Chapter 2132: Coughing Blood

“Right now!”

Lu Zhenzhen slapped away Nan Jiaojiao’s hand as she reached for the grapes. “You’ve really grown some skills, huh, not telling me anything anymore.”

Nan Jiaojiao looked completely baffled, then her expression crumpled into grievance. “If you don’t want to feed me, then don’t, but why hit me!”

Lu Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and shoved the whole fruit platter at her. “Here, here, here, quit yelling. If my mom hears, she’ll think I’m bullying you again!”

Nan Jiaojiao lifted her lips in a provocative little pout, but didn’t dare get too smug. Lu Zhenzhen pulled her down to sit, and she automatically handed over the remote. They squabbled for a bit and then made up in no time, heads together as they picked a movie to watch.

An hour before dinner, Mr. Lu and Gao Zhe came back together. Hearing the noise outside, Lu Zhenzhen ran out to greet them. When she came out, she had one of Gao Zhe’s hands in hers, forcing him to juggle all the gifts in his other hand.

Mother Lu came out carrying a bowl of soup, and the moment she saw that, she got angry. “Every time you come home you bring things. How many times have I told you not to do that!”

Gao Zhe put the gifts on the cabinet. “They’re from a partner company. I’ve already checked what’s in them—just some health supplements. You and Uncle can have them for fun.”

Mother Lu’s face showed her displeasure, but beneath that was helplessness and affection. “What would Old Lu and I need all this tonics for? Every year you give us so much, we can’t even finish it. Every once in a while I have to clear out a whole pile and give it away!”

But Gao Zhe said, “If you can’t finish them, giving them away is good too. You keep the best for yourselves.”

Knowing she’d never talk him out of it, Mother Lu had no way to deal with him. She grumbled at him a few more times, but still told the servants to put all the supplements away properly.

Nan Jiaojiao was lying over the back of the sofa, her forearms propped under her chin, eyes narrowed with a smile. “Brother Ah Zhe.”

Gao Zhe ruffled the top of her head. “You’re here.”

“The young lady grabbed me right after work and dragged me over.”

Gao Zhe chuckled softly. “Where’s Mr. Bo?”

“He’s got a social engagement tonight. He’ll come pick me up later.”

“Okay.”

Gao Zhe answered, went into the kitchen to wash his hands, and then helped carry out the dishes.

Dinner was warm and lively. Nan Jiaojiao was technically an outsider, but she didn’t feel out of place at all. She’d originally planned to obediently find a seat on the side, but Lu Zhenzhen dragged her right into the spot between her and Gao Zhe.

Through the whole meal, Nan Jiaojiao hardly picked up any food with her own chopsticks. Whenever her bowl emptied, Lu Zhenzhen and Gao Zhe would pile more food into it, and she couldn’t stop them. She finally managed to finish it all mixed with rice, and then Mother Lu ladled soup: one bowl per person, and it had to be drunk.

Nan Jiaojiao’s stomach was round and taut from being stuffed. Half a bowl of soup in, she really couldn’t eat anymore.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Zhenzhen pick up a huge hunk of pork knuckle, and she hurriedly clamped her hand over her bowl. “No way, I really can’t eat another bite. I’m about to burst.”

“Then what am I supposed to do? I’m not eating it.”

She’d already picked it up; she couldn’t exactly put it back. So Lu Zhenzhen reached over Nan Jiaojiao and dropped the meat into Gao Zhe’s bowl, smiling ingratiatingly at him. Anyway, there’s no way a pampered young lady like her would eat something that fatty.

Without a word, Gao Zhe picked it up and ate it in two bites.

Mr. Lu watched, his eyes full of laughter. “If you kids came home more often, we’d be thrilled. Eating together like this is so lively…”

He didn’t finish the sentence. His expression suddenly changed, his hand shaking so badly he couldn’t hold onto anything. The soup bowl slipped from his grasp and shattered on the floor. He clutched his stomach, bent over, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Everyone at the table jumped. Mother Lu was closest and quickly helped him up, only to realize his face had gone chalk-white in a terrifying way. She panicked, hands and feet all in a fluster, and asked anxiously, “What’s wrong with you? You were fine just now… how can you suddenly be vomiting blood?”

Lu Zhenzhen squatted in front of her father too, reaching out but not daring to touch him. Her lips pressed tight, and inexplicably, she couldn’t get a single word out.