Chapter 28 Lu Jinzhi is

Lu Jinzhi left quickly.

Lu Ning was left alone at the table, carefully putting her note back. She stared at her handwriting for a long time.

This is easy to understand, why be so demanding?

And why did Lu Jinzhi suddenly open her homework? Was it just to humiliate her? That despicable genius! She's just pretending to be a fool!

During dinner that evening, Lu Ning looked around and, noticing that Lu Jinzhi wasn't there, immediately rushed up to Qiao Wu: "I want to report this."

Qiao Wu: "What?"

“Uncle Lu… I made a personal attack on you today.”

So Lu Jinzhi went to the library today?

Qiao Wu asked with a smile, "What did he attack you for?"

"They said my writing is worse than chicken's," Lu Ning complained in a low voice.

Lu Yingchi: "That doesn't count as an attack."

This time he was relatively sincere: "In Lu Jinzhi's eyes, no one else is human except himself."

Because he used to be called a stupid dog without any hesitation.

Therefore, he could call Lu Jinzhi a monkey without any psychological burden.

"He's back?" Lu Xuan frowned. "So where is he?"

Qiao Wu: "He'll be back from the hospital later."

The same thought popped into everyone's mind.

It's better if they come back later, or better yet, they don't come back at all.

"So, is my report valid?" Lu Ning asked, unwilling to give up.

Qiao Wu nodded: "I will talk to him."

The hospital at this time.

Lu Jiang leaned against the hospital bed, staring at his second son for a long time. Ever since the other son entered the ward and greeted him, he had been flipping through documents and hadn't looked up much.

He always thought that his second son went abroad two years ago because he was angry with him, so the father and son had very little contact in the past two years.

Unexpectedly, when he asked his second son to return to China, the other party agreed without any hesitation. On the first day back in China, the other party came to the hospital to see him. Even though he didn't pay much attention to him, it was much better than his other two unfilial sons who would make him furious within a minute of coming in.

So, regarding what happened two years ago, Lu Jiang felt that he could at least back down first, so he broke the deadlock by asking, "How about it?"

Lu Jinzhi continued flipping through the documents, and said indifferently, "Not very good."

Lu Jiang: "?"

Lu Jinzhi didn't even look up, so he didn't know that his father's expression had gone blank. He continued, "Facts have proven that your decisions not only yielded low returns, but also caused the group's development to stagnate."

Lu Jiang: "??"

Lu Jinzhi closed the file: "So now you know who's right?"

Lu Jiang: "???"

Lu Jiang's expression completely crumbled, his face darkening: "You came to the hospital just to say this?"

"Um."

Placing the documents on the table, Lu Jinzhi calmly asked, "If there's nothing else, I'll head back."

Lu Jiang's vision blurred, and it seemed that after two years, his son's ability to choke someone to death had only grown stronger.

"If you're still angry with me, why did you come back?" he asked, clutching his heart.

"Angry?" Lu Jinzhi showed no negative emotions. He smiled and said, "I'm never angry. I just feel that arguing with you is a waste of time and meaningless. Time will prove you wrong."

Although he was reluctant to admit it, times were always changing. Lu Jiang knew that at his age, he was powerless to do many things, and compared to his second brother, he had indeed made some mistakes in decision-making. However, he did not approve of his second brother's behavior of leaving on a whim.

"So you can just leave like that? You wouldn't have come back if it weren't for this accident?"

Lu Jinzhi: "It wasn't an accident."

Lu Jiang frowned: "You mean..."

Is someone plotting against me?

“You’re getting older, that’s inevitable,” Lu Jinzhi said matter-of-factly. “So my original plan was for about two years.”

The father wouldn't change because of anyone, so his plan was to come back when he was too tired to argue anymore.

Anyway, no matter how much the Lu family regresses, he can save it, but his father's ideas are even harder to save than the company.

Therefore, his brain automatically made the best choice.

Now that the time has come, he naturally won't refuse to come back, and he will also prove the result of this decision to his father, proving that he was right.

He raised an eyebrow: "Don't you have your health assessed during your regular checkups?"

Lu Jiang: "..."

He grabbed Xie Yi beside him and closed his eyes tightly: "Call, call the doctor."

Of his three sons, two were eyeing his inheritance, and one was already calculating precisely when he would die.

What a terrible thing! What a terrible thing!

Lu Jinzhi remained seated on the sofa and observed the entire time. His gaze swept over Lu Jiang's hand that was holding Xie Yi's hand and then gently withdrew. He stood up and said, "I'm leaving."

"Wait a minute." Lu Jiang frowned. "You saw Xiao Wu?"

Xiao Wu?

This slightly intimate form of address made Lu Jinzhi pay more attention to his father, as he knew that Lu Jiang in the past did not like Qiao Wu.

"Um."

Lu Jiang asked, "How is she?"

No matter how confident he is in Qiao Wu's work ability now, Qiao Wu will always have to work with Lu Jinzhi in the future, and Lu Jiang does not want a mistake to happen from the beginning.

To his surprise, his second son, who was usually confident and rarely hesitated, was quiet for several seconds this time.

Lu Jiang couldn't help but look up.

Lu Jinzhi instantly recalled the handwriting on the note in "Sophie's World," which remained unchanged even after many years.

He hummed in agreement: "It's alright."

This time, Lu Jiang was truly stunned.

This was the first time he had ever heard his son say someone was "okay."

"You mean her work ability or...?"

Lu Jinzhi smiled and said, "You're not asking about her?"

No one is irreplaceable at work; as long as you have money, you can choose from all the talented people in the world.

Only a person's uniqueness can serve as a criterion for comparison with others.

Lu Jinzhi was clearly very open and honest, completely unaware of the seriousness of what he had said.

Lu Jiang wanted to ask more questions, but after Xie Yi rang the bell, the doctor pushed the door open and came in. Seeing Lu Jinzhi standing in the ward, the doctor changed the subject: "Mr. Lu."

Lu Jinzhi nodded. The doctor then went in and asked, "Mr. Lu, where do you feel unwell?"

As Lu Jinzhi reached the door of the ward, he glanced back and said in a low voice, "It's incurable. It's terminal stage of being a drama queen."

doctor:"……"

They didn't dare to speak at all, because every member of the Lu family would have a complete copy of their regular medical check-up report delivered to Lu Jinzhi each time.

Lu Jiang jumped out of bed in anger: "You unfilial son!"

Unfortunately, Lu Jinzhi didn't give him a chance to lash out. Before closing the door without looking back, he left his last words: "Don't abuse medical resources."

The ward was in complete chaos, while Lu Jinzhi had already walked quite a distance outside.

Besides the medical examination report, which was the basis for him to measure Lu Jiang's health, the hospital report also arrived the moment the news of Lu Jiang's illness reached his ears.

Admittedly, Lu Jiang's illness came on suddenly this time, but it was only due to overwork during that period, coupled with long-standing psychological problems.

The reason he stayed in the hospital for so many days was simply to find an excuse to force him to return to China.

Lu Jinzhi was too lazy to play these roundabout games with him.

It was late at night when I returned to the Lu residence from the hospital.

Upon seeing the gate of the Lu residence, Lu Jinzhi finally felt somewhat exhausted. As soon as he entered, a servant greeted him: "Second Young Master, would you like some food?"

This was a routine inquiry every time he returned. Although Lu Jinzhi was very picky about what he ate, he actually didn't have a strong appetite. He wouldn't eat unless he was hungry.

So he declined as usual: "No need."

But this time, the servants didn't leave. Instead, they continued, "Butler Qiao said that even if you don't eat, you shouldn't go hungry, as it's bad for your stomach. So the kitchen has been preparing for your return."

For some reason, Lu Jinzhi suddenly remembered one of the clauses in that "traditional domineering CEO" document.

One of the common ailments of domineering CEOs is stomach problems.

It's really toxic.

He didn't get back early, so when he heard the kitchen was still waiting for him, he lowered his eyes and said, "Hurry up."

The maid was somewhat surprised, because Butler Qiao had already instructed that some porridge should be cooked first, and if the second young master did not express what he wanted to eat, porridge should be served, so that the feeling of fullness would not be too strong and would be quick.

"OK."

When Lu Jinzhi arrived at the restaurant, he discovered that the restaurant had changed.

There's a portable TV and a very ugly robot.

“What is this?” he asked.

"These are toys that Butler Qiao bought," the maid said. "It seems like it takes two people to play with them."

Lu Jinzhi was somewhat surprised.

How could there be a game in this house that only two people can play? He had always thought that everyone in the family was a loner.

As soon as he sat down, out of habit, he automatically turned on the portable TV.

The legal channel at night opened with a double kill.

Lu Jinzhi, who already had little appetite, twitched his eyelids slightly: "You want me to watch this while I'm eating?"

The maid hurriedly said, "This was instructed by Butler Qiao. The Third Young Master and the others must read it every day and take notes."

Lu Jinzhi: "?"

He suddenly remembered the two conspicuous codes of conduct on the wall of the living room, and the third rule was indeed written like that.

So, does that mean he's also subject to the rules of conduct for elementary school students?

"And her?" he asked.

"Is this Butler Qiao?"

"Um."

"When I called her to let her know you were safe, she was still in the library. Should I call again to confirm?"

Lu Jinzhi raised an eyebrow slightly: "Report that I'm safe?"

“There is a curfew at home. Normally, if we don’t come back by that time, we should let Xiao Qiao, the housekeeper, know that we’re safe. We don’t know why Xiao Qiao asked us to let her know this time.”

"Did the others report themselves?"

"It should be, but so far none of the Third Young Master, Fourth Young Master, or Miss have returned after curfew."

The kitchen quickly brought out the porridge that had been cooking for a while.

The color looked alright. Lu Jinzhi picked up a spoon, took a bite, and closed his phoenix eyes slightly: "What is this?"

"Mung bean and lily porridge".

Lu Jinzhi hummed in agreement. He didn't like salty porridge, nor did he crave sweet porridge, but this bowl of porridge just suited his taste.

After finishing the bowl of porridge, he asked, "Did she ask you to make it too?"

Although it's still a question, it's already somewhat certain.

"Yes."

Lu Jinzhi didn't say anything, wiped his mouth, got up and left the restaurant.

However, he didn't rush upstairs, but went to the library again.

To ensure a quiet environment, there are silent sliding doors and carpets on the floor.

Just like Lu Ning didn't notice him in the afternoon, Qiao Wu in the building didn't notice him this time either.

Qiao Wu sat on the wooden stairs on the second floor, her feet slightly higher than each other, intently flipping through the book in her hands. Occasionally, the sound of her gliding through the pages could be heard in the quiet space.

Lu Jinzhi leaned against the doorway, needing to tilt his head slightly to see her, but the light from the hanging lamps was a bit too bright, so he couldn't see her face clearly.

In his limited memory, he rarely encountered Qiao Wu in the library. Even when they did meet, the place was very large, so they always quietly read their own books in their respective places.

As he said, Qiao Wu remained quiet.

However, Qiao Wu developed late as a child and was never very tall. In addition, she couldn't push the wooden ladder by herself at that time, so she would occasionally come to his side and ask softly if he could help her.

Even the children in the family, Lu Xuan and Lu Yingchi, who are still going through their rebellious phase, used to call him "Second Brother" when they were little.

Only Qiao Wu wouldn't do that.

Lu Xuan was a year older than Qiao Wu. While Lu Xuan was still drooling and calling out "Second Brother" every day, which was annoying, Qiao Wu had just learned to speak and would call him "Lu, Jin, Zhi" one word at a time.

Every word is clear.

At that time, he also thought that not all children's voices are noisy and unpleasant.

He had no concept of respecting elders and only followed his own heart. If Qiao Wu thought it sounded nice to call Lu Jinzhi, he didn't have to call him brother or young master.

So from the beginning, Qiao Wu, who was five years younger than him, only called him Lu Jinzhi.

He was an exception in the Lu family, a prodigy in everyone's eyes, and even his strict father would treat him with some kindness. The older he got, the more he could recognize his own difference.

At the same time, he couldn't understand why some people, while saying he was excellent, were distancing themselves from him and fearing him.

Only Qiao Wu will always be like that.

"Lu Jinzhi, could you please get that book for me?"

"Lu Jinzhi, could you help me push this ladder?"

“Lu Jinzhi, I told Dad that you don’t like sweets.”

“Lu Jinzhi…”

Until one day twelve years ago, that person suddenly smiled and called him Second Young Master.

When Lu Jinzhi turned around, he felt for a moment that the person in front of him was very unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that he did not want to look at him a second time.

From then on, another voice he hated appeared in his life.

If you hate it, then don't do it.

That's exactly what he did, so he ignored many of Qiao Wu's messages and attempts to please him. He never hesitated about things he had already weighed the pros and cons of, except for the first time he received Qiao Wu's outrageous probing.

His reason clearly told him that this person could not be allowed to live.

But he didn't make a choice immediately.

Was it out of consideration for the old butler's years of care, or because of the voice of Lu Jinzhi that was never heard again?

He now has another unsolvable problem with this person.

After waiting for a long time, until he had lost patience and had no reason to convince himself, he received a phone call.

The person on the phone seemed lost in thought and remained silent for a long time.

Then he heard a voice say "Lu Jinzhi".

Lu Jinzhi felt that his brain was like a sophisticated instrument, something he had always been proud of, but at that moment he didn't manage to memorize all the information from that sentence immediately.

Instead, they remained focused on the very first three words.

It wasn't until his instruments beeped that he snapped back to reality and remembered the rest of his words.

She needs to borrow a speedboat.

"Then I'll lend it to you," he thought.

It was quite a while after the unexpected phone call ended that he remembered to take steps to rectify his mistake.

I received a second call.

For reasons unknown, he asked again who he was before answering.

The person on the other end of the phone kept saying, "Lu Jinzhi."

Lu Jinzhi finds it difficult to understand other people's emotions, just as he finds it difficult to understand his own.

The number of times he can immediately perceive a change in his emotions is extremely limited.

One particularly painful moment was the day he chose to take on the responsibility of being the eldest brother, watching Qiao Wu talking to others from afar.

One moment of joy came when he called Qiao Wu that day and Qiao Wu answered him, saying that he was Lu Jinzhi.

He has always disliked his name because the character "尽" (jìn) is considered unlucky.

It's just that someone else called it a nice name, so he reluctantly made do with it.

Later, he worried that if he changed his name, no one would remember it anymore.

"Lu Jinzhi?"

A soft call pulled Lu Jinzhi out of his memories. He focused his gaze, but still couldn't make out the person's appearance on the stairs. However, he felt for some reason that this person overlapped with a small figure in his memory.

The library contained a total of 734,871 books, ranging from astronomy to geography, science, ethics, and supernatural tales, as well as countless rare manuscripts. Although he did not read them all, he did read quite a few.

Lu Jinzhi didn't think anything was impossible.

It's like someone disappearing for twelve years, only to suddenly come back.

Why is it impossible?

He took a few steps forward, emerging from the dimness of the doorway, and walked around the central chandelier until he could finally make out the figures on the wooden stairs.

"Um."

As he spoke, he had already gone upstairs.

Qiao Wu has been quite busy lately, and she can only find some time to continue reading here after she finishes her work in the evening. But it's a bit late today, so her eyes are really tired. She took off her glasses, put the book and pen on her lap, and planned to massage her eyes.

But when I looked down, I saw someone standing at the door.

I don't know how long he's been standing there, completely silent.

"Aren't you asleep yet?"

"You can pretend I'm sleepwalking."

"..."

No wonder Lu Ning reported him.

Seeing that it was getting late, Qiao Wu stopped reading and got up to put the book back in its place, planning to come back another time.

Lu Jinzhi stood at the bottom of the wooden ladder. This time, he didn't need to look up. The waistline that was faintly revealed when the other person raised his hand caught his eye unexpectedly.

His eyelashes drooped.

The figures that had just overlapped have now separated completely.

The child can now push the wooden ladder on her own and reach the top bookshelf by herself; she has grown up and no longer needs him.

"Lu Jinzhi, I'm getting off."

Lu Jinzhi looked up, and before he could react, he had already reached out his hand.

Qiao Wu was stunned for a moment.

Lu Jinzhi was stunned when he realized what he had done.

He quickly withdrew his hand and took a step back to give her space to get down the ladder.

“I saw it,” he said.

"What do you see?"

"Sophie's Boat".

Qiao Wu chuckled, pushing the wooden ladder into the corner as he said, "So that's why you made a personal attack on Lu Ning?"

Lu Jinzhi disagreed with the term and said objectively, "I'm just correcting your wrong assessment of her."

Someone of Lu Ning's caliber, let alone at twenty-seven years old.

Even at 270 years old, it's impossible for someone to surpass others.

Qiao Wu took his glasses back from the ladder and put them on: "Not everyone is called Lu Jinzhi. Why can't we be more tolerant of ordinary people?"

Lu Jinzhi, who had been told "at this age" that afternoon, was suddenly soothed by this sentence.

He leaned against the bookshelf, this time lowering his gaze slightly to see her eyes. He liked looking at her from this spot because he could see her most genuine thoughts at that moment.

"I didn't tear up her homework." Lu Jinzhi felt he had done more than enough. "Isn't that tolerant enough?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Wu realized that Lu Jinzhi had indeed become a little more patient with Lu Ning.

If it were the old Lu Yingchi and Lu Xuan, they would usually not let anything that displeased them last until the next day.

No wonder Lu Yingchi called him a monkey; he certainly left a deep impression on people.

“She’s quite afraid of you,” Qiao Wu said.

Lu Jinzhi commented indifferently, "Is this something to be proud of?"

He was scared just standing there; he's pretty useless.

Forget it, trying to appeal to Lu Jinzhi's emotions was a mistake.

Qiao Wu put it more bluntly: "You remember that code of conduct, right? They all follow those rules now, so I don't want to ruin it because of you."

Lu Jinzhi tilted his head and smiled, "So you had someone call you to let you know I'm safe?"

"Is that not allowed?" Qiao Wu asked back.

"You didn't tell me when you set the rules, so why should I be subject to your rules?"

"So I didn't force you."

Because Lu Jinzhi was unaware of the situation, she did not demand that he return or call before curfew; she simply had the maid call him back.

Lu Jinzhi didn't continue with the previous question, but instead asked, "Are you waiting for a phone call this late?"

Qiao Wu did not deny it.

On his first day back in China, Lu Jinzhi went to the hospital, and she was worried that he might have some kind of conflict with the old man.

Otherwise, no matter how much she loves reading, she wouldn't have stayed here so late if she had to get up early the next day.

"Why did you ask me to cook porridge in advance? Are you sure I'll eat it?"

The porridge isn't cooked to the desired softness and consistency in a short time.

Lu Jinzhi is the kind of person who wants to understand things as soon as possible when there is a problem, so Qiao Wu doesn't intend to hide it from him.

"Because overtime work requires overtime pay, and you didn't pay them overtime pay."

On the scales that belong solely to Lu Jinzhi, he has his own way of measuring things.

He has high standards; he doesn't eat just anything and doesn't like wasting time waiting. So, if he came home late and wanted something to eat, he would ask the kitchen to prepare it according to his requirements before he arrived and then pay the chef extra for overtime.

In his view, effort should be commensurate with reward.

Therefore, if he doesn't call in advance and then tells him that the kitchen is waiting for him, he won't refuse easily.

He wanted to at least make the time the other party wasted pay for.

As for whether or not to pay overtime after he gets to eat, that's up to him to decide.

The reason he treated Lu Yingchi and Lu Xuan so badly was because he felt that these two people had been very annoying to him and drained his emotions, so he could bully them with a clear conscience.

But Lu Ning wasn't that annoying to him, so he was actually more tolerant of her.

Although it was a bit despicable, Qiao Wu did indeed use his peculiar habit to morally blackmail him into drinking porridge.

Qiao Wu had assumed that Lu Jinzhi would go to rest after the event, regardless of whether he drank or not, but she didn't expect him to appear here, so she wasn't sure if he was there to hold her accountable or to do something else.

She asked, "So did you give it to me later?"

Lu Jinzhi looked at her quietly for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled and answered irrelevantly, "Father asked me how you were doing today."

"What?"

I said it was alright.

Qiao Wu didn't understand.

“I misjudged,” Lu Jinzhi continued. “You understand me better than I thought.”

It even surpassed him.

"There's another problem."

Qiao Wu was a little confused by this genius's train of thought and unconsciously looked up: "Hmm?"

Lu Jinzhi, who was leaning against the bookshelf, straightened up, leaned forward slightly to meet her gaze, and asked softly, "Who am I?"

Qiao Wu: "Lu Jinzhi."

"Hmm." Lu Jinzhi smiled. "Lu Jinzhi gave it to me."

He gave the chef overtime pay because the porridge was made to his liking.

"Next time you need to let me know you're safe, just contact me," he said.

"You agreed?"

This was simpler than Qiao Wu had imagined. She thought she would need to analyze the pros and cons with him and let him weigh the options.

"Why?" she asked.

“Because the Second Young Master is not within your rules.” Lu Jinzhi’s dark eyes were filled with a faint smile, “but Lu Jinzhi is.”