Chapter 383 Are they urging you to go back again?
Lu Yiran's fingers gripping the phone suddenly tightened; this news was completely beyond his expectations.
It was her? Could she be so kind?
Before he could recover from his shock and doubts, Gu Rushuang changed the subject slightly. The slight smugness in her voice quickly vanished, and her tone was replaced by a subtle, hard-to-decipher emotion, like self-mockery, or a kind of indifference after being betrayed:
"I thought that when you got here, you would at least... find time to contact me."
She paused subtly, letting the sense of loss spread in the silence.
"It seems that I was overthinking it after all."
"You are a very busy person, with so many things to do every day. How dare I interrupt you and make myself unhappy?"
Lu Yiran's response was filled with obvious alienation and sarcasm.
The person on the other end of the phone was clearly choked by these words. After a brief silence, her attitude took a 180-degree turn. Her tone became firm and unquestionable, with the commanding tone of someone who had long held a superior position:
"I'll meet you at Sunnybrook Café at ten tomorrow morning."
Lu Yiran's expression became even darker because of this irresistible notice:
"I'm taking a flight back home tomorrow morning."
"That's your business, not mine."
Gu Rushuang said the last sentence coldly, and without even giving him a chance to refuse again, she hung up the phone.
There was only a rapid busy tone and a buzzing sound in the receiver.
Lu Yiran still maintained the posture of answering the phone, his knuckles slightly whitened due to the force, the light from the phone screen reflected on his dim face, and the air in the study seemed to have suddenly dropped to freezing point because of this short and cold call.
Mu Nanyan carefully folded the last piece of clothing, put it into the suitcase, zipped it up, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
She walked out of the second bedroom, but did not see Lu Yiran in the living room.
"Yiran?"
She called softly, her eyes scanning the quiet living room.
She vaguely heard a very low voice coming from the direction of the study, and walked over to the sound.
The door of the study was ajar. She gently pushed it open and saw Lu Yiran standing in front of the desk with his back to the door, his cell phone still in his hand. The lines on his profile were tense, and his expression was cold and gloomy, which she had never seen before. He was shrouded in a layer of low pressure.
Her heart subconsciously tightened, and she pushed open the door and asked with concern:
"What happened?"
When Lu Yiran heard her voice, he paused almost imperceptibly.
As he turned around quickly, all the gloomy emotions on his face faded away like the tide, as if the moment just now was just her illusion.
He almost immediately put on a relaxed smile and explained in a gentle tone:
"It's okay, don't worry, it's just a little trivial matter at the company."
"Are they urging you to go back again?"
Mu Nanyan walked forward with a barely perceptible hint of disappointment between her brows.
We were supposed to separate tomorrow, and any urging from the company would make this short reunion even more precious.
Lu Yiran looked at the slight disappointment in her eyes and hesitated for a moment.
He knew very well that this temporary change might bring more trouble, but at this moment, he was even more reluctant to let her eyes, which had just lit up, dim again.
He stretched out his hand, gently held her in his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and slowed down his voice a little:
"I'm not urging me to go back, it's just... I might not be able to leave tomorrow."
"Not leaving?"
Mu Nanyan suddenly raised her head from his arms, and an expression of incredible surprise instantly blossomed on her face, as if the gloomy sky had suddenly cleared up.
Seeing her undisguised joy, Lu Yiran's heart softened. He nodded and explained with a half-true, half-false reason:
"Well, I just received word that an important client heard I was in Washington and wanted to meet with me on short notice. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow morning, so... my flight has to be rescheduled."
This means that they can spend at least half a day or even a whole day together.
"good!"
Mu Nanyan responded immediately, her voice full of lightness.
She didn't care about the specific reason. As long as he could stay a little longer, even just for a few hours, it would be an unexpected gift for her and Chenchen.
She leaned back into his warm embrace, her cheek against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, feeling that the faint melancholy that had lingered all night due to separation had been dispelled by this sudden good news.
However, she did not see that the moment she snuggled into his arms, the forced gentle smile on Lu Yiran's face faded slightly, and his gaze passed over her hair and looked at the dark night outside the window, becoming a little complicated and deep.
At ten o'clock the next morning, Lu Yiran showed up at Sunnybrook Café on time.
Gu Rushuang had already sat upright by the window, her neatly tailored professional suit making her look meticulous, and the cup of black coffee in front of her was almost untouched.
She watched Lu Yiran walk into the cafe on time. There was no warmth of reunion on his face, only a calm and almost harsh scrutiny.
She raised her hand to gesture to the seat opposite her, her tone steady and emotionless:
"Sit down, you're quite punctual."
Lu Yiran sat down expressionlessly, his face showing obvious alienation, and said straight to the point:
"What do you want from me?"
Gu Rushuang leaned forward slightly, her eyes fixed on him:
"I heard that your visit to Washington this time was quite a grand affair. You had a private jet, a presidential suite, and you even brought that child along to pay your respects to that woman?"
She deliberately slowed down her speech, with a hint of cold sarcasm in her voice.
Lu Yiran frowned, his tone firm:
"Her name is Mu Nanyan. Also, this seems to have nothing to do with you. You don't need to ask about my private life."
"Nothing?"
Gu Rushuang sneered, her voice revealing unquestionable authority:
"Lu Yiran, you are my son, the only one qualified to inherit everything from me in the future. Your marriage and your partner have never been just your private affairs. This concerns the future and image of the entire business empire."
Gu Rushuang paused and continued:
"Every move you make represents my reputation. You've left behind the mountains of work you're dealing with in the capital to come here and accompany a... dance troupe designer? You're embarrassing me."
Her words were full of undisguised contempt and rejection of Mu Nanyan.
Lu Yiran raised the corner of his lips in a sarcastic arc:
"Son? You remember me as your son now? Where have you been for the past twenty years?"
A trace of barely perceptible guilt flashed across Gu Rushuang's face very quickly, but that emotion was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, and was instantly drowned by cold rationality.
Her voice suddenly rose slightly, with a toughness that came from having her authority challenged:
"I was wrong to abandon you in the first place!"
She almost admitted this through gritted teeth, but then changed the subject and her tone became more decisive.
"But I am your mother after all! This cannot be changed in any way!"
She took a deep breath, trying to pull the conversation back on track, her eyes becoming sharp and oppressive again:
"It's precisely because I'm your mother that I can't stand by and watch you being deceived by a woman with ulterior motives! Lu Yiran, wake up! How can a woman with her background and experience stand by you? She will only take advantage of your feelings and eventually drag you into the quagmire!"
"I will never allow anyone, in any way, to destroy my son and everything I have worked so hard for!"
"I've investigated. Is that woman named Mu Nanyan a designer working in a dance troupe with a burden?"
She almost hummed the words from her nose.
"What's her background? What can she bring to you? Besides being a burden to you and a laughing stock in the circle, what else can she do?"
Lu Yiran clenched his fists under the table, suppressing his surging anger.
"Watch your words! I know who she is better than you do. She is the one I love and Chenchen's mother. That's enough."
"like?"
She seemed to have heard an extremely ridiculous and childish word, and a look of undisguised disappointment flashed across her eyes.
"Yiran, I thought you at least inherited my rationality, instead of your father's useless sentimentality! Your future wife must be a well-matched socialite who can give you strong support in your career, not a single mother like this...who needs you to help her out of poverty."
Lu Yiran stood up suddenly, and the chair legs made a harsh sound when rubbing against the ground:
"If you asked me to meet you just to insult the most important person in my life, then there's nothing to talk about between us."
"sit down."
Gu Rushuang picked up the coffee cup calmly, but her tone was an unquestionable command.
"I'm not insulting her, I'm stating a fact. You're simply deceived by her current appearance of meekness and pity. A woman like her, what pure purpose could she have in approaching you? She's simply attracted to your status and wealth."
She paused, applied pressure,
"Listen to me, cut your losses in time, give her some money, and send her away."
Seeing his face turn pale, she continued to press him:
"I will find the most suitable marriage partner for you. The daughter of the Lin Group is quite good. Whether it's family background, education, or appearance, she's a perfect match for you. If you marry her, we can take over the entire Asia-Pacific market. This is the path you should take."
There was a kind of paranoid determination in her voice, and the guilt that had just emerged had long been replaced by a deeper desire for control and a sense of defending what she owned.
Lu Yiran looked at the undisguised paranoia and desire for control in her eyes, and the last faint spark in his heart, which might have been hoping for some understanding, was completely extinguished.
The sarcastic curve at the corner of his lips deepened, but his eyes were as cold as a frozen lake.
"Destroy everything you've worked so hard for?"
He repeated her words, his voice low and clear, each word like a cold stone thrown into the stagnant air.
"What you really care about is whether I will be destroyed, or whether the business empire you built will encounter a variable that you cannot control?"
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes meeting her sharp gaze without hesitation:
"I know what kind of person Mu Nanyan is better than you do. The tenacity and kindness she possesses are things that even with all your wealth and power, you cannot measure. You judge her based on her background and experience, which just exposes your narrow-mindedness and indifference."
Gu Rushuang's expression became even uglier because of his words. She seemed to want to interrupt, but Lu Yiran didn't give her a chance.
"As for the fact that you are my mother..."
He paused, his tone filled with deep exhaustion and determination.
"Biological facts cannot be changed, but the meaning of the word 'mother'—care, companionship, support—you have never given me. Now, what right do you have to interfere in my life as a mother and deny me the happiness I believe in? For the past twenty years, you have never participated in my life. Isn't it too late for you to exercise your rights as a mother now?"
Gu Rushuang's face turned pale instantly, but her eyes became even colder: "You..."
"Your empire, your territory, you can keep it for yourself. I have never thought of inheriting anything from you."
He stood up and looked down at her, his eyes calm.
"If you came here today just to express your prejudice against Nan Yan, then this conversation is over. My choice will never change because of your likes and dislikes. Farewell."
After saying this, he no longer looked at her instantly pale face and slightly trembling lips. He turned resolutely and strode out of the cafe.
Her carefully maintained composure completely shattered, and her hands on her legs clenched tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms.
Her anger did not stem from the loss of an equitable alliance, but from the fact that her absolute authority was being so thoroughly challenged for the first time by someone, her own son.
And he did all this for the woman whom she looked down upon.
The existence of that woman was like a tiny thorn that easily pried open the control she thought was indestructible.
A surge of anger was growing wildly in her heart.
She slowly loosened her clenched hands and picked up her phone. The screen reflected her calm but deeper eyes.
She dialed a number. Her voice was emotionless, yet filled with a chilling determination:
"Send me Mu Nanyan's contact information."
After hanging up the phone, she picked up the cup of ice-cold coffee and took a sip. The bitter taste spread on her tongue, just like her mood at the moment.
It seems that some obstacles need to be cleared personally.
————
Lu Yiran pushed open the heavy glass door of the cafe, and a biting cold wind carrying fine snow instantly hit his face, exactly the same as the cold conversation he had just experienced.
He walked quickly to the car parked on the side of the road, opened the door and got into the driver's seat. The door slammed with a dull thud, isolating him from the silent world of falling snow outside.
There was a lingering chill in the car.
He didn't start the car immediately, but just leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Gu Rushuang's words, sharp as knives, mixed with the bitter aroma of coffee, seemed to still linger in the air. Every word pierced his heart precisely, stirring up a surge of emotions that was difficult to calm down.
He gripped the steering wheel with both hands until his knuckles turned white, trying to suppress the wave of anger, disappointment and deep fatigue in his chest.
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