The reason Lu Xiaoxiao was able to pull herself together and continue acting was mainly because Lu Jiaoyue had already calmed the Tibetan Mastiff.
The female leads in these kinds of stories were usually like Disney princesses – naturally beloved by small animals. That terrifyingly large dog became incredibly gentle in Lu Jiaoyue's hands, obediently lying on the ground and wagging its tail.
As for why she dared to throw herself into Lu Xunli's arms, it was because at this point in the original story, the family member who had the best relationship with the original host was this eldest brother.
After all, they had been siblings for so many years, Lu Xunli did have some affection for the original host. Plus, with their significant age difference and his mature mindset, he wouldn't hold prejudices against her like that brat Lu Yubai, and he always approached matters reasonably.
Seeing him frown, Lu Xiaoxiao doubled down on playing the victim: "Wahhhhhh brother, I feel like I can't breathe properly, my heart's about to jump out of my chest, I feel so terrible wahhhhhh."
Hearing this, Lu Xunli immediately grew concerned, reaching out to support Lu Xiaoxiao's arm while casting a disapproving look toward Lu Yubai.
Just as he was about to voice his reprimand, he suddenly heard Lu Xiaoxiao's voice again.
[Ahem, sorry bro, I was lying – I'm fine. But I was genuinely scared to death just now! How can Lu Yubai still act like such a brat at his age?!]
"…?"
Lu Xunli froze, looking down at Lu Xiaoxiao only to find her still clutching his sleeve and crying, her sobs uninterrupted, not at all like she had spoken.
After waiting a moment without hearing Lu Xunli speak, Lu Xiaoxiao looked up at him pitifully and called out "Brother?" again.
Only then did Lu Xunli snap out of it, saying coldly to Lu Yubai: "Lu Yubai, I need an explanation from you."
[Yes! Big brother's got my back! You're the best, big brother!]
When the second mental voice sounded, Lu Xunli specifically glanced at Lu Xiaoxiao out of the corner of his eye, confirming she still hadn't opened her mouth.
Now it was certain – for some unknown reason, he had suddenly gained the ability to hear his sister's thoughts.
"B-Big brother, why are you home at this hour?" Lu Yubai scratched his head, forcing an awkward smile, his previously unruly tone suddenly much meeker. "I was just joking with Lu Xiaoxiao, I didn't know she'd get so scared…"
As the eldest son of the Lu Family, Lu Xunli had been training at Lu Corporation under Lu Yuan for several years. Having spent much time with his father, he had unconsciously absorbed about seventy to eighty percent of Lu Yuan's demeanor – his cold expression was quite intimidating.
Clearly unconvinced by Lu Yubai's explanation, his tone grew even colder: "Everyone in the family knows Xiaoxiao is afraid of Lightning. A joke is only a joke when both parties find it funny, otherwise it's just offense."
Lu Yubai hung his head, knowing he was in the wrong, stammering and not daring to argue back, like a puppy with its tail between its legs.
Satisfied, Lu Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Xunli with starry eyes.
[Exactly! See how reasonable our big brother is! Big brother, you definitely need to teach him a proper lesson. This guy not only disrespects me, but he also bullies classmates at school! He's so awful!]
This mental outburst left both Lu Xunli and Lu Yubai stunned.
Lu Yubai felt panicked inside. On one hand, he wondered how Lu Xiaoxiao knew about what happened at school; on the other hand, he felt wrongly accused.
That level of behavior couldn’t really be considered bullying, could it? Besides… besides, the other party had provoked him first!
Thinking this, his rebuttal slipped out almost involuntarily.
“Hey! You shouldn’t…”
After just a few words, he suddenly realized this would expose his ability of Mind Reading and hastily cut himself off.
Even though having superpowers was cool, what if his older brother thought he was insane?
At this thought, Lu Yubai gritted his teeth and forced his words to take a sharp turn: “Y-you… you don’t need to act so pitiful, okay! Lightning didn’t even hurt you—I was watching!”
Lu Xiaoxiao raised her voice: “Who says he didn’t? His claws were practically on my face! It hurts so much, the skin must be broken!”
As she spoke, she tugged at Lu Xunli’s sleeve, gesturing for him to look at her neck.
Lu Xunli looked and indeed found a small scratch where the skin had been slightly scraped.
Lu Yubai immediately leaned in to look as well. When he saw the tiny, almost invisible mark that wasn’t even bleeding, he was utterly exasperated.
“You’re exaggerating way too much! Besides, if we wait any longer, that scratch will heal on its own. If this isn’t an act, what is?”
Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t bother arguing with him. Instead, she buried her head in Lu Xunli’s chest and continued to sob softly.
A green tea’s best weapon was tears—there was no need to fight over who was right in an argument.
Anyway, she believed Lu Xunli had both the strength and the means to handle things.
Lu Yubai: “…”
Lu Xunli’s expression was stern. After hearing Lu Xiaoxiao’s inner thoughts, he knew perfectly well that she wasn’t seriously hurt, but her distress from being frightened by the dog was genuine, so he let her carry on with her dramatics.
What concerned him more was the mention of Lu Yubai bullying classmates, which Lu Xiaoxiao had inadvertently revealed.
In Lu Xunli’s impression, his younger brother, though mischievous and hard to manage, was merely immature rather than truly malicious.
He really didn’t want to believe that Lu Yubai would bully the weak at school.
He considered questioning him outright, but since the information came unexpectedly from Lu Xiaoxiao’s thoughts and lacked concrete evidence, Lu Xunli held back. He decided to investigate first and talk to his brother privately later.
Regardless, Lu Yubai was in the wrong today and needed a warning.
“Apologize to Xiaoxiao now,” Lu Xunli said. “If you can’t control your pet properly from now on, and something like this happens even once more, I’ll discuss with Father about giving Lightning away. I mean what I say.”
Lightning had been with the Lu Family for many years and had grown up alongside Lu Yubai, forming a deep bond with him.
Hearing his older brother’s serious warning, Lu Yubai grew genuinely afraid and immediately muttered an “I’m sorry” to Lu Xiaoxiao.
Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t care for his apology at all, but seeing Lu Yubai yield still felt satisfying. She pretended to be magnanimous and accepted his apology.
Of course, only on the surface.
Once back in her room, Lu Xiaoxiao immediately asked the System, “Can points be exchanged for living creatures?”
The System sounded wary: “What do you intend to do?”
Lu Xiaoxiao: "Don't worry about it. Lu Yubai's scare tactics are too lame. I'm going to give him an upgraded plus version so this kid understands there's always someone better and higher mountains beyond these."
System: "……"
It couldn't understand why its Host, whose combined age across two worlds could make her old enough to be Lu Yubai's mother, could still be so childish.
It felt like a conflict between kindergarten children – if you hit me once, I must hit back, and then the two would fight endlessly over who gets the last hit.
But the System didn't dare to advise against it, afraid that if it did, Lu Xiaoxiao might redirect her grudge onto it.
So that night, Lu Yubai's screams echoed throughout the entire Lu Family residence.
When the awakened Lu Yuan and Song Zhilan rushed to his room, they found Lu Yubai curled up in a corner crying so hard that snot bubbles formed, hoarsely claiming he had found a snake in his bed.
After searching inside and out for a long time, the group found no trace of any snake and comforted Lu Yubai, saying he must have been confused by a nightmare.
Lu Yubai insisted it wasn't a dream and made a scene refusing to sleep alone.
Ultimately, this farce ended with Lu Yuan giving Lu Yubai a beating.
Lu Xiaoxiao departed with her deed done, her achievements and reputation remaining unknown.