Lu Nian gave Lu Yanting a wink, her eyes filled with anxiety; she was still unaware that their relationship had ended.
To everyone's surprise, Lu Yanting simply lowered his eyes, picked up the celadon teacup, and swirled the amber-colored flower tea in the cup. In the end, he didn't even glance at her.
Qiu Mang took in this subtle interaction, her fingertips gently tightening her grip on the hem of her skirt. As she stood up, her voice carried just the right amount of aloofness: "Miss Lu, since this is a family gathering, I'll take my leave with Qiu Li."
Before he could finish speaking, the maid burst through the hall door like a chased rabbit, her face pale.
"What's the panic?" Lu Hui set down his teacup, the gilded tray clanging against the table. "A tiger could be carrying someone out the door?"
The maid, panting, said, "Yes, sir, it's like this, there's a disturbance at the door."
"Who is it?" Lu Yanting asked warily.
“Yes…yes…” The maid looked at Lu Yanting and suddenly hesitated.
Lu Yanting and his father exchanged a glance, then Lu Yanting shouted angrily, "Speak now!"
The maid lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Lu Yanting. "They are a couple from the countryside, probably in their fifties."
"An elderly couple?" A look of doubt flashed across Lu Yanting's face. "Who are they looking for? What do they want?"
The maid lowered her head even further, "They...they said their names are Qiu Heping and Zhang Guihua, and that they are your father-in-law and mother-in-law. They're having some financial difficulties and have come to borrow some money from you..."
The maid's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, while Lu Hui's face grew increasingly grim.
Qiu Mang felt as if she had been struck on the head, her mind buzzing. How did Zhang Guihua know about her and Lu Yanting's affair? And why did she have to come at this in the first place to cause trouble?
Lu Hui's face was as dark as the sky before a storm. "Yan Ting, what's going on? When did you get a father-in-law? I didn't know that."
The air pressure inside the hall dropped sharply.
Lu Yanting's Adam's apple bobbed, and he glanced at Qiu Mang's deathly pale face out of the corner of his eye. "Dad..."
"Does it or not!" The porcelain cup slammed heavily onto the sandalwood table, veins bulging on Lu Hui's forehead: "Lu Yanting, when did you get a mother-in-law?"
Lu Shanhe quickly smoothed things over, "Brother, don't be anxious. There are all kinds of people these days. Besides, our Lu family has been thriving all these years, so it's inevitable that some unscrupulous people will try to take advantage of us, don't you think?"
“Yes, Uncle, hasn’t Brother Yanting been with the Xu family’s daughter all these years? The sudden appearance of his father-in-law and mother-in-law must be an attempt to extort money!” Lu Xinyue also chimed in to advise.
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp shout suddenly erupted outside the door.
Zhang Guihua pushed aside the servants blocking her way; her floral apron was still stained with mud, and her voice was as loud as a village loudspeaker.
"Get out of my way! Let me tell you, my daughter is the young mistress of the Lu family, and Lu Yanting is my son-in-law. If you offend me, be careful, I'll have Yanting fire you!"
"You just said, who is your son-in-law?"
Lu Hui stood in front of her, his voice like it had been pulled from an ice cave, startling Zhang Guihua so much that she took a half step back.
She was about to speak, her neck stiff, when her eyes lit up the moment she caught sight of Qiu Mang. She rushed over and patted her shoulder: "Mangmang, so you've moved in! Perfect timing, your brother's 500,000 yuan is all gone, how about giving Mom another 2 million to tide her over?"
The room fell silent. Qiu Mang felt her ears burning, her nails digging into her palms: "Zhang Guihua! I told you not to come asking for money again, Lu Yanting and I have long since..."
"Oh, so you're denying it?"
Zhang Guihua took out photos from her floral cloth bag and threw them on the table. The first photo was a promotional picture of two people leaning against a carousel, smiling intimately.
Before Qiu Mang could explain, the second photo was taken with a deafening sound. In the frozen moment of the kissing contest, Lu Yanting held her by the back of the neck and kissed her deeply, while the four big words "Couple's Exclusive" on the background were so glaring that they hurt one's eyes.
Lu Nian hurriedly covered the eyes of the two children, and Lu Xinyue's exclamation mingled with Lu Hui's slamming of the table.
Qiu Mang touched the couple's diamond ring on her hand and suddenly found that her fingertips were trembling uncontrollably.
Zhang Guihua, hands on her hips, sneered: "Qiu Mang, I've raised you for nothing! You've found such a rich man, can't you even help your brother out?"
After saying that, she glanced around again. "Fine, if you won't give me the money, I'll just ask the Lu family. Doesn't the Lu family care about face? If these photos are sold to reporters... tsk tsk tsk... I've already thought of a headline for you: 'The Playboy Seduces a Young Girl and Doesn't Pay Her!' What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Lu family members changed drastically.
Rather than saying the Lu family cares about face, it's more accurate to say that for such a large family, image is tied to business. If the Lu family were to be embroiled in a scandal, their stock would inevitably plummet, which is what businessmen worry about most.
Lu's mother was losing her composure, her hand trembling slightly as she pointed at Zhang Guihua, "What do you want?"
Zhang Guihua smiled and said, "It's very simple. Just give me two million, and I'll destroy the photos immediately and never expose this matter!"
"You really are something else! You're asking for the moon!" Mrs. Lu was so angry that she was panting heavily. Seeing this, the maid quickly stepped forward to pat her back.
“Yan Ting…” Lu Hui stared intently at Lu Yan Ting.
Lu Yanting took a deep breath. "Dad, we did talk, but we've broken up. You don't need to worry."
"Um……"
After receiving his son's answer, Lu Hui walked up to Zhang Guihua and said, "It's normal for young people to break up when they're in a relationship. It's not appropriate for you to make such a big deal out of it."
"I don't care about your breakup or anything. Now that you've messed with our family, you have to pay up. Even if you break up, giving a breakup fee isn't too much to ask, is it? You're so rich, what's wrong with giving two million?" Zhang Guihua said, hands on her hips, with the air of a shrew.
"Zhang Guihua! Stop embarrassing yourself here! Get out of here right now!"
Qiu Mang had long disliked Zhang Guihua's snobbish and petty attitude, and tried to kick her out by pulling and dragging her.
Zhang Guihua let Qiu Mang pull her outside. When they reached the corner of the door, Zhang Guihua curled her lips into a triumphant smile.
Her goal wasn't just two million. She knew Qiu Mang well; even if Qiu Mang really married into the Lu family, Zhang Guihua wouldn't get any benefit.
Rather than letting this girl live a good life, it's better to ruin her. Who told her to curse herself to never find a son in this lifetime!
She was originally willing to do all this, but she didn't know who this brat had offended, that the other party was trying to bribe her to help her deal with Qiu Mang.
This is exactly what she wanted!
"how's it going?"
As soon as they stepped out of the hospital gate, Qiu Heping came to greet them. There were too many people blocking the entrance, and the couple had only managed to get in.
Zhang Guihua pulled her hand away from Qiu Mang's. "It's all over, let's go!"
"Zhang Guihua, you didn't come here today to ask for money, did you?" Qiu Mang squinted at her.
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