“Miss, it’s time to get up…”
A gentle, kind voice reached Lu Yinghan’s ears.
Her body was sore and weak, but her heart was shocked to the extreme.
What?
Hadn’t she died? Hadn’t she found a quiet place to pass away in peace?
Miss? Was that addressing her?
Why did that voice feel so familiar?
Struggling to open her tired, achy eyes, Lu Yinghan blinked rapidly several times.
She followed the source of the sound.
The kindly face of an elderly man gradually came into focus before her eyes.
“G-Grandpa Butler?!”
“Miss, do you have any instructions?”
At that moment, the fatigue in Lu Yinghan’s body vanished. She sat up directly.
“Grandpa Butler, did you save me?”
“Huh? What are you saying, Miss?”
The butler, who had been smiling warmly, saw the strange question from Lu Yinghan and his smile faded, replaced by a bewildered look as he stared at her.
Lu Yinghan couldn’t tell anymore whether this was reality or a dream. She asked outright,
“Grandpa Butler, did you come down here too?”
“Miss… I, forgive me, but I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean. Where should I be going down to?”
Now it was Lu Yinghan’s turn to be confused.
The old and the young simply stared at each other, their eyes filled with enormous question marks.
Lu Yinghan hurriedly got up and climbed out of bed. As her hand touched the edge of the bed, her heart skipped a beat again—
Cold as an ice cavern.
She raised her hand and carefully turned it over to examine it.
In disbelief, she touched her body and her face, then looked around the room.
Everything here was so familiar!
“Could it be that after death, you have to relive it all over again down there?”
Lu Yinghan truly didn’t know what to do.
Grandpa Butler was starting to panic a little too. He stepped forward and crouched gently in front of Lu Yinghan, his face full of concern.
“Forgive me, Miss.”
The elegant gentleman removed his white gloves, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, and with a serious expression, placed his hand on Lu Yinghan’s forehead.
“There’s nothing wrong, Miss. Have you been overworking yourself making sleep-inducing sachets for the young master lately?”
Sleep-inducing sachets?
That phrase hit her like a radar signal, prompting Lu Yinghan to look at the old, plain wooden table.
It was covered with sleep-inducing plants she had gathered for the young master, along with a half-sewn sachet pouch.
Beside the bed stood a dirty full-length mirror. Lu Yinghan turned her head to look.
What she saw was her own small, delicate figure, wearing a slightly faded nightgown, with slightly yellowed skin and hair.
“Slap!—”
She struck herself hard across the face. The crisp, resounding sound nearly scared the butler out of his wits.
“Oh my! My dear Miss! What are you doing! Stop it!”
Lu Yinghan didn’t stop at one slap. She kept hitting herself, tears welling up in her eyes, venting her unwillingness and grievance with each strike.
She was back. She had come back—and to her childhood, no less.
Wasn’t the pain of her previous life enough? Why did she have to be brought back to this place?
Why her?
Lu Yinghan asked herself over and over again, tears the size of beans streaming freely from her eyes, rolling down her swollen, reddened cheeks.
Her hands were firmly gripped by Grandpa Butler. Lu Yinghan kept her head down, letting tears and snot fall to the ground.
But she refused to cry out loud.
Only her trembling shoulders and her increasingly hunched back revealed her emotions.
Grandpa Butler’s eyes widened, his pupils trembling slightly. He gripped Lu Yinghan’s hands even tighter to stop her from hurting herself.
The white beard on his lips quivered with every breath.
For some reason, watching this tiny, skinny-to-the-bone little girl cry like this, his heart ached and tore with every forceful exhale she made.
“Miss… let it out. Cry.”
After a long moment, the butler spoke softly, his gentle murmur bringing Lu Yinghan a little comfort as she gradually came back to her senses.
Fine. She was back.
Life had to go on, didn’t it?
With that thought, Lu Yinghan calmed down completely. She looked up, feeling a bit embarrassed as she met the butler’s eyes, which were also slightly red.
This white-haired old man before her, whose eyes were full of heartache for her, was her only refuge in the Lu family.
“Grandpa Butler, I’m fine now…”
Seeing that Lu Yinghan had regained her composure and stopped crying, the butler released his grip and quickly pulled out the handkerchief from his chest, gently wiping Lu Yinghan’s face.
“It’s good that you’re fine. Let me pour you a glass of water to replenish your fluids.”
After wiping her face, the butler stood up, told Lu Yinghan he’d be right back, and headed to the kitchen to get the hot water kettle.
He didn’t dare ask. His heart was still trembling.
The overwhelming aura of despair that had emanated from the young miss—
He never wanted to feel that again.
Glancing back toward the direction of Lu Yinghan’s room, Grandpa Butler shook his head and let out a long sigh. He blinked his tired eyes and walked quickly toward the kitchen.
He needed to get that water for the miss right away!
Back in her room, Lu Yinghan stood in the center, looking around.
White walls, somewhat aged furniture—nothing else.
She would even have to get up and crawl outside to use the bathroom.
Lu Yinghan returned to the wooden table, fiddling with the sleep-inducing plants she had picked herself, along with the crookedly embroidered sachet.
Grandpa Butler said it was for the eldest young master.
Lu Yinghan let out a cold snort.
The eldest young master of the Lu family, heir to the Lu Corporation—
a 25-year-old single diamond bachelor, handsome and refined, sharp-minded and disciplined.
In the capital, aside from the Xie family, who stood on equal footing with him, no one could face him without kowtowing.
But Lu Yinghan knew from her past life.
The eldest young master, Lu Jiansen, worked day and night without rest to keep the Lu family’s reputation intact in the capital, which led to chronic headaches and insomnia.
Unable to sleep well every night, his mental state deteriorated more and more.
Yet there was no cure.
In her past life, to ease his headaches, she would bring him a glass of vitamin B every night to aid his sleep.
Now, he must think she’s gotten used to him and is trying to take advantage of their closeness.
Ha.
Lu Yinghan.
You really are pathetic.
Without a second thought, she put away her needle and thread, tossing the unfinished sachet and all the sleep-inducing plants into the trash bin.
No hesitation at all.
Grandpa Butler came over with a thermos.
“Miss, have some water to replenish yourself. You just woke up, so it’ll warm your stomach.”
When Grandpa Butler entered, Lu Yinghan’s cold expression instantly softened.
She smiled warmly at the kind-faced old man before her.
“Thank you, Grandpa Butler.”
“Hehehe, you’re welcome, Miss.”
He gracefully poured her a glass of water and watched her take small sips.
But the corner of his eye kept drifting to the things in the trash bin.
His heart had already been shaken to its core this morning.
Miss… could she be giving up on getting closer to the eldest young master?