Chapter 23 The Lu Family's Big Melon
The four of them sat at the dining table to eat. The old lady kept using the serving chopsticks to pick up food for Mu Nanyan, and the old man would occasionally show concern and ask her if the food was to her liking. It was obvious that both elders liked her very much.
Mu Nanyan was very touched because she hadn't felt the care of her elders for a long time. The last time she felt this way was when her mother was still alive. She couldn't remember what it felt like. Seeing how kind the old lady was to her, Mu Nanyan became closer to her. At first, she just treated her as an elder and was only respectful to her, but now, Mu Nanyan treated her as her own grandmother.
Although Mu Nanyan was not hungry, she ate all the dishes that the old lady picked for her and ended up feeling overfed. Perhaps this was the sweet burden.
Mu Nanyan felt bad because she felt the affection of her family again, and it was because of Lu Yiran, her contract husband. She couldn't help but look at Lu Yiran. She found that the old lady and the old man were very nice to her, but seemed to be lukewarm towards this grandson and didn't care much about him. She had thought she would see her parents-in-law today, but she didn't see any of them. It felt very strange.
Lu Yiran noticed that Mu Nanyan was looking at him with strange eyes, so he raised his head and looked at her. As soon as Mu Nanyan's eyes met Lu Yiran's, she immediately lowered her head to eat without looking at him, because Lu Yiran's eyes were full of warnings, which scared Mu Nanyan so much that she didn't dare to look at him.
The meal was generally quite pleasant. After lunch, Lu Yiran went to play chess with Mr. Lu, while Mu Nanyan accompanied the old lady to stroll in the garden to digest the food.
The garden of the old house is a veritable private paradise. A few prized pets occasionally stroll leisurely across the emerald lawn. The meticulously designed fountain reflects a rainbow of light in the sunlight, and the gurgling sound of water adds a touch of liveliness and vitality to this tranquil space. In a corner of the garden, a small greenhouse is hidden, filled with exotic flowers and plants from around the world, creating a breathtaking spring-like beauty year-round.
Mu Nanyan accompanied the old lady on a stroll, occasionally introducing her to those exotic flowers and plants. Later, the topic of the two naturally shifted to Lu Yiran. After all, today was the first time they met, and the only common topic was Lu Yiran.
"Yanyan, let me tell you, Yiran used to love to laugh when he was little, but as he got older, he became less talkative. He always had a poker face, as if someone owed him money."
"Did he suddenly become like this?"
Mu Nanyan couldn't help but ask curiously, the old lady sighed and said:
"Well, not really. There are some things you will know sooner or later. Today I will tell you about Yiran's childhood."
Mu Nanyan didn't say anything, waiting for the old lady to continue speaking.
"In fact, a large part of the reason why Yiran became like this was caused by me and Grandpa. Yiran's parents were married off to wealthy families, and they had no emotional foundation at all when they got married. At the time, both of them were quite against the marriage, but Grandpa and I felt that they were suitable for each other, so the two families forced the marriage. On the wedding night, they had a big fight, and Yiran's father left immediately, leaving Yiran's mother alone at home. Because of this incident, the two of them never contacted each other again, and were both busy with their own work."
"They're in such a bad mood, how did Yiran get here?"
Mu Nanyan didn't expect that her parents-in-law would quarrel like this. Maybe Grandma Lu didn't expect that the two of them would become a pair of resentful couple. At the same time, she was very curious about how her mother-in-law got pregnant with Lu Yiran under such circumstances.
“In vitro fertilization.”
Mrs. Lu's eyes moistened when she said these words. Mu Nanyan was also shocked. It was like this! How badly must the relationship be broken that they would rather do IVF than have sex. So why didn't they divorce and have a child? Mu Nanyan was puzzled and asked her own doubts:
"Grandma, they had such a big fight at the time, why didn't you let them divorce and have the baby?"
Mrs. Lu calmed down and explained:
"Our family and the Gu family are both the two most powerful families in Beijing. We can say that we both control the economic lifeline of Beijing. We are also old friends. The outside world thinks that the marriage between the two families is a match made in heaven. If they knew that the two were getting a divorce, our friendship with the Gu family would be over. It would be very detrimental to the economy of Beijing. The cost of their divorce is too high, and neither family can afford it. In the end, for the benefit of both families, they chose IVF to give birth to an heir."
"After Yiran's mother gave birth to her, she didn't even take care of her for a few days. After she finished her confinement, she went to live abroad. She moved all her companies overseas and never came back."
"It's hard for the old man and I to say anything. After all, it was us who facilitated this marriage, and it was our son who hurt her, so we let her go. Yiran's father hasn't come to see him since he was born. Not long after, he also got together with another woman, and that woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son."
"Yiran is quite pitiful. He has never had the love of his parents since he was a child. He has always been taken care of by a nanny, which led to his lonely and indifferent personality. Although he has lived with us since he was a child, he is not close to us. He has always felt that he was not blessed to come into this world and that we are the ones who caused him to fail. He has been very independent since he was a child and has little emotional needs. He has been able to sit in his current position because of his own hard work."
"He was originally the only heir to the Lu family, but his father disliked him and wanted his other son to inherit. The two fought openly and secretly for many years, and finally the old man said that after Lu Yiran got married for a year, he could get the inheritance rights."
Mu Nanyan then realized that Lu Yiran's online marriage proposal was intended to secure the inheritance. However, she was still puzzled and asked Mrs. Lu, "Grandpa, didn't you ever consider giving the inheritance to that illegitimate child? Then why didn't you give it directly to Yiran, instead of asking him to wait a year after getting married?"
"Because we want Yiran to live a normal life, we're afraid that because of what happened between her father and her mother, she won't believe in love and will never marry. We don't want her to become an emotionless work machine."
"Some time ago, Yiran was looking for a wife online, instead of choosing among the daughters of wealthy families. We also hope that he can choose someone he likes and not let the tragedy of his mother and father happen to him again."
When Mrs. Lu said this, she patted Mu Nanyan's hand and said earnestly:
"Yanyan, although Yiran is a bit indifferent, he definitely still likes you in his heart, so I hope you two are doing well. If there is anything, you must communicate well."
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