Never gets angry with him.
It sounded nice, but to her brother, it seemed more like a perfunctory dismissal.
The sharp, sexy Adam's apple rolled slightly, his gaze shifting from her rosy lips. He took a deep breath in private, somewhat nostalgic for that younger sister who once, not knowing her place, had locked him in the basement.
Back when he was a junior in college, he had just joined the group as an executive and started blind dating that same year. Yes, at that age, much like what Cheng Buxi faced now, Mrs. Bai, ever the planner, had already begun scouting marriage prospects for him early on.
Cheng Buxi was thirteen that year, in her first year of middle school, right in the throes of rebellious adolescence. Upon learning that he was going to meet the woman in the photo—his future marriage partner—her jealousy jar tipped over with a clatter. To stop him from going, she tricked him into the basement and then locked the door.
By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. He called out from behind the door, "Xiaoxi, open up."
Her brother's calm, helpless voice echoed through the empty space—no anger, no urgency, certainly no disgust. Only boundless indulgence and biased pampering.
She shouted, "No!" because she knew that once the door opened, he would go see that woman. She didn't want her brother to be with someone else; she wouldn't allow it.
Eventually, a subordinate arrived and freed him. The instigator was already gone, having hidden somewhere.
When the parents asked about it, he calmly covered for her, telling outsiders, "She locked it by mistake."
But to insiders—those gossipy subordinates—he said his sister was being disobedient and needed discipline. Was that really the case? At the time, the situation was urgent; no one could reach him. When they finally did, they were horrified to find their young, outstanding superior locked in the basement. But when he came out, there was no rage—on the contrary, was he... smiling?
His thoughts snapped back to the present. Why did he think of that? Lu Tingzhou steadied himself. It had been seven or eight years; she had probably long forgotten. Only he dwelled on these old trivial matters.
At the end of the day, love turned into pity.
He was about to ask if she was hungry and wanted to eat something, like her favorite cherry cake or baked buns. On second thought, cherry cake was better—the shop was near Huadong, increasing the chance he could coax her into staying there for the night. He foolishly hoped she'd stay one night and not want to go back to the dorm—because five-star hotels used soft, expensive silk sheets compared to her dorm's hard little iron bed; it was obvious which one anyone would choose, right?
But then she dove back into her phone, the same focused, eager expression as before.
"..."
Lu Tingzhou's long lashes trembled deeply, his gaze sharpening.
The little red dot arrived slowly, agonizingly. Cheng Buxi hurriedly opened the message to check.
Her eyes might as well have been sewn onto the screen, or she might have crawled into the phone itself.
What kind of conversation, what kind of person was worth her attention like that? Her brother's brows lifted in a sharp arc, his lips pursed into a somewhat ruthless shape as a habit.
But he couldn't press further, because it would upset his sister.
Zhong Shu: [image/][image/][image/]
While she was away, Ning Ci had finished everything they had planned to do today. The little calico cat had been successfully retrieved from the pet hospital and delivered into the hands of the children at the welfare home. But the cat abuser had been cautious lately, hiding and not showing up.
The photos included a group shot of him with the kids. The classroom was bright and clean; his lips were red, teeth white, smile radiant. The children gathered around him like a golden sun. Even the most silent, timid child, Youyou, showed a genuine smile—she never expected he would be so good with kids, practically a child king.
But the warmer the scene, the deeper her guilt toward him.
[Sorry... T-T]
[Are you angry?]
A tone of cautious appeasement.
After a long pause, he replied: [No]
Cheng Buxi asked again: [What do you want to eat? My treat.]
Ning Ci skipped that and asked: [Are you done?]
Her typing fingers paused: [Mm, almost...]
Ning Ci raised an eyebrow: [Almost?]
She sighed inwardly: [My brother wants to take me home for dinner...]
Ning Ci read it and chuckled: [Your brother wants to, but you don't?]
She really didn't. At that point, she sneaked a glance at the man beside her.
Twilight was quietly closing in. A mottled ray of sunset spilled through the car window, illuminating his face, deep and inscrutable.
Unexpectedly, her brother didn't insist on taking her home. Instead, he asked where she had originally planned to go.
Cheng Buxi's mind went blank, and she blurted out, "Niujie..."
Niujie was quite far from where they were; by the time they drove there, it would probably be completely dark. Her brother didn't object, just asked if it was still worth going.
Cheng Buxi shook her head, saying it was too late; she'd have to go another day. Then she asked, "Brother, are you taking me home?"
He didn't commit, only asked, "Where do you want to go?"
"..."
She wanted to say back to school, but his earlier words had been pointed and reasonable, as if not going home meant she was unfilial. So she changed her answer: "I want to go back and see Uncle... mm, Aunt seemed a bit unhappy today. I'll go keep her company."
Lu Tingzhou didn't respond to that. After a brief silence, his lips parted slightly: "Don't force yourself."
Cheng Buxi paused, then said, "I'm not forcing myself."
The young driver, lacking tact and afraid they'd go nowhere, blurted out without thinking, "Chairman Lu, Mr. Lu went to City N for an inspection today. He probably won't be back for a few days—"
A cold glare shut him up immediately.
"Uncle isn't home?" Cheng Buxi frowned, her voice soft as she pressed for confirmation.
Before her brother could answer, Mrs. Bai called, cutting off the conversation. By instinct, with her brother beside her, she put the call on speaker.