Chapter 30: Officially Breaking Off the Engagement
Chapter 30: Officially Breaking Off the Engagement
Because of Luo Bingyun and Du Xiaoyue’s appearance, the birthday banquet’s atmosphere felt a bit heavy. Even though the three Lin siblings tried very hard to liven things up, the guests at the banquet still didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
In the end, the birthday banquet ended two hours earlier than planned.
Lin Mu went to see Old Master Lin again, exchanged a few words with him, and then drove off with Luo Bingyun from the Lin Family villa.
On the way back, Lin Mu was not driving. Instead, he sat quietly in the passenger seat, deep in thought about something. Luo Bingyun also had nothing to say for a while, and the car was unusually quiet.
“That Du Xiaoyue is quite good, pretty and very talented. Do you really plan to break off the engagement?” After a moment of silence, Luo Bingyun suddenly gave a slight smile and turned to ask.
“What suits you is what’s best.” Lin Mu said meaningfully. “If she doesn’t want to pay any attention to you, then her excellence has nothing to do with you.”
“You could try to pursue her; maybe you can change her opinion?” Luo Bingyun shrugged.
“Why should I change her opinion?” Lin Mu chuckled softly. “It’s not like I must marry her. There are plenty of beautiful and talented women around. Isn’t there someone even better than her sitting right next to me?”
“Chasing after what’s far away instead of what’s near is not my style.”
Finally, Lin Mu added another sentence and gave Luo Bingyun a meaningful look, but only received a light scoff from her, along with two eye-rolls.
“I never thought you were such a smooth-talker!” The sports car reached the residential area where Lin Mu lived and screeched to a halt at the entrance. Luo Bingyun opened the car door. “Get out quickly! Young Master Mu!”
Lin Mu took out his mobile phone and made a call. A few seconds later, Luo Bingyun’s phone rang. “This is my number. Be careful on the road alone. If anything happens, call me.”
Shaking his mobile phone, Lin Mu gave a slight smile, got out of the car, and walked into the residential area’s gate.
Looking at the number on her mobile phone, Luo Bingyun’s lips curved upward slightly. She lightly stepped on the gas, raising a puff of blue smoke, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the vast night.
Returning home, Lin Mu immediately pulled something out of his pocket. It turned out to be a crumpled paper ball. After smoothing it out, there were a few lines written in a flowing, cursive script.
After reading it carefully, Lin Mu threw the note into the sewer and flushed it away with water.
It turned out this note was personally written by Old Master Lin. The general idea was that he did not actually have dementia. Instead, because his children were fighting over the family wealth, he was too sad to deal with family matters, so he pretended to be in this state.
The note also told Lin Mu not to get involved in family affairs and to live well on his own outside. Regarding money, the old man had already made a will, leaving a portion of the family property to Lin Mu.
Sitting on the sofa, Lin Mu quietly thought for a while. Then he went into the bathroom, washed up simply, walked to the living room, sat down cross-legged, and began his seated meditation practice.
The next morning, Lin Mu did not go to class. Instead, he took a taxi directly to the Du Family’s villa located in Deep Water Bay.
Deep Water Bay was another villa area in Donghai City, surrounded by the sea on three sides with very nice scenery. Because it was close to the sea, many rich people’s yachts were docked there.
When he arrived at the Du Family and asked, he found out that Old Master Du and his group were not at the villa but on a luxury yacht at the dock, reportedly hosting a very important guest.
After learning their whereabouts, Lin Mu headed straight toward the dock. Without much trouble, he found the Du Family’s yacht moored at the Deep Water Bay dock.
Compared to the other smaller yachts around, the Du Family’s three-hundred-foot luxury yacht stood out quite glaringly.
“Who are you looking for?” Two men who looked like bodyguards standing in front of the yacht stopped Lin Mu.
“Lin Family, Lin Mu. I have important business with Old Master Du.” Lin Mu stopped and stated his purpose.
One of the bodyguards immediately whispered a few questions into his earpiece. Then the two men stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation. “The old master says you can go directly to the second floor.”
Lin Mu gave a slight nod, boarded the yacht, and went straight to the second floor.
There were already about ten people on the second floor, either sitting or standing, chatting and laughing cheerfully, enjoying the sea breeze—they seemed very carefree.
Although Old Master Du was about the same age as Old Master Lin, the Du Family had been sailing smoothly all these years. Old Master Du was also very healthy and robust, without any major issues, and appeared quite spirited.
“So, young Lin, what brings you here so early in the morning?” Taking a sip of tea, Old Master Du said in a booming voice.
“Of course, I wouldn’t come to your esteemed house without a reason.” Lin Mu smiled slightly and stepped forward. “I wonder if you are aware of your granddaughter Du Xiaoyue’s situation?”
“That girl Xiaoyue?” Old Master Du frowned. “What about her?”
“Nothing too serious. It’s just that she is quite dissatisfied with the marriage arrangement you made back then and has brought this up with me many times.” Lin Mu said in a neutral tone.
“How dare she!” Old Master Du snorted coldly, appearing very authoritative. “Is something I decided open to her casual questioning? I’m not dead yet!”
“Old Master, I won’t beat around the bush. Du Xiaoyue does not agree to this marriage, and not many in the Du Family agree either. Forced melons are not sweet; I don’t want to ruin her entire life.”
Lin Mu directly stated his purpose: “Our Lin Family is breaking the agreement. Now that grandfather has dementia and my parents passed away long ago, this matter is up to me to decide.”
“You say break the agreement, and it’s broken? What do you take our Du Family for?” A middle-aged man not far away snorted angrily.
“Quiet!” Old Master Du softly rebuked him, then stared straight at Lin Mu. “So, you’re here to formally propose breaking off the engagement?”
“Correct. Consider it giving the Du Family an explanation. From now on, Du Xiaoyue and I have no further relationship.”
Lin Mu nodded, his expression seeming quite relaxed.
Actually, deep down, Old Master Du had originally disagreed with this marriage as well, feeling that Lin Mu simply wasn’t worthy of his granddaughter. But since he was too concerned with face to break his own promise, he had been quite conflicted.
Now that Lin Mu took the initiative to come and break off the engagement, it was exactly what he wanted. Why would he try to stop it?
“Fine. It was your Lin Family who took the initiative to break off the engagement, not our Du Family breaking the agreement. If you want to break it off, then so be it!”
The face-conscious Old Master Du ultimately pushed the responsibility onto the Lin Family.
But Lin Mu didn’t care about that at all. There wasn’t much connection between him and the Lin Family to begin with. Resolving this matter was just to avoid future trouble for himself.
“Then I won’t disturb your enjoyment any further.” Giving a slight nod, Lin Mu then disembarked from the yacht and left without looking back.
“Old Master, how could you agree so easily? If this gets out, where will our Du Family’s dignity be?”
The middle-aged man from earlier was still indignant.
“Dignity? The Du Family’s dignity was earned by me. What does it have to do with you?” Old Master Du snorted coldly. “Don’t pretend to be modest after gaining an advantage. Weren’t you all opposed to the girl’s marriage?”
“Don’t think I don’t know about your unclear relationships with the Luo Family. You just want that girl to get together with that Luo Family boy, right? Hiding and covering things up all day—what kind of behavior is that!”
Old Master Du’s scolding made the Du Family members around break out in a cold sweat. They quickly lowered their heads to take the reprimand, and no one dared to make another sound.
In Donghai City, there was only one famous Luo Family, and that was the one headed by Luo Tianliang.
When it came to Luo Tianliang, probably everyone in Donghai City knew him, because he was the current Donghai City Party Secretary, holding substantial real power. In Donghai City, he was a figure who could overshadow everyone!
It was quite normal for the Du Family to want to connect with the Luo Family. Even though the Lin Family had some wealth, they couldn’t possibly compare to the Luo Family, which was a true prominent family. People from their family in politics had even entered the high levels of the Huaxia government.
However, the main reason Old Master Du could so easily agree to Lin Mu’s request was because of what Du Xiaoyue had reported after returning last night: the Luo Family’s young lady had gone to the Lin Family.
Moreover, she had gone to the Lin Family with Lin Mu. In their eyes, this was not a simple matter. The deeper meaning hidden behind it was worth careful consideration.
Returning from Deep Water Bay to near the school, it was almost noon. Lin Mu, who had gotten out of the car near the school, accidentally ran into his counselor, Song Yuru.
Seeing Song Yuru carrying a large cake in her left hand and a big bag of groceries in her right, looking rather strained, Lin Mu felt he should offer help since he saw her.
“Teacher Song, let me help you carry that!” Walking up quickly, Lin Mu took the bags from Song Yuru’s hands. “Whose birthday is it today?”
“It’s my own birthday. I bought some groceries to treat myself to a good meal.” Song Yuru wiped the sweat from her forehead and laughed breathlessly.
“Celebrating your birthday alone?” Lin Mu looked at Song Yuru in surprise. Such a beautiful woman actually celebrated her birthday alone.
“I have a roommate. She’ll come back later, and we’ll celebrate together then.” Song Yuru smiled slightly. “What about you? Would you like to join us?”
“Me?” Lin Mu shook his head with a smile. Before he could say anything, a few people walked over from the opposite direction and called out Song Yuru’s name from afar.
Lin Mu looked up and knew right away that the person leading them was probably another young master—after all, he had several followers behind him.
The leader walked up, glanced disdainfully at the things Lin Mu was holding, and as for Lin Mu himself, the guy didn’t even give him a proper glance.
“Yuru, how can you be so casual about your birthday? Come on, I’ll treat you to a meal and properly celebrate for you.”
The newcomer spoke very politely.
But Song Yuru was not receptive, not even giving him a pleasant expression. She said coldly, “No need to trouble yourself, Young Master Li. Someone is already celebrating my birthday with me at home.”
“You mean Zixi, right? Have her come along too. The more, the merrier.”
Li Guangrui didn’t seem to mind Song Yuru’s cold attitude at all and laughed, thinking himself very cheerful.
“In our great Republic of Korea, celebrating a birthday is a very grand event. The more lavish, the better.”
“Sorry, I am Huaxia people. The Republic of Korea’s ways don’t really suit me. Thank you, Young Master Li.” Song Yuru still showed no intention of accepting his offer. She tugged lightly on Lin Mu’s sleeve, and the two prepared to leave.
One of the people behind Li Guangrui immediately shifted his footing, silently blocking their path.