The freezing atmosphere around the room had once again fallen into a stifling silence as they knew that this was Ethan Lu"s way of warning them. Therefore, the elders who were mortified to be the next example finally took Lexi"s presence into account and issued their long overdue greeting.
Even so, despite that they slightly put down the matter, each of the individuals inside the room only gave Lexi a temporary friendly respect as they were sure that she would be replaced sooner or later… or so they thought.
"Thank you, Elder Lu." Upon receiving the last welcoming remarks from Dennis Lu, Lexi meekly smiled as she delicately thanked him.
"Miss Yang, I apologize for our rude treatment earlier… I hope you understand that we are just concerned about the well being of our master." Stil bearing his pretentious smile, Dennis Lu humbly apologized to her, hinting at Lexi that she should not take it to heart.
"I fully understand, Director Lu." Slowly blinking her eyes along with her nod, Lexi returned the same pretentious smile at him. "Just don"t do it again." Sounding innocent, her smile turned benevolent which caught everyone off-guard including Ethan Lu on her side. Edward Lu almost burst out laughing as he nearly dropped from his seat as he somewhat expected this from her and not at the same time.
"This woman… she"s really bold to make an obvious attack. Haha! What a keen smell she has to know which of the people here are not fully committed to my cute grandson." Edward Lu chuckled inwardly as he pulled out his flask and enjoyed these youngins to give him a satisfying show.
"Hehe, of course. We won"t do it again." Dennis Lu chuckled that had sounded more like a scoff. He wasn"t born yesterday as Lexi"s remarks were too audacious. In his mind, he didn"t like her even more as she already flaunted her substantial power under Ethan Lu"s protection.
"I"m relieved to hear that…" Letting out a sigh of relief, Lexi muttered which made Dennis Lu"s brows and everyone"s that had their attention on her furrow. "...after all, I heard that the future matriarch had almost the same authority with the headmaster. I don"t want to order someone to be suffocated to death. I"m truly relieved." Lexi lightly patted her chest as she sighed in relief again.
Upon hearing her indirect claim of the position as if she already owned it, a scornful glint flashed across Dennis Lu"s eyes. It has been years since his mother, the old family matriarchs death. Hence, everyone has nearly forgotten how it is to have a female member inside the core that has the same authority as Edward Lu.
Granted that women in the Lu family were mere decorations, alas, that didn"t apply to the wife of the family head. After all, Edward Lu"s wife had shown her capabilities early on, that alone had made the rest of them obey and respect her… and only her. But, after she pa.s.sed away due to her old age, none of them were ready to accept another matriarch. If anything they approve, that the spouse of Ethan Lu would be just a doll that was easier to manipulate.
Hence, controlling the lady of the headmaster means gaining a much bigger authority.
Meanwhile, Ethan Lu recovered faster than the rest upon hearing her last remarks. Turning to see Lexi"s feigning innocent side profile, he could not help the corner of his lips to curl upward in amus.e.m.e.nt. He was unexpectedly surprised that Lexi would want to play with these rotten b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Not to mention, she came prepared and made sure to do her research into the family.
Ethan Lu was certain that his grandfather didn"t tell her this rule as it was much less important than his main agenda. Therefore, he could only a.s.sume that it was Nico Zhuang who told her all this and maybe, everything he knew about the rules they must abide by.
"Don"t worry, they won"t be that stupid to forget that." His hand involuntarily raised as it tenderly stroked her head. His gaze softened as his eyes traced her side profile and a gentle smile appeared on his curled lips.
"Are they not?" Turning to face the das.h.i.+ng man that was lovingly staring at her, Lexi smiled as she hinted that she was not convinced that they were not stupid.
"Maybe… let"s have a little faith, my love." Grinning, Ethan Lu let out a chuckle as he never thought that he had not only just gained a new ally but also a partner that would ride along with his bullying to these bullies. Their interaction that was obviously insulting to the elders around the table made their jaws clench as they calmed their raging hearts.
"Alright…" Shrugging her shoulders, Lexi let out a heavy exhale as she agreed. "I don"t want to leave a bad impression after all." She added that made Edward Lu snap as he could no longer hold his laughter. Surely, Lexi"s odd humor would only gladden the old man and Ethan Lu who fully understood the meaning behind her words.
The night continued but it was not as fun anymore as everyone could only keep their silence as Lexi and Ethan Lu exchanged an insulting sense of humor while Edward Lu enjoyed the show. In the middle of the private party, Lexi"s attention secretly had her eyes on the silent man that had sat near Edward Lu.
Throughout the night, the said elder had this private s.p.a.ce around him as he never once joined in on the squabbling earlier when she arrived and only spoke when he greeted her. After that, he remained silent as if he was not there. If Lexi didn"t b.u.mp into Seraphina Yue earlier, she would not take notice of the man as she would think he was a neutral character that only likes his peace. Alas, since she had a heads-up, deep down, Lexi was cautious solely to him as she could not read him.
Soon, the event ended before midnight. However, before Edward Lu left, he invited Lexi to have lunch together in the main residence. Lexi carefully considered his offer and when Ethan Lu gave her a rea.s.suring smile as if telling her it was a safe invite, she agreed.
[Inside Ethan Lu"s car]
After the event, Ethan Lu wanted them to stay at the Grand Hotel for the night. Alas, for her own selfish reasons, Lexi insisted on going home just because she wanted to. Therefore, the always "yes ma"am" Ethan Lu conceded and followed her desires.
"Love…" Offering his open palms for her to fill with hers, Ethan Lu softly called out to Lexi as she was oddly silent while staring outside the window of the back pa.s.senger seat.
After hearing his voice, Lexi snapped from her cloud of thoughts and turned to see his open hands before her gaze s.h.i.+fted to his gentle front. Slowly, she smiled back as she slid her hand towards him that had instantly intertwined— sending rushes of warmth to each other"s nerves up to their hearts.
"Is there"s something wrong?" Asking out of curiosity, he wanted to know her thoughts about what she had witnessed tonight, or rather, the whole day.
"Nothing, I just…" Pausing for a moment, Lexi wanted to say what she was just thinking about and how to tell him about her pregnancy. However, she wanted it to be meaningful and surprise him. Therefore, Lexi only smiled and replaced the words she was about to confess. "I just thought that I am now thinking about you 24/7."
Upon hearing her remarks, Lyrick Jiang and Jarred Guo on the front side of the car could not help their brows but twitch. Slowly, Lyrick Jiang soundlessly put up the part.i.tion so that they would not see what would happen next. Knowing their boss, he would surely not be considerate about the two people in the front side of the car.