That afternoon, after Song Zhilan went into the study and looked through the books Lu Yuan had been reading, she couldn't help crying.
Of course, she wasn't crying out of sadness, but happiness.
Women were often moved by the smallest things. Song Zhilan had always believed that Lu Yuan felt only responsibility toward her, not love, but now that belief had begun to waver.
Still, Lu Xiaoxiao's question left Song Zhilan a little embarrassed. She quickly rubbed her eyes and brushed it off. "Oh, I just got some sand in my eyes. It's a little uncomfortable."
Lu Yuan, who was passing by, instinctively stopped when he heard her. "Are you all right?"
Listening to his concerned yet excessively flat tone, Song Zhilan didn't know whether to laugh or be annoyed. She had been about to say she was fine, but changed her mind at the last moment. "No. Blow it out for me, honey."
Lu Yuan: "...?"
Lu Yuan simply froze there in bewilderment.
Had he heard that right? Was Zhilan acting coy with him?
Lu Xiaoxiao was equally surprised. She knew Song Zhilan usually called Lu Yuan "Yuan," or referred to him as "the kids' dad." She rarely called him "honey" outright, much less in such an affectionate tone.
[Wow, she just called him honey like it was nothing! Mom, have you finally figured it out?!]
[Dad, what are you standing there for? Get it together and go blow the sand out for your darling wife!]
Prompted by his daughter's thoughts, Lu Yuan reached out in an almost frantic scramble and cupped Song Zhilan's face. He blew haphazardly a few times, then asked cautiously, "Is it better now?"
Lu Xiaoxiao watched them with a fond, knowing grin.
[This is hilarious. Almost thirty years of marriage, and you're still doing this innocent romance thing. You two are unbelievable. How did you even have so many kids before this? Just powered through without knowing each other? Impressive!]
[If this were a TV drama, they'd be kissing any second now. Don't you feel anything when you look into each other's eyes? Come on, give us a kiss!]
Both Lu Yuan and Song Zhilan flushed at their daughter's thoughts. Instead of kissing, however, they both looked away as if trying to hide something.
Song Zhilan stepped back half a pace and said quietly, "That's enough. The sand's gone now!"
Lu Yuan feigned composure and cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment. "Ahem. Good, then. Everyone, come eat."
Throughout the meal, Song Zhilan kept putting food in Lu Yuan's bowl. At first, he wasn't quite used to it, but soon he began returning the favor.
The Lu children watched the food pile ever higher in their parents' bowls as the two exchanged affectionate glances they clearly thought were very discreet. The children looked at one another.
Were they imagining things?
Why did it feel like Mom and Dad were falling in love?
Hard to say. They would have to keep watching.
After dinner, Song Zhilan took Lu Yuan straight back to their room for a private chat.
Lu Yubai stared blankly at his parents' retreating backs and couldn't help muttering, "Am I about to get another little brother or sister?"
Lu Xiaoxiao instinctively chimed in. "Surely not. At their age, how could they still have the energy for that?"
Startled by her voice, Lu Yubai turned and glared at her. "Who asked you?"
Lu Xiaoxiao glanced at him innocently. "I never said I was answering you, little brother."
She deliberately emphasized "little brother." At first, it sounded almost affectionate, but it immediately sent goose bumps over Lu Yubai's skin.
He was about to come up with something equally nauseating to get back at her when he heard Lu Xiaoxiao's thoughts.
[Glare, glare, glare. What the hell are you glaring at? Rude little brat. Keep glaring and I'll gouge your eyes out.]
[You really do forget the pain as soon as the wound heals. Apparently that snake last time didn't teach you a lesson.]
Lu Yubai: "!!!"
He knew the snake he had seen that night hadn't been a dream! And sure enough, Lu Xiaoxiao had something to do with it!
There was definitely something wrong with Lu Xiaoxiao! Maybe... maybe she was actually a witch hiding among ordinary people, the kind who practiced bizarre dark magic!
The more Lu Yubai thought about it, the paler he became. He swallowed and quietly edged behind Lu Jiaoyue, hoping to find some sense of safety.
But Lu Jiaoyue wasn't paying him any attention at all. Instead, she kept smiling toward Lu Xiaoxiao, unable to hide the sparkle in her eyes.
Her big sister was so much fun. She absolutely adored her!
Seeing Lu Jiaoyue's little-fangirl expression, Lu Yubai fell silent, then turned his gaze toward his eldest brother.
Lu Xunli wasn't looking at Lu Xiaoxiao. He was sipping tea with his head lowered, but a faint smile lingered on his lips.
Learning that Lu Xiaoxiao had been behind the snake incident that had frightened Lu Yubai, Lu Xunli didn't think his sister had gone too far at all.
Lu Yubai was a spoiled child. Having someone teach him a lesson through unconventional means once in a while was a good thing. Otherwise, he would only grow more out of control.
Just as he put down his teacup, he noticed Lu Yubai looking at him with a hint of accusation, as though expecting him to say something fair.
The smile vanished from Lu Xunli's lips. His expression turned stern, and he showed Lu Yubai no sympathy. "If you've finished eating, go review your schoolwork. If you do badly on your next exam again, your allowance will be cut again."
Lu Yubai: "..."
With treatment like this, why did he feel like he was the adopted one?
The night was cool as water. After showering, Lu Xiaoxiao came out of the bathroom, dried her hair, and flopped blissfully onto her bed.
She had closed her eyes and was trying to drift off when the system's voice sounded in her mind.
"Wake up, host. We have a response from upstairs about the issue you reported. The scan results confirm that there is an anomaly in this world."
Lu Xiaoxiao opened her eyes and sprang upright on the bed.
"I knew it! Nothing about this situation is normal. So what's the anomaly?"
The system said, "I don't know."
Lu Xiaoxiao: "???"
Lu Xiaoxiao said, "Then why the hell are you telling me? What use are you?"
The system said, "But that's exactly what the response from upstairs said! It only said that an unknown bug had been detected in this world, causing disruptions in parts of the plot and deviations in some character settings. I'm just the messenger. Yelling at me won't help, dear."
Lu Xiaoxiao pressed a hand to her forehead. "Fine. Did you ask your superior how to fix it?"
The system replied, "I did."
"Okay, what did it say?"
"...That's a little hard to explain. Three days ago, I submitted two proposals to my superior. One was to have you put the plot back on track, and the other was to let you do as you please. I asked which would be more appropriate."
Lu Xiaoxiao said, "And?"
The system fell silent for a moment, seemingly finding it a little difficult to admit.
"And this afternoon, my superior replied with 'Okay.'"
"...?"
It took Lu Xiaoxiao just a tenth of a second to reach her interpretation. "Okay, then I'll do as I please."
The system: "?"
The system sounded hesitant. "I don't think that's necessarily what my superior meant."
Lu Xiaoxiao said, "Doesn't matter. It should have made itself clear. So, what's the next plot point?"
The system replied, "It should be Lu Yubai's birthday party."
Lu Xiaoxiao was just about to ask for details when she heard three knocks at the door.
"Who is it? The door's unlocked. Just come in."
As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened a little, and Lu Jiaoyue poked half her head through the gap. Her tone was cautious. "Xiaoxiao, are you free right now? There's something I'd like to tell you."
Before you continue