YA Ch34: Mother-in-law

“Yay!” Lu Yu cheered and dashed out, “I’ll go tell Lao Yang.”

“What are you telling Lao Yang?” Ming Yan reached out but missed him, feeling a gust of wind slip through his fingers.

Shaking his head helplessly, Ming Yan called home to inform his parents that Lu Yu was coming along and reminded his mother not to forget the roasted pigeon. A certain someone was eagerly anticipating it.

Lu Yu had previously found out where Ming Yan’s family lived while carrying out his “senior pursuit plan.” He remembered it was in a very upscale villa area, which was quite far from the city center. So, he decided to leave work early.

Yang Chen was performing system maintenance with the enthusiastic volunteer, Felix, when a head suddenly popped in at the door.

“Lao Yang, I’m leaving early today,” Lu Yu shouted.

Startled, Yang Chen waved him off impatiently, “You’re the boss. Who’s going to stop you from leaving early?”

Lu Yu pouted, “Aren’t you going to ask why I’m leaving early?”

Yang Chen ignored him.

Felix, who was trying to learn Chinese, got the gist through an AI translator and kindly asked, “Why?”

Lu Yu grinned, “Because my mother-in-law invited me for roasted pigeon!” He repeated it in English to make sure both the brown-haired and the bald guys in the room understood.

Felix, understanding the English, gave Lu Yu a thumbs-up, “Cool!”

“Leave now or stay and work!” Lao Yang pulled the stunned brown-haired guy, grumbling in irritated G-country language, “Why bother with him?”

Satisfied with his early departure ritual, Lu Yu followed Ming Yan to drive back to the Ming family home.

“Huh, it’s so close?” Lu Yu was prepared for a long drive, but they arrived quickly. It wasn’t the villa area he knew of but rather an ordinary neighborhood.

Though it wasn’t an old and shabby place, it was quite modest, not even close to a mansion.

Lu Yu carried the gifts, feeling a pang of heartache as he watched Ming Yan skillfully press the elevator button. He didn’t expect the Ming family to have fallen to this extent, even losing their villa.

The home was fairly spacious, a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. It was bright and tidy, with a cozy atmosphere. The sofa was adorned with pillows featuring Lu Dongdong and Shen Baishui’s merchandise. The shoe bench by the door had a hand-knitted wool cover, with a pattern of Lu Dongdong’s trident, looking very cute, though it seemed like sitting on it might be uncomfortable.

Father Ming was sitting on the sofa, looking serene and distinguished, very much like an older version of Ming Yan. However, sitting among a bunch of chibi pillows featuring Lu Dongdong and Shen Baishui made it hard to maintain a serious demeanor.

Seeing Lu Yu, Father Ming nodded politely.

Mother Ming peeked out from behind a door curtain printed with “Shen’s Fortune Rain” hanging on the kitchen door, happily greeting, “Xiao Lu, you’re here. Wait a moment, the roasted pigeon is almost ready.”

Lu Yu put down the gifts and rolled up his sleeves, heading towards the kitchen, “Auntie, let me help you.”

“No need, no need,” Mother Ming waved her hand, “You go play with A-Yan.”

Ming Yan sat down beside his father, seeing that his father wanted to speak, quickly stopped him, “Dad, let’s talk in the study.” Some things weren’t suitable for Lu Yu to hear.

Lu Yu glanced back at the father and son who seemed to have something to discuss and didn’t join the sofa area. Instead, he went straight into the kitchen, “Auntie, Yan-ge and Uncle have something to talk about. Let me stay here and play. I promise not to make trouble.”

Mother Ming grumbled, “Lao Ming is really something. Here, play with this.” She handed Lu Yu a piece of dough and let him sit on a small stool to knead it.

Lu Yu held the slightly cool, powdery dough, feeling a bit dazed. He had played with this when he was a child.

In his childhood, Lu parents were still nice to him. Although they were often busy with work and left him with irresponsible nannies, they treated him like their own son when they were home. During festivals, when they made dough foods, they would give him a piece of dough to play with. His childhood was like that of an ordinary child, very happy.

So, after having a younger brother, he became wildly rebellious.

If Lu family had treated him like a servant from the start, he wouldn’t have felt anything was wrong when they had another child. But he was raised like a young master and suddenly turned into a servant after his brother was born, which he couldn’t adapt to.

If he had never received love, he wouldn’t have gone crazy from losing it. It was because he had received it that he clearly knew what he had lost.

“What’s wrong?” Mother Ming noticed his daze and looked up at him, “Have you never played with this before?”

“I did when I was a kid, but not after I got a younger brother.” Lu Yu’s voice lowered as he spoke.

“Oh dear,” Mother Ming looked at him with pity. She had heard about the Lu family’s situation and sighed, “Your foster parents, to put it bluntly, what they did was heartless.”

Lu Yu looked up in surprise. Since his fallout with the Lu family, the word he heard most from others was “ingrate.” It was the first time he heard an elder say the Lu family was in the wrong.

“If you have another child after raising one, you should treat the eldest even better. You brought blessings to the Lu family,” the petite Mother Ming tried to pat Lu Yu’s head but couldn’t reach, so she patted his face instead, leaving two white marks.

“Really?” For the first time, Lu Yu heard such a saying, and his eyes sparkled.

“Really,” Mother Ming laughed at those puppy-dog eyes, “In our hometown, they say people who can’t have children adopt one and then conceive, all thanks to the good fortune the adopted child brings. If they treat the adopted child badly later on, that fortune will disappear, and they’ll face bad luck as retribution.”

Lu Yu sniffled, “Auntie, thank you.”

He was not the experienced and hardened Lu Dayu, but the just-recently estranged Lu Xiaoyu, feeling somewhat lost and wondering if he was too greedy to expect others’ parents to treat him well.

“Good boy, Auntie loves you,” Mother Ming handed him a freshly fried butterfly shrimp, “Quick, eat this before those two stern ones see.”

Lu Yu popped the shrimp into his mouth, happily circling around Mother Ming, “Auntie, let me wash the vegetables. I’m really good at it.” Just a few days ago, Yan-ge complained that he didn’t wash the fruits clean enough, so he had specifically studied how to do it better.

“Alright.” Mother Ming didn’t refuse, giving him a bunch of bok choy to wash.

As they washed the vegetables, they chatted about today’s livestream, which made Mother Ming laugh, “It was so much fun. That kid was adorable too. When his merchandise comes out, make sure to get me a few, okay?”

“The livestream went really well. We’re sure to make money today. Then we can ask Yan-ge to get you a bigger house,” Lu Yu neatly arranged the washed bok choy on the prep board.

“It’s alright, I think this house is good enough,” Mother Ming shook her head, “I was originally a girl from an ordinary family, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable living in a big villa.”

Lu Yu exaggeratedly said, “Wow, Auntie, you’re like a heroine from those idol dramas.”

Mother Ming chuckled, “Yes, indeed. The eldest son of the Ming family was bewitched back then and insisted on marrying me, haha.”

As the two laughed, planning to talk in the study after dinner, the Ming family father and son sitting in the living room were taken aback: “…”

The two in the kitchen, separated by a mere curtain, continued to criticize the young masters of the Ming family without realizing it.

“But marrying into a wealthy family isn’t easy, especially one that’s been prestigious for a hundred years,” Mother Ming pouted, mockingly imitating a serious tone, “A prestigious family of a hundred years,” and continued, “When A-Yan’s grandparents were around, it was so tough for me. I learned all my cooking skills after getting married.”

Lu Yu listened seriously, not daring to interrupt.

“Now, I’m quite happy with our current life. Of course, the master of the Ming Family can’t adjust. He always wants to restore the family’s glory, like trying to reinstate the Ming Dynasty,” Mother Ming laughed, muttering to herself.

She understood Father Ming’s feelings but also felt sorry for her son. Seeing Ming Yan give up his dreams to work hard and save every penny for the Ming family’s sake, she couldn’t help but resent Father Ming.

Seeing his father’s increasingly dark expression, Ming Yan stood up to remind the two. He lifted the curtain slightly and peeked in with a smile, “What are you two talking about?”

Lu Yu was startled, blurting out, “Restoring the Ming Dynasty.”

Ming Yan: “…”

Lu Yu laughed dryly, “Ahaha, Auntie is very knowledgeable about history.”

Mother Ming nodded, “Yes, indeed!”