Nibbling on her corn, Lu Yinghan pondered what would happen over the coming years.
With her childish hands, she wrote them down on a sheet of blank paper she had asked Butler Liu for.
“Age 7: The Xie family's Old General retires and sends his eldest grandson into the military for advanced training.
Age 8: People start paying attention to short-form videos; I can start there...
Age 9: Yaoyao enters an elite private school. Because there aren't enough spots, they send me to a public school.
Age 10: I think floods hit the coastal regions during the summer, submerging an entire city. How much money did the Lu family donate again? Whatever, doesn't matter, it has nothing to do with me.
......”
She jotted down bits and pieces of the events etched deepest in her memory, but there were still others she couldn't recall.
Lu Yinghan simply gave up trying to think about it.
She hadn't even managed to fill a single page.
She sighed with regret.
In her previous life, her head had been entirely occupied with trying to get closer to her family, and she hardly paid attention to the outside world.
Unless it was a truly monumental event, she would rarely hear about it.
How she regretted it!
“Sigh, one step at a time. For now, the only thing I can probably do is short-form videos to see if I can build something there.”
Even if that didn't take off, it wouldn't matter. What kind of odd job hadn't she worked before?
She had even lived in a rickety shack for a hundred and fifty yuan a month; what did any of this matter?
After washing up, she lay in bed, looking at the sheet of paper in her hand. Lu Yinghan carefully folded it, tucked it under her pillow, and fell into a deep sleep.
Late at night, the lights in the Lu family's study were still burning.
Lu Jiansen rubbed his aching eyes and habitually reached out to his side.
His hand grasped only empty air.
“Brother Sen, this tea helps with sleep. You barely ate dinner, so I prepared a late-night snack for you. Don't work too hard, okay?”
Lu Yinghan's obedient, sensible face surfaced in his mind.
When he met her eyes in the kitchen earlier, the dark circles beneath them had grown heavy.
When had she started persistently bringing him late-night snacks?
He remembered that ever since he took over duties from his father, this cup of tea had appeared by his side.
It seemed to have been over three years...
Just how old was Lu Yinghan now?
The hand Lu Jiansen had reached out toward the teacup trembled slightly.
His calm heart grew restless and irritated once more, and a sharp throb shot through his head.
Habitually furrowing his brow, the pounding in his temples intensified until his head reached an uncomfortable ache.
He raised both hands to massage his throbbing temples, his mind recalling the soothing massages that used to relax him.
A pair of frail little hands, earnestly pressing into his temples to ease his aching head.
Opening his bleary eyes, Lu Jiansen felt a jolt in his chest.
The one who had always done these things for him was Lu Yinghan.
Yet today's Lu Yinghan had felt so completely foreign...
Lu Jiansen sat in his chair, lost in thought for a long while...
...
The next morning at five-thirty.
Lu Yinghan opened her heavy eyelids, blinking rapidly to clear her head.
She didn't want to eat breakfast with the family, and this timing was just right—Butler Liu and the other maids were already awake and preparing the meal.
She walked into the kitchen in high spirits.
The smile on Lu Yinghan's face froze solid the moment she caught sight of the figure sitting in the dining room.
She was caught in a dilemma—unable to step forward, yet unable to turn back.
Lu Xiong, seated at the head of the table, had already spotted her.
Sigh!
Letting out a heavy sigh in her heart, Lu Yinghan decided to walk in anyway.
“Good morning.”
Politely greeting this father who rarely spoke to her, Lu Yinghan obediently dragged a chair and a cushion over, then climbed onto it.
Lu Xiong's brow instantly furrowed.
“Lu Yinghan!”
“Yes?”
Lu Yinghan looked at Lu Xiong in confusion. She knew this tone all too well; whenever Lu Xiong was expressing displeasure, the inflection at the end of his voice would tilt slightly upward.
Yet she had no idea what he was dissatisfied about.
Meeting her clear, puzzled eyes, Lu Xiong choked back his words.
His brow knit tighter and tighter until deep creases formed between his eyebrows.
Had he not gotten up early and caught sight of his daughter, Lu Xiong might not have even remembered that he hadn't seen her all day yesterday.
Her attitude today was utterly stiff.
She hadn't called him “Dad” like she usually did.
Although she met his gaze with far more boldness now, a clear rift was forming between them.
What was she playing at?
Throwing a fit against her own biological father at such a young age? Trying to distance herself?
Not very old, but she certainly had quite a temper.
That was Lu Xiong's immediate thought.
Identical to what Lu Jiansen had thought.
In his mind, Lu Xiong compared Lu Yinghan to Lu Xuanyao from head to toe.
His dissatisfaction with Lu Yinghan only grew deeper.
“What are you doing up so early?”
“Nothing. I was just hungry, so I got up to eat.”
“Hungry? Did you wake up to eat at this hour yesterday morning too? In that case, you should have been starving by noon. Why didn't you come out to eat lunch yesterday?”
Such interrogating and reproachful words thoroughly ruined Lu Yinghan's appetite.
Right now, she only wanted to hop down and head straight back to her room.
“I was resting yesterday at noon. I've been going to sleep a bit late recently.”
“You're just a kid, what are you staying up late for? Are you still bringing your eldest brother late-night snacks?”
“Yes. I couldn't stay up any longer, so starting last night, I stopped.”
Lu Xiong's brow smoothed out slightly.
“Mm, that's more like it. You should learn from your younger sister—early to bed, early to rise. And when you see your elders, greet them properly and address them by their proper titles.”
Lu Yinghan glanced sideways at Lu Xiong.
There wasn't a single ripple in her heart.
Yesterday was like this, and today was the same.
In the eyes of the Lu family, there was only her younger sister, Lu Xuanyao.
Sometimes, she couldn't even fathom whether she was truly Lu Xiong and his wife's biological daughter.
Yet Lu Yinghan bore a strong resemblance to the late Old Master Lu.
So she was undeniably a member of the Lu family.
However, ever since Lu Xuanyao was born, the frail, sickly child had instantly monopolized all the love and care in the household.
At barely two years old, Lu Yinghan had thrown tantrums at first too.
When had it started? When had she become like this?
So humble, constantly walking on eggshells and reading their expressions.
Was it because of Lu Xiong's scoldings and the criticism from her three older brothers? Or was it her mother's reproachful gaze?
Every sign had pointed to the same message: she, Lu Yinghan, was the bad child.
So she had locked away her childish temper and willful nature, learning to be considerate of them and do things for them.
It had worked wonders—the result being that they gradually ignored her completely.
“Yinghan, your sister likes your hairclip. Could you let your sister have it first? Mommy will buy you another one next time.”
“Okay, Mommy. Here you go.”
And then her mother had forgotten to buy her one, but she couldn't say anything, or her mother would get angry.
“Yinghan, this room of yours is a bit bigger. Your sister's health is delicate, and her current room is a little small with poor air circulation. Could you let your sister have your room first? Daddy will renovate an even bigger room for you later.”
“Mm-hmm, it's fine, Daddy.”
In the end, Lu Xuanyao occupied two rooms all to herself, while she still lived in that storage room that had been hastily cleared out back then.
The more Lu Yinghan thought about it, the colder her heart turned, as if plunged into an icehouse.
She had nothing left to argue or discuss with the Lu family.
Turning her head, she looked at Lu Xiong with a calm expression, parting her lips to exhale softly.
“Understood, Father.”
The word “Father” pierced Lu Xiong's heart like a sharp sword.
He instantly snapped his gaze up from the newspaper to stare at Lu Yinghan.
All that met his eyes was her calm, placid expression and distant gaze...
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