Velvet Chains of a Tycoon

Lu Sheng had a serious expression on his face.

"Qin Ran is my wife. It doesn't matter how long we've been married. Even if it was just one day, to our family, she is not an outsider."

Yin Chunmei was left speechless by her son's reply, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"I'll send her a message saying that the old house has been unoccupied for a long time, and the pots and pans are all rusty, so we can't cook. We'll leave early."

Lu Sheng turned and walked into the courtyard. It was up to his mother to explain things to Tian Yawei; he certainly didn't want to see her.

In the courtyard, the elderly patriarch was on the phone with his second grandson: "Lu Yu, what's going on? What time is it, and why aren't you here yet?"

On the other end of the line, Lu Yu tearfully replied, "Grandpa, I can't come back! My agent notified me early this morning that he had secured a spot for me on a variety show, and I have to sign the contract today. I'm on my way to G City to sign it right now!"

The patriarch roared in anger, "Today is the first time your sister-in-law is coming to our home. Is that lousy variety show more important than your sister-in-law?"

"Of course, the sister-in-law is more important!"

Lu Yu replied, but then added, "But Grandpa, if I miss seeing the sister-in-law today, I can still see her next time. But if I don't sign the contract today, I won't get another chance."

"You useless troublemaker, what do you know about variety shows?"

The patriarch was furious, "I told you at the beginning of the year to quit the entertainment industry and come back to learn how to work properly with your brother at Lu Corporation..."

"Grandpa, I did come back and worked at Lu Corporation for a few months, but there wasn't a single position suitable for me. I don't know anything, and if I just take money without doing any work, people will blame my brother."

Lu Yu pleaded with the patriarch over the phone.

"Grandpa, please let me continue in the entertainment industry. Although I haven't become famous yet, at least I can earn enough to support myself. It's better than being a freeloader at Lu Corporation."

The patriarch sighed, "Why did I have a grandson like you?"

Lu Yu comforted the patriarch, "Grandpa, God gave me a handsome face, so He closed the door to high intelligence. It's fair."

The patriarch laughed angrily, "Fair? Your brother has high intelligence. Does that mean his looks are worse than yours?"

Lu Yu replied, "My brother must have been put in Mom's belly when God was confused. He forgot to give my brother a handsome face, so He opened the door to high intelligence instead."

After ending the call with his second grandson, the patriarch glared at his eldest grandson, who was standing nearby.

"Your brother is going back to the entertainment industry, and you're not going to do anything about it?"

Lu Sheng smiled, "He has a grandfather and a mother. Why should I, his older brother, have to manage him?"

"Besides, if he does well in the entertainment industry, he can make a lot of money, right?"

The patriarch was angry, "Do you know how dirty the entertainment industry is?"

Lu Sheng said, "Lu Yu is a man, and who would dare to bully him? Isn't it usually the other way around?"

The patriarch thought about it: "True. That troublemaker isn't short of money, and very few people can actually bully him."

Seeing the patriarch and Lu Sheng walk in from the courtyard, Yin Chunmei glanced outside.

"Lu Yu isn't coming back?"

"He said he had some variety show to sign a contract for," Lu Sheng explained casually.

The patriarch looked at his daughter-in-law, "Why haven't Yurong and Zhenming arrived? Didn't you tell them to come?"

Yin Chunmei smiled, "Dad, this old house was only temporarily prepared, and only the first floor was cleaned up. The upstairs is still a mess. If too many people come, there won't be enough places to sit."

The patriarch nodded, "True."

Actually, he knew his daughter-in-law's intentions. She simply didn't approve of Qin Ran and hadn't planned to introduce her to the family.

Fortunately, Qin Ran and Aunt Si, the household helper, soon brought out the food, and the family sat down to eat.

On the way over, Qin Ran had worried that there might be a large gathering at the Lu family, and she feared she wouldn't be able to handle it.

But once they started eating, she realized her worries were unfounded; there were so few people at the Lu family today.

Did Lu Sheng only have a grandfather and no grandmother, or was the grandmother away?

Was Lu Sheng only with his mother, or was his father working out of town and couldn't return?

However, these questions only lingered in her mind for a few seconds before she dismissed them. She and Lu Sheng were in a marriage of convenience, and they might divorce anytime. There was no real need for her to understand the Lu family's affairs.

The meal was relatively harmonious. Almost no one spoke, and everyone ate in silence, with only the occasional clinking of dishes and utensils.

Since the Lu family didn't treat Aunt Si as a servant, she also joined them at the table.

Although Qin Ran wasn't particularly adept at reading people, she could tell that her mother-in-law, Yin Chunmei, was not satisfied with her.

Yin Chunmei was indeed dissatisfied with Qin Ran. No matter how capable a girl from a humble background was, such tasks in the kitchen could be handled by servants. However, her upbringing and self-discipline prevented her from showing obvious displeasure, and she even refrained from deliberately making things difficult for Qin Ran.

After the meal, Qin Ran took the initiative to help Aunt Si clear the table and wash the dishes in the kitchen.

Lu Sheng then said to the patriarch and Yin Chunmei, "Grandpa, Mom, Qin Ran and I will head back after this. There's nothing else to do here, right?"

Yin Chunmei also wanted to leave early. This old house, which hadn't been lived in for decades, only had the first floor tidied up, and the upstairs was uninhabitable.

But the patriarch disagreed, "Since you're both here, you should at least stay for dinner. Besides, you finally brought Qin Ran back. You should take her out to sea for some fishing."

Lu Sheng was amused, "Grandpa, with such strong sun, what fish can we catch? We'll end up getting sunburned."

"How can you get sunburned? Just wear a fisherman's hat and apply sunscreen. It's that simple."

The patriarch chuckled, "I haven't gone fishing in years. I went around the village this morning and arranged with the fishermen at the dock. This afternoon, we'll go out to sea as a family."

Yin Chunmei was about to say she wouldn't go, but before she could speak, the patriarch said to her,

"Chunmei, you should come along too. Since you've been living abroad for so long, you must have forgotten what it's like to go fishing. It's been years since you last went out to sea."

Yin Chunmei paused, feeling a bit helpless, "Dad, I haven't been living abroad all the time. I've come back several times this year, and each time I stayed for more than a month."

"This time, don't leave again."

The patriarch urged his daughter-in-law, "The dead cannot be brought back. Zhenkuan was killed by thugs six years ago. Staying abroad won't change anything. Now that Lu Sheng is married, and you're a mother-in-law, come back and live here. Keep an eye on Lu Sheng and Qin Ran, and try to become a grandmother soon."