The patriarch of the Lu family had long since retired; these days, he spent his time at home tending to his vegetable garden and playing chess with a group of old comrades-in-arms.
Just a moment ago, he’d heard someone say that his youngest son—who hadn’t been home in a long time—had returned.
He was just thinking about mentioning it to his youngest son, asking him to keep an eye on things—the grandson of one of his old comrades-in-arms was looking to climb the career ladder.
No sooner had he arrived home than he heard a young girl pointing at his youngest son and saying, “I’m pregnant—I’m already carrying a child.”
Old Master Lu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his spirit as vigorous as ever.
“Shaoting, what on earth is going on here?”
“Is this young lady Xiaxia from the Gu family?”
Gu Xia was truly terrified. She had come to Beicheng[1]North city jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2734627_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2734627_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); alone, seeking out the Lu family, and the people before her were all elders she had once held in the highest regard.
Grandma Lu, with her aloof demeanor.
Grandpa Lu, talkative yet stern.
Uncle Lu, who was old-fashioned and stern, and had always scolded her in the tone of an elder.
But now, she had made Uncle Lu the father of the child in her womb. It seemed like a mismatch in generations, but she really couldn’t worry about that right now.
Gu Xia’s voice was still trembling.
But she knew she had to stay calm. Even if it was her fault, she would find Lu Shaoting later to apologize.
But right now, to save her family, she had no choice but to go against her conscience.
“Grandpa Lu, it’s Gu Xia. I am indeed pregnant. If you don’t believe me, I can go to the hospital for a checkup and bring you the results.”
“The child in my womb is definitely Lu Shaoting’s.”
“You can ask him.”
The patriarch of the Lu family looked at his youngest son, who remained silent, his face dark with displeasure.
He suspected that what Gu Xia was saying was nine out of ten times true.
He knew his son well—as long as he hadn’t done it himself, not even the King of Heaven could make him admit to having been cheated on. But now, he clearly hadn’t spoken up to deny it.
So the truth of the matter was nine out of ten times certain.
“Lu Shaoting, you’re a real scoundrel. How old is Gu Xia, and you dare to make a move on her? Do you know what Gu Xia calls you? She calls you ‘Uncle’—she’s your niece.”
Lu Shaoting knew that even if he explained himself now, no one would be willing to listen.
Lu Shaoting said in a low voice, “I’ll handle this myself.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
As soon as Old Master Lu heard this, he flew into a rage.
“You good-for-nothing! You’re going to handle this yourself? Tell me, how exactly do you plan to handle it?”
Lu Shaoting replied coldly, “I have my own way of handling it.”
Just as the father and son were about to come to blows, Old Lady Lu, Zhang Yuelan, who had been sitting calmly in a chair nearby, turned her gaze toward Gu Xia.
“Gu Xia, since you’ve come to our door, if you have any demands regarding this matter, just state them.”
“Shaoting is my son. I know his character. He is absolutely not the type to be swayed by passion; otherwise, he wouldn’t still be single in his thirties. After his previous health issues, he had already resolved not to marry. Now you’ve shown up claiming to be pregnant with his child. When it comes to such matters, you must provide evidence to back up your words and actions.”
Gu Xia was so nervous and frightened that her hands were trembling slightly.
Pretending to be calm, she said steadily, “I know you won’t believe a word I say right now.”
“I want to negotiate terms with Uncle Lu.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Shaoting’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
He knew it all along—Gu Xia definitely had an ulterior motive.
Whether she was actually pregnant remained to be seen.
Lu Shaoting led Gu Xia straight to the bedroom on the second floor.
He would have preferred to take her out to the courtyard, but everyone would have seen them.
Lu Shaoting and Gu Xia went upstairs.
Voices from the Lu family’s main branch could be heard downstairs, and Lu Ye’s voice stood out in particular.
“Grandma, I heard that Gu Xia is here. Have the Gu family all returned from the Far Northwest?”
Zhang Yuelan replied, “Only Gu Xia herself has come. Why are you back?”
Lu Ye said, “I was playing basketball with some friends in the courtyard when I heard that Gu Xia had returned and was coming to our house, so I came to take a look.”
There were certain details regarding the Gu family’s reassignment to a rural village in the Northwest that Lu Ye wasn’t aware of.
But he knew this matter must have something to do with his father.
He had come to his grandparents’ house precisely to find out whether Gu Xia’s return to Beicheng—and her decision to come straight to the Lu family—meant she had discovered something.
***
In Lu Shaoting’s bedroom on the second floor.
Lu Shaoting rarely stayed overnight here. His room, much like the man himself, exuded a sense of stiffness; everything was arranged neatly and immaculately.
Lu Shaoting pulled out a chair and sat down, casually pulling a cigarette from his pocket.
He lit it and fixed Gu Xia with a cold, piercing gaze.
“Weren’t you here to negotiate terms with me? Speak up.”
He spoke the last two words in a low, stern voice, causing Gu Xia to flinch instinctively.
“What do you want me to do?” Gu Xia asked. “No matter what, I’m carrying your child now. You can’t just sleep with me for nothing.”
Hearing this, Lu Shaoting let out a cold laugh.
“Sleep with me for nothing?”
“Gu Xia, have some self-respect. I shouldn’t have shown you any pity or compassion. From the moment you came to the Northwest Military Camp to find me, claiming to be my niece, did you already have a plan to trick me?”
“I want you to tell the truth.”
Lu Shaoting was too clever. Gu Xia, who was completely naive, looked just like a child pretending to be an adult in front of him.
No matter how well she pretended, there were always cracks in her facade.
She’d never been able to lie since she was a child.
Because her mother had told her that children must never lie.
Once you tell one lie, you have to tell many more to cover it up, and in the end, you’ll still be exposed.
Gu Xia raised her eyes, trying her best to stay calm and composed—at the very least, she couldn’t let her emotions get the better of her.
She couldn’t cry; she absolutely couldn’t cry in front of Lu Shaoting.
She bit her lip hard, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on Lu Shaoting, and asked stubbornly.
“What do you want me to do? Uncle Lu, you tell me first—what do you want me to do?”
Hearing her call him “Uncle,” Lu Shaoting felt a surge of irritation.
“Don’t call me ‘Uncle.’ It makes me sick.”
Gu Xia’s eyes seemed to redden a little more.
But she knew that what she’d done was the sort of thing only a bad woman would do, so it was only natural that her behavior would disgust people.
“Fine, I won’t call you that.”
She really did act like an innocent young girl, answering every question without hesitation.
Lu Shaoting felt that he couldn’t even tell anymore whether Gu Xia was genuinely innocent or just pretending to be innocent, while actually harboring a mind full of schemes.
“Have an abortion. Just tell me what you want.”
Gu Xia had been waiting for Lu Shaoting to say exactly that.
“Help me get my parents and older sister to the city. As long as they’re here, I’ll have the abortion. I won’t cause you any trouble.”
Hearing her speak with such urgency, Lu Shaoting found it laughable.
“You were willing to drug me just to get your family back to the city. A young girl, straddling a man with no sense of shame. Gu Xia, if your parents and sister knew you were doing things like this, do you really think they’d be willing to come back?”
“No.” Gu Xia immediately panicked. “Don’t tell them. Uncle Lu—no, Lu Shaoting—you have to listen to me. You must get my parents and sister to the city. Otherwise, I…”
Lu Shaoting asked sternly, “Otherwise, what do you plan to do?”
“Otherwise, I’ll go all out. I’ll camp out in front of your house, I’ll cause a scene at your workplace—I’ll make sure everyone knows that you, Lu Shaoting, raped me.”
“The baby in my belly is the best proof.”
“Gu Xia.” Lu Shaoting was so enraged that he leaped to his feet, grabbed Gu Xia by the throat, and glared at her with a fierce look. “I can see you’ve been planning this trap for me for a long time.”
“Why me?”
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References[+]