Chapter 633: Chapter 633: Individual Heroism
On the other side, Miss Lu had just returned home to confess the matter to her family, enduring the merciless verbal attack from Lu Chenyu and the ear-piercing nagging of Mrs. Lu. The family struggled to calm down and packed their things, planning to leave. However, before they even stepped out the door, they were respectfully brought back by Xu Ke’s men, who had been lurking there since early morning, leaving them nervously waiting at home for Xu Ke’s arrival.
In the living room, the three occupied separate corners. Miss Lu sat on the sofa with injuries on her face and body, her expression numb, while Lu Chenyu and Mrs. Lu gazed at her with identical looks of hatred, as if Miss Lu was not their child, but rather their enemy.
"Look at the trouble you’ve caused. You’ve even learned to kidnap. Is this what I’ve taught you all along? Now our home is surrounded, and we can’t even leave. What do you suggest we do now?" Mrs. Lu said while wiping her tears, appearing as vulnerable and innocent as a frail white flower swaying in the storm.
Miss Lu hung her head in silence, not speaking a word.
"Your mother is asking you something. Are you mute? Weren’t you quite decisive before? How come you can’t even speak now?" Lu Chenyu, feeling irritated at the sight of Miss Lu’s bowed head, picked up the coffee cup on the table and smashed it on the ground, the sound of shattering making Mrs. Lu flinch involuntarily.
It was at this moment that Xu Ke entered. The fragments of the cup struck his leather shoes, leaving a faint scratch.
This was clearly the Lu Family’s home, yet Xu Ke strolled about as if it was his own territory, a mocking gleam in his eye. "Trying to show off now, are you? Did you know I was coming, and did you plan this specifically to intimidate me?"
The three Lu family members had not been prepared for Xu Ke’s arrival. Upon hearing his words, Lu Chenyu’s expression froze, and Miss Lu, who had been hanging her head without a reaction, suddenly looked up, glaring at Xu Ke with eyes as red as if filled with blood and tears.
Yet Xu Ke’s gaze merely skimmed over Miss Lu’s face before passing by, moving directly in front of Lu Chenyu, looking down at him.
At this moment, Lu Chenyu’s stiffened face finally reacted. Despite the humiliation in his heart, he relinquished his position to Xu Ke, whose bodyguard stepped forward, taking out a white handkerchief from his pocket, meticulously wiping the seat Lu Chenyu had occupied, with such thoroughness one might expect him to pull out disinfectant and spray it.
It was only after the cleaning finished and the attendant stepped aside did Xu Ke sit down on the sofa.
"Weren’t you all having an animated discussion before I entered? Why is everyone silent now? Go on, I still want to hear what you all have to say." Xu Ke said, crossing his legs.
As Lu Chenyu, crammed on the sofa with Mrs. Lu, was about to say something, Miss Lu spoke first.
"Get out of my house. You are not welcome here." Miss Lu pointed towards the door as she directed her words at Xu Ke.
"Shut your mouth!" Lu Chenyu’s face turned pale upon hearing Miss Lu’s words, reacting without thinking and failing to notice Xu Ke’s expression. He immediately shouted loudly.
"Do you even know what you’re saying, or whom you are talking to? Apologize to Mr. Xu right now, and then go back up to your room, and do not step outside without my permission in the future." Lu Chenyu shouted loudly.
"I will not apologize. I did nothing wrong, so why should I apologize? This is my home, and he intruded without permission, which is trespassing. He surrounded my house with people, amounting to unlawful imprisonment, so the one at fault is him. If anyone should apologize, it’s him to me. I will not apologize." Miss Lu retorted stubbornly, her eyes fixed on Xu Ke, refusing to apologize through gritted teeth.
"Clap clap clap!" Xu Ke laughed suddenly at Miss Lu’s unyielding stance, catching both Lu Chenyu and Mrs. Lu off guard, causing them to shiver.
"Should I praise you for being brave, like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, or call you hopelessly foolish?" Xu Ke’s tone lifted slightly, teasingly, but if one listened closely, a hint of murderous intent could be discerned.
"It doesn’t matter that what you did was enough to drag your whole family down ten thousand times, do you even understand the current situation? Unlike you, I have the courage to act because I am well prepared and come here with confidence. Whatever I do in this house today, not a whisper of it will reach the outside, rest assured." Xu Ke said with an insincere smile, chilling the Lu family trio to the bone.
"I had no knowledge of this matter; she kept everything hidden from us. As they say, grievances have their roots, debts have their owners. If you seek revenge, target the one with whom you bear a grudge. This matter has nothing to do with me, and you shouldn’t implicate me." Lu Chenyu quickly sought to shirk responsibility after recognizing the reality before him. Having experienced Xu Ke’s methods and acknowledged the Xu Family’s status in Shangjing, unlike the two women in his family who weren’t aware.
Before, he might have harbored thoughts of contending against them, but after suffering so much over these days, he only wished that Xu Ke’s attention would not fall upon him, and avoided Xu Ke as much as he could.
Miss Lu looked incredulously at Lu Chenyu, unable to believe what she heard, that her father, whom she always respected, would so easily abandon her and even abandon her mother.
"I’m not interested in listening to what you have to say. I don’t care if you knew about your daughter’s actions or how much you knew about them. My hobby is collective punishment, so I am not interested in the details of your family at all. A child’s misdeeds reflect on the parents, so how can a parent absolve themselves of a child’s errors?" Xu Ke said, laughing as he saw Lu Chenyu’s actions.
"Then what do you plan to do?" Lu Chenyu swallowed, his face turning blue, as he asked.
"This matter really has nothing to do with them. The person truly involved is someone else. If you release my parents, I’m willing to face the consequences, and I’ll even provide information about my accomplice." Miss Lu said, casting a disappointed glance at Lu Chenyu and Mrs. Lu.
"Daughter." Mrs. Lu called out softly to Miss Lu.
"Don’t call me. I’m just doing this to repay the favor of giving birth and raising me. After this is over, our relationship will be severed." Everything that happened when she returned home today left her cold towards this couple. If she hadn’t been concerned about them, she would have left alone long ago, never falling into Xu Ke’s hands, and wouldn’t have encountered the current situation.
Miss Lu straightened her back, acting like a hero meeting their end with dignity.
She gazed at Xu Ke defiantly, like a wild horse that would never be tamed.
"I wonder if you all realize your situation yet?" Xu Ke broke the silence in the living room.