Since getting in the car, Lu Yunze had been thinking about one thing:
‘Jiang Sui lied to me.’
After getting into the car, Lu Yunze kept glancing up at Jiang Sui, who was sitting in the front seat.
Her expression was exactly the same as before—a gloomy, unhappy look.
In this state, if she said she didn’t have something on her mind, even ghosts wouldn’t believe it.
And Lu Yunze could probably guess what Jiang Sui was hiding from him.
Just think back to what happened before, and it was easy to understand.
‘Jiang Sui must still be getting seasick.’
Even though she claimed she got sick after getting off the boat, Lu Yunze had already figured it out—she did get seasick, and she acted so resistant to keep him from worrying.
So how had she managed to act like nothing was wrong on the boat?
This question lingered in Lu Yunze’s mind for a long time.
Thinking back to her behavior on the ship, no matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t the way someone with seasickness should act. She had been way too lively.
‘Maybe she just didn’t want me to worry about her.’
‘She thought the seasickness would ease once she reached land, but the symptoms didn’t fade as quickly as she expected, so I caught her off guard and discovered the truth.’
The more Lu Yunze thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
After all, this was Jiang Sui—the one who always cared for others and neglected herself.
With that in mind, Lu Yunze looked up again toward Jiang Sui.
The girl leaned gently against the car window, her light purple eyes reflecting the traffic outside. A few grayish-brown strands of hair had mischievously fallen across her cheek.
At first, Lu Yunze was studying her expression, but before he knew it, his gaze had drifted to her lips.
Those plump, rosy lips made it impossible not to let his imagination run wild.
The thought that someone so beautiful had once given him her first kiss made Lu Yunze quickly look away, afraid of losing his composure.
The car soon reached its destination.
When he got out with his luggage, Lu Yunze thought he had come to the wrong place.
“Is this it?”
“That’s right. That’s where my sister said it was.”
Lu Yunze exchanged glances with Luo Yao and Luo Heng, the two siblings, and then they all looked at the building in front of them.
They knew Luo Qiaoying wouldn’t live in an ordinary neighborhood like a regular person, but in her own private villa.
Still, seeing it in person was a bit shocking.
Even Jiang Sui, standing behind them, blinked and couldn’t help murmuring:
“An ancient-style building?”
At first glance, it felt like they had wandered onto the set of a historical drama.
The villa in front of them—more like a mansion—was built entirely in the style of ancient architecture.
Lu Yunze knocked on the wall beside the courtyard gate, and the crisp sound made him comment:
“It’s actually made of wood. Wouldn’t that be a pain to maintain?”
But for the wealthy and powerful Luo family, the maintenance cost of a mere mansion was nothing.
After knocking, a servant quickly came to open the door and led everyone inside.
The courtyard inside the mansion was huge, and on one side, a large tree had been planted.
Though it wasn’t yet in bloom, its thick branches and leaves showed that it was growing well.
“What kind of tree is this?”
Lu Yunze could already imagine the sight of a full tree of peach blossoms.
“It’s the eldest daughter’s favorite peach tree.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the blooming season.
With a cold front about to sweep across the country, all they could see were bare branches.
After crossing the courtyard and entering the house, Lu Yunze rehearsed in his mind how he should face the eldest daughter of the Luo family.
‘Would calling her “Sister” be too familiar?’
‘Then what should I call her—Ying Jie or Qiaoying Jie?’
Come to think of it, the mansion had an ancient charm from the outside, but the interior decoration was thoroughly modern.
‘Well, modern people can’t really live without electricity, water, and the internet.’
Just as everyone was drinking tea in the living room, rapid footsteps came from upstairs.
The person who appeared was a woman about the same age as Lu Yunze and the others.
She was wearing a neat, sharp outfit. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her features were quite heroic.
Whether because she was running too fast, she was panting heavily and her face was covered in sweat.
When she met Lu Yunze’s eyes, she immediately broke into a smile.
‘Who is this?’
Jiang Sui observed the reactions of Lu Yunze and the others.
This person probably wasn’t Luo Qiaoying.
“You must be the eldest daughter’s family—the second young miss, second young master, and Master Lu.”
“And you are?”
Luo Yao frowned.
“I’m the eldest daughter’s personal servant and also her bodyguard, Ye Qianlan.”
“Oh, hello, Miss Ye.”
Luo Heng extended his hand.
Ye Qianlan took a deep breath and didn’t acknowledge his outstretched hand. Instead, she said seriously:
“Good timing. The eldest daughter… she’s gone!”
“What?”
Among them, Luo Yao reacted the strongest.
The teacup in her hand almost fell to the ground.
“My sister got into trouble?”
She hadn’t expected such a strong reaction.
Ye Qianlan took two steps back as Luo Yao approached and quickly explained:
“It’s not that bad. The eldest daughter often slips out without telling us, and it gets harder to find her each time. I didn’t expect her to do it again at a time like this.”
Luo Yao took a sharp breath and immediately called everyone to join the search for her missing sister.
Lu Yunze rarely saw her react so strongly, so he poked Luo Heng to ask for details.
“It’s probably because our older sister was very close to Luo Yao when they were kids.”
Luo Heng said he wasn’t sure how to answer.
Even though she was their sister, Luo Heng and Luo Yao had only met her for the first time after moving away from Donghai City.
By then, she was already an adult.
She wasn’t young anymore, but she still acted like a troublesome child.
Jiang Sui was supposed to join the search for Luo Qiaoying, but Lu Yunze quietly called her aside.
“You don’t have to go. Just rest.”
“…Young Master, what’s wrong with you? Suddenly caring about me like this?”
Jiang Sui looked at him suspiciously.
Lu Yunze spoke earnestly:
“I know you’ve been trying not to let anyone know you’re pushing yourself, but that’s really bad for you. If you’re not feeling well, don’t force it. Just wait here for us to come back.”
Jiang Sui didn’t understand what he meant, but she still smiled.
“Fine, since it’s the young master’s concern, I’ll accept it.”
The little maid lightly bit her finger.
“But the way you’re saying it, Young Master, it sounds like I have something.”
“If I really did, would you let me rest all the time, Young Master?”
Lu Yunze took a sharp breath, not daring to imagine the sight of this girl with a big belly.
After a few words to her, Lu Yunze turned and went to find Luo Yao and the others.
As for Jiang Sui, she took her luggage to the bedroom assigned to her and opened the window.
It faced the courtyard. Quite convenient.
“Just because you tell me not to go, do you think I’ll lose face if I don’t?”
Lu Yunze was going to look for other women?
No way.
Jiang Sui would never allow that. She had to follow and see.
After leaving the mansion, Ye Qianlan sent them the places where Luo Qiaoying might appear.
Luo Qiaoying loved flowers, so when she snuck out, she probably went to one of the flower shops or flower-and-bird markets in the city.
Among these, there were two particularly special places.
One was the Memorial Park for the Donghai City disaster, and the other was a cake shop.
Why the former attracted Luo Qiaoying, even Ye Qianlan couldn’t explain.
But she went to the memorial park once a month.
It had the largest monument in all of Donghai City.
As for the cake shop, the reason was simple.
The shop’s specialty was all kinds of flower-shaped cakes.
Luo Qiaoying also had a sweet tooth, so it hit two birds with one stone.
Lu Yunze thought about it and decided to check the cake shop first.
“It should be here, right?”
When he arrived at the shop entrance, Lu Yunze saw a bustling crowd of customers.
The line stretched almost to the street.
He heard there was a new product today, which was why so many customers had gathered.
“Damn it, stop pushing!”
“Who stepped on my shoe? You got a death wish?”
“That’s mine! I got here first! I’ve been waiting almost an hour!”
The customers’ fervent attitude not only made the staff sweat but also worried Lu Yunze.
Considering Luo Qiaoying’s weak constitution, if she also tried to line up, she might end up in the hospital for a few days before even getting to eat the cake.
He lingered at the entrance for a while, but didn’t see any sign of Luo Qiaoying inside.
So he decided to head to the memorial park.
“Wait!”
Just then, a hand grabbed him.
“Don’t leave yet. Can you do me a favor?”
Lu Yunze turned to look at the person and widened his eyes.
When everyone had split up to search, Jiang Sui had secretly followed Lu Yunze, keeping her distance so he wouldn’t notice.
Quite a few people were looking for Luo Qiaoying.
Jiang Sui thought that as long as she kept an eye on him, she wouldn’t give Lu Yunze any chance to get involved with other women.
And along the way, Lu Yunze had behaved well, not even greeting a pretty woman.
Until—
Just for a moment, when she wasn’t paying attention, Jiang Sui found that a woman had appeared beside Lu Yunze.
“Who is that?”
She was very beautiful, with slightly pale skin, a classical beauty with an air of elegance.
She kept smiling when she saw Lu Yunze.
“The moment she saw Lu Yunze, she smiled so happily. She must have bad intentions.”
Jiang Sui noticed that the woman pointed at the cake shop, and she immediately understood.
She must have wanted Lu Yunze to help her queue for cake, and then used that as an excuse to eat together and build a connection.
Everything was a scheme to hit on Lu Yunze.
After the cake, the two would naturally become friends.
Next, she would probably invite Lu Yunze to play, go to dinner, and then get dead drunk.
Finally, in the dead of night, she would seduce the drunk Lu Yunze into a hotel and do all sorts of improper things all night long!
‘How could she let that happen?!’
Jiang Sui took a sharp breath, her fingers gripping the wall so hard it hurt.
All her attention was on Lu Yunze. She didn’t notice at all that a black cat was crouching on the roof behind her.
The cat’s golden eyes stared at Jiang Sui for a long time.
‘You say it’s all an act, but I can see you’re really into it.’
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