Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 305 - 305 302 Versailles

Chapter 305: Chapter 302 Versailles Chapter 305: Chapter 302 Versailles “Grandpa, this is the gift Yu Heng sent you.”

Luo Xiao was about to place the two items in her hand on the old master’s desk when Fourth Uncle Luo hurriedly stopped her, “Wait, don’t press on this scroll of calligraphy. I spent a lot of money on it, and your grandfather likes it very much.”

The senior Mr. Luo handed the calligraphy to his youngest son to hang up, smiling satisfactorily at the present he received today.

After they cleared the desk, Luo Xiao finally put the two boxes on it.

Third Uncle Luo pointed at the long box and asked Luo Xiao, “Is this also calligraphy?”

Everyone knew the senior Mr. Luo liked calligraphy and was skilled at writing; they also knew that ordinary calligraphy wouldn’t catch his eye, which was why Fourth Uncle Luo had spent a hefty sum on a famous master’s work.

Luo Xiao shook her head, “No, it’s a traditional Chinese painting.”

“A traditional painting?” The senior Mr. Luo’s interest was piqued; he also liked Chinese paintings, though he was not very good at it.

He gestured to Luo Xiao, “Open it and let’s have a look.”

Luo Xiao bowed her head to open the box, slowly pulled out the painting, and then carefully spread it out on the table.

It depicted two cranes standing under a brightly-colored peach tree, with two characters inscribed beside them: Auspicious Cranes!

As the senior Mr. Luo looked at the painting, a flash of amazement passed through his eyes. He picked up his reading glasses nearby, examined the painting carefully from top to bottom, and finally, when his gaze reached the signature and seal at the bottom right corner, his eyes widened, then he looked up at Yu Heng, “Is this Mu Chenyan’s painting?”

He wasn’t overly excited; he had seen the works of this young and famous Chinese painting master many times before and liked them a lot, but he hadn’t been willing to buy one, they were too expensive.

He hadn’t expected this young man, not yet his grandson-in-law, to be so willing to spend a fortune.

Yu Heng offered a faint smile, “Yes, my mother asked me to convey her wishes to you for your double happiness, health, and longevity.”

“Thank you!”

At first, the old master didn’t catch the implication, but Luo’s father did. It wasn’t that Luo Xiao had told him beforehand but that he discerned the connection between those two sentences.

He looked at Yu Heng with surprise and said, “You mentioned your mother, could it be… Master Mu?”

Yu Heng smiled and nodded; the senior Mr. Luo froze for a moment.

After a while, he asked uncertainly again, “Mu Chenyan, she’s your mother?”

Resigned, Yu Heng nodded once more. To be honest, if it weren’t for giving Luo Xiao face today, he wouldn’t have mentioned his mother’s name.

Fourth Uncle Luo stood beside the old master’s desk, looking at the signature and seal on the bottom right corner of the painting, as well as the cursive characters for ‘Auspicious Cranes’, feeling a sour pinch in his heart.

The calligraphy he had spent a great deal of money on wasn’t even worth as much as the painting casually done by someone else’s mother.

After scrutinizing Yu Heng up and down again, he felt even more sour.

Standing before him, his son-in-law was as different as a pig from Zhu Bajie compared to Yu Heng, there was simply no comparing them.

Not to mention someone’s job qualifications and family background…

Luo Xiao did not stay in Grandpa’s study for too long. When she came out, the old master was happily chatting with Yu Heng, playing with the longevity god that Yu Heng had carved by hand, and he was very fond of it.

“Xiaoxiao sister, your boyfriend is really handsome!”

Just as Luo Xiao exited and closed the door to Grandpa’s study, she heard her cousin, who was attending college, speak in a soft and delicate voice.

Before she could speak, Luo Yu, her cousin from her third aunt’s side, said cheerily, “Xiaoxiao sister, since the two of you are colleagues, you couldn’t be… just pretending he’s your boyfriend to satisfy Grandpa, could you? There’s really no need, everyone is well aware of your situation. If it wasn’t for being so determined to get a Ph.D., you probably would have been married by now. We are all family here, you don’t have to do this.”

The smile on Luo Xiao’s mother’s face faded as she glanced sidelong at Luo Yu and looked towards Luo’s third aunt, “Did your Luo Yu ever have a man pretend to be her boyfriend? Otherwise, how could she speak so confidently and with such experience?”

Luo’s third aunt turned her head and glared at Luo Yu before turning back with a smile, “Sister-in-law, she’s young and doesn’t know how to speak properly. Don’t stoop to her level.”

Young?

Luo Xiao’s mother laughed lightly, “You all say Luo Xiao is already thirty by the Chinese calendar, and Luo Yu is only a year younger than her, so she is twenty-nine. Well, compared to us, that is indeed not old.”

Luo Xiao looked emotionlessly at Luo Yu, “Every day, besides teaching, I also have to go to the lab. Sometimes, Yu Heng even brings me dinner. I really don’t have time to find someone to pretend to be my boyfriend, and you all know my temperament— I’m above doing such things.”

Luo Yu touched her nose sheepishly, “It was just a joke. You still can’t take a joke, big sister Xiaoxiao.”

Luo Xiao glanced at her but said nothing more.

The two were a year apart and had never gotten along. Luo Yu was more eloquent and could charm the adults, whereas Luo Xiao had better grades, having pursued her studies all the way to a Ph.D. The elders used to take her as an example when educating the younger kids. Hence, not only did Luo Yu dislike her, but the younger brothers and sisters would also keep their distance from her.

I am not as excellent as you, but I don’t want to be on good terms with you either!

Sometimes, Luo Xiao found it ironic. Adults always advised making friends with those who had good grades and were excellent. Why then was it the opposite in the Luo family?

Her best friend’s family was different. The younger siblings would swarm around her with looks of admiration, and they got along harmoniously as siblings.

Luo Xiao thought that those were the proper family relationships.

Back in middle and high school, she used to try to bridge the gap, buying them gifts and taking them to movies. But after a few attempts, she realized it was impossible. Luo Yu even threw away the presents she gave.

After that, she never tried to get close to them again.

“Sister-in-law, is Xiaoxiao’s boyfriend really a professor? That’s so young,” someone asked.

Luo Xiao’s mother replied nonchalantly, “What’s so strange about that? The kid has even better academic chops than Luo Xiao. He skipped grades all the way, was only twenty-two when he finished his doctorate, and was personally invited by the president of Beijing University, specially approved as a professor.”

Turning her head, Luo Xiao’s mother asked, “Yu Heng’s two younger brothers and sister are the same, aren’t they? His third brother is in your same field, working in a laboratory abroad, right? And his sister, she skipped the least grades, last year’s top scorer in the Northern Province college entrance examination, wasn’t she?”

Luo Xiao looked at her mother with amusement and nodded, thinking to herself, Are you trying to wipe away past shame today?

Indeed, her mother continued with a smile, “His family all have high IQs, probably something to do with genetic inheritance, oh dear, I don’t quite understand it. Anyway, when Luo Xiao and Yu Heng get married, there’s no need to worry about their kids’ education.”

Is this wiping away past shame? This is decimating their pride!

In the living room, there were still several boisterous kids, even three who were in elementary school. As for their grades, while not disastrously bad, they were very average despite all the tutoring and the painstaking efforts of their parents, with nothing remarkable to show for it.

So why on earth do they have to talk about academics during a friendly chat?