Chapter 152 - Family Picture

On the table, lavish food was brought one by one. Even the hundred-year-old wine was brought out as well.

This was a very luxurious meal.

Xiong Zhi wondered if today was a special day for the Lu family.

So she blurted out a question.

"Is there some sort of celebration today?" 

If it was she should have brought a gift.

Master Lu who was seated on the main chair laughed happily.

"Of course! It is the first time that little Yin invited a friend to have dinner in this mansion! " ' As well as welcoming my granddaughter-in-law!' Master Lu wanted to add those things but he was not sure if his grandson captured the little miss heart.

'Better stay quiet about it than spoil it.' Master Lu silently thought.

"Oh." Xiong Zhi only managed to say this. She understands it though because she too hasn't invited any friend to eat in her house. She hadn't thought it was something to celebrate. She was thinking that she would bring Song Xuantin, Gu Zhen, and Lu Yin Ze in the Xiong Mansion too and celebrate like this. 

At this point, Xiong Zhi unconsciously accepted those three people as her friend.

Lu Yin Ze coughed as he was embarrassed.

"Let us eat. I need to discuss something with Xiong Zhi later." Lu Yin Ze said to stop the topic.

They ate dinner in the amiable atmosphere.

"Little Zhi, I think it's better for you to sleep over here in the mansion. It's a little late." Master Lu spoke after they ate.

"Thank you for the offer, Master Lu. But I only told the mansion that I will only have dinner outside tonight. There is school tomorrow." Xiong Zhi ignored the intimate call of Master Lu.

"Oh? Is that a more reason for you to sleep here? It will take a toll on your body to travel tonight. Sleep here for tonight. We have a lot of guest rooms. My driver will take you and little Yin to school tomorrow. I will handle that Old Xiong. Oh, I should call that old bastard now. Excuse me." Without a pause, Master Lu happily left them in the table. It was clear he would not take 'no' as an answer.

Xiong Zhi was dumbfounded. What Master Lu would benefit her to sleep here tonight? No one would come to her bed and strip her n.a.k.e.d right? No, she was not in the Guan Mansion nor the second branch mansion. She was in the Lu mansion. They would not do this kind of scheme.

So she calmed down and thought that maybe that Master Lu was really worried to let a girl out tonight.

Lu Yin Ze was embarrassed. He felt that Xiong Zhi was forced by his grandfather to sleepover in the mansion.

"I'm sorry about that. If you like I can let my pilot drop you at the Xiong Mansion tonight. It will only take minutes." Xiong Zhi remembered that Lu Yin Ze just received an Embraer Lineage 1000E, a very expensive private jet.

However, she could not afford to be the first one to ride that. Besides, there's no harm to stay here tonight.

"It's alright. Since Master Lu already contacted my grandfather. There's no reason for me to reject it. Besides, you said we have something to discuss?" Xiong Zhi thought that it might be about that night in Lu Yin Ze's birthday.

'Was it about the box?' Xiong Zhi thought if she had to talk to him about it.

Lu Yin Ze suddenly became serious.

"Yes. Let's go upstairs."

The Lu Mansion was like the Xiong Mansion which composed of four wings. South, East, North, and West. Each wing consists of one or two more buildings. The style was a European style. However, the Lu Mansion was more styled with mixed of historical European and western. It was probably because of the influence of Lu Yin Ze's grandmother.

Lu Yin Ze leads Xiong Zhi to the South wing. This part of the house was more private and silent. Since no one was occupying this place. It was more like a museum. All heritage and family heirloom of the Lu family was kept here. There were displayed in a casket of glasses in every hallway. There were some writings on them. 

If someone wanted to visit the Lu Mansion, this was the place that guests could likely visit. It was to let the guest see the Lu family's older generation and how prestigious they become. Unbeatable by time.

The Xiong Mansion also has this kind of place. With her grandfather's character, that place in Xiong Mansion was given more attention than her own wing. 

However, here in Lu Mansion, even though it was clean it seems empty and silent. Their steps and breathing could be heard in the hallway. They were like the very first people who visited this place after a long time.

"I don't go here a lot. The last time I came here was eight years ago. But my grandfather came here almost every night." Lu Yin Ze's voice echoed.

Xiong Zhi just stayed silent. She kinda knew why they were here. It might be connected to the the things she heard at the rooftop.

They arrived in another hallway. The wall has big paintings and huge pictures. It was a display of the generation of the Lu family.

It was the profile of the heads and descendants of the Lu family.

"I bet the Xiong family has something like this as well?" Lu Yin Ze suddenly asked her. 

Xiong Zhi looked at his back then looked at the pictures of the Lu family.

"Of course. But I never visit it." Never once in the past life or in this current life, she entered that place. For Xiong Zhi, the family was an existence that provides you with necessary things. They have a role to accomplish in each of their own. In the past, her role was to stay quiet until she was married off. She had no lingering feelings for her parents that she doesn't remember. No, to be precise, she doesn't have any memories for them to be remembered. As long as she can remember, her parents were always abroad. If they were in the country they were always at the banquets or at parties for the highest class of society. 

They died without meeting her. 

For her, those people were only responsible for giving birth to her and once they were done for that responsibility, they could enjoy life and travel around the world. Until she grows up, she had to wait for her turn to accomplish her role.

That's why she was known as a cold young miss. 

She hadn't truly known what was it like to be a family- a sentimental that Lu Yin Ze was speaking of.

"Would you believe if I say that the father and brother that I'm cursing was once the people I truly care about?" Lu Yin Ze suddenly spoke after a long time.

Xiong Zhi did not answer. Because Lu Yin Ze doesn't need it. What he needs right now was a lending ear. Someone whom he could speak out all his suppressed feelings.

Since she was here, and since she was the only one who knew about these things, Lu Yin Ze decided to trust her to share this emotion that choking him. 

Lu Yin Ze put his hands on his chest. He was preparing to control himself if he ever shivered because of his emotions. He was testing if he could calmly talk about it.

"I am very happy with them before. We are truly a happy family." Lu Yin Ze looked up at one of the pictures on the wall. It was the picture of Lu Yin Ze's family.

A gorgeous woman with the same silver hair and ocean blue eyes was sitting together with the two children. The silver boy who was grinning wildly was no doubt Lu Yin Ze. The black-haired boy who was sitting beside him was holding his hands. He was smiling and looked matured despite being a young child. He must be working hard to grow as a big brother. If one looked closely, Lu Yin Ze and his brother looked alike so much despite the difference in hair color and eyes. The man standing behind the gorgeous woman looked stern. His gorgeous face and cold aura stand out too much. 

It was after eight years that Lu Yin Ze managed to look at this family picture. His body was trembling. Maybe he was seeing something different than the picture in front of him.

Xiong Zhi noticed his trembling. She went nearer to him and put her palm to cover his eyes.

"If it's hurting you, don't look anymore." Xiong Zhi's cool voice was calm. This calmness also brought Lu Yin Ze to calm down. Her cold hands on his face brought so much comfort to him. He was brought back to the present.

"But I want to be strong. I need to face them to overcome this. " Lu Yin Ze's voice was shaking.

The reason he brought Xiong Zhi here was that he wanted to face this family picture, to face that the family he loved so much was already destroyed. He wanted to face the fear that his father and brother instilled in him. But he knew he could not overcome this with him alone. That's why he brought her. Lu Yin Ze felt that if Xiong Zhi was near with him, he would felt a lot better. That little by little he would overcome this.

He needs her.

He truly needs her.