The sound coming from the television was somewhat distorted, but it still carried that person's signature lively and carefree manner.
Even though the living room and the entryway are diagonally opposite each other, Xu Shiyue felt that Lu Shizhen's eyes were looking at her.
The bow tied on her head to match the Spring Festival atmosphere swayed slightly, and her half-combed hair revealed her clean face.
She spoke her New Year's greetings to herself slowly and deliberately, her gentle voice seemingly echoing the scene from her dream.
The crackling sound of wood popping and bursting kept exploding in Xu Shiyue's ears, and the intense firelight separated one's vision into countless afterimages.
Lu Shizhen sat there in the firelight, her deliberate waiting seemingly a way of telling herself to stay happy.
That's just how this person is—always reckless, always naive.
Her words are always so unsophisticated, so monotonous and straightforward... She lays her heart bare before you, wanting you to see that she truly cares for you. She never worries that her heart will be mistreated.
Why do you have to do this?
Why do we have to live such a hopeful life?
Why prepare so much stuff...?
Xu Shiyue stared at the smiling face on the other side of the screen. She had never felt that a person's expression could give her such a contradictory feeling. The brighter the smile, the more dazzling it was.
She felt something churning and surging within her brain and even her body, as if it were about to burst forth.
Yet there was no way out; they were suppressed by an uncontrollable force, gathering together with nowhere to go, growing larger and larger...
"They claim their technology is excellent, but it's actually terrible. A simple investigation will reveal the truth, and it applies to everyone!"
Looking at Lu Shizhen's face, which was finally frozen on the TV screen, Lu Shien spoke to the person on TV with a sob in his voice.
She found these videos this morning after discovering signs of intrusion on her computer; it didn't take her much time at all.
"It's awful! My sister's skills are absolutely terrible!"
Lu Shi'en, in a willful and loud manner, criticized Lu Shizhen's presumptuous behavior, and then threw herself into Cheng Meiyan's arms.
The little girl could no longer suppress her sorrow, and she clutched Cheng Meiyan's clothes tightly, bursting into tears.
She simply couldn't accept that her sister, whom she had arranged to meet just a few days ago, had suddenly left her.
But who in this family could accept Lu Shizhen's sudden departure?
Cheng Meiyan raised her hand to stroke the trembling, crying child in her arms, tears streaming down her face.
Lu Shize stood in the entrance hall, the dim light shining on his face, his ever-stern face now covered with tear stains.
The sound of bowls and chopsticks being set down was drowned out by the crying. Aunt Sun, who had been busy in the kitchen, brought the last dish to the table and said in a choked voice to the people in the living room entrance, "Madam, Miss, and Sir, dinner is ready. Please have some."
But the atmosphere at home didn't end there; everyone remained glued to the "unexpected surprise" on TV.
Aunt Sun held back her tears and went to the living room to help Cheng Meiyan up. "Madam, you have to set a good example for the children. You should take care of your health. If Miss sees everyone like this, she won't be at ease."
"Yes, yes." Cheng Meiyan nodded murmured, supporting herself on Aunt Sun's hand as she stood up from the sofa. Her former radiant beauty was now replaced by pallor. "Xiao En, come with Mom to get something to eat. You have a competition the day after tomorrow. Have you forgotten what Zhenzhen told you?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Shien raised his head to Cheng Meiyan, his almond-shaped eyes brimming with tears, a vast expanse of sorrow and bewilderment.
Of course, she still remembered Lu Shizhen's blessing to her on the other end of the TV. As if supported by something, she stood up with Cheng Meiyan.
Then Lu Shize also lifted his foot and walked towards the restaurant.
However, Xu Shiyue went against everyone else's pace: "Sorry, I have some things to take care of, I'll go upstairs to deal with them first."
As she spoke, she reached out and took the gift Lu Shizhen had given her, along with the USB drive containing the video recording from earlier. She nodded slightly and politely and calmly withdrew from the scene in front of everyone.
The bones that had been shaken off in the fire seemed to have grown back overnight, and even the collapsed back straightened up again.
The room light shone on Xu Shiyue, and her shadow on the ground was just a straight, slanted line, without even the slightest tremor. From any angle, her composure was perfectly flawless.
But as Aunt Sun watched that figure disappear into the distance, she vaguely sensed that something was amiss: "Madam, I feel like something's not quite right about Miss Xu."
"I heard from people around Shiyue that she found out everything about Zhenzhen's matter in one day, and she hasn't cried at all. She probably hasn't eaten either." Cheng Meiyan's voice was a little hoarse, not because she was calm, but because she couldn't muster any strength.
Aunt Sun's face immediately showed worry, her brows furrowed with concern: "This is not a good sign."
Lu Shi'en listened to the two of them talking from the side, and then looked up thoughtfully at Xu Shiyue who was going upstairs.
The nameless wind-up key had somehow become fully wound up behind her again, its turning gears clattering and pushing her forward.
Dealing with Xu Shouxian was only the first step. She still had many things to do. She had to find out and deal with everything that was even remotely related to yesterday's events.
Xu Shiyue's eyes were somewhat empty, pure black that couldn't let in any light, and no emotion could be seen flowing within them.
She felt something manipulating her mind to do these things, and she was willing to be pushed by this force. Flames were burning in her heart, already turning into murderous intent.
She didn't have any particular thoughts; she simply wanted to get rid of anyone who had caused Lu Shizhen's death.
Even herself should be included.
Suddenly, Xu Shiyue had already reached the door of the study.
Just as she was about to open the door to the study, a slightly breathless voice called out from behind her: "Xu Shiyue".
It's Lu Shi'en.
Xu Shiyue hadn't expected this person to come looking for her, but her gaze remained calm: "What is it?"
Lu Shien nodded.
As if she had made a big decision, she said to Xu Shiyue, "I know you are very capable. You are even more capable than my brother. You easily defeated those people and became the master of the Xu family in less than half a year. You also found out about my sister's affairs in one go."
As she spoke, the girl hurriedly took a box out of her bag and held it up to Xu Shiyue with both hands: "This is the prize money I've saved up from competitions over the years. I'll give it all to you, I'll give it all to you. Please don't let those people who killed my sister get away with it, okay?"
Lu Shi'en's voice still trembled with uncontrollable sobs, but his eyes were firm and sincere as he looked at Xu Shiyue.
It took her a great deal of determination to collect all her treasures and give them all to Xu Shiyue, leaving none behind.
She knew that her behavior might seem absurd.
But she didn't want to do nothing and just wait for someone else to bring her a result.
That's her older sister, the one who's been getting nicer to her than ever...
She doesn't like it.
This made her feel like a piece of trash.
However, Xu Shiyue seemed uninterested in these things, and after she finished speaking, she said, "Take these things back."
Lu Shien panicked.
She watched Xu Shiyue leave, then leaned forward and stopped her, blocking the person who currently seemed the most likely to avenge her sister. With all her might, she said, "I know this is far from enough. I have other things. Some of my trophies are pure gold and can be sold for a lot of money. I can give them all to you. And this, this was a gift from my sister last year, you can have it too."
Perhaps feeling that his wealth was not enough to impress the person in front of him, Lu Shi'en sniffed lightly and lowered his arrogant and willful head to Xu Shiyue for the first time: "I know I was not good to you in the past, I always went against you and said some very bad things. I'm sorry, I will never do it again. It was all my fault. I was willful and unreasonable. I shouldn't have called you a jinx."
"You can refuse my apology, you can ignore me. But, Xu Shiyue. My sister, my sister was so good to you in the past. She really was good to you, I've never seen her so good to anyone. So, so please, please don't let those who killed my sister get away with it, please, I beg you..."
Lu Shi'en's voice choked up at one point, making it impossible for him to form a complete sentence.
Whether it's an apology or a plea for mercy, the once arrogant Miss Lu is now humbled to the dust before Xu Shiyue.
Xu Shiyue stared intently at the girl in front of her for a long time. Her tightly pursed lips fluttered slightly, then pressed into a straight line. She repeated this several times before finally speaking, but it was still a refusal: "Take all these things back. I don't want them."
Lu Shi'en's heart sank.
She had never felt this way before, not even when she found that the program wouldn't work no matter how she debugged it during a competition.
The little girl's hands, clutching the jewelry box, clenched tightly. Just as she was frantically trying to figure out how to persuade Xu Shiyue, she heard Xu Shiyue's voice booming down from above her: "But I can assure you, I won't let anyone involved in yesterday's events get away with it."
Instantly, Lu Shien's teary eyes widened.
She rummaged through the box in her hand and pulled out a large, perfectly round pearl. She clumsily and carefully placed it on Xu Shiyue, saying slowly and deliberately, "Then, then you should take this. It's the most valuable thing I brought today."
Xu Shiyue disdained these things; she had no interest in accepting such expensive yet meaningless items. She knew in her heart that even if Lu Shien hadn't come to find her today, she would have done the same.
Just as Xu Shiyue was about to refuse, she caught Lu Shien's gaze as he looked at her.
That's why they're sisters who grew up together—there's something about them that makes you feel they look alike.
The dim light in the corridor shone into Xu Shiyue's eyes, and in her hazy vision, Lu Shizhen's eyes appeared.
This person has looked at themselves in the same way before, their sincere eyes never able to hide their expectations, cautious yet full of clues.
Silently, Lu Shi'en placed that huge pearl into Xu Shiyue's palm.
“Then it’s settled. You can’t go back on your word. You have to make those people pay the price!” Lu Shi’en said seriously.
Xu Shiyue did not refuse, and simply hummed in agreement, which was considered as accepting Lu Shien's childish "bribe".
She and the girl had nothing to talk about, and after their meeting ended, she stopped looking at her and turned to push open the door to go into the study.
This time, her action of pushing the door was interrupted from behind again.
Lu Shi'en held her box and said again, "Xu Shiyue."
Xu Shiyue stopped what she was doing again, her voice still calm: "Is there anything else?"
"If you want to cry, just cry. No one will laugh at you," Lu Shien said earnestly.
Under the fluorescent light, Xu Shiyue seemed to see Lu Shizhen looking at her through those eyes that resembled hers, saying, "Although I hope you will always be happy, the New Year has not yet arrived."
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