After sitting blankly in the dining room for a while, Lu Yinghan snapped back to her senses.
It didn't matter; anywhere was fine.
However, she was currently lacking two things...
She still needed to discuss it with Lu Jiansen. If it didn't work out, she simply wouldn't go.
Firm in her resolve, Lu Yinghan scarfed down the rest of her breakfast and headed straight to Lu Jiansen's study.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
“Come in.”
She gently pushed open the door to Lu Jiansen's study.
A momentary daze washed over Lu Yinghan's eyes.
How long had it been since she had last seen this study?
Shaking her head, Lu Yinghan looked up at Lu Jiansen, who was adjusting his clothes to head out.
“Eldest Brother, there's something I'd like to discuss with you.”
Lu Jiansen's expression instantly turned impatient.
“Get straight to the point! Anything is negotiable except refusing to go to school.”
Lu Yinghan shrugged. She couldn't wait to go to school so she wouldn't have to face them all day.
Clearing her throat, she said, “I would like to borrow some money from you to buy a phone and a laptop. I'll make a note of it and pay you back in the future.”
Silence fell over the study...
“Lu Yinghan...”
Lu Jiansen felt an odd sensation from the current atmosphere.
His younger sister was using formal address with him, speaking to her own biological brother about borrowing funds, and promising to repay him.
Setting aside the matter of money for a moment.
Did she not have a phone?
Yaoyao's tablet and phone were always the latest and greatest; whenever a new model came out, their father would buy it for her.
He had always assumed Lu Yinghan would benefit from Yaoyao's perks and have her own tablet or phone.
Now, however, it seemed that wasn't the case.
Lu Xiong's reaction earlier had also caught Lu Jiansen's attention slightly.
“I'll buy them for you. The Lu family hasn't sunk so low that you need to borrow money for little things like this.”
These words were meant for Lu Yinghan.
Lu Yinghan nodded obediently on the surface, but in her heart, she still noted down this debt.
She didn't want to owe them anything.
Seeing that Lu Jiansen was willing to buy these two devices for her, Lu Yinghan politely said goodbye.
She walked out of the study without looking back once.
“...”
Lu Jiansen's brow knitted so tightly it was visibly contorted.
Since Lu Yinghan was already gone from the study, he suppressed the annoyance in his heart and headed out for work.
As he reached the entrance, one of the maids happened to be heading out carrying garbage bags.
Straightening his tie, Lu Jiansen caught a faint scent of lavender drifting past his nose.
He turned his head toward one bag that looked different from the other bulging trash bags.
It was so flat that one would have thought it was completely empty.
Yet lying clearly inside was a half-finished sachet along with some dried lavender flowers.
Lu Yinghan had thrown it away.
Lu Jiansen froze at the entrance instantly.
Although he had never seen this item before and had never heard Lu Yinghan say she was making a sachet for him, Lu Jiansen was utterly certain right now that Lu Yinghan was the one who had discarded it.
“Young Master?”
Seeing that they were about to run late for work, the driver at the door turned around and called out to Lu Jiansen with an awkward expression.
“Understood. Let's go.”
Getting into the luxury car, Lu Jiansen departed from the Lu family residence.
The maid brought out the trash bags from the other rooms around that time.
She glanced down at the flat garbage bag.
Her eyes went wide all at once.
“Huh?! Where did the sachet inside go?! Where are the flowers?! Did I lose them?! Oh no, where did the trash fall?!”
Fearing for her job, the maid spent the entire day searching nervously, completely unaware that both items were sitting safely inside a drawer in Lu Jiansen's office at the company.
After leaving Lu Jiansen's study, Lu Yinghan began wandering around the Lu family villa.
Even in her previous life, she hadn't been familiar with the layout of the home; at most, she knew where everyone's rooms were, along with the dining room and the small garden. As for the rest, she had never explored them.
Truly foolish to the extreme.
Lu Yinghan let out a cold sneer in her heart.
She continued strolling through the mansion.
As she walked toward the garden, the silvery, bell-like laughter of a child drifted over.
Lu Yinghan looked toward the garden.
The sun was just right, shining brightly into the gorgeous garden.
Lu Xuanyao sat on a swing their parents had specially made for her, while her mother pushed her from behind.
Watching her swing higher and higher.
Both were laughing with utmost delight.
Sunlight brushed across Lu Xuanyao's tender yet pale face, making her appear as fragile as a crystal doll, yet peerlessly beautiful.
It dazzled Lu Yinghan's eyes.
A twinge in her chest sent a throb of pain all the way to the tips of Lu Yinghan's fingers.
She hurried to rub her fingers together and massage her chest to ease the piercing ache.
Lu Xuanyao bathed in sunlight stood in stark contrast to Lu Yinghan inside the shadowy room.
After watching for a while longer, Lu Yinghan quietly left, looking no more.
“Hm?”
He Shu, who was feeding Lu Xuanyao some water, suddenly felt a jolt in her heart.
She snapped her head up to look at the window where Lu Yinghan had just been standing.
Reaching out her right hand to cover her chest, she breathed slowly.
For a fleeting moment, she had sensed an unfamiliar aura—but even more, a feeling that something important was drifting away from her.
“Mommy? What's wrong?”
Lu Xuanyao tilted her head to look at He Shu. Clipped in her hair was the very hairpin Lu Yinghan loved the most.
“Ah, it's nothing. Mommy was just daydreaming for a moment.”
Hearing Lu Xuanyao's voice, He Shu softened a bit.
Tossing aside the momentary unease in her heart, she giggled and began playing with Lu Xuanyao again.
Not long after Lu Yinghan returned to her room with an indifferent expression, there was a knock at her door.
It was Butler Liu. In his hands, he carried the phone and laptop she had mentioned to Lu Jiansen that morning.
“Miss, here are the phone and laptop Eldest Young Master asked me to give you. Let me activate them for you first.”
Butler Liu knelt on one knee to meet Lu Yinghan at eye level, attentively explaining how to operate the phone.
“Thank you, Grandpa Butler. When I watched Eldest Brother work before, I learned how to turn a computer on and off and how to use a phone. Don't worry.”
Butler Liu gave Lu Yinghan a curious look. Lu Yinghan took the phone and laptop from his hands.
A flurry of deft taps later, Butler Liu was left completely speechless.
“It is good as long as Miss knows how to use them. If there is anything you do not understand, or if something gets damaged, just call for me directly. I will send someone over to repair it for you.”
“Mm-hmm, thank you, Grandpa Butler! I'll take good care of them!”
Butler Liu looked kindly at Lu Yinghan as she fiddled with the phone. He stood up and bowed slightly toward her.
“Congratulations on starting school, Miss.”
Lifting her head sharply, her eyes reflected this lovely elderly man, smiling gently and giving her his heartfelt blessings.
Failing to hold back her emotions, the tip of her nose flushed red, and tears welled up to fill Lu Yinghan's eyes.
She clenched her molars tightly, refusing to let herself cry.
Yet that pair of tear-filled eyes struck a fierce tremor through Butler Liu's heart.
Even though he was past sixty and had seen a lifetime of worldly affairs, when he met those eyes—clear, devoid of the slightest impurity, and striking straight to the soul—Butler Liu had to admit it. He could not bring himself to remain indifferent toward this little girl.
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