9 – Bullу аt Ноmе
Liаng Yilоu felt a сhill аnd immеdiаtеly shut his mouth to fееd Chengсheng.
Lu Minglаn quiсklу раttеd the mаin sеаt bеside her, signаling:
“Don’t just stand there, hurrу uр and sit dоwn tо еаt.”
Тhen, роinting tо the lowеr sеat оppositе, she sаid to the nannу besidе her:
“Nаnnу Jiang, add а chair for Мiss Сhеn оver therе.”
“Nо nееd.”
Lu Jin pressеd Chеn Qingzhi into the mаin seat:
“Shе’ll sit right next tо me.”
The mоrе trаditionаl thе family, the mоre rigid thе rulеs regarding hiеrarchу and sеniоritу during familу gatherings.
Оld Mastеr Lu hаdn’t сome downstairs yet. The twо аunts sat on either sidе оf the main seаt, with thеir husbands beside them. Further down were the younger generation, Liang Yilou’s peers.
Lu Jin, as the newly appointed head, naturally had to sit at the main seat alongside Lu Zheng.
Now, he had pulled his wife to sit with him, effectively taking Old Master Lu’s spot.
What was this supposed to mean?
Lu Minglan wore a smile, but her words carried a hint of reprimand:
“Father hasn’t come downstairs yet. It’s inappropriate for Miss Chen to sit here.”
She faced Lu Jin, repeatedly referring to her as “Miss Chen.”
It was clearly intentional, meant for Chen Qingzhi to hear.
The message was clear: it was fine for her own nephew to act a little willful in front of family, but as an outsider, shouldn’t she know better?
Chen Qingzhi didn’t want to cause trouble. She just wanted to finish this awkward meal quickly and leave, so she stood up to take a seat at the lower table.
Lu Jin grabbed her hand again and pulled her back down. Casually, he twisted open a small bottle of fresh milk on the table and held it to Chen Qingzhi’s lips:
“Sit properly and eat!”
Lu Minglan was about to object.
Lu Jin’s smiling eyes instantly turned icy. He lazily crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.
Then, he casually tossed the milk cap onto the marble tabletop, making a loud clatter:
“Since when does the young mistress sit at the lower table in the Lu family?”
The silence was deafening.
Aside from the aunts and uncles, who were elders, everyone else was of the same generation.
Among them, Lu Jin held the highest authority, and no one dared to say a word.
During her previous visits to the Lu mansion, Lu Jin had always been in a hurry, and the couple had only exchanged brief greetings.
There had been no wedding.
The public relations team had only issued a simple statement.
Naturally, no one in the Lu family acknowledged Chen Qingzhi’s status.
Chen Qingzhi didn’t care in the slightest. She sat quietly, taking small sips of milk.
She had been hungry for a while now. The atmosphere in the Lu family was too strange, and as someone who was about to get divorced and was an outsider anyway, she couldn’t be bothered with their internal conflicts.
Still, Lu Jin, that shameless man, had just been acting up and being unreasonable in front of her.
Now, putting on this show of defending her to provoke the Lu family had actually intimidated quite a few people.
If he ever entered the entertainment industry, he might just become an award-winning actor.
His performance was truly masterful.
Chen Qingzhi couldn’t hold back a soft, muffled laugh.
A few drops of white liquid seeped from the corner of her mouth.
She looked up, searching for a tissue to wipe it away.
Lu Jin tilted his head, pinched her chin, and pressed his thumb firmly against the corner of her mouth.
Wiping away the milk.
His tone was resigned:
“Usually, you’re so sharp-tongued and fierce with me. What, you just leave when she tells you to?”
He smirked, his voice laced with mockery:
“I see you only know how to bully those close to you.”
Chen Qingzhi discreetly nudged Lu Jin’s arm with her elbow, her eyes signaling him not to overdo the act.
Lu Jin immediately understood her meaning and withdrew his hand, putting distance between them again.
In truth, when Lu Jin first returned to the Lu family, he had just turned nineteen and wasn’t this defiant.
When Old Master Lu told him to give up art and study finance instead, he complied.
It was only after he took over the family’s affairs in the past two years that the arguments between grandfather and grandson grew more frequent.Whether it was the development philosophy of the group or Lu Jin’s personal life, disagreements could erupt at any moment.
Lu Minglan attributed all of this to his and Chen Qingzhi’s whirlwind marriage.
Who knew what was so special about this fourth-tier celebrity that she had Lu Jin so bewitched.
Lu Minglan shot Chen Qingzhi an extremely displeased look before turning to the guests at the table, who wore varied expressions, and said with a smile:
“Father isn’t feeling well and won’t be coming downstairs. Everyone, there’s no need to stand on ceremony—please feel free to start eating.”
Lu Jin had been in the spotlight these past two years, and the guests seemed to ignore his earlier inappropriate behavior, instead praising him endlessly for being young and accomplished.
He raised his glass with a smile, responding casually, yet skillfully steering the conversation and guiding the thoughts of others.
Chen Qingzhi knew nothing about business or investments, so she kept her head down and focused on her meal. No one at the table paid her any attention.
But she preferred this kind of neglect, wishing she could simply fade into the background.
After a while, Butler Zhang gently knocked on the dining room door and spoke respectfully:
“Young Master, the master has asked for you to go upstairs.”
Lu Jin excused himself from the guests, set down his wine glass, and left.
Lu Minglan had long disliked Chen Qingzhi’s background.
On an occasion like today, she hadn’t even bothered to help Lu Jin entertain the guests, keeping her head down the entire time.
Lu Minglan’s expression looked quite displeased:
“Miss Chen, now that you’ve married into our Lu family—whether it was a proper wedding or not—shouldn’t you at least help A’Jin serve dishes or ladle soup when he’s hosting guests?”
“Instead, you just sit there watching, not saying a word. Do you think that just because A’Jin protects you, you don’t need to learn these things?”
A few relatives close to Lu Minglan, eager to curry favor with her, took this opportunity to take turns lecturing Chen Qingzhi on table manners.
“I married Lu Jin,” Chen Qingzhi found it amusing. “Not the Lu family.”
These people practically wore the word “arrogance” on their faces.
They hadn’t dared to lecture her while Lu Jin was present, but now they were criticizing her for being spoiled and presumptuous.
“Still acting like a child—A’Jin is going to suffer.”
“Young people should at least show basic respect to their elders. How is A’Jin supposed to take you to important events in the future?”
“Exactly, no manners at all, not even a shred of awareness.”
Chen Qingzhi’s expression darkened. She had never been one to endure insults silently or submit to mistreatment.
Nor was she cut out to be the meek daughter-in-law of a wealthy family, so she retorted directly:
“I treat people the way they deserve.”
The atmosphere instantly turned icy.
A clear, sharp female voice suddenly rang out:
“Chen Qingzhi, is that how you speak to your elders? How were you raised?”
Shi Miaomiao slowly rose from her seat beside Lu Minglan. Her bright red dress made her stand out starkly.
She was the eldest daughter of the Shi family—the producer Liu Jing had mentioned offending.
In fact, Chen Qingzhi had noticed Shi Miaomiao as soon as she entered the dining room. She had been chatting and laughing with Lu Minglan and the other elders, appearing dignified and poised.
No wonder the Lu family had initially wanted Lu Jin to marry her.
Chen Qingzhi frowned slightly:
“Miss Shi, as a mother, you should set a better example.”
Her gaze shifted to the Liang father and son sitting opposite Shi Miaomiao, her expression cold:
“Stay out of other people’s family matters.”
Shi Miaomiao glanced at Chengcheng, her sharpness fading slightly, and swallowed the words she had been about to say.The sudden sound of glass shattering “crackling” from the second floor drew everyone’s attention away.
—”Lu Jin, don’t think that just because you’re in power now, you can do whatever you want! Many of my old subordinates are still working in the group. With just a few phone calls, I can still make your life difficult. Stop talking about reform and innovation all the time—if you have the guts, kick all my people off the board!”