The tourism boom in Fengcheng continued, but after the initial days of excitement, the people of Fengcheng could already look at the events around them calmly. Take Wang Shuxiu as an example; she no longer listened to Daheiâs every bark, asking Lu Lingxi what it meant.
Lu Lingxi and Dahei let out a sigh of relief at the same time.
Yan Yue looked amused and discussed it with Lu Lingxi, âDoes Xiao Xi want to go back to Zhongjing with me?â
Lu Lingxi thought about it for a while and nodded. Although he had grown up in Zhongjing, he was not familiar with it, so it would be good to go back and have a look.
After his recent experiences, Yan Yue now wanted to tie Lu Lingxi to his waist and take him along wherever he went. When he heard that Lu Lingxi was willing to go to Zhongjing, he reached out and took Lu Lingxi into his arms, kissed him on the ear and rested his chin on Lu Lingxiâs shoulder, saying, âAlthough the environment in Zhongjing is not as good as that in Fengcheng, some tourist attractions are still good, so we can go and have a look.â
âCan we go climb Hongye Mountain?â Lu Lingxi suddenly asked.
Yan Yue smiled, âOf course.â
Lu Lingxi grabbed Yan Yueâs hand and said, âIâve never been anywhere in Zhongjing since I was a kid. The only time I could go on a trip was when the school arranged a spring trip for us in the third grade, and the destination at that time was Hongye Mountain. But on the first day of the spring trip I had an accident and missed the event. Then⊠I stayed home and never went out again.â
Now when it came to the past, Lu Lingxi no longer had any psychological barriers. He had made up his mind to say goodbye to the past once and for all, and wouldnât have anything to do with the Lu family again. However, Lu Lingxi felt a bit weird. The Lu family had even sent Lu Yishui to make him acknowledge them, but he had only met Lu Yishui once and never seen him again, and there was no news from the Lu family either. It was so strange.
When he was quiet and didnât say anything, Yan Yue reached out and covered his hand, softly saying, âThen letâs go and climb Hongye Mountain a few times.â
Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, âClimbing once is enough. By the wayâŠâ he looked at Yan Yue curiously, âBig Brother Yan, do you think itâs strange that itâs been almost a month and neither the Lu family nor Lu⊠Dad has reappeared? â
âLu Yishui?â Yan Yueâs tone was subtly odd but Lu Lingxi didnât notice it. Yan Yueâs arms tightened, âProbably the Lu family has something else tripping them up right now.â
A few days ago, the Lu family in Zhongjing
Lu Yishui stood in front of Lu Hengchuan, shrinking his neck and with his head drooping.
Lu Hengchuan looked at him fiercely, his face grim, feeling his breath stuck in his throat, suffocating him unbearably. In all these years, the Lu family had never been so humiliated. It was simply a disgrace. A month ago, Lu Yishui had patted his chest and promised that he could bring Lu Lingxi back to the Lu family. What happened? Instead, they received the news that Lu Yishui had secretly run away to Aogang Casino to gamble without his assistantâs knowledge and lost 100 million yuan and was detained there.
The Lu family originally didnât want to take the blame for Lu Yishui, but they couldnât resist the shamelessness of Lu Yishui, who pretended to be crazy and shouted everywhere that Lu Hengchuan was his father and had just recognised him back to the Lu family. Everyone in the entire Aogang Casino, including the guests, knew about it now. By word of mouth, the whole city of Zhongjing was watching the Lu family as a joke. Lu Hengchuan was furious, but he couldnât help but swallow the bitter pill of Lu Yishui and pay back the money he owed.
Just thinking about it made Lu Hengchuan feel sick to his stomach. One hundred million happened to be all the cash that Lu Group could draw out right now. The Lu family had already been hurt by the involvement with Hopewell, and now it was even worse as there was no telling when the money chain would break. Lu Hengchuan didnât believe that this was a coincidence at all. He suspected that someone was deliberately targeting the Lu family.
âHow dare you come back!â Lu Hengchuan shouted angrily.
Lu Yishui smiled apologetically, âDad, I⊠youâŠâ
âShut up!â Lu Hengchuan yelled, âYou actually used the Lu familyâs name to gamble, you! YouâŠâ
Lu Yishui argued in a small voice, âI was originally your son, it doesnât count as borrowing the name of the Lu family, right? Besides, when Dad passes away one day, wonât I still have a share of the inheritance? It will be worth hundreds of millions. Think of it as spending it on me in advance now, and give me less when the time comes. I promise I wonât fight with my brothers.â
He said it shamelessly, and Lu Hengchuanâs face turned red with anger, âGet lost!â After one sentence, Lu Hengchuan clutched his heart and collapsed softly.
The news of Lu Hengchuanâs hospitalisation was suppressed carefully. The Lu familyâs stock had fallen very hard due to the impact of Hopewell. Now the most important thing was to seek stability and not to have any more bad news break out. If the news of the hospitalisation of the Lu familyâs patriarch, Elder Lu, was to break out at this juncture, investorsâ confidence would be dented and the Lu familyâs shares would suffer another round of plummeting. The Lu family had kept the news under wraps, and Lu Hengchuan even wanted to send Lu Yishui back to Fengcheng, so that he wouldnât have to worry about him. However, Lu Yishui was afraid that if Lu Hengchuan suddenly died, he wouldnât be able to come back in time to divide the inheritance, so he refused to leave and insisted on staying by Lu Hengchuanâs side to serve him.
Lu Hengchuan was disgusted by his own son and was afraid to let him go out and say anything, so he had to keep him by his side. He couldnât care about Lu Lingxiâs affairs in Fengcheng anymore.
Of course, the news of Lu Hengchuanâs hospitalisation could be concealed from others, but not from the Ye family. The Ye family in turn told Yan Yue about it. Yan Yue didnât expect Lu Yishuiâs killing power to be so great, and was as relieved as he was surprised. The sins that Elder Lu had committed when he was young had to be repaid now when the time came.
These things Yan Yue didnât intend to tell Lu Lingxi. He always remembered his wish when he first met Lu Lingxi, his hope to protect Lu Lingxi in his arms and never let him know the dark side behind the scenes. He especially didnât want Lu Lingxi to know these rotten things about the Lu family.
After taking care of some matters in Fengcheng, Yan Yue took Lu Lingxi to Zhongjing. Of course, Dahei was definitely going to come along, accompanied by Ye Kang and Erha the demolition expert.
After getting used to the environment of Fengcheng, when they returned to Zhongjing, they felt a bit uncomfortable. Ye Kang joked, âItâs easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. Although itâs about the environment, thatâs also true. I wonder if the change in Fengcheng is a special case, or can it be replicated throughout the country?â
Lu Lingxi was an expert on this issue, and he said with certainty, âIt can be replicated all over the country.â
âXiao Xi is so sure?â Ye Kang teased casually.
Lu Lingxi was startled, but Yan Yue had already clarified for him, âFengcheng didnât start out like this. First it was a few places in the city, and only later did it expand to the whole city.â He finished, rubbing Lu Lingxiâs hair, and Lu Lingxi obediently lowered his head and stopped talking.
Yan Yue was much more cautious than Lu Lingxi when it came to the panel and Lu Lingxiâs identity. Although Ye Kang was his trusted friend, Yan Yue had no intention of telling Ye Kang either.
Ye Kang didnât hear anything suspicious and said with interest, âThen at the speed of Fengchengâs expansion, it will take a few years until the changes reach Zhongjing, right?â
Behind Ye Kangâs back, Lu Lingxi secretly made a âfourâ gesture.
Yan Yue chuckled and reached out to pinch Lu Lingxiâs face. The two of them had actually discussed this issue. According to the expansion rate of Fengchengâs soil purification, it would take four years to expand from Fengcheng to Zhongjing. But if several purification points were formed in Zhongjing and both sides expanded together, the time could be completely compressed to two years. Lu Lingxi still had four points of power of nature and he had agreed with Yan Yue that he would use all four points when he came to Zhongjing this time, to speed up the purification on the Zhongjing side. Of course, the ecological communities formed by evolved plants were more effective, but it would easily reveal Lu Lingxiâs identity. Until there was a suitable excuse, Yan Yue wouldnât allow Lu Lingxi to do so.
They quickly settled down in the Yan family mansion. It was simple; Lu Lingxi was going to stay with Yan Yue and Ye Kang did not want to go back to the Ye family, so he said hello to the old man and stayed here, as there was a room for him to stay in anyway. The only two who needed to be worried about were Dahei and Erha. Dahei was fine, he had always been obedient and sensible, unlike Erha with his lively nature. Just a short time later Erha had already gnawed a table leg in the living room like a chicken leg.
The housekeeper looked depressed, and the stupid dog was still acting cute with him, covering his eyes with his paws and peeking at his reaction. He looked away speechlessly and Erha actually went around to his other side.
Housekeeper: ââŠâŠâ
Lu Lingxi was afraid that the housekeeper would get angry and secretly called Erha to his side. Erha pounced over with great enthusiasm, and when he was growled at by Dahei, he immediately flopped onto the floor with a wilted look. Lu Lingxi held back his laughter and took them both outside to the small garden.
Although it was his first time here, the structure of Yan familyâs house was similar to that of the Lu familyâs old mansion, and Lu Lingxi found his way to the garden after just thinking a little. Speaking of which, he didnât like this kind of big house; one would always have a feeling of emptiness when living in it. Especially when he thought that Yan Yue had lived here alone since he was a child, without his family; that must have been even more lonely than he had been in the Lu family.
With all sorts of thoughts running through his mind, Lu Lingxi took the two dogs for a walk around the garden. By the time he returned to his original spot, Yan Yue was already standing there waiting for him.
âDo you like it here?â
Lu Lingxi paused and shook his head honestly.
âI donât like it either.â Yan Yue took Lu Lingxiâs hand and walked around the small garden, saying as he walked, âMy grandfather wished for the family to live together in harmony back then, but it turned out that his wish came true only for a year and then my parentsâ relationship was declared broken. They had separate relationships outside but couldnât move out because of my grandfatherâs presence and were forced to live together. When my grandfather died, they couldnât wait to move out and I was the only one who stayed. When I was young, I didnât know any better and kept this house in the hope that my parents would come back. Later, I became sensible and when I went to school abroad, I didnât like it more and more, and I didnât like coming back.â
As Lu Lingxi listened, he gripped Yan Yueâs hand hard. Yan Yue smiled and kissed him on the forehead. âActually the house is fine. Think of the Ye family, a large family would be quite happy living here together.â
Lu Lingxi thought for a moment, âWeâre quite happy now too.â
Yan Yue was taken aback, and then laughed aloud.