Chapter 12
Lu Zhiyuan took a sip of his soy milk and immediately choked on it, coughing loudly. Gu Ziyu calmly grabbed a tissue and wiped the soy milk off his hand, smiling sweetly. âBrother, stay calm.â
âHeâs the son I picked up!â Gu Ci declared.
âHow old is heâŠsix or seven?â Lu Zhiyuan asked Gu Ziyu.
âSix!â Gu Ziyu promptly replied.
âGu Ci, youâre eighteen. How do you have such a big son?â Lu Zhiyuan turned to Gu Ziyu and asked, âDonât you have any family?â
Gu Ziyu hesitated for a moment, looking somewhat conflicted. âDad, my family is all right here with me.â
Gu Ziyuâs soft and obedient smile revealed a hint of sadness. âIf you donât want me, then Iâm just an orphan.â
Lu Zhiyuan felt an unexplainable sense of reprimand from Gu Ziyuâs calm gaze.
âAre you all alone at home? Why are you following Gu Ci? She canât even take care of herself, and when September comes, sheâll be too busy with university to take care of a child. How can an 18-year-old student raise a child?â Lu Zhiyuan advised Gu Ci, âSince he was found, why donât you send him to the police station? Theyâll take care of him.â
That way, Gu Ci would have one less person to worry about.
Gu Ziyu leisurely took a bite of his steamed bun, the points Lu Zhiyuan had earned previously plummeted once again. He knew that his father didnât like him taking up too much of his motherâs attention, just like him, they were truly father and son.
âHe has nowhere else to go, and heâs truly in need. I can take care of him,â Gu Ci thought to herself, knowing that taking care of a child was not just her responsibility alone. âYou can help me take care of him too.â
âBut heâs not my son.â
Gu Ziyu and Gu Ci were speechless.
Gu Ziyu sounded so pitiful as if he was about to cry, âBig brother, I donât need much to eat, just give me a bowl of rice.â
âYou had two steamed buns, a slice of toast, and two cups of soy milk for breakfast,â Lu Zhiyuan mercilessly exposed him, knowing that this little guy was trying to trick him.
Gu Ci rubbed her temples and looked at Lu Zhiyuan softly, âIâll take care of him.â
âBut the law doesnât allow it. Youâre eighteen and unmarried, the country doesnât allow you to adopt a child,â Lu Zhiyuan knew Gu Ci was stubborn, and there was no stopping her once she had made up her mind.
Gu Ziyu softly suggested, âWhy donât you two get married, then you can adopt me.â
Gu Ci and Lu Zhiyuan were both stunned.
Gu Ziyu didnât understand why they were both stunned. âWhy not? Iâm a gifted child who can make money and support the family. I have a good personality and manners. Isnât that great?â
Lu Zhiyuan looked at Gu Ziyu with mixed feelings, âYouâre really good at selling yourself. But thereâs no such thing as so many gifted children.â
Gu Ziyu silently repeated to himself, âHeâs my biological father, donât get angry!â
He smiled and asked, âSo, are you going to get married and adopt me?â
Lu Zhiyuan was very conflicted. What if Gu Ci really wanted to marry him? Should he say yes or no? He felt a bit tempted, but his rational side quickly suppressed those thoughts. However, Gu Ci said something more practical, âHeâs not of legal marriage age yet.â
Lu Zhiyuan was speechless.
His worries were unnecessary after all.
âItâs such a shame.â Gu Ziyu said surprisingly, âDad, you lost a gifted son.â
Lu Zhiyuan didnât know how to respond to that.
After the three of them finished breakfast, Gu Ci had to go back home to get her household registration book, ID card, and passport. She was in a rush when she left home that day and didnât have time to take her documents. She left them with Lu Man and Gu Wenliang, but she was still worried. She needed the household registration book to register Gu Ziyu, but fortunately, the restrictions were not as strict now.
As soon as Gu Ci left, Lu Zhiyuanâs face darkened. He looked at Gu Ziyu coldly and asked, âLittle guy, were you trying to scam Gu Ci?â
âBrother, you seem very hostile towards me,â Gu Ziyu said.
âLikewise, youâre not exactly friendly towards me either,â Lu Zhiyuan smiled. âNo matter how sweet you smile, you canât hide your hostility. What do you want?â
âWhat should I do? Sister likes me,â Gu Ziyuâs smile was bright. âIf you bully me, Iâll tell on you.â
Lu Zhiyuan laughed. âYouâre still so young, where did you learn all these tricks?â
Gu Ziyu smiled but didnât say anything. Li Jiang came in and said, âYoung Master, the Chairman is here.â
Lu Zhiyuanâs face instantly darkened.
Gu Ci drove Lu Zhiyuanâs sports car back to the Gu family mansion and saw several cars parked outside the gate. Gu Ci didnât pay much attention and walked inside. In the hall, Xu Tingting, Lu Shijie, Gu Wenliang, Lu Man, Gu Chuyun, and Gu Yaozu were all present. The housekeeper and others stayed far away, not knowing what they were discussing, but their faces were extremely grim.
Xu Tingtingâs face was filled with anger. âMiss Gu, marriage is not a childâs play. If you want to cancel the engagement, you must give me a valid reason.â
Gu Yaozu angrily said, âIf it werenât for Master Luâs outrageous behavior, could this engagement have been broken? You were already engaged to Gu Chuyun, yet you were also eyeing Gu Ci. Youâre greedy and disgusting!â
Lu Shijieâs eyes turned cold as he looked over. Gu Yaozu was frightened but still wanted to protect Gu Chuyun.
Xu Tingting sneered. When she was young, she climbed up the ranks from an eighteen-line actress to land Lu Ze. She even gave birth to Lu Shijie and Lu Shixiu. How could she be an easy target? âWhich man is not lecherous and promiscuous? Gu Chuyun, you should have heard the rumors about him when you agreed to the engagement with Shijie. We didnât force you to marry him. You did it willingly. At the engagement banquet, you even tried to push your fiancĂ© onto Gu Ci. If something really happened between Gu Ci and Shijie, would you use it as an excuse to break off the engagement? It seems that you agreed to the engagement just to let my son ruin your sister. Your heart is so dark at such a young age. Do you think everyone is blind?â
Gu Chuyunâs thoughts were exposed. Her face turned red and then pale, feeling ashamed and unable to admit it. She had teary eyes and said, âI didnâtâŠit was Lu Shijie who wanted Gu Ci and forced me to do it.â
âGu Chuyun, it was you who said that Gu Ci had a crush on me and couldnât wait to climb into my bed. Even if something happened, Gu Ci wouldnât dare to speak up. From start to finish, it was all your plan. Why would I have any reason to ruin my own engagement banquet?â Lu Shijieâs eyes were cold. âYouâre really good at distorting the truth.â
âDad, Mom, Brother, I didnât!â Gu Chuyun cried pitifully. No matter who saw this scene, they would think that Lu Shijie was forcing her and that she was innocent.
Gu Ci curled her lips. So it was a dogfight.
Interesting!
âWhat do you want?â Gu Wenliang couldnât afford to offend the Lu Corporation.
Lu Shijie sneered, âYou want to call off the engagement? Fine, itâs simple. Just have Gu Ci marry me instead.â
Gu Chuyun was overjoyed and Lu Man quickly nodded, âOkay, let Gu Ci marry you. We have no objections.â
âBut the Gu family must provide a dowry of 20% of their shares,â Xu Tingting demanded with a bold statement. Gu Wenliang and Lu Man were both shocked. Seeing Gu Wenliang hesitate, Gu Chuyun asked with a pitiful voice, âDad, are shares more important than your daughterâs happiness?â
In his heart, Gu Wenliang knew that the shares were indeed more important, but he couldnât say it outright. Gu Chuyun then used a retreat as an advance tactic and said, âIt doesnât matter, I donât want any shares.â
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