“Lie down properly.”
On the second floor of the Lu family villa, Su Tang helped the drunk Lu Huai onto the bed, so exhausted that she could barely straighten her back.
She casually pulled the quilt over him and tucked him in before turning her head to look at the handsome face of the sleeping man.
At twenty-two, Lu Huai had clean, refined features and came from a top-tier wealthy family. After considering all her options, he was the most perfect wealthy husband she could possibly ask for.
An hour ago, she had received a call saying that Lu Huai had drunk too much.
She hurried to the private room, but just as she was about to push the door open, she heard casual laughter and conversation from inside.
“Huai, where’s your little shadow today?”
“Exactly. Su Tang usually calls you Brother Huai so sweetly. I thought she was practically glued to you.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Then Lu Huai’s cool voice rang out.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Su Tang is my sister.”
Sister!
Those two simple words instantly froze Su Tang’s hand on the doorknob, while the smile on her face stiffened.
Before she could recover, another teasing voice rang out.
“You’ve been childhood sweethearts for ten years. She doesn’t get close to anyone except you, and you still call her your sister? I think she’s your sweetheart.”
The private room immediately erupted in even louder laughter.
Lu Huai’s expression turned cold as he looked at his friend.
“Jiang Zhounian, I’ll say it again. I only see her as my sister.”
Seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly turned awkward, another person immediately tried to smooth things over.
“So she really is your sister. I’ve noticed you’ve been spending quite a lot of time with Sun Wenyu lately. Could it be that she’s the one you like?”
Sun Wenyu was the beauty of the Art Department, bright and dazzling, with an excellent family background.
Su Tang curled her lips. She was indeed a good match for Lu Huai.
Lu Huai’s hand holding the wineglass paused. He gave a low laugh and admitted frankly, “I do have feelings for her. We’re getting to know each other.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and immediately became serious.
“Don’t tell anyone about this. Once Tang Tang gets here, no one is allowed to mention it.”
Jiang Zhounian clicked his tongue and said unhappily, “Huai, seriously, Su Tang came from the countryside. Relying on the fact that her father saved your grandmother’s life, she’s been eating and living at the Lu family’s expense for ten years!”
“For all these years, you’ve been taking care of her. Haven’t you repaid that debt of gratitude by now?”
Lu Huai frowned but said nothing.
Over the years, his grandmother had always said that he and Su Tang were the same age and would have plenty to talk about, so she had instructed him to take good care of Su Tang’s daily needs.
It was not as though he had never brought up the matter. His older brother, Lu Zheng, had also been involved.
But the old lady had said that his older brother was already overwhelmed with the affairs of the company every day, and he was six years older than Su Tang. They would have a generation gap when communicating, let alone being able to take good care of her.
And so, he and Su Tang had begun spending ten years going to school and coming home together.
Su Tang clung to him every day, insisting on doing everything together with him, no matter how big or small the matter was.
She was like a little shadow that he could never shake off.
Ten years, day after day.
He had grown somewhat tired of such a life and wanted something different.
Preferably, a life without Su Tang.
Listening to their conversation, Su Tang felt a chill spread through her heart.
Ever since she had started following Lu Huai at the age of twelve, he had never treated her badly.
She loved the osmanthus cakes from the old shop in the western part of the city, and no matter whether it was windy or rainy, he would take a detour after class to buy them for her.
She was afraid of thunder, and whenever there was a storm at night, he would take the initiative to go to her room and quietly tell her amusing stories to distract her.
Whenever she casually mentioned some little accessory or picture book she liked, it would appear in her room within a few days.
Every time she was hurt by something her mother said, she would think that although Heaven had taken so many things away from her, at least she had met a man who genuinely cared for her.
She thought she had found love.
She never expected that he had only ever regarded her as a younger sister.
Heh!
Thinking of this, Su Tang gave a self-mocking smile.
Ten years ago, her father had sacrificed his life to save Lu Huai’s grandmother.
After her father died, her mother, Xia Juying, abandoned her and remarried. The Lu family had originally intended to formally adopt her.
But somehow, Xia Juying had heard about it and rushed over at the last moment. She clung tightly to Su Tang’s household registration documents and refused to let go no matter what.
In the end, they could only compromise.
She remained at the Lu family as a live-in dependent, transforming from a rural girl into the Lu family’s nominally adopted daughter.
Her fate had changed overnight.
Only later did she discover that Xia Juying had always regarded her as a money tree that could eventually bring in a huge bride price.
From childhood onward, Xia Juying had repeatedly drilled one thing into her.
Her father was dead, and she had no one to rely on. She had to cling tightly to the Lu family, please the members of the Lu family, and eventually marry into a wealthy and powerful family. Only then would her father’s death not have been in vain.
For ten whole years, Su Tang had obediently followed her mother’s instructions. She had been devoted to the Lu family matriarch and had treated the two Lu brothers with warmth and ingratiating obedience.
Gradually, she discovered that among all the wealthy families in the capital, none could compare with the Lu family.
She thought that if she had to marry into a wealthy family, she might as well marry into the Lu family.
The Lu family had two brothers, but she had always been afraid of the eldest young master, Lu Zheng.
From the very first time she saw Lu Zheng, she had felt that the man possessed an intimidating presence and was someone she could never afford to provoke.
Naturally, she set her sights on Lu Huai instead.
Who would have thought that while the goddess had fallen in love, Xiang Wang had no such feelings?
Seeing that there was no longer any sound coming from inside, Su Tang finally pushed open the door to the private room.
Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward her.
The memory abruptly came to an end.
Su Tang looked back at the sleeping man on the bed and narrowed her eyes.
Although a melon forced off the vine may not be sweet, at least it would quench her thirst.
Why not take advantage of tonight?
Once she slept with him and made the relationship official, she could lock down this long-term source of financial security.
However, for some reason, a sudden wave of drowsiness washed over her.
Su Tang leaned against the edge of the bed, intending to rest for a moment before making her move.
In just ten minutes, a horrifying dream swept over her.
In the dream, she was inside a sweet romance novel about a wealthy family.
Lu Huai was the gentle male lead, but the female lead was not her.
She was merely a greedy, vicious, overreaching cannon-fodder supporting female character.
She schemed against Lu Huai, desperately trying to climb into a wealthy family by marrying into the Lu family, and everything she did fell into Lu Zheng’s eyes.
The Lu family’s head, who had always been patient and restrained, never allowed anyone to scheme against the Lu family.
The book only briefly mentioned her eventual fate.
Su Tang had impure intentions and was discovered by Lu Zheng. From that point onward, she left the Lu family completely and disappeared without a trace.
Everyone assumed that she had failed in her schemes and had run away in shame.
But the Su Tang in the dream felt an icy chill deep in her bones.
After living together for ten years, she understood Lu Zheng far too well.
Lu Zheng’s parents had died unexpectedly many years ago. At only sixteen years old, he had single-handedly shouldered the burden of the enormous, top-tier wealthy family and had remained in control of it ever since.
Now twenty-eight, he was decisive and ruthless, a top-level figure of authority whom no one throughout the entire capital dared to defy.
How could a man like that possibly tolerate an outsider, a supposedly adopted younger sister with impure intentions, scheming against his biological younger brother and coveting the Lu family?
The so-called “disappeared without a trace” could not possibly mean that she had simply left.
He must have quietly erased her from existence.
After ten years of ingratiating herself with the Lu family, she had never imagined that she would ultimately meet such a miserable and brutal end.
Extreme terror instantly overwhelmed her entire body.
In the next moment, she dreamed that she was thrown into the sea alive.
“No!”
Su Tang suddenly jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat, her chest rising and falling violently.
She could almost still hear the impatient voices of two men beside her.
“Just tie a rock to her and throw her into the sea.”
“Exactly! What a shameless woman. A country girl actually thinks she can marry into the Lu family without even considering whether she’s worthy.”
“Let’s hurry. If the head of the family asks about it later and finds out we haven’t dealt with her yet, he’ll be displeased.”
Su Tang pressed a hand against her rapidly pounding chest and suddenly realized something.
She seemed to have foreseen the future.