If Xu Qingqing had known that so many troubles would arise, she would never have allowed Lu Chuanbai to participate in the live broadcast with her!
"Then let's go out and buy groceries," Lu Chuanbai said cheerfully, putting his arm around Xu Qingqing's shoulder.
"What groceries are you going to buy?"
Xu Qingqing drooped her little face and was helplessly pushed forward by Lu Chuanbai.
"Since my dad is coming, we definitely need to have a meal."
"Can you cook?"
"No. Let's have hot pot. Just throw everything into the pot and cook it."
...
"Blind date? I'm not going."
Lu Fenglin, who was working in his office, received a call from his mother. Hearing that his mother had made an appointment with Mrs. Sun for a blind date between the two families tomorrow morning, Lu Fenglin refused without a second thought.
His stepmother was so angry that she shouted, "Not going on a blind date? Do you still want to get married in the future?"
Hearing the words "get married", Lu Fenglin subconsciously thought of Xu Qingqing's beautiful face that blushed easily when teased.
"I don't want to get married."
Hearing her son's refusal again, the stepmother's face instantly darkened. If it weren't for the phone between them, she would have slapped Lu Fenglin across the face right then!
He was her son and should have obeyed her every word. But now he had learned to talk back!
The stepmother didn't have much education. She had resorted to tricks to gain her position. Her son's disobedience made her true self emerge instantly, and she started spouting dirty words.
"Lu Fenglin! Are you still in contact with that little bitch? Are you crazy!"
"That woman even gave birth to a fatherless bastard. What's so good about such a shameless woman! She's not even worthy to wipe Miss Sun's shoes!"
The stepmother got angrier and angrier. Lu Fenglin's lingering affection for Xu Qingqing and his willingness to be a stepfather were absolutely unacceptable to her!
The stepmother's spittle flew and landed on the phone screen. Her heavily powdered cheeks puffed up with anger and looked like a shiny balloon about to burst in the bright sunlight.
"Mom, can you stop slandering Qingqing? She's not a slut."
Lu Fenglin only felt a splitting headache. Since childhood, whenever he dared to resist, his mother would use a thousand times or a hundred times more means to suppress him.
She would scold and insult him at will. Every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting him hard and making him unable to struggle but crawl in the darkness.
The stepmother completely showed her true colors and roared, "What kind of spell did that slut cast on you to make you so crazy!"
"Lu Fenglin, if you weren't my only child, I wouldn't care about you at all, useless wretch! You're not as good as Lu Chuanbai in anything! Don't you understand the principle of the early bird catches the worm? Mom has paved the way for you, but you still don't work hard. Do you have any conscience!"
"I've carefully planned everything for you so that one day you can take back the Lu family and trample Lu Chuanbai under your feet!"
"But you actually disobey your mother for a slut!"
"I'm warning you, you have to go on that blind date tomorrow. If you don't, I'll break your legs and tie you there!"
The wave after wave of scolding and humiliation was almost overwhelming Lu Fenglin. He closed his eyes tightly, his tone full of sarcasm. "Then just beat me to death and give birth to another one. Anyway, I'm useless."
He didn't feel guilty. Instead, he felt a sense of relief after venting out all his long - suppressed grievances.
The stepmother was almost driven crazy by him. Her face turned green and then white. She gritted her back teeth, and her whole body trembled like a person having an epileptic seizure.
"Are you sure?"
"Your father promised me that if you go on a blind date with Miss Sun, he'll let you into the head office. Do you really want to be suppressed by Lu Chuanbai for the rest of your life!"
After saying that, the stepmother hung up the phone forcefully.
She knew her son well. Even if not for her, for his own pride, he would go on the blind date.
Sure enough, after his mother asked this question, Lu Fenglin didn't put down the phone that was beeping with a busy tone for a long time.
He didn't want to be at the mercy of his mother, but he also didn't want to be suppressed by Lu Chuanbai for a lifetime.
He and Lu Chuanbai had worked equally hard. Why could Lu Chuanbai directly enter the head office and become the high - and - mighty president?
While he had to start from scratch in a small company, struggling, all in the name of training his ability.
But Lu Fenglin knew clearly that it was just because his father favored Lu Chuanbai.
Lu Fenglin fell into deep thought. After thinking for a full hour, a self - mocking smile appeared on his face, and his pupils slowly dilated.
He gave in.
Lu Fenglin let out a long breath. All the previous sense of relief was gone. His hand that dialed the phone was as stiff as a puppet's.
He could never get out of this swamp. He could only sink deeper and deeper.
The stepmother seemed to have known that Lu Fenglin would call. She answered the phone instantly. Lu Fenglin's voice was hoarse, full of helpless submission.
"Mom, I'm sorry."
"So you still recognize me as your mom. I thought you had a lot of courage!"
There was contempt in the stepmother's tone. Then her tone became a bit more sincere, just like hitting someone with a stick and then giving a sweet date.
The stepmother advised him, "Fenglin, mom would never do anything to harm you. You've been thinking about Xu Qingqing, but does she still think about you?"
"Xu Qingqing has already moved in with Lu Chuanbai and they're together. Listen to mom and stop thinking about her."
Together?
Lu Fenglin's heart seemed to be cut open with a big gash. He was silent and didn't say a word for a long time.
"Alright, stop thinking so much. Come back early tonight. We'll go to your brother's new home for dinner. Let's have a family gathering."
The stepmother resumed her role as a kind mother. Her tone was so affectionate as if there had never been any estrangement between Lu Fenglin and Lu Chuanbai and the Lu family was an ordinary and warm family.
"I see..." Lu Fenglin's voice was hoarse as he hung up the phone on his own initiative.
...
For convenience, Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai only bought some vegetables and meat. They planned to cook hot pot in the evening and simply stir - fry two dishes.
"By the way, we also need to buy dog food. I forgot to buy it last time."
Lu Chuanbai wearily rubbed the space between his eyebrows. Last night, because the dog food ran out and Wangcai refused to eat other kinds of dog food, it barked all night and he didn't fall asleep until dawn.
"Then I'll drive."
Xu Qingqing stuffed all the things into the trunk and started the car. Lu Chuanbai sat in the passenger seat, propping his elbow on the car window. He said softly, "Then I'll take a nap first."
"Okay."
Considering that Lu Chuanbai was going to sleep, Xu Qingqing drove very slowly.
When passing a big S - shaped curve, although the car was driving very slowly, Lu Chuanbai's body still uncontrollably leaned towards Xu Qingqing, and his head rested on her shoulder.
Looking at the dark circles under Lu Chuanbai's eyes, Xu Qingqing didn't have the heart to wake him up, so she just drove slowly like this.
The two siblings sitting in the back seat couldn't help but giggle when they saw the intimate scene between the two.
Xu Yiyi even quietly took a photo of this scene with her phone watch and posted it on her account with the caption: Shopping with mom and dad.