The door opened, and light flowed in from outside.
Apricot blossoms fluttered, brushing against the robes of the young man at the door, who stepped inside alongside Lu Xian and Luo Lingyu.
The woman sitting on the brocade couch inside the room suddenly turned her gaze to the door, where Lu Yun stood.
Against the light, his face was unclear, but his aura and charm were unmistakable. The light and shadows flowed over him like water, and once again, she felt that breathtaking beauty.
Her heart raced.
Luo Lingyu’s fingers trembled as she handed a flower to Lu Xian1, Lu Xian. She tried to suppress the tingling sensation in her heart: Lu Yun2‘s jade-like demeanor was something every woman who saw him would fall for. It wasn’t shameful that she couldn’t control her heartbeat.
But she had to control it.
After all, she already knew that Lu Yun wasn’t the untouchable, icy mountain everyone thought he was.
Lu Yun took two more steps forward, and his face became clear. Luo Lingyu and Lu Xian finally saw his gloomy expression. Lu Xian was surprised. The way his younger brother stared at him and their cousin, it was as if they had done something to wrong him.
Lu Xian noticed the little head that suddenly popped up behind Lu Yun and waved, “Little cousin, you’re here too? Didn’t Lingyu say Hua’er was practicing calligraphy? Lu Yun, why did you bring her here?”
Lu Yun’s eyes were sharp: “Lingyu cousin?”
So familiar.
Lu Xian’s face flushed under his gaze. He coughed and said, “It’s just to distinguish between the two cousins.”
Luo Lingyu frowned, her eyes darting between Lu Yun and Luo Yunhuan, feeling puzzled again. Shouldn’t Hua’er have only met Lu Yun once, during that troublesome encounter? How could they be closer than she and Lu Yun after just one meeting?
Luo Lingyu once again deeply doubted her own charm.
Meanwhile, Luo Yunhuan had been practicing calligraphy diligently when her third cousin came to tease her. She begged him, and Lu Yun readily agreed to plead her case—to take her to Luo Lingyu and convince her to let her little sister go out to play.
Who would have thought that when Luo Yunhuan happily followed her third cousin to find her sister, the first thing she saw upon opening the door was her sister performing a magic trick for Lu Xian.
The fresh, beautiful flower bloomed vividly between her sister’s slender, jade-like fingers and was handed to Lu Xian, who smiled.
Luo Yunhuan shrank back in fear: the magic trick was something her third cousin had taught her! She had then taught it to her sister! And now her sister was showing it off in front of him, and he had seen it…
Even though the clever little girl didn’t understand the tension between the adults, she knew it wasn’t a good thing to be caught red-handed.
As she frowned, thinking of a way out, she saw the handsome third cousin glance down at her, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
Luo Yunhuan was so scared by his look that she jumped back, tears in her eyes, and bolted out the door: “I-I’ll just go back to practicing calligraphy…”
Lu Xian and Luo Lingyu inside the room watched in surprise as the little girl fled. Luo Lingyu then turned to look at the third cousin, her eyes filled with reproach, but she didn’t dare say anything. Instead, she looked at Lu Xian, her eyes filled with unspoken words, grievances, and a fragile vulnerability…
Lu Yun sneered inwardly.
Lu Xian had already started speaking up for his cousin: “Lu Yun, what did you do? Hua’er is so young, did you scare her?”
Lu Yun’s eyes were on the woman who was sending flirtatious glances to his second brother. His lips curved slightly: “Not at all. It’s just a little secret between me and Luo sister.”
His voice was like jade falling on brocade, pleasant and captivating, making the listener’s heart tremble uncomfortably. After speaking, he walked over leisurely, casual yet dignified, dignified yet noble.
He spoke to Lu Xian, but his eyes were on Luo Lingyu… Luo Lingyu’s face grew redder under his gaze. She glanced at him secretly, her heart in turmoil—
She didn’t know why. Even though she knew Lu Yun’s “Luo sister” referred to her younger sister, she couldn’t help but feel that the “little secret between me and Luo sister” was about him and her.
Lu Yun took a seat, and only when Lu Xian joined the conversation did Luo Lingyu feel the pressure on her lessen.
The two gentlemen had come to visit, and both were well-learned. A casual chat revealed the depth of their knowledge.
Luo Lingyu, who had been unable to lift her head under Lu Yun’s gaze, now sat up straight and subtly leaned closer to Lu Xian, confidently joining the conversation, eager to showcase her own talents.
Her smile towards Lu Xian became much more genuine—what a great opportunity to shine. Lu Xian was such a good person.
Lu Yun glanced at her genuine smile as she looked at his second brother, then at the flower in his brother’s hand.
Lu Yun’s gaze paused, his eyes occasionally falling on the flower. The magic trick was something he had taught Luo Yunhuan, but now Luo Lingyu was showing it off endlessly to his second brother, endlessly…
As she spoke, her body unconsciously leaned towards his second brother.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled, filled with deep affection; Lu Xian, usually reserved and quiet, now looked at his cousin with gentle eyes, chatting warmly with her.
Lu Yun glanced at them from time to time, then looked away, then stared at the flower in Lu Xian’s hand…
His unpredictable gaze must have lingered too long, as Luo Lingyu looked like she wanted to say something, and Lu Xian also turned to his younger brother. Lu Xian: “Lu Yun, Lu Yun?”
Lu Yun snapped out of it: “Hmm?”
Luo Lingyu’s eyes were filled with conflict as she faced Lu Yun’s handsome face and asked, “Does third cousin like this flower so much?”
Lu Yun’s gaze fell on her face: “…”
Luo Lingyu made up her mind to please him: “Then I’ll give one to third cousin too.”
Without giving Lu Yun a chance to refuse, her hand reached out across the small table, right under his eyes.
Lu Yun looked down, watching as his cousin’s hand moved like a blooming flower, a little awkward, naturally due to lack of practice.
The next moment, “pop,” a magnolia flower appeared before his eyes.
Lu Yun looked up, his eyes dark.
Luo Lingyu, seeing he didn’t take it, suddenly remembered one of his taboos: “It’s just a magnolia. Not unique.”
She remembered the words Lu Yun had sent her through the maid Jinyue when he refused her flower note: “I don’t keep things that aren’t unique.”
Lu Yun’s mood instantly became complicated.
…
After Luo Yunhuan was scared off by Lu Yun, she had originally intended to go back to practicing calligraphy. But in the courtyard, she ran into Lingyu and Lingxi, who were leading a group of maids in drying flowers.
The flowers were being dried on Luo Lingyu’s orders, likely for her to use in currying favor with the Lu family.
The courtyard was filled with the rich scent of flowers, and as the evening shadows fell, the maids were busy collecting the petals.
Lingxi, who was supposed to be watching Luo Yunhuan practice calligraphy, was now called by Lingyu to help collect petals…
Luo Yunhuan’s eyes darted around like clear jade, and she tiptoed around the maids. She crawled out of the “Xuesu Courtyard” through a dog hole in the corner of the backyard wall, then covered the hole with grass and branches.
Luo Yunhuan was quite pleased with herself, humming: her sister was busy talking to the two cousins and wouldn’t have time to keep an eye on her.
Like a bird set free, Luo Yunhuan headed straight for the large lake in the Lu family estate. After her sister had fallen into the water, she had heard that there were small boats by the lake and a pavilion in the middle, and she had been longing to go play there. But Luo Yunhuan was always under her sister’s watch and rarely left the courtyard.
The lake was too big and too conspicuous, and though she found it, she couldn’t find the boat that Cousin Lu had used that day. After a moment of disappointment, Luo Yunhuan hid in the vast bamboo grove and played with ants.
A child’s troubles come and go quickly, and the little girl became engrossed in watching the “ants move house,” forgetting about the boat she had originally wanted to find.
But this happiness didn’t last long. After a while, a young boy appeared on the walkway above, flipping through a book and stumbling through his recitation:
“Horse, hooves… hooves can tread… what snow… ah, frost and snow! Hair can, can protect against, against the cold. What grass drinks water, what and land… grass drinks water, lifts its hooves and lands!”
Luo Yunhuan covered her ears: the person above was so annoying!
Luo Yunhuan remembered Luo Lingyu’s teaching: don’t cause trouble in the Lu family. So even though the noise above continued for a long time, she resisted the urge to go out and scold him.
The young boy muttered to himself, taking half a day to recite a passage, while Luo Yunhuan felt like she could recite it herself.
The ants she was playing with were probably also disturbed by the noise, each one crawling into their holes and refusing to come out…
Half an hour later, Lu Fourth Young Master3, Lu Chang, was still stuttering through his recitation when a little girl suddenly emerged from the bamboo grove below. He stepped back in shock, and the little girl with a smudged face stood with her hands on her hips: “Hey! You’re so annoying, and so dumb! Can’t you go somewhere else to recite? You scared my ants away!”
Lu Chang took a closer look: “You’re that scheming cousin’s sister…”
Luo Yunhuan was furious: “Who are you calling scheming!”
Lu Chang: “No, no, it’s not me! It’s my mother! My mother said your sister is a fox spirit…”
Luo Yunhuan’s nose wrinkled in anger, and she rolled up her sleeves: “You just wait!”
She charged out of the bamboo grove.
…
At the same time, as the evening glow filled the sky, the two Lu gentlemen stood up to bid farewell to their cousin. Lu Xian, holding the magnolia flower Luo Lingyu had given him, called his servants as soon as they left the room: “This is the flower Cousin Luo gave me. Do you know how to take care of it? Prepare the soil and water…”
Lu Xian turned back to Luo Lingyu and said gently, “Cousin, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of the flower you gave me.”
Luo Lingyu smiled sweetly: “Second cousin, you’re so kind.”
Lu Xian: “No, no, it’s cousin who is more kind-hearted.”
Lu Yun, who had just stepped out from behind Luo Lingyu, hadn’t even put on his shoes when he heard the two outside exchanging insincere compliments again. Lu Xian even looked serious about taking care of some flower… Lu Yun found it all very grating. He played with the flower stem in his hand, almost breaking it.
Suddenly, Lu Yun called out from behind: “Luo sister.”
Luo Lingyu: Hmph, her sister wasn’t here.
A coolness brushed her cheek as the gentleman’s sleeve swept past her face. His scent enveloped her, fresh and cool like frost. Luo Lingyu felt a weight in her hair and reached up to touch it. Lu Yun had reached out and placed the flower he was holding directly into her hair.
He smiled lightly, his peach-blossom eyes lowering, radiant like precious gems. Lu Xian, with his back turned, was instructing his servants on how to care for the flower, unaware that his younger brother was flirting with Luo Lingyu behind him: “It looks good.”
His voice was like a night breeze, softly brushing past her face: “I’ve returned the flower to you… I don’t want things that aren’t unique.”
Luo Lingyu’s ears turned red, like saga seeds.
Author’s Note: Luo sister: If you’re not going to marry me, why tease me!
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