Rebirth Counterattack with Space

Capital City, Wangfujing Department Store.

"Grandma, what’s wrong with you, don’t scare me?" Seeing Zhang Min gripping her hand tightly, her face pale, eyes staring straight ahead, her whole body trembling, Ding Luoluo turned pale with fright as well.

She struggled to contain her panic, grabbing Zhang Min’s hand in return and looking around for a place to sit.

She feared that her grandma might have suddenly gotten sick.

She regretted it now; she should have asked Jin’s wife to accompany them. In case something happened, she, a pregnant woman, might not be able to cope. If something happened to her grandma, she would never forgive herself.

"Grandma, are you all right?"

Just as Ding Luoluo decided to ask a department store clerk for help and began to move Zhang Min, Zhang Min suddenly broke free from her grasp, tried to run forward but her body went limp. If it hadn’t been for Ding Luoluo’s quick reaction to support her, Zhang Min would have almost collapsed on the ground.

"Grandma, what’s the matter with you?" Ding Luoluo asked with a cry in her voice.

"Shaojie..."

Zhang Min, trembling lips, muttered while looking ahead, "It’s Shaojie..."

She wanted to struggle to her feet and chase after him but she was entirely too weak; tears immediately began to roll down her cheeks.

Shaojie? The eldest uncle?

Ding Luoluo was stunned too; she was very clear about this family history. The Duan Family’s eldest son, Pei Shaojie, also Pei Kun’s eldest uncle, was sent to live with a family in a rural mountain area shortly after his birth. At that time, grandpa and grandma left behind fifty silver yuan and a family heirloom jade pendant as a token of trust, agreeing it was only for foster care and that they would take him back as soon as conditions allowed.

But after the liberation, when they went back to fetch him, they found the jade pendant but the family and the child were nowhere to be found.

According to people in the know at the time, soon after the army left, that family moved away, taking the child with them, and the jade pendant was sold off.

In those chaotic times, it was difficult to track down people’s movements and if someone intended to hide, it was truly impossible to find them. So even though grandpa and grandma made great efforts to search after the liberation, they ultimately found nothing. They completely lost all contact with their eldest son.

It was also at that time that grandma was pregnant with her second child, that is, Pei Shaohua, Pei Kun’s father. Because of the impact of this event, she was so overwhelmed with grief that she nearly miscarried and lost the child.

In the end, grandma managed to save the child, but he was born very frail and sickly, barely surviving. Her own health was also severely compromised, and she could no longer bear children.

The eldest uncle should be around fifty years old now, right?

Ding Luoluo followed the direction of Zhang Min’s gaze, straining her eyes, but she could not find anyone who looked like the eldest uncle. She looked at her grandma with confusion; after all, grandma had never seen the eldest uncle, had she? How could she recognize that it was him?

"Grandma..." Ding Luoluo’s lips moved, but she ultimately did not dare to voice her inner doubts.

Zhang Min stared blankly in a certain direction; where was the figure of her eldest son now? She was confused herself. That young man was only in his twenties; how could he possibly be Shaojie? But he looked so much like Qingyuan when he was young, as if they were carved out of the same mold...

It took her a long time to calm down her emotions. She looked back at Ding Luoluo, who was watching her with a face full of worry and fear, and felt a wave of guilt. She patted Ding Luoluo’s hand, "It’s nothing, I just saw wrong."

Despite her words, the mood had soured and she no longer had the heart to continue shopping. This time Ding Luoluo didn’t dare to urge her on anymore; she was frightened by what had just happened.

The two quickly left the Wangfujing Department Store, but Zhang Min couldn’t help but walk toward the direction in which the young man, who looked so much like her old man, had disappeared. She craned her neck looking around as she went, but sadly, the young man had vanished as if he had never been there...

On the other end, Shitou and Lu Yun were oblivious to this, strolling hand in hand, loath to part from their wandering. Only when it was almost time did they finally and reluctantly start heading back. The next day, they went to a different place to continue their explorations...

The time spent together always passed especially fast, and another day had whooshed by. It finally reached the point when Shitou had to return to the institute and continue working.

That was something he couldn’t afford to delay.

When he got home, there was still no sign of the others. Shitou stared at Lu Yun’s face for a long time, as if to etch her likeness into his memory, "At school, don’t get too close to your male classmates, write more letters, and come to see me during the holidays," Shitou ordered imperiously.

"Mm... you better hurry up, or you’ll be late," Lu Yun replied.

Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, she blushed deeply and pushed him away, readily agreeing. This was no joke; she didn’t want him to rush on the road due to lack of time and risk an accident. Even though she knew that with Shitou’s current capabilities, the chances of something happening were extremely low, she still worried.

She was so reluctant to let him go, what could she do...

Shitou finally lowered his head and brushed Lu Yun’s lips with a kiss as ephemeral as a dragonfly touching water, then turned and left without daring to look back.

Touching her lips and watching him depart, Lu Yun didn’t know what to feel; it was sweet, sour, bitter... and it would be at least two more years before they could be together...

Feeling her face burn, she dared not dwell on those thoughts any longer—she needed to find something to do for herself.

Leaving a note on the dining table informing that she would not be coming out for dinner, Lu Yun returned to her room and immersed herself in her space, researching new formulas.

In the Capital City, at the Duan Family home.

"What’s wrong, baby? Who made you upset? Since you came back last night, you’ve looked so gloomy. Weren’t you supposed to visit Grandma yesterday? Why did you not go in the end?" Fan Jiayi asked softly, stroking her youngest son’s head.

"I’m not a child anymore, Mom, can you please stop calling me baby?" Duan Muhong dodged Fan Jiayi’s hand impatiently, feeling irritable whenever he thought about the scene from yesterday.

"Is it that ’girlfriend’ of yours who has upset you again?"

The girl from a minor household didn’t know better and dared to cross her precious son? Fan Jiayi’s expression immediately darkened.

Fan Jiayi was aware of her youngest son chasing after a girl at school, she even knew that his frequent visits to his grandmother’s house were because the girl’s home was also in the Houhai area, as he was following her home.

Honestly, she didn’t think much of the girl her son was "pursuing," who came from a family that was supposedly into business and made a bit of money.

What did it matter if they had money? Did they have the pedigree? Their Duan Family had been distinguished even before the liberation; their great-grandfather had once been the top scholar of the imperial exams. And that girl’s family had, from what she’d heard, nothing but humble farmers’ roots. How could a girl raised in such a family be a match for theirs?

But when it came to boys, who didn’t have their wild days when young? Even in the old society, didn’t the sons of wealthy families have a few concubines for their pleasure?

Her son was still young, and so outstanding, popular among his female classmates. It was time for him to play around, to date a few "girlfriends," as there was no loss for boys in such matters.

When baby grew up a bit more, it wouldn’t be too late to get his act together and find someone of equal status to settle down with.