“Yes,” admitted Lu Yi at last, his words catching in his throat. “She injured Huanhuan’s abdomen, but I made the military doctor keep it a secret. I never told anyone about this, and even Huanhuan herself did not know. I made her think that I was the one who was infertile.”
All of Ye Shuyun’s strength seemed to leave her at that moment, but when Lu Yi tried to give her a hand, she waved him off gently.
“I’m fine. I just need to sit down for a bit,” she said. Yes, she needed some time to sit down for a bit and think things through.
“Mom, Dad,” said Lu Yi earnestly, turning towards his parents with an earnest look on his face. “I won’t divorce Huanhuan, regardless of whether she’s fertile.”
“You dare!” yelled Ye Shuyun suddenly, giving Lu Jin a scare. He tried to soothe Ye Shuyun, who was nearly grinding her teeth at her son.
“Don’t you dare divorce her again! When your Dad and I thought you were dead, we treated Huanhuan as our real daughter. What sort of parents despise their own children for being infertile? Moreover, you were the root cause of this incident. I’ll break your legs and disown you if you even think about divorcing her for this.”
Lu Jin nodded profusely. That was what he thought as well. Thank goodness Ye Shuyun was of the same mind of him, else he would really be at a loss as to how to convince her.
He reached out and patted Lu Yi’s shoulders. “In this house, we don’t do such ungrateful things. Huanhuan saved me in Serene City, and your mother from the flood. We owe all our lives to her. So what if she couldn’t bear a child? If you had died in that flood, we wouldn’t be having a grandson anyway. Now that you are back, there’s nothing more we could ask for.”
“There’s always the option of adopting. We could even ask Yi Ling and Qingyi to foster a child here.”
“I agree with your Dad,” said Ye Shuyun, her hands tightening around her lap. “Your Dad and I will not compel you to divorce. Neither do we allow you to. Don’t even think about it.”
She thought of Yan Huan as her own daughter, so she wouldn’t allow anyone to bully her. Not even Lu Yi.
That was when the door creaked open. The three people in the room turned their eyes towards the door and sprang to their feet at once.
“What brought you here, Dad?” asked Lu Jin, stiffening. He had a bad feeling about this. Could it be that the old man knew about it too?
Ye Shuyun glanced at Lu Jin, anxious and worried. What should they do if Old Master Lu plans to coerce Lu Yi into getting a divorce?
Lu Jin comforted her, indicating her to relax. Everything would work out in the end. They had already made their decision, so they will definitely work out a way.
“Grandpa,” greeted Lu Yi.
Old Master Lu stood up from his wheelchair, his waist and back were straight, and his face gloomy. He was wearing his kung fu shoes.
He walked over and sat down.
Once he sat down, it would be inappropriate for the others to sit.
So they had to stand.
“Did I hear you talking about a divorce?” asked Old Master Lu. His eyes narrowed and roved about the three of them, finally stopping on Lu Yi. “Did you say that you are going to get a divorce?”
“No,” Lu Yi answered at once, meeting his eyes. His tone was unyielding and resolute. “I’m not getting a divorce, Grandpa.”
“Dad…” Ye Shuyun tried to say something, but Old Master Lu gave her a cold glance that hinted her to shut up, so all she could do was stand there, fidgeting around anxiously. What else was there to do?
“Are you firm on not getting a divorce?” pressed Old Master Lu. “Even if it means you would never have a child? Even if it means that the Lu bloodline will end at your hands?”
“I’m sorry, Grandpa,” Lu Yi lowered his head. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees with a loud thump. “I won’t be getting a divorce. Not having a child doesn’t bother me. If not for her, I would have died a few times already. If I died, I won’t be able to have any children anyway. You don’t have to worry about the Lu bloodline either, Grandpa. You still have Lu Qin, don’t you?”
With Lu Qin, the Lu bloodline wouldn’t come to an end.
“Enough,” said Old Master Lu impatiently. “Get up. I can’t even beat you into bending your knees normally, yet here you are kneeling for a woman. What an embarrassment.”
“Grandpa? Weren’t you here to…?”
Lu Yi was confused. Wasn’t Old Master Lu here to chastise him and force him to get a divorce?
“To what?” the old man stared at his grandson, then at his son. “Can’t you see that your Dad’s here? Aren’t you going to open up your vault and let me pick out a few treasures to ease my shock?” If he’s not getting a great grandson, he’s going to expand his own collection at the very least.
Lu Jin froze there for a while, until Ye Shuyun pinched his arm. Go! What are you waiting for?
“Oh. Okay, okay,” said Lu Jin, running to his bedroom for the keys, with which he unlocked the door to his study. He finally understood Old Master Lu’s intention; he wasn’t here to coerce Lu Yi into divorcing—he was here to rob his treasure.
The thought of parting with his treasures hurt him almost physically, but what would losing a few antiques mean if it would allow the two children to stay as one?
Once Old Master Lu got inside, he had his eyes on everything, and in the end, he made off with almost half of the 30 plus treasured paintings he owned. It tore his heart apart.
Ignoring his son’s crestfallen face, Old Master Lu proceeded to have his security officer plunder half of Lu Jin’s collection. The car they came in was loaded by the time they left.
The security officer gave Old Master Lu a thumbs-up internally.
You are a monster, Chief.
After Old Master Lu returned on high-spirits, Lu Jin stayed cooped up in his study. When Ye Shuyun rushed into his study, worried that something had happened to him, she found him cradling a painting in his arms and sniffing with his eyes red.
Ye Shuyun could not decide if she should laugh or cry.
“Are you serious right now, Lu Jin? Come on, it was just a few beat-up drawings.”
