Jiang Yuyan turned to her brother with a strangely serious expression. This sudden change in her startled the brother, but before he could ask, she stepped forward and hugged her brother.
"Thank you for everything you have done for me. You are the best brother in the world."
Unable to say anything, he hugged her back. When she pulled herself back, she held tears in her eyes.
"No need to thank me. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I am blessed to have such a lovely sister."
In fact, his eyes were a little moist, too. It was rare to see such a happy-go-lucky person get emotional like this. "But you are wrong about something, sis." He said suddenly.
"What?" She wondered what he meant.
"I am much better than the best," he smiled and said, looking like his usual jolly self.
"There is no brother like you." She let him praise himself, still overwhelmed by emotions.
"If you ever find a man who takes care of you as your brother did, grab onto him and never let him go," Jiang Yang teased.
"I would like that, but I fear there is no one like that."
"Of course, there is. You just need to look around. Now let's go, we are getting late." He said.
------
Lu Feng came out of the mansion on the pretext that he had to take a call. He walked to the garden and sat on the bench under the tree, leaning back by supporting his body with his hand and looking up to the heavens.
A smile spread across his lips. "I am glad you liked it, grandpa. I am sorry I disappointed you, but I am doing my best to keep the peace in the house."
After a moment of thought, he said, "I still remember every word you said. I'll make them come true. I'll sacrifice myself. It's no big deal."
Though he was smiling, the expression on his face was painful. He closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek.
-----
In Lu Mansion's living room...
When Lu Feng excused himself, everyone was busy admiring the gift.
"This is possibly the best gift I have ever received because it was given to me by someone so special," said elder Lu as he held the gift in his hand. His voice was heavy, and his eyes turned teary.
Seeing elder Lu so emotional, the others realized how much elder Lu liked Lu Feng. They remembered how it was until a few years ago that this liking had suddenly changed. Nobody realized when or how Lu Feng, the intelligent and loving boy, suddenly transformed into a person who disappointed his grandfather to this degree.
"Grandpa, grandma. Don't you want to see my gift?" a cute voice asked as the emotions in the air ran high. It suddenly returned to normal because of this intrusion.
The source of the voice was standing in front of elder Lu and Zhao Shuang with two gift boxes in his hand.
"Happy anniversary. Here is my present," the little guy said, giving the wooden box to his grandmother and the colorful cardboard box to his grandfather.
Lu Lijun was wearing a suit, as well. He looked adorable in his black suit, which he had paired with a white shirt and a black bow. He was quite chubby, and the suit made him look beyond cute. His fair skin and black eyes shined. His hair was neatly combed to the side, making him look like a little gentleman.
When Lu Lijun saw Lu Feng coming downstairs with a box in his hand, he remembered how he had forgotten to give his gift to the elders. He dashed to his room and brought the present along with him. When he returned, everyone seemed to be mesmerized by what Lu Feng had gifted.
"Thank you so much, dear." His grandfather gasped, thanking him on receiving the gift.
"Can we open it?" Zhao Shuang asked, happy to see how thoughtful this little kid was.
"Yes, grandma."
"What a beautiful necklace!" she exclaimed, holding the delicate necklace out of the gift box and gazing at it. It was a silver chain with an oval stone embedded in silver metal in a delicate design.
"What is this for?" elder Lu held up the small square-shaped device with a small screen and multiple buttons on it.
"This pendant of grandma's has a tracker on it. With the help of the device in your hand, you can see her exact location if she is wearing it." Lu Lijun pointed to the screen of the device.
"It's a thoughtful gift," elder Lu praised.
'Why are all these grandkids so thoughtful to us?' she thought as she looked at her overwhelmed husband.
"Because grandpa always panics whenever he can't see grandma, so this will tell you her whereabouts," Lu Lijun said innocently.
He had the intention of helping his grandfather, but it was something to celebrate for others.
"Now grandpa won't trouble us when he won't see grandma," Lu Lijun commented and others agreed.
"Did I?" Elder Lu asked, hearing what Lu Lijun said and looked at everyone in the room.
All nodded, their expressions completely agreed with Lu Lijun. Seeing this, elder Lu changed the topic and suddenly spoke up. "This is the best gift I have ever received. You have solved my problem. You are so intelligent," he praised.
"Grandma, you have to wear it all the time," Lu Lijun said with a straight face.
"O-of course. After all, this is a gift from my lovely grandson."
Although grandma was happy to get the gift, she couldn't digest the news that it had a tracker. She just wanted to ask one thing. 'Can I remove the tracker? You have left me no way to escape this old man. No more time for peace.'
The congregation of family members and servants were happy that they would no longer have to face the wrath of elder Lu as he searched for his wife.
'He won't trouble us any more,' they thought.
The servants rejoiced. 'God bless the young master for saving us from the torture.'
With that, everyone left the mansion in their respective cars.
As the Jiang family stopped at the traffic light, Jiang Yuyan saw the familiar figure of a man chatting with a woman with a smile on his face.
She subconsciously touched her lips as she stared at the man. 'That's him. He already has someone for him who is older than him by years.' She muttered "pervert" under her breath, which was heard by the person sitting next to her.
The signal turned green, and the car started to move again.
"Who?" Jiang Yang had heard her mutter and turned to look at her.
"Nothing, just—" She stopped, thought for a moment, and continued again. "Do guys like to date older women?" she asked smoothly.
"It depends," he replied casually, looking back at his mobile phone.
"On what?" She asked, curiously staring at her brother.
"Of course, on the woman." He smiled, yet he was still busy with his cellphone.
"Would you date a woman who is a lot older than you?" she asked.
"Why not?" He looked at her and stared into her eyes as he said the next words. "Age is just a number, and the heart doesn't understand the language of numbers and calculations. Leave it to the brain."
"Still…" she protested but had nothing more to say.
"What if you fall for someone younger?" the brother asked.
"I don't think that will ever happen. I always treat those younger than me as brothers." She paused. "How come you don't mind it?"
"Sorry, I can't treat a beautiful older woman as my elder sister. Why insult their beauty? They must have someone at home who treats them that way. And finally, I don't wish to be brother zoned by anyone," the brother replied.
"You really are something," Jiang Yuyan scoffed.
The other laughed out loud. "Thanks for the compliment. I am okay with plus and minus ten," he said, winking at her.
She gave him a confused look. 'What is this new thing?' she thought.
"Plus means ten years older than me, and minus means ten years younger than me," he replied calmly, understanding her silent question.
"Sometimes, I think that I am losing my mind over just how strange you are. Plus-minus ten? Who uses such words? I think my IQ will drop if I am around you." She frowned.
"Don't let that happen because I wouldn't want a foolish sister. I am happy with my angry bird who had a three-digit IQ," he said and laughed again.
She stared out of the window, not wanting to comment further.
---------
Elder Lu's wedding anniversary was the biggest event of the evening in the city. The guest list included all the top business families, people from the entertainment industry, socialites, media people, and rich and famous people.
The venue of the celebration was considered the most luxurious and expensive in the city, making it impossible for ordinary people to afford it. The reporters gathered at the venue to capture every façade of the event and catch glimpses of the guests attending.
Soon, a steady row of expensive cars lined up, and well-dressed people entered the venue. The continuous sound of the picture clicking could be heard as the surroundings illuminated from the light of the flash.
The hall was well decorated with a mesh of beautiful flowers and white net-like cloth hanging from the walls and windows. The ceiling had multiple tiny chandeliers, which gave the room a starlit look. The room had a stage opposite to the entrance.
Lu Jinhai and Lu Chen were inside the hall with their wives, ready to greet the guests. It seemed that as the hall filled with guests, Lu Qiang was the only one who was missing. It could be said that the guests and media were waiting for his arrival.
Lu Jinhai made his way to the Jiang family when he saw them enter and hugged his friend Jiang Peizhi tightly. "I'm so glad you could come," he said, smiling pleasantly.