The intelligent teacher was slightly taken aback, but answered truthfully.
“She said she came over to have lunch with Young Master Gu. She should still be in the dining area.”
Lu Yan took a deep breath and patiently said, “Please take me there.”
Five minutes later, the intelligent teacher led Lu Yan to the dining area.
The moment she stepped inside, Lu Yan immediately spotted the familiar little figure sitting by the window.
Gu Xinghuai had a pale-white little backpack on his back, his small body sitting ramrod straight. An exquisite children’s meal was laid out in front of him, but he hadn’t touched a single bite.
He sat quietly with his delicate little face lowered, his long, curled lashes drooping slightly and concealing his crystal-clear white eyes. His little baby teeth were biting hard into the soft flesh of his lower lip.
He looked as though he was on the verge of crying, yet was stubbornly holding back his tears.
The sight made Lu Yan stop dead in her tracks, and her heart clenched painfully.
She was just about to walk over when she suddenly heard Mrs. Gu, seated across from Gu Xinghuai, sizing up the child with a sharp, spiteful look.
“Xiaohuai, just look at you. You were born with those annoying white eyes. Your father must have never told you, right? Among the nobles of Imperial Star, white eyes are considered the lowest status. Otherwise, why would your noble mother hate you so much? Why would she hate your father too, and throw a fit every day demanding a divorce from him?”
Gu Xinghuai’s shoulders trembled faintly.
His little hands tightened around the straps of his backpack, and his head drooped even lower.
Mrs. Gu showed no intention of stopping. She continued relentlessly pressuring the little boy.
“Your father has had such a hard time raising you all by himself under all this pressure. If you still don’t shape up and go beg your maternal grandparents from the Lu family, win their favor, and get them to promise you some benefits, then the day Lu Yan really divorces your father, you’ll truly become a child without a mother! And when that happens, the other children will laugh at you when you go to school!”
“Xiaohuai, are you even listening to Grandma—”
Lu Yan couldn’t listen any longer.
Her expression turned icy as she strode forward, cutting off Mrs. Gu before she could finish.
“Madam Gu, are you really that eager for Gu Chenyu and me to get divorced?”
“Lu… Lu Yan?”
Mrs. Gu shot to her feet, staring at the woman who had suddenly appeared before her in disbelief. Her eyes widened little by little.
“Aren’t you on Imperial Star? How did you come all the way to the frontier…”
Lu Yan let out a cold laugh, her chilly gaze sweeping over her.
“If I hadn’t come here myself, I really wouldn’t have known that someone would dare sit here and pass judgment on my child.”
Of course, Mrs. Gu didn’t think Lu Yan was standing up for the child.
She assumed Lu Yan had simply misunderstood and thought that insulting the child was also an insult to her as a noble mother.
Mrs. Gu awkwardly forced a smile and hurriedly explained, “Lu Yan, you misunderstood. I was just chatting with Xiaohuai. I wasn’t talking about you. Don’t take it to heart…”
“Misunderstood?”
Lu Yan raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Article 31 of Imperial Star’s law prohibits public discussion and disparagement of nobles. Serious offenders may be detained for seven days or more. Madam Gu, why don’t you tell me exactly what your intentions were when you said those things to Gu Xinghuai?”
The moment Lu Yan brought up Imperial Star’s laws, Mrs. Gu’s expression grew even more flustered, though she still tried to put on a composed front.
“Of course I know! But I’m Xiaohuai’s biological grandmother. Can’t I say a few words to my own grandson?”
Lu Yan couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on her.
She turned directly to the intelligent teacher, who was nervously waiting nearby, and issued an order.
“Effective immediately, the training center’s registration system will retain only Gu Xinghuai’s parents as his authorized guardians. No one is permitted to visit him without the guardians’ permission.”
Before the intelligent teacher could respond, Mrs. Gu immediately raised her voice in protest.
“Lu Yan, even if you’re a high-ranking noble, you can’t act this arrogantly! I’m Xiaohuai’s biological grandmother. What right do you have to stop me from seeing my own grandson? I’m going to find Chenyu—”
“Even if you bring Gu Chenyu here, it won’t help.”
Lu Yan took a step forward and looked down at her with an icy gaze.
“Do you really think I don’t know why you came here? Gu Chenyu won’t pay attention to you, so you thought you’d come here and scare a child instead.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“I’m warning you. If you dare appear in front of Gu Xinghuai again and make him shed even a single tear, I’ll make sure your useless second son can’t even stay on Imperial Star!”
The moment her younger son was mentioned, Mrs. Gu reacted as though Lu Yan had touched her most sensitive nerve.
She glared furiously at Lu Yan and shouted through gritted teeth, “Lu Yan, how dare you?!”
“What is there I wouldn’t dare to do?”
The corners of Lu Yan’s lips curled into a cold smile.
“If Madam Gu doesn’t believe me, you’re welcome to find out.”
Mrs. Gu trembled with rage, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was vent her anger with a final threat.
“Lu Yan, if you hadn’t found Gu Chenyu an eyesore on Imperial Star back then and forced him to bring a child who hadn’t even been weaned to the frontier, would Xiaohuai have been humiliated by others at such a young age?”
“You’re putting on this act now, pretending to protect the child, but in the end, isn’t it because you think he’s bringing shame to your noble family? You’re only doing this to protect your own reputation!”
Lu Yan’s heart tightened.
The retort was already at the tip of her tongue when that familiar numb, painful sensation suddenly spread through her fingertips.
She instantly came to her senses.
She had nearly broken character again.
Lu Yan narrowed her eyes and had no choice but to forcibly suppress her true emotions. Taking advantage of Mrs. Gu’s words, she arrogantly followed along.
“So what if that’s true?”
Gu Xinghuai, safely shielded behind her, timidly raised his head.
His normally bright, round white eyes were filled with confusion and hope as he stared without blinking at the figure standing protectively in front of him.
But when he heard Lu Yan admit it, the little boy finally understood, albeit slowly…
So… Mommy was only protecting him because she thought he had embarrassed her noble family.
Gu Xinghuai blinked slowly.
The moisture in his eyes grew heavier and heavier before he lowered his head again, his little mouth pressed into a stubborn, cold line.
At that moment, Mrs. Gu stared at Lu Yan, unable to utter a single word in response.
She had long since experienced the domineering methods of this noble young lady, and she knew Lu Yan was the type to follow through on her threats.
In the end, she could only turn around and leave resentfully.
After Mrs. Gu left, the dining hall instantly fell silent.
Lu Yan gave the intelligent teacher a few brief instructions before finally turning around.
The little boy’s body was slightly tense. He still had his head lowered, saying nothing.
Lu Yan’s heart ached faintly at the sight, but she deliberately kept her expression calm.
“Why aren’t you greeting me?”
Hearing her speak to him, Gu Xinghuai’s little hands loosened around his backpack straps, only to tighten around them again.
He puffed out his cheeks slightly and awkwardly squeezed out a soft little voice.
“Mommy.”
Lu Yan glanced at him, then ordered, “Hand.”
Gu Xinghuai hesitated for a moment before cautiously extending his little hand and placing it into her soft palm.
With an arrogant little squeeze, Lu Yan took hold of the cub’s soft, chubby hand.
Then she lowered her head with a serious expression and, completely shamelessly, questioned her own baby:
“Gu Xinghuai, you left me standing there for so long just now without coming over to hold my hand. Were you trying to make other people laugh at me for being a mommy whom her own baby doesn’t like?”