"But I suppose my grandson hasn't given you a fair warning then?" The old man continued. "I called you here for a reason."
His eyes then turned seriously towards Lu Qingfeng.
"Don't announce your marriage yet to the rest of the family. I'm still keeping an eye on them, just in case they're plotting something against you again." He warned his grandson.
Lu Qingfeng's back stiffened, eyes narrowing dangerously. He quickly understood why his grandfather was telling him this, but he didn't know how to explain all of it to his wife yet.
Thankfully, Chairman Lu decided to do the honor of explaining things to Su Xiaofei.
"Xiaofei, I know that you are a smart girl, so I will be honest with you. Like any other families out there, the Lu family isn't spared from internal conflicts and feuds. As my sole successor, not only to the company but over the family's fortune, your husband is in a precarious situation. I heard from A-Feng that you wanted to delay starting a family together. Is that true?"
Su Xiaofei's face flushed and bit her lower lip. She hadn't expected that Lu Qingfeng would also inform his grandfather about this. However, it was pointless for her to deny it.
"Yes. I feel like with all the things happening around us, our plate is too full to start a family. A-Feng has yet to finish his studies and both of us are also occupied with our work." She explained.
Su Xiaofei couldn't decide if she was ready to have a child, since the trauma of losing one from her previous life still haunted her to this day. It felt like it was only yesterday when Mo Yuchen's people dragged her and took out her baby from her womb to spite her. This was something she wasn't ready to share with her husband.
Chairman Lu hummed and glanced to see his grandson's reaction, but Lu Qingfeng's face remained the same.
"I suppose that's for the best for now." The old man nodded in approval as he gave it a good thought. "Until A-Feng finally takes my post in the near future, you should keep your marriage a secret and delay having a child. I wouldn't want them to target you and your child if they knew about it."
Su Xiaofei shivered at his implications. A silent rage slowly bloomed in her heart. They had attempted to kill her husband already, and there was no doubt that they would view her and their child as his weakness and would try to use it against him.
'Bastards.' She cursed inwardly. No wonder Lu Qingfeng was keeping them at arm's length.
"I understand, Grandpa. We will be more careful in the future."
At least her in-law wasn't forcing her to give birth to an heir right now.
"Good, good. I'm glad that you understand the situation. This is only for the meantime until he succeeds me." He eyed his grandson. "I suppose I don't need to remind you to take care of your wife?" He asked Lu Qingfeng.
Lu Qingfeng grunted, as if he was offended that his priorities were being questioned by his grandfather.
"I'm doing my best."
"Master, dinner is ready and the rest of the guests have arrived."
At that moment, Chairman Lu's assistant came back to see them.
"Ah, then if everything is clear and settled, let's go. We can't let them wait for too long, or they might suspect something." Chairman Lu said as he rose from his seat. "Xiaofei, would you mind accompanying this old man, then?"
Su Xiaofei glanced at her husband and Lu Qingfeng nodded his assent. She immediately went to her grandfather-in-law's side and escorted him outside, with Lu Qingfeng following closely behind them.
The two were chatting warmly while Lu Qingfeng looked around, paying attention to where they were going. Even though they were in the Lu family ancestral home, he felt vulnerable and not safe with Su Xiaofei being here with him.
When they reached the dining hall, the trio found that the other guests had already taken their seats and fell silent upon noticing their arrival. Su Xiaofei scanned the crowd until her eyes caught someone familiar amongst them. She raised a slender brow and glanced at her husband.
What was Qin Ying doing here? Did Lu Qingfeng know she would be present tonight?
The rest of them rose from their seats and gave Chairman Lu a greeting, but not without glancing at Su Xiaofei, who was standing closely next to him. Chairman Lu raised a hand in response and gestured for them to take a seat.
The old man released Su Xiaofei's hand and Lu Qingfeng immediately offered a hand towards her. They took a seat and everyone looked at them awkwardly, their eyes kept glancing at Su Xiaofei.
"I thought this was a family dinner. I wasn't informed that we can invite a stranger here." Someone said with a mirth laugh, making everyone fall silent again.
It was Lu Weisheng. He was a second cousin to Lu Qingfeng's father and one of those who refused to acknowledge him as the next head of the family.
Lu Qingfeng's eyes darkened and turned to look at him dangerously.
"Uncle must be describing himself, considering you brought an unknown woman with you." He said filled with contempt, his lips curling to a slight sneer. "I didn't know that your taste in women has changed. It seems like you're now interested in a woman half your age."
Qin Ying's face turned red then white, being deemed as a stranger by Lu Qingfeng. What's more, he assumed that she was his uncle's latest lover. She lowered her head and didn't dare to look at his eyes.
"Now, now. We haven't started the dinner and yet you are already spoiling our appetite." Chairman Lu said with a disapproving tone. "As for Xiaofei being here, there's no problem with that. A-Feng and her are together now, so she's not a stranger, but part of the family."
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