Chapter 1

Gajiang Garden was a famous luxury villa district in Haishi and even across the country. Anyone who could live in Gajiang Garden was either wealthy or powerful.

Gajiang Garden was a project of fully detached villas developed by the previous head of the Lu Group. Built along the river, it commanded the finest scenery in Haishi.

Among the limited number of villas in Gajiang Garden, the Lu family's own villa occupied the best location.

But at this moment, the Lu family had no mood to admire the beautiful view outside.

The Lu family's living room was silent, its atmosphere cold as ice.

Today was Saturday. Normally, unless Lu Qi slept until noon, he would hardly get out of bed. But Lu Father had suddenly called him earlier and, for no apparent reason, said they were holding a family meeting. Only then had Lu Qi struggled out from under the covers.

After hanging up on Lu Father, Lu Qi rubbed his messy, fluffy bedhead.

A damn family meeting. He could not even remember the last time their family had gathered for a meal.

Not long after Lu Qi went downstairs, Lu Father and Madam Li, those two busy people, entered the house one after another.

Lu Qi sat on the sofa in the center of the living room with one leg crossed over the other.

Propping his chin up with one hand, he looked at Lu Father and Madam Li, seated silently on the sofas to his left and right, and joked, "So after more than a month, you two finally come home, and you're planning to put on a mime show?"

Though Lu Qi spoke lightly, his heart was beating uneasily.

Damn! Old Lu suddenly called Madam Li home. Could he be planning to divorce her?!

The more Lu Qi thought about it, the heavier his mood became.

Though theirs was a blended family and he was not Madam Li's biological son—his birth mother had died of illness shortly after giving birth to him—after all these years together, he had long regarded Madam Li as his own mother. If they really had to compare, his relationship with Madam Li was probably even better than his relationship with Old Lu.

Lu Qi secretly comforted himself, telling himself not to overthink it.

Although Madam Li had held a grudge against Old Lu over that incident years ago and had always treated him coldly, from what Lu Qi had seen, Old Lu was utterly devoted to Madam Li. So divorce was probably unlikely.

Lu Qi secretly glanced at Lu Father, seated on the sofa diagonally to his left. Lu Father wore a grave expression, his brows tightly furrowed as though lost in thought.

Just as Lu Qi was about to look away, he unexpectedly met Lu Father's raised gaze.

Seeing Lu Qi's careless pose with his legs crossed, Lu Father said coldly, "Sit properly. Put your foot down."

What Lu Qi hated most was Lu Father's commanding tone.

Whenever Lu Father left home, he would not return for one or two months. Whenever he did return, he would discipline Lu Qi as though Lu Qi were a subordinate. Sometimes Lu Qi did not even know whether he wanted Old Lu to come home or not.

Just as Lu Qi was about to snap back at Lu Father, Madam Li spoke gently. "Xiao Qi, put your leg down. Crossing your legs can affect your spine and isn't good for your health."

Lu Qi was always soft-hearted rather than receptive to force. Hearing Madam Li say that, he said nothing and obediently placed both feet flat on the floor.

After seeing Lu Qi put his feet down, Madam Li looked toward Lu Father. Her voice lost some of its gentleness as she asked bluntly, "Why did you call me back? I'm leaving for Milan in two hours. If you haven't figured out how to say it yet, we can talk after I return from Milan."

Madam Li, like Lu Father, was an extremely busy person.

Unlike the Lu Group, which Lu Father had inherited from his parents, Madam Li had built AZ Fashion Group from scratch with her own hands.

After graduating from high school, the Li family had wanted to use her education to force her into a marriage alliance with an old man. Madam Li was proud by nature; how could she possibly submit? Naturally, she had secretly fled the Li family and cut off all contact with them.

To avoid the Li family's harassment, Madam Li applied to MOD Art and Design Academy in Paris, a school known as the Harvard of the fashion world. During university, the clothing brand she founded opened the doors of Paris's fashion circles for her, and she rapidly became famous among Parisian high society. By now, Madam Li's AZ Fashion Group not only included renowned luxury brands, but also owned many high-end fashion magazines.

In fact, Madam Li and Lu Father had been each other's first love. Back in high school, they had dated secretly for a time. But later, Madam Li found Lu Father too clingy and broke up with him without mercy.

A few years after breaking up with Madam Li, Lu Father entered into a business marriage with his former wife. Later, when his former wife died of illness, Lu Father had no intention of remarrying for Lu Qi's sake. Who could have expected that a chance encounter would rekindle his old feelings with Madam Li? Afraid that Madam Li might run away again, Lu Father did something fashionable for once and directly had a whirlwind marriage.

Soon after the marriage, Madam Li became pregnant.

At the time, the entire Lu family, including little Lu Qi, who still spoke in stutters, eagerly anticipated the arrival of this new life.

Lu Father and Madam Li gave the child the name Lu Yang after much deliberation, hoping his future would be as bright and warm as sunshine.

Little Lu Yang's arrival brought much joy to the entire Lu family.

Every day after waking up, Lu Qi would pester the nanny to take him to play with his little brother.

Even Lu Father, who was usually stern and unsmiling, turned completely soft in front of this child. Sometimes, he even wore the foolish smile of a doting father, prompting Madam Li to mock him for becoming utterly obsessed with his son.

Although little Lu Yang was still young, he was clingy like a little glutinous rice ball. He was not afraid of strangers either and smiled whenever he saw someone.

The day after little Lu Yang's third birthday, Madam Li had no choice but to go abroad for work, despite her reluctance.

After Madam Li left, little Lu Yang saw that Lu Father was going to work as well, so he kept whining and clinging to him like a little tail. Lu Father could not shake him off, so he could only have the nanny bring little Lu Yang along to the office.

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There was a small park near the Lu Group. After lunch, Lu Father carried little Lu Yang there for a walk to help him digest. Not long after they arrived, Lu Father's phone suddenly rang. To avoid the noisy sounds of children playing in the park, and seeing that the nanny was constantly by little Lu Yang's side, Lu Father walked some distance away to answer it.

When Lu Father returned after finishing the call, the nanny and little Lu Yang had disappeared.

Lu Father initially thought the nanny had taken little Lu Yang back to the company. But when he returned to his office, neither of them was there. When he could not get through to the nanny's phone no matter how many times he called, Lu Father's expression immediately changed, and he hurriedly called the police.

Madam Li had just gotten off the plane overseas when she received Lu Father's call. It struck her like a bolt from the blue, and she hurried home.

The Lu family was powerful and wealthy. Lu Father used every method at his disposal and cast a wide net, finally locating the nanny in a rented apartment. After the police forced their way inside, they found that the nanny had already committed suicide by taking medication, but there was no sign of the child.

After analyzing the nanny's crimes and investigating her background, the police discovered that she had kidnapped the young master of the Lu family purely out of a desire for revenge against society. They believed the child's chances of survival in her hands were very low and that he had most likely been abandoned somewhere in the wilderness.

Upon hearing the police's assessment, Madam Li, who had always cared so much about her appearance, broke down on the spot and burst into loud sobs.

From then on, the Lu family seemed to lose its joyful laughter.

Although she knew it was irrational resentment, Madam Li had never given Lu Father a pleasant look in all these years. It was extremely rare for the two of them even to sit down and have a calm conversation.

So it was no wonder Lu Qi had been so shocked when Lu Father said they were holding a family meeting.

Lu Father took a deep breath and looked at Madam Li, whose makeup was cold and exquisite. In a low voice, he said, "That child has been found."

Madam Li's face instantly went pale.

She clenched her fists, her nails immediately digging into the delicate flesh of her palms. Her lips trembled slightly in fear. "W-Where?"

Lu Qi's expression also turned serious in an instant.

Over the years, Lu Yang's disappearance had remained a taboo subject that the Lu family could not mention.

Although the Lu family had never given up searching for Lu Yang, as time passed, everyone gradually lost hope that the child was still alive in this world.

When Lu Father suddenly brought up the matter, both Madam Li and Lu Qi thought Lu Yang's body had finally been found.

Seeing how grave their expressions were, Lu Father immediately realized they had likely misunderstood. He hurriedly added, "The child is alive and well. Don't misunderstand!"

At Lu Father's words, both Lu Qi and Madam Li instantly looked up and stared at him.

Hearing that the child was still alive, the tears Madam Li had been desperately holding back immediately streamed down her face.

Lu Qi instantly let out a breath of relief and angrily slapped the sofa beside him. "Dad, can't you stop pausing so dramatically when you talk?"

Lu Father took out photographs he had ordered someone to secretly take and handed them to Madam Li.

The moment Madam Li saw the boy in the photograph, it felt as though a pair of huge hands had suddenly clenched her heart into a tight ball. For no reason she could understand, tears would not stop falling from her eyes.

The boy in the photograph wore an ordinary blue-and-white school uniform. With a backpack slung over one shoulder, he leaned lazily against a wall.

He was tall and thin, with deep, dark phoenix eyes that tilted slightly upward at the corners. His features were exquisite, but his bearing was cold as frost, faintly isolating him from the noisy crowd flowing around him.

It was an utterly ordinary school uniform, yet he wore it with the stylish air of a fashion editorial.

The girls passing by him in the photograph seemed to be secretly looking at him, but he appeared not to notice their gazes. His eyes were lowered, as though he were thinking about something.

Lu Father pulled out several tissues and handed them to Madam Li, whose makeup had nearly washed away from crying. "That child is living in Shancheng now. He changed his name to Lu Yao."

"Lu... Lu Yao."

After murmuring Lu Yao's name several times, Madam Li raised her head and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is he living well?"

Hearing Madam Li ask that, Lu Qi also looked at Lu Father with concern.

Thinking of the information he had investigated, Lu Father could not help furrowing his brows. His low voice could not hide its heaviness as he said, "No."

Not at all.

Lu Father took out the investigation report on Lu Yao's life over the years and handed it to Madam Li.

Hearing Lu Father say the child had not lived well these past years, Madam Li's hands trembled slightly as she accepted the report.

Seeing Madam Li's hands shaking constantly, unable to bring herself to turn over the first page of the report.

Lu Qi moved to sit beside Madam Li, took her hand comfortingly, and said firmly, "Mom, everything will get better from now on."

The past could not be changed, but the future could.

Although Lu Qi and Madam Li had both prepared themselves mentally, after reading the investigation report, they still could not help feeling oppressed and bitter.

Madam Li in particular had only one thought in her mind: to find that child immediately and bring him home.

No matter how frantic the Lu family was, and even though Lu Father had mobilized the family's private plane, Haishi was far from the Shancheng where Lu Yao currently lived. One was in the south and the other in the north. The flight alone took more than five hours, so by the time their plane landed in Shancheng, night had already fallen.

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