Chapter 271 Turning the Table Up and Leaving the Cheng Family
In the trunk, there were several exquisitely packaged gift boxes.
A box is printed with the logo of a well-known Chinese-style silk brand.
The other, slightly smaller box bears the logo of a brand known for its high-quality pearls.
There was also a gift box that looked like top-grade tea.
Cheng Zhou was very familiar with these brands.
They are all brands that his mother likes.
Yesterday, he asked Lu You if she needed his help to prepare a gift for their first meeting. Lu You said it wasn't necessary, since it wasn't a business meeting and it was just a casual meal.
It turns out that although she said she didn't care, she had secretly done so much research and knew exactly what his mother liked and disliked.
At this moment, Cheng Zhou felt a bittersweet feeling, and an indescribable surge of emotion welled up within him.
His throat tightened, and he couldn't say a word.
His Lu You appears so strong and invincible on the outside, but inside, he still retains a soft side that wants to be recognized and wants to cultivate good relationships.
Lu You had just turned around after confirming the gift when Cheng Zhou suddenly pulled her into his arms.
His arms were pulled tightly together.
"you……"
Lu You was a little stunned by his sudden hug and subconsciously tried to push him away, "What? Your makeup is going to be ruined!"
Cheng Zhou hugged her even tighter, burying his face in the crook of her neck and taking a deep breath of her familiar, cool fragrance.
His voice was muffled, noticeably hoarse and filled with emotion: "Thank you."
Lu You's struggling movements stopped.
She sensed the unusual emotion in his embrace and understood the meaning behind his "thank you."
Lu You was silent for two seconds, then raised her hand and gently hugged his waist.
She smiled, her tone still carrying a hint of feigned nonchalance: "No need to thank me, it's just basic politeness. I can't just go in with my hands empty, that would be so rude."
The more casually she spoke of it, the more Cheng Zhou felt sorry for her.
He knew that this was more than just basic politeness; it was an effort she had made for him silently, setting aside her pride.
Cheng Zhou raised his head, cupped her face in his hands, and forced her to look into his eyes.
His eyes were slightly red, and his gaze was filled with undisguised excitement.
"Lu You, how can you be so kind?"
Lu You felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, her cheeks flushed slightly, and her eyes flickered as she tried to look away.
"Stop being so mushy, we're going to be late."
Cheng Zhou, however, would not allow her to escape.
He lowered his head, his forehead touching hers, their noses brushing against each other, their breaths mingling.
Looking at her slightly trembling eyelashes, Lu You kissed her deeply without any hesitation.
Lu You was initially a little stiff because they were on the roadside, but under his gentle kisses, she gradually relaxed, closed her eyes, and responded to him.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree branches and leaves, and the occasional passing vehicles seemed to have no effect on them.
After a long while, Cheng Zhou reluctantly let go of her and gently caressed her lips.
His eyes shone with an astonishing light: "I don't care what my mom thinks, in my heart, you are the best."
Looking at his serious expression, Lu You smiled and said, "Of course I'm the best."
She pushed Cheng Zhou away, straightened her clothes that he had wrinkled and her slightly messy hair, regained her usual composure, and pointed to the trunk.
"Take the gift and let's go."
"Yes, sir!"
Cheng Zhou responded loudly and deftly picked up the exquisite gift boxes.
The Cheng family's old house is located in a quiet villa area in the west of the city, and the house is quite old.
Cheng Zhou held Lu You's hand tightly, feeling the slight coolness of her fingertips.
But his own palms were actually sweaty.
He turned his head to look at her, and Lu You's face remained calm and expressionless.
The servants led them into the living room.
Mrs. Cheng was already seated on the sofa.
Today she wore a dark green cheongsam, her hair was styled in a bun, and she wore a set of high-quality jade jewelry.
Clearly, she was deliberately dressed in such a luxurious and elegant manner to make people dare not underestimate her.
When Madam Cheng saw them enter, she smiled, her gaze lingering on Cheng Zhou's face for a moment before falling on Lu You, at which point her smile faded slightly.
She scrutinized Lu You.
"Hello, Auntie." Lu You stepped forward and handed over the gift she was carrying with a humble yet respectful tone, "It's just a small token of my appreciation, I hope you like it."
Mrs. Cheng gestured for the maid to take it, her gaze sweeping over the packaging of those brands, her eyes flickering slightly.
She seemed somewhat surprised by Lu You's taste and thoughtfulness, but didn't say much, only nodding slightly.
"Miss Lu, you're too kind. It's good that you're here. Please have a seat."
After we were seated, the servants served us tea and refreshments.
The initial greetings were fairly normal. Mrs. Cheng asked about Lu You's work in a flat tone.
Lu You answered each question calmly.
Cheng Zhou tried to lighten the mood by telling stories about the two of them.
But Madam Cheng just smiled faintly and didn't respond, and there was always a sense of distance between them.
They moved to the restaurant when dinner began.
Mrs. Cheng wiped her mouth with a napkin and casually mentioned, "I heard that Miss Lu grew up in the Yu family?"
They've arrived.
Lu You tightened her grip on the chopsticks, but her expression remained unchanged.
"Yes, thanks to my father for not abandoning me and raising me to adulthood."
“Those who come from the Yu family are naturally good children.”
Mrs. Cheng spoke slowly and deliberately, her tone revealing neither praise nor criticism, "It's just that the environments in which we grow up are different. Although our Cheng family is not a top-tier wealthy family, over the generations we have paid attention to our family traditions and heritage."
Xiao Zhou has been spoiled by his father and me since he was a child. He hasn't experienced much hardship and is very simple-minded.
We always hoped he could find someone from a similar family background, someone we knew well, someone with whom he could support each other in the future, saving him a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Her words were tactful, but the meaning between the lines was crystal clear.
She disliked Lu You because she was an adopted daughter of the Yu family, her status was not legitimate enough, and she was not good enough for Cheng family's precious son.
It's climbing the social ladder.
Cheng Zhou's face instantly darkened. He put down his chopsticks, his tone already showing displeasure.
"Mom, why are you saying all this? Youyou and I are doing fine together, that's enough."
Madam Cheng seemed not to hear her son's dissatisfaction and continued to look at Lu You with a condescending concern in her eyes.
“Miss Lu, please don’t mind. I’m doing this for your future. Some differences can’t be bridged by feelings alone.”
Lu You lowered her eyes and remained silent, showing no reaction.
Mrs. Cheng got more and more excited as she spoke: "Marriage is a matter between two families, involving many aspects, such as social networks and living habits. Over time, these minor details will inevitably lead to friction."
“I’m worried that you’ll find it hard in the future, and that you’ll feel like you’re letting Xiao Zhou down.”
Madam Cheng's words were quite blunt; she was practically pointing her finger at him and saying that Lu You was unworthy of Cheng Zhou in every way.
Lu You listened quietly, her face expressionless, only her knuckles holding the chopsticks turned slightly white.
Cheng Zhou saw this and felt extremely distressed.
He jumped to his feet: "Mom! You've gone too far! Youyou, she..."
"Cheng Zhou".
Lu You suddenly spoke, interrupting him with a calm voice.
She raised her head and looked directly at Madam Cheng. Her usually languid eyes were now clear and filled with a hint of mockery.
She didn't look at Cheng Zhou, but only at Madam Cheng.
"Mrs. Cheng, the problems you are worried about are actually very easy to solve."
Mrs. Cheng raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly wanting to hear what solutions she could come up with.
Lu You put down her chopsticks, picked up a napkin and elegantly wiped her mouth before slowly saying, "Since you feel that I am marrying above my station with the Cheng family, and you are afraid that I will wrong Cheng Zhou, and that the Cheng family will suffer any losses because of my existence..."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Cheng Zhou before finally settling back on Madam Cheng's face.
"Then let Cheng Zhou sever ties with the Cheng family and come with me."
“In that case, it wouldn’t be me trying to climb the social ladder by marrying into the Cheng family.”
A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips. "It's not that Cheng Zhou is unworthy of me, Lu You."
Upon hearing this, the entire restaurant fell into a deathly silence.
The Cheng family's servants were dumbfounded.
The composure on Madam Cheng's face vanished.
She slowly widened her eyes, staring at Lu You in disbelief, as if she had heard something unbelievable.
How can she be so confident? How dare she say such a thing!
Cheng Zhou was also stunned; he had never expected Lu You to offer such a solution.
After Lu You finished speaking, she turned her head and looked at him calmly.
The coldness that had been in his eyes when he was facing Madam Cheng was gone, replaced by pure inquiry and waiting.
“Cheng Zhou.” Lu You looked at him. “Are you willing to leave the Cheng family and come with me? I can open a restaurant you like, or do something else. Just the two of us, we can live a good life.”
Her tone was calm, without coercion or emotional appeal; she was simply waiting for his choice.
Cheng Zhou looked into her eyes, and almost without hesitation, he smiled with relief and a hint of excitement, and nodded emphatically.
"Yes, of course I'm willing."
He grabbed Lu You's hand, held it tightly, turned to look at his mother who was still in shock, and spoke with a resolute tone.
"Mom, you heard it too, I think Youyou's idea is very good."
“From today onwards, everything about the Cheng family has nothing to do with me. I will leave with Youyou, and whether we are doing well or badly in the future, it is none of your concern.”
After saying that, he stopped looking at Madam Cheng's pale face, grabbed Lu You, and turned to leave without hesitation.
His movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
"You, you've all rebelled!"
Madam Cheng was so angry that she trembled all over. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, pointing at their backs, but she couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
Her carefully prepared reprimands and discipline turned into a complete joke.
And so, Cheng Zhou pulled Lu You along and strode out of the Cheng family's old house.
They got into the car and drove away from that suffocating area without saying a word.
Outside the window, the city lights shone brilliantly. Cheng Zhou's tense nerves slowly began to relax.
He turned his head to look at Lu You in the passenger seat.
She was looking out the window, her profile somewhat blurred in the flickering light and shadow.
“Youyou…”
Cheng Zhou called her softly, his heart filled with heartache and lingering fear, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect my mother to offend you like that."
Lu You turned her head, her face showing no anger or grievance, but rather a sense of relief.
She said calmly, "No need to apologize, this isn't your problem."
Lu You paused, her gaze fixed on the rapidly receding lights outside the car window.
"Cheng Zhou, remember this: not all problems in this world need to be solved, and not everyone is worth my effort to please."
"No matter what I do, if this person is prejudiced and doesn't approve of me at all, the best approach is not to argue, but to stay away."
Lu You withdrew her gaze and looked at Bie Chengzhou: "I respect her as your mother, so I came here today with a gift to be polite, but this is the limit of what I can do."
She's being unreasonable, so I won't give her that face anymore. If I can't deal with her, I'll just sever the connection with the Cheng family that's causing us both trouble. It's that simple.
Cheng Zhou was deeply moved by her words.
He had always known that Lu You was clear-headed and decisive, but only now did he truly appreciate the resoluteness and strength in her bones.
She neither depends on nor begs.
That's exactly the kind of Lu You he likes.
Cheng Zhou freed one hand and held her hand tightly, their fingertips intertwining.
"You're right. I was always trying to smooth things over and make her accept it, but it only made you feel wronged."
"It won't happen again. Wherever you want to go, whether we open a restaurant or do something else, I'll listen to you."
Lu You felt the warmth of his palm, and finally a relaxed smile appeared on her face for the first time that night.
She grasped Cheng Zhou's hand in return, her tone becoming lighter.
"I haven't decided yet, we can take our time. Anyway, from now on, it'll be up to the two of us to make the decisions."
"Yes, the two of us."
Cheng Zhou smiled as well, glancing at the Cheng family's direction receding further and further away in the rearview mirror.
He felt no lingering attachment, only a sense of sudden enlightenment.
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