An Unfortunate Death

Ming Fangsu had killed herself by cutting her wrist. Everyone blamed Lu Jinhai for it, as they believed that Ming Fangsu's reason for suicide was the heartbreak. Even elder Lu and Lu Jinhai thought the same and blamed themselves for the tragedy.

After watching his precious daughter in that state, elder Ming lost his rationality. He confronted and blamed Lu Jinhai for his daughter's suicide and broke all relations with the Lu family. He even cut all the business relations with Lu Corporation and declared that Ming Group would never associate with Lu corporation or share any relationship with the Lu Family in the future. Almost three decades were about to pass, but the hatred in elder Ming's heart didn't lessen a bit.

What exactly happened at that time was only known to elder Ming's daughter-in-law Zhang Jie and the old servant in the mansion, Nanny Yun. Everyone remained unaware of the devastating truth that was hidden by these two women—a truth that had separated two friends forever.

———-

After some time, Zhang Jie stopped crying and Nanny Yun passed her a glass of water. Hearing footsteps from the living room, Zhang Jie dried her eyes with a paper napkin and resumed eating, pretending to be okay.

"Mother, why are you having breakfast alone? Where are the others?" The words were said by Zhang Jie's son, Ming Rusheng. 

As Ming Rusheng walked towards the dining table, he noticed his mother's swollen eyes and red nose. 

"Why do I feel like the atmosphere is quite hot today?" Ming Rusheng commented.

"It's summer, so it's quite obvious to feel the heat," Zhang Jei said as she continued eating, avoiding to look at her son.

Ming Rusheng stepped towards his mother and picked up the invitation card on the table. "So this is why the temperature is rising this morning. This Lu family again." He sighed.

"Don't pay attention to unnecessary things. Sit down and have your breakfast." Zhang Jei's voice was high pitched.

"Why are you being scolded by mother early morning, brother Rusheng? What did you do to make her angry?" 

That was Zhang Jie's daughter and Ming Rusheng's younger sister, Ming Lan, who came for breakfast too.

"The credit goes to the Lu family," Ming Rusheng replied as he filled his dish with food.

"What happened? And really, Mom, why does our family hate them? What exactly happened?" Ming Lan asked. as she sat in the chair beside her brother.

Zhang Jie ignored her daughter's questions and continued eating.

"Don't ask. I've tried to get an answer to only be ignored and silenced," Ming Rusheng commented as he observed his mother being unusually silent.

Still, there was no reaction from their mother's side so he moved his sight to his sister and added, "Though I don't know the reason, I too hate Lu family."

"Why?" Ming Lan asked.

"I don't know. I think hatred for the Lu family runs in our blood," Ming Rusheng replied.

"But I don't feel like that. I saw Lu Lian and Lu Bao every day in school, and those two are really nice," Ming Lan commented offhandedly.

"Just stay away from them. I especially hate their brother since I was in school. That arrogant and ignorant Lu Qiang." His voice was filled with hatred.

"Huh?" She looked at her brother with a questioning look.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing! I think, he is quite ni…ce and good loo…k...ing too," Ming Lan mumbled, but her brother could hear it, nonetheless.

"Don't forget, we are just allowed to hate them but not to fall in love with them," Ming Rusheng warned.

"W-when did I do something like that? Why are you angry?" Her eyes filled with guilt. In reality, she was slightly scared, too.

"I am just pre-empting the negative." He looked straight into her eyes, warning her.

The look in her brother's eyes scared her further. She didn't argue and continued to eat with her head lowered down.

Zhang Jie was immersed in her thoughts to pay attention to what these two were talking about, but she had heard her son's words about hating the Lu family, which made her angry.

"What happened in the past is none of your business. That's a matter between elders. You, youngsters, need not concern yourself with it. Understood?" Warning, Zhang Jei left the dining table without finishing her breakfast.

They could just stare at their angry mother's retreating back, and neither could speak further. They knew that the matter years ago must have scarred the family to the point that nobody wanted to mention it in front of them. They silently ate their breakfast, still thinking about their mother's strange behavior.

Ming Rusheng and Lu Qiang were in the same school, but Ming Rusheng was a senior of Lu Qiang. Ming Rusheng hated Lu Qiang since their high school days. Why? Even Ming Rusheng himself didn't know the reason. It might be because of the bitter relationship between their families. He just knew that something happened in the past that affected his family, and the Lu family had something to do with it.

Ming Lan was an innocent girl who was not interested in the past. She knew as little as her brother. She was familiar with the two girls from the Lu family and thought of them as good people, to be around, but she stopped herself from being friends with the girls because of the family conflicts. It was obvious that she had a crush on Lu Qiang, but she could never bring up the matter in front of her family being scared of her elder brother's reaction and hatred towards Lu Qiang.