Chapter 113: Prelude
The night wind was very cold tonight. Several charcoal braziers were placed in the large open space with iron grills on them. The warm air carried the aroma of roast meat and spices, which was blown away by the cold wind.
Chang Qing felt a little greedy when he smelled the delicious scent, so he didn’t talk to Lu Zheng for too long. He went over to roast with Zhang Xinyu.
Lu Zheng didn’t go over, he just watched. Lu Shi walked up to him and asked him: “My classmate wants to talk to you, do you have time?”
Lu Zheng glanced at him and asked, “What about?”
Lu Shi hesitated for a moment, “There’s always something to talk about, so do me a favor and give me some face, ah.”
Lu Zheng paused, quietly staring into his eyes, “What did they say? If they dare to talk nonsense, just kick them out. There’s no need to give them face.”
Lu Shi: “…”
Lu Zheng’s voice was full of earnestness, “Look at the friends around you. If they’re really good to you they won’t whisper nonsense into your ear. Don’t be provoked by others all the time, you know?”
Lu Shi: “Oh, you can just say no. Stop talking so much crap.”
Lu Zheng grabbed his head and knocked it a few times, “I’m giving you courage.”
Lu Shi shouted then jumped up and pushed Lu Zheng’s chin. Before he could speak, he shouted, “I’m leaving!”
After saying that, he ran away.
Lu Zheng touched his chin, which had been hurt by Lu Shi’s collision. His gaze fell on the spot where Lu Shi was running towards. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over. He wanted to see the friends Lu Shi made this time, so he wouldn’t be deceived again.
Chang Qing was chatting with Zhang Xinyu and heard Zhang Xinyu talk about buying a house. Zhang Xinyu was young, just 26 years old, and he had already made a down payment for a two-bedroom apartment in the center of Xicheng, but he also faced a problem. His parents back home told him to go back to take the civil service examination. They also urged him to go home for a blind date.
Chang Qing didn’t have this trouble, so he comforted him: “You have developed well here, there is no need to go home. Can you bring your parents to live with you?”
Zhang Xinyu had this plan, “But my parents don’t want to leave. “He frowned, then smiled again, “I’ve already made the down payment, so I can’t go back. The salary in my hometown is only two to three thousand yuan. Three thousand yuan is considered a high salary there. Most of them are around 1800 to 3000 yuan. I’m used to working as a secretary for President Lu, and he said he would give me a raise.”
Chang Qing asked in a low voice, “How much is your salary now?”
Zhang Xinyu laughed, “Twenty thousand after tax.”
Not even counting the various bonuses, the benefits for the head office were very good.
Chang Qing’s eyes lit up, “What do you think I can do at the company?”
Zhang Xinyu: “Do whatever you want.”
Chang Qing remembered something, and said, “Wait, I remember that Lu Zheng’s salary is only 20,000. Why is yours so high, ah?”
Zhang Xinyu laughed. “He paid his own salary. Twenty thousand is a little less, but the whole Lu family is his.”
Chang Qing nodded and was about to speak when Lin Yifeng came over and called Chang Qing’s name.
Chang Qing looked up, saw Lin Yifeng, and smiled at him, “You’re here.”
Lin Yifeng smiled at him, a little distant.
Chang Qing sensed it and didn’t say anything. He held a plate of skewers in his hand that he’d just finished grilling. He looked around and found where Lu Zheng was. Then, he picked up the plate of barbecue and walked towards Lu Zheng’s direction.
Zhang Xinyu handed Lin Yifeng a bunch of cooked meat skewers, “What happened to you two?”
Lin Yifeng smiled and said softly: “It’s nothing.”
Zhang Xinyu said: “I heard that he fell in love recently. “
Lin Yifeng: “Hmm.”
Zhang Xinyu glanced at him, and said, “If you also find someone, maybe there will be some common topics.”
Lin Yifeng paused, looked at him, the corners of his lips curled up, and suddenly he asked: “What kind of person is Lu Zheng? “
It was not long ago that he learned that Lu Zheng turned out to be the boss of his company.
Zhang Xinyu thought for a while, and only said vaguely: “He’s fine. Do you two not get along?”
Lin Yifeng gave a “hmm” and sighed. His eyes, which were often soft and watery, narrowed slightly and he said, “I don’t hate him. Now that I think about it, maybe jealousy blinded my eyes.”
Zhang Xinyu: “Huh? Why are you jealous of him?”
Lin Yifeng smiled, “I’m jealous of him… and Chang Qing’s good relationship “
Zhang Xinyu said: “Of course their relationship is closer than ours. Chang Qing is the eldest sister-in-law of the Lu family. He’s a family member.”
Lin Yifeng: “…”
Lin Yifeng was stunned for a moment, “Sister-in-law?”
Zhang Xinyu looked at his expression, “Didn’t you know? That’s right, you came later and always like to be alone. No wonder you don’t know.”
Lin Yifeng murmured: “Then they’re still in love?”
Zhang Xinyu: “…”
I seem to have heard something I shouldn’t have heard.
Lin Yifeng paused for a moment, then came to his senses, and looked at him: “You didn’t hear what I just said, understand?”
Zhang Xinyu nodded, “I’ll keep it a secret.”
Lin Yifeng didn’t say anything. He took a bite of the barbecue and looked over at Chang Qing. He was now in a corner with Lu Zheng. He was already very intimately handing skewers to Lu Zheng, and they even ate the skewers from each other’s hands. He didn’t seem to be forced at all. Did he really think too much?
He felt a little bitter, so he withdrew his eyes, and stopped looking at them.
Although he had feelings for Chang Qing, he also had a bottom line. He wouldn’t interfere in other people’s affairs when they were in love with each other. That was it. It wasn’t bad to be an ordinary friend, but under the circumstances, it was hard to be friends anymore.
Better to stay away from him, Lin Yifeng thought.
After the dinner was over, Chang Qing asked Butler Lin to send everyone away. The excitement didn’t last long, and soon only family was left.
Lu Zheng was also a little tired, so he asked Sun Yi and the others to pack up and then he went back to his room.
After Chang Qing was done washing up, he saw Lu Zheng lying on the bed reading reports. He paused for a moment, then walked over and slapped his butt. Lu Zheng was shocked. With a loud thud, he closed the computer.
“What are you doing?” Lu Zheng asked irritably.
Seeing that his complexion wasn’t looking good, Chang Qing laughed, “Are you angry?”
Lu Zheng said, “You can’t touch a tiger’s butt.”
Chang Qing laughed, “A tiger’s butt? Then I want to touch it. “
As Chang Qing spoke, he reached out to touch it.
Lu Zheng turned over and blocked it, “Stop making trouble.”
Chang Qing pounced on him and stretched out his hand.
Lu Zheng didn’t hold back and held him down. “Stop making trouble, I won’t let you go if you make trouble again.”
Chang Qing withdrew his hand and lay down beside him. “Let’s go to the grave tomorrow.”
Lu Zheng paused, then agreed.
Chang Qing said, “Let’s get a good night’s sleep today.”
Lu Zheng thought the same way, and that night they did nothing. They just hugged each other and went to sleep.
The next day after they got up, Lu Zheng, Chang Qing, Lu Hua and the others went to the cemetery.
Lu Xuan’s tomb is often taken care of, so it’s very clean. Even if you wipe the tombstone with your fingers, you can’t find a speck of dust.
Lu Hua, who was the most noisy, looked down at Lu Xuan’s tombstone on the grave and had nothing to say.
Lu Zheng skillfully took out the offerings and put them on the grave, then burned incense, and the group of people paid their respects.
At the end, he glanced at Lu Hua and Lu Shi, and said to them, “Leave first, I have something to say to my elder brother.”
Lu Hua nodded, seeing that Lu Shi wanted to speak, she reached out to grab him and pulled him away.
Lu Shi was pulled away from them by Lu Hua, and his tone wasn’t very good. He said to Lu Hua, “They are wanting to cross the bright road1. Will big brother in heaven, really will not be angry?“
Lu Hua thought for a long time and said uncertainly, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen eldest brother get angry.”
Lu Shi: “…”
This was true. He was a little unhappy. In fact, these days, he began to find Chang Qing quite pleasing to the eye, and didn’t have anything against him anymore. He had bought that corgi for Chang Qing and he liked his appearance even more. It allowed him and Chang Qing to have some topics to talk about, and the relationship has eased a lot.
Lu Shi turned his head to look behind him, and saw Lu Zheng’s mouth moving. He didn’t know what he was talking about, but it must have something to do with Chang Qing, “I don’t object to them being together, I just think it’s too fast. “
Lu Hua said: “It’s not too fast, you need to enjoy the present.”
She turned to look at Lu Shi again, and asked him: “Why don’t you go back to the military academy?”
Lu Shi became vigilant, “Why?
Lu Hua muttered: “When you came back from the military academy, you were very handsome, especially … well, sexy. Very handsome, very energetic, which made my eyes shine. I can’t describe the feeling, but now, with this lazy look, you’re not that handsome anymore.”
Lu Shi: “…is it really handsome?”
Lu Hua nodded. “I saw a brother from the armed police force on the road. He’s not particularly handsome, right? But he’s tall and has long legs. Wearing that black police uniform, he’s… extremely handsome. Sigh, I can’t explain it. I have a lot of feelings for him.”
Lu Shi couldn’t help saying: “Don’t fall in love early.”
Lu Hua glared at him, “What are you thinking about? It’s not puppy love. Forget it, you don’t understand even if I tell you.”
“It’s true that many people like military men, but my lifelong dream is just to be a rich second-generation heir, the kind who spends money casually,” Lu Shi said.
Lu Hua didn’t bother to talk to him, and went to look at Lu Zheng again, only to see that he took out her report card, lit a lighter, and lit it up.
Lu Hua yelled and ran over, “Brother! What are you doing!”
She was too late, and her excellent report card had already been set on fire.
Lu Zheng raised the report card in his hand, the corner of which was already quickly burning and said, “I’m burning it for Big Brother to see it.”
Lu Hua stomped her foot, “That can’t be burned! You! Ugh, really, just forget it.”
It’s all burned, and even if it’s taken back, it’s half ruined.
Lu Zheng burned the report card, took a stack of paper money from the bag, and burned it too.
After the worship, Lu Zheng cleaned the ashes in front of the tomb, poured them into the bag, stood up and asked her, “Do you have anything to say to him?”
“Yes.” Lu Hua said.
As she spoke, she reached out to shoo them away, “Go away, I also want to whisper some secrets to my elder brother.”
It took them half a day to visit the grave. On the way back, the group was in a relaxed mood. However, after a short while, Lu Zheng received a phone call and his expression changed immediately.
<
1.No idea how to translate this phrase—it literally means “cross the bright road” so I went with that. Means things have been openly understood and need not be covered up. “他们这是想过明路，
