Chapter 101 - 101: It’s Up to Him Who He Marries and Who He Likes
The housekeeper didn’t argue, followed his instructions to a tee and asked Old Madam Lu to return home.
Old Madam Lu had expected Lu Zhi’s refusal to see her, so she said firmly, “Tell Ah Zhi that if he doesn’t see me today, 1’11 wait here until he’s willing to see me!”
“Old Madam, why are you doing this?”
“Just tell him what 1 told you. Don’t worry about anything else!” Old Madam Lu replied sternly.
The housekeeper could only relay the message truthfully to the young master.
“The old madam is probably here today because of Chen Kexin,” Jiang Yining said with understanding. “Why don’t you meet with her? She’s a frail old lady after all. If she falls ill from standing outside, it will be our fault.”
“No need,” Lu Zhi outright rejected her suggestion.
He didn’t want to keep indulging the people around him, not even his grandmother.
Jiang Yining didn’t think it was appropriate to press on, so she said, “Alright, you can decide for yourself.”
“Yes. Go and rest.” Lu Zhi patted her shoulder gently. There was a hint of gentleness in his cold tone.
“Good night.”
Jiang Yining said goodbye to him and went back to her bedroom.
She heard a ding in her pocket.
She turned on her phone and looked at the messages on screen. She saw that one of them was from Ye Xiaoxi.
“Yining, can you lend me fifty thousand yuan? I need it urgently.”
Jiang Yining was confused.
Why did Ye Xiaoxi suddenly ask her for money?
Moreover, the two of them were together after school today and she didn’t mention anything about a loan.
She then dialed Ye Xiaoxi’s number.
The call was picked up after a long while. “Hello, Xiaoxi. What’s up with the loan?”
“Yining, it’s fine. The message was secretly sent by my mother. Please ignore it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted, “Who is that? Did your friend agree to lend you money?”
“No one has agreed to lend me money! Last time you borrowed money from a loan shark, you almost sold me when they came here to collect. Where were you then? Now that I’ve finally settled that loan, you’ve borrowed money again to gamble and do drugs? Are you stopping only after you forced your daughter to a dead end?”
“I’ll pay back the money 1 borrowed! When 1 win back the money, I will return it to them in one go. 1 will also buy you a big house…”
“Shut up! 1 don’t want to listen to your lies anymore!” Ye Xiaoxi shrieked.
Jiang Yining frowned. “Xiaoxi, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Yining. I’m really sorry to disturb you so late at night. I’ll deal with my family matters first. I’ll talk to you another time.”
“Sure. Remember to reach out if you have any difficulties.”
“Alright.”
Ye Xiaoxi immediately hung up.
Jiang Yining looked at the darkened screen and sighed softly.
Tick-tock, tick-tock…
The wall clock in the study ticked rhythmically.
It was already late at night, but Lu Zhi was still sitting at his desk, reading a thick stack of documents.
Qi Feng walked in with a cup of tea and said, “Sir, you should rest. Don’t work too late.”
“Yes, I know.”
Despite his words, Lu Zhi didn’t stop writing.
Qi Feng stood at the side and paused for a moment before he said, “Sir, Old Madam is still outside. She’s been standing there for almost five hours now.”
Lu Zhi stopped writing. “Let her stand there if she wants to stand.”
“Sir, 1 know why you’re angry with the old madam. But she was old and weak. If she continued to tough it out like this, there might really be problems later.”
Qi Feng had worked for Lu Zhi for many years and knew him very well.
Although Lu Zhi looked cold outwardly, he was a person who valued relationships and loyalty deep down. The old madam had been good to him since young, but she opposed strongly to his marriage.
The current stalemate would also be temporary…
If anything happened to the old madam, the young master’s heart would ache for her.
Qi Feng saw that Lu Zhi was silent and continued, “No matter how unwilling you are to meet the old madam, on account of her taking care of you for so many years, please advise her personally not to continue waiting at the door. Persuade her go home to rest.”
Lu Zhi threw down his pen and stared at Qi Feng with his dark eyes. “One compromise leads to more compromises. Qi Feng, I will never let anyone control my life, especially my marriage.”
Who he married and who he liked was up to him.
No one could force him.
That was his bottom line.
Qi Feng was stunned. After a moment of silence, he said, “Yes, sir, 1 understand.”
“You may leave.”
“Yes.”
With a slight bow, Qi Feng left the study.
The lights in the study were on until dawn.
The documents on his desk were piled up to the height of a person. Lu Zhi had stayed up all night; his face remained cold but his eyes were bloodshot.
Outside the Lu residence…
Old Madam Lu could no longer stand. She sat in the middle of the front porch, feeling dizzy.
Qi Feng walked out with a tray of breakfast and said, “Old Madam, you haven’t slept all night. You should eat something.”
“Did All Zhi ask you to send this over?” Old Madam Lu asked hoarsely.
“No…” Qi Feng replied with his eyes lowered.
Tears welled up in Old Madam Lu’s eyes. “He’s so cruel. Back then when his mother didn’t want him, I took him in and raised him painstakingly. I’ve nurtured him into the talent he is today. Now that he’s all grown up with hardened wings, he’s abandoning his grandmother. Very good… That’s just great…”
“Old Madam, the young master still cares about you…” Qi Feng couldn’t help but defend the young master.
“He cares about me, but he has the heart to leave me outside for the entire night?” Old Madam Lu interrupted furiously.
Qi Feng stopped talking.
“Go and tell him that from today onwards, I no longer have him as my grandson, and he no longer has me as his grandmother!” Old Madam Lu said harshly and turned to leave.
However, her vision turned black and she fell to the ground.
Qi Feng hurriedly threw the breakfast tray aside and carried the unconscious old lady on his back into the house.
“Sir, it’s not good. Old Madam has fainted.”
The housekeeper ran into the study and explained the situation to Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi’s face darkened, and he walked out quickly. “Call the doctor.”
“Yes.”
The housekeeper was about to make a call when Lu Zhi stopped walking and said, “Go and call Yining.”
“Yes.”
The housekeeper quickly turned and ran towards Jiang Yining’s room.
Jiang Yining was still sound asleep when she heard knocking on her door. She covered her ears with the blanket to block out the noise and went back to sleep.
The housekeeper knocked on her door for a long time, but she did not answer.
He could only tell Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi walked to Jiang Yining’s door and opened it with a key.
Jiang Yining’s ears twitched, and she cracked her eyes open. When she saw Lu Zhi standing right in front of her, she was shocked. “What do you want?” “Grandma has fainted. Please go and take a look.”
“Let me wash up quickly.”
Jiang Yining was going to get out of bed but Lu Zhi didn’t have the time to wait anymore.
He just scooped her up and said, “You can wash up later.”
Jiang Yining was speechless..