Chapter 5: Pretending to Be Strong  

Since it was Lu Huaijin’s birthday party, Xia Nanxing made sure to arrive early and immediately stuck close to him.  

“Stop following me. Go entertain yourself. I have matters to discuss with someone,” Lu Huaijin said bluntly, shooing her away.  

Xia Nanxing, equally unbothered, continued clinging to him. “No, I’m staying right here with you.”  

Her mission was about to be completed—how could she possibly leave him unattended? Xia Nanxing wanted to stick to Lu Huaijin like glue, ensuring his safety tonight.  

The car accident he had been in years ago had truly terrified her.  

If Lu Huaijin had died back then, her mission would have failed, and she would have suffered a fatal heart attack.  

To put it bluntly, Lu Huaijin was her heart—her very life!  

Xia Nanxing’s infatuation with Lu Huaijin was well-known in their social circle. Guests at the party couldn’t help but tease Lu Huaijin when they saw the two standing together, looking like the perfect golden couple.  

The teasing made Lu Huaijin’s smile stiffen.  

It was as if everyone was certain that Xia Nanxing would inevitably become Mrs. Lu.  

And what Lu Huaijin himself thought? That didn’t seem to matter at all.  

Xia Nanxing swirled her wine glass absentmindedly, her eyes scanning the room for the antagonist, Uncle Lu, when she suddenly found herself on the receiving end of several inexplicable glares from Lu Huaijin.  

*Huh? System, has Lu Huaijin lost his mind? I didn’t even do anything to him.*  

*Maybe he’s upset because he saw the fake young master, Lu Jiashu?*  

Human emotions were hard to decipher, and a man’s heart was even more inscrutable. The system was at a loss too.  

*Oh, Lu Jiashu actually came. Doesn’t he feel awkward at all?*  

Although the Lu family had acknowledged Lu Huaijin as the true heir, they couldn’t simply discard Lu Jiashu, who had been raised by them for years.  

The mix-up with the babies had been investigated and deemed accidental. Lu Jiashu’s biological parents had already passed away, and there was no evidence of intentional mistreatment toward Lu Huaijin, so Lu Jiashu naturally remained in the Lu household.  

Ironically, Lu Jiashu was actually Xia Nanxing’s childhood friend, but the two had never gotten along.  

They even attended the same high school. When Xia Nanxing started pursuing Lu Huaijin, Lu Jiashu had mercilessly mocked her—to the point where every encounter between them was laced with sarcasm.  

After the truth about the two young masters came to light, stripped of his status as the Lu family heir and deprived of the privilege to be Xia Nanxing’s rival, Lu Jiashu had faded into the background.  

Though he still held a position in the company, he was only in charge of the family’s entertainment ventures—nowhere near as influential as Lu Huaijin.  

As Lu Jiashu approached, before Lu Huaijin could even speak, Xia Nanxing immediately fired off, “Today is Huaijin’s birthday party. What are you doing here?”  

The two shared the same birthday—one celebrated with a grand party, the other left in the cold. Just imagining it made Xia Nanxing cringe on his behalf.  

“Dad asked me to come,” Lu Jiashu replied with a faint smile. “You’re here early today, Xingxing. But it seems another Miss Xia arrived even earlier.”  

Mocking her and throwing shade? Xia Nanxing pointed a warning finger at him.  

Ignoring her, Lu Jiashu raised his glass toward Lu Huaijin and said, “Brother, on my way here, I noticed Xia Yingying seemed to be in some trouble. Maybe you should go check on her?”  

Lu Huaijin’s expression tightened, and he immediately turned to leave in search of Xia Yingying.  

“Hey—Huaijin! Lu Jiashu, you absolute menace! Can’t you mind your own business?”

Xia Nanxing lifted her skirt, immediately wanting to chase after him, but her wrist was grabbed by Lu Jiashu.

“What are you following him for? To humiliate yourself? Can’t you think clearly? Don’t you see Lu Huaijin is annoyed with you? I saw him glaring at you the moment I arrived. After all these years, your brain still hasn’t been cured.”

Xia Nanxing punched him twice in retaliation, arguing, “Your brain is the one that’s not cured. You’re not even the Lu family’s young master anymore, so why are you still staying here? Do you really think the Lu family will treat you well in the future? A man like you, greedy for wealth and status—what good end could you possibly have?”

The Lu family had trained their fake young master so well; naturally, they wouldn’t let him go to waste. All the dirty work in the family had been handed over to Lu Jiashu, the fake young master.

In this parallel world, Lu Huaijin was the male lead. By the story’s conclusion, the Lu family would remain unscathed, but who knew what would happen after the ending?

Lu Jiashu was well aware of the risks in what he was doing.

Having poked each other’s sore spots, both of their expressions darkened.

The air fell deathly silent for two seconds.

Xia Nanxing awkwardly cleared her throat. “Ahem, well… happy birthday. I’m going after Lu Huaijin now. I’ll settle things with you later.”

Watching Xia Nanxing’s retreating figure as she chased after Lu Huaijin, Lu Jiashu lowered his gaze, took a sip of wine, and murmured softly, “So someone still remembers my birthday today.”

He had thought everyone only had eyes for Lu Huaijin—especially Xia Nanxing, with her love brain.

“For the sake of that ‘happy birthday,'” Lu Jiashu muttered to himself, quickening his steps to follow Xia Nanxing.

But he was still a step too late. By the time he arrived, Lu Huaijin was already angrily reprimanding Xia Nanxing.

“Make your brother apologize, or this isn’t over.”

“Why should he? Xia Yingying fell on her own—what does it have to do with my brother?” Xia Nanxing protested indignantly. “You didn’t even ask for the full story before defending that Xia Yingying! What do you take me for?”

Lu Huaijin gritted his teeth. “I saw Xia Wenbo push her with my own eyes! Xia Nanxing, who do you believe—me or your brother?”

[It really was Xia Wenbo. After mocking Xia Yingying, he tried to push her out of the way and didn’t notice the table corner behind her.] The system chimed in helpfully.

[So it really was my brother…]

Now, Xia Nanxing couldn’t even argue in good conscience.

But Xia Wenbo had done it for her sake—how could she betray her own and make him bow his head to Lu Huaijin?

Anyone else could make that demand, but not her.

Seeing Xia Nanxing fall silent, Lu Huaijin pressed her further, his face cold as he warned, “Xia Nanxing, make your brother apologize.”

He dared to use Xia Nanxing to force Xia Wenbo’s apology because he was certain Xia Wenbo wouldn’t dare offend his half-sister. As the Lu family’s only son, Lu Huaijin had that leverage—Xia Wenbo wasn’t the only child in the Xia family, and if he wanted to rise in the future, he couldn’t afford to lose Xia Nanxing’s support.

“I…” Xia Nanxing’s nails were nearly digging into her palms. She truly couldn’t bring herself to say it.

She had a love brain—she could throw away her own dignity to fawn over someone, but she couldn’t use Xia Wenbo’s dignity as a stepping stone.

Just then, Lu Jiashu approached. “Elder Brother, Uncle is here. Aren’t you going to speak with him?”

Although he had come to defuse the situation, he was the one who caused it in the first place. While Xia Nanxing breathed a sigh of relief, she couldn’t help but secretly glare at him, cursing inwardly: *Troublemaker, troublemaker! Why must you stir things up everywhere!*

But Xia Nanxing still went along with his words, saying, “That’s right, Huaijin-gege, maybe we should focus on the important matters first.”  

She tried to brush the whole thing aside, intending to pull Lu Huaijin away from this troublesome scene.  

Yet the moment she reached out, Lu Huaijin sidestepped to avoid her touch.  

The atmosphere froze over.  

Xia Nanxing reluctantly lowered her hand, her smile tinged with bitterness.  

[*I’m so unlucky, System. What if Lu Huaijin refuses to let me follow him today? What if something happens to him at such a crucial moment tonight?*]  

[*Host, you don’t need his permission to follow him.*]  

[*True, it’s not like this is my first time being shamelessly persistent.*]  

Steeling herself, she reached out again. “Huaijin-gege, don’t be angry, I—”  

Xia Wenbo glanced at his hopeless sister, shrugged nonchalantly, and stepped forward. “Sorry, Young Master Lu, I didn’t mean to push Xia Yingying earlier.”  

The moment Xia Wenbo apologized, Xia Nanxing’s attempt to placate Lu Huaijin suddenly faltered. Her lips involuntarily quivered, and her eyes stung with unshed tears.  

Though it was Xia Wenbo who lowered his head to apologize, she was the one who felt so wronged she could cry.  

Breaking down in front of so many people would be too humiliating. Xia Nanxing sniffled and pretended to stay strong.  

[*System, since you can see right through my fragility, can you at least give me a bonus?*]  

[*Hmph.*]