Chapter Seventeen: "Prohibition Against Abuse of the Elderly and Children"
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Old Master Lu stiffened his neck. “Fine, I’ll change.”
“But—but you can’t stop me from drinking it! I have to have milk tea three times a week… No, five times!”
Lu Jinqiao nodded. “All right.”
Old Master Lu’s face lit up with delight. “You agree!?”
Lu Jinqiao said, “Go back home.”
Old Master Lu’s expression turned stern. “Then tell me. What do I have to do for you to agree?”
Lu Jinqiao held up three fingers. “You may only have milk tea three times a week. You can choose only two toppings, and the sugar level must be either thirty or fifty percent. Don’t even think about anything else.”
Old Master Lu lowered his voice. “All right, then.”
He looked thoroughly unwilling.
Lu Jinqiao was perfectly satisfied. With the smile of a victor, he fed An’an the last spoonful of soup.
“An’an, from now on, keep a close eye on your great-grandfather for Daddy. If he falls back into his old habits, tell Daddy, all right?”
An’an nodded.
Although she had not quite understood what Lu Jinqiao and Old Master Lu had been haggling over, An’an could tell that Lu Jinqiao was doing it for her great-grandfather’s health. Without hesitation, she agreed.
Holding the well-fed An’an in his arms, Old Master Lu buried his face in her round little belly and began to fake-cry.
“Wahhh, how miserable I am! My right to play and eat delicious food has been taken away just like that. Whose old master is as pathetic as I am?”
An’an looked helplessly toward Lu Jinqiao, only to find that he was not even glancing in their direction. As though he had shut out everything beyond the dinner table, he simply picked up a dish and put it into his mouth.
At a loss, An’an gently patted Old Master Lu’s head with her chubby little hand.
“Great-Grandpa, don’t cry. An’an will buy you treats in the future.”
Old Master Lu maintained his position.
“Wahhh, only my sweet An’an knows to feel sorry for me. Unlike certain people, who are actually cruel enough to mistreat an old man! Abuse an old man!”
Lu Jinqiao said, “Self-abuse by the elderly is prohibited.”
Old Master Lu: “…”
Lu Jinqiao continued, “Finished eating? If you have, I’ll call the family doctor over to examine you again. Tomorrow, I’ll accompany you to the hospital for a full examination.”
Old Master Lu immediately sat up straight, attempting to reclaim his authority.
“Let me tell you something, Lu Jinqiao. The Lu Corporation is still mine to command. Don’t push me too far! If you go too far, I—I’ll dismiss you from your position!”
Lu Jinqiao was utterly unfazed, even faintly eager to see him try.
“Oh? Then dismiss me. I don’t really care.”
“…”
Old Master Lu seemed to have no way of dealing with him after all.
“How about we just go to the hospital tomorrow for the full examination? Can we skip tonight’s examination? We’ll be doing it tomorrow anyway, right?”
Lu Jinqiao agreed readily.
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In any case, whether the examination was done today or not, it would still have to be done tomorrow. By telling the old man this, he had merely lured him into his own trap.
There was no choice for him to begin with.
Only after Lu Jinqiao agreed did Old Master Lu belatedly realize that he had perhaps—probably, most likely—been tricked.
Lu Jinqiao calmly rose with An’an in his arms.
“In any case, you agreed, didn’t you? Eat properly, and remember to set your alarm for tomorrow.”
“Oh, right. I’ll be accompanying you the entire time tomorrow. Don’t get any strange ideas. They won’t work.”
Old Master Lu: “Thanks.”
After this dinner filled with “the clash of blades,” Old Master Lu and An’an sat on the sofa watching television to help their food settle, while Lu Jinqiao went upstairs to hold a temporary meeting.
Uncle Lin and Uncle Chen had not seen each other in a long time. For the moment, they were off somewhere else, catching up properly.
Old Master Lu had originally chosen a cartoon for An’an, but An’an said she was keeping her great-grandfather company, so she asked him to choose something he liked instead.
Unfortunately, Old Master Lu had spent so much time playing on his phone and scrolling through pointless yet addictive short videos that he had no idea what to watch.
In the end, he put on a short drama that the streaming platforms had been heavily promoting lately.
Well, one had to admit—it was terribly cheesy, but utterly addictive. Each twist led into the next, melodramatic yet impossible to stop watching.
With its fast-paced, tightly woven plot, it kept Old Master Lu and An’an watching until ten o’clock before they knew it.
When Lu Jinqiao came downstairs, the old and the young were still glued to the screen. He walked over and stood in front of them, blocking their view.
The moment An’an saw the scene disappear, she followed those long legs upward and looked into her father’s handsome face.
She leaped out of Old Master Lu’s arms, successfully climbed down from the sofa, then hugged Lu Jinqiao’s leg and tilted her head back.
“How dare you! I am the little emperor!”
She pronounced the last three words with perfect clarity, her tiny face full of authority.
Lu Jinqiao: “?”
“You’re planning a rebellion, hmm?”
Lu Jinqiao narrowed his eyes. The easygoing air he usually carried vanished at once, replaced by an oppressive presence.
With no support beneath her, An’an dangled in the air as Lu Jinqiao lifted her up. Her little arms and legs swung helplessly while she smiled ingratiatingly at him.
“Daddy~”
Lu Jinqiao gave a low chuckle. Before he could say anything, Old Master Lu snatched the child out of his hands.
“Don’t you dare bully my An’an. Be good, An’an. We’re not paying attention to him.”
“What kind of adult is this wicked? He mistreats old people and children alike!”
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Whenever he found an opening, Old Master Lu would slyly throw another remark at Lu Jinqiao.
Lu Jinqiao laughed in exasperation.
“I mistreat old people and children? Then your three cups of milk tea a week are gone. From now on, you may use your phone for only six hours a day. I’ll be checking.”
Old Master Lu glared furiously, but he did not dare say anything more.
He was afraid that if he kept talking, even his six hours of phone time would be taken away.
Ah, he should have kept his mouth shut.
From the side, Lu Jinqiao spoke in a way that nearly shattered his domineering CEO persona.
“I mistreat old people? I’ll show you what true mistreatment looks like.”
Old Master Lu: “…”
That wretched child.
In the end, the matter concluded with Lu Jinqiao “forcibly suppressing” all opposition.
Old Master Lu returned to his room and lay down, preparing to sleep.
But he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, and wanted to play on his phone for a while to pass the time.
Unfortunately, Lu Jinqiao had confiscated it.
Old Master Lu had already used his phone for more than ten hours that day. The moment Lu Jinqiao noticed, he had taken it away.
Unable to resist, Old Master Lu rolled around in bed twice before finally making up his mind.
He quietly opened the door and cautiously stuck his head out, looking left and right. The surroundings were pitch-black; the only light came faintly from his own room.
Old Master Lu slipped out, gently closed the door, turned around, and went downstairs.
He crept into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to see whether there was any high-calorie food inside—something he could eat to his heart’s content.
He examined the contents carefully, then reached in and took out a slice of cake that Lu Jinqiao had put there.
It was a small piece, not very large—about the width of three fingers held together—with a strawberry on top.
Delighted, Old Master Lu took the cake and prepared to sneak back.
The next second—
the living-room lights suddenly came on.
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