"Dad, listen to me..."
Lu Yuanqing had put all his strength into that kick, sending Lu Jiyang flying several meters.
Lu Jiyang crouched on the floor, clutching his stomach in such pain that he could not force out the rest of his explanation.
Lu Chi suppressed the upward curl of his lips.
He continued his heartfelt performance.
"Dad, don't hit Jiyang. It's not his fault. He's just gotten used to living as the master of this house.
"It's all my fault. I showed up too suddenly and disturbed your peaceful family. I'll pack my things and leave right now."
As Lu Chi spoke, he looked so pitiful that Lu Yuanqing's heart ached terribly for him.
"The master? It's not his place to call the shots in my Lu Family!"
Lu Yuanqing strode forward furiously and kicked Lu Jiyang again as he lay on the floor.
This kick landed squarely on Lu Jiyang's face.
"Lu Jiyang, I've told you over and over not to target Chi'er, that brothers should get along. What did you promise me? And what did you actually do?
"Look at yourself! Everything I say goes in one ear and out the other. You don't take a damn word I say seriously!"
Thud!
Blood spurted from Lu Jiyang's nose on the spot.
Lu Chi was stunned for a moment.
Inside, he secretly savored it.
That kick had been far harder than the punch he had given himself earlier.
After taking that beating, Lu Jiyang was shocked and terrified.
Ignoring the pain in his stomach and nose, he hurriedly knelt on the floor and sobbed, "Dad, he hit me first! He hit me first!"
Lu Jiyang glanced back at the servants beside him. "Dad, ask Auntie Wang and the others if you don't believe me. Didn't Lu Chi hit me first? He hit me and kept provoking me. That's why I fought him."
"It really wasn't my fault, Dad. After all these years, don't you know what kind of person I am? You have to believe me, Dad!"
"Auntie Wang! Right! Auntie Wang!" Lu Jiyang crawled over to Auntie Wang, grabbed her trouser leg, and pleaded, "Auntie Wang, you were there. Hurry and tell my dad whose fault it really was!"
Auntie Wang glanced at Lu Chi, then at Lu Jiyang.
Then she looked at Lu Yuanqing.
As things stood, the head of the household was clearly siding with Lu Chi. If she said Lu Chi was at fault, she could forget about keeping her place in the Lu Family household.
Besides, Lu Jiyang was hardly a good person. He looked down on the servants and would hit and curse them at the slightest provocation.
Last time, he had even tried to defile her little grandson.
Why should she help such a scumbag?
She might as well play deaf and dumb and know nothing.
At that thought, my mother shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, sir. I was cleaning upstairs at the time. I came down when I heard the two young masters fighting, but I don't know who struck first."
Lu Jiyang was both shocked and furious.
"Auntie Wang! You're lying! You were right there! You clearly saw Lu Chi hit me first. Why are you lying?"
Auntie Wang lowered her head and said nothing.
Lu Yuanqing questioned the other servants, but they all shook their heads and said they had not seen anything.
Lu Jiyang, that little tyrant, had bullied them plenty. None of them would possibly help him.
Lu Chi took out his phone and opened an audio recording.
He told Lu Yuanqing, "Dad, I know Jiyang has always rejected me and often bullies me in private. So this time, I secretly recorded him in case he denied it."
Lu Jiyang: "..." Fuck! This bastard had gone too far!
Lu Jiyang's voice came from the recording, audible throughout the living room.
"..."
"...Hah! Weren't you acting so cocky just now? What, scared? I'm telling you, I'm going to beat you up today, and when Dad, Mom, and our sisters get home,
"I'll turn the tables and say you hit me first. Oh, no, you really did hit me first!..."
Before the recording finished, Lu Yuanqing was already enraged.
He hurled the phone onto the sofa, pointed at Lu Jiyang, and cursed:
"Lu Jiyang! You've really opened my eyes! Starting today, I'm taking back all your cards and money. Your allowance is canceled. You won't get a single cent!"
"You want to act out? Then go right ahead!"
"What?" Lu Jiyang's heart nearly shattered, and he wailed in anguish, "Dad, why? Why are you taking that money back? You gave it to me! Once you gave it to me, it became mine!"
Lu Yuanqing sneered. "Unless I take your money back, you won't recognize your mistakes. Your mother and I have promised you countless times that even after Chi'er came back, we would still treat you as our own son,
"but you insist on playing all sorts of little tricks behind our backs. What I hate most are filthy people who scheme behind others' backs! When you've thought things through and recognized your mistakes, you'll get your allowance back!"
"Dad! It wasn't my fault. It was clearly his!" Lu Jiyang still tried to argue.
"Enough! If you're going to school, get the hell out! Stop bothering me! I have enough to deal with every day!" Lu Yuanqing roared.
With that, Lu Yuanqing went back upstairs for his afternoon nap.
He had no time to waste here. He had a press conference that afternoon to announce the cancellation of the engagement between the Lu Family and the Zhang Family.
The thought of his daughter Sangning being deceived by that scumbag for so many years left Lu Yuanqing irritated.
After Lu Yuanqing went upstairs, Lu Chi picked up his phone from where Lu Yuanqing had thrown it onto the sofa.
Phone in hand, he went upstairs too.
He first wiped all the blood off his nose in the bathroom, then went to his bedroom for an afternoon nap.
Having been beaten, had his money taken back, and lost his allowance, Lu Jiyang was filled with frustration and hatred.
Hadn't that bastard Lu Chi been meek and submissive in their previous life, letting people hit and curse him as they pleased?
Why was he like a completely different person in this life?
Could he have been reborn too?
Impossible!
I'm the one favored by the Heavenly Dao. Only I get to slaughter everyone with ease.
He was just measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's yardstick. Next time, I just need to be on guard and keep him from making audio or video recordings.
Once Dad's in a better mood, I'll go beg him. He'll definitely forgive me.
I'll still be the Lu Family's young master, the center of everyone's attention, showered with love.
And he'll only ever be a country bumpkin everyone despises! Trash!
At three that afternoon.
Haitian Grand Hotel, Jing City.
People crowded everywhere, and the place bustled with activity.
Reporters from all the major television stations and news programs had arrived, along with some independent media creators with millions of followers.
Everyone was waiting to feast on some juicy gossip.
Lu Yuanqing stood on the temporary stage erected in the hotel lobby, dressed in a bespoke suit that fully displayed his imposing authority as a company boss.
Beside him stood his daughter, Lu Sangning, likewise dressed in a white bespoke casual suit.
The expensive suit accentuated her curves.
Her long, chestnut-brown waves spilled over her shoulders. With her fair skin and beautiful features, every frown and smile brimmed with allure.
Lu Yuanqing spoke:
"Distinguished guests, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to Haitian Grand Hotel. The main purpose of today's press conference is to announce the cancellation of my daughter Lu Sangning's engagement to the Zhang Clan."
"I believe you all know what happened two days ago. My daughter was engaged to Zhang Yong, the young master of the Zhang Clan, and they were due to marry next month. But Zhang Yong found another woman behind my daughter's back."
"A faithless scumbag like him is no suitable match, so today, I hereby announce that the engagement between my daughter and Zhang Yong is canceled. Furthermore, the Lu Family will cease all business dealings with the Zhang Family."
"I also wish to inform all our friends and businesses with ties to the Lu Family that if you continue cooperating with the Zhang Family, you will be enemies of the Lu Family!"
After Lu Yuanqing finished speaking, the media turned their cameras toward Lu Sangning.
Lu Sangning was just about to speak when a figure suddenly barged in.