Qin He smiled and nodded, "Didn't I tell you I brought a bodyguard? And he's also my boyfriend."
Lu Mingxi's face turned pale, "Have you forgotten what he did to you back then?"
"I really have forgotten," Qin He nodded.
Lu Mingxi gritted his teeth, "He abandoned you at home and ignored you! Cheated on Song Nuan while you were married! Have you forgotten all this?"
Qin He fell silent. Gu Qichen's expression was solemn.
"Lu Mingxi, I don't want to bring up past events. Strictly speaking, Gu Qichen saved my life many times. So I don't want to interfere with my choices because of a past that doesn't exist in my memory."
Lu Mingxi was about to speak when a stern female voice from the living room behind him called out.
"Mingxi, is that Qin He?"
Lu Mingxi stared at Gu Qichen with dark eyes, and replied, "Yes, and Mr. Gu!"
Qin He and Gu Qichen entered the Lu family villa.
They arrived at the dining room. Lu Mingxi's parents clearly hadn't expected Qin He to come with Gu Qichen. Their gaze then fell on Qin He's hand linked with Gu Qichen's arm—
Her day's worth of prepared sarcastic rejection lines became useless.
It was Lu Mingxi's father who reacted first. He stood up and smiled, "We were planning to invite Qin He for a home-cooked meal. We didn't expect Mr. Gu to grace us with his presence. It's truly unprepared of us, please forgive us, Mr. Gu."
Gu Qichen's expression was faint.
Qin He observed from the side. The Qin Corporation and the Lu Corporation had a friendly cooperative relationship.
But the Gu Corporation was different. Gu Qichen had deliberately suppressed the Lu family before.
During that period, Lu Corporation was on the verge of collapse and could only maintain itself through cooperation with Qin Corporation.
Qin He sighed inwardly.
As expected, no one dared to provoke the villain.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was very harmonious. Qin He's imagined Hongmen Banquet did not materialize.
Mrs. Lu, with a smiling face, kept picking up dishes for her with serving chopsticks.
"He'er, you need to eat more with your current condition, to get enough nutrition."
Mrs. Lu said with concern.
Qin He pursed her lips and smiled, "Thank you, Aunt Lu."
Gu Qichen sat to Qin He's right, while Lu Mingxi was on her left.
Gu Qichen peeled shrimp and placed the meat into Qin He's bowl. Their silent, intimate exchange put Lu's parents at ease.
But in the next second, they saw Lu Mingxi put a small meatball into Qin He's bowl.
Gu Qichen's cold gaze, and the angry eyes of his parents, three pairs of eyes fell on Lu Mingxi.
However, he didn't seem to notice at all.
"He'er, I read a book about pregnant women a few days ago. You need to eat more meat."
Mrs. Lu couldn't hold back and spoke first.
"Lu Mingxi, have you no manners? He'er is being taken care of by Mr. Gu. What are you doing interfering?"
Mrs. Lu's reprimand made Qin He slightly startled.
When he and his brother were children attending dinners with relatives and friends, even if they did something wrong, their mother would always guide them in a soft and warm tone.
But Mrs. Lu's words were harsh, her voice sharp and stern, showing no regard for Lu Mingxi's reputation.
Lu Mingxi's expression was indifferent, "I was just putting a dish for He'er. You are all too worried."
Mr. Lu's face darkened, "Did your mother teach you wrongly? You're so old, yet you don't understand simple things!"
The atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly became tense. Qin He felt like she couldn't eat anymore.
If it weren't for her and Gu Qichen being there, she suspected Mr. Lu would have flipped the table.
Lu Mingxi heavily placed his chopsticks on his bowl, making a crisp sound.
Mr. Lu stood up, "Lu Mingxi!"
Qin He: "..."
She almost choked. What kind of devilish family atmosphere was this?
Gu Qichen's eyes turned cold, and he reached out to pat Qin He's back.
"Director Lu, please calm down."
Only then did Mr. Lu sit down with a dark expression.
Mrs. Lu glared at Lu Mingxi, "We're letting you off because of Mr. Gu and He'er!"
Mr. Lu looked at Lu Mingxi coldly. Seeing his indifferent expression, he became even more annoyed, "If you want to eat, eat properly. If you don't want to, go back to your room."
Qin He had completely lost her appetite.
After dinner, Qin He bid farewell to Lu Mingxi's parents and prepared to leave.
As she and Gu Qichen just reached the main entrance of the Lu family, Qin He realized she had forgotten her phone on the dining table.
"I forgot my phone at the Lu's. Let's go back and get it."
As Qin He and Gu Qichen just arrived at the entrance of the Lu family villa, they heard a crisp sound.
It was the sound of something being smashed by someone inside.
Lu Mingxi's mocking voice came out, "Before Qin He arrived, weren't you two discussing how to squeeze her out?"
"Why did you become so gentle and polite as soon as you saw Gu Qichen? Now that he's just left, you start smashing things at me. Your face-changing skills are quite fast."
"Lu Mingxi, you unfilial son! Get out!" Mr. Lu's angry growl was heard.
"I really owe you from my past life! Can't you be a little sensible? If you had told us earlier that Qin He and Gu Qichen were together, would tonight have been so unpleasant? I don't ask for much else, it would be enough if you were half as sensible as your brother!" This was Mrs. Lu's voice.
Qin He subtly tightened her grip on Gu Qichen's hand.
Although she grew up in a single-parent family, her mother was loving, and her brother always doted on her.
The outside world said she was the apple of the Qin family's eye, and it was not wrong.
So she couldn't imagine what it would be like to live in a family with a bad atmosphere.
When her brother had mentioned some of Mr. and Mrs. Lu's "exploits" before, Qin He had only felt that this couple was eccentric and felt a little sorry for Lu Mingxi.
But at the dinner table today, she truly felt it. This tense and hostile family atmosphere, just sitting there for a meal, made her feel like she couldn't eat!
Lu Mingxi had lived here for over twenty years!
Qin He pursed her lips and didn't move.
Gu Qichen glanced at her, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just feel that Lu Mingxi lives a very difficult life," Qin He said faintly. "I used to consider him a friend, a very good friend."
A smile appeared on Gu Qichen's face.
"I know."
The argument inside continued, and the sound of something else breaking was heard. Qin He frowned.
Mrs. Lu's sharp, angry roar rang out.
"When your brother is mentioned, you act indifferent! I think you have no heart at all! Your brother was probably killed by you!"
These heart-wrenching words made Qin He's heart go cold.
She instantly imagined if Ming Yuzhu had said something like this to her, she might have lost the will to live.
Qin He pulled Gu Qichen and walked briskly into the villa.