Chapter 3: A Bigger Bet at the Banquet

Lin Enxi stood before the bathroom mirror in the Lu family apartment, pressing the pearl stud earring firmly into her earlobe. The woman staring back at her wore a cream-colored suit set, her hair pulled into a neat low ponytail. She looked, undeniably, like a proper Madam Lu.

Her phone buzzed on the vanity counter. It was her mother, Zhou Xiulan. She lowered her voice, speaking with a touch of caution. "Enxi, don't be too nervous about tonight’s dinner. You’ve handled so many difficult clients at the hotel—how could a family banquet be harder than work?"

"At work, if I mess up, I can’t afford to lose the restaurant," Lin Enxi said to the mirror, pushing the earring in a little tighter.

"Speaking of the restaurant," Zhou Xiulan’s tone lightened, "the creditors finally agreed to give us two more months. You have to admit it’s odd—they were pressing so hard just a while ago."

Lin Enxi’s fingers paused on her earlobe. She knew better than anyone how that grace period had been secured, but it wasn’t something she could explain over the phone. She simply replied, "That’s good news. Mom, I have to head out. The location has already been sent."

"Go ahead," Zhou Xiulan paused for a moment, then added, "Don’t let us down."

After hanging up, Lin Enxi grabbed her handbag. Her phone screen still displayed the location image Lu Zeming had sent thirty minutes ago—a private club on Orchard Road in Singapore.

As she stepped out with her bag, her phone vibrated once as the elevator doors closed. It was a message from Chen Kaiwen: *Heard you’re going over tonight to read the old man’s mood. He’s standing right next to that cousin of yours from the Lu family’s branch line. He asked me to pass along a message: some debts can’t be wiped clean just because you signed an agreement.*

She stared at the text for three seconds, then turned off the phone and shoved it into her bag.

The club’s lighting was dim, and the Lu family’s table was set in a long room with shuttered windows. Lu Hongyuan sat at the head of the table, his chopsticks untouched, his gaze falling first on the two people entering through the door. Lu Zeqian sat to his right, a metal lighter spinning between his fingers. The flame flickered now and then, making his baby face look even more innocent.

Lin Enxi approached, her arm linked through Lu Zeming’s. His hand was steady, resting at the crook of her elbow—not overly intimate, not stiffly distant, but the standard, impeccable social distance.

"Grandfather, this is Enxi," Lu Zeming said, his voice cold but carrying the necessary steadiness required when speaking to outsiders.

"Oh my eyes have gone weak, I must have misjudged," Lu Hongyuan lifted his head, his clouded eyes sweeping over Lin Enxi’s face. "She’s quite handsome. Little Lu, you still handle things with such efficiency."

"Mm." Lu Zeming gave a single acknowledgment, pulling out a chair for her to settle into.

Lu Zeqian laughed as he leaned over. He clicked the lighter shut and slid a menu toward her. "Sister-in-law, the head chef is using Australian lobster tonight. Please give it a try. Grandfather was just mentioning that Singaporean lobster has firm, rich meat, much like the seafood soup he used to drink back in his sailing days."

Lin Enxi took the menu, her gaze quickly scanning the dishes. She knew what Lu Hongyuan liked, but as Madam Lu, she needed to show respect and appreciation for the food on the table rather than fawning over the old man’s taste like an outsider.

"You’re too kind, Zeqian. The plating of this lobster looks meticulous; the cooking technique must be precise," she said, her voice even. She folded the menu neatly at the corner of the table, left the lobster alone, and picked up her tea cup for a small sip.

A flash of disappointment crossed Lu Zeqian’s eyes. He hadn’t expected Lin Enxi to be so perceptive, to miss the hook in his words.

A distant uncle seated just below Lu Hongyuan spoke up first. He set his wine glass on the table with a thud, smiling amiably, though his words were not soft. "A new bride entering the family, I can’t help but say a word. Your family runs a restaurant, I believe? Was this marriage to the Lu family made a bit too hastily?"

The table fell silent for a moment. Several gazes drifted over, subtle but present, and even Lu Zeqian’s hand spinning the lighter paused.

Lin Enxi set her tea cup down and replied without a hint of fluster. "The restaurant is a small shop my mother has kept alive on her own; it’s no match for the Lu family’s enterprises. But it has been open for twenty-one years without owing a supplier a single cent and without a single customer suffering from food poisoning. By marrying into the Lu family, I aim to live a steady, grounded life. In that regard, our family’s principles are the same as the Lu family’s."

The distant uncle raised an eyebrow, momentarily at a loss for a reply.

Another elder nearby asked, "And how did you and Zeming meet? It’s all the talk outside that you had a flash marriage, that you barely even met a few times before."

"At a corporate gala," Lin Enxi turned her head to look at Lu Zeming, her tone as natural as if recounting an old event. "The event flow I was in charge of had a glitch that night, and he stepped in to cover for me. After we interacted more, we felt we suited each other well and went ahead to get the marriage certificate. When it comes to matters of the heart, slow has its good points and fast has its logic, but in the end, it’s a matter between the two of us."

This was the exact, word-for-word version of the Ten-Point Contract—no more, no less.

Lu Zeming raised his wine cup and added, unhurriedly, “The people I choose are my own business. If the senior family members still have questions, ask me.”

The elder smiled and waved a hand. “Ask you? Your mouth is so tightly shut you’d need pincers to force it open. Fine. Let’s eat.”

Lu Hongyuan lifted his teacup, took a small sip, and let his gaze drift past Lu Zeming to settle on Lin Enxi. “You’re Xiao Lin, right? You look young, but I can see Lu Zeming has been taking good care of you.”

“Thank you, Grandfather, for keeping an eye on me,” Lin Enxi said, bowing slightly. Her posture was impeccable.

Lu Zeqian suddenly laughed and spoke up. “Grandfather, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to discuss the succession matter. Shouldn’t we have my sister-in-law show her face first, so everyone can get to know her?”

Lu Hongyuan set his teacup down with a firm tap. His voice dropped. “Get to know her? Fine. Lu Zeming, how do you plan a hotel event? I’ve reviewed the report—the loss you saved the group at that gala was significant. Now that you’re sitting in front of me, what kind of face are you planning to show?”

Lin Enxi set her teacup down. She knew now was not the time to back down, nor to be overly humble. Humility at the Lu family would be read as weakness; arrogance would be read as insolence.

“Grandfather.” She looked at Lu Hongyuan, her gaze clear. “I recently took over several of the group’s galas and found that there’s at least twenty points of gross margin we’re leaving on the table between venue turnover and supplier negotiation. If next month’s charity gala follows the new floor plan I proposed, we won’t just boost sponsor visibility—we’ll cut costs by one-third. I’d like to walk you through the plan.”

Lu Hongyuan narrowed his eyes. “Oh? Then tell me—how does this floor plan work?”

Lin Enxi didn’t hesitate. She stood, walked to the long table, and pointed to the place settings on the table in front of them.

“Here—the long table is too wide. It blocks guests’ lines of sight for conversation, and the beverage service path is blocked by the main guest aisle. I suggest replacing the two long tables on either side with smaller round tables, and opening a central main corridor. That makes it easier for servers to move through and turns the sponsor brand wall into a visual focal point. Also, the lighting here needs adjusting—it’s too dim now, which makes people feel tired and discourages them from ordering rounds.”

She laid out the entire plan in one go, her logic crisp, her figures precise.

Lu Hongyuan stared at her, his hand still resting on the table’s edge, suspended in the air. After a long pause, he nodded. “Not bad. Lu Zeming, you’ve married a good granddaughter-in-law.”

Lu Zeming said nothing, but his hand, hidden beneath the table, lightly brushed Lin Enxi’s fingertip. It was a silent confirmation.

Lin Enxi lowered her eyes and slowly exhaled the breath she’d been holding. She lifted her teacup for a sip. The tea had long since gone cold, but she could still feel her palms sweating.

Lu Zeqian’s expression darkened. The innocent look drained from his eyes, replaced by a cold, controlled smirk. He flicked a lighter open and closed, the small sparks dancing in front of Lu Hongyuan. “Sister-in-law, you certainly have a sharp mind. Then tell me—do you know why Grandfather called us all here today? Is he trying to set the rules?”

Lu Hongyuan set down his chopsticks and tapped his fingers on the table, producing a steady, dull knock.

“Set the rules,” he said. He looked up, his gaze sweeping the whole table before coming to rest on Lin Enxi. “When I wrote my will, my only condition was that my grandson Lu Zeming marry within a year, and then he’d get the controlling stake. But I’ve changed my mind. That clause in the will isn’t enough.”

Lin Enxi sat up straighter. The last dregs of tea clung to the inside of her cup in a thin, delicate film.

“I’m adding one more clause,” Lu Hongyuan said. His voice wasn’t loud, but in the quiet of the long dining room, every word drove itself into her ears like a nail. “Within one year, you must give me a child. If you don’t, the contract is automatically voided, and the controlling stake goes entirely to Zeqian, as the will originally stated.”

Lu Zeqian jerked upright, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes before it was swallowed by barely contained elation. He raised his wine cup with a smile. “Grandfather, that’s a rather sudden escalation.”

Lin Enxi’s wine cup froze in midair. The glass was cold against her fingertips.

Every eye in the room turned to her. There was curiosity in those gazes, a touch of pity, and in Lu Zeqian’s eyes, an unmasked, playful amusement.

The restaurant’s debt was still hanging over the ledger. Her mother still believed the creditor’s sudden willingness to grant more time was a sign that the family’s luck was finally turning. If this contract were voided and the controlling stake landed in Lu Zeqian’s hands, what would she use to protect that little restaurant? And what would she tell her mother about the origins of this marriage?

She glanced at Lu Zeming. The man remained expressionless, his thin lips pressed into a cold, hard line, the silver-cased watch on his left wrist glinting coldly in the light.

Lu Zeqian raised his cup with a smile and tapped the base against the table, producing a sharp, clean crack.

Lu Zeming reached under the table and covered Lin Enxi's trembling hand with his own. His palm was warm, his pressure calm and sure. He bent down, his lips barely moving, yet the words slipped into her ear with perfect clarity:

"This one — we'll talk about it once we're back."