Chapter 41 - Chapter 41 What Are They Doing?

The two froze and turned around to see a girl running over, out of breath. Lu Xiaobai frowned, leaned close to Ruan Xingchen's ear, and whispered, "That cheap cousin of yours?" Ruan Xingchen nodded. After finally catching her breath, Fang Xinxin asked, "Cousin, why did you come back so late last night? I was so worried." At the mention of last night, Ruan Xingchen's face fell. "I was… studying." Fang Xinxin put on an innocent look and asked, "Was it with that uncle we saw yesterday morning?" Lu Xiaobai leaned in to Ruan Xingchen's ear again and muttered softly, "That's the girl who came out of the elevator with my uncle yesterday." Ruan Xingchen froze, hesitated slightly, then nodded. "Yeah." Hearing her reply, Lu Xiaobai's expression turned strange instantly. Fang Xinxin's eyes lit up. "Cousin, can I come too?" Before Ruan Xingchen could speak, Lu Xiaobai snapped unhappily, "Aren't you only a sophomore in high school? What are you butting in for?" Fang Xinxin pressed her lips together and looked at Ruan Xingchen with a pitiful expression. Ruan Xingchen nodded. "I think Xiaobai's right." Fang Xinxin grew anxious. "But…" "But nothing." Lu Xiaobai tilted her chin up haughtily. "My uncle's really busy. He won't see just any random nobody." "I…" Fang Xinxin's eyes reddened, on the verge of tears. Lu Xiaobai couldn't be bothered with her anymore and wouldn't let Ruan Xingchen either. She dragged Ruan Xingchen straight into the elevator and deliberately raised her voice, "What a lousy relative. Give her an inch and she thinks she's somebody." At those words, Fang Xinxin burst into tears immediately. As soon as the elevator doors closed, she pulled out her phone and called home. "Mom, Ruan Xingchen ganged up with her friend to bully me!" He Xiuzhen was stunned when she heard Fang Xinxin's words, but this time she wasn't as impulsive as before. After a moment of silence, she said, "Xinxin, since we're staying here, just put up with it. Who doesn't take some grief when living under someone else's roof?" "It's all because you and Dad are useless! Good-for-nothings!" Fang Rong, standing next to He Xiuzhen, had already been irritable over the village's land division. Flying into a rage at those words—especially after being mocked the same way on his way back from the village committee—his male pride couldn't take it. He roughly pushed He Xiuzhen aside and snarled, "If your brother hadn't died, we wouldn't be stuck raising you, a worthless girl. You'd better shut your mouth. Keep making a fuss, and I'll pull you out of school—either farm or get married!" It was the first time she'd ever been scolded like that. Fang Xinxin froze in terror, afraid Fang Rong would actually make her drop out. She immediately fell silent and quickly wiped away her tears. … To give Ruan Xingchen time to study, Lu Xiaobai volunteered to help. She washed and chopped all the vegetables they'd bought, then went to the laundry room to wash the dirty clothes Lu Jingyuan had changed out of. Ruan Xingchen was deeply touched. She picked up her Chinese textbook and decided to memorize the second lesson. That evening, when Lu Jingyuan came home, he was carrying a large bag. Lu Xiaobai leaned over to look. "Uncle, why did you buy milk powder?" Lu Jingyuan didn't answer her. He strode toward the kitchen. "Wash your hands and eat." After dinner, Lu Xiaobai cleared the table, and Ruan Xingchen went back to the coffee table to keep cramming. Lu Jingyuan glanced at the young girl by the coffee table with a subtle frown. It seemed she hadn't spoken a single word to him since he'd walked in, not even spared him a glance. Looks like the little girl was still mad. When Lu Xiaobai finished up in the kitchen and came out, she heard Lu Jingyuan say in a deep voice, "Bring all your mock exam papers over tomorrow night." Lu Xiaobai gave Lu Jingyuan a thumbs-up. "Uncle, you're a genius." Ruan Xingchen, buried in memorizing, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine for no reason. The next day when she came over, Lu Xiaobai really showed up with a huge stack of exam papers. Looking at the pile, Ruan Xingchen suddenly wanted to run away. She'd only taken two steps when Lu Xiaobai grabbed her quickly. "Where are you going? Sit down and memorize these papers." Ruan Xingchen: "…" She thought the uncle and niece pair must have been sent by God to torture her. Making a lifelong underachiever memorize exam papers was practically a death sentence. Ruan Xingchen pulled a long face. "Xiaobai, I'll die. Can you bear to see such a cute me die young?" "At least you know the phrase 'die young.' Not bad." Lu Xiaobai patted her on the head. Ruan Xingchen blinked. "Saw it on TV. Why don't we go watch TV instead?" Lu Xiaobai slapped a paper lightly against her face. "Watch what? Memorize the papers!" After teasing Ruan Xingchen, Lu Xiaobai glanced at Lu Jingyuan standing on the balcony. Hesitating for a moment, she walked over. She closed the French door and called, "Uncle." Lu Jingyuan didn't turn around. "Have you decided where to apply for college?" Lu Xiaobai pressed her lips together and said nothing. She really wanted to get into University A, but she couldn't leave Ruan Xingchen behind, and she couldn't take her with her either. "You only get one choice. Letting something so small hold you back would disappoint your mother." Lu Jingyuan stubbed out his cigarette and turned to look at her. "Besides, if she finds out later, she'll feel guilty." The "she" he referred to was, of course, Ruan Xingchen. Lu Xiaobai lowered her head, said no more, opened the French door, and walked back into the living room. Meanwhile, Ruan Xingchen, sitting at the coffee table poring over the papers, suddenly heard her phone ring. She immediately put the papers down and grabbed it. It was a WeChat message from Ruan Shuqing. Ruan Xingchen had almost forgotten about her after so many days of causing no trouble. Ruan Shuqing's entrance was still the same—an extremely explicit video, followed by a message. "Brother Jiang and I are back together! Your little tricks didn't work!" "Also, Dad said if I get into University C, he'll go talk to Brother Jiang's parents to cancel your engagement to him!" Ruan Xingchen frowned. Having not grown up with Ruan Jiancai, she felt nothing for the engagement. Besides, she'd already endured far worse heartbreaks and didn't care about her engagement to Jiang Heng. But when she saw Ruan Shuqing say she was also applying to University C, she immediately felt annoyed. When Lu Xiaobai came in and saw Ruan Xingchen's glum look, she asked, "What's wrong?" "Ruan Shuqing says she's also applying to University C." "So what? University C is big. Just pick a different major." Lu Xiaobai didn't care. She took the phone from Ruan Xingchen and flipped through it casually. When she saw the brand-new video that even Ruan Xingchen hadn't watched yet, she clicked on it by instinct. "Mmm… Brother Jiang… hurry…" A woman's moans blared from the speaker. Lu Xiaobai froze instantly. Woman on top? That was way too slutty! As the woman's cries grew louder, the phone felt like a hot potato in her hand. Lu Xiaobai tossed it away immediately. Ruan Xingchen's eyes widened as she watched her phone clatter to the floor. And as luck would have it, it landed right at the feet of the man who'd just walked back in from the balcony. The phone was surprisingly sturdy. The short video kept playing on a loop, unfazed. Lu Jingyuan's face darkened. He bent down, picked up the phone, turned off the video, and shot Lu Xiaobai a dark look. "Your allowance for next month is gone." "What the hell!" Lu Xiaobai blew up instantly. "Why are you docking my allowance?" Although her monthly allowance came from her mother, Lu Jingyun didn't transfer the money directly to Lu Xiaobai's card. Instead, she gave it to Lu Jingyuan to hand over. Lu Jingyuan narrowed his eyes. "Swearing. Dock another thousand for the month after next." "Uncle!" Lu Xiaobai pestered him, arguing indignantly. Ruan Xingchen, sitting behind the coffee table, hid her face behind the exam papers, trying to make herself as invisible as possible. The phone was hers, after all. What if the perverted uncle remembered and docked her salary too? No matter what Lu Xiaobai said, Lu Jingyuan didn't budge. Near tears, she tried to reason with him. "Uncle, it wasn't my phone! I just clicked it by accident! Why are you taking my allowance?" Lu Jingyuan's dark eyes swept over Ruan Xingchen and said calmly, "Go back to school. Call me when you get to your dorm." "Uncle!" "Behave, and I won't dock it." At that, Lu Xiaobai immediately packed her things. "Yes, Uncle. I'm leaving right now." Ruan Xingchen poked her head out from behind the papers and stared wide-eyed at Lu Xiaobai scurrying off like her tail was on fire. Did she just abandon her again? Seriously? Now only Ruan Xingchen and Lu Jingyuan were left in the room. It was deathly quiet. Ruan Xingchen's eyes darted around. She put down the papers and smiled ingratiatingly at him. "Uncle, it's getting late. I should head down. Can I have my phone back?" Lu Jingyuan twirled the phone in his hand, his eyebrow raised, a faint glint in his eyes. "You want it?" Ruan Xingchen nodded, her twin ponytails bobbing with the movement. The man beckoned her over. "Come here." Ruan Xingchen hesitated, but walked over obediently. As soon as she got close, the man suddenly stretched out a long arm and pulled her into his embrace. "Uncle!" Ruan Xingchen blushed and tried to push him away, but he held her with one arm. With the other, he held the phone up in front of her and tapped the video. The steamy scene appeared before Ruan Xingchen at once. Her face turned even redder. Watching it alone or joking about it with Lu Xiaobai didn't bother her at all, but watching it with a man made her feel utterly embarrassed. Worse still, the man leaned close to her ear and asked deliberately, "What are they doing?" Ruan Xingchen covered her ears and lowered her head. "I don't know. I don't know anything." The man pulled her hands away, held the phone screen up to her face again, his warm breath brushing her cheek. "You really don't know? I thought you were quite the expert on this stuff." "You're the expert!" Ruan Xingchen glared at Lu Jingyuan in shame and anger. "You're the one who wanted to watch it, and you dragged a minor into it! Aren't you ashamed?!" Lu Jingyuan turned off the video, tossed the phone aside casually, leaned back slightly, and a meaningful smile played on his handsome face. "I never watch this kind of thing." Ruan Xingchen froze and asked blankly, "Why?" The man's large hand pressed against the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. "Because I prefer…"