Saturday morning.
A car pulled up at the entrance of the courtyard. Lu Ziqing unloaded the items from the trunk and whispered, “My grandpa is definitely in the kitchen. I’ll go in first and talk to him. You stay outside and keep quiet. Wait until I start crying, then come in.”
Lin Yu hesitated. “Maybe we should just forget it. This has nothing to do with your grandparents…”
Lu Ziqing patted his arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry. If there’s anyone in this world who can handle my dad, it’s my grandpa.”
Carrying a bag of milk and oranges, Lu Ziqing walked alongside Lin Yu, who held a bag of braised beef and white-cut lamb, as they stepped into the courtyard.
“Aunt Hong,” Lu Ziqing greeted, “hanging up laundry?”
Aunt Hong peeked out from behind the clothesline, smiling. “Xiao Lu and Xiao Yu, you’re here! Grandpa is frying sanzi in the kitchen, and Grandma is inside watching TV. We’ve been waiting for you two.”
Lu Ziqing grinned. “Great.”
As planned, the moment Lu Ziqing stepped inside, he headed straight for the kitchen to find his grandfather.
Lin Yu sat on a stool, peeling an orange for Grandma while chatting and watching TV with her. At the same time, he discreetly perked up his ears to listen to what was happening in the kitchen.
…
Ever since Lu Ziqing had fallen out with his family last year and left home, he rarely visited except for major holidays.
However, he had always been close to his grandparents. On weekends, he often brought Lin Yu to their old house in the countryside to cook and play mahjong with them.
Grandpa and Grandma knew that Lu Ziqing had started his own studio and that Lin Yu had switched jobs. They assumed it was just young people being ambitious and making their own way, completely unaware of the fallout from the previous year.
Neither father nor son had ever spoken of it.
At that moment, voices in the kitchen gradually grew louder.
“Boy, just tell me what’s going on. What’s the point of hiding things from your grandpa?”
“Grandpa, really, it’s nothing—”
“Nothing? Look at your coat sleeve—it’s torn! And these shoes, I bought them for you back when you were in high school. If nothing was wrong, would you really be unwilling to buy yourself new clothes?”
“You always taught me to be frugal. Now that I am, you find it strange?”
“If you’d been frugal all along, sure, but this is the first time I’m seeing it… Oh, for heaven’s sake, even your watch has stopped working!”
Lin Yu shoved an orange piece into his mouth to keep himself from laughing.
Grandma also heard the commotion from the kitchen, but since her hearing wasn’t great, she couldn’t catch everything. She turned to Lin Yu and asked, “What are they whispering about in there?”
“Nothing,” Lin Yu carefully removed the white pith from the orange piece and placed it in Grandma’s palm. “Here, this one’s really sweet.”
Inside the kitchen, under Grandpa’s relentless questioning, Lu Ziqing finally gave in and reluctantly admitted, “Grandpa, I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want you to worry. But if you really want to know… the truth is, Lin Yu and I are struggling to make ends meet.”
“A year ago, we both switched jobs. It wasn’t just on a whim—it was because dad disapproved of our relationship and tried to force us to divorce.”
Grandpa’s voice was full of shock. “Divorce? Why? Weren’t you two doing just fine?”
“Dad used to really like Lin Yu. When we got our marriage certificate, he was all for it. You know, he used to say Lin Yu was the smartest and most capable employee under him, that he had a bright future ahead.”
“But later, he saw his friends’ families—many of their sons married into wealthy households or tied the knot with celebrities. Suddenly, he started looking down on Lin Yu and demanded we split up.”
“When I refused, he fired Lin Yu. No other company in the industry dared to hire him, afraid of offending my dad, so he had no choice but to take a job at a smaller company.”
Grandpa hesitated. “Maybe there’s some misunderstanding? Your dad’s not usually so shallow. When he first introduced Xiao Yu to us, he praised him so much, said he was just as good as any of those rich kids.”
Lu Ziqing sighed. “I don’t know either. Maybe dad thinks he can’t bring enough benefits to the company. A lot of his friends arrange marriages purely for business interests.”
Grandpa scoffed. “What nonsense! Everyone’s ancestors were farmers if you go back a few generations. What are they acting all high and mighty for?”
Having endured a tough life, Grandpa despised snobbish behavior. In his younger days, he had suffered under the exploitation of local big shots, so he had nothing but disdain for such outdated attitudes.
Lu Ziqing immediately added, “Exactly! That’s what I told him too. Back then, Lin Yu and I decided to make it on our own, so we didn’t argue with him. But less than a year later, dad couldn’t sit still anymore—he started interfering with our work!”
A loud, dramatic sob suddenly echoed from the kitchen.
The timing was perfect.
Lin Yu rushed inside, wrapping his arms around Lu Ziqing and patting him on the back in comfort.
Lu Ziqing buried his face in Lin Yu’s shoulder, his voice choked with emotion. “… A while ago, my friend wanted to introduce me to a client, but dad found out and snatched the deal away. He said I wasn’t allowed to use even a sliver of his connections… And he even sabotaged Lin Yu! He had nearly closed a project, but the moment they saw he was the project lead, they refused to sign—unless they removed him.”
“Now both of our jobs are affected. Lin Yu is even thinking about taking on a second job to make ends meet. Things are so tight… we’ve had no choice but to cut back on everything.”
Lu Ziqing didn’t actually care about losing a deal—his studio had enough clients.
But when his father started messing with Lin Yu’s career, that was unacceptable.
Grandpa slammed the kitchen knife down onto the cutting board. “He really did that?!”
Lu Ziqing quietly pinched the back of Lin Yu’s neck.
Lin Yu cleared his throat.
He wasn’t very good at playing the victim in front of others, nor had he ever really done it before.
But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to brace himself and go through with it.
He let out a soft sigh, lifted his eyes, and said in a delicate, weak voice, “Grandpa, don’t be angry. This is my fault too. There really are too many boys and girls from good families around Xiao Lu. It’s only natural that Uncle Lu looks down on me…”
“No need to say any more.”
Grandpa’s face darkened. He put down the kitchen knife, took out his old, cracked phone from his pocket, and pressed the speed dial button.
A moment later, Lu Zhaolin’s voice came through the phone. “Hello? Dad…”
Grandpa roared, “Gou Erwang, get over here right now!”
About two hours later, Lu Zhaolin arrived, followed by Assistant Qiao and a secretary.
As soon as Grandpa saw Lu Zhaolin, he grabbed his cane and started swinging.
“Got rich and forgot your roots, huh? Looking down on people now, huh? Bullying the younger generation, huh? Gou Erwang! Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Damn it, three days without a beating and you’re already acting up again!”
Lu Zhaolin ran around the house dodging. “Dad! Dad! What are you doing?!”
Assistant Qiao and the secretary wanted to intervene but didn’t dare, so they just stood in front of him, doing their best to shield their boss’s backside.
“Now that you’re rich and powerful, you think you’re some bigshot, huh? Looking down on the poor, huh?” Grandpa threw his cane aside. “Fine. Your mom and I will just go back to the countryside and farm. We won’t be an eyesore to you anymore.”
“Dad, Dad, what are you saying?” Lu Zhaolin rubbed his sore thigh. “When have I ever looked down on the poor?”
He carefully helped the old man sit down and poured him a cup of water.
Grandpa panted, took a sip, and then said, “Then why are you making things difficult for Xiao Lu and Xiao Yu? Do you expect them to live off air?”
Only then did Lu Zhaolin notice Lu Ziqing and Lin Yu sitting in the corner.
A flash of embarrassment crossed his face—probably because he realized that his son and son-in-law had seen him running around the house, getting chased with a cane.
He cleared his throat and returned to his usual serious demeanor.
“I did intervene in my son’s affairs. A while ago, a supplier tried to curry favor with me by deliberately purchasing jewelry from Xiao Lu. I intercepted the order,” Lu Zhaolin said calmly. “Our company’s suppliers compete for contracts every year. I can’t just take bribes and make decisions based on personal connections—that would be irresponsible.”
“As for Xiao Yu… after he resigned, I never interfered with his work.”
Lin Yu was slightly taken aback.
Lu Ziqing asked, “Then why did your company specifically demand that he not handle the deal? Otherwise, they’d cancel the partnership.”
Lu Zhaolin frowned.
Lin Yu looked past him—
Behind him, Assistant Qiao suddenly lowered his head in a panic.
Lu Zhaolin followed his gaze and looked behind him.
“Qiao Weijie,” he said in a calm voice. “Explain.”
…
“President Lu, I’m sorry! I—I thought you hated him, so I figured he shouldn’t be involved in our company’s business.”
“Didn’t you always say it yourself? That if you had known earlier, you wouldn’t have let them get married in the first place, and things wouldn’t have turned out this way.”
Assistant Qiao’s face turned deathly pale. “I—I just wanted to stand up for you…”
Lu Ziqing glanced at his father. “So, this is the assistant you hired after kicking Lin Yu out?”
Lu Zhaolin fell silent. He rubbed his temples, looking a bit exhausted.
A bad feeling suddenly crept over Assistant Qiao.
He had only been promoted to chief assistant after Lin Yu left headquarters. Over the past few months, he had heard countless stories about Lin Yu.
Whenever he made a mistake, forgot something, or clumsily messed up, people around him would sigh and say, “If only Assistant Lin were still here.”
Assistant Lin, Assistant Lin.
What was so great about this Assistant Lin?
He didn’t even know what Lin Yu looked like, yet he was constantly being compared and overshadowed.
Everyone said Assistant Lin was the best.
He was unconvinced. He had always wanted to meet him and see what kind of person this so-called Assistant Lin really was.
Then, he finally met him—and learned that Lin Yu had seduced the boss’s only son, nearly driving father and son to the brink of estrangement.
This was the person they all praised? He found it laughable. No wonder everyone liked him—after all, he had managed to climb into the young master’s bed. Clearly, he had some tricks up his sleeve.
After the father-son fallout, Lu Zhaolin’s stance was obvious, which gave him the confidence to act. After all, everything he did was just “following orders.”
So, when he found out that Lin Yu was the project lead for a partner company, he didn’t hesitate to exercise his “authority.”
Power. Power was truly a wonderful thing.
Even though he was just a mere assistant, when he was given control over certain matters, he could freely make life difficult for those he disliked.
He wasn’t worried about Lin Yu retaliating. He had seen through everything—someone with Lin Yu’s background could never truly marry into the Lu family.
Lu Ziqing might be madly in love now, but that was just youthful impulse.
Once he tasted hardship, he would eventually bow his head and come crawling back.
He thought Lu Zhaolin would probably see what he did as clever, a sign of his keen judgment and ability to get things done.
But…
Faced with Lu Zhaolin’s silence, Assistant Qiao struggled a few times, his lips moving as if he wanted to defend himself.
But in the end, he closed his mouth and lowered his head.
….
On the way back, Lin Yu was unusually quiet.
Lu Ziqing glanced at him. “Still feeling down? Ugh, my dad’s just like that—stubborn as hell. Even if you shove the truth in his face, he’d never lower himself to apologize. When I was a kid, he falsely accused me of cheating on a test, and my mom had to twist his ear to make him apologize. But even then, he refused, saying stuff like ‘Rulers are rulers, fathers are fathers, and sons are sons. How could a father apologize to his son? That would be like turning the heavens upside down!’”
Lin Yu shook his head. “I know. The fact that he was able to fire Assistant Qiao on the spot and immediately call the department head to explain things to our boss already surprised me.”
For someone as proud and accustomed to power as Lu Zhaolin, this was almost unthinkable.
Lu Ziqing asked, “Then why do you look so gloomy? Your eyebrows are practically knitted together.”
Lin Yu sighed. “I was just wondering… why does Assistant Qiao seem to hate me so much? We barely know each other.”
“It’s just human nature,” Lu Ziqing said as he turned the steering wheel. “People form cliques, they exclude others, they flatter the powerful and step on the weak, they kick people when they’re down, envy those who have more… These things happen just as much at the top of society as at the bottom.”
Lin Yu looked at him in surprise.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? You think I’m some naive young master who doesn’t understand the real world?” Lu Ziqing shrugged. “When I was studying jewelry design abroad, my dad didn’t support me at all—didn’t give me a single cent. I had to work under the table just to get by.”
Lin Yu chuckled. “You’re the most hardworking rich kid I’ve ever met.”
Lu Ziqing scoffed, “Who wants to work hard? I had no choice, okay? I prefer sweet things, especially last night when you sat on my face and fed me—”
Lin Yu quickly cut him off. “Lu Ziqing!”
Lu Ziqing grinned. “Baby, will you feed me again tonight?”
Lin Yu: “…”
Lu Ziqing: “Pretty please? Have mercy on me.”
He chuckled lowly, his voice deep and magnetic, echoing in the confined space of the car like a gentle chime.
Lin Yu’s face flushed red. “…Got it. Now shut up.”
