As dusk settled, the gilded gates of St. Silan Academy glowed with a warm halo under the setting sun.
With the ringing of the school bell, Jing Nian’an stepped out of the teaching building with light, hurried footsteps.
Though she hadn’t absorbed a single word in class, just sitting upright and listening to the lessons had already exhausted her.
Outside the school gates, a black Maybach sedan waited quietly.
The rear window was half-lowered, faintly revealing Jing Lüyan’s tall figure.
The man’s slender fingers rested casually on the leather armrest, while his other hand scrolled through financial reports on a tablet.
His narrow eyes occasionally glanced toward the school entrance, their gaze as deep and dark as ink.
The next moment, a familiar figure entered his line of sight.
Spotting the familiar car, Jing Nian’an immediately broke away from her companions and ran over in her delicate leather shoes.
“Brother!”
As soon as the car door opened, the girl threw herself into the man’s arms.
Her rose-scented hair brushed against Jing Lüyan’s jaw, a sweet fragrance enveloping him.
This scene happened to fall into Chen Yang’s view from behind.
Chen Yang’s pupils shook violently. He spun around and blocked Sheng Ran’s path, stammering, “R-Ran… Ran-ge!”
Sheng Ran was fiddling with the metal buckle of his motorcycle gloves, his hazy blue eyes lifting lazily. “What’s gotten into you?”
A few strands of his golden curls fell, making his handsome face appear even more unruly.
Chen Yang swallowed hard, hesitating as he mumbled, “…It’s just… Ran-ge, I really think you shouldn’t look.”
Sheng Ran narrowed his eyes, scoffed, and shoved him aside. “Are you crazy?”
—And then, he saw it.
The girl stood on her tiptoes, intimately wrapping her arms around the man’s neck, while his hand rested firmly on her waist.
Sheng Ran’s pupils contracted sharply, and the metal buckle on his glove snapped shut with a crisp click.
Chen Yang stole a nervous glance at his expression, screaming internally, “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over!”
But the next second, Sheng Ran tugged at the corner of his mouth and sneered, “What’s so bad about seeing this?”
His voice was light, almost indifferent, yet Chen Yang clearly saw—
—his knuckles turning white from clenching, his eyes gradually tinged with crimson, swirling with a dark, brooding tide.
“That’s that delicate girl’s brother. What’s the problem?”
Sheng Ran asked, his tone casual, yet the end of his sentence tightened slightly.
Chen Yang truly didn’t dare to speak, but…
Bro, do you want to look in a mirror? You’re practically about to cry, you know?
The air froze for a few seconds.
“Ran-ge… are we still going racing?”
Sheng Ran lowered his head, his golden curls falling to obscure his expression.
His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of gloomy coldness. “Not going. You guys go ahead.”
Chen Yang was stunned. “Huh?”
Sheng Ran didn’t answer, simply turning away, his back radiating a suppressed, violent aura.
Chen Yang watched his retreating figure, then glanced at Jing Nian’an, who was still cooing not far away, feeling like he wanted to cry but had no tears.
~
In the car, Jing Nian’an clung to Jing Lüyan like a koala, her porcelain-white face rubbing red marks against the fabric of his suit.
“I’m so tired from class today!”
After saying this, she tilted her face up to look at him. “I studied really hard today!”
The girl’s voice was sweet and soft, carrying a clear tone of seeking praise.
Jing Lüyan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. His large, well-defined hand rested on the back of her head, naturally aware that she had fallen asleep after just twenty minutes of studying.
His thumb gently smoothed her slightly tousled hair as his deep, mellow voice held a touch of helplessness:”Mhm, good girl, go sit properly.”
The girl not only didn’t listen but instead intensified her actions, burrowing deeper into his embrace. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck as she cooed, “No.”
Then she buried her face into the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath of the reassuring, cool fragrance.
—A blend of agarwood and a faint hint of tobacco, a scent unique to Jing Lüyan.
“Brother smells so nice…”
She mumbled vaguely, her nose nuzzling against his Adam’s apple.
As if she were sniffing a cat, a big cat.
Jing Lüyan’s eyes darkened slightly. His long fingers pinched her chin, gently pulling her away. “Be good.”
The girl unwillingly squirmed, ultimately only shifting from straddling him to sitting sideways.
Jing Lüyan helplessly let her have her way, only suddenly realizing…
All these years, what he had taught her was to keep her distance from outsiders, while intimacy between family members was perfectly normal.
This realization stirred a strange feeling in his heart—what about Wen Zhuo?
No, it couldn’t be.
He dismissed the thought in his mind, his fingers unconsciously tightening as he pulled the girl closer into his embrace.
Aside from himself, she wouldn’t rely on anyone else more, nor was she allowed to.
The car fell silent for a moment.
Jing Lüyan picked up his tablet again, his slender fingers sliding across the screen as he browsed through dense financial reports.
Jing Nian’an also glanced over, the complex charts and lengthy text instantly filling her vision.
After just one look, she felt dizzy and mumbled:
“Brother, this stuff looks so headache-inducing. You have to look at this every day—don’t you get tired of it?”
Jing Lüyan’s gaze remained fixed on the screen, his tone indifferent. “No.”
His narrow eyes shifted slightly, glancing at her before asking, “How many desserts did you eat today?”
This question acted like a switch, instantly making the person nestled in his arms spring up.
Jing Nian’an hurriedly moved to sit beside him, her eyes fixed on the window as streetlights flashed by one after another.
As if she were trying hard to count them, or perhaps using it as an excuse to avoid answering.
Her tense shoulders and deliberately calm profile were filled with guilt.
Seeing her guilty expression, the man let out a low chuckle.
The deep laughter echoed in the enclosed car.
The Jing family’s old mansion was brightly lit in the twilight.
As soon as the car stopped in front of the mansion’s fountain, Jing Nian’an eagerly pushed the car door open.
The girl’s slender figure cut through the dusk, her dark green uniform skirt fluttering as she ran all the way into the villa.
In the dining room, Wen Zhuo was placing her favorite tomato beef brisket on the table.
Under the warm yellow light, the man wore a little bear apron, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his well-defined forearms.
Hearing the hurried footsteps, he looked up, his gentle peach blossom eyes filled with tenderness. “Go wash your hands first.”
Before he could finish speaking, Jing Nian’an had already rushed up to him, pouting angrily.
The girl tilted her porcelain-white face, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, as her slender finger pointed accusingly at his chest:
“Wen Zhuo! Tell me! Was it you who snitched?”
Wen Zhuo unhurriedly took off his apron, his long fingers gently grasping her mischievous little hand.
When he looked down at her, his eyelashes cast a gentle shadow under his eyes. “Snitched about what?”
“About me eating desserts!”
Jing Nian’an stood on her tiptoes, her red lips almost touching his chin. “How did Jing Lüyan find out?”
When she mentioned her brother’s name, she deliberately lowered her voice.A glint of mischief flashed in Wen Zhuo’s eyes, yet he feigned confusion with a furrowed brow. “Did you have dessert today?”
The next second, he took her hand and led her toward the bathroom, his thumb gently stroking her palm. “How come I didn’t know about it?”
The girl was instantly at a loss for words, her thick eyelashes fluttering uneasily.
Seizing her moment of distraction, Wen Zhuo turned on the faucet, letting warm water wash over their intertwined fingers.
He then took a towel and gently wiped each of her slender fingers.
Seeing her still racking her brains, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, let’s go eat. Your brother has a surprise for you later.”
In the dining room, Jing Lüyan was already seated.
The man’s slender fingers lightly tapped the table as his gaze swept over the empty dessert area before settling on the two who arrived late.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, his voice low. “Come and eat.”
Jing Nian’an reluctantly moved to the dining table, her red lips pursed in displeasure when she saw the table full of dishes but conspicuously lacking any desserts.
She picked up the vegetables placed in her bowl by the person beside her, swallowing them with a resentful look in her almond-shaped eyes, occasionally stealing glances at her brother’s expression.
“You’re going to the dentist this weekend.”
Finally, Jing Lüyan spoke, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“I’m not going!!!”
The girl immediately dropped her chopsticks, her porcelain-like cheeks flushing pink as she protested firmly.
Jing Lüyan remained expressionless, completely unfazed by her objection.
She looked to Wen Zhuo for help, only to see the man smiling gently as he placed a piece of deboned fish into her bowl.
Just then, a familiar “awoo” sound came from the backyard.
Jing Nian’an’s eyes lit up, and before the two could react, she had already dashed out like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Jing Lüyan’s previously calm face instantly tensed, and he instinctively furrowed his brows.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze sharp as he looked at Wen Zhuo, a faint sense of foreboding stirring within him.
Sure enough, not long after, Jing Nian’an’s soft yet extremely excited voice echoed from the backyard:
“Jing Lei, I missed you so much, Jing Lei!”
The backyard was now in complete chaos.
The girl, holding up the hem of her dress, was reenacting a “long-awaited reunion” scene with a glossy-coated Husky on the lawn.
At the front of the lawn, a Husky broke free from the maid’s grasp and bounded toward her in excitement.
The dog leaped up and down joyfully, its tongue lolling out.
With a sudden pounce, it nearly knocked its petite owner to the ground.
“Jing Lei” was a dog Jing Nian’an had impulsively decided to raise.
Not long ago, while chasing and playing with Jing Nian’an, it had been too focused on looking behind and accidentally crashed into a wall.
In the end, it twisted its neck and had to stay at the hospital for a long time.
The dining room fell into silence as Jing Lüyan listened to the familiar call from the backyard, a vein throbbing faintly at his temple.
He slowly turned his head, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness as they fixed on Wen Zhuo, who was smiling with a leisurely expression.
This man had chosen the perfect timing—neither earlier nor later—to bring that foolish dog back, right after he had just returned from a business trip.
Hah, what a “clever” move.
As he was thinking this, another commotion erupted outside.
First, it was his precious sister, letting out a clear and loud “awoo” at the top of her lungs.
Immediately after, the foolish dog joined in with its own enthusiastic “awoo awoo.”
Their duet made Jing Lüyan’s temples throb uncontrollably.