Chapter 84: None of Those Are for Decent Folk to See

Her father shouted at her, “We’ll talk at home! You want the whole corridor to know you’re planning murder and robbery? Get inside!”

Bai Lu obediently stepped into the house, but stubbornly insisted, “Within three days, I must kill—”

“I absolutely forbid it.” Lu Yiting’s face was dark as thunder. “Killing a cripple is easy. You don’t even need to do it yourself. If I want Lu Jinshan dead, he’ll have no choice but to decide how he dies. But if Lu Jinshan dies, the blame won’t fall on me and you—it will weigh on your grandmother’s heart. Do you understand?”

Of course Bai Lu understood. She was just pushing her father.

Otherwise, her grandfather and father would have no chance of reconciliation in this life.

She gnashed her teeth. “I don’t care! He hurt Grandma and left her with a lifelong illness, and made you and Grandpa turn against each other. There’s no way I’ll let him live like a cur. I won’t even allow him to drag out his pitiful existence! He must die! Within three days! Even an hour longer and I lose!”

Lu Yiting’s handsome brows drew together. “Lu Xiaolu, you’re usually clever. How are you muddled about this? Lu Jinshan can’t die. As long as your grandmother is alive, I’ll make him copy scriptures every day to pray for her. When she’s gone, I’ll have him buried with her. If you kill him now, how will your grandmother ever face Lu Cheng again? How will she live with him?”

Bai Lu retorted, “I don’t care, I just don’t! I won’t be satisfied until Lu Jinshan is dead. Dad, don’t you hate Lu Cheng too? If we kill his son, let him feel that pain in his bones—won’t that be satisfying?”

“Satisfy your damn uncle!” Lu Yiting cursed. “Lu Cheng is eighty-two this year. How much longer can he live? Do you have to make him die at your father’s hands, just to brand your dad an unfilial son? Leaving that aside, you’ll never get past your grandmother. You’ll never have the face to see her again, and don’t come crying to me then.”

Bai Lu spoke each word with sincerity, “But I just want to make you happy, Dad. I don’t want you or Grandma to be wronged.”

Lu Yiting smacked her on the crown. “You’re hopeless. Lu Cheng himself broke Lu Jinshan’s legs. Your grandmother’s grievance has already been avenged. As for me, what grievance do I have? If Lu Jinshan wants to live, he’ll have to kill his own children with his own hands. And I’ll be the one forcing him. Isn’t that more satisfying than killing him outright?”

Bai Lu pretended not to understand. “Then why are you still angry, Dad?”

“I’m angry at myself—” Lu Yiting caught himself.

That wretched daughter had forced him to say what he’d buried deepest in his heart.

“Damn it! Lu Xiaolu, you use all your tricks against your old man?!”

Bai Lu’s expression instantly softened, all stubbornness melting away, leaving only a bright, curved smile.

She threw her arms around her father’s raised arm, acting spoiled. “Dad, you’re not angry because you couldn’t protect Grandma, or because Grandpa couldn’t protect her. You’re angry because you acted on impulse, and now the ballet stage has lost its most beautiful and graceful white swan. Dad, forgive yourself.”

Lu Yiting’s face now was colder and gloomier than when he’d seen Lu Cheng in the parking lot earlier.

Bai Lu gently rubbed her cheek against his arm. “Dad, you know what Grandma wants most. If she could trade two legs for reconciliation between you and Grandpa, she’d do it without hesitation. Her dream was never just on that small ballet stage, but in our family, in you and Grandpa.”

“Dad, when the tree longs to be still, the wind will not cease; when a child wants to care for his parents, they may no longer be there.”

“Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

“Make peace with Grandpa. The two of you aren’t tormenting each other—you’re tormenting Grandma.”

Lu Yiting bowed his head, defeated. “Lu Xiaolu, you little demon, you’re here to make me pay my debts.”

Bai Lu hugged him gently. “Dad, why don’t we invite Grandpa and Grandma to dinner at our house tomorrow? To show our filial piety, you and I will cook a great meal for them ourselves.”

Lu Yiting was silent for a moment, then chuckled despite himself. “You really are something else.”

Bai Lu winked slyly. “I’m Daddy’s best daughter!”

Her father seemed utterly weary as he nodded vaguely and muttered, “It’s your idea, do as you see fit,” before heading to his bedroom.

He skipped dinner entirely.

Not at ease, Bai Lu checked on her father in the middle of the night.

He lay with his eyes tightly shut, his handsome features twisted in sleep, muttering curses even in his dreams, full of presence.

He was indeed still the Lu family’s little tyrant.

But the way he slept was just like a child with no sense of security.

Bai Lu had wanted to hug him, but she knew: some wounds, no matter how close, only the person themselves can tend.

So she simply tucked his quilt around him and slipped out.

“Dad, I love you. Goodnight.”

As the door closed, Lu Yiting cracked open his eyes, narrowing them to a slit.

“Brat, your old man loves you too.”

—

Before bed, Bai Lu glanced at the clock.

2:47 a.m.

Perfect.

All the elders should be fast asleep.

Bai Lu pulled out Lu Cheng’s private number—Uncle Gu, that sly old fox, had given it to her.

The phone rang only once before it was picked up.

The voice on the other end was clear and alert, not at all like an elderly man woken in the middle of the night.

“Lu Xiaolu, I was wondering if you’d wait till dawn to call me. Turns out, you couldn’t hold out.”

Bai Lu was speechless.

“Curious? It’s not hard to guess—with your vengeful temperament, even if you’ve persuaded your father to reconcile, you wouldn’t let me off easily. But I’m over eighty. If you use any extreme means, this old man won’t be able to take it. The only thing you could do is call me in the middle of the night with this childish prank.”

Bai Lu yawned hugely. “Grandpa, my dad says all my tricks are used against him. I want to tell you the same. You’re staying up just so I won’t get the better of you, aren’t you?”

Lu Cheng let out a low laugh. “The Lu family’s competitive spirit runs in the blood.”

Bai Lu rolled her eyes. “I’m tired. Come to our house for dinner tomorrow night. If you survive the meal, Dad will make peace with you.”

Lu Cheng fell silent, his breathing heavy.

Bai Lu was briefly stunned.

So this infamous “kitchen killer” trait, the notorious dark cuisine, was inherited from Grandpa.

Bai Lu immediately felt she’d scored a point. “Grandpa, Dad and I will cook for you ourselves—aren’t you happy?”

“Sweetheart, Grandpa is eighty—” Lu Cheng began.

“The Lu family’s competitive spirit runs in the blood,” Bai Lu interrupted, drawing out the words mischievously.

Lu Cheng was speechless.

Bai Lu felt triumphant. “Grandpa, I remember you once said in an interview: ‘Lu family members would rather die on the battlefield than surrender without a fight.’ Grandpa, Xiaolu and Grandma will be waiting for you!”

Through gritted teeth, Lu Cheng forced out, “I’ll—be—there—no—matter—what.”

“Goodnight, Grandpa,” Bai Lu said sweetly, her voice soft as cotton.

Lu Cheng’s heart softened for the second time that night. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

Goodnight—again?

Song Jinse stared at him in disbelief. “Who are you? You can’t be my husband! Tell me, are you some soul that’s possessed his body?”

Lu Cheng groaned, “Jinse! You really need to stop reading those things online! They’re not for decent people!”