Chapter 28 (Beating)
Wen Chu was awakened by a venomous gaze.
She rubbed her temples, still feeling groggy. When she opened her eyes, she was met with a pair of cold and complex eyes, which startled her so much that she sat up abruptly.
Lu Ming leaned against the headboard, seemingly having maintained this posture for a long time while glancing at her sideways.
"Are you trying to kill me? Why are you staring at me like that? You scared me!" Wen Chu said irritably, clutching her chest.
“If you haven’t done anything wrong, you won’t feel guilty,” Lu Ming said coldly.
Upon hearing that hateful tone, Wen Chu knew that the mean-spirited guy was back. She retorted coldly, "Guilty? What do I have to be guilty about?"
"What happened last night, can you honestly say you had absolutely nothing to do with it?"
Well, Wen Chu rolled her eyes. In his mind, she had once again become that brainless, scheming, and vicious second female lead who liked to attract his attention.
"Why wouldn't I dare to say it?" Wen Chu's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm the one who suffered the loss. I'd like to ask you, what kind of wronged look are you looking at? Do you expect me to take responsibility for you? Your family did something so outrageous, shouldn't you give me an explanation? And you're turning around and blaming me?"
"Open your eyes and look! This is my room. You personally handed me the room key. It was you who opened my room, came in, almost took advantage of me, and even kissed me. Shouldn't I be asking you if this has anything to do with you?"
Lu Ming looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze, and Wen Chu, unfazed, glared back angrily. After a moment of stalemate, Lu Ming's aura finally softened, as if he believed her. He lowered his eyes and apologized to her, "This was my family's fault, and I also apologize for my behavior last night. I'm sorry."
When he woke up in the morning, he recalled what happened last night and couldn't believe that he had done such a thing. He couldn't calm down even after trying for a long time.
"But I can't take responsibility for you. The person I like is Wen Xue, not you. Forcing it won't do you any good."
Although Wen Chu was tired of hearing this explanation and was prepared for it, hearing it from someone else's mouth still made her heart ache.
She sighed, let out a soft chuckle, and looked away: "I know, nothing happened, why should I take responsibility? It was just a kiss and a nap in the same bed, nothing serious, I'll forget about it soon enough."
She rolled out of bed, looking completely unconcerned, and walked straight into the bathroom. "You can leave now."
Lu Ming looked at her, pursed his lips, and finally got out of bed without saying a word.
A moment later, Wen Chu threw his shirt and pants out of the bathroom, saying, "Take your clothes with you!"
Lu Ming's face was very ugly. He looked at the wrinkled and messy clothes, but still bent down and picked them up. He felt as if he had been rejected and kicked out.
Wen Chu washed her face with cold water, looked at herself in the mirror, and said to herself, "Last night was an accident. Forget it all, forget it all! Start over! Everything is for completing the mission and going home!"
She lingered in the bathroom for a moment, listening carefully to the sounds outside. She heard the door open, so they must have left. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before stepping outside, only to be stunned.
A group of people were standing at the door. Lu Ming was blocked at the door, wearing a bathrobe and holding clothes that looked like evidence in court. He couldn't go in or out.
Wen Chu forced a smile, "Dad... Mom..."
Lu Haoxuan stood outside, looking puzzled: "Lu Ming, how did you get out of Miss Wen's room? You guys?" He hesitated, leaving everyone with endless room for imagination.
Many guests, including those from the Qi family, who were leaving the house, witnessed this scene, and Wen Shiyang's face turned ashen.
Qi Siyan glanced at Lu Ming's face discreetly before being pulled away by Madam Qi.
Most of the guests were sensible enough not to look at what they shouldn't, and when they sensed the situation was turning sour, they left quietly without saying goodbye. In the end, only the two families remained, and they went to the inner hall to confront them.
Wen Chu and Lu Ming changed into "appropriate" clothes, then stood in front of the three elders like prisoners, speechless and extremely embarrassed.
Lu Mingxiao slammed his hand on the table and angrily questioned Lu Ming, "What kind of behavior is this? Why are you in Xiao Chu's room? Are you with Xiao Chu?"
Lu Ming looked at his father's knowing question with a gloomy expression, but he couldn't lash out at him directly. He simply denied it immediately: "No."
Upon hearing this, Wen Shiyang and his wife's expressions worsened.
Lu Mingxiao became even more serious, appearing extremely shocked and angry: "No?! If you didn't, why did you go into her room? Were you being a pervert?! Even if you don't care about your reputation, you should care about Xiao Chu!"
Lu Ming clenched his teeth.
She forced him to drink, sent a strange woman to his room, anticipating he would change rooms, then gave him Wen Chu's room key, placed aphrodisiac aromatherapy in his and Wen Chu's room, tampered with the door lock to lock them together, and now, she timed it perfectly so that Chairman Wen and Mrs. Wen would meet, thus forcing him to give his parents an explanation, take responsibility for Wen Chu, and establish a relationship between their two families.
The method was so clumsy, yet because it was the person closest to him, it was perfectly accomplished.
Because they are his closest relatives, he is now unable to defend himself; they are certain he will not speak, nor can he speak.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Wen Shiyang turned his gaze to his daughter and asked coldly, "There are only five of us here now, so just tell me directly, what happened to you last night?"
Wen Chu was so embarrassed that she was digging her toes into the ground, almost digging them out of the five-bedroom, two-living-room house. Her desire to escape underground had reached its peak.
This scenario of being "caught in the act" by her parents is just too humiliating!! Do they have to torture her like this?!
Good riddance, good riddance... I want to escape...
She forced a smile and waved her hand, explaining, "No, no, it must have been a mistake at the front desk; they must have mixed up the room key..."
Wen Shiyang slammed his hand on the table: "Don't give me these excuses, I won't believe them at all! Did he not have eyes or legs? Why didn't he come out after seeing you? And how do you explain the thing on your neck!"
"What?" Wen Chu touched her neck in confusion and subconsciously looked at Lu Ming. She saw Lu Ming turn his head and glance at her neck, his jawline tightened even more, and he looked a little ashamed.
Wen Chu then recalled that during the chaotic moment yesterday, Lu Ming had bitten her neck, and quite forcefully... Damn, did it leave a mark?? I didn't notice just now.
She felt her blood rush to her head, her ears turned red, and she quickly covered her neck—but actually covered the wrong spot.
Oh my god, this is so incredibly embarrassing! Can we skip this part?!
Wen Shiyang continued, "I will not allow anyone to toy with my daughter's feelings so easily. My daughter is young and doesn't understand. Lu Ming, you are already 26 years old, four years older than Wen Chu. Don't you know what this means? Your Lu family must give me an explanation!"
Yang Lan was also furious. She glanced at her daughter, then at the expressionless Lu Ming, and patted her chest. "What a tragedy!"
Wen Chu tried to coax and charm him, but Yang Lan glared at her and told her to stand still! Tell me the truth right now, what really happened! Did he force you?
Wen Chu couldn't bear to hear those words; she was so embarrassed she could hardly breathe. "It's not really like that... We really didn't go that far... Maybe he drank too much yesterday and wasn't thinking clearly..."
Wen Shiyang: "Not sober? He didn't seem sober when he left yesterday! And you're still making excuses for him! He took advantage of you, and now he's trying to distance himself from you?"
"Lu Ming, you keep saying you like Wen Xue, and now you've done this to my youngest daughter. I advise you to give up on that idea. I will never let Wen Xue have anything to do with you again!"
Lu Ming looked anxious, moved his lips as if to explain, but was glared at fiercely by Lu Mingxiao. He could only silently clench his fists.
Lu Mingxiao said with a face full of shame, "Chairman Wen, this is indeed the fault of my good-for-nothing son, and I will definitely give you an explanation today."
He said firmly, "Lu Ming, you did this, so you have to take responsibility. Many guests saw it today. Do you want people to laugh at our two families if word gets out? Since Xiao Chu likes you, I'll just release the news today that you and Xiao Chu are dating and will get engaged next year."
Upon hearing this, the other four people present were all surprised.
Engaged?! Wen Chu was stunned. How could things have progressed so quickly?
"I disagree!" Lu Ming refused resolutely, "I have no romantic feelings for Wen Chu, and we cannot get married."
Lu Mingxiao's face turned ashen: "Then what do you want?! If you don't like her, why did you go to her room! You've done such a terrible thing, who else is going to take responsibility if not you! I, Lu Mingxiao, don't have a son as irresponsible as you! Look at what you're saying, kneel down right now!" As he spoke, Lu Mingxiao used the cane beside him to strike Lu Ming's arm without any mercy.
Lu Ming winced in pain, then knelt down expressionlessly, still firmly stating, "I'll accept anything except an engagement."
Wen Chu stood aside, completely stunned.
"You are truly incorrigible and hopeless! Chairman Wen, it is my fault for failing to raise such a scoundrel!" Lu Mingxiao walked over and once again picked up his cane and struck Lu Ming on the back, showing no mercy.
The sturdy wooden stick struck Lu Ming's back with a dull thud, causing him to lean forward and grab the ground with his hands.
Wen Chu was startled. "Wait, is it that serious? Does it need to be this drastic?"
She could feel the pain just looking at him, let alone Lu Ming, but the man swallowed the pain without uttering a sound.
What kind of mess is this? If Wen Chu didn't have the system that told her Chairman Lu was staging this whole thing, she might have believed it herself. They're so ruthless.
Wen Shiyang and Yang Lan seemed quite surprised that Lu Mingxiao could be so ruthless towards their son, but they didn't say anything for the time being, as they were also angry.
They took such a good cabbage from our own garden and then turned their backs on it. That's outrageous. They need to be taught a lesson.
The stick struck Lu Ming again and again. Lu Ming could only groan softly as he couldn't bear it, and the veins on his arms bulged, but he still insisted, "I will accept anything except an engagement."
Just as the stick was about to fall again, Wen Chu reacted quickly, rushed forward, hugged the person, and closed her eyes.
Fortunately, Lu Mingxiao reacted quickly and immediately stopped, without accidentally hurting her, as if he had been waiting for her to make this move.
Wen Chu breathed a sigh of relief. She was very afraid of pain, and her small body couldn't withstand such a heavy blow.
She quickly pleaded for him, giving herself a heartfelt "good guy" card: "Wait, wait a minute! Uncle Lu, stop hitting him... If he doesn't agree, then so be it... I don't want to force him. Nothing really happened last night, it was just a misunderstanding."
Startled by the woman's petite frame, Lu Ming's eyes flickered with emotion. He had grown accustomed to the indifferent indifference of those around him when Lu Mingxiao reprimanded him, and he had never imagined that one day, someone would come to protect him like this.
Guilt surged up like a torrent, and he himself was thrown into confusion, not knowing what to do.
She seems to really like herself.
But……
Seeing this, Wen Shiyang was both angry and heartbroken: "Lu Ming, what's wrong with my daughter? She suffered a huge loss herself, yet she still wants to protect you. If you really had any heart, it would have been warmed by now. If it weren't for how much she likes you, I would have hundreds of ways to teach you a lesson!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Mingxiao quickly told someone to calm him down.
Wen Shiyang ignored him and continued to look at Lu Ming, saying, "If you really have no feelings for her, you should completely sever ties with Wen Chu. She's young and can't understand vague words. Since you really don't want to get married, I won't force you. From now on, I won't let Wen Chu appear in front of you again. Our two families have nothing to say to each other. From now on, we'll keep to ourselves and each rely on our own abilities. Don't come to me for anything!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Mingxiao became anxious and pretended to hit someone again, "Xiao Chu, get out of the way, let me just beat this unfilial son to death today!"
Lu Ming grabbed Wen Chu's wrist, which was positioned in front of him, and pushed it away, trying to tell her to leave him alone, but Wen Chu still clung to him and refused to let go.
Wen Shiyang also stopped him, saying, "What's the use of hitting him! Will hitting him make him agree to the engagement? There are plenty of people outside who want to be my son-in-law, and my daughter has no shortage of suitors. There's no need to force someone who doesn't want to be with her."
Lu Mingxiao looked troubled: "But everyone saw what happened today. If word gets out, it won't be good for Xiao Chu's reputation, will it?"
Yang Lan slammed her hand on the table, her anger barely contained, and said without any hesitation, "What's wrong with that! My daughter can do whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't break the law! What era are we living in? Shi Yang and I aren't old-fashioned either. Even if something did happen, let alone my daughter saying nothing did, I would never let her marry a worthless man who doesn't love her!"
Wen Shiyang: "That's right, who dares to discuss the affairs of my Wen family?"
Wen Chu felt a surge of warmth upon hearing this, but looking at the person kneeling on the ground, she couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. What was Lu Ming thinking right now? He must be feeling very wronged.
She patted him instinctively to comfort him.
Yang Lan stood up: "Let's call it a day! I'm fed up too, let's go!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's not that I don't want to go VIP, it's just that I'm too inexperienced and haven't reached 300 valid favorites yet. I need that to go VIP [crying][crying]. As a newbie, I really need exposure, and I haven't gotten many first-views yet QAQ. I hope those of you who can can recommend me more [please][please][please][please][please]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
