"What? You care a lot?" Lu Qianli's gaze turned particularly sinister as he stared at her, his brows furrowing. "Trying to play the sisterly love card? Love."
"Ah..." Lu Ai shook her head, opened her mouth but couldn't speak, she could only make "ah ah" sounds like a mute, and tears fell to the ground.
"Really? But... this Miss Sheng is investigating things about me, isn't she? Ah, of course, and about my adoption of you too." Lu Qianli's pale, slender fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the wheelchair, making a crisp sound, which startled Lu Ai so much that she knelt down on the ground.
"Butler," Lu Qianli called out, and the butler, who was waiting outside the studio, quickly opened the door and came in: "Take Ai to the reflection room."
"Ah!" The butler grabbed Lu Ai's trembling arm and pulled her up. Lu Ai screamed in terror, her hoarse voice particularly frightening.
She desperately tried to grab Lu Qianli's arm, which was resting on the wheelchair, with her other hand, ignoring how much force the housekeeper had used to pull her.
The housekeeper panicked and actually managed to break free and grab Lu Qianli's hand.
"What's wrong?" Lu Qianli reached out his other hand and forcefully pinched her chin, forcing her to look directly at him: "Is there anything you want to say?"
"Ah..." Lu Ai let go of her hand in pain, repeating incoherently, "No, no, no."
"You don't want to go to the reflection room?" Lu Qianli looked at her with a half-smile: "Sure."
"As long as you're obedient, that's all that matters. It's simple, right?"
It's very simple... right? Lu Ai was lost in thought for a moment, her mind filled with images of the other person saying this countless times, one second he was choking her neck, the next he was speaking these words gently.
"……right."
Lu Qianli finally showed a satisfied expression: "You two really look alike." He looked closely at Lu Ai's face.
"No."
Lu Ai's rebuttal surprised Lu Qianli. He knew that this child had never contradicted him before, which he found amusing.
"What?" Lu Qianli loosened his grip slightly, asking her to repeat herself.
Lu Ai lowered her eyes: "I am not the same as her." She didn't mean they weren't alike, but rather that they were different.
Yuan Ke and Yuan Ai were very different when they were young, and now that they've grown up, Sheng Ke and Lu Ai are even more different in every way.
“Is that so?” Lu Qianli raised an eyebrow, then said knowingly, “Yes, you are different. She is the vulgar eldest daughter of the Sheng family, while you are my perfect creation, Lu Qianli.”
He reached out and gently stroked Lu Ai's head: "Good girl." He looked at Lu Ai's half-finished painting: "How about painting another one? Burning in flames... What's it called again? Oh, Sheng Ke."
Lu Ai nodded silently. The butler pushed the rather satisfied Lu Qianli away. As the door closed, the butler gave Lu Ai a time limit: "Three days."
After losing contact with the person she was investigating, Sheng Ke realized something was wrong. Mr. Lu must have found out about her investigation. She gritted her teeth, feeling somewhat unwilling, hoping that her parents' business wouldn't be affected, and also hoping that Yuan Ai would be alright.
Unfortunately, Lu Qianli was never a good person. Soon, Sheng Ke learned from her worried parents that her family's business had been inexplicably suppressed and hindered recently.
It's Mr. Lu!
Sheng Ke was almost immediately certain that this person was behind all of this. In order not to harm her parents, Sheng Ke finally decided to go to the Lu residence alone to meet the head of the Lu family.
The Lu residence was grand and imposing, but Sheng Ke felt somewhat uncomfortable looking at it.
The butler opened the door for Sheng Ke and invited her in. Sheng Ke cheered herself up and finally stepped into the Lu residence.
Lu Qianli was sitting on the sofa in the living room, seemingly having known she was coming and had been waiting for a while.
"Please have a seat, Miss Sheng."
The other person had an exceptionally strong aura. When Sheng Ke sat down, her gaze subtly swept over the other person's legs. Could such a person really be unable to walk?
"Miss Sheng, it's an honor to have you here. I'm so sorry I didn't greet you properly," Lu Qianli said. His gentle demeanor made Sheng Ke wonder if this was really the person who had been suppressing the Sheng family.
“No need to trouble Mr. Lu,” Sheng Ke said.
“No, of course. We members of the Lu family never act rudely. I think you will appreciate this apology.” He glanced at the butler, who gestured for a servant to bring the items over.
Soon, Sheng Ke saw the painting. In the painting, she was calmly trapped in a sea of fire, letting herself be burned.
A light sweat broke out on Sheng Ke's back. She suddenly regretted coming here alone and shouldn't have been so reckless.
“This is Ai’s new work, I think you’ll like it.” As he spoke, Lu Qianli looked at the painting with admiration. “Ai is a genius, her talent in painting is unmatched. Don’t you agree?”
He beckoned, and Sheng Ke then noticed the half-exposed lower leg and pale feet peeking out from under the painting held up by the maid. Lu Ai slowly walked out from behind the painting. Unlike last time, she didn't lower her head but looked directly into Sheng Ke's eyes: "This is for...you."
Sheng Ke felt a little uncomfortable, but still insisted, "Thank you, I... I like it very much."
On the way back, Sheng Ke rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Lu Qianli was truly terrifying, but thankfully he had promised not to continue targeting the Sheng family.
Then she thought of Lu Ai, who had been standing to the side the whole time. She had been so focused on her conversation with Lu Qianli that she hadn't paid much attention to Lu Ai. Now that she thought about it, she realized that Lu Ai had been too quiet the whole time.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
