Chapter 68 (This is a title or heading, and the last part is a separate, unrelated sentence.)
Wen Chu's grinding technique was very skillful, because Yang Lan in real life also likes calligraphy, and she often helped out on the side.
Although their family wasn't as wealthy as that, and couldn't afford tea costing hundreds of thousands of yuan per gram or such expensive ink blocks, they still had affordable alternatives.
It could be said that, compared to Lu Ming, the system completely replicated his parents' personalities, hobbies, and way of speaking.
Yang Lan was copying the style of the calligraphy and painting that Lu Ming had given her, but she was never satisfied. Wen Chu, on the other hand, thought that it was already very good. Anyway, she was forced to learn calligraphy when she was a child, but she always skipped classes and her handwriting was very average. From then on, she knew that she was destined not to be a liberal arts girl and that she had no scholarly air about her.
Lu Ming didn't know much about grinding. Wen Chu was directing him to add water and grind, telling him how to control the pressure. Lu Ming listened, head down, his eyes gentle, and carefully did as she said.
While writing, Yang Lan secretly glanced at them and smiled slightly.
After finishing writing one, Yang Lan waved and called out, "Old Wen, come and take a look!"
"Here it comes! I just put these tea leaves into the water."
Wen Shiyang walked over, and Yang Lan picked up the painting to show him, her eyes shining, as if she was waiting for praise: "Do you think my copy is three or four parts similar?"
Wen Shiyang looked at it very carefully, then shook his head and said, "I think it's more than that, at least six or seven tenths! Look at this stroke, it's an incredibly accurate imitation!"
"I also think I did a great job with this stroke," Yang Lan said with a satisfied smile as she looked at the painting.
Wen Chu leaned close to Lu Ming's ear and whispered, "My dad's a real suck-up too."
Lu Ming smiled slightly: "Uncle and Aunt have such a good relationship." He sincerely praised them, but a hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes.
Looking at the scene before her, Wen Chu was filled with emotion, her eyes welling up with tears. She felt surrounded by happiness at that moment.
After her father died, her mother aged considerably, spoke less, spent more time alone, and lost much of the sparkle in her eyes. Her father's passing was a significant blow to the family.
But time keeps moving forward, and they have to keep looking ahead.
Some people live on in our hearts and endure forever.
While she was feeling sentimental, she also noticed Lu Ming's unusual emotional state.
She seemed to have never heard Lu Ming mention his mother.
Where is his mother now?
Wen Heng returned home in the evening, and the whole family gathered for dinner. Wen Heng sat at the table, looked at Wen Chu, then at Lu Ming, and finally stared at Wen Chu with wide eyes.
"It passed the test already? That was incredibly fast!"
"What else do you want!" Wen Chu stomped on Wen Heng's foot under the table, gritting her teeth and whispering a warning, "It's not easy for your sister to pursue someone, don't make things worse!"
Wen Heng hissed, still sharpening his tongue: "I thought with your stubborn personality, no one would want you before you turned thirty."
"Go to hell!"
They had a fairly harmonious meal, and Wen Heng and Lu Ming even discussed how to best secure the robotics project.
After dinner, they stayed for a while before heading back to their apartment complex. Before leaving, Wen Shiyang pulled Lu Ming aside for a talk: "I'm giving you this one chance. Since you've chosen Wen Chu, you'd better treat her well. I'll keep her near you for now and keep an eye on things going on your end. If I find out you've wronged her again, I won't let you off the hook."
"Don't worry, Uncle Wen." Lu Ming paused, then smiled and said, "Besides... she won't shortchange herself; she always takes what she wants."
Wen Shiyang coughed and thought about it. It made sense. His daughter was sometimes like a bandit. Otherwise, how could she have gotten Lu Ming, who was so cold-hearted, so quickly? So he didn't say anything more and waved for people to drive carefully.
Back in the car, Wen Chu sat in the driver's seat. Lu Ming had been drinking, so she had to drive. She turned to him and asked, "Did my dad warn you again?"
"It's not really a warning, more like a reminder."
Wen Chu glanced at him and sighed.
"What are you sighing about?"
Wen Chu rested her hand on the steering wheel, propped her chin on her hand, and said, "It's nothing, it's just that good times always seem to pass too quickly."
"What do you mean? Do you want to spend more time with them?"
Wen Chu looked at him and shook her head: "I meant I have to go to work again tomorrow!"
Lu Ming gave a slight twitch of his lips: "The robot project will be launched soon, so you really can't rest for too long."
Wen Chu snorted and started the car.
Actually, she was thinking that once tonight was over, she didn't know what tomorrow would bring.
Logically, once it reaches 70%, the favorability rating should only drop back to 50%, which isn't much different from the current level, and the situation shouldn't change much. But I still feel a little uneasy.
Aside from that, on the way back, Wen Chu hesitated for a long time before turning around and calling out the person's name: "Lu Ming".
"Um?"
She hesitated before asking, "May I ask... where is your mother now?"
Lu Ming paused.
Wen Chu asked cautiously, "Now that you've met my parents, and I've met Uncle Lu, shouldn't I also go and visit your mother?"
At this point, Lu Ming's voice lowered slightly: "Lu Mingxiao doesn't allow me to see her often, and she herself doesn't allow me to go to her either."
Wen Chu roughly knew why. Accepting an illegitimate child was already enough to cause chaos in the Lu family, and obviously Mrs. Lu would not allow Lu Ming's mother to keep appearing and affecting her status.
Lu Mingxiao would certainly have tacitly agreed to or supported this.
As for Lu Ming's mother, the further Lu Ming went with her, the further he could go in the Lu family, in Baiyue, and in this circle.
Illegitimate children have always been criticized in this circle, but judging from the attitude of the friends that Lu Ming introduced her to that day, Lu Ming was obviously not affected much.
This is largely due to Lu Ming's mother's retirement. As long as she makes her stance clear, doesn't do anything behind the scenes that arouses suspicion, and doesn't overshadow Lu Ming or cause resentment in Mrs. Lu's heart, the more Lu Ming will be accepted by the Lu family. After all, no matter how unhappy the other members of the Lu family are, they won't turn down money.
Given his own abilities, establishing himself in this industry is not a problem.
Wen Chu smiled and said, "It's okay. Once you marry me, we can go whenever we want! We can go now too! Your dad definitely won't be able to do anything to you. We can secretly put all the money into our own pockets."
The somber look on Lu Ming's face gradually faded as she spoke, and he became gentle: "She... lives in the suburbs. I've said many times that I want to bring her here to move to a different place, but she just won't. October 16th is her birthday. In a month and a half, after I finish this busy period, shall I take you to see her? I need to tell her first."
Wen Chu's face lit up with joy: "Great! I need to start picking out a gift right away."
Seeing the girl's obvious happiness, and that she didn't mind his birth at all, Lu Ming felt as if his heart was enveloped in warm water.
For a moment, he felt emotionally that meeting the person in front of him, getting to know her, and being liked by her was a blessing from heaven.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he tried his best to speak in a normal tone: "No need to spend too much money. She doesn't like those expensive items, but she prefers handicrafts."
"Isn't that just like me? I also enjoy doing crafts!"
Lu Ming coughed. "Well, it's not quite the same."
“My mom… likes pretty handicrafts.” Lu Ming said, glancing at her sideways before looking away.
"Huh? What do you mean?!" Wen Chu glared at him while driving. "Who doesn't like pretty girls??"
Lu Ming's lips curled slightly, and he remained silent; he had the right to keep quiet.
Back in the neighborhood, Wen Chu naturally went to Lu Ming's house.
It was already nine o'clock, and by the time they finished packing up, it was 9:40.
After washing her hair, Wen Chu sat in a chair and had someone blow-dry her hair.
She looked at Lu Ming in the mirror and asked, "Where am I going to sleep tonight?"
Lu Ming gently stroked her hair, asking without showing any emotion, "Where do you want to sleep?"
Wen Chu passed the question back to him like a football: "Where do you want me to sleep?"
Lu Ming pursed his lips. "It depends on you... I can't say."
"Why is it hard to say?"
"Because I don't say what I mean."
Wen Chu chuckled. "What do you mean?"
"Theoretically, we shouldn't sleep together too early."
"What's the reality?"
"Actually, I want to hold you while I sleep," Lu Ming said honestly, looking down at her intently.
Wen Chu grinned and said, "In that case, let's compromise. I'll stay here tonight, and tomorrow will be undecided."
"good."
Wen Chu glanced at the time again. It was getting closer and closer to midnight, and her heart was pounding faster and faster. She wished time could slow down.
"What are we going to do in a bit?" she asked.
"It's ten o'clock, aren't you going to sleep?"
"I know you're used to going to bed early and waking up early, but I want you to stay up with me tonight and go to sleep after midnight."
"good."
"Whatever I say now will be fine with you?" Wen Chu squinted at him in the mirror. "Why are you treating me this differently?"
Lu Ming vigorously ruffled her hair, the girl's fragrance lingering on his fingertips and entering his nostrils: "Didn't I let you take advantage of me enough before?"
"You couldn't agree with anything I said before!"
"Nonsense. What part didn't I end up doing?"
Wen Chu chuckled, "Then I'll push my luck one more time." She pointed to the grumpy rabbit plaster doll that Lu Ming had placed on the bedside table and said, "Give me that."
"Impossible." Lu Ming refused decisively.
"Why!"
"That drawing is of you."
"so what?"
“So it can only be mine.” He paused the hairdryer, bent down and almost touched her ear, whispering, “Because you are mine.”
Wen Chu felt a tingling sensation throughout her body, from head to toe, as if an electric current had coursed through her entire being.
Her face flushed, and she hurriedly turned her face to the other side where Lu Ming was standing, but the mirror in front of her still showed her expression clearly. "How can you be so mushy?"
Lu Ming glanced at the woman's expression in the mirror, and the corners of his mouth curved up again, "It's because you insisted on asking the reason."
After drying their hair, they leaned against the headboard, and Wen Chu was held in Lu Ming's arms as they prepared to play a couple of rounds of Nova.
Wen Chu had been busy lately and hadn't been online for a while. When she finally logged in, several messages and system notifications popped up – inquiries from the high-level player she'd been randomly matched with. Startled, Wen Chu instinctively tried to swipe away the pop-ups, but in her haste, she clicked on them instead.
The specific details were thus blatantly exposed.
Boss: [Are you busy lately? I haven't been online in ages.]
Boss: [Remember to contact me when you're online. Playing with you is more fun.]
The big shot said: "I've spent too much money on gifts, they'll expire if I don't send them, so I'm giving them all to you."
System notification: [Qingxuan has sent you 999 roses, increasing your intimacy level by 999 points and promoting you to close friends! Your charm value has reached 999 points!]
Wen Chu looked up somewhat guiltily, trying to peek behind her to see if Lu Ming had noticed.
When she looked up, Lu Ming wasn't looking at her screen; instead, he was looking down at his own.
But judging from the other person's cold expression, he must have seen it. That's the kind of expression the other person uses when they're jealous and unhappy.
Wen Chu explained, "This..."
You have received a system notification!
Wen Chu paused, looking at the pop-up window that suddenly appeared on her phone screen. She clicked on it and was immediately greeted by a screen full of petal effects. The top of the screen displayed a scrolling message: "[2637829 sent 99999 roses to Bei Qing! Their intimacy level has increased by 99999 points, and their 'Couple' title has been upgraded to 'Divine Couple'!"]
This message was visible to everyone on the server, and the world chat was immediately flooded with messages, all searching for who they were and which rich guy was trying to make his girlfriend happy.
Wen Chu looked at it three times in disbelief, carefully counting the number of digits in the 9.
Before she could even finish expressing her surprise, the main screen was once again filled with a shower of roses, and the banner above refreshed again: "[2,637,829 sent 99,999 roses to Bei Qing! Their intimacy level has increased by 99,999 points, and their 'Couple' title has been upgraded to 'Eternal Love'! They've topped this quarter's PDA rankings!]"
Wen Chu's eyes widened, and she turned her head to say, "Are you crazy??? This is two hundred thousand yuan!"
"So what?" Lu Ming said dismissively, his hand still clicking on the screen, seemingly wanting to send more.
99999 is the system's set numerical limit, but it is not his limit.
"You might as well just transfer it to me! What are you still doing? Stop sending it! I'm really angry!" Wen Chu was heartbroken, throwing away her own phone and trying to snatch the other person's phone, her teeth itching with rage.
Lu Ming then threw away his phone, forcefully turned her hand away, and held her tightly in his arms, unable to move. "You can only play with me."
"I was just randomly matched with teammates! We only played a few games!"
"If he plays a few more rounds, he could be a criminal."
"You..." Before she could finish speaking, Lu Ming turned her face away without saying a word, bit her lip, and made her shut up.
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