The family meal left her feeling uneasy.
When Cheng Buxi was young, she envied how this big family could sit together for a meal so harmoniously. Even though she was fostered and had no blood relation to them, it didn't affect the Lu family's love and care for her—they treated her like their own.
As they grew older, everyone became busy. Her sister flew around the world filming, her uncle's workload at the bureau was immense, and her eldest brother’s business focus had shifted south. Such moments of the whole family sitting together for a meal became rare.
She sipped her soup in small mouthfuls, head down. Mrs. Lu knew she loved chestnut chicken soup and had specifically arranged for it yesterday afternoon.
The soup had been simmering for seven or eight hours until the meat fell off the bone. With chestnuts, red dates, and a dozen herbal ingredients, it was rich and fragrant.
Thanks to the nourishing soup, her face gradually regained color, no longer as pale and cold as when she first entered the house.
Probably still feeling annoyed about the earlier matchmaking attempt, Mrs. Lu barely touched her chopsticks throughout the meal. But her intentions were good—she wasn't some heartless woman selling her daughter for glory or pushing her foster daughter into a fire pit. She genuinely thought the Shen family was of high status, and the eldest Shen son was talented, a blue-chip stock destined for success.
Cheng Buxi was still unaware of this. She was anxious about the woman in the study and her own marriage prospects. She had known since childhood the taste of having no say—like the dodder climbing a wall, the duckweed floating in a river, the abacus beads being pushed around in a room. Whatever the elders said, she just had to obey. What else could she do?
The little incident in the bedroom had settled. In the end, she obediently changed into the lake-green dress as told. It was more figure-hugging than the previous one and also warmer.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, when he saw her in person, Lu Tingzhou was still momentarily stunned by her outfit.
That dress really suited her.
Lu's father was a man of few words, stern and silent during meals. Ms. Bai, still recovering from her earlier blow, barely spoke. Lu Siyu's sharp eyes darted between them as she calmly ate her shrimp, holding back. For a while, the only sounds at the table were the clinking of bowls and chopsticks. Cheng Buxi wore the new watch on her wrist and kept her head down, drinking soup, trying to minimize her presence.
Then Lu Tingzhou suddenly asked her, "Do you like it?"
After a bowl of hot soup, Cheng Buxi was about to have some tofu when she realized the question was directed at her. Confused, she followed his gaze to her wrist. The new watch, with its exceptional quality, sparkled brilliantly under the soft light of the chandelier.
The dial was a fresh mint green, clean and bright like a perpetual spring. The all-steel strap made her skin look fair and radiant.
He was asking if she liked the watch. Cheng Buxi snapped back to reality and quickly answered, "Yes, I like it..."
She then turned to Lu Siyu beside her. "Sister Siyu always has great taste, but it's too expensive..."
Hearing this, Lu Siyu was completely baffled. She put down her silver spoon, leaned forward with both arms on the table, and said, "Little sister, what are you talking about?"
Cheng Buxi's eyes widened, her heartbeat quickening. Could it be that this watch wasn't from her, but from...
As if to confirm her thoughts, Ms. Bai looked at Lu Tingzhou. "Isn't this the watch you were holding when you came back?"
"You tied the bow yourself and said you were giving it to Koukou."
Clatter.
Cheng Buxi felt her heart shatter into pieces and hit the floor.
Lu Tingzhou sat upright, eyes downcast, silent. His tall silhouette exuded an air of quiet disappointment and helplessness.
Mrs. Lu asked her, "You thought it was from your sister?"
Cheng Buxi put down her chopsticks and nodded, utterly bewildered.
Mrs. Lu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The lingering clouds in her heart finally parted. She couldn't believe it—the three siblings had been playing tricks right under her nose.
So the watch was from him. And that beautiful bow was tied by his own hands. Now what was she supposed to do? She hadn't acknowledged it, hadn't thanked him, and had mistaken the giver all along.
Cheng Buxi felt the watch on her wrist grow scorching hot. The diamonds around the dial felt like landmines ready to blow her up. Her heart pounded wildly.
Lu Siyu finally understood and burst into laughter. "Little sister, are you saying I didn't prepare a gift for you?" Even now, she couldn't resist teasing her, her dark side in full swing.
Cheng Buxi quickly defended herself. "No, no..."
"You little brat, always stirring up trouble!" Bai Shuqin shot a glare at her, landing on Lu Siyu's laughing shoulder.
"Sorry, sorry, hahahaha!" Lu Siyu was almost crying with laughter.
Mrs. Lu couldn't stand her dramatics. She said to Cheng Buxi, "Koukou, why don't you thank your brother? Though the gift isn't worth much, don't let his kind intentions go unnoticed."
True to a lady of a wealthy family, something worth tens of thousands was as insignificant as a sheet of A4 paper to her.
"Th-thank you, Brother Lu..."
Even an idiot could tell she was being given an out, so Cheng Buxi quickly took it and scurried away.
Lu Tingzhou remained indifferent, his brows slightly lowered, as if nothing could truly reach him. But his earlier tense expression seemed ambivalent.
"As long as you like it," he said after a long pause, his jaw muscles twitching.
He ended the conversation magnanimously.
Lu Siyu was laughing so hard she was practically in stitches.
Then Lu's father, who had been silent throughout the meal, finally spoke. "I remember when you were little, you used to call him 'Brother Xiaoye.' Now calling him 'Big Brother' makes you seem distant."
When Lu's father said something, it was always surprising.
This was clearly directed at Cheng Buxi.
Hearing this, both their faces stiffened to varying degrees.
Speaking of names, Lu Tingzhou's original name wasn't this. He was born in Liaoshi, conceived during the year Lu Kuanghai was transferred there. Shortly after his birth, they returned to North City for a new posting.
It was the dead of winter, freezing cold, with heavy snow falling for three days and nights. When she got the news, Bai Shuqin didn't even finish her postpartum confinement before rushing to accompany him back for the promotion.
He had been born less than half a month earlier. Doctors advised against taking such a young child out, especially in winter. Besides, the old lady wanted to keep her eldest grandson around for a while, so the couple decided to leave him there and hurried back alone.
Thus, he was raised by his grandparents. At that time, he was simply called "Ye"—a name given by his grandfather, a rough man born on horseback, which stuck until he grew up.
Later, Lu Kuanghai felt the name was too arrogant and casual—how many people in officialdom had such a name? So he changed it. But the older generation was used to calling him "Xiaoye" or "Master Ye" as a nickname.