Shocking! The Broke Campus Heartthrob Is My Child’s Father - Chapter 14
Jiang Ruoqiao knew her words weren’t entirely accurate.
After all, Lu Yicheng was a guy too.
She decided to skip over the topic and instead asked, “Do you still remember that girl’s in-game username?”
Though phrased as a question, her tone was certain. Lu Yicheng had an exceptional memory—she had heard Jiang Yan praise him more than once, saying he was the most diligent student in their department and that his memory was unbelievably good…
Lu Yicheng remained silent for a few seconds before nodding.
What happened last night was impossible to forget, especially since it was such a sensitive matter.
“What was it?”
Instead of answering, Lu Yicheng asked, “What do you want to do?”
Jiang Ruoqiao replied, “Nothing. I just want to know.”
They locked eyes. Lu Yicheng gripped his bottle of mineral water, and after a moment, he finally spoke in a low voice, “It’s Stars, Not the Moon.”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “…?”
“I’m only saying it once. I won’t repeat it.”
She had already committed it to memory. Her own memory was famously sharp as well.
Looking at Lu Yicheng’s expression, she could tell there was more she didn’t know. “Is there anything else?”
Lu Yicheng: “No.”
Jiang Ruoqiao’s lips curled slightly. “You’re really bad at lying.”
It was obvious at a glance.
Still, if someone like him ever decided to lie seriously, maybe no one in the world would be able to see through it.
“Forget it. I won’t press you.” Jiang Ruoqiao let him off the hook. She knew he was in a difficult position—after all, that “scumbag” claiming to have a sister was his good friend. The fact that he was even telling her this much was likely because she was Lu Siyan’s mother.
Lu Yicheng couldn’t deny that hearing her say “forget it” was a relief. He felt as if he’d just been pardoned.
But at the same time, he found it strange.
Everyone who spoke about Jiang Ruoqiao described her as kind, understanding, and gentle. Even Jiang Yan had said it multiple times.
Yet after spending the past two days with her, Lu Yicheng felt those words didn’t quite fit.
Jiang Ruoqiao turned toward the inside of the apartment and called out, “Lu Siyan, you can come over now.”
Little Lu Siyan, with his completely deflated backpack on his shoulders, appeared at the doorway in an instant—without a second of hesitation.
“Time to go home,” Jiang Ruoqiao said. “See you tomorrow.”
Lu Siyan waved. “Bye~”
Jiang Ruoqiao glanced at the electric mosquito repellent in her hand and asked, “Lu Yicheng, how much was this? I’ll transfer the money to you.”
Lu Yicheng wanted to say it was just a few dozen yuan and it didn’t matter. But considering their relationship, he thought it was best to keep things clear. He fished a receipt from his pocket and handed it to her. “Cash or WeChat?”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “Show me your payment code.”
This was something Lu Yicheng did well.
Despite his tendency to overthink, he wasn’t the type to be awkward about money. If it were another guy, they would probably insist, “Forget it, just consider it my treat.” But Jiang Ruoqiao really disliked that. They weren’t dating, nor were they in some ambiguous relationship—did she need someone to buy her something that cost only a few dozen yuan? Was she short on money? Later, such guys would probably even self-righteously say, “Since I treated you, that means you agreed to go on a date with me…”
Lu Yicheng took out his phone, made a few taps, and handed it to her.
Jiang Ruoqiao scanned the code and sent the payment.
At that moment, Lu Siyan noticed his dad was carrying a giant watermelon and was utterly amazed. “Whoa! That watermelon is huge!”
“Mhmm. A student’s parent gave it to me,” Lu Yicheng said, still looking at his phone to confirm the transfer.
Lu Siyan blurted out, “Then give half of it to Xiao Qiao! Mommy loves watermelon!”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “…”
“I don’t.”
“Every time we buy watermelon at home, Dad always gives Mom the sweetest, middle piece first. Mommy definitely loves watermelon~” Lu Siyan declared.
Lu Yicheng: “…”
This felt… jarring.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that the him in Lu Siyan’s words wasn’t actually him.
In truth, the kid rarely talked about the future, and Lu Yicheng never pried. Likewise, Jiang Ruoqiao wasn’t interested in discussing married life or romantic relationships.
So when Lu Siyan suddenly brought up these things in front of both of them, it was… awkward.
Because right now, they were still strangers. And their relationship was… complicated.
“Let’s go.” Lu Yicheng took Lu Siyan’s hand and said goodbye to Jiang Ruoqiao.
Jiang Ruoqiao: “Mhm! Mhm!”
Hurry up and leave!
She watched the father and son enter the elevator before quickly closing the door.
On the way down, Lu Yicheng led Lu Siyan out of the apartment building and found a shaded spot to stop. With a serious expression, he asked, “Did you deliberately let her find out today?”
Such a small child, yet already so scheming.
Was this really his kid?
Lu Siyan answered with equal seriousness, “I heard everything you guys said in the game last night!”
Adults always thought kids didn’t understand anything.
But children were people too.
And no creature in the world was better at sensing true emotions than a child.
Besides, in the future, Lu Siyan was already recognized as having above-average intelligence.
“When that person said they were a sister, the other two uncles’ tones immediately changed!” Lu Siyan said. “And you too, Dad—your expression was off. This isn’t a good thing, I know it.”
He didn’t know why it wasn’t a good thing, but he could feel it.
“So you told your mom today?”
Lu Siyan, being an honest kid, admitted, “I had already forgotten, but then Mom was video chatting with someone, and I recognized that uncle’s voice.”
“Then why did you tell her? Do you even know what their relationship is?”
Lu Siyan covered his ears with his chubby hands. “I don’t wanna listen! I don’t wanna know!”
Lu Yicheng’s fleeting smile faded. He crouched down and said seriously, “Siyan, what you did today was wrong. I want you to be a truthful and upright person. Tattling behind someone’s back is not okay.”
“How is it wrong?” Lu Siyan frowned. “She’s my mom! If someone is lying to her, and I know about it, why wouldn’t I tell her?”
Lu Yicheng was momentarily speechless.
Because he realized—the kid had a strong sense of logic.
Even when adults told him he was wrong, he would argue back with irrefutable reasoning.
“Others might deceive her, but I never will,” Lu Siyan insisted. “She’s my mom. My mom.”
His message was clear.
Jiang Ruoqiao was his dearest, most precious mom. If he didn’t know others were deceiving her, that was one thing. But if he knew and didn’t say anything, how could he call himself her precious son?
Lu Yicheng stared at him. “So, you know what their relationship is?”
Lu Siyan fell silent.
“Siyan, let’s drop this matter,” Lu Yicheng said. “But don’t do this with other things. Whether this behavior is right or wrong depends on your intention. If you don’t want others to deceive and hurt your mom, then I apologize—I wrongly blamed you. But if you’re intentionally trying to destroy their relationship… I don’t approve of that approach. Why? Because you don’t know the full picture.”
Lu Siyan held out one hand, showing four fingers. “This much is because I don’t want others to deceive my mom.”
Then he extended his pinky, showing a tiny space the size of a fingernail. “Only this little bit is because I don’t want them to be together!”
“Very good, then I apologize to you. I’m sorry,” Lu Yicheng patted his head. “However, after all this time, you should know that you weren’t supposed to be here in the first place. At this point, I have no relationship with her at all. Even following the future path you described, we had you six or seven years later. But now, we both have our own lives. We can’t be together just because you arrived early, and you shouldn’t think that everyone your mom meets now is wrong. Do you understand?”
“We’ll take good care of you, but we won’t change the direction of our lives because of you. No matter who she ends up with, she’ll always be your mom. Your relationship won’t change, so don’t worry.”
Lu Siyan seemed to half-understand.
Even though he was smarter than kids his age, he was still a child. He had his own opinions and his own little thoughts, but he could tell that what his dad said was right.
“Oh.” Though he understood, he still responded stubbornly with just a sound.
As they walked toward the exit, Lu Siyan suddenly said, “But in the future, I still won’t help anyone deceive mom, including you, Dad!”
Lu Yicheng smiled. “Alright, alright, I got it.”
“But what if that person is really trying to deceive her and hurt her?” Lu Siyan asked.
Lu Yicheng: “Didn’t you already say you won’t help anyone deceive her?”
“But…” Lu Siyan scratched his head, “What about you, Dad?”
Lu Yicheng smiled but didn’t say anything.
Just then, a young man walked past them, head down playing a game. This reminded Lu Siyan of something very important that he’d forgotten!
Young Dad was always very busy, busy attending classes, busy cooking for him, and hadn’t played any games in the past few days. But this morning and noon, Dad was playing games even while cooking in the kitchen!
Dad clearly didn’t like games and didn’t have time for them.
Lu Siyan suddenly realized, So Dad was also very concerned about this matter! He knew it—Mom’s matters were always Dad’s top priority~