🍼 Extra Update on Celebration 🍼
Ye Manyu’s tears quietly slipped down her cheeks. She raised a hand to wipe them away but despite her efforts, her eyes reddened once more.
That incident was carved so deeply into her heart that she would never be able to forget it.
That year, Zhuo Yu Group launched its very first publicly listed product: an AI powered intelligent robot, developed in collaboration with five hundred partners. As the product was officially released nationwide, the applause and cheers seemed endless. The launch conference continued for three consecutive days, with her and Lu Mingyu taking turns appearing on stage. The dazzling spotlights illuminated them, brilliant and glorious, while the people below erupted into one round of cheers after another.
Overnight, sales and performance skyrocketed, bringing in hundreds of millions in revenue. In the years that followed, their technological products and services spread into more and more regions and the market continued to explode. It was precisely because of this that the Lu family grew larger and more powerful with every passing year, eventually becoming one of the most prestigious and powerful families at the very top of society.
But it was during those very three days.
Lu Shiying was kidnapped by the owner of a company in the same industry, one of their competitors.
The kidnapper’s call came in and the moment he opened his mouth, he demanded thirty million.
Lu Mingyu and Ye Manyu were completely stretched thin. The product launch was at the most critical stage and every passing second was burning through money. They had no choice but to have Old Zhang take the money and go redeem the child.
The money was handed over but the kidnappers played them for fools.
The first address they provided was empty. The child was not there at all.
Those people were extremely cunning. They had deliberately used a fake location to mislead and scatter their search efforts. It took them two whole days to finally locate Lu Shiying.
It had been a carefully planned kidnapping from the very beginning yet they had failed to notice a single warning sign.
From that point onward, they arranged for bodyguards to accompany Lu Shiying wherever he went.
At the time, Lu Shiying was only seven years old.
He had been thrown into an abandoned basement. It was the middle of winter and the concrete floor was damp and freezing cold. He lay curled up in a corner with both his hands and feet tied. He was cold and hungry, his entire body filthy yet there was nowhere he could even find warmth.
The snakes that had been hibernating were startled awake by the sound of his crying.
Two snakes crawled out from the cracks in the corner of the basement wall. They slowly slithered along the ground, their forked tongues flicking in and out as they kept their eyes fixed on him.
Lu Shiying knew that as long as he did not move recklessly, a snake would not attack a person without reason.
So he remained curled tightly in the corner, too afraid to move, too afraid even to cry.
Fortunately, he was quiet enough.
Neither of the two snakes paid any attention to him. In the end, they simply slipped back through the cracks in the wall and disappeared.
When Old Zhang finally kicked the door open, the child was lying on the ground, his entire body trembling violently. His consciousness was already hazy, his pupils unfocused and dilated. He was barely clinging to life, his whole body cold as a block of ice.
On the way to the hospital, Lu Shiying, half conscious and delirious, wrapped his arms around Old Zhang’s arm. An outer coat had been draped over his body. He called out for his parents but when he finally opened his eyes, all he saw was the side profile of the driver and the bodyguards.
At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind.
He had almost died and his parents had not come to save him.
Lu Mingyu and Ye Manyu were still at the launch conference.
They had not even known how dangerous their son’s situation had become. They had always believed that with the Lu family’s immense wealth, influence and power, those bad people would never dare to actually hurt him.
But there were some people whose hearts were dark and twisted, people who only wanted revenge. When they were driven into a corner, they were not afraid of dying.
After Lu Shiying was rescued and brought back from the brink of death, every time he ate something, it felt as though thorns were twisting around his stomach. Every few days, a sharp, spasmodic pain would seize him without warning. He would suddenly break out in a cold sweat and even in the dead of winter, his fever refused to subside.
His condition repeatedly deteriorated, forcing him to be hospitalized again and again. He was put through more than half a month of treatment and suffering before he finally began to stabilize.
By then, he had become so thin that his features had almost changed completely. He had lost a full six or seven pounds.
Thinking of this, Ye Manyu’s eyes reddened again.
When Old Zhang had first told her that her son had been locked inside that basement for two days and two nights without eating a single thing and that there had even been snakes nearby, her entire heart had turned cold.
She knew that the launch conference had already begun at the time.
If they had stopped it abruptly, the ensuing discussions and criticism would have been enormous. Their partners would have been furious and the losses could potentially have amounted to tens of billions.
Yet, precisely during those few days, her son had been thrown into hell.
Lu Shiying had clearly not been like this when he was little.
He had once been an extremely cheerful child. Whenever he met someone, he would happily call them Uncle or Auntie. His words had always been sweet and he had been obedient and well behaved.
But afterward, those cheerful laughs gradually disappeared.
Little by little, he completely shut himself away from everyone.
He stopped paying attention to anyone.
And no one ever saw him smile again.
Sometimes, late at night, she would wonder if things might have been different if, on that day, even just one person had managed to spare the time and rush over to save him. Perhaps then, the scar left in the child’s heart would not have been quite so deep.
Jiang Ci turned his little head from side to side, unable to understand much of what the adults were talking about.
He ate two shrimp, swallowing them as he asked, “Uncle, Auntie, are you arguing? Xiao Ci can’t understand what you’re talking about. Why is Auntie crying?”
Lu Shiying rubbed his head gently. “Eat your food. We’re not arguing.”
Lu Mingyu let out a sigh and shook his head helplessly. “Shiying… a lot of things in this world are simply beyond our control. Sometimes, there’s no way for us to take everything into consideration. All of the Lu family’s assets and companies will belong to you in the future and they will eventually belong to your children as well. The harder we work and the more we build now, the less burden you’ll have to carry in the future.”
“Mm, I understand.”
Lu Shiying remained as indifferent as ever. He neither argued nor made a fuss, neither complained nor blamed them.
Yet it was precisely this calm, utterly unruffled expression that made Lu Mingyu and Ye Manyu feel increasingly uneasy.
Lu Mingyu put down his chopsticks and spoke again, his voice heavy. “We also came back because we wanted to tell you that we placed too heavy a burden on you before. If you don’t want to take over the family business at eighteen, if you don’t want to have so many enemies watching you, if you don’t want to do this anymore, you can walk away. Dad respects your decision. We’ve earned enough money by now. It’s more than enough for the two of you to live without worrying about food or clothing for the rest of your lives.”
Lu Shiying picked up a piece of fish and placed it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it unhurriedly, then ate two more mouthfuls of rice. He lifted his wineglass and drained the red wine in one go before pouring himself a second glass.
“I want to take over. I want to share your workload.”
Lu Mingyu and Ye Manyu did not say anything else.
They understood their son’s personality. Once he had made up his mind about something, he would not turn back.
Still, both of them had the same feeling without needing to say it aloud.
There was something weighing heavily on this child’s heart, something he had yet to tell them, something he was unwilling to open his heart and speak about.
Jiang Ci suddenly raised his little face. His childish voice was soft and earnest.
“Uncle, Auntie, Gege isn’t happy anymore. Don’t talk about him anymore.”
Ye Manyu was stunned for a moment.
This little child was surprisingly good at reading the atmosphere and observing other people’s expressions.
She raised the corners of her lips and answered with a smile, “We’re not arguing, Xiao Ci. From now on, just call me Auntie Man. You don’t have to call me Auntie. If you don’t want to acknowledge us as your Mommy and Daddy yet, we won’t force you. We can take it slowly.”
Jiang Ci smiled and nodded.
“Auntie Man.”
“Mm, what a good boy…”
Ye Manyu stared at the little round face in front of her, which was currently wearing such a bright, playful smile. For a fleeting moment, that smiling little face seemed to overlap with the image of her own son when he had been a child.
She lowered her eyes and a flash of guilt passed through them.
She was a strong woman in the business world, someone who had always focused on her career. On one side had been profit and ambition; on the other had been her child. She had been suspended between the two for half a lifetime yet she still could not tell which direction she should have chosen.
All she could do now was hope that Lu Shiying would not become increasingly withdrawn.
She hoped that being around this little child would gradually influence him, allowing him to become a little happier.
Ye Manyu thought about it for a moment before reminding him, “Shiying, when it comes to your little brother’s schooling and daily life, don’t put too much pressure on him. Mom and Dad are busy outside and can’t always take care of him. I saw that you even had a playground built for him. You really put some thought into this. Every now and then, take him out for a walk. Go on a day trip to the outskirts, or simply take him somewhere to relax and clear his mind. Give him some proper childhood memories that he can look back on.”
Lu Shiying responded with a cold, indifferent “Mm.”
Lu Mingyu also picked up the conversation. “Xiao Ci has a weak constitution and can’t afford to get hurt. I’ve already spoken to the private school invested in by the Lu family. The principal and his homeroom teacher will keep a closer eye on him. The school doctor is an old acquaintance of ours as well, so if anything unexpected happens, they’ll be able to deal with it immediately. Shiying, all you need to do is pick him up after school every day. You don’t need to worry about anything else. As for anyone who dares to lay a hand on him again…”
“What if you’re abroad?”
Lu Shiying suddenly interrupted him. His voice was cold.
“If Xiao Ci gets kidnapped, how are you going to come back?”
Lu Mingyu was rendered speechless.
Ye Manyu had no answer to that either. The husband and wife looked at each other in silence and an oppressive stillness descended over the dining table.
“Don’t make promises about things you can’t do.” Lu Shiying’s expression was dark and gloomy, as though heavy clouds had gathered over his face.
Ever since he was a child, he had always been the sensible one. He had never complained that his parents were not around and he had always understood how difficult and exhausting their work was.
But some things needed to be made clear.
The whole family could sit together and have a reunion dinner during the New Year yet there still seemed to be an invisible wall separating them.
Jiang Ci kept his head down and concentrated on his food. His little spoon scraped along the bottom of the bowl until he had eaten everything clean. His ears remained perked up as he listened, trying to catch even a little of what they were saying that he could understand.
The atmosphere was becoming increasingly awkward. All three adults had expressions as cold as frost and simply looking at the woman made Jiang Ci feel as though she might start crying at any moment. Whenever he had been with his own Mommy and Daddy before, they had always laughed and played together.
Jiang Ci rolled his eyes around thoughtfully, then set his spoon down and raised his head to call out, “Gege, I’m full!”
“Mm, I’m full too.” Lu Shiying immediately took the opportunity to put down his chopsticks. He bent over and scooped the little boy up from his chair. “Come on. I’ll teach you how to play the piano and then it’ll be time for bed.”
“Okay!”
Lu Mingyu watched the backs of the two brothers as they headed upstairs and murmured almost to himself, “Xiao Man, don’t you think Shiying has become too much like an adult? The way he was just now, he practically treats Xiao Ci like his own son and is raising him himself.”
Ye Manyu gave a bitter smile. “You’re thinking too much into it. The older brother is responsible, the younger brother is obedient and they simply get along well. That’s all. Right now, I’m wondering how I can become closer to our son again but I really can’t bring myself to let go of my work. Is it really impossible to have both a family and money? If I want to spend more time with him in the future… will it still be in time?”
There was a music room on the second floor. Against one wall stood a row of easels, prepared for Jiang Ci to learn art. The child liked drawing and had recently been working hard at learning it as well.
A grand piano stood in the very center of the room, with several other instruments scattered nearby, including a violin and a flute.
When Lu Shiying was little, he had found ordinary days too dull and bland. He wanted to try his hand at everything, to learn a little of this and a little of that, so Lu Mingyu simply indulged him and let him bring one musical instrument after another home.
Lu Shiying sat down on the piano bench, while Jiang Ci nestled comfortably in his arms. The little boy’s two short legs began swinging unconsciously again.
This time, his brother did not scold him.
“You seemed a little harsh when you were talking just now. Are you angry with me?” Lu Shiying extended his index finger and gently poked the soft, chubby cheek beside him.
Jiang Ci shook his head back and forth and answered obediently, “I’m not angry. Shaking my legs is a bad habit. I’ll slowly change it, okay?”
“Mm. It’s normal for little children to have bad habits. You can take your time and change them slowly. I just…” Lu Shiying paused, lowering his eyes to look at him.
He was afraid that his parents would take Jiang Ci away and raise him themselves, keeping him by their side. After all, it had been Lu Mingyu who had first suggested that he should raise the Jiang family’s child.
He could not let anyone take his little brother away from him.
That was why, just now at the dining table, he had deliberately made his words so firm and serious. He wanted those two people to understand the situation clearly.
He could earn money himself in the future, too. He could raise his little brother properly on his own.
Lu Shiying lifted the piano lid and glanced at the music stand before casually saying, “Xiao Ci, if Mom and Dad ask you to go abroad to study in the future, just refuse them. Don’t go with them.”
“Okay!” Jiang Ci clapped his hands and slapped them down onto the piano keys with a dull sound. He excitedly wriggled around in Lu Shiying’s arms. “Teach me quickly! Can we play ‘Two Tigers’ today?”
Lu Shiying lowered his head and laughed quietly.
He had never imagined that one day he would be using a Steinway to play a children’s song. Taking care of a child really was exhausting and troublesome yet somehow, even that exhaustion felt completely worthwhile to him.
He would teach Xiao Ci everything he was good at as well.
“All right.”
He demonstrated it once first.
The young man’s fingertips fell onto the keys with an almost weightless touch, gliding across the black and white keys like a feather skimming over the surface of water yet in the instant each note settled into the keys, there was a steadiness and depth to his touch, giving the simple children’s song an unexpectedly gentle and tender quality.
Jiang Ci’s little head bobbed up and down along with the rhythm. His mouth hummed the tune in a wonderfully disjointed way, while both his hands tapped out the beat against the edge of the piano bench.
Lu Shiying turned his head and glanced at him. His rhythm was surprisingly accurate. He was actually doing pretty well.
“Put your hand here. Don’t bring it down so quickly.”
“Okay.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(╯°□°）╯︵ ☕ — deploy caffeine!
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Even He, an outsider, couldn’t stand itChapter 2 · DaddyChapter 3 · Thank you for the gift!Chapter 4 · Do You want to sleep with your brother?Chapter 5 · Smart BabyChapter 6 · Life in a Wealthy FamilyChapter 7 · Genius BrotherChapter 8 · Brother’s giftChapter 9 · Xiao Ci was injured.Chapter 10 · ThoughtfulChapter 11 · Treat as treasureChapter 12 · Only recognized oneChapter 13 · Lu family coupleChapter 14 · A closed heartChapter 15 · Understanding my brotherChapter 16 · Reluctant to hitChapter 17 · UneasyChapter 18 · PossessiveChapter 19 · Teenage RebelChapter 20 Part 1 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 2 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 3 · The car accidentChapter 21 · My heart is racingChapter 22 · Physiological Knowledge