Chapter 5 (The fifth chapter) They'll start watching immediately.

Lu Yingchi was in a bad mood, and his cronies were also affected. One of them accidentally touched him while he was sleeping and almost got kicked to the ground by him.

"What's wrong, Young Master Lu?" The man hurriedly hid in another seat. "Have you been eating firecrackers these past few days? They ignite at the slightest touch."

Lu Yingchi, who was lying on the table, didn't even open his eyes: "I've been hit by a nuclear bomb, get lost."

"Hey, which fool has the guts to provoke Young Master Lu? Give me his name and I'll take care of him for you."

Lu Yingchi ignored him. If word got out that he had been suppressed like this by a mere butler, wouldn't he have any shame?

Undeterred by not getting any information out of him, the man grinned and leaned closer, saying, "Don't be like that. I've arranged for a lot of girls to go drinking with me today. Want to come?"

Lu Yingchi is willing to go anywhere as long as he doesn't have to go home right now.

He took out his phone, ready to send a message as usual, but when he saw the pinned name, he got angry and quickly unpinned it.

Notice my ass!

Not only did he not notify us, he also stopped going back to the old house to sleep from now on!

On the other side, there's a private hospital under the Lu family's control.

When Qiao Zhiyi entered carrying fruit, Lu Jiang was looking through some documents. Hearing the sound, he looked up and smiled, "If you're not feeling well, just rest. You've finally retired, why are you traveling so far?"

Qiao Zhiyi stepped forward and placed the fruit down. "I'm feeling much better these past few days, so I thought I'd come and see you. Please smoke less..."

He saw that Lu Jiang had no documents in his hand that were not covered up, and the name "Qiao Wu" was particularly prominent on them. His body stiffened.

“I’m used to it. I smoke a little now and then. Have a seat.” Lu Jiang said casually, as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. “Old Qiao, you’ve been by my side for almost forty years now?”

Qiao Zhiyi: "Yes, I've been by your side since I was 19."

"You've got gray hairs already," Lu Jiang sighed softly. "You've worked so hard, and you've ruined your health."

"You flatter me. I should be thanking you for giving me so many opportunities."

“You’re always so rigid.” Lu Jiang waved his hand and said, “But it’s all good now. Now that our daughter is back, you don’t have to worry about her too much. It’s good for the whole family to be together and happy. The house is so big, it must be hard for her to work all by herself. And you’re not in good health either. Why don’t you let her spend more time with you? What do you think?”

This was a very tactful way of putting it, and Qiao Zhiyi, who had been doing business with Lu Jiang for so many years, certainly understood.

The old gentleman meant that he didn't intend to let Xiao Wu continue as the head housekeeper; otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately put the documents out in the open for everyone to see.

This was originally what Qiao Zhiyi had hoped for, but he suddenly remembered what his daughter had said these past two days, and hesitated for a moment: "Sir, Xiao Wu, she..."

"Don't rush." ​​Lu Jiang placed the documents in his hand in front of him. "I watched Xiao Qiao grow up, and I don't want to be too harsh on her, but ability and feelings cannot be confused. You should know what the house has been like this past week."

He paused, then gave a bitter smile: "I'm getting old and can't keep going anymore, but my family is still in disarray. My brothers aren't on the same page, and you can't help me anymore. So as long as I have a breath left, I can't let things continue like this."

Having said all that, Qiao Zhiyi felt genuinely guilty.

Even though Xiao Wu has changed a bit in the last two days, he doesn't dare to risk the entire Lu family to raise Xiao Wu.

“Sir.” Qiao Zhiyi sat up straight. “I know your concerns. As Xiao Wu’s father, it’s not objective for me to judge her abilities. But I’m going to be so bold as to ask you this once: before you decide not to hire her anymore, could you please talk to her in person?”

Before the words were even finished, there was a knock at the door: "Sir, Butler Qiao is here."

Both of them were startled.

Qiao Wu hasn't been to the hospital once in the week since he returned to China, so why did he suddenly come today?

Lu Jiang glanced at Qiao Zhiyi.

The latter hurriedly replied, "She said she was busy these past two days, so she didn't tell her I was coming."

"That's quite a coincidence," Lu Jiang laughed. "Let her in."

The door was gently pushed open, and Lu Jiang looked up, but for a moment he couldn't match the person in front of him with the person in his memory.

In his memory, Qiao Wu was a cute child when she was young. Sometimes he liked her more than his sons. But as she grew up, she became more and more difficult to please than his sons. Her eyes often revealed a shrewdness that made people uncomfortable. In addition, she intentionally or unintentionally avoided him, so he stopped paying attention to this child.

That's just how people are; some people can never be truly won over.

But the child who walked in at this moment had a clear and gentle appearance. Even Lu Jiang, who was used to seeing young ladies from noble families, was amazed at first glance. She was quite different from the person in the information he had just seen.

"Dad?" Qiao Wu saw his father first and asked in surprise, "When did you arrive?"

"I've only been here a little while." Lu Jiang pulled himself out of his thoughts and smiled. "I was just talking to your dad about you. It's been so long since I've seen Xiao Qiao. She's really grown up a lot."

"It's my fault." Qiao Wu put down the thermos in her hand. She had arranged everything at home for the day and found a repairman to fix the small loudspeaker in Lu Yingchi's room before she came.

The master of the house is sick, and as a steward, it is only right and proper for him to come over.

She explained, "I've had a lot to take care of these past few days and forgot to come visit the old gentleman. I'll come every day from now on."

"Why call me 'old man'? We used to call you 'uncle'."

"Now that you're my boss, our roles are different during work hours," Qiao Wu joked.

Lu Jiang was genuinely surprised to see her composed and confident demeanor: "What's inside?"

Qiao Wu opened the thermos: "I didn't know if the food in the hospital kitchen would suit your taste, so I asked the chef at home to make some of your favorite dishes. I checked with the doctor beforehand, and he said you can eat them."

"You even know what I like to eat?"

"Of course." Qiao Wu laid everything out on the table. "The nutritionist said you hadn't eaten yet, so I came around mealtime. It's still warm. Would you like to try it?"

Even a seasoned veteran like Lu Jiang couldn't quite understand the young girl in front of him. The food in the thermos was indeed the kind of food he used to eat, but Qiao Zhiyi used to take care of his daily life, and he was too busy with work to pay attention to these details.

Now that he saw it, Qiao Wu was actually quite good at it. If Qiao Zhiyi hadn't just seen the document, Lu Jiang would have suspected that the father and daughter had conspired to put on an act in front of him.

Lu Jiang didn't mention firing her. Since she was already there, and he had promised Qiao Zhiyi, he would talk to her first: "Xiao Qiao, please sit down. How are you adjusting to work this week?"

"Things were a bit chaotic the past two days, but things are much better now," Qiao Wu said gently. "We dismissed the head chef this morning."

Qiao Zhiyi's heart was in his throat. He thought to himself, "A new broom sweeps clean, and my daughter's fire is a bit frightening."

Lu Jiang didn't react much: "Why do you have this right?"

So Qiao Wu recounted what had happened that morning.

Lu Jiang's initially easygoing expression gradually turned serious. He looked at the dishes in front of him and said in a barely audible voice, "The children still have these dietary restrictions..."

He didn't even know.

The document didn't mention any of this, so he continued, "And then?"

Qiao Wu spoke quietly: "I mobilized the family's legal team, and even used knives and ghosts to scare the fourth young master, forcing him to smash all the alarms in the house."

With a clatter, Lu Jiang's chopsticks fell onto the table.

It doesn't say when this happened!

"……What?"

So Qiao Wu recounted what had happened in the past two days. She didn't intend to complain, but she hoped to get the old man's permission.

And if the old gentleman also minds her using this method, then she will choose another one.

Unexpectedly, the old man remained silent for a long time after I finished speaking, until he finished the soup in his bowl, at which point he couldn't hold back any longer: "So they went to school obediently?"

Qiao Wu hesitated for a second: "Not exactly honest, but I went."

Lu Jiang pulled out a tissue, but his hand trembled slightly.

Over the years, he has had countless arguments with his children, and even resorted to physical violence. However, these children have become increasingly rebellious, and now they basically ignore each other. Before, when he was forcing Lu Yingchi to study, he pushed him so hard that he jumped off the third floor and broke his leg.

But even after all that, Qiao Wu somehow managed to walk out of his house unharmed.

Why?

Could it be because he didn't use a knife on the child?

That shouldn't be the case.

He looked up again and examined the young girl, but saw no scheming or cunning in her eyes; she was even more resilient than her father.

"Do you mind?" Qiao Wu asked.

Lu Jiang replied without hesitation, "I don't mind at all! You haven't even made a move yet. No, you're too frail to fight. You might get hurt. If you need to fight, call the bodyguards."

Qiao Zhiyi: "..."

Qiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled lightly, "I won't take action easily. Please don't think I'm overstepping my bounds and interfering with the young master and young lady."

"But we still have to be able to control them."

Qiao Wu: "Then I'll continue? You can stop at any time if you feel it's inappropriate."

Lu Jiang, who had just been trying to figure out how to fire the person, suddenly got stuck.

But then he thought, what else could he do? What he cared about was that his family was in such a mess. Now that there was a chance for things to turn around, he had to give it a try.

He frowned when he thought about the hidden documents, wondering if this decision was a bit hasty.

As they were talking, the secretary knocked on the door again, came in, and whispered a few words in Lu Jiang's ear.

Lu Jiang's face immediately darkened, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged. But then he suddenly remembered something and his gaze fell on Qiao Wu: "Do you know that Fourth Brother is going to send a yacht to take people to the island tonight?"

There are several small islands near the coast in the neighboring city with a developed tourism industry, but it takes two hours to get there from Taipei City. Including the sea trip to the island, if you go at this time, you won't be able to get back tonight.

Qiao Wu remembered this incident. In her dream, Lu Yingchi was coaxed by his friends to take his sister out on his yacht. However, his drinking buddies were a mixed bag, and some of them, after drinking too much, took advantage of Lu Yingchi's backing to bully the girls.

He drove a girl to the brink of suicide by jumping into the sea, and that girl is the future female lead.

Lu Yingchi was so anxious at the time that he called "Qiao Wu" to solve the problem, but all he could do was throw a sum of money at the female lead to shut her up. This was the fuse that led to Lu Yingchi's later escalation of his actions.

She said slowly, "Now I know."

Lu Jiang suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

“Bring him back,” Lu Jiang said. “Bring him back safely, and from now on, I'll allow you to do whatever you want with the Lu family.”

It means that no other unexpected problems can occur.

Qiao Wu nodded: "Okay."

Even without Lu Jiang saying anything, she would have gone to bring the person back.

After leaving the hospital, she called Lu Yingchi, but as expected, no one answered.

He must have been angry about being scared this morning.

They shouldn't have reached the beach yet, so Qiao Wu didn't delay and drove straight to the neighboring city.

In the past, the Lu family owned houses in many places for the convenience of vacationing or working. The yacht moored in the neighboring city was a gift that Lu Yingchi bought for himself when he came of age.

When Qiao Wu arrived at the beach, it was already dark, and the yacht had already left.

There are not only Lu Yingchi's yacht here, but also other people's, so the Lu family also has people here to guard it. When Qiao Wu arrived, they were very embarrassed: "Fourth Young Master said that no one can disturb him."

They didn't know what methods the new butler used, but the young master's words were always more effective than the butler's, right? The old butler had never really disobeyed the master before.

They dared not start the boat, nor did they dare to hand over the keys.

Qiao Wu glanced at the boats docked at the pier, then took out his phone and made a call.

Just as the ringing was about to end, a deep, slightly hoarse male voice came from the other end: "Speak."

A cool sound carried by the sea breeze jolted Qiao Wu's mind back to the night of his dream, and to that distant, lonely "Get out!" soaked by the heavy rain.

She was stunned for a moment.

Until the man opposite him called out again in a low voice, "Qiao Wu".

Qiao Wu snapped back to reality and asked succinctly, "Lu Jinzhi, could I borrow your speedboat from Jin Island for a moment?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

It was only after Qiao Wu's body had grown cold from the sea breeze that he heard a single, clear syllable from the man.

"Um."

"Thanks."

Qiao Wu quickly hung up the phone. It would be too late to catch up with the speedboat if she took the speedboat key instead.

Seeing the administrator hesitate, she simply took the key. She had received so much education and skills training, including a yacht driving license.

She had just stepped onto the speedboat when the shore-based administrator received a phone call.

"What is she going to do?" the person on the other end asked.

The administrator stammered, "Okay, it seems like she's going to chase after the Fourth Young Master."

On the other side of the ocean, Lu Jinzhi lowered his eyelashes, concealing the color of his eyes.

Lu Yingchi?

When did she get involved with Lu Yingchi?

"Keep an eye on it," he said calmly.

One minute later, he received a video message on his phone.

The administrator can monitor them whenever they want, using cameras to do so.

After boarding the speedboat, the woman in the video deftly took off her suit jacket, revealing a shirt that accentuated her beautiful figure and slender waist.

She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt collar, rolled up her sleeves to her wrists, and leaned slightly forward to place her hands on the steering wheel. The flowing water ripples reflected the lines of her fair and slender forearms, shimmering into the man's eyes.

A few seconds later, she sped away amidst the roar of the sea and the speedboat, leaving behind the afterimage of her flying long hair and the splashing white waves.