Chapter 7

Lu Yao was still completely unaware of the incident at school.

The old apartment building where his family lived suddenly lost power again. Fortunately, Lu Yao had accepted a game boosting job before the outage, so he had no choice but to go online at an internet café near his home.

When Lu Yao's father and Ms. Li found him at the internet café, he was completely engrossed in his game.

It had to be said that the aura of success surrounding Lu Yao's father and Ms. Li was utterly out of place in such a shabby little internet café.

When the receptionist saw them walk in, he thought they had come to the wrong place. Once he heard that they were looking for Lu Yao, he was even more confused. Where had that kid met people like them?

After pointing Lu Yao out to them, the receptionist let them go find him themselves.

The receptionist shouted 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 like a kid caught by his parents doing something bad.

The distraction cost him a kill.

In the game's chat window, his teammates were furious over his sudden blunder and furiously berated him for feeding the other side.

Lu Yao ignored them outright. He greeted his father and Ms. Li, settled them onto the sofa behind him, then returned to the game. He couldn't lose, or he wouldn't 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 a waste of one's ambitions.

Contrary to Lu Yao's expectations, Ms. Li and his father watched his screen with great interest.

The young man stared sharply at the screen, his pale, jade-like fingertips flying across the black keyboard. Onscreen, notifications announcing double kills and triple kills appeared one after another.

Even people like Lu Yao's father 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 his father and asked softly, "If he wants to enter esports in the future, would you treat him the way Second Uncle treated Lu Shenyuan?"

Lu Yao's father gave Ms. Li a helpless look.

Just as Ms. Li thought he would not answer her sudden question, Lu Yao's father spoke. "I couldn't bear to."

Lu Shenyuan was Lu Yao's father's cousin. He was twenty-three this year, nearly twenty years younger than Lu Yao's father. Lu Yao's father's second uncle had gone to England when he was young and built his own business there.

Lu Shenyuan was Old Master Lu's late-in-life son, so Old Master Lu had treasured and spoiled him beyond measure.

Back when Lu Shenyuan graduated from university at eighteen, he said he wanted to become an esports player. Old Master Lu was so furious that he chased him around several times with a cane. He had raised Lu Shenyuan in the hopes that he would inherit the family business, yet Lu Shenyuan had the nerve to tell him he wanted to play games.

In a rage, Old Master Lu kicked the penniless Lu Shenyuan out of the house. He even warned every major gaming club in England not to take him in, or they would suffer the consequences.

Driven into a corner by his father, Lu Shenyuan remembered that he still had Lu Yao's father in China to rely on, so he flew back to China.

Lu Shenyuan reached the peak of his career as soon as he debuted. In his very first year, he became a legend. He led his team to win the global finals of Heroes Glory, the first world championship China had ever won in the event. Lu Shenyuan became God Lu, the terrifying world's number one ADC from then on.

Seeing that he had brought glory to the country through esports, Old Master Lu gradually changed his rigid view of the industry, and the father and son's relationship slowly eased.

Lu Yao's father had not yet told Lu Shenyuan about Lu Yao, because Lu Shenyuan was abroad preparing for the Heroes Glory global finals. If they won again this year, it would mark the first five consecutive global championships in history. Even the national television network was paying close attention to the competition and had created a special news feature for them.

When Lu Yao suddenly entered a slaughtering frenzy, 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 regret lacking words when it's time to use them. One 'damn' is enough for the whole world."

"What happened to their jungler? Why did the pace suddenly get so fast? Even getting drunk doesn't hit this hard this quickly."

Lu Yao ignored the chatter in the small chat window and kept accelerating the pace of the game. Before long, he ended the match.

A huge "WIN" appeared on the screen. As expected, Lu Yao became the match MVP.

Lu Yao ignored the friend requests that popped up after the game. He opened WeChat and sent a message informing the owner of the boosting account 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 his father and Ms. Li behind him.

Realizing that Lu Yao was earning money this way, Lu Yao's father felt as though someone had punched him hard in the chest. A powerful wave of bitterness suddenly surged through him.

Although he knew Lu Yao had been independent since childhood, the brief words in the report could never compare to seeing it with his own eyes. Lu Yao's father became even more determined.

Ms. Li's heart was also heavy, but she could now conceal her emotions perfectly. She gave Lu Yao a gentle smile, her eyes full of affection as she asked, "Did you win?"

Lu Yao nodded lightly. "Yeah."

A delighted smile appeared on Ms. Li's face, and she praised him with pride, "You played wonderfully."

The tips of Lu Yao's ears, hidden beneath his soft black hair, instantly burned red.

He pressed his lips together, trying to hide his embarrassment, and awkwardly changed the subject. "Did you come here for something today?"

Ms. Li looked toward Lu Yao's father. It had been his suggestion to come find Lu Yao. He had also spoken with her beforehand, telling her not to interrupt or refute him no matter what she heard later. He said he would explain everything to her once they returned.

Since an internet café was not suitable for a conversation, Lu Yao's father suggested they move somewhere quieter. The three of them went to a café nearby.

Looking at Lu Yao seated across from him, Lu Yao's father 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 across the country. The Lu family held shares in Huiying High School, and nearly all Lu family children spent their high school years there. Lu Qi was currently attending Huiying High School as well.

Hearing that Lu Yao's father had transferred his student registration to Sea City without consulting him, Lu Yao instantly grew angry. His face went 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 what angered him was his father's high-handed decision.

After hearing Lu Yao's father's words, Ms. Li also looked disapproving. But she suddenly remembered what he had said before they came, so she temporarily suppressed the anger rising inside her. Still, if he did not give her a reasonable explanation later, she would not agree to this.

As expected of the head of the Lu family, when Lu Yao's father became forceful, his presence was astonishing.

"Because you have no school to attend now. As far as I know, Huang Li not only got Mountain City No. 1 High School to expel you, but his family also spoke to the other schools in Mountain City and told them not to admit you. Do you think any school in Mountain City would take you under those circumstances?"

Lu Yao's father paused. Seeing that Lu Yao still seemed unmoved, he continued, "You're a minor. Are you really planning to drop out just like that? I think you understand how important an education is in this society. Besides, you're still underage. Making money is not something you should have to worry about at your age. I can promise you this: you only have one year left until you turn eighteen. If, after you turn eighteen, you still feel that you don't want to stay with the Lu family, then if you want to return to Mountain City, I won't stop you."

Lu Yao's father truly was the famously cunning fox of the business world. He knew exactly how to slap someone first, then offer them candy afterward.

The blazing anger in Lu Yao's chest was instantly reduced to little more than a few sparks by his father's words.

He had wanted to say that even if he did not drop out, he did not necessarily have to study in Sea City. But when he saw his father's expression, Lu Yao knew that even if he said he did not want to transfer to Sea City, his father would never transfer his registration back.

Lu Yao's guess was indeed correct. His father could easily have resolved the matter for him, but on second thought, he realized this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If used well, it might bring Lu Yao closer to them.

Perhaps because blood was thicker than water, Lu Yao's father could sense the complicated feelings this child had toward them. If they simply accommodated Lu Yao's rejection and chose to stay quietly distant from him, Lu Yao's father did not believe they would ever reach his heart. So he was willing to play the role of the forceful villain himself.

Lu Yao lowered his eyes and held his cup of water, silently thinking for a while. Then, as if he had thought of something, he nodded and tacitly accepted his father's words.

Ms. Li's heart had been hanging by a thread since earlier. When she saw Lu Yao nod, her eyes reddened again. It seemed she was about to use up all the tears she had saved over the past several years in one go.

When he saw Ms. Li's tears fall, panic appeared in Lu Yao's usually composed eyes. He pulled several tissues from the box in front of him and awkwardly handed them to her.

When Ms. Li accepted Lu Yao's tissues, Lu Yao's father silently put his own handkerchief away.