Chapter 79: Have You Let a Dog Eat Your Manners?

Gu Pianran truly felt he was going to be driven to his grave by the pair of them. Was it his fate in a past life to have signed himself away to these two, condemned in this life to be their ox and horse? No matter how angry he was, he still had to coax them gently, “You two can go up by yourselves. If I go with you, Chairman Lu will only be angrier. He’s never liked me.”

Lu Yiting sneered, “He doesn’t like you so you’re not going? You should go anyway—walk right in front of him and make him sick just by being there.”

Bai Lu chimed in, “Uncle Gu is the best. If anyone doesn’t like you, then I don’t like them!”

Gu Pianran could only sigh in exasperation, yet he was a little touched. “The two of you may not be good at much, but you sure know how to sweet-talk me.”

“Uncle Gu, if Grandpa thinks you’re ruthless, scheming, and poisonous, that’s his lack of vision,” Bai Lu huffed. “He only judges people by their surface. He’s not fit to run the Lu Corporation.”

Lu Yiting added, “The old man used to think Gu Pianran was too devious and cruel, never thought much of his methods. Seven or eight years ago, he suffered a big loss to Gu Pianran in business—couldn’t save face. That made him hate Gu Pianran even more.”

“...Well, he deserved it then,” Bai Lu said with a little exclamation.

Her father lifted his chin, impossibly pleased with himself. “I was the one who helped Gu Pianran, otherwise he couldn’t have outsmarted the old man on his own.”

Bai Lu was speechless.

So this title of Miss Lu Family—could she just give it up? Wouldn’t that be better? People always said the Huo family was a den of dragons and tigers, but it looked like the Lu family was no better.

Gu Pianran, unwilling to listen to their banter any longer, simply forced the two of them out of the car.

Bai Lu and her father exchanged a glance.

“Oh, Dad, you’re really getting me into trouble this time!”

“Cut the nonsense. Sooner or later, you have to face it anyway.”

The elevator only went as far as the twenty-fifth floor. To reach Chairman Lu’s office on the top floor, they would have to take the stairs—the only entrance or exit, heavily guarded without exaggeration.

The twenty-fifth floor was the secretarial department, reporting directly and solely to Chairman Lu. There weren’t many people—about twenty, plus fifteen security personnel. Outsiders joked that the twenty-fifth floor was the Lu Group’s war council.

Lu Yiting strode out of the elevator, hands in his pockets, every step radiating disregard for the world. Bai Lu, far less bold, clung to his arm, hiding behind him with just a tuft of hair peeking out.

“What are you hiding for?” Lu Yiting barked. “Stand up straight and walk in with your head held high! You’re here to claim your rightful place today—don’t embarrass me with your timid, small-minded behavior!”

His shout startled the staff of the so-called war council.

Her place? What place? Instantly, gazes shifted, curiosity and speculation in every look.

Bai Lu wished she could sew her father’s loose mouth shut.

“Dad, if you can’t say anything decent, just keep quiet.”

Lu Yiting snorted, “You’re the one who should keep quiet. Stand straight and walk in with your head up! You are my—”

Bai Lu steeled herself and pinched his side hard.

“Damn!” Lu Yiting’s handsome face twisted in pain, and he was about to curse when a stern, commanding voice cut him off.

“Lu Yiting, where are your manners?”

Bai Lu, still clinging to her father’s arm, trembled and looked up.

An elderly man with a head of silvery hair and an air of authority stood by the banister, gazing down at them. His eyes, which should have been clouded with age, were sharp and piercing—like an eagle’s.

“This is not a place for your antics, Lu Yiting. Even if you have to pretend, at least act like a proper person.”

That overly keen gaze shifted to Bai Lu’s face, emotionless, only full of scrutiny.

Bai Lu quivered and instinctively wanted to hide behind her father again.

But Lu Yiting grabbed her by the nape like a kitten and marched her up the stairs with long strides.

“Where’s all that bravado when you were yelling at me, grabbing me by the collar, and forcing me to get a paternity test?” he hissed in her ear.

Bai Lu almost burst into tears. “That’s different…”

Her father loved her; he was willing to take the blame for her. With him, she could act without fear, relying on his indulgence.

But her grandfather… was not the same.

In her previous life, even after Shen Xinlu had been recognized as the Lu family’s daughter for five years, Chairman Lu had neither acknowledged nor accepted her. Only after her father threatened that if his daughter wasn’t recognized, he wouldn’t acknowledge his own father, did Chairman Lu reluctantly allow Shen Xinlu to return to the family.

She gained the title of Miss Lu, but nothing more.

Any extras were out of the question.

That was one reason Shen Xinlu, always short of money, stooped to such petty, disgraceful things.

She received only a hundred thousand yuan a month as pocket money. Chairman Lu never let her or Yu Fuqing get involved in the family business or assets. He had even publicly called her a bastard more than once—something Ye Jingyan had heard with his own ears; there was no mistaking it.

Bai Lu hugged her father. “Dad, if Grandpa won’t acknowledge me, then so be it. Having you is enough for me.”

Lu Yiting could feel her trembling.

His little crab, usually fearless, was truly afraid this time.

Why she was afraid, he didn’t care. He only sneered, “You’re my daughter—who would dare not acknowledge you? Good, if that old man won’t claim you, I’ll change our surname to Song. I haven’t wanted to be a Lu for years.”

Bai Lu blinked. She knew her grandmother’s surname was Song—such a beautiful name: Song Jinse.

With that, Lu Yiting kicked open the office door.

He entered with dignity and force, Bai Lu dangling helplessly in his grip—small, pitiful, and defenseless.

“Dad, if you agree, everyone wins. If you don’t, that suits me just fine. From today, I’ll stop being a Lu and take—”

Lu Cheng slammed his cane on the carpet, his authority undiminished. “Lu Yiting, have you forgotten your manners? Come here and greet your mother.”

Upon seeing Song Jinse, Lu Yiting immediately shed his brashness, released Bai Lu, and walked over with perfect decorum to bow to the woman on the sofa.

“Mother, why didn’t you let me know you’d returned? I could have brought you your favorite pastries on the way. How has your health been lately? Still feeling the cold? Did you take the herbal medicine I sent you through Gu Pianran? Was it effective?”

Bai Lu had never seen her father so well-behaved and gentle, and for a moment, she was utterly stunned.

Was this really her hell-raising father?

They said that Film Emperor Lu had a thousand faces, but a thousand was far from enough.

Look at that—the great Film Emperor Lu must have ten thousand masks!