Seeing that the two of them were walking toward him, Lu Chen's lips twisted into a cynical smile. He couldn't very well pretend that he hadn't seen them.
He was just about to greet them when his sister-in-law, Lin Yijia, questioned him. "Lu Chen, be honest. Do you know the upper management of Jun Yue Group?"
Yesterday, they'd thought about it long and hard. Lin Yijia and Wang Xue still found it hard to believe that Lu Chen, whom they had always looked down on, was on good terms with the upper management of Jun Yue Group. But otherwise, General Manager Lu's secretary would never have been so courteous to Lu Chen.
If Lu Chen really knew the upper management of Jun Yue Group, then Wang Xue's business deal might really get sealed if he helped to put in a good word.
"That's right." Lu Chen nodded.
Wang Xue and Lin Yijia's eyes lit up and they were all smiles.
"My goodness. I didn't think that my son-in-law was so capable. Tell me, which upper management member do you know?" Wang Xue goggled at Lu Chen excitedly.
She had never been as satisfied with Lu Chen than in that instant.
Lu Chen's sister-in-law, Lin Yijia, also looked at him with starry eyes. Throughout the years, this was the only time she'd truly seen Lu Chen as her brother-in-law.
"I only know Lu Zhong," Lu Chen told them honestly.
It was true. Throughout the entire Jun Yue Group, the only one he knew was Lu Zhong. As for Jun Yue Group's upper management, he didn't recognize a single member.
"My child, why do you call him by his name? You should address him as Tycoon Lu." Though Wang Xue sounded as if she was lecturing Lu Chen, her face beamed.
Her son-in-law actually knew Tycoon Lu! Now, the chances of her large business deal coming through had just gotten even higher.
Lu Chen shrugged, not knowing what to say.
"Oh, yes. Lu Chen, what's your relationship with Tycoon Lu?" Lin Yijia asked curiously.
"Lu Zhong is my butler. Oh, mum, were you at Jun Yue Group to discuss business yesterday? Did it go well? Do you want me to help with anything?" Lu Chen was secretly overjoyed by his mother-in-law's change in attitude toward him.
Even if they'd had grouses toward him in the past, they were still his in-laws after all. He didn't want to think too much about it.
But their faces turned stormy upon hearing his explanation.
The richest man in Chongqing is your butler? Are you out of your mind?
Both mother and daughter thought that Lu Chen was pulling their legs.
"Tycoon Lu is your butler? And I'm No.1 on the Forbes list!" Lin Yijia smirked and jeered.
"Lu Chen, you-! What gives you the guts to pull such a joke on me?" Wang Xue was infuriated. Perhaps it was because her hopes had been dashed, but her disgust toward Lu Chen came back stronger than ever before.
Lu Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Why was it that no one ever
believed the truth?
"Where are you gallivanting off to instead of looking after Qiqi?" Wang Xue barked at him.
"Qiqi's asleep. I came out to get lunch,"
Lu Chen replied truthfully.
"Eat, eat, eat! All you know how to do is eat! You'll eat yourself to death one day!" Wang Xue grimaced and led her daughter into the hospital.
Besides grilling Lu Chen, she'd also come over to visit her granddaughter.
Lu Chen watched Wang Xue and Lin Yijia from behind and threw his hands up in exasperation.
Whatever it was, he still pulled out his phone and made a call to Lu Zhong.
"Uncle Zhong, has Xia Kang Pharmaceuticals been discussing a business deal with you recently? The person in charge should be their assistant director of sales, Wang Xue?" Lu Chen asked.
"The weather has been hot lately, so the company decided to buy some preventive medication for heat stroke and hand them out to our employees. As for which company we're buying it from, I'm not clear on the details," Lu Zhong said.
"Hmm. If it's Wang Xue from Xia Kang Pharmaceuticals, buy it from them," Lu Chen instructed.
"Alright. Oh yes, Young Master. The Master would like to see you. If you have the time, he can take a flight and reach here today itself," Lu Zhong reported.
Lu Chen was stunned into silence for a moment. "I don't want to meet him yet."
Lu Zhong sighed. "The events of the past can't be blamed entirely on Master. And he's regretted it all these years. Do you know why he never remarried over the past ten years? It's because he felt that he had let you and Madame down. When he found out that you'd come to Chongqing, Master immediately sent me here to build Jun Yue Group. I never sought you out because the Master, knowing your temper, told me only to appear when you were in dire straits; otherwise, I'd only be disrupting your life."
Lu Chen staggered. Ever since he left home ten years ago, he'd never sought news of his father nor received any correspondence.
Of course, he would have hung up even if he had gotten a call.
But what had left him reeling was that when his mother passed away ten years ago, his father had only been thirty-six years old; yet to this day, he still hadn't married that harlot.
Could he really have been living in regret over the past ten years?
Lu Chen paused before he slowly spoke. "Let's talk about it when my daughter gets well."
That was his father after all. And Lu Chen himself was beginning to see the issue more broadly-his mother's death could mostly be attributed to that harlot.
"Of course. Of course! I'll tell the Master immediately. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to hear that," Lu Zhong exclaimed in elation.
He'd been in Chongqing for ten years, during which he'd become the area's richest man. But other than hanging around to give his Young Master a hand when he needed it, Lu Zhong had always been waiting for his Young Master to come to the decision that he had today.
After Lu Chen hung up, he went to a Chongqing noodle store outside the hospital and ordered a small bowl of noodles. He was just about to eat when he saw his sister-in-law, Lin Yijia's call coming in.
"Lu Chen, Qiqi's missing! Quickly come back and help us find her!" Lin Yijia cried out anxiously.
Lu Chen chuckled and replied, "Qiqi's been transferred to the VIP wing on the 19th floor. She's in Room 2." "What? You transferred Qiqi to a VIP ward? Where did you get the money?" Lin Yijia questioned.
"I borrowed it," Lu Chen said lightly.
There was no need to explain further since she wouldn't believe it even if he told her.
"And when you find a bone marrow match, what will you do then?" Lin Yijia asked.
"Don't worry. I won't ask you guys for the money. I have my ways." Lu Chen remembered how he'd been swept out of the door when he'd approached Wang Xue asking for money after his startup had failed. Then and there, he'd sworn never to ask his in-laws for anything again.
"Hmph. I wouldn't lend it to a wastrel like you anyway." Wang Xue's
contemptuous tones were relayed over the phone; Lu Chen hung up without hesitation.
"That good-for-nothing, he dared to hang up on me! This is too much!" Wang Xue returned her daughter's phone in a huff before leading the way to the 19th floor.
When they found their way to the VIP wing, they saw that Lu Chen had even hired a private nurse to look after Qiqi. Wang Xue cursed internally at Lu Chen's waste and disregard of money.
The two of them sat there for a while before Qiqi woke up. Though they both found Lu Chen disagreeable, they truly loved and cared for Qiqi.
They had a free afternoon and they'd planned to spend it with Qiqi, but it wasn't long before Wang Xue's phone rang.
She took the call, after which she planted several kisses on Qiqi's face ecstatically.
"Mum, who was that?" Lin Yijia asked, curious.
"The Manager from Jun Yue Group asked us to discuss the deal with them this afternoon!" Wang Xue cried out jubilantly.
"Oh, that's great! Congratulations, mum, you finally got the Jun Yue Group deal!" Lin Yijia was equally thrilled.
"Manager Wang said that they hadn't wanted our products, but someone helped us to put in a good word and Tycoon Lu made the decision based on that. But I wonder who did us such a great favor. We'll need to thank him properly," Wang Xue revealed.
"Could it be..." A suspicious figure flitted through Lin Yijia's mind.