At some point, as Lu AnLing continued to listen, she didn"t know who was saying what because their voices seemed to merge in perfect harmony.Unable to control herself as she felt their nervousness, Lu AnLing let out a giggle.
"I"m joking," She said with a smile before she began to pout cutely. "I already knew you guys did research on me."
Forgetting about her surroundings, Lu AnLing leaned into Kang Jun.
Watching them, Rong Lihua"s brow knitted. The two seemed very close and she couldn"t deny that watching them reminded her of her of how she had loved in her younger years but she would need to get to know the girl before she wholly accepted her.
After all, the girls who had been Kang Jun"s fiancée"s in the past had been chosen by his family so there was nothing Rong Lihua could say or do but this time it was different. Lu AnLing was the first woman Kang Jun had ever chosen on his own accord.
So Rong Lihua prayed that the woman was not taking advantage of him.
Though when Rong Lihua"s eyes landed on the child in Lu AnLing"s arms, she couldn"t help but wonder what was going on.
Seeing her gaze, Kang Jun replied.
"After a certain incident, Mingyu became attached to her."
Rong Lihua nodded and then looked towards Kang Mingyu.
"Little young master, do you like…" Rong Lihua tried to find the words to say. Then she began to examine Lu AnLing from head to toe. Looking well, Rong Lihua began to find similarities between the two. Like their round eyes, oval face and even the way they would pout. "… your mother…?"
Rong Lihua frowned once more before she gave Kang Jun a curious look.
"Is she little young masters mother?"
Hearing this, everyone turned to give Rong Lihua strange looks.
Rong Xin"s eyebrows furrowed.
If there was one thing Rong Xin knew about Kang Mingyu and Kang Mei Xue, it was that both of their mothers were dead. There was no way that Lu AnLing could be the mother.
Also, to be the boy"s mother she would have given birth to him when she was 19 or 20 and Rong Xin couldn"t quite imagine that.
"Grandmother, that"s impossible. Why are you saying such strange things?"
Rong Lihua ignored her grandson and examined Lu AnLing and Kang Mingyu herself. In her opinion the two looked alike but seeing the fear in Kang Mingyu"s face when Rong Lihua mentioned the word mother, the woman gave up the conversation.
"… Forgive me for my nonsense." Rong Lihua said as she scratched the back of her head. She felt bad because of the pain she had caused the little young master so she walked up to Lu AnLing and said, "Come on dear, welcome to your new home."
Rong Lihua greeted her new mistress with a voice that was soft and kind.
Hearing those words, Lu AnLing felt as if something in her heart snapped. It gave her an intense want to cry.
She hadn"t been welcomed home ever since the day she"d left the Lu family home and the words hadn"t sounded so sweet since way back when she had lived with her father.
Ah… her father.
His death anniversary was coming up. Lu AnLing had been gone for so long that she had almost forgotten.
Lu AnLing turned to Kang Jun. "I need to visit my fathers grave. You know… to tell him the news."
Kang Jun nodded before he touched the girls face lovingly.
"Whenever you want, we"ll go."
After saying those words, Kang Jun kissed the foreheads of both Kang Mingyu and Lu AnLing before he left his home and hopped back into his black Maybach with Mr. Long by his side.
Lu AnLing watched him leave with a crimson red face.
Once he was gone, Rong Lihua placed a hand on Lu AnLing"s back. "Let"s go get you settled." She said before turning to Rong Xin, "Bring her luggage up. Put it in the room right across from the young master"s"
***
Back at the Kang family main home,
Elder Kang didn"t waste any time to start the adoption process of Qiao Lan. Because both he and Elder Qiao had many connections, it wouldn"t take long for everything to be finalized.
Truthfully, the old man didn"t need to rush it but he felt as if he had to finish it quickly before anyone could change their vote.
This, however, was foolish because no one in the family would dare do such a thing.
When Elder Kang heard that Kang Jun was going to visit him, a shiver went down his spine. It was as if it was warning him of impending doom and the elder took it seriously.
However, the impending doom was not something the elder would have to worry about right now.
Once Kang Jun entered his study, accompanied by Secretary Rong and Mr. Long, the door slammed shut behind them.
"Jun… I didn"t think I"d be seeing you so soon." The elder said.
"Yes, usually it"s you who bothers me and now it"s my turn to bother you."
Hearing this, the elder frowned furiously but because he couldn"t deny the man"s words, he stayed silent.
Behind the old man, Secretary Rong stood tall. Seeing that his master wasn"t going to speak, he did so instead.
"Pardon me if this sounds rude, but what bring"s you back so soon?"
Kang Jun waved towards Mr. Long who placed Kang Jun and Lu AnLing"s marriage certificate on the table.
As soon as it was laid before him, Elder Kang examined it. At first, he wasn"t sure what he was looking at but as soon as he saw the names written on it he swiftly grabbed it and drew it closer to his eyes.
Kang Jun had many ideas of what Elder Kang would say about his marriage. One way or another, he felt that the elder would unintentionally insult him but instead, what came out of the man"s mouth was,
"Congratulation!" The old man almost jumped out of his seat. "So where is my granddaughter-in-law? You didn"t bring her with you?"
Kang Jun frowned.
"Not today. We"ll be visiting soon, but I need a favor from you."
Elder Kang: "What is it?"
"I want you to keep this a secret for now. Don"t tell anyone about this. Especially not father."
Elder Kang"s face turned dark. He understood why Kang Jun didn"t want the information to spread, but at the same time, Elder Kang didn"t think it was such a good idea.
"The girl will have to experience the trials of the Kang family sooner or later. If she can"t handle it, wouldn"t it have best if you didn"t marry her?"
Elder Kang"s words annoyed Kang Jun to no end, but instead of showing it, the man lifted up his chin as if he was looking down on the old man.
Kang Jun: "This had nothing to do with that. My wife is ready for anything that comes her way."
"Then why keep it a secret?"
Sweeping the marriage certificate from the elder"s desk, Kang Jun sighed. He carefully gave it to Mr. Long and then he said,
"I want to enjoy my time with my wife before family get"s involved."
Elder Kang nodded and squeezed the ball of his cane.
He understood where the boy was coming from. When he was young, it was exactly why he had gotten a girlfriend behind everyone"s backs. Sometimes family could selfishly ruin the best and purest of things in a person"s life…
What had happened back then was the biggest regret of his life.
"Fine." The old man sighed as a part of him still reminisced of the past. "I"ll give you six months. After that, we will be throwing a ball where you will be introducing your wife to society."
Kang Jun nodded. "Also, I would like to contact grandmother."
Hearing this, Elder Kang"s face didn"t change. "You… Do you want to take the Mei Xue also? This quickly after taking Mingyu?"
Kang Jun didn"t answer his grandfather. Why would he state the obvious? Seeing Kang Jun"s usual mannerism, Elder Kang sighed.
It wasn"t up to him to decide what Kang Jun could or couldn"t do, mostly when it was in regards to Kang Mei Xue. Elder Kang"s wife was responsible for the girl, after all.
"I understand." Elder Kang wrote something down on paper and then he handed it to Secretary Rong who handed it to Kang Jun. "That"s her contact information. I"m not sure where she is at the moment. She was in City L up until last week but Secretary Rong has informed me that she"s long since left."