Chapter 80: If My Father Dislikes It, So Do I

“Lu Lu, come over and say hello.” Lu Yiting turned his head, the gentleness and warmth in his eyes not yet completely faded.

Bai Lu was stunned, wandering over in a daze, and bowed at a perfect right angle. “Gran—”

She had barely opened her mouth when Song Jinse swept her into a hug.

“Good child, so you’re Ting’er’s Lulu? Wonderful, wonderful, just wonderful.” Song Jinse held her by the shoulders, gazing at her delicate, exquisitely lovely face, repeating the word “wonderful” three times in a row.

She seemed more than satisfied.

Bai Lu let out a quiet sigh of relief.

It was only now that she truly took in the details of her grandmother.

Song Jinse—not only was her name beautiful, but her appearance matched it perfectly.

Time does not defeat true beauty.

Bai Lu saw the truth of that old saying in her grandmother.

Though well into her sixties, the years had left barely a trace on her. Only a few faint lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth betrayed her age. She radiated an elegant serenity, a warmth that was inviting, yet coupled with an unspoken air of nobility that kept others at a slight distance.

Now she finally understood why her father was so handsome.

Her grandmother was a great beauty!

Her father took after her grandmother, not that stern and imposing grandfather.

Song Jinse was also studying her, growing more fond of her with every glance at her sweet, charming face.

“Good child, this is for you.” Without giving her a chance to protest, Song Jinse slipped the jade bracelet from her own wrist and fastened it onto Bai Lu’s.

Bai Lu glanced at her father, and only when he nodded did she dare accept it, beaming with a bright, sweet smile. “Thank you!”

Lu Cheng’s brow furrowed, his already stern face becoming even more unapproachable. “Jinse!”

Song Jinse shot her husband a glare. “Oh, let Ting’er be happy.”

Lu Cheng tapped his cane on the carpet but surprisingly did not argue further.

Song Jinse turned back, warmly taking Bai Lu’s hand and smiling. “It’s rare for Ting’er to want to give you a rightful place. He may be a few years older than you, but age has its advantages—he knows how to cherish someone. Good child, let your grandmother choose an auspicious day and arrange your wedding to Ting’er—”

“Mom!!”

“Grandma!”

Father and daughter spoke over each other, each voice louder than the last, and their expressions more twisted with each word.

Lu Yiting’s handsome face was utterly contorted. “Mom, what are you thinking! She’s my biological daughter, your granddaughter!”

Bai Lu’s face was even more distorted than her father’s. “It’s happening again, isn’t it? I’m being mistaken for having some other relationship with my dad again, right? Dad, hurry up and show Grandma the paternity test!”

Song Jinse: “……”

The woman, who looked barely into her forties, was so startled by this revelation that it seemed her soul left her body.

In an instant, she seemed to age decades.

Even Lu Cheng was left reeling, his hawk-like eyes darting between father and daughter.

Lu Yiting respectfully handed Song Jinse the paternity test report that Gu Pianran had given him.

“Mom, please see for yourself.”

With trembling hands, Song Jinse took the report and read it at least twenty times, yet still could not believe it.

Lu Cheng came over, supporting himself with his cane in one hand and steadying his wife with the other.

The couple exchanged glances, too shocked to speak.

After a long silence, Lu Cheng finally managed, in a stern tone, “Lu Yiting, are you pulling another stunt to upset me? Even if you want to rile me up, aren’t you afraid of frightening your mother into illness?”

Lu Yiting ignored him, placing one hand on the back of Bai Lu’s head and producing a mirror from who knows where with the other.

“Mom, look at Lu Xiaolu’s face, then look at yours. How could she not be your real granddaughter?”

Song Jinse looked at herself in the mirror, then at Bai Lu’s little face. “Ting’er… she, she really—”

“She’s my daughter, your granddaughter. If you don’t trust the paternity test, we’ll do another one right now. You choose the hospital—I won’t have any chance to tamper with the results.”

Bai Lu thought: Hmm, why does this sound so familiar?

It was a private hospital under the Gu family group. Whether Lu Yiting had meddled in the results, Lu Cheng could find out with a single phone call.

Lu Yiting wasn’t the only one who had saved Gu Pianran’s life—Lu Cheng had too. Back then, it was Lu Yiting and his elder brother who rescued her, but it was Lu Cheng who protected her from the shadows.

A life saved is a debt to be repaid, and Gu Pianran knew it well.

Song Jinse looked to her husband, and Lu Cheng nodded, confirming that Lu Yiting wouldn’t joke about something like this.

“Xiaolu!” Song Jinse reached out with trembling hands. “Xiaolu, you really are our Xiaolu?”

Bai Lu’s nose stung with emotion as she threw herself into Song Jinse’s embrace. “Grandma, it’s me. I’m your granddaughter Xiaolu.”

Song Jinse hugged her tightly, unable to stop her tears, yet every sob was full of grace.

Lu Yiting helped Song Jinse to a seat. “Mom, you’re not in good health, don’t get too worked up. We don’t want you coughing again. It’s my fault—I should have brought Xiaolu home to meet you sooner. But this stubborn girl has her own ideas. If she wasn’t willing, I had to respect that.”

Bai Lu: ??????

Her dad was even less reliable than she was.

Unbelievable!

But what could you do about your own father? Can’t trade him in, might as well indulge him.

Bai Lu was an expert at playing the obedient child. “Grandma, Dad told me about your health. We both thought that suddenly coming home and revealing ourselves might frighten you. We wanted to take things slowly. Who could have guessed that Chairman Lu would misunderstand my relationship with Dad? And now, we’ve ended up startling you anyway.”

Lu Yiting was thoroughly pleased.

She was, without a doubt, his daughter—sharp and clever.

Most importantly, she was on his side.

Calling him Chairman Lu, so distant and formal.

And the misunderstanding—putting all the blame on old Lu.

Brilliant!

Father and daughter put on their best obedient faces, coaxing Song Jinse until at last, her tears dried and she smiled again.

As for Lu Cheng?

Neither of them cared in the slightest.

He was treated like thin air.

Song Jinse gave each of them a light slap.

Her hands were raised high, but fell so gently they were more like caresses than anything else.

“Ting’er, you’re a father now. How can you be so childish? Just look at the nonsense you’ve taught my precious granddaughter. She won’t even call her grandfather ‘Grandpa.’”

Turning to Bai Lu, she gently scolded, “You, too—don’t just follow your father’s bad example. He’s your grandfather, not ‘Chairman Lu.’ Call him Grandpa, do you understand?”

Bai Lu was obedient, but also stubborn, just like her father. She half-knelt on the carpet, holding Song Jinse’s hand. “Grandma, Dad hasn’t taught me anything wrong. I’m not very clever, I don’t understand all those complicated reasons. I just know, whoever likes me, I’ll like them too. But if Dad doesn’t like someone, I don’t want to like them either.”

She lifted her head and glanced coolly at Lu Cheng. “If my dad doesn’t like someone, even if he’s my grandfather, I don’t want anything to do with him!”