Using Marriage as Bait : Chapter 23
Chapter 23: The Little Cub is Pretty Cute
Lin Xiyu had a normal delivery, and the birth went smoothly. After a few days of observation in the hospital, she was discharged without any problems. The nursery room was built by Lu Junting long ago. The milk powder and all the baby supplies at home were also very well prepared.
On the day Lin Xiyu was discharged from the hospital, except for Lu Junfeng, a large family of the Lu family came to pick her up, and everyone gathered in the Moonbay no. 1 villa, because with the arrival of a new life, everyone’s face was full of joy.
The child’s name was already given to him by old Mr. Lu, and he was named Lu Chengmao. After Lin Xiyu finished breastfeeding and came out with the little one, old madam Lu said, “Give the baby to Junting for a hug, don’t be a father and not even know how to hold a baby.”
Lin Xiyu then handed the baby to Lu Junting, who was holding the baby in a very awkward way, with stiff and careful movements, not like holding a person, but like holding a bomb. The child probably realized that he was hugged by someone else, and cried out as soon as he was held by Lu Junting.
Lu Junting’s eyebrows knitted, and old madam Lu said, “What are you doing? Quickly coax him ah.”
Lu Junting simply could not bear to look at his son’s face, but also patiently, softened his voice and said, “Okay, okay, don’t cry.”
However, this man’s face had a sense of seriousness, and this coaxing sentence sounds more like a command.
The child did not give him any face, crying more fiercely. Lu Junting’s eyebrows tightened more tightly, let him give orders and he was quite good at it, but he really had no experience in coaxing children. The child’s cries made his head want to burst, and when he cried, the child's face was even uglier.
Lin Xiyu was startled and rushed over to pick up the child. Old madam Lu scolded at the side, “What are you doing ah? You–, this child is still so young, what if you scare him? Really, you can’t even coax your own baby.”
Lu Junting also seemed to realize that his tone was not very good just now, he looked at the child, held by his mother, he did not calm down for a while. Lin Xiyu held the child while walking and coaxing, with a look that was full of love.
He had not expected it, but she liked this son of his, even though he was a bit ugly.
There were nannies to help with the childcare, Lin Xiyu’s 40 days period after childbirth was quite easy. The little baby at first loved to cry at night, and then sister Wu helped to adjust the child’s routine, trying to let him play during the day and sleep at night. Then, he slowly would not cry at night, as long as the child did not cry at night, the adults had it to be much easier.
During Lin Xiyu’s 40 days, Lu Junting also returned every day. Lin Xiyu initially felt that Lu Junting was looking forward to this child, but after the birth of the child, she vaguely felt that Lu Junting’s feelings for this child were a little complicated, and there was no such pure expectation at the beginning. As a father, he was also attentive to the child, such as everyday after coming home, he would ask the child’s condition, any physical discomfort, but sometimes, when he looked at the child, there was always an expression of dislike. He did not love the child like her, wanting to hug the child and never let go.
She thought probably men and women were different? Women were emotional, women’s love was representational on the outside, while men were different.
However, this was not Lin Xiyu’s main worry, her main worry now was that the child was born, at first she had agreed with Lu Junting that they would divorce after she was giving birth.
However, from the third trimester to the present, Lin Xiyu had established a deep relationship with this child, and she really did not want to leave him at this time.
Anyway, the child was still breastfeeding now, Lu Junting would not let her go during the child’s breastfeeding period.
During her confinement period, Lin Xiyu refused all visits. Lu Junting also specifically told the others, so her relatives could come as little as possible, so Lin Xiyu had a very leisurely time.
Zhang Yao called her directly when she had something to say. When Lin Xiyu was about to come out from confinement, Zhang Yao called her and said something.
“Do you remember the director of the Wucheng Orphanage?”
“I remember ah. Aunt Yao, what’s wrong?”
“She called me the other day and said that someone claiming to be your father’s apprentice had gone to her to ask for your number.”
Her father’s apprentice? Her father had a lot of apprentices, some of whom she did not even know.
Lin Xiyu asked, “Did that person say his name?”
“What is he called, from Du Xingjia?”
Lin Xiyu thought the name sounded a bit familiar, and Zhang Yao added. “He asked the dean for your contact information, should I give it to him?”
Lin Xiyu said, “Give it.”
“Ah? Not afraid of him being a liar ah?”
“If he isn’t my father’s apprentice, he won’t be able to fool me.”
The day after talking to Zhang Yao on the phone, Lin Xiyu received a call from Du Xingjia.
“Little junior sister, are you little junior sister?”
The person on the other end of the phone was very excited, and Lin Xiyu was a little embarrassed. “I’m Lin Xiyu.”
She felt that the person on the other end of the phone was about to cry with excitement, “Little junior sister, you are really little junior sister, I’ve been looking for you so hard.”
Lin Xiyu: “......”
The person from Du Xingjia calmed down a bit before telling her about the situation. It turned out that the Du Xingjia had set up a calligraphy club to promote Lin’s calligraphy, and over the years he had wanted to be in contact with the Lin family’s heir, also known as Lin Xiyu. He tossed around several places before asking for her phone number from the director of the Wu Cheng Orphanage.
On the phone, the person from Du Xingjia was extremely sincere in inviting her to join his calligraphy club, and offered a very generous reward, hoping that she could be a teacher inside his calligraphy club as Lin's calligraphy inheritor.
Lin Xiyu did not agree immediately, only said that she would consider it for a while.
Lin Xiyu’s father, Lin Daguo, was a calligrapher, she was influenced by it as she grew up, and she definitely knew how to do it. The reason why she applied to the Biology Department of Ancheng University was not because she liked biology, but because Ancheng University had a very famous calligraphy club. And Biology happened to be the ace major in Ancheng University, which she studied just so she could join the club.
Being able to carry forward their Lin family’s calligraphy and get paid, Lin Xiyu was a bit tempted. However, Lin Xiyu was not in a hurry, and she wanted to check it first.
The first thing Lin Xiyu did after her confinement month was to meet up with Du Xingjia, and for that reason, she turned down Lu Yuan’s offer to take her out for a good, crazy time.
The meeting place was in a library, and Lin Xiyu arrived a short while after Du Xingjia arrived.
“Little junior sister.” She did not expect Du Xingjia to recognize her at once.
However, Lin Xiyu’s mood was a bit complicated when she looked at the man with a white beard in front of her, whose age could be her grandfather. Was this really his father’s apprentice?
“Little junior sister, do you still recognize me? We met when you were a kid.”
Lin Xiyu felt that the person in front of her was a bit familiar, and she said, “A bit of an impression.”
Du Xingjia was so happy that he said he would invite her to a meal, but Lin Xiyu politely declined, wanting to visit his calligraphy club first. Then, Du Xingjia took her there, and he drove himself. Lin Xiyu thought it was impressive that he could still drive himself at such an old age.
The calligraphy club was bigger than she thought, built on the outskirts of Ancheng, not far from Moon Bay no. 1, where she and LuJuntign now live.
Du Xingjia took her to a certain calligraphy classroom, but saw a bunch of people sitting in the classroom in unison, all basically in their forties, and Du Xingjia told her that these were the students of their calligraphy club.
Du Xingjia introduced her, only to see the people sitting down who could be her elders stand up in unison and bow at her.
“Hello, senior aunt.”
Lin Xiyu: “......”
What was going on?
Du Xingjia smiled and explained, “They are all my students. And naturally they are also your junior nephew*.”
*The words of the nephew refer to the apprentices of the brothers and sisters of the same sect.
Lin Xiyu laughed dryly and said, “Everyone sit down, there’s no need to be so polite.”
Only then did everyone sit down, and one of the older women who looked to be in her early fifties said, “I heard from master that you’re the inheritor of Lin’s calligraphy, we’ve heard a lot about Mr. Lin, but we just don’t have the chance to see him again, so why don’t master’s siter show us what authentic Lin’s calligraphy looks like.”
Lin Xiyu looked towards Du Xingjia, who also said, “I’ve seen you write calligraphy when you were a child. Back then, master said you were very talented. Don’t be nervous, write how you usually practice.”
Lin Xiyu did not panic, as the daughter of Lin Daguo, calligraphy was her best talent.
Soon someone brought up a brush and ink, Lin Xiyu usually loved to practice calligraphy. During this time of pregnancy, Lin Xiyu was also practicing. At this time, she would stroke a few big characters with her brush.
It was a line from Li Bai’s poem.
“Since ancient the sages have been lonely, but only those who drink have left their names.”
Everyone came to see it.
“The brush falls in a single stroke, the characters are flowing and agile, worthy of being the inheritor of Lin's calligraphy.”
Some of them were probably just starting out and did not know how to boast yet, so they said, “Wow, you write so beautifully. Senior aunt, can you teach me some day?”
At the beginning, they did not trust her as a little girl to teach any calligraphy, but after this one word fell, everyone was convinced of her. Naturally, they were more determined for Du Xingjia to have her join their team.
Lin Xiyu had inspected the place. Although it was also a profit-making institution, it was indeed doing something to promote Lin’s calligraphy, and she was certainly willing to do so if she could promote her own family’s calligraphy. Before that, she only considered calligraphy as a hobby, and not as a profession, after all, calligraphy was a bowl of rice that could not be eaten without a little skill. Now that she could promote her own calligraphy and also do it as a job, Lin Xiyu naturally had the intention.
After Lin Xiyu returned, she mentioned this matter to Lu Junting.
Lu Junting said, “You don’t have to be in such a hurry to go to work, you can rest for a while.”
Lin Xiyu said, “Don’t worry, I told them that I would go in a month.”
Lu Junting: “...”
Lu Junting just hoped that she could rest more, it did not matter if she rested for a year and a half. The child was still so young and needed his mother around, but he did not want to interfere with her freedom. After eating, Lu Junting made a phone call with his assistant to let him check that calligraphy club. Not long after, the assistant checked and came back to report that the club was regular.
It was good that it was a regular one, just in case this little girl was too young and got scammed.
Lu Junting had pushed too much work in the past few months, so that at this time he had accumulated a lot of problems. He had to personally deal with them.
Now that her child had been born and her confinement was done. Lu Junting should also think more about work, so he had begun to travel again before Lin Xiyu had gone to work at the calligraphy club. Lin Xiyu had officially started to work a month later.
Lin Xiyu’s main job was to teach calligraphy skills to calligraphy enthusiasts, occasionally giving lectures at universities to promote Lin’s calligraphy, and sometimes being invited to participate in some programs.
At first, Lin Xiyu wanted to work as soon as possible because she was pregnant and sat in the confinement period of time basically every day at hom, feeling that she was going to be stupid. So, as soon as she came out of the confinement, she wanted to go out, but she realized that women who had a child were really different, and she was always thinking about the child. Thinking about whether he would be hungry or crying. Every day after work, she could not wait to rush home.
Lin Xiyu bought a car, an economical and practical one, and bought it with Lu Junting’s living expenses. She did not tell the club that she was married, especially because she did not want people to know that her husband was Lu Junting.
She always felt that she and Lu Junting had to divorce sooner or later, and no letting people know saved a lot of trouble.
Lin Xiyu rushed home as fast as she could, took the elevator from the -2nd floor underground parking to the 1st floor, and heard the baby crying outside before she got off the elevator. Lin Xiyu’s heart seized up, when the elevator opened, she hurriedly walked out. Sister Wu was holding the baby in the living room and coaxing him. As soon as the baby saw her, she immediately stretched her hand at her, Lin Xiyu took it and coaxed, “Sorry, good boy, mommy is late.”
Lin Xiyu carried the child upstairs to breastfeed. The baby loved to smile and rarely cried unless he was hungry. When Lin Xiyu saw him eating so anxiously, she gently wiped away his tears and said, “Eat slowly, good boy, no one will steal from you.”
The well-fed baby was in a better mood and smiled at her with wide eyes. It had been five months since the baby was born, the little face had grown, the skins had faded to pink, and now the baby was white and tender. Because he had a good appetite, he had grown a soft flesh, his white face was fleshy, arms and thighs also fleshy like lotus root, and hugging him was soft and very comfortable.
With his smile, Lin Xiyu felt that her heart was about to melt. She rubbed his face, and the baby liked to be rubbed on the face. Sure enough, he smiled even happier after being rubbed by her.
As mother and son played, Lin Xiyu suddenly heard a car engine sound. She walked to the window to look down with her baby in her arms, and saw a familiar black car drive in.
Lin Xiyu had received a call before that Lu Junting was coming back, but she did not see him even when the time came, and later on that side called her to say that he still had something to do. She thought that he was going to be busy for a long time, but she did not expect for him to come back suddenly.
Lu Junting had been on a business trip since Lin Xiyu’s confinement. He had been busy, and he had not returned in the past few months.
Lin Xiyu pointed to the car and said to her baby, “See, it’s daddy’s car, daddy is back, let’s go see him, okay?”
Lin Xiyu came down holding the baby. Lu Junting had already come out of the elevator, the maid took the coat he had taken off, and he heard the voice and took a glance.
“Brother Junting.”
Lu Junting responded, and his gaze swept to the child she was holding in her arms. Even though Lu Junting was restrained and subtle, and his emotions were not shown. At this time, seeing that child, the bottom of his eyes also unconsciously slipped through a touch of surprise.
He had been away on business trips for the past few months, and would usually check about the mother and son with sister Wu. Occasionally, he would video call with Lin Xiyu and the little one, though it was not very clear on the video. He was really quite amazed, he did not see the child for a few months, he had grown a lot, no longer wrapped in swaddling clothes in a small ball. The original wrinkled and red skin became white and tender, swollen eyes had also gone down, a pair of big eyes oozing, set in a fleshy little face. At this time was looking at him dully, that expression looked dumb and cute.
Lin Xiyu hugged him downstairs. Since the baby saw Lu Junting, he kept staring at him. Lin Xiyu said to him, “Baby, this is daddy.”
Baby? Lu Junting felt this nickname was quite good.
The child was curious about the big man who suddenly appeared in front of him, and kept his big eyes fixed on him.
Upon seeing it, Lin Xiyu asked tentatively, “Does brother Junting want to hug him?”
Lu Junting did not think twice and held out his hand, so Lin Xiyu gave him the baby. Lu Junting was inexperienced in holding a child and wrapped his arms around the child's waist, and the baby’s lower half fell down, revealing half of his fleshy back. Lin Xiyu was surprised that the child did not cry even after being held so uncomfortably, his big eyes kept staring at his father.
Lin Xiyu reminded him, “It’s not comfortable for him. Put one of your arms around his waist and one arm around his butt like that.”
Lu Junting was quite obedient, really changed his position. He hugged the baby and sat down on the sofa, letting him sit on his lap. The baby could not sit now, so Lu Junting put one of his arms around his fleshy body to stabilize him, just like that, father and son, with big eyes and small eyes.
The baby could recognize the people a bit, if unfamiliar people hugged him, he would cry. Lu Junting left when he was just a month, certainly, the baby could not remember this father, but they did not expect that he was not crying when his father hugged him. They did not know whether this child knew that this power was his father, so he felt close.
Lu Junting was really not expecting that wrinkled child to grow so good-looking. At first, he saw his son was born like that, he was a little congested, and even a little guilty. He let a person get pregnant but did not give the person a cute baby. For Lu Junting, the dragon of the people, he had a real frustration the moment he saw the child.
But now his son was fully grown, with a white and tender face, big dark eyes, like two black grapes, and his mouth was pink, it really was… strangely cute.
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ReplyDeleteAnd Old Madam Lu is like how most elderly Asian women "be a father but dont know how to hold his own baby" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣