Lu Yao was still completely unaware of the incident at school.
The old apartment building where his family lived suddenly lost power again. Since Lu Yao had taken on a game-boosting job right before the outage, he had no choice but to go online at an internet café near his home.
Father Lu and Ms. Li appeared at the internet café. When they found Lu Yao, he was completely absorbed in his game.
It had to be said that the air of success surrounding Father Lu and Ms. Li was utterly out of place in this tiny internet café.
When the receptionist saw them walk in, he thought they had come to the wrong place. When he heard that they were looking for Lu Yao, he became even more puzzled. Where had that kid met people like them?
After pointing Father Lu and Ms. Li in Lu Yao's direction, the receptionist let them go find him themselves.
The receptionist called loudly toward Lu Yao, "Lu Yao, someone's looking for you."
Lu Yao looked up and saw the two of them walking toward him. For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly felt the guilty unease of being caught by his parents.
The brief distraction caused him to accidentally give the enemy a kill.
In the game's chat window, his teammates were furious over Lu Yao's sudden blunder and began viciously criticizing him for feeding kills.
Lu Yao ignored them outright. He greeted Father Lu and Ms. Li, settled them onto the sofa behind him, and then returned to the game. He could not lose, or he would not get paid for the boosting job.
Feeling their gazes on his back, Lu Yao pressed his lips together uneasily. People of their status probably thought playing games like this was just wasting his life away.
Contrary to Lu Yao's expectations, Ms. Li and Father Lu watched his computer screen with great interest.
The young man stared sharply at the screen, his pale, jade-like fingertips flying across the black keyboard. Double kills and triple kills kept flashing across the game display.
Even people like Father Lu and Ms. Li, who knew nothing about games, could tell from the constant notifications that Lu Yao was quite skilled.
Ms. Li glanced at Lu Yao's delicate profile, then leaned close to Father Lu and asked softly, "If he wanted to enter esports in the future, would you treat him the way Second Uncle treated Lu Shenyuan?"
Father Lu gave Ms. Li a helpless look.
Just as Ms. Li thought he would not answer such a whimsical question, Father Lu suddenly said, "I couldn't bear to."
Lu Shenyuan was Father Lu's cousin. He was twenty-three this year, nearly twenty years younger than Father Lu. Father Lu's second uncle had gone to England when he was young and built his own business there.
Lu Shenyuan was Old Master Lu's child in his old age, so Old Master Lu had doted on him as though he were precious beyond measure.
Back then, after Lu Shenyuan graduated from university at eighteen, he announced that he wanted to become an esports player. Old Master Lu was so furious that he chased Lu Shenyuan around several times with his cane. He had raised Lu Shenyuan to inherit the family business, yet Lu Shenyuan was telling him that he wanted to play games.
In a rage, Old Master Lu threw the penniless Lu Shenyuan out of the house. He even specifically warned all the major gaming clubs in England that none of them were allowed to take Lu Shenyuan in, or they would bear the consequences.
Driven into a corner by his father, Lu Shenyuan remembered that he still had Father Lu in Hua Nation to turn to, so he flew back to the country.
Lu Shenyuan had reached the pinnacle the moment he debuted. In his very first year, he became a legend, leading his team to win the global championship of Heroes Glory. It was Hua Nation's first world championship in the event. Lu Shenyuan became God Lu, the terrifying world number one ADC.
Seeing that Lu Shenyuan had brought glory to the country through esports, Old Master Lu gradually changed his rigid views on the industry, and the father-son relationship finally began to ease.
Father Lu had not told Lu Shenyuan about Lu Yao yet, because Lu Shenyuan was currently overseas preparing for the Heroes Glory global finals. If his team won again this year, it would create the first-ever miracle of five consecutive global championships. Even the national television network was paying close attention to the competition and had produced a special news feature for them.
When Lu Yao suddenly entered a rampaging killing-spree mode, both his teammates and the opposing players were stunned.
"Damn, bro, with skills like that, why didn't you show them off sooner?"
"You only realize too late how little you know. All I can say is damn!"
"What's wrong with the enemy jungler? Why did the pace suddenly get so fast? Even getting drunk doesn't hit this fast."
Lu Yao ignored the chatter in the little chat window and kept accelerating the pace of the game, quickly ending the match.
A huge "win" appeared on the computer screen. As expected, Lu Yao became the match MVP.
Lu Yao ignored the friend-request notifications that appeared after the game ended. He opened WeChat and sent the owner of the boosting account a message saying that the job was complete. The person immediately transferred money to him. Lu Yao did not open it right away. Instead, he closed the chat window and turned to look at Father Lu and Ms. Li behind him.
After realizing that Lu Yao was earning money this way, Father Lu felt as though someone had punched him hard in the chest. A powerful wave of bitterness suddenly rose in his heart.
Although he knew Lu Yao had been independent since childhood, the simple words in the report were nowhere near as impactful as seeing it with his own eyes. Father Lu became even more certain of his decision.
Though Ms. Li also felt heavy-hearted, she could now perfectly conceal her emotions. She smiled gently at Lu Yao, her eyes full of affection as she asked, "Did you win?"
Lu Yao nodded lightly. "Mm."
A delighted smile appeared on Ms. Li's face as she praised him proudly, "You played wonderfully."
The tips of Lu Yao's ears, hidden beneath his soft black hair, instantly turned hot and red.
He pressed his lips together, trying to hide his embarrassment as he awkwardly changed the subject. "Did you come here for something today?"
Ms. Li looked at Father Lu. Coming to find Lu Yao had been Father Lu's suggestion. He had spoken with her beforehand and told her not to interrupt or object, no matter what she heard. Once they returned, he would give her an explanation.
Since the internet café was not suitable for a conversation, Father Lu suggested moving somewhere quieter. The three of them went to a coffee shop near the internet café.
Looking at Lu Yao sitting across from him, Father Lu suddenly dropped a bombshell.
"Since you've already been expelled, I transferred your student registration to Huiying High School in Sea City."
Huiying High School was a famous private elite school nationwide. The Lu family held shares in Huiying High School, and nearly all the Lu family's children spent their high school years there. Lu Qi was currently studying there as well.
The moment Lu Yao heard that Father Lu had transferred his student registration to Sea City without consulting him, he became furious. His face turned cold as he said, "What gives you the right to decide for me?!"
Lu Yao was not surprised that they knew he had been expelled, but Father Lu's unilateral decision made him angry.
After hearing Father Lu's words, Ms. Li also showed disapproval. But she suddenly remembered what Father Lu had told her before they came, so she temporarily suppressed the anger rising in her heart. Still, if Father Lu did not give her a reasonable explanation later, she would not agree to this.
Father Lu truly was the head of the Lu family. When he became forceful, his presence was astonishing.
"Because you currently have no school to attend. As far as I know, Huang Li not only had Mountain City No. 1 High School expel you, but his family also spoke to the other schools in Mountain City and told them not to admit you. Under such circumstances, do you think you can find a school in Mountain City willing to take you in?"
Father Lu paused. Seeing that Lu Yao still seemed unmoved, he continued, "You're a minor. Do you really plan to drop out just like this? I believe you understand the importance of education in this society. Besides, you're still underage. Making money is not something you should be worrying about at your age. I can promise you this: you only have one year left until you turn eighteen. If, after turning eighteen, you still feel that you do not want to stay with the Lu family, then if you want to return to Mountain City, I will not stop you."
Father Lu truly was the famously cunning fox of the business world. He understood perfectly the principle of giving someone a slap before offering them a sweet.
Lu Yao's blazing anger was instantly extinguished by Father Lu's few words, leaving behind only a few tiny sparks.
He had originally wanted to say that even if he did not drop out, he did not necessarily have to go to Sea City for school. But after seeing Father Lu's expression, Lu Yao knew that even if he said he did not want to transfer to Sea City, Father Lu would never transfer his student registration back.
Lu Yao's guess was indeed correct. Father Lu could easily have resolved the matter for him, but on second thought, he realized this might be a rare opportunity. If handled well, it might bring Lu Yao closer to them.
Perhaps because blood was thicker than water, Father Lu could sense the child's complicated feelings toward them. If they continued to accommodate Lu Yao's rejection and chose to quietly keep their distance, Father Lu did not believe they would ever be able to reach the child's heart. That was why Father Lu was willing to play the role of the forceful villain himself.
Lu Yao lowered his eyes and held his cup. After quietly thinking for a while, he seemed to recall something and nodded, tacitly accepting Father Lu's words.
Ms. Li's heart had been hanging in suspense since earlier. When she saw Lu Yao nod, her eyes immediately reddened again. These past few days, it seemed as though she was using up all the tears she had accumulated over the past several years at once.
When he saw Ms. Li's tears fall, a trace of panic appeared in Lu Yao's calm eyes. He pulled several tissues from the box in front of him and handed them to Ms. Li somewhat awkwardly.
After Ms. Li accepted Lu Yao's tissues, Father Lu silently put away the handkerchief he had taken out.