Chapter 39
Gu Wan noticed that Lu Yu\'s grandmother appeared to gently bump into her, then discreetly said something to her. After a moment, Lu Yu\'s mother reluctantly put on a somewhat stiff smile.
As soon as Gu Wan and Lu Yu set foot on the ground, someone quickly came to greet them.
The person approaching was likely Lu Yu\'s Uncle. He smiled warmly and even patted Lu Yu\'s shoulder, saying, "It\'s been so many years, you\'ve grown so much."
This tone, as if speaking to a child, showed that he was quite out of practice.
However, Lu Yu\'s Uncle didn\'t really want to act this way; who would willingly embarrass themselves if they could help it? Especially when dealing with a young man about the same age as his own children.
Lu Yu didn\'t say anything, and even subtly avoided the other\'s gesture.
Years of practice had paid off; Lu Yu\'s Uncle, Jiang Chou, didn\'t feel awkward and proceeded to introduce his own children, who had been studying abroad until last year and had just returned from overseas.
Gu Wan\'s gaze involuntarily shifted to Lu Yu\'s cousins.
They weren\'t exactly strangers to Lu Yu, but they kept their distance out of respect.
It made sense; a cousin who had lived for thirty years but had spent less than a month together in total was practically a stranger.
If they were truly strangers, it might have been easier, but the key issue was that this young man was already standing at the same level as their parents, or even higher. In this situation, even if they wanted to get close, they couldn\'t.
Even Gu Wan, as a semi-outsider, could feel the faint awkwardness permeating the air.
Lu Yu\'s half-brother, however, seemed very curious about them and was now hiding behind Lu Yu\'s mother, occasionally peeking out to observe them.
Hu Dongdong had been woken up early this morning and told by his grandparents that his brother and sister-in-law might be coming today, instructing him to behave well.
As the youngest child in the family and the little tyrant of the household, this was one of the few times Hu Dongdong was ordered to be obedient.
After a year apart, Hu Dongdong looked at his unfamiliar brother through the crowd, feeling that he had become even taller than he remembered, and his brother\'s wife had become even more beautiful.
Hu Dongdong couldn\'t help but purse his lips.
Finally, when the adults finished exchanging pleasantries and returned to the living room, Hu Dongdong almost cheered as he jumped onto the sofa, pressed the play button, and continued watching his cartoons.
Seeing this, Lu Yu\'s mother\'s lips twitched, and a faint embarrassment appeared on her face. "I\'m sorry, please excuse him," she said.
The woman was clearly uncomfortable in the presence of the couple.
Neither Gu Wan nor Lu Yu would hold anything against a child of a few years old.
Lu Yu\'s gaze merely swept over the top of the child\'s constantly moving head before continuing to look at the others.
Seeing that there seemed to be nothing left for them to do, the young people in the family started playing on their phones or gaming—
His gaze swept over his children and nieces and nephews in various postures of idleness, then looked at Lu Yu sitting there as if casually. The uncle sighed deeply in his heart, suppressing the surge of frustration rising in his throat, and continued to make small talk with Lu Yu and his wife.
The uncle was still able to keep his composure, not mentioning anything about his company. If Gu Wan hadn\'t heard about the situation from Lu Yu beforehand, she might have been fooled as well.
Lu Yu\'s grandparents were even more discreet in their concern for the two, and in the end, Lu Yu\'s grandmother even gave Gu Wan a big red envelope.
The envelope probably contained a card, but Gu Wan didn\'t investigate further. She simply added a little more to it and gave it, unopened, to Hu Dongdong, who was still immersed in his cartoons.
At first, Hu Dongdong was a bit unhappy about being interrupted, but when he saw the big red envelope and learned it was for him, the little boy immediately cheered up.
Ignoring the expressions of the adults in the room, Hu Dongdong happily tucked the red envelope into his pocket, then looked his super pretty sister-in-law up and down, and then "reluctantly" invited her to watch TV with him.
Despite everything, Gu Wan found herself somewhat fond of this child.
It was clear that he just had a bit of a childish temper, but in other aspects, he had been well-taught by his mother.
But that was precisely the problem.
Gu Wan thought for a moment, then smiled and declined.
"...Hmph, suit yourself," Hu Dongdong, not expecting to be refused, grunted and mumbled under his breath before ignoring her.
As Gu Wan sat back down in her chair, the uncles and grandparents\' hearts sank further.
They chatted about some more interesting aspects of life, but during this time, Lu Yu\'s Uncle finally couldn\'t hold back anymore. He made several attempts to steer the conversation towards work matters, but Lu Yu skillfully deflected each attempt.
Lu Yu had never taken anything from the Jiang family, never received any favors from them, so he had no hesitation in refusing.
By the end, the uncle and grandfather\'s expressions had become quite unpleasant.
Lu Yu\'s mother seemed to want to say something, but was quickly grabbed by the arm by Lu Yu\'s other uncle.
Gu Wan sipped her tea in small mouthfuls, watching Lu Yu navigate the interactions with his maternal relatives.
After a while, as darkness fell completely, the uncle had no choice but to force a smile and invite the whole family to the dining room for dinner.
Gu Wan once again found herself seated in the position closest to the head of the table, but to be honest, she couldn\'t muster any happiness about it.
She could only think that it was fortunate Lu Yu only had one set of parents. She felt she had gained some valuable experience, and no matter what, she wouldn\'t come again next time.
Meanwhile, Hu Dongdong had finally been liberated from his cartoons and started racing around the house in his electric toy car.
Lu Yu\'s grandmother called him several times, but Hu Dongdong only ran faster each time, until eventually everyone just let him be.
Amidst the clinking of bowls and plates, the atmosphere was strange and awkward. Probably at his wit\'s end, Lu Yu\'s Uncle almost laid out his intentions plainly towards the end.
However, before he could finish speaking, Lu Yu stood up with a bland expression and said, "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."
The uncle\'s voice almost caught in his throat.
Gu Wan felt that one reason Lu Yu had come here was partly out of a desire to see these people scramble from his superior position.
Lu Yu was human after all, and he probably wanted to see what it looked like when the family that had essentially treated him as non-existent now had to come begging to him.
If they had been able to truly remain consistent in their behavior, it would have been one thing, but their current demeanor was simply laughable.
On the other hand... Gu Wan looked at Lu Yu\'s mother with her stiff expression, and couldn\'t help but think of her own misguided hopes from the past.
When you\'ve never had something, you tend to keep yearning for it.
Perhaps even the heavens felt it was time for things to come to a conclusion. Soon after, Gu Wan heard a crash from the hallway, followed by the heart-wrenching cries of a child.
Gu Wan saw Lu Yu\'s mother stand up almost instantly.
By the time Gu Wan rushed over, she saw Lu Yu standing there with his hands in his pockets, the electric toy car lying askew at his feet. When she saw the gash on Hu Dongdong\'s forehead, Gu Wan couldn\'t help but think that today\'s meal had probably come to an end, and they likely wouldn\'t be coming back for any more meals in the future.
Lu Yu\'s uncles and grandfather almost instantly changed their expressions.
However, they were still a step too late. Looking at the scattered blood drops on clothes and the floor, and then at the wound on the little boy\'s head, Lu Yu\'s mother finally exploded—
"You did this on purpose, didn\'t you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" The eldest uncle immediately snapped coldly, "Hurry up and take the child to see a doctor first!"
No one would think that Lu Yu had done it, except for Lu Yu\'s mother, who had been very resistant to Lu Yu\'s arrival.
Dislike is dislike, even if the child she abandoned years ago is now so successful, she still doesn\'t like him.
But dislike aside, if her parents and brothers wanted to turn around and use this child she doesn\'t like, she would still feel irritated and guilty. And once a person feels guilty, they start to become paranoid.
Moreover, she had no feelings for this child, so she didn\'t think this child would have any feelings for her either. Plus, the Jiang Family had no value to use now, so why else would he agree to come here?
"How am I talking nonsense?"
"Big brother, second brother, can\'t you see? He clearly came here to laugh at our family!" Lu Yu\'s mother said through gritted teeth.
The faces of the uncles and grandfather immediately turned green.
They also vaguely sensed it, but! Even if he doesn\'t help, that\'s still better than having another enemy, right?
If Lu Yu got involved, then the Jiang Family would really be doomed.
Lu Yu\'s grandfather grew angrier the more he thought about it, and roared in fury, "Shut up!"
However, this time, unlike before, Lu Yu\'s mother didn\'t compromise but instead completely exploded.
"Years ago, you forced me to marry that bastard father of his against my will, and now you\'re forcing me to cultivate some kind of feelings with him. I\'ve really had enough!"
"The company isn\'t mine, the money at home isn\'t mine, yet you ask me to sacrifice. Why should I?!"
Grandfather\'s hands trembled uncontrollably, "You, you!"
Lu Yu\'s mother had completely given up, not caring about the consequences of saying these things in public. Even if she was kicked out of the family and disowned, it didn\'t matter anymore.
Damn it, she couldn\'t live another day of this suppressed, unfair life!
Lu Yu\'s mother didn\'t care about others\' reactions afterwards, she just left with the already frightened Hu Dongdong in her arms.
As she passed by Lu Yu, she didn\'t even give a single glance to this son she had given birth to at the age of twenty.
Both divorced from their husbands, both had sons, but Hu Dongdong was the precious baby she would take with her even if she had to beg on the streets, while Lu Yu was like grass on the ground, not even worth a glance as she passed by.
The retreating figure of Lu Yu\'s mother was just as resolute as the day she divorced Lu Guangcheng years ago.
Lu Yu felt that he probably shouldn\'t have harbored those non-existent delusions and expectations.
The final meal, of course, ended in discord. As if not seeing the panic of others, Lu Yu left without a word.
By the time Gu Wan drove back to the villa, it was already late at night.
This time, even without Lu Yu saying anything, Gu Wan took the initiative to lean into his embrace.
Gu Wan didn\'t say anything, just quietly allowed the man to hold her.
In just two short days, almost all of Lu Yu\'s family ties had been mercilessly severed.
All of fate\'s gifts had long been priced in the dark. There must be loss for gain, was this the price he had to pay?
Perhaps it wasn\'t that no one had ever loved him, it\'s just that no one had ever loved him the most.
No, there was one person before, someone who would always firmly choose him no matter what happened, but later, he carelessly lost that person.
Even having wealth and status doesn\'t mean you can have everything; wealth and status only bring respect and fear.
After a while, Lu Yu spoke with a hoarse voice, "Xiao Wan, love me one more time, please."
"I beg you," he said.
Gu Wan knew that all of this came too swiftly, throwing him into confusion, which is why he was saying such things now.
Gu Wan also knew that he seemed to be desperately trying to grasp onto something now, but Gu Wan was equally clear that she had no way, nor the ability, to bear the weight of almost all of his emotions.
It was too heavy, just thinking about it made it hard for her to breathe.
Gu Wan disdained taking advantage of someone\'s vulnerability, and she didn\'t want to be anyone\'s lifeline. She did pity him a bit now, it\'s true, but this bit of sympathy was far from enough for her to stake herself on it.
So—
"Let\'s get divorced."
What a pity, what a pity for such a good marriage partner.
In a daze, Lu Yu heard her say this to him, her tone tinged with a bit of regret.