The entire seven-day holiday, Lin Yutang didn’t go home, staying at the Lu residence the whole time.
During that period, she took on a few part-time gigs feeding cats and dogs in people’s homes, and also went for trial shifts at two offline tutoring positions—all of which she passed smoothly.
Returning to the Lu residence in the evening, exhausted, Lin Yutang took a shower and then lazily curled up on the sofa, doodling and sketching in her notebook with a pen.
Her older brother Lin Yuheng called.
“Hey? Bro, why did you suddenly have time to call me today!” Receiving a call from her biological brother, Lin Yutang’s tone was brimming with excitement.
Lin Yuheng chuckled: “Not busy today, got home early. Just wanted to ask how my long-missed little sister is doing at the Lu residence lately? Lu Chaosheng isn’t bullying you, is he?”
Lin Yutang: “…”
Why bring up that sore subject?
To keep her debt-ridden, life-weary family from worrying, Lin Yutang forced a smile and kept her tone cheerful: “Nope, Uncle Lu and the butler Uncle Han have been really good to me. Lu Chaosheng… he’s been fine too.”
“That’s good.” Lin Yuheng rubbed his sore temples. “Jing University has a heavy workload, and the exams are tough. Don’t go sneaking off to do part-time jobs. If you’re short on money, just tell me, got it?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lin Yutang gave a perfunctory reply. “I heard from Mom and Dad that you’re trying to start a business during the day and working at a restaurant at night. Don’t wear yourself out!”
Lin Yuheng laughed: “I know what I’m doing.”
Lin Yutang wanted to say more, but the door to her room was knocked on, and Lu Chaosheng’s lazy, husky voice came from outside.
“Little sister, come out. Come downstairs for a bit.”
Lin Yuheng heard the voice on the other end but couldn’t make out what was being said. “Tangtang, is something going on?”
Hearing Lu Chaosheng’s voice, Lin Yutang’s nerves instantly tensed up, afraid he might suddenly blurt out something weird.
She quickly said goodbye to her brother: “Bro, it seems Lu Chaosheng needs me for something. I’ll go check it out. Gotta go! Bye!”
The moment the call ended, Lu Chaosheng had already pushed the door open and walked in.
Lin Yutang turned around and glared at him: “How can you just barge in like that?? What if I were in the shower or changing!”
Lu Chaosheng’s brow arched slightly, his voice drawing out slowly: “You’ve already seen me, so it’s only fair to return the favor. No big deal, right?”
Lin Yutang glared at him, a bit annoyed: “It’s a big deal! Of course it’s a big deal!”
Since when could that phrase be used like that?
Besides, she’d only seen him in swim trunks.
Lu Chaosheng caught sight of her looking all riled up and couldn’t help but smile.
His little sister was so cute even when she was angry.
He wondered if she’d be even cuter when he… made her blush.
His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze sweeping over to the notebook in front of her.
There was a drawing of the entire Lu family courtyard, sketched with a black ballpoint pen. The tools were a bit crude and unprofessional, but the image was clean and clear, bringing to life the pavilions, greenery, and the swimming pool in the distance.
“You like drawing?”
Lin Yutang clenched her hands: “Yeah, I’ve loved it since I was little!”
At the mention of drawing, her whole being lit up, the joy in her eyes impossible to hide.
Lu Chaosheng stared at her.
“Why didn’t you choose art and design as your major?”
He remembered that she used to love drawing too—back in the day, after finishing her homework in self-study class, she’d often pull out a notebook and doodle whatever came to mind.
Lin Yutang blinked and shared a bit more with him.
“It’s just a hobby. I don’t want to make it my future career. The English major I’m in now is fine, but if I could do it all over again, I’d study physics and then pick artificial intelligence.”
Lu Chaosheng was a little surprised: “Artificial intelligence? Why would you want to study that?”
He smirked mischievously: “Want to be in the same major as your big brother, so you can see me in class every day?”
Lin Yutang: “…”
If he hadn’t mentioned it, she would’ve forgotten he was in the AI department.
She shot him a glare and muttered quietly: “AI is the hottest major right now. The pay is high—you can make a ton of money.”
Right now, she just wanted to earn a lot of money, as soon as possible, to fill the astronomical debt left by her family’s bankruptcy.
Lu Chaosheng’s thin lips curved slightly, the corners of his eyes tilting up with a hint of lazy teasing. His gaze landed on her reddening earlobes, his tone languid with a barely perceptible edge of mockery.
“I thought you wanted to join the AI department because you’d miss me if you couldn’t see me for a while.”
He paused for a few seconds, his slender fingers idly rubbing the cuff of his sleeve, then asked again: “If you’re really short on money, you can tutor me in English. Five thousand per session. How about it?”
Lin Yutang parted her lips slightly: “Tutor you in English? Weren’t you studying abroad all this time?”
Lu Chaosheng stared straight at Lin Yutang’s slightly surprised face. “So you’ve been secretly keeping tabs on your big brother for a while now.”
Lin Yutang’s lashes trembled.
“What are you talking about… Everyone in all of Jinghai knows you’ve been abroad for years. Your English should be great. Why would you need me to tutor you?”
Lu Chaosheng drawled lazily: “My IELTS score was bought with money, and my papers were all written by people I paid. Now you get it, right?”
But in his mind, he was thinking that he needed to hide all the awards he had won from childhood in his study, so that his sister wouldn’t discover the little white lie he had told.
Lin Yutang understood this time, and she naturally accepted this good opportunity to make money.
“When do we start the English tutoring?”
“Later.” Lu Chaosheng licked his lips. “I need to practice driving recently.”
Lin Yutang nodded, subconsciously assuming he meant learning to drive: “Okay, tell me when you’ve finished your test.”
“Baby.” Lu Chaosheng laughed. “I’m practicing for a racing competition, not what you’re thinking.”
Lin Yutang’s cheeks flushed slightly at his sudden “baby,” and she didn’t realize that if he could pronounce even a short word so perfectly, there was no way he was someone with zero knowledge of English.
She quickly changed the subject. “You came to knock on my door earlier—was there something you needed?”
Lu Chaosheng nodded. “People from a few brands came by with their autumn new arrivals. My dad wants you to come down and pick out some clothes you like.”
Lin Yutang blinked and followed him downstairs.
Looking around, everything was from major luxury brands, plus a few niche haute couture designer labels she couldn’t even name.
To Lin Yutang, these weren’t clothes—what lay before her was clearly nothing but pink banknotes.
Uncle Lu was also downstairs, insisting she pick out several outfits, and forcefully pressed a few more big-name new arrivals into her hands before letting her go back to her room to rest.
Early the next morning, Lin Yutang contacted a store that bought luxury goods.
She kept a few designer pieces, but the rest—the ready-to-wear luxury items covered in conspicuous logos—she sold off entirely.
Standing at the entrance of the residential complex, she looked down at the large sum of money that had just arrived on her phone and let out a sigh.
When she looked up, she happened to see Lu Chaosheng in athletic wear.
She didn’t know how long he had been standing there, nor whether he had witnessed the transaction.
Lin Yutang froze in place.
Lu Chaosheng strolled toward her slowly, each step seeming to land right on her heart.
“Sold the clothes?”
Lin Yutang’s suspended heart finally died. “Mm… but I have a reason. The academy is asking us to register for an international English exam, and the registration fee is too expensive for me. I could only sell a few clothes for now—I’ll pay Uncle Lu back once I earn the money. Can you not tell Uncle Lu for now?”
Lu Chaosheng didn’t say anything, and Lin Yutang thought he wouldn’t agree, gritting her teeth.
She blinked her big, watery eyes and looked at Lu Chaosheng with a pleading expression.
A sweet, soft voice gently wrapped around him.
“Brother~ please, don’t tell Uncle Lu, okay?”
Lu Chaosheng licked his back teeth.
Damn. Who could resist that?