[The drug in this juice will only make you dizzy for a little while. There are no side effects. Your big sister really went to a lot of trouble to arrange a meeting with your Mr. Right.]
[I hope you make the most of it once you meet him. Get to know each other better. You can do it!]
Lu Jiaoyue: "...?"
What did that mean? The juice was drugged?
And what did she mean by Mr. Right? Was her sister taking her to meet some man?
While Lu Jiaoyue fell into thought, Lu Xiaoxiao pushed the glass of juice a little closer to her, her eyes full of anticipation.
Knowing now that the juice was drugged, Lu Jiaoyue hesitated for a moment, but still picked up the glass.
She couldn't figure out what Lu Xiaoxiao was trying to do, so she simply stopped thinking about it.
She trusted that her sister wouldn't hurt her, anyway.
Watching Lu Jiaoyue drain the glass of juice in one go, Lu Xiaoxiao was pleased that her plan was going smoothly, but also couldn't help worrying about how utterly unguarded her little sister was.
[Seriously? You drank something a stranger gave you without the slightest suspicion? You didn't even try to refuse? Just because I wouldn't abduct you and sell you doesn't mean someone else wouldn't! You really are a sweet, naive little airhead!]
The drug took effect quickly. Lu Jiaoyue was already feeling a little dizzy, and hearing her sister call her stupid in her thoughts left her feeling rather wronged.
She had been so good! She'd done exactly what her sister wanted, so why was she still getting scolded?
Besides, she was only being so obedient because she knew the person in front of her was her sister. If it had been someone else...
Fine, she might have drunk it anyway, but at least she would have hesitated! She wasn't that easy to fool!
Feeling a little guilty, Lu Jiaoyue kept her objections to herself. She propped up her head and leaned toward Lu Xiaoxiao.
"Big sister... I think I'm a little dizzy."
Lu Xiaoxiao caught her at once. Of course you're dizzy. That's exactly what I wanted. On the surface, however, she looked nothing but concerned. "Oh! What's wrong, sweetie? Don't scare me! Hang in there. I'll take you to find Lu Yubai."
Lu Jiaoyue nodded and slumped entirely into her arms, her body soft and boneless, as though she could only stand with Lu Xiaoxiao's support.
Suspecting nothing, Lu Xiaoxiao draped Lu Jiaoyue's arm over her shoulder, wrapped her other arm around her waist, and started walking.
Lu Jiaoyue kept an arm loosely around her sister's neck. Though her head was still swimming, she was secretly delighted.
She had finally managed to cuddle up to her sister! Yay!
In truth, a little dizziness wasn't enough to leave Lu Jiaoyue completely unable to walk. Her current display of delicate weakness was partly an act.
After all, no matter how much Lu Xiaoxiao praised her cuteness in her thoughts, her expression was always cool and distant, making it impossible to get close to her.
But now everything was perfect. She could cling to her sister like a little charm. She was so happy!
Her sister smelled so, so good! She didn't want to let go at all. Aaah...
Although Lu Xiaoxiao had said she was taking her to find Lu Yubai, she wasn't heading in his direction at all. She deliberately took a more secluded route, led Lu Jiaoyue straight out of private room A5, and stopped a staff member who was cleaning nearby.
"Hi, I think my friend here has had too much to drink. She's really dizzy, and it's far too noisy in the private room. Could you find somewhere quiet for her to rest?"
Seeing Lu Jiaoyue's tightly closed eyes and the unhealthy flush on her face, which didn't look feigned, the staff member didn't dare take any chances. She quickly led them to the dedicated elevator to the sixth floor.
"Please take your friend to lounge seven for a while. It happens to be free today, but make sure you don't go into number eight next door. That's the private lounge of Mr. Gu, the head of the Gu company. He's here for a business meeting today and will probably go there afterward."
Lu Xiaoxiao readily agreed, then considerately told the staff member to get back to her work, saying she could take Lu Jiaoyue upstairs herself.
The staff member saw nothing wrong with that and let her go up.
She assumed that anyone invited to the Lu Family's young master's birthday party must have heard of Gu Sipei, and certainly couldn't be unaware of what he did when displeased. Surely, after that warning, they would take care not to disturb him.
Under normal circumstances, that would indeed have been the case. Unfortunately, Lu Xiaoxiao was anything but normal.
She had agreed readily enough, but the moment she reached the sixth floor, she headed straight for room eight.
After settling Lu Jiaoyue on the bed, Lu Xiaoxiao tucked the covers around her and coaxed, "If you're not feeling well, get some sleep. I'll be going now."
Lu Jiaoyue obediently agreed. She didn't cling to her sleeve to stop her from leaving, either, simply closing her eyes and going to sleep without a worry.
Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't help sighing again before leaving the room with mixed feelings.
As soon as she stepped outside, she checked with the system again. "You guarantee nothing will happen between them, right? Swear it."
"Relax, host," the system said. "The male and female leads won't get that far this soon. I swear."
"At this stage, the male lead is still focused on his career. The female lead just needs to appear in front of him more often to establish a psychological anchor. Their relationship won't make any real progress before he takes sole control of the Gu Family."
Lu Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."
She hadn't noticed earlier, but now that her task was complete, Lu Xiaoxiao realized that her high heels were rubbing her feet raw, and the false eyelashes on her eyelids felt uncomfortable, too.
So she used the restroom in the lounge, pulled off the false eyelashes, removed her heavy eye makeup, and switched to a less vivid lipstick.
After those few steps, Lu Xiaoxiao glanced in the mirror and could finally recognize her own face.
The makeup was easy to remove, but the shoes were another matter. She would just have to put some ointment on the chafed spots once she got home.
She didn't know when Gu Sipei would return and didn't dare linger, so she picked up her things and headed out.
The corridor was completely empty, which made Lu Xiaoxiao lower her guard. She hadn't expected to turn a corner and crash straight into a man's chest.
She had been walking fast, and the collision hurt badly enough that a choice curse almost escaped her lips. But when she looked up and saw his face, she swallowed every insult, nearly scared out of her wits.
Ji Yunhuai?
How had she run into Ji Yunhuai here?!
And why was it at a corner again? Other people found love around the corner. Why was she always finding ghosts there?!
Lu Xiaoxiao began regretting how hastily she'd removed her makeup. All she could do was silently pray that Ji Yunhuai was too important and busy to remember someone like her.
But Ji Yunhuai looked down at her for a few seconds, clearly recognizing her, and the smile on his lips turned teasing.
"You again." The man raised an eyebrow and asked, "Well? It's a workday. Why aren't you cleaning toilets instead of hanging around Phantom?"
For a moment, Lu Xiaoxiao didn't dare meet his eyes. She racked her brains for an excuse, but her mind was completely blank. In the end, Ji Yunhuai supplied a suitable explanation himself.
"Working part-time here?"
Lu Xiaoxiao froze, then nodded vigorously. "Ah, yes!"
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