Hidden identities of the AI Heiress-Chapter 1007: Professor Qiao’s Grand Engagement Ceremony (1)
Early morning, an SUV stopped at the entrance of the resort villa.
The car door opened, and Lu Zhanxing stepped out. He was still wearing a light blue belted robe, but with sunglasses on his face, making him look somewhat out of place.
After getting out of the car, he headed straight towards the independent courtyard of the resort villa.
When he reached the door, he pushed it open, took off his sunglasses, took a deep breath, and roared, "I object!"
At the dining table.
Lu Rui’s hand shook, almost spilling the bowl in his hand.
Lu Shiran choked on his bread, pounding his chest repeatedly, seemingly startled out of his wits.
Sitting next to him, Li Miao quickly poured him a glass of water, fearing their pleasant breakfast would turn into a crime scene.
Lu Jingzhi, looking perfectly calm, took a sip of his coffee and gave the disheveled Lu Zhanxing a sidelong glance, "Why didn’t you say you were coming ahead of time?"
Su Mian scolded, "Second Bro, what’s with you acting crazy?"
Grandpa Li chuckled as he turned to Grandma Li, "Young people are great, full of energy. Back in my day, I was way livelier than him."
Grandma Li smiled lightly, "You do realize that was back in the day, right?"
Li Hanzhou, meanwhile, was focused on placing soup dumplings into Qiao Yun’s bowl. Without giving the aggressive Lu Zhanxing a single look, his gaze remained on the ring on Qiao Yun’s finger, his eyes softening.
Qiao Yun took a small bite of a soup dumpling and looked sweetly at Lu Zhanxing. "Brother, have you had breakfast?"
"Ah..." Lu Zhanxing responded absentmindedly.
Wait.
What was this harmonious scene?
Why was this so different from the tense atmosphere he had imagined?
Upon learning that his sister wanted to get engaged to Li Hanzhou, Lu Zhanxing had rushed to the resort villa overnight from the filming set, not even bothering to change his clothes.
He wasn’t against his sister dating Li Hanzhou, but that didn’t mean he was thrilled about her getting engaged so soon.
Once engaged, she’d belong to someone else’s family!
Oh! No!
He had assumed the family would feel the same as him, unable to accept this engagement—but who would’ve thought they’d be so... calm?
This doesn’t make sense!
Feeling unsettled, Lu Zhanxing directly asked Qiao Yun, "Sister, you’re getting engaged to him?"
With that one question, something shifted in the air. The Lu family’s faces subtly changed.
Honestly, they did have thoughts about it; they were just pretending not to. Since Qiaoqiao hadn’t brought it up again, they simply acted like they didn’t know anything.
But now, Lu Zhanxing had shattered that illusion.
They had no choice but to face the reality: Qiaoqiao was planning to start her own family with someone else.
Qiao Yun seemed oblivious to her family’s strange looks. She answered earnestly, "Yes, I want to get engaged to him."
Lu Zhanxing’s expression froze. "Isn’t it a bit too soon?"
Qiao Yun replied, "I’m an adult. I can get engaged. It’s not too soon."
Lu Zhanxing: "..."
He was speechless.
"Not too soon, not too soon at all."
Grandpa Li was the happiest person in the room.
This grandson of his was quite capable.
So quickly upgraded from a lab experiment to a fiancé!
With everything out in the open, Grandpa Li eagerly started discussing with Lu Rui, "In-law, do you have any traditions regarding the engagement gift? Oh, and last night I checked the calendar. Take a look—what date do you think works best?"
As he spoke, he somehow pulled out an old-fashioned calendar and opened it for Lu Rui to see.
Lu Rui was dumbfounded.
How could they be moving so fast?
Were they that desperate for a granddaughter-in-law?
Grandpa Li flipped through the calendar, muttering, "This date looks good, but it’s coming up too soon; we might not have enough time to prepare everything..."
Lu Rui tried to resist. "Grandpa Li, isn’t this a bit rushed? Besides, Qiaoqiao is only a freshman..."
"Relax," Grandpa Li interrupted him. "It’s not like they’re getting married right away, just an engagement. Young man, daughters can’t be kept at home forever. You have to let go."
Lu Rui forced a hollow laugh, his eyes drifting toward Li Miao. "If it were Miaomiao in this situation, wouldn’t you feel uneasy too?"
Li Miao, the unwilling spectator, looked utterly confused.
Grandpa cast a brief glance at Li Miao. "If this girl could actually find someone to marry, I’d set off fireworks for three days and nights."
Li Miao protested, "Grandpa, why are you making it sound like no one wants me?"
Grandpa gave her a look that screamed, "Well, if the shoe fits..."
His granddaughter had been spoiled since childhood—she’d probably find it hard to marry later.
"I’m not undesirable! Plenty of people like me!" Li Miao was indignant and turned fiercely to Lu Shiran, "You like me, don’t you?"
"..." Lu Shiran silently scooted his chair further away from her.
Li Miao: "..."
She was fuming.
On one side, the elders were either joyfully planning the engagement or half-heartedly trying to object but failing to sustain their resistance.
On the other side, Lu Zhanxing gave up hope on his family. He sat down next to Qiao Yun, mulled over it for a few seconds, and asked, "Sister, are you sure about this?"
"Yes," Qiao Yun replied seriously. "He treats me very well. Don’t worry, Brother."
Li Hanzhou’s lips curved into a smile, his voice slow and deliberate. "Second Brother, are you really so uneasy about me?"
Lu Zhanxing: "..."
That "Second Brother" sent shivers down his spine.
"Brother, aren’t you going to give me your blessing?" Qiao Yun looked at Lu Zhanxing expectantly.
Faced with those big, bright eyes, Lu Zhanxing finally softened. He patted Qiao Yun’s head and sighed, "I’m just reluctant to let you go. I hoped you’d stay with your brother a few more years."
"It’s just an engagement. No weddings until I’m twenty-five," Qiao Yun counted on her fingers. "That’s another six years with you."
Lu Zhanxing was instantly relieved. He raised an eyebrow at Li Hanzhou. "Looks like you’ll have to endure six more years, Li."
Li Hanzhou’s face darkened upon hearing this.
To hell with twenty-five!
At this moment, he deeply regretted it. Regretted that time he told Qiao Yun not to date early when they first met.
Lu Jingzhi, who had been silently listening, suddenly spoke up. "Li, you’d better treat my sister well."
He knew he had no right to make decisions for his sister’s life, so he hadn’t voiced any opinions from the start.
But if Li Hanzhou dared to mistreat her, he wouldn’t stand by idly.
Li Hanzhou said nothing. He turned to Qiao Yun. "No one knows how well I treat her better than Qiaoqiao does."
Qiao Yun felt a sudden surge of joy as he gazed at her intently.
She now had someone who cared for her other than her family, and her family even supported it.
How wonderful.
Emotions rarely moved Qiao Yun, and it was difficult for her to feel things like happiness or sadness.
But this time, she could clearly sense it—she was genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart.
Seeing the delight in his sister’s eyes, Lu Zhanxing smiled helplessly.
Fine.
His sister’s happiness was the most important thing.
Besides, it was just an engagement, not a marriage.
Though Lu Zhanxing conveniently forgot that an engagement meant they could openly live together now.
Suddenly, Qiao Yun exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot to tell them!"
Li Hanzhou didn’t need to guess. He knew exactly who "them" referred to—it had to be that group of maniacs from her research lab.
The thought of those lunatics ruining his engagement made his head throb.
——
Daily updates on the side story. Today’s is a bit shorter.
