The instant Lu Xiaoxiao finished speaking, everyone at the dining table seemed to turn into statues, frozen in various poses of astonishment.
Their expressions were a spectacular mix of disbelief, despair, impending doom, and utter defeat... Even Lu Shiyan, the award-winning actor renowned for his superb acting and impeccable control over his expressions, completely lost his composure.
He blurted out almost instinctively, a barely perceptible tremor in his voice, "You... you knew?!"
The seemingly permanent cold sweat on Lu Yubai's forehead finally trickled down. Looking as terrified as if he had seen a ghost, he asked in a voice that had gone off-pitch, "You... how did you know?! That can't be right!"
Seeing her family act as though they were facing a mortal enemy, as though the sky were about to fall, Lu Xiaoxiao felt a little thrill at having successfully pulled off her prank.
But rather than immediately explain, she lowered her eyes slightly, then tilted her head up at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze mournfully out the window. She gently pressed a hand to her chest and spoke in a plaintive, somewhat exaggerated tone, as though her heart had been utterly shattered:
"Yes... I knew..." She drew out the words, a fake catch in her voice. "So all of you... have been keeping this from me alone all this time! You've really broken my heart... Boo-hoo-hoo~"
Everyone: "..."
At that utterly emotionless "boo-hoo-hoo," which sounded far more teasing than sorrowful, the atmosphere around the table instantly shifted from sheer terror to something rather... numb and strange.
Only Lu Jiaoyue, the most guileless among them, and the emotionally sensitive Lu Bochen took her overblown performance seriously.
Lu Jiaoyue's eyes reddened on the spot. She hurriedly rose from her seat, ran around the table to Lu Xiaoxiao, and grabbed her