies. I don't have time for anything else."

Hearing Jiang Mian's words, Lu Chaochi finally closed his eyes in relief.

……

The Lanshan Mansion was empty.

Lu Bozhou ripped off the dressing on his hand and threw it into the trash can.

Although the bleeding on the forearm has stopped, the edges of the wound are still swollen, and the gruesome nature of the injury is still evident.

His phone vibrated on the table beside him; it was an unknown number calling. Lu Bozhou extended a slender index finger and casually hung up.

Not long after, another call came in from an unknown number.

It's fair to say they're very persistent; it feels like if they don't answer this call, they'll call again and again.

Lu Bozhou pondered for a moment, then paused his finger, which had been hovering over the red hang-up button, and moved it to the green answer button beside it.

There was a brief silence on the other end, probably because they hadn't expected Lu Bozhou to answer.

After realizing what was happening, an urgent voice immediately came through.

"Bo Zhou? Lu Bo Zhou?! You answered? You finally answered the phone!"

The woman's voice had lost its usual elegance and composure; it sounded very urgent. Heaven knows how many times she had called Lu Bozhou, but not a single call had gone through.

Even if you change to so many unfamiliar numbers, it won't help; you'll soon be rejected and blocked.

But she had no choice but to give up, because she had no other options.

"Hmm, I'm in a good mood today," Lu Bozhou said calmly. "Just say what's on your mind."

The woman on the other end of the line paused for a moment, then quickly said, "Bo Zhou, Bo Zhou, please save me, save my family, please! I'm your fiancée! Aren't I your fiancée?!"

By this point, it was not hard to detect a hint of hysteria in Xu Yawei's voice.

"How could you do this to me! How could you do this to me?! Don't you love me?!" Xu Yawei's voice already carried a hint of accusation.

Upon hearing this, Lu Bozhou curled the corners of his lips and chuckled softly, "That's right."

"I love you to death," Lu Bozhou said softly, his voice deep and tinged with amusement. When he slowed down, his tone was incredibly gentle. "Everyone says so."

"But Xu Yawei, how much is the Lu family's love worth?"

Lu Bozhou’s deep voice was gentle, as if he were speaking sweet words, but he was also speaking cruel words. “Lu Bolin was willing to send you to my side to scheme against me for his own benefit. You should know that I can not only do the same thing, but I can do it even better than him.”

Xu Yawei's voice was panicked and urgent on the other end; she had managed to suppress her earlier hysteria.

"Bo Zhou, Bo Zhou, I was wrong, I was really wrong, I was... I was forced, I was forced by Lu Bo Lin! I didn't want to, I didn't want to scheme against you! Please forgive me just this once... I beg you, I don't want to go to jail, I don't want to go to jail!"