Chapter 008: Riding the Staff!

“I can tell you clearly, that online singer—no matter how much you like her—she will never set foot in our home!”
Lu Yiqing said nothing.
But this time, Lu Yuanhang was in no mood to indulge him.
He had three sons, and whether it was his second or youngest, his feelings for Lu Yiqing had always outweighed those for the others.
Setting aside the matter of the Lu family heir, even now, he could feel the joy of first becoming a father every time he looked at Lu Yiqing.
Before his son, he was always a father first.
No one knows a child better than his father.
He understood perfectly well the reason behind his son’s resistance.
Back then, he had indeed treated his son unfairly, but there was no other way. A man must shoulder responsibility, and in his position, he had witnessed too many lives and deaths.
Since Lu Yiqing was born into the Lu family, he must bear that responsibility as well.
The future son of the Lu family might not become renowned throughout the world, but he must at least be worry-free.
As for those actors in the entertainment industry—
They are simply not worthy!
“We’ll talk after I find her,” Lu Yiqing replied, not wanting to argue. He loosened his collar, stood up, and said, “I’ll head upstairs, Dad. I’ve had a busy day and I’m exhausted.
You should rest early too when you have time, stop staring at me all day. If you have that much energy, get out and exercise more. Look at yourself now, you’ve gained weight since last year.”
“You brat, you leave as soon as I say a few words?”
“What else? Listen to you nag for hours? Seriously, Dad, I mean it—don’t interfere with the girl group anymore.
If Zhang Zhichang acted behind my back this time, should I seek your approval next time?
If I keep tiptoeing around, the board of directors will only laugh at me.”
Lu Yiqing spoke earnestly.
He didn’t want to argue about the “immensely popular” matter.
But regarding Zhang Zhichang secretly inviting Su Yunjin this time, he had to make his stance clear.
From his very first day at the company, he had faced nothing but business battles.
Many wished for his downfall—
The rich second generation.
The heir to a top-tier family.
It sounded impressive, but wasn’t it just an empty title?
When negotiating deals, no one called him a top heir; when seeking investors, no one cared if he was the Lu family successor.
He could only choose his own marriage, but even that was a conversation for another day. First, his father needed to understand boundaries.
Having finished, Lu Yiqing didn’t wait for his father’s reply and went upstairs.
As he passed Wang Caijuan’s room, Lu Yiqing glanced in indifferently, shook his head, and walked past the door to his own room.
The park at seven o’clock was a perfect place for exercise.

The sun had risen high, and the trees, having released carbon dioxide all night, were now giving off oxygen, filling the air with freshness.
Sunlight danced through layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground that looked like a field of stars.
On the park’s winding paths, many fitness enthusiasts took this time to jog, the elderly practiced tai chi, and young couples strolled together.
Most prevalent, however, were the elderly walking their dogs and birds.
Though everyone was busy with their own routines, there were exceptions.
Among the morning crowd, a young woman in black sportswear with a high ponytail drew many eyes as she jogged.
Wherever she ran, young and old alike, even children, paused to watch her.
Her tall figure seemed like a striking landscape, the black sportswear only accentuating the porcelain whiteness of her skin.
Most remarkable was her face—her features were exquisitely handsome, and her lively eyes shone clear and bright, like those of a sprite.
“That girl is really beautiful.”
“Wow, what luck that family has, to raise such a lovely daughter.”
“Not just pretty—getting up early to exercise, she’s way better than the youth these days.”
The elderly bird walkers couldn’t help but watch Su Yunjin, giving her a thumbs up, wishing she were their own granddaughter.
The young men and women also stole extra glances—women with envy, men with secret admiration.
Su Yunjin spent an hour on her morning workout, headphones in, enjoying the peace. When she finished, she stopped in a shady spot, hydrating and regulating her breathing.
“Help! Someone fell into the water!”
“Help! Is there anyone who can swim?”
“Help——”
Just as Su Yunjin was stretching, a shrill cry pierced the morning air.
The woman’s desperate scream drew everyone in the park to gather, and Su Yunjin ran over, only to see a child and an adult struggling in the artificial lake of Central Park.
“There really is a child!”
“What happened? How did they fall in?”
“That woman was playing with the child and the child fell in; she panicked and jumped in too. What now?”
The person who called for help explained.
“Don’t panic, quick, who has a rope?”
“Grab this stick!”
Among the first responders, several middle-aged men immediately picked up long sticks nearby, and a few strong swimmers jumped in.
The mother and child weren’t far from the shore; it was difficult but soon two robust men pulled the mother out.
The child was rescued by another man.
People on the bank reached out with long sticks, pulling both to safety as soon as they were close.
One meter, two meters…
Closer and closer.
The child was about to be brought ashore.

But just then, suddenly, a deep whirlpool appeared in the lake’s center.
“What’s going on over there? Why is there a whirlpool?”
Su Yunjin, the first to spot it, cried out.
From her experience, this artificial lake wasn’t dangerous for strong swimmers, but with a whirlpool, everything changed.
The water’s flow increased, threatening to suck people in.
And as soon as Su Yunjin spoke, the whirlpool doubled in size, taking up almost a third of the lake.
“It’s over! Today’s the day they change the lake water—they must have opened the floodgate!”
One of the elderly, hearing Su Yunjin’s warning, understood and shouted, “Who has the number for the control center?
Tell them not to release the water—when the water level drops, there’s nothing but mud at the bottom. If someone falls in, they won’t be able to climb out.”
“Hurry, call the police!”
“That whirlpool leads to an underground river—if someone gets sucked in, they won’t survive!”
Panic erupted, shouts of terror filling the air.
At that moment, the rescued woman regained her senses and, without caring for herself, screamed toward the lake, “My son! My son!!”
“Don’t make things worse! We’re trying to help!”
“Don’t go back in—the floodgate’s open, you’ll die too.”
“Where is she? Hold her back!”
“My baby——”
The woman’s cries were deafening as she struggled to return to the water, several strong men restraining her. Meanwhile, in the lake, as Su Yunjin anticipated, the floodgate’s opening had swept the child, who had just been rescued, several meters away.
The young man who had jumped in swam after him, but by the time he caught the child again, they were dozens of meters from shore and the whirlpool was growing ever larger.
“It’s over!”
“Really over!”
“They’re doomed.”
Those onshore could only sigh in despair as they watched the pair in the water.
Without the whirlpool, a skilled swimmer could attempt a rescue, but now, with the whirlpool expanding, entering the water meant certain death.
Just as everyone lost hope, a crisp girl’s voice reached the middle-aged man holding a long stick on the bank.
“Give it to me!”
Before he could react, the stick vanished from his hand.
A splash erupted as the girl threw the stick into the lake. The man was about to scold her, when he saw the girl leap onto the stick.
The stick, barely thicker than a person’s arm, held her steady as if she were a fisherman standing on a boat.
Before the crowd could marvel, the girl propelled herself forward, riding the stick and, with its aid and the whirlpool’s pull, glided straight toward the center of the vortex.