Chapter 102

Chu Tingwu brought up the matter of Chu family at the dinner table. 0

Mr. Zhang did not ask about the Chu family's specific situation, but first asked Chu Tingwu, "Are you happy?" 0

Chu Tingwu pursed her lips, "Actually, I am happy." 0

Although she did not know those people, out of a large group of more than a hundred people, she only recognized Chu Xiao. However, Chu Xiao's great-grandmother and Chu Tingwu's deceased grandmother looked very similar, after all, they were real sisters. 0

Even though Chu Tingwu knew that the person in front of her was not her grandmother, seeing her talking, smiling, her eyes sparkling with life, and her body healthy...it still made Chu Tingwu happy from the bottom of her heart. 0

Even if the other party did not know her, if she ran into this elderly lady on the street, she would probably stare at her for a long time— 0

There was no need to strike up a conversation, just seeing her would make her happy. 0

And now, they were relatives with close blood ties. The other party seemed easy to get along with. Although they would not interact like close relatives in the future, Chu Tingwu was still pleased to have such a relationship. 0

"Because this is the 'family' you chose for yourself," the system said. 0

Humans can't choose their family members when they are born, but their pet cats can. A pet cat can adopt her owner, and naturally, she can also adopt this old lady. 0

Chu Tingwu: "……It’s enough that I adopted Mr. Zhang." 0

Mr. Zhang: "?" 0

She sat to the side, listening to Chu Tingwu describe the family relationships in her new large family—most of it was told to her by Chu Xiao—as well as different people's reactions. Chu Tingwu's phone kept ringing, many people were adding her as a friend, some "elders" were sending her red envelopes, sending messages, she had to respond to each one. 0

Zhou Qiang added to the side about the "Chu family" situation—still most of it was from Chu Xiao, in which 50% were Chu Xiao's embarrassing stories from the winter camp and the family situation he casually mentioned. 0

After silently listening to everything, Mr. Zhang then said to Chu Tingwu, "This is great, so many people, they can’t all be nice, but given your relationship and distance, you can totally interact with only those you like." 0

For example, the aunts who actively showed kindnessῳ*Ɩ, the great-great-grandma she liked, and Chu Xiao’s family. 0

Chu Tingwu was not a person without care, someone easily fooled by a need for familial warmth, she could choose who to consider her "relatives". 0

- 0

While Chu Tingwu was chatting, in the Chu family, Chu Xiao was also 'arrested'. 0

He barely managed to send Chu Tingwu a few messages before being surrounded by a group of elders— 0

In the large living room on the first floor, everyone sat in a format that resembled three tribunals, with the great-grandmother sitting in the middle, several of Chu Xiao's older generations sitting on both sides, Chu Xiao's mom could only stand to the side, and he himself was afforded a seat. 0

He: "……" 0

He began with meeting Chu Tingwu and others at the winter camp, elaborately explaining his impressions of Chu Tingwu, while at the same time took his phone out, searched for her personal Wikipedia and public account, and showed it to everyone. 0

Third Uncle: "This nephew born to our little great-grandma is not reliable……"0

Chu Tingwu's biological parents were somewhat famous online, with their own personal introductions. Chu Xiao's third uncle, who worked in law, quickly found out, "He is currently involved in a divorce lawsuit."0

Chu Xiao was unaware of this. He listened curiously and found out:0

Shen Yue, who was technically his uncle-in-law, remarried to Ms. Jian, a designer, after his divorce. After having a child, Ms. Jian chose to become a housewife and stopped working...and then, around the end of the year, Shen Yue had an affair, causing Ms. Jian to want to divorce.0

Shen Yue was clearly at fault, but because Ms. Jian didn’t work, they got into a dispute over the custody rights of their daughter.0

Upon hearing the term "daughter's custody," Chu Xiao quietly calculated the relation in his mind: it was another young cousin.0

The Chu family had zero tolerance for infidelity, whether it was committed by a man or a woman. Even knowing that Shen Yue was closer by blood, they only felt disgust at this moment.0

His great-grandmother said, "Tingwu seems to be living well, but with a father like that, who knows what she's suffered through!"0

She didn't care about how much money or love the little girl had now, but was anxious about not having recognized her when she was young… so that after the death of their young sister, Shuyi, they could have taken the child into their home.0

Fortunately, the great-grandmother obtained the contact information of Teacher Zhang soon, instructed her son-in-law and granddaughter (Chu Xiao’s mother) to help, and decided to first discuss the child's situation with them, bond with them, and thank Teacher Zhang and the others for their care and so on.0

Finally, Chu Xiao was able to go and charge his phone.0n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

This time, he ran all the way to the study on the fourth floor, flipping the sign on the outside of the study to [Do Not Disturb] before returning to the group chat again.0

Photos of a feast by Shao Lingwu flooded the group chat.0

Chu Xiao: "=="0

After a while, Chu Tingwu said, "In our place, there’s a fireworks festival. It runs from the second to the fifth night of the Lunar New Year, but they’re starting to test the fireworks now."0

This newly joined cousin shared a bunch of photos in the group. Predictably, Chu Xiao soon saw a thumbs-up emoji from Shao Lingwu.0

He was always supportive, even liking a picture of Zhou Qiang's electric bike license plate.0

Chu Xiao: "@Chu Tingwu, when roughly will you all return to Fallen Phoenix City?"0

Because the winter camp actually hadn't ended yet, they were on a spring break, and theoretically, they had to go back for a week of intensive classes once the holiday was over.0

So, Chu Xiao also knew Chu Tingwu's original plan: she had offered incense to her grandmother before coming to Chuwan, and originally planned to go directly to Sang City after the holiday.0

But after such an "incident," Chu Tingwu decided to take some time out.0

Chu Tingwu: "Why don't I go to Ji Province instead?"0

Their great-great-grandmother was getting old, and although she seemed healthy, she thought it would be better for her to be considerate of the elderly.0

Chu Xiao refused: "Our great-grandmother primarily wants to go to offer sacrifices to our little great-grandfather. Even if we go directly to the training camp, she will go to Fallen Phoenix City.”0

- And this time, of course, he also had to go to Fallen Phoenix City to pay respect to the relative he had never met since his birth.0

Shao Lingwu: "So all three of you are going."0

The three of them will meet in the Fallen Phoenix City, then head to Sang City... He felt like he was being left out!0

Chu Tingwu: "Don't worry, you can call me your aunt."0

Shao Lingwu: "=="0

Rather than being taken advantage of, he'd prefer to just be left out.0

On top of that, Chu Tingwu had another task to perform... With the help of Chu Xiao, she had to understand everyone in the family photo. However, thanks to the system assist, she didn't have to remember all these relationships - if she actually couldn't, these people would just turn into world NPC's with their names and job descriptions displayed over their heads.0

Chu Xiao used his camera to point at the family album and help Chu Tingwu identify everyone. However, after continuously hearing names like “Chu Zihan”, “Chu Zining”, “Chu Ziyue”... Shao Lingwu questioned, "The previous generation of your family is the 'Zi' generation?”0

Chu Xiao: "...No, they just thought it would be interesting.”0

Nowadays, it's rare to give names according to generations. Chu Xiao didn't know which generation his elders belonged to. The names of his young uncles and aunts were similar, while his mother had a single-word name. As for Chu Tingwu...0

"I think my generation should be 'Ting', and my brother's name is Ting Lan."0

Shao Lingwu complimented, "He's plain, your name sounds much more beautiful."0

Chu Tingwu: "Thank you, you’re welcome to visit me even if you don’t call me your aunt."0

Speaking of "aunt", her eyes were already filled with laughter.0

Shao Lingwu: "=="0

Was he being taken advantage of or not?0

Meanwhile Chu Xiao muttered thoughtfully: "'Wu' is rarely used in names... Tingwu, we have this word in one of our boat songs."0

The other three quietened down.0

Chu Xiao: "?"0

Shao Lingwu: "Aren't you going to sing?"0

Chu Xiao: "..."0

He opened his computer, searched for a while, fell silent, then looked at the phone screen, then back at the computer, finally resigning to his fate he began to sing:0

"Tingwu, time to go home..."0

It’s called ‘singing’ but Chu Xiao's singing voice was almost indistinguishable from speaking, you could barely detect a simple melody, but as his face showed, he was trying his hardest.0

Even Shao Lingwu who was choking didn’t have the heart to interrupt: He wanted to say, if you really feel embarrassed about this singing tone, just hum. He could help put the lyrics and the melody together.0

Chu Tingwu: Are you okay, my great nephew?0

No, by seniority, he should be the sixth nephew.0

With the help of Chu Tingwu (as well as the system), they finally found the boat song - The Jizhou River Boat Song.0

"Sun rises, goes to the four seas -"0

"Sun sets, time to go home -"0

"Day rises, day sets, hear the crow’s sound -"0

"Listen to the crow, time to go home!"0

"Even the sun follows us home..."0

This melody, the younger generation like Chu Xiao, remembered it after hearing it once. Most of his peers probably wouldn't have an impression. However, the older generation grew up with this melody.0

So, had the deceased Mrs. Chu Shuyi ever heard this? Chu Xiao didn't know.0

Had his great-grandfather known about this song? He also didn't know.0

But a song passed down from who knows how long ago, someone has weaved its lyrics into the names of their descendants, and after so many years, this name appears in this house by the Jizhou River... It might have been passed on to the ears of the person she intended to inform.0

Chu Xiao opened the window and could see the Jizhou River running silently in the darkness not far away. Someone was setting off fireworks by the river, illuminating both light and shadow on the riverbank. This area was no longer the backward land of old. Both banks were now lined with light walls, with boats shuttling across the water, and large red lanterns gently swaying on their bows.0

It was like an easter egg in an electronic program, but it was not hidden behind specific prerequisites.0

On an ordinary day, it just suddenly appeared.0

“The sun, follow me, let's go home.”0

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Chu Tingwu ended the video call and searched through the call history until she found a particular account.0

She started composing a message to the person on the other end:0

“Aunt Jian, Happy New Year.”0

“I heard that you are currently going through a divorce case and want custody of Mu Xi. I can help.”0

“In return, can you help me with something?”0

Jian Ling immediately called: “Tingwu......”0

She was indeed fighting for her child’s custody rights. She still had some savings now but no steady income. Several years had passed and most of the connections she had made when she was working were lost, with only a few friends supporting her.0

She hadn’t thought of asking Chu Tingwu for help. Chu Tingwu was still underage; how was it appropriate for a stepmother to ask her stepdaughter for help?0

Chu Tingwu sent Jian Ling an electronic business card for a law firm. This law firm had an office in Jin City and Chu Tingwu had worked with them countless times, and they were top-notch in their field.0

She said, “I’ll handle the lawyer’s fee. You just have to help me with one thing.”0

Jian Ling asked hesitantly: “What is it?”0

Chu Tingwu: “Transfer my custody to you as well. From now on, we’ll be listed on the same household registration.”0

Jian Ling: “?”0

...That’s right, legally speaking, Chu Tingwu was currently under her father’s custody. But if her father got divorced again, she could be ‘reallocated’.0

Jian Ling didn’t think this meant Chu Tingwu liked her better. On the contrary, if this child’s household registration moved to her, it would probably make things more convenient for her in the future. Their relationship would change from that of a stepmother and stepdaughter to more of a collaborative one.0

For Jian Ling, there was nothing to lose.0

“Oh, by the way,” Chu Tingwu added, “When dividing assets, it’s better to ask for cash and liquid assets instead of shares of his company.”0

Jian Ling responded without needing Chu Tingwu's reminder, “After the divorce is finalized, I plan on taking Mu Xi to a foreign country to continue her studies. The farther, the better.”0

She was unsure if she could return to school after the divorce, but as long as she has money, she’ll have the confidence to start anew.0

After ending the call, the system quietly helped Chu Tingwu arrange everything and then curiously asked:0

“What about the Chu family?”0

At the Chu's, there was also a debate over the custody of Chu Tingwu. Even though she would be of age in two years, as long as she's still registered under her birth father's household, she would definitely be influenced by him. Considering Shen Yue's demeanor, it's highly probable that he would remarry.0

If neither of the parents is reliable or provides actual care, relatives can contest for custody. The Chu's are blood relatives within three generations, making them close kin.0

However, before they could reach a decision, Chu Tingwu made her own.0

She stated, "I don't plan on being in the same household registry with Aunt Jian in two years."0

System: "Absolutely, one of our apps lists you as an adopted cat under her care."0

Chu Tingwu: "There's more, can you guess?"0

System: "Hmm?"0

Who else could it be?0

Chu Tingwu: "Take a guess."0

System: ?0

It seems like it'll have to download a complete archive of five hundred million historical riddles to delve deeply into deciphering this puzzle!0