For the next month, the weather was quite sunny.

Sunlight gave the entire beach a bright luster. The seawater was clear and transparent, warmed comfortably by the sun, and the shadows of the reefs… Occasionally, there would be a few showers, not too big or too small, but they usually weren’t heavy and stopped quickly. In the blink of an eye, the sun would peek out from the cracks in the clouds again.

After that day, Luo Chi quickly found his own rhythm of life.

Sensing that the version of himself in his dreams missed his mom so much, Luo Chi would super loyally drag his grown-up self out without a word, yielding his mom to him for the entire day.

After waking up, although that feeling faded a lot, plenty of impressions remained. He suddenly discovered that many things weren’t actually that difficult.

Surfing wasn’t that scary, and snorkeling techniques weren’t that hard to master. As long as he overcame the initial psychological barrier, it wasn’t difficult to master the skills through extensive training and gradually find the knack.

The heat control and sweetness level for making pastries weren’t that complicated either. He knew his mom’s tastes best, so he didn’t necessarily have to follow the tutorials strictly. As long as he felt confident, the pastries he made would surely suit his mom’s palate.

His happiness was linked to his mom’s, so no matter what was on his mind or what he wanted, he could say it frankly—this was his and his mom’s home.

This was also his home, so he could trim the lawn and the trees in the garden according to his own ideas, install a hammock in the garden, draw on the walls, and bravely leave his own traces in the house.

After fully figuring these things out and thoroughly thinking through many issues he hadn’t understood before, Luo Chi became even busier than before.

…

Of course, breakfast every day was still unchangeable, always left to the little kid who rushed into the kitchen at the sound of the alarm.

Ren Shuangmei’s short vacation ended, and she had to return to the company to handle new work. Luo Chi would make breakfast early every morning and prepare lunch boxes for noon.

Because of the habits left from those three years, Luo Chi got up very early in the morning. Unless he took medicine the night before, he would wake up as soon as the sun came out the next day.

If he woke up too early, Luo Chi would carry his guitar and climb that low hill, writing songs in the pavilion while enjoying the moist and cool morning breeze.

He had just started learning music theory, so many of the tunes he wrote were quite immature, but it didn’t matter at all.

Every time he finished writing a song, Luo Chi would run to sing it for his mom. His mom would definitely applaud him vigorously, then secretly learn it, accurately picking out which part of the tune Huo Miao was humming. The two of them would sing together, line by line.

During the day, while Ren Shuangmei was busy at the company, Luo Chi also had plenty to do at home. He had classes, learned painting, and even found time to learn swimming.

For Luo Chi, mastering the curriculum for his age was actually not difficult at all.

The Luo family always felt that since he had been missing for three years and later hospitalized for recovery, he must have fallen behind and knew nothing. But in fact, during those three years, Sister Zhao Lan took him to the recycling station to secretly buy discarded elementary school textbooks. They hid them in the most inconspicuous corner of the woodshed and quietly had lessons every midnight, missing nothing.

The hired teacher agreed with him that as long as he firmly grasped the necessary parts, he could end the course early. So Luo Chi had a lot of time to paint. He learned while reading books, sending his homework to that grandpa who was the group founder every day, quickly becoming addicted to the joy of smearing paint.

He had so many paintings he wanted to paint that just drawing on paper wasn’t satisfying enough. The white walls in the villa changed appearance every day. Ren Shuangmei had a surprise every time she came home; if the little kid didn’t come to pick her up, she occasionally even got lost.

So, Luo Chi also developed a habit of lying on the terrace railing every night, watching the villa entrance. As soon as he saw car lights, he knew his mom was home and would immediately dash down to meet her.

…

However, the car that drove back to the villa today didn’t seem to be his mom’s.

Luo Chi ran to the parking spot. He looked at the few people getting out of the car, paused, and slowly stopped.

He recognized the people who came.

When his mom took him back to the Ren family, she had introduced him to them one by one. The old gentleman who got out of the passenger seat was his mom’s father; his mom told him to call him Grandpa. The other two were cousins; he had to call them Uncle.

Luo Chi actually vaguely knew a possible reason why these elders would suddenly come to Wanghai Villa.

Luo Chi hadn’t changed his number, and the Luo family had sent him quite a few messages. At first, they spoke softly, coaxing him to come back, telling him his room was ready and he could stay in his old room.

Phone numbers were things you could never finish blocking. Messages came apologizing to him, saying he had been wronged all this time, and adding that his sister missed him, crying for her brother every night.

Luo Chi actually wasn’t too at ease about his sister either.

His sister was only three years younger than him. He had been a big brother almost since he could understand things, always remembering firmly to take care of and protect his sister. When they were little, his sister was closest to him, running behind him almost every day.

…But he could figure out that his sister didn’t miss him that much.

If his sister really missed him to the point of crying endlessly, they would have seized this opportunity to call him, letting him hear his sister crying on the phone asking for her brother to come back.

But since those people didn’t do that, it meant his sister was still the same as before. Although she was one of the few in that house who treated him relatively well, it was only because he would secretly take her out to play and buy her snacks and gifts.

Whenever Luo Chi thought about this, he actually worried a bit.

His sister wasn’t close to him. He could understand that this was because he hadn’t been home for too long. When he got lost, his sister was still young and didn’t have much impression of him left. Plus, she always heard adults saying how trouble-making and annoying the returned child was.

Children didn’t have their own independent opinions and thoughts yet. Hearing this, she would naturally and unconsciously develop a prejudice against this second brother who suddenly appeared.

But Luo Chi always felt that if his sister continued to be raised by Mrs. Luo and Jian Huaiyi, growing up slowly over time, it was uncertain what she would become.

Luo Chi had mentioned this to the head of the Luo family a few times. Every time, he was either furiously scolded out of the door or sternly interrupted with complete impatience. Luo Jun also disapproved of these words, instead believing that Luo Chi was sowing discord, and never took them to heart.

…

In short, realizing that these methods couldn’t make Luo Chi change his mind, the messages gradually stopped mentioning his sister.

Since soft tactics didn’t work, those people switched to hard ones.

New messages constantly pressured Luo Chi, reminding him that the Ren family broke with the Luo family because of him.

The two families had cooperated for so many years and were inseparable in many fields. Suddenly cutting everything off without explanation might be satisfying, but the problems left behind would definitely not be few.

Luo Chengxiu had mentioned this on the day of the banquet. Unfortunately, he completely failed to threaten Ren Shuangmei. Instead, he watched helplessly as she cut the Gordian knot, cleaning everything up in one breath. All the severed ports had already started updating partners, and many suspended businesses had even resumed operations.

Luo Chengxiu was invited to sit in detention for a few days on suspicion of abuse. This matter had long spread in the circle, and he himself was fuming with rage, gritting his teeth and swearing to take revenge on the Ren family for this.

During this period, Luo Chengxiu united with quite a few companies and groups to pressure the companies under Ren Shuangmei together. They unscrupulously started price wars and snatched quite a few orders. Since the two families knew each other inside out from their cooperation, the Luo family’s unethical tactics did make the Ren family seem a bit weary in dealing with them.

Although they had picked up a decent contract before, for the Ren family’s overall business, it was still a drop in the bucket.

…

Old Master Ren and the two younger generations were invited into the main house by Luo Chi, who told him these things and patiently analyzed the situation for him.

Luo Chi brewed the tea, brushed away the foam, and poured it into the tea cups on the table.

He thought seriously about what the other party said, didn’t answer immediately, and gently placed the teapot on the table.

“You are the child Shuangmei has decided on.” Old Master Ren looked at him. “We like you very much too.”

“If you were someone else’s child, we would welcome you to come and play at home very much, and treat you like our own nephew.” Old Master Ren raised his gaze, his expression very kind: “If you weren’t a child of the Luo family, and Shuangmei wanted to adopt you and be your mother, we would definitely approve without reservation—can you understand what I mean?”

Luo Chi was silent for a while before nodding: “Because of me, the Ren family was dragged into unnecessary turmoil.”

“We don’t mean to blame you.” The older middle-aged man on the side said, “Shuangmei told us what happened. Not a single person in that family is good. The Ren family misjudged them for so many years.”

Their visit this time wasn’t intended to drive Luo Chi away or make him go back at all—after all, Ren Shuangmei had already made them accept this matter themselves. If anyone dared to object, they might be thrown to manage some overseas businesses related to mining and coal digging.

Adopting this child was already a done deal, but as long as Luo Chi stayed here for one more day, that thorn stuck in the Luo family couldn’t be pulled out. Luo Chengxiu cared so much about face; being poked in the spine and told he couldn’t even raise a child well, that one may know a person’s face but not their heart, he might take some extreme competitive measures against the Ren family.

“We have no objection to the decision Shuangmei made. We welcome you to be our family.” The middle-aged man said, “It’s just… we want to ask you a favor.”

He opened his briefcase, took out several beautifully bound admissions brochures, and placed them in front of Luo Chi.

Luo Chi took the brochures and opened them, paused, and looked up.

These were all admissions brochures for foreign middle schools.

The schools’ standards were very good, with excellent treatment, environment, and faculty. If Luo Chi intended to study abroad, it was actually quite a good choice.

The middle-aged man didn’t speak more plainly, but the meaning was already very clear.

If Luo Chi, as the core party involved in this turmoil, could actively choose to go abroad and let this matter gradually be forgotten by people, the Luo family wouldn’t jump around endlessly.

These middle schools all had long academic systems. If Luo Chi stayed abroad for five years and came back when he was an adult, it would be long enough for time to cover everything up.

Luo Chi said, “Mom will be angry.”

The middle-aged man’s face stiffened, and he smiled awkwardly: “Yes…”

…Of course they knew Shuangmei would be angry. Not only would she be angry, but she might also kick them out.

Otherwise, there would be no need for the three of them to sneak over specifically when only Luo Chi was in the villa.

The middle-aged man lowered his voice somewhat unnaturally, “Can you not tell Shuangmei?”

Luo Chi frowned slightly. He didn’t know how to answer this question, nor had he thought about how to express his thoughts yet.

…But he had to say it.

Mom taught him a lot, and his friends at sea and his future self also taught him a lot. He should achieve it by himself, not hide behind Mom every time.

“We’ve consulted about it. Changing to a new environment, traveling more, and seeing more will also help your condition.” The middle-aged man’s tone was gentle, “You want to go out and see the world too, right?”

Luo Chi nodded, thought carefully for a moment, and then spoke: “But it’s different.”

The middle-aged man paused slightly, “What’s different?”

“Mom would hope that I go out to learn new things and see people and things I haven’t seen because I want to go out myself.” Luo Chi said, “Not to escape.”

The middle-aged man looked a bit uncomfortable: “You can’t put it that way. Look—you’re doing it for your mom, right?”

“She works so hard every day; more than half of it is dealing with the Luo family’s tossing and turning. It’s already this late, and she hasn’t come back yet.” The middle-aged man asked, “Isn’t leaving voluntarily being considerate of her?”

Luo Chi curled his fingers, clenched them lightly, and slowly shook his head.

“If I do this, Mom will be angry and sad.” Luo Chi said, “Doing something that makes Mom angry and sad isn’t being considerate of her.”

“If Mom asked me to go abroad, I would agree immediately.”

Luo Chi had made up his mind and looked up: “But if Mom doesn’t think so, I won’t run. I will grow up as fast as possible to help her.”

The middle-aged man was somewhat dumbfounded. In his view, Luo Chi had obviously been displaced for a long time and was afraid he would have nowhere to go if he left here, so he refused to agree. “Don’t worry, you can come back anytime you want.”

“Besides, this is business.” The middle-aged man laughed involuntarily, “How can you help with business matters, little friend…”

Before his voice fell, the sound of keys suddenly came from outside the villa door.

The faces of the three people suddenly became somewhat uncomfortable. Even Old Master Ren was about to stand up. The door of the main house was pushed open, and the person outside walked in quickly while on the phone.

“I told you already, no!” Ren Shuangmei’s tone on the phone was unfriendly, “That’s my son, stop getting ideas about him—”

The lights in the living room were on. Ren Shuangmei paused, looked up, and saw the few people who hadn’t had time to run away, frowning.

Old Master Ren coughed lightly.

“Talk later.” Ren Shuangmei instructed in a low voice and hung up the phone. “Dad, why did you bring them here?”

When she opened the door, the middle-aged man had already hurriedly put away the admissions brochures and smiled awkwardly: “We… came to see Xiao Chi.”

“Shuangmei, you’re back so late.” Old Master Ren asked, “A lot of things at the company?”

“It was okay, quite satisfying.”

Ren Shuangmei didn’t mind, quickly lifted the little kid, and rubbed him all over: “Not because of that. Argued with a few people for a few rounds, got delayed.”

Old Master Ren frowned tightly, “What happened?”

“What else could happen? Still that multinational group. The old man started again, insisting on trading a mine for our little kid.”

Ren Shuangmei rubbed the little kid’s ears. She vaguely guessed that the homework Luo Chi submitted had attracted those people’s attention. She fished out a peach candy from her pocket for Luo Chi: “There were also a few entertainment people. The video of the bonfire party by the sea trended before, and quite a few people are eyeing him.”

She stuffed the candy into Huo Miao’s mouth and put a piece in her own mouth too: “They all want to snatch Huo Miao to debut. Several talent scouts staked heavy bets to grab him, fighting to sell me favors for this… Cousin, do any of you want to open a film and television company?”

The middle-aged man listened with his mouth agape, stunned for a moment: “…What?”

When the three of them came, they had prepared a bellyful of words to comfort Luo Chi, to make Luo Chi believe that the Ren family wouldn’t abandon him or leave him with nowhere to go.

As for business matters, it was already a great fortune if a child didn’t make this storm worse, let alone anything else.

“They all want to snatch Huo Miao. Knowing they have to start with me, they endlessly send resources my way. They’ve almost squeezed the Luo family’s film and television company out of business.” Ren Shuangmei said, “The delisting caused a huge uproar two days ago, saying the Luo family was cutting off the tail to survive and ignoring them. It even made the financial news.”

“I saw it was just sitting there, so I asked someone to buy it and found it could still be saved.”

Ren Shuangmei glanced at the people opposite, “If none of you want to open one, I’ll register it under Huo Miao’s name.”

The middle-aged man stood there blankly, opened his mouth, but couldn’t make a sound.

Ren Shuangmei thought about it, looking quite expectant: “Those surnamed Luo don’t know yet that I actually bought their company. I wonder what their reaction will be in a few days… Oh, right.”

Ren Shuangmei remembered something and suddenly stopped talking.

She gently put the little kid on the ground, rubbed his head quickly again, and told Huo Miao to go back to the dining room first to heat up the food and wait for Mom. Huo Miao was very cooperative, nodded, said goodbye to the elders, and ran up the stairs.

Ren Shuangmei waved to the little kid on the stairs. She waited until Huo Miao ran into the dining room before turning back, casually picking up the broom placed aside and dusting the fireplace.

“Dad, you sit first.”

Ren Shuangmei rubbed her wrist, holding the broom, and asked: “Cousin, what are you guys here for?”