7:30 pm, Lu Mansion.
The family was assembled in the garden. It was spacious with beautiful flowers and decorative plants. There was a small waterfall at one corner of the garden, decorated with rocks and statues. In the center was a patio surrounded by a circular fish pond, having a small wooden bridge attached to it.
Everyone sat around the circular tea table, chatting happily as they sipped on their evening tea. Apart from Lu Qiang and Lu Feng, everyone was present. The complete family had come together after a long time. It was a Saturday, so everyone was relaxed. They had a discussion about the celebration that was the next day.
"How's everything going in the office and factory?" Lu Jinhai asked Lu Han.
"Everything is good, uncle," Lu Han replied.
Feeling annoyed with the office talk, elder Lu couldn't hold himself back and said in an angry tone, "Did I call you people to talk about your work here? Leave your business in the office. Don't bring it home."
It was a rare opportunity for everyone to be at the same place at the same time, and elder Lu wanted to spend the time productively.
"Sorry, father. We were just..." Lu Jinhai couldn't continue further when he looked at his father's frown.
"How was your trip, my beautiful granddaughters?" Lu Huan asked, turning to the two girls and ignoring his son.
"It was a fantastic grandpa. Shanghai was awesome. We went to..."
While they were chatting, Lu Lijun saw Lu Qiang coming towards them. He got up and ran to him.
"You know, elder brother? Just now Grandpa scolded father and elder cousin." He giggled. "You should have come sooner to see their faces."
Smiling at his brother, Lu Qiang walked along towards the sitting area.
Lu Lian and Lu Bao gave a summary of their trip to grandpa and started discussing their preparation for the event. Suddenly, Lu Lian looked in the direction of her two brothers coming towards them.
"Don't you think Brother Lu Qiang is too handsome?" Lu Lian said in a shallow pitch that only Lu Bao could hear.
"Not just handsome but damn s.e.xy," Lu Bao said, following Lu Lian's sight.
"I wonder how many girls would go mad over him," Lu Lian said thoughtfully.
"I am sure all of them must have had crazy nights thinking about him." There was mischief in Lu Bao's eyes.
"Haha! You are right, but it's not good to talk about our brother like this." Lu Lian seemed abashed by where the conversation was headed.
"He is our brother, that's why we have a right to talk anything about him." Shameless. How shameless.
Lu Bao looked back in their direction and said, "Look at Lu Lijun. He looks just like brother Lu Qiang. We are going to have one more handsome brother," she replied in a whisper.
"But I have a feeling that you took after your grandfather—bold and blatant!" These words came from Su Hui, who was sitting just beside her. Su Hui was displeased by all she had heard.
The sisters remained silent, acting like thieves who had been caught red-handed.
Lu Qiang and Lu Lijun reached the sitting area and sat next to each other. Elder Lu was discussing the event's arrangement with his sons. When he saw Lu Qiang, he stopped talking, looked at Lu Qiang and said, "After tomorrow's event, I want one more big event to celebrate in our family."
Everyone was sure that the topic of great-grandchildren would be brought up again, but they were wrong.
"I want you to get married soon," Elder Lu said in a firm voice, ordering Lu Qiang.
"M-marriage," Lu Qiang coughed in surprise at the sudden talk of marriage.
Others: 'Wow, marriage! Finally, he spoke of something meaningful... Count us in.'
Everyone seemed happy at the demand except for Lu Qiang and Lu Lijun, who were shocked and angered, respectively.
"For tomorrow's event, we have invited all the reputed and noble families in the city. Most of the families have beautiful and educated girls. See if you find someone suitable for you," Lu Jinhai said to support his father.
Hearing what her husband and elder Lu said, Ning Jiahui spoke, "They are right. You should think about having a family now."
With this sentence from Ning Jiahui, everyone nodded and started to ask him to get married.
Lu Qiang was annoyed by this topic and couldn't help but lash out, "Grandpa, until this morning, you were adamant about wanting great-grandkids, and now you are stuck on my marriage."
The poor lamb didn't realize that he had fallen into the older man's trap. He would be mocked to the ground.
"So you are okay with giving me great-grandchildren, but you don't want to marry? Am I right?" The old man said smugly.
"W-what? When did I say that?" Lu Qiang stuttered out, confused by the turn of events.
Others: 'Poor guy got caught in elder Lu's trap.'
"In the morning, you agreed to fulfill my wish to have great-grandchildren, so I thought marriage would be good before that. But if you don't want it, I would be happy to settle for having great-grandchildren," Elder Lu replied.
Before Lu Qiang could say anything, Lu Lijun frowned and asked, "Are you going to get married?"
"No! I am not. Don't pay attention to Grandpa," he said somewhat furiously.
"But what if you got married? I know you will love your wife and won't pay attention to me," Lu Lijun, who had been silent throughout the conversation, suddenly spoke up.
"You'll have one more person to love you if I got married," Lu Qiang ensured. "She would love you and care for you just like I do."
"Really?"
"Yes!" Lu Qiang said in a firm voice.
"Okay! Then, I'll love her and care for her too," Lu Lijun said with a big smile on his face. "Yes! That's a promise!" he said with excitement.
Everyone was glad to see Lu Lijun happy because they knew Lu Qiang would never do anything that could upset Lu Lijun. So, to make him get married, Lu Lijun's permission was necessary.
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