Chapter 17: CH 17

Chapter 17: Spend My Money Casually

Lin Xiyu’s heart thumped, she turned her head to look at him, met his deep gaze, but that look seemed to have penetrating power, straight into the bottom of people’s heart.

For this, Lin Xiyu indeed had a guilty conscience. It was a little bit of self-esteem to clarify the relationship with people. She did not want to have any misunderstanding with him, so she hurriedly explained. “No, no, my colleagues love gossip, and I don’t know if I will continue to go back to work at the institute in the future, and I don’t want them to gossip about my private affairs.”

As soon as she panicked, those round eyes unconsciously widened, and there was water vapor spread under her eyes, seeming innocent and pure, making people could not bear to blame her.

Lu Junting averted his gaze and subconsciously tugged at his tie.

“Brother Junting, I’m really sorry about that, and as for pretending I don’t know you, I was just afraid it would affect your work.”

Lu Junting looked over at her. She hung her head and her appearance looked like a student who had made a mistake and admitted it in front of the teacher.

He swept his gaze towards her again, the weather was getting cooler. She wore a plaid long-sleeved shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of white sports shoes underneath, she was dressed like a student.

If they went out together, no one would think they were husband and wife.

“Why don’t you swipe the card I give to you?”

“......”

Why did you suddenly change the topic?

Lin Xiyu said, “I don’t have anything to buy.”

“You can go buy some clothes.”

“I have clothes to wear.”

Lu Junting pondered for a moment and said, “You are not only you now, you are also my wife, do you understand?”

Lin Xiyu subconsciously looked at what she was wearing. Did brother Junting think that wearing this made him lose face? She did not pursue any branded clothes to wear, she just wore simple and comfortable clothes. However, she was now Madam Lu, so it seemed too childish to wear this kind of clothes.

“I’m sorry brother Junting, I just wore it casually when I was out and I didn’t know I would run into you.”

She hung her head and her voice was low. This kind of soft and weak feeling gave rise to a sense of self-condemnation as to why he had spoken to her so.

“Go buy a few sets tomorrow.” His tone softened.

“Okay.” She obediently replied.

Then, both of them had nothing to say along the way, and Lu Junting did not say anything more.

Lin Xiyu called Lu Yuan early the next morning. Lu Yuan did not have to go to work on weekends, and Lin Xiyu had a little knowledge about brands, so she could only ask Lu Yuan for help.

Lu Yuan was most interested in eating, drinking, and having fun. When she heard that she was going to go shopping and buy clothes, she immediately became interested.

“What kind of clothes do you want to choose?” Lu Yuan asked her along the way.

Lin Xiyu thought for a moment and said, “Just the kind that brother Junting would like, the kind that can make brother Junting would not lose face when he takes her out.”

Lu Yuan blinked her eyes at her, “What? Have you developed feelings with my brother Junting and want to dress up to please him?”

Lin Xiyu wanted to say that Lu Yuan was wrong, but she did not bother to explain.

Lu Yuan knew much more about the brand than Lin Xiyu and took her to a familiar store with ease, picking out several sets for her to try on as soon as she arrived.

The lounge area in Lu Junting’s office was large, and the coffee that Lu Junting, a picky bastard, drank was freshly ground, so Xiao Ziang would come over here to rub his coffee and drink it when he had nothing to do.

Both of them sat on a sofa in the lounge area, flanked by a whole floor-to-ceiling window, the top floor of the Changheng Group, from which the entire Ancheng was in full view.

Lu Junting’s phone vibrated, and it was an alert message. Lu Junting clicked to look at it and it was a spending notification for his sub-card. He put it aside after reading it, not long after, it vibrated again. Xiao Zian was curious and came over to look, swept to the spending notification, and the amounts were not small.

“Who swipe your card? Xiao Xiyu?”

Lu Junting looked at him with a look when he saw a fool. “Who else can swipe my card besides her?”

“Tsk tsk tsk.” Xiao Ziang clicked his tongue, “I can’t see that Xiao Xiyu was quite a loser, you'll have to talk to her when you get back later.”

“Talk about what?”

“Teach her to be thrifty ah.”

Lu Junting closed his mobile phone, looked at the scenery outside the window with his coffee, and said casually, “My woman, no need.”

Xiao Ziang: “......”

Xiao Ziang felt that he had been forced to eat dog food.

Lu Yuan helped Lin Xiyu pick out a bunch of things, clothes, bags, jewelry, and everything. The trunk was almost stuffed,  and Lin Xiyu felt worried, “Is it too much to buy?” Would brother Junting think she did not regard herself as an outsider too much?

Lu Yuan said, “Where is it much ah? This amount of money is just a drizzle for my eldest brother. Let me tell you, when you are with my eldest brother, the least thing you need to worry about is money.”

“......”

Lu Junting gave Lin Xiyu a driver, and the driver generally picked her up whenever Lin Xiyu went out. When she returned home, the driver made two trips to help move things upstairs.

When Lu Junting came back, Lin Xiyu just sorted things out and came down from upstairs. Lin Xiyu was wearing this one that Lu Yuan had helped her match, a famous ethnic style long dress with colorful stripes. The cut and design was unique, it did not make people feel tacky, but there was a sense of fashion.

As soon as Lu Junting saw her coming down from upstairs, his gaze unconsciously lingered on her for several seconds.

Lin Xiyu’s appearance looked innocent, but this dress on her was a mature and sexy style, yet it did not have the abruptness of a child stealing an adult’s clothes on her.

She had a look that was so pure, but she had a kind of charm in her temperament, a charm that would spread out unconsciously, giving the fair, young and thin her a sensuality that could not be ignored.

Lin Xiyu was not very comfortable with his gaze, and greeted awkwardly, “Brother Junting, you’re back?”

Lu Junting came back to his senses and asked, “Did you buy it today?”

“En.”

“Pretty good.”

He was satisfied, so Lin Xiyu felt a little bit relieved. She felt a little guilty and said, “Just now Lu Yuan helped me pick too many things, and after trying them all, Lu Yuan said to buy them all.” Anyway, she would let Lu Yuan carry the pot.

Lu Junting did not take it seriously, “But it if you like it.”

Lin Xiyu went downstairs, and suddenly there was a gust of wind outside. The newspaper placed on the table for Lu Junting was blown to the ground, and Lin Xiyu leande down to pick it up.

When she bent over, her long hair fell naturally and was gently lifted by the wind. As she leaned over, Lu Junting found that the neckline of her dress was widely opened, his glance swept over, and Lu Junting felt that her breathing was suffocated, hurriedly looked away and turned around to go upstairs.

Lin Xiyu picked up the newspaper and put it away. Sister Wu helped her boil the water, and she drank a bowl before eating. She had just finished drinking when Lu Junting came down. Lu Junting swept a glance over her again after he came down and said like a casual reminder. “Try to wear clothes with a little bit wider neckline when you go out in the future.”

Lin Xiyu glanced down at her neckline. She did not understand why he suddenly mentioned this, but she obediently responded, “Okay.”

Just when dinner was ready, the two went to the dining room to eat together. After eating, Lin Xiyu was preparing to go upstairs, when Lu Junting suddenly said, “Wait for a moment, I have something to tell you.”

Lin Xiyu sat back on the chair again, “Is there anything else?”

Lu Junting wiped his mouth with a napkin. He placed his hands on the table in a very serious posture, and Lin Xiyu tensed up unconsciously.

“I’m going on a business trip tomorrow, but this time the business trip will probably be a long time. I haven’t finished dealing with things abroad yet, and I’m only back for the phone launch on a temporary basis.”

It turned out that it was about this matter. Lin Xiyu was relieved. It was rather a good thing for her that he was going to travel, she was going to be much more relaxed and at ease with his absence.

“Something will probably happen for a while after that, but I’ll take care of whatever happens, so you take care of the baby and take sister Wu and the driver with you when you have to go out.”

Hering this, Lin Xiyu breathed a sigh of relief and brought it up again, and she asked, “Is something going to happen?”

“You just have to remember, I will solve it no matter what happens.”

It was probably inconvenient for him to tell her about things at work, and Lin Xiyu did not ask any more questions and nodded obediently.

Lu Junting really did not lie to Lin Xiyu, he went on this business trip for more than a month. During which he would occasionally call over to ask how she was doing, nothing more than those polite words of concern, but sister Wu would regularly call Lu Junting to report on her situation. The second maternity checkup was attended by sister Wu who accompanied Lin Xiyu, and the fetus was already a little bigger than the last time she saw it.

Lin Xiyu also did not know that it would take so long for Lu Junting to deal with the matter. She asked Lu Yuan about it and vaguely heard that something had happened to the foreign branch. Changheng Group was building a factory abroad and someone had accidentally dien on the construction site, the workers started an uprising and a riot. It seemed to be quite a big one, so Lu Junting had to personally rush over to solve it.

However, just two months after Lu Junting’s departure, big news broke out in Changheng Group. The heads of several branches of Changheng Group resigned collectively, and Changheng Group was suddenly plunged into a talent crisis and its share price plunged.

The main business of Changheng Group was in the building materials industry, and there were branches in several industrial cities, and these branches had different heads.

Because traditional industry no longer satisfied Lu Junting’s ambition, he began to vigorously develop the technology industry after he took over the power, and also established the Fengbao Technology Company.

Over the years, Lu Junting invested a lot of money in Fengbao Technology, and the heads of several branches who had been divided up the resources were greatly dissatisfied, but Lu Junting was bent on going his own way and kept on feeding Fengbao Technology, this gold-swallowing hole.

The interests of the major branches were violated, and the heads of the branches resigned collectively from the Changheng head office in order to express their dissatisfaction.

Even the news mentioned this matter, so the seriousness of this matter could be imagined. However, as the leader of Changheng Group, Lu Junting had not shown up once after the accident of the company. Some people said he hid, and some said he knew that something had happened long ago and he took the money and fled.

This matter was much more serious than the workers’ uprising abroad. As long as the main company did not fall, the foreign branch could be solved, but the resignation of the head of the Changheng Group’s branch was undoubtedly the collapse of multiple load-bearing pillars, and this huge empire was shaken.

Just a week after the accident of Changheng Group, Lin Xiyu received a call from Zhang Yao.

“Xixi, are you okay over there?”

“I’m fine.” Lin Xiyu squeezed her phone tightly, “Aunt Yao, what’s the situation at home now?”

“Don’t you worry so much, you just need to safely raise the baby in peace you know?”

Zhang Yao was unwilling to tell her, and did her best to say some words to reassure her. After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiyu calmed down and called Lu Yuan to ask about the situation, and Lu Yuan couldn’t stop her from asking all the time.

“I’m not sure, anyway, the atmosphere in the house is quite gloomy now. Someone else came to the house a few days ago to investigate, and I don’t know what the investigation is, and my eldest brother can’t be contacted.”

Lin Xiyu could not help but worry after hanging up the phone. It looked like what happened to Changheng Group was a lot more serious than she had imagined. However, Lin Xiyu thought about what Lu Junting had told her before leaving. He told her that something would happen, but believed that he would solve it.

Was what he said about settling well be a matter for foreign workers? Did he not expect the heads of several branches of Changheng Group to resign at the same time?

At this time, the atmosphere in the Lu family was also tense and solem. Except for Lu Junting and Lin Xiyu, all the members of the Lu family were there, and old Mr. Lu was pacing with his hands behind his back, and his back seemed to be a bit more hunched than what he was some time ago.

Old madam Lu could not take it anymore and said, “Don’t walk around, it annoys me.”

Old Mr. Lu’s face was solemn, and there was anger between his eyebrows. “I told him a long time ago not to go and have a hard confrontation with a few old men in the branch. Others have walked more bridges than him, and he refused to listen.” Old Mr. Lu was so angry that his cane was smashed and snapped.

Jiang Lisu said with a worried face, “Junting this child, where on earth did he go, how come he left such a mess unattended? There’s no one in charge in the company right now, you see… what’s going on here ah? Mom and Dad, how about letting Junfeng go help take care of it. We don’t know where’s Junting gone right now, someone needs to show up in the company ah!”

Upon hearing these words, old Mr. Lu’s gaze swept over. He was old, but after all, he was someone who had done great things, even though he was old, his gaze was still sharp.

The atmosphere seemed to be more solemn, and old Mr. Lu asked Lu Xun, “Do you have the same thought as your wife?”

Lu Xun was a little embarrassed, and he immediately said to Jiang Lisu with a cold face, “Just don’t add to the mess.”

Jiang Lisu was dissatisfied, “Where did I add to the mess, isn’t this a solution?”

Old Mr. Lu sneered and said, “The state has the state law, the family has family rules. Each family has its own things to do. The company is Junting’s, as long as he is alive, this rule cannot be changed.”

“Dad, what time is it now?” Jiang Lisu advised, “It’s true that the company is owned by Junting, but isn’t he running away without shadow now and doesn’t even want the company? Junfeng also studied management in university, it’s not like letting him gobble up the company, just let him fill in for a bit.”

“Shut up!” Old madam Lu said in a deep voice, “Now that something has happened in the family, you, as a member of the Lu family, should find a way to help the family through the difficulties within the scope of your duties, instead of taking advantage of the family’s crisis to benefit yourself.”

Jiang Lisu was reprimanded, her face had a little bit of displeasure as she muttered in a low voice, “Isn’t this a way?”

“Okay mom, stop it.” Lu Junting opened his mouth in a timely manner, “Now is not the time to talk about this.”

Jiang Lisu scorned him and whispered to him, “You child, why are you so blind? I’m trying to help you.”

Lu Junfeng knew that Jiang Lisu was helping him, but now that the company was in chaos. The family could no longer be chaotic, no matter what contradictions he had with his eldest brother, now was the Lu family’s crisis period. What they should do was to work together to help the family tide over the difficulties, rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to infringe on each other’s interests when the family members were not there.

What’s more, with his understanding of Lu Junting, he was not someone who would fall so easily. He had an evil heart and might have held back a big move. If he really took advantage of this time to go to the Dove’s nest, he would die a miserable death when Lu Junting came back. At that time, if Lu Junting put him to death, what others could say, after all, he was not righteous in the first place.

Lin Xiyu wanted to call Lu Junting to ask about the situation, but she was afraid that calling over would affect him. So, she would often go to the Lu family’s side to ask, but they all said that Lu Junting had not contacted them, and his phone could not be reached.

The situation in Changheng had become worse and worse. The stock price had continued to plummet, and Lin Xiyu did not dare to go out, so she stayed at home all day. Lu Yuan had come to look for her, and Lin Xiyu wanted to inquire about the situation from her side. However, what Lu Yuan knew was pretty much the same as her.

“You are not seeing the faces of those people out there. My family has not collapsed yet, and people are already giving me looks, you know a big spinning top(Da Tuoluo)? It’s the one that used to be fat in high school.”

Lin Xiyu had the impression that big spinning top((Da Tuoluo) was a girl who had been given this nickname because her name had the word ‘luo’ and she was fat.

“Now even someone like big spinning top has the nerve to sneer at me. I happened to run into her the other day when I was out and you didn’t see her roll her eyes at me. She used to come to me and flatter me like a dog, and look at her now. Just wait, when my eldest brother comes back, I’ll see who dares to look down on me. Those who once looked down on me, I’ll definitely take a look at them.” Lu Yuan spoke indignantly, but finished with a deflated sigh and asked her with uncertainty, “Do you think my eldest brother will come back?”

Lin Xiyu was actually also unsure in her heart, but she still said to Lu Yuan with a confident face, “Sure ah, wait and see.”

If Lu Junting fell, then there were too many things involved, the entire Lu family, including her, and the child in her stomach, those who needed to eat under the Changheng Group, the families behind those people, would all be in crisis.

The greater the power, the higher he stood, the greater the risks and responsibilities he had to take. Lin Xiyu believed that Lu Junting was not an irresponsible man, just look at his attitude towards her pregnancy.

That night, Lin Xiyu came out of the shower and saw her phone screen lit up. She approached it and saw the caller alert, almost instinctively, she scrambled to grab the phone and answered it.

Lin Xiyu felt her breathing slow down as she cautiously confirmed to the phone call, “Is it brother Junting?”

“It’s me.”

Lu Junting’s familiar voice came,  and Lin Xiyu could feel the big stone in her heart had fallen. Their contact had been cut since Changheng Group’s accident, and it had been over a month since she had received his call.

“Brother Junting, are you okay?”

“I’m okay, how about you?”

His tone was relaxed, and she could not hear the tone of a person in distress or trouble. He seemed to be born with such confidence.

“I’m okay too, don’t worry about me.”

There was silence for a while, and then he said, “What about you? Are you worried about me?”

Lin Xiyu blurted out almost subconsciously, “How can I not worry about you?”

She heard Lu Junting on the other end of the phone seem to give a soft laugh.