For a moment, Lu Shizhen felt as if the whole world had fallen silent.
Yuanzi wagged its tail happily at its other owner, but received no response.
Lu Shizhen slowly raised her eyes, and unexpectedly met Xu Shiyue's lowered gaze.
The sunlight streaming in from the window fell on the stairwell from Xu Shiyue's direction, so bright it hurt the eyes.
The hand clutching the photo tightened slightly. Even though Lu Shizhen knew that Xu Shiyue could only see light and couldn't see the photo on the ground clearly, she felt inexplicably guilty.
Seriously, why confiscate these things? They could have just stuffed them back into Lu Shize's hands!
"That... me..."
"October".
Just as Lu Shizhen was wondering if she should say something casually, Lu Shize's voice came from behind her.
Xu Shiyue seemed to have come downstairs because Lu Shize had called for her. She calmly withdrew her gaze from Lu Shizhen and politely replied, "Mr. Lu."
"Come to the reception room across from the living room for a moment," Lu Shize said to Xu Shiyue, his voice returning to its usual low tone.
"I understand, Mr. Lu." Xu Shiyue nodded, gently tugged at the armrest in her hand, and gestured for Yuanzi to lead her to the reception room.
She seemed completely unaware of the conversation between Lu Shizhen and Lu Shize, silently ignoring Lu Shizhen who had stopped beside her.
Lu Shizhen wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Xu Shiyue glanced at her as she passed by.
Before she could react, the girl's soft slippers stepped right over the photo she had just dropped on the ground.
Lu Shizhen looked at the photo she was about to pick up, her throat bobbing slightly: "Qiuqiu, is there any possibility that Xu Shiyue can see it?"
“Impossible host, Xu Shiyue’s current physical data is simply not enough to support her regaining her sight.” Qiuqiu floated over holding a potato chip.
"That's really too unlucky." Lu Shizhen said as she picked up the photo that Xu Shiyue had just stepped on, and politely dusted off the dust off Assistant Sun's sister. "I'm sorry, Miss Sun, Xu Shiyue didn't do it on purpose. She can't see it."
The warm sunlight bathed the lobby on the first floor, and the shadows of the footsteps that had paused were not very noticeable.
Before anyone could notice, the sound of the door closing separated the two rooms.
Lu Shizhen squatted on the ground, looking at the door that had just been closed, and couldn't help but worry: "Qiuqiu, Xu Shiyue was just called in by my brother. Could you sneak in and see what happened inside?"
"I'm sorry, host, the system does not allow you to stay in an independent space without being connected to the host." Qiuqiu said apologetically, then offered a suggestion: "But we have Xu Shiyue's body data to monitor her, so if anything happens, we can rush in immediately."
That's all we can do.
Lu Shizhen sighed. She was also unsure of Lu Shize's current attitude towards Xu Shiyue.
Just in case, so she could appear in time to protect Xu Shiyue, Lu Shizhen stood up from the ground and sat back down on the living room sofa facing the reception room.
The not-so-large reception room, once the door is closed, is as if it isolates all external sounds.
The two floor-to-ceiling windows bring the surrounding bamboo scenery into the room, making it look exceptionally tranquil and elegant.
Xu Shiyue couldn't see, so she wasn't interested in these things. She went straight to the point and asked Lu Shize, "Mr. Lu, is there anything I can do for you?"
Her voice was lower than ever before, filled with a cold and distant feeling.
Upon hearing this, Lu Shize put down the seal he was playing with.
He did not answer Xu Shiyue's question, but instead asked, "What are your thoughts on the Xu family?"
"I have no opinion. If it's mine, I'll definitely take it back; if it's not mine, I have no interest in it," Xu Shiyue replied calmly.
“Hmm.” Lu Shize nodded in agreement, then continued, “Luo Ji woke up a couple of days ago. I know you only have a newly established artificial intelligence company right now. What are your plans for this company?”
"If possible, I would like Mr. Lu to take over now and become the nominal shareholder. This would create the illusion that the Lu family took me in only to obtain the benefits I had, but ended up with nothing and only got some petty gains."
Xu Shiyue's voice was steady and smooth, as if she had prepared it in advance.
In fact, she had thought about this before.
Luo Ji's side is short-handed and has been exposed too thoroughly, so this method is the best way to hide them.
“Even small profits can generate a lot of revenue.” Lu Shize curled his lips slightly, glanced at Xu Shiyue, and said, “Aren’t you afraid I might actually swallow up your only company?”
"You won't," Xu Shiyue replied confidently.
Lu Shize asked curiously, "How do you know I can't?"
"Because Lu Shizhen won't let you do that."
Without hesitation, Xu Shiyue pointed out the link that allowed her and Lu Shize to cooperate now.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the room seemed to plummet to its lowest point.
The lenses reflected Lu Shize's eyes, sharp as a knife: "Miss Xu, you'd better not use Zhenzhen to scheme against her."
There are two different things: keeping something to yourself and telling it to your friends.
Xu Shiyue knew clearly that she needed Lu Shize's power, and the only person who could help her control Lu Shize was Lu Shizhen.
But this weakness is now in her hands, and she doesn't know why she's going to use such a heavy hand.
The threat he had been planning for so long suddenly stalled, and he replaced it with a reminder-like promise: "Mr. Lu doesn't want to get her involved in these things either, does he?"
As if they had reached an agreement on something, the sharpness in Lu Shize's eyes softened somewhat.
He just stared at the thin girl in front of him, remaining silent for a long time.
Sunlight streamed in from one side, making Xu Shiyue's skin appear pale.
Despite appearing frail and sickly, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure, it's remarkable that she survived the family feud and remained so composed and steady.
After a pause, Lu Shize analyzed to Xu Shiyue, "I know you have excellent grades at school, and Zhenzhen even helped you regain your position as the principal cellist in the school orchestra. As long as you can get a ranking in this month's competition, your admission to S University will be guaranteed."
"Given your school's consistent performance, getting a good ranking should be easy. You won't need to review or prepare for exams, so you'll have plenty of free time in the second half of the year. I think you should understand that the sooner you resolve your family issues, the better it will be for you."
Xu Shiyue nodded: "Yes."
Everything is easiest to dismantle in its early stages; once it develops into a mature interest group, it becomes much harder to destroy.
Perhaps out of obedience to his family's orders, or perhaps out of a desire to recognize his talent, Lu Shize said to Xu Shiyue, "I will teach you personally, so you should be prepared."
Xu Shiyue remained composed and nodded slightly to Lu Shize, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Lu."
"Don't thank me so soon, I don't like stupid students."
Lu Shize's voice was somewhat deep and stern, and he slightly raised his head as he spoke.
However, the blurry figure carried a hint of arrogance and awkwardness similar to Lu Shizhen, making it easy to see through at a glance.
Just as she was thinking this, Xu Shiyue seemed to realize something and suddenly paused.
She didn't know why she suddenly had such a thought, and she found herself thinking about Lu Shizhen. Her brows furrowed slightly.
“I’ll contact you before class starts. This is my personal WeChat account, scan it.” Lu Shize didn’t notice Xu Shiyue’s subtle change and continued to make arrangements for her. “Aunt Sun has already given you some books that you will need, make good use of them.”
“I know you have difficulty seeing right now, but many basic economics textbooks have Braille versions. The provincial library has them. You can find them according to the list I gave you.”
“Okay.” Xu Shiyue nodded and wrote all of these down.
Perhaps because Lu Shizhen, the biggest obstacle in the original text, was no longer there, Xu Shiyue and Lu Shize reached a consensus very quickly.
However, their cooperative relationship, based solely on interests and tasks, did not make them particularly close. Having said what needed to be said, Lu Shize turned to leave.
But as soon as he pushed open the door, a furtive figure immediately appeared in his line of sight and then disappeared in a flash.
It is Lu Shizhen.
Lu Shize was unsure whether to laugh at this person's childish attempt to cover up their ignorance, or to feel helpless at her lack of trust in him.
Lu Shize gently patted Lu Shizhen's head and said, "Zhenzhen, your brother is leaving. Take care of yourself."
Lu Shizhen was powerless to resist Lu Shize's hand. She stuffed the confiscated photos back into Lu Shize's hand, half-farewell and half-reminder, saying, "Goodbye, brother. Don't bring anything else with you!"
Lu Shize looked at the information he had painstakingly compiled and gave a helpless laugh.
Without saying anything, he got into the car accompanied by his bodyguard.
Sunlight streamed across the black Rolls-Royce, following him as he slowly drove out of the yard.
Seeing that Lu Shize had already left, Lu Shizhen turned back with some concern and looked at Xu Shiyue: "Did my brother make things difficult for you?"
This person was still as reckless as ever, and he walked right into my line of sight while he was speaking.
A faint golden light, blurry yet brilliant, outlined a circle in Xu Shiyue's vision, like the sun in the dome of the sky.
Xu Shiyue pursed her lips and shook her head, saying, "No, Mr. Lu gave me a book list."
Lu Shizhen immediately understood that Lu Shize was planning to give Xu Shiyue special tutoring, and nodded, saying, "That's a good thing. Your brother is very capable. If you learn from him, you'll be able to get back your things that you left at the Xu family's place much faster."
Xu Shiyue then added, "I'd like to go out today to borrow some books from the library and come back before dinner."
Lu Shizhen nodded happily upon hearing this.
She fully supported Xu Shiyue's studies at the library, but the shadow of the last incident had not yet faded from her heart, and as she spoke, she became worried about Xu Shiyue's safety again.
What if Xu Shouxian's men come out again and try to kill Xu Shiyue?
She had just accumulated a lot of points, and the last time she risked everything, it was enough to make her feel bad. She didn't want to risk it again.
It's not that I'm stingy with my points, but it's better to be cautious about this kind of thing.
Lu Shizhen still felt that apart from Qiuqiu, who was ahead of the current level of technology, no one else was reliable.
After thinking for a moment, she made up her mind and said, "Okay, I'll pack up and go with you later."
"You?" Xu Shiyue asked, somewhat puzzled.
“That’s right.” Lu Shizhen nodded, pulling out the invincible shield of “physics”. “You can read there, and I’ll sit next to you with my physics workbook. That way, if there are any questions I don’t understand, I can ask you directly when you’re resting. It’s time-saving, effortless, and efficient.”
"Haven't we missed several classes? I need to catch up quickly."
A gust of wind blew in from outside the window, and the shadows of the trees swayed wildly in Xu Shiyue's vision.
As soon as Lu Shizhen finished speaking, Xu Shiyue narrowed her eyes slightly.
That indescribable feeling surged up again, making her feel inexplicably unhappy.
"Heh." A soft laugh brushed past Lu Shizhen's ear.
Completely unprepared.
Lu Shizhen suddenly stopped, looking at Xu Shiyue standing in front of her with some confusion.
Sunlight streamed through the bright French windows, falling directly between the two of them, almost blindingly so.
Xu Shiyue slowly raised her eyelashes under Lu Shizhen's gaze, her eyes showing a hint of aloofness: "I thought that since Mr. Lu introduced Ms. Lu to Assistant Sun's sister, he wouldn't need me anymore."
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