Are you okay? If you are, get up and walk a few steps

Honestly, Lu Xiaoxiao was a little dumbfounded.

Hadn't she chosen to fall down the stairs herself rather than push Lu Jiaoyue because she didn't want to see the girl cry?

But what was Lu Jiaoyue doing? Couldn't she tell that Xiaoxiao was framing her?

Had she not made her act obvious enough?

"It was all my fault. I just wanted to straighten your crooked bow, but I accidentally gave you a push. You must be in so much pain. I'm really sorry!"

While Lu Xiaoxiao was still questioning her acting skills, Lu Jiaoyue only cried harder. She hadn't done a thing, yet the guilt on her face looked utterly genuine as she apologized and admitted to the offense.

Lu Jiaoyue's feelings were complicated. On the one hand, she was scared that Lu Xiaoxiao might really have hurt herself badly in the fall. On the other, she was deeply touched.

Although Lu Xiaoxiao had actually staged the whole thing herself, judging from her inner thoughts, she seemed to have done it to give Jiaoyue a chance to appear on the variety show.

Sob, sob! My sister really cares so much about me! She was even willing to hurt herself!

If I don't admit that I pushed her, Dad will definitely check the security footage to confirm what happened. I absolutely won't let the family misunderstand her and scold her over this!

Lu Jiaoyue naively believed she was the only person who could hear Lu Xiaoxiao's thoughts, and that no one understood her sister better than she did. Little did she know, the other members of the Lu family were each caught up in their own thoughts.

Lu Yubai was the second to arrive after Lu Shiyan. When he heard the commotion, he initially thought something had happened to Lu Jiaoyue. Once he got closer and saw that it was Lu Xiaoxiao, he relaxed considerably.

But when he heard that Lu Xiaoxiao was actually trying to pave the way for Lu Jiaoyue, he felt a brief pang of guilt for having relaxed just now.

The stairs in the Lu house were pretty high. The fact that she could be so ruthless with herself was enough to show that Lu Xiaoxiao wasn't merely putting on a show.

Uh... as awkward and extreme as her methods were, Lu Yubai had to admit that Lu Xiaoxiao really did seem to have Lu Jiaoyue's best interests at heart.

"Don't cry, sis. We all believe you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose." Lu Yubai stepped forward and patted Lu Jiaoyue's back. As he comforted her, he darted a quick glance at Lu Xiaoxiao out of the corner of his eye, looking a little awkward. "It's not a big deal. No one's going to blame you."

Although he had addressed those words to Lu Jiaoyue, he had also indirectly acknowledged that "Lu Jiaoyue pushed Lu Xiaoxiao" was a fact. In a way, he was defending Lu Xiaoxiao too.

Then Lu Yubai called out to Lu Xiaoxiao, "Hey, are you okay? If you are, get up and walk a few steps."

Lu Xiaoxiao, who was doing her best to look weak, gave a speechless twitch of her lips and turned her head away from him.

[Of course I'm fucking fine. Not only can I walk, I can jump up and crack your skull open!]

[You ungrateful little brat. I'm lying here putting on this pitiful act, and you're still so rude to me. Is your heart made of stone? If I'd known, I wouldn't have given you those scratch cards! You don't deserve my birthday present at all!!!]

Lu Yubai: "...?"

What!!!???

So the wonderful person who gave me those scratch cards was Lu Xiaoxiao?!

Lu Yubai was stunned to hear that, and he nearly failed to stop his eyebrows from shooting up.

But... but that doesn't make sense! Lu Xiaoxiao wasn't even invited to the party!

But... but if she really gave them to me... then she's actually pretty nice...

Lu Yubai knew just how awful his usual attitude toward Lu Xiaoxiao was. Not only did he speak to her disrespectfully, but he was always playing nasty pranks on her. Yet Lu Xiaoxiao had actually let bygones be bygones? She had even secretly prepared a birthday present for him?

Looking at it that way, Lu Yubai, who had rarely ever reflected on his own behavior, actually began to feel that he was a little mean.

While Lu Yubai's thoughts were in turmoil, Lu Yuan and Song Zhilan watched their two daughters put on their respective acts in utter confusion.

They had listened carefully for quite a while, only to become more bewildered.

They knew Lu Xiaoxiao had said in her thoughts that she was framing Lu Jiaoyue, but now Lu Jiaoyue was admitting she had pushed her and apologizing nonstop... Weren't their reactions contradictory?

There should be no reason to lie in one's own thoughts. By that logic, the one lying now had to be Lu Jiaoyue, right?

But... what did she stand to gain?

From their parents' perspective, Lu Xiaoxiao and Lu Jiaoyue should have been on good terms. After all, Lu Xiaoxiao often expressed her fondness for her younger sister in her thoughts.

As for Lu Jiaoyue, that went without saying. Her affection for Lu Xiaoxiao had been plain to see from the very first day.

The situation reached an impasse. Everyone already understood the truth, but they all felt they couldn't reveal their ability to use Mind Reading.

Yet judging solely by appearances, the matter was a thorny one. Going along with either girl's account and blaming her would do the truth an injustice.

Even Lu Yuan, who was usually calm and decisive, found himself at a loss.

Song Zhilan had been treating him much better lately, so Lu Yuan had been hurrying home for dinner every day instead of working overtime.

Seeing everyone looking at him, waiting for him to deliver a verdict, Lu Yuan heaved a heavy inward sigh. For a moment, the absurd thought that he really wanted to go back to the office and work overtime crossed his mind.

Ah, compared with family matters, decisions at work are so much easier to make!

"Ahem." After considering it for a moment, Lu Yuan decided to let the matter pass without making a fuss, though he kept his tone stern. "Jiaoyue, stop crying. From now on, all of you need to be careful when you're playing around with your siblings. No more being so reckless."

"Xiaoxiao, go back to your room and get some rest. If you feel unwell anywhere, call the family doctor over to take a look."

"All right. Lu Shiyan, take your sister back to her room. Everyone else, go about your business."

Lu Shiyan had remained silent all this time, the smile on his face long since fading. At his father's instructions, he merely nodded and said, "Okay," without raising any objections.

Lu Xiaoxiao, who had been waiting for the truth to come out so she could be punished, saw Lu Yuan brush the matter aside so easily, and a question mark slowly rose above her head.

Seriously? Sure, Lu Jiaoyue is naive, but wouldn't someone like Lu Yuan, who's incredibly sharp when it comes to underhanded business tactics, feel even a little suspicious?

And what about Lu Shiyan? As an award-winning actor, didn't he think my performance was clumsy and overdone?

Lu Xiaoxiao believed this was the most vicious thing she had done since transmigrating into the novel, and the act that best fit her scheming, fake-sweet persona. Yet now, it didn't seem to have had the effect she had imagined.

Was she really not cut out to be a villain?