Chapter 531 Staying Over

"As their son, couldn’t you spare one for them?"

Yun Zijin remembered that Lu Yunque had bought a lot of Fire Tree and Ice Tree seeds from her.

But so far, only one pair had been auctioned off, and it was to one of their own, Li Yuexing.

"I haven’t had the time."

It wasn’t that Lu Yunque didn’t want to; he’d just been so busy lately, he felt like he was constantly on the go.

Yun Zijin suddenly noticed a watering can next to the Ice Tree with some water still left in it.

She casually picked it up and gave each of the two trees a little water.

"Don’t play with that for too long. The water must be freezing. Be careful not to freeze your hands."

Seeing Yun Zijin watering the Ice and Fire Trees, Lu Yunque quickly told her to put the watering can down.

One of the family estate’s gardeners must have left it here after watering the plants in the courtyard and forgotten to put it away.

Yun Zijin had only watered them on a whim. As soon as her hands started to feel the chill, she put the watering can back in its place.

Then she quickly ran back to Lu Yunque’s side, grabbing his hands to warm her own.

Lu Yunque’s hands were warm all year round. Once the weather turned cold, Yun Zijin especially loved holding them so her own hands wouldn’t get chilly.

The two walked around the courtyard for a while before heading out. After wandering aimlessly around the entire estate for about twenty minutes, Yun Zijin started to complain she was tired.

"Is your stomach still bothering you? I’m getting a little tired..."

Yun Zijin tugged on Lu Yunque’s hand, a hint of a playful whine in her voice.

"It’s fine now. If you’re tired, let’s head back."

When the two returned to the main house, the four family elders were chatting in the living room. Lu Yunzhou was absent, and Yun Zijin guessed he had probably gone back to his room.

Although his condition had improved significantly after this period of recuperation, he still suffered from numerous minor ailments that had accumulated over the years.

His recent serious injury had caused all those underlying health issues to flare up.

As a result, Lu Yunzhou’s body was still too fragile to handle much strain, and staying up late was completely out of the question.

"Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, Auntie, it’s getting late. I should be heading back."

Although Yun Zijin had agreed to have New Year’s Day dinner with the Lu Family, she hadn’t planned on staying the night.

Hearing her words, Lu Yunque pursed his lips slightly.

"Oh, dear, it’s already dark out. Don’t go back now; it’s dangerous to drive at night."

"I’ve always had a room kept for you. It’s cleaned every day. We just need to change the sheets, and it’ll be ready for you to stay in."

"As for your bodyguards, I’ll have someone prepare guest rooms for them right now. It won’t take long at all."

Many of the Lu Family’s staff had been with them for ten or twenty years. They were experts at this sort of work and could have a room ready in no time.

"Grandma knows what you’re worried about, so don’t you worry! I guarantee no one will dare to gossip."

Even though our direct family line no longer has anyone on the inside, our network of connections is very real.

Besides, the Lu Group is a multinational corporation that ranks among the top not just in Hua Country, but in the world.

The economic lifelines controlled by the Lu Group have provided countless jobs for the people of Hua Country.

These are all tangible, visible accomplishments.

So, if it’s something they don’t want spread around, absolutely no one would dare to breathe a word of it.

If anyone were found out, they’d have to consider whether they could withstand the full force of the Lu Family’s retaliation.

"No matter what anyone else says, you’ll always be the only granddaughter-in-law I’ll ever acknowledge. I won’t accept anyone else."

"That’s right. If you’re worried, we’ll just make Yunque stay somewhere else. You can stay here at the house."

"He’s a grown man, after all. He can stay anywhere."

Lu Yunque: ??? ’Uh, hello? Don’t I get a say in this?’

"It’s okay, I’m not worried. It’s just... I’d be troubling you to prepare rooms for my bodyguards."

But it was impossible for Yun Zijin to go anywhere without her bodyguards, which created a catch-22.

"It’s no trouble. The house already has quarters for bodyguards. I was just thinking that your bodyguards are different from ours."

"It wouldn’t feel right to have them stay in the staff quarters."

Yun Zijin’s bodyguards had been with her personally for a long time. They hadn’t left even when higher-ups tried to poach them.

This proved that the relationship between Yun Zijin and her bodyguards was more than a simple employer-employee one.

But since Yun Zijin didn’t elaborate, no one in the family would press her for details.

"You can ask for their opinion. I doubt they’ll be picky."

Strictly speaking, Zero One and the others had all signed a contract with the System. Until Yun Zijin terminated the contract, she was, for all intents and purposes, their master.

"Alright, I’ll have the butler go ask them."

"I’ll take you to your room."

Yun Zijin hadn’t visited in a while, so Huo Yue Lan was worried she might not remember the way.

"Mom, I know where her room is. I’ll take Zijin."

Lu Yunque wanted a few more words with Yun Zijin before bed; he couldn’t let Ms. Huo whisk her away.

Huo Yue Lan looked to Yun Zijin. If she said no, Huo Yue Lan would immediately shoo Lu Yunque away.

As a woman who’d been around the block, Huo Yue Lan knew exactly what men were like.

Even if it was her own son, Huo Yue Lan didn’t feel she could let her guard down completely. After all, his father was no saint either.

"It’s alright, Auntie. It’s fine if he takes me. Please, don’t worry about me."

The courtyard with Yun Zijin’s room was right next to Lu Yunque’s, just a short walk away.

However, Lu Yunque dutifully led Yun Zijin to the same courtyard she had stayed in before, showing her to the room that had already been tidied up for her.

"We hadn’t really bothered to renovate this courtyard before. It was only after you stayed here that one night that the family started arranging for people to come clean and fix it up."

"Take a look around and see if there’s anything you don’t like. I can have someone come and change it."

Until they were married, this would be her designated room whenever she visited the family estate.

Although she would move after they got married, for now, it was important that she felt comfortable here.

Yun Zijin shook her head. It wasn’t her own home, so even if there was something she disliked, she would never point it out.

Besides, after a quick look around, Yun Zijin hadn’t seen anything she disliked anyway.

"Well... good night?"

Lu Yunque was reluctant to leave, but he couldn’t find an excuse to stay.

"Good night. Remember to wake me up tomorrow. I have to go to school."

With New Year’s Day here, the semester was drawing to a close, and exam week was beginning for all her subjects.

Yun Zijin also needed to start preparing her graduation thesis topic. Next semester would be a race against time to write and revise her paper, and then all that would be left was to wait for her thesis defense.

"Okay, I’ll take you to school tomorrow."

Lu Yunque glanced at Yun Zijin one more time. Before he left, he took a step forward, wrapped her in his arms, and lowered his head.

After a long moment, Lu Yunque finally released Yun Zijin. "A good night kiss."

With that said, Lu Yunque reverently planted another kiss between her eyebrows.

As Lu Yunque pulled away, Yun Zijin noticed that she had bunched up the fabric of his T-shirt at the waist, leaving it a wrinkled mess.

She quickly pulled her hands back, trying to hide the evidence of her crime.