Lu Xiong's pupils trembled slightly, and his mouth fell open unconsciously.
Breathing felt a little difficult.
Father?
Lu Yinghan's expression didn't shift in the slightest.
Her eyes were clear and bright, yet they felt thousands of miles away.
In the depths of her eyes, Lu Xiong was nowhere to be found.
“Lu Yinghan...”
“Yes, Father.”
Lu Xiong's voice was low, ground out through the gaps of his teeth.
Lu Yinghan didn't shrink back. Meeting Lu Xiong's gaze head-on, she slowly and steadily repeated the title that caused a dull ache in his heart.
“Dad!”
In his mind, Lu Xiong recalled Lu Yinghan calling him “Dad” in her soft, tender voice...
What expression had she worn when calling him Dad?
“Bang!”
The sharp crash of a cup slamming forcefully onto the table gave Lu Yinghan a start.
Puzzled, she looked at Lu Xiong, whose neck was flushed red with rage.
“I told you to address your elders properly, and you deliberately talk back to me? Huh?!”
“Am I not allowed to call you Father? Isn't that showing even more respect to an elder?”
Lu Xiong felt as if his lungs were about to burst with rage!
What was going on?
What had gotten into Lu Yinghan now?
Deliberately keeping her distance from him—what was she trying to pull?
Huh?
“What are you two doing?”
Lu Jiansen, who hadn't slept well all night, walked into the dining room and immediately sensed the strange, oppressive atmosphere.
Lu Jiansen's voice snapped Lu Xiong back to his senses.
“Jiansen, you came at just the right time. Look—just look at your sister! She's full of attitude now! She's even defying us!”
Fuming with anger, Lu Xiong pointed an accusatory finger directly at Lu Yinghan.
Lu Jiansen's brow twitched.
He had witnessed this side of Lu Yinghan even earlier than his father had.
After that tirade against Lu Yinghan, an awkward silence settled over the three of them in the dining room.
Lu Yinghan had completely lost her appetite.
All she wanted now was to go back to her room.
Thinking so, she acted on it.
“I'll head back first and come back later.”
“Stop right there! Where are your manners?!”
Lu Xiong shot up from his seat, barking to halt Lu Yinghan in her tracks.
Lu Yinghan's brows finally shifted.
“Father, is there anything else?”
Now it was Lu Jiansen's turn to widen his eyes.
“Father...” he murmured under his breath.
A dark glint flickered across Lu Jiansen's sharp eyes.
“Lu Yinghan, let's have a proper talk today. Dad is here too. If you have any grievances, you can tell us directly, and while you're at it, explain why you're acting like this.”
Lu Jiansen pulled out a chair, crossed his hands on the table, and fixed her with an interrogating stare.
Lu Xiong sat back down as well, propping his elbows on the table with his hands resting beneath his chin.
Neither man's gaze showed the slightest intention of having a proper talk.
Grievances?
If she actually spoke up, they would have a mountain of excuses to refute her.
The men of the Lu family would never allow themselves to be in the wrong.
When she was five or six, she had tried arguing back.
All it brought was even deeper disgust and reprimands.
Lu Yinghan clenched her teeth. Resting her hands on her lap, she balled them into fists and lowered her head, refusing to look at them.
“Speak. Everyone is busy, and we have to get to work soon. We have no obligation to sit here and indulge your tantrum. If you have a grievance, say it directly.”
Lu Jiansen's voice grew louder.
It pounded against Lu Yinghan's heart wave after wave.
Grievances? She didn't dare harbor any.
Harboring grievances meant she still held a glimmer of hope for them.
With that thought, Lu Yinghan lifted her head, looking straight at the two men staring down at her with cold eyes.
“Eldest Brother, Father, I don't have any grievances. But must I be criticized merely for doing what I find appropriate or what I want to do?
When Father saw me this morning, I greeted him, but he told me I should learn from Yaoyao to address him properly and respect my elders.
So I called him Father. Isn't that an honorific?
Why is Father still angry, and why must he rope Eldest Brother in to criticize me too?
I don't understand. It seems that no matter what I do, you both criticize me.
Have I not done enough?
Whatever Yaoyao liked, I gave it all to her—jewelry, my room, I gave it all up.
You told me to eat quietly on my own and not cause trouble for everyone, so I learned to eat alone and stopped bothering you.
This morning, I only woke up early to eat. Must I accept your criticism even for that?”
Lu Yinghan's expression showed none of the expected sorrow or indignation; it was as if she were merely telling a story.
Her deliberate pace and distant tone left the two men sitting across from her at a complete loss for words.
If she had cried and thrown a tantrum like before...
Cried and thrown a tantrum?
Lu Xiong's heart jolted violently.
When was the last time Lu Yinghan had made a scene with him?
And what she said about the room...
Yaoyao was in frail health, and Yinghan's room had been larger, so he indeed had told her to yield the room to Yaoyao...
Then where was she living now?
Yaoyao's old room had also been turned into a walk-in closet.
Then where on earth was Lu Yinghan living now?
Reality struck Lu Xiong like a physical blow, sending his heart thumping wildly.
A sudden chill seeped into his limbs.
Even his toes began to turn cold.
From the corner of his eye, Lu Jiansen glanced at Lu Xiong, observing his expression.
His father's pupils were constricted as he stared at Lu Yinghan.
It seemed he had remembered something.
Yet Lu Jiansen's attitude didn't soften.
Yaoyao was sickly; Lu Yinghan's room was spacious with better ventilation.
Was giving it up really such a big deal?
The Lu family had plenty of rooms; it wasn't as if she lacked one.
She was so small, how much space could she possibly need?
The way she addressed him had also changed to Eldest Brother instead of Brother Sen, just like how she addressed their father.
She was clearly throwing a tantrum.
Lu Jiansen's mind spun rapidly, searching for a way to break her of this willful habit.
Keeping an eye on Lu Xiong, he suddenly caught sight of the newspaper under his father's hands.
A spark of inspiration flashed in his mind!
“You should be turning seven this year, right? It's time for you to go to elementary school.”
Hm?
Now it was Lu Yinghan's turn to look up at Lu Jiansen in bewilderment.
If things followed the trajectory of her previous life, they wouldn't remember her until two years later, when they finally sent her to a public elementary school.
Had she triggered a butterfly effect?
A faint ripple stirred in her heart.
It smoothed out almost immediately.
Going early or late made no difference; it would be a public school either way.
Besides, her current age was the proper age to start elementary school.
In that sense, she supposed she should thank this eldest brother of hers for having a sudden burst of common sense this morning and remembering to send a child to school.
“Right, school! That international elite elementary school is still enrolling students this year. I'll go check right now to see if there are any spots left.”
Lu Xiong, whose mind was still in turmoil, instantly cleared up upon hearing Lu Jiansen mention elementary school.
Abandoning his breakfast, he strode briskly toward the study.
It didn't look like an eager walk.
It looked more like an escape.
Lu Xiong didn't want to admit it, but he didn't want to face Lu Yinghan either.
If he managed to secure Lu Yinghan's admission into an elite school, his conscience would be relieved, and he wouldn't owe her anything.
With that thought, he moved even faster to handle Lu Yinghan's enrollment into this elite school.
The two men arbitrarily planned out what school Lu Yinghan would attend all on their own.
Lu Jiansen also excused himself under the guise of work, brewed a cup of coffee, and left. He had nothing left to say to Lu Yinghan.
Leaving Lu Yinghan alone to stare blankly in the kitchen.
Wasn't it supposed to be a public elementary school?
Rate on N.U.
