"We are doing perfectly fine here, why would we go to Germany? Besides, has she ever thought about what would happen to our grandparents?"
Xu Zhanpeng grew agitated again, saying, "They raised us all these years. Does she expect us to just abandon them and run off far away to enjoy someone else's wealth and glory? What makes her think we are just like her?"
"So this is the reason why she is only looking for us now,"
Xu Yanxia looked calmly at Feng Yiheng and said, "She sees that we aren't completely mediocre and have a little bit of capability, thinking maybe we could be of some use to her?"
"And what if we were still nobodies? If the two of us had wallowed in despair because of her abandonment and ended up so destitute we couldn't even feed ourselves, would she still be willing to take us over there and confess everything to her husband?"
She finally let out a scoff and said, "True, we don't understand the survival rules of great families like yours. I only know that in this world, besides money and power, there is something called genuine affection."
She told Feng Yiheng, "Thank you for taking the trouble today to tell us all this on Ms. Tang's behalf. We are very grateful that she was willing to bring us into this world back then."
"But the title of 'mother' holds a lot of emotion. You might be able to say it, but forgive us, we cannot."
"My sister is right,"
Her brother also spoke up to Feng Yiheng, "I used to be obsessed with finding her. Now, this is fine too; it settles a lingering matter in my heart. Having you is enough for her. But we were raised by our grandparents, and we need to fulfill our rightful duties to them."
With that, he looked at his wife, Luo Jiajia, and his sister and brother-in-law, saying, "Let's go."
Everyone nodded and prepared to stand up.
This made Feng Yiheng a bit anxious, and he hurriedly added, "Please, wait a moment, okay? Perhaps I didn't express myself clearly just now. Mommy loves you very much. She just wants to give you a better life, not deprive you of your right to be with your grandparents. As long as the two elders are willing, you can absolutely bring them along to Germany too."
As his words fell, not only were the siblings Xu Zhanpeng and Xu Yanxia stunned, but even Luo Jiajia and Lu Jingming were quite surprised.
So this lady had already planned things out this far?
She actually intended to bring their entire family over?
...
After the initial surprise, Xu Zhanpeng looked at Feng Yiheng with a very baffled expression and said, "We are doing perfectly fine living in our own country. Why would we go over there? We are Chinese!"
Luo Jiajia nodded vigorously beside him.
Lu Jingming looked at his wife.
Xu Yanxia smiled slightly and also said to Feng Yiheng, "I'm sorry, you probably won't understand, but not everyone dislikes their hometown."
"When you go back, you can explicitly tell Ms. Tang that we will not go with her, and she doesn't need to worry about us anymore. Everyone is doing fine now. Since she made her choice a long time ago, she should just continue down the path she chose."
She made to leave again, but Feng Yiheng hastily called out, "Wait—"
"If possible, Mommy would also like to meet your grandparents. She is very grateful to the two elders for raising you, and for raising you so well. But she was afraid you would resist, so she could only have me pass on the message."
Xu Yanxia said calmly, "That will depend on the two elders' wishes. You might not know this, but my grandfather fell ill once this year and nearly had a stroke. He has finally managed to recover his health, and we don't want him to suffer any further shocks."
"Alright,"
Feng Yiheng nodded and added one more thing, "Mommy only has two days. Tomorrow night, she has to rush back to Germany."
Xu Yanxia also nodded and said, "Understood."
Then she got up and left the restaurant with her brother, sister-in-law, and Lu Jingming.
When they arrived at the parking lot and were about to part ways, her brother asked her, "Xiao Xia, should we tell Grandpa and Grandma?"
"Let's tell them,"
Xu Yanxia said. "Actually, over the years, it hasn't just been us thinking about her; Grandpa and Grandma have always worried about her too. Otherwise, when you got engaged a while back, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to send word to the village in Jingcheng."
"They have always felt guilty for not taking good care of her on Dad's behalf. Telling them the news will help put their minds at ease."
"Alright."
Her brother nodded and said, "Then we'll head to the shop first, and we'll tell Grandpa tonight when we go over."
He waved goodbye to them and led his wife to their car.
Lu Jingming also held Xu Yanxia's hand all the way back to their car and asked her, "How are you? If you're still feeling uncomfortable, you can tell me."
Xu Yanxia took a deep breath, however, and said, "Actually, knowing everything makes me feel much better. At the very least, this lingering thought is finally settled. Next time we go to burn joss paper for my dad, I can tell him."
With that, she sighed again. "When it comes to changing one's destiny, she is a very successful person. To be able to escape from such remote mountains and work her way up step by step to where she is today."
"She is also a very good stepmother. If that Mr. Feng knows about this in the afterlife, he must be very grateful that she raised his child so well."
"But she is not a qualified biological mother."
"But it doesn't really matter anymore. To us, her living a good life is better than her living a bad one. After all, my dad loved her so much. If he knew she was doing well, he would probably be relieved."
"My brother and I, we'll just continue to live our own lives well, just like before."
She tried her best to look at him and smile.
However, her slightly reddened eyes made Lu Jingming's heart ache even more.
He could only gently stroke her head and say, "Baby, don't be afraid. From now on, you have me to love you. You and I, we will work hard to build a warm home."
"Mhm,"
Xu Yanxia nodded. Before she could say anything else, his phone suddenly started vibrating.
Lu Jingming glanced at it, answered, and called out, "Mom."
Ms. Shen's voice came through the receiver, asking him, "Son, I just saw your WeChat Moments. Did you and Xiao Xia go get your marriage certificate?"
So it was about this.
Lu Jingming glanced at Xu Yanxia and said with a smile, "Yes, we went to get it this morning."
"Oh, you child, how could you not tell me about such an important matter sooner?!!"
Ms. Shen's voice immediately brightened, filled with unconcealed joy as she said, "Hurry up and bring Xiao Xia back to me. Tonight, our whole family will have dinner together to celebrate. It just so happens that Jingxi is also in Rong City, and I'll call Jingyao back later too."
"No problem, Mom."
Lu Jingming agreed without hesitation.
After hanging up with his mother, he smiled at Xu Yanxia and said, "Let's go, we're heading home to eat!"
It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon. The hearty breakfast they had stuffed themselves with in the morning was almost fully digested, and they were just starting to feel a bit hungry.
Who knew that right after he spoke, before he could even put his phone down, another call came in.
It was from Wen Jiajun.
Lu Jingming paused for a moment, but still answered it.
He heard Wen Jiajun ask first in a concerned tone, "Um, is your Xiao Xia doing alright?"
Lu Jingming replied, "She is fine, thanks for asking."
"That is good."
Wen Jiajun breathed a sigh of relief on the other end of the line and continued, "First of all, I have to congratulate you. We agreed to build our careers together back then, but you just had to go and fall in love first, and even got legally bound so quickly. You are definitely a step ahead of me. Congratulations."
"But right now, there are a few physical contracts at the company that you must sign in person, and two meetings you have to lead. Chairman Lu cannot cover for you. Hurry up and get over here."
Lu Jingming, "..."
Xu Yanxia started laughing beside him.
He gave her a helpless look, then said to Wen Jiajun on the phone, "Fine, let me drop my wife off at home first."
Then he hung up.
He turned to Xu Yanxia and said, "I have to get back to work. Do you want to wait and go see my mom together later, or should I drop you off there first?"
Xu Yanxia replied, "Drop me off first. I still need to say to Aun..."
She had habitually been about to say Auntie, but immediately corrected herself, "say thank you to Mom."
"Alright,"
Lu Jingming said with a smile, "I will drop you off at home before heading to work. You and Mom can have a chat, and I will come back early for dinner this afternoon."
Ahem, he was a married man with a wife now. He had to work even harder to make money so his wife could live a good life.
