Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Birthday Wishes
"Ah, my younger grandson’s here! Come on over, we were just talking about you."
The moment Lu Zhengguo saw his grandson, his spirits visibly lifted.
It’s said that the eldest son and the youngest grandson are the most beloved, and Lu Yunfeng was that youngest grandson.
"Grandpa, may you enjoy a long life and celebrate this day for many years to come!
These are my friends. They wanted to wish you a happy birthday too."
After Lu Yunfeng finished his well-wishes, he pulled Sheng Yang and the other two forward.
’Since they’re already here, they might as well wish Grandpa a happy birthday with me. None of them are getting away!’
"Hello, Grandpa Lu! I’m Sheng Yang. Many happy returns of the day!"
"Hello, Grandpa Lu. I’m Su Mengyao. May your fortune be as boundless as the ocean and your longevity as eternal as the mountains!"
"Hello, Grandpa Lu. I’m Yun Zijin. May your lucky star always shine upon you, and may your birthday be filled with splendor."
"Wonderful, wonderful! You must be the Sheng Family boy, aren’t you? I even held you when you were little!"
Hearing Sheng Yang’s self-introduction, Lu Zhengguo immediately realized who he was.
"You have a great memory, Grandpa Lu."
Sheng Yang had no memory of it at all. ’It must have happened before I was old enough to remember anything.’
"And these two young ladies..."
Lu Zhengguo thought for a long time but couldn’t recall which families they belonged to.
"Grandpa Lu, my father is Su Yuecheng, the chairman of the Su Group."
"I grew up in an orphanage."
Su Mengyao and Yun Zijin introduced themselves in turn. Compared to Su Mengyao’s status as the Su Family heiress, Yun Zijin’s identity as an orphan drew much more attention.
Old Sir Lu was also rather surprised; that was an answer he hadn’t expected.
"You are an exceptional young woman."
Xu Su Hua had been standing silently beside Lu Zhengguo. But when she heard Yun Zijin say she was an orphan and noticed the odd looks from the surrounding crowd, she stepped forward without hesitation.
"You have great judgment, Grandma. Miss Yun is indeed exceptional. I, too, have lost to her before."
Lu Yunque spoke with a smile as he supported his grandmother.
"Oh? Little sparrow, you know her too?"
Lu Yunque speaking up was completely unexpected for Xu Su Hua. Their Little sparrow had always kept his distance from any woman who wasn’t family.
His marriage was her and her husband’s biggest worry, so she never imagined their Little sparrow would actually speak up in this girl’s defense.
"Yes. I lost to Miss Yun at the auction for the West Suburb Land."
This matter had always been a topic of private gossip, but hearing it confirmed by the man himself was a bombshell for everyone present.
In the crowd, many of the young women who had come to the banquet hoping to meet Lu Yunque heard his high praise for Yun Zijin and began to seethe with jealousy.
"The girl did a good thing! He needs a taste of defeat to learn his lesson and avoid making the same mistakes in the future."
Lu Zhengguo’s hearty voice rang out. He wasn’t the least bit angry that Yun Zijin had snatched the land Lu Yunque had his eye on; on the contrary, he felt like thanking her.
"That was a long time ago. I’m surprised you still remember it, Mr. Lu."
Yun Zijin felt a little embarrassed by the old couple’s effusive praise, and she was also surprised that Lu Yunque still remembered the West Suburb Land matter.
"It was the first failure of my life. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life."
"Alright, alright, you young people go and have fun. Don’t just stand around here in front of us old-timers. We need to go chat with our old friends."
The old couple took one look at Lu Yunque’s attitude toward Yun Zijin and knew something was up.
’That boy thinks he can hide it from us? He’s still too young. I’ve eaten more salt than he has rice.’
"Grandpa, we’ll get going then. If you need anything, just let us know."
Lu Yunfeng completely missed Lu Zhengguo’s hint. He was only thinking that now that the birthday wishes were over, he could finally go have fun with Sheng Yang and the others.
’As long as they were out in the villa’s garden, no one could boss him around.’
"Go on, go on. Stop standing around getting in the way."
Lu Zhengguo couldn’t bear to watch his clueless grandson any longer and started shooing them away.
Lu Yunque said his goodbyes to the elders and followed them out.
The six Lu Family elders watched Lu Yunque’s retreating back, all feeling that their suspicions were more or less confirmed.
"Brother Lu, why did you come too? Shouldn’t you be with my brother and them?"
When Sheng Yang saw Lu Yunque following behind them, he immediately felt uneasy.
’With Brother Lu tagging along, he’d feel way too awkward to just shoot the breeze with his friends.’
"I’m here to see Miss Yun. You all can just go have your own fun."
Yun Zijin stopped in her tracks and looked at Lu Yunque. "Did you need something from me, Mr. Lu?"
’We don’t really have anything to talk about, do we?’
"Li Yuexing and the others heard you were here too and wanted to come over and say hi."
"If they want to come, they can come. This is your family’s place, you call the shots."
As they were talking, the sound of a piano drifted from the garden, and many people turned their heads toward the source of the music.
"Is someone playing the piano?"
"Who is it? It sounds pretty good."
"It’s that pampered young miss from the Xia Family."
People were chatting nearby, and when the group heard it was Xia Jiajiao playing, they all looked as if they’d just eaten shit.
’Is Xia Jiajiao out of her mind?’
’Showing off on the piano at someone else’s grandpa’s birthday party?’
’If this were a Xia Family party, fine. But this is Old Sir Lu’s birthday banquet.’
’So shameless, using the piano to hog the spotlight.’
"Brother, was a piano performance part of the program for Grandpa’s birthday banquet?"
Lu Yunfeng asked Lu Yunque.
"No."
Lu Yunque’s expression darkened. The moment they walked away, the piano music started. Her intentions were obvious.
"I heard you personally sent an invitation to the miss from the Xia Family. Is that true?"
Hearing the piano music, Yun Zijin suddenly remembered something she had once overheard Xia Jiajiao saying to her friends.
"No. The invitation list was confirmed a long time ago. Your invitation was the only one I added later."
Preparations for the Old Sir’s birthday banquet started a long time ago; the invitations were just sent out a few days beforehand.
He had only recently met Yun Zijin, so her invitation had to be prepared separately.
"Why do you ask? Is someone spreading rumors?"
Yun Zijin shrugged. "The one playing the piano. She told her friends you gave her an invitation."
"The Xia Family did receive an invitation, but it wasn’t a personal one."
Families like theirs rarely sent out individual invitations.
"I guess I must have misheard, then."
Yun Zijin didn’t dwell on the issue. All that mattered was that she had planted a seed of doubt about Xia Jiajiao in Lu Yunque’s mind.
’Since Xia Jiajiao liked to cause trouble, she couldn’t blame me for not holding back.’
Lu Yunque’s expression soured, however. His opinion of Xia Jiajiao dropped to a new low.
"I did not give her an invitation."
Lu Yunque clarified.
’If Xia Jiajiao dared to use his name to swagger around and deceive people, she had better be prepared to be found out and pay the price!’
"Zijin, did you hear Xia Jiajiao say that with your own ears?"
Su Mengyao leaned in closer. She knew Xia Jiajiao was shameless, but she never thought she was *this* shameless.
’She could fabricate a whole story for herself out of thin air.’
’Serves her right. She’s been exposed by the man himself.’
