Chapter 96 – Extra: Eldest Brother and Bai He
With the queen bee pregnant, the nurse bees officially took up their posts—greatly benefiting two CEOs.
Lu Xiao first went to his second brother and laid out the terms: “You cover my job for forty days, and I’ll move back home with my wife. When that happens, you and Secretary Lin can fast-forward straight to cohabitation.”
It was an extremely tempting offer—no brother could refuse it. If Lu Xiao didn’t move back to the Lu family home, Lin Xilan and Bai He would inevitably end up like last time, living in the apartment next to Meng Xueyuan’s to help take care of things. Even if Lin Xilan wouldn’t forcibly resign this time, he definitely wouldn’t be willing to work late or go on dates at night—he’d be desperate to head home.
Lu Yushu was tempted, though his expression didn’t change. He tried to bargain anyway.
“Isn’t forty days too much? You can work from home. People admire strength—if you’re loafing around at home, it hurts your image.”
Lu Xiao said, “Who says I’ll be loafing around?! There’s tons to prepare when you’re becoming a dad. You wouldn’t understand.”
Lu Yushu said, “You’re becoming a dad once—are you going to make demands of me and the eldest brother? Double-dipping? These forty days should be split with him—twenty each.”
“You’re you, he’s him. Don’t lump it together.”
Lu Yushu: “…Fine.”
Lu Xiao then went to the eldest brother.
“I’m moving back home. Second Brother agreed to cover my job for forty days. Look at him and Secretary Lin—they’ve already made it official and have that kind of resolve. As for you—since you’re still in the early stages, figure it out yourself.”
Lu Lou was silent for a moment. “Fifty days?”
Lu Xiao sneered. “Heh. Is your determination to pursue Secretary Bai only worth fifty days?”
Lu Lou gritted his teeth. “Sixty days.”
Lu Xiao: “You think you can win over Secretary Bai in two months?”
Lu Lou’s face darkened. “Seventy days.”
Lu Xiao: “Looks like it won’t be easy to call Secretary Bai ‘sister-in-law.’”
Lu Lou was honestly defeated by this youngest brother. In the psychological tug-of-war with Lu Xiao, his defenses and bottom line kept retreating. Ultimately, the reason was simple: this time, Bai He wasn’t standing behind him.
A CEO without a secretary at the negotiating table was like a commander on the battlefield with no soldiers—certain defeat.
Lu Lou said, “Eighty days. That’s twice Yushu’s.”
Lu Xiao: “Deal.”
Eighty days plus forty days—one hundred and twenty days. Four months. From late pregnancy to two months after the baby’s birth—just barely enough time.
He called it “covering his job,” but in reality it was just handing off some projects; there was no way he’d completely let go.
More work meant more chances for CEOs and secretaries to spend time together, right?
Lu Lou felt as if Lu Xiao were holding a hostage. To prevent him from raising the price halfway through, he sincerely suggested, “If Dad could help you cover another twenty days, it’d be perfect.”
It wasn’t that Lu Xiao hadn’t thought about it. He just didn’t know how to persuade Lu Fengge. He said doubtfully, “I can’t exactly threaten Dad—‘if you don’t help me work, your eldest son won’t get married,’ right?”
Eldest son Lu Lou: “……”
Lu Xiao added, “I don’t think Dad would care that much anyway.”
Lu Lou suppressed the urge to beat his brother up and took the opportunity to ask, “When Second Brother went to Baihua Village, what did he actually do?”
If he asked Lu Yushu, he’d definitely lie—no need to think about it.
Lu Lou wanted to prepare in advance. By optimizing on his second brother’s version, he didn’t need to beat Lu Xiao—he just couldn’t lose to Lu Yushu.
Lu Xiao said, “Weeding, planting rice seedlings, and stoking fires.”
Lu Lou pondered. That didn’t sound very difficult?
Lu Xiao added, “That’s because I covered for him.”
Lu Lou looked at his troublesome younger brother. He would never forget that day—Lu Yushu said he was taking Lin Xilan on a business trip, but actually went to Baihua Village to meet the parents. Everyone, including Bai He, was on holiday, and only he was left working overtime at the company. Bai He even asked him if he wanted to order a salad.
It felt like he’d come in last in a race—only realizing it was a race after finally reaching the finish line and seeing the flag. And the referee—Bai He—still suspected that he’d run so slowly because he was just pacing others, just following the trend.
“There’s no need to follow the trend and have a little honeybee.”
Hearing that nearly gave Lu Lou a heart attack. He had clearly been the first to have a little honeybee—earlier than Third Brother’s marriage, earlier than Lu Yushu officially appointing Lin Xilan as his secretary.
Some people pursued love with tricks, but all the tricks had already been used up by his two younger brothers. Others relied on meticulous care—but in both life and work, it was the secretary who took care of the CEO more often.
The situation was truly tricky. Lu Lou had to admit that sometimes Lu Xiao was right—without his secretary, he really would turn into a useless person.
Near noon, after finishing his work, Lu Lou looked toward the cubicle to his right front.
“Bai He, help me draft the speech for tomorrow’s press conference.”
Bai He: “Okay.” Even without being told, he would have done it.
Lu Lou added, “Also help me draft a plan to pursue my secretary. Preferably one that can achieve the default goals within three months.”
Bai He didn’t look up. “May I ask what your default goals are?”
Lu Lou: “Holding hands and kissing.”
Bai He: “O—” Only then did he react. A plan to pursue the secretary???
In the blink of an eye, Lu Lou was already standing in front of him.
“Fill in the budget, methods, and precautions yourself. No budget cap. Top project priority. A bit longer timeline is fine—I’ll fully cooperate.”
Bai He: “……”
Lu Lou: “You can have it done within three days, right?”
Bai He: “That’s not within my scope of duties.”
Lu Lou: “Secretary Wang at Jinding helped his boss get eighteen girlfriends.”
Mostly with money—by giving gifts.
If Bai He was willing to spend his money buying him some gifts, Lu Lou would be more than happy.
Bai He said flatly, “I won’t.”
Lu Lou said, “Then I’ll teach you. Step one: create an opportunity to live together. If you really can’t do it, I’ll have another secretary write it. Even if they write exaggerated things, I’ll still carry them out.”
Images of common tactics used by fellow secretaries flashed through Bai He’s mind, and his expression became indescribable.
Bai He said, “Love pursued through a secretary isn’t true love.”
Lu Lou paused, then said, “I was joking. That shortcut doesn’t work.”
Bai He looked up and saw that Lu Lou’s eyes were full of laughter. At some point, the gaze he saw in Lu Lou’s eyes was no longer the perpetually rational, cold look. No matter the occasion, Lu Lou always reserved a smile just for him.
It seemed to have started when Lu Lou gave up entirely and took leave to stay in a convalescent hospital—shedding the shell of the Lu Group’s supreme CEO and showing him his real self.
Three days later, Lu Xiao and Meng Xueyuan moved back to the Lu family home to seek Dad Shen Ning’s help with the pregnancy.
Lu Xiao worried that Meng Xueyuan might endure discomfort without saying anything, and he himself had no experience. His father had a keen eye and plenty of experience—he could tell.
Every morning, his first sentence was:
“Dad, take a look—how’s my wife today?”
Every time, Meng Xueyuan wanted to step on the top of Lu Xiao’s foot, telling him not to be so anxious.
Shen Ning said cheerfully, “Pretty good.”
Lu Xiao grew suspicious. “Did you two reach some kind of confidentiality agreement and decide not to tell me?”
Meng Xueyuan said, “No. Is it really that hard for you to admit that our baby is very well-behaved and hasn’t made me uncomfortable?”
Lu Xiao: “……”
Not hard. Not hard at all.
He frantically studied everything a first-time father needed to know and even bought a practice doll to rehearse holding a baby.
All his panic and anxiety came from the unknown. After thorough study, Lu Xiao gradually steadied himself, truly showing the calm one would expect from a father of three.
The other father of three in the household had a bit of a headache. Lu Fengge watched as his dutiful sons moved back one by one, taking up all of his wife’s time and attention—painful yet joyful.
Shen Ning teased the three sons whenever he had time and enjoyed it immensely. To be honest, once his sons had developed their own ideas, they’d become hard to tease. Who would’ve thought that after getting into romantic relationships, each of them seemed to need family education all over again?
Shen Ning was happy, and Lu Fengge was happy too.
Other CEO friends were extremely envious of Lu Fengge’s family bliss and even asked him for tips—they complained that their sons and daughters refused to come back from abroad.
Lu Fengge shared generously: “Find them a partner who can’t leave the country.”
Of course, the prerequisite was that your child had to be a hopeless romantic.
A friend asked, “Can’t leave the country? Is your daughter-in-law from a state-secret unit?” Isn’t she a big celebrity?
Lu Fengge: “.” Technically speaking, it was a family at the level of state secrecy.
When Shen Ning arranged Bai He’s room, he didn’t deliberately place him on the same floor as Lu Lou, but asked for his opinion.
Bai He was upright and had nothing to hide, so he still chose to be on the same floor as Lu Lou—essentially entering Lu Lou’s territory.
“It’s more appropriate for singles to be on the same floor,” Bai He said. He wasn’t that foolish. Upstairs and downstairs were all couples; only by sticking with his boss could they keep each other warm.
“Keep warm?” Lu Lou thought. Sharing the same bed would be even warmer.
Bai He wore the same style of loungewear as him, moving around the living room—pouring water, arranging flowers… It felt as if they were truly a married couple. This was exactly the married life Lu Lou had imagined.
If it could always be like this… Lu Lou thought, he’d be willing. At last, he understood why he’d always felt there was a gap between himself and Secretary Bai, that their coordination wasn’t perfectly seamless. It turned out they were missing the crucial step of going home together after work.
No wonder that every time they worked overtime, once Secretary Bai went home, his own mood would sour. Lu Lou had once thought it was his capitalist tendencies flaring up—unable to stand seeing Bai He rest—so he restrained himself from wanting too much.
He didn’t want to push Bai He too hard.
After wiping his hair dry, Bai He casually picked up Lu Lou’s jacket from the sofa and hung it on the rack.
Lu Lou immediately forgot his plan to proceed slowly.
“Secretary Bai, I want to go to Baihua Village to farm.”
His brothers had all farmed—he was the only one who hadn’t. He just wanted to farm, nothing else.
Bai He said, “Farm?”
Lu Lou nodded. “Yeah. I want some manual labor.”
Bai He said, “Alright. I’ll arrange a public-welfare tree-planting activity with a mayor-level figure in the near future.”
Completely impermeable.
Lu Lou said, “Am I free the day after tomorrow? Push the morning meeting too. If you don’t book me a ticket, I’ll go myself.”
Going to Baihua Village to collect some fragments of Bai He’s growth would be good too—getting familiar in front of his parents would greatly benefit his pursuit.
Bai He said, “Sorry, it can’t be pushed. After the meeting, President He of the Zhang Group has important intelligence to share with you.”
Lu Lou said, “You can listen for me.”
After tidying the collar of Lu Lou’s jacket, Bai He glanced over from the side by the garment steamer. “No.”
Lu Lou: “……”
Fake henpecked men: men whose wives confiscate their salaries.
Real henpecked men: CEOs whose schedules are controlled by their secretaries.
