Eight hundred days later, Lu Siyan had returned once more.

This was something neither Lu Yicheng nor Jiang Ruoqiao had ever dared to imagine. They had hoped it might happen, but anyone could see how vanishingly small the odds were — one instance of time-traveling was extraordinary enough; who could have foreseen a second? The old saying about absence making the heart grow fonder applied to parent-child relationships as well. For a period after his return, Lu Siyan was treated not merely like a prince, but like an emperor — Lu Yicheng and Jiang Ruoqiao poured every moment outside of work and study into him.

One day, Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng took Lu Siyan to the wildlife park.

Jiang Ruoqiao had her sun hat on, held her parasol aloft, and reapplied sunscreen at regular intervals. Who could have imagined that one day she would willingly stand under the blazing summer sun, at outdoor temperatures of thirty-seven or thirty-eight degrees, for the sake of a children’s outing?

She was spraying sunscreen on her calves and told Lu Siyan yet again: “Lu Siyan, remember this — there is no one in this world besides you who could get me to accompany them to a children’s outing in weather like this.”

She glanced at Lu Yicheng beside her and added: “Your papa can’t manage it either.”

Lu Yicheng: “?”

This time when Lu Siyan came back, he had just turned seven.

At seven, he had grown taller and leaner, but was just as mischievous and lively as they remembered him — and sometimes the things he came out with were enough to leave a person speechless.

From five to seven, those two years in between had not been entirely blank for them.

They had made a point of observing five-year-olds, six-year-olds, seven-year-olds — what they were like.

During those two years, wandering through shopping malls, they would find themselves drifting automatically into children’s clothing stores. Occasionally spotting something adorable, they would buy it, guessing what size he would be wearing if he were still there, what size shoes he might need. Through this kind of imagining, it was as though they had watched Siyan grow up alongside them.

At the wildlife park, they took countless photographs.

When they sat down for a meal at the restaurant, Jiang Ruoqiao, if the setting had been more appropriate, would have been ready to pull out a hydrating face mask and put it on right then and there. She checked her reflection and accused both of the Lu men: “Did I owe you two something in a past life? I feel like I’ve gotten a whole shade darker today!”

These sun-induced grievances would not go unpunished.

Lu Yicheng: “…”

As it turned out, when it came to winning Jiang Ruoqiao over, Lu Siyan was forever first place, and Lu Yicheng was forever destined for second.

Lu Siyan reached out and cradled Jiang Ruoqiao’s face in his small hands, studying her from the left and from the right with a tremendously serious expression, then delivered his verdict: “You haven’t gotten darker at all. I examined you with my very big eyes, not a single shade darker — still exactly as fair as before, like the white of a soft-boiled egg!”

Jiang Ruoqiao couldn’t suppress her laughter and flicked his nose gently. “You little smooth-talker.”

She said that, but her mood had lifted considerably.

Her sunscreen routine today had been very thorough, after all.

Lu Yicheng: “…”

Two-plus years with Jiang Ruoqiao, and he still hadn’t mastered the ability to say things like that with a straight face.

After lunch, the family of three strolled around the shopping mall to aid digestion. On the first floor, a section of the mall was hosting a new-energy vehicle exhibition. Jiang Ruoqiao had no particular interest in cars — she had gotten her license right after her college entrance exams while she had the time, but had yet to drive on actual roads. Lu Yicheng wasn’t particularly interested in cars either, since they weren’t something within his current spending range. Lu Siyan, however, was fascinated. He planted himself by the display and refused to budge. Jiang Ruoqiao pulled at him, tugged at him — he simply didn’t move.

Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng exchanged a glance of mutual exasperation.

Two years away, and the child had gone from loving Lego to loving cars!

Heavens above!

They could manage Lego — the cheap ones were a few hundred, the expensive ones a few thousand.

Cars…

Absolutely not! This money-draining creature was now beyond their means!

Though thankfully he was only seven right now. Twenty-seven was still a long ways off…

After gazing for quite a while, Lu Siyan finally tore himself away with great reluctance, one hand in Mama’s, one hand in Papa’s. Something had just come to mind, and he told Jiang Ruoqiao: “Mama, we got a car at home!”

Jiang Ruoqiao looked at him, puzzled. “What?”

“I remember — before, Mama asked me where we lived, how big our apartment was, whether we had a car…”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “…”

Oh no! That was ancient history — why was he bringing it up now, and right in front of Lu Yicheng?!

Lu Yicheng quietly suppressed a smile.

Jiang Ruoqiao cleared her throat lightly. “I never asked that. You’re misremembering.”

That was the stubbornness of someone refusing to admit what they’d done.

Lu Siyan was also a remarkably stubborn child. “Mama definitely asked! I remember all of it!”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “Lu Siyan!”

Do you want a spanking?

Lu Yicheng quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Siyan, you mean before you came here, someone at home had bought a car? That’s good news.”

Jiang Ruoqiao was indeed drawn in by the subject at hand, and turned to look at Lu Siyan as well.

Lu Siyan nodded. “They did. It was Mama who bought it for Papa. She said it was his thirty-fourth birthday present.”

Jiang Ruoqiao: Wow~

Thirty-four-year-old me is absolutely incredible!

“It was a Mercedes!” Lu Siyan added.

Jiang Ruoqiao: !!

What was going on?! Was she really that generous, that spectacular at thirty-four? She gave the man a Mercedes? Truly, no matter what point in time, only Lu Yicheng could make her break all her own rules.

She had always told herself she would absolutely never spend a single cent on any man other than her grandparents and her son.

Jiang Ruoqiao was very pleased with herself. She turned to Lu Yicheng. “Well? Are you touched?”

Lu Yicheng said with great solemnity: “It’s a waste of money. Not practical.”

Jing Shi traffic being what it was, taking the subway was actually far more convenient.

And even if they did buy a car, it was just a means of getting around — no need for anything that expensive. It was obvious this was causing him physical pain. The last time Jiang Ruoqiao had bought him a pair of sports shoes, when he found out they cost over two thousand yuan, he had worn the exact same expression.

He had always felt a pair of shoes for two or three hundred was perfectly sufficient.

Two thousand-plus… ouch. That hurt.

Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”

Fine, the truth was they didn’t even have a car right now.

She wasn’t yet in a position to give him a car as a gift.

But thirty-four-year-old her could.

Just thinking about it made her feel a rush of excitement!

Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng had no way of knowing how long Lu Siyan would stay this time.

Upon learning that the last time Siyan had returned home, only a few hours had passed on that end, Lu Yicheng’s response was very in keeping with his academically gifted nature. With a touch of envy, he told Lu Siyan: “That means you have more time than other people. For everyone else, a day might be twenty-four hours — for you, it might be thirty-six or forty-eight. You’ll have more time to study!”

For example, in this world, five-year-old Lu Siyan had attended the senior year of kindergarten.

When he went back to his original world, he had attended another senior year of kindergarten.

That was practically a golden cheat code!!

More time to study…

Lu Siyan: “?”

Oh no…

Only now did it dawn on him that his situation might be a bit rough. Yes, he had already done kindergarten senior year, and then done it again. This time was second grade here — would he have to go back and do second grade again too?

He truly was the most pitiful child in all the world!

He wanted to give up on life!

Having enjoyed his brief reign as emperor, Lu Siyan was quickly knocked back down to earth. He experienced sooner than most university students that particular transition — the lavish welcome-home phase of being a returning child, with parents fussing endlessly and feeding you every good thing imaginable, dissolving within days into parents “reverting to their true natures” and finding fault with everything.

Originally, Lu Yicheng had no plans to propose. But Lu Siyan’s arrival made him waver, because his paper roses were nearly at nine hundred and ninety-nine.

Perhaps… he should try?

Lu Yicheng knew full well that Jiang Ruoqiao was not easy to win over in these matters.

The odds of a first-attempt proposal succeeding were not great.

Or perhaps what he was doing wasn’t really a proposal at all — he had simply, coincidentally, folded nine hundred and ninety-nine roses, and coincidentally… Siyan was here.

Such an opportunity was too rare to squander.

No one knew when Siyan might disappear again.

Lu Yicheng didn’t hide his rose-folding from Lu Siyan, so Siyan was now in on the proposal plan. He was more excited than anyone, his little mind brimming with ideas. “Papa! Papa!” He orbited Lu Yicheng like an eager puppy. “I saw on TV that proposals always have lots of candles!”

Lu Yicheng smiled in spite of himself and nodded. “What if you go do some intelligence-gathering for me?”

Lu Siyan was the most enthusiastic volunteer imaginable. The very next day, upon seeing Jiang Ruoqiao, he quietly asked: “Mama, do you like candles?” He drew a lopsided heart on a piece of paper with his colored pencils. “Candles arranged like this.”

He had seen it on television.

Jiang Ruoqiao shook her head without a moment’s hesitation. “No. Too hot.”

Especially if done in a crowded place.

She had been through this before — some boy who had liked her once arranged a ring of heart-shaped candles on the sports field or somewhere like that, and she had watched the whole thing with complete indifference.

Honestly so dull. Boys were so tediously unimaginative. How many years had passed and no one had updated their proposal playbook?

Lu Siyan said dejectedly: “You don’t like it?”

Jiang Ruoqiao nodded. “Correct. I don’t.”

Lu Siyan slumped away with his head hanging.

The next day, Lu Siyan came running back full of fresh enthusiasm. “Mama, would you like to find a ring baked inside a cake?”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”

“No!” Jiang Ruoqiao frowned. “Would I even know the ring was inside? Does that mean I have to eat the entire cake? Please, I’m in a cutting phase right now. I’m watching my sugar intake. I’m not planning to touch any sweets for six months. Don’t set traps for me — I’m not eating cake at anyone’s birthday this year either!”

Lu Siyan: “…”

By the tenth day, Lu Siyan had lost all his previous enthusiasm. Eyes glazed, he asked listlessly: “Mama, do you like fireworks?”

Jiang Ruoqiao looked at him with the loving gaze one reserves for a sweet little fool. “Silly boy, the whole city has banned fireworks and firecrackers. Even if I liked them, it wouldn’t matter.”

What a confused little soul — how could he even ask something like that? He had clearly been driven half-mad by her repeated rejections.

Lu Siyan wanted to burst into tears right then and there.

This was too cruel. Too unreasonable.

In the end, Lu Siyan simply asked directly: “Mama, would you be willing to marry Papa?”

Jiang Ruoqiao’s expression paused for just a moment. Something seemed to come to mind. She crouched down, reached out, and gently ruffled Lu Siyan’s hair, then pulled him into a hug. She murmured softly in his ear: “Your papa already knows the answer.”

For them, the manner of the proposal truly didn’t matter.

Whether there were flowers, whether there was a ring, whether there was beautiful music playing — truly, none of it mattered.

What mattered was that all three of them had to be there together.

And her answer — he had known it all along, hadn’t he?

—