Chapter 272: The Socially Awkward Old Yang
Taking a deep breath, Lu Liangting organized his thoughts while leading the three of them toward Xia Qingrong’s house. To be precise, this was his grandparents’ place, but he hardly ever came here, not even during the holidays.
As they say, the vibe of this house made him feel uneasy.
It wasn’t like he was particularly close to them, so he just didn’t come back—unless, of course, his dad insisted.
Things were never this tense when Nianqiu was still around; back then, they did come over for holidays.
“Wait, no matter what they say, just ignore them. A few casual replies will do,” Lu Liangting whispered as they approached the villa’s gate.
“Mingyue, if they say something disrespectful, just pretend they’re babbling nonsense. Don’t take it to heart, and there’s absolutely no need to get mad.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be mad,” Zhao Mingyue replied, though curiosity tickled her. Could there really be people so impolite as to need Lu Liangting’s warnings?
To be honest, Lu Liangting himself was pretty helpless. He wasn’t afraid of all the possible scenarios, but he definitely feared the worst.
With Li Tianan and Zhao Mingyue as his friends, he thought those inside would treat them better out of respect. His real worry was that they might mistakenly think Mingyue and Old Yang were “rivals” and decide to give him unsolicited advice, claiming it was their duty as elders.
He was just a regular guy with no background, no degree, and no power—except for looking decent, which definitely didn’t merit anyone’s concern over him!
If they really thought that way, he’d be in real trouble.
What was there to worry about anyway? He hadn’t even started college, yet everyone else seemed more concerned than he was!
Especially Xia Qingrong and her crew.
In the past two years, they’d tried to set him up with so many girls it was beyond annoying.
“Maybe you should worry about yourself instead,” Old Yang scoffed.
In the yard, someone noticed their car and dashed back inside to get the others. Within moments, a swarm of relatives, including Xia Qingrong, emerged from the house, laughing and chatting—there were at least ten of them.
With all these distant relatives, Lu Liangting had no idea how to address them.
Aside from his grandparents and two uncles, everyone else looked as familiar as a stranger.
“Ah, Liangting, you finally made it! Who are these folks?”
Leading the pack was a flamboyantly dressed old lady with bright orange curls and heavy makeup. Her style wasn’t exactly cutting-edge, but it was clear she was loaded, draped in gold and jewels.
“Grandma, these are my friends. I brought them along for some advice. We’re really close, so I thought they might help me brainstorm,” Lu Liangting emphasized this point, and sure enough, the relatives’ scrutinizing gaze towards Mingyue and Old Yang suddenly softened.
At first, when they saw them, anxiety had set in, as if facing an army.
The girls who made it here were acquaintances of theirs, to some extent. If Liangting really took a shine to one of them, that could only be good for them—they’d be connected to the Lu family, a rather impressive figure in the world.
Competition was fierce, but there was a chance, right?
When they saw Mingyue and Old Yang, though, a collective gasp echoed in their heads.
They knew very well what the girls they had brought looked like. And let’s not even talk about inner qualities—just by looks, these two were blowing them out of the water.
“Alright, alright, brainstorming sounds great. After all, this is a big deal in life. The more minds, the better!”
The old lady’s face was practically a smile factory, though her smile looked unnaturally stretched—definitely more than a few cosmetic procedures had gone into that.
“Liangting, you didn’t mention you were bringing friends.” Xia Qingrong stepped forward, her gaze landing squarely on Zhao Mingyue.
She was different; she knew Zhao Mingyue.
Fine, Liangting could come here, but bringing her? What did that mean?
“Do I have to report every single thing to you?” Liangting replied, expressionless, without the hint of a smile.
“This is your big affair. If you don’t tell me, who else will you tell? I’m your mom; you should heed my advice.”
“I’ll listen to whoever I trust. Is that a problem? You said it’s my big affair, so I get to call the shots. I believe they can provide me with better advice and ideas, and that’s not an issue, right?”
With a nonchalant expression, just before Xia Qingrong could boil over, the old lady interjected decisively, “Now that you’re all here, let’s get inside. Guests are guests, after all.”
“Let’s go,” Liangting signaled back.
Li Tianan and the others didn’t feel awkward in the slightest. Even Li Tianan looked completely at ease.
Old Yang and Zhao Mingyue looked like they could at least pass for his peers, while he was at an age where he could almost be Liangting’s dad.
Walking in with the crowd, the girls in the courtyard suddenly fell silent, eyes glued to Liangting, each trying to feign shyness, pulling off a bewildered act in an attempt to catch Liangting’s attention.
Almost everyone was doing this.
If it had been just a couple, it would’ve been fine, but a horde of them staring at Liangting was downright creepy.
Noticing this, Zhao Mingyue and Old Yang stroked their chins, observing the girls closely.
They realized these girls were dressed conservatively—no cleavage, no thighs on display. Ignoring age, they looked like schoolgirls in their getup.
Clearly, they knew Liangting didn’t fancy the nightclub scene.
However, in the midst of this sea of modesty, one stood out glaringly.
While the others were all covered up, she sported a JK skirt paired with black stockings, showing off her midriff.
As the others shot shy glances at Liangting, she boldly stepped forward and called out, “Brother Lu, you’re back!”
This girl was quite the sight and her voice was music to the ears.
Her shout caught everyone’s attention, and even the girls beside her struggled to maintain their composure.
Who on earth was this bold one? Talk about stepping on a landmine!
Lu Liangting turned his head toward this girl but didn’t say a word.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that she looked familiar.
Memories began to surface, recalling a certain incident.
Before Shen Shuyun sent him that bizarrely romantic letter, there was another girl who’d plastered his desk with love notes and hearts written in red paint, and with a butcher’s kn*fe had, rather thoughtfully, nailed his breakfast to his desk.
What a coincidence! Had this female madman come back to haunt him again!?
Lu Liangting felt a headache coming on; this was going to be a show alright.
Seeing Liangting fixated on the girl with revealing clothing, the other girls couldn’t help but mumble to themselves.
Had the intel been wrong?
Weren’t they told Liangting despised these types and preferred the more conservative kinds?
That look in his eyes definitely didn’t scream disgust!
While Lu Liangting pondered, another “Brother Lu” rang out, and soon everyone was chanting it, even some fanning themselves and casually unzipping their jackets, performing an orchestrated routine.
Lu Liangting was stunned, quickly turning around.
Behind him, Old Yang could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, drawing glares from the girls.
“Hahaha.”
Finally back in the house, Lu Liangting felt as if he had walked several kilometers. The pressure was unreal.
“Everyone, please, have a seat.”
Once they reached the living room, someone hurriedly pulled out chairs. Xia Qingrong gestured for everyone to sit, giving Liangting a knowing glance. “You come with me.”
“Why?”
“You can’t just chat with the girls in front of all of us, can you?”
With that, Liangting followed Xia Qingrong to the backyard.
Old Yang wanted to peek too but was stopped by Liangting’s look. Fortunately, from this angle, he could see the scene outside—those girls were truly lined up, one after the other, waiting to meet Liangting.
“What a show-off; it’s like a recruitment event! I wonder what those girls think,” Old Yang remarked softly.
She sat on the sofa with Zhao Mingyue, while the other relatives sat on surrounding chairs, so even though her voice was low, everyone could still catch what she said.
The expressions around her changed slightly, and the man sitting opposite chimed in, “I’m Liangting’s second uncle, my surname is Xia. May I ask how to address you?”
“Old Yang,” he replied casually, picking up some freshly poured tea as if he were at home. “This lady here is Zhao Mingyue, and that fellow over there is Li Tianan.”
“Hmm. So how do you all know Liangting?” Liangting’s second uncle asked, seemingly oblivious to his casual gestures, his eyes trailing back to Zhao Mingyue as he subtly rolled up his sleeves to show off his expensive watch, almost nonchalantly placing his Maserati car keys on the table.
“Just friends,” Old Yang said without glancing at the man’s watch or keys, instead choosing to look outside.
Through the large glass walls of the luxurious villa’s living room, he saw the first girl with yellow hair stride toward the backyard.
“Hmm, yellow hair and tattoos—looks like a cover-up all the way to the neck; she’s probably going to get dumped by Liangting,” he commented confidently, and the relatives shifted uncomfortably at his bluntness. Less than a minute later, the yellow-haired girl indeed met with rejection, storming off while cursing under her breath.
“Told you, that kid’s got a bias! With a first impression like that, he won’t want to know what’s underneath.”
The second girl approached, with black short hair and a conservative outfit, no tattoos and no piercings.
“She’s a bit old, and she threw a dirty look at someone on her way out—definitely a no-go.”
Old Yang kept going, ignoring everyone’s unease.
This time, it wasn’t just a minute or two that passed, but a solid seven or eight minutes. Throughout, Old Yang calmly sipped his tea while suggesting Li Tianan chat with the relatives, all the while keeping an eye on the black-haired girl.
Once she left, Old Yang nudged Zhao Mingyue.
“See? I told you!”
“No one knows this guy better than I do. Too bad I can’t see his face right now.”
Zhao Mingyue was flabbergasted—she really hadn’t seen that Old Yang had such social prowess.
But didn’t this feel a bit too grating?
Those relatives around were practically ready to throw daggers at her.
