Shut in a Small Dark Room (2)
Just when the mother and son duo were talking, Lu Nianqi also finished changing into formal attire and came out. Mother Lu, who originally had a face full of grievances, instantly carried the composure of an aloof upper-cla.s.s woman. Looking at Lu Nianqi, she repeatedly nodded: "As expected, clothing makes a man. Wearing this, you look even more handsome than your second brother."
Lu Nianqi saw Lu Nianqi who was wearing a sapphire blue coloured suit then looked at himself and only felt ashamed of his inferiority. Even if Mother Lu praised him like this, one could only support themselves with clothing. One could support themselves with all kinds of clothes, but the innate characters of the two were entirely different.
However, looking at second brother like this, Lu Nianqi also felt proud in his heart. This kind of excellent and outstanding person was actually his second brother, Although the rest of his brothers were equally very outstanding, eldest brother was solemn, fourth brother was sloppy, and only second brother fit the image of an aristocratic and n.o.ble son that he"d imagined.
Seeing that Lu Nianqi had gotten ready, Mother Lu brought him over to greet guests. The main character of today was Lu Nianqi so for this kind of thing, it was naturally better for him to do i. It just so happens that it was also possible to first introduce him to everyone and get acquainted with them. Regardless of whether Lu Nianqi would become an elite of the Lu family in the future or if he"d just take the dividends and pa.s.s his days, the substance and face that the Lu family should give him were all given. The rest could only depend on his own luck.
Zuo Ning was lonely as he laid down in his own doghouse. Wishing to jump onto Lu Chenghe"s bed, he turned on the tablet. Looking and looking, he wanted to find a movie to pa.s.s time with but the music from downstairs continuously reminded him of how today, there would be this much liveliness downstairs. His chief was this great. Aside from seeing this kind of dinner party of the rich and powerful in TV shows, he still hadn"t experienced one in real life. The hateful Lu Chenghe actually locked him in this room.
Even if he could open this door lock, he should just forget about it. It was better for him to be honest and well-behaved by staying, right? When Lu Chenghe"s temper was bad, it was quite dreadful.
Picking a movie at random, the room was suddenly more lively. Zuo Ning watched for a while and then, unable to endure any longer, he ran over to the balcony and looked down from above. The balcony of Lu Chenghe"s bedroom was just able to look over at the backyard. At this moment, the decorations here were very beautiful. There were all sorts of silk ribbons, flowers, and plants as well as some small round tables for guests to sit down and rest at. Sticking his head out and glancing around for a while, he saw that no one had come to the backyard yet and without any better option, he returned to lay on the bed again.
It was Lu Nianqi"s first time encountering this kind of occasion. Fortunately, he had Mother Lu to take him along. Furthermore, Mother Lu was also very attentive in many ways and completely looked after him so that he wouldn"t be so helpless. Only after he truly understood what the rich and powerful were did he find out that while those TV dramas from before were good and those novels were good, the scenes described in them were really all nonsense.
In the circle of the aristocratic, although it wasn"t like there was only handsome guys and beauties all of the same suit, even if one"s appearance was a little lacking, one"s temperament would make up for it. The smiles when talking were just fine, and he hadn"t found anyone who"d been arrogant and overbearing because of his in-between origin.
Only when he"d gradually joined the conversation did Lu Nianqi let out a sigh of relief. In reality, it wasn"t at all as scary as what he"d thought.
Seeing that Lu Nianqi had clearly relaxed quite a bit, Mother Lu smiled: "Yes, that"s right, they"re also people. It"s not like they have three heads and six arms or something. There"s no need to be afraid. Be more courageous. If you don"t know what to say, just maintaining a smile is fine.
Lu Nianqi nodded: "En, I understand. Thank you, second aunt."
Very quickly, the Lu family"s eldest uncle and third uncle"s two families had both come. Prior to today, Lu Chenghe had led Lu Nianqi to meet them. After all, the Lu family"s elders were still there. For something like confirming the ident.i.ty of the younger generation, if the head of the Lus didn"t nod a.s.sent, it was useless. However, the Lu family"s eldest uncle and third uncle were both very good people. Having seen the tests and confirming that he was of the Lu family"s blood, they both gave him gifts for their first meeting that weren"t light.
Ordinarily for an occasion like today"s, holding it at eldest uncle Lu"s home would be the most appropriate but since over this period, Lu Nianqi had been staying at the home of the second"s, they weren"t sticklers for formalities and outer appearances. In any case, they were all one family, so it was the same everywhere.
Fourth brother Lu Chenghan came by himself and the time he spent with his own parents was also very short. Last time, it was a flashy red sports car and today, he"d changed it for a bright blue coloured sports car. As soon as he entered the house, he was incomparably intimate with Mother Lu and hugged her: "Second aunt, you went out to play by yourself and didn"t even bring me along. Not having seen me for several months, don"t you miss me to death?"
Mother Lu laughed and pinched his cheeks: "I definitely didn"t miss you to death! You"re really getting more and more handsome. I don"t know how many girls are crazy about you!"
Lu Chenghan proudly smiled. Mother Lu saw a servant driving his car away for him and her eyes shined: "This car is beautiful."
Lu Chenghan hugged Mother Lu and mischievously laughed: "It"s handsome enough, right? It"s a limited edition. With great difficulty, I used my connections to get this car.”
Mother Lu repeatedly nodded: "Looks better than the red. I also had one ordered for Little Pudding. Little Pudding would definitely also be handsome when driving."
Lu Chenghan"s face collapsed in an instant. Was it that he couldn"t escape from the curse of driving the same car as the little white dog?
With this gag involving Lu Chenghan"s beloved treasure, the banquet hall was immediately full of excitement. Mother Lu also simply handed Lu Nianqi over to him. With other matters, Lu Chenghan couldn"t be counted on, but he was an expert at dinner party socializing.
Although this was a family feast, most of the people were from what could be called the Lu family"s side branches, there were people in the business circle whose connections weren"t bad with relatively high positions. After all, if the only people who came were the Lu family"s people, that wouldn"t be called a dinner party, it would be a family meeting.
Although the host of the venue today was Lu Chenghe, the leading role was, nevertheless, Lu Nianqi. Thus, seeing that there were people to bring Lu Nianqi along for social interaction, Lu Chenghe only held a gla.s.s of wine and chatted with a few good friends. Nevertheless, in his mind, he thought of whether that little thing obediently stayed in his doghouse. Having locked him up like that, would he be scratching the door upstairs?
Although adult dogs are very capable of enduring hunger and could eat two meals a day or even one meal a day, Little Pudding was only four months old and wasn"t an adult yet. However, being hungry for a meal shouldn"t be a big deal. Calling to mind that miserable little expression, Lu Chenghe inexplicably found himself somewhat unable to contain his smiling expression. That little thing loves eating the most. Not letting him eat dinner as a punishment should let him properly learn from his mistakes.
Nie Yong, who was chatting with Lu Chenghe about some new things in the circle, saw his evidently absent-minded appearance and jokingly said: "So which goblin [1] has hooked your soul? You actually have times when you"re absent-minded."
Shen Tao, who was on the side, shot a glance at him and coolly asked: "Why didn"t you bring that girlfriend of yours? Could it be that you"ve switched girlfriends again?"
Nie Yong then rolled his eyes: "Scram! I, your father [2], am getting ready to get married, okay?! Xiao Lu has some exhibition today and said that it was a rare opportunity."
Hearing these words, Shen Tao coldly harrumphed: "Rushing to get married, have you told her everything about your family yet? Last time when I saw her, she seemed to not know anything. Nowadays, it"s not popular to play the game of true love anymore."
Nie Yong lightly clicked his tongue and disdainfully looked at the single dog of ten thousand years: "What do you understand? Talk after you find true love."
Shen Tao also didn"t feel like disputing with him and turned her head toward Lu Chenghe: "Lou Jiu didn"t come today?"
Lu Chenghe affirmed: "When I contacted him a few days ago, he was still deep in some mountains."
Nie Yong"s entire face showed that he was baffled: "Why would he go deep into the mountains, has he become addicted to going on adventures recently?"
"Probably went to go look for food ingredients. He said that when he comes back, he"ll let us go over and try some new dishes."
Nie Yong clicked his tongue. Shen Tao couldn"t help but softly laugh and utter: "That"s okay, this also counts as a pursuit."
Right when she was speaking, a youth with fitting attire and carrying a wine gla.s.s was seen coming over. That person was clearly heading toward Lu Chenghe, so Nie Yong and Shen Tao were clearly aware of the situation and got out of the way by going over to the dining table and grabbing things to eat.
The youth saw those two people tactfully going elsewhere and the smile on their face got deeper. When they"d walked until they were close to Lu Chenghe, the smile on their face already carried quite a bit of flattery: "Mr. Lu."
Lu Chenghe nodded out of courtesy: "Mr. Qi, if tonight"s reception was unsatisfactory, please forgive me."
Qi Zhi immediately laughed and said: "There"s nothing to pardon. You"re being too polite." After speaking, he waited before talking again: "Mr. Lu, I don"t know if you"ve seen the development plan for my company in the past few months. If you have any problems with it, we can improve them in time."
Lu Chenghe faintly laughed: "Today is a banquet to celebrate my Lu family having found one of our close relatives who had been living outside. Everything is based on happiness. For this business matter, the Lus have their own process. If there"s any problems, someone who is especially in charge of this will contact you."
After speaking, Lu Chenghe slightly bowed: "You can do as you wish. I hope that you have a pleasant night here." After speaking, he simply turned around and walked away.
The Lu family"s eldest brother had already paid attention to the sound of people talking over there and seeing his second brother walk over, he said: "This person"s intentions aren"t proper. Be careful."
Lu Chenghe nodded and took a sip of wine. His tone was slightly cold: "I don"t know how he got a hold of an invitation card. It seems that there are a few people who should be beaten at home."
Qi Zhi saw that he was obstructed from walking over toward Lu Chenghe. Thinking of the pile of things weighing down on him, he was rather annoyed and pulled down on his tie. The invitation for today was obtained by him with great difficulty. It was also his last straw. If the cooperation wasn"t successful, then he"d be completely finished.
Although he"d been rejected, in any case, he hadn"t gotten angry to the point of losing propriety. Seeing those brothers who"ve had everything from birth, he got even more annoyed in his heart and simply carried a gla.s.s of wine with him as he walked outside to get a breath of fresh air.
After walking to the backyard which was entirely without people, he sat on a chair and fiercely vented his pent-up feelings. Thinking of Lu Chenghe"s aloof and remote att.i.tude just now, Qi Zhi couldn"t help but curse in a low voice: "d.a.m.n that Lu family!"
Zuo Ning, who was in the middle of watching a movie while laying on the bed, although the voice was very quiet and there was also noisy music, seemed to have heard someone cursing at the Lu family. He jumped down from the bed and saw that there was a man in the backyard sitting on a chair drinking wine alone. Although he didn"t know if that cursing from just now was this man"s cursing, he was still curious and looked more.
Qi Zhi noticed that white figure from upstairs and subconsciously looked up to see a white dog who was sitting upstairs, living high and looking down at himself, and couldn"t help but shout loudly with a deep voice: "Get lost!"
Zuo Ning immediately thought, "f.u.c.k", this was his home okay? When at his own house, he was actually cursed by someone to get lost. Is his mouth full of dog teeth really used to sell meng!
[1] – The term used is 小妖精 which means goblin but pretty much refers to coquettish girls. . . sounds awkward in English though
[2] – 老子 literally means father and it is usually used when one is angry/acting arrogant