Lu Mingyu was a little surprised, but he still obediently followed his mother into his bedroom.
Zheng Qing closed the door, shutting out the outside world's disturbances.
She pulled her son to sit by the bed and carefully observed him.
Her son, in front of her, was darker and thinner than when he last came home.
Yet, the sharpness in his eyes remained undiminished.
"I heard from your second uncle," Zheng Qing's voice was very gentle.
"You're... dating someone outside?"
Lu Mingyu's body stiffened instantly, and his expression became a little unnatural.
He hadn't expected his second uncle to tell his mother even this.
He nodded, responding in a low voice.
"Mm."
Seeing her son's demeanor, Zheng Qing felt both amused and pained.
This son, who was decisive on the battlefield,
became like a clumsy big boy when it came to matters of the heart.
"What does that girl do for work? What's she like?" Zheng Qing asked tentatively.
Lu Mingyu's eyes darted around a bit; he didn't know how to answer.
He could only vaguely respond.
"Mom, she's just an ordinary person."
"We're still... in the getting-to-know-each-other stage."
Zheng Qing was no ordinary person; she immediately saw her son's difficulty and insincerity.
She knew that this matter was probably not as simple as her son made it out to be.
But she didn't press further; she trusted her son.
She gently patted Lu Mingyu's hand, her eyes filled with love and tolerance.
"Okay, Mom won't ask."
"Mom just wants to tell you, no matter what family or background that girl comes from,"
"as long as you like her, and as long as she has good character, our whole family supports you."
"You don't need to feel any pressure, understand?"
His mother Zheng Qing's figure disappeared behind the door.
The soft closing sound isolated everything from the outside world.
Lu Mingyu sat alone on the edge of his bed.
The gentle scent of his mother seemed to still linger in the room.
His mother's last words still clearly echoed in his ears.
That complete trust, regardless of the reason, that unreserved tolerance and support,
like a powerful and warm torrent, instantly broke down the high walls he had built deep within his heart because of his identity and profession.
These were his family.
He had spent years in the darkness, surrounded by danger and bloodshed.
But behind him, there was always such a warm light, lit for him.
Lu Mingyu's nerves, which had been taut for a long time, finally completely relaxed at this moment.
He lowered his head, looking at his calloused and scarred hands.
These hands had been stained with blood, taken lives, and also snatched comrades back from the grim reaper.
But in his mother's eyes, he was always the son who needed to be cherished and cared for.
He picked up his phone from the bedside table, his fingertips gliding over the cold screen.
The screen lit up, and a WeChat message sent three minutes ago lay quietly at the top of the notification list.
The sender was "Naza."
The message content was simple, just one sentence, followed by a playful emoji.
"Another day of missing my Lu Mingyu. 【Cute】"
Seeing this message, Lu Mingyu's ice-cold face instantly melted.
He could even clearly imagine the woman holding her phone at this moment.
Perhaps she had just finished her busy work and was taking a break.
Wrinkling her small, cute nose as she typed out this line.
He didn't type a reply.
When it came to missing someone, words were far less direct than a voice.
His slender finger gently tapped the screen, directly dialing that familiar number.
The phone's "ring-ring" sound only rang twice before it was quickly answered.
"Hello? Mingyu?" Gu Lina Zha's somewhat surprised voice came from the other end of the line.
Her voice still sounded a little tired, suggesting that today's work had been arduous.
"It's me." Lu Mingyu's voice was low and magnetic, as if carrying a power that could soothe people's hearts.
"I'm home."
"What?!" Gu Lina Zha's voice suddenly rose several octaves.
The surprise and excitement were so overwhelming they seemed to spill out of the receiver.
"You're home?"
"When did this happen?"
"Why didn't you tell me beforehand!"
"Where are you now? Are you home?"
A barrage of questions came like a machine gun, rapid-firing.
Lu Mingyu could clearly feel how excited and agitated the person on the other end of the phone was at this moment.
The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.
"Just got home not long ago, mission ended, decided to come back on short notice."
"Yes, I'm in my own room now."
"Oh, then your mom and dad..." As soon as his family was mentioned, Gu Lina Zha's voice noticeably lowered.
Lu Mingyu chuckled softly; he understood her too well and naturally knew what she was worried about.
He decided not to beat around the bush and directly dropped the bombshell.
"My mom, she knows about us."
The other end of the phone instantly fell silent.
It was as if someone had pressed the mute button; the chattering voice from before disappeared without a trace.
Only a deathly silence remained.
Lu Mingyu waited patiently, without rushing.
After a full five or six seconds, Gu Lina Zha's cautious voice finally rang out again.
"She... how did she know?"
"My second uncle told her," Lu Mingyu answered very honestly.
"Ah?" Gu Lina Zha let out a short gasp of surprise, her voice sounding like she was about to cry.
"Then... then Auntie... what did she ask?"
"Is she very angry?"
"Does she think I'm not good enough for you? She..."
Her words began to become a little incoherent, filled with unconcealed panic and unease.
Lu Mingyu could even imagine, through the phone, that she must be clutching her phone tightly at this moment.
Her face pale, anxiously pacing in circles.
This top-tier celebrity, who was always radiant in front of the camera,
and could handle any tricky question with ease,
instantly turned into a bewildered, frightened little rabbit when the topic of "meeting the parents" came up.
He found it a little amusing, but more than that, his heart was overflowing with tenderness.
"Don't panic yet, let me finish."
He deliberately slowed his speaking pace, his voice steady and firm,
trying to soothe her panicked heart through his voice.
"My mom isn't angry, she just... she just casually asked."
"Asked what?" Gu Lina Zha immediately pressed, her voice still full of apprehension and unease.
"She just asked... about your work."
Lu Mingyu thought for a moment and decided to downplay it.
"My work?" These three words were like a switch; Gu Lina Zha's voice immediately sank.
"It's over."
"Mingyu, it's all over now," she said with a heavy sob.
"A family like yours definitely won't like a daughter-in-law who's an actress."
"They'll definitely think our industry is chaotic and that I'm not a decent girl from a good family."
"Mingyu, what should I do...? Does Auntie hate me?"
Her voice was somewhat despairing.
As a top figure in the entertainment industry,
she had endured countless praises and honors, and also experienced overwhelming slander and misunderstanding.
She could be indifferent to malicious rumors from the outside world, and she could smile at attacks from anti-fans.
But she was uniquely afraid of his family's disapproval.
Because they were Lu Mingyu's most cherished family, a warm haven she also yearned to integrate into.
