YA Ch16: Provocation

“Hey, she’s just repeating what she heard; no need to be so harsh,” Lu Yu advised cheekily, and then said to the grateful shop assistant, “Wrap it up for President Ximen and get another one for President Zhao.”

Zhao Yanqing choked, stuck in a dilemma, gritted his teeth and asked, “Lu Yu, why do you call me President Ximen?”

Lu Yu leaned lazily against the counter, casually saying, “Your name fits that surname so well. I kept mixing it up after saying it once. Sorry about that.”

After saying this, the shop had already packed two watches, placing them in beautifully packaged bags. The bags were printed with Tomorrow’s logo, outlined with simple yet elegant lines, quite different from ten years ago. Lu Yu looked at them and liked them, guessing that Ming Yan had redesigned them after returning.

Lu Yu handed both bags to President Zhao and said, “Thank you for your patronage.” As if it were his business.

Zhao Yanqing turned away angrily but was quickly caught up and hooked around the neck by Lu Yu. Zhao’s eyebrows raised slightly, and his expression softened. Finally, this Lu Yu knew he was the financier and didn’t dare joke too much, coming over to apologize.

Lu Yu patted Zhao Yanqing’s chest and said, “Let’s go, I’ll treat you to lunch. Hey, seeing you so stingy, I’ll cover the meal.”

Zhao Yanqing: “…” The chest that was patted felt even more congested, as if a pool of old blood had accumulated.

They found a Spanish-style restaurant and sat by the window.

President Zhao ordered his meal first, then sipped his water while watching the passersby on the pedestrian street outside, seemingly nostalgic. “Ming Yan loves this kind of street view. Back in country F, he often sat by the window, watching people on the street for an entire afternoon.”

On the rainy streets of a foreign country, inside the warmly lit glass windows, sat a beautifully dressed, melancholic person. Such a scene was intoxicating even in memory.

Lu Yu finished ordering his meal, put down the menu, and looked at Zhao Yanqing strangely, “You’re really weird. Walking down foreign streets, staring at people eating in windows. Anyone would think you’re the little match boy.”

President Zhao, trying to show off: “…”

Lu Yu grabbed the complimentary appetizers on the table, crunching away, and even pushed some towards President Zhao for him to eat.

Failing to provoke Lu Yu, the topic instantly stalled. Zhao Yanqing could only stiffly change the subject, “We’ve known each other for a long time. If it weren’t for his sake, I wouldn’t consider investing in your lousy company.”

With that, President Zhao regained his rhythm, clasping his hands on the table in a business negotiation posture, “Your company’s main industry is too fragile. Smart brains come with built-in intelligent assistants, and personalized assistants are just the icing on the cake.”

He looked at Lu Yu with a challenging smile, emphasizing each word, “I’m doing this entirely for Ming Yan.”

At that moment, Lu Yu’s seafood rice arrived. Lu Yu took a spoonful, and his eyes lit up, “This is good, waiter.”

He called the waiter over, ordered another one to go, and carefully instructed them to cook it after he paid, so it would be hot and fresh when he picked it up.

President Zhao felt like he was hitting cotton, feeling frustrated, watching Lu Yu gobble a few more bites before saying, “Been busy lately; Ming Yan’s been eating poorly at the cafeteria. I’ll bring him some. Did you study in Country F at the same time? No, you’re much older; you should have graduated.”

“I’m only three years older,” Zhao Yanqing emphasized through gritted teeth, “I was doing some business there. When I heard he was studying design, I went to see him. He had already secured an internship with a high-end luxury brand. He was very outstanding. Speaking of which, we should have met before. Although my family and the Lu family aren’t in the same circle, there were many occasions where we could have met.”

Lu Yu paused his eating and sneered, “I haven’t been involved with the Lu family. Since you mentioned it, you should know I’m not a biological son of the Lu family, and I probably wasn’t at your so-called high-end events.”

Zhao Yanqing didn’t expect him to bring this up so directly. It wasn’t a secret in their circle, but it still felt awkward hearing Lu Yu say it so plainly, “You may not associate with the Lu family, but Ming Yan can’t let go of the Ming family. The Ming family is in a tough spot right now and needs money badly.”

“If they accepted financing from Qingqu Capital, Ming Yan could sell his shares to me at a high price and get a large sum to solve the immediate crisis. Have you ever considered this, or are you just worried about your own pride?”

These words hit hard, making Lu Yu frown.

Financing is normal behavior for a company’s development, but Ximen Qing made it sound as if Ming Yan was going to sell his shares and run away.

“Of course, it’s not just for Ming Yan. With financing, your company’s debts will be taken care of. Business is like a battlefield; you miss this opportunity, and there won’t be another. Don’t end up like Tomorrow Watch, unable to repay debts when they come due, making Ming Yan sad.”

Zhao Yanqing concluded, smiling smugly.

Lu Yu shoveled the last bite of seafood rice into his mouth, raised his hand to signal the waiter to settle the bill, and started preparing his takeaway.

After drinking some water and wiping his mouth, Lu Yu looked at President Zhao and said, “The listing plan is on hold. I certainly welcome financing. With financing, our pressure will be reduced, but without it, we won’t go under. If Mr. Zhao is just here to talk business, that’s fine. But crossing the line is not acceptable. Ming Yan is still my legal partner.”

After all that talk, Zhao had already revealed a lot of information, and Lu Yu was quite satisfied.

“As for financing,” Lu Yu chuckled and suddenly leaned close to President Zhao, whispering, “I also advise you to make a decision quickly. You’ve seen the simulator. If you wait until the live broadcast is over, Qingqu will want to invest in Chenyu, and it won’t be at today’s price.”

Zhao Yanqing’s pupils shook, but he said nothing.

Lu Yu smiled, picked up the packed seafood stew, and turned to leave, waving casually at President Zhao as he said goodbye. His departure looked as carefree as it could be.

Leaving the restaurant, Lu Yu turned into a skateboard shop, bought a longboard, and after getting used to it for a moment, plugged in his headphones and skated away with the seafood stew.

President Zhao, who watched all of this: “…”

This pedestrian street wasn’t far from Chenyu Technology, with many alleys in between where he could skate directly. Skating also worked out his abs, and he needed to seize every moment to regain his six-pack.

In college, he and Lao Yang didn’t like going to the school gate to pick up takeout, so they bought a skateboard to take turns. Because skating could be cool, they actively skated through campus, catching the attention of handsome guys and beautiful girls. As a result, they never again had takeout that turned stone-cold before picking it up.

This also honed their skateboarding skills.

Lu Yu skated all the way to the company’s building. With a cool turnaround, he braked and stopped his skateboard, suddenly noticing a conspicuous bright red sports car parked in front of the door.

He was very familiar with this car; it belonged to his troublesome cousin, Lu Zhenni, who had been harassing him with messages before he time-traveled. Unexpectedly, ten years had passed, and she hadn’t changed her car, which was unlike Lu Zhenni’s style.

Lu Yu grabbed his skateboard and ran into the lobby in a few steps, tossing the skateboard to the approaching security guard and saying, “Park it for me.” Then he quickly headed for the elevator.

Lu Zhenni wasn’t easy to deal with and might say something unpleasant to Ming Yan. He needed to get there quickly.

The security guard stood there holding the skateboard in confusion, “Mr. Lu, where should I park this?”

Upstairs, in the CEO’s office.

Ming Yan looked at Lu Zhenni, who was sitting on the sofa with an unpleasant expression, and found it amusing.

Lu Zhenni was wearing a bright red bodycon dress, 13 cm high bright red heels, and bright red lipstick, looking like a vengeful ghost in red.

Ming Yan lowered his head and drew a ghost in bright red clothes on his drawing board, thinking it could be used in Lu Dongdong’s world.

“I’ve been talking for a while, but I don’t know if you understand. The Ming family was once glorious, but now it’s fallen,” Lu Zhenni said slowly, looking at her bright red nails, “Our Lu family will never acknowledge you as a daughter-in-law.”

Lu Yu ran to the door just in time to hear this. He pushed the door open, grabbed Lu Zhenni by the back of her collar, and pulled her up from the sofa, “Pay up!”

Lu Zhenni, utterly confused, was grabbed up, glaring angrily at Lu Yu, “Lu Yu, are you crazy? You dare grab my collar? Let go! Pay what?”

Lu Yu put the seafood stew on the table and reached out to Lu Zhenni, “Hand over five million first. Only then will you have the right to tell Ming Yan to ‘take our Lu family’s dirty money and leave Lu Yu’!”