"Grandpa, there is no need for this. My stamina is excellent. At least you should trust your own genes," Said Lu Qiang firmly as he looked straight into elder eyes.
Everyone was used to the bold words of elder Lu, but what surprised them most were the words they heard from Lu Qiang. He never talked this much and that too, as shamelessly as his grandpa.
Elder Lu smiled when he heard those words and said, "I just wanted to make sure that when a wild cat crosses your path in the future, you won't spill your coffee out."
"Don't worry grandpa, I know how to tame a wildcat and I won't waste my coffee," Lu Qiang reassured.
"Wild cats! Are they good enough?" His grandfather countered in a teasing manner.
"Just need to tame them properly and make them civilized."
"Haha! You truly inherited my genes." This conversation delighted elder Lu.
Nobody spoke except for these two. It was as if the others were invisible. Their gazes were traveling from one end of the table to the other end as they heard shocking statements being thrown out by both parties, leaving them flabbergasted.
Zhao Shuang sighed and said, "Enough, both of you! The food is getting cold. Stop talking and concentrate on your breakfast." Zhao Shuang's words were like the decree from a queen, so everyone ate obediently.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming towards them from the living room. Everyone looked towards the direction of the sound. A small figure finally entered the dining room and came running to embrace Lu Qiang tightly.
"Elder brother!"
The boy exclaimed as he looked at Lu Qiang with a bright smile and eyes sparkling like the bright stars in the night sky, showing his inexplicable happiness.
"Lu Lijun! Where have you been since morning?" Lu Qiang asked as he caressed his brother's cheeks with one hand. He was happy to see this little chipmunk.
Lu Lijun was the second son of Lu Jinhai and the younger brother of Lu Qiang. He was the youngest and most loved member of the family as he was just eleven-years-old.
For Lu Qiang, he had only three kinds of people in his life.
First: Lu Lijun.
Second: family members, and third—others.
Lu Lijun was the most important person in his life. Everyone knew how much he loved Lu Lijun. His polite and soft voice, the warmth in his eyes, and the way he handled Lu Lijun were enough to prove it.
"I was with brother Lu Feng. We were giving food to the fishes in the garden's pond," he said with a smile on his face. Suddenly his expressions changed, and he asked with a sad expression, "Why didn't you come for my birthday? I waited for you."
"I know! And I am really sorry that I couldn't make it to your birthday." Lu Qiang hugged him gently, made him sit on the chair next to him, and said, "Have your breakfast first, then I'll show you something."
"What is it, elder brother?" he asked curiously as the sadness on his face disappeared.
"That's a surprise!" Lu Qiang said, winking at his brother as he started to fill his plate with food.
"Surprise! My birthday gift?" Lu Lijun asked, bursting with excitement.
"Mmm..." Lu Qiang nodded. "Now finish your breakfast first," he said firmly.
Lu Lijun started to dig into his breakfast as fast as he could, stuffing his mouth leaving no space free. He looked adorable with his mouth stuffed like a squirrel.
"Slow down. Otherwise, you will get indigestion." Saying, Lu Qiang gently patted Lu Lijun's head, filled with admiration.
Lu Qiang's behavior was very different when it came to Lu Lijun. Anyone could see the various dimensions of his personality when he was with Lu Lijun such as loving and caring Lu Qiang, angry Lu Qiang, happy Lu Qiang, worried Lu Qiang, upset Lu Qiang, talkative Lu Qiang, childish Lu Qiang, and many more. Lu Lijun could pull out all these personalities out of his ice-cold elder brother.
Lu Qiang treated Lu Lijun more like his son than his younger brother, and he was the one to take all decisions regarding Lu Lijun. Lu Qiang always fulfilled his demands, whatever it might be and always wanted everything best for his brother. It worried everyone that his love might spoil Lu Lijun, but Lu Qiang was still careful as he wanted his little brother to become a good person and made him understand what was right and what was wrong.
For Lu Lijun, he too loved Lu Qiang more than anyone else. Even his parents were secondary to his elder brother as his entire world revolved around Lu Qiang.
"What a beautiful sight to see!" Everyone heard the voice that came from the door as they watched the affection between the two brothers. That was Lu Feng, who came to the dining room for breakfast.
"When you heard Lu Qiang was back, you forgot this brother and ran to meet him, leaving me there alone. That's not fair," Lu Feng said as he stepped towards Lu Lijun.
Lu Feng was Lu Qiang's cousin and son of elder Lu's second son, Lu Chen. One more tall and handsome man from the family.
Lu Lijun looked up at him and blinked his eyes like an innocent bunny. As he stuffed his mouth, he couldn't say a word.
Lu Feng looked at his round face and smiled. "I'll let it pass this once," and sat beside him in the chair.
Lu Qiang continued paying attention to Lu Lijun, asking him to slow down and eat less. Elder Lu saw this and got irritated.
"Let him eat all he wants, Lu Qiang. Don't nag him too much. After all, in the near future, he would be the one to give me great-grandchildren when you are done emptying your coffee mug."
This time, what came from elder Lu's was just too much for everyone to handle.
'My head hurts,' Zhao Shuang thought.
Lu Jinhai coughed and almost choked with food in his mouth.
Ning Jiahui passed a glass of water to her husband and started to pat his back.
Lu Chen cried out in pain as the steamed bun he had picked up with his chopstick had dropped back into the hot soup, making it splash on his shirt.
Su Hui recovered from shock after hearing her husband's cry of pain and started helping him.
Lu Feng didn't pay any attention and continued eating his breakfast with the ghost of a smile on his face. He was fine as long as this matter of great-grandchildren was not related to him, and nobody was invading his personal space.
Lu Lijun was unaware of the things being said around him. He looked at everyone with a confused expression, not understanding what had caused the commotion at the dining table. He looked at his brother, who generously supplied him with a slice of meat and coaxed him to eat it. The obedient young boy ignored everyone and went back to eat his breakfast.
Lu Qiang turned his gaze towards elder Lu and said, "Rest assured, grandpa. I will make sure to prepare enough stock for you before I hit the dry bottom. No need to drag my little brother into the bottomless pit of your greed."
His face expressionless and his voice cold as he said this and returned to paying attention to his brother, acting as if the conversation had nothing to do with him.
This conversation between this bold grandpa and grandson made everyone hold their heads with both the hands and press the pressure point on their temples. The breakfast menu had one special dish called "SHOCK".
Grandma Zhao Shuang finally poked her husband and asked him to stop. Every conversation he had ended with the same thing…'Great-grandchildren.'
Nobody spoke further and started to eat their breakfast with complete attention. After finishing breakfast, everyone headed towards the living room. Lu Feng, though, went directly to his room as the others chatted.
"Brother Lu Qiang, where is my birthday gift?" Lu Lijun asked him, his excitement resurfacing when he saw his brother was done with the conversation.
"It's in my room. Let's go." As both of them were going upstairs, Lu Feng passed across and as Lu Lijun was there, Lu Feng decided to talk to Lu Qiang.
"How was the journey?" he asked.
"Quite good," he replied in a cold voice. He didn't speak further and started to walk upstairs. It didn't bother Lu Feng, and as usual, he turned and headed outside with his car keys.
Everyone was familiar with Lu Qiang and Lu Feng not talking to each other, so nobody paid much attention to it. Lu Feng's mother Su Hui didn't like it but couldn't say anything because her son was at fault. Also, she was quite scared of Lu Qiang, much like most of the people in the family were.
Lu Feng was Lu Qiang's second cousin. Lu Qiang didn't hate him but was annoyed with all the bad habits Lu Feng had. He was an alcoholic, didn't like to work, and had a bad company of friends. Lu Qiang tried to divert his attention from these things by giving him a few responsibilities in the company, but Lu Feng showed no interest and turned down his offers, not to forget Lu Feng never stepped into Lu corporation's office since past few years. Finally, Lu Qiang gave up on Lu Feng.
Lu Feng didn't hate Lu Qiang, either. It was just that; he was happy in his own world. He wasn't bothered by what others said to him and ignored all of it. Lu Feng was a bright student with a master's degree in accounts and finance, but after completing his education, he never tried to do anything for his career let alone giving attention in the family business. He just wanted to live a carefree life.
Although Lu Feng had all these bad qualities, he always maintained a distance with women. There were lots of women who tried to make their way into the Lu family by seducing and climbing into Lu Feng's bed, but he entertained no one and didn't like to be in the company of women except for the women from his family.
At Jiang residence.
Jiang Yang and Jiang Yuyan reached their home. It was a luxurious apartment in one of the expensive areas in the capital. The apartment was huge, and the interior was made in European style. It was bought by Jiang Peizhi a few years back when he planned on settling down in China after retirement. He also wanted a home for their kids if they ever came to China.
"Finally you are here, my little chipmunks!" Mo Ruolan welcomed her kids with a warm smile.
Mo Ruolan was a stunning and elegant woman. Slim physique, fair with beautifully carved features. Jiang Yuyan took after her mother and grew up into a beautiful lady. Jiang Yang, on the other hand, was like his father—tall and handsome.
As they entered the house, Jiang Peizhi came out from his study and greeted them with a warm fatherly hug. Everyone walked to the huge sofa in the living room and sat there.
Jiang Yang lay lazily on the sofa, stretching his legs to the floor. "This is an amazing place to live. Too stylish and luxurious," he commented with a whoop.
"Indeed! After all, I had to plan and design everything to match my wife's palatial standards." Saying this, Jiang Peizhi winked at his wife.
The siblings looked at their parents and then at each other while smiling. They knew how much their parents loved each other.