Chapter 92 Extra Four: if

It was almost time for school to end.

Seeing that Qiao Wu had already finished his outdoor class, quickly showered, and was packing his bag in the lounge without even drying his hair, the classmate next to him asked in surprise, "Why are you so fast today?"

Qiao Wu hastily dried his hair with a towel and replied, "It's the kindergarten's senior class's graduation performance today."

"Ningning?" the classmate exclaimed in realization. "Oh right, she's in kindergarten now."

Qiao Wu just entered the high school this year.

But because she was a well-known child in school since kindergarten, everyone knew her.

Not to mention that every time she leaves school, there's always a bunch of people waiting for her downstairs in the school building.

It used to be the two young masters of the Lu family, and now there's another one, Lu Ning, who's still in kindergarten.

Some classmates even joked in private that she was a daughter secretly born to the Lu family, just without the surname Lu.

"See you next week! Please give Ningning my best wishes for graduation!"

"Okay, thank you," Qiao Wu said. "See you next week."

After saying goodbye, she came out of the lounge with her bag on her back and turned her head to see Lu Xuan leaning against the wall, half-closing her eyes and looking a little sleepy.

She was already used to it. Lu Xuan was a sophomore in high school, while she was a freshman. Back when they were in elementary school, Lu Xuan wanted to repeat a grade to be with her, but he was suppressed by the strength of his older brother and Uncle Lu.

The high school section is far from the junior high section, and he hasn't been able to visit her class as often as he used to in the past year.

Now that they're finally in the same department again, he comes to their class to wait for them every day after school.

Now a high school sophomore, Lu Xuan is already quite tall, and his features are showing signs of a young man.

He was spoiled and the only one of the four brothers who could be described as handsome.

Even when my older brother wants to hit someone, he'll look elsewhere and avoid hitting their face when he sees that face.

Seeing her come out, Lu Xuan yawned, straightened up, and naturally took the bag that was hanging on her shoulder.

Qiao Wu didn't want to argue with him, lest he lose his temper here again later.

She asked, "What time did you go to sleep last night?"

Lu Xuan glanced at her and said quietly, "A little."

"Are the courses in the second year of high school really that difficult?" Qiao Wu asked doubtfully.

She wanted to learn more, but ever since she started junior high school, Lu Xuan had stopped doing homework with her.

Now, as he gets higher and higher in his grades, he seems to be getting more and more tired.

Lu Xuan paused for a moment, then said casually, "It's not difficult. I'm just playing games."

"Lu Xuan," Qiao Wu frowned, "you can't stay up late playing games."

"……Um."

Lu Xuan couldn't help but glance at her head.

What happened?

Such a small head, yet we grew up together, drinking the same milk and eating the same food.

How come she's so incredibly smart?

He ranked first in the entire grade in the midterm exam of his first semester of junior high!

Lu Xuan's young mind was greatly impacted because he studied with Qiao Wu every day.

Sometimes, after Qiao Wu finished his homework, he would go to the library to read books, while he was still racking his brains to figure out the questions.

After Qiao Wu repeatedly asked him if he needed help with his homework, he packed his bag and went back to his room, refusing to do his homework with Xiao Wu anymore.

He can't afford to lose face like this.

He studied late into the night every night so that he could calmly be on the same honor roll as Qiao Wu at the end of the semester.

So I absolutely cannot admit that I stayed up until 1 a.m. last night doing homework again!

The thought of having to keep looking at those complicated formulas gave him a headache.

He was fine in junior high, but after entering high school, he realized that he was not really cut out for studying.

"How's it going?" he asked casually, "Is high school life tiring?"

Qiao Wu shook his head: "I'm not tired."

"Not much academic pressure?"

Lu Xuan didn't believe in superstition.

"It's alright," Qiao Wu said. "I've finished my homework for this week."

Lu Xuan, whose exam papers were still several blank: "..."

It sounds like I'm swearing, but I can't swear at Xiaowu.

hateful.

He angrily kicked a small pebble on the ground.

Qiao Wu noticed that he was starting to sulk, so he turned around and glanced at him.

Having lived together for so many years, I really understand these family members.

Especially someone like Lu Xuan who's stubborn.

Seeing his listless appearance, Qiao Wu suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Are you very tired?"

"Of course not!"

Qiao Wu laughed and said, "If you don't tell us and study on your own, you'll get more and more tired in the future."

Lu Xuan remained silent.

In fact, although Qiao Wu has read a lot of extracurricular books over the years, she has always taken a natural approach to her studies, learning as much as she can without ever thinking about making things more difficult or skipping grades.

She felt that she had gotten through it all so comfortably, so she didn't really remember much of what she learned in her second year of high school.

"If you don't understand something, you can ask Lu Jinzhi," she suggested.

Lu Xuan sneered: "Then I'll have to accept a double blow."

Both academically and spiritually.

Qiao Wu thought for a moment and then replied truthfully, "It's alright."

Now that Lu Jin is in university, he didn't go abroad to study like his older brother did in the past, but stayed in China.

However, since the school is far from home, he usually stays in the house near the school from Monday to Friday. When she comes back on the weekend, she asks him questions she doesn't know how to answer, and he never says anything.

"What do you mean 'alright'?" Lu Xuan said with a sour face. "I can't even enter his room."

Qiao Wu, who goes in several times every weekend: "Really?"

"If you insist on going in, he won't throw you out, will he?" she guessed.

"Who knows?"

Qiao Wu raised an eyebrow: "Then why don't you give it a try today?"

Worried that Lu Xuan would refuse again, she added, "Otherwise, at your current pace, we'll all be resting and going out to play on the weekend, while you'll still be at home doing homework."

A comparison of the two.

Lu Xuan quickly figured it out.

At worst, I can just hire a tutor; they've already seen through me anyway.

The two of them went to the kindergarten's small auditorium together.

After Qiao Wu found his seat according to his older brother's directions, he found that his older brother, sister-in-law, uncle, and aunt were all sitting properly.

Lu Yingchi lay sprawled between several stools like a corpse.

Although he is only in fifth grade, he has already shed his childhood sturdiness, and now has long arms and legs, occupying four seats at the same time.

Several elders kept their distance from him, afraid that others would realize they were from the same family as him.

Lu Xuan walked over and kicked him: "Get up."

Lu Yingchi immediately jumped up from his seat: "You're here!"

With four sons in the family, the elders were probably exhausted from raising them, so as Lu Yingchi got older and more mischievous, the elders raised him more and more roughly.

So he didn't care about appearances at all. After getting up, he wiped the chair with his own clothes until it was clean before raising his head and saying, "Sit down!"

"Wuwu" was something he started shouting along with Lu Ning; this kid never calls her "sister."

He inherited some of Madam Lu's natural curly hair. Although he wasn't as chubby anymore, his face was still slightly chubby, and when he tilted his head back, he looked like a cute, fluffy little dog.

"Xiao Wu, come sit here." Lu Wei patted the seat next to him. "We can't afford to lose face like that."

Lu Yingchi: "???"

He glared fiercely at his older brother.

Don't think that just because you're old I won't bite you!

Qiao Wu smiled and sat down in the middle of the two sides.

It seems that since she came into this world, many plot points have changed.

The Lu family did not decline, the eldest brother and sister-in-law did not pass away unexpectedly, and Madam Lu is still alive and well.

She thought it was fine this way.

Although the four brothers each have their own personality and some are still immature, they are all good at heart and would not do anything immoral.

Moreover, part of the reason why they are still carefree and naive is because they are spoiled by their elder brother, sister-in-law and Madam Lu.

The puppies have no worries; they just want to run around and have fun all day long.

As soon as Qiao Wu sat down, Lu Xuan and Lu Yingchi moved over from the other side.

Before they could get close, a pair of long legs stepped over them: "Make way."

The two looked up at the same time and saw Lu Jinzhi, who shouldn't have been there.

Although unwilling, my body tells me the truth.

Lu Xuan's legs had already made way: "Why are you here too?"

Lu Jinzhi: "You're selling tickets here?"

"..."

Seeing Lu Jinzhi sit down next to him, Qiao Wu said in surprise, "You got out of school early today."

Lu Jinzhi hummed in agreement: "No classes on Friday afternoon."

Previously, I would just stay at school a little longer, so I would return to the Lu residence a little later.

He turned his head and saw Qiao Wu's wet hair, which had almost soaked through her school uniform.

Lu Jinzhi decided to take back what he had said about the child being able to take care of himself.

He casually reached out and brushed her hair back: "Aren't you going to dry it?"

The school has private bathrooms, and students usually take a shower after activity classes. Hair dryers are also provided.

"It's too late." Qiao Wu casually tidied up. "Ningning's second performance."

Her backward hand encountered an obstacle.

Lu Jinzhi's hands were much warmer than hers. Following the movement of picking at her hair, he gently rested his elbows on the back of her chair for support, and flipped his wrists to lift her hair up.

Seeing that Qiao Wu's schoolbag was in Lu Xuan's hands, he simply used his other hand to rummage through Lu Yingchi's small schoolbag without any hesitation, and pulled out a tissue to absorb the water droplets from the ends of her hair.

And so I just held her up like that.

Lu Yingchi: "??"

My schoolbag! My paper!

If it weren't for the fact that it was meant for Wuwu, I would definitely fight you!

He angrily hugged his schoolbag, then pulled out a few more sheets of paper and handed them over: "Do you still want them?"

So Lu Jinzhi didn't disappoint him and stuffed the paper back in after it had absorbed the water.

The movements were fluid and without the slightest stumble.

Lu Wei's wife, sitting between her mother-in-law and husband, noticed the commotion and asked curiously, "Jinzhi and Xiaowu seem to have a good relationship."

She met Lu Wei abroad. When they returned to China to get married, Lu Jinzhi was already in college and only came home on weekends, so she didn't spend much time with her younger brother.

Most of the time, I heard about Lu Jinzhi from my husband and his two younger brothers.

To be honest, opinions are mixed.

He's smart, but he's also a real dog in terms of personality.

He usually keeps a certain distance from people, and this is the first time she has seen Lu Jinzhi take the initiative to interact with anyone like this.

Although Xiao Wu is indeed a special case at home.

But judging from the way the two younger brothers dared not speak out, one could guess their usual way of getting along.

Lu Wei wasn't too surprised: "He likes kids like Xiao Wu."

The older brother's voice wasn't very loud, but it wasn't very soft either; he wasn't hiding it from anyone.

Qiao Wu turned around: "Hmm?"

"It's nothing, I just said you're likable." Lu Wei smiled and touched her hair. "It was really an accident. What if you get sick? If the second son wants to take care of it, let him. He won't lose any weight."

After saying that, he turned to his wife and said, “Jinzhi’s thinking is different from his peers. Although he complains about his younger brothers, he has never really done anything to them. They are close to each other. Xiaowu is smart, sensible and well-behaved. He will show affection to him, so in his eyes, he is naturally closer to him than his younger brothers.”

He had never seen the second child so brazenly snatch things from other children's backpacks.

The second son needs others to openly show him goodwill, without hiding it, and Xiao Wu happens to be that person.

It's just a matter of matching the pot with the lid.

Soon the children went on stage, and Qiao Wu's attention was drawn to them. He gradually forgot that his hair was still in someone else's hands.

Another little girl joined the family, and Lu Ning was pampered by everyone since she was little.

When she was little, even Lu Jinzhi would occasionally hug her when he came home.

However, Lu Ning had been pampered by her two uncles for many years, which made her very outgoing.

For her kindergarten graduation performance, she dressed up as a knight.

According to the script, she was supposed to protect the princess.

But as the story progressed, things took a turn for the worse. Grabbing the sword, he disregarded even the princess and stabbed everyone, including the prince, before taking the throne himself.

The scene became somewhat chaotic at one point.

Only Lu Yingchi was smug: "I knew it, being a king is so much fun, why be a knight?"

Then his second brother picked him up and threw him in front of his eldest brother.

"So you're the one who instigated this." Ignoring his age, Lu Wei pinned him to her lap and raised her hand to slap him. "You never teach good things!"

After the performance, everyone went to pick up Lu Ning and take her home.

Lu Ning stood among a group of children, who were crying uncontrollably, feeling that their identity had been stolen.

Lu Ning, dressed in knight's clothes, was at a loss.

This is different from what my uncle said.

My uncle said that if she became queen, the other children would admire her.

Now all the children are crying.

She snatched the crown from her own head and put it back on the children's heads, saying, "Don't cry, I'll give it back to you."

Then, he eagerly coaxed, "I'll protect you from now on, okay?"

After coaxing one after another.

Finally, she gave away all the snacks and toys from her schoolbag, and everyone stopped.

On the way home, Lu Yingchi and Lu Xuan were being incredibly noisy.

He was suppressed by Lu Jinzhi and sat in another car with his parents.

Qiao Wu was in a car with his older brother, sister-in-law, and Lu Jinzhi. Lu Ning, sitting in the car, frowned and said, "I don't want to be king anymore."

These people are so disobedient, they're so hard to appease!

Moreover, all those toys were gifts from Wuwu, and she really misses them.

"Wuwu, was he a king before?" she asked curiously.

"no."

"Then what are you?"

Qiao Wu was unusually silent, and even stammered.

Actually, the children really wanted her to be the lead actress.

But she didn't want to act in such childish things at all!

So she took the initiative to approach the teacher and asked for the role of the sunflower.

All you have to do is stand there and circle around the main character.

It was one thing at the time, but now when I think about it, it's really embarrassing.

Before she could think of a reply, a laugh came from beside her.

She turned her head and saw Lu Jinzhi's undisguised smile.

Lu Jinzhi, who was still in elementary school at the time, also came to see her performance, and he had the same expression.

Qiao Wu's ears turned bright red.

She rubbed her earlobes: "Yes..."

Lu Jinzhi, whose smile hadn't yet faded, chimed in, "They are very cute sunflowers."

Lu Ning has relatively little knowledge about flowers.

But she felt that if her second uncle praised it, it must be really impressive.

She said confidently, "I want to make one next time too, a really cute sunflower."

Lu Jinzhi commented: "You can only be a sunflower."

Lu Ning: "Huh? Why?"

"Lu Jinzhi." Before Lu Jinzhi could speak, Lu Wei, who was driving, said calmly, "Don't think that just because you're 20 years old I won't retaliate against you."

Lu Jinzhi: "..."

He silently raised an eyebrow, thankfully refraining from saying anything too hurtful to the child.

"Dad!" Lu Ning was still very curious, "Second Uncle didn't say anything!"

“Don’t listen to him,” Lu Wei said calmly. “You are the most adorable knight and king. You don’t need to care about your second uncle’s aesthetic standards.”

All right.

Lu Ning felt that she couldn't understand what her father was saying.

She could only whisper to Wuwu, "Wuwu, let's make sunflowers together next time."

Qiao Wu heard Lu Jinzhi laugh again very clearly.

She could no longer tolerate it.

For the first time, she took the initiative to cup his face and turn his head towards the window: "Stop laughing."

Lu Jinzhi followed her gaze and looked out the window.

The next second, Qiao Wu heard him say leisurely, "See that? That's a sunflower."

Qiao Wu: "..."

Lu Jinzhi is truly evil at heart.

The two cars arrived at the Lu residence one after the other.

Qiao Wu had just gotten out of the car when Lu Xuan pulled him aside.

“Come with me,” Lu Xuan said.

Qiao Wu asked, puzzled, "Where are we going?"

"Lu Jinzhi's room." Lu Xuan felt he had to drag someone down with him.

If he went in with Lu Yingchi, there's a high chance they'd both be thrown out together.

But if you go in with Xiao Wu.

That would make the possibility smaller.

To be honest, Qiao Wu didn't think Lu Jinzhi was that ruthless. He might have been a little quieter when he was younger, but he's much better now.

But seeing how nervous Lu Xuan was, she was actually quite curious.

"Alright."

After everyone finished eating, Lu Xuan spent a long time downstairs doing some mental preparation.

Finally, Qiao Wu couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to pull the person onto the elevator.

If we wait for him to go down any further, today will be much longer than just one o'clock.

Just as they reached Lu Jinzhi's door, Lu Xuan slammed on the brakes: "You...you...no...no...no..."

Qiao Wu dragged him towards the door: "Don't be afraid!"

With a click, Lu Jinzhi, who had just finished showering, opened the door. His dark gaze swept over the two of them, finally settling on the clasped hands of Qiao Wu and Lu Xuan.

His eyes were even more indifferent than his voice: "Let go."

They're fifteen or sixteen years old, but they act like they've never grown up, always pulling and tugging at each other.

Being five years older, his words carried weight, and Qiao Wu immediately released his hand.

Lu Xuan, who had just hit the brakes, sat down on the ground with a thud, his face full of grief and indignation.

Lu Jinzhi observed coldly: "What is it?"

Qiao Wu kicked Lu Xuan, telling him to speak for himself.

Lu Xuan, who was sitting on the carpet with his books in his arms, had done a lot of mental preparation. Finally, he closed his eyes and went all out: "Second brother, can you teach me how to do my homework!"

After many years, I heard Lu Xuan call me "Second Brother" again.

Lu Jinzhi glanced at him indifferently.

This time, I didn't even bring a snack.

That's incredibly stupid.

He turned and went into the room.

Lu Xuan sat up, rubbing his bottom, and muttered under his breath, "I knew he wouldn't agree."

“But he didn’t close the door.” Qiao Wu pushed him into the room. “That means he wants you to come in.”

Lu Xuan: "?"

He asked suspiciously, "When did you become so familiar with him?"

But he couldn't care less about anything else right now. As he walked in, he didn't forget to pull Qiao Wu along, saying, "If he speaks rudely to me later, you have to help me."

He couldn't out-argue Lu Jinzhi.

"That's not how you use 'rude language'."

Qiao Wu followed behind him: "Don't worry, I'll go with you."

The two entered the room, where Lu Jinzhi was already sitting on the sofa.

Lu Xuan looked around.

This person's room was spotless, with nothing in it, I don't know what they treasure all day.

Seeing two chairs by the desk, he was a little puzzled: "Nobody comes in, why did you put an extra chair here?"

And since there are chairs available, why sit on the sofa?

"How am I supposed to do my homework?" he asked.

Lu Jinzhi slightly raised his chin.

Lu Xuan followed his gaze and saw the carpet.

This is to have him sit on the carpet and lean over the small coffee table to write.

"?" He pointed to the desk. "Isn't there a chair over there?"

Lu Jinzhi said frankly, "This seat isn't for you."

"Who else would come here???"

Lu Jinzhi didn't speak, but instead looked up at Qiao Wu.

Feeling inexplicably guilty, Qiao Wu sat down on the carpet as well.

The carpet was always clean, and it was quite comfortable to sit on the sofa; she always liked to sit like this in the library.

You can read the book wherever you find it, instead of going back and forth to sit on the sofa.

Anyway, the carpet is very soft.

Seeing that someone was with him, Lu Xuan didn't say anything and obediently opened his homework.

Qiao Wu had finished her homework and was bored. She saw a book that Lu Jinzhi had read on the table and picked it up casually.

She and Lu Jinzhi never cared about how much each person read; they just picked up a book and started reading.

This is the tacit understanding between her and Lu Jinzhi.

Lu Jinzhi doesn't like to go over every little detail when explaining problems. Instead, he brings out all the key points and lets people understand them on their own before trying to solve the problems.

Lu Xuan was reluctant, but he had no choice but to admire him.

I've heard that people's brains deteriorate after going to university, so why doesn't Lu Jinzhi have that problem?

Either Lu Jinzhi was born before him, or if he had been born first, he would have snatched the brains from Lu Jinzhi and shown him what it means for fortunes to change drastically over time.

As Lu Xuan was thinking, someone kicked him from the side.

He looked up angrily.

But Lu Jinzhi didn't even look at him. This guy had taken a book from somewhere and was flipping through it, as if he had an extra pair of eyes and knew what he was doing. He said in a calm and unhurried tone, "If you used half the time you spend daydreaming on your homework, your brain wouldn't have degenerated to this extent."

Lu Xuan realized what was happening: "You made me sit here so it would be easier for you to kick me, didn't you?"

"Um."

"Depend on!"

"I'll rest at eleven." Lu Jinzhi glanced at him, "I'll throw you out then."

Qiao Wu poked his head out from the other side: "You only have one and a half hours left."

Lu Xuan swallowed his anger.

He announced that he would hire a tutor at a high price and would no longer need Lu Jinzhi!

We agreed to meet at eleven o'clock.

But before 10:30, Lu Xuan's old problem flared up again.

He was sitting upright at first, but then he became more and more crooked, and finally he lay down on the small coffee table, his eyelids so heavy that he couldn't even lift them.

Lu Jinzhi knew he would definitely fall asleep, which is why he didn't let him sit in the chair.

I never thought I could fall asleep sitting on the carpet.

He was about to kick again when he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his knee.

The other one also collapsed.

Lu Jinzhi: "..."

Are high school students these days sleeping so well?

He sat quietly for a while, and finally put down the book in his hand.

Looking back now, it's not just once or twice that the child has fallen asleep next to him.

He was very used to picking people up.

First, take the book out of the child's hand and put it away.

However, his original progress had already been surpassed. He just glanced at her and naturally made a mark where she had looked, just like in the past.

He then lifted her head up from the sofa and gently lifted her up.

A child who was sleeping soundly might suddenly open their eyes and stumble and limply stand up, propelled by the force of the movement.

Lu Jinzhi suddenly stopped moving.

He hadn't had such close physical contact with Qiao Wu in a long time.

At that moment, I suddenly realized that the child who had been developing slowly in the past had grown up and was now almost as tall as my shoulder.

Her half-closed eyes no longer resemble the cute, wooden sunflower hidden among the petals in kindergarten; instead, they exude a youthful naiveté unique to young girls.

Lu Jinzhi frowned slightly.

He withdrew his hand, about to speak.

But Qiao Wu, who had already stood up, spoke first, calling out softly, "Lu Jinzhi."

It's like they're confirming something.

"Um."

Still half-asleep, Qiao Wu struggled to make sense of his sluggish thoughts.

It's a familiar voice, and it tastes familiar too.

So she fell into a deep sleep, completely relaxed.

She leaned forward and fell into his arms as she always had, placing her hands comfortably on his shoulders.

Lu Jinzhi, who was about to let go, had no choice but to catch her again and pick her up like a child.

She leaned on his shoulder, her arms limply wrapping around his neck.

It wasn't heavy, and the dried hair felt much softer than before. When Lu Jinzhi turned his head slightly, the hair brushed against his face.

He stood in the quiet room for a few seconds, holding the person, thinking to himself, "How come they're still so soft and cuddly even now that they've grown up?"

Lu Xuan, lying on the ground, had a sore neck from sleeping. He turned his head and changed position, then continued sleeping.

Completely unaware that his brother, carrying someone, ruthlessly walked past him and left the room.