Chapter 661 - 569: I Only Want You
Chapter 661: Chapter 569: I Only Want You
On her way back to the Lu Family Courtyard gate, she saw Uncle Lu opening the door to come out. He was wearing a thick padded jacket and a cotton hat. Yang Liu’er asked where he was going, and Uncle Lu said, "Jianling was just looking around outside and couldn’t find a trace of you or Manman, so I thought I’d head to the mouth of the alley to check."
A warmth spread through Yang Liu’er’s heart. ’Ever since I moved in with the Lu Family, everyone, old and young, has treated me like their own flesh and blood. And I’m someone who craves the warmth of a family, so I could never bear to leave them.’
"It’s starting to snow, Dad. Let’s go back inside."
Yang Liu’er took Uncle Lu’s arm as they walked into the courtyard. He told her that Lu Jianguo had driven Weiwei’s maternal grandmother and aunt to the hospital and would be back shortly. There was no need to bolt the gate; just pulling it closed would be fine.
Yang Liu’er asked, puzzled, "Why the hospital? Is someone sick?"
Uncle Lu coughed a couple of times. "No one’s sick. It’s his... well, his second maternal aunt. She was about to wash her hands for dinner when she accidentally hit the table and dislocated her wrist. So, Jianguo drove her to the hospital. Weiwei’s grandma, uncle, and youngest aunt were worried, so they all went along. It’ll probably take a while. If they get hungry, Jianguo will take them to a restaurant. We should go ahead and eat. Weiwei’s been starving for a while, and I’m getting a bit hungry myself."
Yang Liu’er had her doubts. ’There’s no way it’s that simple,’ she thought. When she went inside, she saw Lu Jianling bustling about, reheating the dishes and bringing them to the table. Weiwei was already seated, staring at the food with wide, expectant eyes. Since the old man and the young boy were both hungry, it wasn’t a good time to ask questions. The three of them sat down and quietly ate their dinner.
After dinner, they watched TV. While Yang Liu’er and Lu Jianling discussed company matters, Weiwei took out the model airplane Manman had given him to show his grandpa. He would occasionally lift the plane into the air, making VROOOOM sounds as if it were taking off. The grandfather and grandson were having a great time, talking and laughing as they played. The atmosphere was as normal as ever, as if the earlier unpleasantness had never occurred.
Lu Jianguo got home a little after nine. The bag he’d been carrying was gone. He had arranged for Grandma Shi and the others to have a meal and a place to stay for the night, but he still came home looking for something to eat himself.
Lu Jianling, with great foresight, had kept the food warming in a steamer, ready to be served. Lu Jianguo called out to his father and sister to join him for a late-night snack, but both ignored him. So, he pulled Yang Liu’er over to have a bowl of soup with him. Weiwei joined in on the fun, gnawing on a couple of lamb bones. Yang Liu’er complained, "If I keep eating like this, I’ll turn into that fat lady from TV."
Lu Jianguo laughed. "You’re my wife. I’ll love you no matter how chubby you get!"
Weiwei chimed in, "No way! That fat lady on TV is super ugly! I don’t like her!"
Yang Liu’er gently poked Weiwei on the forehead. "And what would you know about good-looking and not good-looking?"
"Of course I know! You’re perfect just the way you are, so don’t get any chubbier. Dad’s just tricking you. Nobody likes fat women."
"..." Lu Jianguo stared speechlessly at his son for selling him out.
Lu Jianling couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Uncle Lu, with a cigarette holder between his lips, watched his children and grandson with a contented smile.
「Later that night.」 After helping Weiwei wash up and coaxing him to sleep in the outer room, Yang Liu’er lingered for a good while before returning to the main bedroom. Lu Jianguo was leaning against the headboard, reading. The moment he saw her push the door open, he set his book aside and pulled her onto the bed, wrapping his arms around her to warm her up. They whispered and cuddled affectionately for a while. Bathed in the orange glow of the bedside lamp, Yang Liu’er found herself studying Lu Jianguo’s face again. Her heart fluttered with a mix of shock and excitement. ’This is him. This is Lu the God of Wealth, the man everyone looked up to and envied in my past life! Fate is such a curious thing. To think that a man I’d only heard about countless times is someone I’ve somehow, cluelessly, ended up with in this life!’
When Lu Jianguo saw Yang Liu’er cupping his face in her hands and studying it so seriously, the usually calm and composed man suddenly felt a pang of insecurity. "My skin will get lighter again..." he said softly.
Yang Liu’er burst out laughing. She planted a kiss on his tanned cheek and then asked what had really happened with Grandma Shi and the others.
Lu Jianguo felt a warmth spread through his chest. Pleased, he didn’t hide anything and gave her a concise summary of events.
Yang Liu’er sighed. "For them to be thinking like that, they must really hate me now. What should we do? It’s going to be hard for our two families to interact from now on. But they’re still Weiwei’s maternal family, after all. We can’t just cut them off completely."
Lu Jianguo smoothed her furrowed brow with his thumb. "You have me, so you don’t need to worry about it. The Lu Family doesn’t have many relatives to begin with, but if they were all like the Shi family, I’d rather cut ties with every last one of them! I’ve already dealt with it. I haven’t wronged them in any way, and the Shi family won’t be coming here again. You said it yourself—they’re Weiwei’s maternal relatives. When Weiwei is grown and has his own family, he can decide for himself if he wants a relationship with them. It will have nothing to do with us."
"But... Weiwei’s youngest aunt. When you looked at her, did you get the feeling that..."
Lu Jianguo lowered his head and gently nibbled her lip. "What is it? Just because other people are crazy, does my wife have to be foolish, too?"
"I was just thinking... if..."
"You just love to overthink things, don’t you? How about we do something else instead!"
"Hey, let me finish talking," Yang Liu’er said, laughing as she dodged Lu Jianguo’s roaming hands. "It’s actually pretty normal for them to think that way. No matter how you look at it, they’re Weiwei’s blood relatives, and I’m the outsider. If you and I weren’t together, and they had proposed it... would you have considered it?"
"Never!"
Lu Jianguo held his beloved, breathing a little heavily as he spoke, each word firm and resolute. "I only want you. Even if a goddess fell from the heavens, I wouldn’t want her! Do you have any idea what I felt, up on the plateau, when I received that letter from you and Weiwei and saw your picture together? It was as if you’d always existed, as if your face was etched into my very bones, and you had suddenly appeared before me. I was shocked... ecstatic! I even imagined that you were my son’s mother, that our family had been separated, and it was finally time for our reunion!"
Yang Liu’er gently caressed his face, her eyes welling with tears. "To be loved by you like this... it makes this whole life worthwhile."
Lu Jianguo thought to himself, ’Thank God I had the foresight to send the Shi family a considerable sum of money last year before coming back to Beijing. They’ve been accepting my money without any qualms for years; it’s become a habit. As long as the money keeps coming, they’d never think of dropping by the Lu residence to "visit relatives" and see their grandson.’
’After returning to Beijing, I even specifically instructed my aunt’s family, who live fairly close to the Shi family, not to tell them I was back. While I haven’t had much contact with Grandma Shi and her daughter, I know them well enough to want no part of certain ideas they entertain.’
’Shi Juying often wrote him letters and sent postcards. She’d claim she was writing on her parents’ orders to check in on her brother-in-law and see how he was doing, and would casually report on her and Shi Zhiquan’s studies. Every letter would include a message from Grandma Shi, but the bulk of it would be about her own daily life. She would frequently include excerpts from famous poems with vaguely romantic overtones, and even sent her own photos... It all sent a clear message: his young sister-in-law was ready and waiting to take her sister’s place as his wife.’
’Aside from sending money, I would occasionally write back, always returning her photos. I told her in no uncertain terms to focus on her studies. I said there were things she shouldn’t be thinking about; she was a student, and her education was what mattered most!’
’When I came back to Beijing to recover from my injury, if the Shi family had found out, knowing Grandma Shi’s personality, she would have rushed over with all the aunts and uncles in tow long ago. I had no desire to get entangled with them. Besides, I already had Yang Liu’er in my heart. Even though my chances felt slim back then, it was precisely because they were so slim that I had to give it my all to win her over and eliminate any and all potential interference!’
And as it turned out, he was right. After a year of painstaking effort, he had finally won the love and happiness he wanted. This life felt complete. Now, all that was left was to plan out his career and enjoy a wonderful life with the woman he loved and his family.