Chapter 127 - Great Grandparents
The three of them were at the resting area after horseback riding when Xiu Mei received a call from her mother.
"Mhm? Right now?... Oh, I know. We"ll be there." Xiu Mei then hung up her phone. Then she turned to the two men sitting beside her.
"Mom told us to visit her right now. My grandparents are at home so they said they wanted to meet you and their adorable great-grandson ah." She added, as she picked up a clean towel and wiped off the sweat of her adopted son.
"Mom"s Grandma?" Lu Qiang echoed.
"Mhm. That"s your great-grandma and great-grandpa ah."
Right after that, they packed up and left immediately to drive to the Xiu Mansion. It was already past lunch when they arrived.
"Welcome home, Young Miss, and Young Masters." The butler and the maids greeted as soon as they"ve arrived.
"Where are they?"
"They"re currently at the balcony on the second floor. Do you wish to have lunch first?"
"Just bring them upstairs. The three of us will have our lunch there instead. Thanks!"
Since this was the first time that Lu Chen and Lu Qiang came here, Xiu Mei gave them a brief tour of the mansion before guiding them towards the second-floor balcony where her grandparents and parents were leisurely having their sweet time.
"Oh! They"re here." Her Mom immediately noticed them arriving. A pair of heads quickly turned their heads towards their direction and brightly smiled at Xiu Mei"s figure.
"Little Mei!" Her grandmother stood up to greet her. Xiu Mei walked even faster and hugged her grandmother.
"Grandma, it"s been a while!" She said. Then she turned at the old man that from afar, looked very stern yet is currently tenderly smiling at her. "You too as well, Grandpa."
Her grandpa nodded as a response. Then she turned towards Lu Chen and Lu Qiang then signaled for them to come forward so she could introduce them.
��Grandpa, Grandma, this is Lu Chen, my husband. And this is my son, Lu Qiang."
Lu Chen stepped forward and slightly bent his body as he greeted the two elders.
"It is an honor to meet both of you, Lieutenant General Yu and Senior Captain Yu." Lu Chen greeted. Xiu Mei talked about her family with him before so he was very aware of the previous positions that the two elders held in the army.
The two elders weren"t surprised at all but they were visibly pleased after hearing that. Grandma Yu, who was the former Senior Captain in the army before she retired, smiled at her granddaughter"s husband and took his hand. She tenderly grasped his hand as she soothed the man"s nervousness.
"Thank you for taking care of our Xiu Mei." She said.
"It is my honor to be able to protect her for the rest of her life."
Grandma Yu giggled after hearing that. She thought that Xiu Mei"s husband seems to be a very sincere person contrary to the cold personality she read about him ah.
Then Grandma Yu looked at the old man who was scrutinizing Lu Chen up and down and was glaring at him very hard. She understood what was running in this old man"s mind so she nudged him on the elbow to disturb him from his thoughts.
Grandpa Yu understood his wife"s message. He narrowed his eyes at this brat that stole his granddaughter and finally spoke.
"Do you pledge not to betray my granddaughter?"
"Grandpa!" Xiu Mei cried out. What was grandpa suddenly saying ah?!
"You old man! What are you saying?!" Grandpa Yu immediately received a slap at his arm from Grandma Yu.
"Ignore what this old man said. He"s just very grumpy today ah." After reprimanding her husband, she turned to Lu Chen and smiled.
"I understand and it"s fine." Then Lu Chen turned to Grandpa Yu and promised. "And I pledge not to betray Xiu Mei"s trust and your trust. I will always protect her and stay by her side no matter what happens."
Hearing that, the old man touched his beard and narrowed his eyes at him again.
"Then that"s good." He replied.
Xiu Mei who was watching everything unfold before her grew nervous. What was wrong with her Grandpa ah! Suddenly bullying Lu Chen as soon as they met.
She quickly interrupted their conversation to prevent it from escalating into something serious. She introduced Lu Qiang to them once again.
"Grandpa, didn"t you say you wanted to meet Lu Qiang? Baby, come, introduce yourself to Grandpa."
Lu Qiang also stepped forward and greeted his great grandparents.
"h.e.l.lo, Grandfather! h.e.l.lo, Grandmother!" He smiled and used his charm as a child when he greeted them.
This time, the two elders acted differently towards the little child. Grandpa Yu and Grandma Yu"s smile almost reached their ears as they looked at the adorable child in front of them. In their thoughts, they only have praises for this child ah.
"Come here~" Grandma Yu said as she patted the s.p.a.ce in between her and her husband.
Lu Qiang didn"t immediately move and looked at Xiu Mei first. She nodded so Lu Qiang obediently followed Grandma Yu and sat in between the two elders.
"Mei"er, Chen"er, have a seat right here first." Xiu Mei"s mom said. Lu Chen hesitated at first but eventually sat down with his wife and mother-in-law.
The two elders surrendered to Lu Qiang"s cuteness and pampered him with snacks throughout. Just like a bright kid he is, Lu Qiang seems to be also good with interacting with elders and he didn"t have any problem with conversing with the great grandparents he just met for the first time.
Xiu Mei watched her grandparents interact with her son happily so her heart felt lighter. Honestly, she was quite nervous before they arrived here. Even though she already knew her grandparents" personalities, she was still a bit nervous if they could really accept Lu Qiang as their great-grandson ah.
Since Lu Qiang isn"t related to them by blood, at the back of her mind, she was still worried if her entire family would really be able to accept him. But seeing her grandparents" reaction right now, it seems that she was thinking too much.
They welcomed him as if he was their own blood and spoiled him like their own great-grandson. "Oho, you went to a firing range with your parents?" Grandpa Yu"s interest was immediately piqued after hearing this.
"Mhm!"
"Then do you like guns?"
"I do!"
Grandpa Yu grinned as he planned about something. It seems that Lu Qiang was really meant to be their great-grandson ah. He could train him and encourage him to join the army if the kid"s interest lies in that area.
"Then do you want to be a soldier?"
"Like First Uncle?"
"Yes, like your First Uncle."
"Mm... can I use computers there?"
"Computers? Do you like playing with computers?"
"Yes, I do!"
"You can also play with computers if you join the army ah. You can be an expert in technology there."
"Really?"
"Of course, would this old man lie to you?"
"Okay, then I"ll join the army!"
The parents who were listening in on the other side:...
So just like that, their son was stolen by Xiu Mei"s grandfather?
"Grandpa, stop trying to entice a little child ah. Let him choose whatever he like when he grows up ah." Xiu Mei exclaimed.
"But I didn"t force him to join ah. He decided on his own."
"Of course, you tempted him by becoming a Technology Expert in the army."
"It"s the truth! He can be one when he joins."
"Grandpa, you should really stop luring kids that you think has a potential in the army ah. Let them play first, grow up, and choose their dreams on their own."
"But little Qiang could be a really great soldier in the army in the future."
"Old Man." This time, Grandma Yu interjected in their conversation. She threw a glare at the old man to shut up. With the way their conversation is going, her husband wouldn"t give up tempting their great-grandson to join the army just like what he did to Xiu Min.
"Anyway, that"s not why we"re here actually." Grandma Yu suddenly turned serious making Lu Chen and Xiu Mei alert.
"Qiang"er, wanna go help Grandma feed the dogs downstairs?" Xiu Mei"s Mom, Yu s.h.i.+ Huang said to Lu Qiang. The little kid nodded and followed his grandmother downstairs leaving the two elders and his parents alone in the balcony.
"I heard about what happened to you and Gu Ren. I know your Dad and Mo Ruo are already investigating but we still wanted to help you with investigating so I used some of my connections to dig deeper." Then Grandpa Yu dropped a folder on the table. "Read it when once you return home."
The couple looked at each other and nodded. Lu Chen picked up the folder and firmly held it. "We understand."
"By the way, Grandpa. I.. can I also schedule an appointment with Doctor Lee?"
The old man looked at his granddaughter in confusion. Why is she suddenly requesting to meet the Army"s Psychologist?
"I would like him to perform hypnosis on me, regarding my kidnapping ten years ago." Xiu Mei resolutely said catching the three people off guard.