Shocking! The Broke Campus Heartthrob Is My Child’s Father - Chapter 18

Jiang Ruoqiao blurted out, “Why?”

Why was Lu Yicheng doing this?

She knew that nowadays, children born out of wedlock could still be registered for household status. She understood that, but understanding was one thing; making the decision herself was another.

Because she knew exactly what this meant.

Lu Yicheng looked at her with a calm expression and spoke in an even tone, “This is the best solution I came up with after weighing all the pros and cons. First, there’s no one else in my family. I’m the only person on my household registration, so doing this won’t alarm my relatives, and I won’t need to explain anything to anyone. I do have an aunt, but she married and moved away years ago. When my grandmother was alive, she only came back every few years. Now that my grandmother is gone, she won’t be coming back at all. But you… you still have family, right? On your household registration, you’re not alone.”

Jiang Ruoqiao nodded slightly.

She hesitated.

Due to her family situation, she hadn’t even told Jiang Yan, but now seeing how supportive Lu Yicheng was, she only hesitated for a few seconds before revealing some of it. “My dad passed away a long time ago. I grew up living with my mom at my grandparents’ house. My household registration is with my grandmother.”

Lu Yicheng responded with a quiet “Mm.” “If Siyan were to be registered under your household, it would inevitably alert your grandparents. I assume you’re not ready to tell them yet?”

“Yeah, my grandparents aren’t in great health,” Jiang Ruoqiao said. “I’ll tell them in a couple of years, but not now. I don’t want to trouble them.”

“That makes sense. I understand,” Lu Yicheng said. “If my grandmother were still alive, I wouldn’t necessarily be able to make this decision either. Second, the age on my ID is actually one year older than my real age.”

Jiang Ruoqiao looked at him.

“In the eyes of the authorities, I’m 21. So if you do the math for Siyan’s birth year…”

At this point, Lu Yicheng stopped talking. A moment ago, he had been composed and confident, but now he looked slightly embarrassed.

Doing the math, in the eyes of outsiders, it would seem like he got someone pregnant when he was only 15 or 16.

“Your ID number shows you just turned 20,” Lu Yicheng continued. “I think it’s not great for people to assume you… when you were just a teenager. Either way, one of us will be misunderstood, and it seems like it would be easier for people to accept if it’s me.”

He stated it simply, but Jiang Ruoqiao understood his point.

There’s a saying: switch the genders, and the public opinion shifts completely.

Indeed, if Siyan were registered under Lu Yicheng, at most, people might gossip a little, talking about how young he was when he… But if Siyan were registered under her, the situation would be much more complicated.

Jiang Ruoqiao was silent for a moment before looking up at him. “Do you have any conditions?”

Or rather, any requests?

She couldn’t deny it—registering Siyan under Lu Yicheng was undoubtedly the best option for her.

First, she wouldn’t have to show up personally, and she knew Lu Yicheng wouldn’t mention her to the authorities. Legally, there would be no connection between her and Lu Siyan.

Second, once Siyan had a household registration, she wouldn’t have to worry about his schooling anymore.

But what did Lu Yicheng want in return?

“Nothing,” Lu Yicheng paused, then corrected himself. “If I had to say I had a condition or request, it would just be that you share the responsibility of raising him with me.”

“Just that?” Jiang Ruoqiao wasn’t fully convinced.

“Mm.”

There was no denying it—Lu Yicheng had always come across as extremely reliable.

Deep down, Jiang Ruoqiao felt a huge sense of relief. What she thought would be a difficult and complicated issue turned out to be so simple. Maybe the past few days had just been too dramatic, but she actually felt lucky—lucky that Siyan’s father was Lu Yicheng.

If it had been anyone else, she couldn’t even imagine how many endless fights and arguments they would have gone through.

“Thank you,” Jiang Ruoqiao said sincerely.

Lu Yicheng smiled. “It’s the right thing to do.”

After all, it wasn’t like he was registering someone else’s child under his name. This was his own son. And yet she was thanking him in return. The feeling was quite interesting.

“Alright, now that the household registration issue is settled, we still have a few more important things to discuss,” Lu Yicheng said. “Take a look at this.” He pulled out a few papers from his backpack and handed them to her. “When you have time, look these over. I found some private kindergartens near A University. I’ll take care of the household registration first thing in the morning, and once it’s done, we’ll need to visit the schools in person before enrolling him.”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “…”

Bodhisattva.

He really was a bodhisattva.

Lu Yicheng was so thorough that he had even researched kindergartens, pre-selected them, and was just waiting for them to visit and choose one.

His efficiency was unparalleled.

“We’ll split the kindergarten tuition evenly. How does that sound?”

Jiang Ruoqiao skimmed through the kindergarten information while gesturing to indicate no problem.

“Second, my home is too far from A University. If I commute every day, it’ll be a waste of time and incredibly inconvenient. So, a few days ago, I listed my apartment for rent. Once it’s rented out, I’ll find a two-bedroom apartment near A University. After school starts, I’ll apply to live off-campus. Would you mind covering part of the rent? It won’t be much.”

Jiang Ruoqiao had no objections.

“Great. Starting tomorrow, potential tenants will be coming to view my apartment. If I’m not home, would you mind showing them around?”

“I don’t mind, as long as it fits my schedule.”

Lu Yicheng nodded with a smile. “I’ll make sure it won’t interfere with your work.”

“And lastly, I’ll leave the task of hiring a nanny to you. Kindergarten ends early, so we’ll need someone to pick up Siyan and prepare dinner. I don’t have evening study sessions in my third year, so after class I can go straight home. We just need the nanny to cover from 4 PM to 6 or 7 PM.”

“Got it. No problem.”

Lu Yicheng put away his papers. “That’s everything for now.”

After this discussion, Jiang Ruoqiao’s impression of Lu Yicheng skyrocketed. She had to admit—he was clean, organized, and, above all, dependable.

With him around, even something as big as this didn’t seem like a big deal anymore.

What had tormented her for days was now resolved just like that.

Jiang Ruoqiao found Lu Yicheng very pleasant to be around. She was in such good spirits that when seeing him off, she walked him all the way to the elevator.

Lu Yicheng deserved this treatment! He absolutely did!

Not to mention little onlooker Lu Siyan whose jaw nearly dropped in shock, even Lu Yicheng himself was a little…overwhelmed by the favor.

Jiang Ruoqiao’s voice was gentler, her smile softer. She waved at him. “Take care. Stay safe.”

Lu Yicheng froze.

Just moments ago, he had been articulating their plans clearly, his thoughts organized, his tone confident—completely in control.

But now, he was at a loss for words.

As the elevator doors slowly closed, the last thing he saw was Jiang Ruoqiao’s smiling face.

Lu Yicheng was still processing this unexpected turn of events.

Until his son Lu Siyan, unable to stand it any longer, tugged at his sleeve.

Lu Yicheng looked down at him. “What is it?”

“Dad, you’re still the same as before.”

The “before” Lu Siyan spoke of was the “future”.

“What do you mean?”

Lu Siyan bluntly said, “Although Mom can be fierce sometimes, whenever she ties your tie for you, you stay happy the whole day!”

Mom rarely tied Dad’s ties for him.

But those couple of times she did, Dad was over the moon. Dad even bought him Lego sets in the evening.

Lu Yicheng frowned skeptically. “Really?”

“So Dad, you must be thrilled right now, huh?” Lu Siyan didn’t wait for his response before stretching out his chubby little hand, palm upturned. “Does this mean you’ll buy me a toy today?”

Lu Yicheng: “…”

His expression turned solemn.

Walking out of the apartment complex with Lu Siyan, his face remained serious the entire way.

Lu Siyan couldn’t stand it anymore. “Alright, alright, never mind the toy.”

He nearly forgot—right now, Dad was broke.

Lu Yicheng ignored him.

He just felt that based on Lu Siyan’s description, his future self sounded a lot like…

Like what?

Right as they were about to get on the bus, a middle-aged woman walked by, walking her dog. Her puppy was lively, frequently stopping to circle around her. She squatted down and the puppy licked her face.

Suddenly, Lu Yicheng realized what his future self resembled.

Lu Yicheng: “?”

No.

Surely not.

Children always view their parents through rose-tinted glasses. Perhaps in Siyun’s eyes, he beautified the interactions between his parents.

Lu Siyan loved small animals and stared at the puppy for a long time until the bus arrived, reluctant to part.

Only after getting on the bus did Lu Siyan say to Lu Yicheng, “I like that dog. It’s so good at licking!”

He also wanted a puppy to lick him all over like that. It must be so fun!

Lu Yicheng: “…”

*

This was the most relaxed day for Jiang Ruoqiao this entire week.

Both her body and mind got a break.

All the problems that had seemed so difficult suddenly weren’t a big deal anymore.

If issues that complicated could be resolved, then what did dreaming about that novel matter? What did it matter??

Jiang Ruoqiao, feeling much more lighthearted, once again used her side account to visit “It’s A Star”‘s Weibo homepage.

Never underestimate a woman’s curiosity. Jiang Ruoqiao went from “It’s A Star”‘s Weibo to her Instagram. She spent an hour organizing the photos of “It’s A Star”‘s home. Some were screenshots from videos. Jiang Ruoqiao had also taken screenshots before when video chatting with Jiang Yan. After all sorts of comparisons, including angles and lighting, a conclusion could finally be drawn—”It’s A Star”‘s home and Jiang Yan’s home were one and the same.

“It’s A Star” was definitely a rich young lady. One could tell from the photos she regularly posted. Moreover, to be extra sure, Jiang Ruoqiao specifically searched for Lin’s Jewelry’s charity gala from last year. Mrs. Lin had attended the gala, and in the photos, a girl was indeed accompanying her. The internet had blurred out the girl’s face, but Jiang Ruoqiao recognized her immediately. The height and figure clearly matched “It’s A Star”.

The answer was obvious.

Jiang Ruoqiao propped her chin up with one hand, lost in thought. She had really stumbled and crashed when it came to Jiang Yan.

She actually misjudged him.

Well then, since she dreamed of that novel, from now on, the person with the golden halo wasn’t limited to the male and female leads. Another “her” had to be included as well.