Pastoral Daily Life

“What’s going on?” An Jie was a bit confused, “Aren’t they on good terms?”

“Their relationship is good, but it depends on the situation.” Ye Kang had been following the affairs of the Lu family recently and had analysed everyone in the family from a psychologist’s perspective. He explained, “Li Caiying treats Lu Wei’an like a treasure, and her whole heart is set on Lu Wei’an. In the eyes of outsiders, Lu Wei’an is not healthy and has nothing to offer but the name of the Lu family. But in Li Caiying’s heart Lu Wei’an is perfect, so how can she look at an illegitimate daughter-in-law?”

“What about Lu Wei’an? I heard that he and Li Caiying are very close, so he wouldn’t disobey Li Caiying’s wishes, right?” An Jie, following common sense, immediately thought about what Yan Yue should do behind the scenes to give Yin Ya a push if she couldn’t pass Li Caiying’s level.

Without waiting for An Jie to think more, Ye Kang was already gossiping. “That’s the interesting part. Lu Wei’an is so insistent on marrying Yin Ya that he’s even clashed with Li Caiying.”

“Really?”

An Jie didn’t quite believe Ye Kang’s words. Yan Yue had previously found someone to investigate the Lu family, mainly focusing on Lu Wei’an’s family of three. An Jie, as Yan Yue’s assistant, had also read the investigation materials. The information showed that Lu Wei’an had a good relationship with his parents, and was especially filial to Li Caiying. He didn’t think that Lu Wei’an and Yin Ya’s relationship would be so good that Lu Wei’an would disobey Li Caiying’s wishes.

Ye Kang didn’t answer his question, but only said in a mocking tone, “If Lu Wei’an wants to get rid of his status as an invisible member of the Lu family, marrying Yin Ya is the fastest way to do so.”

An Jie frowned slightly; in his heart, he already believed Ye Kang’s words for 70 or 80%.

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Different people had different views on what kind of person Lu Wei’an was. Some felt that he was pitiful, some felt that he was innocent, some felt that he was cold-blooded. Ye Kang’s assessment was that Lu Wei’an was selfish. No matter how gentle and helpless Lu Wei’an pretended to be on the outside, at heart he was an extremely selfish man.

While Ye Kang and An Jie were talking about Lu Wei’an, Lu Wei’an had just hung up the phone after a conversation with Yin Ya. Just like Ye Kang said, the relationship between Lu Wei’an and Yin Ya had been heating up rapidly during this period. Yin Ya wanted to be the daughter-in-law of the Lu family, and Lu Wei’an wanted to get involved in the Hopewell business through Yin Ya. The two had their own plans and hit it off immediately, like true mandarin ducks. On the phone, Yin Ya’s tone was a little excited. After a few days of grinding from her mother, her grandfather had finally relented and agreed to see Lu Wei’an. Fearing that if they waited, something might go wrong, Yin Ya hastily arranged a time of meeting with Lu Wei’an. Lu Wei’an took note of what Yin Ya said about Yin Yongde’s preferences and thought about what he should say to impress the old man when he met him.

While Lu Wei’an was calculating in his mind, Lu Guangjing knocked on his door. “Wei’an.”

Lu Wei’an hid the calculations in his eyes and calmly looked at his father. More than twenty years ago, Lu Guangjing was the most famous playboy in Zhongjing, handsome, funny and very pleasing to women; otherwise Li Caiying wouldn’t have fallen for him. But Lu Guangjing standing in front of Lu Wei’an was in a decrepit state; his body seemed to be shrouded in a shadow of death and he looked even older than Lu Wei’an’s grandfather. Lu Wei’an remembered that his father had not looked like this a year ago. Because of Lu Lingxi’s death, Lu Guangjing’s whole body had collapsed.

Lu Wei’an’s expression was full of concern, but his heart was filled with incomparable mockery. Lu Lingxi was already dead, but his father had to look like this. What was he trying to prove? His regret? Guilt? Self-blame? Or was he trying to demonstrate how cold-blooded Lu Wei’an was in contrast in front of outsiders?

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Lu Wei’an heard his own voice, “Father doesn’t look good, has he not rested well? If my little brother could see it from the other world, he would surely not want to watch Father ruin his body like this.”

When he mentioned Lu Lingxi, Lu Guangjing sighed and waved his hand at him, “I know my own body. Wei’an, are you preparing to go out?”

Lu Wei’an nodded.

“With that little girl from the Yin family?”

Lu Wei’an smiled faintly and said sincerely, “Father, I like Xiao Ya very much, I hope you and Mother will agree to me and Xiao Ya being together.”

Lu Guangjing looked at Lu Wei’an silently and said in a low voice after a long time, “Wei’an, tell me the truth, do you really like Yin Ya or did your grandfather say something to you?”

“Why would Father say that?” Lu Wei’an said in surprise.

Lu Guangjing didn’t care about his reaction and said to himself, “Your grandfather has three sons and your father is the least competitive one. When I was young, I didn’t want to fight for anything, as the Lu family would give me enough money to spend anyway. Later, when you were in poor health, I had little interest in the family business. Your grandfather took back the shares given to me and built a separate fund for our family. This fund will guarantee all your medical expenses, as well as ensure that you and Xiao Xi will be worry-free for the rest of your lives, but accordingly our family will give up any involvement in the family business.”

He sighed again as he said this, “You have been smart since you were a child and your grandfather used to like you the most. If you hadn’t been in poor health, I believe, Wei’an, you would have become the pride of the Lu family. You are my son, and I know exactly what you think in your heart. I know you don’t want to stay at home and want to show your grandfather that you have done something. I hope that you want to marry Yin Ya because you like her, not because it will bring you any benefits.”

Lu Guangjing spoke earnestly, thinking that these words would impress Lu Wei’an. When the news of the marriage between the Yin and Lu families spread earlier, he guessed what Elder Lu intended to do. Who would have thought that Yan Yue wouldn’t go along with their arrangement; instead it was Yin Ya who jumped out. Lu Guangjing really didn’t want Lu Wei’an to get involved in the Yan family’s struggle for power and profit and tried to dissuade Lu Wei’an.

Lu Wei’an smiled covertly, “I know Father’s worry. Grandpa didn’t say anything to me, it’s me who likes Xiao Ya and wants to marry her.”

Lu Guangjing looked at Lu Wei’an with great disappointment. Bitterness flooded his heart as he tried to make the last effort, “Your mother doesn’t like Yin Ya.”

Lu Wei’an was silent for a few seconds and said in a cold tone, “Apart from Yin Ya, who else does Mother think will marry me?”

“Wei’an.” Lu Guangjing raised his voice.

A hint of mockery flashed in Lu Wei’an’s eyes, and father and son fell silent, no one speaking again.

In the living room, Li Caiying had been waiting for Lu Guangjing, and when she saw him come out, she immediately asked him. “How was it? Is Wei’an obedient?”

Lu Guangjing shook his head in silence and turned away to leave. Ever since Lu Lingxi’s death, he and Li Caiying had spoken less and less to each other until they were almost completely silent. They used to be able to talk about Lu Wei’an, but Lu Wei’an had become more and more unfamiliar, no longer the elder son he remembered. Now he no longer knew what to say to Li Caiying.

His look was noticed by Li Caiying, and Li Caiying immediately turned Lu Wei’an’s disobedient rebellion into Lu Guangjing’s fault, saying pointedly, “What do you mean, Lu Guangjing?”

When Lu Guangjing didn’t say anything, Li Caiying grabbed the vase and smashed it at him. She hated this look on Lu Guangjing’s face, this sorrowful expression of grief. In the eyes of outsiders, it was as if everything was her fault. Wasn’t it just that Lu Lingxi was dead? Was she the one who forced Lu Lingxi to die? When the operation was done, Lu Guangjing had also agreed to it. What’s the result? As soon as the operation went wrong, it all became her responsibility.

The vase fell to pieces at Lu Guangjing’s feet, and Lu Guangjing still looked indifferent.

Li Caiying’s anger was completely ignited and she sneered at him, saying in a shrill voice: “Lu Guangjing, do you think you can atone for your sins by looking like this? I’m telling you, don’t think so. Why Wei’an was born prematurely, why he got sick, why Xiao Xi died, it’s all because of you, this is all your retribution.”

Her voice was sharp, and Lu Guangjing looked at her sadly, as if he had aged another ten years in an instant.

Li Caiying was right, this was all his retribution. If he hadn’t done so many wrong things when he was young, Wei’an wouldn’t have been born prematurely, nor would he have gotten leukaemia due to his poor health, and Xiao Xi wouldn’t have had to suffer for so many years, dying on the operating table at the age of eighteen.

All these years, he sacrificed Xiao Xi to make it up for Wei’an. He traded one son for the other, and what was the result?

This was retribution.