Chapter 368: Family Search
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Feeling offended, Wang Qian suddenly swung his fist at Lu Shu…
Meng Yunbang immediately held him back, “Don’t. We are here to bring our younger sister home, not to fight! So please don’t cause Father any trouble. Besides, it won’t reflect good on you as a Practitioner if the story of you hitting a commoner was spread to the south.”
“Fine. For Father’s sake, let’s go,” Wang Qian finally calmed down.
Lu Shu could sense that the two’s abilities were both at the peak of Class E, a typical standard of Daoyuan Class students who were unable to break through due to insufficient military contributions.
Lu Shu resumed his business. Based on the popularity of such chives on the Golden Foundation, he knew there were no shortage of buyers. Although he could have developed new variations of the species, Lu Shu preferred a less risky approach.
If it was a smooth sail, maybe in the future he could stay at home waiting for his customers to collect chives directly from his house. How convenient!
Regarding the safety of his chives and his magically rich land, Lu Shu did not have to be concerned at all. With the Seal of Lands in his hand, which self-conceited moron would dare to do that…
However, 200 yuan per stick was indeed slightly exorbitant. But as patient as Lu Shu was, he sat in the fine art street for the entire day. Only those who have a taste of my chives will know how good they are, Lu Shu thought, and they definitely will fall in love with it…
In the morning, Lu Shu’s bag was filled with chives and at night, with money. He and Lu Xiaoyu had agreed to spend the night at their Xingshu Road house, and Lu Xiaoyu would be back after she fully enjoyed herself on the hills.
On the bus home, a thought suddenly struck Lu Shu… What the hell, has Lu Xiaoyu’s school term already started?!
He himself was excused from lessons due to his progress report, which caused him to totally forget about Lu Xiaoyu’s school reopening date as well. No wonder Lu Xiaoyu had been so happy these days in the mountains!
When Lu Shu was about to reach home, he saw three men standing in front of his door, two young and one of middle age. Unexpectedly, the two young men were Wang Qian and Meng Yunbang, from the unpleasant encounter earlier that day!
Suddenly, Lu Shu felt that the road lamps in the courtyard were unusually dim today, as if a layer of grayish gauze had shrouded them, and his emotions too.
His heart skipped a beat, as he recalled the young men’s words in the morning. We are here to bring our younger sister home.
Stepping up, Lu Shu inquired in a soft voice, “Hello. May I help you?”
The middle-aged man smiled gently, his suit trim and his leather shoes shiny, “Hello, boy. You must be Lu Shu, I suppose?”
“Yes, I am,” Lu Shu replied calmly. Honestly, he had no idea what mood he should be in.
Generally speaking, it was extremely bad.
“Hello, I’m Meng Yue. May I know if Lu Xiaoyu is at home? I heard from the orphanage that she has moved out and has been staying with you. It took me great effort today to find your location,” the man was very courteous, without sounding condescending at all. But he still made Lu Shu uncomfortable.
In the past, Lu Shu used to chase Lu Xiaoyu back to the orphanage due to his own plight. But he never hated her. He knew he would not have done that if he had been able to give Lu Xiaoyu and himself a good life back then.
But now, someone was here to take Xiaoyu away.
Lu Shu had thought about it before. One day, Xiaoyu’s parents might come for her, bring her home and provide her with a better life.
He believed, at that time, that he would certainly wish her well if the day really came. Yes. He would.
Now, however, in spite of the person’s politeness, his voice was like a dagger in Lu Shu’s defenseless heart. He was bleeding.
He had thought so because he was poor back then, but now… Why are you here now, when I am doing my best to earn money, to give Lu Xiaoyu a life comparable to other girls…
“Yes. Xiaoyu will be back soon. Please wait for a moment at our house,” Lu Shu smiled. There was neither rage nor sorrow in his heart, only peace. But he still grasped at the last glimmer of hope, “How are you certain that Lu Xiaoyu is your girl?”
Meng Yue grinned, “Back then, I lost my money from a deal in the south, and Xiaoyu’s mother could not find me when she was about to give birth. Without a choice, she put our daughter at the doorstep of an orphanage. Now, I have reunited with her mother and we have confirmed the clue in our daughter’s swaddling clothes, a slip with her name ‘Meng Xiaoyu’. We also know the birthmark on her body. We came here after all the confirmation with the orphanage.”
There was another wrench in Lu Shu’s heart. He was aware of the existence of the slip, and Xiaoyu had changed her surname from “Meng” to “Lu” all by herself. But what birthmark was the man talking about?
“You…”
Meng Yunbang interjected, frowning, “Lu Xiaoyu is not your younger sister. She has nothing to do with you. Please don’t question this so much. I already wanted to teach you a lesson in the morning…”
Instantly, Lu Shu turned and fixed his gaze on him, “Second Lieutenant of Class E, I’m afraid you have no right to talk to me in such a manner. If Xiaoyu has confirmed that you are her family, I will not stop you. But that’s after it’s done. Here, now, I am the boss.”
At that second, Lu Shu’s eyes were burning fiercely, like a young demon, whose enemies’ blood was dripping down his chest. Seriously, though, Lu Shu had killed a handful of people.
Lu Shu flashed his Major Military ID in front of Meng Yunbang’s face. All three of them were silenced at once. They did not conduct any thorough investigation of Lu Shu, hence they had no idea who Lu Shu was. But, normally, a seventeen-year-old teenager should be an ordinary student, or even a gangster, perhaps a thief? After all, many kids from the orphanage ended up like that.
They thought patronizingly.
But the reality was beyond their imagination. Meng Yunbang once heard that there was an extraordinary Major student in the Yuzhou Daoyuan Class. He was a Class C!
But he could never have expected that the legendary genius was actually selling chives that the same morning!
Lu Shu knew very well that he should have revealed his identity after Lu Xiaoyu was back. But even he could not explain why he was so annoyed by these people’s vibes.
He could have chided them for abandoning Xiaoyu, and questioned their right to be Xiaoyu’s brothers and father. But he did not want to.
It was because he was crystal clear that the root cause was his selfishness. He did not want to let her go. Thus, those hypocritical excuses might as well be spared. It was his fault for being selfish, but he did not regret it.
Still, it was not necessary to make amendments even if you were in the wrong.
Everything was up to Xiaoyu. If Xiaoyu wanted to leave, he would respect her choice.
But if she did not, no one could take her away.
The day had come way too sudden for Lu Shu. He was just wondering, why did the three find them at their house without any prior notice?
At that moment, they heard Xiaoyu’s crystal-like laughter, “Little Fury, did Lu Shu ask you to transplant chives today?”
Meng Yue walked outside the yard, looking at the adorable girl, his face lit up in happiness. He couldn’t help but let out a cry, “Xiaoyu…”
Xiaoyu raised her eyes, “Who are you? Don’t be so over-familiar.”
Meng Yue gathered himself, “A few years ago, your mum left you at the doorstep of an orphanage…”
Lu Xiaoyu immediately understood at this obvious hint. Her face was emotionless, “Then go. I’m fine now. If I have any family, Lu Shu is the only one.”
Her reply was crisp and non-negotiable, as though she had made up her mind long ago, regardless of the truth.
The decision seemed way too rash for a little girl, but again given the circumstances it was as if it was only right…
In this world, Lu Xiaoyu only trusted Lu Shu, and the rest was not important.
Meng Yue was anxious, “You don’t believe me? Do you have a red mole behind your ear!”
Suddenly, Lu Shu and Lu Xiaoyu exchanged a startled look, but he could not figure out why.
Grinning, Lu Shu went back to his room and returned with his spears on his shoulders, eyeing the three people with a smile.
Lu Xiaoyu explained patiently, “Back then, I was jealous that people in the TV series had ear studs, so Lu Shu agreed to help me draw one with a red pen. But he accidentally drew it behind my ear, which was seen by the orphanage caregiver and she thought it was a mole…”
Therefore, there was no red mole behind her ear. She had washed it off a long time ago.
Meng Yue immediately lowered his head and prepared to leave, “We have got to go now.”
Lu Shu curled his lips, “Where are you going? The entirety of China has been emancipated!”
But at that moment, a voice mumbled in Lu Shu’s heart, luckily it was a lie.
And luckily, Lu Xiaoyu had made her choice.
“From Wang Qian’s distress, +999!”
“From Meng Yue…”
“From…”