Chapter 326 We Are All Bad Guys
Chen Qingbin scratched his head, "Old Lu, what's going on between your son and my daughter? You need to tell me clearly and give me a definite answer!"
Lu Guanghong thought to himself, This is bad. Now it's all tied to me.
"I... I'm not too sure either!"
Chen Qingbin said, "You're his father, and you're not sure? What kind of father are you?"
Lu Guanghong was on the verge of tears, "You don't understand, none of you do! You all don't know the situation in my family!"
Xu Zhiyun chimed in, "How could we not? Your son acts like a mouse seeing a cat when he's around you. And didn't you beat him up not too long ago?"
"That's right, Old Lu! Now's not the time to mess around. What's going on?"
Lu Guanghong said, "Right now, I'm not even qualified to be his father. He's my father now!"
The three old men were dumbfounded, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"The situation in my family has completely flipped upside down!" Lu Guanghong said. "Ever since Lu Chengwen took on the shantytown redevelopment project, he basically stopped coming home! When he does come back, it's just to frantically grab some documents and leave right away. I don't even have the right to ask him a question!"
"Then why don't you beat him?"
Lu Guanghong slapped his thigh, "I used to beat him, and he'd beg for mercy. Now I'm so out of breath I can barely move, and that kid doesn't even bother to look at me! He even asks if I've had enough of beating him, says he's in a hurry, and tells me to hurry it up!"
The group looked at each other, confused.
"You really can't control him?"
"Don't even bring him up. These days, when I go to the company, barely anyone pays attention to me. Only a few old colleagues are willing to chat with me. The younger generation? They completely ignore me. They just see me as a retired old man or 'Lu Chengwen's dad.'"
What could they do?
Everyone was stumped.
Lu Guanghong had completely turned into a retired old man.
Whether he was telling the truth or not didn't matter. Since he said so, there was nothing they could do about him.
The issue had to be resolved with Lu Chengwen.
Leng Tianhao thought for a moment and said, "Gentlemen, I've got something to do. I'll take my leave first. See you later!"
Xu Zhiyun had also made up his mind.
Lu Chengwen? Hmph!
My daughter has better options!
Isn't Long Aotian great? Bringing a miraculous son-in-law home who's a godly doctor—everyone would envy that!
Thinking of this, Xu Zhiyun also said, "Gentlemen, I'm leaving as well. I've got something urgent. See you later!"
Chen Qingbin got anxious, "Hey! We haven't come to a conclusion yet! Why are you all leaving?!"
Lu Guanghong thought, I'd better not stay and face Old Chen on my own. I should leave too.
He stood up, "Ah, I've got something to do as well..."
"What could a retired old man possibly have to do?"
"I... I have a heart condition. If I don't go home in fifteen minutes, it'll act up. I need to go take my medicine."
"Is your heart a clock? How is it so precise!?"
"It's true! It's true! See you later, take care!"
Lu Chengwen had only been home for a few hours and was now soaking in the bathtub, resting with his eyes closed.
Jiang Shihan was behind him, scrubbing his back.
"Ah, that feels great!" Lu Chengwen smiled.
Jiang Shihan chuckled and said, "About that golf course, I think we can let Erlong take over."
"Hm?"
Lu Chengwen asked, "Does he even know what he's doing?"
"He's learning fast," Jiang Shihan replied. "When I'm negotiating deals, I always bring Erlong along. And I have to say, hubby, your judgment is spot on. Erlong is really smart."
"Tell me more."
"When I'm talking business, he doesn't interrupt. If he doesn't understand something, he asks me privately afterward. As for golf, he's been researching it a lot on his own. I've seen him buy several books and even hire a teacher to guide him... He's really putting in the effort."
Lu Chengwen asked, "Did you tell him about this in advance?"
"Yes," Jiang Shihan admitted. "I only hinted at it a little, and he figured the rest out on his own. That's when he started working hard."
Lu Chengwen laughed, "Alright, let's let that country bumpkin broaden his horizons. Where is he now?"
"He's staying in a hotel near the golf course."
"He hasn't been hanging out with any shady people, has he?"
"Nope, he's been much more disciplined. The people around him are just a few of his close brothers, and they're all well-behaved."
Lu Chengwen nodded, "Alright, tomorrow we'll—"
At that moment, the bathroom door was suddenly pushed open, and Xu Xuejiao walked in wearing only a bath towel.
Lu Chengwen was startled, "Hey, hey, hey, Xuejiao, what are you doing?"
"Taking a bath, of course!"
"I have a bathroom on every floor. Why do you have to come to this one?"
"This one's lively."
Xu Xuejiao nonchalantly dropped her towel and stepped into the tub with a grin.
Jiang Shihan's jaw dropped, "Wow! President Xu, your figure is amazing!"
Xu Xuejiao smirked proudly, "What's the use of being unskilled? Competing for affection with you vixens requires some real assets!"
Jiang Shihan giggled, stood up, and said, "You two chat. I'll go enjoy a sauna."
Lu Chengwen was getting nervous.
Long Aotian was already at the advanced level of the Sky Four Gates. If Xu Xuejiao kept this up and he couldn't control his inner beast, wouldn't he go straight to the Heaven Four Gates?!
"Hey, hey, hey, Xuejiao, calm down!"
"Relax, I'm not going to eat you!" Xu Xuejiao submerged herself in the water, leaving only her head and shoulders visible. "Hey, do you know? Those old guys are running out of ideas. Their brains are about to dry up."
"What's that? What are you talking about?"
"Your dad, my dad, and the dads of Qingqiu and Mengyun. Hahaha, it's killing me with laughter!"
"What exactly happened?"
"I showed that marriage contract to my dad and told him that a mysterious person handed it to me. And guess what? He's been restless for days now, hahaha."
"Today, I noticed something was off about him, so I secretly planted a bug in his pocket. Wow! Want to listen to the recording?"
"Just tell me what happened."
"Basically, it's like this. Back in our grandfathers' generation—well, in your case, it's your dad—they all received help from the same mysterious master. But the price they paid was to promise marriage contracts for our generation. And that's how this marriage contract came to be!"
Lu Chengwen nodded. "Then what?"
"And now, they think that person has come back, but none of them are too eager to marry their daughters off to someone they don't know or understand. So, they're trying to come up with a solution."
"Hahaha!"
Lu Chengwen thought to himself, You all go ahead and discuss. Good luck to you.
Fortunately, I ran into Zhao Ritian in Nanyan, and Shimu made quick work of him. Otherwise, Xuecheng would be bustling with drama right now!
Long Aotian was competing with me for projects, and Zhao Ritian was trying to take my woman... I'd have to fight two overpowered protagonists all by myself.
But now, things are settled!
Zhao Ritian has been sent back for a reboot. Even if it doesn't take him ten or eight years, at least for the next year or so, he won't pose any threat to me.
And I even have all his marriage contracts. No wonder there was one for the Lu family—written in my dad's handwriting!
Heh, lucky for us, we don't have any daughters. That contract is just a worthless piece of paper.
Xu Xuejiao said, "My dad's already panicking. He's probably going to pressure me to get together with Long Aotian."
Lu Chengwen pulled Xu Xuejiao into his arms, feeling the soft and smooth figure of the young lady. "What are you afraid of? My senior brother, with his kingly aura, is basically a eunuch now! Hah! Enjoying women? That's not even part of his plans."
Xu Xuejiao giggled. "And what about you?"
"Me?" Lu Chengwen was almost in tears. "I can't either."
"Why not?"
"For now, I just can't."
"Don't lie! I know you're fine with Luo Shiyin. But with me, suddenly you can't?"
"It's not just you. It's you, Leng Qingqiu, Chen Mengyun... none of you."
"Why not!?"
"It's hard to explain. Let's just say it has to be done step by step."
"Hmph! So many secrets. I can't even figure out what kind of monster you are!"
"By the way, the Dayu Group representatives are about to leave. Are you sure you don't want to do something about the amusement park plan?"
"Where would I get the money?"
Lu Chengwen said, "I can't touch the funds right now. We don't know what the later stages of the shantytown redevelopment project will bring."
Xu Xuejiao said, "I heard that two residential complexes will be completed soon—day after tomorrow, I think."
"Really?!" Lu Chengwen clapped his hands. "That's great! With those two complexes, we should be able to resettle all the original residents of the shantytown."
Xu Xuejiao grinned. "You're about to start making money. Excited? Happy?"
Lu Chengwen smiled. "Thanks to you, Qingqiu, and Mengyun. This was a joint effort by the four families. Without you all, I couldn't have managed on my own."
"Hmph! As long as you know! Once the money comes rolling in, don't pocket it all yourself! If I don't make any money, I'll beat you to death!"
Lu Chengwen leaned in close to Xu Xuejiao's ear. "How will you beat me?"
"Take a guess!"
Lu Chengwen was very pleased. "Alright! Bring it on!"
Xu Xuejiao said, "Those old men are really losing their minds. My dad's been taking blood pressure meds every day."
"And my dad?"
"He's fine. Just eating and drinking his way through it, not getting involved at all."
"Hahaha!" Lu Chengwen laughed. "That's awesome!"
"Hey! Do you have to be this shameless?"
"I've always been shameless. You know that!"
"Anyway! Leng Tianhao hopes you'll hurry up and marry Leng Qingqiu! My dad wants Long Aotian to marry me as soon as possible!"
"And Old Chen?"
"I don't know about him. He probably has his own plans. But I heard him mention he might honor that marriage contract."
"Honor it?" Lu Chengwen burst out laughing. "Zhao Ritian got dismantled by my Shimu and sent back for retraining. What's there to honor?!"
Xu Xuejiao turned around, her face lighting up with excitement as she looked at Lu Chengwen. "So, we can use this marriage contract to stir up some major trouble?!"
Lu Chengwen squinted at her. "What... what are you planning?"
Xu Xuejiao's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Brother Chengwen! I think we can do so many things!"
Lu Chengwen looked at Xu Xuejiao. "Hey, hey, hey. They're old now. Be gentle with them. Don't go overboard; I'm afraid they won't survive."
"Hahaha! But I need to figure out the whole story first! Then I'll decide how to deal with them!"
At that moment, the phone rang.
Xu Xuejiao picked it up and saw it was Long Aotian.
She quickly covered Lu Chengwen's mouth. "Shh! It's Big Dumb Long. Don't make a sound!"
Lu Chengwen grinned, suddenly coming up with a wicked idea of his own.