Chapter 53: Plans

Chapter 53: Intentions

With his wife and child abroad, neither Lu Zhendong nor his second son had returned to their own homes these past few days; instead, they followed their father back to the ancestral residence every day after work.

On this day, the three men entered the house one after another. They saw their mother sitting in the living room, not watching TV, not listening to music, and not playing on her phone. She seemed lost in thought, unaware even of their arrival.

Lu Nansheng sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Mom? Did someone upset you again?"

Zhang Ruolan snapped out of her thoughts. Seeing her second son smiling brightly, she smiled back.

"Who could possibly upset me? I just miss the children. They've been gone for so many days; I wonder if they're adjusting well. The food and drink are one thing, but in the middle of summer, many Nordic countries don't even install air conditioning."

Lu Nanyi brought a glass of water and stood behind the sofa. Hearing his mother say she missed the children, he felt the same, but he offered words of comfort

"It's good for kids to go out and see more of the world; it's beneficial for their growth. Aside from everything else, they need context to speak a foreign language authentically. They'll also learn a lot about how to conduct themselves in society."

As for the air conditioning, temperatures rarely exceeded thirty degrees Celsius over there, so there was really no need to worry about them overheating.

Zhang Ruolan nodded and subtly changed the subject.

Inevitably, the two brothers began talking about their younger brother, who was currently trending on the hot searches.

Lu Nanyi was steady by nature and rarely showed emotion when facing issues; his first instinct was almost always how to solve the problem.

"Little brother is really cooped up at home. Should we let a private jet fly him abroad for a couple of days of rest?"

No matter how frantic the paparazzi were, they still had to consider travel expenses.

His younger son had just told her over the phone that Gu Lanxi planned to buy a house and move in within the week.

Zhang Ruolan knew the title to that house hadn't been transferred yet, so she naturally didn't mention it to her eldest son.

She waved him off. "Those two are busy as spinning tops all year round. They finally get a few days together, and you want to send him abroad? Some people can stay cooped up in a few square meters for decades. He lives in a big house and has someone to take care of him; what is there to be frustrated about?"

Lu Nanyi was nineteen years older than Lu Nanting and had hated seeing his brother suffer any grievance since they were young.

But this was going too far!

Lu Zhendong, as the head of the family, was getting older. The company was well-air-conditioned, so his two sons could wear shirts, but he was accustomed to wearing a vest over his shirt.

Upon returning home, he would first take off the vest, wash his face, and then head downstairs.

Sitting beside his wife, he picked up the newspaper on the coffee table and agreed with her.

"The concert is only a few days away. Why go traveling abroad? I've taught you since you were young that no matter what you do, you must take it seriously. As the eldest brother, instead of keeping an eye on him to make sure he works properly, you're encouraging him to go play. Once your mother and I are gone, if your brother turns out to be incompetent, you'll be the one cleaning up his mess!"

Lu Nansheng smiled to smooth things over. "Brother is just worried about little brother. Dad, don't blame him. Isn't the concert this Saturday? There are still several days left! He's not saying he shouldn't work. Speaking of which, Peiling called me today. She said her best friend wants to go to little brother's concert and asked if they could actually arrange seats for them. Haha, it was so funny!"

Lu Zhendong turned around and glared at him, instantly shifting the target of his ire.

"Learn from your brother! You're never working properly, only paying attention to this nonsense!"

Lu Nansheng didn't dare mention that he had learned about this in his brother's office. After receiving a lecture from his father, he immediately fell silent.

Fine, he had forgotten about his father's indiscriminate attacks.

He really was asking for trouble.

On the contrary, Zhang Ruolan thought it was a good idea. "They are all relatives and friends. If they really want to go, it wouldn't be impossible to add a row of seats for friends and family later."

In her view, this was a sign of her son's sound values. Receiving the support of these "proper wives" was a heartwarming thing.

"I'll call the third one later to ask him."

Since she had made up her mind and it wasn't a major crisis, no one else objected.

While they were talking, the housekeeper came to call them for dinner.

After finishing a home-cooked meal, they each returned to their rooms.

It wasn't until now that she whispered to her husband to discuss something.

"Manman has a very strong sense of pride. I only found out today that she sold her shares in the tea business because she wanted to use the money to buy a wedding house. The villa I was planning to buy isn't as good as the one she chose, but she didn't tell me she disliked mine; she just said to follow my arrangements. Do you think we should change the house to something else?"

A decent villa required a significant amount of money.

Since they already had a better wedding house, buying another one just to let it sit would be quite inefficient.

Not to mention, the annual property fees would be substantial!

It wasn't a good time to invest in real estate anyway.

The couple's bedroom was a large suite, with a small study outside the bedroom. In a corner of the study sat a massage chair, where Lu Zhendong, after a busy day, was currently lying down to relax.

Hearing his wife's words, he finally understood what she had been thinking about.

He paused the financial news playing on the screen before speaking.

"How about we give her a branch company instead?"

Zhang Ruolan knew exactly what kind of scheme her husband was plotting. She gave his arm an annoyed slap.

"If she were willing to work like an ox or a horse for the Lu family, she would have accepted my sponsorship and gone to study abroad years ago!"

Lu Zhendong hadn't known about this and was surprised. "What studying abroad?"

"Back when the two of them first started dating, I spoke to her privately once. I wanted to send her to the best schools abroad and then have her join the Lu Corporation. I originally thought that since the third son isn't cut out for business, I would cultivate his wife well. He could do whatever he wanted, and our descendants wouldn't have to live hard lives. After all, if you just sit and consume wealth, the gap between the brothers' lifestyles will grow wider, and it would be hard for us to keep favoring him. Even if they didn't end up together, with Manman's excellence, it would still be a winning bet."

He hadn't expected his wife to have such thoughts.

She wasn't a saint; it was simply that Gu Lanxi had caught her eye.

The first time he heard her mention this, Lu Zhendong was very interested. "And how did she refuse you?"

"She recited a section of a family genealogy to me. It was in Classical Chinese. I didn't understand it the first time, so I pressed her. She had no choice but to tell me that this part recorded how the Gu ancestors migrated south as a whole clan over seven hundred years ago, buying land in the Pearl River Delta to plant mulberry trees, raise silkworms, and weave silk to open workshops."

Lu Zhendong took off his glasses, a smile playing on his lips. "And you still didn't understand it the second time?"

Zhang Ruolan laughed candidly. "I truly didn't understand. The two things were completely unrelated; you can't blame me for being dim-witted."

"And then?"

"And then, of course, I had to ask for clarification!"

"What did she say?"

"She had no choice but to explain to me with an embarrassed look, saying that her Gu family ancestors loved to cultivate their own land and had no interest in renting others' fields."

Lu Zhendong burst out laughing!

"Alright then, we won't give her a company."

"Mhm. Speaking of which, her own 'fields' are getting larger and larger. Let's not try to add flowers to her embroidery."

Lu Zhendong couldn't help but sigh. "Indeed, the girl has her own ideas. We shouldn't act on our own behalf. When dealing with someone like this, sincerity is the ultimate weapon. You should go visit her another day and have a good chat to see what she's actually thinking. We shouldn't lead her; we only need to cooperate with her."

If their son had fallen in love with a lioness, it was fortunate that their family owned a savanna.

It was a stroke of luck.

***

Gu Lanxi was unaware of the couple's plans. By the time she finished her workday, the city lights were already beginning to glow.

Li Jingxiu had wanted to treat everyone to a meal, but seeing how exhausted everyone was, Gu Lanxi knew how painful it would be to force a team-building event when they were dying of fatigue, so she refused directly.

Although they couldn't have a big feast, all eight members of the studio received generous bonuses from their boss and could go home to rest, so everyone was very happy.

When Gu Lanxi returned home exhausted, she saw Lu Nanting wearing a small sunflower-print apron and heat-resistant gloves, carrying a pot of finished soup out.

"Authentic slow-cooked soup! I've been watching it simmer all afternoon!"

Lu Nanting looked quite proud of himself.

As it turned out, playing games when bored was indeed an immature choice.

It couldn't compare to making a pot of delicious soup for one's family.

Gu Lanxi changed into her slippers and stood not far away, holding her bag. She waited until he had placed the soup pot steadily on a mat before walking over to hug him.

She loved soup, especially in the summer; Auntie Wang made all sorts of slow-cooked and boiled soups every day.

But soup made by Lu Nanting's own hands felt completely different.

When Auntie Wang made it, it was work.

When Lu Nanting made it, it was out of affection.

Lu Nanting was still wearing thick heat-resistant gloves. Seeing her suddenly rush at him, he could only raise his hands.

"Hey, hey, hey! Madam, please be more composed!"

Gu Lanxi wrapped her arms around his neck and mischievously pulled him down, leaving a bright red lip print on his forehead.

Composed?

That didn't exist.

Right now, she only wanted to be impulsive.

***

The "Overachiever" bought a bunch of bananas and proudly told me they were two yuan per jin!

I praised him for buying good ones—large, golden, and at their most delicious stage.

As a result, this man wouldn't stop showing off.

One moment he'd say I wouldn't know how to buy them like he did, the next he'd say how good he was at saving money.

Unable to bear it, I asked him how many jin they were.

He replied: "A little over six jin."

Fine, he was probably being a bit too obvious about being a fool; they didn't even use a 0.5-jin scale for him.

Eleven bananas, and I estimate they weren't even close to three jin.

Converting the price, it was at least 4.5 yuan per jin.

Then I completely lost interest and was unhappy for the rest of the night.

I shouldn't have talked to him about it.

Even though he was tricked, he was truly happy.

(End of Chapter)