Chapter 72: Getting Song Jiyao to Settle Down

Chapter 72: Making Lu Hechi Settle Down

On the first day Shen Lanxue was away, Lu Hechi went to work and came home as usual, spending time with Little Star.

On the second day Shen Lanxue was away, Lu Hechi was distracted, hanging out with Little Star.

On the third day Shen Lanxue was away, Lu Hechi had lost his appetite entirely, staying with Little Star.

It wasn't until a week later that Lu Hechi received a call from Wen Lan.

He hesitated for a long time, then swiped to answer. A gentle female voice came through the line. "Xiaochi, how have you been lately?"

"...Pretty good."

"I asked William yesterday—you haven't gone to see him for treatment?"

Lu Hechi pinched his ear, pushed back with his heel, and spun his office chair half a turn, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window.

"There's nothing wrong with me. My memory's coming back gradually, so I don't need to bother him."

Wen Lan furrowed her delicate brows. "Mom's just looking out for you. It's been over half a year now—what are we going to do about you acting like a kid? You can't just keep letting Lan Xue spoil you forever."

Lu Hechi opened his mouth to call her "Mom," but he just couldn't get the word out, so he gave up.

"I'm not a child anymore," Lu Hechi said. "I've been learning these past few months, and I can handle company affairs on my own."

"That little company you run?"

"Honestly, since you lost your memory, how many times have you come home? Every time your father mentions you, he gets all worked up. Your younger brother is still in school, and he already helps out with the family business."

Lu Hechi tightened his grip on his phone.

Wen Lan's voice paused for a moment. "Xiaochi, your father doesn't say it out loud, but he does care about you deep down inside. Don't keep making him mad. He sent you abroad to study business because he wanted you to learn something useful. So you could come back and work for the family company."

Lu Hechi held the phone without saying a word.

The sky outside the window was so blue it was almost white, the clouds hung perfectly still.

His gaze fixed on a distant building for a long time—so long that all the sounds around him faded into white noise.

"..." Lu Hechi said. "I got it."

"Then come home this weekend," Wen Lan said. "Your father won't be home, just me and your brother Xiuran. Bring Little Star along—I'll have the kitchen make his favorites."

Lu Hechi paused for two seconds. "...Little Star has piano lessons on weekends."

"Come after his lesson. I want to see my grandson too."

"...Fine."

Wen Lan said a few more things—probably about eating on time and not overworking himself—then she hung up.

Lu Hechi placed his phone on the desk, leaned back in his chair, and stared up at the ceiling for a while.

The office was quiet, the AC humming low and steady.

He checked his phone. Nothing from Shen Lanxue.

At first, Lu Hechi had texted nonstop every day, but Shen Lanxue was busy with work and could only find time late at night to reply one by one.

Not wanting to disturb his sleep, Lu Hechi started texting less too.

Lu Hechi glanced at the time in the corner of his screen. There was a time difference between them—it should be the early hours of the morning where Shen Lanxue was.

The last message was still the lunch photo he'd sent.

No reply.

He locked the screen and placed the phone face-down on the desk, rubbing his fingertips. After a few minutes, he glanced at the phone again, couldn't help himself, and opened Shen Lanxue's chat window.

He typed out: "My mom just called me."

His finger hovered over send, but then he remembered what Wen Lan had said about his childish temperament, always letting Lan Xue spoil him.

He hesitated, then deleted it.

He didn't want to worry his brother.

Lu Hechi stared at his phone for five minutes, zoned out, and finally typed just one line.

"Brother, I miss you a little."

After sending the message, he didn't wait for a reply. He put the phone down on the desk and got back to work.

The sun outside the window slowly moved westward. When the sunset spilled out, the sky looked like a spilled palette.

His phone buzzed.

He picked it up and saw Shen Lanxue had replied: "Me too."

Lu Hechi stared at that line. It was short, but he read it for a long time.

"..."

Saturday afternoon, Lu Hechi brought Little Star to the Lu family estate.

As the car passed through the gate, he instinctively slowed and glanced at the trees lining the road.

They looked the same as last time. The plane tree leaves rustled in the wind.

He parked the car, and Little Star hopped out of his car seat, tilting his head up at the house. "Daddy, where are we?"

"It's... your grandma's house."

Little Star tilted his head, thinking. "Which grandma?"

"It's..." Lu Hechi thought for a moment. "Daddy's mommy."

Little Star accepted that and took his hand, walking toward the door.

The door was already open. Wen Lan stood at the entrance, wearing a lustrous bronze-gold modern Chinese dress with pearl earrings, her hair pinned up with a hairpin. She looked beautiful.

When she saw them, she smiled. "You're here! Come in, come in."

She crouched down to Little Star's level and gently touched his cheek. "It's been so long. You've grown so much."

Little Star blinked but didn't flinch. "Hi, Grandma."

Wen Lan was caught off guard for a second, then her smile widened. "What a sweet kid."

She stood up and looked at Lu Hechi. "Come in, dinner's ready."

The table had way more dishes than Lu Hechi expected.

Steamed sea bass, king crab, sweet-and-sour ribs, garlic broccoli, duck soup, and a pumpkin bowl—when the lid came off, hot steam hit you in the face.

Wen Lan sat across the table, picking up a piece of spare rib and placing it on Little Star's plate, then ladled him out a bowl of soup.

Lu Hechi ate with his head down, moving his chopsticks slowly from dish to dish.

Wen Lan made small talk now and then, and he grunted a few replies.

Lu Xiuran set down his chopsticks halfway through the meal, leaned back in his chair, and pulled out his phone.

Wen Lan glanced at him. "Finish eating before you mess with that."

Lu Xiuran turned the phone over, face-down on the table, but left it out.

He looked at Lu Hechi, thinking of a variety show clip he'd just scrolled past. "Bro, what's the deal with you and that Ji guy?"

Lu Hechi said flatly, "No deal."

"Really? Then why didn't Brother Lanxue come along with you today?"

Lu Hechi shot him a look. "He's on a business trip."

Lu Xiuran nodded thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand. "So, are you and Chen Jiadong back on good terms now?"

Why's this little brat got so many questions?

A vein popped out on Lu Hechi's forehead. He suppressed his irritation and forced out one word through clenched teeth. "Yeah."

"Dad won't approve," Lu Xiuran said. "You'd better stay away from him, especially him and Ayao..."

Lu Xiuran trailed off because Little Star was there, but everyone at the table got what he meant.

Lu Hechi hated hearing that kind of talk, especially about his friends. His face went cold.

"Jiyao's too playful," Wen Lan said. "A few days ago, I had dinner with your Aunt Chen. She's already looking into marriage prospects for Jiyao, trying to get him to settle down."

Lu Hechi's eyes shot up. "What?"