Lu Yinghan gnawed on her corn, her mind churning through the events that would unfold in the coming years.
With her small, childish hands, she wrote on the blank paper she had gotten from Butler Liu.
“When I’m 7, Old General Xie will retire and send his eldest grandson into the military for further training.
When I’m 8, people will start paying attention to short videos. I can start from there…
When I’m 9, Yaoyao will enter the aristocratic school, and because there aren’t enough spots, they’ll send me to a public school.
When I’m 10, it seems the coastal areas will have a flood in the summer that submerges an entire city. How much money did the Lu family donate? Forget it, it doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with me.
…”
She vaguely recalled the things that had left the deepest impression on her, but there were still some she couldn’t remember.
Lu Yinghan simply gave up thinking about it.
A single blank sheet of paper, and she hadn’t even managed to fill one side.
She let out a regretful sigh.
In her previous life, her mind had been entirely occupied with how to grow closer to her family, so she hadn’t paid much attention to the outside world.
Unless something was truly major, she wouldn’t even hear about it.
So regretful!!
“Ah, I’ll just take it one step at a time. The only thing I can do right now seems to be short videos. Let’s see if I can make something of that.”
Even if it doesn’t work out, it’s fine. What job haven’t I worked before?
I’ve even lived in a shack that cost a hundred and fifty yuan. What’s this compared to that?
After washing up, she lay down on the bed, looking at the blank paper in her hand. Lu Yinghan carefully folded it, tucked it under her pillow, and fell into a deep sleep.
Late into the night, the lights in the Lu family’s study remained on.
Lu Jiansen rubbed his sore, tired eyes and instinctively reached out to the side.
But his hand grasped nothing.
“Shen-gege, this is tea to help you sleep. You don’t eat much dinner, so this is a midnight snack I prepared for you. Don’t work too hard, okay?”
Lu Yinghan’s obedient expression began to surface in his mind.
When he had met her gaze in the kitchen today, the dark circles under her eyes had become pronounced.
When had she started insisting on bringing him midnight snacks?
He remembered that after he took over from his father, this cup of tea had appeared at his side.
It seemed like it had been over three years now…
How old was Lu Yinghan now?
The hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.
The calm he had regained began to churn with restlessness again, and a sharp pain started throbbing in his head.
He furrowed his brows out of habit, his temples pulsing painfully to a degree that was far from comfortable.
He raised both hands to massage his swollen temples, recalling the soothing massage from his memories that had always relaxed him.
A pair of thin, small hands, earnestly rubbing his temples, easing the pain in his head.
He opened his eyes groggily, and Lu Jiansen’s heart jolted.
The one who had always taken care of him had been Lu Yinghan.
But today’s Lu Yinghan was so unfamiliar…
Lu Jiansen sat in the chair, lost in thought for a while…
The next morning, at five-thirty.
Lu Yinghan opened her heavy eyelids and blinked rapidly to wake herself up.
She didn’t want to eat breakfast with the family. This timing was just right—Butler Liu and the other aunties were already awake and preparing the morning meal.
She walked into the kitchen cheerfully.
Lu Yinghan smiled—until she saw the person sitting in the dining room.
She froze on the spot.
She couldn’t go in, and she couldn’t back out either.
Lu Xiong, seated at the head of the table, had already spotted her.
Ugh!
She let out a heavy sigh inwardly, but Lu Yinghan still chose to walk in.
“Good morning.”
She greeted her father, who rarely spoke with her, politely, then obediently dragged over a stool and cushion and sat down.
Lu Xiong’s brows instantly darkened.
“Lu Yinghan!”
“Hm?”
Lu Yinghan looked at Lu Xiong with confusion. She knew this tone all too well—it was the way Lu Xiong’s voice slightly rose at the end when he was displeased.
But she didn’t understand what Lu Xiong was unhappy about.
Seeing her clear, bewildered eyes, his words caught in his throat.
His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, creasing into a deep frown.
If he hadn’t woken up early and seen this daughter of his, Lu Xiong might never have remembered that he hadn’t seen her at all yesterday.
Today, her attitude was utterly stiff.
She hadn’t called him “Dad” like she usually did.
Though she was bolder about meeting his gaze, a rift was slowly forming between them.
What was this?
At such a young age, she was picking a fight with her own father? Trying to distance herself?
Small in years, but big in temper.
That was Lu Xiong’s first thought.
Exactly the same as what Lu Jiansen had thought.
Lu Xiong mentally compared Lu Yinghan and Lu Xuanyao from head to toe.
His dissatisfaction with Lu Yinghan grew even stronger.
“Getting up this early—what for?”
“Nothing much. I was just hungry, so I got up to eat.”
“Hungry? Then you got up at this hour yesterday morning to eat too? You should have been starving by noon, so why didn’t you come out for lunch yesterday?”
The accusatory, reproachful tone made Lu Yinghan lose her appetite entirely.
She just wanted to jump off her seat and go straight back to her room.
“I was resting yesterday afternoon. I’ve been going to sleep a bit late recently.”
“You’re just a child—what are you staying up for? Still delivering midnight snacks to your eldest brother?”
“Mm, I can’t hold on anymore. I stopped bringing it last night.”
Lu Xiong’s brows relaxed slightly.
“Mm, that’s right. You should learn from your sister—go to bed early and wake up early. Also, greet your elders properly and address them correctly.”
Lu Yinghan glanced at Lu Xiong.
There was no longer any ripple in her heart.
Yesterday was the same, and today was the same.
In the eyes of the Lu family, there was only her younger sister, Lu Xuanyao.
Sometimes, she herself didn’t understand whether she was truly born to Lu Xiong and the others.
But Lu Yinghan bore a striking resemblance to the late patriarch of the Lu family.
So she was indeed a member of the Lu family.
Yet ever since Lu Xuanyao was born, the frail and sickly Lu Xuanyao had instantly seized all the love and attention of everyone in the household.
At first, when she was just over two years old, Lu Yinghan had thrown tantrums too.
When did it start? When did she become like this?
So humble, so attuned to their moods.
Was it because of Lu Xiong’s scoldings and the criticisms from her three older brothers? Or her mother’s reproachful gaze?
Every sign pointed to the fact that she, Lu Yinghan, was the bad child.
So she tucked away her childish temper and willfulness, and began to consider their needs, to do things for them.
It worked well—the result being that she was gradually overlooked by them.
“Yinghan, your sister likes your hairpin. You can give it to her first, and Mom will buy you a new one next time.”
“Okay, Mom. Here you go.”
And then Mom forgot to buy her one, but she couldn’t say anything, or Mom would get angry.
“Yinghan, your room is a bit bigger. Your sister isn’t in good health, and her current room is a little small with poor air circulation. Can you give your room to your sister first? Dad will renovate a bigger room for you later.”
“Mm-hm, it’s fine, Dad.”
And now Lu Xuanyao occupied two rooms by herself, while she still lived in that hastily cleared-out storage room.
The more Lu Yinghan thought about it, the colder her heart grew, as if plunged into an ice cellar.
There was nothing left for her to argue or communicate with the Lu family.
She turned her head, her expression flat as she glanced at Lu Xiong, and parted her lips slightly to exhale.
“Understood, Father.”
The word “Father” struck Lu Xiong’s heart like a sharp blade.
He instantly looked up from his newspaper at Lu Yinghan.
All he saw was her calm, indifferent expression and her distant gaze…