Chapter 1218 - 1219: Taking a Master
When they arrived in the Provincial City, it was already past one o'clock. Song Xiaodong had a simple meal and then went to school for classes, without making any prior arrangements to meet up with Lu Yaobing.
After class, there was a free clinic session, and once it was over, Song Xiaodong and Lu Yaobing went together to a hotel.
Today, they were invited by Zheng Yue'e for a meal, and it seemed very formal. Lu Yaobing's father, Lu Yuan, was also there.
After everyone sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries, Song Xiaodong smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, your appearance is somewhat like that of an old leader of mine. You wouldn't happen to be his relative, would you?"
"Old leader? Are you talking about General Lu Lang?" Lu Yuan immediately responded.
Song Xiaodong said in surprise, "Are you really a relative of General Lu Lang?"
Lu Yuan hurriedly replied, "I am related to him; he is my eldest uncle's cousin."
Song Xiaodong sweat a little and said, "Well, your background is quite substantial."
Lu Yuan hastily said, "Although we are related, we aren't very close. The eldest uncle's family has always been in the military, while ours is just an ordinary family. Besides, the eldest uncle's family has always been upright in office, and we've never used their connections for anything."
Song Xiaodong felt even more admiration for Lu Lang in his heart. It's no wonder the higher-ups value him so much. Generals like him are indeed quite rare. He smiled and said, "General Lu Lang is indeed my old leader, and we still often keep in touch."
Zheng Yue'e immediately said happily, "Then we're definitely not outsiders."
Lu Yuan followed up, saying, "Exactly, exactly. Who would've thought, there is such a connection."
With this connection established, everyone chatted more casually.
After chatting for a while, Lu Yuan solemnly raised his glass and stood up, followed by Zheng Yue'e.
Lu Yuan said, "Teacher Song, we are truly happy that Yaobing can acknowledge you as her mentor. As parents, we now entrust Yaobing to you. If she does anything wrong in the future, feel free to scold or punish her. We absolutely won't have a complaint."
Zheng Yue'e also said, "Teacher Song, if she ever disobeys you and you can't control her, just let us know, and I'll certainly set her straight."
Seeing her parents speak so earnestly and sternly, not only was Lu Yaobing not alarmed, she actually felt a kind of indescribable joy.
Song Xiaodong also stood up and lifted his glass, saying, "As long as you entrust Yaobing to me, I will make every effort to mentor her."
"Then we must thank Teacher Song. Let us toast first." Lu Yaobing's parents both drank from their glasses.
Song Xiaodong also took a drink.
Lu Yaobing came over to refill Song Xiaodong's glass, then kneeled directly in front of him with his glass in hand.
"Yaobing, isn't this unnecessary?" Song Xiaodong felt a bit awkward.
Lu Yuan hurriedly said, "This is appropriate."
Lu Yaobing raised the glass above her head, saying, "Please, Master, have some tea!"
Song Xiaodong laughed heartily, saying, "This is wine, but wine is even better." With that, he took the glass and drank it all.
"When I accepted you as my disciple before, I didn't give you a proper initiation gift. Today, I won't be stingy. Here, take this." Song Xiaodong said as he handed a small box to Lu Yaobing.
Lu Yaobing took it and sweetly said, "Thank you, Master," then stood up.
Zheng Yue'e said somewhat awkwardly, "We haven't prepared a gift for you, Teacher Song. How can we accept your gift?"
Song Xiaodong waved his hand and said, "It's all right. Since you've entrusted Yaobing to me, I'll say something presumptuous: Yaobing is like a daughter to me. Giving her something is normal."
By this time, Lu Yaobing had already opened the box, revealing a jade green jade bracelet inside.
"Ah, it's so beautiful!" Lu Yaobing exclaimed joyfully, then put the bracelet on her wrist, showing it off to her parents, "Look, isn't it beautiful."
Zheng Yue'e was astonished, saying, "Teacher Song, isn't this… isn't this too valuable? Such a full green jade bracelet must be worth at least a million."
Lu Yaobing was also taken aback, "So expensive?"
Song Xiaodong smiled and said, "No matter how valuable things are, accepting a disciple I favor is more important."
Lu Yaobing's face beamed with joy, saying, "Then I won't be polite."
Zheng Yue'e and Lu Yuan exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. Song Xiaodong was indeed generous, giving away a million-dollar jade bracelet just like that.
Seeing her parents' expressions, Lu Yaobing chuckled lightly and said, "Anyway, Master is wealthy, so don't feel any burden. I'll study hard, not disappointing Master's teaching and taking good care of Master in return. Isn't that right, Master?"
Song Xiaodong nodded and said, "Yes, indeed!"
Lu Yuan and Zheng Yue'e could only nod repeatedly as well.
The meal had quite a nice atmosphere, and as everyone was getting ready to leave, Song Xiaodong said, "I'll be taking Yaobing out shortly, as I have something very important to pass on to her today."
Zheng Yue'e quickly said, "Teacher Song, feel free to take her."
Lu Yaobing blinked and said, "Master is taking me out to a hotel room, aren't you worried?"
Zheng Yue'e spat at Lu Yaobing, saying, "Are you deliberately setting up your mother? Now even if your master sells you, we won't be bothered."
Lu Yaobing pouted her lips and said, "It's over, with a master, even my parents don't want me anymore."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Song Xiaodong directly booked a room in the same hotel and took Lu Yaobing in.
Watching their daughter go into a room with a man, Lu Yuan and Zheng Yue'e exchanged a look. Lu Yuan said, "I still feel a bit strange. Even though we know Teacher Song and Yaobing are just teaching and learning, it still feels a bit unsettling."
Zheng Yue'e said, "I feel the same, but they've done this so many times already, and nothing has happened to our daughter… We musn't let our thoughts run wild, or we'd be neglecting Teacher Song's intent."
Lu Yuan shook his head and laughed, "I know, but seeing our daughter grow up and suddenly feel like she's leaving us makes me feel a bit uneasy."
Zheng Yue'e sighed lightly, "I'm reluctant too, but our daughter is growing up and must spread her wings and fly."
Lu Yuan laughed heartily, "Look at you, it's not like we're marrying our daughter off, she's just acknowledging a mentor!"
Zheng Yue'e burst into laughter too, "Aren't you the one leading me on? It feels like we're marrying off our daughter instead."