A woman's heart was a mystery

Song Zhilan sounded somewhat cautious, and her expression held a complexity Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't decipher.

The question caught Lu Xiaoxiao off guard. Unsure whether she should tell the truth, she hesitated for a long while before murmuring, "Yes."

To her surprise, the words had barely left her mouth when Song Zhilan excitedly clasped both her hands. "Really?! That's wonderful! Bochen hasn't spoken to me in months. Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease."

At that point, she suddenly remembered that Lu Bochen was only a wall away. Although the Lu family's house was well soundproofed, Song Zhilan instinctively lowered her voice. "What did he say to you? Could... could you tell me?"

Song Zhilan's sudden physical contact left Lu Xiaoxiao a little stunned.

After several seconds, a thought slowly surfaced in her mind:

Oh. So she didn't come to check on me.

The moment Song Zhilan heard that thought, she froze.

She hurried to explain, "Xiaoxiao, you know your third brother has been ill. His therapist told me a while ago that if this goes on, his condition might get worse... And Jiaoyue has only just come home, so I need to pay her a little more attention. I might have neglected you a bit tonight, but please don't overthink it. I've always thought of you as my own daughter, I swear!"

Looking into her sincere eyes, Lu Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly.

She had only recently taken over this body. In a sense, she was more of a spectator, so she could naturally understand how overwhelmed Song Zhilan felt as a mother struggling to treat all her children equally.

But from the original owner's perspective, she had probably experienced a huge disparity in treatment when she already felt deeply insecure.

According to the original plot, Lu Yuan should actually have scolded and punished Lu Xiaoxiao after she made things difficult for Lu Jiaoyue.

She had no idea what was going on today. Aside from that rebellious kid Lu Yubai, everyone in the Lu family seemed unusually tolerant of her.

Still, whatever the case, Song Zhilan certainly hadn't treated the original owner badly. She was a kind, softhearted woman to begin with.

Lu Xiaoxiao gave her an obedient, understanding smile. "It's all right, Mom. I'm not overthinking anything. My third brother just showed me his new painting. He didn't say anything special, so don't worry."

Oh, Mom doesn't have it easy either. Come to think of it, she seems to spend every day focusing entirely on the children. Why doesn't she make some time to clear up the misunderstanding with her husband? I really don't get it!

Song Zhilan: ...?

Clear up a misunderstanding?

What misunderstanding was there between her and Lu Yuan? Why didn't she know anything about it?

That cryptic thought left Song Zhilan itching with curiosity. But she feared that revealing her ability to hear Lu Xiaoxiao's thoughts would make her daughter put up her guard, so she forcibly swallowed the question on the tip of her tongue.

Seeing that she had no intention of continuing the conversation, Lu Xiaoxiao naturally prepared to leave.

"Mom, I'm a little tired today, so I'll go back to my room and rest. Good night."

Song Zhilan wished her good night too, then watched Lu Xiaoxiao leave.

Lu Xiaoxiao slept soundly that night. In another room, however, Song Zhilan tossed and turned for almost the entire night.

The result of her sleepless night was that, first thing the next morning, Lu Yuan found himself on the receiving end of his wife's sour expression.

Unable to figure out what he had done to upset her, Lu Yuan was utterly bewildered. He could only silently reflect that a woman's heart truly was a mystery.

The next morning, Uncle Liu had a car ready bright and early to take Lu Xiaoxiao and Lu Jiaoyue to the mall and bring them home afterward.

Before she got into the car, the system told Lu Xiaoxiao that the male lead, Gu Sipei, would also be in that area today, and instructed her to find a way to arrange a meeting between the two leads.

To be honest, Lu Xiaoxiao wasn't particularly fond of the original novel's male lead. He was the domineering, cold type, sinister deep down and just waiting for the female lead to redeem him.

It was rather unfortunate that such an adorable female lead had fallen for someone like him.

The system said, "Host, you shouldn't think that way. The male lead does love the female lead very much."

Lu Xiaoxiao said, "Sure, sure. So much that he bankrupted the entire Lu family?"

The system faltered, then argued, "Even so, afterward, the male lead personally took care of every aspect of the female lead's daily life. For someone with so much power and status to go that far for her, isn't that love enough?"

Lu Xiaoxiao scoffed. "Isn't that what he's supposed to do? If you keep a cat, you have to scoop its poop. If you keep a dog, you have to walk it."

Unable to win the argument, the system said helplessly, "Anyway, those two have to get together. That's how the plot goes."

That left Lu Xiaoxiao feeling a little gloomy. She said no more and gave a halfhearted agreement.

Once they reached the mall, Lu Xiaoxiao took Lu Jiaoyue to the brand the original owner had frequented most.

There were so many beautiful clothes that Lu Jiaoyue, visiting for the first time, was dazzled.

Lu Xiaoxiao picked out several pieces, piled them into her arms, and sent her to the fitting room to try them on at her leisure.

Just as she was about to pick out a couple of things for herself, she heard a young woman's surprised exclamation behind her:

"Oh! What a coincidence! You're here too, Xiaoxiao!"

Hearing her name, Lu Xiaoxiao turned to see a young woman with tea-brown hair styled in large waves hurrying toward her, delight written all over her face. Without another word, the woman linked arms with her.

"My family is throwing my birthday party next month, but I still haven't found an evening gown I like. Since you're here, Xiaoxiao, come help me choose one."

Lu Xiaoxiao felt a little thrown. She hadn't expected to run into one of the original owner's acquaintances while shopping.

Of course, she knew that the original owner had plenty of fake friends among the capital's socialites. But precisely because there were so many, she couldn't place this one when she suddenly appeared.

Fortunately, the system proved reliable for once and promptly supplied a character introduction in Lu Xiaoxiao's mind.

"Host, this is Yue Mengqian, the Yue family's daughter."

Oh, now Lu Xiaoxiao knew who she was: the one in the original novel who loved getting work done on her face more than anyone else, a super, super, super VIP at the plastic surgery clinic.

Looking at eyelashes long enough to fan someone to death, Lu Xiaoxiao swallowed and put on a friendly smile. "Ahahaha, what a coincidence, Qianqian! Of course I'd be happy to help you choose a dress!"

Yue Mengqian held on to her, her smile turning knowing. "No rush. Let me tell you some gossip. You'll never guess-what's-his-name and what's-her-name got together!"

Lu Xiaoxiao: ?

Lu Xiaoxiao said, "Who and who?"

Seeing her confusion, Yue Mengqian grew a little impatient. "Tsk! Those two!!! I only told you about them last week!"

Lu Xiaoxiao: ???

After all, she didn't have the original owner's memories, so she was completely lost. But worried about giving herself away, she could only pretend to understand, making a few vague noises of agreement.

Satisfied, Yue Mengqian waggled her eyebrows at her. "Seriously, and you'll never believe what they did. They went to that place, and then they did that!"

Lu Xiaoxiao said, "...Ah, uh, oh my gosh! That's just so... that!"

Yue Mengqian said, "Yes, yes, I thought it was so that too! I knew you'd get me!"

Lu Xiaoxiao could only laugh awkwardly.

Fortunately, Lu Jiaoyue emerged from the fitting room just then.

Holding her skirt, she looked rather uncomfortable. "Sis, um... does this look good on me?"