Thanks to Ji Yunhuai, the Lu Family's recognition banquet proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
This young master, widely regarded as the most capricious and unrestrained in the entire Imperial Capital, probably never expected that his actions would inadvertently do some good.
However, things weren't completely calm. The Lu Family had hosted this recognition banquet with great fanfare, even attracting the attendance of the Gu family, which naturally drew numerous reporters that day.
By the next day, besides reports marketing Lu Jiaoyue's beauty, some media outlets published articles suggesting discord between the two Lu sisters, citing as evidence that the eldest Lu daughter never appeared throughout the event.
Lu Xiaoxiao thought these reporters were really sharp, unwilling to let slip even the slightest hint of gossip.
No wonder they could make a living in this field—they were simply too capable!
However, online discussion about this speculation remained limited, and it was likely to be forgotten in a few days.
After all, with countless new gossip stories emerging daily, netizens wouldn't keep their attention fixed on any single matter for long.
In recent days, Lu Yubai hadn't foolishly shown up to harass her, and even seemed to be avoiding her, which put Lu Xiaoxiao in an extremely cheerful mood.
She knew Lu Yubai would suspect her first regarding the snake incident, but suspicion was useless since he had no evidence.
That snake wasn't actually real—it was just an illusion generated by the System within a limited time frame, designed to dissipate once the time limit expired, which was why they couldn't find it later when everyone searched.
Though it sounded like a small trick, it had cost Lu Xiaoxiao quite a few points, making her rather heartbroken.
To deal with that troublemaker, she had really splurged.
Fortunately, it ultimately bought her peace and quiet, so it wasn't a loss.
In contrast to Lu Yubai, Lu Baichen had become very clingy these past few days. He would show Lu Xiaoxiao every new painting he completed and wait to hear her evaluation.
Lu Xiaoxiao was well aware of how amateurish and dry her comments were, and she didn't quite understand why he always seemed so interested.
Also, for someone with autism, wasn't he being a bit too active?!
At this point in the storyline, the autistic character wasn't acting autistic, the true daughter hadn't broken down, and the Lu parents were still so tolerant of her. Lu Xiaoxiao seriously suspected this world was showing signs of breaking down and could only privately urge the System to report more to its superiors.
One day, as Lu Xiaoxiao passed by Lu Baichen's room, she was, unsurprisingly, called in by him again.
"Sister," Lu Baichen called her, his tone seemingly a bit excited. "I painted a picture for you."
"Huh?" Lu Xiaoxiao was somewhat surprised. Although Lu Baichen had previously shown her his paintings and even invited her to collaborate, he had never given her any of his works.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaoxiao's first thought was that she was about to get rich again.
[Hehe! Third Brother's paintings are so valuable. Selling it would definitely fetch a lot of money!]
Lu Baichen froze, his expression turning serious as if he were displeased. "You can't sell the painting I give you."
Lu Xiaoxiao immediately deflated.
[No way, dude! It's almost like you can read my mind. That's kind of creepy!]
Lu Baichen stiffened, quickly pretending nothing was wrong and averting his gaze.
If his sister found out he could hear her thoughts, she would definitely think he was weird and dislike him, right?
He was already seen as abnormal in everyone's eyes—he didn't want to appear even more unusual.
Lu Baichen had always developed mentally slower than his peers. When he was younger, he wasn't as quiet as he is now.
However, he often struggled to quickly grasp the meaning behind others' words and couldn't distinguish whether people were speaking sincerely or just being polite. Taking everything at face value naturally created communication barriers.
Over time, he became reluctant to engage in conversation, though this didn't mean he lost his desire for expression.
The paintbrush in his hand became Lu Baichen's other mouth – he would pour all his emotions onto paper through painting.
Lu Baichen's paintings possessed remarkable intensity, yet they still created a world that belonged solely to him, not art that the general public could understand. Passersby would often glance politely and compliment how well he painted.
As for deeper resonance, there was naturally none.
Moreover, to protect Lu Baichen's self-esteem, no one would openly say "I don't really understand this," instead they would rack their brains to interpret the works, even when their interpretations completely missed what he intended to convey.
The Lu Family protected Lu Baichen extremely well, almost coddling him like fragile glassware.
But what Lu Baichen truly wanted to hear was genuine opinions.
Unfiltered, direct words, even those that might hurt him.
This was why Lu Baichen now preferred spending time with Lu Xiaoxiao.
Since he could hear Lu Xiaoxiao's inner thoughts, he didn't need to guess whether her spoken words were genuine, which made him feel at ease.
Simultaneously, this gave him new understanding of Lu Xiaoxiao, and these insights became inspiration for his paintings of her.
Would his little sister like his work?
Filled with various expectations, Lu Baichen's expression grew tense and he held his breath as he unveiled the canvas.
He had already decided – if he detected even a hint of disapproval from Lu Xiaoxiao's thoughts, he would tear the painting and throw it in the trash.
Lu Xiaoxiao knew nothing of Lu Baichen's mental journey, but from the moment she saw the painting, her expression became utterly astonished.
The reason was simple – the painting was too stunning, with such vibrant colors that it immediately stimulated the visual senses.
It was an oil painting featuring a half-length portrait of a young girl whose eyebrows and eyes bore remarkable resemblance to Lu Xiaoxiao. She was raising her right hand, placing a mask over her face.
The mask's lower right corner was damaged with several cracks, revealing exquisitely painted, made-up features. A deep crimson-black rose replaced the left eye, blooming so extravagantly that one couldn't doubt it would wither the next moment.
Through the cracks and damage, one could see the girl's clear eye beneath the mask. On her original face, devoid of makeup, her smile shone brilliantly.
Looking downward, one could see the girl wearing complex, luxurious garments.
No, perhaps "wearing" wasn't the right word, as it resembled more of a shell than soft fabric. The exterior, like the mask, was covered in cracks, and through them, a simple, solid-colored dress faintly appeared, seemingly the girl's original attire.
The background was sparse with scattered wisps of clouds, pale in color yet creating perfect negative space.
Lu Xiaoxiao stared at the painting in stunned silence, unable to utter any other comment besides "Holy shit."
[Good heavens, this is a Louvre-level masterpiece! What a gorgeous painting! Am I even worthy of viewing this kind of national banquet-level art?]
[Um… so is this painting supposed to be me? What's it trying to express? Did Third Brother see right through my two-faced nature? That's incredible?]
[Ah, whatever. It's beautiful and that's all that matters. I'm going to frame it in a gold frame when I get back—ordinary frames don't deserve it!]