“`
Lu Ting did not sleep well the entire night, thinking about her adoptive parents’ attitude towards Qiao Yun, her heart was suffocated with anger. So the next day, as soon as Lu Ting came downstairs, she went straight to Lu Jingzhi who was sitting on the sofa dealing with work.
“Big brother.”
Lu Jingzhi lifted his handsome and stern face, frowning, “Why do you look so listless, have you been staying up late studying again?”
“No.”
With trepidation, Lu Ting extended the tightly gripped bank card in her hand towards Lu Jingzhi, “Big brother, this is the pocket money I’ve saved over the years, can you give it to sister for me?”
Surprise filled Lu Jingzhi’s profound eyes, “What is this about?”
Lu Ting felt a bit embarrassed, “I just want to apologize to sister. I didn’t mean to reveal that her clothes were fake yesterday, I just spoke without thinking. But sister seemed unhappy, she ignored me afterwards. I have saved quite a bit of money over the years, just in case…”
Lu Jingzhi’s frown deepened; had Tingting been feeling insecure for a long time now?
His heart grew somewhat irritated. Although he was seven years older than Qiao Yun, he had lived abroad with his grandfather since he was a child, and he had lost his chance to develop a deep bond with Qiao Yun.
After Lu Ting came to the Lu family, he transferred the affection meant for his biological sister to Lu Ting, attempting to compensate for the regret of losing Qiao Yun. As time passed, he gradually began to treat the sensible and well-behaved Lu Ting as his real sister.
Lu Ting’s mouth curved into a smile, “I don’t know what sister likes, so give her all this money. It’s not much, but it’s enough for sister to buy several luxury items.”
Lu Jingzhi met Lu Ting’s innocent and kind eyes, unwilling to let her be disappointed, he silently took the bank card, “Qiaoqiao will definitely be very happy you care about her so much.”
“Didn’t you have your eye on a handbag last time but were reluctant to buy it? I’ll have the secretary order it for you later.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Ting’s voice was sweet, “Thank you, big brother, you are so kind.”
Lu Jingzhi couldn’t help but chuckle, “Always spoiling you.”
Lu Ting hastily sweet-talked, “It’s because big brother loves me the most.”
Lu Jingzhi’s lips curved into a faint smile, his expression one of indulgence as if to say he couldn’t help himself.
As if suddenly remembering something, Lu Ting said, “Ah, right, sister wants to get into Shengyang High School, right? I was thinking, why don’t we hire a tutor for her? With a month left before school starts, it should be enough time.”
Lu Jingzhi had a strange expression on his face. Forget a month, even a year wouldn’t be enough for Qiao Yun to get into Shengyang High School, but he didn’t want to dampen Lu Ting’s enthusiasm, “I’ll make the arrangements.”
Su Mian brought breakfast to the table and glanced at the two murmuring to each other, “What are you whispering about so early in the morning? It seems so secretive.”
Lu Jingzhi voiced his concern, “We were talking about sister’s studies. Tingting suggests we hire a tutor for her, I think it’s a good idea. Maybe we can even find an etiquette teacher…”
Upon hearing this, Su Mian’s face instantly darkened, “No hiring!”
Lu Jingzhi was startled, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, and he looked puzzledly at his mother.
“Qiaoqiao has just returned and you’re already thinking of hiring a tutor for her. Do you want her to think we look down on her poor academic performance? And an etiquette teacher? What are you implying, eldest? She is your sister. Even if she were to pick her toes or dig her nose, you should still find it endearing.”
Su Mian was at a loss for words.
Lu Ting: “…”
Such blatant favoritism!
Lu Jingzhi thought about it and felt his mother was right, but to save face, he couldn’t help but defend himself, “My mistake, I didn’t consider it thoroughly, but I did it for sister’s sake, wanting her to fit into our home sooner.”
“`
“Okay, if it’s really for Qiaoqiao’s sake, stop doing unnecessary things,”
Su Mian finished speaking and looked at Lu Ting, “If you’ve got nothing to do, go do your homework instead of always coming up with muddled ideas.”
Lu Ting pouted, feeling wronged.
Lu Jingzhi hurriedly explained, “It’s not Tingting’s fault, she meant well.”
Su Mian, worried that Lu Ting might misunderstand, added, “Mom might have neglected you a bit these past few days because Qiaoqiao has come back, but in Mom’s heart, you are as important as Qiaoqiao. Tingting, you are a good child, but sometimes being too forceful isn’t good.”
Lu Ting: ?
Why did that sound so wrong to her?
After a moment, she stiffly admitted her mistake, “Mom, I was wrong. I won’t come up with bad ideas anymore.”
Lu Jingzhi frowned slightly, “We also want to make it up to our sister and do something for her, but she… seems quite difficult to get along with.”
Su Mian discontented, “You just make an effort, and then she’ll be easy to get along with.”
Lu Jingzhi: “…”
Su Mian’s eyes filled with sympathy, “Qiaoqiao has been away from us for so many years, we didn’t know how much she suffered before. You’re the older brother, no matter what she does or says, you have to be tolerant of her.”
Lu Jingzhi’s expression stiffened, “I understand, a little indulgence is fine, but we shouldn’t spoil her excessively. I’m afraid our sister might not be able to resist the temptations of the big city.”
Su Mian pondered for a moment, then spoke unhurriedly, “You should just go back to the company.”
Watching his mother huff back to the kitchen after saying this, Lu Jingzhi: “…”
Thinking of Qiao Yun’s behavior the day before, Lu Jingzhi pinched the bridge of his nose with a somewhat helpless expression.
He was just afraid that Qiao Yun would be corrupted by money upon reaching the big city and eventually fall into depravity. How was he wrong?
His own little sister, how could he not be concerned for her?
On the contrary, he wished more than anyone for Qiao Yun to become better. Regardless of what her character was like before, now that she was still young, it was even more crucial to correct her as soon as possible to prevent her from going down the wrong path.
Lu Jingzhi felt that his parents were too soft-hearted, so it should be up to him to be the strict one.
Lu Ting’s face showed concern, “Big brother, don’t be angry with mom. I can understand how she feels about getting back what she lost.”
“I know.”
Lu Jingzhi, weary in his heart, rubbed Lu Ting’s head. He felt a trace of dissatisfaction, believing that their parents were being overly cautious about the matter with Qiao Yun and had failed to consider Lu Ting’s feelings.
Qiao Yun stood on the second floor, looking at the harmonious scene of familial affection below.
Her eyes, clear in their distinction of black and white, moved slightly, and her gaze landed on Lu Jingzhi’s hand as he rubbed Lu Ting’s head.
She lifted her hand and touched her own head.
After standing in place in a daze for a while, she turned and went back to her room. She threw the million-dollar watch carelessly into the trash can, then started rummaging through her suitcase.
In the end, she took out a twenty-dollar digital watch, squinted her eyes with satisfaction, and thought, this looked much better.