Two hours later, Su He took the elevator directly to the basement.
Boss Lu had already been waiting there for over ten minutes.
"I was delayed by some things just now," Su He carefully sat down, lifting the hem of her skirt, and apologized to her benefactor beside her.
Lu Yanbei slowly opened his eyes, a hint of grogginess in them.
He had been flying everywhere recently and hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. He only managed to doze off for a bit on the way to pick her up.
"Let's go," Lu Yanbei glanced at her, said nothing, and instructed the driver to start the car.
Su He pursed her lips, thinking he was angry. "I really didn't mean to be late... it's just this dress, it's a bit big, and the stylist took some time to alter it for me..."
Lu Yanbei rubbed his aching neck and said casually, "Mm, be more mindful next time."
Seeing his tired expression, Su He wisely stopped talking.
Twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the Kaiwei Grand Hotel.
For Lu Corporation's 70th anniversary, an entire five-star hotel had been booked to host guests. The banquet hall downstairs was used for the celebration, while the guest rooms upstairs were for guests to rest.
Not only that, but Lu Corporation had also generously spent a fortune preparing a gift bag for each guest. The expenses for this alone were said to be over ten million.
The lavishness of the Lu family was evident.
Although Su He had agreed to be Lu Yanbei's date, she didn't want to become the target of public scrutiny. Taking advantage of Lu Yanbei's phone call, she got out of the car first.
"Um, I'll go in and say hello to Grandpa first," Su He said, lifting the hem of her skirt, and hurried away.
On the other end of the phone, Gu Yuheng was urging, "Brother Yan, we've been here for a while. When are you and Sister-in-law coming?"
Lu Yanbei glanced at Su He's retreating back and replied, "We're downstairs," then hung up.
Before getting out of the car, he called Cheng Jue to his side. "Send someone to investigate who tampered with Su He's dress."
The dress had been ordered a month in advance. He knew Su He's size by heart, and it hadn't changed over the years, so it was impossible for it to be wrong.
The only possibility was that someone had intentionally ruined her dress.
"Yes, I'll investigate immediately," Cheng Jue replied respectfully.
Lu Yanbei glanced at the phone on the back seat and quietly put it into his own pocket.
This girl's absent-mindedness hadn't changed at all. She'd be worried again when she couldn't find her phone later.
Thinking of this, Lu Yanbei couldn't help but curve his lips and shake his head.
*
Inside the banquet hall, many guests had already arrived.
Lu Yanbei seemed to have a halo around him; wherever he went, he was the center of attention.
Gu Yuheng spotted him immediately. "Brother Yan, over here!"
Lu Yanbei nodded slightly, greeted those around him, and walked directly towards Gu Yuheng and the others.
Gu Yuheng was dressed quite formally today, in a black suit and a mirrored tie. He smiled and stepped forward, looking left and right but not seeing the sister-in-law beside Lu Yanbei.
"Didn't you say you were bringing Sister-in-law? Where is she?" Gu Yuheng asked after confirming a few times.
Leiting and He Shufan were also curious.
"Yeah, Brother Yan, where's Sister-in-law?"
Lu Yanbei said with a straight face, "She's shy and went in first."
"Ah, where is she?" The three of them kept looking around.
Lu Yanbei caught a glimpse of a light yellow figure and his lips curved upwards involuntarily. "You'll see her in a while."
With that, he walked towards Grandpa Lu's direction.
Tonight, for the anniversary celebration, Grandpa Lu was wearing a dark red Tang suit, looking particularly energetic.
Seeing his grandson approach, he smiled and waved him over.
"Grandpa," Lu Yanbei called out to him. He then greeted the elders around him. "Grandpa Ji, Uncle Zhang, Uncle Li."
"You're truly blessed to have such an excellent grandson!" Old Master Ji couldn't help but exclaim when he saw Lu Yanbei. "Unlike me, neither my son nor my grandson is accomplished!"
"I see your sons and grandsons on TV all the time, and you call them unaccomplished?" Grandpa Lu shot him a glance.
"What's wrong with being on TV? If your grandson gave an interview, he'd probably be on it every day."
The two old men went back and forth, praising each other.
Lu Yanbei stood calmly by, unfazed.
Su He envied his composure.
Unlike her, who felt like a wooden post and was so awkward she could have dug out a two-bedroom apartment.
The three friends who followed Lu Yanbei also shed their usual casual demeanor and respectfully paid their respects to the elders.
Grandpa Lu looked at the younger generation he liked, his face beaming. "Good, good, it's rare for you all to come. Keep Grandpa company and have a few drinks later."
Speaking of drinking, Lu Yanbei couldn't help but frown. "Grandpa, the doctor said you need to quit drinking."
"Can we make an exception on such an important day?" Grandpa Lu, though seemingly imposing, was actually quite intimidated by his grandson. If Lu Yanbei really got tough, he could smash all his prized aged liquors.
Seeing Grandpa's pathetic look, Lu Yanbei relented. "One glass, no more."
"Okay! One glass it is!" Grandpa Lu knew his bottom line and dared not test it further, so he reluctantly agreed. As for in private, humph, he'd make up for it later.
After they had greeted everyone, Gu Yuheng caught sight of Su He and couldn't help but whisper to Leiting, "Why is she here?"
Leiting's mind was on his mobile game. He glanced up at Su He, then lowered his eyes. "Grandpa Lu probably invited her."
He vaguely remembered that the old man liked Su He very much.
At the previous birthday banquet, the old man had even announced publicly that even if Su He divorced Lu Jingyang, he would still treat her as his granddaughter, and the Lu family's door would always be open to her.
"I must say, tidied up, she's quite pretty!" Gu Yuheng muttered.
After a pause, seeing no one respond, he continued, "Hey, what do you think Lu Jingyang's expression will be when he sees her later? Will he think she's still not over him and came crawling back for reconciliation?"
It was meant to be a joke, but Lu Yanbei felt very uncomfortable hearing it. "Lu Jingyang is not qualified to attend the Lu Corporation's anniversary."
"Ah, I forgot, he's not a real member of the Lu family!" Gu Yuheng covered his mouth. Although outsiders respectfully called Lu Jingyang Young Master Lu, he had absolutely no connection to the Lu family.
Now that Lu Yunting and Zhao Yafen had moved out of the villa, people in the circle were speculating whether the Lu family was preparing for Young Master Yan to officially take over Lu Corporation.
After all, Lu Yunting was a son-in-law of the Lu family. His mistress and illegitimate children had nothing to do with the Lu family. Let alone inheritance, they didn't even have the right to live in the villa.
Grandpa Lu was not an autocratic person. His daughter had died, and he couldn't expect his son-in-law to live out his life alone. Therefore, when he learned that Lu Yunting had another woman, he didn't stop him, and even allowed Zhao Yafen to give birth to Lu Jingyang.
As long as their family behaved themselves and got along harmoniously with Lu Yanbei, he could turn a blind eye.
But the mistake was that that family was greedy and harbored improper ambitions.