DREB CHAPTER 85

Lu Zerui bore a striking resemblance to Lu Lianning, almost a miniature version of him—except for his eyes. His eyes were round, like Li Yan’s, and were the one feature Lu Anling disliked most. He believed eyes like that made Lu Zerui look too innocent, unfit for someone destined to hold power, incapable of hiding anything.

On Friday night, Lu Zerui was watching cartoons in the living room. The scene on the screen showed the protagonist’s mother reading a bedtime story. When Lu Anling saw this, he grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.

He told Lu Zerui to go play with his building blocks instead. Lu Zerui wasn’t happy, but Lu Anling’s expression scared him a little. After all, he was still a child and couldn’t stand up to Lu Anling’s imposing presence. In the end, he could only sulk and say, “I want to go home. I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

He went to his reading room, pulled out a few books, and stuffed them into his backpack, a dark blue bag with light yellow accents. Inside were a mix of random items: toys, a compass, a dried flower, and a snail shell. Now, he squeezed in two more fairy tale books, roughly folding them to make them fit.

That evening, Lu Lianning didn’t come to pick him up. When the butler came to bring his usual juice, Lu Zerui asked, “When are we leaving?”

The butler replied, “Tomorrow afternoon.”

The two shared a fist bump by the bedside, and Lu Zerui reminded him, “Don’t forget.”

After lunch on Saturday afternoon, the butler and Lu Zerui snuck out from the backyard of the Lu family estate. They took a kite with them as a cover story, and no one at the gate suspected a thing.

Lu Zerui sat on the back seat of the electric scooter, his small backpack on his shoulders. It was his first time riding one, and he kicked his legs with excitement. Sitting behind the butler, he asked, “Why aren’t we driving a car?”

The butler replied, “It’s too conspicuous.”

A dragonfly-shaped kite was tied to the front of the scooter, and they rode through traffic, steady until they reached the bus station.

The butler bought the tickets and carried Lu Zerui onto the bus.

Lu Zerui was undeniably good-looking, with fair skin and chubby cheeks that still carried a hint of baby fat. He tried to act mature, not realizing how obvious his nervousness and curiosity were.

Other passengers couldn’t help but glance at him; one person even struck up a conversation with the butler, asking how old his grandson was and reaching out as if to pinch his cheek.

Before the butler could respond, Lu Zerui slapped the person’s hand away, leaving a small red mark.

Well, no further explanation was needed—just a direct apology.

The butler picked him up and sat down beside him with a helpless expression. Lu Zerui sat next to him, tilting his head to look out the window. As the bus started moving, he began to fuss, first saying he was thirsty, then complaining he was hungry. Over an hour passed before he finally tired himself out and fell asleep against the butler’s shoulder.

His long, curled eyelashes cast soft shadows on his lower eyelids.

When Lu Zerui woke up, the bus was still moving, but the scenery outside had changed dramatically. He asked the butler, “How much longer until we get there?”

“Over an hour.”

Lu Zerui didn’t understand how long “an hour” was. Growing impatient, he began kicking the seat in front of him with his feet.

The butler frowned and stopped him. “We’re almost there.”

Lu Zerui quieted down for a while, but then asked, “When I see him, how can I prove that he’s my mom?”

He wanted to be sure the butler wasn’t lying to him, remembering how the teacher he admired had once explained that mothers were supposed to be Omegas.

The butler replied, “He has a scar on his belly. That’s where you were taken out from.”

Lu Zerui fell silent.

–

Li Yan got up at 8 AM, made porridge, took his medicine, and then went out to water the cabbages and vegetables in the yard.

After tidying up, he slipped 20 yuan into his pocket and headed to the market to buy groceries. He didn’t choose the freshest vegetables; instead, he picked through the discounted stall, gathering some that looked slightly wilted.

On his way back with a small bag of groceries, he passed a fruit stand. He weighed some fruit, but when it came time to pay, the vendor asked him to scan a QR code. Li Yan said he didn’t have a phone. The vendor replied, “I’ll give you an orange; that’ll cover the few cents since I really don’t have any change right now.”

The stall was filled with plump, round oranges. Li Yan glanced over, then raised his hand to decline the orange the vendor was trying to put in his plastic bag, almost flustered. “No need… really… just don’t worry about the change,” he stammered, grabbing his bag and walking off.

One of the round oranges rolled off the stand and onto the ground, but Li Yan was in such a hurry that he didn’t notice.

Later that evening, Liu Qing stopped by with a stack of books and some other miscellaneous items, including a few DVDs.

He said, “Uncle Liu’s bookstore closed down. These were all being cleared out. You can use them to pass the time at home.”

Li Yan thanked him and said, “I’ll keep the magazines, but I can’t understand most of the books, and I have no way to watch the DVDs. You should take them back.”

Liu Qing patted the stack of books. “Everyone got a share. All the brothers. Why are you turning them down? Next time I’m free, I’ll bring over a TV. Your sister-in-law’s been nagging me to get a new one anyway.”

At that, Li Yan stopped insisting on being polite with Liu Qing. He made a simple stir-fry and some porridge, and the two of them managed with a modest dinner.

Liu Qing left around 6:30 PM, by which time the sky had already darkened. Li Yan began sorting through the stack of books, and while moving the last one, something slipped out with a “plop.”

Setting the book on a nearby cabinet, he bent down to pick up the object. It was a poster, folded to the size of a book.

As he unfolded the poster, he suddenly froze. His grip tightened unconsciously, and his fingertips tensed.

It was a promotional poster of Lu Lianning from the movie Shattered Window.

The extraordinarily handsome actor lay atop a painting of blooming sunflowers.

The poster had aged, its edges yellowed with time.

Back then, Lu Lianning had been in his early twenties. His features were already striking, yet there was still a hint of youthful inexperience compared to his later years.

While Li Yan stood there in a daze, a knock sounded at the door.

He hurriedly folded the poster back up and shoved it under the bed, his anxious movements making him look as though he was hiding some shameful stolen item.

After pushing it under the bed, he stood up and walked to the door. “Who’s there? Liu-ge? Did you forget something?”

He thought Liu Qing had returned, having only just left. He slid the latch and opened the door.

In that moment, Li Yan couldn’t describe his emotions. As he looked at the child in front of him, he felt his breath catch.

The boy looked too similar—he looked just like Lu Lianning!

The Lu family’s genes were frighteningly strong. Without needing to ask, Li Yan knew exactly who this child was.

Lu Zerui paused when he saw Li Yan. Then he lowered his head to glance at a crumpled photo in his hand. As if afraid of being caught, he quickly stuffed it back into his pocket.

Just as he was about to step through the door, Li Yan raised a hand, placed it on the boy’s small shoulder, and pushed him back outside. With a loud “bang,” he shut the door.

He refused to believe it. There was no way this child had just appeared out of nowhere. The young master of the Lu family couldn’t have simply shown up in Wujingwan Town unnoticed; someone must have been following him nearby.

Was this one of Lu Lianning’s tricks again?

Li Yan’s heart pounded in his chest. Outside, the little boy started banging on the door. “Open the door!”

Li Yan stared at the closed door. When Lu Zerui realized knocking wasn’t going to get it open, he started kicking it loudly, the noise jarring in the quiet night.

This went on for at least ten minutes.

Eventually, as his foot began to hurt, Lu Zerui broke down in tears, perhaps from more than just the pain in his foot.

Hearing the noise, Li Yan told himself that if this continued, they’d wake the neighbors and disturb everyone’s rest.

Finally, he opened the door and let Lu Zerui inside.

The boy walked in, his shoulders shaking with sobs. His reddened eyes, so similar to Li Yan’s, looked up at him.

Li Yan silently stepped behind him, peering out the door to check for any signs of movement. Seeing none, he closed the door carefully and bolted the lock.

By now, Lu Zerui had calmed down, trying to look serious—like a little emperor surveying his kingdom. After stepping inside, he removed his small backpack and said to Li Yan, “I am Lu Zerui.”

He spoke as if introducing himself would spark some kind of reaction from Li Yan, as though knowing his name would make Li Yan regret how he’d acted earlier.

But Li Yan, having never been involved in his life, wasn’t familiar with his name and showed no reaction. Lu Zerui didn’t need to introduce himself; Li Yan recognized him at a glance.

In response, Li Yan simply introduced himself, “I’m Li Yan.”

Lu Zerui said, “I know your name.”

He was clearly dissatisfied with Li Yan’s lack of reaction. In his mind, Li Yan should have known who he was by now and should’ve rushed over to hug him.

Feeling upset, Lu Zerui looked around the room. “Li Yan, your place is a dump.”

Li Yan didn’t get angry. After a brief pause, he asked, “Where’s your dad? Why are you here so late?”

“I ran away.” Lu Zerui said this as if it were the most normal thing in the world, then added in response to Li Yan’s first question, “Who knows where my dad is? I haven’t seen him in a long time.” For him, “a long time” meant the two weeks he had spent at his grandfather’s house.

But to Li Yan, it seemed to mean something else. His voice lowered. “Does he not look after you?”

Lu Zerui didn’t answer. His attention was now on a small candle on the nightstand. He poked it with his finger and said, “I know what this is. It’s a candle.”

Li Yan didn’t praise him for what he believed was his impressive knowledge. He lifted the boy from the bed to a chair and started taking off his shoes.

Lu Zerui’s feet kicked up as Li Yan pulled off his socks.

“What are you doing?” Lu Zerui asked.

Li Yan fetched a basin of warm water, tested the temperature, and knelt down to place Lu Zerui’s feet inside. “Washing your feet before bed. It’s late.”