Chapter 8

008.

This lunch turned out to be more harmonious than expected.

Even though he felt almost shy and awkward around his biological younger brother Lu Yuan, Third Young Master Lu had years of experience as a troublemaker and had dealt with all kinds of shady characters in the entertainment industry. Plus, since he was close in age to Lu Yuan, he felt totally at ease, and the two of them hit it off right away.

Over the course of one meal, Lu Yuan called him "bro" twice.

Lu Yan fought to keep the grin off his face, casually texted his two older brothers, then muted his phone, flipped it face-down on the table, and ignored their replies.

"I've got a concert next year—A Yuan, you wanna come? I'll hook you up with a VVVIP seat!"

"Oh yeah, I heard Big Bro and Second Bro both got you welcome gifts. I got you one too—it's a whole island! I went to check it out—the views are insane! I've also got this friend, Qi Shuyang—he ordered you a yacht too. It's custom-built, so it probably won't be done till next year. We should all hit the open water sometime!"

"By the way, you game? We should squad up sometime—I'm legit cracked. A pro club even tried to recruit me once."

"You didn't go?"

"I did—passed the tryouts and everything. But after a week of nonstop training, it made me sick to my stomach. I literally developed this thing where just seeing a game icon made me nauseous. Dad ended up paying to buy out my contract."

Back then, this seemingly trivial story was a huge embarrassment to Third Young Master Lu—anyone who brought it up got a beating. But now, with Lu Yuan, he told it like it was just a funny story. Seeing Lu Yuan's eyes crinkle into a smile, he propped his chin on his hands and let out a goofy laugh himself.

Chen Chi, watching from the sidelines: "..."

It was hard to put into words the mind-blowing shock of witnessing all this.

*

With his manager nowhere in sight, Lu Yan ate whatever he wanted, as much as he wanted, and even had the nerve to snap a pic of his meal and post it on his Moments.

Family's #1 Good-Looking: Having lunch with my little bro / penguin spin [Photo][Photo][Photo]

Sure enough, within two minutes, his manager sent him one giant question mark.

Lu Yan did his usual thing and pretended not to see it. He waited another couple seconds, and when the red notification dot he was hoping for didn't show up, he couldn't help but screenshot the message and send it to his chats labeled "Big Bro" and "Second Bro," adding: Bros, give me a like!

One minute passes—nothing.

Two minutes—still nothing.

Huh, are neither of them on their phones? Lu Zhuo being a doctor, fine, but how does a CEO not use his phone? Could they at least act a little more like people in their twenties—

He sent a question mark as a reminder and a nudge. But to his surprise, the next second, a red circle with a white exclamation mark popped up next to his message.

Lu Yan: ...?

Not believing it, he backed out of the chat with Lu Ke and opened Lu Zhuo's, tentatively sending a period. Sure enough—another red circle with an exclamation mark!

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he sneered internally: The executive CEO of Yunhe Group, the head of cardiac surgery at Cheng'an—and neither of them can even be bothered to hit like!

He put his phone away and met Lu Yuan's curious gaze. Lu Yan rubbed the tip of his nose, too embarrassed to admit both his brothers had blocked him. His eyes darted around as he changed the subject: "Let's go check out the game room."

"Sure."

Even though he'd been staying at Songlan Manor for two days, Lu Yuan had mostly stuck to the master bedroom. He'd only peeked into the game room a couple times when he first explored the villa. It was huge but basically empty—from what he remembered, there was just one massive movie screen.

"There's literally nothing in here. Big Bro really doesn't get young people at all." Lu Yan took the chance to take a dig at Lu Ke as payback, then waved his hand dramatically. "Just wait—I'll hook you up!"

He pulled out his phone and made a call. About an hour later, a bunch of trucks pulled up outside Songlan Manor. Workers carefully hauled in a pool table, a poker table, computers, game consoles, a treadmill, and all kinds of other gear, setting them up in the rooms downstairs.

Lu Yuan glanced at the treadmill, the corner of his eye twitching a little, and gently pointed out: "This thing really doesn't need to be here."

Lu Yan: "Oh, that's just for decoration—makes us look healthier."

Lu Yuan: "...?"

While Lu Yuan stood there speechless, Lu Yan pointed at the massage chair worth a few hundred grand that had just been carried in: "Now this—this is what a young master like us should be enjoying."

Lu Yuan slowly gave his third brother a thumbs-up.

To be fair, Third Young Master Lu really knew how to live the good life, and he clearly vibed with Lu Yuan. It was honestly touching.

The workers came and went fast, super efficient—the whole thing took less than two hours. Lu Yan had Chen Chi get the game room cleaned up, then patted the blanket next to him, leaned over to grab the remote and turn on the screen, and handed Lu Yuan a controller. His eyes were bright with anticipation:

"You cool if I crash here tonight? Let's try to beat this game in one night, yeah?!"

Of course, beating the game was just an excuse—bonding was the real goal.

Lu Yan thought back to his esports tryout days. Whenever he carried the team, everyone—young or old—was totally blown away by his sheer charisma and would obediently call him "bro."

Lu Yuan carried over a plate of candied hawthorn balls Chen Chi had brought, plopped down cross-legged in the spot Lu Yan had saved, and nudged the plate toward him. After getting a look of disgust, he knowingly pulled it back and popped one into his own mouth.

The sugar-coated hawthorn balls were a million times better than the ones from that private hotpot place.

Lu Yuan barely managed to mumble around two of them: "Of course I don't mind."

The house was technically his now, but since Lu Yan was family, he could crash there whenever he wanted. Besides, the place was way too big—having more people around to hang with was a plus.

Except—

Just as the corners of Lu Yan's mouth were about to curl up, Lu Yuan poured cold water all over his plans: "You're gonna have to eat dinner by yourself tonight."

Lu Yan's heart sank. He asked, face falling: "Why?"

Lu Yuan: "Big Bro asked Bai Yu to look out for me, and he set up a dinner tonight. Or... you could come with us?"

They were all family anyway—one more set of chopsticks wouldn't hurt. Bai Yu probably wouldn't mind.

Lu Yan: "..." He didn't know if Bai Yu would mind, but he definitely minded.

His expression stiffened a little as he asked: "You said yes? Didn't you do any research on what kind of guy Bai Yu is first?"

It wasn't exactly a deep investigation. He'd just asked Lu Ke whether he should prepare a gift for Bai Yu since they were asking for a favor. But Lu Ke only said: "No need. I'll handle everything. You just need to show up for the meal and let Bai Yu see your face."

Lu Yuan still felt a bit uneasy, so he privately pulled out his phone and searched Bai Yu's name online.

Unfortunately, there were countless news articles about the Bai Group floating around, but information about Bai Yu himself was scarce. Every inquiry was met with: "Our Chairman Bai doesn't like giving interviews."

Lu Yuan scrolled through pages and pages of web results—accidentally clicking into several adult platforms—but couldn't find a single clear photo of Bai Yu's face.

The worst part was receiving a fraud prevention alert text from the local police station.

Afraid the police might actually show up at his door, Lu Yuan ultimately decided to play it safe and closed the browser.

Lu Yan cackled with laughter, slinging an arm around Lu Yuan's shoulder and grinning as he badmouthed: "Let me put it this way—if Lu Jingshan stood next to Brother Yu, you couldn't tell which one was your dad."

Lu Yuan: "?"

The hawthorn ball in his mouth was crushed into bits from shock. He opened his mouth, feeling his voice come out with some difficulty: "Isn't Bai Yu only thirty? He looks that old?"

So when he searched for info on Bai Yu, some posts speculated that he didn't like showing his face because he was ugly—did they nail it?

Lu Yan: "...No, that's not it. When I say 'dad,' I mean a kind of aura—that ultimate dad energy where one glance from him makes even the boldest guy cower like a scaredy-cat. He hates those lazy, good-for-nothing trust-fund brats from rich families the most."

With that, he patted Lu Yuan's shoulder again. "Hey, but you don't need to worry. You look like the type of good kid that older folks just adore, so no need to fear him."

Lu Yuan didn't say anything, but muttered to himself: Not so sure about that.

*

Although Lu Yan wasn't interested in the dinner with Bai Yu, he got along with Bai Yu well enough—at least he had to politely call him "Brother Yu" to his face.

Bai Yu was the same age as Lu Ke, and the two families were close, so when Lu Yan tagged along as Lu Ke's little shadow, he was Bai Yu's too.

Of course, not all shadows were treated equally.

Because he knew his younger brother was a little hell-raiser, and out of brotherly obligation, Lu Ke always bit his tongue when dealing with his reckless brother.

Bai Yu didn't.

One impatient frown from Bai Yu, and Lu Yan wouldn't dare budge.

This mouse-and-cat reaction to Bai Yu still held true years later. So at 6:20, Lu Yan dropped Lu Yuan off at the dinner venue and immediately floored it without hesitation.

Only a vague trailing voice lingered in the air: "Brother's waiting at home for you to come back and beat the game."

Lu Yuan: "..."

He wrapped his lambswool coat tighter, tucked his face into the raised collar, and walked toward the restaurant.

A minor accident had occurred on the way to Yunhe, blocking the road completely. Lu Ke wouldn't arrive for another half hour, so Lu Yuan had no choice but to follow the reception staff to the private room.

The private room was hidden within a costly landscaped garden, a stark contrast to the winter-white Beijing—green plants, flowing water, and the sound of a guqin lingering in the air, showcasing understated luxury to the fullest.

After circling the lavish courtyard, the server reached out and pushed the door open for Lu Yuan. The spacious, elegant room was divided by a screen, with a plain-colored carpet and expensive-looking calligraphy hanging on the walls. On the long black walnut table, tea steam curled upward, blurring the figure seated at the head.

Wait—there's a dad in the private room?

Wasn't Bai Group close to Yunhe? Why was Lu Ke stuck in traffic but this guy wasn't?

Lu Yuan froze, unsure whether to step in or back out. He quietly tried to retreat a step, but the server behind him politely pressed a palm against his right shoulder and softly reminded, "Careful, sir."

Lu Yuan: "..."