Chapter 30 [30]

asshole

After leaving the coastal highway, Lu Mingxiao went to Xinglan Island and, as usual, brought Lao Lu some good wine and food.

As he climbed the slope, the neighbors' enthusiasm remained undiminished. Lu Mingxiao responded to their greetings one by one and pushed open the gate to his own courtyard.

Inside the house, a small black dog and Old Lu came down the stairs together.

It wasn't very big, probably just a few days old, and was frolicking and rolling around at Lu Mingxiao's feet.

A very lively little guy with bright eyes.

To avoid getting fur stuck to him, Lu Mingxiao didn't hold him. He and Lao Lu took the food and drinks to the kitchen and asked him where they came from.

"Last month, Wangcai, the dog of Uncle Song's family, gave birth to a litter. He was worried I'd be bored, so he gave me Xiao Hei to keep me entertained."

Old Lu put the cooked food into the plate. "The little guy is very intelligent. It seems to understand everything I say. When I tell it to sit, it sits. When I shake hands, it will extend its paw. When I'm busy, it quietly stays by my side and keeps me company. It doesn't make a fuss or cry. It's much better behaved than you."

Because of his open family environment, Lu Mingxiao was never the kind of child who stuck to the rules.

At three, he climbed onto the roof to steal bird eggs; at five, he rode scooters with other children his age, causing a ruckus in the streets; at seven, he covered the white walls of his home with graffiti; and at ten, he threw firecrackers into the fishpond, unfortunately injuring his arm in the process.

In other people's homes, he would have been spanked, but under the guidance of encouragement-based education, he belatedly realized how stable his parents' emotions were.

Old Lu took the food and drinks to the terrace, and Lu Mingxiao went to the bathroom to change a light bulb before going up to find him.

The moon was bright and the stars were few; a cool breeze was blowing. The father and son sat facing each other at the square table.

Old Lu poured some red wine into Lu Mingxiao's glass, then suddenly realized something: "It's not the weekend, what are you doing here?"

Lu Mingxiao peeled a garlic-flavored crayfish without looking up: "I missed you, so I came to visit. Do I need to pick a time?"

"wrong."

Old Lu keenly sensed, "Whether you're in good shape or not, others may not know, but I can tell at a glance."

His son didn't say anything, so he asked again, "Is something bothering you that you need your dad to cheer you up?"

Lu Mingxiao looked up at him and sighed, "Old ginger is spicier; it can't hide anything from your discerning eyes."

Old Lu picked up a piece of tripe: "About work? Did you fail to close the project, or did your performance fall short of expectations? Is the company losing money?"

"dad."

Lu Mingxiao shouted, "I'm not bragging, but as long as I'm involved, there's no project I can't secure. Our Mingyue cars are still in the top three of the sales charts."

If it's not because of work, then it's because of health.

Old Lu gasped: "You want me, an old man, to bury my son?"

"..."

Lu Mingxiao didn't hide it from him anymore and blurted out, "I've fallen for a girl."

"Oh, I see."

Old Lu first breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly his eyes widened, "Surname Kong, given name Qi?"

Lu Mingxiao shook his head: "This time it's a real girl, a very nice girl, the kind of girl you can ask for a red envelope from."

Old Lu was both surprised and delighted when his son suddenly became enlightened.

"It's a happy occasion! What's troubling you? Did the girl reject you?"

In the afternoon at the filming location, although Li Heng and Luo Qingyue had left, Li Heng's manager was still there.

Lu Mingxiao then went over and asked indirectly, "I heard that Li Heng is in a relationship. When are you planning to go public? We need to make contingency plans in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

The agent was completely bewildered: "Li Heng is in love? Where did you hear that? This kid can't keep secrets. If he's really in love, he'll definitely tell me first."

Lu Mingxiao: "They specifically requested Luo Qingyue to come for the shoot, and he claimed to be Luo Qingyue's long-lost boyfriend. Was that all a lie?"

Agent: "It seems he's doing some kind of experiment with Luo Qingyue, but I don't know the specifics. He told me not to ask. In short, I can assure you, they are not in a romantic relationship."

All the experiments were conducted in his presence.

Lu Mingxiao understood; this was a scheme orchestrated by Luo Qingyue and Li Heng.

Upon discovering the truth, he was not enraged, but rather felt a sense of relief.

He began to reflect on his relationship with Luo Qingyue, and soon some concerns arose.

Facing Lao Lu, Lu Mingxiao frankly admitted: "I am older than her, much older."

Old Lu ate a clam: "Five years old? Ten years old?"

When Lu Mingxiao answered "seven years old," Lao Lu joked, "You have a good eye; you always target young people."

Lu Mingxiao emphasized: "I didn't like her because of her age, but after I liked her, I realized that age was a problem."

"Seven years old is still okay."

Old Lu said, "Does the girl mind this?"

"I didn't ask."

Lu Mingxiao said, "But she said that I can easily make people feel safe, and being my girlfriend should be very happy."

Old Lu pricked up his ears: "What did you reply?"

Lu Mingxiao: "I said it's not necessarily true. I travel a lot for work and can't be there for her, so I feel guilty. She comforted me, saying that people who truly understand me won't feel guilty; on the contrary, they will be very supportive."

Old Lu picked up his slipper and threw it at the other side. Lu Mingxiao caught it steadily, puzzled.

Old Lu was exasperated: "That girl practically has 'I want to be your girlfriend' written all over her face, and you're still worrying about your age. Get back to Dongchuan already. Don't come back to see me if you can't win her over. You're driving me crazy."

Is that really the case?

So, he couldn't give Luo Qingyue the answer she wanted. She must have been very sad at that moment.

A silent sigh swept through his heart. Lu Mingxiao bent down and placed the slippers at Lao Lu's feet: "There is another important reason why my judgment was affected. She is Han Zhou's sister."

Lu Mingxiao doesn't have many close friends, but Luo Hanzhou is one of them, and Lu Mingxiao naturally knows him.

Lu Mingxiao continued, "Hanzhou said that he trusted my character, which is why he entrusted his sister to me, and he felt that I would not have any improper thoughts about his sister."

Old Lu feigned disgust: "Then you really are being unfair. You can't covet your friend's sister."

Lu Mingxiao's voice was firm: "Since I've fallen in love with her, character doesn't matter compared to the pain of losing her. Let Hanzhou think I'm a bastard."

Old Lu looked at his son and suddenly felt gratified: "You're awakening very quickly."

Lu Mingxiao glanced at the wristwatch on his wrist, and Luo Qingyue's face appeared in his mind.

He gazed up at the crescent moon hanging in the sky, his eyes shining brightly: "In just three hours, I've already thought about my whole life with her."

——

Before Luo Hanzhou swung his ten-meter-long sword at him, Lu Mingxiao realized that he was indeed a bastard.

Luo Qingyue had hinted at it to him more than once, but he just couldn't read her subtext. No wonder Lao Lu complained that his emotional intelligence had been completely swallowed up by his intellectual intelligence.

"To pursue a girl, you have to be thick-skinned."

"You're now an old cow eating young grass, so you should make the most of your advantages."

"Tell her that I am still vigorous despite my age, like an old horse in its stall, strong and determined, and in no way inferior to those young boys."

Faced with Lao Lu's advice, Lu Mingxiao pursed his lips and said, "Dad, I'm not actually that old."

Old Lu looked at him earnestly and patted his shoulder: "Thirty-one years old, the age to take risks. I have passed on all my life's skills to you. In the pursuit of love, the rest is up to you. Go for it, my good son!"

After talking with Lao Lu, Lu Mingxiao had a much clearer understanding of the direction of this relationship.

He didn't stay on Xinglan Island. That night, he returned to Xingguang Waterside Pavilion and pondered how to close the distance between himself and Luo Qingyue.

"Li Heng is my long-lost boyfriend, and I want to have a passionate and intense romance with him!"

"Lu Mingxiao, now that I have a girlfriend, let's meet again in the future. That's all!"

Having understood the reason, Lu Mingxiao recalled what Luo Qingyue had said.

His words carried a strong sense of determination to "cut ties with you completely," and acting rashly would only backfire.

After much deliberation, he decided to follow Luo Qingyue's plan and get involved, but he still had to show all the advantages he was supposed to have.

To win a woman's heart, you must first win her stomach.

Luo Qingyue once said that his cooking was so delicious that she wanted to cry.

Given that, Lu Mingxiao doesn't mind continuing to solidify his image as a master chef.

The next morning, he went to the nearby market to select ingredients.

Pineapple ribs, salted egg yolk crab, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables—these were the three dishes Luo Qingyue ate at his house last time.

Lu Mingxiao made a copy, filled with love, and packed them into an insulated lunchbox to take to the company.

How can I give it to her?

Lu Mingxiao began to think about this issue seriously.

Luo Qingyue would go to the guardhouse to pick up her takeout every day at noon.

Lu Mingxiao had heard her say that because her colleagues didn't believe she could have filmed him, they had to work hard for her for the next three months.

With this in mind, he came up with a plan.

Setting aside all sense of propriety, morality, and shame, Lu Mingxiao stared at the lunchbox, a smile he couldn't hide playing on his lips.

——

Luo Qingyue was very busy this morning, communicating with the person in charge of the rally race.

She couldn't understand why Xu Jie, who had such a good temper, would become irritable during communication.

After the person in charge repeatedly misinterpreted her ideas, Luo Qingyue became angry.

“If you can’t understand me, I don’t mind reporting it to your supervisor and having someone else who can understand come over.”

With the rally about to begin, many things are still undecided.

The person in charge apologized repeatedly, and Luo Qingyue decided to give him one last chance.

If the final result doesn't meet her requirements, she'll replace the person immediately, no questions asked.

Perhaps due to her menstrual cycle, her mood has been particularly unstable these past two days, and she also gets tired very easily.

Arguing is mentally exhausting, and coupled with having only eaten two slices of toast in the morning, Luo Qingyue slumped onto her desk after the battle, feeling so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back, and her head was also dizzy.

Finally, when it was time for lunch, He Jiale went to get her takeout. Luo Qingyue watched him walk out of the office with grateful eyes.

Just then, Li Heng kept sending her pictures of his lunch on WeChat, so lavish that she wanted to reach through the internet and punch him.

Luo Qingyue put down her phone, not intending to pay any more attention to Li Heng, but picked it up again after two seconds.

Ten minutes had passed since He Jiale left home; normally, he should have returned by now.

Did something happen? Why are you dawdling?

Luo Qingyue sent the message, rested her chin on her hand, turned her head to the side, and stared longingly at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office.

A short while later, He Jiale appeared. Even though his face was covered by a matte finish, Luo Qingyue recognized him.

Eagerly awaiting her turn, Luo Qingyue opened the drawer and took out her personal tableware.

She peeked out of her workstation and looked down into the aisle until He Jiale placed the takeout on her desk.

Huh? The takeout packaging has been upgraded.

It used to be a regular insulated bag, but today it's been turned into a white cloth bag.

Luo Qingyue opened the cloth bag, and the plastic lunchbox transformed into an exquisite white insulated box, with two boxes, one on the left and one on the right.

Luo Qingyue opened the insulated box.

Pineapple ribs, salted egg yolk crab, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and separately served green grapes and lychees.

This wasn't the dish she ordered today, and the style of the dishes was too familiar, exactly the same as what she had eaten at Lu Mingxiao's house last time.

Luo Qingyue: "?"

He Jiale went to the cafeteria for lunch, and she immediately called him.

He Jiale was also completely bewildered: "This was the one I received, the label was still on it. What are you saying, the item was switched?"

For "Yunshi" takeout orders, the labels are all taped to the insulated bags.

As Carrefour stated, the labels were indeed still there, but none of the dishes matched what was shown on them.

Surely it wasn't Lu Mingxiao who replaced it for her?

The president of Mingyue wouldn't stoop to such petty tricks; that would be utterly outrageous.

But who would dare eat something of dubious origin?

Luo Qingyue rummaged through the cloth bag, trying to see if there were any other clues.

Upon seeing a sticky note that she had overlooked, she immediately took it out of her bag.

A big smiley face, below which is Lu Mingxiao's signature.

Luo Qingyue was very familiar with the signature; it was exactly the same as the one in those ten magazines, so it couldn't be a forgery.

In other words, Lu Mingxiao really did pull off such an outrageous act, staging a switcheroo.

This is truly devastating; they even target other people's takeout orders.

Luo Qingyue's first reaction was that she had angered Lu Mingxiao by confronting him in front of him.

Delaying retaliation was intended to show her that Mingyue was his territory, and crushing her would be as easy as crushing an ant.

But the next second, seeing the familiar dishes and smelling the familiar aroma, I felt a sense of joy.

These must have all been made by Lu Mingxiao himself. If he really wanted to get revenge on her, why would he spend the time to do all this?

A man's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; Luo Qingyue couldn't understand this move.

Eager for an answer, she immediately messaged Xiao Xie, asking if Lu Mingxiao was in his office.

After receiving an affirmative answer, I put the insulated box into a white cloth bag.

Luo Qingyue picked it up, got up with an empty stomach, and took the elevator to the twentieth floor without hesitation.

[Author's Note]

Moon: You're killing me by breaking my spirit! You stole my takeout!!! [Angry][Angry][Angry]

Xiao: Mine tastes even better than takeout! [Let me see][Let me see][Let me see]

Li Heng: Is our scheme so easily seen through? ??? [Crying][Crying][Crying]

Luo Hanzhou: You just wait!!! [Evil laugh][Evil laugh][Evil laugh]