Jinting Hotel Apartment was An Jieâs residence in Fengcheng where he had been living for a little over half a year. Considering the possibility of Yan Yue settling in Fengcheng, An Jie already had a plan to buy an apartment in Fengcheng.
Early this morning, An Jie received news from Ye Kang that Lu Weiâan and Yin Ya had been meeting frequently these days, and that their engagement would soon be finalised. However, what An Jie didnât expect was that the one who opposed the matter the most was Lu Weiâanâs mother, Li Caiying. Some said that Li Caiying had a big fight with Yin Qinglan, accusing her of deliberately allowing Yin Ya to seduce Lu Weiâan.
âWhatâs going on?â An Jie was a bit confused, âArenât they on good terms?â
âTheir relationship is good, but it depends on the situation.â Ye Kang had been following the affairs of the Lu family recently and had analysed everyone in the family from a psychologistâs perspective. He explained, âLi Caiying treats Lu Weiâan like a treasure, and her whole heart is set on Lu Weiâan. In the eyes of outsiders, Lu Weiâan is not healthy and has nothing to offer but the name of the Lu family. But in Li Caiyingâs heart Lu Weiâan is perfect, so how can she look at an illegitimate daughter-in-law?â
âWhat about Lu Weiâan? I heard that he and Li Caiying are very close, so he wouldnât disobey Li Caiyingâs wishes, right?â An Jie, following common sense, immediately thought about what Yan Yue should do behind the scenes to give Yin Ya a push if she couldnât pass Li Caiyingâs level.
Without waiting for An Jie to think more, Ye Kang was already gossiping. âThatâs the interesting part. Lu Weiâan is so insistent on marrying Yin Ya that heâs even clashed with Li Caiying.â
An Jie didnât quite believe Ye Kangâs words. Yan Yue had previously found someone to investigate the Lu family, mainly focusing on Lu Weiâanâs family of three. An Jie, as Yan Yueâs assistant, had also read the investigation materials. The information showed that Lu Weiâan had a good relationship with his parents, and was especially filial to Li Caiying. He didnât think that Lu Weiâan and Yin Yaâs relationship would be so good that Lu Weiâan would disobey Li Caiyingâs wishes.
Ye Kang didnât answer his question, but only said in a mocking tone, âIf Lu Weiâan wants to get rid of his status as an invisible member of the Lu family, marrying Yin Ya is the fastest way to do so.â
An Jie frowned slightly; in his heart, he already believed Ye Kangâs words for 70 or 80%.
Different people had different views on what kind of person Lu Weiâan was. Some felt that he was pitiful, some felt that he was innocent, some felt that he was cold-blooded. Ye Kangâs assessment was that Lu Weiâan was selfish. No matter how gentle and helpless Lu Weiâan pretended to be on the outside, at heart he was an extremely selfish man.
While Ye Kang and An Jie were talking about Lu Weiâan, Lu Weiâan had just hung up the phone after a conversation with Yin Ya. Just like Ye Kang said, the relationship between Lu Weiâan and Yin Ya had been heating up rapidly during this period. Yin Ya wanted to be the daughter-in-law of the Lu family, and Lu Weiâan wanted to get involved in the Hopewell business through Yin Ya. The two had their own plans and hit it off immediately, like true mandarin ducks. On the phone, Yin Yaâs tone was a little excited. After a few days of grinding from her mother, her grandfather had finally relented and agreed to see Lu Weiâan. Fearing that if they waited, something might go wrong, Yin Ya hastily arranged a time of meeting with Lu Weiâan. Lu Weiâan took note of what Yin Ya said about Yin Yongdeâs preferences and thought about what he should say to impress the old man when he met him.
While Lu Weiâan was calculating in his mind, Lu Guangjing knocked on his door. âWeiâan.â
Lu Weiâan hid the calculations in his eyes and calmly looked at his father. More than twenty years ago, Lu Guangjing was the most famous playboy in Zhongjing, handsome, funny and very pleasing to women; otherwise Li Caiying wouldnât have fallen for him. But Lu Guangjing standing in front of Lu Weiâan was in a decrepit state; his body seemed to be shrouded in a shadow of death and he looked even older than Lu Weiâanâs grandfather. Lu Weiâan remembered that his father had not looked like this a year ago. Because of Lu Lingxiâs death, Lu Guangjingâs whole body had collapsed.
Lu Weiâanâs expression was full of concern, but his heart was filled with incomparable mockery. Lu Lingxi was already dead, but his father had to look like this. What was he trying to prove? His regret? Guilt? Self-blame? Or was he trying to demonstrate how cold-blooded Lu Weiâan was in contrast in front of outsiders?
Lu Weiâan heard his own voice, âFather doesnât look good, has he not rested well? If my little brother could see it from the other world, he would surely not want to watch Father ruin his body like this.â
When he mentioned Lu Lingxi, Lu Guangjing sighed and waved his hand at him, âI know my own body. Weiâan, are you preparing to go out?â
âWith that little girl from the Yin family?â
Lu Weiâan smiled faintly and said sincerely, âFather, I like Xiao Ya very much, I hope you and Mother will agree to me and Xiao Ya being together.â
Lu Guangjing looked at Lu Weiâan silently and said in a low voice after a long time, âWeiâan, tell me the truth, do you really like Yin Ya or did your grandfather say something to you?â
âWhy would Father say that?â Lu Weiâan said in surprise.
Lu Guangjing didnât care about his reaction and said to himself, âYour grandfather has three sons and your father is the least competitive one. When I was young, I didnât want to fight for anything, as the Lu family would give me enough money to spend anyway. Later, when you were in poor health, I had little interest in the family business. Your grandfather took back the shares given to me and built a separate fund for our family. This fund will guarantee all your medical expenses, as well as ensure that you and Xiao Xi will be worry-free for the rest of your lives, but accordingly our family will give up any involvement in the family business.â
He sighed again as he said this, âYou have been smart since you were a child and your grandfather used to like you the most. If you hadnât been in poor health, I believe, Weiâan, you would have become the pride of the Lu family. You are my son, and I know exactly what you think in your heart. I know you donât want to stay at home and want to show your grandfather that you have done something. I hope that you want to marry Yin Ya because you like her, not because it will bring you any benefits.â
Lu Guangjing spoke earnestly, thinking that these words would impress Lu Weiâan. When the news of the marriage between the Yin and Lu families spread earlier, he guessed what Elder Lu intended to do. Who would have thought that Yan Yue wouldnât go along with their arrangement; instead it was Yin Ya who jumped out. Lu Guangjing really didnât want Lu Weiâan to get involved in the Yan familyâs struggle for power and profit and tried to dissuade Lu Weiâan.
Lu Weiâan smiled covertly, âI know Fatherâs worry. Grandpa didnât say anything to me, itâs me who likes Xiao Ya and wants to marry her.â
Lu Guangjing looked at Lu Weiâan with great disappointment. Bitterness flooded his heart as he tried to make the last effort, âYour mother doesnât like Yin Ya.â
Lu Weiâan was silent for a few seconds and said in a cold tone, âApart from Yin Ya, who else does Mother think will marry me?â
âWeiâan.â Lu Guangjing raised his voice.
A hint of mockery flashed in Lu Weiâanâs eyes, and father and son fell silent, no one speaking again.
In the living room, Li Caiying had been waiting for Lu Guangjing, and when she saw him come out, she immediately asked him. âHow was it? Is Weiâan obedient?â
Lu Guangjing shook his head in silence and turned away to leave. Ever since Lu Lingxiâs death, he and Li Caiying had spoken less and less to each other until they were almost completely silent. They used to be able to talk about Lu Weiâan, but Lu Weiâan had become more and more unfamiliar, no longer the elder son he remembered. Now he no longer knew what to say to Li Caiying.
His look was noticed by Li Caiying, and Li Caiying immediately turned Lu Weiâanâs disobedient rebellion into Lu Guangjingâs fault, saying pointedly, âWhat do you mean, Lu Guangjing?â
When Lu Guangjing didnât say anything, Li Caiying grabbed the vase and smashed it at him. She hated this look on Lu Guangjingâs face, this sorrowful expression of grief. In the eyes of outsiders, it was as if everything was her fault. Wasnât it just that Lu Lingxi was dead? Was she the one who forced Lu Lingxi to die? When the operation was done, Lu Guangjing had also agreed to it. Whatâs the result? As soon as the operation went wrong, it all became her responsibility.
The vase fell to pieces at Lu Guangjingâs feet, and Lu Guangjing still looked indifferent.
Li Caiyingâs anger was completely ignited and she sneered at him, saying in a shrill voice: âLu Guangjing, do you think you can atone for your sins by looking like this? Iâm telling you, donât think so. Why Weiâan was born prematurely, why he got sick, why Xiao Xi died, itâs all because of you, this is all your retribution.â
Her voice was sharp, and Lu Guangjing looked at her sadly, as if he had aged another ten years in an instant.
Li Caiying was right, this was all his retribution. If he hadnât done so many wrong things when he was young, Weiâan wouldnât have been born prematurely, nor would he have gotten leukaemia due to his poor health, and Xiao Xi wouldnât have had to suffer for so many years, dying on the operating table at the age of eighteen.
All these years, he sacrificed Xiao Xi to make it up for Weiâan. He traded one son for the other, and what was the result?
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!