58: layout

Lu Guozhong let Lu Qingyu come back as his nephew precisely because he didn't want everyone to know about this, but he never expected that Lu Qingyu would actually dare to make it all public.

Lu Guozhong quickly browsed through the Weibo post written by Lu Qingyu:

"Today, a man claiming to be Lu Guozhong, the chairman of Lu Corporation, met with me. He said I was his biological son, but he felt I wasn't worthy of being his son, so he wanted me to start off as his nephew, terminate my contract with Freedom, and sign with Pinno instead. When I refused, he threatened to teach me a lesson. Everyone, tell me, what should I do?"

Lu Qingyu's Weibo post was concise and to the point, completely disregarding how much of a stir his words would cause.

The comment section under the Weibo post already had thousands of replies.

"Uh, is this something that can be said out loud?"

"Sounds so melodramatic. Little brother, you're young; don't easily trust others."

"I looked it up. Scammers these days are really good. There actually is a person named Lu Guozhong, and he really is the chairman of Lu Corporation. His son really is Lu Jin."

"If this is true, that's insane."

"Are rich families really this crazy? Why not just reveal the truth instead of making you act as his nephew?"

"How melodramatic. If this is true, it's infuriating. After being usurped for so many years, even when the identity is clear, he still can't be openly acknowledged. It's like he's an illegitimate child."

Lu Guozhong looked at the content on Weibo, beside himself with rage: "Is he crazy?"

The assistant said worriedly: "Chairman Lu, our stock price has started to drop. What should we do?"

Upon hearing the word "stock price," Lu Guozhong immediately became nervous.

There was another reason he hadn't acknowledged Lu Qingyu: their company was currently in the process of going public. Lu Jin's development in the entertainment industry was counted as part of the company's value and assessed as part of the requirements for the IPO.

They had originally planned to include every possible factor that could increase the company's leverage, so any slight disturbance now would affect the IPO—especially news involving him, the chairman.

Lu Guozhong's face was dark. That little brat; he really shouldn't have been soft-hearted and wanted to acknowledge him.

Lu Jin had also learned about the matter and hurried to Lu Guozhong's office. On the way there, his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest, fearing that Lu Guozhong might really abandon him for Lu Qingyu.

The persona he had cultivated in the entertainment industry was also that of a rich second-generation heir. If that were really snatched away by Lu Qingyu, wouldn't he become a joke in the industry? Plus, Lu Qingyu, knowing that he had occupied his life for so many years, would surely hate him.

Most importantly, his biological mother was just an ordinary low-level employee who couldn't provide him with any resources; she might even hold him back.

The life he had now was the one he wanted. He didn't want to go back to the miserable life Lu Qingyu used to live.

Lu Jin thought through a bunch of things. Before approaching Lu Guozhong's office, he told himself to stay calm and not panic.

He knocked on the door to Lu Guozhong's office. As Lu Guozhong looked over, Lu Jin's eyes were red.

He was truly an actor; he could turn on the act whenever he wanted. It was impossible to tell that Lu Jin had known about Lu Qingyu's identity for a long time.

"Dad, is what they're saying online true? That I'm not your biological son, and Lu Qingyu is?"

Lu Guozhong looked at Lu Jin: "Don't believe everything you see online."

Lu Jin walked over to Lu Guozhong and started acting pitiful: "Dad, you don't need to hide it from me. If it's really as Lu Qingyu says, then I'm willing to give up my position. After all, I did take his place. I owe him an apology."

Lu Jin's acting, with tears almost falling, was indeed gratifying to Lu Guozhong. Lu Jin was truly worth the effort he had put into raising him since childhood; he was much more sensible than that Lu Qingyu.

Lu Jin was obedient and sensible, and could bring revenue to the company. Meanwhile, that brat Lu Qingyu caused trouble before even stepping into the Lu family home. Wasn't it obvious who was better and who was worse?

Lu Guozhong patted Lu Jin on the back: "Don't worry about these things. Just focus on your work. No matter what, you are my son. That will never change."

Seeing Lu Guozhong's attitude, Lu Jin knew he had won. As expected, this father still preferred someone who could bring higher benefits to himself and Lu Group.

After Lu Jin left, people started calling Lu Guozhong's office constantly, and Lu Guozhong's own phone also received many calls.

One of them was a business partner who had invested in their company. Lu Guozhong picked up the phone and immediately asked with a smile: "Chairman Wang, what brings you to call?"

Chairman Wang had invested 100 million in Lu Group. If Lu Corporation couldn't go public, he would definitely be the one to suffer the greatest loss.

"Old Lu, is what they're saying online true? Is that Lu Qingyu really your son?"

Lu Guozhong didn't expect Chairman Wang to have heard the news so quickly and immediately denied it flatly.

"Of course not, Chairman Wang. Don't you know how things are in the entertainment industry? They just love posting random things to grab attention."

"This Lu Qingyu is probably just jealous of my son Lu Jin, which is why he posted this. Don't worry, I'll have people handle it immediately. It will absolutely not affect the company's IPO."

Chairman Wang and the others were experienced people; who didn't have some messy family issues? Seeing that Lu Guozhong had said this, he only said: "Then I'll leave it to you. I hope you handle it well."

Lu Guozhong: "You can rest assured, Chairman Wang."

After hanging up, the smile on Lu Guozhong's face vanished instantly. He said to his assistant: "Have the group issue a lawyer's letter immediately, suing Lu Qingyu for defamation."

At this point, Lu Qingyu had to be sacrificed. Only by sacrificing him could the turmoil be quelled.

The assistant hesitated. He knew about Lu Guozhong meeting Lu Qingyu in private. While the matter might seem incredibly melodramatic to others online, he knew that it was likely mostly true.

Once this lawyer's letter was sent out, it would effectively cut off Lu Qingyu's path back to the Lu family. Was Lu Guozhong really this ruthless to his own biological son?

"Chairman Lu, do we really have to do this?"

Lu Guozhong glanced at the assistant: "I told you to go, so go. Stop talking nonsense."

The assistant was terrified by Lu Guozhong's attitude and immediately went to issue the lawyer's letter.

Half an hour later, the lawyer's letter from Lu Corporation was issued in Lu Guozhong's name.

When Lu Qingyu saw the lawyer's letter, he was amused. Great, this was exactly what he wanted. He had originally thought Lu Guozhong wouldn't cooperate, but he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.

In the evening, Su Jixing had already returned home, but as soon as he stepped through the door, he saw that Lu Qingyu, whom he had marked as a special follow on Weibo, had posted something.

Lu Qingyu could use Weibo normally to post about his daily life. Su Jixing was curious about what he had posted and slowly clicked on it, intending to give it a like.

As a result, the "like" went out first, and he read the content afterward. As soon as he saw it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"What, what on earth is this?"