When Jiang Ruoqiao was waiting for her ride-hailing car by the roadside, her phone buzzed.

It was a WeChat message from Jiang Yan.

In all fairness, Jiang Yan treated her impeccably well. Right now he was accompanying his elders on a shopping trip, yet she was still on his mind. Despite being someone with little patience, he’d carefully photographed the duty-free shop items for her and thoughtfully asked: 【Ruoqiao, I don’t really know what skincare products you use — take a look and see if there’s anything you need?】

Jiang Ruoqiao held her phone in her hand.

She truly had no words.

The fact that she would eventually break up with Jiang Yan wasn’t something she found hard to accept. After all, they were both still young — only twenty — and the future held infinite possibilities. A lot would happen along the way, and who knew at which point they might go their separate ways.

A relationship only ever ends one of two ways.

A breakup or a marriage.

What she found hard to accept was that she would end up marrying Lu Yicheng.

Even as an April Fool’s Day joke, this would make her roll her eyes. Jiang Ruoqiao had a general understanding of Jiang Yan’s roommates. Lu Yicheng was, after all, considered the campus heartthrob of A’Da, and even with his mild-mannered temperament, he attracted attention wherever he went. Because of this, Jiang Ruoqiao had already known quite a bit about him even before she’d met Jiang Yan.

Jiang Ruoqiao had a classmate who had attended the same high school as Lu Yicheng for three years.

Lu Yicheng’s background and life experiences could even be considered pitiable.

From what she’d heard, his only relative was an aunt who had married far away. His grandfather had died in an accident before he was even born, and when he was still very young, something had happened at home — his parents were gone too.

His grandmother, the one person he depended on, had passed away from cholangiocarcinoma.

He was exceptionally intelligent, and also worked harder than anyone. He wasn’t just the top scorer on the university entrance exam — he had also been the top scorer on the city-level middle school entrance exam several years earlier.

The truly exceptional students don’t just study for free — they actually earn money doing it. Lu Yicheng was exactly that kind of person. His high school tuition was fully waived for all three years, and when he aced the college entrance exam, he brought great honor to his alma mater. On top of the freshman scholarship provided by A’Da, his high school also awarded him a bonus.

Jiang Ruoqiao deeply admired people of such resilience.

But admiration was one thing — Lu Yicheng still had no business appearing on her list of considerations, let alone as a potential husband.

After getting into the car, Jiang Ruoqiao finally replied to Jiang Yan’s message: 【I don’t need anything. Stop wasting money.】

Even in the middle of this chaos, she hadn’t forgotten to keep up her image as a thoughtful, understanding girlfriend.

By the time Jiang Ruoqiao arrived at the Western restaurant, Lu Yicheng was already seated with Lu Siyan.

It was prime dining time, and the restaurant was reasonably busy, but fortunately the place had private booths. Lu Yicheng had deliberately chosen a good spot. The nearby booth seating was unoccupied, which made for quite decent privacy.

After ordering, the two adults and one child all fell into silence.

Lu Siyan wanted to look at Jiang Ruoqiao but didn’t quite dare.

He had known for a very long time that in their family, Mom was the highest authority — Mom stood at the top of the food chain.

If Mom got angry, even Dad wouldn’t dare make a sound.

This was Lu Yicheng’s first time at a place like this.

When the server brought the menu, he said, “When I came in, your floor manager mentioned we could use a group-buy package.”

The server put the menu away and smiled. “Of course. Please show us the redemption code, and you’ll also need to make a few selections.”

Lu Yicheng bowed his head and scrolled through his phone, then, remembering something, pushed his phone toward Jiang Ruoqiao. “Take a look — for the main course, do you want the short ribs or the sirloin steak? Choose a drink too.”

Jiang Ruoqiao, for her part… this was the first time she’d ever gone out to eat with a male who used a group-buy coupon.

Then again, when she herself went out with her girlfriends and dormmates, checking group-buy deals first was absolutely standard practice.

The problem was —

Lu Yicheng said it so naturally!

They weren’t an old married couple!

Jiang Ruoqiao quickly glanced at his phone and made her selections, then, as if possessed, blurted out: “Should we split the bill?”

Right — for two people in their situation to be at a Western restaurant together was already remarkable enough.

Whatever he might be to her in the future, right now they barely knew each other. He wasn’t a romantic interest, certainly wasn’t her boyfriend, so naturally paying separately was the logical choice.

She thought it over, and this time her tone was much more decisive. “We split it. How much was your package? I’ll transfer you my half —”

Lu Yicheng looked up at her. “That works.”

Today’s spending had already exceeded his budget by a considerable margin.

And he’d promised the child he’d take him to Bishengke tonight.

Jiang Ruoqiao took out her phone and opened it out of habit, only to realize — she didn’t even have Lu Yicheng’s WeChat.

“Your payment QR code,” Jiang Ruoqiao prompted.

Lu Yicheng didn’t know how to pull that up.

Jiang Ruoqiao said, “Open WeChat.”

Lu Yicheng did as she said.

“Now — click on ‘Payments,’ scroll down, do you see the QR code for receiving money? Click on it.”

Jiang Ruoqiao transferred half the amount to him.

Lu Yicheng nodded. “Got it.”

Lu Siyan, who had been serving as background scenery this whole time, suddenly spoke up. “Dad, seriously?”

Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng both turned to look at him. He said, “It’s just a meal. And Mom has to pay for it??”

Lu Yicheng: “……”

He was being looked down on by a five-year-old?

Hearing the word “Mom,” Jiang Ruoqiao’s scalp prickled, and she had the urge to grab her bag and flee.

Lu Yicheng had already gotten used to the child calling him “Dad,” but he knew Jiang Ruoqiao hadn’t, so he said, “Since when is this any of your business?”

Was the kid criticizing him for being too stingy?

But he and Jiang Ruoqiao had nothing to do with each other.

Lu Siyan let out a sigh.

No wonder the auntie used to say Dad had a wooden block for a brain. Even he knew that a man being cheap was a serious mark against him.

Jiang Ruoqiao quickly said, “Alright, alright, let’s talk about what we came here to discuss.” She paused. “Lu Yicheng, is it okay to talk in front of the child?”

Lu Yicheng glanced sideways at Lu Siyan. “He needs to understand the situation eventually. There’s nothing that can’t be said.”

Lu Siyan put on an unbothered expression and even volunteered, “I can turn off my ears.”

He made a reasonable request: “Dad, whenever you want me to turn them off, give me your phone.”

Lu Yicheng: “Dream on.”

“First, there’s something we need to discuss.” Lu Yicheng placed his hands clasped together on the table. His fingers were long, with clearly defined knuckles and clean nails. “This child is very possibly the child we’ll have in the future. Something this extraordinary, by all logic, should be reported to the relevant authorities — and I imagine those institutions would be more than willing to take care of the child and study him. What do you think?”

Jiang Ruoqiao understood what Lu Yicheng meant.

What a remarkable thing this was.

Those who sought to prove whether time travel truly existed would surely be fanatical about it.

But the question was — could she make this decision?

She had read so many novels. The protagonists of every time-travel story without exception would fiercely guard their secret, hiding it even from the person sleeping beside them or their closest family members.

Why?

Fear of being gawked at. Fear of someone planting a seed of unease in their heart without them even knowing.

Once it was reported to the authorities, she had no idea what would happen to the child. He was still so small — could he endure the strange, prying attention of others?

Setting aside everything else, even if she wasn’t thinking about the child, just for her own sake, things shouldn’t unfold that way.

If word got out, the changes to her life would likely be far more drastic than they already were.

Weighing everything, Jiang Ruoqiao arrived at her answer easily. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m against it.”

When Lu Yicheng heard this answer, something quietly loosened inside him.

On this point, they were in agreement.

Between the two of them, if either one insisted on reporting it, the other wouldn’t be able to stop them.

Lu Yicheng nodded. “Good. I feel the same way.”

“Then let’s discuss the paternity test.” Lu Yicheng said. “I want it done as soon as possible. There are many things that need to be handled after this, and I don’t want to drag this out. “

Jiang Ruoqiao had also fully steadied herself by now. “I’ll look into trustworthy institutions when I get back. Don’t worry — I want to get to the bottom of this even more than you do.”

Lu Yicheng’s mood lifted considerably. For the past week, the restlessness he had been suppressing so tightly finally began to ease.

Clearly, Jiang Ruoqiao had exceeded his expectations.

Or perhaps his thinking had been too rigid.

He had assumed she would make a scene, that she wouldn’t believe it, that she might even try to run from it.

Anyone else probably would have. But Jiang Ruoqiao hadn’t. She seemed to have accepted this strange situation even faster than he had.

Just as Jiang Ruoqiao had heard various things about Lu Yicheng, he also knew a little about her — not entirely because of Jiang Yan.

When he first started school, he’d already heard the guys in his class and dormitory mention her.

Then, at the freshman welcome gala during their sophomore year, she was one of the hosts. She had been composed and completely unintimidated, her voice crisp and her enunciation clear, so much so that people unfamiliar with her assumed she was a broadcasting student from the School of Communication. She was also a member of the student council, and word was that her personal capabilities were outstanding, shattering the assumptions people had previously made about her.

Apparently, after photos of her were posted online and gained attention, someone had approached her about appearing in a web drama.

Very few people could turn down an opportunity in the entertainment industry. After all, anyone who’d followed enough celebrity news knew how lucrative being an entertainer could be.

Not everyone who entered the industry would become famous, but if she could have appeared in that web drama, even if nothing came of it afterward, the pay alone would have been equivalent to many years of a white-collar worker’s salary.

Yet Jiang Ruoqiao had declined without hesitation.

She was a girl who knew very clearly what she wanted.

After the two chatted a bit more about this and that, Lu Yicheng wanted to give the mother and child some time together, so he excused himself to use the restroom. In an instant, the booth was left with just Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Siyan staring at each other.

Looking at Lu Siyan, whose features so closely resembled her own, Jiang Ruoqiao couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Lu Siyan laughed along with her.

The two of them, one big and one small, both had faint dimples at the corners of their mouths when they smiled.

The moment Jiang Ruoqiao laughed, she remembered what had landed her in this situation, and in an instant her expression shifted — her brow furrowing.

What was there to laugh about?

She should be crying. Twenty years old, barely an adult, and someone was telling her she had a five-year-old son. Where was the justice in that?

Out of all the people in the world, why did something like this have to happen to her?

The odds of this were even lower than winning the lottery!

Lu Siyan noticed that Jiang Ruoqiao wasn’t in the best of spirits, but he didn’t mind. Without warning, he pushed the plate in front of him toward her.

Jiang Ruoqiao wasn’t sure what he meant.

Still, she picked it up and looked — and froze.

On the white plate, Lu Siyan had drawn a smiley face with ketchup at some point without her noticing.

And below the smiley face, he had written —

*Love u.*

—