Chapter 285: This Girl… Is My Son?
He looked pale, tired, and clearly had lost weight. If Xia Zhilan didn’t know better, she would have thought her son had been drained by some seductive fox spirit!
Then she looked at the room behind him in the video.
This wasn’t the apartment they had bought for Xia Changyu in Fucheng. The decoration and layout didn’t match at all. It looked crowded, small, and made people feel stressed just looking at it.
But when she looked at her son’s face, he seemed happy with the place, and even looked like he was enjoying it?
Xia Zhilan: “Son~~”
Xia Changyu took a few more bites of his food and finally replied, satisfied, “Ah, Mom, what is it? Oh right, you’re asking when I’ll come home? Baiyi left this morning, so I don’t really have anything to stay for in Fucheng anymore. I’ll check the schedule. After I help with the company’s year-end dinner, I’ll head back. Really, you don’t have to worry about me.”
The “year-end dinner” he mentioned is a tradition in some southern areas, where the boss holds a meal to thank employees for their hard work throughout the year.
And speaking of Lin Yibai…
Xia Zhilan instantly got more excited.
Who wouldn’t love such a great daughter-in-law? She was amazing in every way, except for the part where she completely drained her son’s energy.
Xia Zhilan started dropping hints.
She told Xia Changyu to take care of his body. As a young person, he needed to know how to control himself, got it?
While still eating, Xia Changyu frowned and mumbled, “Mom, why do you sound just like Baiyi? She also keeps telling me to ‘control myself’ and ‘take it easy.’ I really don’t get it. I’m only in my early twenties! What do I need to ‘control’?”
He had no idea what it meant to be young and foolish. All he knew was, winners don’t hold back.
Xia Zhilan got a bit upset, and now she realized the truth.
It wasn’t that Lin Yibai was too good at draining his energy. It was simply that someone, like this overly excited son of hers, was the real problem.
She originally wanted to scold him loudly and tell him off for his unhealthy bedroom habits. But after thinking it over, she held back.
After all, her son was now an adult.
As a parent, she shouldn’t try to control every part of his life, especially not his private life. That would be too much!
So Xia Zhilan chose to respect his choices. Plus, she didn’t think it was a big problem. Honestly, most guys go a little crazy in the beginning of a relationship. Later, after marriage, sometimes the girl wants it more, and the guy ends up avoiding his duties! Like her stupid husband, Hmph.
So, she only reminded him of one thing, “I don’t care how crazy you two get. But there is one thing you must be careful about.”
Xia Changyu asked, “What is it?”
Xia Zhilan said seriously, “Always use protection. Don’t be silly and skip it, okay?”
Hearing that, Xia Changyu paused, and gave his mom a deep look. He didn’t understand why his mom was bringing this up, it seemed pointless.
Forget being careless…
Even if he remembered, he still didn’t want to use protection.
The last time he bought some, they didn’t feel good at all, and honestly, he didn’t like them.
After a while, he asked, “Mom, do you have something against Baiyi? Are you unhappy with her or something?”
Xia Zhilan quickly waved her hands. “No, not at all! I really, really like Baiyi. Ever since I saw her protecting you, I’ve already decided she’s the perfect daughter-in-law! If you don’t marry her, I’ll be the one who gets upset!”
Xia Changyu said, “Then why use protection? I wish she was pregnant right now. After the New Year, I’ll go to her family to propose marriage… Sigh… If she really was pregnant, that would be amazing!”
Xia Zhilan felt like the logic was a bit off… but somehow, it also made perfect sense. Which parent wouldn’t want their son to start a family right after graduation?
And actually, she and her stupid husband were like this too until they hit a jackpot. Ahem... that's not important.
Alright, fine. No more questions.
Whatever he wants, she supports it.
Meanwhile, on the bus, Lin Yibai was feeling a little down.
Outside the window were endless rolling mountains. That’s what the whole Fucheng province looked like, nothing but mountains everywhere you looked.
On the bus, people were speaking in the hometown dialect, and it made Lin Yibai feel warm and comforted.
It was a little after 5 p.m. Even though it got dark early in winter, when the outline of her familiar little hometown came into view, Lin Yibai couldn’t help but feel emotional.
“Fried chicken skewers! Hot chicken skewers! Hey young man, want to take some home?”
“Need help moving things? Fast delivery, logistics services!”
“Need a motorcycle taxi?”
…
The bus station was just as noisy and familiar as before.
Lin Yibai felt full of emotions. She put her mask back on and slowly walked out of the station.
Her house was only nine bus stops away from the station. It would take just 10 minutes by a motorcycle taxi or a ride-hailing app.
But Lin Yibai, full of worries, chose to walk home instead. It would only take about 40 minutes.
She passed by a trendy clothing store. In the past, she really admired the clothes there. Even the cheapest ones cost several hundred yuan. But now, as she looked at her reflection in the store’s clean glass window, she couldn’t help but sigh.
Her clothes were still simple and plain. But now, she had more accessories.
The grey-and-white scarf looked stylish. It was one that Xia Changyu said he didn’t like and couldn’t return, so he gave it to her instead. It cost several thousand yuan. He told her not to waste it and to make use of it. And those pink fluffy earmuffs… you can’t say he “bought them by mistake,” right?
She really tried to stop accepting gifts from Xia Changyu. But as a girl… some gifts still ended up in her hands, with all sorts of creative reasons behind them.
“Hello, would you like to buy some clothes? We’re having a big clearance sale! Buy two and get 20% off, buy three and get 40% off!”
The store clerk’s voice pulled Lin Yibai out of her thoughts. She quickly waved her hand and said, “Ah, sorry. I’m just waiting for someone here. I’m not shopping.”
She quickly left the store.
But no matter how long she delayed… in the end, she still had to go home, right?
She arrived outside her somewhat old apartment complex. Inside, there were now many new family cars. In the past, the complex didn’t plan for enough parking spaces. Who would’ve thought that now almost every family could afford a car?
So the whole place looked very crowded. Lin Yibai tugged her mask up and mumbled, “I… I hope no one recognizes me.”
But she really didn’t need to worry.
The “world correction” only affected people close to her. In other words, only people who interacted with her or were related to her would have their memories changed.
So even her own parents would only “recognize” her after seeing her again in person. That’s when the correction would take place, making them believe they always had a daughter.
She wandered outside for a while, feeling confused, sad, and helpless.
But in the end, Lin Yibai still entered the complex and slowly walked to her front door. She stood there for a long time before finally knocking.
Knock knock knock—
“Who is it?”
The old apartment’s doors didn’t block sound very well. Hearing her mom’s voice from inside, Lin Yibai’s nose tingled, and she nearly cried.
It had been a whole year! Did her mother know how hard it was for her this past year?
Every day it was either three times or five times with Xia Changyu.
Ah… stop! Stop thinking such dirty thoughts! Get those images out of your head!
Creak~
When Lin Shuyan opened the door, she was a middle-aged woman who still looked graceful and attractive. She hesitated and asked, “Excuse me, are you here to check household records? Or maybe here for a gas inspection, or…?”
Lin Yibai slowly took off her mask, took a deep breath, and said sweetly, “Mom.”
Lin Shuyan: “??”
Wait… why is this beautiful girl calling me Mom?
Could it be that she’s my son Xiao Bai’s girlfriend?
But wait a minute.
The moment they met, the world’s timeline began correcting itself again.
So… is it possible?
That this beautiful girl… is my son?