Before Lu Yuanqing had even finished speaking, Lu Sangning's heart lurched.
A sense of unease spread through her heart.
She steadied herself and forcibly suppressed that unease.
On the other end of the phone, Lu Yuanqing was also doing his utmost to suppress his anger.
"Sangning, I sent Zhou Fu to investigate. Zhang Yong really isn't in Shanghai. He's vacationing in Kunming with that Zou Nana."
"What?!"
Lu Sangning could hardly believe her ears. "Dad, Zhang Yong just called me. He said he hadn't answered my calls or messages because he was inspecting a base. He's very busy!"
Lu Yuanqing sighed.
He knew Lu Sangning would find it hard to accept this right away, but Zhang Yong, that scumbag with a human face and a beast's heart, could no longer be allowed to stay. The engagement between their families had to be canceled, and with great fanfare at that.
"Sangning, Dad knows you can't accept this right away. I'll give you time to adjust. Don't give anything away for now. Once Zhang Yong comes back, we'll find a chance to catch him red-handed. I'll make sure his reputation is utterly ruined!"
Pah!
You dared to deceive my daughter and covet my family's fortune. I'll make your Zhang Group disappear from this world!
After hanging up, Lu Sangning slumped into her office chair.
Tears streamed down like beads from a broken string.
Although she still didn't believe her father's claim that Zhang Yong had betrayed her, she felt miserable all the same, miserable for no apparent reason.
She and Zhang Yong had been dating of their own accord for three and a half years. Throughout those years, he had done whatever she said and cared for her in every possible way.
She had treated Zhang Yong very well too, holding nothing back, financially or emotionally.
The only thing she had held back was her body. Because of her parents' teachings, she had always been rather conservative, wanting to wait until marriage to give her first time to the person she loved.
Couldn't even this wish of mine be understood?
Were girls who casually jumped into bed with someone really so wonderful?
Wiping away her tears, Lu Sangning touched up her makeup and made a video call to Zhang Yong.
To her surprise, Zhang Yong rejected the call after just one ring.
A message from him arrived immediately afterward.
[Baby, I'm busy right now. I'll get back to you later.]
Lu Sangning: "..."
Half a minute later, Lu Sangning called toward the door, "Secretary Qin!"
Qin Yi walked in and noticed something was off about Lu Sangning's expression. Skilled at reading people, she quickly asked, "Ms. Lu, what's wrong?"
Lu Sangning didn't answer her question, merely saying in an icy voice, "Have Tian Jun come over. We're going to Shanghai right away."
Lu Chi slept in his bedroom and didn't get up until six in the evening.
He asked Auntie Wang to make him something to eat, then sat lazily outside the front door, basking in the sun.
As the Lu family members returned home one after another, Lu Jiyang was quietly doing his homework in the study.
His third sister, Lu Yanxin, saw Lu Chi sprawled like a boneless man on the lounge chair by the door. She rolled her eyes at him irritably and said:
"Look at you. You can't even stand or sit properly. Jiyang has been doing his homework this whole time. There are only six months until the college entrance exam, but you don't seem the least bit concerned."
She added, "Don't think walking through our door makes you the Lu family's young master. Apart from Mom and Dad, none of us acknowledge you. If you want to freeload off our family, give up, and lie flat, that's not happening!"
Lu Chi scoffed disdainfully. "What's so great about a family that's about to fall into ruin? If Mom and Dad hadn't insisted I come home, I wouldn't have cared to come back. If you can't stand me, give me money to leave. I couldn't ask for anything better!"
Lu Yanxin hadn't expected Lu Chi to dare talk back to her. If it had been Lu Jiyang, he would have obediently listened to whatever she said.
Lu Chi really was an ill-bred wretch.
A bumpkin from the slums who doesn't even understand that he should respect his older sister!
"You want the Lu family's money? You've got some nerve, you bumpkin. Dream on!" With that, Lu Yanxin went inside.
Lu Chi snorted.
[Pah! As if I want to stay here. Once I get the money, I'm leaving. Whether your Lu family lives or dies after that won't have a damn thing to do with me!]
Hearing Lu Chi's thoughts, Lu Yanxin's face darkened with anger.
Jiyang was right. This bumpkin came home for our money. I'll never let the Lu family's money fall into his hands!
Lu Jiyang hid beside the study window and heard their entire conversation.
When he saw Lu Yanxin come inside, he quickly put down his homework, pattered down from the third floor, and went to the kitchen to pour her a cup of coffee.
"Don't be angry, Third Sister. Brother Lu Chi didn't mean it. Maybe because his adoptive parents passed away early, there was no one to teach him a lot of things. I'll slowly teach him what to do."
Lu Yanxin sighed and stroked Lu Jiyang's head. "You're still the best! Don't worry. No one can replace your place in our family. You're our family's true young master!"
That dose of reassurance delighted Lu Jiyang beyond measure.
Waves were already surging within him, but on the surface, he still pretended to be calm and composed.
"Third Sister, I don't care about being a real or fake young master. I just want to be with you sisters and Mom and Dad. You're the people closest to me, and I don't want to be separated from you!"
As he reached the emotional part, a few tears were already swirling in his eyes.
Lu Yanxin gently patted his back. "Don't worry. In this family, as long as your sisters stand by you, no one will dare drive you away. Not even Mom and Dad."
Lu Jiyang cast a "frightened" glance in Lu Chi's direction. Although he didn't say a word, what he wanted to express spoke louder than a thousand words.
That "frightened look" made Lu Yanxin's impression of Lu Chi even worse.
At eight that evening, Lu Chi sat on the sofa, engrossed in watching television, completely ignoring the eye rolls from the Lu sisters.
Several hours had passed since he transmigrated into the novel at noon, and he hadn't gone to his room to write a single word.
It wasn't that he didn't want to do his homework. He was simply a poor student in the real world. The system, Guagua, had already said he didn't need to do any homework at any other time. On the day of the college entrance exam, Guagua would read out the answers for him to copy.
Since he would have the answers during the college entrance exam and get full marks just by writing them down, why waste the effort now?
Life is short. Eat what you should, drink what you should.
By then, Lu Jiyang had finished his homework and was sitting on the sofa playing an online game with his third sister, Lu Yanxin, his fourth sister, Lu Xiaoyue, and his fifth sister, Lu Yunke.
Lu Chi looked like an outsider.
No, in this family, he had always been an outsider.
Lu Chi: [These three dumbass sisters of mine don't treat me like their brother at all. They're so close to that fake young master. Sooner or later, they'll die at his hands.]
Guagua: [Yes, host. The moment you came home, Lu Jiyang had already begun his plan to deal with the Lu family.]
Hearing Lu Chi's thoughts, Lu Yanxin and the other two slowed their movements as they played.
Jiyang had begun his plan to deal with the Lu family?
What plan?
Just as the three were puzzling over this, Lu Yuanqing returned.
The instant he stepped through the door, he roared sternly at Lu Jiyang, "You unfilial son!"