The sound coming from the TV was a little distorted, but it still carried that person's signature lively and romantic style.
Although the living room and the entrance hall are diagonally opposite each other, Xu Shiyue felt that Lu Shizhen's eyes were looking at her.
The bow tied on her head specially to cater to the atmosphere of the Spring Festival swayed slightly, and her half-combed hair revealed her clean little face.
She spoke New Year's greetings to herself word by word, and her lukewarm voice seemed to overlap exactly with the scene in her dream.
The crackling sound of wood bursting continued to explode in Xu Shiyue's ears, and the blazing flames separated countless shadows from people's sight.
And Lu Shizhen just sat in the firelight, that kind of deliberate waiting seemed to be trying to tell herself to stay happy forever.
This person is just like this, always reckless and always childish.
The words she said were always so plain and straightforward... She opened her heart to you, letting you see that she really cared about you. She never worried that her heart would be abused by the other person.
Why do you do this
Why do we have to make life so hopeful
Why do you need to prepare so many things...
Xu Shiyue just stared at the face that was smiling at her on the other side of the screen. She had never thought that a person's expression could give people such an opposite feeling. The brighter the smile, the more dazzling it was.
She felt something surging and crashing in her brain and even in her body, as if it was about to come out.
But there is no way out. They are suppressed by an uncontrollable force and gather together with nowhere to go. They get bigger and bigger, and more and more...
"They say the technology is great, but in fact it's not good at all. I found it out as soon as I checked it, and it's for everyone!"
Lu Shien looked at Lu Shizhen's face which was frozen on the TV at last, and said something to the people on TV in a tearful voice.
She found these videos this morning after discovering signs of her computer being hacked. It didn't take her much time at all.
"It's terrible, my sister's skills are terrible!"
Lu Shien loudly and willfully criticized Lu Shizhen for showing off her knowledge before an expert, and as he spoke he threw himself into Cheng Meiyan's arms.
The little girl could no longer suppress the sadness in her heart. She grabbed Cheng Meiyan's clothes tightly and burst into tears.
She simply couldn't accept that her sister, whom she had made an appointment to meet a few days ago, had left her so suddenly.
But who in this family can accept Lu Shizhen’s sudden departure
Cheng Meiyan raised her hand and stroked the child who was trembling and crying in her arms, and the tears in her eyes could not stop flowing.
Lu Shize stood at the entrance, the dim light shone on his face, and his always cold face was covered with tear marks.
The sound of the dishes being put down was drowned out by the crying. Aunt Sun, who had been busy in the kitchen, brought the last dish to the table and said to the people at the entrance of the living room with a choked voice: "Madam, Miss, and Sir, dinner is ready. Let's all eat something."
But after the words fell, the atmosphere in the house did not end. Everyone was still staring at the "surprise" on TV, motionless.
Aunt Sun held back the tears in her eyes, walked to the living room, and helped Cheng Meiyan up: "Madam, you have to set a good example for the children. You have to take care of yourself. If the young lady saw everyone like this, she would definitely be worried."
"Yes, yes." Cheng Meiyan nodded and stood up from the sofa with the help of Aunt Sun's hand. Her former beauty was now pale. "Xiao En, go eat something with your mother. You have a competition the day after tomorrow. Have you forgotten what Zhen Zhen told you?"
Hearing this, Lu Shien raised his head towards Cheng Meiyan, his round eyes filled with tears, reflecting grief and realization.
Of course, she still remembered the blessing Lu Shizhen gave her on the other side of the TV. She seemed to be supported by something and stood up with Cheng Meiyan.
Then Lu Shize also raised his foot and walked towards the restaurant.
It's just that Xu Shiyue went against everyone's pace: "Sorry, I have some things to deal with. I'll go upstairs first."
As she said that, she raised her hand and took the gift that Lu Shizhen had given her, as well as the USB drive containing the video recording. She nodded slightly and politely and calmly left the scene in front of everyone.
The bones that had been shaken off in the fire seemed to have grown back overnight, and even the back that had been bent straightened up again.
The light in the room shone on Xu Shiyue, and the shadow she cast on the ground was just a straight and slanted line, without even the slightest tremor. No matter from which direction or angle you looked at her, her composure was perfect and impeccable.
But Aunt Sun watched the back of this figure, and vaguely felt that something was wrong: "Madam, why do I feel that Miss Xu is not right?"
"I heard from people around Shiyue that she found out everything about Zhenzhen today. She hasn't cried until now, and maybe she hasn't eaten either." Cheng Meiyan's voice was a little hoarse, not calm, but she didn't have the strength to do it.
Aunt Sun's face suddenly showed worry, and her frown was full of worry: "This is not a good sign."
Lu Shien just listened to what the two people were saying, and looked up thoughtfully at Xu Shiyue who was going upstairs.
The nameless clockwork key behind her back had been fully wound at some point, and the rotating gears were pushing her forward with a click.
Dealing with Xu Shouxian was only the first step. She still had a lot of things to do. She had to find out anything that had anything to do with yesterday's events and deal with them one by one.
Xu Shiyue's eyes were somewhat empty, the pure darkness not allowing any light to penetrate, and it was impossible to see the emotions flowing in them.
She felt that something was manipulating her brain to do these things, and she was willing to be pushed by this force. The flames were lingering in her heart, and had long since turned into murderous intent.
She didn't have any other ideas, she just wanted to get rid of anyone who killed Lu Shizhen.
Even including herself.
Just as she was about to open the door and enter the study, a breathless voice came from behind her: "Xu Shiyue."
It’s Lu Shien.
Xu Shiyue didn't expect this person to come to see her, her eyes remained calm: "What's the matter?"
Lu Shien nodded.
She seemed to have made a big decision, and said to Xu Shiyue: "I know you are very powerful, even more powerful than my brother. You defeated those people easily, became the master of the Xu family in less than half a year, and found out everything about my sister in no time."
As she spoke, the little girl hurriedly took out a box from her bag, held it in front of Xu Shiyue with both hands and said, "This is the prize money I have saved from all these years of competitions. I will give it all to you. I will give it all to you. Please don't let those who killed my sister go, okay?"
There was still some uncontrollable trembling of crying in Lu Shien's voice, but the eyes he looked at Xu Shiyue were firm and sincere.
It took a great effort for her to collect all her treasures and give them all to Xu Shiyue without leaving a single one.
She knew that her behavior might seem a little ridiculous.
But she also didn't want to do nothing and just wait for others to bring her a result.
That was her sister, the sister who treated her better and better...
She doesn't like this.
It made her feel like crap.
But Xu Shiyue seemed not interested in her things. After she finished speaking, she said, "Take these things back."
Lu Shien panicked.
She just looked at Xu Shiyue who was about to leave, and leaned over to stop her, the person who had the best chance of helping her sister get revenge, and said, "I know these are far from enough, I have other things. Some of my trophies are made of pure gold and can be sold for a lot of money, I can give them all to you. And this, this is what my sister gave me last year, I'll give it to you too."
Perhaps feeling that his money was not enough to impress the person in front of him, Lu Shien sniffed lightly and lowered his arrogant head to Xu Shiyue for the first time: "I know I treated you badly in the past. I always confronted you and said some very bad things. I'm sorry, I will never do that again. It was all my fault. I was stubborn and willful. I was unreasonable. I shouldn't have said you were a jinx."
"You can choose not to accept my apology, and you can also ignore me. But, Xu Shiyue, my sister, my sister used to be very good to you. She really was very good to you, and I have never seen her be so good to someone. So, so you, please don't let those who killed my sister go, okay, I beg you..."
Lu Shien's voice was choked for a while, and he couldn't form a complete sentence at all.
Be it an apology or a plea, the Miss Lu who used to look down on others is now humble to Xu Shiyue.
Xu Shiyue stared at the little girl in front of him for a long time, his lips fluttered slightly, and then he pursed them into a straight line. He repeated this several times before he finally spoke, but still with words of rejection: "Take all these things back, I don't want them."
Lu Shien's heart sank.
She had never felt this way before, even when she had been in competitions and found that the program just wouldn't work no matter how hard she debugged it.
The little girl clenched her hands around the jewelry box. Just as she was frantically thinking about how to persuade Xu Shiyue, she heard Xu Shiyue's voice above her head, "But I can assure you that I will not let anyone who was involved in yesterday's incident have an easy time."
In an instant, Lu Shien's tearful eyes widened.
She pulled out a large round pearl from the box in her hand, and clumsily but carefully placed it on Xu Shiyue, saying word by word: "Well, then you take this. It is the most valuable of all the things I brought today."
Xu Shiyue disdained these things. She had no interest in accepting such expensive but worthless things. She knew in her heart that she would do the same even if Lu Shien didn't come to see her today.
But just when Xu Shiyue was about to refuse, she met Lu Shien's eyes looking at her from the corner of her eye.
Otherwise, it's because they are sisters who grew up together, but at some point you will feel that they are somewhat similar.
The not-so-bright light in the corridor shone into Xu Shiyue's eyes, and Lu Shizhen's eyes appeared in her dazed vision.
This person has also looked at himself in this way. His eyes, filled with sincerity, can never hide his expectations. He is cautious, but full of flaws.
In silence, Lu Shien stuffed the huge pearl into Xu Shiyue's palm.
"Then we have a deal now. You can't go back on your word. You must make those people pay the price!" Lu Shien said seriously.
Xu Shiyue did not refuse and said "hmm", which was considered as accepting Lu Shien's childish "bribe".
She had never had much to talk about with this little girl in the past. After the appointment was over, she stopped looking at her and turned to push the door and walk into the study.
This time, her action of pushing the door was interrupted from behind.
Lu Shien held her box and said, "Xu Shiyue."
Xu Shiyue stopped moving again, her voice still calm: "Anything else?"
"If you want to cry, just cry. No one will laugh at you." Lu Shien said seriously.
Under the fluorescent light, Xu Shiyue seemed to see Lu Shizhen looking at her through a pair of eyes that looked somewhat similar to hers, and said to her: "Although I hope you will always be happy, the New Year has not arrived yet."
(End of this chapter)