6 LU RESIDENCE

On the Lu Island , just at the outskirts of 'A' city stood a rotunda[1] owned by Lu Ju-long of Lu Corporations. It was extravagant, a contrast of solemnity and beauty, like the abode of a maleficent individual. Initially, it was a Luo Tongda[2] of sodomy, or rather, the devil's play ground. But with time, its vibrancy faded off into an abyss of sorrow.

Highly fortified with bullet proofs wall encompassing the entire island, such that not even the tiniest of ants or the most skilled soldiers on earth could penetrate. Steel rods of overly exaggerated height embedded with the family's crest of a nightingale, formed the massive structure which served as the only visible entrance into the enormous compound.

Moving on through the gates, one was greeted with a vast garden of great beauty and width decorated with varieties of roses arranged in such a way as to form the family's crest, designed by the most skilled horticulturists in China. On the garden lay rows of topiary [3] which had been shaped into the family's crest.

These topiary wounded up down the road path, leading to a water fountain made of bronze with a nightingale statue at the center that had a little opening on its beak through which water flowed out, falling into the ring basin underneath it.

Behind the fountain lay the enormous mansion regarded as the Lu Residence. Various gargoyles stood guard at strategic corners. A portico served as the entrance to the mansion; above which was a relief with tiny statues illustrated on it, which seemed to be telling a story. Crowning the portico was yet again, th family's crest, the nightingale.

The main entrance was a brass door of great width and height, which led into a large hall. The walls of the hall were painted cream with gold trimmings. At the center of the vast hall stood a chanderlier made of diamond cuttings, each piece reflecting the rays of light causing it to glisten in an unreal manner.

At the far corner of the hall a staircase could be seen running spirally as it climbed up and spread out into two, only to join again at the very top. This mansion consisted of many rooms, which were actually too much especially when only one person lived in it.

Behind the rotunda ran a cloister which led to the maids quarters where all the servants resided.Underneath the mansion was a cave which was actually a garage to park the helicopter that was used to go to the mainlands, although a swing bridge constructed by Lu Corporations connected the cove of the island to the bay.

This cave ran out from under the house to the helicopter port where the helicopter lands or takes off. Seeing as Lu Ju-long was filthy rich, he owned multiple helicopters which he used as his major means of transportation.

In the study of the mansion Lu Ju-long could be seen talking to his son Lu Xiang. Hands clasped behind him, with his back facing Lu Xiang. Lu Xiang was really pissed at having to come all the way to Lu island just to hear the nonsense leaving his father's mouth.

"...you worthless piece of trash, how can I even call you my son when you are so useless and a complete embarrassment . I hope you remember why your doing this.

This partnership with Tang Enterprises is no game. Remember that if you do not succeed you will loose everything and have no inheritance.

Don't think you are of any worth, the only reason I didn't throw you out many years ago was because of the love I had for your mother before you took her away from me. Your birth has been a burden and a thorn in my back and your entire existence is a sore to me.

Do not think you are indispensable, I can always get a replacement for you if you screw this up, I'm most certain that a random guy on the street can do a better job than you..."

This was the usual babble of his father, he had lost count of how many times he had heard this exact speech.

Lu Xiang had very little interest in Lu Corporations and wanted nothing to do with it, but the only reason he actually agreed to this partnership was because of his father's threat of throwing him out and making him the poorest man in china.

He didn't take this threat for granted because he knew what his father was capable of, most especially being such an influential man. He could erase Lu Xiang's entire existence with just a flick of his finger.

When Lu Xiang had had enough of this nonsense, he spook up in a thick harsh voice; "ENOUGH!!"

This caught his father off guard, making him stop in his tracks.

"Is this the reason you dragged me out here in the middle of the night?", Lu Xiang continued after he saw that he had caught his father's attention.

"To give me your appraising speech of how useless and incompetent I am. If this was the reason for my being summoned, then you are even less brainless than I had originally anticipated. If this is why you dragged me out here, you might as well as give me a call or send one of your many henchmen to pass the 'MESSAGE'... ."

Before he could finish his statement, he felt a hot sting across his face, he had been slapped by a very infuriated father. The two men stood still at a spot, starring daggers at themselves. Sparks could be seen fly off in between them.

Then in a booming voice Lu Ju-long said;

"How dare you, you ungrateful brat? Have you forgotten who you are speaking to? Do not forget who I am and what I am capable of."

Drawing in a deep breath to calm himself, he continued; "...actually I called you here to inform you that you will soon be married to the daughter of one of my business associate. Obviously you should know that this marriage is a means of pairing our inheritance to theirs and so-"

He caught him off; "Let me just inform you 'DEAREST' father, I am not getting married to anyone, most especially not one of your choice, I do not care for your political and financial desires and I will not be a part of it".

With this he stormed out of the room, ignoring the calls from his father. He took the elevator to the great hall, walked majestically out through the brass walls, collected his car from the attendant and drove off out of the island.

He really hated this trips to daddy's little mansion, in fact he absolutely detested it. There was no soft spot for his father in his heart as his loathing for him was beyond human compreension. His hands were still shaking from his confrontation with his father. Although he put on a tough exterior in front of his father, deep within him, he was scared to his bone marrow.

It took him nearly 2 hours to get back to his house at the lakeside. When he entered the house, he fell face flat like a sac of potatoes on his bed, without even bothering to change out of his shoes and clothes. He gave a long sigh as he reached the bed, today had been an extremely long day for him and he was ready to go to bed.

As he was toying with the idea of having a bath, his phone beeped, he picked it up and read a chat from Tang Jiang saying that his parents agreed. He smiled to himself on reading this, and this gave him extra vibe to get up and have his bath.

He got up and walked with new found vigor towards the bathroom to have his bath. With water trickling down his body, he couldn't help but think about Tang An as he looked forward to seeing her later in the day.

He also thought about the probability of getting married, the idea of which he dreaded. He earnestly hoped that his father wouldn't push, because if he did, he would have to push harder and he wasn't sure he had the strength to do so.

AUTHOR'S SIDE NOTE;

[1]A rotunda (from Latin rotundus) is any building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome, [2]Luo Tongda is a synonym for rotunda, [3]topiary are shrubs or trees clipped into ornamental shapes.

Chapter 5, yay, finally got here, I have to admit, writing this chapter was extremely difficult for me, lol, I had to research on a lot of things. I'm wondering if the descriptions in this chapter are good enough and if its too long. I wouldn't want it to be boring and put you to sleep, lol.

If you are enjoying the story so far, it would be nice if you could support it by rating, commenting or voting, I would completely appreciate that.

Finally thanks so much for your loyalty so far, and I hope that loyalty will persevere to the end.