The girl rested her head on Bai Lu’s shoulder, a heavy weight pressing against her.
Bai Lu wrapped her arms around Lu Weizhu’s neck, pulling the girl’s other shoulder close.
Holding the girl like this, Bai Lu felt an indescribable, strange sense of security.
It was as if by embracing her, Bai Lu controlled her entire life, making it impossible for her to escape.
She was admired; she was loved.
Bai Lu’s childhood had not been happy.
Though her parents valued her highly and provided the best training, they never made her feel truly loved.
Growing up alongside Ning Wan, the care she received from her parents was even less than what she got from Ning Wan.
Bai Lu’s father was the daughter of an entrepreneur, and her mother descended from a high official.
Their expectations placed heavy burdens on Bai Lu from an early age.
More than love and warmth, she encountered scolding and beatings.
Perhaps because of her childhood, Bai Lu suffered from an extreme lack of security.
It was precisely this lack of security that drove her to seek out Lu Weizhu when Ning Wan went abroad to study.
Turning her head to look at the girl in her arms, Bai Lu pinched Lu Weizhu’s cheek.
“You’ll listen to me, won’t you?” she asked softly.
“…Ah…yes…I will.”
Lu Weizhu had no right to refuse; all she could do was obey.
Being held by Bai Lu, the scent of lavender filled Lu Weizhu’s nose, making her a little dizzy.
“Then, can you call me ‘Master’ once?”
Bai Lu pushed her luck, unsatisfied with just a yes.
She recalled a fleeting thought—what if Lu Weizhu were a cat?
The image of the girl wearing a Cat Ear Hair Clip flashed in Bai Lu’s mind, her eyes darkening.
She felt a pang of regret for not bringing any small accessories with her.
“……?”
Leaning against Bai Lu’s chest, Lu Weizhu’s heart trembled.
She looked up but couldn’t clearly see Bai Lu’s face from her angle.
Bai Lu’s words echoed in her mind, and she felt conflicted.
Was she really going to call her by such a humiliating title?
A chill ran through her.
Though she knew she wasn’t even considered a person by the Patron, Lu Weizhu hesitated.
She had this illusion that if she said it, she would never be able to go back.
Lu Weizhu fell silent.
…She recalled all she had been through.
“…”
Suddenly, she let out a small laugh.
What was there that she couldn’t say?
How many times had she already been humiliated?
Was one more really any different?
These people liked nothing more than trampling on others’ dignity for fun and would never stop until they got what they wanted.
If she didn’t say it, she’d only be threatened until she ended up saying it in an even more embarrassing way.
Since there was no escaping this outcome, she might as well take the initiative and do it with some dignity.
With this realization, clarity dawned on her, and Lu Weizhu no longer hesitated.
“Why are you laughing?”
Bai Lu’s hand on Lu Weizhu’s shoulder tightened.
“…Master.”
Lu Weizhu didn’t say anything else; she closed her eyes.
Those two words left her lips with a bitter ache deep inside.
Bai Lu fell silent, her mind swirling, until all that remained was joy.
She smiled.
“Say it again?”
“Master……”
Lu Weizhu called once more.
“Haha, good. From now on, that’s what you’ll call me, Weizhu.”
Bai Lu lifted Lu Weizhu up, letting the girl sit in her lap, arms wrapped around her waist.
The girl in her arms really seemed like a cat now.
She liked it very much.
“Hmm? I need to take a call.”
Held tightly in Bai Lu’s arms, a wave of bitterness filled Lu Weizhu’s heart. Just then, her phone rang.
It was a call from Lu Weiyu.
Her movements froze.
“Answer it, aren’t you supposed to answer?”
“I…I’ll step out for a moment.”
Lu Weizhu used Bai Lu’s thigh for support as she tried to get up.
“Answer it right here. Why can’t you?”
Bai Lu held her firmly, not letting her go.
“……”
Looking at the incoming call on her phone screen, Lu Weizhu’s mind went blank.
Bai Lu was holding her, so she naturally saw the contact name on Lu Weizhu’s phone.
It was precisely because of this that Bai Lu wouldn’t let her slip away.
She wanted to assert her presence, to make those around Lu Weizhu know that there was someone—her.
In nicer words, this was called staking her claim.
“I…I…Ah, it hung up. It’s nothing.”
Caught between two difficult choices, and perhaps because too much time had passed, the call ended automatically.
Lu Weizhu exhaled in relief.
Ring ring, ring ring…
Just as she was about to relax, the phone rang again.
Her heart rose again.
She turned her head blankly.
“Be good. Answer it. Don’t keep them waiting too long. Not everyone is as patient as I am.”
Bai Lu smiled, but it was a smile full of ill intent.
“………”
Lu Weizhu didn’t dare refuse again.
She could tell Bai Lu was mocking her.
If Bai Lu was displeased again, she was probably finished.
Fingers trembling, Lu Weizhu answered the call.
“Um……”
She swallowed her saliva, trying her best to sound calm.
“Sister, will you be coming back today?”
A gentle, cautious voice came through the phone, soft and hopeful.
Lu Weizhu glanced at the hand wrapped around her waist.
She probably couldn’t fulfill Lu Weiyu’s hope.
“Okay…I understand. So, what are you doing now, sister?”
The girl’s voice fell, and Lu Weizhu’s heart ached.
“Ugh!?”
Just as she was about to answer, Bai Lu suddenly squeezed her side.
The sudden pain made Lu Weizhu groan, nearly dropping the phone.
She turned back, Bai Lu still smiling.
Lu Weizhu couldn’t understand why she would suddenly do something so cruel.
“Sister? What’s wrong?”
Hearing Lu Weiyu’s worried voice, Lu Weizhu tensed up.
“Ha…um, sister…sister’s fine, I just bumped into a wall.”
Catching her breath, Lu Weiyu’s heart tightened.
She was terrified that Lu Weiyu would find out about Bai Lu’s presence.
Her muscles tensed, toes curling; Lu Weizhu’s anxiety was visible.
Bai Lu saw it all clearly but only felt dissatisfied.
Was she something to be hidden in the dark?
“Ss!”
Bai Lu bit Lu Weizhu’s shoulder with resentment.
Lu Weizhu gasped sharply.
Her brow furrowed from the pain, and the phone slipped down to her lap, but she quickly grabbed it again.
“Sister?”
On the other end, Lu Weiyu’s voice was uneasy.
“Ss-hah…ss-hah…I, I hurt my hand again, it hurts a little…uh…”
Lu Weizhu’s voice trembled.
With her waist and shoulder under attack at the same time, she was struggling to hold on.
“Ha, the workers are assembling furniture here, gotta hang up first. I’ll call you back when I’m done…bye bye bye…”
“Oh, okay. Bye…”
She dared not delay further, fearing Bai Lu would speak up.
Before Lu Weiyu finished speaking, Lu Weizhu hastily ended the call.
After the busy signal, she turned her head.
“What are you doing!?”
She glared at Bai Lu, fury momentarily drowning out her fear.
“…I should be the one asking that.”
Bai Lu puffed out her cheeks, an unexpectedly cute gesture for her usually cool, aloof face—if one ignored the blood at the corner of her lips.
Lu Weizhu had been bitten and was bleeding.
“Why lie? And is that how you speak to your Master?”
Bai Lu’s voice turned cold.
“I! I’m sorry…”
Lu Weizhu felt like she’d been doused with cold water.
She lowered her head, clutching her right shoulder.
Dejectedly apologizing, Lu Weizhu’s heart grew even more bitter.
She was on the verge of tears again.