Halfway there, something had occurred to Zhouzhou, and he walked back over and said to Lu Shaoyan, “Uncle, remember, you have to bring me to see Great-grandpa. I miss him a lot.”
Zhouzhou’s eyes were so clear that they were able to clearly reflect Lu Shaoyan's fake, ugly, and plotting smile back at him.
Lu Shaoyan saw how awful he was.
“Alright. When Uncle has some free time or when Great-grandpa is back, I will take you to visit him.”
Zhouzhou ran happily in the direction of the door. He was only halfway there when the door was opened up. Lu Beichuan was in the very front, followed by a group of men.
“Daddy!” Zhouzhou’s excited voice resounded in the entire underground parking garage. Reaching out his arms, he ran toward Lu Beichuan.
Lu Beichuan didn’t care about anything else. He bent down and scooped Zhouzhou up into his arms. He looked Zhouzhou up and down carefully and finally let out a sigh of relief when he found that he was not hurt otherwise.
A Mercedes drove past them and Lu Shaoyan, sitting in the back seat and looking at the people who became farther and farther from them in the rearview mirror, finally turned away.
The strong driver looked at Lu Shaoyan and asked in a low voice, “Boss, why did we..”
He wanted to ask why Lu Shaoyan had changed his mind at the last minute, but seeing Lu Shaoyan’s tired look, he stopped himself.
“Forget it.” Lu Shaoyan closed his eyes. “I brought this onto myself.”
***
The security team at the hotel was able to quickly identify the individual who brought Zhouzhou with him from their surveillance videos. Zhouzhou had, however, left with him voluntarily and said himself that he was just playing a game with his father. Lu Shaoyan was also his uncle on paper. So, this could all be chalked up as a misunderstanding.
Lu Beichuan looked very unhappy ever since Zhouzhou was found. He had a long face, and he hadn’t said a word.
“Daddy…” Zhouzhou had been carried by his dad the entire time. Although that fulfilled his desire to be carried by his dad, he could still tell that his father was very unhappy. Intimidated, he said, “I’m sorry, Daddy. Zhouzhou was wrong. I shouldn’t have left with Uncle when you told me not to.”
“Why did you leave with him?”
Zhouzhou thought about it some and said in a low voice, “Because Uncle told me that Daddy doesn’t like me. I know that Daddy does but Uncle doesn’t believe me. I want to show Uncle that Daddy does like me...”
“Daddy has always liked you. Why do you need to prove it to others?”
Zhouzhou pouted and a mist appeared over his eyes. “But… if Daddy likes me, how come you have never picked me up from the kindergarten? The father of the other kids will go and pick them up. Everyone except for me.”
Lu Beichuan frowned deeply.
“All the uncles and aunties and the teachers said I am cute. They will smile at me and pick me up, even though I don’t like it when they do that… but Daddy, you don’t smile at me, or pick me up. Do you not like me, Daddy?”
Lu Beichuan looked at Zhouzhou. He had conflicted feelings.
He knew that, as a father, he had spent way too little time with his son. The occasional empty words were not enough to make up for what his son had missed while growing up.
But he could only give him obscure and empty words right now. “Don’t be silly. You are Daddy’s favorite child.”
“Mmm! I know that! I know that from earlier! Daddy found me in no time! Daddy, you are so amazing!"
Zhouzhou was normally clueless. Perhaps he had noticed some things or perhaps he was still his ignorant self. But, as far as he was concerned, this was the longest time that Daddy had ever held him. His daddy had never let go of him since he was found.
As much as the incident was chalked up to a “misunderstanding”, the person in charge at the hotel still came and apologized. He further promised that they would beef up the hotel security in the future. Mr. Chen, the person in charge at the hotel, had an idea about the intricate relationships within the Lu family. It was not his place to opine on that as a business partner, but as a good friend for years, he still urged Lu Beichuan to be mindful of Lu Shaoyan.
He then turned and comforted Zhouzhou. “Hey, little kiddo, you shouldn’t walk away with just anyone in the future. What if they are bad guys? Your daddy was worried sick about you earlier.”
Zhouzhou, with his arms around his father’s neck, lowered his head shamefully and apologized again, "I’m sorry, Daddy. I won’t do this again.”
Lu Beichuan did not say too much and brought Zhouzhou home with him before the banquet was over.
Ye Zhen and Madam Lu were not home yet. Lu Beichuan handed Zhouzhou over to Nanny Yue, had her cook up something for Zhouzhou, and went into his study.
Three years. After planning in the dark for three years, Lu Shaoyan finally couldn’t wait any longer?
Lu Beichuan had an idea of what Lu Shaoyan had been doing behind his back. He had joined forces with the You family in bringing in the Shen family and also had Lin Zhan as the last resort. Were it not for the Shen family being nothing more than an empty shell and the You family being reined in by their board of directors, Lu Shaoyan just might be a threat.
So why did Lu Shaoyan decide to take the chance to do something as risky as kidnapping a child at the banquet today?
The Shen family was nothing to worry about. They were already on their last leg. That was also another reason why he hadn’t targeted the Shen’s over the years. In the eyes of the outsiders, the Shen family was still a family friend of the Lu family.
Things had changed ever since the day that Old Mr. Shen showed up at their board meeting. Now, from the perspective of an outsider, the Shen family was ill intentioned and attempted to persecute the Lu family through accusation. As optimistic as Old Mr. Shen was, the fact that the two families were in opposition of each other had already been established.
Lu Shaoyan might be friends with You Jing, but You Jing did not have a lot of pull within the You family. He might be heir of the You family on paper, but in reality, he was nothing more than a rich playboy. For Lu Shaoyan’s purpose, he could count on neither the Shen nor the You families. Neither one of them could pose a threat to Lu Beichuan.
As for Lin Zhan…
Lin Zhan might have been on the up and rising in the last few years, but in terms of networking, wealth, and total capital, he did not come close to Lu Beichuan.
So did Lu Shaoyan make the move that he did because he was running out of options?
Lu Beichuan spent a long time thinking this over until it was dark outside.
He could hear car honking coming from outside. Ye Zhen and Madam Lu were back. They were laughing and chatting about interesting things that happened today as they walked inside the door, but as soon as they walked inside, Nanny Yue was looking at them with a disturbed look.
Ye Zhen was curious. She smiled and asked, “What’s the matter, Nanny Yue?”
Nanny Yue pointed toward upstairs and said in a low voice, “Madam, Mrs. Lu, I have no idea what had happened during the banquet today, but Mr. Lu locked himself up in his study as soon as he got home and young Mr. Lu just waited outside of the study without saying a word. I couldn’t get him to leave at all.”
Ye Zhen and Mother Lu exchanged a look then. After handing their purses over to Nanny Yue, they went upstairs.
Sure enough, Zhouzhou stood there facing the wall outside of Lu Beichuan’s study. He rested his head against the wall and was still wearing the little suit that Ye Zhen had put on him from this morning. He seemed dejected.
“What’s the matter, Zhouzhou?” Ye Zhen quickly squatted down to check on him.
As soon as he saw Ye Zhen, Zhouzhou wrapped his arms around Ye Zhen and broke into tears. He was finally able to let out the grievance that he had been feeling. His voice broke as he said, “Mommy, Zhouzhou was a bad boy and made Daddy mad.”
Ye Zhen looked up at Mother Lu before she rubbed Zhouzhou on his back. She carried him back into his bedroom, wiped away the tears on his little face, and asked with immense patience, “Zhouzhou, tell Mommy what have you done wrong that upset Daddy.”
His voice choking, Zhouzhou sniffled and looked at Ye Zhen through his teary eyes. “Daddy took Zhouzhou with him to the banquet in the afternoon. Zhouzhou’s feet were aching and tired, so Daddy had Zhouzhou sit on the couch and rest. And then… then Uncle came and said to play a game with Daddy and see how long it will take Daddy to find me. Daddy found me right away but Daddy looks so angry.”
Grabbing onto Ye Zhen’s sleeve, he asked in a low voice. “Mom, Zhouzhou knew that he was wrong now. I should have listened to Daddy and not run away with Uncle. But Zhouzhou had already apologized! Why did Daddy still get so angry and not talk to me?”
“You played a game with Daddy? With an uncle? Which uncle?”
“The… the one that gave Zhouzhou a ball over at Great-grandpa’s.”
Ye Zhen thought about it a little bit and was able to piece together most of what had happened from the broken words from Zhouzhou. Stroking Zhouzhou on his little head, she smiled and said, “It’s alright. If Zhouzhou already knew that he was wrong and had apologized, I am sure Daddy will forgive you. You be a good boy and stay here while Mommy goes check on Daddy, right?”
Zhouzhou wiped away his tears with his sleeve and nodded.
Ye Zhen got on her feet and said, “Mom, can you please help Zhouzhou change out of his clothes and take him downstairs for some food? I’ll go and check on Beichuan.”
“Okay. You go.”
Ye Zhen walked out of the room and went to knock on the door of Lu Beichuan’s study.
“Beichuan, it’s me.”
After a little while, she heard “come in” from inside the study.
Ye Zhen pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The lights in the study were not on. There was only dim light from the computer screen by the floor-to-ceiling window. Lu Beichuan was sitting in front of the desk and the computer. The light was so dim that Ye Zhen could not see the expression on him.
Ye Zhen turned on the light of the study and walked over to him.
“Why didn’t you turn the light on?”
Lu Beichuan put his palm over his forehead tiredly. Leaning against the back of his seat, he did not say anything.
“You ran into Lu Shaoyan at the banquet today?”
“Zhouzhou told you?”
Ye Zhen nodded. “You know that Zhouzhou is always worried that you will be disappointed in him and not like him. Why did you hide in the study?”
Ye Zhen was finally able to see the deep furrow between his brows and the tired look on him when she walked closer.
“What is going on?”
“I’m sorry. It was my problem today. I failed to protect Zhouzhou.” Pausing a little, Lu Beichuan continued, “The fact that Lu Shaoyan was able to walk away with Zhouzhou, that was my fault.”
He was able to summarize what had happened in just a few words, but the thick guilt on him remained.
Ye Zhen understood the kind of pressure that this man had to face all the time. From the moment that he was born, he had never relaxed for a day. Ye Zhen understood him and felt bad for him.
She held his shaking hand tightly, smiled, and said gently, “It’s alright. Look, Zhouzhou is fine, right? Nothing bad happened. You can stop beating yourself up now. Lesson learned. Now that we know what Lu Shaoyan is after, we can prepare ourselves. We don't have to be afraid of dangers and losses in the future.”
“You are not mad at me?” asked Lu Beichuan, his voice hoarse.
“Why would I blame you? Lu Shaoyan was the one who committed the crime. I couldn’t believe he would do such a thing. But, now that we know where his mind is, we shall not allow him to get close to Zhouzhou again.”
Having said that, Ye Zhen looked at him and said in a low voice. “And don’t be too tough on Zhouzhou. You should coax him a little now that he knows he was wrong. You had no idea how long he stood outside your study. He’s your son, and he is only three years old. As his father, you should forgive him for anything that he had done.”