Chapter 43#
Playboy (13)#
This kind of situation didn’t seem to appear in Li Tang’s script. Lu’s father first felt a pang of guilt, but quickly became emboldened. What was so special about Lu Yi showing up? If Lu Yi came, it would be even easier. He was Lu Yi’s biological father, and a son was supposed to listen to his father!
When Lu Yi received the call, he was originally discussing some business matters with someone.
He asked Rong Huan to wait a minute, then said to the person sitting across from him, “Sorry, there’s an urgent family matter. I originally planned to take you to dinner and properly play the host, but now I might have to let my assistant take over first.”
Actually, the two of them had almost finished their discussion. The other party said understandingly, “President Lu, go ahead and handle your business. I’ll look around some more and give you my answer once I’ve made up my mind.”
Lu Yi called in the assistant who had returned with him to China to take over, then hurried out of the office. “Wait at the music store first. Don’t let him leave if he wants to. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes at most.”
Hearing Lu Yi’s voice, Rong Huan felt reassured. Instead, he reminded Lu Yi, “It’s fine. I’ve already asked Teacher Xiaocheng to take over my class. Don’t rush; safety comes first.”
After all, he had plenty of time now to waste with Lu’s father.
Rong Huan had always been softhearted. If he saw a beggar on the street, as long as they were elderly, he would give them money. But looking at this man before him, who bore some resemblance to Lu Yi and looked pitiful, he felt not a trace of sympathy, but rather a bit of disgust.
If parents needed a license to have children, then someone like Lu’s father was completely unworthy of being a father. Lu Yi was also his child, yet he had never cared for him at all. Now that the child had achieved something, he came crawling back to leech off him.
The relationship between parents and children was supposed to be mutual. To expect returns without giving any affection—where in the world was there such a good deal?
Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic on the road. Lu Yi parked the car in front of the music store and immediately spotted his biological father and his lover.
He got out of the car, strode forward in big steps, grabbed Lu’s father’s hand, and shielded Rong Huan behind him.
“Tell me, what do you want from me?”
This was the first time in recent years that Lu’s father had seen Lu Yi. The faces were similar, but he suddenly realized that his eldest son had changed drastically, very different from the cowardly, submissive son in his memory.
Though surprised, he immediately plopped down on the ground and started wailing, “The son is hitting his father! I raised him with hardship for twenty years, working from dawn to dusk every day just so he could go to college. I had two kids to support, earning only a few tens of thousands a year, providing food, clothes, and tuition. And now, after studying abroad, he doesn’t recognize his father anymore and even gets together with a man. Oh, his mother, I’ve failed you!”
The more he spoke, the more energized Lu’s father became. He truly believed that was the case. His performance was so vivid, his acting comparable to a national first-class actor.
The onlookers pointed and whispered, and some kind-hearted elderly women even scolded, “Look at you, doing so well, but you treat your father like this?”
Everyone knew that sending a college student abroad cost a lot of money. Look at the young man, dressed sharply, and look at the father, wearing rags and a pair of old cloth shoes with a few toes sticking out—so pitiful.
People naturally sympathize with the weak, so they felt sorry for Lu’s father.
Lu Yi wasn’t swayed by the bystanders’ gossip. If he could be so easily influenced by outsiders, he would never have succeeded.
He waited until Lu’s father had wailed for a while and stopped, then asked him, “Are you done wailing?”
Lu’s father’s throat was a bit hoarse, and he didn’t have much strength left to wail.
Only then did Lu Yi say, “If you’re done, go back. Don’t worry, I won’t short you a single cent of your alimony. Whatever the law stipulates, I’ll give double.”
The alimony stipulated by law was five hundred yuan a month. Doubling it made it a thousand yuan. Lu’s father was so robust; with over ten thousand a year, it wouldn’t take long to pay back what the other party had spent on the original host.
After all, the original host had mostly supported himself during the most expensive years. He had never taken any interest classes or the like.
Lu Yi raised his voice slightly, “As for that younger brother, he’s not born of my mother. If it were my birth mother and she had treated me well, I would definitely take care of him. But when my mother died, she only had me as her son. If I were to be good to another woman’s son, she would surely be heartbroken in the afterlife.”
The gossiping crowd pricked up their ears. Birth mother, another woman. This man on the ground seemed to have been cheating or something. The amount of information sounded huge.
Lu’s father said, “Your mother was a kind woman. Why would she be heartbroken? If she were still here, she would surely want you to take care of this younger brother.”
Lu Yi looked at him as if he were an idiot: “If she were still here, how could I have a younger brother? I know, Auntie and Dad, you’ve been so good to me. For my younger brother to attend an elite elementary school, I scrimped and saved, working two jobs to pay my tuition. My younger brother wears two-hundred-yuan NK shoes. I’m an adult, so I don’t need to be so particular. A ten-yuan street stall item is good enough for me!”
His voice grew louder, but his words remained clear: “Even though I said something in advance, Auntie had to take care of my younger brother. After all, I’m an adult, so sleeping in a moldy blanket is no big deal. Even if I did something stupid and ended up in the hospital, it was my own fault, so after a few days, the hospital kicked me out. Dad, you and Auntie have truly been too good to me!”
It was normal for a stepmother to favor her own child. With a new wife and child, it was human nature to neglect the quiet, uncomplaining child from the previous marriage.
But if you did that, you should have some self-awareness. He seemed to deflate, saying in a peculiar tone, “Dad, I worked my ass off, studying even with a high fever, insisting on taking exams to get the scholarship. After my freshman year, I didn’t spend a single cent of your money. You and Auntie didn’t like me, so a couple of days ago, you went to my workplace and got me fired. I accepted that too, considering myself unfilial. What else do you want? Is it…”
The elderly woman who had spoken ill of Lu Yi earlier said, “Don’t say that, son. You’re still young. Dying with him would be a huge loss!”
Lu’s father was a man, and people naturally sympathized with the weak. If the one complaining had been Lu Yi’s birth mother, many might have empathized, as a birth mother had the grace of childbirth.
But once you brought up a stepmother and unfair treatment, even as a father, you would get cursed out.
He was shabbily dressed but hadn’t suffered much; his hair was still black. A middle-aged man with all his limbs intact.
The key was that when Lu Yi confronted him, he was dumbfounded, forgetting to defend himself for a long time, which put him at a disadvantage.
They were purely watching the drama, sympathizing with whoever seemed pitiful and calling out whoever was the scumbag.
By the time Lu’s father came to his senses, everyone was blaming him. He was the kind of weak-willed, stupid, and malicious man. He thought one thing, but when his son accused him, he thought that might also be true.
When everyone pointed fingers at him, he got scared, stopped making a fuss, and slunk away.
With no more drama to watch, the crowd dispersed. Lu Yi and Rong Huan went back inside the music store. Once inside, Lu Yi dropped the pitiful, helpless, and sympathetic expression and said, “The person pulling the strings behind the scenes has already been found out. It’s your good nephew, Li Tang.”
Rong Huan said, “What good nephew? I don’t have such a nephew.”
“Alright, alright, I misspoke.”
Lu Yi continued, “As for my father, he’s my biological father. I’ll stick to what I said before: he raised me, so I’ll give him alimony. If he gets seriously ill someday and really can’t afford it, I’ll help if I can. But as for serving him personally, or his wife and son, I won’t lift a finger.”
“I understand.” After all, he was his biological father, and there had been some years of affection. Even if he was disappointed, he might still hold onto a sliver of hope. Besides, Lu’s father was indeed excessive, but he had never abused his son—at worst, he was cold and heartless. Lu Yi doing the bare minimum wasn’t wrong.
“As for the online public opinion, I’ve just written a long Weibo post. I’ll let it simmer for a bit and then release it.”
When it came to family issues, there would always be disputes. Even if one side was completely innocent, there would be trolls arguing underneath. He wasn’t money, so he couldn’t expect everyone to like him.
As long as he could reverse the narrative and win the support of the majority, that was enough. “If it makes you uncomfortable, just don’t look at that stuff.”
Rong Huan nodded. “I know. I’ll try to ignore them.”
Lu Yi added, “And another thing, about Li Tang. Even though your stepbrother might be a bit innocent, if it weren’t for their indulgence, Li Tang wouldn’t have gone this far. Next, I might target your stepbrother’s company… well, use some minor tactics.”
It was hard to build a good company, but it was easy to ruin one. Li Tang’s father wasn’t a business genius; he relied solely on the patronage of his father.
Rong Huan said, “You don’t have to worry about me.”
He didn’t believe that his stepbrother was entirely unaware of his son’s actions. The other party hadn’t stopped Li Tang out of consideration for him as a brother. So why should he care? He didn’t want to hurt the person who truly loved him and whom he loved.
Moreover, even if the stepbrother truly didn’t know, he still bore responsibility for not teaching his son properly. If the son caused trouble, the father couldn’t shirk liability.
Lu Yi relaxed his expression. “I was afraid you’d be in a dilemma.”
“No. As long as your methods are legitimate, I have no qualms.”
“Definitely aboveboard.” He was just competing fairly, acquiring the other party’s company fair and square.
“As for Father, if my stepbrother comes to him for help, I’ll tell him not to interfere.” Rong Huan looked at Lu Yi without blinking. “You have to remember, you’re the most important person in the world to me.”
Lu Yi smiled. “Alright, I’ll remember.”