Chapter 353 No One Can Force Me to Leave

Lu Haochen was nervously pacing back and forth in the hotel room. He was not confident that Du Huayue would be able to get Du Xiaoxian back from the Gu family on his own. He knew that Du Huayue was not a match for Gu Nianbin. Even if Gu Nianbin was not there, Gu Nianbin’s father would not be an easy opponent. After all, Gu Nianbin’s father once defeated Lu Haochen’s father, Lu Dingshen. Lu Haochen had never seen someone more powerful than his father in his life!

When Du Huayue returned to the hotel room, the ashtray had already been filled with the cigarette butts that Lu Haochen had finished smoking. Seeing Du Huayue return alone, he knew that things did not work out. Although he was mentally prepared for this, he was still a little disappointed.

“Did Xiaoxian refuse to come back with you?” He guessed the reason.

Du Huayue nodded dejectedly. “I did everything I could. I pleaded and cajoled, but she didn’t budge. It’s like she’s possessed!”

Lu Haochen smiled bitterly. Not only Du Xiaoxian, but he had been possessed. He came all the way here for her after reading the news article.

“Did you ask her to have dinner with us tonight?”

“She said that she’ll definitely come.” Du Huayue smiled and said, “President Lu, you’re truly brilliant. Everything goes as you have expected!”

Since plan A failed, they would switch to plan B. Perhaps he could show up and be able to persuade Du Xiaoxian when there were no Gu family members present.

Lu Haochen was a master negotiator. He had worked countless cases of various sizes and practically never lost. If it were a business negotiation, he would not be afraid at all. However, he did not have much confidence when it came to Du Xiaoxian. He had seen how stubborn she could be— She sat there and looked obedient, but no matter how eloquent he was, she would always act as if she had not heard anything.

He went through the words he wanted to say in his mind a few more times, constantly revising and altering them. Unknowingly, the entire afternoon went by.

In the evening, Du Xiaoxian brought Gu Niannian to the dinner venue on time. When they entered the private room and saw Lu Haochen there, Du Xiaoxian was stunned. Gu Niannian was also very surprised. She rushed over and hugged Lu Haochen. “Daddy, I missed you so much.”

The word ‘Daddy’ almost made Lu Haochen burst into tears. He hugged Niannian’s warm and soft body tightly. It was a while before he spoke, “Niannian, I missed you too. That’s why I came to see you.”

He looked up at Du Xiaoxian. “How are you?”

Du Xiaoxian smiled and nodded. “I’m doing very well. I didn’t know you came with Brother Ah Yue. Why didn’t you come to the house this morning?”

Du Huayue scoffed. “You’re bringing it up so casually. Is that really your home now?”

Du Xiaoxian didn’t mind Du Huayue’s snide remark. She smiled good-naturedly at Du Huayue.

“Come, let’s sit down and chat.” Lu Haochen sat down with Gu Niannian in his arms and said to the waiter who was waiting at the door, “You can serve the food now.”

They sat down and chatted. They first talked about Du Huayue’s marriage. Du Xiaoxian felt very guilty as Du Huayue’s wedding had been delayed again and again because of her. Even now, they had not held the wedding and it was rescheduled again. Du Xiaoxian felt that no matter what, she had to attend the wedding.

Du Huayue took the opportunity to try and change her mind. “Xiaoxian, you don’t have to wait until then. You can just come back with us now. It’s really cold in G City now. I’m worried that Niannian won’t be able to get used to it. She grew up in Yawan. It’s unavoidable that she won’t be used to the climate here.”

“I was sick a few days ago! The doctor said I fell sick because of the climate.” Gu Niannian sat in Lu Haochen’s arms and told him about her sickness with a smile.

When the two men heard this, they said nearly in unison, “Are you alright now?”

“She’s okay.” Du Xiaoxian continued, “I was scared to death because of her acute gastroenteritis. The doctor said that it might have been caused by something she ate, or she’s just not used to the climate here.”

“See, I’m right, aren’t I? Yawan is the best place for Niannian.” Du Huayue continued, “Xiaoxian, to be honest, you’re suffering with the Gu family. Even Niannian feels sad when she sees you suffering there. Come back with us!”

“Brother Ah Yue, why are we talking about this again? Didn’t I already tell you that I won’t be leaving the Gu family?”

“Are you refusing to leave the Gu family or Gu Nianbin?” Du Huayue was a little angry as he spoke, “How can you still be happy with him when he’s up to all this? You’re going to end up in an unhappy marriage! To be honest, I was dying to punch him this morning because of his attitude. He was trying to say that you were the one who depended on him. He sucks!”

The door opened at that moment. A waiter entered pushing the dining cart in to serve their food.

Du Huayue had no choice but to stop his tirade. Du Xiaoxian was also silent. Gu Niannian and Lu Haochen were the only ones who continued chatting happily.

Gu Niannian said, “Daddy, I still want you to marry Mommy. Father Gu is too fierce.” Niannian was very good at adapting to the situation. She called Lu Haochen ‘Father Lu’ when she was at the Gu family, but when she was with Lu Haochen, she called Gu Nianbin ‘Father Gu’.

Du Huayue found it funny. “Niannian, hurry up and persuade your mommy. This daddy is so good, isn’t he?”

Gu Niannian said to Du Xiaoxian earnestly, “Mommy, please marry this daddy. I don’t like Father Gu. He doesn’t like me, and he doesn’t like you either.”

“Niannian.” Du Xiaoxian looked up but found that her words were stuck in her throat. The man at the door was looking at her with a mocking expression.

When he saw the odd expression on her face, Du Huayue turned around and stood up warily. “I was wondering who it was. It turns out it’s you, President Gu. Are you afraid that Xiaoxian will run away with Niannian? Is that why you’ve come to keep an eye on us?”

Gu Niannian was suddenly worried that Gu Nianbin heard what she just said. She was a little afraid and threw herself into Lu Haochen’s arms. In her heart, only Lu Haochen was a worthy opponent for Gu Nianbin.

“President Gu, come and join us for dinner. The food has just been served,” Lu Haochen spoke up and greeted Gu Nianbin.

Although Gu Niannian was afraid, she whispered to Lu Haochen, “Daddy, don’t ask him to come in. He’s so fierce.”

Even though Niannian spoke quietly, Gu Nianbin heard her clearly. His expression was stern, while his eyes were dark and frightening. He walked in and looked coldly at Du Xiaoxian. “There are quite a lot of people who came to bring you back this time. Don’t disappoint them. They came all the way here, so you shouldn’t let them down. You can leave with them, but Gu Niannian has to stay. Her surname is Gu, so she has to stay with the Gu family.”

“I won’t stay. I want to go with Mommy. I don’t want to have the surname Gu anymore. I want my surname to be Du just like Mommy.”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Gu Nianbin said aggressively, “Your daughter is braver than you!”

Du Xiaoxian stood up. “I’ve said it before. No one can force me to leave! You can’t make me leave either!”

“How shameless. What’s the point of being with me?” Gu Nianbin finally lost his composure and snapped. “Lu Haochen has as much money as I do. You’ll be able to enjoy a life of luxury if you leave with him!”

Du Huayue couldn’t hold it in any longer. He swung a punch. Since he was standing close to Gu Nianbin, whose attention was completely on Du Xiaoxian, Du Huayue hit his target in one blow. Du Huayue was a soldier, so he packed quite a punch. He sent Gu Nianbin stumbling back, taking a few steps back before managing to steady himself.

Du Xiaoxian shouted, “Please don’t fight. Let’s talk things out. Brother Ah Yue, don’t hit him…” Before she could finish speaking, she heard Du Huayue grunting. Gu Nianbin was fighting back. Fortunately, the private room was big enough so they did not knock over the table as they fought.

Lu Haochen quickly handed Gu Niannian over to Du Xiaoxian and went forward to break up the fight. However, Gu Nianbin thought Lu Haochen was coming to join the fight. Without any explanation, he swung his fist and punched Lu Haochen. Just like this, all three men ended up fighting.

This room appeared smaller since there were three people fighting. Crash! Bam! Pow! Clatter! The sound of chairs being knocked over, plates and bowls crashing, and cutlery falling to the floor rang out non-stop…

Du Xiaoxian was not afraid, though. She asked Gu Niannian to hide in the bathroom and lock the door, and then she ran over to stop the fighting.

No matter how strong Gu Nianbin was, it was difficult for him to fight against two men on his own. In addition, Du Huayue and Lu Haochen were experienced fighters, so any lapse in attention resulted in Gu Nianbin getting hit. Du Huayue kicked his knee, and Gu Nianbin staggered forward. Lu Haochen was ready to swing a punch, aiming for the face. They were well cooperated.

Gu Nianbin couldn’t dodge in time and was prepared to take this punch. In a flash, a dark shadow zoomed over. It was Du Xiaoxian. She didn’t have time to pull Lu Haochen away, so she had to rush up and take the punch for Gu Nianbin.

By the time Lu Haochen realized what was happening, it was too late. Although he did his best to hold his punch back, the inertia of his swing could not be stopped and Du Xiaoxian took his punch.

With a muffled thud, Du Xiaoxian staggered and fell down. The two men leaned forward at the same time and reached out to catch her. As soon as Gu Nianbin knelt down, he punched Lu Haochen and then fell to the floor with Du Xiaoxian in his arms.

Time seemed to stop. Everything seemed to go silent. Du Huayue and Lu Haochen looked at each other. They were at a loss.

A moment later, they rushed over to see if Du Xiaoxian was alright.

However, Du Xiaoxian only had eyes for Gu Nianbin. “Are you alright?” she asked, full of concern.

“I’m fine.” Gu Nianbin helped her up from the floor, and his expression had darkened even more. “Why did you rush over? Were you afraid that you’d have to pay with your life if they killed me?”

Du Huayue was so angry that he felt like he was going to blow his top. He rushed over right away. “Gu Nianbin, are you even human? Xiaoxian took a punch for you. How can you still say such sarcastic things to her?!”

Lu Haochen pulled Du Xiaoxian aside and looked at her up and down. “Are you hurt?”

The punch had landed on her waist. Du Xiaoxian was too embarrassed to answer. She just shook her head. “Don’t worry. My dad used to hit me, so I’m used to it.”

Her words made Lu Haochen’s heart ache for her. He lifted her arm and made her swing her legs out. Once he was sure that there was nothing wrong with her, he calmed down.

The meal ended unhappily even before they started eating. Du Xiaoxian took Gu Niannian home with Gu Nianbin. Lu Haochen and Du Huayue returned to their hotel in a depressed mood.

Du Huayue was still a little angry as he sat in the car. “Such bad luck! Why do I have to keep bumping into him everywhere?!”

“That’s not it.” Lu Haochen gently rubbed the wound on his arm. “He clearly came prepared. He was afraid that Xiaoxian would take Niannian away.”

“You think he followed Xiaoxian here?” Du Huayue was skeptical. “That’s impossible, right? He’s not a good guy, but he wouldn’t stoop to that, right? Besides, how did he find out that Xiaoxian would be having dinner with us?”

“He has his ways.” Lu Haochen watched the bustling night scene outside the window. He spoke as if he was talking to himself, but it also seemed like he was directing the question to Du Huayue. “Is he afraid that Xiaoxian will take Niannian away? Or is he afraid that we will take Xiaoxian away?”