Chapter 596: Specious Arguments

When she heard Lu Cheng's address to his mother, Wu Yalan froze on the spot.

What a joke—she's far older than that young man, let alone his mother.

"What are you shouting about! Courting relatives isn't done the way you do."

What a guy, he's a whole generation above her; Wu Yalan was incensed.

I expected mother to be angry, but the usually stern Liang Lihua, seeing that Lu Cheng had arrived, came down the stairs with a beaming smile.

"Yalan, you must not be rude!"

"Mom, he just called you out of turn…"

"He didn't call out of turn," Liang Lihua said as she walked over, completely ignoring her eldest daughter.

"Lu Cheng has arrived…"

"Sister-in-law, Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year. Why didn't you come to see your sister-in-law before the New Year? This sister-in-law will have to pick a fight with you."

Lu Cheng smiled, "No explanation, I'll accept whatever punishment you give, sister-in-law."

Seeing Lu Cheng's proper demeanor, Liang Lihua also smiled, took his arm and sat on the sofa.

Seeing mother so enthusiastic toward Lu Cheng, Wu Yalan, who was at a loss, stood there like a hindrance, and was pulled aside by Liang Lihua.

Lu Cheng didn't look at her, "Sister-in-law, where is Senior Brother Wu?"

Liang Lihua, seated on the adjacent sofa, said, "Oh, Senior Brother Wu slipped out. You know his nature—he's never liked social niceties. Previously I handled everything; this year I let my daughter Yalan stay a few extra days…"

As she spoke, Liang Lihua remembered something and looked at her daughter, "Yalan, what are you standing there for? Go fetch tea quickly."

Wu Yalan pointed at Lu Cheng, "I'm supposed to pour tea for him?"

Liang Lihua instantly set a stern face, "Put your hand away. Do you know who he is? He's your father's junior disciple; you should call him 'little uncle'."

Wu Yalan blinked, then burst into a helpless laugh, "Call him little uncle? I'm many years older than him—what a joke!"

"Age doesn't matter; call him properly, you have no manners!"

Seeing mother truly angry, Wu Yalan opened her mouth, and after a long struggle forced out the words "little uncle".

Her muffled "little uncle" sounded like it, yet not quite; Lu Cheng didn't mind, grinned, stood up and reached for his pocket.

"Then… I should give the New Year's money, right?"

"You!" Wu Yalan's face flushed with shame and anger; finally, in her fury she let go of her hand and began to complain.

"I really don't know what Xu Erye is thinking. He's old enough to enjoy his peace, yet he keeps taking disciples. If he later takes a two‑year‑old, will I also have to call him little uncle?"

Liang Lihua glared, "Lu Cheng is different. How do you think your father agreed to send Xiao Kun to the military academy? It was Lu Cheng who persuaded your father beside him."

Hearing mother say that, Wu Yalan's anger eased a bit.

Wu Yalan knows her father's temperament well; he resolutely sent his son to the most dangerous place, and she worries anxiously on the island about her younger brother's safety every day.

What she and her mother couldn't persuade him to do, Lu Cheng managed to accomplish.

"Fine, I'll go fetch tea!"

Only then did Liang Lihua, satisfied, pull Lu Cheng into casual conversation; when she noticed Lu Ying still standing at the doorway, she called out.

"Oh, you're Lu Cheng's sister, right? I think we've met before—you're really beautiful. Please sit, don't just stand there."

If she hadn't come to see Ning Ning today, Lu Ying wouldn't have come in; the atmosphere of this family made her feel completely uneasy.

But out of politeness, she forced a smile, "No need, I'll stand outside for a while."

Unfortunately, Ning Ning truly wasn't home today; she said she was strolling with Wu Jingxuan.

Not wanting to keep his sister waiting too long, after a brief chat, Lu Cheng prepared to leave.

"Sister-in-law, I'll visit you another day; you seem tired these past few days, so I won't disturb your rest."

Liang Lihua nodded, "Alright, that works. Come by anytime… By the way, take those two boxes of Mao Tai away."

They're still in wooden crates, each box holding 24 bottles.

Wu Yalan exploded, "Mom, why let him take them? Those are from your eldest son‑in‑law Jianguo, and also a gift from my brother‑in‑law to my father."

Liang Lihua, with a stern face, replied, "Your father's health is what it is; I just won't let him drink. Lu Cheng, take them away!"

Lu Cheng naturally wanted to take them; even if he refused, Liang Lihua would probably give them to someone else.

So, don't refuse for nothing; you can't let outsiders get them cheap.

"That's not right, sister-in-law. I didn't bring anything, how could I take more? No, no…"

Watching Lu Cheng's feigned gestures, Wu Yalan stamped her foot in anger.

She ignored him: "What does it matter to see your sister-in-law? Just coming to see me already makes me happy. If you want to take it, take it; this house is under my charge."

"Then, okay, sister-in-law, I'll do as you say."

"That's right," Liang Lihua said with a smile, nodding, then went upstairs to rest.

In the sitting room, only Wu Yalan remained standing, while Lu Cheng spoke bluntly.

"Then little uncle will take them away, huh? Next time, if you take Mao Tai, you and your brother‑in‑law should each take two boxes; taking an odd number looks odd…"

Wu Yalan's chest heaved a few times, and she gritted her teeth to force out a few words.

"If you have any sense of dignity, don't take them!"

Lu Cheng laughed, "What a coincidence—I'm good at everything except having a face."

"You really are a bandit!"

Wu Yalan simply turned her head away, preferring not to see, not to be bothered.

When he lifted the two boxes of Mao Tai onto his shoulder and passed by Wu Yalan, Lu Cheng stopped.

Needless to say, Wu Yalan looked dashing in her Navy uniform.

Only Wu Zhekun's second sister was absent.

"That Yalan…"

Wu Yalan inhaled and remained silent; being called "Yalan" directly by a young man several years younger like Lu Cheng felt oddly awkward.

Lu Cheng, unfazed, kept speaking: "Don't make that face. Yes, I get along fine with Lao Wu, but I can't call you Yalan‑sister, can I?"

Wu Yalan was about to speak, but Lu Cheng gave no chance: "If I dare call you, would you dare agree? You're ignoring basic seniority, aren't you? If I call you sister, what about calling you father? Wouldn't that be chaos?"

Wu Yalan fell silent, Lu Cheng smiled.

"So, we're family, right? And because we're family, taking something from our own isn't banditry.

For example, when you go home and your mother brings you something, would you call her a bandit?"

Wu Yalan inhaled: "Spurious reasoning!"

"Alright, I heard you work on the island; when the day comes I'll visit you for Uncle, I'm leaving, no need to see me off, stay a while…"

Lu Cheng carried two boxes of Mao Tai, walked to the Car Shed; Lu Ying's expression was beyond contempt.

"I didn't bring much in the first place, yet you still take their stuff!"

Lu Cheng placed the Mao Tai bottles in the back seat and tied them with rope.

"Sigh, this is my Senior Brother; not only did he take his two boxes of wine, he even emptied his house, and he wouldn't say a word.

Moreover, over these years I've been looking after Master, never letting them ask about anything…"

After binding the two boxes, the rope finished with a knot, Lu Cheng clapped his hands.

"In other words, if I didn't take them, they'd feel guilty toward Master, guilty toward me, and actually feel uneasy."

Lu Ying helplessly shook her head; her little brother's reasoning was a mess of fallacies.

"Then where should I sit?"

Lu Cheng placed both hands on the handlebars: "I'll ride slower, you run behind me."

Lu Ying snatched his hands away and rode up herself: "I wasted twenty bucks, you run behind me."