Chapter 69 Next Time Hug

Qiao Wu's ears felt slightly hot from the subtle breeze he created as he spoke, and she took a step back: "Swallow it."

"Damn it." Lu Yingchi, whose allowance had been withheld for no reason, got up from the ground and pointed at Lu Jinzhi indignantly. After babbling on and on, he finally found the only person who could stand up for him.

He turned to Qiao Wu: "You heard that too, aren't you going to do anything about this? Who's the kind person who's causing trouble for the bank all day long? We're all from the same root, why are you fighting each other so fiercely!"

Living under the same roof as this kind of person, he really can't guarantee that he won't become a criminal suspect named Lu because of money.

Also, is Lu Jinzhi mentally ill?

Even having kids at home is a nightmare, why are you arguing about who your dad is!

When did I start doing such childish things?

"Never underestimate a young man's potential." Lu Yingchi gritted his teeth.

Little did she know that Lu Jinzhi would glance at her gently, his tone very agreeable: "If she asks, we can consider it."

Lu Yingchi: "?"

Qiao Wu understood perfectly what Lu Jinzhi meant: "..."

"Get out, all of you." She didn't even look up. "This is my room now."

Having to go to school tomorrow and having just received a large sum of money, Lu Ning was now quite pragmatic. She got up and, while doing so, pulled the flustered Lu Yingchi along, patting the little baby's belly as he drank milk: "Waaah, sister is leaving with uncle. Be good to mom and dad."

Qiao Wu's eyelids twitched as he listened, and he kicked her in the butt: "I'm not a mother, I'm nothing."

Lu Ning hurriedly covered her buttocks and pushed Lu Yingchi, who was saying he would be willing to be her "second dad," away.

Noticing that there was someone standing next to him who was completely oblivious, Qiao Wu turned around and sat down on the sofa: "You should go out too."

Lu Jinzhi moved, but instead of going to the door, he took off his coat and draped it aside. He squatted down, picked up the trinkets on the carpet, and casually asked, "Why didn't you have someone tidy up?"

"It wasn't that difficult."

She and Lu Ning were doing well, but as soon as Lu Yingchi arrived, it turned into a kindergarten nap room after a nap.

Lu Jinzhi seemed to have no sense of propriety, and she didn't want to leave any risks unaddressed.

"Just leave it there, I'll take care of it in a bit."

Lu Jinzhi did not listen.

Although he doesn't know how to breastfeed, he can still arrange some things.

Qiao Wu looked up when he heard the sound and saw him studying the instruction manual. The scene was quite novel.

The second son of the Lu family has never even held his younger brother's and niece's baby bottles when they were little, yet now he's building a cage for a kitten.

“Lu Jinzhi, how come you have more patience for a cat than for your younger brothers?”

Having quickly reviewed the instructions, Lu Jinzhi picked up the boards and raised an eyebrow: "Because they don't call it 'Wuwu'."

Qiao Wu suddenly felt that this name wasn't so good after all.

It's normal for others to call him that, but Lu Jinzhi always does it in a strange tone.

"Could you tone it down a bit?" she asked.

"Um?"

Lu Jinzhi, who was assembling the small cage, seemed to smile slightly, his eyes lowered, "I hid it."

"Try saying you're hiding it again."

With a snap.

Lu Jinzhi closed and reopened the cage door. After testing it and finding no problems, he got up, carried the cage to Qiao Wu's side, and placed it on the table: "Have you ever liked anyone?"

"No," Qiao Wu answered instinctively.

A soft laugh came from above.

Realizing what he was laughing at, she looked up, intending to deduct points and deflate his arrogance.

The next second, Lu Jinzhi said, "So you don't know, it's hard to hide what you like."

Qiao Wu was stunned for a moment.

"I tried my best, sob sob." Lu Jinzhi gently touched her hair, which was a little messy from doing all this, and asked softly, "Can you please understand?"

Qiao Wu felt that he was taking advantage of her being unable to do anything right now.

"Twenty points will be deducted for touching or kicking someone."

Lu Jinzhi glanced at his hands and said slowly, "Isn't this a bit too much?"

Just as Qiao Wu was wondering if it was really a bit too much, after only touching a strand of hair, his brow was gently brushed by a warm fingertip.

The person who started it had already withdrawn their hand, their expression and tone completely natural: "Since you've already deducted it, I'll make it up to you."

Qiao Wu felt he had met his match.

If she were to cut back any further, would Lu Jinzhi then become even more demanding and try to touch her even more?

This is the first time I've encountered someone who doesn't correct their mistakes after having points deducted, and even tries to make up for the lost benefits.

She shoved the empty baby bottle into Lu Jinzhi's hand: "If there's nothing else, tidy up and go out. I need to rest. Go wash the baby bottle while you're at it."

"Something came up." The baby bottle twirled in Lu Jinzhi's hand, but he didn't let go. Instead, he asked, "Are you free this weekend?"

Their jobs overlapped in many ways, and Qiao Wu subconsciously began to plan his time: "What's up?"

"I'll pursue you."

Qiao Wu: "..."

Although she had prepared herself mentally, she still felt very uncomfortable every time she heard such blunt and explicit words from Lu Jinzhi.

"What?" She was a little confused. "You weren't pursuing her anymore?"

Lu Jinzhi raised an eyebrow, seemingly puzzled: "I didn't do anything."

Qiao Wu's feelings were complicated.

What's the point of all that slutty talk he spouts all day? Why isn't it in the books she reads?

Lu Jinzhi must have been secretly reading behind her back!

"Want to have dinner together?"

Qiao Wu said expressionlessly, "We eat together every day."

"I'd like to eat alone with you."

The two words suddenly reminded Qiao Wu of her unusual relationship with Lu Jinzhi, and also made some normal actions seem ambiguous.

“Lu Yingchi’s classmates are coming to my house this weekend, and I need to give them some guidance. I’m not sure when.”

Lu Jinzhi remained silent for a few seconds.

I feel that Lu Yingchi is like this kitten that hasn't been weaned yet, so clingy.

"Could you tell me the exact time?"

What if you don't have time?

That's my business.

Qiao Wu smiled silently.

"good."

After Lu Jinzhi left, Qiao Wu put Wuwu in the cage, set the alarm for feeding it regularly, and then hurriedly got ready to go to sleep.

After going upstairs, Lu Jinzhi stood on the terrace for a while.

Since Qiao Wu's room was the one her father used to live in, it was very close to Lu Jiang's room for convenience, and naturally, it was also very close to his. From his balcony, one could see her window.

She's asleep.

Lu Jinzhi withdrew his gaze, returned to his room, and sat down at his desk. He usually didn't look at official matters after get off work, but recently was an exception.

To allow Qiao Wu enough personal time, he has no choice but to work overtime.

This was the first time President Lu had worked overtime so willingly, and he didn't mind even though he hadn't been sleeping much lately.

At three in the morning, Qiao Wu groggily opened his eyes when his phone rang again.

This fragmented sleep is just too unbearable.

She rubbed her temples and got up, poured out the water she had prepared beforehand, and was just about to test the temperature with a thermometer when she heard a rhythmic knocking at the door.

At this moment, is Lu Ning worried that the kitten might come over?

But Lu Jinzhi was still standing outside the door.

Qiao Wu's sleepiness had dissipated considerably, and he subconsciously tried to recall the time: "You're still not asleep?"

"I wanted to ask you that too." Lu Jinzhi frowned slightly when he saw that she was still sleepy and holding a thermometer in her hand.

He would get up every three hours, and he thought something had happened.

Following his gaze and looking down, Qiao Wu suddenly realized, "Waaah, I'm still too young."

Lu Jinzhi took the thermometer from her hand: "Whoever raises it should feed it."

"So she's not going to school anymore?"

Don't you think about yourself?

That's what he said, but Lu Jinzhi pushed the door open a little and stepped inside. When he entered, he turned off some of the lights in the room, keeping only basic lighting so that the light wasn't too glaring.

The baby had already been taken out by Qiao Wu and placed on the sofa through a diaper pad.

The items were all placed to the side.

Lu Jinzhi picked up the baby bottle: "What temperature?"

Because he was sleepy, Qiao Wu didn't come to his senses until he started making the milk powder and went over: "40 is fine."

"Give it to the maid tomorrow," Lu Jinzhi said. "There are so many people in the family, each person can feed it once a night."

Qiao Wu had actually thought about this problem as well.

That way, everyone can get a good rest.

But she might be a bit stubborn, so she hasn't done it yet.

Not hearing her voice, Lu Jinzhi looked up.

Qiao Wu didn't hide anything, and in fact, there was no reason to convince Lu Jinzhi, so she answered truthfully: "Its name is Wuwu."

Because the cat meows, she doesn't want to let anyone else raise it.

Lu Jinzhi looked at her quietly for a few seconds, then looked away.

Geniuses have a strong ability to learn; even if they only looked at something once at night, they can now easily master it.

Unable to get involved, Qiao Wu could only sit beside him and ask, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"work overtime."

Qiao Wu nodded. If she thought about the location of Lu Jinzhi's room for a moment, she would know why he had found out. She decided not to turn on so many lights when she fed the cats tomorrow.

She was a little groggy from just waking up, and she was worried about falling and making a mistake in the process because the lighting was too dim.

But now Lu Jinzhi has turned off the lights again, and with nothing to do, she can't help but close her eyes as she watches.

When Lu Jinzhi put down the baby bottle and turned around, the person next to him had already fallen asleep against the sofa.

After putting the woof back into its cage, he leaned back on the sofa, half-turned to the side, shamelessly drawing in the breath of the person in front of him into his dark eyes.

This "woo-woo" one is cuter.

There were relatively few things left in the room, so he went back to his own place, grabbed a blanket, and covered Qiao Wu with it.

I sat down next to her and took out my phone to search for things to note about raising a cat.

He respected her choice.

At 6:30 in the morning, Lu Ning, who had already arrived at the restaurant, still hadn't seen Qiao Wu, nor had her second uncle come down.

"Did they sleep in today?" Lu Ning asked. "Should we go wake them up?"

Lu Yingchi glanced upstairs and glared at her: "Don't you know how many times a day that cat needs to be fed?"

He only found out how troublesome it is to take care of such a small cat after searching for cat care guides last night. He wanted to go upstairs and take the cat down, but he gave up because he was worried that Qiao Wu was asleep.

“From today onwards, I’ll raise this cat.” Lu Yingchi pointed to himself. “Get this straight, from now on I’m its father.”

“But you don’t have any money.” Lu Ning still knew who the big shots were, and she listed them one by one, “Wuwu’s milk powder costs money, and later cat litter, cat food, cat toys, vaccinations, and checkups all cost money. How are you going to support it? With fatherly love?”

Lu Yingchi felt that all the major setbacks in his life had occurred in this family.

He went and punctured Lu Jinzhi's tires in a little while!

“I will have money,” he said. “My classmates and I are going to start a business together.”

Lu Ning hesitated for a moment: "Let's not."

"You look down on me?"

"No," Lu Ning said honestly. "I've heard that wealthy families are most afraid of their children starting their own businesses, so you shouldn't force yourself to endure hardship."

"..."

Lu Yingchi didn't want to talk to someone like her who was all brains and no brains.

Lu Yingchi has been quite busy lately, so Lu Ning hasn't been going to school with him anymore.

After he left, Lu Ning, who was going back to her room to get her schoolbag, hesitated for a moment before finally arriving at Qiao Wu's room.

The door was tightly closed.

Thinking that Qiao Wu hadn't gotten up yet, she felt extremely guilty. She bowed to the door and then crouched down, trying to catch a glimpse of Wuwu's shadow through the crack in the door.

Unable to see anything, she could only whisper through the crack in the door, "Waaah, sister has to go to school, goodbye..."

He hadn't even finished speaking.

The tightly closed door suddenly opened, and then a pair of long legs appeared in front of her.

When did Qiao Wu start wearing this style of pajamas?

Lu Ning looked up.

Then his pupils suddenly contracted!

Her eyes and mouth turned into an "O" shape, and before she could utter a sound, the man bent down and pinched her into a duck's beak.

The man's eyes were downcast, looking somewhat tired, his gaze neither warm nor cold.

Behind him, Qiao Wu was sleeping soundly on the sofa, covered with a blanket.

Lu Ning felt this was a blatant threat, and she instinctively shut her mouth.

Lu Jinzhi then gently closed the door.

He let go of her hand, straightened up, and gently kicked Lu Ning, who was still lying on the ground with her butt sticking out: "Performance art?"

He kept getting up and going to sleep, and after a whole night, his voice was a little hoarse.

Lu Ning got up: "Second Uncle, did you come out of Qiao Wu's room?"

Lu Jinzhi glanced at her indifferently: "No."

"...I saw it all! You were still in your pajamas! Did you sleep with her?!"

Lu Jinzhi paused slightly.

Due to continuous fatigue, he wasn't managing his expression well; his eyelids were taut and cold as he reached out and pulled Lu Ning's head directly in front of his eyes.

Lu Ning was startled by his expression, not knowing what she had said wrong, and covered her head in apology: "Second Uncle, can you please stop hitting my head?"

It took a long time for him to become a little smarter.

Then she felt her head being pulled apart from the middle.

"Second Uncle?" Lu Ning trembled. "Why are you tearing my head off?"

Are we supposed to crack it open with our bare hands like breaking a watermelon?

Lu Jinzhi said lazily, "So this is a head, not a ball wearing a wig?"

"?"

Lu Jinzhi patted the back of her head: "It's empty."

"???"

Do you know how much gold is in those bowls of walnuts?!

"Think before you speak." Lu Jinzhi pressed the elevator button.

“But you came out of Qiao Wu’s room.”

"Because of your cat," Lu Jinzhi replied calmly.

In an instant, Lu Ning went from anger to guilt. It turned out that her second uncle had also gone to feed the cat for her.

She lowered her eyes meekly and said, "Second Uncle, thank you so much for feeding me, waah!"

"I didn't help you."

"ah?"

"Help her."

It took Lu Ning three seconds to realize who "she" was.

She sighed, "It still comes down to privilege."

It's amazing that someone like my second uncle, who never lifts a finger, has become a stay-at-home dad.

Lu Jinzhi, who was leaning against the elevator without any emotion, suddenly blinked when he heard this. The elevator doors opened, and he blocked them with his hand, calling out, "Lu Ning."

Lu Ning walked in: "Yes!"

Lu Jinzhi tilted his head slightly: "What did you ask me that night?"

That night?

In Lu Ning's memory, there was only one night when she had a back-and-forth question-and-answer session with her second uncle.

She tried to say, "Is Qiao Wu your privilege?"

"The next sentence."

Lu Ning was confused, but she still honestly repeated, "Do you like Qiao Wu?"

Then she saw her second uncle, who had been listless, suddenly smile.

Those indifferent eyes were now filled with a gentleness she had never seen before, and there were many things she couldn't understand. In short... he didn't seem like her second uncle at all.

Then I heard my second uncle grunt in response.

Before Lu Ning could react, her second uncle released his hand from the elevator door. With the sound of the elevator doors closing, she heard a low, clear sound…

"like."

Just then, Zhong Shixia's phone rang as she stepped out of her house.

He looked down and saw that it was a message from Lu Ning.

It was accompanied by many exclamation marks.

Lu Ning: "Master!!!!!!!!!!"

“.

Oh well, I'm used to it.

Qiao Wu woke up again at around nine o'clock in the morning.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, and only the few dim lights from last night remained in the room. Wuwu was fast asleep in her cage, covered with a blanket that didn't belong to her. It was obvious who the blanket belonged to; she had smelled the scent on it when Lu Jinzhi held her that day.

There was a note on the table.

Above, Lu Jinzhi's vigorous handwriting recorded the time of each feeding and each reaction of Wuwu after she fell asleep.

Last time was an hour and a half ago.

So Lu Jinzhi hasn't left since he came last night? She didn't hear the alarm clock either.

Qiao Wu stared at the blanket on his body for a while, then slowly began to fold it.

Perhaps because the sofa was too comfortable, she didn't feel any soreness or pain anywhere, but as she folded the sofa, her thoughts inevitably wandered a little.

Why is it different from what's shown in TV dramas?

After the female lead falls asleep, doesn't the male lead always carry her to bed to sleep?

Of course, she didn't want Lu Jinzhi to hug her; she just didn't quite understand Lu Jinzhi's thought process.

When she went downstairs, everyone in her family had already left, but the kitchen had prepared breakfast for her.

"Sorry, I overslept today," she said while eating. "Next time, you can ring the bell to wake me up at the appointed time."

The servants exchanged glances and answered truthfully, "The second young master said we can't disturb you."

Qiao Wu paused for a moment.

Don't listen to him.

No one spoke.

Perhaps these words are a bit presumptuous to others, but when the housekeeper, Xiao Qiao, says them, no one else dares to disobey.

After all, the second young master really does listen to her.

While eating breakfast, Qiao Wu took out her phone and sent a message to Lu Jinzhi: "When did you leave?"

A little while later, the other side sent a video call.

It's unclear when Lu Jinzhi developed this habit, but he prefers to video chat with people. Apart from the day he confessed his feelings at the hotel, as long as Qiao Wu's schedule matches up with his, the two of them always have more video chat records than text chat records.

It might be some personal hobby of his.

Qiao Wu respected.

Lu Jinzhi's face quickly appeared on the screen. He should be in his office. Compared to last night, he had washed and styled his hair and looked much more energetic, although he still looked a little tired.

Qiao Wu didn't even want to ask him why he hadn't woken her up; it would seem like she was asking a question she already knew the answer to.

"Thank you," she said.

Lu Jinzhi stopped what he was doing and stared at her quietly.

Even through the camera lens, Qiao Wu still felt uncomfortable being stared at: "What's wrong?"

"Let's see when you get rid of that bad habit of saying thank you to me."

Qiao Wu was annoyed. Saying thank you is now considered a bad habit?

Then he asked, "When did you leave?"

“A little past seven.” Lu Jinzhi held up two fingers. “You have two choices now: one, leave the room key with me and I’ll feed the cat tonight; two, put the cat in my room and I’ll leave the key with you.”

Qiao Wu felt that the area around him suddenly became quiet.

She looked back and saw that the servants behind her, who were busy with their own things, were all a little stiff, obviously having heard what had just been said.

"..."

What she really wanted to say was that she had keys to most of the family members' rooms, so there was no need to be so surprised.

However, Lu Jinzhi is indeed a bit special.

“I choose three,” she said.

“Three,” Lu Jinzhi put his hand down and smiled, “Then we can only stay in the same room.”

Qiao Wu glanced at him and felt that the wickedness in this person's bones would really show in the details at all times.

But she knew this man's decisive nature and why he did what he did.

If she refused, Lu Jinzhi might very well climb over the railing from his balcony into her room in the middle of the night.

It was only then that Qiao Wu realized that if Lu Jin was determined to do something, she couldn't coax him to give up and change as she had done with other people.

Lu Jinzhi stepped back, respecting her choice and not sending the cat to someone else.

No, it's a significant step backward.

Judging from what he said yesterday, he doesn't have much affection for the cat; he only made concessions because of her.

She raised an eyebrow: "So Lu Ning and the others can come into your room now?"

"Um."

Lu Jinzhi could clearly distinguish between what was important and what was not.

There was nothing shameful in his room, but he didn't like others entering his private space, and he especially didn't want Lu Yingchi and the others to come and go from Qiao Wu's room all the time.

Even fishing requires baiting the area, let alone pursuing a wife.

He readily paid for the room.

Moreover, those puppies didn't dare to cause trouble in his room.

However, it must be said that Qiao Wu was much more accepting of handing Wu Wu over to Lu Jinzhi than to anyone else, because they were all family. It was just like handing Lu Ning or Lu Yingchi over to him before. Moreover, Lu Jinzhi had given her the key, so the choice was in her hands, and she could come and go as she pleased.

It's more reasonable to let a suitor like him freely enter and leave his room.

She also took a step back.

"good."

After finishing breakfast, she was about to hang up the phone when she suddenly remembered the question she had been wondering about.

She asked deliberately, "You just let me sleep on the sofa all night?"

Unexpectedly, she asked this, and Lu Jinzhi asked in surprise, "Won't he wake up?"

"meeting."

With such a loud commotion, of course she would wake up.

Qiao Wu understood: "Afraid I'll feed the cat?"

“No,” Lu Jinzhi said slowly, “I’m afraid you’ll kick me out since I’m staying here.”

"..."

Seeing her speechless, Lu Jinzhi chuckled: "You like hugging?"