Hai Tong asked, “Brother Dongming doesn’t mind, right?”
“No, he’s fine with it. He said Zhou Honglin will always be Yang Yang’s biological father, and Yang Yang won’t change his surname to Lu—he’ll stay a Zhou. That was part of the divorce agreement I signed with Zhou Honglin.”
Since they’d signed the agreement, they’d honor it.
Yang Yang’s surname didn’t change the fact that he was part of the Zhou family, so there was no need to alter it.
“Brother Dongming’s a straightforward guy,” Hai Tong said.
*Ring, ring, ring…*
As they spoke, Hai Ling’s phone rang.
It was Zhou’s mother calling.
Recognizing her voice, Hai Ling whispered to her sister, “Speak of the Zhou family, and my ex-mother-in-law calls.”
“Hai Ling, what did you say?” Zhou’s mother asked, having faintly heard Hai Ling’s whisper but not catching the words.
“Auntie, I was talking to my sister. Is something up?” Hai Ling replied.
It was early in the morning for a call like this.
“Hai Ling, you’re back, right?”
“Yes.”
“I heard you were back. With the New Year approaching and Yang Yang on winter break, we all miss him. Could you send him over to stay with us for a few days? You can pick him up on New Year’s Eve.”
“If you’re willing to let Yang Yang spend the New Year with our Zhou family, that’d be even better.”
“Yang Yang is our Zhou family’s grandson, after all. It doesn’t feel right to perform the New Year’s rituals without him.”
Zhou’s father and mother wanted to return to their hometown for the New Year, but Zhou Honglin refused.
Their hometown was too close to his eldest sister’s place, and Zhou Honglin currently had no desire to deal with her.
Since he didn’t want to go back, Zhou’s parents stayed as well. But they still planned to perform the traditional New Year’s rituals, as was the custom in their hometown.
Hai Ling said, “Yang Yang’s still asleep. I’ll ask him what he wants when he wakes up. But today might not work—I’m taking him to our aunt’s house for dinner tonight.”
“If Yang Yang’s willing, I can send him over tomorrow. I’ll drop him off at your neighborhood entrance, and you can have his dad wait there.”
“As for how many days he stays, that’s up to Yang Yang. It’s his decision, and I won’t interfere.”
Hai Ling was open-minded, letting her son choose.
Zhou’s mother said gratefully, “Hai Ling, thank you. Thank you for still letting Yang Yang come back.”
“Yang Yang is part of your Zhou family—that’s a fact that will never change. He’s just staying at his dad’s place for a few days, not going anywhere else. I have no reason to object.”
“When his dad and I divorced, we agreed to co-parent him.”
She wouldn’t deny Zhou Honglin the chance to see his son just because of their divorce.
In front of Yang Yang, she never spoke ill of Zhou Honglin, unwilling to tarnish the image of his father in his mind.
As Yang Yang grew older and more perceptive, he’d come to understand things on his own.
“You’re a good woman,” Zhou’s mother said sincerely.
Her words carried regret and remorse.
When such a good woman was their daughter-in-law, they hadn’t cherished her.
Instead, they ended up with a bad one who turned the Zhou family upside down and nearly harmed Hai Ling and Yang Yang.
That year, Hai Ling had been stabbed while protecting her son, nearly losing her life.
Only then did Zhou’s mother realize how vicious Ye Jiani was, intending to harm Yang Yang.
