Volume 1, Chapter 18: Reserved Only for the Great-Grandson

Gu Yan had just finished packing her things and was preparing to leave when Uncle He called.

"Go over right now?" She looked helpless. "Fine."

The old man might as well be called an old woman—he was so fussy, and she had no choice but to accommodate the patient.

When Cong Wen came out, she was already gone from her workstation.

Hurrying along, he spotted Gu Yan at the intersection near the office building.

"Secretary Gu?" Cong Wen pulled the car up beside her. "Are you heading to Phoenix Garden? Hop in, it's on the way."

Gu Yan glanced at the back seat. "No need..."

The door had already slid open automatically.

There were colleagues passing by at this hour; the longer she stood there, the higher the chance of being seen, and then she would never hear the end of the rumors. She had no choice but to get in.

Lu Wentan was sitting right next to her. Feeling the air pressure in the car drop uncomfortably, she pressed herself as close to the window as possible.

Cong Wen glanced in the rearview mirror; the Fourth Master’s expression was becoming increasingly grim.

Since the call about returning to the family estate came from Uncle He, it was likely that both the Old Master and Lu Ye were aware of the situation. Initially, Gu Yan’s pregnancy might have been good news for the Fourth Master. However, the fact that Lu Ye had suddenly taken an interest in Gu Yan—or perhaps had taken an interest specifically because he knew she was pregnant—was certainly not good news for the Fourth Master.

A few hours earlier.

When Lu Ye left the Lufeng Building, a female model had sent a mouth-watering photo: two palm-sized pieces of fabric across her chest, with a thong barely concealing anything.

Attached was a voice message: "Young Master Lu, we're waiting for you at the pool party!"

Lu Ye glanced at it. Then he looked again.

For the first time in his life, he felt no interest. "You guys have fun."

He drove back to the office, scanned his office, and called his secretary in. "Are there any files that need processing?"

The secretary, taken aback by his sudden display of work ethic, looked at him with suspicion and changed her original "None" to "There are?"

Previously, official documents were sent to him, but since he rarely came in, the work would pile up and be pushed to the Vice President. Over time, the Vice President had taken full control of everything.

"I'll go get them for you." The secretary hurried out.

Lu Ye sat in his office chair and waited. A few seconds later, feeling uncomfortable, he moved to the sofa. He saw a bowl of nuts and oranges on the coffee table. He picked up an orange to peel it.

The orange was plump, and the peel was stuck tightly to the flesh. He dug his nails in and pressed down; not much peel came off, but he ended up covering his hand in orange juice.

Lu Ye frowned. He tried again, even splashing juice on his trousers. Suddenly, he felt incredibly irritable.

Lu Ye loved eating oranges, but he had almost never peeled one himself; usually, Gu Yan did it for him. He had watched her do it so easily—how was this thing so difficult?

He tossed the half-mangled orange back.

When the secretary came back in, his hands were covered in orange juice and his fingernails were stained yellow. She didn't know whether to hand him the files and the pen or not.

"Put them there," Lu Ye commanded, his irritation still lingering.

The secretary, not daring to provoke him, dropped the items and left.

"Wait."

The secretary turned back. "Is there anything else?"

"Are you pregnant?" Lu Ye asked.

The secretary looked down at her tight-fitting skirt, where her abdomen had a slight, rounded bulge.

"If you're pregnant, report it to HR and reduce your workload. No one will say anything to you."

He waved her out. The secretary closed the door, feeling both embarrassed and puzzled. She had just eaten too much spicy hot pot!

That said, why was Young Master Lu acting so uncharacteristically considerate today?

By the time it was time to get off work, Lu Ye felt even more restless looking at the files in front of him. Whoever invented the idea of using work to numb the nerves was a fool; it didn't help at all.

He picked up his phone and called a friend. "Where are we meeting tonight?"

"Oh? Did you make up with the missus?"

The last time Lu Ye mentioned Gu Yan, he said she would come back on her own after throwing a tantrum. It had been over ten days, and he hadn't mentioned her since.

Lu Ye hung up the phone directly.

Just then, Uncle He called to say that since tomorrow was the weekend and Gu Yan had already returned, he should head over early as well.

Lu Ye drove back to Phoenix Garden, but all the way there, he hadn't figured out how to handle this. The child in Gu Yan's belly wasn't his, anyway; he might as well make her get rid of it and give her some compensation. Otherwise, he couldn't keep up the act in front of his grandfather. If the old man found out, he would surely force her to keep it.

He, the prestigious Young Master Lu of the Beijing circle, raising another man's son? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

He got out of the car and strode toward the villa, looking righteous.

The moment he walked in, he saw his uncle, Lu Wentan, sitting on the sofa. Then he turned and saw Gu Yan coming out with a fruit platter.

He instinctively frowned and took the platter from her. "You're always working wherever you go. Does the old house pay you half of the servants' wages or what?"

Gu Yan watched as he strode into the living room and threw the fruit platter onto the coffee table.

How inexplicable. Was he blind today? Was this the first time he'd ever seen her work?

"Uncle is back too?" Lu Ye greeted the man on the sofa.

"The Old Master's decree."

Lu Ye looked up to see the Old Master walking in from outside.

When Lu Zhaohui entered the living room, he felt that something was off. When he got closer, he realized what it was: his youngest son, his eldest grandson, and Cong Wen—three pairs of eyes, six eyeballs—were all staring directly at him.

It wouldn't be strange for Lu Ye to act this way, but Lu Wentan? That was weird.

Lu Zhaohui suddenly thought of something. His face darkened, and he glared back. "What kind of looks are those? What are you staring at? I didn't call you back to write my will!"

"Even if I were writing a will, it would go to my great-grandson. Neither of you is getting a cent, you unfilial descendants!"

Lu Wentan looked at the old man, his brow slightly furrowed.

Lu Ye reacted more strongly than him; his heart skipped a beat.

Does this old man already know he has a great-grandson? Did Gu Yan tell him?

However, Lu Zhaohui sat on the sofa and said, "Wentan, is your girlfriend's name Qu Yanqing?"

It seemed the old man wasn't there to talk about Gu Yan after all; he didn't seem to know.

Lu Wentan quickly shifted his thoughts. His brows furrowed slightly; this topic was no easier to handle than the one about Gu Yan's pregnancy.

"Who have you been listening to again?" Lu Wentan replied with a calm, breezy attitude.

Lu Zhaohui glared at him. "I've met her. She’s decent enough, but it’s not ideal that she’s not a local from Beijing, unless she herself is exceptionally outstanding..."

Lu Wentan didn't take in everything the old man was saying; his gaze rested on Gu Yan as she peeled an orange.

Lu Ye saw her peeling the orange and took it from her.

Gu Yan glared at him: What kind of sickness is he having today?

Lu Ye had a sour expression on his face. Did he think he enjoyed this? He was just putting on a show of affection in front of his grandfather; who wanted to serve the mother of someone else's child?

He really didn't know how to peel it, so he looked at Gu Yan again. "Teach me."

Gu Yan couldn't be bothered to keep acting. "I'm going to the kitchen to help."

Lu Ye yanked her back, and remembering something, he steadied her waist and made her sit back down. "Just sit properly."

Lu Wentan’s eyes were dark. He knew Lu Ye’s nature better than anyone; he had never even peeled fruit for the Old Master, let alone Gu Yan.

So, Lu Ye *did* know that Gu Yan was pregnant?