Most eyes turned to Kang Jun.For a second, the elder thought those words were a dream, so he didn"t react, but when Kang Liang pushed himself up causing his chair to slam hard onto the floor, the elder whipped his head towards Kang Jun.
"Bro! You can"t be serious!" Kang Liang"s voice was full of confusion, mixed in with anger. How could his brother betray him like that?
Begging, the boy looked at his brother but Kang Jun didn"t turn to look at him.
"I am serious. Now sit down." Kang Jun commanded.
Despite being hurt and angered, Kang Liang did as he was told.
Elder Kang watching his grandson"s nonchalant demeanor with a look of confusion but he couldn"t help but show his happiness.
Now, Mo Ruyi"s vote was irrelevant.
Though for some reason, she still showed no cares.
The woman believed that if Kang Jun had made the decision then he must have something up his sleeve. So she accepted the turnout. Kang Jun must know what he was doing. After all, she didn"t give birth to and raise an idiot.
In complete shock, the elder couldn"t contain the joy in his heart. Elder Kang almost began to cry. "My grandson… Thank you. You"re really such a kind boy."
Kang Jun didn"t say a thing but deep within him, he felt disgusted. The elder was shockingly simple. The man had truly gone soft after living in seclusion from the everyday problems of the outside world.
So much so, that Elder Kang had completely undervalued Kang Jun"s distaste for Qiao Lan.
The elder had thanked him?
The old man wouldn"t be thanking him if he knew the thoughts floating in Kang Jun"s mind. The man was not kind. Especially when it came to his enemies. He could be excessively cruel and he never held back.
He never was the type to do so and he never would be.
The Kang family had rules of its own. These rules disconnected them almost completely from normal people and Kang Jun promised that Qiao Lan was going to learn this the hard way.
And just like that, the Kang family meeting was completed.
Before Kang Jun left the Kang family main house, he walked up to Kang Mingyu"s room. Easily, the boy woke up as soon as Kang Jun opened the door.
"I"m leaving now," Kang Jun said. When he heard this, the boy ran towards the man and began to cling onto Kang Jun"s leg.
"No… Please stay!"
Tears streamed down Kang Mingyu"s face. It was as if he couldn"t stop himself anymore.
Kang Jun"s heart wavered.
"I can"t," Kang Jun said as he patted the boy on the head. "But don"t worry. Tomorrow I"ll have Mr. Long pick you up. You"ll be staying with me for a while. Nothing will ever happen to you again. I"ll protect you… Just give me some time."
Feeling the strong pat, Kang Mingyu dried his tears and then nodded. His eyes no longer contained any weakness. Though he was still in pain and his eyes strung, Kang Mingyu trusted Kang Jun"s word.
He would be saved.
There was no doubt in the boy"s mind.
***
Despite being Grandma Lu"s birthday, only her two daughters and their children had been able to attend her birthday.
They all sat at a round table in the middle of the hall where the Lu family were silently eating. Looking around the table from the corner of her eye, Lu AnLing nibbled away at her chicken.
Beside her, Chong Feng did the same.
The table was set in a strange way where it almost seemed like one side contained all the "outsiders" and the other side contained the family members. And Lu AnLing sat on the "outsiders" side.
This was not intentional, it just ended up being this way because Grandma Lu had insisted on moving Lu AnLing"s seat from by Lu Duyi to right beside Chong Feng.
At first, the boy had complained because he wanted to chat with his sister but Grandma Lu wouldn"t hear it.
Beside Lu Duyi, his mother ate silently but hearing the boy complain, Mother Lu frowned. "Duyi, you aren"t a child anymore. There is no need for you to cling onto your sister."
Lu Duyi frowned at his mother"s remark.
"Nonsense." The boy wanted to say, but instead, he swallowed his words and continued to eat.
Lu AnLing looked at her mother dejectedly, the girl felt her heart tighten. Her mother hadn"t seen her in so long but the only greeting she had gotten from the woman was a "Welcome back".
Not even a hug.
But really, what had she expected from her mother. It had always been like that.
If Lu AnLing saw her child again, she swore she wouldn"t be like that. She would hold the child tightly towards her heart and cry. She would show them every single bit of how much she had missed them and love them fully thereafter.
Though she truly couldn"t compare her mother to herself.
Simply, everyone had their own way of loving someone. Her mother"s way was different than her own, and despite not understanding or knowing what that way was, Lu AnLing liked to believe her mother loved her a lot.
Looking over the table, Lu Shuya looked indifferent but seeing a few random people sitting on the table, she couldn"t help but speak up.
"I"m sorry if I"m being rude but why"s Lu Jiayi"s boyfriend allowed to eat with us?"
Lu Shuya was going to mention Old Chong and Chong Feng but seeing the way her grandmother intimately spoke to them, she didn"t dare.
Lu Jiayi fought back a glare.
Instead of letting her emotions get the best of her she smiled softly.
"He"s not my boyfriend. He"s my fiancé."
Lu Shuya, Lu AnLing, and Lu Duyi"s expressions changed in unison as they stared at the pair. Meanwhile, the adults didn"t say a word. Though Lu AnLing noticed a glint flash across her adoptive father"s eyes.
Lu Shuya scoffed. "You got engaged without telling anyone? Isn"t that disrespectful."
Lu Jiayi"s expression didn"t change.
"Grandmother and grandfather already know."
Lu Shuya put down her utensils and crossed her arms over her chest. She had many things she wanted to say, but instead, she picked her words out carefully.
"So you hide something this important from the rest of us? Do you have something against my mother, my father, my brother and my… sister?"
Hearing this, Lu Jiayi"s face changed ever so slightly and she wanted to scoff.
Did she have anything against uncle and Lu Duyi? Not at all. Uncle had married into the family and Lu Duyi, no matter who he was born to, would have been the beloved son of the Lu Family, but…
Did she have anything against auntie, Lu AnLing and Lu Shuya? Of course. Auntie stole her mothers chance of living a life of luxury within the Lu estate and she was, in Lu Jiayi"s mind, trying to force Grandma Lu to find suitors for both Lu Shuya and Lu AnLing.
Lu Jiayi believed the world to be unfairly tipped in her cousin"s favor and it disgusted her. Even an adopted child was getting more attention and perks than her.
This was unforgivable!
But Lu Jiayi wasn"t going to say that.
"Of course not little cousin." Lu Jiayi said. With the way she put her hand over her mouth in shock and leaned against her boyfriend, it was as if she had been wronged.
Seeing this, both Chong Feng and Lu AnLing almost frowned. They both had a radar for people who were being fake b.i.t.c.hes.
Lu Shuya opened her mouth, about to fight with Lu Jiayi a bit more but she was stopped by her mother"s words.