YA Ch35: Conversation

At the dining table, Lu Yu ate happily.

Mother Ming placed a whole roasted pigeon in front of Lu Yu, telling the other two, “This is all for Xiao Yu. No one else is allowed to touch it.” She then brought out another cut pigeon as a shared dish for the table, even giving one leg of the second pigeon to Lu Yu.

For the first time, Lu Yu received such preferential treatment at the dining table and was quite overwhelmed, not knowing where to start eating.

Ming Yan was surprised at how quickly his mother was won over. In such a short time, “Xiao Lu” had become “Xiao Yu,” an astonishing transformation.

Father Ming frowned, asking Lu Yu, “Do you drink?”

Lu Yu put down the pigeon leg, wondering if the stage where the father-in-law tests him with alcohol had arrived, and quickly stood up to pour wine for Father Ming.

Fortunately, Father Ming only drank red wine, not hard to handle.

Lu Yu diligently opened, decanted, and poured the wine, something he was quite familiar with. After all, the Lu family was wealthy, and he had been exposed to these things from a young age.

Father Ming clinked glasses with Lu Yu, “These past two years, thanks for taking care of Ming Yan.”

“I can’t take credit for that; Yan-ge takes care of me,” Lu Yu took a sip and sincerely said, “I don’t know anything about management. The company relies entirely on Yan-ge to steer the ship. Without him, Yang Chen and I, two tech nerds, would have been swindled out of everything long ago.”

Father Ming’s expression softened considerably. He could hear the sincerity in Lu Yu’s words.

Seeing his father-in-law’s favorable reaction, Lu Yu seized the moment and continued, “Just today, after the livestream, we suddenly got a lot of sponsorships. The entire upper management was ecstatic, but only Yan-ge remained calm and pulled the reins just in time, preventing any deviation from our main direction. You wouldn’t believe it, when Yan-ge calmly said, ‘I have something to say,’ the whole conference room fell silent instantly. It was so impressive.”

“Wow,” Mother Ming chimed in appreciatively, and even Father Ming smiled.

“This is the management expertise passed down in the Ming family, something money can’t buy. To receive Yan-ge’s help, I’m truly fortunate,” Lu Yu paused, taking a breath and a sip of wine.

Father Ming almost spilled his wine at Lu Yu’s dramatic pause but slowly took a sip after he finished, saying nothing.

Ming Yan glanced at Lu Yu, “Eat your roasted pigeon. Three pigeon legs aren’t enough to keep your mouth shut.”

Mother Ming lightly tapped Ming Yan’s arm, “Don’t bully Xiao Yu.”

Lu Yu grinned and stuffed a pigeon leg into his mouth. Seeing Ming Yan relax and speak more casually at home was refreshing and amusing to him, making him want to savor the moment.

After dinner, the Ming family father and son went to the study, while Lu Yu continued to trail after his mother-in-law.

The study was filled with various clocks, from large grandfather clocks to rows of mechanical watches, the ticking sounds creating a rhythmic symphony. On the wall hung a large calligraphy piece with the words: “Stand upright, act with integrity.”

The study was filled with various kinds of clocks, from large grandfather clocks to rows of mechanical wristwatches, and the subtle “tick-tock” sounds echoed continuously. A large piece of calligraphy hung on the wall, bearing the words “Uphold Integrity, Act Honestly.”

Ming Yan saw that his father had been silent for a while, so he took the initiative to speak, “You called me back after the livestream, is there something you wanted to say?”

“I called you back to remind you not to harm Lu Yu’s interests out of a rush for success,” Father Ming sighed. “Back then, when they asked you to help, it was actually because of past feelings. We must not repay kindness with ingratitude.”

“I know,” Ming Yan said hoarsely. “I wouldn’t do such a thing.”

At that time, he was considering selling part of Chenyu’s shares to raise funds to alleviate the problems of Mingri Watches if the financing succeeded. His father probably misunderstood and thought he was going to betray Lu Yu, hence the reminder.

Actually, he wouldn’t harm Chenyu even without his father’s reminder. He hesitated because he was unsure if the financing party would harm Lu Yu’s interests.

“Moreover, the livestream has started well, and there may be other ways to get through the debt crisis without Qingqu Capital’s investment. Ximen… Zhao Yanqing is a person who prioritizes interests and cannot be fully trusted.” Ming Yan coughed lightly. It was all Lu Yu’s fault for giving people nicknames; he almost forgot Zhao Yanqing’s real name.

“As long as you know what you’re doing,” Father Ming paused, a bit conflicted, and said, “I watched today’s livestream.”

Ming Yan looked away. Having his parents watch his livestream was as embarrassing as reading a composition in public.

Father Ming looked deeply at his son, “What’s going on between you and Lu Yu now?”

The two of them were too intimate in the livestream, beyond what could be explained by just being partners. Ming Yan couldn’t see it himself, but the viewers could see clearly that Lu Yu would stare at Ming Yan whenever he had the chance, with love almost overflowing from his eyes.

Ming Yan looked down at the carpet beneath his feet, which was also one of Lu Dongdong’s merchandise, with a pattern of surging waves and a small hidden fish tail in the middle.

“It’s a bit complicated. I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Father Ming frowned disapprovingly, “What do you mean you haven’t figured it out? Either it is or it isn’t. As a man, you should act openly and honestly. If you don’t like him, make it clear as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Mother Ming was showing Lu Yu her collection.

The delicate little suitcase was filled with various trinkets from Ming Yan’s childhood. Handmade knitted shoes, a small Christmas hat bought abroad, a paper rose with “Mother’s Day gift for mom” written on it, a crayon drawing of a little house, and a kindergarten graduation photo.

“He has had a special talent for drawing since he was little. This is a piece of work from kindergarten art class. The teacher asked them to draw a rainbow and a house. Other kids drew a tile house with a big rainbow in the background, but look at what he drew…” Mother Ming took out the crayon drawing to show Lu Yu, smiling proudly.

Young Ming Yan’s drawing depicted a silk-like rainbow winding through the clouds, with a cotton candy-like house among them. The entire drawing was full of incredible imagination, with vibrant colors and a composition that could only be described as genius.

Lu Yu used his smart device to take a picture of the drawing and the kindergarten graduation photo, storing them in his album.

In the kindergarten graduation photo, Ming Yan was wearing a handsome little suit, smiling happily at the camera with his eyes curved like crescent moons. This overturned Lu Yu’s imagination; he thought Ming Yan must have been cool and aloof even as a child, looking down at the camera like a prince.

“Isn’t it particularly sweet?” Mother Ming nostalgically touched the cute photo, “He was such a cheerful child, always smiling. I don’t know why he became more like his father as he grew up, becoming so serious at such a young age.”

On the way back, Ming Yan was driving.

Both of them were a bit distracted. Ming Yan was preoccupied and silent, while Lu Yu was eating snacks made by his mother-in-law, lost in thought, with only the “crunch crunch” sound filling the car.

After a while, Lu Yu suddenly spoke, “Yan-ge, can I ask you something?”

Ming Yan glanced at him, “What is it?”

Lu Yu sniffled and said in a low voice, “If you insist on divorcing me…”

Ming Yan’s heart skipped a beat, and he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Lu Yu hugged the snack bag tightly, as if making a firm decision, “Can your parents adopt me? That way, we can get divorced without separating, and we can play at being siblings forever. We have connections in G country, so it’s convenient to see an orthopedist.”

Ming Yan: “???”

——

Author’s note:

Orthopedics refers to the German orthopedics story, where siblings engage in an illicit relationship, and the brother’s leg is broken by the father, so he goes to Germany for orthopedic treatment.