Chapter 449: Touching the Heart

Chapter 449: Heartfelt Moments

Fu Tinghua was equally moved, but having only met Lan Ruolin a few times, he had no strong emotional connection with her.

Yet, knowing that someone had been waiting and searching for him all this time moved him deeply.

To think there was someone in this world who loved him so deeply.

Su He felt Fu Tinghua’s turmoil and gently reached out, squeezing his hand in encouragement.

Feeling her sincerity, Fu Tinghua stopped hesitating. He took Lan Ruolin’s hand and said, "From now on—I’ll treat you like my own mother. Though we haven’t spent much time together and might be awkward at first, things will only get better. And I’m not great with words—if I say anything that upsets you, please don’t take it to heart. I never meant to hurt you. The reason I avoided you before was because I had a vague premonition, afraid you might disrupt the life I have now. For that, I apologize."

Lan Ruolin stared at Fu Tinghua in disbelief, never expecting him to say such words.

Tears poured down her face uncontrollably.

Her son—how did he become such an outstanding man? She was so proud, so relieved, and so overwhelmingly happy.

"I understand. No matter what happens between us in the future, as long as you’re happy, I’ll be content," Lan Ruolin quickly replied.

But Fu Tinghua shook his head. "You’ve suffered enough. With me, you don’t need to hold anything back. If there’s anything you’re unhappy about, just say it."

His words were so considerate, so earnest, that Lan Ruolin completely lost it.

"Ting... Ting Hua..."

Her son was too good—so good that she couldn’t stop crying, her nose getting stuffier by the second.

"This is perfect, Ting Hua," Fu Dajun said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes with a smile.

"Yes, this way, we’ve added to our family. How wonderful! From now on, we’ll support each other. Right, Lao Fu?" Su Shiming said with a tearful laugh.

"Right, exactly what I was thinking. That’s why I came to talk openly with Ting Hua today," Fu Dajun agreed.

"But... I have one request," Lan Ruolin spoke again.

"What is it? Go ahead."

Fu Dajun knew what she’d been through after years of separation from her son. Though he wasn’t directly responsible, he had indirectly contributed to their long estrangement.

And in her search for her son, Lan Ruolin had suffered greatly.

"I hope... you won’t tell your wife about this. I’m scared—scared she can’t handle it."

Lan Ruolin felt that while she had found her son, it might uncover another painful truth.

Having experienced such despair herself, she didn’t want Fu Tinghua’s adoptive mother to go through the same.

"Ting Hua, what do you think?" Fu Dajun didn’t answer Lan Ruolin immediately but turned to Fu Tinghua instead.

After a moment of hesitation, Fu Tinghua replied, "I’ll follow your decision."

This meant he agreed with Lan Ruolin’s suggestion.

But Fu Dajun was dissatisfied with his answer, growing frustrated. "Hiding this from her isn’t just unfair to your birth mother—it’s unfair to your mom, too.

You can’t seriously think something like this can stay hidden forever?

If she finds out the truth one day, it’ll devastate her even more than it would now."

"So... this weekend, go home and come clean with her," Fu Dajun said straightforwardly.

Su He glanced between them and also felt that honesty was the better choice.

Now that everyone knew the truth, if they all collectively hid it from Wu Yanhua, if she suddenly found out the truth, she might be furious at their good-hearted lies.

Putting herself in Wu Yanhua’s shoes, she knew she would.

"I—I think Dad’s right," Su He chimed in quietly amidst the silence.

Fu Dajun glanced at Su He and gave her a satisfied smile.

"Yes, after all these years, it's time she knew. Besides, she has the right to know the truth. I kept it hidden back then because she was so eagerly awaiting the arrival of her last child, and her health was still so weak. I didn’t dare tell her the truth, afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle it."

After speaking, Fu Dajun stood up again and said, "It's settled then. Alright, it’s getting dark early—I’d better get back to the village."

"Dad, why go back? Why not stay here tonight?" Su He quickly stood up to persuade him to stay.

"Nah, I’m not a city person—you know me. I’m off, I’m off. Guoqing’s waiting at your shop. Oh, right, we grabbed some sugar oranges from up the mountain and brought them over for you." Only then did Fu Dajun remember to mention business matters.

"Dad, with snow falling occasionally at night now, those sugar oranges—you shouldn’t even bother with them now. We’ve made plenty already—health comes first. Just in time for this weekend’s return, I’ll distribute everyone’s dividends," Su He hurriedly said.

"Tch, you kidding? That’s cash on the trees. Don’t bother—we’ll find a way to pick the sugar oranges from the mountain," Fu Dajun couldn’t bear to waste them, as many sugar oranges were still hanging on the trees, unpicked.

"Ah, I’m serious. Just leave the rest—they’ll rot into fertilizer by next year. It’s fine," Su He said helplessly. What’s worth more, money or your life?

"Since when do folks use fruit for fertilizer? Alright, enough talk—I’m off." As Fu Dajun spoke, he began heading toward the door.

Then, as if remembering something, he turned to remind Fu Tinghua, "Ting Hua, your birth mother has had it hard too. She didn’t abandon you on purpose—don’t hold it against her. Back then, my benefactor said your family left you, so he gave you to me to raise. Now that I think about it, he likely said it so I wouldn’t think this child would eventually return to his birth parents and thus wouldn’t raise him wholeheartedly."

As he spoke, Fu Dajun sighed heavily.

"I know, Dad. Don’t worry," Fu Tinghua assured him.

"Dad, I’ll drive you to the shop. Wait a moment."

After saying this, Su He moved past Fu Dajun to go upstairs and fetch the car keys.

But when she opened the fire door, who she saw there made her freeze.