Chapter 68 – Extra: Mid-Autumn Family Banquet (Featuring Eldest Brother x Bai He)
“My feeling doesn’t count. Our previous Queen Bee didn’t have children either, so don’t be nervous,” Meng Xueyuan soothed the anxious first-time dad.
Lu Xiao wasn’t exactly new to being a father, but the previous two virtual eldest and second babies had given him very limited experience.
Why had he been so convinced that Meng Xueyuan would also have three false pregnancies? Was something wrong with his brain?
“Honey, don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Meng Xueyuan hung up the call and said to Papa Meng on the tablet screen, “Dad, you sounded the alarm way too early.”
Papa Meng said, “I only told Lu Xiao. I haven’t told anyone else yet.”
If his wife hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve wanted to immediately ask Shen Ning, Lawyer Lu, Bai He, Xilan, Shanchai… and so on to take good care of Yuan-yuan.
Their side of the bee clan was swarming right now and they couldn’t leave for the time being. It would take another half month before they could go to Nan Cheng.
Meng Xueyuan said, “You don’t need to worry about me. I don’t feel anything. It’s just this big mooncake…”
“Don’t eat it, don’t eat it. Don’t worry about wasting it—this mooncake will keep for a month. I’ll deal with it when Dad goes to Nan Cheng.”
Meng Xueyuan wrapped the mooncake back up in its greaseproof paper and put it into the fridge. “Okay.”
Mama Meng was both happy and worried. Only when the doorbell rang on the video and Meng Xueyuan went to open the door for Lu Xiao did she say, “We’ll talk again next time.”
The moment Lu Xiao entered, he hurriedly added, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Yuan-yuan.”
Mama Meng said, “I trust you. Bye-bye.”
The feeling of being trusted by his mother-in-law was wonderful. Lu Xiao wrapped an arm around Meng Xueyuan’s waist and carefully placed his hand over his lower abdomen. “Is it real?”
Meng Xueyuan insisted firmly, “Probably fake. We calculated the days for drinking royal jelly very carefully.”
“You’re fooling me—do you think I wouldn’t know?” Lu Xiao said.
The first time he hadn’t noticed, because he never thought of it. By the third time, something felt off. Looking back, he realized he’d been fooled more than once. What could he do? Of course, he indulged the Queen Bee’s little tricks.
Lu Xiao began recalling which time he’d been fooled. Was it that time they swam together in the pool? He hadn’t planned to do anything—swimming consumed a lot of energy, and Meng Xueyuan had already been very tired.
But then… Meng Xueyuan touched his abs.
Fine. The main problem was his poor self-control. Even knowing that Meng Xueyuan’s claim—“I gulped down so much water in the pool just now that I metabolized all the royal jelly I drank last night”—wasn’t very credible, he still went along with it.
Counting from that day, fifteen days.
But after that day, he’d slept with his wife several more times. Would that affect his health?
“Let’s go to the hospital and see the department head.”
“I’m not going to the hospital during Mid-Autumn Festival. The department head has probably gone home to eat mooncakes,” Meng Xueyuan said, pulling the overly worried Lu Xiao toward the door. “Let’s go, go home and eat. Aren’t you supposed to be the chef?”
Lu Xiao had taken on the entire family banquet—eight dishes and one soup—to show filial piety.
“Right, I still have to be the chef.” Lu Xiao enthusiastically took out a pair of flat outdoor slippers from the entryway, flipped them over to check the soles, and only after confirming they were non-slip did he place them at Meng Xueyuan’s feet.
As the saying goes, once you eat someone’s food, your mouth softens. Today, he planned to put on a grand feast and then shift part of his work onto Eldest Brother and Second Brother.
He believed they would accept—because if he didn’t take good care of things, the secretary would simply take leave to come take care of his wife.
Shen Ning had originally invited all the Bee Clan members in Nan Cheng, but Brother Shancha had gone to accompany his partner, the forensic doctor said he’d rather rush reports than eat dog food, and Xiang Jin and Lian Qiao went home the moment the holiday started.
In the end, only the Queen Bee attended the family banquet with two worker-bee secretaries.
Bai He had originally planned to work overtime at the company, but on second thought, since Xilan and Young Master Lu’s office romance hadn’t gone public yet, if he didn’t go, there’d be no way to provide cover for his brother.
The Lu Group didn’t explicitly forbid office romances, but such things made people think you weren’t focused at work, or suspect that whenever the two went out together, they were slacking off on dates.
Lin Xilan worked so hard that Bai He could understand why he and Young Master Lu kept it private. In any case, a secret relationship didn’t affect them coming and going together, riding in the same car, or eating at the same table—nothing really changed.
Shen Ning’s invitation was delivered directly to the two secretaries, without passing through his sons.
Both Eldest Brother Lu and Second Brother Lu felt their father handled things very well.
To avoid another situation where the bees clustered together by default, Lu Xiao secretly instructed Chief Secretary Bai to take away the nameplates from the conference room.
Bai He carried a canvas bag. After entering the Lu residence, he walked to the table, took out the nameplates one by one, and set them on the round table like arranging a meeting room.
He hadn’t done this kind of basic work in a long time, but he was still very skilled. Without measuring, he quickly formed a standard circle.
In order: Shen Ning, Lu Fengge, one empty seat, Lu Xiao, one empty seat, Lu Yushu, Lin Xilan, Lu Lou, Bai He.
The empty seats were for Meng Xueyuan and Grandpa Lu. There was no nameplate for Meng Xueyuan in the Lu Group’s meeting logistics, and Grandpa Lu hadn’t come to the company in a long time, so Bai He couldn’t find his either.
Lu Fengge and Lu Lou and Lu Yushu froze for a second at first, subconsciously wondering whether there was still a company meeting unfinished and that they’d suddenly start a full executive online meeting halfway through dinner.
Then they saw Lu Xiao come out of the kitchen smiling, carrying a plate of hairy crabs, and politely thank Bai He.
With that single “thanks,” no further explanation was needed. Everyone immediately understood Lu Xiao’s intention and remained silent.
It was… actually pretty good. Third Brother really was quick-witted.
Grandpa Lu rubbed his eyes. Was this dinner or a meeting?
Grandpa Lu said, “Are you three planning to hold a meeting and kick your dad out?”
Shen Ning said dryly, “If anything, it’d be a meeting to return the shares to their dad.”
Only Meng Xueyuan was still out of the loop. He asked Lin Xilan, “Do you still have meetings during Mid-Autumn Festival?”
With these people sitting together, couldn’t they decide to postpone a meeting?
Lin Xilan said, “No.”
Bai He said, “It’s just a seating arrangement.”
Meng Xueyuan processed that for a moment and silently felt secondhand embarrassment for Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao brought out the final dish and said, “Let’s eat. Come sit.”
He went back to untie his apron and change clothes so the cooking fumes wouldn’t cling to his wife. When he returned, everyone was indeed seated. There was an empty seat next to Meng Xueyuan—his.
See? That was foresight. Otherwise, when he came out, he’d probably be stuck sitting between his two brothers.
Meng Xueyuan was pregnant; he had to sit beside him and attend to him. Until the pregnancy was confirmed by instruments, Meng Xueyuan didn’t want it announced.
Lu Xiao whispered, “Honey, can you eat hairy crab?”
Crabs were at their fattest during Mid-Autumn. Not letting him eat would be too cruel.
Meng Xueyuan felt that eating a little should be fine, but he wasn’t particularly indulgent about food. Letting Lu Xiao worry over a mouthful of crab roe was absolutely not worth it. “I won’t eat it. Serve me a lion’s head meatball.”
Lu Xiao brought him a bowl of clear-braised lion’s head. “I promise this tastes even better.”
Meng Xueyuan felt like he was being coaxed like a child—already an adult and still needing to be soothed over a bite of food. His eyes curved into a smile. He was very happy.
Lin Xilan used tools to neatly dismantle a whole crab. Seeing that Lu Xiao hadn’t done this for Meng Xueyuan, he placed the bowl onto the lazy Susan, preparing to rotate it toward Meng Xueyuan.
His fingers pressed on the solid wood turntable, gently spinning it—then he suddenly noticed how overly careful Lu Xiao was being today, and his movement paused.
Lin Xilan quickly stopped it, letting the bowl of crab meat come to a halt in front of Lu Yushu.
“For you.”
Lu Yushu was slightly surprised.
Eldest Brother Lu frowned, feeling that something wasn’t right. His younger brother was a germaphobe who didn’t like dirtying his hands and almost never ate whole crabs. Had the superior–subordinate relationship between these two gotten that good?
Seeing this, Bai He flicked his wrist and placed the dessert soup he’d originally prepared for himself in front of Lu Lou.
Lu Lou said, “Thanks.”
Lu Xiao thought without looking up: what two giant babies—needing secretaries to rotate the table for them while eating.
Meng Xueyuan picked up a glass of juice and held it to Lu Xiao’s lips. “You’ve been so nervous today you even forgot to drink water.”
Lu Xiao was deeply moved. His wife was feeding him water—his wife really loved him!
Lu Xiao downed the entire glass in one go. Anyone who didn’t know better would’ve thought he was downing liquor.
Shen Ning spoke with a smile, “After dinner, let’s admire the moon together. Stay the night here. Bai He, Xilan—I’ve prepared rooms for you too.”
At the Lu family villa, each son had his own floor, not disturbing one another.
Tonight’s moon was especially round and bright—perfect for the whole family to admire together.
After dinner, Grandpa Lu went to watch the evening news for a bit before sleeping. The rest of the family moved to the small rooftop garden. With no tall buildings blocking the view, the moon hung in the east like a cool jade disc.
The rooftop was damp with dew. Lu Xiao draped a thin jacket over his own moon.
Not only Lu Xiao—Lu Fengge and Lu Yushu had also brought jackets.
Lu Lou looked at Bai He, who’d come straight from work still wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt, and felt that it wasn’t really necessary—after all, everyone else who needed extra layers was wearing short sleeves.
Yet that “unnecessary” detail made him feel, vaguely, that he’d lost completely somewhere.
Both Meng Xueyuan’s and Lin Xilan’s mothers had sent mooncakes from Baihua Village to Shen Ning. Stacked together, they were extremely thick and heavy—it was best to hurry and finish them while there were many people.
Shen Ning put on gloves and cut the top one into eight pieces, one for each person.
The mooncakes were very sweet and needed to be paired with iced lemon juice. When a family shared mooncakes, whether you loved them or not, you had to finish your portion.
Lu Xiao took two portions. He knew Meng Xueyuan had vomited because of the fatty pork in the mooncake and didn’t dare let him eat it. He only let him take a bite of the very edge of the flaky crust. Like eating eggs on birthdays—if you can’t finish two, you bite one end of each and let someone else eat the rest.
“I’ll eat for you this year. Next year, you eat for me.”
Meng Xueyuan nibbled the sweet crust. “Okay.”
Shen Ning sniffed the mooncake fillings and gradually formed a guess, just unsure whether this time it was another false pregnancy.
Lu Fengge said, “If you don’t want it, give it to me.”
“No need, I like it,” Shen Ning replied, giving him a look. Back when he had a false pregnancy, Lu Fengge had been sharp-eyed—had that skill transferred over now?
Mooncakes were often criticized for being too sweet. The Baihua Village mooncakes weren’t excessively so, but for Lu Yushu, who didn’t have a sweet tooth, it was still a bit much.
Unlike Third Brother, who ate anything, he was picky—but he ate calmly, without drinking water to indirectly signal the sweetness.
The composure of a great lawyer, no doubt.
Lin Xilan noticed and held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
Their bee clan had a sweet tooth, and their bodies also possessed a magical enzyme that could break down excessive sugar intake.
Lu Yushu had already eaten half. “It’s very good.”
These were made by Lin Xilan’s parents.
“Why force yourself?” Lin Xilan smiled, somewhat firmly took half the mooncake from his hand, ate it in two bites, and wiped his mouth.
Lu Lou almost frowned.
Bai He kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart—if you keep doing this, I really won’t be able to help cover for you. After all, secretaries don’t share a mooncake with their boss, biting where he already bit.
Shen Ning liked playing poetic drinking games. Using “moon” as the theme, they played for two hours before finally dispersing.
Before parting, Lu Fengge patted his eldest son on the shoulder. “What’s going on with you? Every time it got to you, you froze, and Bai He had to remind you.”
Lu Lou, tall and broad like Lu Fengge, stood beside him with a presence and bearing that made their father–son relationship unmistakable.
Lu Yushu studied law. Lu Xiao was naturally gifted. Only Lu Lou had been personally trained by Lu Fengge in managing the company.
Lu Lou apologized, “It’s been too long since I played.”
“Mmm. You should practice more—your dad loves it,” Lu Fengge reminded him. Shen Ning used to be bad but loved playing; now he was an expert. The four of them could all keep up with him. Lu Lou definitely had something on his mind today.
Lu Fengge was just about to analyze it with Shen Ning when Shen Ning said, “Don’t analyze it. You need to work more.”
…
As Lu Lou went down from the rooftop, he sharply glanced back. By the railing, two figures stood close together.
When Lu Yushu came down, he was stopped by his elder brother.
Lu Lou sat heavily in a leather sofa, his expression grave, questioning him sternly. “You’re dating your secretary?”
Lu Yushu raised an eyebrow, unsurprised at being found out. “Yes.”
Lu Lou disapproved. “A secretary is a secretary. A secretary can’t be a wife.”
Lu Yushu didn’t rush to argue. He listened calmly to his elder brother’s “insight.”
Lu Lou said, “If a secretary becomes your wife, you won’t have the heart to make him get up early for work, won’t have the heart to make him stand beside you in meetings organizing data, won’t have the heart to bring him on every business trip to be tossed around by high-altitude turbulence, won’t have the heart to let him stay up with you working overtime until midnight. Changing all that only gets you dinner together after work, lying in bed together preparing for the next morning’s meeting. You’ll only see him in casual clothes, unprofessional, and he won’t tie a tie just to meet you anymore…”
Without the restraint of suits, accidentally brushing against each other would feel like an intrusion of body heat; without the hierarchy of superior and subordinate, he wouldn’t call you President Lu in private anymore.
Working late, he wouldn’t insist on going home alone. He’d take up half the bed in your office, curl up under the same blanket, hugging you tightly. Then you’d remember there was still an email unanswered—he’d kiss you and order you to go move the computer…
Lu Yushu looked at him quietly.
Lu Lou shook his head. “I mean, a secretary can’t… uh, wait, wife…”
“If a secretary becomes a wife…”
A secretary is a wife.
He wanted a secretary to be his wife too.
