Even though he was dressed in simple casual clothes today, Lu Junhan still carried the unshakable authority of someone used to commanding others.
Song Qingwan had always been wary of her father.
Not only because the old man's methods were notoriously ruthless, but also because his temperament was cold-blooded and intimidating — and, most importantly, because she was not his biological daughter.
So, whenever she saw the old man, she could never feel close. Facing him was like a subordinate standing before a superior: when the old man said "one," she would never dare say "two."
Her elder brother — Lu Qidong, Lu Junhan's father — had been the one who brought her into the Lu family.
At ten years old, Lu Qidong had gone to an amusement park and stumbled across Song Qingwan, who had been abandoned by her parents. She was barely five at the time and had no one to rely on. Without help, she would not have survived.
Her elder brother couldn't bear to see her suffer, so he begged the old man to adopt her.
The old man, steeped in patriarchal thinking and seeing that she was not his own child, looked down on her even more.
If it hadn't been for her elder brother's persistent pleading, she would never have been allowed into the Lu family at all — and likely would have died on the streets.
That was why, when her brother later died in a car accident, Song Qingwan gave up her studies abroad without hesitation. She re-learned business from scratch and took on the responsibility of raising her brother's child alone.
In her youth, the old man had treated her with icy indifference, speaking to her only on rare occasions and always in a cold tone, like a venomous snake that froze you in place.
She had feared him for as long as she could remember. Except for her brother, she couldn't imagine any child not being afraid of such a hard-hearted man.
In short, she viewed him the way a mouse views a cat — hiding whenever possible.
Fortunately, the old man rarely stayed at home and clearly didn't wish to see her either. More than ten years passed in that uneasy peace.
After growing up, she moved out and saw even less of him, but the image of his majestic, cruel figure was deeply etched into her mind.
He was stubborn, deeply patriarchal, and had never shown kindness to a girl — something Song Qingwan understood all too well.
So, when she came to the old house this time and learned that the old man had specifically named Lili to come over, she felt a wave of anxiety.
Knowing that the little girl could be bold to the point of carelessness, Song Qingwan had lectured her repeatedly before they went in, warning her not to speak recklessly lest she anger her grandfather.
The little girl nodded obediently, though her big eyes betrayed that she didn't quite understand.
Seeing her like that, Song Qingwan could only sigh and let Lu Junhan walk ahead — after all, he was never afraid of the old man, and it was best to use him as a shield.
She took the little girl's hand and followed behind at a slower pace.
"What's in your mouth?"
The old man's sharp gaze immediately spotted that Lu Junhan was chewing something.
Lu Junhan sat on the sofa, face unreadable. "Candy."
A faint scent of milk drifted in the air as he spoke.
The old man's brows furrowed, his voice cold and thunderous: "Spit it out! What kind of man acts like that?!"
As expected, the old man was still as rigid and traditional as ever. His tone alone was enough to make Song Qingwan's back stiffen. She instinctively looked toward the little girl beside her, worried she might be frightened.
But Lili simply blinked her big eyes in curiosity, openly studying the old man as though wanting to see what her "father's father" looked like.
Seeing that she wasn't scared, Song Qingwan relaxed a little.
"Father, really — Junhan's just gotten back after a long trip, why scold him right away?"
At that moment, Liu Huilan emerged from the kitchen with a fruit platter.
As she passed Song Qingwan and Lili, she didn't spare them so much as a glance, setting the platter down directly on the coffee table. She lifted her head and smiled sweetly at Lu Junhan.
"Junhan, don't mind your grandfather's tone. He only speaks strictly because he cares about you."
Song Qingwan's expression immediately cooled.
Before marriage, the old man had kept a long-term mistress — Liu Huilan — solely to satisfy his physical needs.
Liu Huilan, a doctor, had saved his life more than once, and so their association deepened. But her family background was far too low to match the old man's standards, so he never considered marrying her; in his eyes, power, wealth, and family interest always outweighed women.
His wife, a true socialite of impeccable lineage, had been married into the family. But the old man's obsession with work kept him away from home for long stretches. After giving birth to Lu Qidong, his wife's health suffered, depression set in, and she passed away within a few years.
For decades afterward, the old man neither remarried nor maintained open contact with Liu Huilan — until one night at a banquet, when he either drank too much or was drugged, and they awoke in the same bed.
By the time he discovered Liu Huilan was pregnant, the child had already been born — a boy, which meant he couldn't simply make it disappear.
Reluctantly, he brought both mother and son into the Lu family. Liu Huilan, pleading for acceptance, settled into the role of the old man's unofficial mistress.
From then on, tensions between the old man and Lu Qidong worsened. Lu Qidong, devoted to his late mother's family, rejected his father's authority, left the Lu Group, and built his own business empire.
Liu Huilan's quiet provocations over the years only deepened the rift.
She always acted as though she had the family's best interests at heart — but Song Qingwan knew better, and her distaste for the woman had only grown.
In fact, besides her fear of her father, Liu Huilan was the other reason Song Qingwan had avoided the old house for years.
Lu Junhan didn't so much as glance at Liu Huilan. Still chewing the toffee, he looked straight at the old man and said flatly, "What do you want?"
Liu Huilan froze, unsure where to put her hands.
The old man's face darkened. "Your Aunt Liu is speaking to you — didn't you hear?"
Without a word, Lu Junhan stood and said coolly, "If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
"Sit down!"
The old man glared at his grandson — the boy he both loved and hated.
After Lu Qidong's accident, certain circumstances had prevented him from taking in the children. As Lu Junhan grew, their contact dwindled; unless summoned, the boy never came back on his own.
He coughed, his sharp gaze flicking toward the obedient little girl on the sofa. "I hear you've recognized a daughter."
"None of your business."
"What do you mean 'none of my business'?!" the old man barked. "I'm her grandfather. Useless girl or not, she's still your first child—"
Before he could finish, Lu Junhan stood, expression cold, and started toward the door.
"Wait! Get back here!"
The old man hesitated, then said, "Stay here for one night, and I'll give you five percent of the Lu Group shares I'm holding."
Before Lu Junhan could answer, Liu Huilan gasped. "Are you insane?! That's five percent—"
"You're a woman; what do you know about business?" the old man snapped. "These are my shares. I'll use them however I see fit. Do I need your permission?"
Liu Huilan's face tightened, but she forced a meek tone. "I-I didn't mean that… I was just surprised…"