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"Tingzhou, come with your mother to pick her up," Mrs. Bai said to him.
"?"
He had just finished showering—more like a quick rinse—and came out in a plain white T-shirt, still dripping wet, planning to head to the greenhouse to dry off. A towel hung around his neck as he stood there, tall and spirited, with a long neck and an unruly aura.
When he looked down, the sharpness of his brow bone became even more pronounced. Even at that young age, he already hinted at the stunning brilliance to come, the edge in his eyes impossible to hide.
Hearing his mother's outrageous request, he raised an eyebrow from his stance by the second-floor railing: "What?"
It was a particularly arrogant, commanding position. The request came so suddenly that he was taken aback, still not having descended the stairs.
Mrs. Bai gazed at her son, already tall and accomplished in every way, her eyes full of admiration.
But Lu Tingzhou was full of resistance. Just thinking of his sister's 'countless crimes'—which could take days to recount—made him frown: "How old is she that you both need to go fetch her?"
"Can't you just bother yourselves? Now you're dragging me into it?"
Mrs. Bai smiled mysteriously: "This time is different."
What could be different? That girl was surely the same troublemaker, raised too willfully and utterly undisciplined.
Before he could retort, Mrs. Bai, as if expecting his refusal, decisively declared: "Tingzhou, you're coming with me."
"..."
Lu Tingzhou was baffled. What spell had Lu Siyu cast on their parents to make them so adamant? He didn't want to go, but somehow, he recalled the frustration of being suppressed on the court that afternoon.
The Shen family had many relatives, and Shen Xiushi's cousins from various aunts and uncles had come to cheer him on. No blood ties, no interests, and the elders were secretly fighting over the family inheritance. It was a credit to Shen Xiushi—a gentleman with a smiling face—that he could tolerate it, and the sibling relationship seemed harmonious enough.
Although Lu Tingzhou didn't like the little girl in the floral dress, he still felt a slight imbalance. So, to save face for his parents, he agreed to go along.
Seeing her goal achieved, Mrs. Bai happily arranged the car ride and dressed up elaborately. Even Mr. Lu seemed to have taken time off from work... In short, they treated this trip with extraordinary seriousness.
Lu Tingzhou was somewhat puzzled—he had never seen such a grand display—but he didn't dwell on it. Let them do as they wished; he wasn't going to say a single kind word to that girl when they met.
Even during the journey, he slept most of the way, wearing a sleep mask the entire time. He paid no attention to anything: from leaving for the airport, boarding the plane, to getting into the special car, he kept earphones on and rested with his eyes closed.
It wasn't until he saw unfamiliar yet familiar landmarks, ambiguous roads, vaguely familiar courtyards, and gradually clear faces that he realized this was not his maternal grandfather's home, but Uncle Cheng's.
Uncle Cheng.
He hadn't seen him for years. He had taught him to ride and write when he was little. Though they hadn't met for a long time, they still exchanged letters during festivals.
At the same time, Lu Tingzhou realized they weren't picking up Lu Siyu at all. Then who? It didn't matter; he was just there for the ride. With that thought, he relaxed completely.
From North City to Tianjin, it wasn't far. A short flight sufficed, like a summer break getaway.
The Cheng residence was also close to the old Lu mansion, just a ten-minute drive.
He was of high status, and the Cheng family treated him like a young prince. That had been the case since childhood. As for Lu Kuanghai and Bai Shuqin, they were even more warmly welcomed into the house.
Since he had grown up at the old mansion and the old master was close to the Cheng family, and since Cheng Baoshan was his early mentor, he had visited the Chengs many times and was familiar with the house's layout.
Though he didn't know what his parents were up to, he decided to take things as they came. Since it had little to do with him as long as it wasn't Lu Siyu, he planned to find a corner to disappear into. But just then, he heard his mother calling out in a very soft, gentle voice to a little dumpling in the corner:
"Baby."
His foot had just touched the ground, full of doubt. Who was this little ancestor they were picking up? So he cast a casual glance and looked straight at her.
—
Such a well-behaved pair of eyes.
Distinctly black and white, like Go pieces.
Very pure, without a hint of impurity.
Go is like that: quiet yet fierce, where the battle is decided through pursuit and struggle.
This was their first meeting, and Lu Tingzhou's first impression of her. Even as time passed and things changed, to this day, whenever she felt the slightest grievance, it would touch the most tender corner of his heart.
By the time they arrived, it was already dusk. The Cheng family had been preparing for their arrival all day, and the house was brightly lit.
Lu Tingzhou spotted her in the corner at first glance. Unlike ordinary children, she wasn't crying or making a fuss. She was remarkably well-behaved, huddled in the corner of the old house, wearing her hair in tight little pigtails, gnawing on a washed pear. She sat upright, small and silent.
She was not close to anyone, had a faint presence, and did not cry or throw tantrums. Even when her grandmother roughly pulled her off the stool, she knew to put the half-eaten pear back on the plate, all without a sound.
As if she were born to please these cold-blooded adults.
In Lu Tingzhou's dictionary, there was no word for 'weak,' nor 'pity' or 'tenderness.' He disliked the weak and disdained even the strong. Expecting him to sympathize with a weakling? Dream on.
Yet, at that moment, he felt a flicker of compassion.
Perhaps it was that glance that left too deep an impression, or perhaps it was something deep in his bones that couldn't bear it, triggering his natural protective instinct... In any case, his heart softened.
It cracked open.
With so many people in that room, she was like a rare commodity on display, appraised, measured, and finally tagged with a price.
He frowned. He didn't like this.
Cheng Buxi, seeing the crowd bursting in, was scared. She hid behind her father, clutching the seam of his pants. But when her eyes swept toward someone in the corner, she froze, staring at him without blinking.
So handsome... drool...
But everyone else looked so fierce... She didn't want to leave her dad...