Lu Ting Cheng was calm and rarely endangered himself, but that was different when it came to Lu Zi Zhen. Not only was he handling guns, he was handling the pharmaceutical industry, and he was also experimenting with God knows what in his science laboratory. It was this genius mind that made her remind him over and over, make sure he was taking caution.
He blinked up at her, his sulking expression faltering and suddenly replaced with a grin.
"And for the record," she added, "I may not have given birth to Ting Cheng, but he's my son too. He never made me earn that place, I had to prove it, quietly. Just like you are proving you can be responsible."
Zi Zhen turned to his brother, who hadn't said a word through the exchange. Lu Ting Cheng met his eyes and gave him a small smirk.
"She yells when she loves you. Trust me, you're her favorite."
Zi Zhen stared, stunned. Then—"Wait. Are you saying you want her to yell at you? What kind of kink is that?"
Lu Ting Cheng raised a brow. "Not particularly. But I wouldn't mind if she did. It'd mean I got close enough to her." Yes, she had never yelled or scolded him; if he ever did anything wrong, it was his father who would reprimand him.
Zi Zhen blinked, grinning from ear to ear. He suddenly felt awkward. "Well, uh… maybe I will share some of the yelling."
Lu Wan Ruyi let out a breathy laugh, her eyes softening as she reached over to squeeze Zi Zhen's hand and then held Lu Ting Cheng's hand.
Lu Zhi Hao smiled quietly, his heart full at the rare balance in their blended little world. He knew Lu Wan Ruyi adored all the kids, even though it was difficult to cross some boundaries.
"Ting Cheng," Lu Wan Ruyi said after a pause, her tone casual and warm, "Next time you want to get scolded by me, just let me find out about that tattoo you didn't get." She jokingly winked at her husband.
Zi Zhen loudly gasped, turning his face to meet his brother's eyes. "What?!"
Ting Cheng rolled his eyes at his silliness. Lu Ting Cheng has never thought of getting a tattoo, no matter what, "There's no tattoo. She's bluffing."
Lu Wan Ruyi smirked. "Or am I?"
Lots of laughter filled the car as the light turned green. And for a moment, there were no halves, no steps—just family. It was a happy family.
Zi Zhen leaned against his mother's shoulders, eyes wide open. "Wait, seriously? You were going to get a tattoo? What kind of tattoo? What for?" They never thought of having their bodies tattooed.
Lu Ting Cheng shot him a meaningful look. "You believe her over me? Then you don't know me that well."
"I believe Momma knows everything, she can't say anything out of nowhere, have you fallen in love? Because that's the only time when we want to have tattoos." Zi Zhen said, puffing his chest proudly as he leaned into his mother's side, arms still latched around her elbow. "She has got a mom radar."
Lu Wan Ruyi smiled but didn't answer, letting the mystery linger in between. That smile of hers, the one that said she knew far more than she let on, was more effective than any threat.
"I will neither confirm nor deny it," she said cryptically, eyes on the streets again. "But if I find any ink, I'm dragging you both to laser removal and making you sit through a full lecture on skin care routine."